That a man who has a wife and numerous family
of children, and &longs;ees them plunged in the
deepe&longs;t di&longs;tre&longs;s, &longs;hould rob to keep them from starving,
is not a matter of &longs;urpri&longs;e—and while &longs;tern
Ju&longs;tice holds the balance, angel-like pity gently turns
the &longs;cale.—But that a man in full health and vigour,
with &longs;trength and abilities to &longs;upport him&longs;elf, who
has no weeping wife or fami&longs;hed children to urge
him to the deed; &longs;hould cozen and defraud his be&longs;t
friend, debauch the morals of an innocent girl, and
plunge her into ruin, only to obtain a larger &longs;hare of
&longs;ordid ore, is to me unaccountable. It is an act
that makes humanity &longs;hrink back agha&longs;t: Ju&longs;tice
with &longs;rowns un&longs;heaths her &longs;word, and pity weeps
but for the offender's crimes.

I will re&longs;cue Meli&longs;&longs;a, &longs;aid I—&longs;he may hereafter
thank me. The thought filled my mind with

[figure description] Page 013.[end figure description]

unusual complacency.—I enjoyed in idea the satisfaction
and gratitude of her father, when he beheld his
darling re&longs;cued from the jaws of de&longs;truction.

It was a fine evening in the month of June; &longs;o
removing the ring from my finger, I &longs;tepped into a
fruiterer's, purcha&longs;ed a bottle of &longs;trawberries, walked
into the Park, and &longs;eated my&longs;elf in one of the chairs.—
My mind was at that moment a &longs;ort of vacuum,
my thoughts unemployed, when ca&longs;ting my eyes
upon the paper that covered the &longs;trawberries, I perceived
it was part of a fairy tale, but wrote in an
uncommon poetic &longs;tile.