progress of the flames. From the confusion of voices in the
street below I caught the words,--

"Poor Birdie Leighton is nowhere to be found, and it is feared she has
perished in the flames."

I shuddered as I listened to these words. It was a terrible thought to
me, that my once loved pupil had met with a death so dreadful. But I was
unwilling to give up the hope that she would yet be, if not already,
saved. We waited long in anxious suspense for the return of my uncle;
but the day had begun to dawn before he came. I feared to ask what I
longed to know. He must have read my anxiety in my countenance, for he
soon said to me,--

"The Leightons are now all safe in the house of a neighbor; but Birdie
came near meeting her death in the flames."

To my eager enquiries, he replied,--

"That before Mr. Leighton awoke, their sleeping apartment was filled
with smoke, with which the flames were already beginning to mingle. He
bore his wife from the apartment; and, with her in his arms, hastened to
awake Birdie, whose room adjoined their own. She hastily threw on a
portion of her clothing, and prepared to accompany her father and mother
in their descent from the chambers. She had fainted from terror, while
crossing the upper hall; and it was not till Mr. Leighton reached the
open air with his wife in his arms, that he missed Birdie from his side.
On leaving her apartment, he had besought her to keep close by him, as
her mother required all his attention. The agony of Mr. and Mrs.
Leighton, when, upon reaching the open air, they found Birdie to be not
with them, may be better imagined than described. Mrs. Leighton became
well-nigh frantic, and was almost forcibly conveyed to the house of a
neighbor. As soon as Mr. Leighton was relieved from the care of his
wife, he rushed toward the burning building, saying that he would either
rescue Birdie or perish with her. But, ere he reached the entrance, a
man issued from the house, bearing Birdie in his arms. The brave man had
rushed up the burning staircase, and reached the spot where Birdie still
lay, in a state of insensibility. Hastily enveloping her person in a
thick, heavy shawl, which he had taken with him for the purpose, he
rushed with her down the perilous staircase, and reached the open air in
safety, his clothing only being singed by the flames. Never," said my
uncle, "did I hear such a shout of joy as went up from the assembled
multitude when the man who rescued Birdie cam