lways agreeable companions to each other."

"Good persons, my Gertrude!" answered Vane, with a smile. "Alas! I
fear the good weary each other quite as much as the bad. What say
you, Trevylyan,--would Virtue be a pleasant companion from Paris
to Petersburg? Ah, I see you intend to be on Gertrude's side of the
question. Well now, if I tell you a story, since stories are so much the
fashion with you, in which you shall find that the Virtues themselves
actually made the experiment of a tour, will you promise to attend to
the moral?"

"Oh, dear father, anything for a story," cried Gertrude; "especially
from you, who have not told us one all the way. Come, listen, Albert;
nay, listen to your new rival."

And, pleased to see the vivacity of the invalid, Vane began as
follows:--

THE TOUR OF THE VIRTUES:

A PHILOSOPHER'S TALE.

ONCE upon a time, several of the Virtues, weary of living forever with
the Bishop of Norwich, resolved to make a little excursion; accordingly,
though they knew everything on earth was very ill prepared to receive
them, they thought they might safely venture on a tour from Westminster
Bridge to Richmond. The day was fine, the wind in their favour, and as
to entertainment,--why, there seemed, according to Gertrude, to be no
possibility of any disagreement among the Virtues.

They took a boat at Westminster stairs; and just as they were about to
push off, a poor woman, all in rags, with a child in her arms, implored
their compassion. Charity put her hand into her reticule and took out
a shilling. Justice, turning round to look after the luggage, saw the
folly which Charity was about to commit. "Heavens!" cried Justice,
seizing poor Charity by the arm, "what are you doing? Have you never
read Political Economy? Don't you know that indiscriminate almsgiving
is only the encouragement to Idleness, the mother of Vice? You a Virtue,
indeed! I'm ashamed of you. Get along with you, good woman;--yet stay,
there is a ticket for soup at the Mendicity Society; they'll see if
you're a proper object of compassion." But Charity is quicker than
Justice, and slipping her hand behind her, the poor woman got the
shilling and the ticket for soup too. Economy and Generosity saw the
double gift. "What waste!" cried Economy, frowning; "what! a ticket and
a shilling? _either_ would have sufficed."

"Either!" said Generosity, "fie! Charity should have given the poor
creatu