The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

that he lost his heart to her mother when he heard her sing. She had a very sweet voice and an excellent method.
 The young couple took up their abode in the Rue St. Augustin, not far from that little restaurant afterward made famous in the Ballad of Boullabaisse."
 Some prescience, some dim shadow of the awful bereavement which was to come seems to have fallen upon him when. in 1888, he wrote very beautiful letter to his wife, from which the follow ing passage may be quoted: Here We have been two years married and not single unhappy day. Oh, do bless God me. It is so great that l almost tremble for the future, except that 1 humbly hope (for what man Is certain about his own weaknessO our love is strong enough to withstand any pressure from without, and as 1t Is gift greater than any fortune. Is likewise one superior to poverty or sick ness, or any other worldly evil with which Providence may visit us. Let us pray, as l trust there is no harm, that none of these may come upon us; as the best and wisest Man in the world prayed that he might not be led into temptation. l think happiness is as good as prayers, and 1 feel In my heart kind of overflow ing thanksgiving which Is quite too great to describe in writing; This kind of hap how beautiful 1t Is. I don't know that I shall have done much by coming away, except being so awfully glad to come back again."
 It will be seen that this introduction Is full of Biographical and autobiographical interest, but 1t reveals very little that is new about the books which 1t professes to introduce"
 II hardly know" says Mrs Ritchie, nor if l knew. should I care to give here Stcb the names and d the details of the events papers. The history of MT. Deuceace was written from life during a very early period of my fathers career. Nor can one wonder that his views were some what grim at that particular time, and still bore the impress of an experience lately and very dearly bought.
 He was naturally trustful and even enthusiastic about people who had been kind to him, but, as 1t seems scarcely necessary to say, the author of Vanity and very rapid perception of facts when they finally shaped themselves.
 "As boy, he had lost money at cards to some card sharpers who scraped acquaint- ance with him. He has told us that they came and took lodgings opposite to his, on purpose to get hold of him. He never blinked at the truth nor spared himself; but neither did he blind himself as to the real character of the people. in question when once he had discovered them. His villains became curious studies of human nature. He turned them over in his mind and he caused Deuceace, Barry Lyndon and Ikey Solomons Esq. to pay back some of their ill-gotten spells in an involuntary them into print and made them the heroes
 
 Major Gahagan" burst into life, boots and all in Colburn's New Monthly Mag azine for 1898. In a frontispiece to Comic Tales and Sketches are to be found the three portraits of Major Gahagan, De la Pluche and Michael Angelo Titmarsh arm In arm. "They are Supposed to be marching hand in hand on the very brink of immortality" says MT. Titmarsh in his introduction.
 Yellowplush, that bird of rare plume also belongs to this same early burst of fun and springtime. Yellowplush con- tinued his literary efforts for some years but as he went up in the world he became Jeames de Ia Pluche Esq. The longest lived of the three was Michael Angelo Titmarsh, that droll shadow, behind which Thackeray lived to shelter himself In Barrie's life of his mother he tells us write as if he were some one not himself
 Sensitive people are glad of a disguise and of a familiar who will speak their thoughts for them.