"You've seed the osses all on 'em, have n't yer? Is there any one you particular fancy?"

"Why, yes, there's a little un there; but there's fifty to one against him, so he can't be no sort, though he looks as if he might be."

matter of no material importance; and, having politely declined the pressing invitation of Stanley to partake of their refreshments, he begged that he might have the honor of a call at the United Service Club in the morning, as on settling day the probability was that he should have to leave town. The widow, who playfully affected to be very indignant indeed with that tiresome thing of a horse, which had been the cause of her losing a dozen pair of gloves to Amelia, now or dered the hampers to be opened, and when the leaf of a table had been adjusted upon the doors of the carriage, it was speedily covered with the viands she had prepared, and they all ate heartily, with the collateral enjoyment of the scene around them, which was certainly one of great excitement and splendor.

Swelling with indignation at his dense stupidity, and cherishing a bright and most beautiful hope, Bob started with the view of honorably taking in some gentleman whom he had the felicity to number among his friends. The news, however, had spread that the field was sure to win; all wished to take the very odds that he wished to take. In vain he endeavored to inspire them with the belief that they thereby stood in their own light: they would n't have it: they pronounced it simultaneously "no go." Thus foiled, thus deceived, and that, too, in a quarter in which he had reposed the utmost confidence, and in which he had centered every hope, his heart sank within him as he returned to communicate the melancholy fact to his friend. It was then that he felt that he was in the hands of fate-it was then that he promised, that if in this his extremity fate would but be propitious, no power on earth should ever induce him to be so consummate a donkey again. And yet-why-who could tell? The favorite! the favorite was a good horse-a capital horse!— He did n't like the look of him much, but he might win-he ought to win-nay, on reflection, he would win. He resolved to entertain no doubt about the matter, for every doubt was painful. Hurrah for the favorite! The favorite against the field! The favorite for a thousand! The favorite for ever! He was not going then to lie down in a ditch and die!

The bell rang, and all were on the qui vive. The most earnest anxiety prevailed. The next two minutes were to decide that in which all seemed interested deeply. Had every man present had all he possessed in the world then at stake, his suspense at that moment could not have appeared more painful. The horses started. They are off! they are off!" shouted thousands simultaneously, and every eye was strained in the direction of the hill. They appeared! They swept the brow with the speed of lightning! They passed the corner!-they came straight up the course! Pink was ahead. "Pink! pink! Bravo, pink. Yellow! yellow!Go along, pink! Blue!-Green!-Red!" nay, every color in the rainbow was shouted, in order to urge each along. The post was gained. Two seemed neck and neck. Few at the moment could tell which had won; but as one of the two was the favorite, Bob shouted, "The favorite! the favorite! Oh! hollow!" And he leaped like a deer from the back of the carriage, and opened his shoulders, and rubbed his hands, and patted his horses, and slapped his thigh, and threw himself at once into a state of ecstasy the most delicious. The next moment a sound reached his ear-a sound which made him tremble! He turned towards the winning-post, and there he beheld the number of an outsider! The favorite had lost! Instantly his countenance fell. He slapped his thigh no more. He struck Marmion on the nose for presuming to snort at such a moment, conceiving it to be in the abstract highly reprehensible, and sank into an awful state of melancholic gloom.

Sir William, of course, was delighted, but he studied to conceal his delight at the time; while Stanley, who had brought himself pretty nearly home, having won all his bets with the Major, congratulated himself on having backed his own judgement. The Major did not appear to be much depressed. He was a loser, he said, it was true, but not to any great amount, having taken a variety of other bets, which

hamper being opened, that the new rope by which it had been suspended from the axle had stretched to an extent that enabled the hamper in little hilly parts of the road to come in contact with the ground with sufficient violence to break to atoms the dishes, bottles, and glasses, and thereby to mix them and the provisions together; and truly to the eye it was a most unpleasing mixture, inasmuch as the pie-crust was saturated with wine, the broken glass had worked its way into the chickens, the pigeons with the gravy were mixed up with stout and straw, while the ham had been made by the fragments of the bottles to appear as if it had been nibbled by a legion of rats.

The widow, when she saw their distress, felt for them acutely, and sent to beg their acceptance of one of her pies, and part of her ham, with a pair of her chickens, and so on, which they did not by any means like to receive; but, on being warmly pressed, they at length consented to accept them, provided they were also presented with a card, which proviso was agreed to, and all were made happy.

Immediately after their repast, Stanley and Sir William remounted their horses, being anxious to make a few bets upon the next race; and, while they were gone, Bob, the widow's servants, and the post boys, commenced operations upon the refreshments which had been left, and which, as the widow was exceedingly liberal with her wine, they all amazingly enjoyed, with the exception of Bob, whose spirit was painfully perturbed. He was haunted by his erroneous calculations, and spectres of innumerable glasses of brandy and-water, and rows of pots of ale and half-and-half, which really seemed to have no end, flitted before him as merrily as if they were overjoyed at the fact of his having to pay for them all. The only question with him was, how could he get out of his embarrassed position ?—and his utter inability to conceive a satisfactory answer to this question dealt destruction to his ap petite, and rendered him wretched. At length he managed to hit upon an expedient by which he might gain at least a trifle towards covering his extremely heavy spirituous liabili ties. In the next race eight horses were to run, and he proposed a quiet sweepstakes, in which he got the coachman, the footman, and one of the postilions to join. He then tore a piece of paper into eight, and having established the numbers respectively thereon, and folded and put them into his hat, each subscribed half a crown, and then drew two numbers, and Bob's were the first and second horses on the list.

"Well," thought he, "this is something." And so it was; and he began to eat a little, and to feel somewhat better.Half a sovereign would indisputably pay for ten good shilling glasses. There could be no miscalculation about that, al though he quite forgot his own small subscription,-which perhaps was as well, for his mind was the more at ease, the consequence was that he eventually made a very highly respectable meal.

and

The bell rang again for the course to be cleared, and Stanley and Sir William returned.

"Well, which is the best horse?" inquired the widow. "The favorite," replied Stanley, "I should say in this

race."

"The favorite :-Well, Amelia and I are going to have another bet."

"Indeed," said Amelia, "I do not understand it." "Nor do I, my love, much; but we must have a bet. Now I'll bet you-let me see-a satin dress!—and you shall have which horse you please."

"That will be about two to one," observed Stanley.

"Dear me, how ridiculous! One dress-one cannot be two!"

"I grant you that, of course; but I should say that it takes nearly double the quantity-'

"Indeed, sir, it takes no such thing," interrupted the blushing widow: for although she patted Stanley very playfully, and smiled, she did not approve of his making so incorrect an observation in the presence of Sir William. It was personal-very personal. Besides, she required but a few yards more than Amelia; not double the quantity, nor any =thing like double the quantity.

"I'll tell you, now, what will be a fair bet," said Stanley. "You take the favorite against the field for a dress: that will bring the thing about even."

“Very well; let it be so. The favorite is mine. We must sport, my love, of course, like the rest."

Amelia consented to this arrangement, and the race almost immediately commenced. The excitement was not nearly so great; but there was still amply sufficient to keep all alive, and the colors were called as they passed as before. The favorite lost, and Stanley lost with the favorite. The widow also lost; and Bob lost the sweepstakes.

Of course the last mentioned loss had the greatest effect upon the loser. He had firmly and resolutely made up his mind to win, and hence experienced a dreadful degree of depression. He felt that, in the nature of things, this was hard, and that fortune neither smiled upon the most meritorious, nor aided those who stood most in need of assistance. To him that half sovereign would have been of great service. The rest did not want it so much; for they had lost nothing on th Derby. He considered that, if fortune had not been sand blind,-if she had had only half an eye open, she would have seen this, and then, of course, the sweepstakes had been his; for he was sure that, to his knowledge, he had done nothing to offend her.

While involved in this deep consideration, standing like a statue, with his hands in his smalls,—which, indeed, was his customary attitude when he happened to have any thing of a strictly metaphysical character to compass, a gentleman without his coat approached in wonderful haste, and, while performing a variety of original antics commenced shouting, apparently in a frightful state of excitement,

"Now, who's for the last nine, the last nine, the last nine! I've only three minutes! A sovering for a shilling, or three for half-crown, to decide this here vunderful vagear atween them there two svell sportin' indiwidgeals, the Marquis off Vortford and a honerable Hurl, for five thousand guineas aside here! I'm obligated for to dress like this here, cos the honerble Hurl don't believe as the people von't think these here soverings is good uns. Who'll have the last nine, the last nine, the last nine here!"

"This is a do," observed Bob to a decent looking person standing near him.

"Do you think so? I've a great mind to have three: it may be a bet," said the person addressed. "I'll have a half a crown's worth;" and he had, and he appeared to be delighted with his bargain, and joyfully showed them to Bob, who was amazed.

"It is a wager," thought he. "They are good uns-real good uns. Why, three of these would set me all square! It struck him at the moment that fortune, to propitiate him, had suggested that bet, and had sent him that man. "Now, who's for the last six? I've on'y one minute for this vunderful vagear off ten thousand guineas. Who'll have the last six for a crown here!"

Bob anxiously gave him five shillings, and received in return the six "sovereigns," which he instantly found to be villanous brass. But the fellow was off! he twisted into the crowd like an imp; and, as he who had prompted the purchase, by showing the three real sovereigns, shot also away, it at once became evident to Bob that they were confede

rates.

"Only just hold my horses," said he to a man standing by; and he started off after them fiercely. But, how vain was the pursuit! The next moment they were lost to him for ever.

This was, indeed, a heavy blow. It was terrible to his already wounded feelings. It was cruel. He could have cried; but he repressed the rising extract of sorrow with indignation. "To be such a out-and-out fool!" he exclaimed, clenching his fists very desperately, and looking very vicious," when I ought to have known that it was nothing but a do; when my

own common sense ought to have told me it was nothing but a regular dead take in! Here's things!" he continued, holding the sovereigns again before his wondering eyes. "Here's muck! Here's a blessed five shillings' worth! Don't I wish I could see that there varmint anywheres about here? Would n't I give him a leetle pepper?

27

Again Bob looked anxiously around; but, as he could not catch even a glimpse of the ingenious gentleman in question, he returned to his horses, frightfully depressed. "Hallo, my Bobby!" exclaimed the coachman, "any thing petickler o'clock?"

"No, nothing of much odds," replied Bob; who conceived it to be expedient to keep the sovereign job a secret, at least from that particular quarter.

"We're goin' for to 'ave another sveepstakes. There's on'y four 'osses. Will you join us?"

"Oh, if you like. I'm safe to lose. Nobody never had such sweet luck as me. But I'll be in it."

He accordingly put down his half-crown, and drew; but he scorned to look at the number. He would not know which horse he had drawn until after the race, and therefore placed the paper carefully in his pocket, while he looked another way, lest his eyes should fall upon it by accident. He then had a glass of wine with the rest beneath the foot-board; but continued to be mournfully silent, although he occasionally gave his horses for the slightest misbehaviour the most severe look they ever witnessed.

The interval between the races was in this case unusually short. The course was no sooner clear than the bell rang again, and the horses started. They did the half mile in about half a minute, and actually the very horse which won cleverly by a length, was the horse which Bob had drawn. In his view this altered the general aspect of things most materially; for, albeit, it but restored him to the position which he occupied at the conclusion of the Derby, it was abundantly manifest to him that his "luck" had really changed; and he brightened up signally, and chatted a little, and breathed upon the four half-crowns, and deposited them promptly in the off pocket of his smalls, with an air which denoted intense satisfaction. He then proposed that the next sweepstakes should be doubled. This, however, was declined. The same sum was put down, and they drew; but Bob would not have looked at what he had drawn if any man had offered him seven and sixpence. He had not looked at the last, and he had won. He naturally felt that there was a great deal in that.

Amelia and the widow now alighted, with the view of promenading the course; and, as this had been at the sole suggestion of Sir William, it was specially appreciated by the widow, who scarcely could tell how she did feel while walking for the first time in public with an honorable baronet. It were poor indeed to describe that feeling as being that of pride. It was a higher, a purer, a more intensely delicious feeling than that; and she stepped so lightly, and her plume waved so gracefully, while she felt so much ecstasy sparkling in her eyes, that, as she tripped past Amelia, she really did think that any absolute stranger would be puzzled to tell which of the two looked the younger.

While they were admiring the beauty of the Grand Stand, and other prominent features of the gay scene around them, Bob, elated with his success in the last sweepstakes, felt that, as Fortune now seemed disposed to favor him, he ought not to thwart her beneficent inclinings, and therefore set off for one of the booths, in which merveille appeared to him to be played upon a very fair, straight-forward principle. He stood for some time, and looked on, and saw a great deal of money won and paid without a murmur, from a heap of half-crowns which stood by the side of an open cash-box, in which there was a sufficient number of notes to bind up into a good-sized volume, and a quantity of sovereigns, which seemed to be beyond calculation.

This display of wealth dazzled the eyes of Bob; and he resolved to have a trial. He put a shilling upon the black: it came black, and he took up two. He put a shilling upon the yellow it came yellow, and he took up nine. Could he presume to doubt that Fortune had deigned to smile upon him then? He put two half-crowns upon the yellow, feeling that eight times that amount would be particularly acceptable; but it happened to come black. He tried again with five shillings: it was red. He tried five shillings more: it was blue. Well, it surely must cone yellow next! He tried another five shillings: it came blue again. Blue was the favorite; but, then, five shilling stakes were rather heavy! He put half-a-crown upon the blue: it was yellow. Tut! if he

had but kept to the yellow! He tried the yellow again: it was black. Then again, and it was black: and again, until he had no more silver. What, then, was to be done? Should he change his last sovereign? He would, and stake five shillings of it upon the yellow. He did so. It should be the last if he lost-the very last,―that he had made up his mind to. The ball was off: he watched it eargerly: it seemed to wish to go into the yellow: nay, it absolutely did go into the yellow; but on the instant changed its mind, and hopped into the blue. How extraordinary! Well! should he stake one more half-crown? No, he would n't; and yet, eight halfcrowns were twenty shillings! One more-only one: down it went; and the ball, as if guided by some malicious demon, popped again into the blue. Bob pressed his lips, and frowned, and looked round the booth wildly, and then attempted to leave; but he felt within him something which urged him to turn, and he stood for some time in a state of irresolution. "Now, gents, make your game: the ball's off, make your game!" cried the fellow who presided at the table. "If you wo n't play, gents, drink: sherry, champagne there, soda water, any thing you like. Make your game!"

This had the effect of arousing Bob from his reverie. He resolved to stake five shillings more. He put half-a-crown down upon the yellow; it was red. The other half crown followed: it was black. He now seemed desperate. He tried the black and won; but the black merely covered the stake. He tried the yellow, and it was blue; and then the blue, and it was yellow. Five shillings only had he left. Should he stake it at once, hit or miss? Down it went, and in an instant it was lost.

His feelings were agonizing now. He, indeed, felt as if it really mattered not much what became of him. His eyes seemed as if about to start from their sockets. He struck his head with great violence; and, as he left the booth slowly, he could not refrain from shedding tears. The greatest trouble physics all the rest. His previous losses now seemed as nothing. He might have got over them with comfort; but, how was he to get over this? All the money he had was gone, including that which he had borrowed of the amiable cook, and he had the whole of his wet bets to settle, and promptly, too, in order to sustain his reputation!

While lost in the thought of this his afflicting position, he encountered a creature who had a table, with twenty or thirty sovereigns thereon, and three thimbles, surrounded by divers individuals, who were betting upon the wonderful discovery of a pea. Bob had frequently heard of this game: he well knew it to be a dirty and disreputable swindle; and yet the thing appeared to be so simple, while the creature who presided seemed so burgling, and moreover, so excessively blind to his own interest, that in more than one instance would he have put down a stake had his pockets not been quite so hungry as they were. He could tell where the pea was beyond all dispute. It was proved that he could, for a gentleman who stood beside him, and who had not sufficient confidence in his own judgment, asked him which thimble he thought the pea was under; and, having pointed out one, the gentleman threw down a sovereign; and under that identical thimble it was; and, when the pea was again adjusted, and the gentleman had again appealed to him, another sovereign was staked, and he was, of course, right again.

Very well. The money was placed upon the table, and covered: the thimble was raised, and the pea was not there. Bob looked at the fellow with great ferocity. He also look. ed ferociously at the man who had urged him on. He half suspected him of being a confederate; and had he been sure of it-quite sure, with all the pleasure in life would he have thrashed him; but he was not; and therefore, all he felt justified in doing was to give free vent to his indignation, which he did in terms which he deemed appropriate; and having consigned the whole gang to the torture of their own consciences, left them with a feeling of unspeakable disgust. "Well," said he, as he returned, with a truly wretched aspect, "there's another half-sovereign out of me. What is this world when you come for to look at it? What is it but a outand-out den of thieves! Fortune! blow Fortune! what do I owe her? Aint she been against me all along? Did ever any fellow have such pleasant luck as I've had? I'm a fool-of course I know that I'm a fool, 'cause I was quite conscien tious that that pea dodge was a do. Who's to blame, then? Don't it just serve me right? Is there any pity for me? Not a ha'p'orth."

This last observation was made by way of solace; but the comfort it imparted was not strikingly apparent. He still held that he had been cruelly ill-used, and hence became more dreadfully dejected than before.

All were now becoming anxious for the last race, save Bob. He really cared but little about whether he won or lost. He was in that frame of mind. the indulgence in which is extremely illaudable, and highly pernicious, inasmuch as it reduces a man at once to that point of despair which prompts him to repudiate the employment of the power at his command, with the view of surmounting those embarrassments in which he may be involved. This is indeed a disease—a most ruinous disease, and one for which the only immediate cure is a little unexpected success. Then, he who was gloomily apathetic becomes active: his dormant energies are aroused: he sees his error, and gladly embraces those means to which he before closed his eyes, and that wilfully, being quite conscious of their existence. The bell rang, and the race commenced. He took no interest in it. When it was over, he just glanced at the paper carelessly. Why, he had drawn the very horse! He could not have supposed it possible. He had thought that nothing in life was more certain than that every earthly thing was going against him. On receiving the sweepstakes, he therefore felt his heart lighter, and his spirits rising rapidly; and, when Sir William, to whom he had been particularly attentive, presented him with a sovereign, he really began to believe that his case was not nearly so desperate as he had imgained. Still it could not be concealed that he had lost a heavy sum; and he was just on the point of entering into an abstruse calculation touching the total amount, when Stanley called to him, and gave him instruc tions to take the horses quietly home.

The posters were then immediately put to, and in five minutes the widow's carriage moved off the Downs. Bob linger ed: he scarcely knew why; still he lingered; and, as he was standing thoughtfully between his horses, a friend of his approached, and informed him that he had that very instant won seven half crowns at a "gold and silver table," to which he pointed, and which stood but a few yards from the spot. On receiving this momentous intelligence, Bob looked at his friend, as if to be sure that he was totally unconnected with the scheme,-being inclined at the moment to make every man an object of suspicion,-and, having satisfied himself on that particular point, he got a boy to hold his horses, and repaired to the table in question without delay. At this establishment a gaudily dressed female presided; and, although she was not extremely beautiful, the purity of her complexion, such as it was, was duly protected from the sun by a comprehensive umbrella. She stood in a commanding position, upon a stool, with a rake in one hand, and a white cotton cabbage.net, near ly filled with silver in the other, while on the table, which was emblazoned with all sorts of brilliant prizes, stood a dice-box of a Brobdignagian build, and divers large-and, of course, unloaded-dice; and ever and anon she screamed, in tones which bore an ear-piercing resemblance to those of a cracked clarionet in the hands of a man who knows no touch thereof,

three throws for arf-a-crown. I'll warrant all the prizes to be on the dice. The extent of your losses you're sure to know: the extent of your winnin's you can't. When I lose, my losses is heavy: when you lose, your losses is light!"

"Well," thought Bob, "it's quite out of nature to be much

of rig in this. I only want to win a pound! I'll have a try. See if I don't. It will be very hard if I can't get something!"

He accordingly subscribed half-a-crown to the concern, and having placed the dice in the box, boldly threw them, when the lady began to count with surpassing velocity, "Six and six is twelve, and four 's nineteen, and five 's twenty-seven, and three's thirty-four, and one 's forty-five, and four 's fifty-two, and five's fifty-nine, and three 's sixty-five, and four and four's eight, and six is seventy-two! Sixty-two is a prize of five crowns; but seventy-two's a blank, as you see.'

"

Bob certainly saw that seventy-two was a blank; but he did not exactly approve of this rapid mode of counting. He had not been at all used to it: he couldn't keep up with it; and, as he did entertain a vague notion that she had in one instance made a slight mistake, he determined on counting them himself the next time, and threw again; and again the lady's tongue went to work, like the clapper of an alarum-bell, and would n't stop until she had reached sixty, which, of course, was a blank. Bob, however, was not satisfied. He began to count himself; but, as he proceeded, the lady joined him, being anxious to render him all possible assistance, which so effectually confused his intellects that he found himself utterly unable to count at all. Assuming, therefore, on compulsion, that she was right, he threw the third time, and threw fortyeight, which the experienced eye of the lady soon detected, and she ingeniously made fifty-six of them, in consequence of forty-eight being a prize of three sovereigns. But Bob could not make fifty-six: he insisted upon having time; when the lady leered affectionately at two gentlemen, who were standing by, and who, as they perceived that Bob was going on steadily, made a sudden slight, but, of course, purely accidental rush; and, while one of them was making all sorts of apologies, the other dexterously turned over one of the dice; which the lady no sooner perceived than she exclaimed with great propriety, "What's all this about? What do you interrupt the gentleman for when he 's a-counting? You ought to know better. Go on, sir; pray do ; and take your time about it."

Bob accordingly counted them again and then said, “There, I knew you was wrong: there's only fifty."

"Very well, sir. I'll take your word for it. We're all on us liable to error: human nature can't be perfect. Whatever prize it is shall have, sir. Fifty. Only two too many, sir. Try again: do n't be down-hearted. Forty-eight 's a prize of three pound. Fifty, you see, is a blank."

"Why, it was forty-eight," said Bob's friend, "before that man there made a two a four!"

In an instant the hat of the individual who had thus spoken mysteriously dropped over his eyes. It was not at all too large for him: on the contrary, it was rather a tight fit; but the brim on either side, nevertheless, did come down upon his shoulders, as if by magic. Bob in a moment saw how the case stood; and, being anxious for his friend to appear to give evidence, flew to his aid; but he had no sooner done so than his own hat went down in the same most remarkable manner. Now it is extremely difficult, under these peculiar circumstances, for a man to face the world. He cannot raise his hat with either promptitude or comfort. Should he happen to have any thing at all of a nose, the tip thereof is certain to catch in the lining. To the ancient Romans this would have been abundantly manifest; and, probably, the children of Israel of this our day wear gossamers, without any lining at all, on this very account. And none can blame them. The position is excessively disagreeable. A man is extinguished. The light of his countenance is gone. He looks like a decapitated individual, feeling in his heart for the thoughts in his head.

By dint of some extraordinary and perfectly original wrig gling, Bob eventually managed to appear; and when he did so, he shook himself, and looked round fiercely; but the gentlemen whom he had calculated upon seeing had vanished; and it was, indeed, fortunate for them that they had; for it may with perfect safety be recorded that, could he have grappled with them then, the irregularity of the features, of one of them at least, would have been truly conspicuous.

In vain the lady declared that no die had been turned; in vain she pledged her honour that she never beheld those two gentlemen before in the whole course of her life. Bob would not believe her; and he told her so flatly, and rated her well, and put it plainly and distinctly to her whether she ought not to be ashamed of her conduct; which seemed to touch her rather, for she instantly observed that, as he was not exactly

satisfied, she would consent to his having another throw gratis.

"Another throw!" cried Bob, with an expression of scorn; and he really was very much disgusted with her behaviour. "I'll not have another throw! I'll have nothing more to do with you. Now I know what you are, if I was to go for to win the smallest mite of your money I should think myself pisoned!" And, hereupon, he quitted the spot with his friend.

He now clearly saw that the man who, being pecuniarily involved, seeks to retrieve himself by gambling, is a fool; and, having made a highly laudable resolution to profit by the experience he had purchased that day, he proceeded towards town, deeply buried in reflection: for how the cook was to be paid, and how his heavy half-and-half, ale, and brandy-andwater losses were to be settled, were mysteries which had still to be solved.

THE POET'S CHOICE.

'T was in youth, that hour of dreaming; Round me, visions fair were beaming, Golden fancies brightly gleaming,

Such as start to birth

When the wandering restless mind,
Drunk with beauty, thinks to find
Creatures of a fairy kind

Realised on Earth!

Then, for me, in every dell Hamadryads seem'd to dwell (They who die, as Poets tell,

Each with her own tree):
And sweet mermaids, low reclining,
Dim light through their grottos shining,
Green weeds round their soft limbs twining
Peopled the deep Sea.

Then, when moon and stars were fair,
Nymph-like visions fill'd the air,
With blue wings and golden hair
Bending from the skies;
And each cave by echo haunted
In its depth of shadow granted,
Brightly the Egeria wanted,

To my eager eyes.

But those glories passed away;
Earth seemed left to dull decay,
And my heart in sadness lay,

Desolate, uncheer'd;
Like one wrapt in painful sleeping,
Pining, thirsting, waking, weeping,
Watch thro' Life's dark midnight keeping,
Till thy form appear'd!

Then my soul, whose erring measure
Knew not where to find true pleasure,
Woke and seized the golden treasure
Of thy human love;

And, looking on thy radiant brow,
My lips in gladness breathed the vow
Which angels, not more fair than thou,
Have register'd above.

And now I take my quiet rest,
With my head upon thy breast,
I will make no further quest

In Fancy's realms of light;
Fay, nor nymph, nor winged spirit,
Shall my store of love inherit;
More thy mortal charm doth merit

Than dream, however bright:
And my soul-like some sweet bird
Whose song at Summer eve is heard,
When the breeze, so lightly stirr'd,

Leaves the branch unbent-
Sits and all-triumphant sings,
Folding up her brooded wings,
And gazing out on earthly things
With a calm content.

512

THE JOLLY MILLER OF THE WINDMILL.

A FRAGMENT.

Lolling indolently at the foot of his mill-steps stood a stout miller whistling merrily, when a stranger, who had been for some time slowly toiling up the hill, accosted him.

"Why dost thou whistle, friend?" said he.

"For lack of wind," replied the miller, abruptly; and the stranger smiled at the paradoxical reply.

"Thou art short-continued he.

"Some six feet, at any rate," answered the miller drawing himself up.

"Thou art a merry soul."

"Merry!-pshaw !-flat as a cask of unbunged ale-no!— that 's windy rather like an unblown bladder, for that 's flat for the same reason-want of wind."

"Then thou art only in spirits when thy mill's going like a race-horse."

"That's a bad comparison," said the miller; "for my mill only goes when it's blown-and that's just when a horse stops."

True; I should have said an ass, for that, too, goes the better for a blow."

"Thou hast hit it," said the miller, laughing; "and I shall henceforth never see a donkey without thinking"

"Of me?" anticipated the stranger, joining in the laugh. "Surely," continued he, "thine is a happy vocation. Thy situation, too, is so much above the richest of thy neighbors, nay, even the great lord of the manor himself must look little from the height thou beholdest him."

"Why, yes," replied the miller; "and although I be not a proud man, I look down upon all; for not only the peasant, but the squire, is beneath me. 'T is ture, like another tradesman, I depend upon my sails for a livelihood; but I draw all my money from the farmer's till; and then, all the hungry look up to me for their meal."

"How grateful ought all to be for thy favors?"

"Ay, indeed; for where would be either the highest or the lowest bread without my exertions? To be sure, if they be ungrateful I can give them the sack!"

"Every mouth ought to be filled with the miller's praise," said the stranger.

"Certainly," added the miller; "for every mouth would be imperfect without the grinders."

Here they both joined in a hearty laugh; and the jolly miller, finding the stranger's opinions and sentiments so flatteringly in unison with his own, gave him an invitation to taste his malt, while they conversed upon his meal.

THE PLAY-GROUND.

BY ELIZA COOK.

'T is not a place where the heirs of pride
Can leap in their pastimes far and wide;
No marbled court-no daisied sward-
'T is but two fathoms of stone-paved yard.
No freshening breeze-no trelliced bower-
No bee to chase from flower to flower.
'Tis dimly close-in a city pent-
But the hearts within it are well content.

Five young forms are busy there,
In the August sunlight, warm and fair;
And there are the shouts of mirth and might,
In the gloom of a chill November night.
Shells are scattered and squibs whirl high,
While they build the grotto or burn the guy.
The flagstones ring with the revel joys
Of two wild girls and three rude boys.
They are kindred ones, that ever share
The same fond love, the same plain fare;
They have sprung together, side by side,
And heart to heart is closely tied.
They bound as lightly as the ball
That dances back from the whitewashed wall;
And beauty and health illume each face,
Though their play-ground be but a narrow place.

Time's dial, numbered with hopes and fears,
Has told the flight of a score of years;
And few of the golden figures are found
That once filled up the whole smooth round.
Where is the young and happy band
That sported together hand in hand?
Where are the creatures glad and bright,
That made the narrow play-ground light?
The eldest-born once more has come
To the play-place of his boyhood's home;
And his eye is cast on the swivel ring,
Where he passed the rope for a sister's swing.
He remembers when it used to shine
With the constant wear of the cable line.
The spider's web is round it now,

And he turns his glance with falling brow.

He hath no mate-he stands alone,
And marks the broken corner-stone
Where the hole was scooped, and treasures spread
In buttons of brass and dumps of lead.
He stands in fixed and pensive thought
Above the chinks his peg-top wrought.
The lid droops closer o'er his eye,
And his breathing deepens to a sigh.
A single nail still marks the spot
Where he toiled to fix the pigeon's cot;
And the rusted staple is clinging yet
Where the kennel for his dog was set.
He looks upon the slated ledge
Where a brother climbed the slippery edge.
The brother, boldest of the three,
The frank, the kind-and where is he?
That one of the five has passed away,
Ere a lock of his rich brown hair was grey;
The death damp stood on his brow serene
Ere the trace of a wrinkled line was seen.
The strongest in hand, the finest in form,
Is laid in the dust with the shroud and worm;
The bravest in heart, the loudest in mirth,
In the flush of his youth has passed from earth.
And one is far in another land,
His steed the camel, his bed the sand:
And the others are dwelling wide apart,
With a coldness in each selfish heart.
The world has strangely warped each breast
That so purely glowed in the parent nest.
The links that formed Love's silken chain
Are broken, never to meet again.

Fortune has bribed with dazzling gold,
And truth and feeling have been sold,
Till a sister's or a brother's name
Are breathed in tones of bitter blame.
Happiest far the stripling boy
Who died in the hours of peace and joy;-
Who passed in the flush of his beauty's bloom
From the narrow play-ground to the tomb.

LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS.-Fruits and flowers of all kinds are used to this day as a means of allegoric communication among a people so illiterate as the Turks. The rose is principally prized because the Moslems suppose it grew from the perspiration of Mahomet, and they never suffer the petal of the flower to wither on the ground. In all emblematical communications it is deemed the representation of beauty and joy; the orange flower marks hope; the marigold, despair; the amaranth, constancy; the tulip, a reproach of infidelity. It is thus that bouquets of flowers, called selams, supply the place of letters, and the illiterate lover conveys to his mistress feelings and sentiments which the elaborate written language could scarcely express. In this manner slaves hold tender communication with their mistress, even in the presence of their terrible master. The captive Greek is generally employed as a gardener: by an ingenious arrange ment of a parterre of flowers, he holds mute and eloquent discourse with her he loves, even while his jealous rival and master is looking on, and his instant death would follow a dis

covery.