signification became more clear and obvious to his gaze, his features grew more and more sobered and intelligent—­a blankness overspread his face—­his hands trembled, and finally, his apprehensions, whatever they might have been, having seemingly undergone full confirmation, he crumpled the villanous scrawl in his hands, and dashing it to the floor in a rage, roared out in quick succession volley after volley of invective and denunciation upon the thrice-blasted head of the pedler.  The provocation must have been great, no doubt, to impart such animation at such a time to the man of law; and the curiosity of one of the revellers getting the better of his scruples in such matters—­if, indeed, scruples of any kind abode in such a section—­prompting him to seize upon the epistle thus pregnant with mortal matter, in this way the whole secret became public property.  As, therefore, we shall violate no confidence, and shock no decorum, we proceed to read it aloud for the benefit of all:—­

“DEAR LAWYER:  I guess I am pretty safe now from the regilators, and, saving my trouble of mind, well enough, and nothing to complain about.  Your animal goes as slick as grease, and carried me in no time out of reach of rifle-shot—­so you see it’s only right to thank God, and you, lawyer, for if you hadn’t lent me the nag, I guess it would have been a sore chance for me in the hands of them savages and beasts of prey.

“I’ve been thinking, lawyer, as I driv along, about what you said to me, and I guess it’s no more than right and reasonable I should take the law on ’em; and so I put the case in your hands, to make the most on it; and seeing that the damages, as you say, may be over five hundred dollars, why, I don’t see but the money is jest as good in my hands as theirs, for so it ought to be.  The bill of particulars I will send you by post.  In the meanwhile, you may say, having something to go upon, that the whole comes to five hundred and fifty dollars or thereabouts, for, with a little calculation and figering, I guess it won’t be hard to bring it up to that.  This don’t count the vally of the cart, for, as I made it myself, it didn’t cost me much; but, if you put it in the bill, which I guess you ought to, put it down for twenty dollars more—­seeing that, if I can’t trade for one somehow, I shall have to give something like that for another.

“And now, lawyer, there’s one thing—­I don’t like to be in the reach of them ’ere regilators, and guess ’twouldn’t be altogether the wisest to stop short of fifteen miles to-night:  so, therefore, you see, it won’t be in my way, no how, to let you have your nag, which is a main fine one, and goes slick as a whistle—­pretty much as if he and the wagon was made for one another; but this, I guess, will be no difference to you, seeing that you can pay yourself his vally out of the damages.  I’m willing to allow you one hundred dollars for him, though he a’n’t worth so much, no how; and the balance of the money you can send to me, or my brother, in the town of Meriden, in the state of Connecticut.  So no more, dear lawyer, at this writing, from

    “Your very humble sarvant
    “to command, &c.”