bid you despair--there is, I trust, a shadow of hope."

"The blessin' o' the Almighty be upon you, sir, for that word! The best
blessing of the heavenly Father rest upon you an' yours for it!"

"I shall return in the course of the day," continued the physician; "and
as you feel the dread of her loss so powerfully, I will bring two other
medical gentlemen of skill with me."

"Heavens reward you for that, sir! The heavens above reward you an' them
for it! Payment!--och, that signifies but little: but you and them 'll
be well paid. Oh, Docthor, achora, thry an' save her!--Och, thry an'
save her!"

"Keep her easy," replied the doctor, "and let my directions be
faithfully followed. In the meantime, Mr. Connell, be a man and display
proper fortitude under a dispensation which is common to all men in your
state."

To talk of resignation to Peter was an abuse of words. The poor man
had no more perception of the consolation arising from a knowledge of
religion than a child. His heart sank within him, for the prop on which
his affections had rested was suddenly struck down from under them.

Poor Ellish was in a dreadful state. Her malady seized her in the very
midst of her worldly-mindedness; and the current of her usual thoughts,
when stopped by the aberrations of intellect peculiar to her illness,
bubbled up, during the temporary returns of reason, with a stronger
relish of the world. It was utterly impossible for a woman like her,
whose habits of thought and the tendency of whose affections had been
all directed towards the acquisition of wealth, to wrench them for ever
and at once from the objects on which they were fixed. This, at any
time, would have been to her a difficult victory to achieve; but now,
when stunned by the stroke of disease, and confused by the pangs of
severe suffering, tortured by a feverish pulse and a burning brain, to
expect that she could experience the calm hopes of religion, or feel the
soothing power of Christian sorrow, was utter folly. 'Tis true, her life
had been a harmless one: her example, as an industrious and enterprising
member of society, was worthy of imitation. She was an excellent mother,
a good neighbor, and an admirable wife; but the duties arising out of
these different relations of life, were all made subservient to, and
mixed up with, her great principle of advancing herself in the world,
whilst that which is to come never engaged one moment's serious
consideration.

When F