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ception to defalcation? No; the path before him was plain and untortuous, it was no other than to rise" (suiting the action to the words) "to make his best bow, and gratefully-he hoped he might add gracefully-to retire into that obscurity, for which alone, as it appeared, his unlucky stars had predestined him."

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No such thing. The boys, who considered the prisoner too good game to be let off so easily, skipped on the backs of chairs and tops of tables to baffle his escape; while the female cousins flitted here and there, and with their elfin forms and spread frocks closed up every "coin of vantage through which he sought to regain his liberty. By this time the rapturous merriment of the young folk had infected their elders, and strengthened the outworks by drawing us around them. (I could not help thinking how dear Aunt Nelly used to enjoy such scenes, and help a hand, if needed.) We were irresistibly- -no offence to the kind-hearted bachelor-but we were irresistibly reminded of Bottom the weaver's perplexity under similar circumstances. Probably it also occurred to his own mind; for all of a sudden he resumed his seat, and quaintly announced himself to be " that shrewd and knavish sprite called Robin Goodfellow, hobgoblin and sweet Puck," to whom, he said, Oberon had for that one day yielded up the sovereignty of Fairy-land, with absolute right to the services of all his subjects; in virtue of which he would proceed to appoint them their several tasks.

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"The task," he continued, "has been imposed on my own once merry self, by virtue of a law, cruel as tyrannical, which requires me to write certain verses, while denying me the use of pen, ink, and paper. Wherefore, Georgium-funidos,"" addressing a sprite who stood with his legs far apart on the backs of two chairs, and killing himself with laughter, "fly, I command thee, to the extremest verge of Phœnix-land, and pluck me the longest tailfeather from the last self-consuming bird, taking care not to burn thy fingers; then call in, on the way back, at the city of Damascus, and beg the loan of the knife of a thousand blades, to nib it withal!

"Be it thine, Helenissimo, to distil six penfuls of rosy ink, drawn from the last glowing sunset.

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Willy-bolero, my tricksy spirit, see that thou pluck me a sheet of paper (velvet wove and hotpressed) from the tallest papyrus-tree to be found near the oozy Nile, and have a care that thou slippest not thy small form head over ears in the mud.

"For thee," addressing Samuel, the custodian of the vase, "thyself a poet, I have reserved the more delicate embassy to procure me a wig which, after being dipped a hundred times in Helicon, shall still emerge in full buckle."

I forget, now, how our pseudo Puck was pleased to designate the five female cousins, whom he next despatched to the Land's End

for " as many lapfuls of Whitsun-bay sand, every grain a shell fish." I only remember the last and most successful stroke of all was, that he should be obliged to detain Queen Mab-meaning the delighted Septima on his knees, in order that she might scratch his royal nose during their absence.

In much less than the allotted ten minutes, our Will-o'-theWispians had flown back, and ceremoniously presented their several contributions, according to order, consisting of a peacock's trainfeather, by way of pen; a pair of open razors-the fruit of a hasty forray among gentlemen's dressing cases-to nib it with; a thimbleful of fluid brick-dust for ink; a wig, of which,

'All dripping and drown'd'

as it was, John had stoutly disputed possession, (it having been fashioned out of a curly sheep-mat, which had long graced his pantry door,) and which, with other strokes of practical wit, abundantly answered the desired end, of provoking peal after peal of, to my ears, the sweetest of all music,-- spontaneous laughter, breaking forth from young and simple hearts.

Even old John, passing with the coal-skuttle, was surprised into something like a smile, as he glanced at this licentious setting forth of a board, which every other day in the year comes under his own especial jurisdiction. Nevertheless, we hear of his serious disapproval of this "foolish custom of once a year turning the house out of windows."

It is not unlikely the reader may be of the same mind; I will not, therefore, detain him longer with a description of the contortions, the brain-racking, and all the rest of the fine frenzy' which attended the birth of the following

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KENNETH.

THIS is a brilliant sketch, written with all that vigour in pourtraying character which so charmed us in that early work of the same author, "Scenes and Characters." That title is quite an index to the subjects on which this popular writer is most successful-in painting scenes and drawing out characters, especially of the young, she is eminently happy. The present work is one, from the perusal of which the youth of our day cannot but derive benefit. A high tone of principle and conduct pervades every part. Our readers will, we are sure, be glad of a slight sketch, and such few extracts as our space permits, in testimony of our hearty commendation of this tale.

It is a story of the Russian Invasion, and opens on the outskirts of Moscow, where a boy of fourteen, (Kenneth,) and Effie his sister, aged twelve, lose their father, a colonel in the Russian infantry. They had been educated in sound religious principles by their grandmother, Lady Christian Lindesay, a member of the Church of Scotland, to whose care they were now left, as their mother was a gay, flighty Frenchwoman, far weaker than her two young children.

They are all taken by the French, and shortly after Lady Christian dies at Moscow, whither they had returned. Our two children are now left with their mother, who is induced to marry an unprincipled French Captain, and have to accompany the French army through all the sad scenes of that war.

The Captain soon tyrannizes over his wife and her children, and in a fit of passion turns Kenneth from the carriage into the snow, whither Effie follows him, and the carriage drives on.

Here they would have perished, but a colonel, (de Villaret,) of the rear guard, commanded by Marshal Ney, places them under the protection of an old Breton soldier, (Léon,) who attends them through the fearful scenes of that retreat. The following is an account of crossing the Dnieper, partly frozen

over.

"We will go down to the bank, and seize the first moment,' said the Colonel, probably intending only his nephew; but M. de Chateauneuf contrived to make the invitation extend to the rest. 'Come,' said he to Kenneth, 'wake your sister, and let us go;' and he hung back, and delayed his uncle, until Effie, still half-asleep, had been lifted on her horse. They were soon in the midst of the dense crowd, which was converging towards the narrow bridge, and struggling violently to get forward. Louis made Kenneth take his arm, and, supporting each other, they preserved themselves from being trampled down, or separated from the rest; and, at last, by the help of Colonel de Villaret's authority, seconded by Léon's vigorous

elbows and dexterous management of the horse, they succeeded in forcing their way to the borders of an open space, kept clear by some of the soldiers, who still preserved their weapons and their discipline, in the midst of whom stood Ney himself, and some officers, directing the passage.

“Having gained the foremost ranks, they halted, and cast many an anxious glance at the long and perilous crossing which seemed to move along with the course of the stream, and to crack and open beneath the feet of the unhappy passengers. Many lost their footing on the slippery surface, or sunk into chasms which gaped unseen; their cry was heard for one moment; the next, they were borne along upon the stream.

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'Kenneth,' whispered Effie,' will GoD protect us?'

"We are His children,' answered Kenneth.

"Tell me of a verse in the Bible.'

"A verse came to his mind at her summons-' When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.'

"If we were but better children !'

"In the mean time the Colonel had been speaking to some of the officers on the bank; and, presently turning round, exclaimed, 'Now!' Kenneth, lifting Effie from her horse, assisted her to scramble down the steep, slippery descent. Louis, who was the first to reach the bottom, uttered an exclamation, on finding himself stepping into water a foot deep, and insupportably cold; But it is firm beneath,' added he, turning round, and holding out his arms to receive Effie, as she was handed down to him by Kenneth, clinging with one arm to the root of a tree.

"Pauvre petite,' said he; 'you will be half-drowned as well as frozen;' and he prepared to carry her.

“I shall incommode you, Monsieur,' said she.

"Take care, Louis!' called his uncle, by no means pleased to see him thus burthened. 'She will be safer on her own feet; you would both lose the advantage of your light weight.'

"A thousand thanks, Monsieur,' repeated Effie; but, indeed, I prefer walking.'

"The bitter cold of the water made this speech end rather abruptly, as Louis set her down; but he still retained her hand; and, Kenneth taking the other, they helped her along the smooth, wet, slippery ice-a long line of flakes, but slightly bound together, and almost giving way under their feet, with frequent startling cracks, which made them look round at each other with terror, to see who was missing. A fall would have been fatal; for it was next to impossible to arise; and many were the desponding shrieks, which reached their ears, from unfortunates, who, vainly attempting to recover their footing, were breaking the ice away beneath them in their struggles, and feeling themselves drawn under it by the force of the stream. Dreadful as these cries were, it was impossible to attend to them; for assistance would have been in vain; and, in fact, they were scarcely even heard by many, so intent was every one obliged to be upon his own steps.

“At last, after a half-hour, which seemed as long as a whole night,

they found themselves on the rugged ice, close to the opposite bank, which rose steep and rough before them. Kenneth was the first to scramble up on hands and knees; and, with the assistance of Louis, he dragged Effie after him; then followed the Colonel; and, lastly, Leon, still leading the horse, which, owing, perhaps, to being a native of the country, had shown remarkable sagacity in choosing its

way.

"With clasped hands the children breathed a silent thanksgiving and a petition for their mother's safety, as they surveyed the abyss which lay behind them."

The horrors of their long march are described with fearful vigour the following will give an idea of it. Louis is Colonel de Villaret's nephew.

"The hopes of all were now fixed on Wilna, where a fresh supply of provisions was reckoned upon with certainty, and where, as was believed, the garrison was sufficiently strong to afford protection to the shattered remnant of the Grand Army, while recruiting its strength. They were about three days' march from thence, when, one evening, our friends found themselves, just when the order to halt was given, close to a little lonely Church in the midst of a burial ground, shaded with tall linden trees.

"There were lights and voices within the building; but it had so often happened that persons had been crushed to death by crowding in too great numbers into such places of shelter, or had perished in the flames which they had allowed to spread from their fires, that Colonel de Villaret, as a general rule, always avoided such precarious shelter. Close within the wall of the Churchyard, they, however, found a corner where they were, in some degree, protected from the wind: and while the Colonel lifted Effie from her horse, Léon and Kenneth went to gather wood for their fire from the neighbouring trees.

"Here is wood to be had nearer, and drier wood too, than we have enjoyed for some time,' observed the Colonel, pointing to the Crosses which marked the surrounding graves.

"'O, Colonel!' exclaimed Kenneth; we could never touch them.'

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'They say the Russians are but heretics, Monsieur Kenneth,' added Léon; but I must say I never did break down a Cross yet, many as I have seen overthrown by my comrades.'

"Very well,' replied his Colonel, quickly. I cannot say I anticipated such scruples either in a soldier of the Grand Army, or in a Scot; but they are your own affair, provided you can find any other fuel; for that is the important matter at present.'

"There are others who are not troubled with your scruples,' said Louis, as Kenneth came up with a bundle of sticks; I doubt whether a single Cross will remain to-morrow morning.'

"Ah! but this one that you are leaning against, we may at least save,' said Effie.

"You must tell my mother the history of to-day's halt,' said Louis, in a voice that, though cheerful, was feeble and drowsy.

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