a-shore last summer. I kept the house open,
and staid in town; cause, business. When she returned, Miss X----,
who lives opposite, called to see her. In less than five minutes,
my wife was a sad, moaning, desolate, injured, disconsolate,
afflicted, etcet. woman.

'How-ow-ow c-could you d-do it, Al-lal-bert?' she ejaculated,
flooding every word as it came out with tears.

'Do what?'

'Oh-woh! oh-woe-wooh-wa-ah!'

Miss X---- here thought proper to leave, casting from her eyes a
small hardware-shop in the way of daggers at me, as much as to
say, You are vicious, and I hate cheese! (theatrical for hate ye.)

Fanny, left to herself, revealed all to me. Miss X----, through
the Venetian blinds, had seen a--_gown_ in my room, late at night.

'It is too true,' said I, 'too, too true.'

'Al-lal-al-bert! you will b-b-break my h-heart. I c-could tear the
d-d-destroy-oy-yer of my p-p-peace to p-p-pieces!'

'Come on,' said I, 'you shall behold the destroyer of your peace.
You shall tear her to pieces, or I'll be d--dashed if I don't. I
am tired of the blasted thing.'

I grasped her hand, and led her to the back-chamber. 'There,
against the wall.'

'It is--'said she.

'It is,' said I, 'my dressing-gown! I will never again put it on
my shoulders, never. Here goes!' Rip it went from the tails up the
back to the neck.

'Hold, Albert! I will send it to the wounded soldiers.'

'Never! they are men, bricks, warriors. Such female frippery as
this shall never degrade them. Into the rag-bag with it, and sell
it to the Jews for a pair of China sheep or a crockery shepherd.
_Vamos_!'

The age for dressing-gowns has passed away, Rococo shams are hastening
to decay!

* * * * *

He who writes a book on Boston should have something to say on the
ladies at lectures, in the libraries, and at Loring's--at which latter
celebrated institution for the dissemination of _belles lettres_
lettered belles do vastly congregate of Saturday, providing themselves
with novel--no, we mean novelties [of course of a serious sort] for
their Sunday reading. Which may serve as an introduction to the
following characteristic of

YE BOSTON YOUNGE LADIE.

The Boston belle is a reader, and knoweth what hath lately
appearyd in ye worlde of bookes as welle as in that of bonetts.
Shee whis