/ III %iiiiiiiiSiiiiniBiiiiiiiV^^jiiiiiiiiSiiiiSm^^^ ciat« comparad iu"— p. 6. NEW YORK: WILLIAM H. GRAHAM, TRIBUNE BUILDING, 160 NASSAU ST. AND SOLD AT TU£ F&LSCIPAL KEWS AND PERIODICAL DEPOTS. 1844. ^v ALBANY : PRINTED BY J. MUNSELL, STATE STREET. THE LEGENDS OF LAMPIDOSA. THE BROTHERHOOD Another awful pause wan broken by our scheming: brother's ex- rlumations. " Eurekas, I have found it! \ovcr liud Arcliimcdts himself greater reason to rejoice in a discovery ! In this portfolio is a piece of oriental music, in which every sound is expressed by a cor- respondinp^ ima<^e, and ever}' concord or discord in it forms a picturescjuc ^roupe. Lcl us borrow the old Brahmin's idea, and obtain a patent for publishing sonatas in the sha|)C of landscapes. A purling stream mij:;ht indicate a succession of soft notes; a forest thick with innumerable leaves would represent the diflicullies of a fine chromalic passajj^c ; and a full thunder- cloud behind mijjht express the sublime burst of sound usual at a ^rand finale." ** Certainly," said Clanharold, '* the sis- ter arts of music and paintini; miphl }ye beautifully blended by associating:: lovely forms with ideasof melody ; but the speci- men of ancient Hindoo harmony seems to suggest an improvement on Lavater's sys- tem. iMi}::ht you not obtain a more profit- able patent by devising a gamut of human faces expressing the gradations of intellect and beauty.'" " Many thanks for the hint, Brother Poet. And as bass and treble notes admi- rably shew the contrast between the shrill sounds of female eloquence and the growl- ings of deep masculine wisdom, we might contrive an instnictive example of the con- cords and discords resulting from both united. For this purpose, I have already sketched a gamut of faces exhibiting the seven stages of spleen, as disjdayed in our own fraternity, with an accompaniment composed of seven female heads whose scornful beauty affords a tolerable excuse for us." We all i,^athered round this whimsical caricature — " These fair lieads," continu- ed Philowhim, " which I have placed ac- cording to nature, an octave lower in tlie scale than ours, arc borrowed from a cer- tain institution established by seven wealthy spinsters. They reside in a romantic sc- cbision, admit no strangers, and amuso themselves with collecting all the legends left in favor of their sex by historians of seven nations. But as the compilation of so many female heads required adjusting, thry in(juired for a confidential amanuen- sis to transcribe it. I was a candidate for the task , and had the felicity of a moment's glance at seven heads which would have been worth a thousand pounds to Drs. Gall an€ing chasm whose sides are clothed by tiic ar- expericnced in all the forms of law:— butus and mountain ash, and whose depth which forms are necessar>- (saith Hobbes, would seem unfathomable if the glistening 2.'«,) or the law would be no art. But as of the Dove did not betray its channel, spinsters ought to be named ^enerosa (see The Alpine bridge which hangs over this Dyer, 40 and 88,) I shall expect a reUin- chasm brought me to the threshold of Wil- ing fee, and believe their verdict would be low Hall. But there the Alpine scenery non obstante.'* disappeared; a screen of interwoven oaks ** Brother Hermits," exclaimed Sir Per- concealed it, and I saw only a sunny slo|)e, tinax, after a long yawn — "are we not dc- regular enough for a bal champt tre, and bating like the philosophers who reasoned bordered by the river which spreads itself on the golden tooth. ^ Before we dispute there into a clear broad mirror. Forest about this female institution, we should be trees complete the amphitheatre : and the ver}' certain tliat it exists. Let us choose village spire, the smoke of a few cottages, one of our fraternity by ballot, and send and the outline of a grey mountain, were him to ascertain the fact: if he can obtain just visible beyond. I leave you to fancy a view of these rich recluses by offering it with the rich gold and purple coloring himself as amanuensis, we will all assist bestowed on the superb pavijlion of rocks him in transcribing their miraculous Ic- by the setting sun. "This might be the gends, provided he supplies us with a copy home of liappiness!" said my imagination of their rent-rolls." Every voice gave as- when I looked round. Do not smile, sa- sent — the balloting-glasses were prepared, gatious Editor, for this is rny first thought and my name drawn forth. Our speculating in whatever place I enter. And why should buffoon, Philowhim, gave ray hand an hon- wc not view every habitation with a wish est shake of congratulation. " But be not to think it pleasant .' There is a reserved too sanguine," he added, " in your hopes and feminine spirit in happiness which will of obtaining a clue to tlie bower. If you not be won unsought When the portres* can find credentials enough to recommend had opend the iron gate of Willow Hall, I you to the office of cojiyist, you may pos- found myself in an ancient parlor, where sibly be entrusted with the precious manu- the sun sliining through an ample damask scripts, but not with a glance at the seven drapery, reminded me of a kind heart seen heiresses. Remember your duty to us, through a glowing face, and gave a charm- however; and as a member of the Tale- ing color-de-rose to the assembly. In a telling Club, or Brotherhood of Bioscribes, chair of state sat the foundress of the insti- cndeavor to furnish us with a new romance, tution, surrounded by her sisterhood. Had at least." I been a pupil of the Great Henry's first " Fear nothing," was my answer; "We tutor, Le Gaucherie, I could not have pre- The Legends of Lampidosa. sented by credentials with less grace; but they were successful. The historian of the hermits became the spinisters' chronicler. My return to the Society was greeted by innumerable questions respecting the insti- tution I had been sent to discover, and the means of my success. "These," I repli- ed, unfolding- a roll of manuscripts, "will explain all the mysteries of both. They contain legends of seven nations, preserved in the isle of Lampidosa by a female an- choret, whose rocky chamber is still visi- ble, w^here she received and deposited the narratives of travellers from various coun- tries. Their present possessor has only add- ed one of recent date, which will be found, perhaps, not wholly unconnected with our own private histories, our opinions, and purposes. These legends shew the char- acter of woman capable of tints as various as the "seven-fold light" to which our gallant associate compared it. Let us be- gin with the simple record of the remotest nation, and observe her in her first grada- tion from the darkness of savage nature. THE NORWEGIAN. In one of those short and brilliant nights peculiar to Norway, a small hamlet near its coast was disturbed by the arrival of a stranger. At a spot so wild and unfre- quented, the Norwegian government had not thought fit to provide any house of ac- commodation for travellers, but the pas- tor's residence was easily found. Thor- sen, though his hut hardly afforded room for his own numerous family, gave ready admission even to an unknown guest, and placed before him the remains of a dried torskfish, a thrush, and a loaf composed of oatmeal mixed with fir-bark. To this coarse but hospitable banquet the traveller seated himself with a courteous air of ap- petite, and addressed several questions to his host respecting the produce, customs, and peculiarities of the district. Thorsen gave him intelligent answers, and dwelt especially on the cavern of Dolstein, cele- brated for its extent beneath the sea. The traveller listened earnestly, commented in language which betrayed deep science, and ended by proposing to visit it with his host. The pastor loved the wonders of his country with the pride and enthusiasm of a Norwegian; and they entered the cave of Dolstein together, attended only by one of those small dogs accustomed to hunt bears. The torches they carried could not pene- trate the tremendous gloom of this cavern, whose vast aisles and columns seem to form a cathedral fit for the spirits of the sea, whose eternal hymn resounds above and around it. " We must advance no farther," said Thorsen, pausing at the edge of a broad chasm — ' * we have already ventured two miles beneath the tide." " Shall we not avail ourselves of the stairs which Na- ture has provided here .'"' replied the travel- er, stretching his torch over the abyss, into which large masses of shattered basal- tine pillars offered a possible, but dreadful, mode of descent. The pastor caught his cloak — "Not in my presence shall any man tempt death so impiously ! Are you deaf to that terrible murmur.? The tide of the northern ocean is rising upon us : I see its white foam in the depth." Though re- tained by a strong grasp, the stranger haz- arded a step beneath the chasm's edge, straining his sight to penetrate its ex(ent, which no human hand had ever fathomed. The dog leaped to a still lower resting- place, was out of sight a few moments. The Korwegian. and returned with a piteous moan to his master's leet. "Even this poor animal," said Thorsen, ** is awed by the divinity of darkness, and asks us to save ourselves." "Loose my cloak, old man!" exclaimed the traveller, with a look and tone which might have suited the divinity he named — "my life is a worthless hazard. But this creature's instinct invites us to save life, not to lose it. I hear a human voice!" " It is the scream of the fish-eagle !" in- terruped his guide; and, exerting all his strength, Thorsen would have snatched the torch from the desperate adventurer; hut he had already descended a fathom deep into the gulf. Panting with agony, tlie pastor saw him stand unsupported on the brink of a slippery rock, extending the iron point of his staffinlo w hat ap[)eared a wreath of foam left on the opposite side by the ■ea, which now raged below him in a whirlpool, more deafening than the Mael- stroom. Thorsen with iislonishment saw this white wreath attach itself to the pike- staff; he saw his companion |)oisc it across the chasm with a vigorous ann, and beckon for his aid with gestures which the clamor of waves prevented his voice from explain- ing. The sagacious dog instantly caught what now seemed the folds of a white gar- ment; and while Thorsen trembling, held the offered staff, the traveller ascended with his [tri/e. Both fell on their knees and si- lently blessed heaven. Thorsen first un- folded the white garment, and discovered the face of a boy, beautiful though ghastly, about eleven years old. " He is not dead yet," sighed the good pastor, eagerly pouring wine between his lips from the flask they had brought to cheer them. He soon breathed, and the traveller, tearing off his wet half-frozen vestments, wrapped him in his own furred coat and cloak, and spoke to him in a gentle accent. The child clung to him whose voice he had heard in the gulf of death, but could not discern his deliverers. " Poor blind boy!" said Thor- sen, dropping tears on his cheek, " he has wandered alone into this hideous cavern, and_ fallen down the percipice." But this natural conjecture was disproved by the boy's replies to the few Nonvegian words he seemed to understand. He spoke in a pure Swedish dialect of a journey from a very distant home with two rude men, who had professed to bring him among friends, but had left him sleeping, he believed, where he had been found. His soft voice, his blindness, his unsuspicious simplicity, increased the deep horror which both his benefactors felt as Ihey guessed the proba- ble design of those who had abandoned him. They carried him by turns in silence, preceded by their watchful dog; — and quenching their torches at the cavern's mouth, seated themselves in one of its most concealed recesses. The sun was rising, and its light shone through a crevice on the stranger's face and figure, which, by enveloping the child in his furred mantle, ho had divested of disguise. Thorsen saw the grace and vigor of youth in its contour, features formed to express an ardent character, and that fairness of com- plexion peculiar to northern nations. As if aware of his guide's scrutiny, the travel- ler wrapped liimsclf again in his cloak, and, looking on the sleeping boy whose head rested on his knee, broke the thought- ful pause. " We must not neglect the ex- istence we have saved. I am a wanderer, and urgent reasons forbid rae to have any companion. Providence, sir, has given you a right to share in the adoption of this child. Dare you except the charge for one year, with no other recompense than your own benevolence and this small purse of dollars.'" Thorsen replied, with the blush of honest pride in his forehead, " I should require no bribe to love him — but I have many child- ren and their curiosity may be dangerous. There is a good old peasant, whose daugh- ter is his only comfort and companion. Let us entrust this boy to her care, and if in one year " — " in one year, if I live, I will reclaim him ?" said the stranger solemnly: — " Shew me this woman." — Though such peremptory commands start- led Thorsen, whose age and office had ac- 8 The Legends of Lampidosa. customed him to respect, he saw and felt a native authority in his new friend's eye, which he obeyed. With a cautious fear of spies, new to an honest Norwegian, he looked round the cavern-entrance, and led the stranger by a private path to the old fisherman's hut. Claribell, his daughter, sat at its door, arranging the down-feathers of the beautiful Norwegian pheasant, and singing one of the wild ditties so long pre- served on that coast. The fisherman him- self, fresh-colored and robust, though in his ninetieth year, was busied amongst his winter-stock of oil and deer-skins, Thor- sen was received with the urbanity pecu- liar to a nation vvhose lowest classes are ar- tizans and poets; but his companion did not wait for his introduction. " Worthy woman," he said to Claribell, "I am a traveller with an unfortunate child, whose -weakness will not permit him to accom- pany me farther. Your countenance con- firms what this venerable man has told me of your goodness : I leave him to appeal to it." He disappeared as he spoke, while the blimi boy clung to Claribell's hand, as if attracted by the softness of a female voice. "Keep the dollars, pastor;" said Hans Hofland, when he had heard all that Thorsen chose to tell — " I am old, and my daughter may marry Brande, our kinsman; keep the purse to feed this poor boy, if the year should pass and no friends remember him." Thorsen returned well-satisfied to his home, but the stranger was gone, and no one in the hamlet knew the time or way of his departure. Though a little Lutheran theology was all that education had given the pastor, he had received from Nature an acute judgment and a bountiful heart. Whether the deep mystery in which his guest had chosen to wrap himself could be connected with that which involved his ward, was a point beyond his investigation; but he contented himself with knowing how much the blind boy deserved his pity. To be easy and useful was this good man's constant aim, and he always found both purposes united. The long, long winter and brief summer of Norway passed away without event. Adolphus, as the blind boy called himself, though he soon learned the Norwegian lan- guage, could give only confused and vague accounts of his early years, or his journey to Dolstein. But his docility, his spright- liness, and lovely countenance, won even the old fisherman's heart, and increased Claribell's pity to fondness. Under Hans Hofland's roof there was also a woman who owed her bread to Claribell's bounty. She was the widow of a nobleman whose mansion and numerous household had sud- denly sunk into the abyss now covered with the lake of Frederic-stadt. From that hour she had never been seen to smile; and the intense severity of a climate in which she was a stranger, added to the force of an overwhelming misfortune, had reduced her mind and body to utter imbecility. But Claribell, who had been chosen to attend her during the few months which elapsed between her arrival in Norway and her disastrous widowhood, could never be per- suaded to forsake her when the rapacious heir, affecting to know no proofs of her marriage, dismissed her to desolation and famine. The Lady Johanna, as her faith- ful servant still called her, had now resid- ed ten years in Hans Hofland's cabin, nursed by his daughter with the tenderest respect, and soothed in all her caprices. Adolphus sat by her side, singing frag- ments of Sweedish songs, which she al- ways repaid by allowing him to share her sheltered corner of the hearth : and he, ever ready to love the hand that cherished him, lamented only because he could not know the face of his second foster-mother. On the anniversary of that brilliant night which brought the stranger to Dolstein, all Hofland's happy family assembled round his door. Hans himself, ever gay and busy, played a rude accompaniment on his ancient violin, while Adolphus timed his song to the slow motion of the Lady Jo- hanna's chair, as it rocked her into slum- ber. Claribell sat at her feet, preparing for her pillow the soft, rich fur of the The JVorwegian. brown forest-cat brought by Brando, her betrolliod husband, whose return had caused this jubilee. While Hans and his son-in- law were exchanging cups of mead, the pastor Thorsen was seen advancing with the stranger. ** It is he I" exclaimed Claribell, springing from her kinsman's side with a shriek of joy. Adolphus clung to his benefactor's embrace. Hans loaded him with welcomes, and even the lady look- ed round her wilh a faint smile. Thoy seat- ed their guest amongst them, while the blind boy sorrowfully a.sked if he intended to remove him. *'Onc year more Adol- phus," repliefl the travolb'r, "you shall give to these hospitable friends, if tliey will endure the burthen for your sake. "He is so beautiful!" said old Hans. "Ah, father!" added Claribell, " he must be l)eautiful always, he is so kind!" Tlie traveller looked earnestly at Claribell, and saw the loveliness of a kind heart in her eyes. His voice faltered as he rej)licd, " My boy must still be your guest, for a soldier has no home; but I liave found his sm;ill purse untouched — let me add another, and make me more your debtor by accept- ing it." Adolphus laid tlie purse in Clari- bell's lap, and his benefactor, rising hasti- ly, announced his intention to depjart im- mediately, if a guide could be j)rocured. " My kinsman shall accompany you," said the fisherman : "he knows every crag from Ardangcr to Dofrctield." Rrande advanced, slinging his musket behind his slxDuldcrs, — as a token of his readiness. " Not to-night !" said Claribell; " a snow- fall has swelled the flood, and the wicker bridge has failed." Thorsen and Hans urged the tedious length of the mountain- road, and the distance of any stage-house. Brande alone was silent. He had thought of Claribell's long delay in fulfilling their marriage contract, and his eye measured the stranger's graceful figure with suspi- cious envy. But he dare not meet his irlance, and no one saw the smile which shrivelled his lips when his otYered guid- ance was accepted. " He is bold and fiiith- ful," said the pastor, as the stranger press- Q ed his hand, and bade him farewell with an expressive smile. Brande shrunk from the pastor's blessing, and departed in si- lence. All were sleeping in Hofland's hut when he returned, pale and almost gasj)ing. " So soon from Anianger?" said Claribell; "yourjouniey has speeded well." " He is safe," retorted the lover, and sat down gloomy on the hearth. Only a few embers remained, which cast a doubtful light on his countenance — "Claribell!" he exclaimed, after a long pause, " Will you be my wife to-morrow.^" — " I am the Lady Johanna's servant while she lives," answered Claribell — "and the poor blind boy ! what will become of them if I leave my father.'"' " They shall remain with us, and we will form one family — we are no longer poor — the traveller gave me this gold — and bade me keep it as your dow- ry." Chribell cast her eye on the heap of rubles, and on her lover's face — "Brande you have murdered him!" Wilh these half-articulate words, she fell prostrate on the earth, from which he dared not ap- proach to raise her. But presently gather- ing the gohl, her kinsman placed it at her feet — " Claril>cll ! it is yours ! it is his free gift, and I am innocent." "Follow me, then!" said she.putting the treasure in her bosom; and quitting her father's dwelling, she led the way to Thorsen 's. He was awake, reading by the summer moonlight, " Sir," said Claribell, in a firm and calm tone, "your friend deposited this gold in my kinsman's hands — keep it in trust for Adolphus in your own." Brande, surpris- ed, dismayed, yet rescued from immedi- ate danger, acquiesced with downcast eyes ; and the pastor, struck only with respectful admiration, received the deposit. Another year passed but not without events. A tremendous flood bore away the chief [»art of the hamlet, and swept off the stock of limber on which the good pastor's saw-mills depended. The hunting season had been unproductive, and the long pfdar nitjht found Claribell's familv almost with- out proWsion. Her father's strengUi yield- ed to fatigue and grief; and a few dried 10 The Legends of Lampidosa. fish were soon consumed. Wasted to still more extreme debility, her miserable mis- tress lay beside the hearth, with only enough of life to feel the approach of death. Adolphus warmed her frozen hands in his, and secretly gave her all the rein- deer's milk which their neighbors, though themselves half- famished, bestowed upon him. Brande, encouraged by the despair- ing father's presence, ventured to remind Claribell of her marriage contract. " Wait till the traveller returns to sanction it," she replied with a bitter smile. Moody silence followed; while Hans, shaking a tear from his long silver eye-lashes, looked reproachfully at his daughter. *'Have mercy on us both," said Brande, with a desperate gesture — " Shall an idiot woman and a blind boy rob even your father of your love?" " They have trusted me," she answered, fixing her keen eyes upon him — " and I will not forsake them in life or death — Hast thou deserved trust better?" Brande turned away his face and wept. At that terrible instant, the door burst open, and three strangers seized him. Already unmanned, he made no resistance; and a caravan sent by judicial authority, convey- ed the whole family to the hall of the vice- roy's deputy. There, heedless of their toilsome journey and exhausted state, the minister of justice began his investigation. A charge of murder had been lodged against Brande, and the clothes worn by the un- fortunate traveller, found at the foot of a percipice, red with blood and heaped to- gether, were displayed before him. Still he professed innocence, but with a falter- ing voice and unsteady eye. Thorsen, strong in benevolence and truth, had fol- lowed the prisoner's car on foot, and now presented himself at the tribunal. He pro- duced the gold deposited in his hands, and advanced a thousand proofs of Claribell 's innocence, but she maintained herself an obstinate silence. A few silver ducats found in old Hofland's possession implicat- ed him in the guilt of his kinsman; and the judge, comparing the actual evidence of Brande 's conduct on the fatal night of the assassination with his present vagiie and incoherent statements, sentenced the whole family to imprisonment in the mine of Cro- ne nburgh. Brande heard his decree in mute despair; and Claribell^ clinging to her heart-broken father, fixed her eyes, dim with intense agony, on the blind boy, whose face dur- ing this ignominious trial had been hidden on her shoulder. But when the conclusive sentence was pronounced, he raised his head, and addressed the audience in a strong and clear tone — " Norwegians! — I have no home — I am an orphan and a stranger among you. Claribell has shared her bread with me, and where she goes I will go." " Be it so," said the judge, af- ter a short pause — '* darkness and light are alike to the blind, and he will learn to avoid guilt if he is allowed to witness its punishment." The servants of justice ad- vanced, expecting their superior's signal to remove the victims, but his eye was sud- denly arrested. The Lady Johanna, whose chair had been brought before the tribunal, now rose from it, and stood erect, exclaim- ing, " I accuse him!" At this awful cry, from lips which had never been heard to utter more than tlie low moan of insanity, the judge shuddered, and his assistants shrunk back as if the dead had spoken. The glare of her pale grey eyes, her spec- tre-like face shadowed by long and loose hair, were such as a Norwegian sorceress exhibits. Raising her skeleton hands high above her head, she struck them together with a force which the hall echoed: — "There was but one witness, and I go to him!" With these words, and a shrill laugh, she fell at the judge's feet and expired. Six years glided away; and the rigorous sentence passed on these unfortunate Nor- wegians had been long executed and for- gotten, when the Swedish viceroy visited the silver mines of Cronenburgh. Lighted by a thousand lamps attached to columns of the sparkling ore, he proceeded with his retinue through the principal street of the subterranean city, while the miners ex- hibited the various processes of their la- The Russian. 11 bors. But his eye seemed fixed on a bier followed by an aged roan, whose shoulder bore the badge of infamy, leaning on a meagre woman and a boy, — whose voice mingled with Ihc rude chant peculiar to Norwegian mourners like the warbling of an Eolian lute among the moans of a stormy wind. At this touching and unexpected sound, the viceroy stopped and looked earnestly at his guide — "It is the funeral of a convicted murderer," replied the super- intendant of the miners; "and that white- haired man was his kinsman, and supposed accomplice." " The woman is his widow, then?" said the viceroy, shuddering. "No, my lord: her imprisonment was limited to one year, but she chose to remain with her unhappy father, to prepare his food and assist in hit labors; that lovely boy never leaves her side, except to sing hymns to the sick mi- ners, who think him an angi-I come among us." While the humane intendant spoke, the bier approached, and the torches car- ried by its bearers shone on the corj)se of Brande, whose uncovered countenance re- tained all the. sullen fierceness of his char- acter. The viceroy followed to the grave; and advancing as the botly was lowered into it, said, " Peace l>e with the dead, and with the living. All are forgiven." The intendant of the mines, instructed by one of the viceroy's retinue, removed the fetters from Hans Hofland's ancles, and placed him, with his daughter and the blind boy, in the vehicle used to reach the outlet of the mine. A carriage waited to receive them, and they found themselves conveyed from the most hideous subterra- nean dungeon to the splendid palace of the viceroy. They were led into his cabinet, where he stood alone, not in his rich offi- cial robes, but in those he had worn at Dol- stein. " It is the traveller!" exclaimed Claribell; and Adolphus sprang into his arms. "My son!" was all the viceroy could utter as he held him close to hij heart. " Claribell !" he added, after a few moments of agonizing joy, " I am the fath- er of Adolphus, and the Lady Johanna was my wife. Powerful enemies compell- ed me to conceal even my existence; but a blessed chance enabled me to save my only son, whom I believed safe in the care of the treacherous kinsman who coveted my inheritance, and hoped to destroy us both. Brande was the agent of his guilt; but fearing that his secrecy might fail, the chief traitor availed himself of his power as a judge, to bury his accomplice and his innocent victim for ever. Providence sav- ed my life from his machinations, and my sovereign has given me power sufficient to punish and reward. Your base judge is now in the prison to which he condf-mned your father and yourself: you, Claribell, if you can accept the master of this man- sion, are now in your future home. Con- tinue to be the second mother of Adolphus, and ennoble liis father by an union with your virtues.** THE RUSSIAN. " Perverse, deceitful, inconstant woman! Mahomet judged wisely when he told his followers there could be none with souls ! " Such were the ruminations of Count Demetrius, as ho began his journey from St. Petersburgh to the desolate fort- ress Schlusselburgh. He had devoted the flower of his youth and the full vigor of his talents to the service of the Empress Ca- Uiarioc, whose gracious demeanor had ex- 12 The Legends of Lampidosa, cited him to expect a reward far more splendid than the government of a solitary castle. But it contained her kinsman Iwan of Mechlenburgh, whose claims to the Russian throne, derived from his great aunt, the Empress Anna Iwanowna, were suffi- cient to collect partisans, and furnish a rally- ing point to sedition. Policy could not have selected a fitter guard for this import- ant personage than Count Demetrius, whose high principles of loyal faith insured his integrity, while his personal attachment to the empress seemed sufiicient to stifle those finer feelings of humanity which might have revolted from his task. With many pangs, arising from that half-satisfied at- tachment and those half-stifled feelings, the Count reached Schlusselburgh, and, ac- cording to his instructions, opened the seal- ed orders of the empress. Though he trembled at their import, and blushed, though alone, his pride was soothed by the extensive trust reposed in his courage and fidelity : his ambition promised itself a high reward; and that love which affords a ready excuse to the vanity from whence it springs, gave a brilliant coloring to its errors. Notwithstanding the devout obedience which Demetrius chose to owe his sove- reign, he entered the presence of his pris- oner Iwan with sensations very unlike con- scious rectitude. The prince, though only in his twentieth year, viewed his new jailer with an air of stern contempt, and a pierc- ing glance which probably gained force from the almost feminine beauty of the face from whence it lightened. That glance was sufiicient to inform Iwan how little ri- gor could be feared from Demetrius, and how much his heart was conscious of the crime his ambition excused. They ex- changed only a few words; but though each feared to trust the other, both felt a beginning friendship. The new governor retired to his bed-chamber with a deter- mination to atone for the injustice of Iwan's imprisonment by the gentleness of its me- thod. The apartment assigned to Iwan was deep-sunk under tlie strongest tower of the fortress, and received light from a narrow window which the water of the moat al- most reached. His food and apparel were always conveyed to him by the governor himself, who descended to his chamber through long intricate windings, among vaults and recesses known to no other in- habitant of the fortress, except a Cossack soldier, whose stubborn zeal and almost giant strength had advanced him to the im- portant station of sentinel at the prince's door. There he watched night and day, sleeping only during the very few hours which the governor spent every morning with his prisoner. When the air was bland and moon brilliant, the unfortunate Iwan sometimes accompanied Demetrius to a secluded part of the garden, and enjoyed the luxuries of exercise and light. It was the noon of a delicious night, when the Count, now happiest in his pris- oner's society, descended to offer him a promenade. He unbarred the iron door gently as usual, and, supposing him asleep, drew back the curtain of his couch to awaken him. The couch, — the chamber was vacant! Demetrius rushed out, and saw the Cossack sentinel standing with his usual vacant gaze of sullen indifference. " Follow me, Basil I" he exclaimed, ** our prisoner has escaped." The Cossack an- swered only by trimming his torch, and unsheathing his large poignard. Demetri- us traversed every recess in the subterra- nean labyrinth till he reached the remnant of a stair-case half choaked with fallen stones. "Here is an outlet," said the governor; *' let us search round before we give alarm." The Cossack hewed a way among brambles and broken granite, till they found themselves in a rude hut, which seemed the depository of a woodman's stores. Embers of a fire gleamed in a corner; an axe, a few traces of provisions, lay near it, and some loose hurdles filled the entrance. The governor's eager survey informed him it had no living inhabitant — " We are too late ! but my bugle can alarm the garrison." The Cossack's strong arm wrested it from him, — and his ferocious The Russian. 13 smile shewed his connivance in the prisoner's escape. Snatching up the wootlman's axe, Demetrius levelled a deadly blow at the treacherous sentinel's head, — but his own throat was seized with the force of delemiin- ed venj^eance, and the strup^gle would have been short, had not a friendly hand grasped the Cossack's foot. A boy sleeping among tlie hurdles in the hut, had been awakened by their contest, and now crept forward to save the victim. While with one hand he held the murderer's lcg,wit}i the otlier he gave Demetrius the sword which had been snatch- ed from his grasp, and llirown on the ground. The Cossack received it in his breast, and expired, muttering execrations. Demetrius caught the young stranger's arm as he at- tempted to hide himself again, and demand- ed his name. "Alexis I" said the poor youth, trembling — " I came here to sleep after gathering wood all day." Demetrius •urveyod him eagorly, — and a propitious thought arose. Iwan's escape had been dis- cevered by none but himself; and the Cos- sack, probably its sole abettor, now lay life- less. This young woodman resembled the prince in stature and complexion; might he not be safely substituted .' Grasping his hand, and fixing his eyes with all their daz- zling fire upon him, Demetrius exacted an oath of secrecy. " I never swear," replied the forest-boy, "but I speak truth," The governor's wavering purpose was fixed by tliis expression of courageous honesty. "My safety and the state's requires me to detain you, ])ut you cannot refuse to preserve a life for which you have already risked your own. Remain here without resistance, act accord- ing to my dictates, and you shall represent a prince." Either fascinated by this splendid but ambiguous promise, or conscious of his dependence on the oovemor's mercy, Alexis silently kissed his unslicathed .sabre, as a token of submission. Demetrius, hastily throwing the loose hunlles over his fallen enemy, bound his scarf over the young forester's eyes, and led him through the subterranean vaults of Schlusselburgh, to the chamber once occu- pied by Prince Iwan. "Here, Alexis," said he, " you must remain while my sove- reign's safety requires the natioQ to believe that her rival is still in my custody. No one visits this chamber but myself, and both our lives depend on your discretion." Alexis looked round the desolate prison with an in- stinctive shudder, and a timid glance at De- metrius. There was a reproach in that glance so penetrating, yet so mild, that all the sel- fishness and craft learned in the school of political ambition sunk under it. "I swear," said Demetrius, "never to abandon your safety, tliough it should cost my own." "God heart you!" replied the prisoner: and the oath was registered in the si>eaker's heart. In the solitude of his own apartment, De- metriiLs reviewed all the possible consequen- ces of this eventful night, and discovered new motives to applaud his expedient. — Chance had given to the young woodman such striking resemblance to the fugitive prince, that tlie real Iwan might be plausibly pro- nounced an impostor,should he ever venture to disturb the peace of Russia: or if the counter- feit was proved, Demetrius might contrive to apj>ear the dupe, and not the abetter. In every way Alexis seemed to secure tlie best advantage to the empress and her agent : but to render his semblance complete, the go- vernor saw tlie necessity of giving his mind a degree of cultivation equal to Iwan's if possible. For this purpose he visited him daily, and found his attention willing, though his capacity seemed limited. He spent his childhood, Alexis said, in the forest near Schlusselburgh, and knew nothing except liis native language : but Demetrius was a patient and assiduous instructer till his pu- pil acquired the rudiments of Latin, and could speak fluently in polished French. History, at least whenever it resembled ro- mance, was eagerly learned by the young stu- dent ; and his remarks on the policy of courts shewed an instinctive shrewdness which al- most resembling what is called espieglerie. But it was blended with simplicity so de- mure, and good-humor so fascinating, that Demetrius almost thought it better than any he had seen before. The escape of the real Iwan seemed a secret wholly unsuspected, and the governor's labors to educate his re- presentative became at length more necessa- 14 The Legends of Lampidosa. ry as the solace of his solitude than as means to ensure his safety. Conscious how much he owed to the patient submission of Alexis, his native sense of justice found some satis- faction in ameliorating it by paternal kind- ness. Once, when an intercourse of three years' length had established more familiar- ity, Alexis suddenly said, *'You have told me for what purpose governments were cre- ated and societies leagued together, but you never mention for what purpose man himself exists!" Demetrius was silent in surprise and secret shame : at length he replied, " At least two thousand sages have given us as many systems, but every man has his best instructor in his heart : let every one pursue his own idea of pleasure, and he fulfils the sole purpose of his existence." " You once shewed me," answered Alexis, " a clear and distinct purpose for every class of ani- mal and vegetable creation; was the great Being less wise when he made man.''" An- gry at his own incompetent reasons, Deme- trius retorted spleenfuUy — *'I have been tempted to believe it since I have found one half the world created to degrade and de- ceive the other. Yet we call that half the loveliest ! You will thank me at some period, Alexis, for having secluded you so long from its temptations." His pupil, smiling archly, replied, " Tell me by what art this strange authority is acquired, that I may avoid it; or rather explain why men allow themselves to be subdued by women, if they possess superior power and wisdom." De- metrius hesitated at this unforseen question, and answered in a doubtful tone, " You ne- ver could learn metaphysics, Alexis, and I must suit ray reason to your comprehension. Our power is real, and therefore undisguised; haughty, and perhaps too rigid; women steal theirs, and can only preserve it by artifice, blandishment, and seeming submission. — The very strength of our superiority excites them to rebel; and the softness of their usur- pation prevents us from resisting." Alexis smiled again, as he rejoined, *' You have explained the secret, Count ! but why should not lawful power borrow the graces which render even usurpers amiable } And is it very certain that women govern when men say they are subdued .'' If they are swayed only by artifice and blandishment, their van- ity not their love degrades them. They de- light in the worship, not the worshipper, and are most selfish when they seem to sacrifice themselves." These truths were not new, but Demetrius had never been so well disposed to hear them. When he reviewed the past, he could not avoid confessing to his own heart, that all the errors he had chosen to asrcibe to the Empress Catharine's attractions, had been instigated by self-love or ambition. And when he remembered his pupil's first ques- tion, he felt that pleasure, if it was indeed the privileged purpose of his existence, had been misunderstood or unsuccessfully pursu- ed. More willing to prejudice Alexis than to confess his own mistake, he gave him long^ and vehement cautions against the selfishness, frivolity, and deceit of woman, to whom he attributed all the intrigues of courts and the perplexities of statesmen. Alexis treasured his precepts with grateful attention,- though the first motive of the Count's conduct had been self-interest. But the aifection which grew in Demetrius for his prisoner shewed how naturally men love whatever proves and acknowledges their superiority. The usual bland and beneficial influence of such affec- tions gradually recalled the festivity of his temper and the gentler graces of his manners. He saw in the improved talents of the young forester something which he prized, because it seemed his own creation; and admired the native simplicity of his character as men admire the rose, not merely for its delicate glow, but for the modest elegance of the folds which envelope it. Perhaps those mys- terious folds render it the best emblem of that beauty which always decays when fully displayed. The third year of the supposed Iwan's im- prisonment ended without detection, or any change, except in the governor himself. His visits became shorter and less frequent; his conversation vague and reserved. Alexis endeavored to requite his former kindness by unwearied efforts to amuse him, but his pencil and flageolet obtained no regard : and his indirect request for farther aid in the studies he had begun, was almost petulantly chidden. During one of these brief and The Russian. 15 chcerlcM visits, Alexis said. "You have made me a musician and a painter; and if you had found talents, would have raised me into a politician and a philosopher: but in one science I was a proficient without your aid." "In what?" asked the governor, starting from a fit of gloomy abstraction. ** In physiognomy," replied Alexis, " or I should not liave trusted your promise in tlie woodman's hut, nor your honor now, when it is so strongly assailed." The Count's fix- ed eye expressed the deepest consciousness and surprise, while Alexis added, ** Hear the extent of my science ! You have another prisoner in this fortress. Your secret in- structions are to keep her unseen by your garrison, and to gain her confidence by every possible blandishment. Above all, you are required to prevent Prince Iwan from dis- covering that the Princess Sophia, his only sister, is an inmate here." " There are trai- tors in my garrison, then!" replied the go- vemer, sternly. "Several, my lord! but the greatest, perhaps, is your own heart. Dare you be convinced ?" It requires great courage or great skill to undeceive self-love, and still greater to be undeceived. But Alexis was riirht wljcn he estimated his friend's candor by his own, and expected the most difficult and generous concession. The Count gave him his hand as he answered— " You are right . the Prin- cess Sophia was brought here six months since by the agents of her brother's enemy, who knows tliat her pretensions may be dangerous. But though I no longer love the empress, I am her faithful officer, and I de- mand the source of your information. Shew me the errors of my judgment, nnd it will be no pain to correct them." Mexis smiled as he pointed to a curtained recess in his prison, and requested Demetri- us to conceal himself behind it. After a very short interval of profound silence, the door of which Demetrius believed he possess- ed the only master key was gently opened, and a female entered muffled in a long dark cloak, and disguised by a mask exactly re- sembling Alexis, who met his visitor with a gracious air. "Ah, prince!" said a most enchanting voice, " how strange that misery should have so few friends ! I have tried all the influence of smiles and flattery on your jailer, but he will not connive at your escape. Let us have patience, however, and his blind zeal will defeat itself. For your sake I act tlie part of a captive princess, and in due time he shall find I can rescue a prince." "For what purpose," replied Alexis, "do you cover your fair face witli an imitation of one so inferior ?" " Speak low and lis- ten! Menzikofl", your adherent, comes to- night with a troop of hoise to surprise the fortress. This cloak and vest, exactly re- sembling yours, and this waxen mask laid skilfully on your pillow, will deceive the go- vernor when he looks in at midnight; and now while the bribed sentinel keeps watch. we can escape together." " Not to night, woman!" exclaimed Alexis, suddenly wind- ing his hand in her long black hair—" the count has had his sealed instructions, and you have had your's. You are no princess, no friend of the house of Mechlenbergh : your trade is a courtezan's — you canje here a sp} and a betrayer, deputed to ensnare the governor by claiming his compassion as an injured prisoner." Th. beautiful culprit fell on her knees— " Pardon me, prince ! I never hoped to de- ceive you by personating your sister, for I knew yoji coubl not fail, when you saw me, to detect the dilTcrence in our persons. But believe me, I am not so guilty as to be with- out remorse. I was sent here by the em- press, who susi>ect8 Demetrius— I came with the escort of a state prisoner, and he believes me an unfortunate princess whom he ought 1o respect and console." " And you,— wretch!" interrupted Alexis, "you design to throw him on a scaflbld by contriving my escape." " No, I swear ! had he been ready to gain what he believed, the favor of a prin- cess, or proud of his power to insult a pris- oner, I should have ruined him without re- gret, and laughed at the easiness of the Uisk. But his faith has been so loyal, and his trust in me so generous, that I have resolved to save you both. I have been often loved, but never respected before, and it has taught me to respect myself." Then freeing her hair from the failing grasp of Alexis, she threw 16 The Legends of Lampidosa. open bis prison-door, and fled towards the outlet, where means of escape were well provided. But Alexis disdained to follow a woman who would have known him to be an imposter if she had not been one herself. During this strange conference, the go- vernor departed from the curtained recess through a door known only to himself, and, assembling his most faithful ofl5cers, gave strict and skilful orders to guard every point of the fortress. A chosen troop was detach- ed to watch the subterranean entrance ; and before these precautions were completed, they were justified by Menzikofif's approach. He came at the head of a well-armed battal- ion, and demanded his prince, Iwan of Mechlenbergh. The governor paused in complicated agonies. His secret orders from the empress contained a warrant for Iwan's instant execution, if a rescue should be at- tempted. He could not disobey these orders without forfeiting his own life, nor execute them unless he sacrificed his preserver. Only one expedient remained he might release the supposed Iwan through a secret gate, and perish himself in defending the fortress. Thus, at least, he could die un- stained with murder, and unsuspected of trea- son: and he hastily descended towards the prison-vaults to bid Alexis farewell. A man standing at their entrance sprang forward to meet him. It was Iwan himself! '* Deme- trius!" he exclaimed, "I know all. Take back your prisoner — you have been a gene- rous enemy, and your life shall not be en- dangered. The innocent must not perish in my stead." Surprise, gratitude, and an- guish, rendered the count dumb, but only for an instant — ''None shall perish!" he suddenly replied — " a blessed thought visits me — and rushing into the prison-chamber, he seized the vest, cloak, and waxen mask brought to represent Iwan. I soldier killed by a random musket- shot lay on the ram- parts. Favored by the darkness of night, the governor wrapped him in the royal man- tle, and covered his face with the beautiful mask and glossy ringlets attached to it. Then summoning his guards, and waving a signal-flag on the turret — "Menzikoff!" he said, through a trumpet — *' behold your prince!" The bleeding body and lifeless face were exposed to the assembly; and Menzikoflf, believing his treacherous purpose fulfilled, dismissed the troop whose assault had furnished a pretext for Iwan's death. The garrison reposed on their arms, and the govemor returned once more to his private chamber, where the prince awaited him. * 'Prince ! your life is saved, and my task here is finished. You are ray prisoner only till to-morrow, when I shall have resigned all the offices and honors bestowed on me by a sovereign I have served too long. I only ask you to accompany me from this fortress, and to promise peace with the empress, whom I will not betray, though she has not recompensed me." *' Russia will never hear of my existence," replied Iwan; "a monk's cowl sits easier than a crown : but you shall not depart un- recompensed. My sister, the true Princess of Mechlenbergh, is in this fortress. Her bold and generous spirit tempted her to aid your Cossack in contriving my escape, and she has been my representative too long. Her danger determined me to return ; for I knew the purport of your secret orders . The lovely and deceitful minion sent to allure you, is an imposter; and you will find my sister in Alexis." The sequel requires few words. Before the lapse of another day, the governor of Schlusselburgh surrendered all his appoint- ments, and with only his own small wealth, retired under a feigned name to Italy. There he received the sister of Iwan, and his bless- ing as a brother and a priest, at the altar of a monastery, where the prince ended his days in peace and obscurity. Demetrius spent a longer and more useful life with the Princess Sophia, whom he loved to call Alexia, while she delighted in rememberin«- by what gentle devices his affection had been fixed on her in the simple forester's garb she had first assumed to aid her brother. She lived to hear him confess of what courage, fidelity, and self-sacrifice a woman may be capable, and to discover that men have few faults which cannot be ameliorated by her influence. ( 17 ) THE PARISIAN. No one ever saw a summer evening in Provence without pleasure ; but a father only canjudi^eof the delight it brings when its mild and beautiful hour is appointed for the arrival of a darling child. The Baron de Salency was seated in such an hour under the light colonnade which fronted his cha- teau, watching every swell of the superb riv- er before him, and imagining he hoard the oars of the boatmen sent to bring his only grand-daughter to her paternal home. "How much delight I expect from Henrielle's so- ciety!" he said, as the Baroness loaned on his chair — " this lovoly hour has always aj)- peared to me the richest picture of a kind father's old age. HenrioUe is >oung, and has been instructed to lovo us: we shall easi- Iv shape hor mind according to our wishes; and now at least, in the second generation of our offspring, wc have had oxperionce enough to blend what is best in our contrary opinions." "Certainly," replied the Baroness, rais- ing herself into a haughty attitude, "you may find ample scope for your experiments in a child educated we know not where or how I We must atone for the folly of our son's rash marriage, by qualifying his daughter for a splendid entrance into life. Sprightly wit, talents for exhibition, and an imposing de- meanor, are the stage-effect or decoration of a woman's virtue. Like the trampoline-boanl our opom-dancersuse, none rise high without it." A boat, whose progress had been con- cealed by the shrubby edges of the river, now touched the landing-place, and a young person in deep mourning approached the colonnade, alone and trembling. The Baron and Baroness met her with a gracious air of encouragement ; but the timid stranger only kissed their hands in tears and silence. " Where," said her grandmother, " is the letter promised by our son .'" Honrielle cast down her eyes weeping, and answered, after long hesitation, "Ah, madam! all is lost— the letter— the jewels— all that my father 3 gave me as testimonials in my favor were stolen last night." Urgent inquiries followed this confession, but she could only inform her hearers that she had travelled from Paris under the escort of a notary and a female servant long employed by her father. Both had accompanied her to Aries, where she slept, expecting their attendance till she reached the Chateau de Sulcncy; and both departed during l!ic night with the small ivory box which contamed her treasure. The Baron hoard this strange narrative with- out comment; and his wife, coldly receding a few steps, took an exact and stern survey of her supposed grand-daughter. But the ominous pause was interrupted by the arrival of a cabriole, from whence a lovely young woman sprang, and threw herself at the Bar- oness de Salcncy's feet. " From whom do I receive this gracious homage .?" said the Baroness, smiling on her beautiful visitor. " From your grand -daughter, Henrielle dc Salency ! 1 see my father in your counten- ance, and my homage here can never be misplaced — " Then drawing a scaled letter from her bosom, she presented it to the Bar- on with an exquisite gmce which i:,sured the kindness it solicited. He saw the hand-writ- ing of a belovoti son, the most powerful tes- timonial in favor of the bearer, whose fea- tures perfectly resembled his. She had the same brilliant jet-black eyes, the same full half opening lips covered witli the richest Vermillion, and a smile expressing the very spirit of innocence. The Baron extended his arms to welcome the grandcliiid his heart acknowledged, forgetting at that instant the foilom stranger he had already received; but his wife, with a sneer which seemed to commend her own superior sagacity, ex- claimed — "Do you know this impostor, Mademoiselle de Salency ?" As if that title had belonged to her, the first claimant ad- vanced to speak, looking earnestly at her opponent, and covered her face. The se- cond Henrielle laid her hands on hor grand- father, and, throwing back the rich ringlets 18 The Legends of Lampidosa, which shaded her large bright eyes, whisper- ed, " Do not overwhelm her with reproach- es. She is the daughter of an artful woman who nursed me in my childhood, and knew ail ray mother's family concerns. She left me suddenly on the road to Paris, but not before she had twice attempted to steal this casket, which contains my father's portrait, and documents sufficient, perhaps, to have supported an imposture." At the sight of this important casket in her rival's hand, the pretended Henrielle gave a cry of agony, and fainted. The Baroness led her acknowl- edged grand-daughter to another apartment; her husband followed after a short interval, and the remainder of the evening was devot- ed to inquiries which their Henrielle an- swered with the promptitude of truth and tho grace of polished suavity. When they had retired to their own apartment, the Baroness inquired if he had consigned the intruder to the correctional police — "No, madam; I have a fitter tribunal, I think in my own heart." " Can you doubt the baseness of a stratagem so obvious and ill-sustained .^" *' I doubt nothing, Baroness, so often as the accuracy of human judgment. If this un- happy stranger has been swayed by the crim- inal ambition and authority of her mother, let us ascribe the heaviest portion of her crime to her instructor; if she has been the pupil of fraud and avarice, let us try the in- fluence of generous tuition." " Under my roof!" retorted the Baroness, with a glance of scorn : her husband answered by leading her towards an exquisite piece of sculpture representing the celebrated Grecian mother recalling her truant child from the edge of a percipice by displaying her bountiful bosom. " This Greek fable, Adelaide, is memora- ble, because it teaches us how to retrieve a wanderer — not by frowns, but by the milk of human kindness. And the Shakspeare of English divines says truly — ' the young ten- drils and early blossoms of the mind hardly bear a breath, but when age has hardened them into a stem, they may meet a storm un- broken.' He spoke of love, but he might have said this of virtue. We will remember it; and, since there are gentle feelings in the supposed impostor, they shall be fostered by kindness. The cloak of fraud is aplest to fall off when the heart is warmed." "It is torn away already!" interrupted the Baroness. "The letter — the casket — the documents it contained — all or any one of these was sufficient to detect her. And Henrielle's beautiful resemblance to her fa- ther " "We shall see," rejoined M. de Salency, " how far it extends. This in- cident will acquaint us with her heart; and if it knows how to pity error, it is not capa- ble of many." The Baroness took refuge in sleep, but her husband remained in uneasy musings on the peril of deciding between the two claimants. His son, the most infallible arbiter, was no longer in France, and many months might elapse before he could answer an appeal, even if the chances of war per- mitted him to receive it. Henry de Salency, the father of Henrielle, had been a husband and a widower unknown to his parents, and had not ventured to recommend his only daugher to their care till his departure on a distant and dangerous expedition had soften- ed the pride of his mother, and left his father desolate. Tender to whatever claimed affini- ty with this beloved son, the Baron deter- mined that even the soi-disant Henrielle should not be abandoned to poverty and shame. None of his domestics knew with what pretensions she had arrived, and she might be retained among them as an attend- ant on his acknowledged grand daughter; an office sufficiently abject to punish her pre- sumption, yet indulgent enough to encourage reformation. In the morning this decree was announced. The offender heard it with a start of surprise, followed by a glow per- haps of gratitude, at a sentence milder than the public dismission she had probably ex- pected. Henrielle exclaimed, with a plead- ing smile, " I shall be charmed to retain my Ibster-mother's daughter near me. She often spoke of her Henriana, and the Baron will allow me to give you that name, though it resembles mine too nearly." " Certainly I consent," he answered, " but my plan must be changed to suit it. She shall be retained as your companion, not your soubrette; for no name that resembles my son's ought to be connected with ignominy." The Parman. 19 Madamodo Salcncy expressed bc-r opinion of this chani^e by indih, compared to the bright scariet tulip. An impenetrable mauvaisc honte covered talents which she really pos- sessed, while an air always easy, contident and caressing, gave her rival that elegance which is said to be the result of conscious dignity and trancpiil haj>piness. The Baron- ess, once herself the reigning belle of Pari^, determined to raise her new favorite to the same height by splendid and incessant galas. On her birthday, according to the graceful custom still prcser>'ed there, Hcnrielle pre- sided at a festival designed for its celebration.' and flowers, the usual tributes, were brought in beautiful abundance to the pavilion where she sat. A young stranger, pressing through the crowd, placed himself near her. " Your father," said he, *' could not send his favorite flowers to-day, but he charged me to offer this substitute — " and he presented a bouquet of jewels arranged to represent a poppy and a lily intcnvoven. These symbols, once considered sacred to the deity of marriage, caused a smiling change in the receiver's as- I)et, while the Baron gravely cast his eyes on the letter brought to him by tlie giver. But tlie assembly's attention was diverted by Ihe entrance of an aged and blind woman, supported by her children, who led her to- wards the queen of the festival. She car- ried a basket filled with Provincal roses, which she kissed and wept over. "I have nothing more to offer, mademoiselle !" said she; " but these roses are fresh from tiie tree your good father planted in my garden." " Ah, Madelon !" exclaimed Henriana, springing towards her — "I have heard him name his kind nurse a thousand times, and that rose-tree was planted on my birth-day I" •* Who are you?" replied the old paysanne; " when he planted it, he did not tell me he had a daughter." "No, Madelon," inter- posed Henrielle, gently taking the flowers from her basket — "on that day your niece Suzette had rejected her lover Lubin by plac- ing nuts on the table, according to your Pro- vencal custom; and he comforted him by a promise to take him to Paris as his valet." "It is the very words of my dear young lord!" returned Madelon, clasping her hands in rapture — " but tell me, is poor Suzette living yet .'" Henrielle hesitated, as if fear- ful to give the poor paysanne aflliclion : and before she could determine how to reply, a dove flew into the pavilion, and alighted on Henriana's shouMcr. It had a paper attach- ed to its foot, inscribed, " 7l» detect a coun- terfeit.'' Every eye was fixed on her face, which varied a thousand times from the whilness of fear and shame to that deep red supposed to announce guilt. But, instead of spuming the innocent bearer of this testimony against her, she allowed it to nestle in her bosom; and, shedding tears, whispered— " Poor bird! an enemy has employed thee, but thou hast not forgotten me." Henrielle smiled on her with a gracious air, as if de- sirin"- her to confide in her friendship. And collecting llie flowers which had been brought as tributes, with an air of badinage appar- ently contrived to relieve Henriana, she said; " Are there counterfeits among these offer- ings ? we will submit them, then, to the ordeal both of fire and water." All admir- ed the benevolent attempt to divert attention from the humbled culprit, and the grace with which she dipped the flowers into a per- fumed vase, and placed them round the edge of a lamp burning on an antique tripod. 20 The Legends of Lampidosa. But the flowers were all artificial, and the flame, spreading aniong them, seized the drapery attached to the pavilion, and the con- flag-ation was general in a few instants. The young stranger, whose gallant gift had intro- duced him to Henrielle, lost not a moment in carrying her out of the reach of danger; but Henriana, inattentive to herself, caught the blind paysanne in her arms, and saved her from the flames which had already fasten- ed on her. "One would think," said the Baroness, with a scornful air, " that this young woman recognized a relative in our old Madelon! and I now remember — her pert neice Suzette followed our son's Gas- con valet to Paris. Since Henriana has evidently no claims to nobility, we cannot give her a fitter retreat than her grand- aunt's, cottage in Provence." "She has nobility at heart, at least," replied M. de Salency— "and if it endures the test next prepared for it, I am satisfied." Without explaining this speech, he descended to the saloon, where the rival claimants were seated; and ad- dressing himself to Henrielle, unfolded the packet brought by the young chevalier Flor- ival. It contained a letter from her father, recommending him to her favor as a suitor highly enriched by nature, though not by fortune, and giving his paternal blessing to their union. Henrielle heard it with the smile of conscious beauty, and a painful glance of mock indifference : the father, per- haps, would have been more gratified if they had been checked by a tender and grateful remembrance of the absent writer. But he withdrew without comment, and returned accompanied by Florival, whose flushed cheek and downcast eye expressed a timid, yet proud, dependence on the recommenda- tion of Henrielle 's father. She received him with a charming mixture of assumed uncon- sciousness and careless encouragement which her grandmother secretly applauded, as the perfection of that coquetry she had once practised herself. " In your presence," said Florival looking respectfull towards the Baroness, " I may request your grand- daughter's acceptance of this pledge, which her father hoped you would permit her to at- tach with her own hand to the pearl necklace she received from her mother. It was once your gift, and he promised to fill up the vacant place in it when he had found what he thought worthy." And he produced an emerald heart, evidently adapted to some peculiar repository ; but his gallant allusion to the color of hope which tinged it, did hot produce the smile he probably expected. Henrielle was silent till the Baron requested her to comply with her father's wishes : then, looking compassionately at Henriana, she replied, " It was in my possession yester- day, but it is no longer mine;" and w'hen repeated questions extorted fuller answers, she relcutantly implied that her pearls had been stolen during the confusion caused by the burning pavilion. Henriana remained mute; but the quick heavings of her bosom announced her interest in this scene; and the intelligent glance of accusation cast on her by Henrielle, turned Florival 's thoughts to- wards her. He had not yet heard the mys- terious tale of her supposed imposture; and her mourning dress, her retiring attitude, and modest eyes, over which she had drawn her fine hair embellished only by a simple sprig from the rose-tree loved by her father, fixed his pity and attention. " Speak, that we may see you," says an old philosopher who had the benefit of a woman's instruction. Florival understood tliis hint, and he address- ed his conversion to Henriana, hoping to penetrate her character. If he had been touched by the meek simplicity of her as- pect, he was now impressed by what might be called the holiness of innocence in her calm and proud reserve. But the Baroness, enraged at the suspicion which the absence of the necklace seemed to excite in her hus- band, busied herself in public and vehement complaints of the theft. The pearls had been often worn by her, were of the richest oriental kind, and of a shape so singular that they could be easily identified. All the do- mestics and spectators employed on the day of the fete were traced by police-officers, but no discovery resulted. Florival, appa- rently heedless of the event, continued his visits at the Baron's hotel, where he was re- ceived with vague, but inviting blandish- ments by Henrielle, and with placid cold- Tlie Paksian. 21 Tiess by Honriana. As his regard seemed Salency. In the vestibule Ihey met Florival; fixed on the prosperous heiress, the latter and advancing n few steps to meet him, Hen- eraduallv avoided his presence, and left him riana said, «' Chevalier, the lost prize ,s re- in full enjovment of the wit and smiles which covered ! it fell into the hands of (his blmd had attained such celebrity. On one of these woman, and was worn by her without con- occasions she absented herself to seek Ma- sciousness of its worth." " I know ,t al- delon's humble residence, and olTer her a ready," he answered; " but llennelle has price for the cherished rose-tree. She found denounced her to the police, and its agents her knittincr in her little garden-porch with arc on their way to her residence-I was the happy "thoughtlessness of second child- hastening thither myself to favor her escape: hood- but at the first glance Henrianarecog- let her depart now, for the vengeance will nized the pearl necklace hanging round her be as sudden as the suspicion." "What! neck' A moment was given to silent on her father's fostermother!" interrupted astonishment before she inquired by what Henriana, indignantly -" dares Henrielle means it had fallen into her possession *' This ?" returned the old paysanne, strok- ing her sunburnt throat — *' this was my grandson's gift on my saint's day." " Ma shew cruelty even there! take back these pearls, chevalier, since you have brought a bauble to attach to them — give them to your chosen bride, and say they were redeemed delon!" .aid Henriana. Rontly dctaininR I'X yo..rsclf-at jour request, perhaps sl.e her hand-'Tecollec. yourself-these pearls «. 11 spare .h,s aged »oman. ■«■' P™" , ,, r K. no vininnrv'" The tect Madclon , Bssuredly ," replied t loH \ al— belonjr to the fnmilv Ue >alcncy . ine ,.,:,, 11 *^ / a / ^« „„, " but the /ifar^ I brought will never belong blind woman started up ^Mth a fierce gcs- ""^ " „ 1 , • • ,, r .♦ ^. „,.,,., , I .,.„,. v,nvn nrn to Henric e— licr 's IS incapable of gratitude , ture— "Wretch! vile wretch! you ha>e pro- ' . 11 _^ cKo . ,. , . * 1 ^M.,^0 bounty, or compassion. They tell me she fited by mv blindness to Steal my necklace, ^ /' /^ \ ^ : ■ , ,,, „ I , ..„Kt has been educated for ornament and refine- and subsltute another!" Her cries brought ... ., u . t t f .K« ;..nr;nr of hoT ^ent, but she has neither been ornamented a robust young man from the interior ot her « . - . , , , • 4 „ u« completely nor relined enough. t lowers habitation; but as he ran to her assistance, he * . ,, c cu u «.^«o,. "*" ' . WW • lu • are scattered on the surface of her character, annrarcd to reco^^nize Henriana, ana nesi- , rr.^ . 1 appcareu 10 rti,. .. . , but none grow tliere. The benevolence lated " Sorak forme, Lubin!" exclaimed \ *^ . , ,r .. r laieu, :5praK '"«^ • ; ^^.j^i^l, ornaments social life, the rclinement Ilia frmni^mnihor • ** \ ou well know 1 na>e his grandmother lou n ^^^.^^^ povenis thoughts and actions, arc no pearls— the chain vou gave me wa^ of , ,, , « i «, - ■ ,. , : 111 i« wholly unknown to her beads." Lubin hung down his head, and a -' deep blush rose even to his forehead — " Ma- demoiselle, pardon and believe mc ! I was tempted — I was paid to bring your dove to the pavilion with the billet written by— by her who wore the necklace of pearls: they were dropped near mc — I did not guess their Talue, and — 1 gave them to La Bonne." ** Well," replied Henriana, "she loved my father, and you are safe— Dare you confide the pearls tome."* The rich glow of Lubin's heart burned through his saffron cheek — ** Gracious lady ! you saved my helpless grandmother from the flames, and we owe you the service of our whole lives." Hen- riana replied, * The time may come when you shall receive more than the value of these pearls : let Madelon accompany me." The old paysanne rested on her grandson's arm, and followed Henriana to the Hotel do Self is the sole motive of her graces, her blandishments, and even her virtues, which she assumes not because they are feminine, but because they create her power. It is a i)ower, however, which extends no farther than her own flatter- ed imagination, and I disclaim it from this hour." " Her presence will renew it, che- valier!" returned Henriana, smiling. "No, madame — the vapid remains of wit and beauty exhausted in public crowds would not satisfy me — I expected to find a heart capa- ble of gratitude to an absent father, sinceri- ty to a modest claimant, and tenderness to helpless old age. I have found one, but not in Henrielle." "Be well assured before you decide," said the Baron, entering—" I have brought a final arbitrator." Florival saw tlie father of Henrielle, and started back. " Do you fear to be assured of this young beauty's poverty ?" added the old lord. 22 The Legends of Lamjpidosa. sternly. " No, Baron!" returned his young favorite, still retreating — '' I only fear to find her unworthy." "This," said Henri de Salency, "is my own Henrielle — my only acknowledged daughter. Her rival, ^vh^ has wisely taken refuge in flight, obtain- ed the documents and credentials she possess- ed by a theft which her wretched mother committed to exalt a daughter whose exis- tence is my reproach. The child of my vir- tuous wife has shewn the softness and the purity of soul which, like the 'pof'py and the lily, are the best symbols of domestic hap- piness ; the pain inflicted by her sister's im- posture was a penalty I well deserved, by believing that splendid talents might cover a depraved heart, or atone for its unworthi- ness." THE BELGIAN. Albert Altenberg, one of the richest citi- -zens of Brussels, lay on his death-bed with no consolations, except that he had a son capable of atoning for the errors into which avarice had betrayed him. ** Herman!" he said, as the young man sat by his bed study- ing the last expression of his glazing eyes — " I leave you wealthy, and your uncles, if they are still living, have no other heir — but we had once a sister — read these papers, and do justice to my memory." Herman assent- ed by a silent pressure of the hand, which clung to his till it became lifeless. Soon af- ter his father's funeral, an extraordinary change appeared in his character. Instead of the hospitality, the beneficence, and spirit of enterprize, which old Altenberg had been studious to repress, the heir discovered even more frugality and caution than his father. He converted all the scattered wealth he in- herited into one fund, but its dejiository was a profound secret. At length its amount was doubted, and the reserve of his demean- or seemed the consequence of necessary re- trenchment. Presently his fellow-citizens discovered that he spent no more than the moderate sum required for mere subsistence; and it vvas easier to discern that he was poor than that he might be virtuous. His friends gradually changed their assiduous courtesy into those cold and stately condescensions which are practised to humble the receiver. Paring two or three years hejcontinued to frequent societies where his entrance was noticed at last only by a scornful smile or a careless familiarity, which he affected to receive with indolent indifference. But the result of suspected proverty was not unfelt, and he had not courage enough to con- temn it. He left Brussels in secret, without leaving any trace of his route, as some sup- posed to join the Emperor Joseph's army as a volunteer, or, as many more believed, to perish by suicide. The great clock of a noted inn at Brussels had struck twelve, when the half-clothed waiting damsel ran into one of the most crowded dormitories, and shaking a sleep- er's shoulder, exclaimed in his ear, " Mon- sieur! monsieur has mistaken the room — this bed is engaged to a lady." " This bed !" returned the angry traveler — " this vile com- position of rushes and fir-sliavings ! Must a man be disturbed even in purgatory ?" The soubrette, arranging the stiff wings of her cap, began an oration on the lady's prior claims, and the guest professed his belief that women belong to one of the nine classes of demons supposed by a Flemish doctor. " Sir," said a young student from Gotten- gen, "it is some consolation to know that every great man for the last forty-two cen- turies has been equally tormented." " A glorious comfort, truly!" retorted the grum- bler, " that three or four hundred fools have been remembered by greater fools than The Belgian. 23 themselves! I want neither Skinkius, nor journey a few hours longer, and when the Jacobus de Dondin, nor Grunnius Coracotta, carriage stopped at the end of a lonely lane, to tell me why women love to teaze and a among the cornfields which surrounded her i ..r. Kor»fr,nt " residence, she entered it on foot, without eoosc to u:o bare tool. ' rr^i i i • i c This torrent was interrupted in his way any attendant. Though the night was far down-stairs by meeting the cause of his dis- advanced, no one seemed to have awaited turbance, a plain ancient gentle-woman, her coming, and the Brussels diligence was whose ugliness restored him to good-humor, soon far out of sight. Lighted by a full Grace or beauty would have made him furi- harvest moon, she was selectinsr her steps ous, by lessening his pretext for spleen : and with Flemish neatness and nonchalance along as angry men usually submit to any evil they the solitary avenue, when a man's shadow are allowed to murmur at, the mal-contcnt crossed her path. She looked up calmly, seated himself in "grim repose" by the though not without a sense of danger, and kitchen-fire. There some Belgian soldiers saw the traveler who had called himself Von" were congratulating themselves on their fu- Grumboldt. His lingering pace and muffled ture (luar'lers at the farm of a decrepit and figure might have justified suspicion, but she solitary widow, celebrated for wealth and only said, " We are still travelers, it seems, avarice. Their new auditor, concealed in a on the same road." "Do you walk alone, recess, listened to their ribaldry, perhaps and at this hour, to the White Farm .= " re- for the first time, without disgust, because turned Von Grumboldt, in a low voice— his misanthropy found an excuse in the vices " Take my arm, then— we may be useful to of others. Before the dawn of a morning each other." Hesitation would have been over-cast with Belgian fogs, a diligence left danger, and she yielded to tlie ofier without this inn-door, containing only M. Von Grum- shrinking, though tlic pressure of her ann boldt and one female passenger. Our travel- against a concealed pistol, and the motion er with no small chagrin, recognised the of a sabr« as she walked by his side, seemed close coif and grey redingotc of his mid- to reveal his true purpose. " It is strange," ni"-ht disturber, while she quietly considered she said, trembling, "that I see no lan- his sint'-ular aspect. Very little of his face thorn's light, and no one here to meet rae!" was visible, except the contemptuous curl Her escort was silent till they reached the of his under lip, and the prominence of that square courtyard of the farm, sheltered, feature which is said to express disdain. A according to Belgian fashion, on three sides broad hat, enormous boots, and a coarse ^y the mansion and its wings. All was des- wide wrapping coat, deprived his figure of olatoly dark, and the defenceless mistress, all symmetry or character, except that of a gathering courage from her danger, said, in busy and important burgomaster. As the ^ frank tone, "Let us enter— though my daylight increased, M. Von Grumboldt dis- servant is heedless, and probably absent, I covered indications of curiosity, shrewish- ^j^j^jj ^^^j enough to furnish a supper for my ness, and other feminine virtues, in the thin p^tector." "Dare you trust me, then!" lips and wrinkled forehead of his meagre ye^umed Von Grumboldt, in a lone which companion, esi>ecially when she ventured an betrayed strong emotion. " You have not inquiry respecting the next inn. A cup of ^^ontred yourself— but this is no place for cotfec at Quatre-Bras, since so celebrated you_here is but one concealment among the in military annals, removed a few furrows y^^xX^^^ ^\^^ round the dove-cot." " You from his brow, and enabled him to perceive ^^^ ^^^ stranger here!" she exclaimed, firm- that it was prepared by a fair and well-shap- jy «. Trust me only a little longer," he ed hand, decorated with a ring of some ^^.^.^red-" but wait for my signal." The value. But he chose to sleep, till suddenly ^^^^^^^ous woman took her station in the seeing the place ofhisdestination. he alight- ^^jj^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^oluie^^ and his ed from the diligence with no other cere- j^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ answered mony than an abrupt and scowling farewell. ^^^^ ^^^ ^..^^^^ ^^ ^ ruffian-voice-" Why His humble fellow- traveler continued her 24 The Legends ofLampidosa. so late, Casper? It will be day before we find her hoards.^' Von Grumboldt's reply was a shrill whistle, and six men concealed among the elms rushed through the unbirred door into the farm-house, while their guide seized the rutlian admitted by a treacherous servant. He and his accomplice were soon in irons, while the armed stranger returned to seek the mistress of the mansion he had preserved from plunder. "These are my soldiers, madam," said he, in a gentler tone; *'and you will not refuse their colonel per- mission to be your guest. I heard the busi- ness of this night planned by the felons who designed to execute it; therefore I chose to assist in its defeat myself." The modest Flemish farmeress looked at her preserver with a respectful silence more affecting than words, and taking the diamond ring from her finger, offered it to his—" I have not for- gotten your invitation," said the colonel, re- suming his blunt austerity, while he brushed a sudden moisture from his eyes—" you will find a voracious guest at your supper-table." Without blushing at the humility of the task our heroine arranged the ample contents of her store-room on her best table, and pro- vided an abundant sideboard for her new vis- itor's attendants. A chamber, whose neat furniture had chiefly proceeded from her own distaff, was allotted to the colonel, who would not have chosen to confess, even on the rack, how many tender and deep regrets haunted his pillow. Almost at daybreak he rose, and found his hostess busied in her . simple domestic avocations. " I do not ask you," said she, " to admire my garden- vines, or the beautiful slope of this valley, for they appear to be remembered." " Per- haps," replied her guest, " they resemble— or remind me of scenes long past — and who can remember the past without regret ? But though you have the goodness to ask nothing, I am come to claim a reward." The farm- eress raised her eyes from the spiced bowl she was preparing for the first repast, and considered the speaker's countenance. If the lower part contained those strong lines and curves which students suppose to indi- cate the darker passions, his clear eye and ample forehead would have impressed the most unlearned observer with an idea of vigorous intellects and a rapid spirit. While she paused, the Belgian officer was equally attentive to her looks, but his glance was an inquisition and his smile a satire; for he se- cretly derided the vain coquetry which he thought expressed in her hesitation. And with more coldness than respect, he added, " The premium I ask for a trifling and acci' dental service, is to remain a few days or weeks in this house. It suits my military duties, my love of rural manners, and my health, which a terrible disorder has laid waste." His entertainer answered, with a kinder smile, " My father was a physician, educated in Antwerp; be bequeathed me a book which contains the symptoms and re- medies best ascertained; and I think your illness has a well-known name." The col- onel, scowling contemptuously, bade his doctress proceed. "It is the malady of poets, philosophers, statesmen, and kings — the symptoms are a leaden color, a hollow eye, a sour smile, and a venomous wit — it is call- ed wisdom, but its true name is melancholy." Struck by the boldness of this speech. Von Gmmboldt forced a painful laugh, and de- sired to know the remedy. " Old Finius of Antwerp," said she, closing the volume from which she had seemed to quote, " would have prescribed six hundred herbs, the bone found in a stag's heart, a ring made from a wolf's hoof — or perhaps a cup of wine: but my father taught me another remedy, which I keep among my hoards — those which the robbers could not find." Her guest, silenc- ed by confused and sudden feelings, follow- ed into the next apartment, where, supported by pillows in an easy chair, sat an aged man, whose pale grey eye and fixed features shew- ed the quiet imbecility of second childhood. But the deep seams in his forehead, the knot- ted muscles about his lip, and the strong contraction of his dark eye-brows, also in- dicated what malignant passions had once been busy there. A boy and two infant girls were busied in wreathing his footstool with the forget-me-not, and other beautiful wild- flowers, so abundant in the fields near Wa- terloo. "This unfortunate man," said Von Grumboldt's conductress, " was tempted by The Belgian. 25 anxious fondness for his children to confuse me from robbery and assassination?" "No, his sister's fortune with hLs own, which because we cannot remember injuries while vanished away as if the embezzled part had we are conferring benefits: but benefits are been a brand that consumed the wliole. — forgotten!" "Ah! now you shew me the Those who aided him to rob her are gone, gangrene of the wound — you have been mis- and no one remembers him. When I feel understood and insulted. Well, take cour- the beginning of that distrustful, envious, age — I have been charged with improvidence peevish, and timorous spirit which the world in my youth, because it was easier to trust calls melancholy, I look at (his forlorn old than to suspect; and now I. am called a man and those orphan children; and their miser by those who cannot know for whom gratitude makes my heart good." The col- I an> amassing a future competence." "You onel shuddered as he replied, " Is tliis hu- seem |)Oor, then, only to enrich others!" man ruin an enlivening spectatle .' And said the discontented man, sighing — " but those orphans, whose dependence is the is it necessary to sulTer this rustic and labo- school of craft, envy, and avarice! is not rious servitude, with the ignominy of im[>ut- Iheir fate a motive rather than a medicine for ed avarice, for the benefit of alien children melancholy.'" "It might be," answered and an insensible innn, whose wretchedness the matron, "if I held myself responsible is his due punishment .'" "It is not neces- for events, but I am satisfied with good in- sary, perhaps," she replied, " but he is my tentions, and leave (heir success to another brother, and was my enemy! I must pity arbiter. Though this human vegetable is and relieve his wretchedness, unless I en- not conscious of my presence, and never dure the misery of haling him, which would soothed by my caresses— though those child- be greater even than his. And the evil he ren m;iy be unquiet, sordid, or deceitful, it caused me ceased when I forgot it." Yon is pleasure enough to love and deserve to Grumb«ddt started, and examined her with be loved by them." "Ah madam!" said ^ihl and eager eyes, while she added, — her guest, uncovering his heiul with an emo- " This is my cure for melancholy : I cannot tion of respect he had not felt before, "you k'»>*^ X®^ ^*>^ Antwerp physician's talisman, have said truly that gratitude makes the heart ^^^ t*»c ""J? )'"" received from me last night good, but ungrateful men have comipted "i^)' ^»^c equal virtue. It is the only legacy mine. The horril)lc weariness of life, (he I designed for a nephew noble enough to death of spirit which comes upon mc every abstain from borrowed wealth, and to redeem day, has no remedy. I have learned to hope, *'»« father's honor by retiring himself into to esteem, and to cherish nothing— but I re- poverty, though with such a bitter feeling of member every thing— and this terrible re- its disadvantages." membrance, this cruel exi>criencc of false Neither the natural sang-froid of a Belgian, and hollow heads, convinces me that even """" ^^^ acquired sternness of a veteran, your bounty is a melancholy illusion. It could repress the soldier's tears, when he will make one ungrateful and two discontent- recognized his father's sister, so long lost ed— it will leave you in a desolate old-age and so deeply injured. This interview, this with no employment but to liate and regret." opportunity to offer an ample restitution of " My good friend, I have not yet told you all that her brother had accumulated unjustly, my father's most precious prescription. Ma- completed his only wish and most sacred ny, perhaps, equalled him in science, a few purpose, which had been baffled many years in eloquence — but what a divine world would by the humble seclusion she had chosen from this be if all resembled him in gentleness! generous motives. Thus having retrieved his His only maxim was, "■ Forget cviV — and father's name from blemish, he appealed there is in those two words a talisman which again in Brussels among his former friends, assuages the heart, lightens the head, and who readily paid to the successful and dis- composes all enmities. Was your frightful tinguished Colonel Yon d the homage langor and despair present while you rescued they refused to Herman Altenberg in his 4 26 The Legends of Lampidosa. supposed indigence. But he had learned its to her, but he divided it among her less for- true value, and preferred the White Farm tunate relatives, reserving- only the ring, wherehis benevolent aunt resided in the love- which, by recalling the beauty of patience liness of charity and peace. She bequeathed and forgiveness to his recollection, became him all that his filial integrity had restored his talisman against melancholy. THE SPANIARD Among the noble visitors assembled at Bareges, near the French Pyrenees, none were more distinguished than the Conde Manuel del Tormes and his beautiful wife Juana. The disproportion of their ages, characters, and exteriors was a subject of surprise to every young cavalier, and of pity io every Spanish matron. His shrivelled forehead, bloated eyes, and cadaverous com- plexion, in which the jaundice of spleen and suspicion was added to the olive tint g*iven by his native climate, afforded a fearful con- trast to the soft youthful countenance of his consort. After a short and reluctant stay at these celebrated medicinal springs, the Con- de suddenly announced his intended return to Madrid; where the pomp attached to his high official station soothed his pride, and prevented the indolent ennui which diseased his imagination. While he addressed his commands to Donna Juana, a page entered with a small packet, which he received with- out casting his eye upon it and put into his vest. But Juana saw it with very uneasy sensations, knowing that it contained a pair of valuable bracelets which a jeweler at Bareges had been privately ordered to pre- pare for her. Severely confined by her hus- band's jealous parsimony, she had been tempted to commit the fault common to inex- perienced wives — the dangerous fault of trust- ing disobedience to secrecy. Either by heedlessness or design, the bracelets, which had never been intended to meet her lord's eye, had fallen into his hands; and a detec- tion, aggravated by attempted concealment, would be the inevitable result. That quick- ness of invention so unfortunately peculiar to woman, prompted her to shape a device which accident seemed to favor. Passing by the room where her husband usually took his siesta, or evening repose; she saw the door half opened, and the ill-fated packet lying on a writing-table surrounded with rouleaus and scattered dollars. The faint light admitted by the closed jalouses of the chamber discovered no one in it, but she heard the deep and slow breathings of a sleeper behind the drapery which shadowed a retired couch. Juana instanly took off her own well-known bracelets, folded and seal- ed them in a paper shaped like the jeweler's packet, of which the wax did not appear to be broken. It would not be difficult, she believed, to persuade her husband that they had been sent for some slight change or re- pairs, and the jeweler's discretion might be secured. Secretly blessing Don Manuel's unusual want of curiosity and lethargic hu- mor, Juana stole with a sylph's step into the dusky chamber, and without pausing to won- der at the numerous rouleaus, though the opportunity excited a smile, exchanged her packet for that which lay exposed on the table and fled back. But what surprise, per- plexity, and dismay, possessed her, when she broke the wax and beheld, not the brace- lets she had ordered, but a magnificent pair, of the rarest Peruvian gold enriched with a medallion representing a young man in a- splendid English uniform. Its companion contained a cypher and coronet of diamondsir The Spaniard. 27 Could this he the jeweler's mistake, the stra- tng'em of some gallant stranger, or part of a mystery managed by her husband ? What- ever was the truth, her own imprudence and misfortune were irretrievable, as, on her cau- tious return to the chamber-door, she found it closed and bolted. In silent and profound agony, sharpened by the necessity of dis- guise, Juana awaited the return of her hus- band, whose countenance only expressed its usual sullen coldness, while he completed her confusion by en(juiring for what purpose she had privately ordered the bracelets which a jeweler had delivered to his page. Unpre- pared, disordered, and conscious of error, Juana made a timid and hesitating reply, which, though strictly true, liad all the as- pect of falsehootl. She allcdged, that com- passion for a distrrsscd and deserving artisan, had induced her to order a pair of bracelets, which she had not thought sufficiently im- portant to mention. Don Manuel heard her with a mysterious smile, and carelessly an- swered, that he had tieterrnined to leave Horeges because he had been required to cede the chamber usually allotted to his sies- ta, for the accommodt accurate- ly; and if I may believe him, the ballad was " " One of Lopez de Vega's," hasti- ly interrupted Juana, and the music book was mine. We left Bareges suddenly be- fore the owner of the bracelets could be guessed; but I have brought them to-night, hoping that your kindness might assist mo 28 The Legends of Lampidosa, in restoring them." The ambassadress, with a smile full of benignity and archness, received the bracelets from the young count- ess, whose blushes announced how much she doubted whether she owed most to the deli- cate invention of the brother or the sister. But during the remainder of the evening, her release from a dangerous dilemma gave an elastic ease to her movements, and a new lustre to her countenance, of which more than one eye was fatally observant. The gala extended far beyond midnight, and the brother of the fair giver was among the latest lingerers. Morning shone through the trellis of his balcony when he reached his bedchamber, where he saw, with great sur- prize, a large wooden chest, which had been brought, as his servant informed him, only a few minutes before his return, by three stran- gers, who had received his orders, Ihey said, to lodge it there with great precaution. Our Englishman prudently dismissed his valet before he unfastened the lid of this mysteri- ous coffer and raised the large folds of white linen within. Beneath them lay the lifeless body of Juana, in the rich attire she had worn at his sister's banquet, with a chain of Peruvian gold twisted tightly round her neck, and tied in a fatal knot. Her right hand wore a white glove; the left was bare and disfigured by deep wounds. At this fright- ful spectacle a cry of horror escaped Clan- harold; but presently recollecting his dis- ordered senses, he began to consider what was most expedient at a crisis so perilous. He saw the snare prepared for him, and had terrible proofs of the power, the malice, and the speed of the contriver. The vindictive jealousy which had sacrified so much loveli- ness might also thirst for his life, thougli sheltered by his national importance and lamily distinction. In a few hours Clan- harold had devised and executed the plan which appeared best fitted to his purpose, and several days passed without producing any rumor relative to Juana, except that she had left Madrid with her husband. When the Conde's departure was well ascertained, the young Englishman, whose pride had for- bidden any step resembling a retreat, began to feel the policy of quitting Spain. He was alone in his chamber arranging some import- ant papers when his valet entered leading three armed agents of the police, who in- stantly conveyed him in a closed carriage to a secret prison. The Bishop of C re- ceived him there. *' You are accused," said the prelate with a stern air, " of seduction and assassination; and though our prmciples of jurisprudence prohibit any disclosure of the accuser's name and communications, I love England and its laws too much to with- hold my protection from an Englishman. Therefore I tell you your valet is your accuser. He saw you in the act of opening a certain coffer, and he directed us where to find it buried, in the orangery under your balcony. You grow pale, and he has spoken truth!" " In England," replied Clanharold after a short pause, "I should have appealed to its laws lo protect me from imprisonment on an unconfirmed pretence, and to my reputation for an answer to such a charge. It is no boast to say, that Englishmen are not famil- iar with that ferocious passion which urges men to murder what they cannot possess or have possessed too long. When I tell you this, I only tell you that we are not mon- sters." Innocence itself would have shrunk from the Spaniard's eye as he answered. "You are aware, then, that he accuses you of assassinating a woman !" Clanharold felt the rashness of this speech, and the infer- ence it admitted, but baffled his inquisitor by retorting ''can he prove it?" Stung by the contempt in Clanharold 's smile, the bish- op exclaimed, *' The proof of innocence rests with you. A female strangled and cruelly wounded was conveyed to your dwell- ing at midnight by men hired as accom- plices, but now witnesses of the crime. I adjure you as a minister of justice, and as the friend of your nation's honor, which your public examination w^ould endanger, to confess the truth. Where was the corpse deposited.?" ''I know of none!" replied Clanharold firmly; " nor have I admitted any knowledge of the men you name. I have held no secret and dishonorable intercourse in Spain either with the living or the dead. This is my answer, and the last I shall re- t)eat." The prelate smiled indignantly and TJie Spaniard. 29 -departed. But nolwithstandine^ his first emo- tions of anj^cr at the prisoner's haughty de- fiance, his hahilual caution, joined to some generous fceling-s, enforced, perhaps, by the respect due to Clanharold's nation, rank, and fanjily, suspended liis proccedin<4S even be- yond the usual de*,'ree of Spanish tardiness. Wearied with the miserj' of an imprisonment which seemed purposely protracted, Clan- liarold's pride sunk at length under the anxi- ous entreaties of his sister, and he consented to avail himself of her aid. About this pe- riod, her husband's ofiicial station rendered another public banquet necessary, and she gtudiousiy included the Bishop of C among her guests. In the chief saloon, where the most numerous and brilliant part of the assembly were engaged in the Bolero, a stranger sudilenly entered, whose extra- ordinary deportment and attire fixed every eye upon him. A mantle of grey silk, strangely painted, was wrapped round him; his feet were bare, and his head covered with a large hat of plaited straw, interwoven with flowers. This fantastic fiLCurc moved slowly round the room, looking wildly yet familiar- ly on the assembly, and waving the remnant of a white glove stained with blooerior to the errors of Spanish jurisprudence. Resummoned his secretary and two confidential assistants, who convey- ed the unhappy stranger to a chamber near the holy tribunal, and carefully recalled his senses. When his eyes opened, they fixed themselves on the mysterious chest, which had been placed before him by the prelate's order. " Has it struck twelve; and is all done so soon ? Well, carry it gently — my master is not yet at home." "Carry the torch, then," said the bishop's secretary. ** Here are three of us to take the chest." " the dead weigh heavy! but we will have no torch; I know my way blindfolded." The attendants understanding the motion of their master's eye, raised the chest upon their shoulders, and accompanied their guide through the dark and intricate streets of Ma- drid, till they reached the house once occu- pied by Clanharold. Still i»rcceded by the unknown, and followed by the bisliop mufll- ed up, they entered the bedchamber where it had been first deposited. " Let us look at her again before we leave her," said the se- cretary affecting to apply his eye to a chink in the coffer. " It is my master's secret!" exclaimed the maniac, pushing him back with the strength of insanity — "but this gold chain will pay for absuhition — take if, father." " Follow me, my son," said the bishop, " and the peace of penitence be with thee!" At the middle hour of the next night Clan- harold's musings were disturbed by the en* trance of the prelate with a dark and severe countenance. He accosted him in few words, and announced the certainty of his secret but final trial on the following day. This information only raised the courage and the hopes of the young prisoner, who appre- hended nothing so much as the obscure and slow progress of the holy tribunal. No pomp or circumstance was spared to render the judicial court imposing to the English- ^0 The Legends of Lampidosa. man's feelings when he entered it; but those feelings may be well conjecttired when he saw the chest which had been employed as Juana's coffin standing in the centre, an^ her husband at the bar. " Henry Viscount Clanharold," said the inferior judge rising solemnly from his seat under a dark cano- pied recess, " we cite you here to bear wit- ness of the truth. Look on this man and an- swer us — are ye strangers to each other ?" " We have never met before," replied Clan- harold, evading a distinct reply to a question which he feared might criminate a man un- justly suspected. " By the sanctity of that oath which we have imposed on your vera- city, we require you to communicate all you know of this chest." " I know not what are its contents," he answered, still seeking safety in evasion. The Conde fixed his slow eye on Clanharold as these words were regis- tered, and drew his lip inward with a ghasly smile. Three men were summoned next, and solemnly attested the conveyance of this chest, at midnight, to the English noble- man's apartment, and professed their belief, that it contained a treasure expected by him. His valet followed with a precise and accu- rate detail of tlie circumstances attending the opening of the lid, the groan which escaped his master, and the short stupor of agony which appeared to seize him, while excited by curiosity and suspicion he had watched his movements. Last came the miserable stranger, still clothed in his fantastic dra- pery, with the blood-stained glove in his hand, and the broken chain fastened round his neck. "Master! I have kept your secret!" he exclaimed, and fainted. *'Spare your efforts," said the Conde, coldly folding his arms over his breast — '' this wretch can tell you nothing more than I avow. He knows his master's secret — he knows that an infamous woman left her husband's house on the eve of St. Blasius's festival, and re- turned to it no more " " And you received her .'" added the chief judge, addressing the English prisoner. " My lord," replied Clan- harold — "I have already disclaimed the guilt imputed to me : my roof has never been an asylum for infamy in any shape, and I Jtnow no Spanish woman to whom it is due." *' He prevaricates!" Interrupted the Conde, forgetting his own danger in his zeal to crim- inate an enemy — "he has spoken falsely! let him remember Bareges and the accom- moding kindness of his sister!" A momen- tary blush passed over Clanharold 's forehead, followed by a stern and deadly paleness. "Under English laws," he said, directing his eyes towards the judges, "frenzy and desperation are not allow^ed to convict them- selves; nor are the most plausible assertions credited without proofs. All the witnesses err. If they can certify the fact of an assas- sination, let them make known the manner, and name the victim." "Beware!" said the bishop, "the chief witness has con- fessed all. Do you venture to look upon this chain ?" Clanharold instantly recognised a fragment of the woven gold so fatally em- ployed round Juana's neck. " You cannot deny that you have seen the instrument of an unhappy lady's death; this glove is the coun- terpart of one worn by her corpse, and the place of its interment is all we have to ask. You stand here, not as a culprit, but as an evidence against him; unless a contumacious silence renders you an accomplice. Where is the body of Juan a ?" Clanharold remained silent till this ques- tion had been thrice repeated. To its last solemn proposition he replied, " if the Conde is accused of murder, I have no evidence to give, but I fully and firmly believe him in- nocent. I have seen no instrument of death, no place of secret interment, and to your last question I answer — my ignorance is ab- solute." The secretary of the tribunal re- corded this declaration, while the only lamp which lighted the spacious hall of justice was gradually lowered over the coffin of Ju- ana. Her husband shuddered and turned away his face, while the bishop, executing the most awful office of his temporal admin- istration, advanced to pronounce his sen- tence. " Manuel del Tormes, accused and convicted by the assistants of your guilt; and you, Henry Lord Clanharold, subjected to the penalty of death by an obstinate con- cealment of murder, approach and lay your hands upon this bier." They obeyed with contrasted, but strongly evident feelings. TJie Italian. 31 The Conde's livid lips shook, as he attempted to speak ; and raising his shrunk eye, he saw another witness standing before him. She wore the white habit of a nun, and extended her hands towards botlj the prisoners. " JudgesI the Conde is innocent; and the Englishman has spoken truth. Juana was not wholly dead when the coffer was unclosed, and Clanharold's care revived her; but she could not enjoy even lil'e when her honor was sus- pected. She escaped from her preserver to the convent of St. lihisius, where she found refuge without his knowledge or aid. She returns to the world only for a moment, to acquit a husband whose rashness was not witliout provocation, and a generous stranger whose secrecy hazards his life to redeem her honor. Thus speaking, she raised her veil; and when the assembly had gazed for an in- stant on the beauty of the unfortunate Juana, dropped it again forever. But the Conde, fully convicted of a bar- barous intent, was sentenced to a long im- prisonment, which his self devouring spirit rendered more bitter than death. His ser- vant, tl>e chief agent in the attempted assas- sination, died in the receptacle for lunatics,, where the ambassadress had discovered him;, and her brother quitted Spain in almost in- curable dejection, execrating that fierce jealousy which, by urging innocence itself into dark and crooked paths, deprives it of its dignity and its security. T II K ITALIAN. " Tell me not of our Ariosto and Pe- trarch I" exclaimed the learned Doctor lius- bequius Buonavisa to his nephew Count Blundalma, as they walked in the great square of Padua : "All the bfK)ks in the Vatican or the Alexandrian library, if they could be found, should never convince me that woman is not an evil. What says the Talmud ? What said the council of Nice .' and the Koran, and the Institutes of Menu — and — ay, and our own colleg>j .' Do they not all airree that the Creato/ did not send woman till he was asked, lest we should tax him with malice } * Woe to the father of daughters!' said the Rabbi Ben Sirai; and I answer — Woe to husbands 1" " Sir,'' replied the young man, meekly, '* I might also defy you to shew me any poet, historian, or philosopher, from Hesiod to Voltaire, who has not contradicted himself at least six times on this subject." "Well, boy, well! and what does that prove, except that when women were creat- ed, fools became necessary ? But what were they in Ilesiod's days, and what arc they now .' Ask Ovid, Luciun, Terence, or Petronius! Hear the English sage in 1617, 'For what end,' said hs, 'are women so new-fangled, unstaid, and prodigious in their attires, unl>efitting age, place, quality, or condition .' Why do they deck themselves with coronets, pendents, chains, girdles, rings, spangles, and versicolor ribband*? Why are their glorious shews wilh scarfs, fans, feathers, furj, masks, laces, tiffanies, ruffs, falls, cuffs, damasks, velvels, cloth of gold and silver.'' To what end are their crisped hair, painted faces, gold-fringed petticoats, baring of shoulders and wrists ? Such stiffening with cork — straightening with whalebone — sometinjes crushed and crucifi- ed — arK>a in lax clothes, a hundred yards I think in a gown and sleeve ? then short, up, down, high, low, thick, or thin ? making themselves, like the bark of a cinnamon tree, best outside!' Answer me, Signer Ludovico Blandalma, answer me." '* There can be no answer, uncle, to sucb 32 The Legends of Lampidosa. a congregation of questions, unless I repeat the catechisnm of your friend Jacobus de Voragine, wlio composed it, perhaps, when he meditated matrimony. 'Hast thou means? thou hast one to keep and increase them — Hast none ? thou hast one to help thee. Art inprosjierity? thy happiness is doubled — Art in adversity.'' she'll comfort and direct thee— Art at home ? she'll drive away mel- ancholy — Art abroad ^ she'll wish and wel- come thy return — There is no delight with- out society — no society like a wife's." "Hold, hold!" interrupted Doctor Bus- bequius — " listen to the obverse side — ' Hast thou means ? thou hast one to spend them — Hast none ? thy beggary is increased — Art in prosperity } thy share is ended — Art in adversity ? she'll make it like Job's — Art at home } she'll scold thee out of doors — Art abroad ? if thou beest wise keep thee so. Nothing easier than solitude, no solitude like a bachelor's. Why, how now .'' Whence comes that offuscation of face, Ludovico .^" " Nothing, Sir," — replied the nephew, smiling, with downcast eyes — " a flush, per- haps, from indigestion." "Fuliginous vapors, child! Savanarola and Professor Menadous prescribe diazinzi- ber, diacapers, and diacinnamonum, with the syrup- of borage and scolopendra, to re- move them. This is an irregular syncopatic pulse, which indicates a chronic disease." " Very possible, dear uncle, for I have taken a wife." *' By the heart of raan ! (which is no pro- fane oath, as I know not what the thing is made of) I am glad to hear it! A wife, saith the Hindoos, is the staff and salvation of her husband; meaning, no doubt, that she chastises him in this world. I congratulate thee, Ludovico, on thy progress through purgatory." " Spare your raillery," answered Blandal- ma, with a deeper flush, *' I should not have announced my marriage to a cynic so pro- fessed, if 1 had not also had reason to ac- knowledge my conversion to his system, and my intended separation from ^" "From your wife, nephew!" interposed the cynic, charmed with this opportunity to reason on both sides of the question — " ab- stractedly, a wife is an evil, but relatively she is a benefit, because she exercises the cardinal virtues." " Sir, there was no enduring her diaboli- cal temper." " That is another prejudice of ignorance, nephew. We have no reason to believe that Satan has a woman's tongue; but, admitting that a shrewish temper and a demoniacal one are synonimous, I can suggest a remedy. When your wife is eloquent, answer her in the words of Aristophanes — " Brecc, ckex, ko-ax, ko-ax, oop — oop !" Or there is an^ other expedient: the stones in this market- place, as you know, were once employed as public seats of exhibition for all the insolvent debtors in Padua, and they would be equally useful if vixens were required to stand on them barefoot. I have no doubt that the fa- mous circle at Stonehenge was contrived by the wisdom of ancient Britons for ihat pur- pose." Whether either or both these expedients would have been successful, remains in eter- nal doubt, as the next moment brought Lu- dovico a special messenger, announcing the death of his wife on her way to the baths of Pisa. As this event happened at a distance so convenient, there was no occasion for much solemnity of mourning; one of her relatives, with whom he was not personally acquainted, had arranged her funeral; and Ludovico carried his sable mockery to "mid- night dance and the public show" with great satisfaction. But, as custom is sec- ond nature, the unusual tranquility which he now enjoyed became gradually an incum- brance, and he began to regret the varieties and inequalities of his domestic life. His uncle, after quoting Isocrates, Seneca, Epic- tetus and every other ancient reasoner against melancholy, prescribed traveling, and de- termined to accompany him in his tour through the Mediterranean isles himself. As a busy indolence was Ludovico 's only mo- tive, and his uncle had none except his de- light in curious research among antiquities, their first dis-embarkation was on the isle of Mytilene. "Here," said Dr. Busbequius, as they walked from the ship's boat along the windings of a graceful coast, and looked towards a cassion half covered with orange- The Italian. 33 blossoms — " here is the tit residence for a man whose Imagination can give no flashes of light except on a summer's day, like a Swe(ii>h marigold — here, in the ancient Les- bos, the court of Cytherca, and consequently exempt from shews, as all isles are usually safe from scorpions." Ludovico sighed in silence, and approached the garden-gate, where the owner stood awaiting their arrival. The terms of their admission as temporary guests were easily concluded with Signor Furbino, who received them with Italian ci- vility. But when they required his signature to the contract, he informed tjjem, that cer- emony would be performed by his daughter. *' I abhor all reference to female wisdom," said Dr. Busbecjuius — "it always makes a man more uneasy than his own : Why must wo have a female signature ?" "Sir," re- plied the master of the villa, " I have been naturalized in this island long enough to ac- quaint you with its laws. Here the eldest daughter possesses all the riirhts allotted to a first-born son in other countries: the second is her menial servant, wears only a coarse brown garb, and is condemned to celibacy. If un- fortunately a third daugher arrives, she claims all that her parents may have accumulated since tlic eldest's birth, and the fourth in suc- cession is her servant, or Caloi^ria. Thus, gentlemen, our daughters are alternately heir- esses and sla\es, and our sons must seek their fortunes in other lands, or be humble vassals at home, since all the wealth, liberty, and power belong to our wives." "Why, then," exclaimed the philosopher, "this is worse than Egyptian bondage; even in Cleopatra's days, her subjects allowed women to com- mand only one day in the year I Sir, it is plain you require a courageous leader to break these hideous fetters; and if you dare follow me, I will harangue your countrymen in their senate house till they resolve on emancipation." " You would find none but women there, — Sir!" answered Furbino, laughing; "and your own emancipation would be rather doubtful. As for myself, I am not very unfortunate, being a widower with only two daughters ; but I must act as the steward of the eldest, and one of you, gentle- men, must sign this contract in her pre- sence." Highly amused by his uncle's vehement indignation and eagerness to combat this prodigious system, Blandalma willingly ced- ed to his seniority the privilege of guarantee- ing the contract. With his college peruke placed on one side, his left arm behind, and his right advanced with the roll of parchment in the posture of Cicero's statue, Dr. Bus- bequius presented himself before the Lesbian lady, who sat alone in a superb apartment, leaning on her embroidery. " Madam," said the philosopher, elevating his eyebrows, and fixing his round person precisely erect, " though every code of laws and every na- tional opinion, from the lex Julia of the Ro- mans to the talk of a Catawba chief, allows us to form contracts, either public or do- mestic, without female aid, I am instructed that your consent is necessary before we can be domiciliated here." " Is talking your profession ?" said the Lesbian, fixing her large bright aja on her orator — "if it is, you shall teach mr macaw, I want him to learn Italian with a pure academical accent; and I admit no strangers unless they conform to our customs. Have you any name or business here .^" " My name," retorted her guest, " which was never asked before with- out respect, is Busbequius Buonavisa, phy- sician and professor of philology in Padua; and when mv nephew has recovered his health, 1 thank heaven, I shall have no busi- ness here." "Now!" said Lcsbia, "does a physician dare to see a sick man?" "What would our academy have to do, madam, if men were not sick ?" " Nothing, Mr. Bus- bequius; and therefore our custom is to chas- tise a physician every day until his patient recovers." " But, good lady, my nephew is only sick in mind, and requires no medi- cine except wine and a clear atmosphere, which, as Boerhaave saith " " I have no objection to hear you talk," interrupted Lesbia, " provided you are useful in the meantime — either hold my lap-dog, or this skein of silk while I unwind it. But is not your real name Boerhaave .'' I have seen your face before in his picture; and if I could learn Latin, I would read his works, and be physician-general to the island." The latter part of this speech so nearly resembled a compliment, that it reconciled 34 The Legends of Lampidosa. him to the first; and Dr. Busbequius, forget- ting how ill his portly resemblance to Boer- haave qualified him for a silk-winder, quietly performed that otiice while he made an ora- tion on medical science, and ended it by signing- the contract as Lesbia dictated. It must be confessed that she unravelled her silk with fingers of exquisite beauty, and em- ployed eyes whose brilliance was heightened by the artificial eyebrow and rich complexion peculiar to My tilene. The philosopher return- ed to his nephew in a very eloquent mood, and disturbed his rest more than half the night by descanting on the absurdity of this island's customs, and the necessity of cor- recting them. Before day-break, he had convinced himself that it would be vv'isest to enlighten and reform the ladies of Mytilene, and for this purpose he resolved to teach Lesbia Latin. Blandalma shrugged his shoulders at his uncle's quixotism; but, as the sovereign lady of the family did not re- quire or permit his attendance, he resolved to enjoy the pleasures of her villa. And as his former sufferings had disposed him to compassion, he took some pains to acquaint himself with her younger sister, whom the fantastical laws condemned to perpetual ser- vitude. After many solitary rambles in the orangery, he saw a female there laboriously arranging its trellis in a dark brown habit of the coarsest cloth and most ungraceful form, with a long and thick veil which concealed all her face. Her hair was closely gather- ed under her hood, and her hands appeared of an olive lint roughened by labor. It was not difficult to recognise the unfortunate Calogria in this costume; and if her fate had been less entitled to benevolent concern, she would have won it by the meek humility in Jier gestures, as she offered her basket of oranges. This simple action, though pro- bably due to the languor of his faded counte- nance, was sufficient to claim Blandalma's gratitude, and to manifest the natural grace and courtesy of the Calogria. As the cus- tom of Mytilene forbids that unhappy class of females to converse with strangers, she made no verbal reply to his civility, but her silence had more charms than eloquence. Nor was Ludovico slow in observing her ac- tivity and skill in her father's household , and patient submission to the tasks imposed on her by her capricious and imperious sis- ter. She had no leisure, perhaps no wish, to cultivate finer talent ; yet she found means to display the sweetness of her voice in Les- bian songs, and to prove a delicate and ready wit in her brief replies to the billets hazarded by Ludovico. For the mystery which involved their intercourse soon touch- fd his imagination sufficiently to rouse him from indifference, and the obstacle created by the laws of Mytilene became an incite- Eneat. This mystery, and its enlivening ef- fect on his mind, would not have escaped inquisition, if his uncle's attention had not been equally occupied. With a serious and declared design to convince Lesbia of the follies authorized by the custom of the isle,, he visited her apartment daily, and soon dis- covered that her mind, if properly enlighten- ed, would incline to exchange an absurd prerogative for the soft influence allowed to females. At first Lesbia seemed curiously interested in the enormous volumes brought by her new teacher, who collected the most ancient and ample ones on the subject of due supremacy and subordination. But Les- bia never reasoned, though she argued con- tinually; and it was not easy to debate with an opponent who answered the gravest argu- ments by a laugh or jest. And as she al- ways found some employment for him during his harangues, poor Busbequius spent half his time in regulating her aviary, selecting bouquets, — and holding her music-book while she adapted the odes of the first Lesbian poetess to the half antique lyre still used in Mytilene. After a few interviews, he dis- covered that her figure in the picturesque costume of her island would afford Ilaliari sculptors an admirable model of an Amazon; that her model Greek manuscripts deserved a place in the academy of Pisa; and that she might be rendered a very useful amanuensis if her notions of female independence could bt? subdued. Instigated, as he always said, by no motive but the public good, our professor lengthened his visits every day, and certain- ly enlarged his fund of science. For Lesbia persecuted him with questions respecting the dress of his countrywomen, and would not understand his descriptions till he endeavor- ed to exemplify them by tying on his cloak and folding his official scarf in the style of a Paduan lady. And as she found his educa- tion very deficient, she told him, in the most important points; she compelled him to pour her coffee, arrange her work-table, and carry her parasol, which he endured with tolerable grace, as his obedience was an easy price for her attention to his precepts. With all the dignity and self-approbation of a martyr to the cause of philosophy, Dr. Bus- bequius sat by her side, gravely learning to knit while Lesbia pretended to read Cicero's letters respecting his wife's domestic virtues of industry and meekness, in a tone of pro- found attention and respect. We must con- fess these studies were often interrupted by a symphony on the Lesbian lyre, vihich she touched with skill enough to have enchanted Ludovico himself, whose first quarrel with his deceased wife had been because she re- fused to learn the science he idolized. After some weeks had passed, the philo- sopher, one day, accosted his nephew with a mysterious air; and having intimated, rather awkardly, that public benefits some- The Englishwomaiu 35 times require private sacrifices, .innounced his intended marriage willi Lesbia. " Su- perior leason," said he, assumitiir a sub- lime lone, " has determined her to leave this seat of barbarous prejudices, and to learn the (rue j^races of her sex in Italy. After this, Ludovico, let no one doubt the prevail- injj forte of masculine rhetoric, wisdom, and perseverance.'.' Blandalma had not been wholly blind to the proii;Tess of his uncle's wisilom; but as it had furnished both a shelter and an excuse for his own, he made no allenipt to oj>|)ose it; and very complacently inquired how he intended to convey a bride from a place where nurria^fes uilh aliens arc unfavorably viewed. The philosopher had formed a plan to elude all obstacles, and proposed that their felucca sliould be e(|ui|iped as if for a short excursion, and Lesbia invited to par- take it. Blandalma listened with unfein^ned pleasure lo a scheme which accorded so well with one he did not yet venture to avow. He fell, it is (rue, some pity on his tmcle's account, uIh'u hi* saw him (.iscinaled by wil and beauty into a ridiculous union ; but con- gratulated himself tliat his second choice was founded on the sure attractions of a meek and well-stilxlued temper. Never doubtinijlhat the Caloi^ria would be permitted to accompany her sister in the projected voyag-e, Blandalma instantly provided his felucca with a trusty crew, and took his sta- tion in the cabin, as his uncle requested, to receive the fair companion of their adventure with due respect. He had never yet been admittecl into liT presence, ns his ind'»lent indi(T«'rencc had provoked the capricious baui^hliness of her temper; and he, on his part, expected to see a face as shrcwishly forbiddinj; as some de<;ree of youtli and beiiuty could jK'rmit in Lesbia, and (he ut- most softness in her sister's, which he had never yet seen unveiled. But when the lady entered, triumphantly ushered by his uncle, and threw aside the boat-cloak, he recoj^niz- ed, notwithstanding^ llie artificial eyebrows and hi^h vermillion added to suit her Les- bian costume, the features of his own wife. Astonishment at this resurrection, and per- haps a sensation not unlike horror, were so visible in his face, that Dr. Busbequius stood agiiast, and mechanically felt for his lancet in expectation of a swoon. The Countess Blandalma, less surprised at the eficct of her appearance, bent humbly to her husband, and inquired if he was still disposed to culti- vate her Calot^rian's favor. Ludovico made a confuicd and anjjry answer, that it no lon;^er ilepended on himself. " It depends on you alone," she replied, laup;hin<2:; "your uncle has leamt to excuse your former sub- mission to my (ancies, and I have learnt how to render it easy. With all my fantastical pretensions to dominion, he did not think me intolerable ; and without wit, beau(y, or rleo^ance, you found me very interesting: in the tloak and veil of a «lund) Calooria. When I wi>.h for success in the art of pleas- incT, I have only to remember the industry and meekness you admired at Mytilene : and vou will probablv for