who ever visited Europe."

"I guess thee was very sorry thee brought her before thee got through
with her. I don't approve of that matrimonial alliance at all," said
Mrs. Crowder.

During this and succeeding evenings of narration, it must not be supposed
I sat silent, making no remarks upon what I heard; but, in fact, what I
said was of hardly any importance, and certainly not worth introducing
into this account of Mr. Crowder's experiences. But the effect of his
words upon Mrs. Crowder, as shown both by the play of her features and her
frequent questions and exclamations, interested me almost as much as the
statements of my host. I had previously known her as the gentlest, the
sweetest, and the most attractive of my female acquaintances; but now I
found her to be a woman of keen intellect and quick appreciation. Her
remarks, which were very frequent, and which I shall not always record,
were like seasoning and spice to the narrative of Mr. Crowder. Never
before had a wife heard such stories from a husband, and there never could
have been a woman who would have heard them with such religious faith.
Naturally, she showed me a most friendly confidence. The fact that we were
both the loyal disciples of one master was a bond between us. He was so
much older than either of us, and he regarded us sometimes with what
looked so much like parental affection, that it would not have been
surprising if persons, not believers as we were, should have entertained
the idea that, in course of time, he would pass away, and that we two
should be left to comfort each other as well as we might. But I, who had
heard my friend speak of the coming years, could not forget the picture he
had drawn of two aged and feeble people, looked up to in love and
veneration by a fresh and hearty man of fifty-three.