that-(I was going to say paupers required no teeth)—it had every symptom of speedy decay. The more I argued, the more he soliloquised about his loss. I knew not what to do. I would give him ginI had none; money, ditto. A bright idea struck me-I gave him a large wine-glass of pure spirit of wine, and, in order to soothe him, I poured in some laudanum. 'There,' cried I as I held it out to him— 'there! drink that, my friend; and though you have lost your tooth, some of these days I will make you ample amends; but now swallow this-it is for the benefit of your gums.' The bewildered man tossed it off at a draught; but the scene that followed, how can I describe it? The burning spirit, getting upon his mangled gums, produced the most excruciating torture, making the former misery a positive pleasure in comparison. He put both hands to his mouth-he blowed, and he gasped for breath-his big, wild, glassy eyeballs rolled round in their orbits, or fixed glaring upon me, as that of the serpent upon its prey; he could endure it no longer-down upon the floor, amongst the blood, regardless of ranges of bottles, he kicked and he plunged, as a galvanised dead man by the application of the most powerful battery. I expected all was soon to be over with him-that these were his last struggles; for I doubted not that nature, under such violent exertion, must soon yield.

"Never was any hapless and bewildered lover of science in a more helpless or unenviable condition. If I could have called upon the earth to swallow me up, pauper and all, I should have been happy, and had my shame and my misery sealed for ever. But to find myself the murderer of a fellow-being!-to slay him, too, under false pretences!— when he had reposed confidence in me, seated himself wishingly at my desire, opened his ill-fated mouth—(O that it had never drawn breath!) -and, oh! horrors! to come to me to be slain! I could not hide the corpse; for now it lay motionless, and the eyes were firmly shut-no doubt closed for ever! I looked for a moment upon the result of the employment of the last half-hour: what a change had that short period wrought! How lucky should I be if it were in my power now to make it appear that the man died in a fit! But then there would be an inquest on the body; there would at once be shown his lacerated jaw! But suppose he died immediately of apoplexy after the extraction of

the same? But they would open his body, and there were spirits of wine-and, oh! horrid to think of, laudanum! I rushed out of the surgery, hurried with fearful strides up to my room, seized a pen, and wrote the following hasty note, which I, as soon as I had changed my coat, left upon my table.

"To DR. HOWSHE.

"The unfortunate man who lies dead upon the floor came to me in the agony of toothache, and insisted upon my extracting it; I did so he then fell down in a fit-I gave him some spirits of wine to revive him; but he groaned heavily, and ceased to exist. I assure you the man died of his own free will. But I cannot remain any longer under your roof, as from this day I forsake so horrible a profession.

"11 o'Clock, Monday."

66

"In haste,

"YOUR LATE PUPIL."

Having so far arranged matters, I ventured one more look into the ill-fated chamber of death, and to my horror, there still, and stiffer than ever, lay the body of my victim the pauper.

"I sprang from the house, and ran headlong at the top of my speed from the accursed spot. Getting at length upon the mail, I was borne from the scene of my misfortunes fifty miles ere I dared to venture one timid glance behind.

"Scarcely knowing whither I flew, I stopped when the mail had arrived at its journey's end, and found myself to my great comfort near a relation of mine, of whose character I had heard little else than that he was a quiet, unassuming gentleman. Had I heard him represented as a wild man, as an unchained wolf, I should have at that moment sought his protection, or prayed him at once to devour me. Towards his mansion I at once directed my trembling steps, was received with astonishment, which, in order to appease, I at once forged a most serviceable lie, which I adhered as adhesively to as my bewildered imagination, confused by my horrible deed, would allow. Although this excellent relative entertained me with wonderful hospility, yet he would frequently say, 'I cannot for the life of me understand why you travel with so little baggage; you say you determined to pay me a visit-now you must intend it to be a very short one, as I remark you travel with less luggage than the generality of gen

tlemen.' Thus did he search me; at length, unable to bear it any longer, considering myself looked upon with an eye of suspicion by the whole household, I seized an opportunity when the old gentleman was alone, and disclosed to him the fact of my having deserted my profession-one that I abhorred—one that was more than any man with nerves short of iron could endure, and I ended by imploring him to allow me to remain his guest for a short time, to recruit, as I said, my shattered constitution. He lent a willing ear to all I had stated, and at the conclusion, (for I did not breathe a word about the defunct,) merely replied with an arch smile-'I'll be hanged if I did not say so; I'll be hanged if I did not guess as much—well, well, I'm glad to see you, my boy; stay as long as you like, and make your life happy. You shan't be a doctor-you shall be a farmer, that's what you shall be.' Thus did the good-natured old gentleman pour oil into my wounds, and ale down my throat, and I grew more and more comfortable every day, and almost forgot my melancholy affair altogether, when, lo! one morning after I had been about a week or ten days in my retreat, I was struck dumb by hearing my uncle read in the Weekly Times the following:- Suspicious Death.-One of the most singular circumstances we have ever had the painful duty to record occurred on Friday last, in the town of

from the workhouse at

-. From what we can learn, a pauper left early in the day for the house of Dr. to get, as he said at parting, a painful tooth extracted. He had been absent several hours, when the doctor himself came to the workhouse, requesting a bier might be sent, as the man lay dead in his surgery. The doctor could give no account how he came by his death, as his assistant was at the time absent; but he supposes the man must have expired in a fit. What makes the case more singular is, the body appeared to have recently had a tooth extracted, as the mouth was half choked with blood, and a large grinder and the tooth-keys lay by the side of it on the floor. The circumstance has quite disturbed the town, from the mystery that hangs over it. The assistant, who, it appears, must be acquainted with the fact, has not since been heard of. A jury will sit upon the body to-morrow, (last Monday,) when, we trust, this singular and suspicious event may be properly accounted for.' Upon

H

hearing this, my knees tottered and rapped hard one against the other; the cold sweat of guilt oozed upon my brow; the piece of food I was masticating stuck fast in my convulsed throat; the room swam round: I remember no more. Upon recovering again the use of my faculties, I found myself stretched upon a bed, my face swimming in vinegar, and all my relations around the bed. Yes, there they were, every one with their strained eyes fixed full and inquiringly upon me. I lost all command, and as I sank once more upon the pillow, I cried out in agony, 'I am the wretch!'

CHAPTER IX.

"I will not ask where thou liest now,

Nor gaze upon the spot:

There flowers or weeds at will may grow,
So I behold them not."--- BYRON.

"WHAT is there in this world that exceeds the pangs of a guilty conscience? Every revolving minute seems surcharged with misery; the day hurries to its close in a sombre shroud, and the night comes upon us loaded with troubles; sleep is at once denied the unhappy wretch, and he dozes like a watchful dog, starting ever and anon as his agonised brain conjures up, with all its attendant horrors, the approach of some direful event.

"In this dreadful situation was I, when I was for a period relieved by the intervention of fever-during the delirium of which I disclosed at once every particular relating to the horrible deed which haunted me day and night. I looked upon myself as a murderer; I even went so far as to contemplate - but, oh! I dare not think of those demoniacal thoughts which I then so greedily encouraged. To add to my anguish, I received a letter from one upon whom, above all others, I had anchored my every hope-and now, having discovered my retreat, she-even she, my adorable Clarissa, was amongst-ay, even the very first to hurl a dagger into the wounds of a prostrate friend. 'She had heard all,' she said, 'and the suspicion that fell upon me-my flight, my mysterious hiding-place, my conduct-all together told her but too plainly that the tongue that whispered my guilt breathed no lie. She advised me to fly that country whose laws I had so outraged,