to hear more of the one subject which haunted him. The first news was, that his brother, Edward Lord Godolphin, was the accepted suitor of the Lady Alice de Beaumont. "He moved notstarted not"-but, saying he was called, left the room for an hour; and, when he returned, none guessed the violence of emotion which had raged under his calm demeanour. Determined to see her once again, and, if possible, to see her made the bride of his brother, so that his heart could at least feel no more, if it did not burst in the effort, he suddenly apprized Lord Godolphin that he slightly knew Sir Edward Beaumont, and that he would accompany him, and pay his devoirs to the bride. Fancying the self-command he had long practised would enable him to look on her with unblushing firmness, he dismounted from his horse and followed his brother through the spacious hall. But illness and sorrow had done their work, and the door of the Oriel chamber being open, brought back the past with such thrilling vigour that catching the arm of his brother, he said " Edward, I must go, I am not well." After uttering these words, he, who had been the spirit of the field-the bravest of the bravefell prostrate, in a deep swoon. Fearing to alarm the house, Lord Godolphin tenderly carried him into the room they were passing, when he quitted him to seek attendants. At the same moment, from another door, the Lady Alice entered, and stretched, apparently lifeless before her, lay the form of her too well loved Dalton. Totally unconscious of all, save his presence and his death, she uttered a shriek of passionate sorrow, and, kneeling down, her long dark hair fell floating o'er his brow. That shriek recalled life, and well can we say, in the beautiful words of Moore "No, not more welcome the fairy numbers Of music fall on the sleeper's ear, "Sweet voice of comfort! 'twas like the stealing There is much more benevolence in the world than conscientiousness. An appeal to the feelings of mankind is effectual in a moment; an appeal to their sense of justice is seldom successful. A wag, who was plagued with an unruly wife, being solicited to view Winchester cathedral, to see the beautiful aisles and fret-work, declined the invitation, saying, "I have enough of ails and fretwork at home, thank ye." EVENING MUSINGS. With hues that never sprung from earth, As sunbeams burst from darkening clouds JANE. A CHRISTMAS FROLIC. BY CAROLINE Leicester. Last winter I was invited to spend the Christmas at the mansion of Sir Ralph Winterbottom, a baronet of the old school, whose great delight is to keep up the good old custom of assembling all his family about him on every festival day, and is quite fidgetty should any member be absent, even to his forty-first cousin: we had, therefore, a numerous assemblage of old and young, including many generations. Sports of all kinds were in requisition, some of which being of a noisy description, I withdrew, and was followed by a few of the more sober-minded; we gathered around a huge fire of wood, and amused ourselves in conversation, passing from grave to gay, and from gay to grave. At length it was proposed by one of the group that each should relate some adventure in which they had been engaged; a hint was thrown out that the more ludicrous would be the better liked; and there was a further amendment of the motion that he or she, whose story was not sufficiently ludicrous, should pay a forfeit, and whoever created most laughter should be crowned with laurel. We drew lots for the first speaker, and it fell upon Mr. Luttrell, a young student in the Temple; after a short preamble, he thus began: "About three years ago I was invited to pass the summer recess at the house of my guardian in Devonshire; his family was numerous, consisting of five sons (the youngest of whom was my most intimate friend) and four daughters. I was shown at night into a huge old-fashioned apartment, which on my first entrance, as I cast a coup d'ail over the furthest end, struck me as looking very gloomy: however, my friend, Tom Winterbottom, the merriest wag in the world, after some of his own jokes (at which we both laughed heartily) retired, commending me to the arms of Morpheus with all possible dispatch. "I was sleepy and fatigued, after a long journey, and just on the point of stepping into bed, when I heard a gentle tap at the door; it proved to be the old butler, with whom I was a great favourite, therefore I was not at first surprised at his visit, but as it lengthened I began to perceive something odd in his manner; he seemed to have his mind burthened with some mighty secret, which he was unwilling to reveal; at last he went to the door, but returning to me he said "I hope, master Edward, you will be able to sleep.' "To sleep?" said I. Don't you see, man, that I can scarcely keep my eyes open?' "Begging your pardon,' said he, that's just the reason I made bold to come and offer my services.' "Well, thought I, this is funny enough; and I began to entertain a suspicion that the old man was certainly demented. However, to make a long story short, after a great deal of circumlocution, I besought him to explain why he did not like me to sleep in that room by myself; and the reason was, that many of the servants had heard strange noises there at night, for which they could not account; they had not mentioned it to the 6 family as their master put no faith in the supernatural, and they were afraid to endeavour to ascertain the cause of it themselves. "But now, Sir,' he continued, that you are here, I'll keep you company with all the pleasure in life.' “Thank you, my good Jenkins,' said I, 'but and true account in the morning of all the ghosts I am not at all afraid, and will render you a full and ghostesses who may be good enough to favour me with their company.' So saying, I bade him good night,' and he, with evident reluctance, departed. I went to bed, and was soon fast asleep; after my first heavy slumber was over I began to dream of Jenkins and his stories, and even thought that somebody was entering my room, on which I started-and awoke. Not being able to settle again immediately, I lay in a half dozy state, when I heard the lock of my door gently turned. move. "A bright moon shed her beams into the chamber, by which I could distinguish, on the opening of the door, a female figure dressed in a long flowing garment, white as snow; she approached the bed, where I lay shaking and shivering, and (indeed I am not ashamed to confess) afraid to She however, as I have said, approached the bed, nearer and nearer still-and now standing close beside it she stretched forth her hand, and putting aside the curtain, with slow and solenin motion, bent her body and impressed-three kisses upon my lips. This was too much, my blood froze in my veins, my hair bristled; I endeavoured to speak, but my tongue clove to the roof of my mouth. But this was not all; slowly and deliberately she actually ascended the bed, having first I could bear it no longer, and screwing my courage carefully laid down the clothes for that purpose. to the sticking point, gave myself one desperate fing, which brought me sprawling on the floor at did not appear to satisfy my persecuting ghostess, for she still followed me, and stepping out after seized upon my only garment. I had by this time me at the other side, with both hands she firmly arisen from my lowly posture, and endeavoured to beat a retreat. one side while she entered at the other. But this "Unfortunately for me, the inconstant moon, just at this critical moment, hid her face behind a cloud, and left me in total darkness to contend with my spiritual enemy. I retreated backwards, while she followed, still holding fast; I was becoming every moment more faint and breathless, but was nevertheless resolved that I should either 'do or die;' and thinking that a sudden jerk would extricate me (my movements being still of necessity backwards), my head bent forward, my hands stretched out at full length before me, I gave one spring, which brought me into the middle of a glass door, which broke with horrid crash into a thousand pieces! "Oh, my friends, imagine, if you can, my situa tion, and all its attending horrors-half dead with fright before, and now in agony from the various wounds inflicted by the broken glass. I felt the warm blood trickling down in every direction; I tried to move, but the pain was so intense that I bellowed unconsciously. At last, making one since that to be sure it was only the empty bed. I desperate effort, I jumped out, right into the arms of the ghost, with such force that we both rolled together on the ground; a piercing scream issued from her hitherto silent lips. At this moment the door was burst open, and every member of the "Well, at this explanation, even despite of my family came rushing in pell-mell in quick suc- pain and my wounds, and the sad pickle I was in cession, some carrying lights. In the mean time-in the midst of my mortification I could scarcely there we were, still on the floor (that is, the ghost refrain from laughing-and to think too what an and myself); I, unable to rise from pain, was ass I had been, not to have known the rich warm thrown unceremoniously to one side, while they lips of Julia when pressed to mine, for which in bent over the unfortunate object of my terror. my sober senses I would have given the half of my What was my horror, when they all, nem. con., fortune; but I was not allowed to ruminate long; cried out― Julia, my child,'-' My sister Julia,' the brave whiskerando now held out his hand to -Oh! Miss Julia,'' Dear Julia,' brought her here?'-She is killed !'-The villain solutely convulsed with laughter, which he occaWhat me, and solicited my pardon, while Tom was abhas murdered her!'-See, she is bleeding!' Her sionally vented in a roar, that seemed to shake the elder brother, a ferocious young officer, felt (but old walls from their foundation. From the serfortunately unavailingly) for his sword, swearing vants I afterwards learned that he would run me through. My friend Tom here poor Julia was in interfered, and sensibly enough proposed that I a most pitiable state; that on being brought to her should be first called upon to give some explana-tinued for many hours after in strong hysterics. own room she had at first fainted, and then contion. I opened my mouth to speak, but the pain of my wounds was so dreadful, and feeling that some pieces of glass had still adhered, I could only cry out, Help, oh help, or I die-pull it out, will nobody pull it out?' ""Coward!' cried the aforesaid young officer, whose moustache stood on end with rage, you shall die the death of a dog."' "And as he once more rushed upon me, Jenkins the Butler interposed, having made his way into the melée, crying, Oh! sir, spare him, spare him, it was-it must have been the ghost.' "I should mention that Julia had, in the interim, been conveyed away by her mother and sisters. "Oh! master Edward, master Edward, you would not let me stay in your room; but oh! if I had known it would come to this, no power on earth should have forced me from you.' "There seemed to be something so odd in the words of the old man, that all now looked to him for an explanation, and he commenced to relate (while he lowered his voice to a whisper), that, for several months past, since the death of Mrs. Rachel Winterbottom, the master's sister-which took place in that same apartment-that, though the servants were before unwilling to mention it, they had almost all at different times, heard noises in it, some particularly resembling the opening and shutting of doors; and though the housemaid were to settle the bed ever so well, it was always found turned down and tossed in the morning. While he spoke, Julia's maid rushed in, and falling upon her knees declared that, no matter how unpleasant it might be, she would reveal the whole truth, as she could not bear to see such a fine young gentleman murdered, besides the discredit it would bring upon her master's house. "Indeed,' she said, the simple truth is this, that Miss Julia is in the habit of walking in her sleep! I could not believe it myself,' she added, till I watched her, and followed her, but ever since her aunt died, that she was so fond of, she has had a habit of coming here to this room every night, just as she did when the poor dear lady was alive; and I saw her myself stoop down and kiss her, for all the world as she used to do-though me; I was confined to my bed for several days, "In the morning a doctor was sent for to attend and as soon as I had sufficiently recovered, Í thought it better to take leave, as I learned that chamber during my stay, nor could she even bear Julia could not be prevailed on to leave her to hear my name mentioned." ourselves during the relation of the adventure, With difficulty had we endeavoured to restrain which was no sooner concluded than a peal of laughter, long and loud, succeeded, which echoed and echoed from top to bottom, and from bottom to top of the mansion. Sir Ralph, with all the rest of the company at his heels, came running en foule to see what was the matter, and found us all shaking and convulsed, while the tears rolled down our cheeks. Just then the supper-bell rang, and we were obliged to postpone our merriment till the following evening. Dublin. CHARADE. My first in a garden of flowers you may trace Of a light-hearted girl you may see, My whole is an exquisite pattern for man, ALICIA S-. Indifference to the welfare of our country is a crime. EXTRACT. THE LEGACY SHIP.* (A SEA STORY.) Dame Otto was a widow, whose husband, an honest labourer, had been dead a long while. She lived here in Hamburg some years ago. I well remember her shop, half under ground, where she carried on a small retail business in wood and coal, besides selling liquors and other refreshments to the guests who occasionally dropped in, thus managing to earn a tolerably comfortable, though humble maintenance. The dame, in her young days, had been at service in the house of a rich merchant, Schorr by name, whose only son, a wild though good-hearted young man, chanced to fall violently in love with her. This was not strange, when we consider the extreme beauty and modest demeanour of the girl; and Arnold, taking into view his superiority in point of rank and wealth, did not dream of being unsuccessful in his wooing. So that when Marie, instead of encouraging his advances, shrank from him, the disappointment only increased his passion; he pursued her the more closely-and even went so far as to make her a formal offer of marriage. But Marie was not disposed to take advantage of his infatuation. She had no ambitious wishes; and acting like a prudent damsel even in the first impulse of her surprise, she went to the old merchant, and informed him of all that had passed. The elder Schorr was a rational, amiable man. He applauded the discretion of his serving maid, reproved his son for his unpardonable misconduct, and sent him forthwith upon some business into England. In his absence he adjusted matters so as to prevent a recurrence of difficulties; the pretty Marie was bestowed in marriage upon young Otto, to whom she had long been attached, and her former master expressed his approbation of her choice, and his kind regard for her, by giving her a rich dower, which he placed in the hands of her husband on her wedding-day. The good dame still remembered that happy time, though she had since gone through much trouble, which made her appear older than she really was. First she lost her kind master, and there were none but her and her husband to perform the offices of friendship for him in his last illness; for his son Arnold had been estranged from him ever since his disappointment. Then she heard that the rash young man had parted with his patrimony, and invested most of his for tune in a ship, the command of which he had taken, and was gone to sea. She was much grieved that one she had been taught highly to respect, had thus abandoned himself to a rover's life, the more so, as she had been innocently the cause of his self-banishment from his native coun try. But this sorrow was in time swallowed up by one much more severe; her husband died, and of seven children she had borne him, only one son, Matthias, survived his father. The finishing stroke, amid all her misfortunes, was the decay of her means of living; by little and little her substance wasted away, and she was at length obliged to betake herself to the business above mentioned, to keep her son and herself from actual want. Matthias was a lad of very high-flown notions, and of great ambition; and moreover had never learned the lesson of self-denial. He sometimes assisted his mother in her work, but always spent much more than he earned; for he would dress in a manner that suited the son of a rich burgher, rather than a youth in his very humble circumstances. Whenever his poor mother ventured to remonstrate mildly with him upon his extravagance, for she never had the heart to reprove him severely, he would answer rudely— "Let me alone, mother!" adding not unfrequently the taunt-"If you had been wiser when you were young, and had married the rich Master Arnold Schorr, you might have been now a respectable merchant's wife; you would not have been obliged to live in a musty old cellar, and show a wheedling face to every fellow that chances to come in to spend his sixpence or shilling!" At this, the poor old dame would go aside and weep bitterly, while her son threw himself on a bench, and idled away his time in smoking and sleeping. One day, after rather a protracted scene of this kind between mother and son, the door opened unexpectedly, and a man of somewhat remarkable appearance entered. His rough exterior, and his blustering manner, showed him to be a sailor. He was full six feet high, and indeed had to stoop in crossing the threshold; and seemed a man not so much advanced in years as worn by toil and hardship. His sunburnt visage was rendered more unprepossessing by a thick, dark beard, which was suffered to grow very long. A dark coloured cord encircled his neck, to which was attached a large pocket-knife, usually carried by sailors. He wore, tied round his straw hat, a silken handker chief, after the fashion of the East India seamen. "Holloa-who waits?" he cried, as he came in. "Fetch me a glass of rum !" "Mother-a glass of rum!" called out Matthias, without moving from his favourite couch; and the poor woman quickly wiped her eyes, and prepared to obey the order. "The unmannerly boor!" cried the seaman. the old dame? "What do you lie idle there for, and order about Who are you, sir ?” said the dame, not a little mortified at the rude "He is my son, at your service, my good sir," behaviour of the youth. ger, "A fine fellow, to be sure," muttered the stran "but it is your own fault. Why did you bring him up in idleness? If you had kept him at work, and given him now and then a taste of the discipline of the whip, he would have been worth now? What are you crying about?" more, I promise, to you. But what is the matter "Oh, sir," stammered the old woman, fearful that the stranger would think ill of her son, have been at work in the kitchen; the fire smokes badly, and it has given me a sad rheum in my Freely translated from the Diary of Burkhardt, eyes." the Pilot. "You are lying, mother," interrupted Matthias, angrily, but without moving from his place. "She has been quarrelling with me, as usual; and at such times she always takes to crying, so that our customers may think something terrible has happened." The dame went and seated herself in her corner, sobbing; the sailor looked sternly at her son. "Hold your insolent tongue, varlet," said he, "or I will soon teach you better behaviour." "Your business here," replied the youth, pertly, "is to pay for your glass of rum and then to take yourself off. That is all, sir!" The stranger changed countenance, and looked as if much provoked, but suppressing his indignation, said, after a pause, in rather a scornful tone "Stand up on your feet, my lad, I want to see what sort of limbs you have, with so ready a tongue. Get up off the bench." "I choose to lie still," answered the young man, though at the same time he raised his head a little, to look at the seaman more attentively. “Well, then, I will try if I cannot get you up," observed the other quickly; and forthwith he loosened the cord above spoken of, from his neck, and opened the large knife, the blade of which appeared sharp and bright. "Are All the morning there had been an unusual commotion about the harbour. Not that bustle which is occasioned by each having a good deal to do, for nearly everybody was idle; it was the head, not the hands that was so much busier than usual. Curiosity was on tiptoe to know what was meant by the sudden apparition of a large ship, which daylight had discovered in the river, outmarked with strange figures, and her sails showed side the port. Her hull was dark coloured, and like mountains of snow in relief against the sky. She seemed to have no beak, and the name on her stern was effaced. The men on her deck seemed occupied with business of their own, and not desirous of holding any communication with those on the crafts around them. All this was suspicious, but after the closest observation, the spectators could see nothing to justify dread of the strangelooking ship, though all were obliged to own there especially as she carried no flag nor pennon, nor was something odd and remarkable about her, anything to mark the particular country to which she belonged. idlers on the wharf ceased to talk about her, as By degrees the novelty wore off, and even the towards noon the harbour-master was seen to go on board, and bring the vessel up to the raft, just outside. "For mercy's sake!" screamed the old woman, springing up when she saw this action, but too much frightened to come near the stranger, Soon after, several of her crew landed, and you going to kill my child?" among the rest the sailor we have already seen in "A true eye is a capital thing for a sailor, eh, Dame Otto's cellar. He walked about the wharf, dame," answered the man-" and I have such, as you will see." With that he wound the cord round his wrist, and then threw the knife with such force, that, whistling through the air it lodged deep in the wooden bench. The seaman then jerked the line so as to overset the bench completely, and the astonished Matthias came to the ground, much to his discomfiture and the inconvenience of his nose, which was bruised by the fall. All this happened in an instant. The dame screamed "help!" the young man picked himself up, rubbing his nose, while the sailor took back his knife, and burst into loud laughter. "Well, I have you up at last," cried he; "in truth, you are as rough a lad as ever chewed seabiscuit. I say, sir, how do you relish standing upright? Dame Otto-you need not be surprised that I know your name, though I have never been in your shop before-let me advise you to look after your son, if you would not have him turn out a scapegallows. Here is the pay for your liquor, you need not give me any change; may it do you much good!" so saying, he threw a guinea on the table, and walked out of the door. "What a strange man," said the old woman, as soon as she had recovered breath. "How his eyes glared-and he looked all the while as if he were mocking us-and I noticed, he did not even glance towards the crucifix hanging under the looking glass! Who may he be, I wonder?" "What the mischief do I care, who he is ?" answered her son, pettishly, and going up to the table, he emptied, at a draught, the glass of liquor which the stranger had left untouched, then snatched up the guinea, thrust it into his pocket, and with a careless "Good bye, mother," left the shop. seemingly in thought, and up and down the street, nor spoke to any one, till he encountered Matthias, just coming from a tavern in the neighbourhood, where, with a set of drunken vagabonds, he had spent the guinea left on his mother's table. The young man was on his way home, sadly inebriated; his flushed face wore an expression of stupid glee, and the effect of the liquor had been to give him a more ready flow of talk. "Ha, ha," he cried, when he perceived the sailor," hang me, but if I see straight, you are the very man who ordered a glass of rum at our shop and left a guinea to pay for it! I can tell you, sir, your liberality pleases me well. Pray do us often the favour to call. But come, I believe I have a shilling or two of odd change left, shall we have a glass of port wine together?" "As you please, tippler!" answered the seaman, laughing," I am ready for you; but we will not go into your dirty cellars, where you can hardly see the sun at noon. We will go, if it like you, on board my vessel, where you will find plenty of flasks of the best growth. Will you go with me?" "You do me great honour," replied Matthias, with a scraping acknowledgment, after which he found incredible difficulty in recovering his footing. "I beg-sir-what is the name of your admirable vessel?" "The Lucifer!" said the stranger, and burst into a peal of laughter. "The Lucifer?" repeated the youth, very thicktongued. "Very well, you, a good Christian, and christen your vessel with such a name! Lucifer! the name is not very common here. But how is it, sir? What were we talking about? I thought the matter was a glass or two of Port." |