Mr. Miller was not willing that Fanny should leave New York without first
visiting Niagara Falls. Accordingly, they stopped at the Falls, and were
there joined by Mr. and Mrs. Stanton and Frank, the latter of whom was
desirous of seeing Fanny as long as possible. He accompanied them to
Buffalo, and stayed upon the boat which was to bear them away until the
last bell rang out its warning. As he was leaving them Kate playfully
asked if they were taking anything of his with them. "Yes, everything,
everything," he answered.
Soon the steamer was moving proudly over the blue waters of Lake Erie. On
the upper deck our Kentucky friends were waving their handkerchiefs to
Frank, who stood upon the wharf as long as one bright-haired girl could be
distinguished by the light of the harvest moon, whose rays fell calmly
upon the placid waters.
In a few days Mr. Middleton again folded to his bosom his Sunshine, now
more precious than ever, because, as he said, "He'd lain awake a heap o'
nights, worryin' about her. The dogs had howled, the death watches had
ticked on the wall, and everything had carried on, t'other side up, ever
since she'd been gone. But look, Nancy," he continued to his wife, "she's
fattin' up right smart. Her journey has done her a heap of good, and I'm
glad I let her go."