each knew the other's heart too well to doubt its constan- || you were married. For six months afterwards I never cy, and they parted, each with the assurance that the left my room; about that time your father died, and end of the long three years which was to separate them through the whole of my long and dangerous illness your would find them true to each other. There was no need brother scarcely ever left my side. I could not be unof promises; as she leant her head on his shoulder, mindful of such kindness, and in gratitude for that, and the throbbing of that heart he could hear so plainly, told believing that not another being cared for my existence him it was his, and his only, more expressively than -pity me, forgive me-Walter, I became his bride." words could have done. Five years had passed away, and again Cecile Mowbray stood in the recess of the old painted window-but she was alone. The promise of her future loveliness had been more than realized, the bright and playful girl had become the beautiful and sedate woman; yet upon her cheek might be traced the tablet of troubled and bitter thoughts, and her eyes were filled with such tears as the memory of by-gone days produces. She ceased, and her auditor stood with folded and compressed lips, as though striving for patience to hear her out. "Are you happy, Cecile?" he asked, and his eyes grew dark with agony as she answered, "Happy! Happy! I have but one source of Walter, do not mock me! happiness, and that is the certainty that I am dying, slowly, but most surely." She was interrupted by a knock at the door, and a servant entered to say that his master had left home in the morning and told him to say he should not return till the morrow. "Very well," said Cecile, and the man retired. "Where is this villain!" inquired Walter, "I must see him, and I shall then have little more to do on She had stood in the listless attitude of grief for some time, when a slight noise induced her to turn, and the long-lost play-mate of her youth, her once affianced husband, Walter Beresford, stood before her. In an instant she was in his arms, forgetting all that had pas-earth!" sed in his absence, and the little right she had to be there now, until his words recalled to her bitter recollections. "All misery is over now, Cecile, and we will never part again." She started from his arms, and covering her face with her hands, burst into an agony of tears; in so doing she displayed a wedding-ring upon her finger. Walter snatched her hand; "Cecile," he said, " as you hope for mercy tell me instantly what means this?" She stood for a moment irresolute, as though she dared not answer; at length pressing her hand upon her heart, which felt bursting, she answered slowly: "It means, Walter Beresford, that as you have bestowed your love upon one who is unworthy of the treasure, she whom you left your cousin is become your sister!" Had the earth opened at his feet, he could not have been more appalled than he was at those words. He receded a step or two, and gazed on Cecile as doubting hers or his own sanity, and then a smile of the bitterest withering scorn passed over his features, his words were few, but they accorded well with his lofty bearing: "I congratulate you, Mrs. Weldon, and wish you all the happiness the name can bestow. I will not further intrude as I can scarcely be fit company for the wife of my father's heir." He would have retired, but Cecile threw herself before him. "By the memory of our past love," she exclaimed, "do not leave me thus; listen to me, Walter, and hear if I have not some excuse to plead. After your departure, your brother annoyed me more and more, and then for a time suddenly desisted. Month after month I looked for your promised letters, but received none. I have since learnt they were intercepted; slowly and bitterly the dreadful fear that I was forgotten came upon me, and I wrote letter after letter, but received no reply; the three years had nearly elapsed, when one morning a packet, with the foreign post-mark was put into my hands. I only thought of one, and almost wild with delight broke the seal in presence of your brother; the packet contained all the letters I had sent you, with a few words apparently in your hand-writing, saying that "What would you do, Walter ?" eagerly asked his cousin, as the truth flashed across her that the meeting would be hostile. "Do you imagine I should be the happier for having been the cause of murder? No, no; we shall never meet again on this earth, and you will not refuse,―promise me for the sake of past years, that you will not see him; nay, I cannot part from you until you promise." "Ifever angel walked this earth, there now is one before me?" exclaimed Walter. "Cecile," continued he, " I can refuse you nothing, but I must not remain with you, my brain seems on fire, and I should go mad! In a few hours I shall be far away from you again ;bless you, bless you, my own Cecile; this is our last parting, but I cannot say farewell." He kissed her lips and her brow wildly. "Once, once more," he murmured, and then covering his eyes left her for ever. Original. Oh! hie with thy lover, That ushers the day, Thy presence shall gladden, J. E. V. THE SISTERS. "O woman, lovely woman! Nature form'd thee to temper man; We had been brutes without thee!"-OTWAY. they had left behind the home of their fathers, and were buffeting the storm alone and unprotected. Their family was a numerous one, but its other members I knew only by report; yet often as I marked the love which subsisted betwixt these two, and heard them allude with the remembrance of gushing feeling to those from whom they were severed by distance, and whose hearts glowed for them with fond affection, have I wished, but how idle was the wish! that Heaven had cast the lots of my childhood amid such a group, and blessed me to participate in those joys of family love, to me, alas! save by the hearing of the ear, and the unsatisfying imaginings of a sympathetic heart. Oh! how my soul longed for admission to their loved intercourse; to hold communion with those hallowed thoughts of love and kindness, which I could not but feel were in my presence, pent up as though they could not be unfolded, before the gaze of one who, though not altogether unknown, was yet a THEY belonged not to the common crowd of giddy flatterers, whom the weak and the trifling of our sex resort to, as the playthings of an idle hour; or attracted by external trappings, regard with a short-lived idolatry. They had been cast in nature's finer moulds, as was evident from the many tokens which to an inspecting eye gave a certain index of their origin—I allude not to the beauties of form or countenance: these I had accustomed myself to regard as trivial, and took not into account in my observation, though even here if there was not that rounded elegance of figure and chaste regularity of features, which mankind have agreed to claim for a Venus, there was at least much to please and nothing to avert. But there minds bore an aspect of varied excel-stranger. Such were the sisters whom I knew and lence, existing in a combination rarely to be met with; -they did not tower in might of intellect; they had none of that reach of thought, which grasping all it lights on, draws it within itself, and subdues it to its design; but we do not look for this in woman; nor in it lies the pith of manly, far less of female, excellence. It conveys an idea of might, not of beauty; and that not calm might, but boisterous energy; there is about it nothing of winning loveliness: even in intellect alone, however, they needed not to shrink from criticism; the vast majority of females might have fallen into insignificance before them. But it was not that I so much loved them, though I confess I could scarcely have loved them had it been otherwise or rather I cannot imagine what they would have been without this characteristic, it forms so important an element in my remembrance of their character. I have said their minds were a fine combination; they were so indeed; the intellectual and the moral were beautifully blended; the grave and the gay were there in nice proportions tempering each other, and each to each imparting a double charm. They had claims to be admired, if a soul endowed by nature richly, and moving within the compass of its sphere in the harmonious action of its parts, be an object fit for admiration. The re ligious sentiment predominated in their minds and swayed the region of feeling-it was a holy, fervid, heavendirected love, burning in the mind's calm secrecy; if not consuming every other feeling, drawing them all within the circles of its flame, and purging them by the intense-ness of its fire from their grossness. Their hearts were finely attuned to beat in sympathetic unison with the joys of all surrounding beings, and ready to share in all their shades of suffering. They seemed entire strangers to malice; tales of busy slander were their silent detestation and abhorrence: mildness and charity were the characteristics of their speech; and yet I think they must have been severe had vice dared to show his front in their presence, or come near with foul approaches; but they needed not to fear him; licentiousness would have stood abashed before them. Sisterly affection, if it ever had a dwelling-place on earth, has fixed it in their bosoms; they entwined themselves around each other as mutual supports-'twas natural for them to do so;-for when I knew them they were strangers in a strange land: loved; for to know them was to love—both I loved, for both were worthy-had I then no difference of love? Yes, while I loved both, there was one to whom my heart paid more willing tribute, and offered costlier incense her I loved with a depth of feeling which she never knew; which words cannot describe. And still I love; for the hope which I first cherished still dwells within my breast. S. Reply, reply aloud, air, earth, and sea! The cities heard, but heard in vain ; Seemed they to be; But all beneath the conscious sky, 'Where are the free?' Reply, reply aloud, air, earth, and sea! I saw a gallant band at last, Rocks and the sea; They heard the voice that pierced the tide; We have no master on the earth or sea! Original. MY BELGIAN MAID. In travelling about our country last spring, the author received the hospitalities of a mansion, where he met a beautiful Belgian from Brussels; a lady of fair complexion and hair, and the prettiest of hands and feet. She requested him to sing and the request produced the following. ALAS, my Belgian Maid-'tis long And strike for thee an humble strain, Shall I attempt to sing to thee My theme shall be-How sweet a theme!-- A peerless maid as bland as May; So light her form,-and her sweet face:- Her eyes her speaking-laughing eyes, Her heart-her tender-pitying heart Of Memnon's harp,-which once was played; How oft in my dreamy hours of bliss * Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgie.-Casar. TIME. BY J. K. PAULDING. I saw a temple reared by the hand of man, standing with its high pinnacle in the distant plain. The storms beat upon it-the God of nature hurled his thunderbolts against it, but it stood as firm as adamant. Revelry was in its halls, the gay, the happy, the young, the beautiful were there; I returned-and lo! the temple was no more! Its walls lay in scattered ruins; moss and wild grass grew rankly there; and at the midnight hour the owl's long cry added to the deep solitude. The young and gay who revelled there, had passed away. I saw a child rejoicing in his youth-the idol of his mother and the pride of his father; I returned, and that child had become old. Trembling with the weight of years, he stood the last of the generation, a stranger amidst the desolation around him. I saw the old oak standing in its pride upon the mountain, the birds were carolling upon the boughs; I returned, and that oak, was leafless and sapless; the winds were playing at their pastimes through its branches. "Who is the destroyer ?" said I to my guardian angel. "It is Time," said he. "When the morning stars sang together with joy over the new made world, he commenced his course and when he shall have destroyed all that is beautiful of the earth; plucked the sun from its sphere; veiled the moon in blood: yea, when he shall have rolled the heaven and earth away as a scroll, then shall an angel from the throne of God come forth and with one foot on the sea and one on the land, lift up his hand towards heaven, and swear, by heaven's eternal-Time is, Time was, but Time shall be no longer." FAREWELL, farewell, my Fatherland! Whose waves will waft me far from thee. I stand on foreign shores-alone! Farewell, my mother's peaceful tomb! You are already aware-said Everard Brooke, while seated amidst the friends who had met to listen to his story-that my fortune was made in the island of Ceylon. It was there that I was so lucky as to find employment in the house of a man, whose virtues rendered him as much the object of universal esteem, as the favors which he conferred upon me, entitled him to my peculiar gratitude. I was engaged by him as his secretary; but all other names were soon forgotten by us both in that of friends. He was an Englishman as well as myself, and perhaps this had no slight influence in producing so strict an intimacy between us. A variety of untoward circumstances had compelled him to abandon his native land, and sail in pursuit of fortune to the East. His toil had not been vain; the capricious goddess, who fled from him with such disdain in Europe, now showered her favors upon his head with the most unwearied profusion. He had consumed but a few years in Ceylon, and was already rich, and possessed of a distinguished situation. It seemed as if fortune was at length resolved to convince the world that she was not always blind; for had she searched the whole island through, she would have found it difficult to bestow wealth and honor upon a wiser or a better man. But of all his treasures, that which he counted most precious, was a wife, who united all the beauty and graces of her sex with all the firmness and judgment of ours. My friend and patron (his name was Seafield) possessed a villa at a small distance from Columbo. The place, it is true, was of no great extent, but it united in their fullest perfection all those charms which render Nature in that climate so irresistible an enchantress. This was Seafield's most beloved residence, and hither he hastened, whenever the duties of his station permitted his absenting himself for a few days from Columbo; in particular, there was a small circular pavilion designed by his own hand, and raised under his own inspection, to which he was particularly partial, and in which he was accustomed to pass the greatest portion of his time. It stood some few hundred yards from the dwelling-house, and was situated on a small eminence, whence the prospect over land and sea was of a description rich, varied, and extensive. Around it towered a thick circle of palm trees, resembling a colonade; their leafy fans formed a second cupola above the roof; and while they prevented a single sunbeam from piercing through the coldness of their embowering shades, their tall and slender stems permitted not the eye to lose one of the innumerable charms afforded by the surrounding land scape. This delightful spot happened to be the residence of Seafield's whole family, when accidental business of importance required Louisa's presence at Columbo. Conscious that her husband considered every day as lost, which he was compelled to pass at a distance from his beloved retreat, she positively refused his attendance, but, accepting me as her escort, she departed for the city. Diligence and impatience to return home enabled her to dispatch her affairs in less time than she had expected them to occupy; and in the very first moment that she found herself once more at liberty, she ordered the palanquins to be prepared, and her slaves to hold themselves in readiness for departing. Our journey was performed by night, for the double purpose of reaching home the sooner, and escaping the ardor of the noonday sun. We arrived an hour after daybreak; yet Seafield was already abroad. "As usual, he ascended the hill to enjoy the beauty of the rising sun," said Zadi, Seafield's old and attached domestic. "We shall find him in the pavilion, then?" said Louisa. "Not an hour ago I left him there, writing," was the answer. "We will go thither and surprise him," she said, addressing herself to me; "wait here while I change my dress; a few moments will suffice for my toilet, and I shall expect to find you here when I return." In the meanwhile, I remained leaning against one of the columns which supported the small portico by which the door was sheltered. Hence I enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the hill and its pavilion, which, surrounded by its light and beautiful garland of palm-trees, attracted the sight irresistibly. While my eye dwelt with satisfaction on their broad sheltering heads, I fancied that I could discover a large excrescence upon the stem of one of them, extremely unusual in those trees, which in general rear themselves perpendicularly towards the sky, regular and straight as the pillars of a colonade. It resembled a large branch extending from one stem to its neighbor; and what puzzled me the more in this appearance was, that it seemed occasionally to be waved backwards and forwards, though the breathing of the sea-gale was so gentle, that it scarcely moved the leaves on the neighboring branches. I was still puzzling myself with conjectures, when Zadi drew near me with some slight refreshments. I pointed to the branch whose apparent motion had excited so much of my attention, and inquired whether he could at all account for the strong effect produced upon it by the sea-breeze, while the slighter boughs were so gently agitated. He immediately turned himself towards the palm trees: but no sooner did his eye rest upon the spot in question, than the silver basket with its contents dropped from his hands; the paleness of death spread itself over his swarthy countenance; and while his eyes expressed the deepest horror and consternation, he pronounced with difficulty, "The anaconda!—that is the anaconda! We are undone !" What could have produced an effect so sudden and so violent upon a man whom I well knew to inherit from nature the most determined courage and most remarkable self-possession, was to me absolutely incomprehen sible. "Tell me," I exclaimed, "what terrifies you thus? What mean you by the anaconda ?” Zadi endeavored to recover himself; but before he had time for explanation, Mrs. Seafield joined us, and, putting her arm in mine, advanced towards the pavilion. Zadi's tongue was now loosened. "Stay," said he; "proceed not a step beyond these walls. Every door and window must be shut and bolted. Ah! Mr. Everard, that branch of the palm-tree-is no branch-it is a snake a terrible snake! We call it an nous, anaconda, and its kind is in size the most enormous, in nature the most fierce, and in appetite the most raveof any to be found through Ceylon! See! see!" he continued, approaching one of the windows, "see how the monster plays among the branches! It always twines and twists itself into those folds, and knots and circles, when it prepares to dart itself upon the ground like lightning to seize its prey! Oh! my master! my poor dear master! he never can escape! nothing can save him!" Half of this alarming explanation was more than enough to throw the wretched Louisa into a state of distraction. Her features so distorted by terror that she was scarcely to be known for the same woman, her eyes stretched almost to breaking, and her hands folded together with as strong a grasp as if she meant them never again to be separated, she exclaimed, in a voice so hollow and so expressive of suffocation that it pierced her hearers to the very heart, "My husband! my beloved!-Oh! help me to save him, good men! Forsake him not! Oh! forsake him not!" Overpowered by her sensations, she fainted in my arms. Zadi flew to summon her female attendants, who in a short time restored their mistress to animation, and he afterwards returned to the apartment in which we were assembled, to inform us of the stage of affairs without. His anxious vigilance had induced him to examine every part of the mansion, and ascertain with his own eyes that it was perfectly secure against danger. He now returned out of breath from the balcony, whence he had discovered to his great satisfaction that his view was unimpeded over the whole pavilion. He remarked, that the door and all the windows (as far as the power of vision extended) were closely fastened; and hence he very reasonably concluded that his master had been aware of the enemy's approach in full time to take every necessary precaution for his safety. ner in which we saw her amusing herself, she will remain there for whole days and weeks, watching patiently for her prey, till every chance of success fails her, and absolute famine compels her to emigrate: but her capacity of existing without food is almost inconceivable, and till she removes of her own free will, no human power is able to drive her from her retreat." 'Perhaps you are right, my good Zadi," said I, "but we must do our best to dispossess the animal of its lodgement, and frustrate its intentions. Come along, my friends; let us sally forth with caution, and see what is to be done." Thus saying, I was immediately followed by the male attendants of the household, armed in the best manner that could be effected. Under favor of the thick underwood, we continued to advance, till we were scarcely more than a hundred paces distant from the monster. The huge snake was still employed in twisting itself in a thousand coils among the palm-branches, with such restless activity, with rapidity so inconceivable, that it was frequently impossible for the sight to follow her movements. At one moment she fastened herself by the end of her tail to the very summit of the loftiest and stretched out at her whole length, swung backwards and forwards like the pendulum of a clock, so that her head almost seemed to graze the earth benhth her : then in another, before the eye was aware of her intention, she totally disappeared among the leafy canopies. Now she appeared, stretched out, her body upon the grass, and with elevated head, and high arched neck, described a large or a small circle, as her capricious pleasure prompted. tree, These latter movements gave us an opportunity to discriminate with more exactness the singular richness and beauty of her tints. The long body was covered with a network of glittering scales, girdling it round with rings above rings, and effectually securing it against every attack. Much as I admired the splendor of its garment, not less did I wonder at the enormous size and length of this terrific creature. But the tranquility of our observations was suddenly disturbed. The animal desisted from her airy gambols, and laid herself down close to the threshold of the circular pavilion, encompassing it entirely, as if determined to secure her destined victim. Deeply penetrated with the sense of that danger by which my friend was menaced, I forgot my own, and, seizing my gun, placed it to my shoulder; the ball whis "Hear you that, my dear lady?" I exclaimed, while I took Louisa's hand; "surely this intelligence is alone sufficient to restore your strength and tranquility. We had nothing to apprehend for Seafield, except his being surprised by the monster while unprepared. But you observe that he has had time to shut out the danger: he has now nothing to do but to remain quietly within his retreat, and the snake will either not discover his being so near, or at any rate will be unable to break through the bulwarks which separate them. The whole business, therefore, is a disagreeable blockade for antled through the air. I was an excellent marksman, hour, or perhaps less; at the end of which the anaconda will grow weary of waiting for its prey, and, by retiring to seek it in some other quarter, will release our friend." The satisfaction with which I thus endeavored to reassure the agonised heart of Louisa, was thoroughly established in my own. But Zadi, whose own feelings were too much agitated by his master's situation to permit his attending to those of other, hastened with too little consideration to destroy the hope which I so fondly indulged, and with which I strove to soothe the afflicted wife. and was certain that I had pointed my piece exactly at the monster's head; and yet, whether too great anxiety made my hand shake, or that the animal at that very moment made some slight change in her attitude, I know not; but it is at least certain, that not the slightest shrinking gave me reason to believe that she felt herself at all injured. On the contrary, she only busied herself in renewing her attempts to gain an entrance through the pavilion's windows; till at length, seemingly wearied with her unavailing efforts, she retired slowly, and concealed herself under the verdant umbrella of the palmtrees. We also had regained our former lurking-place, though we were now more irresolute than ever as to the means most proper to be adopted towards the rescue of "Oh! no, no, no!" he exclaimed, "we must not reckon upon the snake's leaving us so soon! When the anaconda has once chosen a group of trees for her abode, and is seen to sport among their branches, in the man-my friend. |