A claim upon the public treasury--Amy Darden--Mr. Whittlesey--Life in Washington--Swells and _attaches_--Fortune's frolics--Difficulty of getting rich by lotteries--Pockets to let 69 CHAPTER VIII. Ancient edifice--Brief lecture upon the arts--of architecture in particular--Summons from a gentleman in distress--Poppy Lownds--Prison discipline--Not improved since the days of the Vicar of Wakefield--Unexpected meeting with a genius--A scene in limbo--The bastile--An aged prisoner--Illiberality of a landlord--Paying debts by the assistance of the Record 80 CHAPTER IX. Unexpected morning scene at the foot of Courtlandt-street--An agreeable surprise--Some things can be done as well as others--Fashionable travelling--Touches of the sublime and beautiful--Ancient history of Lake George--Darkness visible--Ludicrous situation of the hero--A skeleton dance which did not take place--Fire works, and a midnight view of mountain, wood, and water scenery 95 CHAPTER X. The yellow fever--The Genius appearing by the side of a mysterious lady--Unsatisfied curiosity--Fortune-hunting--Bright prospects ahead--Obscured by a little cloud of dubiousness 111 CHAPTER XI. Mistake of Mr. Pope--Anticipation--Value of editorial assistance in the march of mind--Female education--Model of a modern prospectus--Advantages of travel in the art of imparting female embellishments, mental and physical 124 CHAPTER XII. Village excitement and ambition--A pattern seminary--Beautiful embroidery and blending of languages--Flight of a flock of girls--A touch of the brogue--An explosion--Miss Fortune turns out to be a humbug--A sad development 139 CHAPTER XIII. Reflections on poverty--Mistakes of country people concerning the supposed wealth and comfort of every body that lives in town--The narrative resumed--Visit from the hero in a snow-storm--Evidences of misfortune, with a colloquy thereon--Hard way to earn a living--Destitution--Relief therefrom--Miss Edgeworth's tale of Murad, the Unlucky--Seneca--Closing moralities of the chapter 155 CHAPTER XIV. Visit to the abode of Famine--Unexampled state of destitution--A spectacle that would have melted the heart of Shylock--Singular affection of a wife who loved her husband too well to keep him from starvation--Charitable character of New-Yorkers--Visit to the Lombards--Painful scenes--Frauds and oppression of those establishments--Avarice--How it chills the current of sympathy--Chapter breaks off unfinished 171 CHAPTER XV.