the street, calling in the most heart-rending
and pathetic manner upon the passengers to restore her, her
Augustus,--for so the deceased was named, in affectionate remembrance of
a former lover of his mistress, to whom he bore a striking personal
resemblance, which renders the circumstances additionally affecting. I
am not yet in a condition to inform you what circumstance induced the
bereaved lady to direct her steps to the hotel which had witnessed the
last struggles of her _protege_. I can only state that she arrived
there, at the very instant when his detached members were passing through
the passage on a small tray. Her shrieks still reverberate in my ears!
I grieve to say that the expressive features of Professor Muff were much
scratched and lacerated by the injured lady; and that Professor Nogo,
besides sustaining several severe bites, has lost some handfuls of hair
from the same cause. It must be some consolation to these gentlemen to
know that their ardent attachment to scientific pursuits has alone
occasioned these unpleasant consequences; for which the sympathy of a
grateful country will sufficiently reward them. The unfortunate lady
remains at the Pig and Tinder-box, and up to this time is reported in a
very precarious state.
'I need scarcely tell you that this unlooked-for catastrophe has cast a
damp and gloom upon us in the midst of our exhilaration; natural in any
case, but greatly enhanced in this, by the amiable qualities of the
deceased animal, who appears to have been much and deservedly respected
by the whole of his acquaintance.'
'_Twelve o'clock_.
'I take the last opportunity before sealing my parcel to inform you that
the boy who fell through the pastrycook's window is not dead, as was
universally believed, but alive and well. The report appears to have had
its origin in his mysterious disappearance. He was found half an hour
since on the premises of a sweet-stuff maker, where a raffle had been
announced for a second-hand seal-skin cap and a tambourine; and where--a
sufficient number of members not having been obtained at first--he had
patiently waited until the list was completed. This fortunate discovery
has in some degree restored our gaiety and cheerfulness. It is proposed
to get up a subscription for him without delay.
'Everybody is nervously anxious to see what to-morrow will bring forth.
If any one should arrive in the
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