At the end of six months wc fancied we had solid reason to congratulate each other, for there came a dividened of 4£- per cent for the half-year, which threw up the shares con siderably in the market, but not so high as 1 thought they should have gone. Relish ing the 9 per cent per annum, and confi dently expecting an increase upon that, I bought more shares at the advanced price, and more than doubled my venture. I had very soon to regret being in such a hurry. Instead of nine per cent., or more, which we had looked for, the returns of the following three years hardly reached on the average two per cent, on our invest ment. The shares fell in the market as a matter of course; but as they had not risen very much in the prosperous time, neither did they fall so much as it seemed to mo they should have done when times were ad verse. The mine, it was said, had a good character, and would be sure to recover itself; and this rumour was so far believed, that even now, money being cheap, I might have sold out without any very considerable, loss. However, I held on, and so did my friend, and we chuckled over our good judg ment, when all unexpectedly we were pre sented with a dividend of 12 per cent., and an official report in glowing colours, shadow ing forth a success almost unparalleled, at no very distant day. We could have sold out now, and pocketed a good profit, but we were sanguine, and re sisted all temptations that way. Alas ! that was the end of our luck; there were no more dividends. Term after term passed over, and the shares went down, and down, and down—till at length I could not bear to think about them, and turned away from the share-list whenever my eye fell upon it in the newspaper. But we were not suffered to forget the business altogether. After an interval of long silence and no returns, there came to each ofus a call instead of a dividend —a call of 5 per cent, instead of a dividend of twelve. Now began the bitterest part of my experience. 