it, which had come to him by long inheritance in his family) and he had
determined to try it. And again, as the night before, he took out the
receipt--a roll of antique parchment, out of which, provokingly, one fold
had been lost--and put on his spectacles to puzzle out the passage.

Guttam unicam in aquam puram, two gills. "If the Colonel should hear of
this," said Dr. Dolliver, "he might fancy it his nostrum of long life, and
insist on having the bottle for his own use. The foolish, fierce old
gentleman! He has grown very earthly, of late, else he would not desire
such a thing. And a strong desire it must be to make him feel it
desirable. For my part, I only wish for something that, for a short time,
may clear my eyes, so that I may see little Pansie's beauty, and quicken
my ears, that I may hear her sweet voice, and give me nerve, while God
keeps me here, that I may live longer to earn bread for dear Pansie. She
provided for, I would gladly lie down yonder with Bessie and our children.
Ah! the vanity of desiring lengthened days!--There!--I have drunk it,
and methinks its final, subtle flavor hath strange potency in it."

The old man shivered a little, as those shiver who have just swallowed
good liquor, while it is permeating their vitals. Yet he seemed to be in a
pleasant state of feeling, and, as was frequently the case with this
simple soul, in a devout frame of mind. He read a chapter in the Bible,
and said his prayers for Pansie and himself, before he went to bed, and
had much better sleep than usually comes to people of his advanced age;
for, at that period, sleep is diffused through their wakefulness, and a
dim and tiresome half-perception through their sleep, so that the only
result is weariness.

Nothing very extraordinary happened to Dr. Dolliver or his small household
for some time afterwards. He was favored with a comfortable winter, and