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coal down to where the fireman can more easily get at them on the next lap of the journey. Everything is activity -- other men are up on the front end of the locomotive examining the headlight. One old gray engineer climbs down out of the cab and another old man with white moustache climbs in and takes his place in front of the most complicated set of controlling apparatus I have ever seen. He looks back along the train, a lantern swings somewhere down the platform, there are two short whistle blasts, a hiss of steam, and the old engineer opens the throttle. The train starts and winds its way out into that maze of red and green lights. The long cars glide by faster and faster, until the end finally flashes by, with two little pusher engines on behind, snorting and howling as they help to boost the flyer up over the hill and away on its next lap of 92 miles before it stops again at Utica. And I thought to myself that those people back there in the luxurious Pullmans don't even give a passing thought to what goes on up ahead. Yet they put their lives in the hands of that gray old man up in the cab. One lapse on his part and they all could easily be killed. And yet he himself seems so calm about it as he starts out into the black night to do his 150 miles at a terrific speed -- knowing that the lives of all those in that train behind him are in his keeping. It always has thrilled and fascinated me. And on that June morning, you will be brought down that valley to me by one of those same old, gray haired men on the fastest train of them all. And you will be brought to me safely and, oh, how marvelous it will be when we meet there again. It is hard to wait so long. ...... It rather hurts me to know that you are having no dates at all when I do have one occasionally. But I know that you do understand why I do have them. As for myself, I should be perfectly happy to have none -- in fact, I had to be urged by Mother to try to get acquainted here for she pointed out that I owed it to you to try to make friends here so that if I brought you here instead of to Syracuse, I would have a circle of friends in Schenectady to present to you. Then I was very unhappy until I had begun to make those friends because I could not get the idea out of my mind of how awful it would be to bring you here and to have no people to whom I could turn to make you feel at home in Schenectady. I went for seven months here without a single date so you see they are no necessity to me. It's just that I see them necessary in order to get better acquainted with the people. I shall be care to divide my attentions widely so that no one can get any false impressions and I also think that I shall allow the fact of our engagement to be known here too so that nobody can accuse me of sailing under false colors. I do feel a lot happier here now for, after all, it is just great to be able to go into a real home occasionally after months of isolation from one. Tomorrow is the long day again so I shall be obliged to make my letter short. I should like to write more now but must study for our mid-semester exam in accounting tomorrow.