His pistol exploded at nearly the same time, he dropped to the floor, his light vanished, and for a time all was darkness and suspense.  I expected another bullet any moment, and seeing nothing to fire at myself, feared to jump from the bed lest I be seized by invisible hands of the desperate villain.  Then came shouts and pounding upon the door by neighbors aroused by the uproar.  Encouraged by the reinforcements, I struck a light but the ruffian had escaped through the open window on to a piazza roof, thence by a pillar to the ground.

Then we were besieged by excited inquirers, and the rosy-fingered Aurora, daughter of the dawn, appeared before the calm which succeeded the storm.

Shortly after our return from this journey, a great light went out on earth to shine in heaven.  My wife’s father suddenly left the body,—­he did not die, for

  There is no death, what seems so is transition,
  This life of mortal breath
  Is but a suburb of the life Elysian,
  Whose portal we call death.

Alderman B——­ was a gentleman of the old school, a loving father, a very successful business man, managing marine railways, ship-building and repairing, as well as grain mills.  We missed him sadly; but were consoled by the reflection that our great loss was his eternal gain.

My eldest brother, and two of my brother Mark’s children, at about this time crossed the same bright river and rested under the shade of the celestial trees.

Myself and wife had intended to live in G——­, but as her father was gone, and as she had formed a strong mutual attachment for my family, my wife the following summer took much pleasure in building a handsome cottage nearly opposite my father’s house, and on a beautiful lot of land given us by my brother.  We formed a literary and musical club, which met weekly at our house, making it the social centre of the entire town.

I was elected chairman of the school committee, and proceeded vigorously in a crusade against ignorance; but soon found that the life of a reformer is crowned with more thorns than roses, a thousandfold!  I removed incompetent teachers who, by their silly question and answer methods, were producing parrots—­not scholars.

On one occasion, when I substituted a trained normal school graduate for a useless dancing doll who had made herself popular by flattering parents and coddling their children, all pupils were withdrawn from the school.  I told the new teacher to ring the bell, take in sewing if she wished, and draw her salary even if she was left alone in her glory; then I notified the parents that unless they at once sent their children to the school, I should have the pupils arrested for truancy, and themselves fined for violating the laws of the state.  Moral suasion had failed; but the strong arm of the law prevailed, and they soon acknowledged that the new instruction was the best they had ever had in the district.