Nithsdaill to her agent at Terregles, which | Lord Linton's to his mother, Lady Tra are interesting, chiefly as showing her quair, dated Paris, May, 1716, that Lord interest and practical knowledge in the Nithsdaill was then on the eve of starting various domestic arrangements, necessi- for Italy to join the Chevalier (James III.). tated by her straitened circumstances. The prince had written to him in warm In the month of June apparently, she re- terms urging him to come to him, and turned to London, taking the same pre-assuring him that as long as he himself cautions as on her former journey. On had a loaf of bread in the world he would reaching town she found that great talk share it with him. Possibly Lord Nithswas being made of her northern expedi- daill had been disappointed with the retion, and she was told that the king was ception he received; at any rate his visit greatly displeased with her, and had or- must have been a short one if he could dered search to be made for her, declar- accomplish it and the double journey by ing that Lady Nithsdaill did what she October, as it is certain that by the midpleased in spite of him, and had done him dle of that month, he and Lady Nithsdaill more mischief than any woman in Chris- were together at Lille. Here his wife was tendom. Lady Nithsdaill remained con- again prostrated by illness, as we learn cealed until the excitement had subsided, by one of Lord Nithsdaill's rare letters. and then, warned of the danger of her On leaving Lille the Nithsdaills proceeded position as long as she remained in Brit- to Paris, and there Lady Nithsdaill was ain, and urged by her husband to delay received with great kindness by her royal no longer, she prepared to join him in mistress, Mary of Modena, at whose court, France, taking the little Lady Anne with as we know, she had passed her youth. her. Lady Nithsdaill writes to her sister But willing as the queen would have been at Traquair on the eve of her voyage, to serve Lady Nithsdaill, she was herself July 19, and the next letter we find is one in such straitened circumstances, that but from the trusty Evans, announcing the little help could be expected. Unable to arrival of the party in Belgium. Lady place Lady Nithsdaill about her own perNithsdaill had indeed escaped her ene- son, she however granted her a pension mies, but the stormy sea passage nearly of one hundred livres a month. Lord cost her her life. Seized by a dangerous Nithsdaill already received two hundred illness she had to be put ashore at Sluice, livres, but with his expensive habits he where she lay for some time unable to could not live on this sum. And now proceed. This must have been the more commences the constant reference to trying as Bruges was so near, and Lady money matters, the struggles to make Nithsdaill must have longed to be with ends meet, and apologies for Lord Nithsher sister, Lady Lucy, then superioress of daill's demands for assistance from his the English convent in that town. The relations, which occupy so large a portion latter, apprised by Mrs. Evans of her of his wife's letters, and which offer a sister's condition, sent a lay sister to melancholy view of the petty trials and Sluice, and all the comforts necessary for difficulties undergone during the weary the invalid. A gentleman who had been years now before her, trials which, to a Lady Nithsdaill's fellow passenger was high-spirited woman like her, must have fortunately going direct to "the place been peculiarly trying. When the wives where Lord Nithsdaill then was, and of the other Jacobite lords were granted undertook to communicate the news of their jointures by the English governhis wife's illness to him. These details we ment, Lord Nithsdaill's heroic wife was learn from Mrs. Evans's letter, so graph- purposely excepted, and she and her husically written, and so full of affectionate band depended for the actual necessaries interest in her mistress, that we regret of life upon the bounty of the exiled that it is the only one that has been pre- royal family, and on the kindness and libserved. About the middle of August Lady erality of the Traquairs. That the latter Nithsdaill was able to move to Bruges, were unfailing in their assistance, the and by October she and her husband were family letters bear abundant proof. once more reunited. Of Lord Nithsdaill's movements during the months previous to this date it is difficult to speak with certainty, but we gather from a letter of It is to be regretted that Mrs. Evans does not mention the name of the place where Lord Nithsdaill was. As will be seen, we believe him to have been then in attendance on the Chevalier, presumably in Italy. By the end of February the Nithsdaills quitted Paris. Lady Nithsdaill had persuaded her husband to return to the prince, where alone there seemed a possibility of his being able to fill a position at all suitable to his necessities; and she herself, forced to live with as little cost as possible, retired for a short time to La Flêche, where she could have the satisfac- | tion of being near her son, who was pursuing his studies at the Jesuit College of that town.* How much Lady Nithsdaill felt the fresh separation from her husband, and her anxiety about his pecuniary matters may be gathered from the following words in a letter to Lady Traquair, dated Feb. 29, 1717: All my satisfaction is, that at least my hus. band has twice as much to maintain himselfe and man as I have, so I hope when he sees there is no resource, as indeed now there is not, having sold all, even to the little necessary plate I took so much pains to bring over, he will live accordingly, which will be some comfort to me, though I have the mortification to be from him, which, after we mett againe, I hopet never to have seperated, but God's will be done; and I submit to this cross as well as many others I have had in the world, though I must confess living from a husband I love so well is a very great one. On June 10th Lady Nithsdaill tells her sister-in-law, that she has heard of Lord Nithsdaill's safe arrival in Italy, after a most dangerous passage. For five days the peril was so great that the seamen, in despair, left off working, and the ship remained at the mercy of the waves. It was mercifully cast upon the shore at Antibes, and Lord Nithsdaill was soon after enabled to join his royal master. It was not long, however, before he became weary of his position near the Chevalier, and his letters to his wife inform her of the disappointments he meets with, and soon of his wish to leave the prince and return to her. He then still clung to the hope that Lady Nithsdaill would receive her jointure from the English government, and looked to that for their support. Lady Nithsdaill, more prudent, and zealous for her husband's honor, continued to urge him to remain with his master. In answer to one of Lord Nithsdaill's desponding letters, she writes: You may be sure, my dear lord, that having you with me, or neare me, would be the greatest natural satisfaction I could have in this world; but I should be a very ill wife, if to procure it myselfe, I would lett you run into those inconveniencys you would doe, if you follow'd the method you propose of leaving your master. For assure yourself, you will in following it, ruine your reputation and put yourself in a starving condition, This letter was written in September, After her residence at La Flêche, Lady Nithsdaill apparently returned to Paris. 1717, and in her subsequent letters to Lady Traquair, Lady Nithsdaill refers to the uncertainty of Lord Nithsdaill's plans and his recurring wish to leave Italy. In the following May, she alludes to the report of the prince's approaching marriage, and on June 8th is able to confirm the good news, and inform her sisterin-law that Lord Nithsdaill has had a most satisfactory interview with his master, who announced his marriage, and told him he specially desired to have him in his household. Lord Nithsdaill urged his wife to join him with as little delay as possible, but as usual, pecuniary difficulties were in the way. After quoting her husband's letter, Lady Nithsdaill contin ues: I But tho' he bid me loos noe time in writing to you about borrowing money, I would not doe it, because though he did not know it, my dear Mistress who was underhand the occasion of furthering my promotion, and who, though it must never be known, was resolved I should be about her daughter-in-law, had promist me to give me notice when it was fitt for me to goe, and would have given me what was requisite to carry me, and writ to me four dayes befor her illness, what she would have me write to her Son in order to it, which I did the first post, and sent it inclosed in a letter to her. But, allas! it arrived the day she dyed, whether her loss is not a great one to me. some hours after her death. Imagine you may truly say I have lost a kind mother, for she was truly that to me whilst I had her. I would not write to you, being sensible that you have already done a great deal, so that nothing but unavoidable necessity could make me mention any such thing. But alias! I am so far from being able to comply with my husband's dessire now, that I know not how to scarce keep myselfe from starving with the small credit I have here, being reduced to the greatest of straits. My pention never having been payd but by months, and the dangerous and long sickness of my little girle occasion'd my being in debt, even before my fateall loss. But had I not lost my deare Mistris, I know she would have supply'd me out of hir privat purse, for my pention was too small to have lived upon, without her unknown supplys, and even of that small pention I have not had one farthing since her death, and if I doe not doe what my husband desires me, all hopes is lost of our ever promoting ourselves, if we slipe this opportunity, which you will see by his other letter writ after he knew of the loss I had made, tho' he knows not yet how great it was to me. But if your husband's goodness and yours does not give a helping hand, I may not only loos all hopes, but even starve for what I see. We do not learn whether, on this occa Mary of Modena. sion, Lady Traquair was able to come to her sister-in law's assistance, but it was the less necessary, as the prince himself provided money for her journey, and so at last she was able to rejoin her husband in Italy. This journey was the last of any importance undertaken by Lady Nithsdaill. For the remaining years of their lives, she and Lord Nithsdaill lived in Rome, with the exception, perhaps, of some visits to other Italian towns. And now we would fain have hoped that the valiant lady, who had already suffered so much, would close her days in peace, honored and appreciated by all; but al though, no doubt, Lady Nithsdaill had attained her greatest wish that of being reunited to her husband-many trials still awaited her. The old pecuniary difficulties met her in Rome, and her husband's inability to make ends meet, was a source of constant anxiety to her. It might at least have been supposed that at the court of Prince James, Lady Nithsdaill would have met with that attention which her own character, as well as her husband's known suffering in the cause, merited, but even here much disappointment awaited her. When Lady Nithsdaill had been some months in Rome, the auspicious event already alluded to took place. On May 17, 1719, Lady Nithsdaill, writing to Lady Traquair, announces the arrival of the princess Clementina Sobieski, the Chevalier's bride. Lady Nithsdaill is charmed with her appearance, and describes her as "one of the charmingest, obliging, and well brede young ladys that ever was seen," and very pretty, and considers that the prince cannot fail to be extremely happy with her. Lady Nithsdaill's subsequent letters constantly refer to the royal family, and the following passage of a letter, dated 1723, gives a pleasing picture of the kindly feeling evinced by the royal pair towards their followers: I have no newse to tell you, but that last Tuesday, we had the honour of my Master and Mistris at supper with us, so that I never could hope to have my weading day so solemnly kept, and they were so obliging as to be truly merry which favour I shall never forget. This is the bright side of the picture, for Lady Nithsdaill had many slights to undergo in her relations with the court. She and Lord Nithsdaill must have had enemies, or at least but cold friends, among those near the prince, for there certainly seems to have been a certain coldness and constraint on his part and on that of the princess towards Lady Nithsdaill on more than one important occasion. That she keenly felt the difficulties of her position is evident from her letters, but for the sake of her family she bore everything, and did not seek to withdraw herself from her position in the royal household. That her personal feelings of duty and affection to her master and mistress did not falter we may feel sure, and her letters show the tender interest with which she watched over the infancy of the royal child, whose melancholy destiny she could then happily little foresee, and the joy with which she greeted, a few years later, the birth of a second prince. And so the years passed, without any special event to mark their course. The correspondence with her sister-in-law seems to have been one of Lady Nithsdaill's chief comforts, a link, as it were, with home and kindred, and we can imagine her pleasure when her son's happy marriage with his cousin, Lady Catherine Stuart, united the families still more closely. On the same day that witnessed Lord Maxwell's wedding, his sister, Lady Anne, became the wife of John, fourth Lord Bellew. This marriage also gave great satisfaction to Lord and Lady Nithsdaill. At peace about her children, Lady Nithsdaill had yet one great sorrow to undergo, the greatest that could befall her loving heart. In 1745, a fatal and memorable year for all connected with the house of Stuart, Lord Nithsdaill died, and we who have followed his wife through so much sorrow, can guess what this crowning grief must have been to her. After five years of lonely widowhood, Lady Nithsdaill died, like her husband, in Rome. Of her last moments we possess no record, nor can the place of her sepulchre be discovered, but this matters the less, as her name is one of those that never die, and the story of her wifely devotion will be told in all generations. From Belgravia. THE GREAT KEINPLATZ EXPERIMENT. Of all the sciences which have puzzled the sons of man none had such an attraction for the learned Professor von Baumgarten as those which relate to psychology and the ill-defined relations between mind and matter. A celebrated anatomist, a profound chemist, and one of the first physiologists in Europe, it was a relief for him to turn from these subjects and to bring his varied knowledge to bear upon | fellow. Months before he had lost his the study of the soul and the mysterious heart to young Elise, the blue-eyed, yel relationship of spirits. At first when as low-haired daughter of the lecturer. Ala young man he began to dip into the though he had succeeded in learning from secrets of mesmerism, his mind seemed her lips that she was not indifferent to his to be wandering in a strange land where suit, he had never dared to announce him. all was chaos and darkness, save that here self to her family as a formal suitor. and there some great unexplainable and Hence he would have found it a difficult disconnected fact loomed out in front of matter to see his young lady had he not him. As the years passed, however, and adopted the expedient of making himself as the worthy professor's stock of knowl- useful to the professor. By this means he edge increased, for knowledge begets frequently was asked to the old man's knowledge as money bears interest, much house, where he willingly submitted to be which had seemed strange and unaccount- experimented upon in any way, as long as able began to take another shape in his there was a chance of his receiving one eyes. New trains of reasoning became bright glance from the eyes of Elise, or familiar to him, and he perceived connect- one touch of her little hand. ing links where all had been incomprehensible and startling. By experiments which extended over twenty years, he obtained a basis of facts upon which it was his ambition to build up a new exact science which should embrace mesmerism, spiritualism, and all cognate subjects. In this he was much helped by his intimate knowledge of the more intricate parts of animal physiology which treat of nerve currents and the working of the brain; for Alexis von Baumgarten was regius professor of physiology at the University of Keinplatz, and had all the resourses of the laboratory to aid him in his profound researches. Professor von Baumgarten was tall and thin, with a hatchet face and steel-grey eyes, which were singularly bright and penetrating. Much thought had furrowed his forehead and contracted his heavy eyebrows, so that he appeared to wear a perpetual frown, which often misled people as to his character, for though austere he was tender-hearted. He was popular among the students, who would gather round him after his lectures and listen eagerly to his strange theories. Often he he would call for volunteers from amongst them in order to conduct some experiment, so that eventually there was hardly a lad in the class who had not, at one time or another, been thrown into a mesmeric trance by his professor. Young Fritz von Hartmann was a handsome lad enough. There were broad acres, too, which would descend to him when his father died. To many he would have seemed an eligible suitor; but madame frowned upon his presence in the house, and lectured the professor at times on his allowing such a wolf to prowl around their lamb. To tell the truth, Fritz had an evil name in Keinplatz. Never was there a riot or a duel, or any other mischief afoot, but the young Rhinelander figured as a ringleader in it. No one used more free and violent lan guage, no one drank more, no one played cards more habitually, no one was more idle, save in the one solitary subject. No wonder then that the good Frau Professorin gathered her Fräulein under her wing, and resented the attentions of such a mauvais sujet. As to the worthy lecturer, he was too much engrossed by his strange studies to form an opinion upon the subject, one way or the other. For many years there was one question which had continually obtruded itself upon his thoughts. All his experiments and his theories turned upon a single point. A hundred times a day the professor asked himself whether it was possible for the human spirit to exist apart from the body for a time and then to return to it once again. When the possibility first suggested itself to him his scientific mind Of all these young devotees of science had revolted from it. It clashed too viothere was none who equalled in enthusi- lently with preconceived ideas and the asm Fritz von Hartmann. It had often prejudices of his early training. Gradu seemed strange to his fellow-students that ally, however, as he proceeded farther and wild, reckless Fritz, as dashing a young farther along the pathway of original refellow as ever hailed from the Rhinelands, search, his mind shook off its old fetters should devote the time and trouble which and became ready to face any conclusion he did, in reading up abstruse works and which could reconcile the facts. There in assisting the professor in his strange were many things which made him beexperiments. The fact was, however, lieve that it was possible for mind to exist that Fritz was a knowing and long-headed | apart from matter. At last it occurred to him that by a daring and original experi- | his mouth again or refer to the subject in ment the question might be definitely de- any way a promise which he has faithcided. fully kept. This narrative has been compiled, however, from the most authentic sources, and the events cited in it may be relied upon as substantially correct. "It is evident," he remarked in his celebrated article upon invisible entities, which appeared in the Keinplatz wochenliche Medicalschrift about this time, and which surprised the whole scientific world -"it is evident that under certain conditions the soul or mind does separate itself from the body. In the case of a mesmerized person, the body lies in a cataleptic condition, but the spirit has left it. Perhaps you reply that the soul is there, but in a dormant condition. I answer that this is not so, otherwise how can one account for the condition of clairvoyance, which has fallen into disrepute through the knavery of certain scoundrels, but which can easily be shown to be an undoubted fact. I have been able myself, with a sensitive subject, to obtain an accurate description of what was going on in another room or another house. How can such knowledge be accounted for on any hypothesis save that the soul of the subject has left the body and is wandering through space? For a moment it is recalled by the voice of the operator and says what it has seen, and then wings its way once more through the air. Since the spirit is by its very nature invisible, we cannot see these comings and goings, but we see their effect in the body of the subject, now rigid and inert, now strug gling to narrate impressions which could never have come to it by natural means. There is only one way which I can see by which the fact can be demonstrated. Although we in the flesh are unable to see these spirits, yet our own spirits, could we separate them from the body, would be conscious of the presence of others. It is my intention therefore shortly to mesmerize one of my pupils. I shall then mesmerize myself in a manner which has become easy to me. After that, if my theory holds good, my spirit will have no difficulty in meeting and communing with the spirit of my pupil, both being separated from the body. I hope to be able to communicate the result of this interesting experiment in an early number of the Keinplatz wochenliche Medicalschrift." When the good professor finally fulfilled his promise, and published an account of what occurred, the narrative was so ex traordinary that it was received with gen eral incredulity. The tone of some of the papers was so offensive in their com ments upon the matter that the angry savant declared that he would never open It happened, then, that shortly after the time when Professor von Baumgarten conceived the idea of the above-mentioned experiment, he was walking thoughtfully homewards after a long day in the labora tory when he met a crowd of roystering students who had just streamed out from a beer-house. At the head of them, half intoxicated and very noisy, was young Fritz von Hartmann. The professor would have passed them, but his pupil ran across and intercepted him. "Heh! my worthy master," he said, taking the old man by the sleeve, and leading him down the road with him. "There is something that I have to say to you, and it is easier for me to say it now, when the good beer is humming in my head, than at another time." "What is it, then, Fritz?" the physiol ogist asked, looking at him in mild surprise. "I hear, mein Herr, that you are about to do some wondrous experiment in which you hope to take a man's soul out of his body, and then to put it back again. Is it not so?" "It is true, Fritz." "And have you considered, my dear sir, that you may have some difficulty in finding some one on whom to try this? Potztausend! Suppose that the soul went out and would not come back. That would be a bad business. Who is to take the risk?" "But, Fritz," the professor cried, very much startled by this view of the matter, "I had relied upon your assistance in the matter. Surely you will not desert me. Consider the honor and glory." "Consider the fiddlesticks!" the student cried angrily. "Am I to be paid always thus? Did I not stand two hours upon a glass insulator while you poured electricity into my body? Have you not stimulated my phrenic nerves, besides ruining my digestion with a galvanic current round my stomach? Four-and-thirty times you have mesmerized me, and what have I got from all this? Nothing. And now you wish to take my soul out, as you would take the works from a watch. It is more than flesh and blood can stand." "Dear, dear!" the professor cried in great distress. "That is very true, Fritz. I never thought of it before. If you can |