Family Herald 15th September 1860

8/7/2019 Family Herald 15th September 1860

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FAMILYIT IS ONE OF THE GREATEST MISFORTUNES IN L IFE NOT TO

BE ABLE TO ENDURE MISFORTUNE,

HERALD= p WlMM I n f o r m a t i o n a n U a m u s e m e n t

GO SLOWLY TO YOUR FRIENDS ENTERTAINMENTS,

QUICKLY TO THEIR MISFORTUNES.

N o . 9 0 7 . Y O L . X V I I I . ] F O B , T H E W E E K E N D I N G S E P T E M B E R 1 5 , 1 8 6 0 . [ P R I C E O N E P E N N Y .

T H E O L D P L O U G H M A N .

There's no use in inning and crying,Whatever life's troubles may be ;

For one , I ne'er give way to sighing,T h o u g h fortune's a s t r a n g e r to me ;

I grudge not the lo t of my neighbou r,T h o u g h s o m e folk are richer I t r o w,

W h i l e cheerfulness lightens my labour,I whistle and sing as I plough :

Whistle and sing,Care to the winds fling !

I whistle and sing as I p l o u g h .

My dwel l ing i t may be i s humble ,But simple and scanty my fare ;

Tho' little, there ' s no need to grumble ,For somehow I 've something to spare ;

Sure fashion and pride is all folly,Content yo u may see on my br ow.

M y maxim is , l ive and be j o l l y,An d whis t le and s ing a t the p lo ugh :

Whis t le and s ing ,Care to the winds fling !

I whistle and sing as I plough.

M y lads, like t h e i r dad, are all merry,The y'r e fond of a jo ke and a song ;

M y lasses are plump as a cherry ;My children all h e a r t y and s t rong.

My w i f e and I jog on toget her ;Ti m e passes r ight p leasant , I v o w ;

She works wi th hear t ligh t as a feather;I whis t le and s ing as I p lough.

Whis t le and s ing ,Care to the winds fling !

I whistle and sing as I plough.M R S . VA L E N T I N E R O B E RT S .

T H E S T O R Y - T E L L E R .

THE ENGAGEMENTS.

By the Author of CROSS P U R P O S E S , S I R E R N E S T "WENTWORTH, & C .

C H A P T E R I .

" Minnie, Minnie, how can you talk so joyousl y of a voyage, which howeverlong and anxiously looked forward to by us both, is yet a sad, perhaps lifelong exile from all we hold dear?"

" No t quite all, Ada, pe t; surely not quite a ll, " was the arch reply of thebright looking young girl thus addressed, " o r I must say India would neverbe blessed with my exhilarating presence. I really have* some slight regardfor a certain Haro ld Ri ver s; and I do not suppose you are quite indifferentto a gallant officer yclept Captain Wal ter Sullivan, who happens to reside inthat same land of shawls and sunstrokes, diamonds, and ch oler a."

Ad a Crofton's face was turned slightly from her gay companion's laughingglance; but even though thus half-averted, Minn ie could see that tearswere in the large, dark eyes, which pensive and oriental as they were intheir soft expression, seldom evinced such tokens of emotion as such visitantsbetrayed. •

Minnie Bardon 's quick, warm feelings were ever ready to respond to thejoys and sorrows of those she loved, and among that number her cousin Ad awas one of the dearest and most tenderly cherished from her chil dhood . Hergay mood passed away in a moment , and thr owin g her arms round hercousin, she kissed away the fall ing drops as she eager ly asked t he cause of such unwonted yielding to sorrow on the part of the calm, self-possessed Ada.

" Surely, " said Minnie, " it was not my f oolish jest ing that upset you,Ad a dear. I woul d not have said a single w ord of the sort if I hadnot been sure that you felt as happ y as I d o at the i dea of seeii>g our true andleal knights again. Tell me, darli ng," she added, "w ha t i t is that makesyo u so low-spirited to- day, when all is settled at last, after all the tiresomepros and cons which have been e nough to throw one int o a fever, beforeIndian suns have a chance of doing so."

Ada was silent for some minutes, though she returned her cousin's caress,and smiled affectionately through the tears she could not restrain, when oncethey had fairly got vent, and Min nie was wise enough no t to attempt tocheck them, when she saw that they were rather a relief to her usuallycomposed cousin's fit of depression.

At length drying her eyes, and raising her head from Minnie's shoulder,Ad a said, in her usual calm, soft tones, " Shall we see our 4 true and lealknights,' as you call them, again, M i n n i e } " She added, " Ho w can we tellwhat changes may have taken place, even before we arrive at our journey'send. It is that very doubt, that consciousness that we have so muchdepending o n the chances and changes which a few months may pro duce,which makes me less joyo us and sanguine than you are not that I shrink from any sacrifice of friends or country for Walt er's sake."

A shade passed over Min nie's bri ght face as Ada spoke, and she remainedsilent and t houghtful for several minutes, her dark grey laughi ng eyes fixedon a portrait whi ch hu ng over the fire-place of* the dress ing-room in whichthe cousins were sitting, as was their custom, before retiring to bed.

Ad a watched this unusual reverie with silent interest; she knew her youngcousin well, and understood better than others did the deep feeling and childlike trusting faith which formed the basis of her light and sport ive gaiety of heart, and more than once she had felt reproved by Minn ie's unshaken firmnessin times when her own less buoyant spirit had well-nigh sunk in spite of heroutward composure and self-control. It was, therefore, with some anxietythat she waited for the expression of the young girl 's feelings on the s ubject,which weighed so heavily on her own heart, and watched the troubled look

give place to a sweet trusting placid expression, more lovely even than theusual sparkling vivacity of Minnie's fair face.

" I am not afraid, Ada ," she said. " W e promi sed lon g since to followthrough weal or woe those we thought worthy of such trust, and there hasbeen nothing to shake our bel ief in them si nce, or to make us hesitate to keepour plighted words. W e must be doing right, then, in joining them, andleaving the future quietly and hopefully to wiser government than ours."

" You are right, Minnie," said Ada, bending down and kissing her cousin'sflushed cheek ; " it is wiser to reserve our strength for actual trial rather thanwaste it in fears and presentiments of evil. Wha tev er is in store for me, Ido hope your sunny spirit will not be clouded, my darling, and if I kno wHarold aright, he will never cost you one regret that you have give n up allyo u hold dear for his sa ke; and no w we must retire to bed, for we have agreat deal before us to-morrow."

Minni e assented, and the cousins were soon enjoy ing a tranquil sleep, nothaunted by visions o f shipwreck s, either to the good ship Clive, or to theirow n anticipated happiness.

* * * * * *

Ad a Crofton was the y oung er and least favoured daughter of a physicianin large practice in a principal town of the north of England, who had lost hiswife when his eldest girl Eli nor was just sixteen, and A da some four yearsyounger. Dr. Crofton was very proud of Elinor 's stately beauty and dignifiedmanners, even at that early age, and placed her at the head of his ho useh oldand over both the you ng Ada and his orphan niece, Minnie Pardon , then,a lovely chil d of nine years old, recentl y placed under his guard ianshi p.Ha d it not been for the strong attachment the two children formed foreach other, and t he kind , judici ous care of the governess who had beenchosen by Mrs. Crofton almost immediately before her death, their earlyyears woul d have been equally miserable and unfavourable for their aftercharacters, for Elinor 's rule was a cold and overbea ring one, and fromher decisions there was no appeal. Put, thanks partly to Miss Sedgwiek'skindly sense and sound judgment, and partly to their happiness in eachother's companionship, Ada's quiet gentleness, and Minnie's gaiety of heart,remained uncrushed and unembittered by the un lovi ng and proud deme anour

of Eli nor Crofton towards the youn g girls, wliom she persisted in considering as much t oo childish for com panion ship with herself, even whenAd a was t ouchi ng on the age when she herself had assumed al mostmatronl y duties, and M inni e was nearly f ourteen. But Ada did not regretthe fiat w hich condemne d her to the schoolr oom lo ng after the age whenshe might wel l have been intro duced into society, since, had it been reversed,she must have been separated from her cousin ; and she went on using welland happily the time thus added to her studies, till, on her attaining hereighteenth b irthday, and Minni e nearly comple tin g her sixteenth year, it wassuddenly announced b y Miss Crofton in the s choo lro om, that the two girlswould henceforth quit that region for the drawing- room, and that in threemonths from that time Ada wo ul d be called on to take the head of herfather's household.

" My marriage is to take place in June ," said Elinor, " and, then, Ada, youwill have to try to carry out my rules and arrangements to the best of yourability, and to let our father's comf ort suffer as little as can be expected fromthe change."

" You r marriage, Elinor r " said Ada, timidly, " I did not know you never

mentioned "" I am little in the habit of talking about affairs strictly personal, my dearAda ," interrupted her sister; " I t is quite time enough, now that al lis arranged, to inform you and Minnie that I have accepted Sir Edg arStrachan, who m you have occas ionall y seen here, before succeeding to hisuncle's title, and that the wedding is fixed for May."

Ad a did not venture to seek more; but when, after some further admonitions and suggestions, Elinor left them, both Ada and Minnie indulgedmany a speculation as to Elino r's future, and to their own ability to supplythe place she was about to vacate.

" For you know, Minnie, we must share its duties and occupat ions, as wehave done every other for the last seven years," was Ada's concluding remark as they went to prepare for dinner.

We e k s passed on, and the two recluses became graduall y accustomed to theirnew, and, as it seemed to them, wonderfully gay life, which was certainly amore than commonl y busy one, from the preparations for Elinor's wedding,which was to be a very brilliant one. The yo ung girls were of course to be bridesmaids, in conjunction with a sister and cousin of the bridegroom, HelenStrachan, and Isabel Sullivan, and the brother of the latter was to be " bestman " o n the occasio n.

" It is very lucky, Elinor, that Walter should have so lately arrived inEngland after his lon g service in Ind ia, " v, ras Sir Edgar's remark as thearrangements were finally discus sed; " and I think your father mentioned thata cousin of your own had come back in the same ship . Is he an officer ? "

" N o, " she repl ied ; " like most of our family Har old Pavers is a physici an,

907'



306 TH E FAM ILY HE EAL D A DOM EST IC MAG AZIN E OP [Septemberis, im.

and attached to the staff in Bengal. He will, however, be one of CaptainSullivan 's colleagues at the wedding."

Ada, who had some remembrance of a young, frank, kindly cousin, somesix years older than herself, play ing g oodnat uredl y wit h her as a child, washonestly glad at the intelligence.

Th e week before'the wed ding collect ed the mor e immedi ate relatives of bot hfamilies, and among them, of course, the tw o brides men so nearly connect edwith the b ride and brid egro om, and the bridesmai ds, whose attendants theywere to be, looked with girlish curiosity on the strangers. Ada and Minnie,themselves, however, were not greater contrasts than the handsome, aristocratic Walter Sullivan, with his splendid dark eyes, his well cut features,and somewhat haughty air, and the equally high-bred, but frank, Saxon,manly face and figure of Har old Rivers , the you ng physician, who was rathergrave than oth erw ise ; but the open, frank expression, and kindl y mannerwhich spoke of so true and good a heart within, at once invited confidence, andset even his timid cousin comple tely at ease with him.

With all the mutual and sincere regard they entertained for each other,Har old and Ada were by no means so constantly togeth er, or so entir ely theconfidants of each other 's plans and wishes as in yore, and Captain Sullivan 'srapidly increasing attention to the latter gave little chance for such oldhabits to be resumed. There was a tinge of haugh ty self-assertion even inthe devotion Walte r Sullivan thus showed to the fair young sister of hiscousin's bride; but it was scarcely likely that Ada herself should perceive,amidst the lover-like attention and admiration so openly displayed, any tingeof pride and selfishness, where there was so much to flatter and to attract.T o her fresh heart and romantic nature a man like Captain Sullivan, withhis high breeding , his accomplish ments, his grace of manner and expression,and his love of the beautiful in nature and art, was peculiarly attractive; andere the weddin g gaieties were at all b egin ning to languish, Ada Crofton 'sheart was fairly wo n, and only waite d for the plainly spoken wo rd to avow its

preference.Little Minnie, the bright, fascinating little fairy, who was so bewitchingly

half-chi ld, half- woman, had n ot in this, as in almost each event and feelingof their lives, been separated from her cousin. He r sweet, lov ing, truthfulcharacter had compl eted the co nquest her beauty and vivacit y had won overHarold Rivers's noble heart, and he only waited to assure himself that therewas fair hope that his grave nature had succeeded in attracting a being soopposite to himself in natural temperamen t, before asking the young orphanto share his home and fortunes in the distant East.

Thus matters went on for some two months after the return of the bridalcouple from their short tour ; the young men both gladly availing themselvesof the invitatio ns of Sir Edg ar and D r. Crofton to remain wit h them duringthe series of gaieties whic h followed the w edd ing ; and Ada and Minnie feltas if they had never really lived till now , so entire was the change from theirsecluded existence under Elinor 's severe rule, to the variety, the freedom, andthe homage which surrounded them.

Dr. Crofton meanwhile contented himself with knowing that Lady Strachanchaperoned the two girls whenever they_ went into society, and that his grave,steady nephew was their attendant in their rides and walks ; while hefrequently observed, on his hurried visits to their morning room, that thetw o were deeply engag ed in study of some favourite author, or practisingglees with the assistance of Har old 's rich t enor.

Captain Sullivan never appeared in A da's reception-ro om till later in theday, and then always pr ovid ed with some excuse in t he shape of books ormessages, or with Lad y Strachan herself as a chaperon ; b ut he indemnifiedhimself in the riding parties and picnics, and the many evening engagementswhich brought them together, when he could devote his chief attention to thebeautiful sister of his new cousin, with out excit ing any particular remark from that awful Mrs . G rundy, who watches over the affairs and conduct of Hoeiety in general, and of lovers in particular, with such amiable solicitude.Still he had said nothing of love or even admiration openly, at least inwords, though his looks, and the gr acefully veiled expressions, whi ch we reintelligible to Ada alone, spoke but too forcibly to the young girl 's heart.

C H A P T E R I I .

It was a lovely summer morn ing some two months after Elinor 's marriage,when Harold Rivers laid down the newspaper and letters which had occupiedhi s attention for the last half hour, during which he had been waiting for theappearance of his fair cousins at breakfast, with a clouded and thoughtf ulface. It was plain he was en grossed by matters of no common interest, forMin nie Bard on not only entered, but actually stood beside him and laid hersmall hand on his shoulder, before he was aware of her presence.

" A h , cousin mi ne !" she exclaimed, " I have found you out at last,musing on the charms of pretty Clara Do nne, with whom y ou waltzed sooften last night at Mrs. Thornhill 's."

The hand which lay on the young man 's arm was cla sped in his, as hedrew his young cousin gently towards him , whispering, "Mi nn ie, if you donot know who occupies not only my thoughts, but my heart, I have less causeto hope than I have dared to believe of late."

Minni e scarcely resisted the half emb rac e; perhaps she was glad to concealthe deep blush whic h made any denial o f her cousin 's meaning useless, andHar old h ardly needed the words which he at lengt h succeeded in drawingfrom her, in reply to his manly avowal of an affection felt for the first time inhi s life.

" But, Minnie," he continued, " I have one thing more to t ell you ere I

accept your precious promis e. I have this morning received notice that Imay soon be ordered off to In di a; troubles are breaking o ut there; and Ithink it very likely Sullivan will be recalled also. Tell m e, woul d you trustyourself to my care in that distant land ? "

Minnie's glance, and the slight pressure of the hand which held his, wouldhave been sufficient answer, even had there been time to ask for mo re ; butat the instant Ada 's l ight step was heard, and Minn ie escaped into the con

servatory, which joined the breakfait-room, to recover some composure beforemeeting her cousin's eyes.

Dr . Crofton, who had been out t o see some very urgent case at that earlyhour, now j oin ed the m, and before his nephew had time to communicate hisow n probable summons, mentioned that he had met Captain Sullivan, andheard from him of the all but certain recall which awaited'hi m, among othersthen on leave of absence.

" He is com ing to me at twelv e," proceeded the good, unconscious doctor." I suppose he wishes to consult me as to his state of health before returningto that trying climate."

Ada's cheeks wore an unusually deep pink, which would have mad-e anobserver wonder whether their ordinary paleness was to be regretted or otherwise, so lovely did she look for the mome nt ; thou gh her features and expression harmonised so well with the colourless purity of her comple xion.

Har old and Mi nnie ex chang ed a momentary glance as they watched theircompanions; but their ow n hearts were too deeply engaged to think at thatinstant even of Dr. Crofton's blindness, or Ada's tell-tale blush, and Haroldturned the subject by informing his uncle of his own prospect of returning erelong to the distant East.

Breakfast was soon conclud ed ; no one but D r. Crofton coul d eat anything,which was of course attributed to last night's dissipation, and immediately themeal was over Harold followed his uncle to his study, and told his hopes andwishes in his own manly straightforward way.

Dr. Crofton had little to object save the distance and the climate for hisyoung niece, and only stipulated that Harold should not send for her to comeover to him till he was likely to be permanently established in some tolerablyhealthy spot, which promise the young man cordially agreed to give, and thenhastened to share with Min nie the happiness whic h he now could venture toconsider his own.

Dr . Cr ofton was certainly right in his supposition as to the errand of Captain

Sullivan, if the cure of a heart compla int co uld be classed as a consultationabout health. The worthy physician was fairly bewildered by this seconddenouement of affairs which had been passing under his very eyes without hisbeing at all cognisant of their existence, and not unnaturally felt considerablehesitation at consenting to his remaining daughter's forming an engagementwhich wou ld rem ove her so far from him. He had missed Elin or sadly, tillAda's calm qjiiet sense, and feminine dignity, and Minnie's vivacity had begunto render his home happier even than when under Elinor 's management, andno w he was threatened with the loss of them bot h! Still, alter havingconsented to the proposal of Haro ld River s for his youn g niece, a refusal of one yet m ore eligible for his d aughter with precisely similar objections, wasall but impossible, and he could onl y reply by a conditional assent, subjectto his ascer taining Ada' s sentiments, and to the stipulation for delay whichhe had mad e in Minnie 's case.

It is scarcely necessary to give the result of the details of the next fewweeks; suffice it to say that in little more than a month from that memorableday, Wal te r Sullivan and Har old R ivers had sailed for India, carrying withthem the hearts and plighted troth of the two young cousins, whose lives hadbeen so singularly united up to that very time.

Months went by till nearly a year and a half had elapsed from theirdeparture before the promises then given could be claimed, and the youngmen placed in a position when they c ould say with truth, that the conditionson which Dr . Crofton had insisted, were fulfilled. But at length the gu erillalike "warfare, more harassing than more regular engage ments, began tolanguish, and Captain Sullivan obtai ned an a ppointm ent whi ch would ensurehim a more fixed and settled home , and H aro ld Ri vers was attached to aregim ent jus t ordered to C alcutta, without any but very distant prospect of removal. There was therefore no reason for delaying l onger the departure of the two cousins, and at the moment when our story opened, the preparationsfor it w ere nearly compl eted, and, as we have seen, Ada' s spirits began tosink as the mom ent , when she was to say farewe ll to all she hel d dear inher own country, approached.

It had been a matter of great discussion and anxiety how to supply theyoung girls' place to Dr. Crofton, and provide in some measure for his comfort;but the matter had finally ended in his determining to relinquish his practice,and taking up his residence with Lad y Strachan, now as ever his favouritedaughter.

A n officer 's wife, well known to the Croftons, was about to join herhusband, and had will ingl y promise d to take charge of Ad a and Minnie asfar as Calcutta, where their affianced l overs were to meet thorn, and theweddings, Mrs. Eerrers declared, must positivel y take place from her house,which was large enough to receive any given number of young couples.

Such were the arrangements which were no w all but com pleted for thefuture destiny of the young girls, and those most nearly connected with them,incl uding even the tr ousseau and outfits, w hich formed such a complicati on of orange blossoms, and sun-Shades, wedding-dresses, and cabin wraps, as wouldhave puzzle d the heads of any but a Fre nch dressmaker or lady's maid, tocollect and arrange.

Lady Strachan, howeve r, was invaluab le on such an occasion as this. Hercool, decided character was precisely calculated to plan and to judge of allthat was most fitting and necessary for the young brides elect, without beingat all bew ilder ed by the various opinions of dressmakers and drapers, orclouded by any haze o f regret at the parting for which she was preparing.Thanks to her talent and coolness of head and heart, the two fair girlswere as amply supplied with both the useful and ornamental etceteras of a

lady' s toil ette by sea and land, as the most exquisite beauty could require,and in spite of adieus and anticipations, fond regrets, and bright and lovinghopes, neither Minn ie nor Ada could be quit o unmoved by the bonnets andlaces, the dresses and embroideries, which for the first time replaced thesimple muslins and merinos, and straw hats and bonnets, which had formedtheir girlish wardrobes.

All, howev er, was forgott en or disregarded when the m omen t of parting



September is, i860. ] USEF UL INFO RMA TION AND AMU SEM ENT. 307

came, and Ada wept on her father's bosom as convulsively and unrestrainedlyas the less self-c ontrol led Min nie herself, w hile Dr. Crofton in vain strove tocontrol the agitati on whic h added to hers . H e felt he shoul d pro bab ly neversec his child again, and though she had never been his com pani on, his pride ,like Elinor, he did at that momen t more justice to the beauty and gentlenessand womanly virtues which rendered her so worthy of his fondest love, thanhe had ever before done. An d his bright little Minnie, his pet sister's onlychild, who clung to him wi th such childlike grief when Ada had finished hermute farewell and turned to her sister it wa s hard to part with the littlesunbeam that had lately enlivened the few hours of rest he was able to spendwith his family wit h her joyous spirits. He wished most heartily at thatmoment that neither officer nor doctor had been able to obtain leave of absenceat that fatal time, when love seems a sort of epidem ic and spreads from theprincipals to the spectators of a bridal scene.

It was too late now to repent the last boat was returning to land andthe kind old doctor could only give one more paternal kiss and blessing to theweeping girls, and then, committing them once more to Mrs. Ferrers' care,lead the composed but unusually pale Elino r down the companion ladder tothe boat, and trust their future happiness to a kin d Pr ovi den ce, and thosewhom they had deemed able to secure it.

In another hour the good ship Clive had weighed anchor, and was onits way to the Indian shores, whi le the sad yet hopeful traveller s to thatdistant land were yet weeping their farewell regrets in each other's arms.

C H A P T E R I I I .

The demon o f sea-sickness has o ne good quality belonging to him ; heexcludes for the time many sad memories and anticipations, and engrosses thewhole faculty of suffering in his prop er person . It is absolutely an impossibility to indulge regret or to feel pleasure or interest, when prostrateunder this overwhelming influence, and many a keen parting pang has beenblunte d when the voyager bega n to feel the iron grasp of this malady of thesea.

Ad a and M inni e were bo th sufferers for some days to a most prostr atingdegree; but the latter recovered sooner than her delicate cous in, and helpedtheir maid to nurse and cheer the la nguid invali d, till she wel l n igh forgother o wn troubles in her successful exerti ons to raise A da' s dro opi ng spirits .Thus, when in about a fortnight from the time of their leaving England , thetwo girls were able to leave their cabin , they had both shaken off mu chof their dejection, and pale and delicate as Ada still looked, she was as lovelyand lily-like as ever, while Minn ie, bright little joyous fairy, was even prettierand fresher under the influence of the sea-b reeze and her ow n glad hope s,than when she had first won the grave Harold Rivers's heart.

Mrs. Ferrers had giv en them a sketch o f the compa nions they had g otfor their voyage before they emerged from their seclusion; they were comparatively few, an elderly colonel and his wife on their way to Mal ta, wherethe gentleman had an app ointm ent; two yo ung ladies named Thor nton ,returning to their home alter an English ed ucati on; a family of childrenwith governess and nurse, going to jo in parents, recently gone out to take th eplace of an invalid partner, in a larg e merca ntile concer n at Calcutta, and agentleman named Arbuthnot , who was returning to his duties in the civilservice, after an eighteen months ' furl ough.

" He is by far the most interesting person in the ship, " remarked Mrs.Ferrers, as she concluded her sketc h; "a nd if yo u were not both engagedyoung ladies, might prove rather a dangerous person on a long voyage, withno one to dispute his pre-emine nce as to personal and mental attracti ons,except good ol d Colonel Nevil le. As it is, I am not sure whether M r.Rivers and Captain Sullivan would look very kindly on him, if t hey had thefairy's glass, and could take a glance at our saloon this evening."

* " So much the bette r," sai<i Min nie merr ily. " It w oul d rouse them up alittle in that languid Indian climate, where I am actually afraid of bein gturned into a sort of sleeping beauty or enchanted princess myself . I shallmake a point of flirting with this same Adonis of yours, dearest Mrs.Ferrers, and Ada can enter th e lists by way of adding to the glo ry of theconquest."

" Ada 's lip curls at the very idea of such a conde scens ion, " said Mrs .Ferrers, laughing. "H ow ev er , he is, I should think, about as light-heartedand saucy as yourself naturally, so you will have a pretty good chance, littletraitress, tho ugh he is evidently a little depressed at returning once more tohis exile just now."

Ad a raised her large, pensive eyes, with rather more interest than she hadyet shown in the subject, and gave a gentle sigh, as if she could but too wellsympathise with the youn g man' s regrets. Min nie, guessing the cause of thathalf suppressed sigh, proposed getti ng ready for dinner, a ceremony w hichwould, perhaps, be less easily g one t hro ugh in a rol lin g ship than in theirlate dressing-room, and the ladies adjourned to their cabins.

Mrs. Ferrers was less expeditious in her operations ttJan her two youngcharges, and when she entered their cabin they were already dressed andwaiti ng for her. She had never yet seen them in even the demi -toil ettesuitable for a ship dinner, and she could not repress a look of admiration asshe gave a quick gla nce from one to the othe r. The y were bot h dressed i nwhite, which, simple as was its form, looked gay and cheerful, with the freshribbons and de licate lac e with Avhich they were trim med; and the bright,fairy-looking Minnie , and graceful, stately Ada, looked equally lovely in thissimple costume, different as were their styles of beauty.

Mrs. Ferrers felt almost maternal pride i n t he fair you ng girl s as shepresented them to the party assembled in the saloon; and the good ol d coloneland his wife, and the courteous captain of the ship received them with congratulations on their recovery, and a kindly heartiness of manner which at once pu tthem at their ease. The Misses Thornt on looked some what less pleased at t headvent of such dangerous ri val s; they were pretty girl s enough, but rathermissish and school girl -li ke in their manners and ideas. Mr . Arbut hnot was,as Mrs. Ferrers had said, the most i nterestin g person in the shi p; he was a

man of perhaps nearly thirty years of age, not handsome, but peculiarlyquiet and unassuming in manner, yet there was somet hing about him which,irresistibly attracted attention and interest. His figure was slight and tall,hi s face redee med from plainness by rema rkabl y fine eyes, nobl e forehead, andone of the sw eetest smiles that the cousins had eve r seen. But his greatcharm was the perfect hig h br eeding of his who le air and manner, and thehalf pensive , half earnest express ion of his features, w hic h seemed to betok ena character, whose natural power and enthusiasm were repressed by unco ngenia l compa nions and mod e of life. At least so Min nie, in her romanticfancies th oug ht, as she sat opposit e to hi m at dinner, and rem ember ed whatMrs. Ferrers had said about his reluctance to return to India.

Mr . Arb uthn ot was sitting by Ada, and conver sing in his own peculiarly

quiet, undemonstrative manner, yet Minni e, felt certain from the g raduallighting up of her cousin's face, and the increasing lengt h o f her replies, thathe had managed to interest her, and draw her from her natural reserve.

Minnie was seated beside Colonel Nevi lle, and was much deligh ted by theold man's half-fatherly, half-gallant ki ndline ss; she yet bestowed no smallportion of her attention on the n ew acquaintance who had thus succeeded inmaking Ada forget, for a time, the regrets and fears which seemed to weigh onher spirits from the time their departure for India had been fixed upon.

Din ner on boar d ship is seld om a very tedio us affair, and the ladies werenot long in adjourning to the dec k; and, seating themselves on their camp-stools, remained in quiet enjoyment of a lovely summer's evening, till thegentlemen join ed them, and propo sed the usual constitutional walk, whi chtakes the place of acti ve exercise on a long voyage. Ada, however, declinedmoving from her seat this evening, and Mrs. Ferrers took Minnie's arm, whileColonel Nevil le and his wife good-naturedly divided the two Misses Thornton,wh o cast many a furtive glance at the spot where Mr. Arbuthnot stood,leaning against a mast, near wh ich Ad a Crofton's stool was placed, as they took turn after turn in their monotonous quarter-deck walk. N ow and then theycaught a word of the conversation between the couple in whom they were thusinterested ; but all that they could make of it was, that it turned on the verynatural subject of the country to which they were going.

" I cannot prom ise that you wil l admire the society of Calcutta, MissCrofton," observed Mr. Arbuthno t, in reply to some remark of Ada 's. " Thevarious causes whi ch exert so pernic ious an influence on the charac ter of thoselong resident in India naturally affect friendships and social interco urse in noordinary degree. I have seen the many piques, jealousies, vanities, andacts of selfishness wh ich are discer nible too often even in Engla nd, disp laythemselves in yet m ore undisguised form in I ndia. Society is more rapidlychanging there also, and there is consequently less restraint from the opinionof others."

Ad a smiled rather sadly as she repl ied " It woul d seem that, in youropinion, society there is rather influenced by what others think than by anactual sense of right and wro ng. "

Mr. Arbuthnot returned her smile, and Ada could not but notice itsexceeding sweetness.

" I fear I shall shock y ou ," he continued ; " and yet when you have livedas long as I have, you may perhaps agree with a doctrine which sounds sadlyharsh in early youth . But, as one illustration of my meaning, I may saythat there are more marriages broken off in India than ever take place in acircle of similar size in Eng la nd; and I can only account for it from the factthat officers especially so often chan ge their residence, that it does not exposethem to such lasting censure ; while young ladies appear rather to glory incarrying on a successful rivalry even in such circumstances."

Ada's eyes were fixed on the deck while her comp anion was speaking, andhe had an excellent opportunity of studying her face, and admiring the long,thick eyelashes wh ich rested on her cheek ; but thou gh he was certainly notinsensible to these attractions, he was more occupied in speculating on thecause of the sadness which was so visible even to a stranger like himself; anda feeling o f self-reproach m ingled with his interest in the fair girl as hebegan to suspect something of the truth. In a few moments, however, Adaspoke in her usual quiet manner, and apparently on a different subject.

" D o you know the Selwyns, Mr. Ar bu th no t? " she asked. " I believethey generally live in Calcu tta; and, as they enter much into society, I amtold you may perhaps be acquainted with them."

" 1 do kno w them sligh tly," replied Mr. Arbut hnot. " The mother is deadwithin the last few months, since I left Calcutta. Mr . Selwy n is a veryclever barrister, with a first-rate practice. His son is up the country withhis regiment, and seldom at ho me ; so the two daughters have onl y a maidenaunt as compani on and chap eron. "

" Ar e they ha ndsom e and agreeab le ? " asked Miss Crof ton, as she studiousl yarranged the folds of her dress, and then unconsciously destroyed the goodeffects of her unwonted care.

" Rosa, the eldest, is the belle of Calcutta," replied Mr. Arbuthnot, gravely;"b ut Mabel , thou gh not so handsome, is to my taste, far more affable. Ar ethey friends of yours , Miss Croft on ? " he asked.

"Fr iend s of a friend of my brother-in-law," replied Ada, ratherhurr iedl y; " but I see Mrs. Ferrers and my cousin are tired of their walk,and sitting down yonder. Shall we jo in them ? "

Mr . Arbuthnot offered Ada his arm to the place where the ladies weresitting; and then, seeing the rest of the party comi ng towards them, h edrew back, and soon after went down to his cabin with a face even morethoughtful than usual.

" Depe nd upon it, Ad a, " said Minn ie, when her cousin related to her theremarks made by her new acquaintance in reply to the gay little fairy's archinquir ies as to the subject of their tete-d-tete, " depend upon it, Mr .Arbu thnot has been jilted, and very likely by this identical Miss Selwyn.Poor man ! It is too bad. He looks like a person who would not feel orforget very easily."

" But he spoke of the youngest sister as the most attractive," said Ada,musingly. " I hardly think you have guessed right this time, Minnie."



308 THE FAMILY H ER AL D A D OMESTIC MAGAZINE OF [September 1 5, iseo.

" The very thing whi ch confirms my suspicio ns," said Minni e, laugh ing." Do you suppose he Avould enlarge on the attractions of his faithless love ?But my long walk has made me sleepy, so goo d-n igh t, my dear."

C H A P T E R I V .

Days and weeks passed on, and the good ship Clive was nearing comparatively, at least her destinati on; and the prospect of thus speedilyreaching the end of their voyage was viewed by her passengers with verymingled feelings.

Mrs. Ferrers and Minn ie Bardon were full of hope and jo y at the though tof seeing once more those dearest to them in the world , and nothing but thepossibility of some casualty o f sickness or worse , duri ng the inte rval since

their last tidings from them, at all tarnished their bright happiness. Thepoor governess shrank from the meeting with the parents of her charges, lestit mi ght be thought she had not fully done her duty to th em ; the MissesThornton rather peevishly count ed the time w hich w ould elapse before avoyage was ended, in which their attractions had been totally disregarded bythe only eligibl e passenger and the handsome bachelor captain, though littlesofter feeling mingled with their impatience.

What did Ada Crofton and Mr. Arbuthnot feel, as the captain promulgatedat dinner one day that another week or ten days of such weather w ouldsee them at the end of their voyage ? Certainly they wou ld neither of themhave been so prompt to confess even to themselves all that was in theirhearts.

Ad a had struggled, in some degree successfully, against her nervous presentiments of evil, and perhaps the change of ideas which the novel ship lifeinsensibly accomp lished, had some share in the matter, and Minnie thoughtthe very agreeable society of Mr . Arbu thnot was rather conduci ve to hercousin's spirits, without the slightest approach to flirtation, or anything butthe courteous attention in whic h both the cousins shared, bei ng attempted

by Mr . Arbut hnot, or permitted b y the quiet, dignified Ada. But,thoug h he evidently admired both the yo ung girls, and liked to draw outMinnie's playful sauciness, and listen to the sparkling merriment w hichseemed so natural, so joyous in bright flow, it was Ada's looks and words andmovements that he watched with quiet and veiled, but never-ceasing interest.It was to her that his more serious and deeper conversation was addressed; toher that he instinctively turned for agreement and sympathy in his thoughtsand opinions.

Mrs. Ferrers had told Mr . Arbu thnot of the destiny of both her charges ;she had though t it but fair to let him know , while thus thrown in constantcontact with such peculiarly attractive girls, that they were already bound,an d that he must gua rd his own heart. T he good colonel's lady was undoubtedly righ t; but it might be that the very security and freedom whichthis knowl edge gave to the intercourse between the three new friends, was asdangerous as beneficial in its effect; aud Mr. Arbuthnot kept less sternguard over his feelings and manner than it was his wont to do. But it wasnot till the hour of parting drew near, that he began to suspect that the daywhich saw Ada Crofton the bride of another, wo uld be the bitterest and thedarkest he had ever yet known, and at length could no longer conceal fromhimself that he loved for the first time, with all the depth and permanence of a reserved and powerful nature.

It was a moment of no ordinary or passing sorrow , when Mr . Arbu thnotfirst admitted this to himself, for he knew well the dark dreary future whi chwa s thus opened before him, and that even whe n he had mastered the firstkeen sorrow, there would remain an achi ng in his heart, a blank and void inlife, whi ch mi ght never be filled up. But his was no nature to yield to feelingunresistingly, and throw away the great object s of life, from one disappointment, however bitter, and he set resolutely to work to repress and crushevery outward manifestation, every indulgen ce of an affection which was soonto be a crime. He remained more in his own cabin , was mor e grav e andreserved than even his won t in ordinary society when mingli ng with hisfellow-passengers, and seldom, if ever, permitted himself to sit by or talk particularly with Ada.

Minnie and Ada both remarked this chan ge; the one with rather vexedsurprise, and gent le censure of such apparen t capric e ; the other with a qui ck insight into the truth, and a wise concealment of her suspicions, which wouldhardly have been expected from her apparent thoughtlessness of temperament.The only remark, when listening to Ada' s comments on the strange reserveand estrangement of their new friend was : "D ep en d upon it, Ada , it is nocapri ce; it is not like Mr. Arbut hnot. He is either depressed by his approachin g return to his uncongeni al home and anxious duties, or he has some goodreason, whi ch we should approve if we knew it."

Ad a lau ghed out rig ht as she replied, " H e has schooled you most successfully, Minn ie. It is one of his favourite dogmas that every one has a reasonfor what he does, and he has more than once told me that he has habituatedhimself from boyhood to subject feeling to sober judgment till it is almost aninstinct with him."

" So much the better, " laug hed Minn ie, in return, " it may serve him ingood stead some day. Bu t I am very sleepy , Ad a, so good night to you andMr . Arbuthn ot, and to his eccentr icitie s; I wond er whether I shall dream of Calcutta again to-night."

The light-hearted Minnie was soon softly sleepin g, and if she dreamt at all,hers were certainly sweet and pleasant visi ons; bnt Ada lay long awake,looking forward to the fast approachi ng day whic h would decide all her doubtsand fears as to the truth and constancy of Wal ter Sullivan.

C H A P T E R V .

"Land a t l a s t ! " excla imed Captai n Steel , as he entered the saloon, wherebreakfast and his passengers were awaiting h im. " In a few hours w eshall be in Calcutta. I only hope you may feel half the regret at partingthat I d o . "

" Indeed^ we. sjiall never forget your kindn ess," r esponded the whole party

in cho ru s; for the frank courtes y and cheerfulness of the yo un g and agreeablecaptain ha d won the rega rd and gratitud e o f all his passengers.

The usual bustle of final packing and last arrangements now ensued.Mrs. Ferrers (an experienced voyager) had taken care to prepare herself andher charges to be ready to land at half-an-h our's not ice, and they were soonsitting quietly on deck, watchi ng the approach of the Clive to t he city of palaces. No sooner had she cast ancho r than boats were seen coming off inall directions, and in one of the foremost M rs. Ferrers joyfully recognised herhusband's figure.

Ad a and Minnie looked anxio usly for those dearest to them am ong thecompanions of Colonel Ferre rs; but neither Harol d's manly, earnest face, no rCaptain Sullivan's handsome features, were to be discerned; and even

Min nie 's cheek paled a littl e as she saw the last boat near the ship withouteither of those they longed to meet. Mrs. Ferrers, however , was not unmindful of their feelings , even amidst her ow n jo y at being reunited t o her husband.

" It is very like ly bot h the yo un g men are on duty, my dears," she said." W e shall no doubt hear all about t hem wh en my husband comes on board."

In a moment after Colonel Ferrers had m ounte d the ladder, hastily throwndown for the instant, and folded his wife in his arms in silence. Both wereto o much moved to speak for a time, and the two girls with drew to a littledistance to allow them to indulge their feelings without restraint.

Ad a and M inn ie said little as they wal ked up and down the deck, arm-i narm. Their hearts were heavy; and though their apprehensions were verydifferent in their nature, both feared -they could scarcely define what. Th eycould see that Mrs. Ferrers was speaking eagerly to her husband, and that hisface was grave as he replied to her.

" Let us jo in them, Minnie," said Ada, at last. " I can bear this suspenseno longer . See, Mrs. Ferrers is looking towards us."

They hastened to the spot where the husband and wife were standing, atsome distance from the officers, who were giving some last orders to the

seamen ; and as all the passengers were below, they were quite alone."Ne it her of your friends are in Calcutta just n ow, my dears," said Mrs.Ferrers, kindly. " Charles," she said, turning to her husband, " these aremy adopted daughters, Ada and Minnie."

The frank-hearted officer gave the girls a cordial welcome to India and tohis house, and then, in obedien ce, Minn ie thought, to a look from his wife,said, " Mr . ̂ Ri ver s.w as or dered away to Benares about a month since, toaccompany some invalids to Calcutta. He had hoped to have returned beforeyo u arrived, Miss Bar do n; but I do not think it can be many days nowbefore we see them."

" An d Captain Sullivan ? " said Minn ie, subduing the tears which tried toforce their way , and hasteni ng t o ask the que stion she knew her cousincould not find courage to put.

" Captain Sullivan is gone a short distance up the country," replied ColonelFerrers, more gravely . " I hardly know the precise spo t; but he took someduty instead of an invalid officer, and will, I fear, be away some little time."

Ad a tried to control the feeling that she should have been first at such amoment in her lover's thoughts, and to rejoice in the proof of his kindnessand consideration for o ther s; but it w ould not d o : and she hastily turnedaway and sough t her cab in, biddi ng even Minnie not to follow her just atpresent.

" Te l l me the truth, Colonel Ferrer s," said Minnie, as she again joine d herfriend. " Is there anything worse than you have yet said ? I can bear it;indeed, I can ; nor will I tell my cousin anything y ou wish to keep from herat present."

" Trust her, Charles," said Mrs. Ferrers. " She will keep her wor d."" Then I wi ll be frank with y ou, my dear young lady," said Colonel Ferrers,

leading his wife and Minni e to a seat near them. " I have, however , nothi ngmore to tell yo u about Mr. Rivers. He was compelled to go, sorely againsthis will, I assure yo u. I never saw a greater str uggle between duty andinclination."

" An d Walter Capt ain Sullivan ? " said Minni e, her fair cheek deepeningin colour at the colonel's words and kindly arch smile.

" Captain Sullivan was not obliged to go by any reason whatever," saidColonel Ferrers, gravely. " The duty was applied for by himself, not offeredto him; and more than one of his brother officers would have willingly takenhis place."

" Then why did he go ? " said Minn ie. "N ay , tell me the w rhole truth,I entreat you, Colonel Ferrers."

" I have only the generally -received belief to give you ," he replied, " andthat is , that his object in doi ng so was to be near M iss Selwy n, who has justgone to jo in her brother at the very place where Captain Sullivan's self-imposed duty has taken h i m . "

" I m p o s s i b l e ! " cried Minnie, her cheek glowing with indignation andsurprise. " He would never be so base. And who that has loved Ad a couldever forget her for anether; especially now, when . Oh! ColonelFerrers, it must be a calumny ; it is too dreadful."

" M y dear Min nie ," said Mrs. Ferrers, gently, " y o u do not know myhusband, or you wou ld not think it possible that he would lightly believe, orrepeat evil of any one, especially in such an importa nt affair as this is to yourpoor cous in; but we will hope for better things. No w she is really here, hertruant knight may return to her a penitent."

" I beg your pardon, Colonel Ferrers ," said Minnie, with her sweet, ingenuous look ; " but you said it w ras rather report than your own knowledge,or I would never have presumed to doubt even such paiuful truth."

" It is certainl y report , but a sadly confirmed one, by Captain S ullivan'sactions," said Colonel Ferrers, his kindly smile speaking Minnie's pardon."Th ere is no doubt that he was always at M iss Selw yn's side whi le inCalcutta, and that he actually applied for this appointment almost immediatelyafter her departure , wh en he knew well Miss Crofton must arrive during hisabsence. I great ly fear this can only bear one interpretation; but you areright to doubt and hope, till the worst is actually proved ."



September 15, I860. ] USEFUL INFORM ATION AND AMUS EMENT . 309

Minnie was silent; many little traits in Walter Sullivan's characterreturned to her, which proved but too clearly the selfishness which onlyregarded his o wn pleasure and fee lings, unguide d by prin cipl e or duty, andshe felt yet more than ever the superiority of her own less dazzl ing andshowy, but noble-hearted lover.

" Go to your cousin now, my dear Mi nnie, " said Mrs. Ferr ers; " the soonershe is roused from sad thoug hts the better. Tel l her that I am anxious toge t on shore, and that as soon as we have made our farewells we shall leavethe ship."

Minnie fou nd Ada calm , though very pale. She made no allusion to thenews Colonel Ferrers had brought them, but qu ickly tying on her bonnet andveil, desired their maid to put the few trifles still about into a travelling bag,and follow them immediately. Even Minnie could hardly determine whethershe had conqu ered the first indig nant doubts and suspicions whi ch must havearisen in her mind, or whether she had braced herself to meet th e worstwhatever it may be. Th e truth was, that the pride which mingled wit h thedeep, tender affections of Ada 's character, had at least much to do with supporti ng her for the present. Ada woul d neither e xpose herself, or Wa lt er e ven,to the sympathising pity or just censure of their kind friends, or risk the painof havin g her o wn fears confirmed by Minnie 's reluct ant confession of theirt ru th; and, till she knew more, she had resolutely determined to avoid anyexhibition of feeling which could tempt the expression of theirs.

Th e adieus were made; to the Thorntons with quiet indifference, to the goodcaptain with cordial thanks, and to Mr. Arbuthnot w ith far more regret andinterest than was displayed on either side. Hi s grave, penetrat ing g lancerested on Ada for a mome nt as he held her hand, and his quick disc ernment,aided by the jealousy of love, detected the suffering she concealed underoutward calmness. He knew that she must be henceforth nothing to him;but he could not refrain f rom letti ng t he deep interest and sympathy he felt,betray itself in the look and tone with which he bade her good bye, and the

unconscious pressure of the hand he held a mom ent or tw o lo nger than strictdecorum perhaps wa rrant ed; and for the first time a suspicion of his realfeelings rushed intf> Ada's mind. Th e next moment , how ever , his calm repliesto Mrs. Ferrers' kindly invitation to make their house a frequent resort inunoccupied hours, and the kindly warmth wit h whi ch he took leave of Minnie,made her ashamed of her ideas, and b lami ng herself for nonsensical vanity,she bestowed an unusually kind far ewell smile and bow to hi m as they pushedaway from the ship.

Ad a Crofton knew not the night of dreary sorro w, of hardl y repressedmurmurs that the affection he would have so dearly prized should have beengiven to one whom he more than guessed was unworthy of the boon, whichMr . Arbut hnot passed after his arrival at his lo ng deserted ho me, or she wouldhave bestowed a tear of sympathy on a sorrow with which she could but toowell sympat hise; and ere twenty-four hours more she was too much engrossedin her own crushing grief to have m uch th ough t to give to any one, or anything not immediately connected with her own deep sorrow.

(To be concluded in our next.)

T H E D E C E I V E D .

Oh, how sad it is to t h i n k That a y o u n g heart, free from guile,

Should o'er be t u r n ' d agains t t h e w o r l dT h r o u g h m a n ' s decei t fu l smi le .

The jo y I kn ew to ngue cann ot te l l ,Whe n I felt his lov e was m ine ;

Bu t alas ! I too have been deceivedN o hear t so false as t h i n e !

*I felt t h a t it was like a dr eam,To o beaut i fu l to l a s t ;

Wo u l d that I could but ne verShall I forget the pas t .

When he to ld me t h a t he loved me,H o w l i t t le d i d I k n o w

That he was then deceiving meI could not t h i n k it so !

Oh, bel ieve me, i t i s bi t ter,Whe n yov: f ind you 've been decei ved,

B y one who se love you felt assuffedCould ever be bel ieved ;

T he b u r d e n of t h a t s o r r o wCauses b i t t e r tears to flow ;

T h o u g h t h e r e is a b r i g h t t o - m o r r o w,Th e p r e s e n t ' s n o u g h t b u t w o e .

O n c e h o w t r u l y did I love thee ,N o w, for ever m u s t w e p a r t ;

T h e r e ' s n o u g h t b u t t i m e in th is s a d w o r l dTo heal a b r o k e n hear t .

T h o u g h c a l m l y c o u l d I m e e t thee ,A s I used to do of yore ,

W e n o w m u s t p a r t for e v e r -Farewel l ! we meet no more . M. L. M.

G O D T B E Y M A R K L A N D .

C H A P T E R V I I .

W h e n Godfrey Markland left the blind man's humble dwelling-place hetook his way to the Temp le, havi ng first called in Cumb erland Pla ce to say heshould not dine at hom e; for he was very particular in his observance of suchproprieties, and w ould as soon have failed in an appoin tment with royaljtyitself as have stayed out to dinner, w ith out apprising La dy Catherine of hisintention.

Mr . Thax ton 's chambe rs were almost as far abo ve the level of the earth asthe summit of Mont Bl anc ; but Godfrey was accustomed to the ascent, andon reaching the fourth landing was glad to perceive that the door was notornamented with the slip of paper which gives intimation that the occu pant of the rooms is not with in. It was quite a relief to his mind after mount ing to soinconvenient a height that he was not greeted with the annoying placard thathad oft-times met his e y e " Gone out for the evenin g." So he opened the doorwith out ceremony, and found his learned friend busy in making preparatio nsfor his bachelor 's tea. Th e tray was on the table, the kettle on the hob.There was a good fire, a plat e of muffins r eady to be toast ed, and all the

etceteras with which the solitary dweller in Temple chambers is wont tosolace his loneliness.Mr . Tha xto n was a man of considerable talent, about thirty years of age,

and naturally of a lively temper, inclining to look at the bright side of everypict ure; but disappoint ment and hope deferred had comb ined their chillinginfluences to damp the ardour o f his youthful aspirations, and he had lear nedfrom experience that the cares of life may be heavy enou gh to o utwe igh all

its pleasures. Hi s professio n had been ill-c hosen , inasmu ch as he had noinfluential friends to push hi m on at the ba r; consequ ently the lig ht of hisgenius, which might have shown effectively in some other sphere, was perforcehidden under a bushel. H e had been obliged to give up the circuit becausethe business he obtained never paid one quarter of his expenses, and hisprin cipal means of subsistance were derived from the rents of two freeholdnouses which produced jointly about eighty pounds a year, and the pay hereceived as a parli amenta ry repor ter for one of the mor nin g papers. Still hemi ght have gone on pleasantly enou gh ifthe had not bee n in love ; but beingin love, he naturally wished to marry, and wit h his very limit ed incomemarri age was at present entirely out of the question. The object of hisdevotion was now in her twenty- eighth year. She had remained single for

his sake, till the bloom of youth had passed away, and the stern realities of life had superseded the joyous but illusive dreams of girl hoo d; still she wasfaithful to him , and they bot h l ived on in the h ope that the time would yetcome when their destinies might be united.

" H a h ! Is it you, Markland? " said Thaxton, in a cheerful tone, as heturned round from the fire to see who had entered so unceremoniously. " J u s tin time for some tea. But I dare say you haven 't di ned ? "

" No , I have not," replied Markland ; "b ut never min d; tea will do. I ' mnot very particular. Hav e you got two cups and saucers ? "

" Behol d my resources ! " exclaimed the Templar, gaily, at the same timeopening the door of a cupboard, which contained china and glass enough forhalf a do zen people at least. " And here," he continued, goi ng to anotherreceptacle, from which he produced a knuckle o f ham, the remains of a pigeonpie, and a bott le o f ale, " i f you can put up wit h these, yo u need not goquite wit hout a dinner, but may amuse yoursel f while I make the t ea."

Mar klan d readily accept ed the proffered hospita lity, for he had fasted muc hlonger than usual, and c ommenc ed a vigor ous attack upon the viands setbefore him, being really hungry.

" Thi s is a capital pi e," he said, " and is about to vanish fo rthw ith ; for Iwas afraid you w rould be gon e out if I wait ed to have my dinner, an d I wantto talk to you."

" That's right ," said Thaxt on. " I should have gone out, perhaps, butam better pleased to stay at home, and have the who le evening at your service,for I am not due at the House till eleven."

" Good," said Marklan d. " Then I shall have plenty of time to tell you along story, and take your advice upon it ; for, you must kno w, it is businessthat brings me here, and business of some importance too."

"Business of impor tance!" echoed Thaxt on. " Y o u are not goi ng toplunge yourself into a lawsuit, I ho pe. "

" You hope ! " said Godfrey. " Wh y, it woul d be all the better for you if Iwere ."

" But it mig ht, and most likely would, be the worse for yourself," saidThaxt on. " No , no, Markland ; keep out of that if you possibly can."

"W ha t an extraordinary fellow you are, T o m ! " excl aime d Godfrey" Ho w do you expect to get on in the world, if you give such advice as that ? "

" Only to my very particular f riends," said Thaxt on, laughing. " Butwhat is all this about ? "

" Noth ing to do with my own affairs," replied Mar kla nd; "s o you may beeasy on my account. Ther e I have made a most glorious repast; and now,wit h your leave, I will toast my own muffin, after the fashion of one of ouirespected sovereigns, if tradition speaks the truth."

H e finished his glass of ale, then set about his self-imposed task, withas much zeal as if the welfare of his life depended upon the successful performance of that piece of cookery, and when the muffin was fairly butteredand the tea poured out, he introduced the subject that was really engr ossing hi?thoughts, in the following rather startling manner " Tom, have you a mindto make your fortune ? "

" A mind to make it ? " said the astonished lawyer. " Yes unqu estionab ly.But how is it to be done ? "

" S i m p l y by the unravelling of a myster y," replied Godfrey. " I f youhave any talent that way, there is a field open for the exercise of it, and aric h reward to be gaine d. In short, if yo u were to be luck y enoug h to findthe clue to a certain mysterious affair that took place some five and twentyyears back, your fortune woul d be mad e at o n c e ; and I verily believe thethin g is to be done by perseveran ce. At any rate it is worth tryin g."

" Of course it is wort h try ing, if such is the e nd to be obt ain ed, " saidThaxt on. " But when you talk of making a fortune, you are speakingfiguratively, I supp ose ? "

" No , indeed, I mean literally what I say," replied Godfrey ; " for it is acase that, if the truth were clearly proved, would restore a valuable estate toits rightful owner, who would amply repay the service. It is, however, aventure, and will demand the sacrifice, prob ably , of a great deal of ti me ; butif you will risk the loss of time and trouble, I will bear all the expenses ; youshall be at no cos t."

" My dear Markland," returned Thaxt on, " you must know very well that i f this is anything that interests you, all the assistance that I can give is at yourservice. Yo u have only to tell me what to do, and reckon upon it as done. "

" We l l , then, the case is briefly this," said Godfrey; " a b o u t five andtwenty years ago there was a black fellow shot dead in the park of MorringtonHal l , that fine place near B ristol, no w in the possession of Sir Jame sMorrington, who was member for the county before the last dissolution.But I believe you are not much acquainted with that part of the country ? "

" N o , not at all," replied Thaxt on. "B ut w hat about this black man ?

wh o shot him ? ""T ha t is the very thing I want you to find out ," said Godfrey. " T h e

elder brot her of Sir James M orr ing ton, who had just succeeded to the estate,was accused of the murder . The man was his own personal attendant; andsuch an over whel min g mass of circum stantial eviden ce appeared t o fix thecrime upon him, that he fled the coun try, and has been livi ng in povert yand exile ever since. No w I have good reason to believe, in fact I know , that



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he is as guiltless of this murder as yo u or I ; a nd what we want to discoveris, ho w Blackey came by his death."

" No t a very easy thing to ascertain after th e lapse o f flve-and-twentyyears," said Thax ton; "still , it is not impossible. And now, tell me how al lthis has come to your knowledge, and wh y yo u are so much interestedabout it ? "

" That is precisely what I am going to do," said Godfrey. " It is the mostremarkable thing that ever happened to me in my life** and what it may leadto Heaven only knows. I have "seen Sir James Mor rin gto n, and a more ill-looking fellow I never beheld. No w, I verily believe he contrived to throwthe appearance of guilt on his brother, not only with a view to the estate, bu tfrom private motives of hatred an d reveng e. How eve r, you shall hear th ewhole story, and judge for yourself."

Markland commen ced the recital by describing his first accidental meetingwith the blind man, when he saved him from a fall that might have provedfatal; then he gave all the particulars of the affray in Oxford Street, whichbrought them again in contact, and his acceptance of the mysterious stranger 'sinvitation to visit him, which caused th e ma n of law to shake his head, anddescant on the perils and dangers he migh t have been drawn into by such an

act of imprudence." Wel l , I knew it was not exactly the thing," said Markland ; " bu t I was

curious to know more of the man ; and ' nothing venture, nothing have, ' thatI believe is an axi om universally accredited. How eve r, I went, and richlyindeed was I repaid for the venture. You ca n hardly imagine a moreimposing figure than the ol d man presented, with his long robe and hisvenerable beard, hanging down almost to his girdle . He put me in mind of one of the ancient king s."

" King Lear, perhaps," suggested Thaxton, laughing." O h , you wretched f e l l o w ! " exclaimed Godfrey. " T h a t ' s th e way you

spoil everything. But, as he wanted th e state of a king, it would be nearerthe mark to liken him to old Homer, whom he does resemble in his blindness,his poverty, and his sublime genius ; for ' the ma n hath music in his soul,'and no doubt he is a poet. And now incline your ear seriously to what I amabout to tell, for it is no ordinary tale, I can assure y o u . "

"F i r e awa y ! " said the barrister, drawing hi s chair closer to the table bywa y of finding a resting-place for his elbow, " I ' m al l attention."

Markland then commenced th e history with which th e reader is alreadyacquainted, suppressing only such parts of it as related to Lady Catherine,whose name he never once mentioned in the course of the recital, for itwas far too sacred in his estimation to be so dealt with. H e thereforeaccounted for th e mutual regard that had so suddenly sprung up betweenhimself and the unfortunate hero of the tale, b y saying that th e latterin hi s golden age, was the intimate friend of his father. Thaxtonlistened with profound attention, hi s interest increasing as the narrativeproceeded, nor did he offer th e slightest interruption from th e beginning tothe end ; and when it was concluded, he remained silent fo r some minutes,buried in deep thought.

" We l l , what do you th ink of i t ? " said Godfrey." It is an intricate affair a very intricate affair ind eed ," said th e lawyer,

" and I am exceedingly doubtful as to the disentangling of it."" B u t is it not monstrous that an innocent man, a gentleman b y birth,

fortune, and education, should be sacrificed to evidence so utterly, so palpablyfalse ? " said Godfrey. " It is really an abomination that ought not to bepossible in an enlightened country."

" I t is a misfortune, no doubt ," sa id Thaxton; "but I believe there aremany such victims, and the worst of it is, that even th e wisest of our legislators would be sadly puzzled, I imagine, to suggest a remedy for the evil.In fact there is no help for it, unless lawyers were to be gifted with superhuman powers of judgment, a state of perfect ion we shall hard ly arrive at."

" I t seems to me, Tom, that a more liberal exercise of common sense wouldanswer th e purpose," said Godfrey. " And now th e question is , will y o uundertake this business ? "

" M o s t assuredly I wi l l , " he replied. "Parl iament will be up in a fe wdays, and I shall be at liberty. But don' t le t your friend b e too sanguine, for I

candidly confess I do not see our way out of the labyrinth ; and, moreover,should advise you not to breathe a syllable of this story to any living soul;for, if it were to get abroad, I should not like t o stand in th e poor fellow 'sshoes, I can tell you."

" N o , no , I shall be especia lly careful on that score," said Godfrey. " I nfact, he gave me the same caution himself, for he is quite aware that he is no tstanding o n safe gro un d; and he rather hesitated when I proposed makingyo u a party to the secret of his positive existence here in En g land ; but Ispoke up valiantly for your honour and discretion, Heaven forgive m e ! "

" Ah , w e l l ! I must strain my conscience so far as to do th e same for yousome o f these days; so we shall be quits," said Thaxton. "Apropos of discretion, or rather the want of it, how do you get on in Weymouth Street ? "

" Much as usual," replied Godfrey, " Howev er, I 'm thinking of giving upgoing there altogether."

" Indeed! " said Thaxton. " Why, what ' s in the wind now ? Hav e youmet with metal more attractive ? "

" N o t so, exac tly," replied Godfrey; " b u t I believe it will be better, al lthings considered."

" T o speak the truth, Markland, I am very much of your opinion,'-' saidThaxton, " and shall be glad to hear that you have given it u p . "

" W h y ? " asked Godfrey." Wel l , I can hardly tell you wh y, " replied his f r iend; "but I 've an od d

sort o f impression about those people. The y may be all right nevertheless,I should bo sorry to see you entangled in that w e b . "

"The re ' s no t much fear of my getting entangled in any web," saidMarkland, somewhat pettishly; " and why there should be such an unreasonable prejudice against Mrs. Russell and her daughters, really passes mycomprehension. My mother has imbibed it to a considerable extent and it is

to satisfy her that I have made up my mind to drop the connection, though Imust say I don't quite relish th e idea o f banishing myself from such anagreeable place o f "

" Worsh ip , " interrupted Thaxton, laughing." Ridiculous! " exclaimed Godfrey. " There is no t an atom of worship in

the case. Bu t it is the most extraordinary thing in the world that a mancan't call, now an d then, at a house where there are ladies, without beingaccused of matrimonial views."

" We l l , so it is, '] said Thaxton; " y e t I verily believe half the marriagesthat take place might trace their origin to such reports. So, y o u haveprudently resolved to cease your visits to the beautiful Cynthia? "

" I have often told you, To m, and I repeat it again, that my visits werenever intended exclusiv ely for Cynthia Russell."

" Yo u have often told me so, I know ," said Thaxton, "a nd I dare say youhave often told Lad y Catherine Markland precisely the same thi ng; yet itdoes not appear that you have succeeded in convinci ng her reason."

" N o , I have not," he replied. " On that point she is impracticable;therefore, to make he r mind easy, I have determined to break off theacquaintance."

Now, in saying this, Godfrey believed himself to be sinc ere; yet if he couldhave sounded th e depths of his ow n heart, he might have discovered, and itwould no doub t have surprised him, that filial duty had less to do with hishalf formed resolution than the hint he had received from Mrs. Russell'sofficious servant. However, it was a subject he was not disposed to dwell upon,and the discourse again turned to the affairs of the unfortunate and injuredheir of Morrington Hall. A plan was sketohed out for the lawyer's proceedings, which it was arranged should be commenced with as little delay aspossible, an d then, as Markland was in too restless a mood to go home early,he accompanied Thaxton down to the House, where he remained till oneo'clock listening to the debate on the Jews' Emancipat ion Bill, a question inwhich he took a great deal of interest, having two or three intimate friends of that persuasion. C H A P * E R V I I I .

W h e n Godfrey Markland joined hi s mother at the breakfast-table on thefollowing morning, it was with a feeling of embarrassment truly painful to a

mind so ingenuous as his own, which arose from the consciousness that he wasin possession o f a secret she had so long and so carefully concealed from hisknowledge. H e felt like one guilty of sacrilege; as though he had robbedthe altar of its most sacred treasure. Yet he was happy in the reflection thathe had not voluntarily and with reckless hand, dared to lift the veil she haddrawn over he r past sorrows; he knew that he was in no way accountablefor a revelation that ha d been forced upon him independently of his ownwill. Nevertheless, he was ill at ease; and the unusual constraint of hismanner was instantly observed by Lady Catherine, who attributed his evidentabstraction to a cause widely apart from the real one.

" I did not see you all day yesterday, Godfrey," she said, gravely." No, madam," he replied. " I dined and spent the evening with my friend

Thaxton. He is going out o f town on business that will probably keep himaway for some months, so that I was glad to have the opportunity of spendinga few hour s with him before his depar ture."

" Certainly, I am glad you did. He is a man for whom I have a veryhigh esteem," said Lady Catherine, who was infinitely relieved to find thather fears were groundless. " I t must be business o f some importance, Ishould suppose, if it will occupy that length of time. Do you know what thenature of it is ? "

" Yes ," replied Godfrey; " b u t it seems to be rather a complicated affair.Some man, it appears, is holding an estate that belongs by right to anotherperson, who was supposed to be dead. Howe ver, the true heir has re-appeared,bu t as they expect the present possessor will dispute his claim, it is necessaryto collect proofs of its validity before they co mmence any legal proceedings,and this is what Thaxton is going about."

" I hope he will succee d," said the lady ; " for it is very lamentable whenmight prevails over right, which is too often the case."

Lady Catherine sighed deeply as she uttered these words, sighed as if somechord had been touched in he r heart that gave out a melancholy vibration.

Godfrey fancied he could trace that sigh to its source. " She is thinkingof Morrington Hall," he said to himself; "and of the rights that have therebeen outraged. Perhaps, even, th e same picture may at this moment bepresent to us bot h." An d again these words of the unhappy exile seemed tothrill in his ea r: "A nd your mother, Godfrey Markland, the Lady Catherine,then in all the pride of her youth and beauty, yes, even she has sat with me onthat very spot, an d listened with favour to my vows of love." " Yes," continued Godfrey, pursuing the same train of thought that had suggested itself tohis mind, "memory is, no doubt, recalling past scenes and days long gone by;her spirit is perhaps wandering beneath the shade of those fine old trees tbafcformed her earliest temple of love. How little does she dream that I haveinvaded that sacred temple, and that its mysteries are no mysteries to me. Iwould fain know something of her thoughts and feelings with regard to him.Does she believe him to be dead or l iv ing? Does she think of him asone more sinned against than sinning? It is a strange part I have top l a y ; but "

Here he was startled from this unwo nted reverie by his moth er asking inwhat part of the co untry the disputed estate was situated.

N o w this was a very natural questio n, yet he stammered and blushed likea school-girl, as he answered with some hesitation, " I n Gloucestershire/'

Lady Catherine's hand trembled slightly, and she replaced the cup of coffee she was in the act of raising to her lips. T h e emotion was so veryslight, that at any other time her son wou ld not hav e observed it, but tie wasfully alive to all such indications no w; and although he did not lift bfa eyesto her face, was quite aware that th e same shadow he had so often *eforeremarked an d wondered at, was passing over that noble countenance. Th ecause was no longer a secret; but for his solemn promise to the blino? man,



September i5 , i8co .j USEFUL INFORMATION AND AMU SEM ENT. 311

his own ardent nature woul d have promp ted him to fold her in his arms andtell her all. But the dark cloud had already passed away, and her feat ureswore their usual calm expression as she said, "T hi s cause, I should think,Godfrey, could hardly be in better hands. I have a very high opinion of M r. Thaxton's professional ability, and should not hesitate to trust him, evenwhere my dearest interests were concerned."

" Ah, mot her! " thought the young man, " y o u little imagine that yourdearest interests may even be concerned in this ."

It was a relief to Godfrey when breakfast was over and Lady Catherinehad retired to her own morning room, as was her invariable custom afterbreakfast, nor did any one ever presume to intrude on her privacy duringthe hour she devoted to prayer or m editation.

W h e n Lady Catherine was gone, Markland sat for some time with hiselbows on the table, and his forehead resting on his hands, buried in profoundthought . A weig hty care was pressing upon his mind ; a duty had devolvedupon him, at least so he considered it, that he did not clearly see his way tofultil without a great deal of trouble and embarrassment. Ye t, the more hereflected on it, the str onge r was his conviction that he o ugh t no t to sufferthe man who had once been the object of his beloved mother's tenderestaffections, who might have stood in the nearest and dearest degree of relat ionship towards her, whose memory he had every reason to believe was stillfondly cherished in her heart, he could not let that man remain in theuiserable state of destitution in whic h he had found him. He must beremoved to a place more befitting his proper sphere, and more in accordancewith his high pretensions. But the great difficulty that stood in the waywas, how the necessary funds were to be raised without applyi ng to La dyCatherine, as every shilling at his disposal was already bespoke to furnishThax ton with the means of com menci ng his investigati ons.

Such a dilemma was new to Godfrey, and the idea of borro wing moneywas both painful and humil iatin g; yet the case was imperative, and aftersome consideration he determined to apply to his solicitors for an advance of tw o hundred pounds, on iuterest, whic h, as he wou ld be of age in a fewmonths, and they had ample security in their hands, was no very great matterafter all. Th e worst consequences that could arise from the transaction were,that it mig ht s ubject him to the suspi cion of having been gui lty of someimprudences he deemed it advisable to conceal; but, as he had n othin g of the Jos eph Surface about him, he did not care muc h about that. Havingsettled this important point in his own mind, he looked over the advertisingcolumns of the 'Times, where, if a man does not meet wi th everyt hing he canpossibly desire, his wishes must be unreasonable indeed. Her e he very soonlighte d upon what he though t w ould answer his purpose exceed ingly well.It was the offer of a widow lady to receive into her house in the nei ghbou rhood of Kensing ton Gardens, an elderly gentleman or lady as a boarder onmodera te terms ; and as it set forth that the home thereby secured would bevery quiet and comfortable, owing to the fact that no other inmates would beadmitted, Godfrey said to himself, " Thi s is the very thi ng. I will see abou tit at once ; " and h aving written the address on the back of one of his owncards, he called for his boots, and in a few minutes was on his way toKensington.

Th e house referred to was a small, pleasant-looking domicile, with alittle garden in front, the gate of which was adorned wi th a brass platebearing the name of Mrs. Campbel l. There was an air of comfort andcleanliness about the place that was particularly agreeable to the ey e; and,although the space was limited to about thirty feet square, it wis evidentthat the hand of taste had been emplo yed in the arrangement of the shrubsand flowers. Markland pushed open the gate and walked up to the housedoor, which was opened by a remarkably neat servant girl, wh o, in answer tohis inquiry as to whether Mrs . Campbell was at home, asked " Wh at nameshe should say ? "

No w it had not occurred to Godfrey till this moment that it would not bewise to give his own name, as circumstances might possibly arise that wouldmake it desirable that his connection with Sir Arthur Mor ring ton, alias Mr .Gilroy, should not be known . The girl 's question therefore took him bysurprise, and he replied, somewhat awkwardly, "Oh why she does notknow my name. Yo u can say a gentleman about the advertisement ."

" Yes , sir, I kno w, " said the damsel, looking at him compl acent ly." Wal k in, sir, please, and I wi ll tell my mistress."

Then, without waiting to see that he availed himself of her invitation towalk in, the gir l ran along the passage and down two or three stairs, whereshe,dis appeared. In a few minutes she returned all smiles and flutter, andintimating that he was to follow her, led the way to a pretty little room atthe back of the house, in which two ladies were sitting, one of mature age,the other very young.

Our hero had made use of the short in terval that preceded his i ntroductionto invent a plausible tale ; for, strange to say, it had never once struck himtill the damsel inquired his name, that the mistress of the house wou ldnaturally wish to know who the person was that proposed to domesticatehimself in her family. Short as the time was, it had sufficed for the purpose,and the facility with w hich he fabricated a little r omance to beguile the ear of the. confiding gentlewoman may not perhaps inspire the reader with a veryexalted opinion of his habitual truthfulness; nevertheless, his veracity in ageneral way was unimpeachable, and this trifling detour from the path of rectitude was entirely owing to the force of circumstances.

Th e elder lady was rather a port ly dame, whose placid co untenancebetokened a mild, benevolent disposition. She*was dressed with the utmostprecision, in a black silk gown, and a lace cap tied under the chin with whiteribbon. He r thin, grey hair was smoothly parted over a brow remarkablyfree from the wrinkl es o f age or care, and her cheek still retain ed a slighttinge of the roses that in youth had bloomed brightly there, as a few faintstreaks of cri mson w ill li nger in the sky lon g after the sun has gon e down.A large book was on the table befor e her, and her spectacles were lyi ng onthe open page, as if she had taken them off on the announcement of a visitor

Her companion was a young girl, slight, fair, and childlike in appearance,very pretty, certainly, but not striking. Markla nd, at his entrance, had justnoticed her presence b y a slight b ow , but there was so little to attract hisattention, that he did not see the vivid blush that overspread the maiden'sface and neck, as she returned his salutation.

" Pray be seated, sir," said the old lady politely."T ha nk you, madam," he replied. " I have taken the liberty of calling,

in consequen ce of an advertisement I s aw in the Times this morning, statingthat yo u could accommodate a single gentleman with board and lod gin g."

" Very true, sir," said the lady ; " but I believe it was expressly mention edthat it must be an elderly gentleman."

" Exactly so, madam," said Godfrey; " and it is on behalf of an elderlygentleman, a relative of mine, that I have presumed to trouble you."

" Oh, inde ed, " said the la dy ; " that alters the case. Ma y I ask w h o m Ihave the pleasure o f speaking to ? "

" My name is Walker," replied Godfrey, " a medical student, and myuncle is Mr. Gilroy of Coventry."

" M e d i c a l s t u d e n t ! " echoed the lady, lookin g perfectly aghast, "M yr a,my dear," she added, turning to the youn ger lad y, " you had better go andhelp Kitty."

" Yes , grandm a ! " said the little maiden, rising wit h alacrity and trippingout of the room, as if glad to make her escape.

Markland could scarcely help laug hing, but he began to talk in so quiet,agreeable, and rational a style, that Mrs. Campbell speedily recovered fromthe shock her nerves had sustained at hear ing that he bel onge d to so gracelessa fraternity, and her scruples as to receivin g his aged relative as an inmate, astep that would naturally involve occasional visits from himself, graduallygave way to her admiratio n o f his very gentlema nlike manners and extremelyhandsome person.

" The gentleman has not been long in London, I think you said, sir ? "" No, madam, only a few days. He has come for the purpose of consulting

an oculist, for he is at present labouring under a severe affliction he has losthis sight."

" D e a r m e ! poor gentleman! that is an affliction indeed," said Mrs.Campbell. " How long has he been blind ? "

"Nearly two years," replied Godfrey; "b ut I am in- hopes the case is notincurable, and if I am fortunate enough to find a quiet h ome for him wherehis comforts wil l be cared for, it will relieve me from a great anxiety, as I amthe only relation he has in Lo nd on ."

Mrs. Campbell was one of those good Samaritans to whose kind officesphysical suffering is a certain passport, cons equently she was seized with anearnest desire to have the opportun ity of besto wing her benevol ent cares onthe blind, but withal, she did not lose sight of that prudent caution which itbehoves all single gentlewomen to exercise in their dealings with the oppositesex; therefore, in a mild, half apolo getic tone, she insinuated the pro priety of his furnishing her with t he names of some well accredited individu als whowould take upon themselves to be answerable for the respectability of hischaracter and his general good behaviou r, o f which, however, she declared shehad not the smallest do ub t; but such references were usual, and she liked toabide by established customs.

Markland replied that he had not many acquaintances in London. " Except , "he added, slily, "s om e of my fellow students, and I am afraid yo u wou ldhardly be satisfied with their report."

" Wh y, I must confess, Mr. Walker, I would rather yo u could refer me tosomebody else," said Mrs. Campbell.

" Yes, certainly," said Godfrey, " I ought to have thought of that. Oh, bythe way, there's my friend Mr . Thaxton, a barrister of the Mid dle Temple ; hewill do, I suppose ? "

Mrs. Campbell expressed her approval of so respectable a referee as abarrister of the Midd le Tem ple, and her satisfaction was not lessened byMarkl and's pr oposi ng, for her better security, to pay for a month in advance.

Cowper says, " There is in souls a sympathy with sounds," and truly, thereis no sound in the En glis h language that awakens the sympathies of the soulmore quickly than the monosyllable "pa y, " a little word indeed, butwondrously powerful. This point settled and other preliminaries arranged,Godfrey took his leave, and hastened to the Temp le, to give Thaxtonnotice of the application that would in all probability be made to him.

"What the deuce could be your motive for assuming such a no toriouscharacter as that of a medical student ? " said Tha xto n. " Wh y it was enoughto frighten any quiet old lady out of her wits ; especial ly one with a granddaughter under her charge."

" P o o h ! A mere child," said Godfrey. " I pr otest I had the greatestdifficulty in the world to keep from laughing outright at the alarm sheexhibited, and the hurry in which she sent the poor little thing away. ItWas absolutely ridiculous!"

" N o t at all," returned Thaxto n. "P ra y ho w old was the child, as youcall her ? "

" U p o n my word, I ha ve not the least idea, " replied Godfrey. "Thirteenor fourteen, perhaps. But, really, I scarcely looked at her."

" We l l , then, she might be fifteen or sixteen for anything you know," saidTha xto n; "a nd Granny will keep a watchful eye upon you, depend upon it."

"H er little girl is in no danger from me," said Markland, with a somewhatcontemptu ous smi le. " I am not go in g to lay siege to the heart of a missjust out of the nursery. But, I say, To m, how shall I get an outfit for myadopted uncle ? His present wardrob e is in a very tattered conditi on, and Ican' t send my tailor to hi m. "

" Moses is your man, " r eplied the Templa r. " A little ready mone y, andyo u may have an uncle to be proud of in no time."

" Ah , to be sure," said Markland. " Wh at a stupid fellow I must be not t ohave thought of that before."

Godfrey then proceeded to unfold his plan for raising the supplies, to which. Thaxton saw no objection, and as he was Godfr ey's oracle on most occasions



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his opinion went a lon g way towards silencing the scruples of the latter withregard to that measure. ' C h a p t e e I X .

Th er e are times when the stream of life flows on from day to day, throughweeks an d months , and even years, wit h so little varia tion from its slow,untroubled, measured course, that any change, whether to joy or sorrow,would be relief from the dull mon oton y of the still waters that are neitherruffled for a moment by a rude breath of wind, brightened by a sudden ray of sunshine, or darkened beyond their usual tame colou ring by a threatening-cloud or a passing storm. But there are also times when the events of yearsseem to be crow ded into the bri ef space of a few short d ays ; whe n the ti de of fate hurries onward with such a rapid, mad career, that we look back with

wonder to that which was perchance not many hours before, and ask ourselves," Can this be really so ?"

Thus it was with Godfrey Markland at the close of the eventful week thatfollowed the revelations of Sir Arthu r Morri ngton . The world had assumedan entirely new aspect to him. His careless light-heartedness had givenplace to anxious tho ugh t; and the couleur de rose that had lighted him alonghis boyish path was fast mer gin g int o the sombre hues that overshadow thelater scenes of existence. Ha d he done well to invol ve himself so deeply inthe affairs of a ruined and an outl awed man ? This question was perpetuallyforcing itself upon his mi nd; and alt hough the same generous feelings thathad prompted him in the first instance to take up the cause cont inued toanimate his exertion s, he was not at ease under the sense of the heavyresponsibility he had taken upo n himself, the conseq uences of whi ch were sodoubtful. But this was not his greatest t roub le; for although it migh t bean anxiety, it was no cause of self-reproach. He could not condemn himself for the part he had acted, however he m ight regret the singular chain of circumstances that had led him into such a predicament . A far more seriousmatter clouded his b row with deep and painful thought. He was no longer

a free ma n; he had broken his word ; he had vi olated the promise sosolemnly given to the best of mothers, and had boun d himself by ties that,to one of his honourable feelings, were stronger than chains of adamant.Vainly did he try to persuade himself he w as happy in his bo nd ag e; therewas a weight on his spirits that told a different tale ; and all attempts toshake it off were utterly fruitless. In short, he had fallen into the snare hehad treated as a myth, and deemed it folly to avoid he had made an offer of marriage to Cynthia Russell, and it was accepted. Alas ! how seldom does ithappen that the attainment of any object, however tempting, however coveted,realises our expectat ions of the happiness to be derived from it.

It was on the third day after his visit to Mr s. Campbel l, and the one preceding that on which his p rot ege was t o be removed to that lady's residence,when" Godfrey Markla nd availed himself of this, the first leisure momen t hehad found, to call in We ym out h Street, where he had not made his appearance since the day of his unpleasant rencontre with Sir James Morr ingto n.Contrary to the general custom, the door was op ened by a female servant,who, having n o orders as to the admittance or non-admittance of visitors, toldhi m that Mrs. Russell was out with one of the young ladies, she did not know

which, bu t that the other was in the draw ing- room , and h opin g to findCynthia alone, he flew up stairs and opened the door without giving anysign or token o f his appr oach. Cynthia was there, indeed, but not al one ;She stood at a window with her face turned towards the street, so that she didnot observe his entrance, and before he had time to make his presence known,he heard these startling words, spoken in a loud angry tone by another person,wh o was pacing the room, apparently in a state of considerable excitement," I will submit to this trilling no longe r! No w, or never ! An answer Imust have before I leave the house, and if ." He re he turned round,and seeing Markland, gave utterance to a violent exclamation of rage, whichwas suddenly suppressed, and he stood still, eyeing the intruder with looks of scorn and defiance; then, turning to Cynthia, who was n ow aware thatGodfrey was in the room, he said, with an air of bitter sarcasm, " Oh, that'sit, mad am! Yo u are playing a double game, I perceive. I had somesuspicion of this, which broug ht me here now when I was not expected. Butthe odds are against you , depend upo n it. Y o u lose one stake, and it wil lrequire some skill to win the other, if it is wort h tryi ng for, whic h I verymuch doubt."

" Are your observations levelled at me, sir ? " said Mark land, fiercely." A t any one they m ay happe n to suit," was the insolent reply. " T h elady knows best who that may be ." So saying, he strode out of the room,not' deigning to cast another glance at the fair object of his indignation, whohad not uttered a single word. Marklan d was following him, when Cynthiarushed forward with a scream of terror, and caught his arm.

" S t o p , Mr. Markland! stop! for heaven's sake st op !" she excla imed;" do no t quarrel with him, for he is like a wolf when his temper is roused."

4 1 More like a fox, I suspect," said Godfrey; " but I shall unkennel himone of these days ; at least, I h ope so. Pra y, is it for his safety or mine,Miss Russell, that you are thus alarm ed ? "

" O h ! Mr. Markland, it is hardly generous to ask such a questio n," shereplied . " There is some thin g so dreadful in the tho ugh t of bei ng the causeof a deadly strife, that it may well alarm me, even if I felt no interest in thesafety of either."

" Even if yo u felt no interest? " said Godfrey. " W h a t d o e s that mean,Cynthia? And what did he mean by his insulting language and vileiimendoes ? "

" Yo u are able to judge of that as well as I am," she replied. " H i slangu age was indeed insulting insul ting to you and degradi ng to me. Oh,Mr . Markl and, what can you, what must you thin k? "

" Not hin g injurious to you, believe me, Miss Russell," he replied. " Suchmalicious shafts, from a man like Sir James Morrington, fall VGry harmless."

"T he shafts o f malice never fall harmless," she replied, bursting in to tears;"they lessen regard, they destroy confidence, and friendship loses all its valuewhen esteem and conf idenc e are gone."

Markla nd was entirely thrown off his guard by this flattering, half-tenderappeal.

" Yo u do not s uppose," he exclaimed, with passionate vehemence, " thatmy esteem is lessened, that my confiden ce is shaken, by the intem perate wordsof a jealous rival ? "

" A rival, Mr. Mar klan d!" she echoed, faintly." Ye s , dearest Cynthia, a rival, " he repeated; "f o r I cannot be blind to

his pretensions, nor can you, I think, be wholly ignorant of mine ."He paused. She made no answer, but sank down on the sofa, and covered

her face with her delicate white hands, whilst the tumul tuous heav ing of herbosom, and the visibl e trem bli ng of her w hol e frame betra yed an excess of emotion she seemed utterly powerless to control. Whet her this wa s a genuine

exhibition of feeling, or a consummate piece of acting, it might be difficult todetermine; but in either case it was eminently calculated to produce thedesired effect upon so ardent and impulsive a lover as Godfrey Markland. Hethrew himse lf on his knees before her, and seizing her hand, pressed it alternately to his heart and to his lips; then he drew her gently towards him tillher b eautiful head rested on his should er, and her glossy, jet black ringletstouched his cheek. It was all over with him then; every prudent resolvewas f orgo tten in the ecstasy of the moment , and the irrev ocable words werespoken that bound him, in honou r at least, hand and heart for ever, to onewhose virtues he had taken upon trust, whose origi n was shrouded in mystery,and whose beauty was the only good that was unquestionable.

W h o shall affirm that the da ys of witchcraft are over, when spells mayeven yet be cast around us that give a false appearance to all w e behol d,and c heat the senses wi th image s as illus ory as any that were ever conjuredup by the enchanter's wand in ancient story ?

The scene had lasted abou t ha lf an hour, or it mig ht be someth ing more,for lovers take but little note of time, when it was interrupted by the returnof the other ladies from their walk, and on entering the draw ing-roo m,

they needed no informant beyond their own quick perceptions to tell themwhat ha d been passing. A smile of min gle d satisfaction and trium ph was,for an instant, visible on the co untena nce o f the mother , but was quicklysuppressed, and superseded by a look of utter unconsciousness ; whilst Led a,though not altogether displeased at the turn her sister's affairs had taken,since it left the baro net at libe rty, in dulg ed in her usual spirit of iron y.

" Dear me^Mr . Ma rkl and !" she exclaimed. " Ho w very unfortunate thatwe should have happened to be out ! Benson says you have been waitingfor us these two hours. I am sure mamma and I ou ght to feel much flattered.An d how dreadfully dull you must have been too; for I perceive that Cynthiahas no t even opened the piano . H o w is it possible you can have contrive dto amuse yourselves all that time without a little music ? I wish we hadcome back soon er, for yo ur sake, I a m sure. W e could just as well havereturned an hour ago."

" Benson makes a great mistake about the time, " said Markland, colouring." I have been here scarcely half an hour, and shou ld have been very sorry,Miss Adelaide, if you had hurried on my account."

" I have not the smallest doubt of either of those assertions," repli ed the

young lady, with a provo king laugh, as she untied her bonnet and threw itdown on a chair, then wal ked carelessly up to a mirr or to arrange harredunda nt tresses. " Your strict adheren ce to the truth is a fact soundeniable, that it may even set the hall -cloc k at defiance."

" I am proud of your good opin ion, Miss Leda, and shall certainl y do mybest endeavour to merit its continuance," said Godfrey, with a low bow of mock seriousness; then turning to Mrs. Russell, he began to talk on the generaltopics of the day, and after a few comm on-pla ce observations, took his leaveon the plea of other engage ment s, declari ng he had only stayed so lo ng tohave the pleasure of seeing her.

As soon as the door was closed upon Markland , Mrs . Russell said, " So hehas made a proposal, Cynthia."

" Ye s , madam, he has," replied Cynthia." And you have accepted him ? " said her m other ." Of cour se," she repli ed. " Wh at di d you suppose I sho uld do ? ""B ut Sir James, my dear, what is to be done with him ? He to ld me,

this mor ning , he w as deter mined to have a decide d answer before he left thehouse, and I am afraid he will consider himself ill-used."

" Really, madam, I cannot take upon myself to study his feelings orconcern myself about his di spleasur e," said Cynth ia. " You and Leda hadbetter draw l ots for him. He is a great prize, no doubt, although I havehappened to win a greater."

" A greate r ! " echoed Leda, turning round from t he glass in whi ch shehad been contemplati ng her own handsome features.

" Ye s , a great er," repl ied Cynthi a. " I shoul d think you can hardly denythat."

" But I do deny it," said her sister ; " a man, wit hout either title or estate,cannot be equal to one who'has both."

" A n d a man without either youth or beauty ," retorted Cynthia, " cannotbe equal to one who is possessed of those agreeable qua lit ies; so that accountis bal anc ed; and as to the estate, M r. Mark land 's splendid fortune, wit h ahouse in town, is worth a dozen old country mansions walled round like anunnery at least it is more to my taste."

" Y o u are talking foolishly, Cynthia," said her mother. "Mor ring tonHa ll is a m agnifice nt place, and I onl y wish Le da may be fortunatee n o u g h "

" To get Cynthia's cast-away! " interrupted Led a, with a sneer. " Than k you, mamma, but I should very much prefer a first offering, if you please."

" Led a has a particul ar aversion to sour grape s," remar ked Cynthia,scornfully.

" Perhaps I have," returned the indi gnant be auty, her eyes flashing withanger, for she underst ood per fectly .well that this taunt was level led at thefavour she had formerly shown Godfrey Markland, who m she had latelytreated with a degree of hauteur that often amounted to rudeness. " But,"



Sep t e mb e r 15, I860.] USEFUL INFOKMATION AND AMUSEM ENT. 313

she added, "much as I detest all things that are sour, I would not condescendto the arts some people use to soften their acidity."

" Yo u are quite right, my dear," said Cynthia, "as in all pro bability itwould be labour lost. Neverthe less, I s hould seriously advise yo u to put i nfor the title and estate, for they are worth having, even at second hand."

" Pray let us have d one with all this nonsense," said M rs. Eussell, " andconsider how we may get over this awkward affair without breaking with SirJames. I should wish to avoi d that if possible, but how it is to be managedI do not exactly see."

" Yo u had better write to hi m yourself, mamm a," suggested Leda.Although Leda had affected to treat her mother's hints with contempt and

ridicule, she was, in her secret heart, by no means indifferent to the chanc ethat might be afforded her by Cynthia's caprice. In this she calculated uponher own powers of attraction, but her mother, with a deeper insight intohuman nature, speculated rather on the probabilty that a vain and proud mansuch as Sir James un doubt edly was, wou ld manifest his resentment of the slighthe had met with in one quarter by turning the light of his countenancetoward s another, and she cared not wheth er that light fell upon herself orher daughter, so long as Mornington Hall was not lost sight of altoge ther.

Wi th these ideas floating in her mind, Mr s. Eussel l said, in answer toLeda 's suggestion, " I was thinki ng of doin<* so, my dear. In fact, it willbe only right and proper to take some notice of his disappointment, as Icertainly* do feel that he has a just cause of comp lain t. I shall write no w atonce, and send Benson to his hotel with the letter. It would be as well thathe should get it before he leaves town."

Mrs. Russell then placed herself at her writing-desk, bent on compo singsuch an epistle as might soothe the wounded pride, and flatter the self-sufficiency of the discarded wooer.

(To he continued.J

I ' L L L O O K I N T O T H I N E E Y E S . { F o r Music)

•When thou, my love , art absent,A n d the time flies slowly on,

W h e n thy kiss appears most dis tant ,Or thy smile less lightly w o n

S h o u l d A doub t e'er cross my mi nd, love,Should J fancy a u g h t or fear,

I ' l l l o o k into th ine eyes, love ,A n d read my answer there .

W h e n the night see ms long and drearyB e c a u s e , love , t hou ' r t away,

"When I feel my spir i t weary,A n d for thy presence pray

S h o u l d angry passions whisper, love ,IThat j 'm to t h e e less dear,

I'll l o o k i n to t h i n e eyes, l o v e ,A n d read m y ans wer there . W . E . B .

T H E S O I L E D B R I D A L R O B E .

Do you like fairy-tales ? If so, listen to a new one . If no t ; turn over thepage; or better still, now that everybody that can get a day's holiday is off tothe country, hunt up a " Fa iry -ri ng" on the hill-side, and try to find out howit came there.

Perhaps no city was ever the scene of greater bustle and confu sion thanwas the capital of a certain k ing dom , at the time I am go in g to tell about.I shall just call it the Capital, because even w ere I to give it another namenobody would be any the wiser. Moder n maps do not contain its properappellation, and a search in the Gotha Almanack for further particularsrespecting the personages I write abou t would be equally fruitless. Gravehistorians would turn up their noses at the ve ry idea of such a tiring; but,after all, these events are jus t as well authenticated as many h istories are.

But w hy mention dates or places in a fairy story ? Everybody will guessthe events happened long ago, and once upon a time is quite near enough.

I said there was a bustle in the Capital, and the cause was this. Th eking's only daughter, then considered the loveliest woman in the world, wasabout to bestow her hand on the most char ming princ e in the universe. Al lthe milliners and dressmakers in the Capital were stitching away at thetrousseau, as though life depended on their exerti ons. As for the dresses forthe bridesmaids and lad ies-in -waitin g, they were fairly put out of the city tobe made, there w rere so many.

No w to describe the dresses I should need the tongu es of all thesemilliners beside, they call things by such different names whe n a few yearsare past so I shall content myself with a description of the bridal robe only.Thi s was truly wonder ful on accou nt of its marvell ous whitene ss. Th e palestsilk was chosen from all the cocoons in the empire , and after be ing dul ybleached, was woven into a fabric of surpassing richness and beau ty. No thi ngat all resembling it had ever been seen before. That it might remain unrivalled, the pattern was destroyed the instant the work was completed; forso intricate was the design, that without it the bridal robe could never bereproduce d. In fact, some of the courtiers said they really must declinelooking at it except throug h blue spectacles, lest their sight should suffer, asit sometimes does, through gazing too long at the glittering snow.

To guard against disappointm ent, the Bridal Kobe was completed longbefore the day appoin ted lor the weddi ng, and then placed in a glass case,like the Kohinor in the Great Ex hib itio n, where any person was permitt edto view it. Crowds flocked to avail themselves of the p ermission , and it wasamusing to hear their exclamations of wonder and delight.

" Ah ," said one ; " if the Br idal l lobe seems beautiful no w, what wil l it beto see our dear princess wear it? "

" As though any person could look at the dress in that case," said another." We re she within sight I kno w I should have eyes only for her lovely face,so I make sure of seeing this wonderful robe beforehand."

This pretty compliment was overheard by a maid of honour, wh o told theprincess, and she rewarded the lo yalt y of the speaker by a plac e at Court.An d this showed the princess's natural discrimination, for Nature ha doriginally intended the man for a courtier; but from a careless blunder of hershe had been born in a c ottage wi th n o on e near tp appreciate his cleversayings, or to understand that his superior genius was the cause of his idleness.

What a lucky thing that the beautiful princess corrected this mistake, and putthe man in his proper place !

The fairies were prod igiously busy all this time, for it would have illbecome them to be idle in the midst o f the universa l b ustle.

No w fairies, as is well known, differ in disposition quite as much as humanbeings do. Some are good, some bad, and a vast number either, according tothe circum stances in whi ch they find themselves : Bu t perhap s it is not athing generally know n, and I really do believe M r. Tim bs has forgotten tomention it in his clever book which tells us so much we ne ver tho ught of before; but fairies, thoug h all dressed in gree n, wear robes of very differentshades of colour. Those of the good are of a lovely blue-tinted green, aspartaking of the nature of the s ky, in the b ad yellow is the predominant hue,and the rest w rear what is termed neutral. Moreover the colour varies just asthe disposition of the wearer c hanges.

As the we dding -day approached, great numbers of the blue-g reen fairiesbusied themselves in bestowing unseen aid on the crowd of weary workers inand about the palace. If the tired hands of a little seamstress drop ped onher lap, straight one called Hope would remind her of the comforts this extrawork would bring to her poor home, or hinted that perchance promotionmight follow well-ex ecuted tasks. Or another called Affection would whisper

to the heart, not the head how some dear friend might be made thehappier by a little gift which she would be able to purchase when her task was complet ed. And , sure eno ugh, when all else failed, this last thoughtwould make the fingers fly faster than ever. The remembrance of those welove is better than a spur to push us onw ard ! The good fairies know thatfull well.

Others belonging to the race of a fairy named Good Will were ever on thelook out to be of use. Did a poor porte r seem ready to sin k with fa tigue,they would remove the loose stones from his path and noiselessly ligh ten hisburthen. The very wisest and best amongst them, such as Experienc e,Prudenc e, Modes ty, and Humi lity, strove to whisper good counsels in theears of the princess and her fair attendant maidens. But unfortunatelythey were so accustomed to listen to certain yellow -tinted fairies calledFlattery, Vanity, and Pride, that the attempt scarcely met wi th the successit merited.

So most of them gave up tryi ng; resolved not to obtrude their services tillthey were really needed, being well assured that a time would come in thelife of those ga y creatures, w hen they wou ld be thankful to find a kind fairybeside them.

It would only be unpleasant to relate all the tricks of the yellow-ti ntedfairies. En ou gh to say they were as oppo site as possib le to those of their goodbrothers and sisters.

Th e weddi ng-day was fast a pproach ing. Twelve maidens, the fairest andmost nob ly bor n in all the lan d, were chos en to dress the princess on herbridal mo rning, and afterwards to accompany her to the altar. Amongst thesewas a damsel so lovely, that she was universally allowed to be second only tothe royal bride herself.

The youn g nobles raved about the Lad y Ida. One praised her soft, golde nhair ; another her bright blue eyes ; wh ile the poor declared she was an angelof charity and goodness.

As far as riches went, the L ad y Ida was by far the poores t of the t welv e ; andher being selected as first bridesmaid, on account of her- exceeding loveliness, ha dcaused no small amount of envy. Still, the preferen ce did not make the fairgirl herself one whit the prouder. So far from that, she would steal away fromthe bustle and splendour of the court whenever she was permitted. But eventhat did not suit. The you ng ladies said she only ran away to be more so ughtafter. The o ld dowagers declared they scarcely knew what to think, but shook their heads, and said time woul d tell what gre at attraction kep t her at thecastle of her widowed mo the r; when at court she migh t be a star, second inmagnitude only to her royal mistress.

Yo u see people always refuse to believe that others may be actin g from agood motive, so these old ladies ignor ed altogether the possibility of Id a'sstaying through filial affection.

Even the most charitable amongst these high-born dames felt indignant atIda' s cond uct, and hinted " That if even people were beautiful they need notgive themselv es airs. " Or else they said, " It was all affectati on."

This last is a very convenie nt remark to make when y ou w rant to saysomething unpleasant o f a person, and know of nothing to their disadvantage.

No w the truth was, the L ady Ida, being but weak and ailing, preferredthe quiet o f her o wn home to the show and glitter of the co ur t; and Idaherself, thou gh l oving innocent ga iety, as it was natural for a young girlto do, had learned to find her truest happine ss in admini stering to the wantsof he r parent. But the poor sick countess being of a retiring disposition, aswell as weak in body, people said she was affected too, and would not cometo court because she could not mak e so great a show as some did of the sa merank.

Three days before that appointed for the wedding, all the attendants werecommanded to assemble in order to receive final instructions as to the partsthey were to take on the grand occasion. Matters were in an advancedstage of preparation, and the ni ght before this rehearsal was to take placeboth mortals and fairies allowed themselve s a little brea thing time.

Amongst the yello w-gre en fairies one of the most conspicuous, calledAdd erto ngu e, s he is still living, and as fresh as ever, but goes by thename of Scandal now, looked very discontented. There is something soinsidious about this wicked old fairy that it would be well to warn mortalsagainst her; for she goes creeping into the midst of pleasant s oci ety ; andtho ug h all profess to despise her, few refuse to listen to her tales. Th e olde rshe grows, the stronger sh * ^ ^ m e s , and she cannot be even once listened towithout taking something from the purity of the heart which entertains her.

Addertongue sat invisible in the apartment which contained the spotlessbridal robe. She was excessively annoyed to think that people had been too



3 1 6

T O C O R R E S P O N D E N T S .

J E S S I E E L L I O T T. I t w o u l d n o t b e c o m e us to offer a d v i c eto y o u n g p e o p l e i n d i r e c t o p p o s i t i o n t o that of t h e i rparen ts, guardi ans, or friends. Still t h e r e are cases in•winch a l i t t le f r iendly counse l f r o m a s t r a n g e r is valuable. In love affairs h a r s h n e s s n e v e r a c c o m p l i s h e d a n yg o o d purpose . The h e a r t i s emot ional , and wi l l not bedr i l led by any k in d of ex t ran eous inf lu ences . I t maybe persuaded, but not c o e r c e d . I t may sho w anoutward subm iss ion , but that is o n l y a screen to thefives raging wi th in . We therefore unhes i ta t ingly saythat t h e i m p e r a t i v e m o o d is the very wors t tha t c o u l dbe appl ied to a yo un g man and wom an wh o have confessed to a m u t u a l a t t a c h m e n t , and are o n l y w a i t i n g

" f o r the day, the happy da y" to be named . I t i s one of the bes t fea tures o f Br i t i sh soc ie ty that in t h i s c o u n t r ymarr iages of c o n v e n i e n c e are among the e x c e p t i o n s ; an dif p a r e n t s do recom me nd caut ion , they are impel led todo so by a s t rong sense of respons ib i l i ty in the midd leand l ower c i rc les of life. There i s as much l iber tya l l o w e d to the youthful to f o r m tender engagements asis compat i b le wi th t rue f reedom and a soun d genera lmora l tone . L i c e n c e is not liberty ; nor is a d o g g e dresolu t io n a mark o f f i rmness . There i s a hap pymedi um, and to h i t it shou ld be the s tud y of a l l w hodes i re to be guid ed b y correc t and prude nt p r inc ip les .In the case before us t h e r e is certainly a l i t t le w e a kness on the par t of the yo ung man, and a g o o d deal of se l fi sh pr e judi ce on that of h is re la t ives . They hav ee v i d e n t l y c o n c e i v e d an unfounded d is l ike for J E S S I E ,and should t hey read th is , we trust t h e y w i l l p o n d e ro v e r th e f o l l o w i n g rem ark s : Personal d is l ikes a regenera l ly the offspr ing of mor bid s ta tes of mind . Weadmire cer ta in faces , cer ta in modes of express ion , an dcer ta in types of tho ug ht ; an d whe n we meet wi th anindiv idual wh o does not rea l i se our favour i te es t imate ,we feel a sor t of repugnan ce an avers io n towar ds theperson, whi ch resolves i t se l f in to the fee l ing whic h weident i fy wi th the wo rd d is l ike . This i s pure l y ther e s u l t of mere habit . We gras p at certai n inferenc es,b e c o m e accus tome d to cer ta in forms, and thence ar r ivea t the conclus ion that they shoul d be the s t a n d a r d s o f per fec t ion . Wo canno t probably mak e a sudden inroad in to our se t t led c o n v i c t i o n , and therefore it is thatwe l ike one c lass of indiv idual s be t te r t h a n others , andon that accou nt we have our preferences and pre jud i c e s . It is sheer nonsense to affirm that w e o u g h t t obe guid ed by our ins t inc ts . I f we wer e to adop t that,theo ry we need not cu l t iva te our jud gm ent or s toreou r bra ins wi th the accumu la ted educat ional e x p er iences of ages .

T H E W I L D IR IS H G IR L, wi th charac ter i s t ic impetuos i ty,fell in love wi t h a yo un g gent l eman, and as sudd enlyfell out . The sad cons eque nce was , that the dem e n t e d y o u t h m a d e a n a t t e m p t on h is own life, an dso brou ght on h imsel f a cer ta in amount of r id icule .Th e brothe r of our e r r a t i c Hibernian , her lawfulguardian , be in g a s t ron g-min ded man, has cur ta i ledher libert y, a nd eve n gone so far as to p lace h erw o r l d l y possess ions under l o c k a n d k e y. B e i n g t h u splaced by an inex orable wi l l on the h a r d b e n c hof cont r i t ion , she very n a t u r a l l y wishes to be reconc i l e d to her s t e r n b r o t h e r ; b u t s a y s n o t h i n g a b o u tthe d ismal swain w h o m her charms a nd too o b v i o u slevity begu ile d of his senses . She mus t suffer a l i t t lel o n g e r ; for beauty, h owe ver capr ic iou s and wi l fu l ,must not be a l lowed to p lay wi th sens i t ive d ispos i t ionsas reckless gamble rs do wi th mone y that i s not t h e i rown . Bu t if th e W I L D I R I S H G I R L , wh o has no m o t h e rl iv ing to guide her erra t ic course , e r red thro ugh i g n orance of the etiq uett e of soci ety, or was led into t hei m p r u d e n c e t h r o u g h t h e v ol a t il i t y o t h e r t e m p e r a m e n t ,t h e r e i s forg iveness for her. Som e a tonem ent , h o wever, is due to the j ilt ed o n e ; and the hone st, fair-dea l ing , and jus t ice- lov ing bro ther , should be m adet h e m e d i u m o f c o n v e y i n g it .

J. P. T. W. First love is a cur ious sensa t ion . Cynicshave dec lared that it is c l o s e l y allied to mad ness ; andwhen we ref lec t that it rarely ends in marriage, t h e r ed o e s appear to be so me colou r ing for the ins inuat ion .But w e inc l ine to the mor e char i tab le s ide of thephen omen on. You th i s the season of dreams

And tears and tortures, and the touch of joy ;and when awaken ed to rea l i t ies by the enchanter ' swand exper ience , i t do .s not f ind the w i d e , w i d ew o r l d clad in such rosy hues as i t appeared when thesenses were s teeped in in tox ica t i ng draughts . Butw o m e n have more nerve in l o v e m a t t e r s t h a n m e n .Disa ppoi n tme nt may p lun ge them in to a re l iev ing fi tof hys ter ics , or a paroxysm of verses about " meet ingin a c r o w d , " and " be ing shun ned ; " bu t they rare lyparade t h e i r sorrow s before a laughter- lovi ng knot of re la t ives and acquain tances . Yo u n g men, on the cont rary, are too prone to Byron ise o v e r t h e i r w o e s , an dc o p y th e s ta le m a n n e r s o f m e n , w h o , h o w e v e r g r e a tt h e i r genius may have been , were very ins ip id in t h e i rpul ing lamenta t ions o v e r the decease of a t r a n s i e n timpress ion . As regards yourse l f , we say, pause : yourhypercr i t i ca l examin at ion of you r sent imen ts to wardst h e y o u n g l ad y m a y h a v e w a r p e d y o u r j u d g m e n t a n dafflicted y o u r h e a r t wi th a catale psy. After a stagnat ion t h e r e is re-action.

J . S . A. Yo u are s t i l l very y oung , and a t e ightee nshould not be persuaded to marry a man of t h i r t yagains t your w i l l ; ye t you must not b lame yourmoth er for objec t ing to the ma n of your c h o i c e , " who

l o v e s pleasure and life, and is ever forgetful of hispromis e , and ye t wishes y ou each t ime to forg ive an dforge t , a n d p r o m i s e s a m e n d m e n t , " w h i c h p r o m i s e h on e v e r m e a n s t o k e e p ; s o that y o u sa y r i g h t l y y o u " n e v e rca n dep end upon h is word ." Se l f -denia l and t ru thfulness are tw o grea t essentials to happ ines s in wed dedl i f e ; w i t h o u t t h e m t h e r e can be noth ing but misery.Yo u r mother is your best adviser ; listen to her.

M A R Y M . M o u l d y a n t i q u a r i e s have to ld us of anum ber of ages the w or ld has seen , the age of i ron ,the age of bronze , th e age of ch iva l ry, and , a b s t r u s especula t ion se t apar t , the age of g o l d ; but rea l lyp u t t i n g aur i ferous fac ts in to the basket of cont i ngencies , t h i s must be the age of grum bl in g . Go wherev eryo u w i l l , a i>r ime assor tment of grum bl in g i s presented to our as tonished gaze , and what in tens i f ies them a t t e r , at a la rmingly lo w pr ices . I t woul d seem as i f t h e r e was a comp le te d is loca t ion of the co mmu ni t y,an d that we had fa l len on evi l days . For comm ercia ld e p r e s s i o n t h e r e i s bankr uptcy , for mora l , o n l y th eh o w l of d isco ntent and the savage gro wl of unappeas edpetu l ance . An d the lad ies a re jo i n in g in the Boeot ianchorus , and a l l because husba nds are not as p lent i fu las b lackberr ies . The law of supp ly and deman d affectsmarr iage as wel l as every o ther ins t i tu t i on; and i tcan not be cha rge d as a fault of the m en that, o w i n g towars , sh ip wrecks , acc idents , emigra t io n , and noxio use m p l o y m e n t s , t h e r e shou ld be a lways in these i s landsa surp lus popula t ion of five hund red thou sand females !We bel ieve the d ispro por t io n be tw een the sexes i sh ighe r in France ; but w e need not g o abroad for i l lust r a t i o n s of the in evi tab le r e s u l t s of our artificial modeof e x i s t e n c e .

Y O U N G SCOTIA loves , and i s b e l o v e d ; but his social p o s ition is inferi or t o that of the lady ; and a l though herfami ly treat him wi th every cons idera t ion , he i s , weare led to a ssum e, r a t h e r apprehen s ive about th efu ture . We co mm en d h is de l icacy of fee l ing , for i ts h o w s he i s not the s lave of mercen ary thoughts . Butma y he no t have overs t ra ined the mat t er? Moral acc o m p l i s h m e n t s a n d m e n t a l a t t a i n m e n t s m o r e t h a nbalance mere pecuniary advantag es , and in the presence of a nice s e n s e of honour, the de terminat ion tose t t le the who le of the lady ' s prope r ty on herse l f i s ag o o d guar antee for felicity in the future. W l v m inte llec tua l men, who af te rwards b e c o m e minis te rs of State , marry wo me n of for tune , the wor ld a t la rgerare ly accuses them of imprope r mo t ives ; and whyshould not the same t r e a t m e n t be appl ied to thosewh o belo ng to a less cons picu ous c lass of soc ie ty.False mod est y is alwa ys a weak nes s, an d in affairs of t h i s kin d i s much l iab le to be misunders tood, especia l lyas it tends to open the d o o r to a want of c o n f i d e n c e o non e side or the ot her. W o m e n a d n n r e dis in teres tedness in men ; but th ey are not OVOT p a r t i a l to thosewh o g i v e themselves up to h a b i t u a l carking .

ELF RI DA AND M A R I O N R . T h e s e young lad ies have la idbefore us the sad p a r t i c u l a r s of two ins tances of premature , and of course inauspic io us cour tsh ip . E L F R I D Ais twenty- th ree , and rece ives ' ' a t t e n t i o n s " f r o m a y o u n gman of twenty , wh o seems to regard her wi th somedegree of awe. Noth ing wond erfu l in that. I t showsthat the bo y kn ows the d is tance that o u g h t t o separa tehi m f r o m t h e f u l l - g r o w n w o m a n . M A R I O N , on theoth er hand, co mm en ce d cou rtin g at fifteen, an d theo b j e c t of her c h o i c e was a youth o f e ighteen , w ho no wthat he is t w e n t y t h i n k s him self a m an, an d w e areafraid has t a k e n to unm ista kab le flirting. If E L F R I D Aan d M A R I O N will listen to our e a r n e s t r e m o n s t r a n c e s ,t h e y w i l l a b a n d o n t h e i r fool i sh e n g a g e m e n t s , a n d t u rn

a ca lm, dove- l ike eye to fu ture and br ighter prospects .Dispar i t ies in age be t ween gro wn-u p people wh omedi ta t e marr iage are not so mater ia l ; but theseApr i l - shower k ind of sent iment a l p la t i tudes are to bediscouraged by every wel l -meaning and wel l ba lancedm i n d . T h e t r a n s i e n t e m o t i o n s o f i m m a t u r i t y a r egenera l ly sw ept a way b y the f i rs t sum mer breeze of reflection and reason.

A W O R K I N G M A N . T he b a t t l e of Lince l l es was fough ton the 18th A ugu st, 1793, by the British, Dut ch, an dHanove r ian t roop s under Major-Genera l , a f te rwardsVi s c o u n t Lake, aga ins t the French, when the Engl ishfoot -guards t o o k 11 p ieces o f cannon, an d comp le te l yroute d 5 ,000 Frenc hmen , des t roy ing al l the work s an dfor t i f ica t ions . Belg ium had been dec lared independent , and was separa ted f r o m Hol land, to which it h adbee n unit ed in 1814, on the 26th of Decem ber , 1830.On the 22nd of the same year the revolu t ionary t roopsof Belg ium h a d made themsel ves m a s t e r s o f A n t w e r p ,whe n the Dutch gar r i son , dr iven in to the c i tade l ,bom bard ed the town. The war broke out aga in onthe 3rd of August , 1831, whe n King L e o p o l d wa sassisted by 50,000 Frenc h troops, w ho laid siege to

A n t w e r p ; and af te r a des t ruc t iv e bomb ardm ent ,General Chasse - surrendered the c i tade l to the Fre nchon the 24th Nove mber , 1832, whi ch i s no do ubt thes iege to which you refer.

J U L I A N . P o n t i u s Pi la te was superseded in h is governorship sho r t ly a f te r the Cruci f ix ion , be in g charged b ythe Jews wi th co rrupt prac t ices , and was sum mo nedto R o m e , to answer the charges brought aga ins t h i m;b u t n o t a i T i v i n g till after the death of the Em pe ro rTiber ius , he was not pu t up on h is t r ia l . A c c o r d i n gto Eusebius he d ied by h is own hand, chagr ined bythe loss of p lace and p ow er : but h is contem porar i esare s i len t upon that h e a d . D r . P u s e y ' s Commentary onthe Minor Prophets is publ ishe d b y Mes srs. J. H . andJ. P a r k e r, 377, S t r a n d , W. C . , price 5s.

T H A L I A . D o n o t r a n k amon gst those wh o be l ieve thate v e r y y o u n g m a n , w h o l o o k s u p o n a p r e t t y face , is ato n c e led capt iv e by i t s charms. The wor ld i s fa r t oomatter-of-fact for l o v e at first sigh t, ex ce pt on so mee x t r a o r d i n a r y o c c a s i o n s . D e m a n d t h e t r i n k e t ; it is ap i e c e of imper t inenc e on h is p a r t to r e t a i n it.

NE LL Y G R E Y . ES ware, no t wahre ; " it w e r e be t te r not

to love than to sacrifice o n e s e l f to a * * * * and ho peless pass io n ." We cannot dec iphe r the word omi t ted ;probably i t i s not cor rec t l y spe l t , and the sch. s h o u l dbe ck.

C H E E R F U L FANNIE. Mere ly that he left all the t a l k toJenny, a n d gave her h is h e l p in silence w h e r e t h e h i l lw a s s teep , h is though ts b e ing a l l cent red upon Jenn yherse l f . Ladyl ike .

B E W I L D E R E D . I t i s perhaps o n l y a phase of man 's love.Th e ladies in the carriage, as well as those of thep a r t y, w e r e p e r h a p s a ll " m i g h t y fond of chaffing."No w me n don't like to be chaffed about affairs o f thehear t , so perh aps he pu t on an indifference he did n otfee l . Time wi l l s h o w.

A. Z. Betty t h i n k s y o u m u s t m e a n " m o c k go os e ; "h o w e v e r she will ask her friends about " g o o s e of veal,"and if any of them w ill kind ly tell her wha t that is,and how to dress it , she will t h e n l e t y o u k n o w.

C I V I S . A Dictionary of Cant and Vulgar Words, p u bl ished b y J . C. Hot ten , o f P iccad i l ly ; you wi l l f ind avery cur ious , and very judic ious l y c o m p i l e d , and atthe same time a very cheap b o o k .

A SCO TCH L A S S I E . A P e r t h man expla ined the tawse tous ; we have not seen the i n s t r u m e n t ; perhaps someof ou r readers will send us fur ther particulars.

O T H E R C O M M U N I C AT I O N S R E C E I V E D . C . C. C G . W W . W . A . E . E . W. B . W . C . L . G . - D . H . J . ME . C . L . M a t i l d a . S . E . W . C M . P . E . A . J.F l o r a M ' D . M a r i a n S. E. A . ( thanks ; none requi red) .

N O B I L I S (no t sufficiently a bus iness-hand) . SILEX(app ly t o a solicit or, wh o will obtain the informationf r o m the p roper sources) . D E RW E N T WAT E R (no). A . E D G A R (we do not i n s e r t adver t i sements in . ourw e e k l y numbers ; send i t to the Times). EDGEWARE(you wou ld not be a l lowed to have your aunt w i t h y o uat n ight in the hospi ta l , wi t hout spec ia l permiss ion) .F R I T Z (tha nks ; but we canno t a fford the space) . ONEIN DOUBT (write to the Editor of the AgriculturalGazette, We l l i n g t o n Street , St rand. W. C . ) . N E P T U N E(buy C r a b b ' s English Synonymes). Dw$Ai (the article inth e Penny Cyclopaedia; th e res t to o t r i v i a l ) . M A RYA N N IE (it was graceful i n y ou to acce pt the offerin g;your ha ving do ne so i s the o n l y r e t u r n you should make) .

G E R T R U D E (y es ; n o ; see No. 526) . A. B . (it is th e14th of the forb id den degrees , and the marr iage wo uldbe both s infu l and unlawful). SA M W E L L E R ( o n e g

i s more corr ec t according to the der iva t ion , but twoa c c o r d i n g to the b est usage). B . D . E . (i t is asymptom requi r ing the immedia te a t t e n t i o n o f amedica l m a n ) . H E L E N G . (to o cramp ed : c o p y r o u n d -hand for a t i m e ) . A N U N H A P P Y O N E (wait till he cutsthe apron-s t r ing t i l l t h e n he i s not a marry i ng ma n;r e a d " T h e E n g a g e m e n t s " ) . W. D . M . ( w e n e v e r e n t e rupon bus iness m a t t e r s w i t h a n o n y m o u s c o r r e s p o n d e n t s ;app ly to Mr. D . N u t t , 270, S t r a n d , W . C . ) . M A R C H I A U(apply as a b o v e ; we cannot afford the space) .

R U N N Y M E A D E (w e t h i n k n o t ) . M A R Y (yes, if app r o v e d ) . A R L I E B . (Is . 6d. w ill defray the c o s t an dpos tage of b o t h ) . H . S. A . (either e n t e r th e R o y a lA g r i c u l t u r a l Col lege , or get articled to some largeprac t ica l f a r m e r ) . X X X X . (repeat the ques t ion) .OGMORION (leap-year gave her the pr iv i lege of t ak ingthe init iativ e; it is for yo u to fo l low it up). CONSTANCE(i f you are as g o o d as you are p r e t t y yo u need be in noh u r r y to b e c o m e M r s . R i g h t ; t h e h a i r i s l ight brown,and the wr i t ing g o o d ) . R . N. (it is n ot safe court ingby d e p u t y ) . P O L LY H O P K I N S (we have g iven a l l thatwe intended on the subjec t ) . LEONIE (at any of theB e r l i n w o o l - s h o p s . ) J . F. C. (no ; we notic ed Piesse'sArt of Perfumery, and also gave extr acts f rom th e

w o r k ; order i t o f you r b o o k s e l l e r ) . B . M . (apply toa m a g i s t r a t e ; w h o m a y g r a n t it if he t h i n k s fit).A RECLUSE (he must pass an exami nat ion in Greek and La t in ; send h im to a publ ic s c h o o l ; no , i f formeri n t i m a c y w a r r a n t s i t ) . J . J . (ch ief ly Gurney ' s , wi tht h e i r own specia l a d a p t a t i o n s ) . H A R R I E T S. (there isno compu ls ion , but i t i s usual ly done) . T. L. (Ilourishless ; two, London and Yo r k ) . B . A. R . (write to theclerk o f the parish , or to the regis t rar of the distr ict inwhich the cer emo ny i s to t a k e place ; the fees vary).R O S E B U D (yes , s uch engagem ents se ldom end inm a t r i m o n y ; b y prac t i ce ) . GROCERS (see Nos . 524 a nd8 9 6 ) . E L L E N A. L . (see Nos . 172 an d 2 7 0 ) . C L E M E N T I N A (see Nos. 819 and 8 9 6 ) . I TA L I A N PA I N T E R (seeNos. 422 and 4 7 4 ) . G E R T R U D E OF W YOM ING ( s ee N o .5 7 1 ) . S H R I M P (see Nos. 251 and 285) . S . A. (see No.8 9 1 ) . L U C I L L E (see No. 8 4 2 ) . M A R I O N M . (see No s.722 an d 8 6 8 ) . C N. 25 (see Nos. 145 and S05).

N E W M U S I C ./ should n ot Like to Tell. P o e t r y b y SYLVESTER CLARENCE

in No . 793 of th e Family Herald. Musi c by L . T HSTOFFREGEN, 37, Wil ton Street , Manches ter.

The Widow's Dream. Poet ry by T. L O K E R , in No . 695 of th e Family Herald. Mus ic by W . H . MONTGOMERY,Musica l B o u q u e t Office, 192, High Holborn .

Publ i shed b y the Music Publ i sh ing Com pany, 19 Peter '3Hill, St. Paul's, E.C.

The Garibaldi Waltz. C o m p o s e d b y E D . REYL OFF.What's a' the Steer Kimmer? an d Ho.ntingtower. Two

popul ar Scotch songs .Meek Twilight. Glee for Four Voices . By G. W . M A RT I N .The Oberon Waltz. Fro m Weber ' s Opera . By W . WILSO N!Don't Come Late. Ballad. Poe try by C. H . LOVELL*.

Musie b y A L E X A N D E R S TA C E Y.

Charley, Tap Gently when Mother's Asleep. P o e t r y a n dMusic b y H E N R Y SCHRGE DER, 9, James ' s GrovePeckham, S .E.

Publ i shed b y Wil l iams and Co. , Tot tenham Cour t Road.

My Heart clings in Parting to thee. Poet ry b y J . W . L A K E ,Esq. Music by J O H N REEKES.

When Chloe smiles on me. Poet ry and Music byL A N G TO N W I L L I A M S .

Absence and Return. By the Sam e.The Magic of a Smile. By the Sam e.

The Pink of Perfection. A C o m i c Extravaganza , port raying the pecul ia r i t ies of a Modern Fop. Poet ry byJAMES LARKIN, Esq. Music by SID NEY B I R D . Lof t ,Mi le End Roa d, E., and 13, Tollit Street , E.

The Umled Volunteers. Poet ry and Music by W . A .D I S T I N . H . Distin, 21, Tichborne Street, W .



September i s, i860.] U S E F U L INFORMATION AND AMUSEMENT. 317

FAMILY HERALD.S I C I LY.

I n this age of unlimited inform ation on current subjects of the day, nothingis more common than to lind a term perpetually o n the tongu e, with outa corresponding idea of adequate distinctness in the mind. No matter of whatnature the term itself may be. It may be expressive of a great discovery innatural science, or of a tierce discussion in theol ogy , history, or p oli tic s; o r itmay be simply a geog raph ical name, denoti ng the focus of interest in some •engrossing series of contemp orary events. Of the tens of thousands who wereeagerly discussing the fall of Delhi three years ago, it is not unreasonable tosuppose that a very small fraction indeed had even an average understandingof what they discussed. Yo u mig ht prob ably have reckon ed at a few scoresthose who could have furnished a tolerable account of Delhi's geographicalposition, of its relation to the Punjab, to Scinde, or to Oudh, and of itsdistance from Calcutta and the sea. Just no w Sicily is to European eyeswhat India was then; not requiring, fortunately, the same painful strain of immediate anxiety, but calling for the liveliest interest and sympathy fromevery nation and every individual to wh om constitmtional liberty is dear. Letus cast a brief glance of investigatio n ov er the beautiful island, remind ingourselves of the many chances and changes which have rolled over its plains,and examining a few of the natural features which characterise its surface.

Sicily, to begin at the begi nning , has no lack of myth ical tradition.Every schoolbov remembers that here, under the massive height s o f ^Etna,was to be found the celestial " blacksmi th's sho p. " It was there that Vulcanwielded the hammer among his brawny one-eyed assistants, the Cyclops.Wh at was the smoke that so often made its way from the summit of the hillbut the sign that the mighty smiths had some special piece of work in handat the forge? Wh at were the deep and echoing sounds that penetratedto the surface bu t the reverberations of the g igan tic anvil ? N o t that theCyclops were always tied to labour in the cavern. One o f their number atany rate there was, who found time to court the sea-ny mph Galatea o n th epleasant shore, and wh o kept a sharp look-out for chance voyagers whomight be stranded on the coast. He it was who captured Ulysses with allhis crew , and whose vast eye that hero put out by thrusting a sharp stakethrough it during sleep, escaping finally from the clutches of the Cyclops byperhaps the most ingenious stratagem that legendary hero ever practised.

Alter these misty times there come ages of scarcely more penetrable darkness, through which we can only discern that the Sicanians, who perhapscame from Spain, and the Siculia ns, who perhaps came from Italy, were in astate of perpetual conflict for the mastership of the island. By- and -by ,however, near about the time of Romulus and Remus some seven and a half centuries, therefore, before the Christian era we find that the Greeks beganto drop in at various points. The gr eat aptitude possessed by the Greeks forsuccessful colonisation is kn own to every reader of history, and it was n otlikely that so desirable an island as Sicily should long escape their notice,being, as it was, within easy sailing distance, and h aving been alreadyexplored by the Phoenicians, who were at once the commer cial travellers andthe newsmongers of the ancient world. Accordingly, for two hundr ed years(B.C.750 550), expeditions kept starting from different harbours in Greece, andestablishing settlements and often founding important t owns upon the t N e w -foundland " of those days. The h undred years that followed next may be calledthe golden age of the great to wns in ancient Sicily. Of these the most celebrated was Agrig entu m, the capital of the famous tyrant Phalaris. Its name ispreserved in the modern Girgenti, and the traveller still pauses to admire herethe most splendid and interesting of all classical monumen ts, next after thoseat Athens itself. Wh en that century was ende d, and when the fifth centu rybefore Christ had barely fifteen years to run out , there came on a struggle onthe eastern si-de of the island, in which the possession of Sicily formed only aminor feature. The Athenians , bein g then in the zenith of their power,attempted to conquer the w hole country, and sent a magnificent nav y toSyracuse in order to reduce that tow n first. Ha d they succeeded , as theyvery nearly did, the conquest of Sicily would but have been a stepping-stoneto the possession of the whole peninsula of Italy. The little rising state of Rome would have fallen an easy prey to those acute and vigo rous invade rs;and we should now have been living under laws and institutions drawn froma Greek instead of a Roma n source. The Athenian s how ever did not succeed,through the incapacity of a single general, and the island soon after fell intothe hands of the Carthaginians, that powerful maritime and commercialpeople of North Africa, who were the leg itimate successors of the Phoenicians.Here they remained unmolested for a century and a half, when the P unicWars that famous contest of theirs with Rome caused first their ejectmentirom the island, and then their utter ruin as a nation. By the year 200 B.C.Sicily was a Roman province; and so it remained for more than six centuries.

W e may pass over in this brief sketch the detestable gov ernmen t of Verre s,the Roman viceroy, near the Christian era, and the famous impeac hmen t of him by Cicero, whose grand speeches on that occasion we fortunately possess.The orator was, in many important respects, the Edmun d Burke of Rom andays: the viceroy, withou t any of the excuse of circumstances, or of the mo raldignity of his modern representative, was the War ren Hastings . No r needwe stop to describe the early introduction of Christianity into Sicily, and thepersecution of Christians there under Nero. It is enough to know that namesof bishops at Palermo then called Panormus a re preserved of so ancient adate as the third century.

It is to the fifth century of Christianity that our purposes require us at onceto proceed. It was then that the Roma n province of 600 years' standing beganto oe invaded by a strange and barbarian foe. Just as Hengist and Horsawere landing in Engla nd, Genseric aud his Vandals wrested Sicily from thefeeble grasp of the Ro man Emp ire, with in forty years o f the fall of its

Western branch. A hundred years later, however, the Eastern emperor was astrong man, and had a strong man and a great genius for his commander-in-chief. This last was Belisarius, wh o reconqu ered the island for Justinian,an d thus recov ered it to the empire for three hundred years more. At theend of that time the Saracens (827) became the conquerin g race, andthough they never formed more than one-sixth of the Sicilian population,they held it for more than two centuries, until the advent of the great an dchivalrous Robert Guiscard, the contemp orary of Wil lia m the Conqueror.To the Norman dynasty of the Guiscards succeeded by marriage the Suabiandynasty; and that, by the same means, wa s followed by the Aragon ese. TheSuabian kings (the title of " k i n g " had bee n first assu med by a grandson of Robert Guiscard) began their r t l e about the year 12 00, and the last Aragoneseking came to the throne just 200 years later. In 1416, having succeeded tothe double throne of Aragon and Sicily, this king ( Alpho nso I.) appointed aviceroy to govern the island. Wi th a few brief interruptions the vice-regalgovernment of Spain lasted until 1734, which year saw the commencementof the present Bourb on dynasty. In that year it was that Philip V. of Spainmade a solemn renunciation o f Naples and Sicily to his son Don Carlos,(Carlo Borbo ne,) who had recovered them to Spain from the temporarydominion of Austria. The you ng prince immediately assumed the title of " K i n g of the Two Sicilies, " the same that is still borne by his un worthysuccessors.

An d now, to recapitulate in one sentence the many p olitical changes of thisinteresting island, we find that Sicily was colonised by the Ph oenicians an dby the Gree ks; captured by the Carthagin ians; by the Ro ma ns ; by theVan dal s; by the Roman s of the eas t ; by the Saracens ; by the Nor man s;and was finally held by a Spanish dynasty . In th e thirteenth century theSuabian dynasty was broken in upon by a Fr ench invasion under Charles of Anjou , which affair terminated in that fearful massacre of the Fren ch, we llknown as the " Sicilian Vespers."

Such has been the chequered fate of Sicily, at this very hour the theatre of a contest, the issues of whic h lie bey ond the range of the most keen- sight edpolitical prophet. Let us take a look at the scene-painting of this theatrein other words, at the physic al aspect o f the island, and the more interestingpoint s scattered ov er its surface. Th e Greeks called Sicily the " Land of Three Headlan ds," from the obvious shape of the country. Capo Boeo , th emost western poi nt, Ca po di Far o, the ape x of the north-eastern angle, and CapoPassaro, the south-eastern promontory, were all noted by the early voyagers,wh o soon came to perceive the triangular form. The circumference of theisland may be rough ly stated at 4 65 miles : of which number the northernand southern coasts claim about 175 each, (exc ludi ng the wind ings of the coastfrom our reckonin g,) and the eastern about 1 15. The population is something over tw o mil lions, and the area something beyon d ten thousand squaremiles; Sicily exceedin g Sardinia by about twelve hundred square miles. Theface of the island, general ly, consists of mounta ins and v alle ys: at the foot of Mount iE tna , howe ver, on the southern side, stretches the extensive plain o f Catania; and other smaller plains occur, principally along the southern coast.There are about half-a-do zen of perennial rivers, none of them of anyimportance, but by far the larger number of streams are torrents, dry, ornearly so , in the summer, an d swellin g into floods in the rainy season.

Th e vegetation of Sicily hardly comprises any important plant not foundin It al y; but it has an aspect of its own , derived fro m the promi nenc e of oriental features. The Sarac enic palaces had gardens attached to them, inwhich the conquerors delighted to foster whole groves of the date palm.These trees still g row in all parts, from Pale rmo in the north, to Girgenti inthe south, and their general want of produc tiveness is ascri bed on ly to theneglect with which they are treated. The aloe, frequently shoo ting up itsgigantic flower-stem, grows wild as a fence about the fields, together withthe India n fig, whi ch is prop agate d by merely sticking a leaf in the gro uud .A m o n g the heights of JEtna, or those in the heart of the islan d, the vegetation of northern Eur ope is found ; a nd b arley is said to be indig enou s inSicily as it is in Turk ey. Sycamores and willows occur in the valleys, as inour own country; while olives, vines, figs, tamarisks, and cypresses alternatewith the pomegranate, the carob, the manna-ash, and the almond.Lemons and oranges are plentiful, and are larg ely exporte d ; but great quantities of the fruit are left to rot on the gro und . Other export s are, thecurrants of the Lipari Islands, which yield about 12,000 barrels yearly; silk,of whic h Messina is the great m a r t ; l icorice-juice; the po ds of the caro b,large ly used as prove nder for horses along the coasts of the Medi terra nean ;suma ch; almo nds; kidskins and lambskins, both dressed and undressed;brandies and wines. Americ a receives a considerable quantity of both thelast-named products ; and the wines are sent northward, both to England andGermany.

These facts may serve to convey some notion of the value of this splendidappanage, now probab ly for ever lost to the dynasty of Bourbon . And itmust be borne in mind that natural indolence, bad government, and theincub us of 30,0 00 priests, in addition to a body of 8000 monks, have had theirinevitable effect in greatly retarding and hampering the development of theseextraordinary resources. Wi th a population considerably less than that of London alone, the island of Sicily is burdened with an ecclesiastical establishment far exceeding in numbers that of the whole of Engl and ; and, out of 658 conve nts existin g in the countr y, 249 areof the mendic ant orders : institutions which occasion untol d harm, as well to social progress and soundness asto true and genuine religion. The head of the government is (may we notrather say " was ? " ) a gove rnor-general, acting as viceroy with a secretary of state under him. He was frequently a memb er of the roya l fam ily ; but allimport ant questions were referred to a Sicilian section of the c oun cil of statesitting at Naples.

Th e six great towns of Sicily are thes e: Pale rmo, at the western e xtremityof the northern coast, containing about 200,00 0 inhabitants, and now rendereddoubly famous by the successful attack of Gar ibaldi; Messina, less than half the size of Pale rmo, but remark able as bein g the gre at empo rium of Sicilian



318 THE FA M I LY H E R A L D A D O M E S T I C MAGAZINE OF [September is,im.

trade, and giving its name to th e straits between -Calabria and the island;Agosta (Augus ta ) , Catania, and Syracuse, all on th e eastern coast, thelast-named being too widely celebrated in history to need any recapitulation of its memorials; and Trapani, high up on the western sea-bord,recalling even in the Italian dress of its modern name that ancientGreek appellation of " Drepano n," " The Scyt he," whic h was derived fromthe curved form of the promontory on which it stands. Of minor towns, theonly one calling for a notice here is Melazzo, (Myla in ancient times,) thescene of a rema rkabl e success of the Gari baldi an arms. Off this smallplace, twe nty- one centuries ag o, the first Rom an fleet, under the able Du ill iuswent throug h its first engag ement , and wo n its first vict ory over the practis edCarthagin ian seamen. Th e tow n lies 15 miles west of Messi na, and has 7000

inhabitants, most o f wh om are fishermen or wine- growe rs. Th e sea yieldsplenty of sardines, and the red Faro wine is gro wn in abundance all the waybetween Melazz o and M essina.

A few words on the magnificent volcano of .ZEtna may bring this article to aclose. The native jargon has given it the name of Mongibello, which isplainly a corruption from the Italian monte, and the Arab ic jebel, which bothsignify " mount ain." The base of JEtna covers an area nearly 90 miles incircumference; and the highest point is '10, 874 feet above the sea level.There is historical r ecord of sixty eruptions from the earliest times t o thepresent day. iEsc hylus , Pindar, and Thucydides have all left mention of thecatastrophe, in actual narration or poetical allusion. The mountain and itsroots have a natural division into three zones. The lowest contains beautifuland most fertile plains, extreme richness of soil being caused b y the mixtur eof decompose d volcanic rocks wit h the marine strata. The second, or woodyregi on, is filled wit h forests interspersed with tracts of pasturage, and re achingto the heig ht of 6,00 0 feet above the sea. In this love ly region stands th ewonderful " chestnut o f the hundred hors es," so called from its capability of sheltering that number of horses under its boug hs. It is the amalgamation,

apparently, of seven separate trunks, and is no less than 163 feet in circumference a little above the ground, A public road, wide enough to admit of two carriages abreast, runs through the decayed giant's trunk; but the upperpart is full of life, and yields abundant chestnuts. The highest, or desertregion of JEtna, is crowned by a table-land abou t nine miles in circuit, in themiddle of which rises the highest cone. All vegetation, includi ng the simplestlichens , ceases above 9,200 feet. Th e view from the top in clear weather,including the whole of Sicily, the surrounding islands, and the distant coast of Italy, with the rugge d mountain sides for a foregrou nd, presents a sublimemagnificence far beyond the powers of language to express, thoug h one of themost beautiful prose passages in our lan guag e is the des cript ion of sunrisewitnessed from it by Brydon e during his travels in Sicily.

Y O U TH .

Ga y r ises th o l a r k f r o m th e b u d d i n gflowers

In ear ly, laughing spr ing ;

F r o m th e b r i g h t g r e e n com, in th e w a k i n gm o r n ,

I t s ings wi t h a j o y o u s r i n g .I n life s y o u n g day, midst the f l o w e r s w e

p l a y,An d carol o u r h a p p y g l e e ;

Wi t h h o p e we rise to the fa thomless skies ,An d s c o r n the earthen lea.

Th e ear th to the foot, a nd th e s k y to theh a n d ,

Th e p r e s e n t rosy a n d g a y ;

Th e future a l l br ight , l ike a bow to thes i g h t

On a s u n n y A p r i l day.L i k e t h a t bo w in the sky, a l l is br ight to

th e eye,That ' s seen f r o m t h e w a k i n g e a r t h ;

So all is gay in l i fe ' s young day,For spr ing i s the season of m i r t h . I M A G E .

F A M I L Y M A T T E R S .

Kind, courteous, and polite treatment of all persons is one mark of atrue woman, and of a true man also.

Th e grand essentials to happiness in this life are said by a good man tobe som ething to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

B E H A P P Y A S YO U A R E . W i f e and mother, are yo u tired and out of patience wit h your husband's and yo ur children's demands upon your timean d attention ? Are you tempted to speak out angry feelings to that faithful

but perhaps sometimes heedless or exacting husband of yours ? or to scoldand fret at those sweet and beautiful ones ? Do you groan and say, " Wh ata fool 1 was to marry, le ave my father's house, where I lived at ease and incomfort ? Ar e you, by reason of the care and weariness of body which wifehoodand motherhood must bring, forgetful of, and ungrateful for, their comfortsand their j o y s ? O h ! wife and mother, what if a stroke should smite yourhusband and lay him lo w ! W h a t if your children should be snatched fromyour arms and from your bosom ! W T ha t if there were no true, strong heartfor yo u to lean upon ! Wh at if there were no soft little innocents to nestlein your arms, and to love you or receive your love ! Ho w would i t be withyo u then ? Be patient and kind, dear wi fe ; be unwearying and long-suffering, dear m other; for yo u know not how long you may have wit h you yourbest and dearest treasures you know not how long you may tarry with them.Le t there be nothing for yo u to remember which w rill wring your heart withremorse if they leave yo u alon e; let there be nothing for them to rememberbut sweetness and love unutterable, if y ou are cal led to leave them by theway. Be patient, be pitiful, be tender to them all, for death will step sooneror later between them and y ou. An d oh ! what would you do if you shouldbe doomed to sit soli tary and forsaken throu gh years and years ? Be happ yas you are, even Avith all your trials; for, believe it, wife of a loving andtrue husband, there is no lot in life so blessed as your own.

G A R G L E FOR SORE T H R O AT. H a l f a pint of rose-leaf tea, a wine-glass fullof good vinegar, one-eighth of an ounce of Cayenne pepper, and half an ounceof borax. Mi x well together, and sweeten with honey. Simmer for fiveminutes in a close vessel, and when cold, strain it. Gargle the throat with alittle at bed-time, or oftener, if the throat is very sore.

H I N T S O N D R E S S . B Y M R S . A D A M S .

Ho w to prettily trim the Zou ave Jackets, whi ch are still muc h admired andvery beco mi ng to most figures, and possess this advantage, that they can bemade very war m or very cool . I have seen some in black silk, trimmed, orrather braided, in a braiding pattern with straw beading, the same as youusually trim straw-bonnet curtains with . It is the same size as narro w brai d.Procure a wider straw for the edge of your jacket, and put the bra idingpattern all round almost any simple braiding pattern will do ; draw yourpattern on silver paper, tack it on the j acke t, and wh en finished tear awaythe paper; this is an easy way to braid any material.

The jac kets s till continu e to be made in all sorts of materials, and with bothloose and t ight waistcoats. The loose waistcoats are the true style ; but someladies object to them. If you have a t ight waist coat it may be trim med withth e straw the sam e as the jac ket , an d made of the same coloured silk, ormerino. The Zouave jacke t will not look amiss with the present style of short-w aist dress, as an extra to sli p on occ asi ona lly ; for many dresses aremade with t ight sleeves, and no trimmi ng on the b o d y ; and to such as thesea jacke t is easily slipped over. The Z ouave jacket with its fitting back isneater than quite a loose jacket. Another pretty way to trim the jacketsis this : obtain a piec e of narrow silk velvet, and a bunch o f gold or Steelbeads ; put your velvet braid o n in ifbout three rows, and the beads about half an inch apart on each row . Th e beads are put on at the same time as thevelvet, and it does not take lo ng. I have seen this style of trimming done ina handsome braiding pattern, and very well it l o o k s ; and, to my mind, thistrimming is more genteel than gold braid.

S C I E N T I F I C A N D U S E F U L

A machine that makes 400 barrels a day from logs has been invented, andis at work at Menasha. It is called the Liver more patent.

Old ostri ch feathers can be made to look as well as new by holding themover hot steam, then draw ing each vane of the feather s eparately o ver a knifecurl it.

Ne w milk contains thirteen per cent, o f digestib le solids, and skim mil k ten per 0ent.; that is, the former full y one-half, and the latter above athird, of the nutriment contained in the lean part of mutton and beef.

T E S T I N G T H E STRENGTH OF CANNON BY S T E A M . T h e expansive force of condensed steam (that is, superheated steam) is fo und, by trial, to be muchgreater than that of gunpow der. Some volcanic eruptions, and many earthquakes, no doubt, owe their terrible effects to this power of steam ; the waterof the sea finding its way to subterraneous fires, He nce cannon mig ht withadvantage be tested by its means.

JAPANESE KNOWLEDGE O F M A G N E T I S M . T h e Japanese have discoveredthat a few seconds previous to an earthquake the magnet temporarily loses itspow er ; and they have ingeniously constructed a light frame supporting ahorse-shoe magnet, beneath which is a cup of bell-metal. Tho armature isattached to a weight, so that, upon the m agnet becomi ng paralysed, theweight drops, and striking the cup, gives the alarm. Eve ry one in the housethen seeks the open air for safety.

To CLE AN PAI NT THAT IS NO T VA R N I S H E D . P u t upon a plate some of thebest w hit ing ; have read y some clean warm water and a piece of flannel, whichdip into the water and squeeze nearly dry; then take as much whiting as wil ladhere to it, apply it to the paint, when a little rubbing will instantly removeany dirt or gre ase ; wash well off with water, and rub dry with a soft clot h.Pain t thus cleaned looks equal to new, and, without doing the least injury tothe most delicate colour, it will preserve the paint much longer than if cleanedwith soap, and it does not require more than half the time usually occupiedin cleaning.

N E W MET HOD OF DEPRIVING ANIMALS OF L I F E . T h e means proposedfor instantly depriving animals of life consists in the introduction of aportio n of air into the venous system. The effect of this upon vital actionwas accidentally discovered by Doctor Auber during a surgical opera

tion . It is asserted that this method is not only painless, but that it offers nodifficulty in regard to the"*subsequent prepar ation of the animal for food. Inthis case we may h ope, that the k indly purpose, for which the uninvitinginvestigation of the practices of slaughter-houses was undertaken, may not failof effect in dimini shin g the sufferings whi ch now end the career of ourslaughtered animals.

PNEUMATICS. This is a branch of philosophy which relates to air-formedbodies, such as the winds and all kinds of gases; their condensation, weight ,rarefacti on, and physi cal qualities. It also considers the combination of gaseswith solid substances; thus, the familiar bellows, employed for blo wing thefire, is strictly a pneumatic instrument for producing chemieal effects; andnumer ous very impor tant manufactures woul d cease but for the all-import antbellows. Much of the ore of the precious metals contains, besides go ld andsilver, also lead, iron, and cop per. To remo ve these is the process of therefiner, and he does it in this wa y : the who le mass of metal is melted in ashallow vessel; then a stream of air is blow n upon the surface of themolten mixture; the result of which is, that the iron, the lead, and th ecopper, become rusted; that is, they combine with the oxygen of the air

which is blown upon them, producing a scum of oxide, which floatsoff in ripp led waves from t he surface of the mor e precious metals,leaving the pure silver and gold unsullied. The pneumatic apparatusemployed for mak ing iron is on the most pro dig iou s scale. Recen tly a novelapplication o f pneumatics has been made by Mr . H . Bessemer for convertingiron i nto steel, which will in due cour se entirely supersede the tediousprocess at present in use. It is kn ow n that by the actio n of air on itssurface, the crude iron of the mines is by a very slow process, called



S e p t e m b e r 15 , I 8 6 0 . ] J S E F U L INFOKMATION A N D AMUSEMENT. 319

" puddling," converted into the iron and steel of commerce. Reasoning fromthis, Mr. Bessemer though t if he could force the air through the body of thecrude metal, instead of only on its surface, as the arduous pudd ler's processdoes, he should accom plish the same en d in a less period , and at a greatsaving of the most terrible labou r man has set upo n himself. H o wgloriously science has gone hand-in-hand with him, the wonderfulworks now in full operation at Shetheld show. Many years will of courseelapse before existing interests will succumb to this change ; however, thattime will come, thou gh pro bab ly not till years after the inven tor shall havepassed away. Th e win dmil l is a pneumatic en gin e: the birds that fly in theair, the ship that sails, the ocean and the great waves that roll there, thecommon house-fly, and the pretty moth that flits in the garden, are all

governed in their motion by pneumatic laws. Then, too, the great domes of gas at the works are but monster p neuma tic troughs , the princ iple of whi chis seen in every laboratory where youth studies pneumatic chemistry.

S T A T I S T I C S .

A cubic metre of solid gold would suffice to gild 3,450 acres of surface.

Th e mean annual fall of rain on the entire surface of the earth is estimated

at five feet.Nearly 100,000 gallons of wine have bee n produce d in Sydne y this year.

It is sold in the colony at from 2s. to 5s. per gallo n, and the greater part isconsumed in the districts where it is grown.

It appears from a Parliamentary return that the sum ex pended in erectingschools since the year 1853, under the minutes of the Pri vy Coun cil of Education, is £ 1 , 1 3 7 , 11 : 2 . Of this large sum £63 2,3 98 was supplied by localrates, £79,7 35 by non-local subscriptions, and £ 424 ,97 9 was furnished byParliamentary grants.

An official public ation in Prussia shows that of the total population,17,739,915, at the end of 1858, 1,902,627 were Poles, 48,58 2 Moravians,6,189 Bohemians, 109,000 Wende s, 139,780 Lithuanians, upwards of 10,000descendants of French refugees, and the rest Germans.

PARLIAMENTARY P E T I T I O N S . T h e number of petitions presented to Parliament was larger during the late session than in any year since the p assingof the Reform Bill, with the e xception of the single year 1843. Duri ng thefive preceding years the average number o f petitions presente d was 8,6 76,with an aggregate number o f signatures amounting to 1,07 4,00 0; while in thelast session the number of petitions was nearly tripled, since it amou nted t o24,264, and the number of signatures to 3,000 ,00 0. Out of that number, theStanding Committee on Petitions selected 1,587 for publication.

T H E COS T OP CRIME. Amongs t the estimates granted by parliamentduring the present session, we notic e the following items in connection withthe suppression of cri me: Fo r convict establishments at home, £ 3 6 8 , 3 2 9 ;inspectors of prisons (United K i n g d o m ) , £17 ,00 0 ; for the maintenance of

prisoners in county gaols, reformatory institutions, and the removal of convicts , £159,367; for the transportatio n of convicts, £ 2 0 , 6 7 1 ; fo r convictestablishments in the colonies, £17 3,0 00 ; for salaries, & c , of the metropolitanpolice, £ 2 1 , 4 3 7 ; a further grant for ditto, £ 1 3 6 , 8 6 0 ; for police, England,Wales, and Scotland, £ 2 2 3 , 0 0 0 ; expense of prosecutions at assizes andquarter-sessions, £ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 ; criminal prosecutions in Ireland, £ § 4 , 6 3 4 ;criminal prosecutions carried on by the au thority o f the Lo rd Advocate,£5 ,500 ; total, £1,289,798. An d this is only a part of the formidable account,to which must be added the cost of private prosecutio ns, the coun ty and otherrates for prisons, police, & c , to say nothing of the amount of plunder and thewaste of time which might have been devo ted to profitable labour . Gradual ly,it may be hope d, we shall learn ho w to preven t rather than to punish, and sosave part of this frightful expenditure. Schools are cheaper than prisons.

V A R I E T I E S .

At a dinner of the Metropolitan clerks of the Electric Co mpany, the

interesting fact was stated that the female staff of the Co mpan y no w number sno fewer than 200.

An Irish servant gi rl, named Jane M ' C o r o , residing in Boston (Massachusetts), recently transmitted to Ireland the sum of £ 40 , the result of sixyears' incessant toil, as paymen t of her deceased father's liabilitie s.

The Registrar-General has lately given the following dec i s ion : " It is theduty of every registrar, on becoming acquainted with a birth or death withinthe limits of his sub-district, to go to the house wherein the event occurredand register the same on the spot. He must take the best means to informhimself of births and deaths, and has no powe r to compel any person to attendpersonally at his residence to register. If he refuse or omit to registerany birth or death of which he has received due notice, he incurs apenalty of £5 0.

CURIOUS BEQUEST." The Italian journals state that a wealthy person, of Florence, just deceased, has left a singular will. It declares that the greaterpart of his fortune shall go to the man with the largest h ump on his back inall Tuscany, and that the persons entrusted with the duty of selecting himshall be themselves twelve humpb acks. To recompense the latter fo r theirtrouble he directs that, in addition to travelli ng expenses, each shall b epresented with a gold medal, bearing the effigy of JEsop, their prototype.

CRIMINAL L U N AT I C S . A n Act has just been passed to amend the Actregulating the Queen's Prison. Prisoners sent to Bethleh em Hosp ital underthe former Act may now be remov ed, and b e dealt w ith as if they were personsof sound mind. All lunatics removed to places from Bethlehem Hospitalare to be under the provisions of the Lu nac y Acts , The Commissioners

in Lunac y are to visit the Asylu ms provided or to be appropriated under thisAct, and to report to the Secretar y of State. Any superintendent, officer,servant, nurse, or other person empl oye d in an Asylum, who strikes, Avounds,ill-treats, or wilfully neglects any person confined therein, is to be guilty of amisdemeanour, and on conviction liable to fine and imprisonment, or to forfeitfor every such offence, on a summary conviction, a sum not exceeding £20,nor less than £ 2 .

CAUTION TO S E RVA N T S . A recent police case sh ows how female servantsmay be brought into trouble by admitting into their masters' houses personswith whom they form a street acquaint ance. A servant girl at Isli ngt on leftalone in the house while the family went to church, admitted tw o youn g menwith whom she had recently become acquainted; and while she was inconversation with them in the kitchen, one of them, who*represented himself to be a jeweller, and professed an affection for her, said he would go home fora watch wdrich he had made for he r, but had forgo tten to bri ng with hi m.He left the kitchen for that avowed purpose. Some time afterwards the otheryoung man left the house, and when the servant we nt up into one of the bedrooms, she discovered that the drawers had been broken open. On the returnof her master from church, he found that property to a considerable amounthad been stolen. She is no w in prison, charged as a guil ty confederate.

S U G A R - C A N D Y T H I E V E S B E I N G T R A P P E D . A n Oriental prince having

been repeatedly robb ed of his sugar-candy, which was kept in an open earthenvessel in a small inner room, with tobacco for his h ookah, conserve of roses,and other choice matters, beth oug ht him of a way to d iscover the thief, anddid so in this wis e: Hav ing caught a dozen or so of wasps, he clipped off their wings and droppe d them into the jar o f sugar-candy. The room wasopen to all th e servants, bu t not hin g occ urred till the dusk of the eveni ng,when one of them going to the room ostensibly to bring some tobacco for hismaster's hookah, was heard to set up a fearful yell . The master at onceknew that his bait was taken, and rushing into the room with several servants,caught the pilferer flagrante delicto, in the very act, as with a handful of sugar-candy he had grasped some half-dozen wasps. Lanyl etfs Court of Meer Ali Moor ad.

T H E A D U LT E R AT I O N OF F O O D . B y the new Ac t for preventing theadulteratio n of articles of food or drink, no w in force, " Every person whoshall sell any article of food or drink with which, to the knowledge of suchperson, any ingredient injurious to health has been mixed, and every personwh o shall sell as pure and unadulterated any article of food or drink whichis adulterated or not pure, shall for every such offence pay a penalty notexceeding five pounds, together with cos ts; and if any person so convictedshall afterwards com mit the like offence, it shall be lawful for the justices tocause such offen der's na me, place o f abod e, and offence, to be publishe d atthe exp ense of such offender, in such newspa per or in such other manne ras shall seem desirable. An y purcha ser of any artiole of food or drink in anydistrict where there is an analyst ap poin ted shall be entitled, on paym ent to theanalyst of a sum not less than two shillings and sixpence, nor more than tenshilling s and sixpe nce, to have any such article analysed, and t o re ceive from

such analyst a certificate of the result, specifying whether in his opinion suchan article is adulterated, and also whether it is so adulterated as to be injuriousto hea lth ; and such certificate shall, in the abse nce of any evid ence to thecontrar y, be sufficient evide nce, and the sum paid for such certificate shall bedeemed part of the costs."

T H E R I D D L E R .

E N I G M A .

I hai l the r i c h bir th of the s m i l i n g M a y m o r n ,A n d radiant ly gl i t ter on the w a v i n g c o r n ;I also descend ©n fai r Nature 's b r igh t b o w e r s ,R e f r e s h i n g th e o d o u r that falls f r o m th e flowers :T h o u g h g e m - l i k e I hang f r o m th e leaf and the spray,A n d numb erles s t in ts in great s p l e n d o u r d i s p l a y,Yet , w h e n the sun shineth so p o w e r f u l o n h i g h ,A n d l ighte th the dep ths of the fa thomless s k y,I a m t h e n n o t p e r m i t t e d l o n g e r to s tay,A m o m e n t I res t , and then hasten a w a y. A. C. M. J .

C H A R A D E .

M y first t o t h e m e r c h a n t b e l o n g s . T h e soldier is war n 'd by m y third,W h i c h p r o u d l y, I k n o w, h e wil l ow n ; To prepa re for the c o m i n g h a r d f i g h t ;

M y second shuns ear thly affairs, Bu t m y whole to m y read er 1 h o p eA n d re t i res to l ive al l a l o n e . Wi l l b o t h p u z z l e a nd also del ight .

H . JK. NR E B U S .

M y first is a h e r o of v a l o u r a nd f a m e ,In the ra nks of the b o l d and the b r a v e is his name ;B u t defeated, fo r life to m y second did f ly,A n d m y third i s the k i n g in w h o s e land he did die .My fourth for his natural h is tory was p r i z e d ,Bu t b y v a p o u r f r o m I t a l y ' s m o u n t a i n h e d i e d ;A n d my fifth f rom his pr ide in to iEtna j u m p ' d in ,I n h o p e s th e Sici l ians a g o d w o u l d t h i n k h i m .M y sixth and m y last mu st be k n o w n t o y o u all'Tis a r iver d i v i d i n g I ta l ia f r o m Gaul .I f y o u j o i n m y initials m y nam e you must k n o w ;I' m the f rui t o f a shrub in the In dies I g r o w. H . R . N .

A R I T H M E T I C A L Q U E S T I O N S .

1. A gent lem an dis t r i buted a purse c o n t a i n i n g £ 2 5 a m o n g s t hi s c h i l d r e n , a c c o r d i n gto t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e ages , which w e r e 8 years , 12 years , and 20 years . What d id e a c hr e c e i v e ? V I N C I T.

2. F o u r g e n t l e m e n , w h o m we shal l cal l W, X , Y, and Z, r e s p e c t i v e l y, after a day 'ss h o o t i n g b r o u g h t h o m e 266 bir ds b e t w e e n them ; and, on calcula t ing, found that e a c hha d f i red an equal num ber of t imes , also that W had m i s s e d o n c e in e v e r y 3 t imes , Xo n c e in e v e r y 5 t imes , Y t w i c e in e v e r y 5 t imes , an d Z o n c e in e v e r y 9 t imes of firing.H o w m a n y t i m e s d i d each fire, a n d h o w m a n y birds did e a c h k i l l ? U R B S I N TA C TA .

3. D e t e r m i n e th e p o s i t i o n of a marb le c o n e , w h o s e a x i s an d base diamet ers are 20an d 6 feet respect ively, p laced on its v e r t e x , s u c h that a force of 10 cwt . act ing a t theh i g h e s t p o i n t o f t h e base , in a d i r e c t i o n p e r p e n d i c u l a r t o t h e s l a n t s ide , m a y j u s tsustai n it. D. S. D.



320 T H E FAMILY HERALD. [ S e p t e m b e r 15, 1860.

R A N D O M R E A D I N G S .

Wh at kind of cradle would he the most uncom fortable for a baby to lie in ?• Scratch cradle.

Jones cannot fathom how it can be true that those ladies acquire the bestcarriage who don't ride in one.

Th e poet who tried to render a piece o f poor prose into rhyme did all hecould to "make what was bad verse."

" I would have you to know, sir, that my name is Frances, and notF r a n k . " " Ah, yes, Miss, but you kno w I have the franking privi lege ."

A teacher of vocal music asked an old lady if her gra ndson had any ear formusic. "W a' al l , " said the old woman, " I really don't know. Won ' t y outake the candle and see ?"

A man died of apople xy the other day. Th e next day the coroner held aninquest, when the following verdict was re turned: " Died from a visitation of one beef-steak, eight cold potatoes, and fried sausages."

A temperance lecturer in Devo nshire, a short time since, finished his discourset h u s : " An d finally, my heare rs, w hy shou ld any of you drink ardent spirits ?M y son Tom has got as good cider as "any in the cou nty , at sixp ence a quar t . "

It being hinted to a barrister, who was wearying the court with a long anddull argument, that he ought to bring it to a close, he angrily replied, " Iwill speak as long as I ple ase! " " Yo u haye spoken lo nger than y ou pleasealready," said his antagonist.

A n old Dutchm an who some years a go was elected a member of theAmerican legislature, said, in his b roken Engli sh style, " Ye n I vent to thelechislatur I tough11 vould find dem all Solomons dere; but I soon founddere was some as pick fools dere as I was."

W e lately picked up the following memorand a, wh ich we saw droppe d bya young lady attired in an elegant velvet talma, an exquisite Hon iton collar,a white hat and plume, and a painfu lly brillian t silk dress, with exa gger atedflounces : " I must get a Vail , Sarcknet, Glu vs, Broun l ioss , Laise, Shym-mezet, Kulone."

W h e n Lama rtin e was in the ascendant, at the early part of the Revolutionof 1848 , his merits were b ein g discussed at a club of artists and authors." A h ! " said a clever you ng author, "h e and I row in the same b oat ."Douglas Jerrold, who was present, turned round, and said, " B u t not wit hthe same sculls! "

A young country editor was very desirous of gaining the good graces of thenew vicar, and in describin g his first entrance into church , wr ote t h u s :" He is a most venerable sample of antiquity." But to his astonishment, andthe amazement of all the inhabitants, it came out the next morning in types," He is a most miserable sample of iniquity."

Th e Rev. Robert Hall, disgusted by the egotism and conceit o f a preacher,who, with a mixture of self-complacency and impudence, challenged hisadmiration of a sermon, was provoked to say, " Yes, there was one very finepassage of your discourse, s i r . " " I am rejoiced to hear you say so whic hwas it ? " " W hy , sir, it was the passage from the pulpit into the vestry ! "

An anxious mother in Scotland was taking leave of her son on his departurefor Englan d, and gi ving him all good advice. " M y dear Sandy, my ainbairn, gan g south, and get all the siller y e can from the Southerns tak every thing yo can ; but, the English are a brave boxin' people, an ' take careo' them, S an dy ; never fight a bald man, for ye canna catch him by thehair."

" Ho w ," said Mr. A. to a friend who wished to convey a matter of importance to a lady without commun icating directly with her, " how can you becertain of her reading the letter, seeing you have directed it to her husba nd ? "

" Th at I have managed without the possibility of a failure," was theanswer, " she will open it to a certainty, for I have put the word * private ' inthe corner."

Newspaper pe ople are pro verbially temperate as well as virtuous. W ebelieve one of the craft did get " tightly slig ht " a few days ago , and the

following is a sample of his paper the next d ay : " Yesterday morni ng atfour o'clock P. M., a small man, named Jon es, or Bro wn or Smith, with aheel in the hole of his trowsers, committed arsenic by swallow ing a dose of suicide. The verdict of the inquest returned a jury that the deceased came tothe facts in acco rdan ce with his death. H e leaves a chi ld and six small wivesto lament t he end of his untimely loss."

A n amusing incident occurred at the close of the Edinb urgh re view. Amajor was about to refresh himself, when, in the act of raisi ng the poti on tohis martial lips, he, evidently beco ming aware o f the confused position of some of the companies, called out in stentorian tones, " Battalion,attention ! " and,-immediately thereafter, whe n all eyes were turned upon himawaiting his commands, conveyed the liquid to its destination. The effectmay be easily ima gine d; ill-suppressed laughter ran along the lines, and eventhe gallant major could not refrain from a smile at the amusing contretemps.

A good story is told of Lor d Bath. He owed a tradesman £ 8 0 0 , and wouldnever pay hi m; the man determined to persecute him till he did, and onemorning followed him to Lo rd Winch elsea's , and sent up wo rd that he wantedto speak with him. Lor d Bath came down, and said, " F e l l o w, what do youwant with m e ? " " M y m o n e y! " said the man, as loud as ever he couldbawl, befo re all the servants. He bade him come the next morning, and thenwould not see him. The next Sunday the man followed him to church, andgo t into the n ext seat; he leaned over and said, " M y mon ey giv e me mym o n e y ! " Th e ser mon was on ava rice, and the text, " Cursed are the y whoheap up riches." Th e man groaned out, " Oh, my Lor d ! " and pointed tomy Lo rd Bath. In short, he persisted so much, and drew the eyes of all the

C U R I O U S . A census-taker found a woman who gave her own age as 28years, and that of h er o ldest son as 23 !

CAUSE A N D E F F E C T. " W h y , Hans, you have the most feminine cast of countenance I ever have se en ." " Oh , yah," replied Hans, " I know dereason for dat mine mode r was a voo mans ."

A SLIGHT MI ST AK E. A Fren chma n, havin g a violent pain in his stomach,applied to a physician (who was an Englishman ) for relief. The doctorinquiring where his troub le lay, the Frenc hman in dolorous accents, layiHghis hand on his breast, said, " V y , sare, I have a vcr' bad pai n in myportmanteau."

AMERICAN FASHIONS. Four- s to ry shirt collars are all the rage. W esaw one the oth er da y wit h a s teeple to it. Th e increase in buildin g hasproved very profitable to the lin en and starch trade. Short-necked people,in order to keep p ace with the spirit of improvement, should get their earsmoved up a little higher.

GOING FURTHER A N D FA R IN G W O R S E . A minister being threatenedwith depr ivatio n said to some of his flock, that if he were "d epr ive d" itwould cost a hundred men their lives. On be ing asked what he meant bysuch a threat, he explained that if h e lost his benefice he should set up as adoctor, and, if so, he ha d no dou bt he s hould b e the death of at least ahundred patients.

S M A RT R E T O RT. O l d Lor d Elphinstone was asleep at church while theminister, a very addleheaded preacher, was holding forth. At length theparson stopped and cried, " Wau kin , my Lor d Aph inst one ." A grunt, andthen " I' m no sleepin' minist er." " But ye are sleepin' I wager ye dinnaken what I said la st ." " Ye said, waukin, my Lord Elphinsto ne." " Ay,ay, tu t I wager ye dinna ken what I said last afore that ." "I wager yedinna ken yersel."

A N E W SORT OF D I V O R C E . N o t lon g since a native of the Feje e Island spresented himself to a missionary and humbly begged to receive the rite of bapt i sm. "But , " objected the priest, " y o u are a polygam ist you haveseveral w i v e s . " " Oniy two ." "Th at i s one too man y. " " Goo d; I willge t rid of one of the m." "K eep the one that you have lived the longestw i t h . " " N o , I prefer the other, she is yo un ge r. " "A s you please." Eightdays afterwards the c onver ted savage returned to the priest, with his faceradiant with innocent joy. " No w , father," said he, " yo u can baptise me."

" Y o u have only on e wife n o w ? " " Only one, on my wor d." And hepointed to quite a pleas-ant-looking young woman who accompanied him." A n d what has become of the other ? " asked the priest. " 0 , 1 ate her! "

A L E A R N E D WITNESS. Wi tnesses are often exc eedi ngly stupid, but we don'tknow whether this witness o ugh t to be called stupid or not. He was beforeBaro n Mart in. It was desired to get from him an exact account of a certainconversati on, with the "s ay s I " and " says h e ; " but the counsel could no tmake hi m comprehend the form in whic h he was wanted to make his statement. So the court took him in hand. " No w, my man, tell us exactly whatpass ed." " Yes , my lord, certainly. I said that I would not have the pig."

" We l l , what was his answer ? " " He said that he had been keeping thepi g for me, and that he " . " No , no ; he did not say that he could no thav e said it. He spoke in the first pe rs on ." " No , I was the first personthat spoke, my lo rd ." " I mean this don't bring in the third p e r s o n -repeat his exact w or ds ." " There was no third person, my lord, only hi ma n d m e . " " Look here, my good fellow ! he did not say he had been keepingthe pig, he said, 1 1 have been keep ing it.' " " I assure you, my lord, therewas no mention o f you r lords hip's name at all. W e are on two differentstories, my lord. There was no third person ; and if any thing had been saidabo ut you r lord ship, I must have heard it." So the court had to give it up,though the witness was only too ready to tell all he knew.

R U L E S F O R H E A LT H .

Never go to b ed with you r feet sticki ng out of the window, particularlywhen it is raining or freezing.

Never stand in the rain cistern all nigh t. It ch ecks perspiratio n, and spoilsrain water for washing purposes.

Never spank your children with a handsaw, or box their ears with thesharp edge of a hatche t, as it is apt to affect the brain.

More than three pigs ' feet and half a mincep ie eaten at midni ght, will notgene rally cause th e consu mer to dream of houris, paradise, accom modati ngbankers, and other good things ; at least they are not apt to do so.

T o enlarge the muscles o f the arms and legs, climbing up and down th echimney (especi ally if the hou se is a four-storied on e) three or four timesbefore breakfast, is a cheap exercise , and giv es a voraciou s appetite.

Ear-ache in children is a common and vexatious complain t. To cure it atonce, bore a hole in the tympanum with a gimlet, and pour in oil and tilings.I f the chil d keeps on crying , bore it all tho way to the other ear.

Corns may be easily cured. The mos t torturing corn can at once be extirpated as follows : Take a sharp knife, and find the joi nt of the toe whereupon the corn resides ; insert the knife in the articulation, cut off the toe andthrow it away. It will never return again, unless yo ur dog bring s it back toyo u in his mouth. (Patent applied for.)

Th e habit of drinking can be cured by giv ing the drinkers all the liquorthey want to drink all the time. W e kno w of two in our own experiencewh o were cured in three weeks. One jump ed out of a fourth-story windowand ran a curbst one into his head . The other didn't ge t up one morn ing, andhas now a curbstone growing over his head in the graveyard.

Published by B E N J A M I N B L A K E , 421, Strand, London, W . C , to whom allCommunications for the Editor must be addressed .

Family Herald 15th September 1860

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Transcript of Family Herald 15th September 1860