is

he.

"Eternal is also mine," softly responded the maiden.

His song ended, a shadow crossed him in the, on the strife above them. But how great was cold moonlight for a moment, and then another their astonishment when they beheld their chief being joined him; it was Eleanora. No longer overpowered, and his Herculean body hurled his hand swept his lute-strings, but, seizing hers, down lifeless at their feet. Of a stern and unhe avowed his love. "Eternal as the heavens yielding disposition, this man of blood had never my love, my affection, Eleanora," exclaimed been a favourite among them; but his powerful strength and gigantic stature, added to a dauntless courage, had caused them rather to be inspired with fear and dread, and they regarded him with feelings akin to awe, deeming him invincible. A voice among them quickly suggested that his conqueror was alone worthy of succeeding him; and to this all unanimously agreed. Throwing their arms to the ground, they all ascended the rock, and hailed Alberto as their chief, and entreated him to become so. For a moment only did the young misanthrope balance between a weary life of misery and an active life of perdition. The latter soon gained the ascendancy, and the Genoese patrician become the pirate chief. Under the assumed name of Adro, he quickly became the terror of the Mediterranean. But did Eleanora ever dream, that when she heard the most terrible accounts of the pirate's ferocity, it was the once happy Alberto, once so blest in her love? No!

In the first kiss of love, that those two young hearts had ever given, their lips met; to which the moonbeams, whose silvery light shone round them, and the stars, whose beams quivered as though they wept in the dark azure vault, were mute witnesses. Alas! and that vow was soon to be forgotten by her, soon to become less than a dream; but by him? No! it remained fixed and sacred as the altar of his faith, burning brightly for ever!

A few weeks after that evening Alberto departed on a voyage to the Levant, hoping to repair, by a successful commerce, the prodigality of his deceased sire, who had left him too poor to demand the hand of the daughter of the rich and haughty Pisani. What sorrow did not she appear to feel when he bade her adieu, praying his speedy return. Oh, faith and constancy! oh, woman's love! whither, whither did ye flee? Scarcely two months had elapsed when the Marchese Spinola demanded her in marriage; her father, averse to the affection she had displayed for Alberto, readily consented. And this being, so young, so beautiful, who but so lately had given up her first fond gush of affection to another pure and loving as herself, dazzled by wealth and ambition, bestowed her hand on Spinola, whose years numbered thrice hers, who was somewhat deformed in person, but yet who possessed Mammon; and this was the irresistible spell that had won the faithless and heartless Eleanora.

A year passed away. Whether her betrayed lover had since returned to Genoa, she recked not, cared not. The feeling of generosity and truthfulness, so generally prevalent in youth, became in her extinct, not by the world's coldness, but by the demon-Pride. Alas! Alberto did return; but the motive of his voyage had failed, and he returned but to discover the inconstancy of Eleanora. Despair seizing on his heart, he roamed about Genoa reckless and wretched, hating the world, and cursing the faithlessness and perfidy of woman.

One evening a pirate crew landed on the coast, a few miles from Genoa; the first object their eyes encountered was Alberto seated on a rock. Perceiving that he viewed them with indifference and unconcern, they approached him nearer; still he gazed on them, and moved not. Their chief, a daring Corsican, ascended the rock, and taking him for a madman, began to deride him in tones of insult. Filled with indignation, and scarcely knowing what he did, he sprang to his feet, and drawing his sword, challenged the pirate to single combat. A fierce conflict ensued, during which the pirate crew stood below gazing with curiosity and surprise

Another year passed. Her husband died; and shortly afterwards, her father. The attention she received from a prince so noble, so distinguished, as Doria flattered her vanity, while it fed the flame of her ambition which still burned within her. The billet she still held within her fingers did, it is true, at first awaken a feeling of surprise and remorse, not unmingled with terror; but this was but momentary; and by the time her carriage stopped at her palace they had all flown: and she had crushed it in her grasp; and her thoughts no longer dwelling on its writer, but roaming amid the dreams of ambition and the love of Doria, she entered muttering" He is mine!-mine !"

And such was Eleanora Spinola-the beautiful! Could such an angelic form cover so deformed a heart?

(To be concluded in our next.)

THE FIRMAMENT.

Perfection of perfection! as thou wast
In the beginning of our present state
Beheld by our great sire from Eden's gate,
Apparent Firmament, outspreading vast,
Immutable, unsearchable as fate,
So art thou now-a thing immaculate;
Whether in storms thy brow is overcast,
Or like a bride unveiled thou dost appear,
Stainless and blue, and filled with light and love,
Where the clear sun long lingers, loath to move,
Down gazing on the verdant hemisphere;
Or if thou gem with stars thy forehead clear,
Beauty is thine, and majesty, and power,
And unity and grace thy everlasting dower.

W. C.

96

THE PASTOR'S TALE.

(From the German of Frederika Bremer's "Nina.”)

BY ALICIA JANE SPARROW.

sister "for God's sake to obey." I stood alone by the side of the courageous child, and resolved, at the peril of my own life, to defend her. The hour of strife came quickly. Count R――, in conjunction with his worthy son-in-law, had decided on a forced marriage by night; a priest was hired; Elfrida was to be sacrificed. On the evening previous to this sad hour, the secret plot was betrayed by Elfrida's nurse, who, though paid by Count R-- to be an assistant in it, could not withstand the remorse which harassed her. Elfrida came to me, revealed all and conjured me, with the anguish of despair, to save her. The danger was pressing, and the time short; I should quickly seize upon a resolution, if I wished to rescue her. Count R―― had a sister, who was abbess of a convent in Zealand; to her I determined to carry Elfrida, and to trust the unhappy young girl to her protection; but to escape the approaching scene, she should be brought over the Sound that night. I imparted my plan to her, and she resigned herself to my care. I wrote a letter to Count R-, in which I related, in few words, what I had discovered, and what I purposed doing; without, however, naming the place to which I intended to bring Elfrida. I left the letter, sealed, on my table, convinced that even though our flight should soon be discovered, no search could take place during the night.

I was still very young, and had only just completed my studies, when I entered the house of Count R. The friendship of his eldest son, Count Louis, drew me thither. He expected that I would bring about some good there; I, too, with that confidence which is seldom wanting in a person of my age, expected the same. It was a gloomy house; dark and stormy passions had long raged within it. The exterior was a faithful picture of the interior. The old castle, gloomy and shattered, was situated at the farthest extremity of Schonen; the waves of the Sound beat against its walls. I found a son in the bloom of youth, whom the barbarous severity of his father had rendered timid, even to silliness. The mother had lately died. The daughter was fourteen years old, still a child; but the will of her father ruled already in her breast: like an oak she struggled against the storm, and the oppression only called forth more powerfully the elasticity of her young character: she was a beautiful, wild child, but gifted with a warm heart-matter for great work in good or evil. Although an only child, she was, by her father's desire, already affianced to a rich, decrepid old man, who was in every respect unworthy of the young and lovely rosebud. She allowed herself to be betrothed, because, thoughtless from her age, she saw in marriage only the splendid wedding, and because she longed to leave her father's house. It was a September evening, dark and stormy, The father!—indeed it is a mournful image, that when I stood waiting for Elfrida near the boat of a man who has rooted out all holiness from which I had procured, and which lay by the his soul, so that rash and cruel selfishness alone castle walls. At the appointed hour I saw her remains; to such a soul nothing is sacred; it white figure gleaming between the trees, gleamis capable of anything to gratify its desires or ing and disappearing; for in the darkness, and its passions; nay, it finds a pleasure in being a in her haste, her foot slipped, and she fell, with tormenting spirit. To believe in the existence a faint cry. I ran to her, took her in my arms, of hell, it is enough to have known such a man, and bore her towards the shore. I had nearly and such was Count Louis' father. I soon ab- reached it, when I felt myself violently seized by horred him; but I remained in his house to the back. I placed Elfrida down to defend protect his children. Elfrida's bans of marriage myself; she sprang resolutely into the boat. I were published, and the wedding was to follow, cast him to the earth who, with imprecations when aversion to it suddenly arose in the breast and abuse, sought to hold me, ran to Elfrida, of the young girl, accompanied by undaunted and thrust out from land. Nearly at the same resistance. She refused to marry Baron N-instant there was a gleam of light on the shore; "I will not!" was her only reply to repre- a shot was fired; the wild sound of voices, outsentations and commands. They may put me rageous exclamations and reached our to death," said she, "but cannot make me his ears; but all was soon lost in the din of the wife." winds and the waves. It was a fearful night. My view was to return to Count Ras I had placed Elfrida in safety, and give an account of what I had done; and though it was such a daring experiment to attempt a passage over the Sound by night, and during a storm, in so small a boat, yet I ventured it, trusting in

Now came on a fearful scene. One day I saw Elfrida bruised and wounded, and her merciless parent dragging her by the hair. At this moment I placed force against force; I threatened him and freed her. Count Louis was far distant in a foreign land. The timid Emil only bade his

curses,

as soon

the vigour of my youth and my knowledge of navigation, and hoped for a favourable landing. But the darkness and the tempest led me astray. We were driven out into the sea by a current; I was sensible of it, but strove against it in vain. Elfrida, heroic and calm, blessed heaven in that stormy night for her deliverance. Never shall I forget that night: round me a raging ocean, above me a sky of black, threatening clonds; the storm rushing over the waste with awful tumult; sometimes a few pale flashes, which served to make the gloom and the midnight scene yet more horrible; and before me, in white garments, this child, this heroic woman, who only permitted the sweet words of comfort, hope, and gratitude, to be heard.

of the wildness of her natural temper. The savage scene around us heightened her spirits; like a fairy child, entrusted with the wonders of nature, she sprung under the rocks, and obstinately and playfully suffered herself to be moistened by the foam of the sea, and caressed by the fury of the storm. I was obliged to draw her by force from this dangerous diversion, and to constrain her to hasten under the shelter of the forest and the cliffs; and here the wild child changed rapidly with the loveliest grace. She played with the flowers around her, and adorned him whom she loved with them; her lips gave forth harmonious words, her face was lighted by charming smiles; sometimes an obedient child, sometimes an obstinate ruler. Always sweet and engaging, ardent and beautiful, she seemed to be one of those creatures of fable, who, half divine, half human, exercise an extraordinary influence over all within their reach. I was near her, fascinated and almost dazzled by her; but whilst I looked upon her, whilst lest in that gaze, I emptied the cup of pure and unearthly love which she handed We were cast on a small island, lying out in to me, she became changed anew. The colour the sea; only from one side, and far in the dis- of her cheek grew deeper, the brightness of her tance, could we discern the continent. It ap-eye unnatural; the sweet, musical words wanpeared almost a miracle that our little vessel dered; and when I clasped her hand in mine I had been able to carry us so far; now it lay felt her pulse beating with a consuming fever. shattered between the rocks, and the planks were driven about by the waves. Foamy billows rose high around us; sea-birds flew shrieking over our heads; little yellow and white flowers ew amongst the stones on the strand, and were bent down by the wind; I think I still see them, see them as Elfrida plucked them!

Irowed the whole night, yet drew near no strand. I knew not where we were, and suffered the most painful anxiety on Elfrida's account. At daybreak the fury of the tempest increased; a gale drove us against a rock, and I deemed myself fortunate when, by swimming and struggling against the breakers, I reached the shore with Elfrida.

The island consisted of some rocks overgrown with fir and low birch; a ruined and deserted fisher's hut testified that human beings had formerly been there. We were alone in the wild sea; dangers of many kinds surrounded us; we suffered want in all things, and yet-such is youth, such is the powerful and blessed strength of mind at the time when the heart blooms-we felt ourselves at this moment, and in this situation, almost happy. Elfrida seemed, from a child, to have quickly become a woman; she appeared taller; her face and manner expressed an awakened mind; and I felt for her at this period what I had not felt until then. We were alone in the world; we, both alone-short, sweet, fearful poem of love

and death!

"Thou didst love her?" said the listener, deeply moved.

The tempest continued. I had fastened my handkerchief to the top of a pine; but near or far no vessel was to be seen. The sea looked fearful. Thus passed three days: then began despair to gnaw my heart. Elfrida lay silent, and as gentle as a lamb under the powerful hand of sickness, and calmly but unceasingly raged the fever, consuming her young life. She thirsted, and I could not refresh her lips with one drop of water. This was suffering! She complained not, but now and then spoke a word of comfort, and at times she looked upwards with the look of an angel. She smiled and grew pale; she said she was happy, and her voice failed.

*

On the evening of the fifth day I held a corpse in my arms. I had torn open my breast, and the blood flowed warmly over her dry lips, in vain ! She moved no more!

He was silent. Great tears rolled down his pale cheeks. After a moment he continued:

"She did not suffer much, and died happy, for she loved, and saw herself beloved; this was, this is my consolation!

"She was no more; and nature appeared to have exhausted her rage: wind and wave were Yes! as a man at twenty in this situation, in still. I saw a boat approach; life beckoned to these circumstances, loves. Yes, I loved her. I me: but at this moment life was hateful. Yet made a fire in the hut; Elfrida adorned it with the thought of my mother and my sister, the leaves and flowers. We ate some bread and hope of being able to move a frightful suspicion wine, which I had brought with me for her. from off me, admonished me to live. Elfrida's The sweetest happiness animated Elfrida; I had corpse in my arms, I allowed myself to be never before seen her thus. During the dis- brought to the strand, where, a few days preturbances and oppressions in her father's house, viously, I had hoped to deliver up the rescued her joy had been like a transient passion-flower. angel to the care of her friends. I was now replaced in a strange element of free-ceived with that borror which is conceived for dsin and love, she enjoyed the purest, freest a murderer, and was informed of the new accufelicity; but for moments it assumed something sations that were accumulated against me,

All at once

H

tence. I made myself ready for it; I wished to be my own defendant alone: I desired most earnestly to justify myself, but I was fully prepared, should I not succeed in doing so. The

Count R had fallen bleeding on the shore, whence I had fled with Elfrida. A pistol shot had hit and dangerously wounded him. On the same night he had been robbed of a considerable sum of money, and on me fell the sus-esteem or contempt of mankind loses much of picion of this mean, dark deed. Count Louis its importance, from the time one perceives that had returned. No more as a friend, but as an it is paid more to appearance than to realityenemy, he stood before me. I told him what I that the eyes of men are not able to penetrate to have now related to thee, and he believed me the source of actions. But then arises with not! A germ of distrust lay ever in his soul; he double strength the certainty of standing under could not distinguish the language of truth from a higher power; the earthly tie is loosened, the deceit. But I forgive him this: he had been heavenly one is drawn tighter. Yet dear ties deeply wounded, for he loved his sister. Many bound me still to earth. My mother and sister spoke against me; the angel whom I wished to had hastened to me, and shared my imprison rescue had closed her lips for ever, and I was ment: the beloved ones had not doubted: they unable to explain the dark attempt against the cheered my soul, and the idea of leaving them life of his father. With hatred he turned away was bitter. Count Louis did not make his ap from me. The whole world turned from me: pearance in my prison, but two of my future I stood there alone. Images of the scaffold judges frequently visited me; and it is sweet to and hangman floated before my eyes, and I me to know that I won the hearts of these excel was innocent! In this feeling, with a longing lent men-that they believed in my innocence. to strive against the whole world, I called loudly The day of the first examination approached: for a trial. Calmly I saw myself enclosed in a on the preceding night I saw my prison-door prison. My youthful courage, the conscious- suddenly opened, and I was told that I was free ness of my innocence, would only permit me to-to fly! I refused thus to strengthen the be foresee a happy and honourable issue from it. But my expectation was soon darkened; strong evidences appeared against me; nothing for me. For an explanation of Elfrida's elopement I appealed to my letter to Count R; the letter was not to be found; the murderer had not been discovered. A secretary of the Count's whom I had scarcely ever seen, stood forth as my accuser, and by a mixture of falsehood and truth, he gave the darkest colouring to my conduct towards Count R— and his daughter during my residence in his house. The impossibility of being able to justify myself, if some fortunate circumstance would not disclose the fact, became more and more evident to me. At this time many a precipice of life opened to my view; but many a height, too, rose up out the dark world, free from clouds: hell came near me, but also heaven. During this period-during a period of a few months, my character unfolded itself, and I then became what I am now. My philosophy, my views of human life, of history, of the eternal arrangement, became decided. My soul grew clear, and I looked calmly towards death. Of the time of my imprisonment I have scarcely cherished anything, save a bright remembrance; for during it I became clear and calm within: there the bitterest trial of life broke its point against my breast-thanks be to thee, Divine Grace! Only the picture of the white angel, of the heroic child who died in my arms, this picture stood often before me in the lonely evenings, in the long nights, like an apparition. I saw the outraged, stormy sea; I saw the beautiful white form floating on the waves, slowly grow pale, slowly sink. Elfrida! sweet, luckless child often, during my active occupations, has this picture for moments overcome my whole strength-often, amid peaceful scenes, in the hour of joy, has it cast a shadow over all that is charming and lovely in life. The period drew near when a public trial was to decide my sen

death I

lief of my guilt. Then a man, whom I shall not name, made known to me that the issue of my trial was undoubted-that I should be condemned either to death or to imprisonment for life; h that persons who were morally convinced of my innocence had found means for my escape, and that their assistance would convey me to foreign lands. My mother and sister clasped me in their arms, and conjured me to save myself and them. I deliberated. The positive value of the public esteem had already sunk in my eyes, in consequence of the reflections which my situa tion had awakened within me. By my gained nothing for my honour; also, by t should be disabled from offering to sacrifice something higher than life, to truth, or to freedom. My death must be even as useless as dishonourable. The idea of perpetual imprison ment was horrible to me. Here stood my mother and sister, whom my death would plunge n only into shame, but likewise into poverty. What disgrace would my flight indeed be, con pared to that? Life and liberty were offered to me, and life and liberty gleamed transporting before my soul. The world is large," thought I. I shall find a place for myself and mine, whither calumny and hatred shall not penetrate, I shall earn my bread; and God is above me. So I followed the advice that was given me: 1 fled with my family. I met with unexpected as sistance, which facilitated my flight to England. Soon afterwards I proceeded to India, where I found employment and bread. A paper by me. which appeared in Sweden shortly after my es cape, made an impression in my favour. Belie in my guilt began to waver. The storm which had arisen over me gradually decreased. Years passed. New events and new crimes laid claim to the general attention. By degrees I and my affairs were forgotten. Count Rrecovered from his wound, but met his death shortly after by a fall from his horse. My poor Emil could

now turn to a home, where no harsh words | it with magical power. I concealed my feelings reached him more, where only the kind voice of from my mother and sister; I did not wish to dislove allured his intimidated soul from its hiding-quiet them; I did not like to expose them to the place. Poor Emil ! dangers that would threaten them in their native land; but I was secretly wasting, my mind grew weak. Like the banished Foscari, I longed for, I pined for home, even at the risk of suffering a disgraceful death.