There's nothing like getting your life insured for £1000, for if you do, you're bound to die in a week, and leave your friends a nice pot of money ; at least this is the conclusion I have arrived at from reading tho papers. "Mr so and so, who died last week, had, tho week beforo his death, insured his lifo for £500 in the Government Ollico, which sum has been promptly paid to his boroaved widow," i 3 the style of notice one con tinually comes across. 1 think it would be nicer for my friends to insure, and leave mo their policies ; but somehow it never happens thus to me. In one paper it was stated that a Chrwtchurch gentleman purchased a friend's life policy for £200, that his friend died a few days after wards, and he cleared £800 by the trans action ! Now, I should like to know whether the sale of antimony, prussic acid, strychnine, &c, is not on the in crease. It appears to mo, that che Go vernment and other insurance offices are offering a direct premium for murder. I expressed an opinion of this sort to Shanks, who is a Government life in surance agent, the other day, but he assured me that I was quite wrong. He pointed out that nothing is so bad for the human frame as grief ; that when a man's father whose lifo was insured died, the grief at his loss was counteracted by joy at receiving the premium, consequently Insurances offices were great human bene factors, as they drowned grief and sorrow in many cases; but upon the same reason ing, the "flowing bowl" is an equal benefactor, as in it many a man drowns his sorrows — with tho unfortunate result, however, of 5s and costs.
