during the paroxisms of which the bursting of her corset laces could be distinctly heard by the company.
"Nancy !" at length said her husband, sternly. She suppressed her mirth, stammered an excuse, and added, 66 You will forgive me, and believe yourselves quite welcome." "That is well done," whispered Mr. N , " then, my friends," he said, " as my wife is not acquainted with you I will make a few presentations." Then leading her toward an emaciated creature, whose distorted limbs were unable to support his body, he said, " This gentleman, Nancy, is the Reverend Mr. Niles, who in his youth travelled and endured much in the cause of our common Master. A violent rheumatism, induced by colds, contracted among the new settlements of the west, where he was employed in preaching the gospel to the poor, has reduced him to his present condition. This lady, his wife, has piously sustained him, and by her own labor procured a maintenance for herself and him. But she is old and feeble now as you see." Then turning to a group with silver locks and threadbare coats, he continued, " These are soldiers of the revolution. They were all sons of rich men. They went out in their young strength to defend their oppressed country. They endured hardships, toils, and sufferings, such as we hardly deem it possible for men to endure and live ; they returned home at the close of the war, maimed in their limbs, and with broken constitutions, to find their patrimonies destroyed by fire, or the chances of war, or their property otherwise filched and wrested from them. And these worthy men live in poverty and neglect in the land for the prosperity of which they sacrificed their all. These venerable ladies are wives of these patriots, and widows of others who have gone to their reward. They could tell you tales that would thrill your heart, and make it better. This is the celebrated and learned Dr. B— , who saved hundreds of lives during the spotted epidemic. But his great success roused the animosity of his medical brethren, who succeeded in ruining his practice, and when blindness came upon him, he was forgotten by those whom he had delivered from death. This lovely creature is his only child, and she is motherless. She leads him daily by the hand, and earns the food she sets before him. Yet her learning and accomplishments are wonderful, and she is the author of those exquisite poems which appear occasionally in the Magazine. These children were orphaned in infancy by the Asiatic cholera, and their sad hearts have seldom been cheered by a smile, or their palates regaled by delicious food. Now dry your eyes, love, and lead on to the dining-room." She obeyed, and notwithstanding her emotions, the thumping of coarse shoes, and rattling of sticks, crutches, and wooden legs behind her, well nigh threw her into another indecorous laugh.
To divert her attention she glanced over the table. There stood the dishes for which her husband had stipulated, in the shape of two monstrous, homely-looking meat pies, and two enormous platters of baked meats and vegetables, looking like mighty mountains among the delicate viands that she had prepared for the refined company which she expected. She took her place, and prepared to do the table honors, but her husband, after a short thanksgiving to the Bountiful God, addressed the company with, " Now, my brethren, help yourselves and one another, to whatever you deem preferable. I will wait upon the children." A hearty and jovial meal was made, the minister setting the example, and as the hearts of the old soldiers were warmed with wine, they became garrulous, and each recounted some wonderful or thrilling adventure of the revolutionary war ; and the old ladies told their tales of privation and suffering, and interwove with them the histories of fathers, brothers, or lovers, who died for liberty. Mrs. N was sobbing convulsively when her husband came round, and touching her shoulder, whispered, "My love, shall we have dancing ?" That word with its ludicrous associations, fairly threw her into hysterics, and she laughed and wept at once. When she became quiescent Mr. N- thus addressed the company. "I fear my friends that you will think my wife a frivolous, inconsistent creature, and I must, therefore, apologize for her. We were married only last fall, and have attended several gay parties, which our rich neighbors gave in honor of our nuptials, and my wife thought it would be genteel to give a dinner in return. I consented on conditions, one of which was that I should invite the guests. So being a professed minister of Him who was meek and lowly in heart, I followed to the letter his command, ' But when thou makest a feast call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, &c.' you all recollect the passage. Mrs. N , not knowing who her guests were to be, is highly delighted with the ruse I have played, and I do not believe there has been so noble and honorable a company assembled this winter. My wife desired new furniture, lest we should be deemed parsimonious, and I pledged myself to expend one thousand dollars in a manner more pleasing to our guests, and which should obviate any such imputation." Then addressing the children, he said, "You will each be removed to-morrow to excellent places, and if you continue to be industrious, and perfectly honest in word and deed, you will become respectable members of society. To you, Dr. B- , under God I owe my life. I did not know your locality, neither had I heard of your misfortunes until a few days since. I can never repay the debt I owe you , but if you and your daughters will accept the neat furnished house adjoining mine, I will see that you never want again.
