between them was a mere sham; the person who performed it not having been invested with any legal authority.  Thus betrayed, deserted, and friendless, the poor young creature became almost frantic.  In that desperate state of mind, she was decoyed by a woman, who kept a disreputable house.  A short career of reckless frivolity and vice ended, as usual, in the hospital on Blackwell’s Island.  When she was discharged, she tried to drown her sorrow and remorse in intemperance, and went on ever from bad to worse, till she became a denizen of Five Points.  In her brief intervals of sobriety, she was thoroughly disgusted with herself, and earnestly desired to lead a better life.  Being turned into the street one night, in a state of intoxication, she went to the prison called The Tombs, because its architecture is in imitation of the ancient sepulchral halls of Egypt.  She humbly asked permission to enter this gloomy abode, in hopes that some of the ladies connected with the Prison Association would visit her, and find some decent employment for her.  Her case being represented to Friend Hopper, he induced his wife to take her into the family, as a domestic.  As soon as she entered the house, she said, “I don’t want to deceive you.  I will tell you everything.”  And she told all the particulars of her history, without attempting to veil any of its deformity.  She was very industrious, and remarkably tidy in her habits.  She kept the kitchen extremely neat, and loved to decorate it with little ornaments, especially with flowers.  Poor shattered soul!  Who can tell into what blossom of poetry that little germ might have expanded, if it had been kindly nurtured under gentle and refining influences?  She behaved very well for several months, and often expressed gratitude that she could now feel as if she had a home.  Friend Hopper took great interest in her, and had strong hopes that she would become a respectable woman.  Before a year expired, she relapsed into intemperate habits for a time; but he overlooked it, and encouraged her to forget it.  As she often expressed a great desire to see her cousins in Albany, he called upon them, and told the story of her reformation.  They sent some little presents, accompanied with friendly messages, and after a while invited her to visit them.  For a time, it seemed as if the excursion had done her good, both physically and mentally; but the sight of respectable relatives, with husbands and children, made her realize more fully the utter loneliness of her own position.  She used opium in large quantities, and had dreadful fits in consequence.  Sometimes, she stole out of the house in the evening, and was taken up by the police in a state of intoxication.  When she recovered her senses, she would be very humble, and during an interval of weeks, or months, would make an effort to behave extremely well.  I forget how often Friend Hopper received her back, after she had spent the night in the Station House; but it was many, many times.  His patience held out long