“JOHN,” said a sweet-faced girl, laying her hand familiarly upon the shoulder of a young man who was seated, near a window in deep abstraction of mind. There was something sad in her voice,–and her countenance, though, lovely, wore an expression of pain. “What do you want, sister?” the young man replied, without lifting his […]

“WASN’T that Ernestine Lee that we passed this moment?” asked Harvey Lane, a young M.D., of his friend James Everett, in a tone of surprise. “Yes, I believe it was–“Everett returned, rather coldly. “You believe it was! Surely, James, nothing has occurred to destroy the intimacy that has for some time existed between you.” “You […]

“I DON’T see that I am so much better off,” said Mr. Gordon, a man who had recently given up drinking. “I lost my situation on the very day I signed the pledge, and have had no regular employment since.” “But you would have lost your situation if you hadn’t signed the pledge, I presume,” […]

“I WANT a quarter of a dollar, Jane.” This was addressed by a miserable creature, bloated and disfigured by intemperance, to a woman, whose thin, pale face, and heart-broken look, told but too plainly that she was the drunkard’s wife. “Not a quarter of a dollar, John? Surely you will not waste a quarter of […]

THE cholera had made its appearance in New York, and many deaths were occurring daily. Among those who weakly permitted themselves to feel an alarm amounting almost to terror, was a Mr. Hobart, who, from the moment the disease manifested itself, became infested with the idea that he would be one of its victims. “Doctor,” […]

Two beautiful children, a boy and a girl, the oldest but six years of age, came in from school one evening, later than usual by half an hour. Both their eyes were red with weeping, and their cheeks wet with tears. Their father, Mr. Warren, who had come home from his business earlier than usual, […]

ONE of the most successful merchants of his day was Mr. Alexander. In trade he had amassed a large fortune, and now, in the sixtieth year of his age, he concluded that it was time to cease getting and begin the work of enjoying. Wealth had always been regarded by him as a means of […]

MR. MINTURN was a rising man; that is, he was gaining money and reputation in his profession. That he felt himself rising, was clearly apparent to all who observed him attentively. His good lady, Mrs. Minturn, was also conscious of the upward movement, and experienced a consequent sense of elevation. From the height they had […]

“HE’S too independent for me,” said Matthew Page. “Too independent by half. Had I been consulted he would have done things very differently. But as it is, he will drive his head against the wall before he knows where he is.” “Why don’t you advise him to act differently?” “Advise him, indeed! Oh, no–let him […]

“MONEY, money, money! That’s the everlasting cry! I’ll give up my pew. I won’t go to church. I’ll stay at home and read the Bible. Not that I care for a few dollars more than I do for the dust that blows in the wind; but this selling of salvation for gold disgusts me. I’m […]

Forgive and forget! Why the world would be lonely, The garden a wilderness left to deform, If the flowers but remembered the chilling winds only, And the fields gave no verdure for fear of the storm! C. SWAIN. “FORGIVE and forget, Herbert.” “No, I will neither forgive nor forget. The thing was done wantonly. I […]

“JUST look at them young lovers,” said Harry Mears, glancing from his companion to a young man and maiden, who, for the moment unconscious that they were in the midst of a large company, were leaning towards each other, and looking into each other’s faces in rather a remarkable manner. “Isn’t it ridiculous? I thought […]

“HOW do you like our new preacher?” was asked by one member of another, as they walked home from church. “Only so so,” was replied. “He cuts close,” remarked the first speaker. “Yes, a little too close.” “I don’t know about that. I like to see the truth brought home to the heart and conscience.” […]

ONCE upon a time, it happened that the men who governed in the municipal affairs of a certain growing town in the West, resolved, in grave deliberation assembled, to purchase a five-acre lot at the north end of the city–recently incorporated–and have it improved for a park or public square. Now, it also happened, that […]

“I SHALL love your mother very much, Charles, but do you think she will love me?” said a graceful young creature, leaning with an air of tender confidence upon the arm of her companion, and looking earnestly in his face. She was a little above the ordinary stature, with a form so delicate as to […]

THE whole purpose of Mr. Bolton’s life had been the accumulation of property, with an end to his own gratification. To part with a dollar was therefore ever felt as the giving up of a prospective good; and it acted as the abridgment of present happiness. Appeals to Mr. Bolton’s benevolence had never been very […]

“I AM sorry, Mr. Grasper, that you should have felt it necessary to proceed to extremities against me,” said a care-worn, anxious-looking man, as he entered the store of a thrifty dealer in tapes, needles, and sundry small wares, drawing aside, as he spoke, the personage he addressed. “There was no need of this.” “There’s […]

MR. EDWARD BOLTON had purchased himself a farm, and taken possession thereof. Once, while examining the premises, before deciding to buy, he had observed a light wagon moving along on the extreme south edge of the tract of land included in the farm, but it had occasioned no remark. It was late in the afternoon […]

“I AM not a very old man,” said a venerable friend to me, one day, “yet my head has become whitened and my cheeks furrowed:–and often, as I pause and lean upon my staff, at the corners of the streets, the present reality gives place to dreams of the past, and I see here, instead […]

I HAVE a very excellent friend, who married some ten years ago, and now has her own cares and troubles in a domestic establishment consisting of her husband and herself, five children, and two servants. Like a large majority of those similarly situated, Mrs. Martinet finds her natural stock of patience altogether inadequate to the […]