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98 suppress as much as possible, were heard, at intervals, intermixing with the joyous shouts of the little girls, the solemn periods of the political commentators, and the sprightly repartees of those whose hearts were interested by the passions of gaming or of love: for there was card-playing in one corner of the room; and love-making is a thing of course where young people, being congregated together, find that they have nothing better to do with themselves. The mother would steal occasionally to the couch of her afflicted child, assist him in changing his posture, or lighten the pressure of the bed-clothes; in which office she was occasionally assisted by her daughters. The scene was a mixture of the kindliest sorrows and the thoughtless frivolities and enjoyments of life, blended—as it were, the rose with the thorn—the bud with the worm.

I said there was a door between the saloon and the sleeping apartments of the ladies: I was mistaken; there was only an