r the kingdom of
heaven with one eye than to go to the devil with two."

The physician departed for his home, and I departed for the land of
dreams. The pain of my wound had considerably mitigated, and I slept
quite comfortably.

I have always been somewhat of a philosopher in the way of enduring the
ills of life, and I tried to reconcile myself to my misfortune and
situation with as good a grace as possible. In this I succeeded much
better than might have been expected. When a person loses an eye and is
at the same time imprisoned for killing another individual, it is
certainly natural for that unfortunate person to yield to despair; but,
seeing the uselessness of grief, I resolved to "face the music" with all
the courage of which I was possessed.

Two or three days passed away, and I became almost well--for, to use a
common expression, I owned the constitution of a horse. The newspapers
which I was allowed to send out and purchase, made me acquainted with
something that rather surprised me, for they communicated to me the
information that Jack Slack, the young gentleman to whom I had presented
a ticket of admission to the other world, was a person whose _real_ name
was John Shaffer, _alias_ Slippery Jack, _alias_ Jack Slack. His
profession was that of a pickpocket, in which avocation he had always
been singularly expert. He was well known to the police, and had been
frequently imprisoned. I was gratified to see that the newspapers all
justified me in what I had done, and predicted my honorable discharge
from custody. That prediction proved correct; for, after I had been in
confinement a week, the Grand Jury failed to bring a bill of indictment
against me, and I was consequently set at liberty.

Tired of Philadelphia, I went to Washington. A New York member of
Congress, with whom I was well acquainted, volunteered to show me the
"lions;" and I had the honor of a personal introduction to Mr. Van Buren
and other distinguished official personages. Some people would be
surprised if they did but know of the splendid dissipation that prevails
among the "dignitaries of the nation" at Washington.

I have seen more than one member of the United States Senate staggering
through the streets, from what cause the reader will have no difficulty
in judging. I have seen a great statesman, since deceased, carried from
an after-dinner table to his chamber. I have seen the honorable
Secretary of one of the National departments engag