Year: 1859

=
.aniD "a the morning, il they have any


dslness. / would not have him dis.
Sufbed now, for all the wealth the loss
of which has brought him to this!''


But before unlatching the door of the
humble little apartment where these
words were spoken, in obedience to the
knock from without, by which they
were occasioned, . brief survey of its
interior and Of its occupants will fscili.
tate the understanding Of the story l
have to tell.


1t was indeed an humble little apart
ment, being the front attic of a dingy,
tumbling, poverty stricken -.tenament, of
two low stories, ana wood long innocent
Of paint, situated in an 'out of the-way
back street in New York. Slanting
doNn on the one side at an angle Of
sbsatforty-five degrees made by the
roof, through the long -rotted shinglng
of which the rain found an easy way in
copious leakage. marked by broad dis
celebrations Of what seemed scarcely en-
titled to be. called ceiling, it was lit by
single dofmer window. cut in the roof,
and projecting . crazy and .attling
Asrs. with very imperfect supply Of
'ornkeo P3ppes, to receive such rays of the
sun Is did pot dlsdaia TO look in upon
90 forlorn spot oi human wretchedness.
In one corner a double mattress was
spread on the floor, unspotted by any
such superAuity as bcdstead. A small
semi.circular table with triangle Of
ricketty legs, stood out in the middle of
the floor, under the light of the window
belonging to that generation of tollet-
tables intended to stand against walls at
the foot Of looking glasses. which were
once common enough. but which seem
to have mysteriously disappeared within
the last fifteen or twenty years. A poor
little stove in the corner opposite to the
bed-{for this kind of room can scarcely
be said to have more than two corners,


bore emphatic witness to the mcagerness
of the culinary operations for which 1t
could be sufficient An old rusty stove
pipe carried off into void space, through
q circular hole pi reed in the roof. that
portion Of its thin poverty of smoke that
did net prefer to remain in the room -
for the most ample facilities for this lat
ter purpose were afforded by its i'll fit
ting joints. and the sicve-llke periora-
tions which in various places the rust
had eaten through its venerable sides
1t was singular indeed that any per;ion
should ever adopt the latter choice,
when it was free to 90 curling and ca
rccring off, in all the light curves of the
fantastic grace of smoke, swaying to
and fro and round and round, to the
sportivc eidying Of every breeze of heav.
en-, till it should melt itself away with
very delis into the infinite expanse OF
blue beauty there. A couple of frag-
mentary chairs. with a scanty assortment
of still mo.c iragmentary cfoekery. COM
plcted the msaage of this far from sump-
tuous cs,ablishmcnt--the latter being
: saWgc,l on the floor against the wall
OF the two former, one was occupied by
the person from whom tsc above .wofds
had proceeded in a soft and cautious
whisper; over the. other lay rich ball
dress of rose erlorel silk, trimmed with
blonde-not indeed as its owner, impa :
tient, after the glittering bcwilderment
of the scene for which it was desi 5ned,
with he tied frame and throbbius heart.
to escape from the beautiful splonaor OF
Its Imprisonment, might have carclessly J
cast it there from her. but extended
with scrupulou> nicely over the back OF
the chair. evidently fresh from the hand
whose humble toll had produced all its
graceful elegance, to adorn another and
perhaps less worthy form. And so II
was; the young girl whom her mother
had addressed by that lovelicst OF names,
which religion and poetry have united
to consecrate, had just finished it, add
ing its concluding stitches by the last
rays of the sunset, whose fading glories
she now stood at the little window 20
gaze upon, through unconscious but fast
falling tears. She had worked, worked,
worked, on and on, with otter resigna-
ton of perseverance, ever since the first
dawn of the approaching light of that
sam. sun had awakened her from a scan
ty sleep. For the last hour or two it
had been in entire stiffness, suppressng
as much as she could even the rustling
OF the rich fabric over which her silent
signs were breathed, and the quick sharp
sound of the thread, as the little weapon
of her labor piled the shining swiltness
of its task, which was already delayed
beyond the due hour of its delivery
But it was at last done, thank heaven :
and the poor seamstress rose from the
unhealthy posture whose weary monotony
had almost paraiyzed her limbs, besides
inducing pains in her chest which had Of
4 late alarmngly increased in frequency, to
4 stand erect by the window for a few
4 minutes OF rest. Rest alike for body and
spirit for the one, from the simple
& change of position; for the other, by send
\ ing forth the thought so long tied cap
y tive as it were to her weary task by the
thread that was its implements, to bathe
its exhausted wretchedness in those gold
\ en- floods of flame which yet fingered to
witness of the departed glory. God be
thanked for the Sunset-and especially
in the name Of the Poor There are none,
indeed, among the most favored of the
children of pomp and affluence, to whom
\ it does not daily bring blessings whose
inestimableness is only forgotten in their
familiarity, and before whom it does not
spread out-if they will but lift the eye
and the soal from the grovellings of their
oh n,rtb aDao,aola oF hlan1a1