ndition; have first been sold, and the sacrifice has been but slightly
felt. But hunger must be allayed, and what has already become a habit,
is easily resorted to, when an emergency arises. Light articles of
clothing, first of the ruined man, then of his wife, at last of their
children, even of the youngest, have been parted with, piecemeal. There
they are, thrown carelessly together until a purchaser presents himself,
old, and patched and repaired, it is true; but the make and materials
tell of better days; and the older they are, the greater the misery and
destitution of those whom they once adorned.

CHAPTER XXII--GIN-SHOPS

It is a remarkable circumstance, that different trades appear to partake
of the disease to which elephants and dogs are especially liable, and to
run stark, staring, raving mad, periodically. The great distinction
between the animals and the trades, is, that the former run mad with a
certain degree of propriety--they are very regular in their
irregularities. We know the period at which the emergency will arise,
and provide against it accordingly. If an elephant run mad, we are all
ready for him--kill or cure--pills or bullets, calomel in conserve of
roses, or lead in a musket-barrel. If a dog happen to look unpleasantly
warm in the summer months, and to trot about the shady side of the
streets with a quarter of a yard of tongue hanging out of his mouth, a
thick leather muzzle, which has been previously prepared in compliance
with the thoughtful injunctions of the Legislature, is instantly clapped
over his head, by way of making him cooler, and he either looks
remarkably unhappy for the next six weeks, or becomes legally insane, and
goes mad, as it were, by Act of Parliament. But these trades are as
eccentric as comets; nay, worse, for no one can calculate on the
recurrence of the strange appearances which betoken the disease.
Moreover, the contagion is general, and the quickness with which it
diffuses itself, almost incredible.

We will cite two or three cases in illustration of our meaning. Six or
eight years ago, the epidemic began to display itself among the
linen-drapers and haberdashers. The primary symptoms were an inordinate
love of plate-glass, and a passion for gas-lights and gilding. The
disease gradually progressed, and at last attained a fearful height.
Quiet, dusty old shops in different parts of town, were pulled down;
spacious premises with stuccoed fronts and g