Sometimes the happiness of her family seemed
incredible to her, remembering what they had all
gone through. At first, their troubles were too
terrible and recent to be discussed. But even that
wore off, and they could talk of it all; and things
bitter at the time became pleasant to remember.

One midsummer day they had all dined together
rather early at Albion Villa, and sat on the
lawn with Mrs. Dodd's boy and Julia's boy and
girl playing about these ladies' knees. Now after
a little silence, Mrs. Dodd, who had been thinking
quietly of many things, spoke to them all, and
said: "If my children and I had not been bosom
friends, we never should have survived that
terrible time we have passed through, my dears.
Make friends of your children, my child."

"Ah, that I will!" said Julia; and caught up
the nearest brat, and kissed it.

"It wasn't only being friends, mamma," said
Edward; "it was our sticking together so."

In looking back on the story now ended, I
incline to the same conclusion. Almost my first
word was that Mrs. Dodd and her children were
bosom friends; and my last is to congratulate
them that it was so. Think of their various trials
and temptations, and imagine what would have
become of them if family love and unity had not
abounded! Their little house was built on the
sure foundation of true family affection: and so
the winds of adversity descended, and the floods
came, and burst upon that house, but could not
prevail against it; it was founded on a rock.

THE END OF VERY HARD CASH.

NOTE.
THE STATEMENTS AND OPINIONS OF THIS JOURNAL GENERALLY, ARE, OF COURSE, TO BE
RECEIVED AS THE STATEMENTS AND OPINIONS OF ITS CONDUCTOR. BUT THIS IS NOT SO, IN THE
CASE OF A WORK OF FICTION FIRST PUBLISHED IN THESE PAGES AS A SERIAL STORY, WITH THE
NAME OF AN EMINENT WRITER ATTACHED TO IT. WHEN ONE OF MY LITERARY BROTHERS DOES
ME THE HONOUR TO UNDERTAKE SUCH A TASK, I HOLD THAT HE EXECUTES IT ON HIS OWN PERSONAL
RESPONSIBILITY, AND FOR THE SUSTAINMENT OF HIS OWN REPUTATION; AND I DO NOT CONSIDER
MYSELF AT LIBERTY TO EXERCISE THAT CONTROL OVER HIS TEXT WHICH I CLAIM AS TO OTHER
CONTRIBUTIONS.
CHARLES DICKENS.

CHINA ORNAMENTS.

LET me glance through the newspaper—the
North China Herald—before taking a stroll
about Shanghai. The Herald is the weekly
organ of British and foreign commercial
interests at that town. A leading article in it,
headed with the motto "Impartial, not Neutral"
—an account of a pic-nic in a temple on the
top of a mountain two thousand feet high—
Despatch Number Twenty-eight, extracts from
text of Treaty—rig in your jib and spanker
booms, and top or brace up your lower and top-sail
yards if you contemplate safe anchoring in
the Woosung river. Extracts from the Tai-ping
edition of the Bible—what like?—"Shangti is
a fire, the Sun likewise is a fire, hence Shangti
and the Sun have both come here! Respect
this!" And so we would, if we could understand
it. Four-fifths of the paper is advertisement.
Every great British quack is here, alive O!
Here are our Kitten's Cough Lozenges, and
Hampshire Sauce. The Acclimatisation
Society of Victoria, Australia, inserts a notice
offering a reward of the value of one
hundred pounds to any one who, within the
current year, shall introduce the most valuable or
interesting animal, bird, or fish, in sufficient
numbers to establish the breed. All persons
indebted to the estate of Sin-thae, deceased, are
requested to make immediate payment to
Tze-Tziou-Poo. There follow some tea-chest looking
inscriptions, which represent the names of the
trustees. Mr. Fazulbhoy Habibhoy will in future
carry on business by himself, and authorises
Mahamed Ladha to sign his name by procuration.
Here, too, is an important statistical account of
the quantity of teas exported to Great Britain
and the United States.

I put the paper in my pocket and turned
out into the town. Shanghai consists of two
parts, the native city and the foreign settlements.
The native city is surrounded by the
usual wall, and contains about eight hundred
thousand inhabitants. Within it are the Temple
of Confucius, the residences of the Yaouti, or
governor, and the principal civil and military
authorities, together with a sprinkling of halls
and joss-houses, as the chief specimens of town
architecture. The foreign settlements are on
concessions of land made by the imperial
government at different times. The English
by far the most nourishing, the Hongo, or
mercantile houses, being so many palaces of
commerce reared by British ingenuity. The
number of British trading vessels in the river is
greater, also, than those of all the other nations
put together. The American settlement is the
favourite place of resort for Loafers of every
colour, and bears no very good repute in
consequence. Shanghai is all on one bank of the
river, there being nothing but an iron foundry on
the other side except the soap-works and a
cemetery. The Chinese city and the English
and French settlements are in Shanghai Proper,
the American Concession, separated from them
by the large river-like creek, is in Hong-que.
Here the creek is spanned by a long hideous-looking
bridge, half wood, half brick, built
on piles driven deeply into the mud, and a toll
of three cash—twenty cash being one penny
—is levied upon all Chinese of low degree,
except those who are in European service. The
British Consulate is at the foot of the English end