s not
fully borne out by his legal attainments. He was always talking of
matrimonial intentions--a sure sign that a man never will be married.
His last rebuff from Miss Trapper (now the wife of a wealthy tanner and
currier) had taught him to keep his flirtations within narrower limits;
but he openly professed, and probably believed, that, when he really
wanted to marry--without joking, you know--he could take his pick from
the wide and varied ranges of female society. He smoked incessantly like
a martyr, to reduce his flesh, but no adipose matter ever vanished in
that cloud of sacrifice!

Mash, the cook, bestowed her honest hand and maiden heart upon Patching,
the artist, who had first seen her at the station house, and there
contracted an artistic admiration of her face and figure. She would have
preferred a pirate; but Patching's enormous hat gave him a freebooterish
appearance, which went far to reconcile her to him. She was really a
pretty woman--much handsomer than some of the shadowy beauties Patching
was wont to put on canvas--and she made him a good and faithful
wife--and cooked better dinners for him, at a small expense, than he had
ever eaten before--and sent him out into the world clean and tidy every
morning. Patching affected to be ashamed of his wife, and snubbed her
sometimes in the presence of other people. But everybody who knew the
couple, saw that he had the best of the bargain. Mrs. Patching still
took her favorite weekly, and cried over the stories as copiously
as ever.

Mrs. Crull continued to be the dearest and best friend of Pet and Mrs.
Overtop; and little Helen and little Fayette would never know the great
debt of gratitude that they owed to that excellent lady. Whenever she
called on Mrs. Overtop, she always began to be extremely circumspect in
her pronunciation and grammar, from force of habit; but soon relapsed
into those old errors which, happily, were of the head, and not of the
heart. Mrs. Crull made no mistakes in her affections. She was in
mourning for Mr. Crull, and truly vowed that she would never
marry again.

Mrs. Slapman had ceased to live on the block. Mr. Slapman had basely
defeated the beneficent decree of the law, by turning his property into
ready cash, and sailing for Europe. This deprived Mrs. S. of her alimony
the second year after their separation, and compelled her to give up
housekeeping, and the pursuit of TRUTH, in New York. She is now living
among a small colony o