, 1864-07-11


which his unfortunate class use in the sup.
posed detection of schemes to allay their
fear, he cried out in great agitation--t 90
"HaI you avoid the great, the Important
sentence-and know why you avoid it;
but-you cannot deceive me by trying to
make me believe 1t Is not in the holy book
for I dream Of it--it haunts me day and
n.ght=7kiit Ehy should I not believe the
words Of respiration? Hear them Boast
not thyself Of tomorrow thou knoWest
not what day may bring forth; for riches
take wings and fly away as neagle towards
heaven These, sir, are the fearful words,
and We have, besides, the experience of the
world to teach us that rich men become beg
gars-dreadful fate .-beggars, sir, in spite
of all the prudence and wisdom of Solo
mon"
"Yes," replied !; "but the confidence
Of prudent man, in the stability Of his
fortune, is not to be shaken by the expert
ence Of the fate Of the imprudent man who
has thrown his riches to the winds. If you
had not insured the Mermaid, which, from
hearing of her launch some time ago, l un-
derstand is one of your valuable vessels,
you might have dreaded the fate that re-
suited from not insuring the Amphitrito."
" And have not insured the Mermaid II
screamed he, with voice that pierced the
tympanum Of my ears like sharp instru-
ment " have not insured the Mermaid"
he repeated, with kind of yell, us he fell
back on his chair, with his face covered by
his ague-struck hands.
/ was unprepared for this sudden burst /;
for / had hazarded the remark, trusting to
this generally esteemed, prudent and some
what close-handed man having followed the
practice Of cautious merchants, in insuring
a new and untried vessel. The agitation
into which l had invOluntarily thrown him
prevented me from looking calmly at the
true and limited import Of my simple re-
mark, which, without superadditiOn Of
some secret cause Of apprehension, never
could have produced such terrible effect,
even on hypochondriac. As he still lay
strugglingwith his appulse of apprehension,
fastened to remove the cause Of alarm,
in the only way which seemed clear and
certain.
''You may still insure the Mermaid .
said |, wherever she is. No Office will
refuse to undertake the risk of asea-worthy
ship that has not exceeded her time"
Taking his trembling hands from off his
! face, he fixed his eyes on nc with that Wild
look which shows that terror is, for a mo-
ment, under the selfexcrnciating domina-
ton Of despair. D9srl 80
When the helm is sunk in the quick
sands Of Newfoundland" he cried, in a
heart-piercing tone, "and the mizzen is
whirling in the eddies Of the GulfStream,
what less would the premium be than cent.
per cent. {" sfG -. 81
lie wrung his hands as he calculated
these words, and fixed his eye intensely on
some ideal object, as if he had seen the
doomed vessel that helda great part Of his
treasures torn to pieces BY the ravages Of
the stOrm-the rudder in the act Of being
imbedded in the quicksands-and the masts
drifting along, the sport Of the wind and
waves. He remained in that position for
some time, drawing deep sighs, and appa-
rently unconscious of my presence. / was
much perpicxed. Ihsd got intelligence
Of the los Of the Mermaid-an event which,
from her great size, would have produced
some noise; and the conduct of his wife
and daughter was inconsistent with the
knowledge Of loss that might bring them
to beggary. At the same time was not
so well assured Of the absolute extent Of
the patients disease, as TO be able to con-
clude, upon the Instant. that he merely i'm
agined the loss Of the vessel. Hemay have
got secret intelligence of the disaster; and,
strong as the paroxysm was that had shaken
him in tho manncf had Witnessed, lis in
tensity would haSe been no overacting Of
the trtie, natural, heslthy agony Of truth
--sueh truth--operating ON Sound mind.
In this uncertainty, was at a loss What 10
do or what to say. The unhappy man still
sat under the influence Of the dreadful
charm With which truth or disease had in
vested tie creation Of his fancy, on which
| his mind dhd gale were ihtently fxed. To
have questioned him, or argued with him
farther, would, on either Of interpretations,
have been improper, and to have called in
| Mis- H. would have produced alarm,
either for the soaRdnCss Of her husbands
mind or the safety Of the vessel. My only
eodrse settled TO III, to ehange, in the mean
time, the conversational indeed it was
possible to engage his mind on any other
fopic-and Wait Until / got Information that
would enable me to act with greater deci-
sion ls ~ s'. 81
sThere Il saddet fall inithe exchange
between this country and Rdssia," said |,
endeayoring TO catch his eye.
"Hal il win not do. SIR" He. replied,
looking at me suspiciodsly and fcarfully-
q yoti are not able, By this sleight, to con-
cs56al from iii6 that dreadful truth. That
may be one Of sour modes Of cure; but
can you put together the floating pieces Of
the wreck Of the Mermaid ! Unless you
can do that, you cannot hieiid lily broken
mind. This attempted impositiOh, though
we'll intended, increases my agony, already
insifIerdble; why don't t0i do rs George
B-,s fFiends persisted id doing, after
the Ahphitrite's loss was blaScd Il Lloyd's
-Rhy don't you boldly say at ONCE, that
the ship Is not lostl That is tic common
worldly way Of cxcfdeiatidh. But YOU can
not, you eannot-the thing Is too clear for
that, yodr codnge IS not sulie;etit, and my
penetration too Keen. Would to Heaven
had, atthis moment, the luxury Of one faint,