it was not long before the other boat came back to tell of the wreck of the comet, and of the finding of several more bodies. and so in a few hours the news reached new york, causing another panic in wall street, and dreadful grief in the bereaved family of the unfortunate millionnaire. before night the newspapers reported that the remains (their own phrase!) of robert van rensselaer were on their way to the city by special train.

they were received in state, of course; and two days later there was a most solemn and impressive funeral, many columns of description of which i might quote, were it not that this story is too long already. suffice it to say that the ceremony was held in the great fifth avenue church, and that it was attended by all the wealth and fashion of our metropolis; and that the reverend[142] doctor lettuce spray preached the most eloquent of all his sermons upon the text, "blessed are the millionnaires, for they have inherited the earth, and you can't get it away from them."