It was a shock when the probability of his pursuit of her to Virginia, avowing his passion and being rewarded by the gift of her hand, was dissipated by the apparition of a matter-of-fact personage, McPhail by name, who was neither poet nor artist. He had been betrothed to our governess for ever so long. He spent a fortnight at the “Old Tavern,” opposite our house, and claimed all of the waking hours she could spare from school duties. The finale of the romance was that she went back to the North at the end of her year’s engagement with us, and married him, settling, we heard, in what sounded like an outlandish region—Cape Neddick, on the Maine coast. IX A COLLEGE NEIGHBORHOOD—THE WORLD WIDENS—A BELOVED TUTOR—COLONIZATION DREAMS AND DISAPPOINTMENT—MAJOR MORTON “RICEHILL, _February 3d, 1843._ “DEAR DORINDA,—I suppose mother has told you of our privileges and pleasant situation. I only want some of my friends to enjoy it with me to make me perfectly happy. Oh, how I wish you were here to go to the debating society with me and to hear the young men preach! I went to college last night to hear some speeches delivered by the Senior Class. They have questions given, and one takes one side and one another. The two best speeches were made on the question ‘Is a love of fame more injurious than beneficial?’ One young man took the affirmative, and one the negative. They made the best speeches. Then the question was whether ‘the execution of Charles I. was just or not.’ Both of these speakers needed prompting; that is, one of those who had spoken or was to speak took the speaker’s speech which he had written off, and, if he forgot, set him right again. The young man who performed this office was very well qualified for it; he spoke in a low, distinct tone, and seemed to find no difficulty in reading the writing. They speak again in about six weeks. But the chief enjoyments I have are the religious privileges. I can go to the prayer-meeting at the Seminary every Wednesday, and can hear three sermons every Sunday. Don’t you wish you were here, too? Aunt Rice and sister went to the Court House last Sunday evening to hear Mr. Ballantine’s lecture, and as they did not come back very soon the young men came in to supper. While sister and Aunt Rice were away I wrote an account of Mr. Hoge’s and Mr. Howison’s sermons. Well, when Mr. Howison came in, ‘Well, Miss Virginia, have you been by yourself all this evening?’ ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘Did you not feel very lonely?’ ‘Not at all.’ ‘Why, what have you been doing?’ ‘I have been writing.’ He paused, laughed, and then said, ‘And what have you been writing?’ And when I told him, I wish you could have seen him! He looked at me for a while as if he did not understand me, and then laughed heartily. He is very easy to laugh, but