Frank, whose nature was so very susceptible, that a single grain of good seed soon ripened into a complete virtue, bent his head in token of acquiescence.

“Now the old lady loved these gold-fish as the apples of her eyes, and her astonishment and grief, in beholding the state they were in, was indescribable.”

“And yet it was a loss that might have been easily repaired.”

“Ah, you think so, Jack, do you?  If you were to lose Knips, would the first monkey that came in your way replace him in your affections?”

“That is a very different thing—­I brought Knips up.”

“No; it is precisely the same thing.  She had the fish when they were very small, had seen them grow, spoke to them, gave each of them a name, and believed them to be endowed with a supernatural intelligence.”

“Therefore, I contend the student was a savage.”

“Not he, my friend, he was one of the best-hearted fellows in the world:  hasty, ardent, inconsiderate, he resisted commands and threats, but yielded readily to a tear or a prayer.  As soon as he saw the sorrowful look of the old woman, he regretted what he had done, and undertook to restore the inhabitants of the globe to life.”

“With what sort of magic wand did he propose to do that?”

“All the inhabitants of the house had collected round the old lady and her globe, endeavoring to console her, and at the same time trying to account for the phenomenon; some ascribed the transformation to lightning, others went so far as to suggest witchcraft.  Our scapegrace now joined the throng, took the globe in his hands, gravely examined his victims, and declared, with the utmost coolness that they were not dead.  ‘Not dead, sir! are you sure?’ ’Confident, madam; it is only a lethargy, a kind of coma or temporary transformation, that will be gradually shaken off; I have seen many cases of the same kind, and, if proper care be taken as to air, repose, and diet, particularly as regards the latter, your fish will be quite well again to-morrow.’”

“Did she believe that?”

“One readily believes what one wishes to be true; besides, in twenty-four hours, all doubt on the subject would be at an end; added to which, the young man was ostensibly a student of medicine, and had the credit in the house of having cured the washerwoman’s canary of a sore throat.”

“Well, how did he manage about the fish?”

“Very simply; he went and bought some exactly the same size that were not in a lethargy; he then, at the risk of breaking his neck or being taken for a burglar, scaled the balcony, and substituted them for the defunct.  Next morning, when he called to inquire after his patients, he found the old lady quite joyful.”

“Had she no doubts as to their identity?”

“Well, one was a little paler and another was a trifle thinner, but she was easily persuaded that this difference might arise from their convalescence.  The young man immediately became a great favorite; and the old lady would rather have shared her own apartments with him, than allow him to quit the house; he consequently remained.”