The following scene is delineated with a masterly hand:

'On the evening of the second, Mr. Falkland arrived, accompanied by Dr. Arnold, the phyfician by whom he had previously been attended. The fcene he was called upon to witnefs, was fuch as to be moft exquifitely agonizing to a man of his acute fenfibility. The news of the arrest had given him an inexpressible shock; he was tranfported out of himself at the unexampled malignity of its author. But, when he faw the figure of mifs-Melvile, haggard, and a warrant of death written in her countenance, a victim to the diabolical paffions of her kinfman, the scene seemed too much to be endured. When he entered, she was in the midst of one of her fits of delirium, and immediately mistook her visitors for two afsaffins. She asked, where they had hid her Falkland, her lord, her life, her husband! and demanded that they should restore to her his mangled corpfe, that she might embrace him with her dying arms, breathe her laft upon his lips, and be buried in the fame grave. She reproached them with the fordidness of their conduct in becoming the tools of her vile coufin, who had deprived her of her reafon, and would never be contented till he had murdered her. Mr. Falkland tore himself away from this painful fcene, and, leaving Dr. Arnold with his patient, defired him, when he had given the neceffary directions, to follow him to his inn.

The perpetual hurry of fpirits in which mifs Melvile had for feveral days been kept by the nature of her indifpofition, was extremely exhaufting to her; and in about an hour from the vifit of Mr. Falkland her delirium fubfided, and left her in fo low a state, as to render it difficult to perceive any marks of life. Dr. Arnold, who had before withdrawn, to foothe, if poffible, the disturbed and impatient thoughts of Mr. Falkland, was fummoned afresh upon this change of fymptoms, and fat by the bed-fide during the remainder of the night. The fituation of his patient was fuch as to keep him in momentary apprehenfion of her decease. While mifs Melvile lay in this feeble and exhausted condition, Mrs. Hammond betrayed every token of the tendereft anxiety. Her fenfibility was habitually of the acuteft fort, and the qualities of Emily were fuch as powerfully to fix her affection. She loved her like a mother. Upon the prefent occafion every. found, every motion made her tremble. Dr. Arnold had introduced another nurse in confideration of the inceffant fatigue Mrs. Hammond had undergone; and he endeavoured by representations, and even by authority, to compel her to quit the apartment of the patient. But he was uncontrolable; and he at length found that he should probably do her more injury, by the violence that would be neceflary to feparate her from the fuffering innocent, than by allowing her to follow her own inclinations. Her eye was a thousand times turned with the most eager curiouty upon the countenance of Dr. Arnold, without her daring

to

to breathe a queftion respecting his opinion, left he should answer her by a communication of the most fatal tidings. In the mean time, fhe liftened with the deepest attention to every thing that dropped either from the physician or the nurse, hoping as it were to collect from fome oblique hint, the intelligence which she had not courage expressly to require.

Towards morning the ftate of the patient feemed to take a favourable turn. She dozed for near two hours, and, when she awoke, appeared perfectly calm and fenfible. Understanding that Mr. Falkland had brought the physician to attend her, and was himfelf in the neighbourhood, fhe requested to see him. Mr. Falkland had gone in the mean time with one of his tenants to bail the debt, and now entered the prifon to inquire whether the young lady might be fafely removed from her prefent miferable refidence, to a more airy and commodious apartment. When he appeared, the fight of him revived in the mind of mifs Melvile, an imperfect recollection of the wanderings of her delirium. She covered her face with her hand, and betrayed the moft expreffive confufion, while fhe thanked him with her ufual unaffected fimplicity, for all the trouble he had taken. She hoped she should not give him much more; fhe thought fhe fhould get better. It was a fhame, the faid, if a young and lively girl as she was, could not contrive to outlive the trifling misfortunes to which she had been fubjected. But, while fhe faid this, she was still extremely weak. She tried to affume a cheerful countenance; but it was a faint effort, which the feeble ftate of her frame did not seem fufficient to fupport. Mr. Falkland and the doctor joined to request her to keep herfelf quiet, and to avoid, for the prefent, all occafions of exertion.

Encouraged by these appearances, Mrs. Hammond now ventured to follow the two gentlemen out of the room, in order to learn from the phyfician what hopes he entertained. Dr. Arnold acknowledged that he had found his patient at first in a very unfavourable fituation, that the fymptoms were changed for the better, and that he was not without fome expectation of her recovery. He added, however, that he could anfwer for nothing, that the next twelve hours would be exceedingly critical, but that, if fhe did not grow worfe before morning, he would then undertake to answer for her life. Mrs. Hammond, who had hitherto feen nothing but defpair, now became frantic with joy. She burst into tears of transport, bleffed the physician in the most emphatic and impaffioned terms, and uttered a thousand extravagances. Dr. Arnold feized this opportunity to prefs her to give herself a little repofe, to which the confented, a chamber being firft procured for her next to that of mifs Melvile, and the having charged the nurfe to give her notice of any alteration in the patient.

Mrs. Hammond enjoyed an interrupted fleep of feveral hours, when, towards the afternoon, fhe was alarmed by an unusual buftle

in the next room. She liftened for a few moments, and then determined to go and see what was the occafion of it. As he opened her door for that purpofe, fhe met the nurse who was coming to her. The countenance of the meffenger told her what it was she had to communicate, without the ufe of words. She hurried to the bedfide, and found mifs Melvile expiring. The appearances that had at first been so encouraging, were but of fhort duration. The calm of the morning proved to be only a fort of lightning before death. In a few hours the patient grew worfe. The bloom of her countenance faded; fhe drew her breath with difficulty; and her eyes became fixed. Dr. Arnold had come in at this period, and had immediately perceived that all was over. She was for fome time in convulfions; but, thefe fubfiding, fhe addreffed the physician with a compofed, though feeble voice. She thanked him for his attention; and exprefled the moft lively fenfe of her obligations to Mr. Falkland. She fincerely forgave her coufin, and hoped he might never be vifited by too acute a recollection of his barbarity to her. She would have been contented to live; few perfons had a fincerer relish of the good things of life; but he was well pleafed to die rather than have become the wife of Grimes. As Mrs. Hammond entered, fhe turned her countenance towards her, and with an affectionate expreffion repeated her name. Thefe were her laft words; in lefs than two hours from that time, fhe breathed her laft in the arms of this faithful friend.'

The revenge of an irritated and unprincipled woman is depicted in the enfuing scene:

'Such were the meditations which now occupied my mind. At length I grew fatigued with continued contemplation, and to relieve myfelf I pulled out a pocket Horace, the legacy of my beloved Brightwell! I read with avidity the epiftle in which he fo beautifully defcribes to Fufcus the graminarian, the pleasures of rural tranquillity and independence. By this time the fun rofe from behind the eaftern hills, and I opened my cafement to contemplate it. day commenced with peculiar brilliancy, and was accompanied with all thofe charms, which the poets of nature, as they have been ftyled, have fo much delighted to defcribe. There was fomething in this scene, particularly as fucceeding to the active exertions of intellect, that foothed the mind to compofure. Infenfibly a confufed reverie invaded my faculties, I withdrew from the window, threw myfelf upon the bed, and fell affecp.

'I do not recollect the precife images which in this fituation paffed through my thoughts, but I know that they concluded with the idea of fome perfon, the agent of Mr. Falkland, approaching to affaffinate me. This thought had probably been fuggefted, by the project I meditated of entering once again into the world, and throwng myfelt within the fphere of his poflible vengeance. I imagined

that

that the defign of the murderer was to come upon me by surprise, that I was aware of this defign, and yet by fome fafcination had no thought of evading it. I heard the steps of the murderer as he cautionfly approached. I feemed to liften to his conftrained, yet audible breathings. He came up to the corner where I was placed, and then ftopped. The idea became too terrible, I started, opened my eyes, and beheld the execrable hag before mentioned, standing over me with a butcher's hatchet. I fhifted my fituation with a speed that feemed too fwift for volition, and the blow already aimed at my feull, funk impotent upon the bed. Before fhe could wholly recover her posture, I fprung upon her, feized hold of the weapon, and had nearly wrested it from her. But in a moment the refumed her ftrength and her defperate purpose, and we had a furious struggle; fhe impelled by inveterate malice, and I refitting for my life. Her vigour was truly Amazonian, and at no time had I ever occafion to contend with a more formidable opponent. Her glance was fudden and exact, and the fhock with which from time to time the impelled her whole frame, inconceivably vehement. At length I was victorious, took from her her inftrument of death, and threw her upon the ground. Till now the fobriety of her exertions had curbed her rage; but now the gnafhed with her teeth, her eyes feemed as if ftarting from their fockets, and her body heaved with uncontrolable infanity.

me?

Rafcal! devil! fhe exclaimed, what do you mean to do to

Till now the fcene had paffed uninterrupted by a single word. Nothing, replied: begone, infernal witch! and leave me to myfelf.

Leave you! Ne: I will thruft my fingers through your ribs, and drink your blood!--You conquer me?-Ba, ha!-Yes, yes! you shall!—I will fit upon you, and prefs you to hell! I will roast you with brimitone, and dash your entrails into your eyes !—Ha,

ha!-ha!

Saying this, the fprung up, and prepared to attack me with redoubled fury. I feized her hands, and compelled her to fit upon the bed. Thus reftrained, the continued to exprefs the tumult of her thoughts by grinning, by certain furious motions of her head, and by occafional vehement efforts to difengage herself from my grafp. Thefe contortions and starts were of the nature of thofe fits, in which the patients are commonly uppofed to need three or four perfons to hold them. But I found by experience that, under the circumftances in which I was placed, my fingle ftrength was fuflicient. The fpectacle of her emotions was inconceivably frightful. Her violence at length, however, began to abate, and the became perfunded of the hopeleffinefs of the conteft.

held!

Let me go! faid fhe. Why do you held me? I will not be

I wanted you gone from the firft, replied I. Are you contented to go now?

Yes, I tell you, mifbegotten villain! Yes, rafcal!

I immediately loofed my hold. She flew to the door, and, holding it in her hand, faid, I will be the death of you yet: you fhall not be your own man twenty-four hours longer! With thefe words fhe fhut the door, and locked it upon me. An action fo totally unexpected startled me. Whither was fhe gone? What was it the intended? To perish by the machinations of fuch a hag as this, was a thought not to be endured. Death in any form, brought upon us by furprife, and for which the mind has had no time to prepare, is inexpreffibly terrible. My thoughts wandered in breathlefs horror and confufion, and all within was uproar. I endeavoured to break the door, but in vain. I went round the room in search of fome tool to affift me. At length I rushed against it with a defperate effort, to which it yielded, and had nearly thrown me from the top of the ftairs to the bottom.'

Mr. Godwin will by fome be thought to have been guilty of a mifnomer, fince, inftead of Things as they are,' the novel might, perhaps, as well have been intitled, Things as they ever have been.'

Inquiries into the Origin and Progrefs of Heraldry in England, with explanatory Obfervations on Armorial Ensigns. By James Dallaway, AM. of Trinity College Oxford, and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. 4to. Coloured Plates. 3. 3. Boards. White.

THOUGH heraldry be a fubject with which philofophy can have little connection, and which, at this time, is not to be held out as among the ufeful pursuits of the learned, we cannot but admit that it has acquired fomething like dignity and true confequence from the manner in which thefe inquiries have been purfued by Mr. Dallaway.

Heraldry, fays he, in its prefent state, has juft pretenfions to be ranked in the circle of fciences; fo general in its ufage, fo infinitely various in its difcriminations, and fo claffical in its fpecific differences, that if fyftem be the ground work of fcience, this claim may be fairly advanced. Yet, this has been the effect of fucceffive ages, in the progrefs from its invention for military regulation, when the rudeft fymbols were fufficient for the chief purpose, that of diftinction of one man, or band of men, from another, to its connexion with the graphic art, when the moft fhapeless delineations, which were from the first cause only attractive, became fplendid by painting and enamel.—It would be an uninterefting task to examine all the early treatifes upon heraldry, and to collect their very vague

and