sometimes represented on the stage, but a vigorous and energetic man of
the world, shrewd, sagacious, and long sighted in business, honored on
change, respected by his friends, and a pattern of prudence and
morality. And then, perhaps, he was only carrying on a joke, a kind of
_Jew d'esprit_, conceived in a moment of amiable eccentricity, and never
to be executed. If not a joke, however, the judgment of Judge Portia
should be set aside, and a new trial, with costs, should, in my opinion,
have been ordered.

A HEROINE OF TO-DAY.

We had watched with her alternate nights throughout all her illness, but
this night we thought would be her last, and neither of us was willing
to leave her. The surgeons and nurses had gone, and we were at last
alone. We sat through the remaining hours in deathly stillness,
occasionally moistening the lips and tongue of the sufferer. It was the
last office of friendship, and I yielded it, though reluctantly, to her
earliest and dearest friend. Monotonous the hours were, but not long. We
would have made them longer if we could, for though the waning life
before us was but the faintest shadow of the life we had companioned
with, we were loath to lose it--to face the blank that would be left
when it was gone.

One, two, three o'clock sounded, and still no perceptible change; but
soon after the breathing became shorter, a slight film gathered on her
eyes, and we stood in the presence of the last great mystery. Shorter
and shorter grew the breath, deeper and deeper the film, till, just as
the first gray light showed itself in the eastern horizon, came the last
sigh, and Mrs. Simmons, leaning forward, exclaimed in a low voice, 'It
is over.' As for me, I buried my face in the pillow and wept
unrestrainedly.

In a hospital the day treads closely on the night, and soon the morning
came. We retired to our apartment for rest, but we could not sleep. We
could only think of our loss, and after an hour or two we rose, somewhat
rested, but not refreshed. Ever since my first acquaintance with
Laetitia Sunderland, I had eagerly desired to learn her previous life.
Glimpses of it I had obtained, but I wanted it as a whole, and now I was
with one, perhaps for the last time, who could give me a full account of
it. It was an opportunity not to be lost, and while partaking of our
morning coffee, I asked Mrs. Simmons if she would tell me what I so
longed to know. She willingly assented, and as I was relie