The ways of the hour

In one respect, there is a visible improvement in the goodly town of Manhattan, and that is in its architecture. Of its growth, there has never been any question, while many hav...

As Dr. McBrain entered the room, the two young men and Sarah, after saluting him like very familiar acquaintances, passed out into what the niece called her “garden.” Here she i...

Such was the substance of the communication that Doctor McBrain now made to his friend, Tom Dunscomb. The latter had listened with an interest he did not care to betray, and whe...

The eyes of Dunscomb were fastened intently on the female stranger, as she advanced to the place occupied by the witnesses. Her features denoted agitation, certainly; but he saw...

“It was the English,” Kasper cried, “Who put the French to rout; But what they killed each other for, I could not well make out. But everybody said,” quoth he, “That ’twas a fam...

“Then none was for a party; Then all were for the state; Then the great man help’d the poor, And the poor man lov’d the great: Then lands were fairly portion’d; Then spoils were...

The grated window which John Wilmeter now approached, commanded nearly an entire view of the gallery that communicated with the cell of Mary Monson. It also commanded a partial...

There is something imaginative, if not very picturesque, in the manner in which the lawyers of Manhattan occupy the buildings of Nassau street, a thoroughfare which connects Wal...

“—–Her speech is nothing, Yet the unshaped use of it doth move The hearers to collection. They aim at it, And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts.” _Hamlet._

“In peace, Love tunes the shepherd’s reed; In war he mounts the warrior’s steed; In halls, in gay attire is seen; In hamlets, dances on the green. Love rules the court, the camp...

There stood a very pretty pavilion in one of the groves of Rattletrap, overhanging the water, with the rock of the river-shore for its foundation. It had two small apartments, i...

_Hel._ O, that my prayers could such affection move! _Her._ The more I hate, the more he follows me. _Hel._ The more I love, the more he hateth me. _Her._ His folly, Helena, is...

The third day after the interviews just related, the whole party left Rattletrap for Timbully, where their arrival was expected by the bride and bridegroom, if such terms can be...

“From his brimstone bed at break of day, A walking the devil is gone, To visit his little snug farm of the earth, And see how his stock went on.” _Coleridge._

“Are those _her_ ribs through which the sun Did peer, as through a grate; And is that woman all her crew? Is that a Death, and are there two? Is Death that woman’s mate.” _The P...

“Let her locks be the reddest that ever were seen, And her eyes may be e’en any colour but green; Be they light, gray, or black, their lustre and hue, I swear I’ve no choice, on...

Perhaps the most certain proof that any people can give of a high moral condition, is in the administration of justice. Absolute infallibility is unattainable to men; but there...

During the interval between the occurrence of the scene in court that has just been related, and the appearance of Dunscomb at Biberry, the community was rapidly taking sides on...

Perhaps no surer test of high principles, as it is certain no more accurate test of high breeding can be found, than a distaste for injurious gossip. In woman, subject as she is...

Within the half hour mentioned by Dunscomb the court-house bell rang, and there was a rush towards that building, in order to secure seats for the approaching trial. All that ha...

Dunscomb was followed to his room by Millington, between whom and himself, John Wilmeter had occasion to remark, a sudden intimacy had sprung up. The counsellor had always liked...

This produced a stir. The jurors were called, and answered to their names; and shortly after, Mary Monson appeared. The last was accompanied by the ladies, who might now be said...

The wing of “Horton’s Inn” that contained the room of Dunscomb, was of considerable extent, having quite a dozen rooms in it, though mostly of the diminutive size of an American...

The gaol presented a very different scene. A solemn stillness reigned in its gallery; and even good Mrs. Gott had become weary with the excitement of the day, and had retired to...

It is to be presumed that Timms found the means to communicate to Williams the rejection of the latter’s offer, before the court met next morning. It is certain that the counsel...

So great was the confidence of Sarah Wilmeter and Anna Updyke in the innocence of their friend, that almost every step that the trial advanced, appeared to them as so much progr...

The District Attorney was fully impressed with the importance of the duty that had now devolved on him. Although we have daily proofs on all sides of us, of the truth of that re...

Bench, bar, jury, witnesses and audience, were all astounded. The trial had been carried on in the most perfect good faith; and not a human being but the few who had felt the fo...

The scene must now be shifted to Rattletrap. Biberry was deserted. Even the rumours with which its streets had been so lately filled, were already forgotten. None have memories...

The day set apart for the nuptials of John Wilmeter and Anna Updyke finally arrived. The ceremony was to take place in a little church that had stood, time out of mind, in the i...