Although Mrs. Gott and John Wilmeter had very different ideas, at the bottom, of the requisites to form a lady, and the pronunciation of the good woman was by no means faultless, she cordially assented to the truth of the young man’s eulogy. Indeed, Mary Monson, for the hour, was her great theme; and, though still a young woman herself, and good looking withal, she really seemed never to tire of uttering her praises. “She has been educated, Mr. Wilmeter, far above any female hereabout, unless it may be some of the ——s and ——s,” the good woman continued. “Those families, you know, are our upper crust—not upper ten thousand, as the newspapers call it, but upper hundred, and them ladies may know as much as Mary; but, beyond _them_, no female hereabouts can hold a candle to her! Her books have been brought in, and I looked them over—there isn’t more than one in three that I can read at all. What is more, they don’t seem to be all in one tongue, the foreign books, but in three or four!” “She certainly has a knowledge of several of the living languages, and an accurate knowledge, too. I know a little of such things myself, but my friend Millington is quite strong in both the living and dead languages, and he says that what she knows she knows well.” “That is comforting—for a young lady that can speak so many different tongues would hardly think of robbing and murdering two old people, in their beds. Well, sir, perhaps you had better go to the door and see her, though I could stay here and talk about her all day. Pray Mr. Wilmeter, which of the languages is really dead?” John smiled, but civilly enlightened the sheriff’s lady on this point, and then, preceded by her, he went to the important door which separated the dwelling of the family from the rooms of the gaol. Once opened, an imperfect communication is obtained with the interior of the last, by means of a grating in an inner door. The gaol of Dukes county is a recent construction, and is built on a plan that is coming much into favour, though still wanting in the highest proof of civilization, by sufficiently separating criminals, and in treating the accused with a proper degree of consideration, until the verdict of a jury has pronounced them guilty.