the rule of three had no prospect of making a peaceful end, unless his face was covered with that identical cowl. Though the request was somewhat singular, the finisher of the law took it upon his own responsibility to comply with the same, and Badenoch, after searching anxiously the almost bottomless pouch of his doublet, lighted upon the head gear which he had obtained from the sable servitor of lady Sproul. Without a second's delay he drew it firmly on his sconce, and grasping the stoutest branch of broom which he could select, exclaimed in a triumphant tone, that he was ready for the long trip! Just as Mr. Ketch was removing his ruff, in order to adjust the halter, Neil placed the branch between his legs, and sung out with all the energy of a town crier : "Hocus-pocus! Fee-Faw-Fum, Catch me who can! I am off for home !" It is unnecessary to tell the result! My respected relative shot up into the air like a sky rocket, and to his dying day, he used to laugh, often until his sides were sore, at the remembrance of the idiotical looks of wonder with which hangman, sheriff, confessor, and "the million" in general, gazed after him, as he disappeared in a northerly direction. One of the first things which Badenoch did, when he found himself safe and sound at home, was to reveal the transaction in which he had been concerned, to his spiritual director.That personage strongly enjoined his penitent to lay the whole matter before the public authorities, an advice which the Priest probably gave the more readily, that he had an ancient grudge against the Abbot, and was to be his successor in office! Neil, accordingly, made a clean breast to the Sheriff of the county, who lost no time in paying his respects to lady Sproul, her black henchman, and the head of the Abbey of Deer. After a fair and impartial trial, in the course of which, the accused parties had every justice rendered them in the due application of thumb-screws, heated pincers, and other legal formularies, they fully confessed their guilt, and were comfortably burned to the measureless edification of the lieges of Fraserburg. My venerated predecessor point blank refused to tell the name of the maiden, whose mouth he had kissed in the lord Mayor's cel lar. The truth, between ourselves, was that the lassie, besides being of a comely person, was a well endowed heiress, and Neil opined that she might be put to better use than being grilled like a red herring in a tar barrel. Accordingly he popped the question to her, and though she had three times before dismissed him with an emphatic "nay," it was Hobson's choice this turn with the jade! bands of matrimony were rivetted on the pair, by the new Abbot of Deer, and some hundreds of broad acres were added to the Ardlaw estate, by the speculation. The Such, (concluded the Laird of Ardlaw,) was the witch adventure of the renowned Neil Badenoch, and, I am certain that every judicious and unprejudiced man, will be ready to admit, that if all tales be true, this one is no lie! As I have before recited, my friend the Laird was bringing home from London his daughter, who had been learning there the mysteries of playing on the spinnet and sewing flowers in lamb's-wool worsted. Jemima, for so was the girl denominated, was about as light-headed a damsel as ever I had chanced to come across. Her sole employment and delight consisted in reading trashy novels, and she was continually speaking about "sentiment," and " sympathy," and "love in a cottage' -a thing, by the way, which we oftener hear tell of, than witness. To this feckless daughter of Eve, did Paul Plenderleith attach himself in an especial manner. He managed to expiscate that her father (whose only bairn she was) was well to do in the world, and accordingly he set to work to take the measure of her foot. As I afterwards found out he represented himself to his intended dupe, as a nobleman's son, under disgrace because he would not marry a woman who might be his grandmother, and who moreover had a beard as long as a cat's whiskers. On moonlight nights he used to parade the deck of the Jenny Nettles arm in arm with the confiding Jemima, vowing eternal constancy, and swearing that if she slighted his love he would hang himself from the yard-arm of the craft. This being the common language of romances, Miss Badenoch took it all for gospel, and it was finally covenanted and agreed between the pair, that so soon as the vessel reached her destination they should be "united in the treading lightly as if she had been shod with Temple of Hymen," without the auld gentle- velvet. Paul kissed her cheek, and whispering man being made the wiser, till he had become father-in-law to the Right Honourable Alonzo Fitzmortimer! something about "eternal felicity" prepared to lead her out of the vessel. "You need not talk quite so loudly," rejoined Burgoo,-"I can both hear and see, a trifle better than what you give me credit for. Surely you will not smash the pate of an old acquaintance?" Uttering these words, the speaker pulled off his wig, spectacles, and muflling-handkerchief, and lo! there stood revealed that terror to scamps and evil-doers of every degree-MR. NOSEANNABEM ! At this moment a third actor manifested Though I did not at that epoch know the himself, in the person of the deaf, and halffull extent of the mischief, I used my best blind Mr. Burgoo. Laying his hand upon the endeavours to put Ardlaw on his guard shoulder of the false Alonzo, he said that he against the macinations of the slippery Paul. had a little matter of business to settle with My labour, however, promised to be toil him before they parted company. Enraged thrown away. Laird Badenoch, who was at this interruption, Plenderleith grasped the purposely kept by Plenderleith and his associ- speaking-trumpet, which chanced to be conates, in a condition widely removed from venient, and putting it to the ear of the sobriety, was easily persuaded by the traitor intruder swore with a roar like a bull that he that I was an officious spiteful busy-body. would smash his stupid pate to atoms, if he Without hinting at his schemes upon Jemima, did not mind his own affairs. he won the heart of the old gentleman by singing him Jacobite songs, such as "Bonnie Prince Charlie," and "Cam' ye by Athol, lad wi' the philabeg," till at length he could twist him round his little finger, as the saying is. Paul crowned his triumph by informing Ardlaw that I was only a barber, for from that moment the Laird seldom condescended to take notice of me, except sometimes to inquire about the price of wigs, or the best manner of reforming a backsliding razor! Notwithstanding this scurvy treatment, I had compassion upon the poor, misled lassie Few words are required to wind up this and her sire, and determined to keep my description having been committed upon a part of my story. A robbery of an extensive weather-eye open (to use a phrase of the jeweller in Fleet Street, Mr. Noseannabem was skipper) upon the machinations of their retained to discover, if possible, the perpebeguiler. It is proper here to mention that trators. Learning that Paul and his cronies, out of gratitude for the manner in which Plenderleith had rescued Peregrine Wildgoose from his perilous predicament, I had promised never to mention that I had seen him caged up in a prison. This fact rendered it impossible for me to speak so plainly to the Laird, as otherwise I would have done, and consequently my interference was the less potent. But help was to come from a quarter I little calcu-deepened his blushes by inquiring with a lated upon. It was midnight when the Jenny Nettles reached Peterhead, and the passengers could not go ashore till the next morning. Going upon deck at day-break I discovered Paul Plenderleith with port-mantle in hand ready prepared for a flitting, and suspecting that something was in the wind, I took up a position where I could see without being observed. Presently Jemima made her appearance having a bundle under her arm, and Before the dumb-foundered Plenderleith could draw his breath, his wrists were adorned with a glittering pair of hand-cuffs, similar benefactions having previously been bestowed upon his two intimates. to whom his suspicions pointed, had taken a passage in the Jenny Nettles, he disguised himself, in manner before described, and his assumed infirmities having thrown the rogues off their guard, soon got all the information he required. The trio were transported for life at the next assizes. You may be sure that when Laird Badenoch came out of his berth, and learned how matters stood, he looked a trifle sheepish. Noseannabem wink, whether his friend the Right Honourable Alonzo Fitzmortimer, could execute any commands for him in London, as His Majesty required the gentleman to return by the mail that evening! As for myself, though it looked like pouring water upon a drowned mouse, I could not refrain from taking a small revenge for the sneers which the deluded auld Jacobite had bestowed upon me. Some folks' wits, I obwell as their hair; adding, that sharp as was the served, were the better of a brushing up as lesson he had just received, his daughter had run a perilous risk of getting a sharper! THE VESPER HOUR IN SPAIN. BY R. N. "Now the vestal train is kneeling, On the holy altar stone; And through the choir the hymn is pealing, Like sister strains at silent even; The choral harmonies of Heaven," With the setting sun, a glory Spreads o'er the fields of Spain; Like light on some old fane; The whole land is a temple, Meet for a God of love: From each fragrant orange grove; Stills every heart to prayer; And dispelling anxious care. With ivy mantled tower; To prayer! 'Tis vesper hour. O'er the dark Sierra's height, To prayer! Soon cometh night. From mountain and from moor; One holy aspiration, From wealthy and from poor. To the laughing waves that sparkle, Uncovered stands the herdsman, His hymn upon the seas; WOMAN'S SOCIAL POSITION. THIS topic sounds somewhat sentimental. We design, nevertheless, to treat it seriously, not sentimentally. We can do no real service to woman "by bawling her rights and wrongs like potherbs in the streets." Our desire is to delineate woman's true position, to do all honor to her gentle virtues, and to cheer her in that course of high and noble duty which is open to every mother, to every sister, and to every wife. It happens sometimes, in morals as in physic, that the remedies prescribed are worse than the disease itself. Because the rich sometimes abuse their trust, some would destroy the tenures of property altogether, as though the abuses of property were to be remedied by its destruction; and with its destruction all industry and thrift must perish, and society be paralized and blighted in all its interests. Just so, because women are sometimes abused, they must hold "Women's Rights Conventions," and assert for themselves the duties and prerogatives of men, unsexing themselves, openly defying the commands of God, and exposing both sexes to barbaric degradation. I do not forget I thus speak the true words of a quaint old poet:-- "He is a parricide to his mother's name, And with an impious hand murders her fame The milk they lent us." But this is just one of the evils of the so-called reform, that it brings these women who identify themselves with it, down from their high elevation, and forces us to speak of them, as we speak not of the true-hearted woman, in the language of censure. What is woman's true social position? It is a shameful truth that the position of woman in past times has too often been one of oppression. Sometimes we find her treated with barbarism, and her position that of a slave, as she still is among many savage tribes. Again we find her position raised, not so much by love, as by a sense of her value in ministering to the selfishness of man. The Spartan mother occupied a higher rank, relatively to man, than woman now does in some civilized countries. In the days of chivalry, women were treated with a lip gallantry and a mock deference, that contrasted strangely and sadly with her position at home. In the chase or at the tournament, she was the arbitor of honor; but as the mother and the wife, she never rose to that sphere which God has assigned to her, and never possessed the opportunities necessary to enable her to wield those high and Turn over the pages of history, you read of warrior and of sage, of men of holy might-and cry out, these are the great of the earth. Yes; but not these alone. How much do they owe to the cheerful, unrepaid self-sacrifice of a mother's love? The name of woman seldom appears on the printed page, but a woman's influence is written through the world's history everywhere, and that influence is none the less real because it meets not the eye of the careless reader. A woman's influence may be characterized as individual. She exerts it direclly upon the husband, the brother, the child--but she sends husbands, and brothers, and sons, to diffuse her influence through the world. It is this unseen influence which gives such importance to the right discharge of woman's social duties; it is this that makes a true-hearted, God-fearing woman not only an ornament to the community, but a safeguard to the State. Public life is the sphere of man; domestic life the sphere of woman. In her own sphere her influence is as great as it is healthful; out of her sphere it is nothing. In her household woman reigns. We say this cheer benignant influences which invest her with true dignity. As the mere minister to man's amusement, as the mere ornament of public exhibitions, woman's highest position is only a dazzling degradation. Such is now the social position of the women of the east-valued only for their personal beauty, they are adored for a brief period; but when their personal charmis fade, they are relentlessly consigned to neglect, or to something worse. No expense is spared to adorn the person, but the mind and heart are left to grow wild and wayward: without mental cultivation or inner reserves, they are like the east itself, beautiful, but degraded and in ruins-a sad mixing up of splendor and devastation. And what is true of the east is true of all civilized communities, where women are valued only for their personal charms, where a woman is most honored, not when she sits like a queen in the bosom of her family, but when she parades her bejewelled person in the ball-room or the opera-house. The gaze of admiration brings with it little respect and no love. Whatever she may gain in fame is at the expense of woman's sweetest enjoyments. Her own true life is lost amid such elements of fully that, without controversy, she is QUEEN at tumult and distraction. She is only a splendid exotic nurtured for display, a stranger to home society and home comforts, she never breathes a pure atmosphere. A flower plunged in a petrifying stream, she is bright but cold and sad. A reed shaken by the wind, she lives unfortified, aimless and unenduring. She is a captive, and could we but listen to the vehement heart-throbings, we might hear a cry like this, "O that I had the wings of the dove!" home. Nor should this at all infringe on man's prerogative. A woman's sceptre should be love. It is only when a woman loves that she has influence for good; her whole strength lies in loving; and so long as she reigns in and through love, there are few of the other sex who care to rebel against her gentle sway. Woman's power to love, and her power in loving, are enormous. And if women would maintain her ascendancy she must reject all the so-called improvements The question is still unanswered, What is and additions to her positions and her influence woman's true social position? of our modern moral reforms, and just pursue paths of patient industry, quiet endurance, earnest piety, and love which faileth never. The woman's true social position is that sum-quietly and systematically the good old beaten mary of human happiness-HOME. To preside in that home-to minister to the comforts of her home with a kindliness that never faileth and a zeal that tireth not-to elevate her household and make it happy-to leave her image impressed upon every heart with a vividness that no time, no change can ever efface-this is woman's true glory. It is this that makes the word MOTHER a sacred one. All that is most tender in human affection, gentle in human intercourse-all that is loveable and precious, sweet, tender, worthy and true, are wrapt up in this one wordMOTHER. There is no human relationship which contains within its inner circle so many endearing associations and hallowed relations as that of the wife and mother. Could woman desire a higher social position than to be enshrined in the inmost circle of so many living, loving hearts? And in woman's social position, as we have defined, there is sphere enough for all her activities, for vigor of mind, for prudence and sagacity, In not a few instances financial abilities are fully tasked in the effort to make a little go far to rear a family on a narrow income. And even when the income is superabundant, she may well save every necessary expense, for the sake of being enabled to exercise an enlarged benevolence. And in all ranks of society, from the highest to the lowest, it is woman's duty to be intent upon making her home happy, to study the tempers and the characters of her family, to consult both their wants and their weaknesses. In ordinary cases it is just as easy for a woman to keep a calm house, as it is to keep a clean house; and should be as much her aim to have her home cheerful, as it is usually to have it orderly. A living woman is man's truest friend, and she is none the less true, because she is honest and out-spoken. When others are ridiculing you, or censuring you behind your back, she faithfully reproves you to your face. When destruction is secretly aiming its poisoned arrows at your reputation she stands openly forth in your defence, she letteth not the claims of pride or vanity interfere with those of love. If you meet with misfortune or with losses, and must forego the comforts you have formerly enjoyed, and the society in which you have formerly mingled, she will still think herself happy in your society, and will cheerfully bear the dangers, half of the burden, of your affliction. When sickness calls you from business and from bustle, she follows you into your gloomy chamber, her eye watches every expression of your countenance, her ear is ever open to your weary tale of symptoms, her hand ever busy to supply your wants, and her lips ever ready to minister the balm of consolation to your wounded spirit. And when death bursts asunder every earthly tie, it is not enough for woman to shed a tear upon the grave, but she takes and lodges your remembrance in her heart. She never forgets. Of all earthly cords a woman's love lasts the longest! That is a noble anecdote in the account of Lord Russell's trial. Lord Russell-"May I have some body write to help my memory?" AttorneyGeneral "Yes; a servant." Lord Chief Justice "Any of your servants shall assist in writing anything you please for you." Lord Russell"My wife is here, my Lord, to do it." Mr. Jeffrey, speaking of the above dialogue, says: "We know of nothing at once so pathetic and sublime as these few simple sentences, when we recollect who Russell and his wife were, and what a destiny was then impending. This one trait makes the heart swell almost to bursting." Bernard Barton after contrasting this with some chivalrous deed in Roman story, says― Hers was no briefly driving mood, Spent in one fearful deed. The gentle courage of the good What English heart but feels its claim, Women are more disinterested than men-more zealous for those they love-and they evince more patience and fortitude in bearing or in sustaining others in misfortune. Instances of fortitutde and self-devotion are recorded of women, to which men can lay no claim. Women's solicitude to support and elevate those in whom she feels an interest, are often unnoticed and unappreciated; but such disinterestedness is its own exceeding great reward. It is true greatness to be useful. If to devote every energy and every resource to the good of others; if to cast time, and talent, and might into one self-sacrifice, be to deserve the appellation of great-then to all this may woman claim a far truer title than can man. Another element of woman's power is her condescension. All who would obtain influence must be condescending. That advice is generally most efficient, and that instruction is generally most valued which is given with least assumption. They who wish to convince the understanding or to win the heart, must suit themselves to the tastes and even the caprices of those whom they would teach influence. Now, what greatly increases the influence of the gentler sex, is that it becomes them so well to condescend. There is always something rigid and undignified in the attempts at condescension which a man makes; but a woman can do it with an ease, and grace, and dignity which adds tenfold to its value and efficiency. When Queen Victoria finds her way to the Highland cottages, and with a true woman's sympathies, shares the anxieties and sorrows of her poorest subject, she fans the loyalty of a whole people into perfect flame, and every heart cries "God save the Queen!" When she sits on her throne in royal state, she may dazzle us with her splendor, but it when we see her as a mother, in the midst of her family, that we feel that she is bound to us, and we to her, by ties that are as enduring as the memories of our own mothers. I would venture a single paragraph on the unmarried state. The position of an old maid is not appreciated. It is one at once of dignity and of happiness. We do not wonder that it is often a woman's choice to remain single. While a mother's heart is now rent with grief for the departed, and again wrecked with fear and with anxiety for the living-the sensible, contented, single woman gives herself with her whole heart to the alleviat ing of other's woes, to the ministration to the comforts of those she loves, and to contribute to the improvement and enjoyment of the family circle. Such a position is at once an honorable and a happy one. -This partiality for a single life does not include men. When deprived of a home, presided over by a mother or sister, it is rarely respectable to be |