Chapter II

_Upon a time._--This is not a fairy tale, though it opens in a very suspicious manner. It is a sad recital of facts. Upon a time does not mean that any one sat down on a watch, or made himself familiar with the town clock. It is not very specific, I admit. It may refer to any time, but, I think, the design was to call attention to Benedict's time. You know how it is yourself. You remember how often you have stood on a dock, and seen the steamboat ten feet out in the stream, or have struck a depot just as the train was rolling around a curve in the distance, simply because you were not upon a time. Then, as you walked on the dock or platform, you would strew your pathway with--curses. But I do not mean anything of that sort. No, I refer to something grander, nobler, more magnificent.