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��PAYING THE MOETGAGE.
��occasional spectator of some of the foren- sic contests in which he won his fame, I was not honored by his personal ac- quaintance till about eighteen, years ago, when I became a student in his office. He was then at the zenith of his power and reputation, and the high estimate I had already formed of his abilities and his character was heightened day by day by the knowledge which I gained of him in an intercourse which lasted many years — which I may perhaps without van- ity style an intimacy — and which suf- fered no interruption till the day of his death. If I may be allowed a word of sensibility personal to myself, I would say that he was so uniformly kind, and
��gracious, and condescending to me, from the first hour of our acquaintance, that I felt his death an irreparable personal loss, and was a sincere mourner at his grave. And as I linger a moment to drop a tear on his bier, I feel an unfeigned sorrow that I cannot pay a more suitable and adequate tribute to his extraordinay ge- nius and the rare virtues of his character. But only kindred minds are able to por- tray the qualities of such a mind and heart, and I console myself for failure with the reflection that but few remain who can appreciate and delineate for the coming generations a man so largely moulded and so richly gifted as he.
��PA TING THE MOETGAGE.
��BY MARY DWINELL CHELLIS.
��[CONCLUDED.]
��" Please to be seated," she said coldly, at the same time seating herself upon the opposite side of a table from the chair designated for him.
" Have you no word of welcome for me?" he asked.
" None," she replied. " I had not ex- pected to see you so soon. I hope to raise the interest on the mortgage before an- other year becomes due ; and I have your pledge that, if this is done, I can remain here."
" But the taxes?"
" I will try and pay them, too."
"How? You can not do it. I know your resources better than you think. There is but one way for you to avoid trouble ; and in anticipation of the result of our present interview I beg you to ac- cept my gift."
As he said this, he placed before her an open casket containing an elegant gold watch and chain, with a set of pearls. They were more beautiful than
��anything she had ever seen, and she had an'instinctive love of beauty and lux- ury.
" These for me ! " she murmured ab- sently, as she looked at them with admi- ration, while he regarded her with a fixed gaze.
" They are for you, and they are as nothing compared with what I will lav- ish upon you as my wife. Regis, too, shall have all things ;" and having left his seat while speaking, he bent over her as if to seal his words with a kiss.
This recalled her to a sense of her dan- ger. She pushed aside the casket, and stood confronting him as she said calmly :
"lam not to be bought with gold or jewels. I am a poor girl, but I will never be your wife. Never ! Never ! Do you believe me now?" she asked, with bitter scorn.
" I believe that you will repent of what you have done," he answered hoarsely. You may as well be looking out for an
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