so dreadful a charge as that of the murder of
their own offspring. My own impression is, that our friend here is
under a mistake."

"Can't I believe my own ears, sir?" said I, a little indignantly.

"Don't misunderstand me," returned the gentleman, politely. "I don't
doubt you have heard all you say, and it may be even to the word
grains; but I am under the impression that the arsenic and aconite
given were in the homoeopathic preparations, and therefore no longer
poisonous."

There was a long pause after this was said; every one present seemed
to breathe more freely. I had heard of homoeopathy, and something
about infinitesimal doses, but had never seen the medicine used,
neither did I know any thing about the mode in which it was
sometimes practised.

"Suppose we send for the man," suggested the landlord, "and question
him,--but in a way not to wound him, if he be innocent."

This, after some debate, was agreed upon, and a servant was sent to
his room with a request that he would come to the parlour. He obeyed
the summons instantly, but looked a good deal surprised when he saw
a grave assembly of six or seven persons. The gentleman who had
expressed the doubt in the man's favour, said to him, as soon as he
had taken his seat--"We have learned, sir, with sincere regret, that
you were so unfortunate as to lose your child last night--a severe
affliction. Though strangers, we deeply sympathize with you."

The man expressed his thanks, in a few words, for the kind feelings
manifested, and said that, as it was their only child, they felt the
affliction more severely, but were still willing to submit to the
loss, as a Divine dispensation, grievous to be borne, yet intended
for good.

"You did not call in a physician," said the individual who had at
first addressed him.

"No," replied the man. "Before starting for Cincinnati, yesterday
morning, we learned that, no matter how ill our child might become,
we could not get the advice of a homoeopathic physician until we
reached home, and we were not willing to trust our child in the
hands of any other. We, therefore, before commencing our journey,
obtained medicine, and advice how to administer it should alarming
symptoms occur."

"Homoeopathic medicines?"

"Yes, sir."

"In powders, I suppose?"

"No, sir; in little, grains or pellets, like these."

And he drew from his pocket a diminutive vial, the smallest I had
ever seen, in which were a number of little whi