stranger" was not forgotten in the supplication, nor was he unmoved as be listened in secret to the fervent accents of his fellow man. Whilst I have no pretension to the character of a saint, I am free to confess, that amongst the fairest things of earth few look so sublime as piety, steadfast and serene, amidst the cloud and tempest of calamity. Was it so here? I had yet to learn. A striking improvement had taken place in the aspect of the room since the preceding evening. The straw was gone. Its place had been supplied by the gift of the anonymous benefactor, of whom, by the way, nothing was known, or had since been heard. The beds were already removed to an angle of the apartment--the pieces of carpet were converted into a rug for the fire place, and a chair or two were ready for visitors. Warton himself looked a hundred per cent better--his wife was all smiles, when she could refrain from tears; and the children had been too much astonished by their sumptuous fare, to be any thing but satiated, contented, happy. My vision was already half realized. When I had submitted for an inconvenient space of time to their reiterated thanks and protestations, I put an end to further expressions of gratitude, by informing them that my stay in the city was limited--that I had no time for any thing but business, and that we must have as few _words_ as possible. I wished to know in what way I could effectually serve them. "You said, sir, yesterday," replied Warton, "that you would take no steps in our favour, until you had satisfied yourself that we, at least, deserved your bounty. Had you not said it, I should not have been happy until I had afforded you all the satisfaction in my power. Heaven knows I owe it to you! It is to you, sir--" "Come, my good fellow, remember what I told you. No protestations. Let us come to the point." "Thank you, sir--I will. Are you acquainted with London?" "Tolerably well. What then?" "You may have heard, sir, of a merchant there of the name of ----" "Ay have I. One of our first men. Do you know him? Will he give you a character?" "He is my uncle, sir--my mother's brother. Apply to him, and he will tell you I am a plunderer and a villain." I looked at Mr Warton, somewhat startled by his frank communication, and waited to hear more. "It is false--it is false!" continued the speaker emphatically. "I cannot melt a rock. I cannot penetrate a heart of stone. If I could do so, he would be otherwise." "You surprise me!" I exclaimed. "That I live, sir, is a miracle to myself. That I have not been destroyed by the misery which I have borne, is marvellous. A giant's strength must yield before oppression heaped upon oppression. But there, sir"--he added, pointing to his wife, and struggling for composure--"there has been my stay, my hope, my incitement; but for her--God bless her"--The wife motioned him to be silent, and he paused.