y profession in the city, that is more remarkable than
anything recorded in the 'Diary of a London Physician.' It would be
impossible for me to detail to you the hundredth part of the interesting
and exciting things which I saw and heard. That which affected me most, of
late years, was the case of a boy, not, I think, over twelve years of age.
I first saw him in the hospital, whither, being poor and without parents,
he had been brought to die.

"He was the most beautiful boy I ever beheld. He had that peculiar cast of
countenance and complexion which we notice in those who are afflicted with
frequent hemorrhage of the lungs. He was _very_ beautiful! His brow was
broad, fair, and intellectual; his eyes had the deep _interior_ blue of the
sky itself; his complexion was like the lily, tinted, just below the
cheek-bone, with a hectic flush--

'As on consumption's waning cheek,
Mid ruin blooms the rose;'

and his hair, which was soft as floss silk, hung in luxuriant curls about
his face. But oh, what an expression of deep melancholy his countenance
wore! so remarkable that I felt certain that the fear of death had nothing
to do with it. And I was right. Young as he was, he did not wish to live.
He repeatedly said that death was what he most desired; and it was truly
dreadful to hear one so young and so beautiful talk like this. 'Oh!' he
would say, 'let me die! let me die! Don't _try_ to save me; I _want_ to
die!' Nevertheless, he was most affectionate, and was extremely grateful
for everything that I could do for his relief. I soon won his heart; but
perceived, with pain, that his disease of body was nothing to his 'sickness
of the soul,' which I could not heal. He leaned upon my bosom and wept,
while at the same time he prayed for death. I have never seen one of his
years who courted it so sincerely. I tried in every way to elicit from him
what it was that rendered him so unhappy; but his lips were sealed, and he
was like one who tried to turn his face from something which oppressed his
spirit.

"It subsequently appeared that the father of this child was hanged for
murder in B---- County, about two years before. It was the most
cold-blooded homicide that had ever been known in that section of the
country. The excitement raged high; and I recollect that the stake and the
gallows vied with each other for the victim. The mob labored hard to get
the man out of the jail, that they might wreak summary vengeance upon him
b