lately died of a broken heart when the Mayor paid her for a piece of her kitchen garden. All the faculty agreed that the sight of the treasure, which the Mayor incautiously paid her in dazzling dollars warm from the mint, sped joyfully all the blood of her body into her heart, and rent it in raptures. Therefore let him who purchases the estate fear his good fortune, and not Peter Rugg. Bid then liberally, and do not let the name of Rugg damp your ardor. How much will you give per foot for this estate?" Thus spoke the auctioneer, and gracefully waved his ivory hammer. From fifty to seventy-five cents per foot were offered in a few moments. It labored from seventy-five to ninety. At length one dollar was offered. The auctioneer seemed satisfied, and looking at his watch said he would knock off the estate in five minutes if no one offered more. There was a deep silence during this short period. While the hammer was suspended a strange rumbling noise was heard which arrested the attention of every one. Presently it was like the sound of many shipwrights driving home the bolts of a seventy-four. As the sound
