e ship), the lady suddenly
sickened and died. The young husband was frantic with grief--but
circumstances imperatively forbade the deferring his voyage to New York.
It was necessary to take to her mother the corpse of his adored wife,
and, on the other hand, the universal prejudice which would prevent his
doing so openly was well known. Nine-tenths of the passengers would have
abandoned the ship rather than take passage with a dead body.

In this dilemma, Captain Hardy arranged that the corpse, being first
partially embalmed, and packed, with a large quantity of salt, in a
box of suitable dimensions, should be conveyed on board as merchandise.
Nothing was to be said of the lady's decease; and, as it was well
understood that Mr. Wyatt had engaged passage for his wife, it became
necessary that some person should personate her during the voyage.
This the deceased lady's-maid was easily prevailed on to do. The extra
state-room, originally engaged for this girl during her mistress' life,
was now merely retained. In this state-room the pseudo-wife, slept, of
course, every night. In the daytime she performed, to the best of her
ability, the part of her mistress--whose person, it had been carefully
ascertained, was unknown to any of the passengers on board.

My own mistake arose, naturally enough, through too careless, too
inquisitive, and too impulsive a temperament. But of late, it is a rare
thing that I sleep soundly at night. There is a countenance which haunts
me, turn as I will. There is an hysterical laugh which will forever ring
within my ears.

LOSS OF BREATH

O Breathe not, etc. --Moore's Melodies

THE MOST notorious ill-fortune must in the end yield to the untiring
courage of philosophy--as the most stubborn city to the ceaseless
vigilance of an enemy. Shalmanezer, as we have it in holy writings,
lay three years before Samaria; yet it fell. Sardanapalus--see
Diodorus--maintained himself seven in Nineveh; but to no purpose. Troy
expired at the close of the second lustrum; and Azoth, as Aristaeus
declares upon his honour as a gentleman, opened at last her gates
to Psammetichus, after having barred them for the fifth part of a
century....

"Thou wretch!--thou vixen!--thou shrew!" said I to my wife on
the morning after our wedding; "thou witch!--thou hag!--thou
whippersnapper--thou sink of iniquity!--thou fiery-faced quintessence of
all that is abominable!--thou--thou-" here standing upon tiptoe,