of anything out of the
ordinary course of events, I put no faith whatever in any of Miriam's
visions and prophecies; especially as I noticed they only occurred when
she was sick, or suffering under depression of spirits. Annie either did
believe, or professed to believe, every word she said. As Miriam grew
into womanhood it was only to Annie and me that she confided her strange
visions, although she well knew I did not believe in their reality. We
were the only ones who never laughed at her, and she was very sensitive
on the subject.

Annie was so beautiful that it was a delight to look at her lovely face,
listen to her musical voice, and watch her graceful motions. She fully
appreciated her own charms, and had a way of making others appreciate
them also. She had many more friends than Miriam, for who could resist
the charm of her face and manner?

She had become quite accomplished, for she possessed a good deal of
talent, but was worldly minded, vain, and selfish. It may be matter of
surprise that such a girl should have been my intimate friend, and still
stranger that she should have been the friend of Miriam; but she was
lively and agreeable, and when we were children together we did not care
to analyze her character, and when we knew her thoroughly we still loved
her--from habit, I suppose. At all events, whatever were the sympathies
which bound us together, we continued firm friends until we were
eighteen, when we left Madame Orleans' school, where we had resided for
four years.

At that time Annie returned to our native village, while Miriam and I
went to a Southern city, intending to spend the winter with her uncle's
family; but we liked our new home so much that we prolonged our visit
two years. After we had been there a few months, by some chance, which I
have now forgotten, Henry Ackermann came to the city where we resided.
He was a few years older than we, but had been one of our playmates in
childhood. His parents had removed from our native village, and gone to
California some years before, when the gold fever was at its height,
since which time we had heard little about them, and Henry had nearly
faded out of our recollections, until now he suddenly appeared, destined
to be the controlling fate in the life of one of us, for Miriam and he
soon grew to love one another; though what affinity there was between
their natures I never could imagine. But he told me that he loved her,
and she told me that she wa