The Black-Sealed Letter / Or, The Misfortunes of a Canadian Cockney.

ew friendships were formed. Things became more and more familiar to him, and at length he experienced a much happier state of mind. At first he purposed writing immediately to his friends in Lon

s a Canadian volunteer; but in so doing it ultimately proved to be another unfortunate step. The circle of his acquaintances was thus increased tenfold. Military glory unfolded its social charms. Friendly meetings with jovial comrades became more frequent. The foaming glass sparkled brightly with fascination. Temptation unmasked itself. Again and again h

is comrades were walking along Craig Street. "Here's the 'Royal Arms,' come in, boys-come in Fred, and I'll introduce y

came seated in a roo

at's your choic

cold water,"

y going to commit an arctic outrage upon your sensibilit

t himself into an ice-house

belong to the Sons of Temperance; you will therefore con

will neither awaken your conscience

a little for your stomach's sake and your

ver ruffle a feather in your c

claimed Haveril, and then singing alo

a jolly good

shes of the company in which I may be placed; but when principle is at stake I must necessarily decline sacrifi

of your sophisticated balderdash. Do you not kn

" exclaimed Fred, "the princ

aws, and every subject therein is commanded to obey them, and to do so only while he

ng, you cannot assimila

simply 'to abstain' and 'to obey.' But suppose, for the sake of argument, that you are right in your opinion, I ask then, is there sufficient reason in the act of having withdrawn myself from the country in which I took the pledge, to disannul my responsibility, when I have not withdrawn my na

stone, "or else you will sink us so deeply into the ruts of p

" cried Haveril. "Give Jenkins anoth

Jenkins, "'tis my t

dy," cried Haveril, "and we'll

et you a dollar you will

Majesty was filled to the teeth with brandy," exclaimed Jenk

endship, and if you wish to respect the dignity of morality and the English langu

ur subject and make them all you

pling of the nectar you would know how to appr

s are based upon more solid materi

ask you, if the true destiny of man, both here and hereaf

our Maker designed that man should use the proper means fo

nds as a means to awaken and promote enjoyment; whereas you teetotally reject the means. This delicious nectar sparkling before me has the inherent virtues of making me truly happy; I, therefore, u

Fred, you are completely cornered up, Hend

onducive to the happiness of mankind'-otherwise, the syllogism must be false. To attempt such an undertaking would be a more fool-hardy task than that of Hercules to carry the globe upon his back. My dear sir, you would soon find t

Henderson, "you are firing away your ball

od many bull-eyes in your

ave a horn on the head of

he talk," responded

imed Henderson, slightly irritated.

id Fred, "I shall

he proper use of it; but you immediately darted off to the furthest extremity of the subject, and by a sort of superlative sophistry of your own, you attempted to conjure up a horrid

without looking forward to the consequences. Every good farmer anticipates an abundant harvest and accordingly sows the best seed. So should every man who desires to reap a harvest of happiness. He should look well to the seed, and sow only that which will eventually produce the best results. Again, you say that liquor when used in moderation, is a means of producing human happiness, and therefore should be used. I b

ejaculated Jenkins, "tha

ful and impressive," cried Stevens, "go on,

you will convert us all into a company

e'll wind up for the present with a bumper o

of a rousing bumper they called upon Fred to favor them with a song, to whi

retch at the

air hangs ov

orm and the

nd lost in th

stands in h

ace and his bl

g lips and a

more how he

me, sir, but

ow when my

old and my blo

ask is a s

re, you mise

re of your b

ce! or I'll

ne here-not a

ou here in you

y house in th

ne! for you'l

s, when you've

give me,

sir, would y

t to thy fri

rink and you

sir, as you

too, as a d

teep't in the

ask but a s

e out tho' yo

give me,

years while I

ink, and you d

end, and your

length but a

fe and my ch

igh'd with a

ere with my s

eep from your

give me,

youth I have

drink, my m

reck of wha

ast to a drun

ere in my re

thou nor tim

ow for old fri

glass and I'l

from here, you m

ied, and he sta

m out to the c

wretch as he

it. Having once tasted, he felt a less restriction of duty; and on subsequent occasions allowed a few drops to be added to the mixture. Only a few drops! how insignificant in number! how innocent they appear within themselves! But, alas, a few drops were added to the few, until they became a great number; and before winter had thrown off its fleecy covering, Frederick Charlston could empty a tumbler of hot punch as readily as any of his comrades. Thus, he who had once nobly defended the cause of Temperance, and had remained so long invincible, at length dishonored that pledge which, even under the most trying circumstances, he had hitherto never violated. "Only a few drops"