The opening of Chapter I
This story has its beginnings in the town of Alexandria, Illinois, between 1884 and 1889, at the time when the place had a population of somewhere near ten thousand. There was about it just enough of the air of a city to relieve it of the sense of rural life. It had one street-car line, a theatre,--or rather, an opera house, so-called (why no one might say, for no opera was ever performed there)--two railroads, with their stations, and a business district, composed of four brisk sides to a public square. In the square were the county court-house and four newspapers. These two morning and two evening papers made the population fairly aware of the fact that life was full of issues, local and national, and that there were many interesting and varied things to do. On the edge of town, several lakes and a pretty stream--perhaps Alexandria's most pleasant feature--gave it an atmosphere not unakin to that of a moderate-priced summer resort. Architecturally the town was not new.