After satisfying myself that the drawers contained nothing but the fossils and their inscriptions, I turned to the cabinet in the left-hand corner next.
Here a variety of objects was revealed to view, and the examination accordingly occupied a much longer time.
The top drawer contained a complete collection of carpenter's tools in miniature, relics probably of the far-distant time when the Major was a boy, and when parents or friends had made him a present of a set of toy tools.

The second drawer was filled with toys of another sort--presents made to Major Fitz-David by his fair friends.

Embroidered braces, smart smoking-caps, quaint pincushions, gorgeous slippers, glittering purses, all bore witness to the popularity of the friend of the women.

The contents of the third drawer were of a less interesting sort: the entire space was filled with old account-books, ranging over a period of many years.

After looking into each book, and opening and shaking it uselessly, in search of any loose papers which might be hidden between the leaves, I came to the fourth drawer, and found more relics of past pecuniary transactions in the shape of receipted bills, neatly tied together, and each inscribed at the back.