"To begin, then, you must know that there's a part of the business which you must not know at present, and that is, the _names_ of the people I am about to tell you of. These people occupy a very high position in society, and their case is the funniest thing in the world, considering their rank, life-time associations, and the man's official position in the world, or rather the one which he has held,--a very high one under the government. You must understand that he is old and wealthy, and that his wife is a young woman, comparatively speaking, though she had arrived at that degree of maturity before marriage which entitles a lady to the honors of an old maid. She is extremely well educated, comes of a good family, and has been a successful teacher in her day in a ladies' seminary. All things considered, she is, in the general way, rather the superior of her husband. This much to begin with, to give you a sort of inkling of how extraordinary the case is; for if they were simply a couple of fools, or ordinary people, the matter wouldn't have any spice in it." "Well," I broke in as he paused, "go on, and satisfy my curiosity, counsellor, now that you've whetted it up." "Be patient," said he, "and I will, but I am always choked with the comicality of the affair when I picture it to myself; and I was only stopping to gather a little dignity, to go on reciting the serious thing to you. The parties are very rich, and it's only a matter of some five thousand dollars anyhow--a bagatelle for them. They are ugly about it, considering the way they, or rather she, was duped,"--and here the lawyer fairly roared, as he slapped his hand upon his knee, over the thought of such people's being "taken in and done for" by the arts which usually prevail mostly among the ignorant. But there is no telling what the superstitious element in the mind may not lead to. My friend went on to say, then, that about the time of the marriage of the old maid in question with the rich old man, she had, in brooding over her future, gotten it into her head in some way, that perhaps his affection,--of which she felt pretty contentedly sure for the time, however,--might wane and grow less, and she become but a slave to the old man and his money. Brooding over this, she got quite melancholy and "nervous." She really loved the old man, who was not only a man of ability and honors, but was very kind of soul. Of course, too, his great wealth was no objection to a woman who could appreciate the value of a comfortable home, or enjoy the refinements of a luxurious one. "I would not wish to intimate," said the lawyer, "that she took this matter of wealth into consideration, even lightly; for I like to assure myself once in a while that there are to be found a few women in this populous vale of tears, who have considerations superior to the thought of wealth; and, verily, this woman _looks_ to me like one of those."