done credit to Shenstone himself. Few artificial ornaments had been admitted; but every now and then a statue or a temple presented itself exactly in those spots for which they were best adapted, and where the eye (as it were) expected to meet with them. On a spot, where the wood which had been for some way thick and dark, opened suddenly on a beautiful prospect of the burning mountain, an ancient pillar of the simple Doric order had been left standing untouched. No sacrilegious hand had been allowed to disturb the thin green moss with which time had clothed the column; but on a little marble tablet, at its foot, was written from Martial-" Hic est pampineis viridis modo Vesuvius umbriis," seemingly to call the attention to the fine position in which the mountain is here beheld. In different parts of the grounds a great many quotations from Latin and Italian poets were engraved, either on little monuments, B 5 numents, or in the temples with which some places were decorated. But the famous Lybian part, from the Æneid, was the principal, furnishing the best description of the scene around that could have been chosen. Engraved on the centre column of the house, in gilded letters, was written: "Est in secessu longo locus; insula portum Charles wandered through the little Elysium that stretched around him; and with Mary hanging on his arm, in the heart of picturesque beauty, he did not at all wonder at the ancients having called it the Campania Felix. Nor had he an objection to urge against lady Anne's proposal, to take the villa for the rest of their stay; but when it was added, that that stay should be prolonged for another month, he he exclaimed warmly against it, as a violation of all engagements. He was, however, out-voted; but, like a good general, he tried to draw an advantage even from his defeat; and endeavoured, with all his eloquence, to persuade Mary to give him her hand before their return to England. Mary was not accustomed to refuse him any thing, and she answered no but faintly, looking as if she was half inclined to yield. But lord Burton and lady Anne joined in opposing it, though Charles strongly urged the pleasure his father would receive from such an arrangement, and proposed to write immediately for his If Mary had at all hesitated, the moment she heard her brother object, her resolution became fixed, and her negative decided. consent. Charles was at first a good deal disappointed, and somewhat inclined to sulk; but Mary was so gentle and kind, that he could not even accuse her of coldness, and was at length fain to compromise the mat ter, by extorting from her a promise to be his, directly on their return to England, without waiting for any long forms or delays. To this Frederic cordially assented; and having spent some time at the villa, the whole party returned to Naples in high good humour. On hearing of the arrangements that had been made, the baron de S, who was almost constantly with them, agreed to prolong his stay at Naples till they quitted it; and thence to proceed along with them to England, which country he much desired to revisit. This promise gave great pleasure to all; for though there was still an evident depression and shadow upon his mind, all reserve of manner had worn off towards them; and though not knowing the causes of his sorrow, they would sometimes touch upon subjects that seemed painfully to affect him; when this was not the case, he would be amusing, cheerful, and even gay; while lord Burton also, in his society, would often often seem to lose for a time, remembrance of those circumstances whose bitter traces could never be wholly obliterated from his memory. CHAPTER II. The parrot said, "People of former times, the sages of antiquity, have thus related.” The Tale. Tooti Nameh. THERE had been a period in the life of Charles Melville, and that at no great distance of time, when the calm current of life seemed little better than monotonous vegetation, unless when the excitement of some accident or adventure lent it an unexpected interest. But now he was sated with that kind of stimulus; his feelings were changed; he had new hopes, new objects |