hues and profound shadows, and also "that mysterious harmony between the personality of the poet and his creation," which is, after all, the great secret of artistic success, the magnet which attracts the hearts of our fellow-beings, the true divining-rod which sounds to the depths of human hearts grown cold, unhappily, in

"The dreary intercourse of daily life,"

and shows the hidden treasure of human tenderness, on which Custom indeed lies

"with a weight

Heavy as frost, and deep almost as life."

:

While talking of the state of mind and feeling he had been in during its composition, he said: "Sorrow may surely be compared to opium, Ottilie, that delicate black droplet dusky amber, with the dumb flash of the spirit-gold in it, such as one hears in what you call ‘a mute chord' in some wildering music. Yes, this opium of grief, like the mysterious Oriental drug, increases the activity of the mind in such a way as to enable us to construct out of palpitating feelings and emotions curious and delightful intellectual pleasures."

We walked up and down the terrace, talking, quite forgetting that the Villa was locked at nine o'clock. When we turned to leave the grounds we found it was eleven o'clock. The gates were fastened we felt certain, and we might be exposed to disagreeable trouble by asking any of the sentries to open them for us. To be sure, Mr. Rochester lived in the palazzo directly opposite the corner entrance; and by sending for him as the American Ambassador, we could be relieved instantly from all annoyance. But there was an awkwardness in this which I did not like.

We had no business to be there at that hour; it had arisen from our thoughtlessness, our habit of personal independence of action as well as thought, which had been encouraged in us almost as a virtue, certainly as a charm in our childhood, — but which has plunged both of us into many sad scrapes since we have grown up; and we have learned, that when we do thus innocently and unconsciously outrage the world's dicta and laws, which are wise and should be observed for many reasons, the best plan is to extricate ourselves from the penalties and dilemmas as quietly and with as little help from others as possible.

"Can you clamber down a wall, Ottilie?"

"We shall have to try it, at all events, Philip." "Suppose a sharp sentinel shoots at us?

spur

But I re

member, you, like most nervous persons, are as brave as Julius Cæsar, especially under the of excitement. You will neither halloo nor faint, if he does; so come, let us make the attempt."

If I was as brave as Philip gave me credit for being, I was feeling a most cowardly repentance for having allowed myself to be placed in such a position. As we walked to the parapet wall, near the terrace, I was actually shivering and trembling with fear, not at being shot at, I would willingly have faced a battery of shots, but I was dreading the appearance that the whole affair would present, in case some sentinel, seeing us, should take it into his dull head to defend the fancy ducks and other public park property of his sovereign. Suppose Philip should be killed, or I maimed!

As this absurd proposition loomed down in all its gigantic proportions upon me, I said to myself, "If they would only pitch us into the sea after they had shot us, I

.

should not care so much; for all idle talk and gossip would be silenced in the presence of perfect ignorance of our fate."

But no such tragic and terrific event happened. While Philip was clambering down the wall, a fisherman in his boat passed near the beach. We called to him, and explained our difficulty. The man went in search of a ladder, and soon returned, giving me a chance of descending the wall safely and easily.

We had a merry walk up the beach to the Mergellina, and quite an adventure to relate on our return, magnifying it of course, and dwelling on the imaginary danger of sentinel shooting and the like; for, once relieved from the immediate presence of peril, my repentance, like that of most cowards, had passed away, and I was quite as ready to enjoy the whole affair as if I had indeed shown what Philip calls “game " through the dilemma.

D

PSYCHE.

HILIP and Luigi are becoming close friends. They had met before in Paris, but only in general society and among men. Their intercourse through us places them on a different footing with each other. Intelligent, frank women, with generous natures, bring truly superior men very closely together; and the influence they exercise on each other is beneficial to all.

A new period of life appears to be opening to Philip. A free interchange of thought passes between him and Luigi, and the poet seems to gain new strength while talking with this pure young high-priest of nature, who has been called so early away from life's turmoils and placed in the sanctuary.

Philip, like all truly superior persons, is free from petty jealousies and selfish uneasiness in the presence of an equal; his fine, broad-chested, healthy mind has no wretched diseases, no sad maladies of morbidity to con tend with: therefore he is capable of doing full justice to Luigi. He makes me very happy by coming to me with his enthusiastic expressions of delight at their intimacy, and his frank admiration of his new friend. This morning he said to me, "Luini is a very superior man, Ottilie. His calm, observing mind, his just intuitions, almost

feminine in their delicacy, his pure unspotted heart, make him a being totally apart from the rest of men. He does me infinite service. He is a draught of old Grecian to my thirsty, half-savage Teuton spirit, very cool and refreshing. His reason is strong and yet so enlarged, that while it holds firm the folds of his character, it does not cramp or dwarf them. Now that is my trouble, you know; my imagination controls me more than my reason, and, being less firm, lets the folds fly loose, and the character therefore shows great inconsistencies.”

Luigi responds frankly to Philip's friendship, and shows to me the same kind brotherly manner he has from the beginning of our acquaintance; but if I am not very much mistaken, I think he is finding in our trio "metal more attractive" than either the famous poet or his friend Ottilie. I am almost sure he is fast falling deep in love with Venitia, and yet I do not think he admits it, even to himself.

From the commencement of our intimacy he has expressed an artist's rapturous admiration for her rare beauty. As they have grown better acquainted, his attention has been attracted by the charms of her mind and the striking originality of her genius, toned down by exquisite culture and refinement, - which are to intellect and genius what the polish is to the diamond's brilliant light and the haze to the opal's fire. His sudden intimacy with me brought him first into our little circle free of ceremony; and since Philip has been here, he has seemed as one of our family circle.

Gradually Venitia has thrown aside her girlish shyness, allows her playful, piquant ways to sparkle out as she used to when we were alone, and completely enchants the poor man.