The Last Man......................................................................................................................................................1

I VISITED Naples in the year 1818. On the 8th of December of that year, my companion and I crossed the

Bay, to visit the antiquities which are scattered on the shores of Bai�. The translucent and shining waters of

the calm sea covered fragments of old Roman villas, which were interlaced by sea weed, and received

diamond tints from the chequering of the sunbeams; the blue and pellucid element was such as Galatea

might have skimmed in her car of mother of pearl; or Cleopatra, more fitly than the Nile, have chosen as the

path of her magic ship. Though it was winter, the atmosphere seemed more appropriate to early spring; and

its genial warmth contributed to inspire those sensations of placid delight, which are the portion of every

traveller, as he lingers, loath to quit the tranquil bays and radiant promontories of Bai�.

We visited the socalled Elysian Fields and Avernus: and wandered through various ruined temples, baths,

and classic spots; at length we entered the gloomy cavern of the Cum�an Sibyl. Our Lazzeroni bore flaring

torches, which shone red, and almost dusky, in the murky subterranean passages, whose darkness thirstily

surrounding them, seemed eager to imbibe more and more of the element of light. We passed by a natural

archway, leading to a second gallery, and enquired, if we could not enter there also. The guides pointed to the

reflection of their torches on the water that paved it, leaving us to form our own conclusion; but adding it was

a pity, for it led to the Sibyl's Cave. Our curiosity and enthusiasm were excited by this circumstance, and we

insisted upon attempting the passage. As is usually the case in the prosecution of such enterprises, the

difficulties decreased on examination. We found, on each side of the humid pathway, "dry land for the sole of

the foot." At length we arrived at a large, desert, dark cavern, which the Lazzeroni assured us was the Sibyl's

Cave. We were sufficiently disappointed Yet we examined it with care, as if its blank, rocky walls

could still bear trace of celestial visitant. On one side was a small opening. "Whither does this lead?" we

asked; "can we enter here?""Questo poi, no," said the wild looking savage, who held the torch; "you can

"Nevertheless, I will try it," said my companion; "it may lead to the real cavern. Shall I go alone, or will you

I signified my readiness to proceed, but our guides protested against such a measure. With great volubility, in

their native Neapolitan dialect, with which we were not very familiar, they told us that there were spectres,

that the roof would fall in, that it was too narrow to admit us, that there was a deep hole within, filled with

water, and we might be drowned. My friend shortened the harangue, by taking the man's torch from him; and

The passage, which at first scarcely admitted us, quickly grew narrower and lower; we were almost bent

double; yet still we persisted in making our way through it. At length we entered a wider space, and the low

roof heightened; but, as we congratulated ourselves on this change, our torch was extinguished by a current of

air, and we were left in utter darkness. The guides bring with them materials for renewing the light, but we

had noneour only resource was to return as we came. We groped round the widened space to find the

entrance, and after a time fancied that we had succeeded. This proved however to be a second passage, which

evidently ascended. It terminated like the former; though something approaching to a ray, we could not tell

whence, shed a very doubtful twilight in the space. By degrees, our eyes grew somewhat accustomed to this

dimness, and we perceived that there was no direct passage leading us further; but that it was possible to

climb one side of the cavern to a low arch at top, which promised a more easy path, from whence we now

discovered that this light proceeded. With considerable difficulty we scrambled up, and came to another

passage with still more of illumination, and this led to another ascent like the former.

After a succession of these, which our resolution alone permitted us to surmount, we arrived at a wide cavern

with an arched domelike roof. An aperture in the midst let in the light of heaven; but this was overgrown

with brambles and underwood, which acted as a veil, obscuring the day, and giving a solemn religious hue to

the apartment. It was spacious, and nearly circular, with a raised seat of stone, about the size of a Grecian

couch, at one end. The only sign that life had been here, was the perfect snowwhite skeleton of a goat,

which had probably not perceived the opening as it grazed on the hill above, and had fallen headlong. Ages

perhaps had elapsed since this catastrophe; and the ruin it had made above, had been repaired by the growth

The rest of the furniture of the cavern consisted of piles of leaves, fragments of bark, and a white filmy

substance, resembling the inner part of the green hood which shelters the grain of the unripe Indian corn. We

were fatigued by our struggles to attain this point, and seated ourselves on the rocky couch, while the sounds

At length my friend, who had taken up some of the leaves strewed about, exclaimed, "This is the Sibyl's cave;

these are Sibylline leaves." On examination, we found that all the leaves, bark, and other substances, were

traced with written characters. What appeared to us more astonishing, was that these writings were expressed

in various languages: some unknown to my companion, ancient Chaldee, and Egyptian hieroglyphics, old as

the Pyramids. Stranger still, some were in modern dialects, English and Italian. We could make out little by

the dim light, but they seemed to contain prophecies, detailed relations of events but lately passed; names,

now well known, but of modern date; and often exclamations of exultation or woe, of victory or defeat, were

traced on their thin scant pages. This was certainly the Sibyl's Cave; not indeed exactly as Virgil describes it,

but the whole of this land had been so convulsed by earthquake and volcano, that the change was not

wonderful, though the traces of ruin were effaced by time; and we probably owed the preservation of these

leaves to the accident which had closed the mouth of the cavern, and the swiftgrowing vegetation which had

rendered its sole opening impervious to the storm. We made a hasty selection of such of the leaves, whose

writing one at least of us could understand; and then, laden with our treasure, we bade adieu to the dim

hyp�thric cavern, and after much difficulty succeeded in rejoining our guides.

During our stay at Naples, we often returned to this cave, sometimes alone, skimming the sunlit sea, and

each time added to our store. Since that period, whenever the world's circumstance has not imperiously called

me away, or the temper of my mind impeded such study, I have been employed in deciphering these sacred

remains. Their meaning, wondrous and eloquent, has often repaid my toil, soothing me in sorrow, and

exciting my imagination to daring flights, through the immensity of nature and the mind of man. For a while

my labours were not solitary; but that time is gone; and, with the selected and matchless companion of my

I present the public with my latest discoveries in the slight Sibylline pages. Scattered and unconnected as they

were, I have been obliged to add links, and model the work into a consistent form. But the main substance

rests on the truths contained in these poetic rhapsodies, and the divine intuition which the Cum�an damsel

I have often wondered at the subject of her verses, and at the English dress of the Latin poet. Sometimes I

have thought that, obscure and chaotic as they are, they owe their present form to me, their decipherer. As if

we should give to another artist the painted fragments which form the mosaic copy of Raphael's

Transfiguration in St. Peter's; he would put them together in a form, whose mode would be fashioned by his

own peculiar mind and talent. Doubtless the leaves of the Cum�an Sibyl have suffered distortion and

diminution of interest and excellence in my hands. My only excuse for thus transforming them, is that they

My labours have cheered long hours of solitude, and taken me out of a world, which has averted its once

benignant face from me, to one glowing with imagination and power. Will my readers ask how I could find

solace from the narration of misery and woeful change? This is one of the mysteries of our nature, which

holds full sway over me, and from whose influence I cannot escape. I confess, that I have not been unmoved

by the development of the tale; and that I have been depressed, nay, agonized, at some parts of the recital,

which I have faithfully transcribed from my materials. Yet such is human nature, that the excitement of mind

was dear to me, and that the imagination, painter of tempest and earthquake, or, worse, the stormy and

ruinfraught passions of man, softened my real sorrows and endless regrets, by clothing these fictitious ones

I hardly know whether this apology is necessary. For the merits of my adaptation and translation must decide

how far I have well bestowed my time and imperfect powers, in giving form and substance to the frail and

I AM the native of a seasurrounded nook, a cloudenshadowed land, which, when the surface of the globe,

with its shoreless ocean and trackless continents, presents itself to my mind, appears only as an

inconsiderable speck in the immense whole; and yet, when balanced in the scale of mental power, far

outweighed countries of larger extent and more numerous population. So true it is, that man's mind alone was

the creator of all that was good or great to man, and that Nature herself was only his first minister. England,

seated far north in the turbid sea, now visits my dreams in the semblance of a vast and wellmanned ship,

which mastered the winds and rode proudly over the waves. In my boyish days she was the universe to me.

When I stood on my native hills, and saw plain and mountain stretch out to the utmost limits of my vision,

speckled by the dwellings of my countrymen, and subdued to fertility by their labours, the earth's very centre

was fixed for me in that spot, and the rest of her orb was as a fable, to have forgotten which would have cost

My fortunes have been, from the beginning, an exemplification of the power that mutability may possess over

the varied tenor of man's life. With regard to myself, this came almost by inheritance. My father was one of

those men on whom nature had bestowed to prodigality the envied gifts of wit and imagination, and then left

his bark of life to be impelled by these winds, without adding reason as the rudder, or judgment as the pilot

for the voyage. His extraction was obscure; but circumstances brought him early into public notice, and his

small paternal property was soon dissipated in the splendid scene of fashion and luxury in which he was an

actor. During the short years of thoughtless youth, he was adored by the high bred triflers of the day, nor

least by the youthful sovereign, who escaped from the intrigues of party, and the arduous duties of kingly

business, to find neverfailing amusement and exhilaration of spirit in his society. My father's impulses,

never under his own control, perpetually led him into difficulties from which his ingenuity alone could

extricate him; and the accumulating pile of debts of honour and of trade, which would have bent to earth any

other, was supported by him with a light spirit and tameless hilarity; while his company was so necessary at

the tables and assemblies of the rich, that his derelictions were considered venial, and he himself received

This kind of popularity, like every other, is evanescent: and the difficulties of every kind with which he had

to contend increased in a frightful ratio compared with his small means of extricating himself. At such times

the king, in his enthusiasm for him, would come to his relief, and then kindly take his friend to task; my

father gave the best promises for amendment, but his social disposition, his craving for the usual diet of

admiration, and more than all, the fiend of gambling, which fully possessed him, made his good resolutions

transient, his promises vain. With the quick sensibility peculiar to his temperament, he perceived his power in

the brilliant circle to be on the wane. The king married; and the haughty princess of Austria, who became, as

queen of England, the head of fashion, looked with harsh eyes on his defects, and with contempt on the

affection her royal husband entertained for him. My father felt that his fall was near; but so far from profiting

by this last calm before the storm to save himself, he sought to forget anticipated evil by making still greater

sacrifices to the deity of pleasure, deceitful and cruel arbiter of his destiny.

The king, who was a man of excellent dispositions, but easily led, had now become a willing disciple of his

imperious consort. He was induced to look with extreme disapprobation, and at last with distaste, on my

father's imprudence and follies. It is true that his presence dissipated these clouds; his warmhearted

frankness, brilliant sallies, and confiding demeanour were irresistible: it was only when at a distance, while

still renewed tales of his errors were poured into his royal friend's ear, that he lost his influence. The queen's

dexterous management was employed to prolong these absences, and gather together accusations. At length

the king was brought to see in him a source of perpetual disquiet, knowing that he should pay for the

shortlived pleasure of his society by tedious homilies, and more painful narrations of excesses, the truth of

which he could not disprove. The result was, that he would make one more attempt to reclaim him, and in

Such a scene must have been one of deepest interest and highwrought passion. A powerful king,

conspicuous for a goodness which had heretofore made him meek, and now lofty in his admonitions, with

alternate entreaty and reproof, besought his friend to attend to his real interests, resolutely to avoid those

fascinations which in fact were fast deserting him, and to spend his great powers on a worthy field, in which

he, his sovereign, would be his prop, his stay, and his pioneer. My father felt this kindness; for a moment

ambitious dreams floated before him; and he thought that it would be well to exchange his present pursuits

for nobler duties. With sincerity and fervour he gave the required promise: as a pledge of continued favour,

he received from his royal master a sum of money to defray pressing debts, and enable him to enter under

good auspices his new career. That very night, while yet full of gratitude and good resolves, this whole sum,

and its amount doubled, was lost at the gamingtable. In his desire to repair his first losses, my father risked

double stakes, and thus incurred a debt of honour he was wholly unable to pay. Ashamed to apply again to

the king, he turned his back upon London, its false delights and clinging miseries; and, with poverty for his

sole companion, buried himself in solitude among the hills and lakes of Cumberland. His wit, his bon mots,

the record of his personal attractions, fascinating manners, and social talents, were long remembered and

repeated from mouth to mouth. Ask where now was this favourite of fashion, this companion of the noble,

this excelling beam, which gilt with alien splendour the assemblies of the courtly and the gayyou heard

that he was under a cloud, a lost man; not one thought it belonged to him to repay pleasure by real services,

or that his long reign of brilliant wit deserved a pension on retiring. The king lamented his absence; he loved

to repeat his sayings, relate the adventures they had had together, and exalt his talentsbut here ended his

Meanwhile my father, forgotten, could not forget. He repined for the loss of what was more necessary to him

than air or foodthe excitements of pleasure, the admiration of the noble, the luxurious and polished living

of the great. A nervous fever was the consequence; during which he was nursed by the daughter of a poor

cottager, under whose roof he lodged. She was lovely, gentle, and, above all, kind to him; nor can it afford

astonishment, that the late idol of highbred beauty should, even in a fallen state, appear a being of an

elevated and wondrous nature to the lowly cottagegirl. The attachment between them led to the illfated

Notwithstanding the tenderness and sweetness of my mother, her husband still deplored his degraded state.

Unaccustomed to industry, he knew not in what way to contribute to the support of his increasing family.

Sometimes he thought of applying to the king; pride and shame for a while withheld him; and, before his

necessities became so imperious as to compel him to some kind of exertion, he died. For one brief interval

before this catastrophe, he looked forward to the future, and contemplated with anguish the desolate situation

in which his wife and children would be left. His last effort was a letter to the king, full of touching

eloquence, and of occasional flashes of that brilliant spirit which was an integral part of him. He bequeathed

his widow and orphans to the friendship of his royal master, and felt satisfied that, by this means, their

prosperity was better assured in his death than in his life. This letter was enclosed to the care of a nobleman,

who, he did not doubt, would perform the last and inexpensive office of placing it in the king's own hand.

He died in debt, and his little property was seized immediately by his creditors. My mother, penniless and

burthened with two children, waited week after week, and month after month, in sickening expectation of a

reply, which never came. She had no experience beyond her father's cottage; and the mansion of the lord of

the manor was the chiefest type of grandeur she could conceive. During my father's life, she had been made

familiar with the name of royalty and the courtly circle; but such things, ill according with her personal

experience, appeared, after the loss of him who gave substance and reality to them, vague and fantastical. If,

under any circumstances, she could have acquired sufficient courage to address the noble persons mentioned

by her husband, the ill success of his own application caused her to banish the idea. She saw therefore no

escape from dire penury: perpetual care, joined to sorrow for the loss of the wondrous being, whom she

continued to contemplate with ardent admiration, hard labour, and naturally delicate health, at length released

The condition of her orphan children was peculiarly desolate. Her own father had been an emigrant from

another part of the country, and had died long since: they had no one relation to take them by the hand; they

were outcasts, paupers, unfriended beings, to whom the most scanty pittance was a matter of favour, and who

were treated merely as children of peasants, yet poorer than the poorest, who, dying, had left them, a

I, the elder of the two, was five years old when my mother died. A remembrance of the discourses of my

parents, and the communications which my mother endeavoured to impress upon me concerning my father's

friends, in slight hope that I might one day derive benefit from the knowledge, floated like an indistinct

dream through my brain. I conceived that I was different and superior to my protectors and companions, but I

knew not how or wherefore. The sense of injury, associated with the name of king and noble, clung to me;

but I could draw no conclusions from such feelings, to serve as a guide to action. My first real knowledge of

myself was as an unprotected orphan among the valleys and fells of Cumberland. I was in the service of a

farmer; and with crook in hand, my dog at my side, I shepherded a numerous flock on the near uplands. I

cannot say much in praise of such a life; and its pains far exceeded its pleasures. There was freedom in it, a

companionship with nature, and a reckless loneliness; but these, romantic as they were, did not accord with

the love of action and desire of human sympathy, characteristic of youth. Neither the care of my flock, nor

the change of seasons, were sufficient to tame my eager spirit; my outdoor life and unemployed time were

the temptations that led me early into lawless habits. I associated with others friendless like myself; I formed

them into a band, I was their chief and captain. All shepherdboys alike, while our flocks were spread over

the pastures, we schemed and executed many a mischievous prank, which drew on us the anger and revenge

of the rustics. I was the leader and protector of my comrades, and as I became distinguished among them,

their misdeeds were usually visited upon me. But while I endured punishment and pain in their defence with

In such a school my disposition became rugged, but firm. The appetite for admiration and small capacity for

selfcontrol which I inherited from my father, nursed by adversity, made me daring and reckless. I was rough

as the elements, and unlearned as the animals I tended. I often compared myself to them, and finding that my

chief superiority consisted in power, I soon persuaded myself that it was in power only that I was inferior to

the chiefest potentates of the earth. Thus untaught in refined philosophy, and pursued by a restless feeling of

degradation from my true station in society, I wandered among the hills of civilized England as uncouth a

savage as the wolf bred founder of old Rome. I owned but one law, it was that of the strongest, and my

Yet let me a little retract from this sentence I have passed on myself. My mother, when dying, had, in

addition to her other halfforgotten and misapplied lessons, committed, with solemn exhortation, her other

child to my fraternal guardianship; and this one duty I performed to the best of my ability, with all the zeal

and affection of which my nature was capable. My sister was three years younger than myself; I had nursed

her as an infant, and when the difference of our sexes, by giving us various occupations, in a great measure

divided us, yet she continued to be the object of my careful love. Orphans, in the fullest sense of the term, we

were poorest among the poor, and despised among the unhonoured. If my daring and courage obtained for me

a kind of respectful aversion, her youth and sex, since they did not excite tenderness, by proving her to be

weak, were the causes of numberless mortifications to her; and her own disposition was not so constituted as

She was a singular being, and, like me, inherited much of the peculiar disposition of our father. Her

countenance was all expression; her eyes were not dark, but impenetrably deep; you seemed to discover space

after space in their intellectual glance, and to feel that the soul which was their soul, comprehended an

universe of thought in its ken. She was pale and fair, and her golden hair clustered on her temples, contrasting

its rich hue with the living marble beneath. Her coarse peasantdress, little consonant apparently with the

refinement of feeling which her face expressed, yet in a strange manner accorded with it. She was like one of

Guido's saints, with heaven in her heart and in her look, so that when you saw her you only thought of that

within, and costume and even feature were secondary to the mind that beamed in her countenance.

Yet though lovely and full of noble feeling, my poor Perdita (for this was the fanciful name my sister had

received from her dying parent), was not altogether saintly in her disposition. Her manners were cold and

repulsive. If she had been nurtured by those who had regarded her with affection, she might have been

different; but unloved and neglected, she repaid want of kindness with distrust and silence. She was

submissive to those who held authority over her, but a perpetual cloud dwelt on her brow; she looked as if she

expected enmity from every one who approached her, and her actions were instigated by the same feeling. All

the time she could command she spent in solitude. She would ramble to the most unfrequented places, and

scale dangerous heights, that in those unvisited spots she might wrap herself in loneliness. Often she passed

whole hours walking up and down the paths of the woods; she wove garlands of flowers and ivy, or watched

the flickering of the shadows and glancing of the leaves; sometimes she sat beside a stream, and as her

thoughts paused, threw flowers or pebbles into the waters, watching how those swam and these sank; or she

would set afloat boats formed of bark of trees or leaves, with a feather for a sail, and intensely watch the

navigation of her craft among the rapids and shallows of the brook. Meanwhile her active fancy wove a

thousand combinations; she dreamt "of moving accidents by flood and field"she lost herself delightedly in

these selfcreated wanderings, and returned with unwilling spirit to the dull detail of common life.

Poverty was the cloud that veiled her excellencies, and all that was good in her seemed about to perish from

want of the genial dew of affection. She had not even the same advantage as I in the recollection of her

parents; she clung to me, her brother, as her only friend, but her alliance with me completed the distaste that

her protectors felt for her; and every error was magnified by them into crimes. If she had been bred in that

sphere of life to which by inheritance the delicate framework of her mind and person was adapted, she would

have been the object almost of adoration, for her virtues were as eminent as her defects. All the genius that

ennobled the blood of her father illustrated hers; a generous tide flowed in her veins; artifice, envy, or

meanness, were at the antipodes of her nature; her countenance, when enlightened by amiable feeling, might

Although by our situation and dispositions we were almost equally cut off from the usual forms of social

intercourse, we formed a strong contrast to each other. I always required the stimulants of companionship and

applause. Perdita was all sufficient to herself. Notwithstanding my lawless habits, my disposition was

sociable, hers recluse. My life was spent among tangible realities, hers was a dream. I might be said even to

love my enemies, since by exciting me they in a sort bestowed happiness upon me; Perdita almost disliked

her friends, for they interfered with her visionary moods. All my feelings, even of exultation and triumph,

were changed to bitterness, if unparticipated; Perdita, even in joy, fled to loneliness, and could go on from

day to day, neither expressing her emotions, nor seeking a fellowfeeling in another mind. Nay, she could

love and dwell with tenderness on the look and voice of her friend, while her demeanour expressed the

coldest reserve. A sensation with her became a sentiment, and she never spoke until she had mingled her

perceptions of outward objects with others which were the native growth of her own mind. She was like a

fruitful soil that imbibed the airs and dews of heaven, and gave them forth again to light in loveliest forms of

fruits and flowers; but then she was often dark and rugged as that soil, raked up, and new sown with unseen

She dwelt in a cottage whose trim grassplat sloped down to the waters of the lake of Ulswater; a beech

wood stretched up the hill behind, and a purling brook gently falling from the acclivity ran through

poplarshaded banks into the lake. I lived with a farmer whose house was built higher up among the hills: a

dark crag rose behind it, and, exposed to the north, the snow lay in its crevices the summer through. Before

dawn I led my flock to the sheepwalks, and guarded them through the day. It was a life of toil; for rain and

cold were more frequent than sunshine; but it was my pride to contemn the elements. My trusty dog watched

the sheep as I slipped away to the rendezvous of my comrades, and thence to the accomplishment of our

schemes. At noon we met again, and we threw away in contempt our peasant fare, as we built our fireplace

and kindled the cheering blaze destined to cook the game stolen from the neighbouring preserves. Then came

the tale of hair breadth escapes, combats with dogs, ambush and flight, as gypsylike we encompassed our

pot. The search after a stray lamb, or the devices by which we elude or endeavoured to elude punishment,

filled up the hours of afternoon; in the evening my flock went to its fold, and I to my sister.

It was seldom indeed that we escaped, to use an oldfashioned phrase, scot free. Our dainty fare was often

exchanged for blows and imprisonment. Once, when thirteen years of age, I was sent for a month to the

county jail. I came out, my morals unimproved, my hatred to my oppressors increased tenfold. Bread and

water did not tame my blood, nor solitary confinement inspire me with gentle thoughts. I was angry,

impatient, miserable; my only happy hours were those during which I devised schemes of revenge; these

were perfected in my forced solitude, so that during the whole of the following season, and I was freed early

in September, I never failed to provide excellent and plenteous fare for myself and my comrades. This was a

glorious winter. The sharp frost and heavy snows tamed the animals, and kept the country gentlemen by their

firesides; we got more game than we could eat, and my faithful dog grew sleek upon our refuse.

Thus years passed on; and years only added fresh love of freedom, and contempt for all that was not as wild

and rude as myself. At the age of sixteen I had shot up in appearance to man's estate; I was tall and athletic; I

was practised to feats of strength, and inured to the inclemency of the elements. My skin was embrowned by

the sun; my step was firm with conscious power. I feared no man, and loved none. In after life I looked back

with wonder to what I then was; how utterly worthless I should have become if I had pursued my lawless

career. My life was like that of an animal, and my mind was in danger of degenerating into that which

informs brute nature. Until now, my savage habits had done me no radical mischief; my physical powers had

grown up and flourished under their influence, and my mind, undergoing the same discipline, was imbued

with all the hardy virtues. But now my boasted independence was daily instigating me to acts of tyranny, and

freedom was becoming licentiousness. I stood on the brink of manhood; passions, strong as the trees of a

forest, had already taken root within me, and were about to shadow with their noxious overgrowth, my path

I panted for enterprises beyond my childish exploits, and formed distempered dreams of future action. I

avoided my ancient comrades, and I soon lost them. They arrived at the age when they were sent to fulfil

their destined situations in life; while I, an outcast, with none to lead or drive me forward, paused. The old

began to point at me as an example, the young to wonder at me as a being distinct from themselves; I hated

them, and began, last and worst degradation, to hate myself. I clung to my ferocious habits, yet half despised

them; I continued my war against civilization, and yet entertained a wish to belong to it.

I revolved again and again all that I remembered my mother to have told me of my father's former life; I

contemplated the few relics I possessed belonging to him, which spoke of greater refinement than could be

found among the mountain cottages; but nothing in all this served as a guide to lead me to another and

pleasanter way of life. My father had been connected with nobles, but all I knew of such connection was

subsequent neglect. The name of the king,he to whom my dying father had addressed his latest prayers,

and who had barbarously slighted them, was associated only with the ideas of unkindness, injustice, and

consequent resentment. I was born for something greater than I wasand greater I would become; but

greatness, at least to my distorted perceptions, was no necessary associate of goodness, and my wild thoughts

were unchecked by moral considerations when they rioted in dreams of distinction. Thus I stood upon a

pinnacle, a sea of evil rolled at my feet; I was about to precipitate myself into it, and rush like a torrent over

all obstructions to the object of my wisheswhen a stranger influence came over the current of my fortunes,

and changed their boisterous course to what was in comparison like the gentle meanderings of a

I LIVED far from the busy haunts of men, and the rumour of wars or political changes came worn to a mere

sound, to our mountain abodes. England had been the scene of momentous struggles, during my early

boyhood. In the year 2073, the last of its kings, the ancient friend of my father, had abdicated in compliance

with the gentle force of the remonstrances of his subjects, and a republic was instituted. Large estates were

secured to the dethroned monarch and his family; he received the title of Earl of Windsor, and Windsor

Castle, an ancient royalty, with its wide demesnes were a part of his allotted wealth. He died soon after,

The exqueen, a princess of the house of Austria, had long impelled her husband to withstand the necessity

of the times. She was haughty and fearless; she cherished a love of power, and a bitter contempt for him who

had despoiled himself of a kingdom. For her children's sake alone she consented to remain, shorn of regality,

a member of the English republic. When she became a widow, she turned all her thoughts to the educating

her son Adrian, second Earl of Windsor, so as to accomplish her ambitious ends; and with his mother's milk

he imbibed, and was intended to grow up in the steady purpose of reacquiring his lost crown. Adrian was

now fifteen years of age. He was addicted to study, and imbued beyond his years with learning and talent:

report said that he had already begun to thwart his mother's views, and to entertain republican principles.

However this might be, the haughty Countess entrusted none with the secrets of her familytuition. Adrian

was bred up in solitude, and kept apart from the natural companions of his age and rank. Some unknown

circumstance now induced his mother to send him from under her immediate tutelage; and we heard that he

was about to visit Cumberland. A thousand tales were rife, explanatory of the Countess of Windsor's conduct;

none true probably; but each day it became more certain that we should have the noble scion of the late regal

There was a large estate with a mansion attached to it, belonging to this family, at Ulswater. A large park was

one of its appendages, laid out with great taste, and plentifully stocked with game. I had often made

depredations on these preserves; and the neglected state of the property facilitated my incursions. When it

was decided that the young Earl of Windsor should visit Cumberland, workmen arrived to put the house and

grounds in order for his reception. The apartments were restored to their pristine splendour, and the park, all

I was beyond measure disturbed by this intelligence. It roused all my dormant recollections, my suspended

sentiments of injury, and gave rise to the new one of revenge. I could no longer attend to my occupations; all

my plans and devices were forgotten; I seemed about to begin life anew, and that under no good auspices.

The tug of war, I thought, was now to begin. He would come triumphantly to the district to which my parent

had fled brokenhearted; he would find the illfated offspring, bequeathed with such vain confidence to his

royal father, miserable paupers. That he should know of our existence, and treat us, near at hand, with the

same contumely which his father had practised in distance and absence, appeared to me the certain

consequence of all that had gone before. Thus then I should meet this titled striplingthe son of my father's

friend. He would be hedged in by servants; nobles, and the sons of nobles, were his companions; all England

rang with his name; and his coming, like a thunderstorm, was heard from far: while I, unlettered and

unfashioned, should, if I came in contact with him, in the judgment of his courtly followers, bear evidence in

my very person to the propriety of that ingratitude which had made me the degraded being I appeared.

With my mind fully occupied by these ideas, I might be said as if fascinated, to haunt the destined abode of

the young Earl. I watched the progress of the improvements, and stood by the unlading waggons, as various

articles of luxury, brought from London, were taken forth and conveyed into the mansion. It was part of the

ExQueen's plan, to surround her son with princely magnificence. I beheld rich carpets and silken hangings,

ornaments of gold, richly embossed metals, emblazoned furniture, and all the appendages of high rank

arranged, so that nothing but what was regal in splendour should reach the eye of one of royal descent. I

looked on these; I turned my gaze to my own mean dress.Whence sprung this difference? Whence but

from ingratitude, from falsehood, from a dereliction on the part of the prince's father, of all noble sympathy

and generous feeling. Doubtless, he also, whose blood received a mingling tide from his proud motherhe,

the acknowledged focus of the kingdom's wealth and nobility, had been taught to repeat my father's name

with disdain, and to scoff at my just claims to protection. I strove to think that all this grandeur was but more

glaring infamy, and that, by planting his goldenwoven flag beside my tarnished and tattered banner, he

proclaimed not his superiority, but his debasement. Yet I envied him. His stud of beautiful horses, his arms of

costly workmanship, the praise that attended him, the adoration, ready servitor, high place and high

esteem,I considered them as forcibly wrenched from me, and envied them all with novel and tormenting

To crown my vexation of spirit, Perdita, the visionary Perdita, seemed to awake to real life with transport,

"Indeed it does, Lionel," she replied; "I quite long to see him; he is the descendant of our kings, the first noble

of the land: every one admires and loves him, and they say that his rank is his least merit; he is generous,

"You have learnt a pretty lesson, Perdita," said I, "and repeat it so literally, that you forget the while the

proofs we have of the Earl's virtues; his generosity to us is manifest in our plenty, his bravery in the

protection he affords us, his affability in the notice he takes of us. His rank his least merit, do you say? Why,

all his virtues are derived from his station only; because he is rich, he is called generous; because he is

powerful, brave; because he is well served, he is affable. Let them call him so, let all England believe him to

be thus we know himhe is our enemyour penurious, dastardly, arrogant enemy; if he were gifted with

one particle of the virtues you call his, he would do justly by us, if it were only to show, that if he must strike,

it should not be a fallen foe. His father injured my fatherhis father, unassailable on his throne, dared

despise him who only stooped beneath himself, when he deigned to associate with the royal ingrate. We,

descendants from the one and the other, must be enemies also. He shall find that I can feel my injuries; he

A few days after he arrived. Every inhabitant of the most miserable cottage, went to swell the stream of

population that poured forth to meet him: even Perdita, in spite of my late philippic, crept near the highway,

to behold this idol of all hearts. I, driven half mad, as I met party after party of the country people, in their

holiday best, descending the hills, escaped to their cloudveiled summits, and looking on the sterile rocks

about me, exclaimed"They do not cry, long live the Earl!" Nor, when night came, accompanied by

drizzling rain and cold, would I return home; for I knew that each cottage rang with the praises of Adrian; as I

felt my limbs grow numb and chill, my pain served as food for my insane aversion; nay, I almost triumphed

in it, since it seemed to afford me reason and excuse for my hatred of my unheeding adversary. All was

attributed to him, for I confounded so entirely the idea of father and son, that I forgot that the latter might be

wholly unconscious of his parent's neglect of us; and as I struck my aching head with my hand, I cried: "He

shall hear of this! I will be revenged! I will not suffer like a spaniel! He shall know, beggar and friendless as I

Each day, each hour added to these exaggerated wrongs. His praises were so many adder's stings infixed in

my vulnerable breast. If I saw him at a distance, riding a beautiful horse, my blood boiled with rage; the air

seemed poisoned by his presence, and my very native English was changed to a vile jargon, since every

phrase I heard was coupled with his name and honour. I panted to relieve this painful heartburning by some

misdeed that should rouse him to a sense of my antipathy. It was the height of his offending, that he should

occasion in me such intolerable sensations, and not deign himself to afford any demonstration that he was

It soon became known that Adrian took great delight in his park and preserves. He never sported, but spent

hours in watching the tribes of lovely and almost tame animals with which it was stocked, and ordered that

greater care should be taken of them than ever. Here was an opening for my plans of offence, and I made use

of it with all the brute impetuosity I derived from my active mode of life. I proposed the enterprise of

poaching on his demesne to my few remaining comrades, who were the most determined and lawless of the

crew; but they all shrunk from the peril; so I was left to achieve my revenge myself. At first my exploits were

unperceived; I increased in daring; footsteps on the dewy grass, torn boughs, and marks of slaughter, at

length betrayed me to the gamekeepers. They kept better watch; I was taken, and sent to prison. I entered its

gloomy walls in a fit of triumphant ecstasy: "He feels me now," I cried, "and shall, again and again!"I

passed but one day in confinement; in the evening I was liberated, as I was told, by the order of the Earl

himself. This news precipitated me from my selfraised pinnacle of honour. He despises me, I thought; but

he shall learn that I despise him, and hold in equal contempt his punishments and his clemency. On the

second night after my release, I was again taken by the gamekeepers again imprisoned, and again released;

and again, such was my pertinacity, did the fourth night find me in the forbidden park. The gamekeepers were

more enraged than their lord by my obstinacy. They had received orders that if I were again taken, I should

be brought to the Earl; and his lenity made them expect a conclusion which they considered ill befitting my

crime. One of them, who had been from the first the leader among those who had seized me, resolved to

The late setting of the moon, and the extreme caution I was obliged to use in this my third expedition,

consumed so much time, that something like a qualm of fear came over me when I perceived dark night yield

to twilight. I crept along by the fern, on my hands and knees, seeking the shadowy coverts of the underwood,

while the birds awoke with unwelcome song above, and the fresh morning wind, playing among the boughs,

made me suspect a footfall at each turn. My heart beat quick as I approached the palings; my hand was on

one of them, a leap would take me to the other side, when two keepers sprang from an ambush upon me: one

knocked me down, and proceeded to inflict a severe horsewhipping. I started upa knife was in my grasp;

I made a plunge at his raised right arm, and inflicted a deep, wide wound in his hand. The rage and yells of

the wounded man, the howling execrations of his comrade, which I answered with equal bitterness and fury,

echoed through the dell; morning broke more and more, ill accordant in its celestial beauty with our brute and

noisy contest. I and my enemy were still struggling, when the wounded man exclaimed, "The Earl!" I sprang

out of the herculean hold of the keeper, panting from my exertions; I cast furious glances on my persecutors,

and placing myself with my back to a tree, resolved to defend myself to the last. My garments were torn, and

they, as well as my hands, were stained with the blood of the man I had wounded; one hand grasped the dead

birdsmy hardearned prey, the other held the knife; my hair was matted; my face besmeared with the same

guilty signs that bore witness against me on the dripping instrument I clenched; my whole appearance was

haggard and squalid. Tall and muscular as I was in form, I must have looked like, what indeed I was, the

The name of the Earl startled me, and caused all the indignant blood that warmed my heart to rush into my

cheeks; I had never seen him before; I figured to myself a haughty, assuming youth, who would take me to

task, if he deigned to speak to me, with all the arrogance of superiority. My reply was ready; a reproach I

deemed calculated to sting his very heart. He came up the while; and his appearance blew aside, with gentle

western breath, my cloudy wrath: a tall, slim, fair boy, with a physiognomy expressive of the excess of

sensibility and refinement stood before me; the morning sunbeams tinged with gold his silken hair, and

spread light and glory over his beaming countenance. "How is this?" he cried. The men eagerly began their

defence; he put them aside, saying, "Two of you at once on a mere ladfor shame!" He came up to me:

"Verney," he cried, "Lionel Verney, do we meet thus for the first time? We were born to be friends to each

other; and though ill fortune has divided us, will you not acknowledge the hereditary bond of friendship

As he spoke, his earnest eyes, fixed on me, seemed to read my very soul: my heart, my savage revengeful

heart, felt the influence of sweet benignity sink upon it; while his thrilling voice, like sweetest melody, awoke

a mute echo within me, stirring to its depths the lifeblood in my frame. I desired to reply, to acknowledge

his goodness, accept his proffered friendship; but words, fitting words, were not afforded to the rough

mountaineer; I would have held out my hand, but its guilty stain restrained me. Adrian took pity on my

faltering mien: "Come with me," he said, "I have much to say to you; come home with meyou know who I

"Yes," I exclaimed, "I do believe that I now know you, and that you will pardon my mistakesmy crime."

Adrian smiled gently; and after giving his orders to the gamekeepers, he came up to me; putting his arm in

It was not his rankafter all that I have said, surely it will not be suspected that it was Adrian's rank, that,

from the first, subdued my heart of hearts, and laid my entire spirit prostrate before him. Nor was it I alone

who felt thus intimately his perfections. His sensibility and courtesy fascinated every one. His vivacity,

intelligence, and active spirit of benevolence, completed the conquest. Even at this early age, he was deep

read and imbued with the spirit of high philosophy. This spirit gave a tone of irresistible persuasion to his

intercourse with others, so that he seemed like an inspired musician, who struck, with unerring skill, the "lyre

of mind," and produced thence divine harmony. In person, he hardly appeared of this world; his slight frame

was overinformed by the soul that dwelt within; he was all mind; "Man but a rush against" his breast, and it

would have conquered his strength; but the might of his smile would have tamed an hungry lion, or caused a

I spent the day with him. At first he did not recur to the past, or indeed to any personal occurrences. He

wished probably to inspire me with confidence, and give me time to gather together my scattered thoughts.

He talked of general subjects, and gave me ideas I had never before conceived. We sat in his library, and he

spoke of the old Greek sages, and of the power which they had acquired over the minds of men, through the

force of love and wisdom only. The room was decorated with the busts of many of them, and he described

their characters to me. As he spoke, I felt subject to him; and all my boasted pride and strength were subdued

by the honeyed accents of this blue eyed boy. The trim and paled demesne of civilization, which I had

before regarded from my wild jungle as inaccessible, had its wicket opened by him; I stepped within, and felt,

As evening came on, he reverted to the past. "I have a tale to relate," he said, "and much explanation to give

concerning the past; perhaps you can assist me to curtail it. Do you remember your father? I had never the

happiness of seeing him, but his name is one of my earliest recollections: he stands written in my mind's

tablets as the type of all that was gallant, amiable, and fascinating in man. His wit was not more conspicuous

than the overflowing goodness of his heart, which he poured in such full measure on his friends, as to leave,

Encouraged by this encomium, I proceeded, in answer to his inquiries, to relate what I remembered of my

parent; and he gave an account of those circumstances which had brought about a neglect of my father's

testamentary letter. When, in after times, Adrian's father, then king of England, felt his situation become

more perilous, his line of conduct more embarrassed, again and again he wished for his early friend, who

might stand a mound against the impetuous anger of his queen, a mediator between him and the parliament.

From the time that he had quitted London, on the fatal night of his defeat at the gaming table, the king had

received no tidings concerning him; and when, after the lapse of years, he exerted himself to discover him,

every trace was lost. With fonder regret than ever, he clung to his memory; and gave it in charge to his son, if

ever he should meet this valued friend, in his name to bestow every succour, and to assure him that, to the

A short time before Adrian's visit to Cumberland, the heir of the nobleman to whom my father had confided

his last appeal to his royal master, put this letter, its seal unbroken, into the young Earl's hands. It had been

found cast aside with a mass of papers of old date, and accident alone brought it to light. Adrian read it with

deep interest; and found there that living spirit of genius and wit he had so often heard commemorated. He

discovered the name of the spot whither my father had retreated, and where he died; he learnt the existence of

his orphan children; and during the short interval between his arrival at Ulswater and our meeting in the park,

he had been occupied in making inquiries concerning us, and arranging a variety of plans for our benefit,

The mode in which he spoke of my father was gratifying to my vanity; the veil which he delicately cast over

his benevolence, in alleging a duteous fulfilment of the king's latest will, was soothing to my pride. Other

feelings, less ambiguous, were called into play by his conciliating manner and the generous warmth of his

expressions, respect rarely before experienced, admiration, and lovehe had touched my rocky heart with

his magic power, and the stream of affection gushed forth, imperishable and pure. In the evening we parted;

he pressed my hand: "We shall meet again; come to me tomorrow." I clasped that kind hand; I tried to

answer; a fervent "God bless you!" was all my ignorance could frame of speech, and I darted away,

I could not rest. I sought the hills; a west wind swept them, and the stars glittered above. I ran on, careless of

outward objects, but trying to master the struggling spirit within me by means of bodily fatigue. "This," I

thought, "is power! Not to be strong of limb, hard of heart, ferocious, and daring; but kind, compassionate

and soft."Stopping short, I clasped my hands, and with the fervour of a new proselyte, cried, "Doubt me

not, Adrian, I also will become wise and good!" and then quite overcome, I wept aloud.

As this gust of passion passed from me, I felt more composed. I lay on the ground, and giving the reins to my

thoughts, repassed in my mind my former life; and began, fold by fold, to unwind the many errors of my

heart, and to discover how brutish, savage, and worthless I had hitherto been. I could not however at that time

feel remorse, for methought I was born anew; my soul threw off the burthen of past sin, to commence a new

career in innocence and love. Nothing harsh or rough remained to jar with the soft feelings which the

transactions of the day had inspired; I was as a child lisping its devotions after its mother, and my plastic soul

This was the first commencement of my friendship with Adrian, and I must commemorate this day as the

most fortunate of my life. I now began to be human. I was admitted within that sacred boundary which

divides the intellectual and moral nature of man from that which characterises animals. My best feelings were

called into play to give fitting responses to the generosity, wisdom, and amenity of my new friend. He, with a

noble goodness all his own, took infinite delight in bestowing to prodigality the treasures of his mind and

fortune on the longneglected son of his father's friend, the offspring of that gifted being whose excellencies

After his abdication the late king had retreated from the sphere of politics, yet his domestic circle afforded

him small content. The exqueen had none of the virtues of domestic life, and those of courage and daring

which she possessed were rendered null by the secession of her husband: she despised him, and did not care

to conceal her sentiments. The king had, in compliance with her exactions, cast off his old friends, but he had

acquired no new ones under her guidance. In this dearth of sympathy, he had recourse to his almost infant

son; and the early development of talent and sensibility rendered Adrian no unfitting depository of his father's

confidence. He was never weary of listening to the latter's often repeated accounts of old times, in which my

father had played a distinguished part; his keen remarks were repeated to the boy, and remembered by him;

his wit, his fascinations, his very faults were hallowed by the regret of affection; his loss was sincerely

deplored. Even the queen's dislike of the favourite was ineffectual to deprive him of his son's admiration: it

was bitter, sarcastic, contemptuousbut as she bestowed her heavy censure alike on his virtues as his errors,

on his devoted friendship and his ill bestowed loves, on his disinterestedness and his prodigality, on his

prepossessing grace of manner, and the facility with which he yielded to temptation, her double shot proved

too heavy, and fell short of the mark. Nor did her angry dislike prevent Adrian from imaging my father, as he

had said, the type of all that was gallant, amiable, and fascinating in man. It was not strange therefore, that

when he heard of the existence of the offspring of this celebrated person, he should have formed the plan of

bestowing on them all the advantages his rank made him rich to afford. When he found me a vagabond

shepherd of the hills, a poacher, an unlettered savage, still his kindness did not fail. In addition to the opinion

he entertained that his father was to a degree culpable of neglect towards us, and that he was bound to every

possible reparation, he was pleased to say that under all my ruggedness there glimmered forth an elevation of

spirit, which could be distinguished from mere animal courage, and that I inherited a similarity of

countenance to my father, which gave proof that all his virtues and talents had not died with him. Whatever

those might be which descended to me, my noble young friend resolved should not be lost for want of

Acting upon this plan in our subsequent intercourse, he led me to wish to participate in that cultivation which

graced his own intellect. My active mind, when once it seized upon this new idea, fastened on it with extreme

avidity. At first it was the great object of my ambition to rival the merits of my father, and render myself

worthy of the friendship of Adrian. But curiosity soon awoke, and an earnest love of knowledge, which

caused me to pass days and nights in reading and study. I was already well acquainted with what I may term

the panorama of nature, the change of seasons, and the various appearances of heaven and earth. But I was at

once startled and enchanted by my sudden extension of vision, when the curtain, which had been drawn

before the intellectual world, was withdrawn, and I saw the universe, not only as it presented itself to my

outward senses, but as it had appeared to the wisest among men. Poetry and its creations, philosophy and its

researches and classifications, alike awoke the sleeping ideas in my mind, and gave me new ones.

I felt as the sailor, who from the topmast first discovered the shore of America; and like him I hastened to tell

my companions of my discoveries in unknown regions. But I was unable to excite in any breast the same

craving appetite for knowledge that existed in mine. Even Perdita was unable to understand me. I had lived in

what is generally called the world of reality, and it was awakening to a new country to find that there was a

deeper meaning in all I saw, besides that which my eyes conveyed to me. The visionary Perdita beheld in all

this only a new gloss upon an old reading, and her own was sufficiently inexhaustible to content her. She

listened to me as she had done to the narration of my adventures, and sometimes took an interest in this

species of information; but she did not, as I did, look on it as an integral part of her being, which having

We both agreed in loving Adrian: although she not having yet escaped from childhood could not appreciate

as I did the extent of his merits, or feel the same sympathy in his pursuits and opinions. I was for ever with

him. There was a sensibility and sweetness in his disposition, that gave a tender and unearthly tone to our

converse. Then he was gay as a lark carolling from its skiey tower, soaring in thought as an eagle, innocent as

the mildeyed dove. He could dispel the seriousness of Perdita, and take the sting from the torturing activity

of my nature. I looked back to my restless desires and painful struggles with my fellow beings as to a

troubled dream, and felt myself as much changed as if I had transmigrated into another form, whose fresh

sensorium and mechanism of nerves had altered the reflection of the apparent universe in the mirror of mind.

But it was not so; I was the same in strength, in earnest craving for sympathy, in my yearning for active

exertion. My manly virtues did not desert me, for the witch Urania spared the locks of Sampson, while he

reposed at her feet; but all was softened and humanized. Nor did Adrian instruct me only in the cold truths of

history and philosophy. At the same time that he taught me by their means to subdue my own reckless and

uncultured spirit, he opened to my view the living page of his own heart, and gave me to feel and understand

The exqueen of England had, even during infancy, endeavoured to implant daring and ambitious designs in

the mind of her son. She saw that he was endowed with genius and surpassing talent; these she cultivated for

the sake of afterwards using them for the furtherance of her own views. She encouraged his craving for

knowledge and his impetuous courage; she even tolerated his tameless love of freedom, under the hope that

this would, as is too often the case, lead to a passion for command. She endeavoured to bring him up in a

sense of resentment towards, and a desire to revenge himself upon, those who had been instrumental in

bringing about his father's abdication. In this she did not succeed. The accounts furnished him, however

distorted, of a great and wise nation asserting its right to govern itself, excited his admiration: in early days he

became a republican from principle. Still his mother did not despair. To the love of rule and haughty pride of

birth she added determined ambition, patience, and selfcontrol. She devoted herself to the study of her son's

disposition. By the application of praise, censure, and exhortation, she tried to seek and strike the fitting

chords; and though the melody that followed her touch seemed discord to her, she built her hopes on his

talents, and felt sure that she would at last win him. The kind of banishment he now experienced arose from

The exqueen had also a daughter, now twelve years of age; his fairy sister, Adrian was wont to call her; a

lovely, animated, little thing, all sensibility and truth. With these, her children, the noble widow constantly

resided at Windsor; and admitted no visitors, except her own partisans, travellers from her native Germany,

and a few of the foreign ministers. Among these, and highly distinguished by her, was Prince Zaimi,

ambassador to England from the free States of Greece; and his daughter, the young Princess Evadne, passed

much of her time at Windsor Castle. In company with this sprightly and clever Greek girl, the Countess

would relax from her usual state. Her views with regard to her own children, placed all her words and actions

relative to them under restraint: but Evadne was a plaything she could in no way fear; nor were her talents

Evadne was eighteen years of age. Although they spent much time together at Windsor, the extreme youth of

Adrian prevented any suspicion as to the nature of their intercourse. But he was ardent and tender of heart

beyond the common nature of man, and had already learnt to love, while the beauteous Greek smiled

benignantly on the boy. It was strange to me, who, though older than Adrian, had never loved, to witness the

whole heart's sacrifice of my friend. There was neither jealousy, inquietude, or mistrust in his sentiment; it

was devotion and faith. His life was swallowed up in the existence of his beloved; and his heart beat only in

unison with the pulsations that vivified hers. This was the secret law of his lifehe loved and was beloved.

The universe was to him a dwelling, to inhabit with his chosen one; and not either a scheme of society or an

enchainment of events, that could impart to him either happiness or misery. What, though life and the system

of social intercourse were a wilderness, a tigerhaunted jungle! Through the midst of its errors, in the depths

of its savage recesses, there was a disentangled and flowery pathway, through which they might journey in

safety and delight. Their track would be like the passage of the Red Sea, which they might traverse with

Alas! why must I record the hapless delusion of this matchless specimen of humanity? What is there in our

nature that is for ever urging us on towards pain and misery? We are not formed for enjoyment; and, however

we may be attuned to the reception of pleasurable emotion, disappointment is the neverfailing pilot of our

life's bark, and ruthlessly carries us on to the shoals. Who was better framed than this highlygifted youth to

love and be beloved, and to reap unalienable joy from an unblamed passion? If his heart had slept but a few

years longer, he might have been saved; but it awoke in its infancy; it had power, but no knowledge; and it

I did not accuse Evadne of hypocrisy or a wish to deceive her lover; but the first letter that I saw of hers

convinced me that she did not love him; it was written with elegance, and, foreigner as she was, with great

command of language. The hand writing itself was exquisitely beautiful; there was something in her very

paper and its folds, which even I, who did not love, and was withal unskilled in such matters, could discern as

being tasteful. There was much kindness, gratitude, and sweetness in her expression, but no love. Evadne was

two years older than Adrian; and who, at eighteen, ever loved one so much their junior? I compared her

placid epistles with the burning ones of Adrian. His soul seemed to distil itself into the words he wrote; and

they breathed on the paper, bearing with them a portion of the life of love, which was his life. The very

writing used to exhaust him; and he would weep over them, merely from the excess of emotion they

Adrian's soul was painted in his countenance, and concealment or deceit were at the antipodes to the

dreadless frankness of his nature. Evadne made it her earnest request that the tale of their loves should not be

revealed to his mother; and after for a while contesting the point, he yielded it to her. A vain concession; his

demeanour quickly betrayed his secret to the quick eyes of the exqueen. With the same wary prudence that

characterised her whole conduct, she concealed her discovery, but hastened to remove her son from the

sphere of the attractive Greek. He was sent to Cumberland; but the plan of correspondence between the

lovers, arranged by Evadne, was effectually hidden from her. Thus the absence of Adrian, concerted for the

purpose of separating, united them in firmer bonds than ever. To me he discoursed ceaselessly of his beloved

Ionian. Her country, its ancient annals, its late memorable struggles, were all made to partake in her glory and

excellence. He submitted to be away from her, because she commanded this submission; but for her

influence, he would have declared his attachment before all England, and resisted, with unshaken constancy,

his mother's opposition. Evadne's feminine prudence perceived how useless any assertion of his resolves

would be, till added years gave weight to his power. Perhaps there was besides a lurking dislike to bind

herself in the face of the world to one whom she did not lovenot love, at least, with that passionate

enthusiasm which her heart told her she might one day feel towards another. He obeyed her injunctions, and

HAPPY, thrice happy, were the months, and weeks, and hours of that year. Friendship, hand in hand with

admiration, tenderness and respect, built a bower of delight in my heart, late rough as an untrod wild in

America, as the homeless wind or herbless sea. Insatiate thirst for knowledge, and boundless affection for

Adrian, combined to keep both my heart and understanding occupied, and I was consequently happy. What

happiness is so true and unclouded, as the overflowing and talkative delight of young people. In our boat,

upon my native lake, beside the streams and the pale bordering poplarsin valley and over hill, my crook

thrown aside, a nobler flock to tend than silly sheep, even a flock of newborn ideas, I read or listened to

Adrian; and his discourse, whether it concerned his love or his theories for the improvement of man, alike

entranced me. Sometimes my lawless mood would return, my love of peril, my resistance to authority; but

this was in his absence; under the mild sway of his dear eyes, I was obedient and good as a boy of five years

After a residence of about a year at Ulswater, Adrian visited London, and came back full of plans for our

benefit. You must begin life, he said: you are seventeen, and longer delay would render the necessary

apprenticeship more and more irksome. He foresaw that his own life would be one of struggle, and I must

partake his labours with him. The better to fit me for this task, we must now separate. He found my name a

good passport to preferment, and he had procured for me the situation of private secretary to the Ambassador

at Vienna, where I should enter on my career under the best auspices. In two years, I should return to my

And Perdita?Perdita was to become the pupil, friend and younger sister of Evadne. With his usual

thoughtfulness, he had provided for her independence in this situation. How refuse the offers of this generous

friend?I did not wish to refuse them; but in my heart of hearts, I made a vow to devote life, knowledge,

and power, all of which, in as much as they were of any value, he had bestowed on meall, all my capacities

Thus I promised myself, as I journeyed towards my destination with roused and ardent expectation:

expectation of the fulfilment of all that in boyhood we promise ourselves of power and enjoyment in

maturity. Methought the time was now arrived, when, childish occupations laid aside, I should enter into life.

Even in the Elysian fields, Virgil describes the souls of the happy as eager to drink of the wave which was to

restore them to this mortal coil. The young are seldom in Elysium, for their desires, outstripping possibility,

leave them as poor as a moneyless debtor. We are told by the wisest philosophers of the dangers of the world,

the deceits of men, and the treason of our own hearts: but not the less fearlessly does each put off his frail

bark from the port, spread the sail, and strain his oar, to attain the multitudinous streams of the sea of life.

How few in youth's prime, moor their vessels on the "golden sands," and collect the painted shells that strew

them. But all at close of day, with riven planks and rent canvas make for shore, and are either wrecked ere

they reach it, or find some wave beaten haven, some desert strand, whereon to cast themselves and die

A truce to philosophy!Life is before me, and I rush into possession. Hope, glory, love, and blameless

ambition are my guides, and my soul knows no dread. What has been, though sweet, is gone; the present is

good only because it is about to change, and the to come is all my own. Do I fear, that my heart palpitates?

high aspirations cause the flow of my blood; my eyes seem to penetrate the cloudy midnight of time, and to

Now pause!During my journey I might dream, and with buoyant wings reach the summit of life's high

edifice. Now that I am arrived at its base, my pinions are furled, the mighty stairs are before me, and step by

Behold me in a new capacity. A diplomatist: one among the pleasureseeking society of a gay city; a youth

of promise; favourite of the Ambassador. All was strange and admirable to the shepherd of Cumberland.

Soon, too soon, I entered the giddy whirl; forgetting my studious hours, and the companionship of Adrian.

Passionate desire of sympathy, and ardent pursuit for a wishedfor object still characterised me. The sight of

beauty entranced me, and attractive manners in man or woman won my entire confidence. I called it rapture,

when a smile made my heart beat; and I felt the life's blood tingle in my frame, when I approached the idol

which for awhile I worshipped. The mere flow of animal spirits was Paradise, and at night's close I only

desired a renewal of the intoxicating delusion. The dazzling light of ornamented rooms; lovely forms arrayed

in splendid dresses; the motions of a dance, the voluptuous tones of exquisite music, cradled my senses in one

And is not this in its kind happiness? I appeal to moralists and sages. I ask if in the calm of their measured

reveries, if in the deep meditations which fill their hours, they feel the ecstasy of a youthful tyro in the school

of pleasure? Can the calm beams of their heavenseeking eyes equal the flashes of mingling passion which

blind his, or does the influence of cold philosophy steep their soul in a joy equal to his, engaged

But in truth, neither the lonely meditations of the hermit, nor the tumultuous raptures of the reveller, are

capable of satisfying man's heart. From the one we gather unquiet speculation, from the other satiety. The

mind flags beneath the weight of thought, and droops in the heartless intercourse of those whose sole aim is

amusement. There is no fruition in their vacant kindness, and sharp rocks lurk beneath the smiling ripples of

Thus I felt, when disappointment, weariness, and solitude drove me back upon my heart, to gather thence the

joy of which it had become barren. My flagging spirits asked for something to speak to the affections; and not

finding it, I drooped. Thus, notwithstanding the thoughtless delight that waited on its commencement, the

impression I have of my life at Vienna is melancholy. Goethe has said, that in youth we cannot be happy

unless we love. I did not love; but I was devoured by a restless wish to be something to others. I became the

victim of ingratitude and cold coquetrythen I desponded, and imagined that my discontent gave me a right

to hate the world. I receded to solitude; I had recourse to my books, and my desire again to enjoy the society

Emulation, that in its excess almost assumed the venomous properties of envy, gave a sting to these feelings.

At this period the name and exploits of one of my countrymen filled the world with admiration. Relations of

what he had done, conjectures concerning his future actions, were the never failing topics of the hour. I was

not angry on my own account, but I felt as if the praises which this idol received were leaves torn from

laurels destined for Adrian. But I must enter into some account of this darling of famethis favourite of the

Lord Raymond was the sole remnant of a noble but impoverished family. From early youth he had considered

his pedigree with complacency, and bitterly lamented his want of wealth. His first wish was aggrandisement;

and the means that led towards this end were secondary considerations. Haughty, yet trembling to every

demonstration of respect; ambitious, but too proud to show his ambition; willing to achieve honour, yet a

votary of pleasure,he entered upon life. He was met on the threshold by some insult, real or imaginary;

some repulse, where he least expected it; some disappointment, hard for his pride to bear. He writhed beneath

an injury he was unable to revenge; and he quitted England with a vow not to return, till the good time should

He became an adventurer in the Greek wars. His reckless courage and comprehensive genius brought him

into notice. He became the darling hero of this rising people. His foreign birth, and he refused to throw off his

allegiance to his native country, alone prevented him from filling the first offices in the state. But, though

others might rank higher in title and ceremony, Lord Raymond held a station above and beyond all this. He

led the Greek armies to victory; their triumphs were all his own. When he appeared, whole towns poured

forth their population to meet him; new songs were adapted to their national airs, whose themes were his

A truce was concluded between the Greeks and Turks. At the same time, Lord Raymond, by some

unlookedfor chance, became the possessor of an immense fortune in England, whither he returned, crowned

with glory, to receive the meed of honour and distinction before denied to his pretensions. His proud heart

rebelled against this change. In what was the despised Raymond not the same? If the acquisition of power in

the shape of wealth caused this alteration, that power should they feel as an iron yoke. Power therefore was

the aim of all his endeavours; aggrandisement the mark at which he for ever shot. In open ambition or close

This account filled me with curiosity. The events that in succession followed his return to England, gave me

keener feelings. Among his other advantages, Lord Raymond was supremely handsome; every one admired

him; of women he was the idol. He was courteous, honeytonguedan adept in fascinating arts. What could

not this man achieve in the busy English world? Change succeeded to change; the entire history did not reach

me; for Adrian had ceased to write, and Perdita was a laconic correspondent. The rumour went that Adrian

had becomehow write the fatal wordmad: that Lord Raymond was the favourite of the exqueen, her

daughter's destined husband. Nay, more, that this aspiring noble revived the claim of the house of Windsor to

the crown, and that, on the event of Adrian's incurable disorder and his marriage with the sister, the brow of

Such a tale filled the trumpet of many voiced fame; such a tale rendered my longer stay at Vienna, away from

the friend of my youth, intolerable. Now I must fulfil my vow; now range myself at his side, and be his ally

and support till death. Farewell to courtly pleasure; to politic intrigue; to the maze of passion and folly! All

hail, England! Native England, receive thy child! thou art the scene of all my hopes, the mighty theatre on

which is acted the only drama that can, heart and soul, bear me along with it in its development. A voice most

irresistible, a power omnipotent, drew me thither. After an absence of two years I landed on its shores, not

daring to make any inquiries, fearful of every remark. My first visit would be to my sister, who inhabited a

little cottage, a part of Adrian's gift, on the borders of Windsor Forest. From her I should learn the truth

concerning our protector; I should hear why she had withdrawn from the protection of the Princess Evadne,

and be instructed as to the influence which this overtopping and towering Raymond exercised over the

I had never before been in the neighbourhood of Windsor; the fertility and beauty of the country around now

struck me with admiration, which increased as I approached the antique wood. The ruins of majestic oaks

which had grown, flourished, and decayed during the progress of centuries, marked where the limits of the

forest once reached, while the shattered palings and neglected underwood showed that this part was deserted

for the younger plantations, which owed their birth to the beginning of the nineteenth century, and now stood

in the pride of maturity. Perdita's humble dwelling was situated on the skirts of the most ancient portion;

before it was stretched Bishopgate Heath, which towards the east appeared interminable, and was bounded to

the west by Chapel Wood and the grove of Virginia Water. Behind, the cottage was shadowed by the

venerable fathers of the forest, under which the deer came to graze, and which for the most part hollow and

decayed, formed fantastic groups that contrasted with the regular beauty of the younger trees. These, the

offspring of a later period, stood erect and seemed ready to advance fearlessly into coming time; while those

out worn stragglers, blasted and broke, clung to each other, their weak boughs sighing as the wind buffeted

A light railing surrounded the garden of the cottage, which, lowroofed, seemed to submit to the majesty of

nature, and cower amidst the venerable remains of forgotten time. Flowers, the children of the spring,

adorned her garden and casements; in the midst of lowliness there was an air of elegance which spoke the

graceful taste of the inmate. With a beating heart I entered the enclosure; as I stood at the entrance, I heard

her voice melodious as it had ever been, which before I saw her assured me of her welfare.

A moment more and Perdita appeared; she stood before me in the fresh bloom of youthful womanhood,

different from and yet the same as the mountain girl I had left. Her eyes could not be deeper than they were in

childhood, nor her countenance more expressive; but the expression was changed and improved; intelligence

sat on her brow; when she smiled her face was embellished by the softest sensibility, and her low, modulated

voice seemed tuned by love. Her person was formed in the most feminine proportions; she was not tall, but

her mountain life had given freedom to her motions, so that her light step scarce made her footfall heard as

she tripped across the hall to meet me. When we had parted, I had clasped her to my bosom with unrestrained

warmth; we met again, and new feelings were awakened; when each beheld the other, childhood passed, as

full grown actors on this changeful scene. The pause was but for a moment; the flood of association and

natural feeling which had been checked, again rushed in full tide upon our hearts, and with tenderest emotion

This burst of passionate feeling over, with calmed thoughts we sat together, talking of the past and present. I

alluded to the coldness of her letters; but the few minutes we had spent together sufficiently explained the

origin of this. New feelings had arisen within her, which she was unable to express in writing to one whom

she had only known in childhood; but we saw each other again, and our intimacy was renewed as if nothing

had intervened to check it. I detailed the incidents of my sojourn abroad, and then questioned her as to the

changes that had taken place at home, the causes of Adrian's absence, and her secluded life.

The tears that suffused my sister's eyes when I mentioned our friend, and her heightened colour seemed to

vouch for the truth of the reports that had reached me. But their import was too terrible for me to give instant

credit to my suspicion. Was there indeed anarchy in the sublime universe of Adrian's thoughts, did madness

scatter the wellappointed legions, and was he no longer the lord of his own soul? Beloved friend, this ill

world was no clime for your gentle spirit; you delivered up its governance to false humanity, which stript it of

its leaves ere wintertime, and laid bare its quivering life to the evil ministration of roughest winds. Have

those gentle eyes, those "channels of the soul" lost their meaning, or do they only in their glare disclose the

horrible tale of its aberrations? Does that voice no longer "discourse excellent music?" Horrible, most

horrible! I veil my eyes in terror of the change, and gushing tears bear witness to my sympathy for this

In obedience to my request Perdita detailed the melancholy circumstances that led to this event.

The frank and unsuspicious mind of Adrian, gifted as it was by every natural grace, endowed with

transcendent powers of intellect, unblemished by the shadow of defect (unless his dreadless independence of

thought was to be construed into one), was devoted, even as a victim to sacrifice, to his love for Evadne. He

entrusted to her keeping the treasures of his soul, his aspirations after excellence, and his plans for the

improvement of mankind. As manhood dawned upon him, his schemes and theories, far from being changed

by personal and prudential motives, acquired new strength from the powers he felt arise within him; and his

love for Evadne became deep rooted, as he each day became more certain that the path he pursued was full

of difficulty, and that he must seek his reward, not in the applause or gratitude of his fellow creatures, hardly

in the success of his plans, but in the approbation of his own heart, and in her love and sympathy, which was

In solitude, and through many wanderings afar from the haunts of men, he matured his views for the reform

of the English government, and the improvement of the people. It would have been well if he had concealed

his sentiments, until he had come into possession of the power which would secure their practical

development. But he was impatient of the years that must intervene, he was frank of heart and fearless. He

gave not only a brief denial to his mother's schemes, but published his intention of using his influence to

diminish the power of the aristocracy, to effect a greater equalisation of wealth and privilege, and to introduce

a perfect system of republican government into England. At first his mother treated his theories as the wild

ravings of inexperience. But they were so systematically arranged, and his arguments so well supported, that

though still in appearance incredulous, she began to fear him. She tried to reason with him, and finding him

Strange to say, this feeling was infectious. His enthusiasm for good which did not exist; his contempt for the

sacredness of authority; his ardour and imprudence were all at the antipodes of the usual routine of life; the

worldly feared him; the young and inexperienced did not understand the lofty severity of his moral views,

and disliked him as a being different from themselves. Evadne entered but coldly into his systems. She

thought he did well to assert his own will, but she wished that will to have been more intelligible to the

multitude. She had none of the spirit of a martyr, and did not incline to share the shame and defeat of a fallen

patriot. She was aware of the purity of his motives, the generosity of his disposition, his true and ardent

attachment to her; and she entertained a great affection for him. He repaid this spirit of kindness with the

At this time Lord Raymond returned from Greece. No two persons could be more opposite than Adrian and

he. With all the incongruities of his character, Raymond was emphatically a man of the world. His passions

were violent; as these often obtained the mastery over him, he could not always square his conduct to the

obvious line of selfinterest, but self gratification at least was the paramount object with him. He looked on

the structure of society as but a part of the machinery which supported the web on which his life was traced.

The earth was spread out as an highway for him; the heavens built up as a canopy for him.

Adrian felt that he made a part of a great whole. He owned affinity not only with mankind, but all nature was

akin to him; the mountains and sky were his friends; the winds of heaven and the offspring of earth his

playmates; while he the focus only of this mighty mirror, felt his life mingle with the universe of existence.

His soul was sympathy, and dedicated to the worship of beauty and excellence. Adrian and Raymond now

came into contact, and a spirit of aversion rose between them. Adrian despised the narrow views of the

politician, and Raymond held in supreme contempt the benevolent visions of the philanthropist.

With the coming of Raymond was formed the storm that laid waste at one fell blow the gardens of delight

and sheltered paths which Adrian fancied that he had secured to himself, as a refuge from defeat and

contumely. Raymond, the deliverer of Greece, the graceful soldier, who bore in his mien a tinge of all that,

peculiar to her native clime, Evadne cherished as most dearRaymond was loved by Evadne. Overpowered

by her new sensations, she did not pause to examine them, or to regulate her conduct by any sentiments

except the tyrannical one which suddenly usurped the empire of her heart. She yielded to its influence, and

the too natural consequence in a mind unattuned to soft emotions was, that the attentions of Adrian became

distasteful to her. She grew capricious; her gentle conduct towards him was exchanged for asperity and

repulsive coldness. When she perceived the wild or pathetic appeal of his expressive countenance, she would

relent, and for a while resume her ancient kindness. But these fluctuations shook to its depths the soul of the

sensitive youth; he no longer deemed the world subject to him, because he possessed Evadne's love; he felt in

every nerve that the dire storms of the mental universe were about to attack his fragile being, which quivered

Perdita, who then resided with Evadne, saw the torture that Adrian endured. She loved him as a kind elder

brother; a relation to guide, protect, and instruct her, without the too frequent tyranny of parental authority.

She adored his virtues, and with mixed contempt and indignation she saw Evadne pile drear sorrow on his

head, for the sake of one who hardly marked her. In his solitary despair Adrian would often seek my sister,

and in covered terms express his misery, while fortitude and agony divided the throne of his mind. Soon,

alas! was one to conquer. Anger made no part of his emotion. With whom should he be angry? Not with

Raymond, who was unconscious of the misery he occasioned; not with Evadne, for her his soul wept tears of

bloodpoor, mistaken girl, slave not tyrant was she, and amidst his own anguish he grieved for her future

destiny. Once a writing of his fell into Perdita's hands; it was blotted with tearswell might any blot it with

"Life"it began thus"is not the thing romance writers describe it; going through the measures of a dance,

and after various evolutions arriving at a conclusion, when the dancers may sit down and repose. While there

is life there is action and change. We go on, each thought linked to the one which was its parent, each act to a

previous act. No joy or sorrow dies barren of progeny, which for ever generated and generating, weaves the

Truly disappointment is the guardian deity of human life; she sits at the threshold of unborn time, and

marshals the events as they come forth. Once my heart sat lightly in my bosom; all the beauty of the world

was doubly beautiful, irradiated by the sunlight shed from my own soul. O wherefore are love and ruin for

ever joined in this our mortal dream? So that when we make our hearts a lair for that gently seeming beast, its

companion enters with it, and pitilessly lays waste what might have been an home and a shelter."

By degrees his health was shaken by his misery, and then his intellect yielded to the same tyranny. His

manners grew wild; he was sometimes ferocious, sometimes absorbed in speechless melancholy. Suddenly

Evadne quitted London for Paris; he followed, and overtook her when the vessel was about to sail; none knew

what passed between them, but Perdita had never seen him since; he lived in seclusion, no one knew where,

THE next day Lord Raymond called at Perdita's cottage, on his way to Windsor Castle. My sister's

heightened colour and sparkling eyes half revealed her secret to me. He was perfectly selfpossessed; he

accosted us both with courtesy, seemed immediately to enter into our feelings, and to make one with us. I

scanned his physiognomy, which varied as he spoke, yet was beautiful in every change. The usual expression

of his eyes was soft, though at times he could make them even glare with ferocity; his complexion was

colourless; and every trait spoke predominate selfwill; his smile was pleasing, though disdain too often

curled his lipslips which to female eyes were the very throne of beauty and love. His voice, usually gentle,

often startled you by a sharp discordant note, which showed that his usual low tone was rather the work of

study than nature. Thus full of contradictions, unbending yet haughty, gentle yet fierce, tender and again

neglectful, he by some strange art found easy entrance to the admiration and affection of women; now

caressing and now tyrannising over them according to his mood, but in every change a despot.

At the present time Raymond evidently wished to appear amiable. Wit, hilarity, and deep observation were

mingled in his talk, rendering every sentence that he uttered as a flash of light. He soon conquered my latent

distaste; I endeavoured to watch him and Perdita, and to keep in mind every thing I had heard to his

disadvantage. But all appeared so ingenuous, and all was so fascinating, that I forgot everything except the

pleasure his society afforded me. Under the idea of initiating me in the scene of English politics and society,

of which I was soon to become a part, he narrated a number of anecdotes, and sketched many characters; his

discourse, rich and varied, flowed on, pervading all my senses with pleasure. But for one thing he would have

been completely triumphant. He alluded to Adrian, and spoke of him with that disparagement that the worldly

wise always attach to enthusiasm. He perceived the cloud gathering, and tried to dissipate it; but the strength

of my feelings would not permit me to pass thus lightly over this sacred subject; so I said emphatically,

"Permit me to remark, that I am devotedly attached to the Earl of Windsor; he is my best friend and

benefactor. I reverence his goodness, I accord with his opinions, and bitterly lament his present, and I trust

temporary, illness. That illness, from its peculiarity, makes it painful to me beyond words to hear him

Raymond replied; but there was nothing conciliatory in his reply. I saw that in his heart he despised those

dedicated to any but worldly idols. "Every man," he said, "dreams about something, love, honour, and

pleasure; you dream of friendship, and devote yourself to a maniac; well, if that be your vocation, doubtless

Some reflection seemed to sting him, and the spasm of pain that for a moment convulsed his countenance,

checked my indignation. "Happy are dreamers," he continued, "so that they be not awakened! Would I could

dream! but `broad and garish day' is the element in which I live; the dazzling glare of reality inverts the scene

for me. Even the ghost of friendship has departed, and love" He broke off; nor could I guess whether the

disdain that curled his lip was directed against the passion, or against himself for being its slave.

This account may be taken as a sample of my intercourse with Lord Raymond. I became intimate with him,

and each day afforded me occasion to admire more and more his powerful and versatile talents, that together

with his eloquence, which was graceful and witty, and his wealth now immense, caused him to be feared,

My descent, which claimed interest, if not respect, my former connection with Adrian, the favour of the

ambassador, whose secretary I had been, and now my intimacy with Lord Raymond, gave me easy access to

the fashionable and political circles of England. To my inexperience we at first appeared on the eve of a civil

war; each party was violent, acrimonious, and unyielding. Parliament was divided by three factions,

aristocrats, democrats, and royalists. After Adrian's declared predilection to the republican form of

government, the latter party had nearly died away, chiefless, guideless; but, when Lord Raymond came

forward as its leader, it revived with redoubled force. Some were royalists from prejudice and ancient

affection, and there were many moderately inclined who feared alike the capricious tyranny of the popular

party, and the unbending despotism of the aristocrats. More than a third of the members ranged themselves

under Raymond, and their number was perpetually increasing. The aristocrats built their hopes on their

preponderant wealth and influence; the reformers on the force of the nation itself; the debates were violent,

more violent the discourses held by each knot of politicians as they assembled to arrange their measures.

Opprobrious epithets were bandied about, resistance even to the death threatened; meetings of the populace

disturbed the quiet order of the country; except in war, how could all this end? Even as the destructive flames

were ready to break forth, I saw them shrink back; allayed by the absence of the military, by the aversion

entertained by every one to any violence, save that of speech, and by the cordial politeness and even

friendship of the hostile leaders when they met in private society. I was from a thousand motives induced to

attend minutely to the course of events, and watch each turn with intense anxiety.

I could not but perceive that Perdita loved Raymond; methought also that he regarded the fair daughter of

Verney with admiration and tenderness. Yet I knew that he was urging forward his marriage with the

presumptive heiress of the Earldom of Windsor, with keen expectation of the advantages that would thence

accrue to him. All the exqueen's friends were his friends; no week passed that he did not hold consultations

I had never seen the sister of Adrian. I had heard that she was lovely, amiable, and fascinating. Wherefore

should I see her? There are times when we have an indefinable sentiment of impending change for better or

for worse, to arise from an event; and, be it for better or for worse, we fear the change, and shun the event.

For this reason I avoided this highborn damsel. To me she was everything and nothing; her very name

mentioned by another made me start and tremble; the endless discussion concerning her union with Lord

Raymond was real agony to me. Methought that, Adrian withdrawn from active life, and this beauteous Idris,

a victim probably to her mother's ambitious schemes, I ought to come forward to protect her from undue

influence, guard her from unhappiness, and secure to her freedom of choice, the right of every human being.

Yet how was I to do this? She herself would disdain my interference. Since then I must be an object of

indifference or contempt to her, better, far better avoid her, nor expose myself before her and the scornful

One day, several months after my return to England, I quitted London to visit my sister. Her society was my

chief solace and delight; and my spirits always rose at the expectation of seeing her. Her conversation was

full of pointed remark and discernment; in her pleasant alcove, redolent with sweetest flowers, adorned by

magnificent casts, antique vases, and copies of the finest pictures of Raphael, Correggio, and Claude, painted

by herself, I fancied myself in a fairy retreat untainted by and inaccessible to the noisy contentions of

politicians and the frivolous pursuits of fashion. On this occasion, my sister was not alone; nor could I fail to

recognise her companion: it was Idris, the till now unseen object of my mad idolatry.

In what fitting terms of wonder and delight, in what choice expression and soft flow of language, can I usher

in the loveliest, wisest, best? How in poor assemblage of words convey the halo of glory that surrounded her,

the thousand graces that waited unwearied on her. The first thing that struck you on beholding that charming

countenance was its perfect goodness and frankness; candour sat upon her brow, simplicity in her eyes,

heavenly benignity in her smile. Her tall slim figure bent gracefully as a poplar to the breezy west, and her

gait, goddess like, was as that of a winged angel new alit from heaven's high floor; the pearly fairness of her

complexion was stained by a pure suffusion; her voice resembled the low, subdued tenor of a flute. It is

easiest perhaps to describe by contrast. I have detailed the perfections of my sister; and yet she was utterly

unlike Idris. Perdita, even where she loved, was reserved and timid; Idris was frank and confiding. The one

recoiled to solitude, that she might there entrench herself from disappointment and injury; the other walked

forth in open day, believing that none would harm her. Wordsworth has compared a beloved female to two

fair objects in nature; but his lines always appeared to me rather a contrast than a similitude:

Such a violet was sweet Perdita, trembling to entrust herself to the very air, cowering from observation, yet

betrayed by her excellences; and repaying with a thousand graces the labour of those who sought her in her

lonely byepath. Idris was as the star, set in single splendour in the dim anadem of balmy evening; ready to

enlighten and delight the subject world, shielded herself from every taint by her unimagined distance from all

I found this vision of beauty in Perdita's alcove, in earnest conversation with its inmate. When my sister saw

me, she rose, and taking my hand, said, "He is here, even at our wish; this is Lionel, my brother."

Idris arose also, and bent on me her eyes of celestial blue, and with grace peculiar said"You hardly need an

introduction; we have a picture, highly valued by my father, which declares at once your name. Verney, you

will acknowledge this tie, and as my brother's friend, I feel that I may trust you."

Then, with lids humid with a tear and trembling voice, she continued"Dear friends, do not think it strange

that now, visiting you for the first time, I ask your assistance, and confide my wishes and fears to you. To you

alone do I dare speak; I have heard you commended by impartial spectators; you are my brother's friends,

therefore you must be mine. What can I say? if you refuse to aid me, I am lost indeed!" She cast up her eyes,

while wonder held her auditors mute; then, as if carried away by her feelings, she cried"My brother!

beloved, illfated Adrian! how speak of your misfortunes? Doubtless you have both heard the current tale;

perhaps believe the slander; but he is not mad! Were an angel from the foot of God's throne to assert it, never,

never would I believe it. He is wronged, betrayed, imprisonedsave him! Verney, you must do this; seek

him out in whatever part of the island he is immured; find him, rescue him from his persecutors, restore him

Her earnest appeal, so sweetly and passionately expressed, filled me with wonder and sympathy; and, when

she added, with thrilling voice and look, "Do you consent to undertake this enterprise?" I vowed, with energy

and truth, to devote myself in life and death to the restoration and welfare of Adrian. We then conversed on

the plan I should pursue, and discussed the probable means of discovering his residence. While we were in

earnest discourse, Lord Raymond entered unannounced: I saw Perdita tremble and grow deadly pale, and the

cheeks of Idris glow with purest blushes. He must have been astonished at our conclave, disturbed by it I

should have thought; but nothing of this appeared; he saluted my companions, and addressed me with a

cordial greeting. Idris appeared suspended for a moment, and then with extreme sweetness, she said, "Lord

Smiling haughtily, he bent his head, and replied, with emphasis, "Do you indeed confide, Lady Idris?"

She endeavoured to read his thought, and then answered with dignity, "As you please. It is certainly best not

"Pardon me," he replied, "if I have offended. Whether you trust me or not, rely on my doing my utmost to

Idris smiled her thanks, and rose to take leave. Lord Raymond requested permission to accompany her to

Windsor Castle, to which she consented, and they quitted the cottage together. My sister and I were

lefttruly like two fools, who fancied that they had obtained a golden treasure, till daylight showed it to be

leadtwo silly, luckless flies, who had played in sunbeams and were caught in a spider's web. I leaned

against the casement, and watched those two glorious creatures, till they disappeared in the forestglades;

and then I turned. Perdita had not moved; her eyes fixed on the ground, her cheeks pale, her very lips white,

motionless and rigid, every feature stamped by woe, she sat. Half frightened, I would have taken her hand;

but she shudderingly withdrew it, and strove to collect herself. I entreated her to speak to me: "Not now," she

replied, "nor do you speak to me, my dear Lionel; you can say nothing, for you know nothing. I will see you

tomorrow; in the meantime, adieu!" She rose, and walked from the room; but pausing at the door, and

leaning against it, as if her overbusy thoughts had taken from her the power of supporting herself, she said,

"Lord Raymond will probably return. Will you tell him that he must excuse me today, for I am not well. I

will see him tomorrow if he wishes it, and you also. You had better return to London with him; you can

there make the inquiries agreed upon, concerning the Earl of Windsor and visit me again tomorrow, before

She spoke falteringly, and concluded with a heavy sigh. I gave my assent to her request; and she left me. I felt

as if, from the order of the systematic world, I had plunged into chaos, obscure, contrary, unintelligible. That

Raymond should marry Idris was more than ever intolerable; yet my passion, though a giant from its birth,

was too strange, wild, and impracticable, for me to feel at once the misery I perceived in Perdita. How should

I act? She had not confided in me; I could not demand an explanation from Raymond without the hazard of

betraying what was perhaps her most treasured secret. I would obtain the truth from her the following

dayin the mean timeBut, while I was occupied by multiplying reflections, Lord Raymond returned. He

asked for my sister; and I delivered her message. After musing on it for a moment, he asked me if I were

about to return to London, and if I would accompany him: I consented. He was full of thought, and remained

silent during a considerable part of our ride; at length he said, "I must apologize to you for my abstraction;

Ryland was the leader of the popular party, a hardheaded man, and in his way eloquent; he had obtained

leave to bring in a bill making it treason to endeavour to change the present state of the English government

and the standing laws of the republic. This attack was directed against Raymond and his machinations for the

Raymond asked me if I would accompany him to the House that evening. I remembered my pursuit for

intelligence concerning Adrian; and, knowing that my time would be fully occupied, I excused myself.

"Nay," said my companion, "I can free you from your present impediment. You are going to make inquiries

concerning the Earl of Windsor. I can answer them at once, he is at the Duke of Athol's seat at Dunkeld. On

the first approach of his disorder, he travelled about from one place to another; until, arriving at that romantic

seclusion he refused to quit it, and we made arrangements with the Duke for his continuing there."

I was hurt by the careless tone with which he conveyed this information, and replied coldly: "I am obliged to

"You shall, Verney," said he, "and if you continue of the same mind, I will facilitate your views. But first

witness, I beseech you, the result of this night's contest, and the triumph I am about to achieve, if I may so

call it, while I fear that victory is to me defeat. What can I do? My dearest hopes appear to be near their

fulfilment. The exqueen gives me Idris; Adrian is totally unfitted to succeed to the earldom, and that

earldom in my hands becomes a kingdom. By the reigning God it is true; the paltry earldom of Windsor shall

no longer content him, who will inherit the rights which must for ever appertain to the person who possesses

it. The Countess can never forget that she has been a queen, and she disdains to leave a diminished

inheritance to her children; her power and my wit will rebuild the throne, and this brow will be clasped by a

He stopped abruptly, his countenance darkened, and its expression changed again and again under the

"What a question," replied he laughing. "She will of course, as I shall her, when we are married."

"You begin late," said I, ironically, "marriage is usually considered the grave, and not the cradle of love. So

"Do not catechise me, Lionel; I will do my duty by her, be assured. Love! I must steel my heart against that;

expel it from its tower of strength, barricade it out: the fountain of love must cease to play, its waters be dried

up, and all passionate thoughts attendant on it diethat is to say, the love which would rule me, not that

which I rule. Idris is a gentle, pretty, sweet little girl; it is impossible not to have an affection for her, and I

have a very sincere one; only do not speak of lovelove, the tyrant and the tyrantqueller; love, until now

my conqueror, now my slave; the hungry fire, the untameable beast, the fanged snakenonoI will have

nothing to do with that love. Tell me, Lionel, do you consent that I should marry this young lady?"

He bent his keen eyes upon me, and my uncontrollable heart swelled in my bosom. I replied in a calm

voicebut how far from calm was the thought imaged by my still words"Never! I can never consent that

"At least," he continued haughtily, "she does not love you. I would not marry a reigning sovereign, were I not

sure that her heart was free. But, O, Lionel! a kingdom is a word of might, and gently sounding are the terms

that compose the style of royalty. Were not the mightiest men of the olden times kings? Alexander was a

king; Solomon, the wisest of men, was a king; Napoleon was a king; Caesar died in his attempt to become

one, and Cromwell, the puritan and kingkiller, aspired to regality. The father of Adrian yielded up the

already broken sceptre of England; but I will rear the fallen plant, join its dismembered frame, and exalt it

"You need not wonder that I freely discover Adrian's abode. Do not suppose that I am wicked or foolish

enough to found my purposed sovereignty on a fraud, and one so easily discovered as the truth or falsehood

of the Earl's insanity. I am just come from him. Before I decided on my marriage with Idris, I resolved to see

him myself again, and to judge of the probability of his recovery.He is irrecoverably mad."

"I will not detail to you," continued Raymond, "the melancholy particulars. You shall see him, and judge for

yourself; although I fear this visit, useless to him, will be insufferably painful to you. It has weighed on my

spirits ever since. Excellent and gentle as he is even in the downfall of his reason, I do not worship him as

you do, but I would give all my hopes of a crown and my right hand to boot, to see him restored to himself."

His voice expressed the deepest compassion: "Thou most unaccountable being," I cried, "whither will thy

"Whither indeed? To a crown, a golden begemmed crown, I hope; and yet I dare not trust and though I

dream of a crown and wake for one, ever and anon a busy devil whispers to me, that it is but a fool's cap that

I seek, and that were I wise, I should trample on it, and take in its stead, that which is worth all the crowns of

"If I do make it my choice, then you shall know; at present I dare not speak, even think of it."

Again he was silent, and after a pause turned to me laughingly. When scorn did not inspire his mirth, when it

was genuine gaiety that painted his features with a joyous expression, his beauty became supereminent,

divine. "Verney," said he, "my first act when I become King of England, will be to unite with the Greeks,

take Constantinople, and subdue all Asia. I intend to be a warrior, a conqueror; Napoleon's name shall vail to

mine; and enthusiasts, instead of visiting his rocky grave, and exalting the merits of the fallen, shall adore my

I listened to Raymond with intense interest. Could I be other than all ear, to one who seemed to govern the

whole earth in his grasping imagination, and who only quailed when he attempted to rule himself. Then on

his word and will depended my own happinessthe fate of all dear to me. I endeavoured to divine the

concealed meaning of his words. Perdita's name was not mentioned; yet I could not doubt that love for her

caused the vacillation of purpose that he exhibited. And who was so worthy of love as my nobleminded

sister? Who deserved the hand of this selfexalted king more than she whose glance belonged to a queen of

nations? who loved him, as he did her; notwithstanding that disappointment quelled her passion, and

We went together to the House in the evening. Raymond, while he knew that his plans and prospects were to

be discussed and decided during the expected debate, was gay and careless. An hum, like that of ten thousand

hives of swarming bees, stunned us as we entered the coffeeroom. Knots of politicians were assembled with

anxious brows and loud or deep voices. The aristocratical party, the richest and most influential men in

England, appeared less agitated than the others, for the question was to be discussed without their

interference. Near the fire was Ryland and his supporters. Ryland was a man of obscure birth and of immense

wealth, inherited from his father, who had been a manufacturer. He had witnessed, when a young man, the

abdication of the king, and the amalgamation of the two houses of Lords and Commons; he had sympathized

with these popular encroachments, and it had been the business of his life to consolidate and increase them.

Since then, the influence of the landed proprietors had augmented; and at first Ryland was not sorry to

observe the machinations of Lord Raymond, which drew off many of his opponent's partisans. But the thing

was now going too far. The poorer nobility hailed the return of sovereignty, as an event which would restore

them to their power and rights, now lost. The half extinct spirit of royalty roused itself in the minds of men;

and they, willing slaves, selfconstituted subjects, were ready to bend their necks to the yoke. Some erect and

manly spirits still remained, pillars of state; but the word republic had grown stale to the vulgar ear; and

manythe event would prove whether it was a majoritypined for the tinsel and show of royalty. Ryland

was roused to resistance; he asserted that his sufferance alone had permitted the increase of this party; but the

time for indulgence was passed, and with one motion of his arm he would sweep away the cobwebs that

When Raymond entered the coffeeroom, his presence was hailed by his friends almost with a shout. They

gathered round him, counted their numbers, and detailed the reasons why they were now to receive an

addition of such and such members, who had not yet declared themselves. Some trifling business of the

House having been gone through, the leaders took their seats in the chamber; the clamour of voices

continued, till Ryland arose to speak, and then the slightest whispered observation was audible. All eyes were

fixed upon him as he stoodponderous of frame, sonorous of voice, and with a manner which, though not

graceful, was impressive. I turned from his marked, iron countenance to Raymond, whose face, veiled by a

smile, would not betray his care; yet his lips quivered somewhat, and his hand clasped the bench on which he

Ryland began by praising the present state of the British empire. He recalled past years to their memory; the

miserable contentions which in the time of our fathers arose almost to civil war, the abdication of the late

king, and the foundation of the republic. He described this republic; showed how it gave privilege to each

individual in the state, to rise to consequence, and even to temporary sovereignty. He compared the royal and

republican spirit; showed how the one tended to enslave the minds of men; while all the institutions of the

other served to raise even the meanest among us to something great and good. He showed how England had

become powerful, and its inhabitants valiant and wise, by means of the freedom they enjoyed. As he spoke,

every heart swelled with pride, and every cheek glowed with delight to remember, that each one there was

English, and that each supported and contributed to the happy state of things now commemorated. Ryland's

fervour increased his eyes lighted uphis voice assumed the tone of passion. There was one man, he

continued, who wished to alter all this, and bring us back to our days of impotence and contention: one

man, who would dare arrogate the honour which was due to all who claimed England as their birthplace, and

set his name and style above the name and style of his country. I saw at this juncture that Raymond changed

colour; his eyes were withdrawn from the orator, and cast on the ground; the listeners turned from one to the

other; but in the meantime the speaker's voice filled their earsthe thunder of his denunciations influenced

their senses. The very boldness of his language gave him weight; each knew that he spoke trutha truth

known, but not acknowledged. He tore from reality the mask with which she had been clothed; and the

purposes of Raymond, which before had crept around, ensnaring by stealth, now stood a hunted stag even

at bayas all perceived who watched the irrepressible changes of his countenance. Ryland ended by

moving, that any attempt to reerect the kingly power should be declared treason, and he a traitor who should

endeavour to change the present form of government. Cheers and loud acclamations followed the close of his

After his motion had been seconded, Lord Raymond rose,his countenance bland, his voice softly

melodious, his manner soothing, his grace and sweetness came like the mild breathing of a flute, after the

loud, organlike voice of his adversary. He rose, he said, to speak in favour of the honourable member's

motion, with one slight amendment subjoined. He was ready to go back to old times, and commemorate the

contests of our fathers, and the monarch's abdication. Nobly and greatly, he said, had the illustrious and last

sovereign of England sacrificed himself to the apparent good of his country, and divested himself of a power

which could only be maintained by the blood of his subjectsthese subjects named so no more, these, his

friends and equals, had in gratitude conferred certain favours and distinctions on him and his family for ever.

An ample estate was allotted to them, and they took the first rank among the peers of Great Britain. Yet it

might be conjectured that they had not forgotten their ancient heritage; and it was hard that his heir should

suffer alike with any other pretender, if he attempted to regain what by ancient right and inheritance belonged

to him. He did not say that he should favour such an attempt; but he did say that such an attempt would be

venial; and, if the aspirant did not go so far as to declare war, and erect a standard in the kingdom, his fault

ought to be regarded with an indulgent eye. In his amendment he proposed, that an exception should be made

in the bill in favour of any person who claimed the sovereign power in right of the earls of Windsor.

Nor did Raymond make an end without drawing in vivid and glowing colours, the splendour of a kingdom, in

opposition to the commercial spirit of republicanism. He asserted, that each individual under the English

monarchy, was then as now, capable of attaining high rank and powerwith one only exception, that of the

function of chief magistrate; higher and nobler rank, than a bartering, timorous commonwealth could afford.

And for this one exception, to what did it amount? The nature of riches and influence forcibly confined the

list of candidates to a few of the wealthiest; and it was much to be feared, that the ill humour and contention

generated by this triennial struggle, would counterbalance its advantages in impartial eyes. I can ill record the

flow of language and graceful turns of expression, the wit and easy raillery that gave vigour and influence to

his speech. His manner, timid at first, became firmhis changeful face was lit up to superhuman brilliancy;

It were useless to record the debate that followed this harangue. Party speeches were delivered, which clothed

the question in cant, and veiled its simple meaning in a woven wind of words. The motion was lost; Ryland

withdrew in rage and despair; and Raymond, gay and exulting, retired to dream of his future kingdom.

IS there such a feeling as love at first sight? And if there be, in what does its nature differ from love founded

in long observation and slow growth? Perhaps its effects are not so permanent; but they are, while they last,

as violent and intense. We walk the pathless mazes of society, vacant of joy, till we hold this clue, leading us

through that labyrinth to paradise. Our nature dim, like to an unlighted torch, sleeps in formless blank till the

fire attain it; this life of life, this light to moon, and glory to the sun. What does it matter, whether the fire be

struck from flint and steel, nourished with care into a flame, slowly communicated to the dark wick, or

whether swiftly the radiant power of light and warmth passes from a kindred power, and shines at once the

beacon and the hope. In the deepest fountain of my heart the pulses were stirred; around, above, beneath, the

clinging Memory as a cloak enwrapped me. In no one moment of coming time did I feel as I had done in time

gone by. The spirit of Idris hovered in the air I breathed; her eyes were ever and for ever bent on mine; her

remembered smile blinded my faint gaze, and caused me to walk as one, not in eclipse, not in darkness and

vacancybut in a new and brilliant light, too novel, too dazzling for my human senses. On every leaf, on

every small division of the universe, (as on the hyacinth ** is engraved) was imprinted the talisman of my

existenceSHE LIVES! SHE IS!I had not time yet to analyse my feeling, to take myself to task, and

leash in the tameless passion; all was one idea, one feeling, one knowledge it was my life!

But the die was castRaymond would marry Idris. The merry marriage bells rung in my ears; I heard the

nation's gratulation which followed the union; the ambitious noble uprose with swift eagleflight, from the

lowly ground to regal supremacyand to the love of Idris. Yet, not so! She did not love him; she had called

me her friend; she had smiled on me; to me she had entrusted her heart's dearest hope, the welfare of Adrian.

This reflection thawed my congealing blood, and again the tide of life and love flowed impetuously onward,

The debate had ended at three in the morning. My soul was in tumults; I traversed the streets with eager

rapidity. Truly, I was mad that nightlovewhich I have named a giant from its birth, wrestled with

despair! My heart, the field of combat, was wounded by the iron heel of the one, watered by the gushing tears

of the other. Day, hateful to me, dawned; I retreated to my lodgingsI threw myself on a couchI

sleptwas it sleep? for thought was still alivelove and despair struggled still, and I writhed with

I awoke half stupefied; I felt a heavy oppression on me, but knew not wherefore; I entered, as it were, the

councilchamber of my brain, and questioned the various ministers of thought therein assembled; too soon I

remembered all; too soon my limbs quivered beneath the tormenting power; soon, too soon, I knew myself a

Suddenly, unannounced, Lord Raymond entered my apartment. He came in gaily, singing the Tyrolese song

of liberty; noticed me with a gracious nod, and threw himself on a sofa opposite the copy of a bust of the

Apollo Belvedere. After one or two trivial remarks, to which I sullenly replied, he suddenly cried, looking at

the bust, "I am called like that victor! Not a bad idea; the head will serve for my new coinage, and be an

He said this in his most gay, yet benevolent manner, and smiled, not disdainfully, but in playful mockery of

himself. Then his countenance suddenly darkened, and in that shrill tone peculiar to himself, he cried, "I

fought a good battle last night; higher conquest the plains of Greece never saw me achieve. Now I am the first

man in the state, burthen of every ballad, and object of old women's mumbled devotions. What are your

meditations? You, who fancy that you can read the human soul, as your native lake reads each crevice and

folding of its surrounding hillssay what you think of me; kingexpectant, angel or devil, which?"

This ironical tone was discord to my bursting, overboiling heart; I was nettled by his insolence, and replied

with bitterness; "There is a spirit, neither angel or devil, damned to limbo merely." I saw his cheeks become

pale, and his lips whiten and quiver; his anger served but to enkindle mine, and I answered with a determined

look his eyes which glared on me; suddenly they were withdrawn, cast down, a tear, I thought, wetted the

dark lashes; I was softened, and with involuntary emotion added, "Not that you are such, my dear lord."

I paused, even awed by the agitation he evinced; "Yes," he said at length, rising and biting his lip, as he

strove to curb his passion; "Such am I! You do not know me, Verney; neither you, nor our audience of last

night, nor does universal England know aught of me. I stand here, it would seem, an elected king; this hand is

about to grasp a sceptre; these brows feel in each nerve the coming diadem. I appear to have strength, power,

victory; standing as a domesupporting column stands; and I am a reed! I have ambition, and that attains

its aim; my nightly dreams are realized, my waking hopes fulfilled; a kingdom awaits my acceptance, my

enemies are overthrown. But here," and he struck his heart with violence, "here is the rebel, here the

stumblingblock; this overruling heart, which I may drain of its living blood; but, while one fluttering

He spoke with a broken voice, then bowed his head, and, hiding his face in his hands, wept. I was still

smarting from my own disappointment; yet this scene oppressed me even to terror, nor could I interrupt his

access of passion. It subsided at length; and, throwing himself on the couch, he remained silent and

motionless, except that his changeful features showed a strong internal conflict. At last he rose, and said in

his usual tone of voice, "The time grows on us, Verney, I must away. Let me not forget my chiefest errand

here. Will you accompany me to Windsor tomorrow? You will not be dishonoured by my society, and as

this is probably the last service, or disservice you can do me, will you grant my request?"

He held out his hand with almost a bashful air. Swiftly I thoughtYes, I will witness the last scene of the

drama. Beside which, his mien conquered me, and an affectionate sentiment towards him, again filled my

heartI bade him command me. "Aye, that I will," said he gaily, "that's my cue now; be with me tomorrow

morning by seven; be secret and faithful; and you shall be groom of the stole ere long."

So saying, he hastened away, vaulted on his horse, and with a gesture as if he gave me his hand to kiss, bade

me another laughing adieu. Left to myself, I strove with painful intensity to divine the motive of his request

and foresee the events of the coming day. The hours passed on unperceived; my head ached with thought, the

nerves seemed teeming with the over full fraughtI clasped my burning brow, as if my fevered hand could

I was punctual to the appointed hour on the following day, and found Lord Raymond waiting for me. We got

into his carriage, and proceeded towards Windsor. I had tutored myself, and was resolved by no outward sign

"What a mistake Ryland made," said Raymond, "when he thought to overpower me the other night. He spoke

well, very well; such an harangue would have succeeded better addressed to me singly, than to the fools and

knaves assembled yonder. Had I been alone, I should have listened to him with a wish to hear reason, but

when he endeavoured to vanquish me in my own territory, with my own weapons, he put me on my mettle,

I smiled incredulously, and replied: "I am of Ryland's way of thinking, and will, if you please, repeat all his

arguments; we shall see how far you will be induced by them, to change the royal for the patriotic style."

"The repetition would be useless," said Raymond, "since I well remember them, and have many others,

He did not explain himself, nor did I make any remark on his reply. Our silence endured for some miles, till

the country with open fields, or shady woods and parks, presented pleasant objects to our view. After some

observations on the scenery and seats, Raymond said: "Philosophers have called man a microcosm of nature,

and find a reflection in the internal mind for all this machinery visibly at work around us. This theory has

often been a source of amusement to me; and many an idle hour have I spent, exercising my ingenuity in

finding resemblances. Does not Lord Bacon say that, `the falling from a discord to a concord, which maketh

great sweetness in music, hath an agreement with the affections, which are reintegrated to the better after

some dislikes?' What a sea is the tide of passion, whose fountains are in our own nature! Our virtues are the

quicksands, which show themselves at calm and low water; but let the waves arise and the winds buffet

them, and the poor devil whose hope was in their durability, finds them sink from under him. The fashions of

the world, its exigencies, educations and pursuits, are winds to drive our wills, like clouds all one way; but let

a thunderstorm arise in the shape of love, hate, or ambition, and the rack goes backward, stemming the

"Yet," replied I, "nature always presents to our eyes the appearance of a patient: while there is an active

principle in man which is capable of ruling fortune, and at least of tacking against the gale, till it in some

"There is more of what is specious than true in your distinction," said my companion. "Did we form

ourselves, choosing our dispositions, and our powers? I find myself, for one, as a stringed instrument with

chords and stopsbut I have no power to turn the pegs, or pitch my thoughts to a higher or lower key."

"I talk not of others, but myself," replied Raymond, "and I am as fair an example to go by as another. I cannot

set my heart to a particular tune, or run voluntary changes on my will. We are born; we choose neither our

parents, nor our station; we are educated by others, or by the world's circumstance, and this cultivation,

mingling with our innate disposition, is the soil in which our desires, passions, and motives grow."

"There is much truth in what you say," said I, "and yet no man ever acts upon this theory. Who, when he

makes a choice, says, Thus I choose, because I am necessitated? Does he not on the contrary feel a freedom

of will within him, which, though you may call it fallacious, still actuates him as he decides?"

"Exactly so," replied Raymond, "another link of the breakless chain. Were I now to commit an act which

would annihilate my hopes, and pluck the regal garment from my mortal limbs, to clothe them in ordinary

As we talked thus, I perceived that we were not going the ordinary road to Windsor, but through Englefield

Green, towards Bishopgate Heath. I began to divine that Idris was not the object of our journey, but that I was

brought to witness the scene that was to decide the fate of Raymondand of Perdita. Raymond had evidently

vacillated during his journey, and irresolution was marked in every gesture as we entered Perdita's cottage. I

watched him curiously, determined that, if this hesitation should continue, I would assist Perdita to overcome

herself, and teach her to disdain the wavering love of him, who balanced between the possession of a crown,

We found her in her floweradorned alcove; she was reading the newspaper report of the debate in

parliament, that apparently doomed her to hopelessness. That heartsinking feeling was painted in her sunk

eyes and spiritless attitude; a cloud was on her beauty, and frequent sighs were tokens of her distress. This

sight had an instantaneous effect on Raymond; his eyes beamed with tenderness, and remorse clothed his

manners with earnestness and truth. He sat beside her; and, taking the paper from her hand, said, "Not a word

more shall my sweet Perdita read of this contention of madmen and fools. I must not permit you to be

acquainted with the extent of my delusion, lest you despise me; although, believe me, a wish to appear before

Perdita looked at him like one amazed; her expressive countenance shone for a moment with tenderness; to

see him only was happiness. But a bitter thought swiftly shadowed her joy; she bent her eyes on the ground,

endeavouring to master the passion of tears that threatened to overwhelm her. Raymond continued, "I will not

act a part with you, dear girl, or appear other than what I am, weak and unworthy, more fit to excite your

disdain than your love. Yet you do love me; I feel and know that you do, and thence I draw my most

cherished hopes. If pride guided you, or even reason, you might well reject me. Do so; if your high heart,

incapable of my infirmity of purpose, refuses to bend to the lowness of mine. Turn from me, if you will,if

you can. If your whole soul does not urge you to forgive meif your entire heart does not open wide its door

to admit me to its very centre, forsake me, never speak to me again. I, though sinning against you almost

beyond remission, I also am proud; there must be no reserve in your pardonno drawback to the gift of your

Perdita looked down, confused, yet pleased. My presence embarrassed her; so that she dared not turn to meet

her lover's eye, or trust her voice to assure him of her affection; while a blush mantled her cheek, and her

disconsolate air was exchanged for one expressive of deepfelt joy. Raymond encircled her waist with his

arm, and continued, "I do not deny that I have balanced between you and the highest hope that mortal men

can entertain; but I do so no longer. Take me mould me to your will, possess my heart and soul to all

eternity. If you refuse to contribute to my happiness, I quit England tonight, and will never set foot in it

"Lionel, you hear: witness for me: persuade your sister to forgive the injury I have done her; persuade her to

"There needs no persuasion," said the blushing Perdita, "except your own dear promises, and my ready heart,

That same evening we all three walked together in the forest, and, with the garrulity which happiness

inspires, they detailed to me the history of their loves. It was pleasant to see the haughty Raymond and

reserved Perdita changed through happy love into prattling, playful children, both losing their characteristic

dignity in the fullness of mutual contentment. A night or two ago Lord Raymond, with a brow of care, and a

heart oppressed with thought, bent all his energies to silence or persuade the legislators of England that a

sceptre was not too weighty for his hand, while visions of dominion, war, and triumph floated before him;

now, frolicsome as a lively boy sporting under his mother's approving eye, the hopes of his ambition were

complete, when he pressed the small fair hand of Perdita to his lips; while she, radiant with delight, looked on

the still pool, not truly admiring herself, but drinking in with rapture the reflection there made of the form of

I rambled away from them. If the rapture of assured sympathy was theirs, I enjoyed that of restored hope. I

looked on the regal towers of Windsor. High is the wall and strong the barrier that separate me from my Star

of Beauty. But not impassible. She will not be his. A few more years dwell in thy native garden, sweet

flower, till I by toil and time acquire a right to gather thee. Despair not, nor bid me despair! What must I do

now? First I must seek Adrian, and restore him to her. Patience, gentleness, and untired affection, shall recall

him, if it be true, as Raymond says, that he is mad; energy and courage shall rescue him, if he be unjustly

After the lovers again joined me, we supped together in the alcove. Truly it was a fairy's supper; for though

the air was perfumed by the scent of fruits and wine, we none of us either ate or drankeven the beauty of

the night was unobserved; their ecstasy could not be increased by outward objects, and I was wrapt in reverie.

At about midnight Raymond and I took leave of my sister, to return to town. He was all gaiety; scraps of

songs fell from his lips; every thought of his mindevery object about us, gleamed under the sunshine of his

"Not so," said I, "though I confess that my thoughts are not occupied as pleasantly as yours are. You

promised to facilitate my visit to Adrian; I conjure you to perform your promise. I cannot linger here; I long

to sootheperhaps to cure the malady of my first and best friend. I shall immediately depart for Dunkeld."

"Thou bird of night," replied Raymond, "what an eclipse do you throw across my bright thoughts, forcing me

to call to mind that melancholy ruin, which stands in mental desolation, more irreparable than a fragment of a

carved column in a weed grown field. You dream that you can restore him? D�dalus never wound so

inextricable an error round Minotaur, as madness has woven about his imprisoned reason. Nor you, nor any

other Theseus, can thread the labyrinth, to which perhaps some unkind Ariadne has the clue."

"And were she," said Raymond, "I would not advise her seeing him. Better to decay in absolute delirium,

than to be the victim of the methodical unreason of illbestowed love. The long duration of his malady has

probably erased from his mind all vestige of her; and it were well that it should never again be imprinted.

You will find him at Dunkeld; gentle and tractable he wanders up the hills, and through the wood, or sits

listening beside the waterfall. You may see himhis hair stuck with wild flowershis eyes full of

untraceable meaninghis voice brokenhis person wasted to a shadow. He plucks flowers and weeds, and

weaves chaplets of them, or sails yellow leaves and bits of bark on the stream, rejoicing in their safety, or

weeping at their wreck. The very memory half unmans me. By Heaven! the first tears I have shed since

It needed not this last account to spur me on to visit him. I only doubted whether or not I should endeavour to

see Idris again, before I departed. This doubt was decided on the following day. Early in the morning

Raymond came to me; intelligence had arrived that Adrian was dangerously ill, and it appeared impossible

that his failing strength should surmount the disorder. "Tomorrow," said Raymond, "his mother and sister

"And I go today," I cried; "this very hour I will engage a sailing balloon; I shall be there in fortyeight hours

at furthest, perhaps in less, if the wind is fair. Farewell, Raymond; be happy in having chosen the better part

in life. This turn of fortune revives me. I feared madness, not sickness I have a presentiment that Adrian

Everything favoured my journey. The balloon rose about half a mile from the earth, and with a favourable

wind it hurried through the air, its feathered vans cleaving the unopposing atmosphere. Notwithstanding the

melancholy object of my journey, my spirits were exhilarated by reviving hope, by the swift motion of the

airy pinnace, and the balmy visitation of the sunny air. The pilot hardly moved the plumed steerage, and the

slender mechanism of the wings, wide unfurled, gave forth a murmuring noise, soothing to the sense. Plain

and hill, stream and cornfield, were discernible below, while we unimpeded sped on swift and secure, as a

wild swan in his springtide flight. The machine obeyed the slightest motion of the helm; and, the wind

blowing steadily, there was no let or obstacle to our course. Such was the power of man over the elements; a

power long sought, and lately won; yet foretold in bygone time by the prince of poets, whose verses I

quoted much to the astonishment of my pilot, when I told him how many hundred years ago they had been

I alighted at Perth; and, though much fatigued by a constant exposure to the air for many hours, I would not

rest, but merely altering my mode of conveyance, I went by land instead of air, to Dunkeld. The sun was

rising as I entered the opening of the hills. After the revolution of ages Birnam hill was again covered with a

young forest, while more aged pines, planted at the very commencement of the nineteenth century by the then

Duke of Athol, gave solemnity and beauty to the scene. The rising sun first tinged the pine tops; and my

mind, rendered through my mountain education deeply susceptible of the graces of nature, and now on the

eve of again beholding my beloved and perhaps dying friend, was strangely influenced by the sight of those

distant beams: surely they were ominous, and as such I regarded them, good omens for Adrian, on whose life

Poor fellow! he lay stretched on a bed of sickness, his cheeks glowing with the hues of fever, his eyes half

closed, his breath irregular and difficult. Yet it was less painful to see him thus, than to find him fulfilling the

animal functions uninterruptedly, his mind sick the while. I established myself at his bedside; I never quitted

it day or night. Bitter task was it, to behold his spirit waver between death and life: to see his warm cheek,

and know that the very fire which burned too fiercely there, was consuming the vital fuel; to hear his

moaning voice, which might never again articulate words of love and wisdom; to witness the ineffectual

motions of his limbs, soon to be wrapt in their mortal shroud. Such for three days and nights appeared the

consummation which fate had decreed for my labours, and I became haggard and spectrelike, through

anxiety and watching. At length his eyes unclosed faintly, yet with a look of returning life; he became pale

and weak; but the rigidity of his features was softened by approaching convalescence. He knew me. What a

brimful cup of joyful agony it was, when his face first gleamed with the glance of recognitionwhen he

pressed my hand, now more fevered than his own, and when he pronounced my name! No trace of his past

This same evening his mother and sister arrived. The Countess of Windsor was by nature full of energetic

feeling; but she had very seldom in her life permitted the concentrated emotions of her heart to show

themselves on her features. The studied immovability of her countenance; her slow, equable manner, and soft

but unmelodious voice, were a mask, hiding her fiery passions, and the impatience of her disposition. She did

not in the least resemble either of her children; her black and sparkling eye, lit up by pride, was totally unlike

the blue lustre, and frank, benignant expression of either Adrian or Idris. There was something grand and

majestic in her motions, but nothing persuasive, nothing amiable. Tall, thin, and strait, her face still

handsome, her raven hair hardly tinged with grey, her forehead arched and beautiful, had not the eyebrows

been somewhat scatteredit was impossible not to be struck by her, almost to fear her. Idris appeared to be

the only being who could resist her mother, notwithstanding the extreme mildness of her character. But there

was a fearlessness and frankness about her, which said that she would not encroach on another's liberty, but

The Countess cast no look of kindness on my wornout frame, though afterwards she thanked me coldly for

my attentions. Not so Idris; her first glance was for her brother; she took his hand, she kissed his eyelids,

and hung over him with looks of compassion and love. Her eyes glistened with tears when she thanked me,

and the grace of her expressions was enhanced, not diminished, by the fervour, which caused her almost to

falter as she spoke. Her mother, all eyes and ears, soon interrupted us; and I saw, that she wished to dismiss

me quietly, as one whose services, now that his relatives had arrived, were of no use to her son. I was

harassed and ill, resolved not to give up my post, yet doubting in what way I should assert it; when Adrian

called me, and clasping my hand, bade me not leave him. His mother, apparently inattentive, at once

understood what was meant, and seeing the hold we had upon her, yielded the point to us.

The days that followed were full of pain to me; so that I sometimes regretted that I had not yielded at once to

the haughty lady, who watched all my motions, and turned my beloved task of nursing my friend to a work of

pain and irritation. Never did any woman appear so entirely made of mind, as the Countess of Windsor. Her

passions had subdued her appetites, even her natural wants; she slept little, and hardly ate at all; her body was

evidently considered by her as a mere machine, whose health was necessary for the accomplishment of her

schemes, but whose senses formed no part of her enjoyment. There is something fearful in one who can thus

conquer the animal part of our nature, if the victory be not the effect of consummate virtue; nor was it without

a mixture of this feeling, that I beheld the figure of the Countess awake when others slept, fasting when I,

abstemious naturally, and rendered so by the fever that preyed on me, was forced to recruit myself with food.

She resolved to prevent or diminish my opportunities of acquiring influence over her children, and

circumvented my plans by a hard, quiet, stubborn resolution, that seemed not to belong to flesh and blood.

War was at last tacitly acknowledged between us. We had many pitched battles, during which no word was

spoken, hardly a look was interchanged, but in which each resolved not to submit to the other. The Countess

I became sick at heart. My countenance was painted with the hues of ill health and vexation. Adrian and Idris

saw this; they attributed it to my long watching and anxiety; they urged me to rest, and take care of myself,

while I most truly assured them, that my best medicine was their good wishes; those, and the assured

convalescence of my friend, now daily more apparent. The faint rose again blushed on his cheek; his brow

and lips lost the ashy paleness of threatened dissolution; such was the dear reward of my unremitting

attentionand bounteous heaven added overflowing recompense, when it gave me also the thanks and

After the lapse of a few weeks, we left Dunkeld. Idris and her mother returned immediately to Windsor, while

Adrian and I followed by slow journeys and frequent stoppages, occasioned by his continued weakness. As

we traversed the various counties of fertile England, all wore an exhilarating appearance to my companion,

who had been so long secluded by disease from the enjoyments of weather and scenery. We passed through

busy towns and cultivated plains. The husbandmen were getting in their plenteous harvests, and the women

and children, occupied by light rustic toils, formed groups of happy, healthful persons, the very sight of

whom carried cheerfulness to the heart. One evening, quitting our inn, we strolled down a shady lane, then up

a grassy slope, till we came to an eminence, that commanded an extensive view of hill and dale, meandering

rivers, dark woods, and shining villages. The sun was setting; and the clouds, straying, like newshorn sheep,

through the vast fields of sky, received the golden colour of his parting beams; the distant uplands shone out,

and the busy hum of evening came, harmonized by distance, on our ear. Adrian, who felt all the fresh spirit

infused by returning health, clasped his hands in delight, and exclaimed with transport:

"O happy earth, and happy inhabitants of earth! A stately palace has God built for you, O man! and worthy

are you of your dwelling! Behold the verdant carpet spread at our feet, and the azure canopy above; the fields

of earth which generate and nurture all things, and the track of heaven, which contains and clasps all things.

Now, at this evening hour, at the period of repose and refection, methinks all hearts breathe one hymn of love

and thanksgiving, and we, like priests of old on the mountaintops, give a voice to their sentiment.

"Assuredly a most benignant power built up the majestic fabric we inhabit, and framed the laws by which it

endures. If mere existence, and not happiness, had been the final end of our being, what need of the profuse

luxuries which we enjoy? Why should our dwelling place be so lovely, and why should the instincts of nature

minister pleasurable sensations? The very sustaining of our animal machine is made delightful; and our

sustenance, the fruits of the field, is painted with transcendent hues, endued with grateful odours, and

palatable to our taste. Why should this be, if HE were not good? We need houses to protect us from the

seasons, and behold the materials with which we are provided; the growth of trees with their adornment of

leaves; while rocks of stone piled above the plains variegate the prospect with their pleasant irregularity.

"Nor are outward objects alone the receptacles of the Spirit of Good. Look into the mind of man, where

wisdom reigns enthroned; where imagination, the painter, sits, with his pencil dipped in hues lovelier than

those of sunset, adorning familiar life with glowing tints. What a noble boon, worthy the giver, is the

imagination! It takes from reality its leaden hue: it envelopes all thought and sensation in a radiant veil, and

with an hand of beauty beckons us from the sterile seas of life, to her gardens, and bowers, and glades of

bliss. And is not love a gift of the divinity? Love, and her child, Hope, which can bestow wealth on poverty,

"My lot has not been fortunate. I have consorted long with grief, entered the gloomy labyrinth of madness,

and emerged, but half alive. Yet I thank God that I have lived! I thank God, that I have beheld his throne, the

heavens, and earth, his footstool. I am glad that I have seen the changes of his day; to behold the sun, fountain

of light, and the gentle pilgrim moon; to have seen the fire bearing flowers of the sky, and the flowery stars of

earth; to have witnessed the sowing and the harvest. I am glad that I have loved, and have experienced

sympathetic joy and sorrow with my fellowcreatures. I am glad now to feel the current of thought flow

through my mind, as the blood through the articulations of my frame; mere existence is pleasure; and I thank

"And all ye happy nurslings of motherearth, do ye not echo my words? Ye who are linked by the

affectionate ties of nature, companions, friends, lovers! fathers, who toil with joy for their offspring; women,

who while gazing on the living forms of their children, forget the pains of maternity; children, who neither

"Oh, that death and sickness were banished from our earthly home! that hatred, tyranny, and fear could no

longer make their lair in the human heart! that each man might find a brother in his fellow, and a nest of

repose amid the wide plains of his inheritance! that the source of tears were dry, and that lips might no longer

form expressions of sorrow. Sleeping thus under the beneficent eye of heaven, can evil visit thee, O Earth, or

grief cradle to their graves thy luckless children? Whisper it not, let the demons hear and rejoice! The choice

is with us; let us will it, and our habitation becomes a paradise. For the will of man is omnipotent, blunting

the arrows of death, soothing the bed of disease, and wiping away the tears of agony. And what is each

human being worth, if he do not put forth his strength to aid his fellowcreatures? My soul is a fading spark,

my nature frail as a spent wave; but I dedicate all of intellect and strength that remains to me, to that one

work, and take upon me the task, as far as I am able, of bestowing blessings on my fellowmen!"

His voice trembled, his eyes were cast up, his hands clasped, and his fragile person was bent, as it were, with

excess of emotion. The spirit of life seemed to linger in his form, as a dying flame on an altar flickers on the

WHEN we arrived at Windsor, I found that Raymond and Perdita had departed for the continent. I took

possession of my sister's cottage, and blessed myself that I lived within view of Windsor Castle. It was a

curious fact, that at this period, when by the marriage of Perdita I was allied to one of the richest individuals

in England, and was bound by the most intimate friendship to its chiefest noble, I experienced the greatest

excess of poverty that I had ever known. My knowledge of the worldly principles of Lord Raymond, would

have ever prevented me from applying to him, however deep my distress might have been. It was in vain that

I repeated to myself with regard to Adrian, that his purse was open to me; that one in soul, as we were, our

fortunes ought also to be common. I could never, while with him, think of his bounty as a remedy to my

poverty; and I even put aside hastily his offers of supplies, assuring him of a falsehood, that I needed them

not. How could I say to this generous being, "Maintain me in idleness. You who have dedicated your powers

of mind and fortune to the benefit of your species, shall you so misdirect your exertions, as to support in

And yet I dared not request him to use his influence that I might obtain an honourable provision for

myselffor then I should have been obliged to leave Windsor. I hovered for ever around the walls of its

Castle, beneath its enshadowing thickets; my sole companions were my books and my loving thoughts. I

studied the wisdom of the ancients, and gazed on the happy walls that sheltered the beloved of my soul. My

mind was nevertheless idle. I pored over the poetry of old times; I studied the metaphysics of Plato and

Berkeley. I read the histories of Greece and Rome, and of England's former periods, and I watched the

movements of the lady of my heart. At night I could see her shadow on the walls of her apartment; by day I

viewed her in her flowergarden, or riding in the park with her usual companions. Methought the charm

would be broken if I were seen, but I heard the music of her voice and was happy. I gave to each heroine of

whom I read, her beauty and matchless excellencessuch was Antigone, when she guided the blind Oedipus

to the grove of the Eumenides, and discharged the funeral rites of Polynices; such was Miranda in the

unvisited cave of Prospero; such Haidee, on the sands of the Ionian island. I was mad with excess of

passionate devotion; but pride, tameless as fire, invested my nature, and prevented me from betraying myself

In the mean time, while I thus pampered myself with rich mental repasts, a peasant would have disdained my

scanty fare, which I sometimes robbed from the squirrels of the forest. I was, I own, often tempted to recur to

the lawless feats of my boyhood, and knock down the almost tame pheasants that perched upon the trees,

and bent their bright eyes on me. But they were the property of Adrian, the nurslings of Idris; and so,

although my imagination rendered sensual by privation, made me think that they would better become the

But, at this period, the whole scheme of my existence was about to change. The orphan and neglected son of

Verney, was on the eve of being linked to the mechanism of society by a golden chain, and to enter into all

the duties and affections of life. Miracles were to be wrought in my favour, the machine of social life pushed

with vast effort backward. Attend, O reader! while I narrate this tale of wonders!

One day as Adrian and Idris were riding through the forest, with their mother and accustomed companions,

Idris, drawing her brother aside from the rest of the cavalcade, suddenly asked him, "What had become of his

"Even from this spot," replied Adrian, pointing to my sister's cottage, "you can see his dwelling."

"Indeed!" said Idris, "and why, if he be so near, does he not come to see us, and make one of our society?"

"I often visit him," replied Adrian; "but you may easily guess the motives, which prevent him from coming

"I do guess them," said Idris, "and such as they are, I would not venture to combat them. Tell me, however, in

what way he passes his time; what he is doing and thinking in his cottage retreat?"

"Nay, my sweet sister," replied Adrian, "you ask me more than I can well answer; but if you feel interest in

him, why not visit him? He will feel highly honoured, and thus you may repay a part of the obligation I owe

"I will most readily accompany you to his abode," said the lady, "not that I wish that either of us should

unburthen ourselves of our debt, which, being no less than your life, must remain unpayable ever. But let us

go; tomorrow we will arrange to ride out together, and proceeding towards that part of the forest, call upon

The next evening therefore, though the autumnal change had brought on cold and rain, Adrian and Idris

entered my cottage. They found me Curiuslike, feasting on sorry fruits for supper; but they brought gifts

richer than the golden bribes of the Sabines, nor could I refuse the invaluable store of friendship and delight

which they bestowed. Surely the glorious twins of Latona were not more welcome, when, in the infancy of

the world, they were brought forth to beautify and enlighten this "sterile promontory," than were this angelic

pair to my lowly dwelling and grateful heart. We sat like one family round my hearth. Our talk was on

subjects, unconnected with the emotions that evidently occupied each; but we each divined the other's

thought, and as our voices spoke of indifferent matters, our eyes, in mute language, told a thousand things no

They left me in an hour's time. They left me happyhow unspeakably happy. It did not require the measured

sounds of human language to syllable the story of my ecstasy. Idris had visited me; Idris I should again and

again seemy imagination did not wander beyond the completeness of this knowledge. I trod air; no doubt,

no fear, no hope even, disturbed me; I clasped with my soul the fullness of contentment, satisfied, undesiring,

For many days Adrian and Idris continued to visit me thus. In this dear intercourse, love, in the guise of

enthusiastic friendship, infused more and more of his omnipotent spirit. Idris felt it. Yes, divinity of the

world, I read your characters in her looks and gesture; I heard your melodious voice echoed by heryou

prepared for us a soft and flowery path, all gentle thoughts adorned ityour name, O Love, was not spoken,

but you stood the Genius of the Hour, veiled, and time, but no mortal hand, might raise the curtain. Organs of

articulate sound did not proclaim the union of our hearts; for untoward circumstance allowed no opportunity

Oh my pen! haste thou to write what was, before the thought of what is, arrests the hand that guides thee. If I

lift up my eyes and see the desert earth, and feel that those dear eyes have spent their mortal lustre, and that

those beauteous lips are silent, their "crimson leaves" faded, for ever I am mute!

But you live, my Idris, even now you move before me! There was a glade, O reader! a grassy opening in the

wood; the retiring trees left its velvet expanse as a temple for love; the silver Thames bounded it on one side,

and a willow bending down dipped in the water its Naiad hair, dishevelled by the wind's viewless hand. The

oaks around were the home of a tribe of nightingalesthere am I now; Idris, in youth's dear prime, is by my

sideremember, I am just twentytwo, and seventeen summers have scarcely passed over the beloved of my

heart. The river swollen by autumnal rains, deluged the low lands, and Adrian in his favourite boat is

employed in the dangerous pastime of plucking the topmost bough from a submerged oak. Are you weary of

He has obtained his prize, and he pilots his boat through the flood; our eyes were fixed on him fearfully, but

the stream carried him away from us; he was forced to land far lower down, and to make a considerable

circuit before he could join us. "He is safe!" said Idris, as he leapt on shore, and waved the bough over his

We were alone together; the sun had set; the song of the nightingales began; the evening star shone distinct in

the flood of light, which was yet unfaded in the west. The blue eyes of my angelic girl were fixed on this

sweet emblem of herself: "How the light palpitates," she said, "which is that star's life. Its vacillating

effulgence seems to say that its state, even like ours upon earth, is wavering and inconstant; it fears,

"Gaze not on the star, dear, generous friend," I cried, "read not love in its trembling rays; look not upon

distant worlds; speak not of the mere imagination of a sentiment. I have long been silent; long even to

sickness have I desired to speak to you, and submit my soul, my life, my entire being to you. Look not on the

star, dear love, or do, and let that eternal spark plead for me; let it be my witness and my advocate, silent as it

shineslove is to me as light to the star; even so long as that is uneclipsed by annihilation, so long shall I

Veiled for ever to the world's callous eye must be the transport of that moment. Still do I feel her graceful

form press against my fullfraught heartstill does sight, and pulse, and breath sicken and fail, at the

remembrance of that first kiss. Slowly and silently we went to meet Adrian, whom we heard approaching.

I entreated Adrian to return to me after he had conducted his sister home. And that same evening, walking

among the moon lit forest paths, I poured forth my whole heart, its transport and its hope, to my friend. For

a moment he looked disturbed "I might have foreseen this," he said, "what strife will now ensue! Pardon

me, Lionel, nor wonder that the expectation of contest with my mother should jar me, when else I should

delightedly confess that my best hopes are fulfilled, in confiding my sister to your protection. If you do not

already know it, you will soon learn the deep hate my mother bears to the name Verney. I will converse with

Idris; then all that a friend can do, I will do; to her it must belong to play the lover's part, if she be capable of

While the brother and sister were still hesitating in what manner they could best attempt to bring their mother

over to their party, she, suspecting our meetings, taxed her children with them; taxed her fair daughter with

deceit, and an unbecoming attachment for one whose only merit was being the son of the profligate favourite

of her imprudent father; and who was doubtless as worthless as he from whom he boasted his descent. The

eyes of Idris flashed at this accusation; she replied, "I do not deny that I love Verney; prove to me that he is

"Dear Madam," said Adrian, "let me entreat you to see him, to cultivate his friendship. You will wonder then,

as I do, at the extent of his accomplishments, and the brilliancy of his talents." (Pardon me, gentle reader, this

is not futile vanity; not futile, since to know that Adrian felt thus, brings joy even now to my lone heart).

"Mad and foolish boy!" exclaimed the angry lady, "you have chosen with dreams and theories to overthrow

my schemes for your own aggrandisement; but you shall not do the same by those I have formed for your

sister. I but too well understand the fascination you both labour under; since I had the same struggle with

your father, to make him cast off the parent of this youth, who hid his evil propensities with the smoothness

and subtlety of a viper. In those days how often did I hear of his attractions, his wide spread conquests, his

wit, his refined manners. It is well when flies only are caught by such spiders' webs; but is it for the

highborn and powerful to bow their necks to the flimsy yoke of these unmeaning pretensions? Were your

sister indeed the insignificant person she deserves to be, I would willingly leave her to the fate, the wretched

fate, of the wife of a man, whose very person, resembling as it does his wretched father, ought to remind you

of the folly and vice it typifiesbut remember, Lady Idris, it is not alone the once royal blood of England

that colours your veins, you are a Princess of Austria, and every lifedrop is akin to emperors and kings. Are

you then a fit mate for an uneducated shepherdboy, whose only inheritance is his father's tarnished name?"

"I can make but one defence," replied Idris, "the same offered by my brother; see Lionel, converse with my

The Countess interrupted her indignantly"Yours!"she cried: and then, smoothing her impassioned

features to a disdainful smile, she continued"We will talk of this another time. All I now ask, all your

mother, Idris, requests is, that you will not see this upstart during the interval of one month."

"I dare not comply," said Idris, "it would pain him too much. I have no right to play with his feelings, to

"This is going too far," her mother answered, with quivering lips, and eyes again instinct by anger.

"Nay, Madam," said Adrian, "unless my sister consent never to see him again, it is surely an useless torment

"Certainly," replied the exqueen, with bitter scorn, "his love, and her love, and both their childish

flutterings, are to be put in fit comparison with my years of hope and anxiety, with the duties of the offspring

of kings, with the high and dignified conduct which one of her descent ought to pursue. But it is unworthy of

me to argue and complain. Perhaps you will have the goodness to promise me not to marry during that

This was asked only half ironically; and Idris wondered why her mother should extort from her a solemn vow

not to do, what she had never dreamed of doingbut the promise was required and given.

All went on cheerfully now; we met as usual, and talked without dread of our future plans. The Countess was

so gentle, and even beyond her wont, amiable with her children, that they began to entertain hopes of her

ultimate consent. She was too unlike them, too utterly alien to their tastes, for them to find delight in her

society, or in the prospect of its continuance, but it gave them pleasure to see her conciliating and kind. Once

even, Adrian ventured to propose her receiving me. She refused with a smile, reminding him that for the

One day, after the lapse of nearly a month, Adrian received a letter from a friend in London, requesting his

immediate presence for the furtherance of some important object. Guileless himself, Adrian feared no deceit.

I rode with him as far as Staines: he was in high spirits; and, since I could not see Idris during his absence, he

promised a speedy return. His gaiety, which was extreme, had the strange effect of awakening in me contrary

feelings; a presentiment of evil hung over me; I loitered on my return; I counted the hours that must elapse

before I saw Idris again. Wherefore should this be? What evil might not happen in the mean time? Might not

her mother take advantage of Adrian's absence to urge her beyond her sufferance, perhaps to entrap her? I

resolved, let what would befall, to see and converse with her the following day. This determination soothed

me. Tomorrow, loveliest and best, hope and joy of my life, tomorrow I will see theeFool, to dream of a

I went to rest. At past midnight I was awaked by a violent knocking. It was now deep winter; it had snowed,

and was still snowing; the wind whistled in the leafless trees, despoiling them of the white flakes as they fell;

its drear moaning, and the continued knocking, mingled wildly with my dreamsat length I was wide

awake; hastily dressing myself, I hurried to discover the cause of this disturbance, and to open my door to the

unexpected visitor. Pale as the snow that showered about her, with clasped hands, Idris stood before me.

"Save me!" she exclaimed, and would have sunk to the ground had I not supported her. In a moment however

she revived, and, with energy, almost with violence, entreated me to saddle horses, to take her away, away to

Londonto her brotherat least to save her. I had no horsesshe wrung her hands. "What can I do?" she

cried, "I am lostwe are both for ever lost! But comecome with me, Lionel; here I must not stay,we

can get a chaise at the nearest posthouse; yet perhaps we have time! come, O come with me to save and

When I heard her piteous demands, while with disordered dress, dishevelled hair, and aghast looks, she

wrung her hands the idea shot across me is she also mad?"Sweet one," and I folded her to my heart,

"better repose than wander further; restmy beloved, I will make a fireyou are chill."

"Rest!" she cried, "repose! you rave, Lionel! If you delay we are lost; come, I pray you, unless you would

That Idris, the princely born, nursling of wealth and luxury, should have come through the tempestuous

winternight from her regal abode, and standing at my lowly door, conjure me to fly with her through

darkness and stormwas surely a dream again her plaintive tones, the sight of her loveliness assured me

that it was no vision. Looking timidly around, as if she feared to be overheard, she whispered: "I have

discoveredto morrowthat is, todayalready the tomorrow is comebefore dawn, foreigners,

Austrians, my mother's hirelings, are to carry me off to Germany, to prison, to marriageto anything, except

I was frightened by her vehemence, and imagined some mistake in her incoherent tale; but I no longer

hesitated to obey her. She had come by herself from the Castle, three long miles, at midnight, through the

heavy snow; we must reach Englefield Green, a mile and a half further, before we could obtain a chaise. She

told me, that she had kept up her strength and courage till her arrival at my cottage, and then both failed. Now

she could hardly walk. Supporting her as I did, still she lagged: and at the distance of half a mile, after many

stoppages, shivering fits, and half faintings, she slipt from my supporting arm on the snow, and with a torrent

of tears averred that she must be taken, for that she could not proceed. I lifted her up in my arms; her light

form rested on my breast.I felt no burthen, except the internal one of contrary and contending emotions.

Brimming delight now invested me. Again her chill limbs touched me as a torpedo; and I shuddered in

sympathy with her pain and fright. Her head lay on my shoulder, her breath waved my hair, her heart beat

near mine, transport made me tremble, blinded me, annihilated metill a suppressed groan, bursting from

her lips, the chattering of her teeth, which she strove vainly to subdue, and all the signs of suffering she

evinced, recalled me to the necessity of speed and succour. At last I said to her, "There is Englefield Green;

there the inn. But, if you are seen thus strangely circumstanced, dear Idris, even now your enemies may learn

your flight too soon: were it not better that I hired the chaise alone? I will put you in safety meanwhile, and

She answered that I was right, and might do with her as I pleased. I observed the door of a small outhouse

ajar. I pushed it open; and, with some hay strewed about, I formed a couch for her, placing her exhausted

frame on it, and covering her with my cloak. I feared to leave her, she looked so wan and faintbut in a

moment she reacquired animation, and, with that, fear; and again she implored me not to delay. To call up

the people of the inn, and obtain a conveyance and horses, even though I harnessed them myself, was the

work of many minutes; minutes, each freighted with the weight of ages. I caused the chaise to advance a

little, waited till the people of the inn had retired, and then made the postboy draw up the carriage to the

spot where Idris, impatient, and now somewhat recovered, stood waiting for me. I lifted her into the chaise; I

assured her that with our four horses we should arrive in London before five o'clock, the hour when she

would be sought and missed. I besought her to calm herself; a kindly shower of tears relieved her, and by

That same night after Adrian's departure, her mother had warmly expostulated with her on the subject of her

attachment to me. Every motive, every threat, every angry taunt was urged in vain. She seemed to consider

that through me she had lost Raymond; I was the evil influence of her life; I was even accused of increasing

and confirming the mad and base apostasy of Adrian from all views of advancement and grandeur; and now

this miserable mountaineer was to steal her daughter. Never, Idris related, did the angry lady deign to recur to

gentleness and persuasion; if she had, the task of resistance would have been exquisitely painful. As it was,

the sweet girl's generous nature was roused to defend, and ally herself with, my despised cause. Her mother

ended with a look of contempt and covert triumph, which for a moment awakened the suspicions of Idris.

When they parted for the night, the Countess said, "Tomorrow I trust your tone will be changed: be

composed; I have agitated you; go to rest; and I will send you a medicine I always take when unduly

By the time that she had with uneasy thoughts laid her fair cheek upon her pillow, her mother's servant

brought a draught; a suspicion again crossed her at this novel proceeding, sufficiently alarming to determine

her not to take the potion; but dislike of contention, and a wish to discover whether there was any just

foundation for her conjectures, made her, she said, almost instinctively, and in contradiction to her usual

frankness, pretend to swallow the medicine. Then, agitated as she had been by her mother's violence, and

now by unaccustomed fears, she lay unable to sleep, starting at every sound. Soon her door opened softly,

and on her springing up, she heard a whisper, "Not asleep yet," and the door again closed. With a beating

heart she expected another visit, and when after an interval her chamber was again invaded, having first

assured herself that the intruders were her mother and an attendant, she composed herself to feigned sleep. A

step approached her bed, she dared not move, she strove to calm her palpitations, which became more violent,

when she heard her mother say mutteringly, "Pretty simpleton, little do you think that your game is already at

For a moment the poor girl fancied that her mother believed that she had drank poison: she was on the point

of springing up; when the Countess, already at a distance from the bed, spoke in a low voice to her

companion, and again Idris listened: "Hasten," said she, "there is no time to loseit is long past eleven; they

will be here at five; take merely the clothes necessary for her journey, and her jewelcasket." The servant

obeyed; few words were spoken on either side; but those were caught at with avidity by the intended victim.

She heard the name of her own maid mentioned;"No, no," replied her mother, "she does not go with us;

Lady Idris must forget England, and all belonging to it." And again she heard, "She will not wake till late

tomorrow, and we shall then be at sea." "All is ready," at length the woman announced. The Countess

again came to her daughter's bedside: "In Austria at least," she said, "you will obey. In Austria, where

obedience can be enforced, and no choice left but between an honourable prison and a fitting marriage."

Both then withdrew; though, as she went, the Countess said, "Softly; all sleep; though all have not been

prepared for sleep, like her. I would not have any one suspect, or she might be roused to resistance, and

perhaps escape. Come with me to my room; we will remain there till the hour agreed upon." They went. Idris,

panicstruck, but animated and strengthened even by her excessive fear, dressed herself hurriedly, and going

down a flight of backstairs, avoiding the vicinity of her mother's apartment, she contrived to escape from the

castle by a low window, and came through snow, wind, and obscurity to my cottage; nor lost her courage,

until she arrived, and, depositing her fate in my hands, gave herself up to the desperation and weariness that

I comforted her as well as I might. Joy and exultation, were mine, to possess, and to save her. Yet not to

excite fresh agitation in her, "per non turbar quel bel viso sereno," I curbed my delight. I strove to quiet the

eager dancing of my heart; I turned from her my eyes, beaming with too much tenderness, and proudly, to

dark night, and the inclement atmosphere, murmured the expressions of my transport. We reached London,

methought, all too soon; and yet I could not regret our speedy arrival, when I witnessed the ecstasy with

which my beloved girl found herself in her brother's arms, safe from every evil, under his unblamed

Adrian wrote a brief note to his mother, informing her that Idris was under his care and guardianship. Several

days elapsed, and at last an answer came, dated from Cologne. "It was useless," the haughty and disappointed

lady wrote, "for the Earl of Windsor and his sister to address again the injured parent, whose only expectation

of tranquillity must be derived from oblivion of their existence. Her desires had been blasted, her schemes

overthrown. She did not complain; in her brother's court she would find, not compensation for their

disobedience (filial unkindness admitted of none), but such a state of things and mode of life, as might best

reconcile her to her fate. Under such circumstances, she positively declined any communication with them."

Such were the strange and incredible events, that finally brought about my union with the sister of my best

friend, with my adored Idris. With simplicity and courage she set aside the prejudices and opposition which

were obstacles to my happiness, nor scrupled to give her hand, where she had given her heart. To be worthy

of her, to raise myself to her height through the exertion of talents and virtue, to repay her love with devoted,

unwearied tenderness, were the only thanks I could offer for the matchless gift.

AND now let the reader, passing over some short period of time, be introduced to our happy circle. Adrian,

Idris and I, were established in Windsor Castle; Lord Raymond and my sister, inhabited a house which the

former had built on the borders of the Great Park, near Perdita's cottage, as was still named the lowroofed

abode, where we two, poor even in hope, had each received the assurance of our felicity. We had our separate

occupations and our common amusements. Sometimes we passed whole days under the leafy covert of the

forest with our books and music. This occurred during those rare days in this country, when the sun mounts

his ethereal throne in unclouded majesty, and the windless atmosphere is as a bath of pellucid and grateful

water, wrapping the senses in tranquillity. When the clouds veiled the sky, and the wind scattered them there

and here, rending their woof, and strewing its fragments through the aerial plainsthen we rode out, and

sought new spots of beauty and repose. When the frequent rains shut us within doors, evening recreation

followed morning study, ushered in by music and song. Idris had a natural musical talent; and her voice,

which had been carefully cultivated, was full and sweet. Raymond and I made a part of the concert, and

Adrian and Perdita were devout listeners. Then we were as gay as summer insects, playful as children; we

ever met one another with smiles, and read content and joy in each other's countenances. Our prime festivals

were held in Perdita's cottage; nor were we ever weary of talking of the past or dreaming of the future.

Jealousy and disquiet were unknown among us; nor did a fear or hope of change ever disturb our tranquillity.

When any separation took place between us, it generally so happened, that Idris and Perdita would ramble

away together, and we remained to discuss the affairs of nations, and the philosophy of life. The very

difference of our dispositions gave zest to these conversations. Adrian had the superiority in learning and

eloquence; but Raymond possessed a quick penetration, and a practical knowledge of life, which usually

displayed itself in opposition to Adrian, and thus kept up the ball of discussion. At other times we made

excursions of many days' duration, and crossed the country to visit any spot noted for beauty or historical

association. Sometimes we went up to London, and entered into the amusements of the busy throng;

sometimes our retreat was invaded by visitors from among them. This change made us only the more sensible

to the delights of the intimate intercourse of our own circle, the tranquillity of our divine forest, and our

The disposition of Idris was peculiarly frank, soft, and affectionate. Her temper was unalterably sweet; and

although firm and resolute on any point that touched her heart, she was yielding to those she loved. The

nature of Perdita was less perfect; but tenderness and happiness improved her temper, and softened her

natural reserve. Her understanding was clear and comprehensive, her imagination vivid; she was sincere,

generous, and reasonable. Adrian, the matchless brother of my soul, the sensitive and excellent Adrian,

loving all, and beloved by all, yet seemed destined not to find the half of himself, which was to complete his

happiness. He often left us, and wandered by himself in the woods, or sailed in his little skiff, his books his

only companions. He was often the gayest of our party, at the same time that he was the only one visited by

fits of despondency; his slender frame seemed overcharged with the weight of life, and his soul appeared

rather to inhabit his body than unite with it. I was hardly more devoted to my Idris than to her brother, and

she loved him as her teacher, her friend, the benefactor who had secured to her the fulfilment of her dearest

wishes. Raymond, the ambitious, restless Raymond, reposed midway on the great highroad of life, and was

content to give up all his schemes of sovereignty and fame, to make one of us, the flowers of the field. His

kingdom was the heart of Perdita, his subjects her thoughts; by her he was loved, respected as a superior

being, obeyed, waited on. No office, no devotion, no watching was irksome to her, as it regarded him. She

would sit apart from us and watch him; she would weep for joy to think that he was hers. She erected a

temple for him in the depth of her being, and each faculty was a priestess vowed to his service. Sometimes

she might be wayward and capricious; but her repentance was bitter, her return entire, and even this

inequality of temper suited him who was not formed by nature to float idly down the stream of life.

During the first year of their marriage, Perdita presented Raymond with a lovely girl. It was curious to trace

in this miniature model the very traits of its father. The same half disdainful lips and smile of triumph, the

same intelligent eyes, the same brow and chestnut hair; her very hands and taper fingers resembled his. How

very dear she was to Perdita! In progress of time, I also became a father, and our little darlings, our playthings

Years passed thus,even years. Each month brought forth its successor, each year one like to that gone by;

truly, our lives were a living comment on that beautiful sentiment of Plutarch, that "our souls have a natural

inclination to love, being born as much to love, as to feel, to reason, to understand and remember." We talked

of change and active pursuits, but still remained at Windsor, incapable of violating the charm that attached us

Now also that our children gave us occupation, we found excuses for our idleness, in the idea of bringing

them up to a more splendid career. At length our tranquillity was disturbed, and the course of events, which

for five years had flowed on in hushing tranquillity, was broken by breakers and obstacles, that woke us from

A new Lord Protector of England was to be chosen; and, at Raymond's request, we removed to London, to

witness, and even take a part in the election. If Raymond had been united to Idris, this post had been his

steppingstone to higher dignity; and his desire for power and fame had been crowned with fullest measure.

Did he think of this as we journeyed up to town? I watched him, but could make but little of him. He was

particularly gay, playing with his child, and turning to sport every word that was uttered. Perhaps he did this

because he saw a cloud upon Perdita's brow. She tried to rouse herself, but her eyes every now and then filled

with tears, and she looked wistfully on Raymond and her girl, as if fearful that some evil would betide them.

And so she felt. A presentiment of ill hung over her. She leaned from the window looking on the forest, and

the turrets of the Castle, and as these became hid by intervening objects, she passionately

exclaimed"Scenes of happiness! scenes sacred to devoted love, when shall I see you again! and when I see

ye, shall I be still the beloved and joyous Perdita, or shall I, heartbroken and lost, wander among your

"Why, silly one," cried Raymond, "what is your little head pondering upon, that of a sudden you have

become so sublimely dismal? Cheer up, or I shall make you over to Idris, and call Adrian into the carriage,

Adrian was on horseback; he rode up to the carriage, and his gaiety, in addition to that of Raymond, dispelled

my sister's melancholy. We entered London in the evening, and went to our several abodes near Hyde Park.

The following morning Lord Raymond visited me early. "I come to you," he said, "only half assured that you

will assist me in my project, but resolved to go through with it, whether you concur with me or not. Promise

me secrecy however; for if you will not contribute to my success, at least you must not baffle me."

"And now, my dear fellow, for what are we come to London? To be present at the election of a Protector, and

to give our yea or nay for his shuffling Grace of ? or for that noisy Ryland? Do you believe, Verney,

that I brought you to town for that? No, we will have a Protector of our own. We will set up a candidate, and

ensure his success. We will nominate Adrian, and do our best to bestow on him the power to which he is

"Do not answer; I know all your objections, and will reply to them in order. First, Whether he will or will not

consent to become a great man? Leave the task of persuasion on that point to me; I do not ask you to assist

me there. Secondly, Whether he ought to exchange his employment of plucking blackberries, and nursing

wounded partridges in the forest, for the command of a nation? My dear Lionel, we are married men, and find

employment sufficient in amusing our wives, and dancing our children. But Adrian is alone, wifeless,

childless, unoccupied. I have long observed him. He pines for want of some interest in life. His heart,

exhausted by his early sufferings, reposes like a newhealed limb, and shrinks from all excitement. But his

understanding, his charity, his virtues, want a field for exercise and display; and we will procure it for him.

Besides, is it not a shame, that the genius of Adrian should fade from the earth like a flower in an untrod

mountainpath, fruitless? Do you think Nature composed his surpassing machine for no purpose? Believe

me, he was destined to be the author of infinite good to his native England. Has she not bestowed on him

every gift in prodigality?birth, wealth, talent, goodness? Does not every one love and admire him? and

does he not delight singly in such efforts as manifest his love to all? Come, I see that you are already

"You have got up all your arguments in excellent order," I replied; "and, if Adrian consent, they are

unanswerable. One only condition I would make,that you do nothing without his concurrence."

"I believe you are in the right," said Raymond; "although I had thought at first to arrange the affair

differently. Be it so. I will go instantly to Adrian; and, if he inclines to consent, you will not destroy my

labour by persuading him to return, and turn squirrel again in Windsor Forest. Idris, you will not act the

"For my part," said I, "I am too well convinced of the worth of our friend, and the rich harvest of benefits that

all England would reap from his Protectorship, to deprive my countrymen of such a blessing, if he consent to

In the evening Adrian visited us."Do you cabal also against me," said he, laughing; "and will you make

common cause with Raymond, in dragging a poor visionary from the clouds to surround him with the

fireworks and blasts of earthly grandeur, instead of heavenly rays and airs? I thought you knew me better."

"I do know you better," I replied "than to think that you would be happy in such a situation; but the good you

would do to others may be an inducement, since the time is probably arrived when you can put your theories

into practice, and you may bring about such reformation and change, as will conduce to that perfect system of

"You speak of an almostforgotten dream," said Adrian, his countenance slightly clouding as he spoke; "the

visions of my boyhood have long since faded in the light of reality; I know now that I am not a man fitted to

govern nations; sufficient for me, if I keep in wholesome rule the little kingdom of my own mortality.

"But do not you see, Lionel, the drift of our noble friend; a drift, perhaps, unknown to himself, but apparent

to me. Lord Raymond was never born to be a drone in the hive, and to find content in our pastoral life. He

thinks, that he ought to be satisfied; he imagines, that his present situation precludes the possibility of

aggrandisement; he does not therefore, even in his own heart, plan change for himself. But do you not see,

that, under the idea of exalting me, he is chalking out a new path for himself; a path of action from which he

"Let us assist him. He, the noble, the warlike, the great in every quality that can adorn the mind and person of

man; he is fitted to be the Protector of England. If Ithat is, if we propose him, he will assuredly be elected,

and will find, in the functions of that high office, scope for the towering powers of his mind. Even Perdita

will rejoice. Perdita, in whom ambition was a covered fire until she married Raymond, which event was for a

time the fulfilment of her hopes; Perdita will rejoice in the glory and advancement of her lordand, coyly

and prettily, not be discontented with her share. In the mean time, we, the wise of the land, will return to our

Castle, and, Cincinnatus like, take to our usual labours, until our friend shall require our presence and

The more Adrian reasoned upon this scheme, the more feasible it appeared. His own determination never to

enter into public life was insurmountable, and the delicacy of his health was a sufficient argument against it.

The next step was to induce Raymond to confess his secret wishes for dignity and fame. He entered while we

were speaking. The way in which Adrian had received his project for setting him up as a candidate for the

Protectorship, and his replies, had already awakened in his mind, the view of the subject which we were now

discussing. His countenance and manner betrayed irresolution and anxiety; but the anxiety arose from a fear

that we should not prosecute, or not succeed in our idea; and his irresolution, from a doubt whether we should

risk a defeat. A few words from us decided him, and hope and joy sparkled in his eyes; the idea of embarking

in a career, so congenial to his early habits and cherished wishes, made him as before energetic and bold. We

discussed his chances, the merits of the other candidates, and the dispositions of the voters.

After all we miscalculated. Raymond had lost much of his popularity, and was deserted by his peculiar

partisans. Absence from the busy stage had caused him to be forgotten by the people; his former

parliamentary supporters were principally composed of royalists, who had been willing to make an idol of

him when he appeared as the heir of the Earldom of Windsor; but who were indifferent to him, when he came

forward with no other attributes and distinctions than they conceived to be common to many among

themselves. Still he had many friends, admirers of his transcendent talents; his presence in the house, his

eloquence, address and imposing beauty, were calculated to produce an electric effect. Adrian also,

notwithstanding his recluse habits and theories, so adverse to the spirit of party, had many friends, and they

The Duke of , and Mr. Ryland, Lord Raymond's old antagonist, were the other candidates. The Duke

was supported by all the aristocrats of the republic, who considered him their proper representative. Ryland

was the popular candidate; when Lord Raymond was first added to the list, his chance of success appeared

small. We retired from the debate which had followed on his nomination: we, his nominators, mortified; he

dispirited to excess. Perdita reproached us bitterly. Her expectations had been strongly excited; she had urged

nothing against our project, on the contrary, she was evidently pleased by it; but its evident ill success

changed the current of her ideas. She felt, that, once awakened, Raymond would never return unrepining to

Windsor. His habits were unhinged; his restless mind roused from its sleep, ambition must now be his

companion through life; and if he did not succeed in his present attempt, she foresaw that unhappiness and

cureless discontent would follow. Perhaps her own disappointment added a sting to her thoughts and words;

It was necessary to follow up our nomination, and to persuade Raymond to present himself to the electors on

the following evening. For a long time he was obstinate. He would embark in a balloon; he would sail for a

distant quarter of the world, where his name and humiliation were unknown. But this was useless; his attempt

was registered; his purpose published to the world; his shame could never be erased from the memories of

men. It was as well to fail at last after a struggle, as to fly now at the beginning of his enterprise.

From the moment that he adopted this idea, he was changed. His depression and anxiety fled; he became all

life and activity. The smile of triumph shone on his countenance; determined to pursue his object to the

uttermost, his manner and expression seem ominous of the accomplishment of his wishes. Not so Perdita. She

was frightened by his gaiety, for she dreaded a greater revulsion at the end. If his appearance even inspired us

with hope, it only rendered the state of her mind more painful. She feared to lose sight of him; yet she

dreaded to remark any change in the temper of his mind. She listened eagerly to him, yet tantalised herself by

giving to his words a meaning foreign to their true interpretation, and adverse to her hopes. She dared not be

present at the contest; yet she remained at home a prey to double solicitude. She wept over her little girl; she

looked, she spoke, as if she dreaded the occurrence of some frightful calamity. She was half mad from the

Lord Raymond presented himself to the house with fearless confidence and insinuating address. After the

Duke of and Mr. Ryland had finished their speeches, he commenced. Assuredly he had not conned

his lesson; and at first he hesitated, pausing in his ideas, and in the choice of his expressions. By degrees he

warmed; his words flowed with ease, his language was full of vigour, and his voice of persuasion. He

reverted to his past life, his successes in Greece, his favour at home. Why should he lose this, now that added

years, prudence, and the pledge which his marriage gave to his country, ought to increase, rather than

diminish his claims to confidence? He spoke of the state of England; the necessary measures to be taken to

ensure its security, and confirm its prosperity. He drew a glowing picture of its present situation. As he spoke,

every sound was hushed, every thought suspended by intense attention. His graceful elocution enchained the

senses of his hearers. In some degree also he was fitted to reconcile all parties. His birth pleased the

aristocracy; his being the candidate recommended by Adrian, a man intimately allied to the popular party,

caused a number, who had no great reliance either on the Duke or Mr. Ryland, to range on his side.

The contest was keen and doubtful. Neither Adrian nor myself would have been so anxious, if our own

success had depended on our exertions; but we had egged our friend on to the enterprise, and it became us to

ensure his triumph. Idris, who entertained the highest opinion of his abilities, was warmly interested in the

event: and my poor sister, who dared not hope, and to whom fear was misery, was plunged into a fever of

Day after day passed while we discussed our projects for the evening, and each night was occupied by

debates which offered no conclusion. At last the crisis came: the night when parliament, which had so long

delayed its choice, must decide: as the hour of twelve passed, and the new day began, it was by virtue of the

We assembled at Raymond's house, we and our partisans. At half past five o'clock we proceeded to the

House. Idris endeavoured to calm Perdita; but the poor girl's agitation deprived her of all power of

selfcommand. She walked up and down the room,gazed wildly when any one entered, fancying that they

might be the announcers of her doom. I must do justice to my sweet sister: it was not for herself that she was

thus agonized. She alone knew the weight which Raymond attached to his success. Even to us he assumed

gaiety and hope, and assumed them so well, that we did not divine the secret workings of his mind.

Sometimes a nervous trembling, a sharp dissonance of voice, and momentary fits of absence revealed to

Perdita the violence he did himself; but we, intent on our plans, observed only his ready laugh, his joke

intruded on all occasions, the flow of his spirits which seemed incapable of ebb. Besides, Perdita was with

him in his retirement; she saw the moodiness that succeeded to this forced hilarity; she marked his disturbed

sleep, his painful irritabilityonce she had seen his tearshers had scarce ceased to flow, since she had

beheld the big drops which disappointed pride had caused to gather in his eye, but which pride was unable to

dispel. What wonder then, that her feelings were wrought to this pitch! I thus accounted to myself for her

One moment we seized before our departure, to take leave of our beloved girls. I had small hope of success,

and entreated Idris to watch over my sister. As I approached the latter, she seized my hand, and drew me into

another apartment; she threw herself into my arms, and wept and sobbed bitterly and long. I tried to soothe

her; I bade her hope; I asked what tremendous consequences would ensue even on our failure. "My brother,"

she cried, "protector of my childhood, dear, most dear Lionel, my fate hangs by a thread. I have you all about

me nowyou, the companion of my infancy; Adrian, as dear to me as if bound by the ties of blood; Idris, the

sister of my heart, and her lovely offspring. This, O this may be the last time that you will surround me thus!"

Abruptly she stopped, and then cried: "What have I said? foolish false girl that I am!" She looked wildly

on me, and then suddenly calming herself, apologized for what she called her unmeaning words, saying that

she must indeed be insane, for, while Raymond lived, she must be happy; and then, though she still wept, she

suffered me tranquilly to depart. Raymond only took her hand when he went, and looked on her expressively;

Poor girl! what she then suffered! I could never entirely forgive Raymond for the trials he imposed on her,

occasioned as they were by a selfish feeling on his part. He had schemed, if he failed in his present attempt,

without taking leave of any of us, to embark for Greece, and never again to revisit England. Perdita acceded

to his wishes; for his contentment was the chief object of her life, the crown of her enjoyment; but to leave us

all, her companions, the beloved partners of her happiest years, and in the interim to conceal this frightful

determination, was a task that almost conquered her strength of mind. She had been employed in arranging

for their departure; she had promised Raymond during this decisive evening, to take advantage of our

absence, to go one stage of the journey, and he, after his defeat was ascertained, would slip away from us, and

Although, when I was informed of this scheme, I was bitterly offended by the small attention which

Raymond paid to my sister's feelings, I was led by reflection to consider, that he acted under the force of such

strong excitement, as to take from him the consciousness, and, consequently, the guilt of a fault. If he had

permitted us to witness his agitation, he would have been more under the guidance of reason; but his

struggles for the show of composure, acted with such violence on his nerves, as to destroy his power of

selfcommand. I am convinced that, at the worst, he would have returned from the seashore to take leave of

us, and to make us the partners of his council. But the task imposed on Perdita was not the less painful. He

had extorted from her a vow of secrecy; and her part of the drama, since it was to be performed alone, was

The debates had hitherto been long and loud; they had often been protracted merely for the sake of delay. But

now each seemed fearful lest the fatal moment should pass, while the choice was yet undecided. Unwonted

silence reigned in the house, the members spoke in whispers, and the ordinary business was transacted with

celerity and quietness. During the first stage of the election, the Duke of had been thrown out; the

question therefore lay between Lord Raymond and Mr. Ryland. The latter had felt secure of victory, until the

appearance of Raymond; and, since his name had been inserted as a candidate, he had canvassed with

eagerness. He had appeared each evening, impatience and anger marked in his looks, scowling on us from the

opposite side of St. Stephen's, as if his mere frown would cast eclipse on our hopes.

Every thing in the English constitution had been regulated for the better preservation of peace. On the last

day, two candidates only were allowed to remain; and to obviate, if possible, the last struggle between these,

a bribe was offered to him who should voluntarily resign his pretensions; a place of great emolument and

honour was given him, and his success facilitated at a future election. Strange to say however, no instance

had yet occurred, where either candidate had had recourse to this expedient; in consequence the law had

become obsolete, nor had been referred to by any of us in our discussions. To our extreme surprise, when it

was moved that we should resolve ourselves into a committee for the election of the Lord Protector, the

member who had nominated Ryland, rose and informed us that this candidate had resigned his pretensions.

His information was at first received with silence; a confused murmur succeeded; and, when the chairman

declared Lord Raymond duly chosen, it amounted to a shout of applause and victory. It seemed as if, far from

any dread of defeat even if Mr. Ryland had not resigned, every voice would have been united in favour of our

candidate. In fact, now that the idea of contest was dismissed, all hearts returned to their former respect and

admiration of our accomplished friend. Each felt, that England had never seen a Protector so capable of

fulfilling the arduous duties of that high office. One voice made of many voices, resounded through the

He entered. I was on one of the highest seats, and saw him walk up the passage to the table of the speaker.

The native modesty of his disposition conquered the joy of his triumph. He looked round timidly; a mist

seemed before his eyes. Adrian, who was beside me, hastened to him, and jumping down the benches, was at

his side in a moment. His appearance re animated our friend; and, when he came to speak and act, his

hesitation vanished, and he shone out supreme in majesty and victory. The former Protector tendered him the

oaths, and presented him with the insignia of office, performing the ceremonies of installation. The house

then dissolved. The chief members of the state crowded round the new magistrate, and conducted him to the

palace of government. Adrian suddenly vanished; and, by the time that Raymond's supporters were reduced

to our intimate friends merely, returned leading Idris to congratulate her friend on his success.

But where was Perdita? In securing solicitously an unobserved retreat in case of failure, Raymond had

forgotten to arrange the mode by which she was to hear of his success; and she had been too much agitated to

revert to this circumstance. When Idris entered, so far had Raymond forgotten himself, that he asked for my

sister; one word, which told of her mysterious disappearance, recalled him. Adrian it is true had already gone

to seek the fugitive, imagining that her tameless anxiety had led her to the purlieus of the House, and that

some sinister event detained her. But Raymond, without explaining himself, suddenly quitted us, and in

another moment we heard him gallop down the street, in spite of the wind and rain that scattered tempest over

the earth. We did not know how far he had to go, and soon separated, supposing that in a short time he would

return to the palace with Perdita, and that they would not be sorry to find themselves alone.

Perdita had arrived with her child at Dartford, weeping and inconsolable. She directed everything to be

prepared for the continuance of their journey, and placing her lovely sleeping charge on a bed, passed several

hours in acute suffering. Sometimes she observed the war of elements, thinking that they also declared

against her, and listened to the pattering of the rain in gloomy despair. Sometimes she hung over her child,

tracing her resemblance to the father, and fearful lest in after life she should display the same passions and

uncontrollable impulses, that rendered him unhappy. Again, with a gush of pride and delight, she marked in

the features of her little girl, the same smile of beauty that often irradiated Raymond's countenance. The sight

of it soothed her. She thought of the treasure she possessed in the affections of her lord; of his

accomplishments, surpassing those of his contemporaries, his genius, his devotion to her.Soon she thought,

that all she possessed in the world, except him, might well be spared, nay, given with delight, a propitiatory

offering, to secure the supreme good she retained in him. Soon she imagined, that fate demanded this

sacrifice from her, as a mark she was devoted to Raymond, and that it must be made with cheerfulness. She

figured to herself their life in the Greek isle he had selected for their retreat; her task of soothing him; her

cares for the beauteous Clara, her rides in his company, her dedication of herself to his consolation. The

picture then presented itself to her in such glowing colours, that she feared the reverse, and a life of

magnificence and power in London; where Raymond would no longer be hers only, nor she the sole source of

happiness to him. So far as she merely was concerned, she began to hope for defeat; and it was only on his

account that her feelings vacillated, as she heard him gallop into the courtyard of the inn. That he should

come to her alone, wetted by the storm, careless of every thing except speed, what else could it mean, than

that, vanquished and solitary, they were to take their way from native England, the scene of shame, and hide

In a moment she was in his arms. The knowledge of his success had become so much a part of himself, that

he forgot that it was necessary to impart it to his companion. She only felt in his embrace a dear assurance

that while he possessed her, he would not despair. "This is kind," she cried; "this is noble, my own beloved!

O fear not disgrace or lowly fortune, while you have your Perdita; fear not sorrow, while our child lives and

smiles. Let us go even where you will; the love that accompanies us will prevent our regrets."

Locked in his embrace, she spoke thus, and cast back her head, seeking an assent to her words in his

eyesthey were sparkling with ineffable delight. "Why, my little Lady Protectress," said he, playfully, "what

is this you say? And what pretty scheme have you woven of exile and obscurity, while a brighter web, a

He kissed her browbut the wayward girl, half sorry at his triumph, agitated by swift change of thought, hid

her face in his bosom and wept. He comforted her; he instilled into her his own hopes and desires; and soon

her countenance beamed with sympathy. How very happy were they that night! How full even to bursting

HAVING seen our friend properly installed in his new office, we turned our eyes towards Windsor. The

nearness of this place to London was such, as to take away the idea of painful separation, when we quitted

Raymond and Perdita. We took leave of them in the Protectoral Palace. It was pretty enough to see my sister

enter as it were into the spirit of the drama, and endeavour to fill her station with becoming dignity. Her

internal pride and humility of manner were now more than ever at war. Her timidity was not artificial, but

arose from that fear of not being properly appreciated, that slight estimation of the neglect of the world,

which also characterised Raymond. But then Perdita thought more constantly of others than he; and part of

her bashfulness arose from a wish to take from those around her a sense of inferiority; a feeling which never

crossed her mind. From the circumstances of her birth and education, Idris would have been better fitted for

the formulae of ceremony; but the very ease which accompanied such actions with her, arising from habit,

rendered them tedious; while, with every drawback, Perdita evidently enjoyed her situation. She was too full

of new ideas to feel much pain when we departed; she took an affectionate leave of us, and promised to visit

us soon; but she did not regret the circumstances that caused our separation. The spirits of Raymond were

unbounded; he did not know what to do with his new got power; his head was full of plans; he had as yet

decided on nonebut he promised himself, his friends, and the world, that the era of his Protectorship should

Thus, we talked of them, and moralized, as with diminished numbers we returned to Windsor Castle. We felt

extreme delight at our escape from political turmoil, and sought our solitude with redoubled zest. We did not

want for occupation; but my eager disposition was now turned to the field of intellectual exertion only; and

hard study I found to be an excellent medicine to allay a fever of spirit with which in indolence, I should

doubtless have been assailed. Perdita had permitted us to take Clara back with us to Windsor; and she and my

The only circumstance that disturbed our peace, was the health of Adrian. It evidently declined, without any

symptom which could lead us to suspect his disease, unless indeed his brightened eyes, animated look, and

flustering cheeks, made us dread consumption; but he was without pain or fear. He betook himself to books

with ardour, and reposed from study in the society he best loved, that of his sister and myself. Sometimes he

went up to London to visit Raymond, and watch the progress of events. Clara often accompanied him in these

excursions; partly that she might see her parents, partly because Adrian delighted in the prattle, and

Meanwhile all went on well in London. The new elections were finished; parliament met, and Raymond was

occupied in a thousand beneficial schemes. Canals, aqueducts, bridges, stately buildings, and various edifices

for public utility, were entered upon; he was continually surrounded by projectors and projects, which were to

render England one scene of fertility and magnificence; the state of poverty was to be abolished; men were to

be transported from place to place almost with the same facility as the Princes Houssain, Ali, and Ahmed, in

the Arabian Nights. The physical state of man would soon not yield to the beatitude of angels; disease was to

be banished; labour lightened of its heaviest burden. Nor did this seem extravagant. The arts of life, and the

discoveries of science had augmented in a ratio which left all calculation behind; food sprung up, so to say,

spontaneouslymachines existed to supply with facility every want of the population. An evil direction still

survived; and men were not happy, not because they could not, but because they would not rouse themselves

to vanquish selfraised obstacles. Raymond was to inspire them with his beneficial will, and the mechanism

of society, once systematised according to faultless rules, would never again swerve into disorder. For these

hopes he abandoned his longcherished ambition of being enregistered in the annals of nations as a

successful warrior; laying aside his sword, peace and its enduring glories became his aimthe title he

Among other works of art in which he was engaged, he had projected the erection of a national gallery for

statues and pictures. He possessed many himself, which he designed to present to the Republic; and, as the

edifice was to be the great ornament of his Protectorship, he was very fastidious in his choice of the plan on

which it would be built. Hundreds were brought to him and rejected. He sent even to Italy and Greece for

drawings; but, as the design was to be characterised by originality as well as by perfect beauty, his

endeavours were for a time without avail. At length a drawing came, with an address where communications

might be sent, and no artist's name affixed. The design was new and elegant, but faulty; so faulty, that

although drawn with the hand and eye of taste, it was evidently the work of one who was not an architect.

Raymond contemplated it with delight; the more he gazed, the more pleased he was; and yet the errors

multiplied under inspection. He wrote to the address given, desiring to see the draughtsman, that such

alterations might be made, as should be suggested in a consultation between him and the original conceiver.

A Greek came. A middleaged man, with some intelligence of manner, but with so commonplace a

physiognomy, that Raymond could scarcely believe that he was the designer. He acknowledged that he was

not an architect; but the idea of the building had struck him, though he had sent it without the smallest hope

of its being accepted. He was a man of few words. Raymond questioned him; but his reserved answers soon

made him turn from the man to the drawing. He pointed out the errors, and the alterations that he wished to

be made; he offered the Greek a pencil that he might correct the sketch on the spot; this was refused by his

visitor, who said that he perfectly understood, and would work at it at home. At length Raymond suffered

The next day he returned. The design had been redrawn; but many defects still remained, and several of the

instructions given had been misunderstood. "Come," said Raymond, "I yielded to you yesterday, now comply

The Greek took it, but he handled it in no artistlike way; at length he said: "I must confess to you, my Lord,

that I did not make this drawing. It is impossible for you to see the real designer; your instructions must pass

through me. Condescend therefore to have patience with my ignorance, and to explain your wishes to me; in

Raymond questioned vainly; the mysterious Greek would say no more. Would an architect be permitted to

see the artist? This also was refused. Raymond repeated his instructions, and the visitor retired. Our friend

resolved however not to be foiled in his wish. He suspected, that unaccustomed poverty was the cause of the

mystery, and that the artist was unwilling to be seen in the garb and abode of want. Raymond was only the

more excited by this consideration to discover him; impelled by the interest he took in obscure talent, he

therefore ordered a person skilled in such matters, to follow the Greek the next time he came, and observe the

house in which he should enter. His emissary obeyed, and brought the desired intelligence. He had traced the

man to one of the most penurious streets in the metropolis. Raymond did not wonder, that, thus situated, the

On the same evening, he went alone to the house named to him. Poverty, dirt, and squalid misery

characterised its appearance. Alas! thought Raymond, I have much to do before England becomes a Paradise.

He knocked; the door was opened by a string from abovethe broken, wretched staircase was immediately

before him, but no person appeared; he knocked again, vainlyand then, impatient of further delay, he

ascended the dark, creaking stairs. His main wish, more particularly now that he witnessed the abject

dwelling of the artist, was to relieve one, possessed of talent, but depressed by want. He pictured to himself a

youth, whose eyes sparkled with genius, whose person was attenuated by famine. He half feared to displease

him; but he trusted that his generous kindness would be administered so delicately, as not to excite repulse.

What human heart is shut to kindness? and though poverty, in its excess, might render the sufferer unapt to

submit to the supposed degradation of a benefit, the zeal of the benefactor must at last relax him into

thankfulness. These thoughts encouraged Raymond, as he stood at the door of the highest room of the house.

After trying vainly to enter the other apartments, he perceived just within the threshold of this one, a pair of

small Turkish slippers; the door was ajar, but all was silent within. It was probable that the inmate was

absent, but secure that he had found the right person, our adventurous Protector was tempted to enter, to leave

a purse on the table, and silently depart. In pursuance of this idea, he pushed open the door gentlybut the

Raymond had never visited the dwellings of want, and the scene that now presented itself struck him to the

heart. The floor was sunk in many places; the walls ragged and barethe ceiling weatherstaineda

tattered bed stood in the corner; there were but two chairs in the room, and a rough broken table, on which

was a light in a tin candlestick;yet in the midst of such drear and heart sickening poverty, there was an air

of order and cleanliness that surprised him. The thought was fleeting; for his attention was instantly drawn

towards the inhabitant of this wretched abode. It was a female. She sat at the table; one small hand shaded her

eyes from the candle; the other held a pencil; her looks were fixed on a drawing before her, which Raymond

recognized as the design presented to him. Her whole appearance awakened his deepest interest. Her dark

hair was braided and twined in thick knots like the headdress of a Grecian statue; her garb was mean, but

her attitude might have been selected as a model of grace. Raymond had a confused remembrance that he had

seen such a form before; he walked across the room; she did not raise her eyes, merely asking in Romaic,

who is there? "A friend," replied Raymond in the same dialect. She looked up wondering, and he saw that it

was Evadne Zaimi. Evadne, once the idol of Adrian's affections; and who, for the sake of her present visitor,

had disdained the noble youth, and then, neglected by him she loved, with crushed hopes and a stinging sense

of misery, had returned to her native Greece. What revolution of fortune could have brought her to England,

Raymond recognized her; and his manner changed from polite beneficence to the warmest protestations of

kindness and sympathy. The sight of her, in her present situation, passed like an arrow into his soul. He sat by

her, he took her hand, and said a thousand things which breathed the deepest spirit of compassion and

affection. Evadne did not answer; her large dark eyes were cast down, at length a tear glimmered on the

lashes. "Thus," she cried, "kindness can do, what no want, no misery ever effected; I weep." She shed indeed

many tears; her head sunk unconsciously on the shoulder of Raymond; he held her hand: he kissed her

sunken tearstained cheek. He told her, that her sufferings were now over: no one possessed the art of

consoling like Raymond; he did not reason or declaim, but his look shone with sympathy; he brought pleasant

images before the sufferer; his caresses excited no distrust, for they arose purely from the feeling which leads

a mother to kiss her wounded child; a desire to demonstrate in every possible way the truth of his feelings,

and the keenness of his wish to pour balm into the lacerated mind of the unfortunate.

As Evadne regained her composure, his manner became even gay; he sported with the idea of her poverty.

Something told him that it was not its real evils that lay heavily at her heart, but the debasement and disgrace

attendant on it; as he talked, he divested it of these; sometimes speaking of her fortitude with energetic praise;

then, alluding to her past state, he called her his Princess in disguise. He made her warm offers of service; she

was too much occupied by more engrossing thoughts, either to accept or reject them; at length he left her,

making a promise to repeat his visit the next day. He returned home, full of mingled feelings, of pain excited

by Evadne's wretchedness, and pleasure at the prospect of relieving it. Some motive for which he did not

The next day he threw such disguise over his person as a cloak afforded, and revisited Evadne. As he went,

he bought a basket of costly fruits, such as were natives of her own country, and throwing over these various

beautiful flowers, bore it himself to the miserable garret of his friend. "Behold," cried he, as he entered, "what

Evadne now related the tale of her misfortunes. Her father, though of high rank, had in the end dissipated his

fortune, and even destroyed his reputation and influence through a course of dissolute indulgence. His health

was impaired beyond hope of cure; and it became his earnest wish, before he died, to preserve his daughter

from the poverty which would be the portion of her orphan state. He therefore accepted for her, and

persuaded her to accede to, a proposal of marriage, from a wealthy Greek merchant settled at Constantinople.

She quitted her native Greece; her father died; by degrees she was cut off from all the companions and ties of

The war, which about a year before the present time had broken out between Greece and Turkey, brought

about many reverses of fortune. Her husband became bankrupt, and then in a tumult and threatened massacre

on the part of the Turks, they were obliged to fly at midnight, and reached in an open boat an English vessel

under sail, which brought them immediately to this island. The few jewels they had saved, supported them

awhile. The whole strength of Evadne's mind was exerted to support the failing spirits of her husband. Loss

of property, hopelessness as to his future prospects, the inoccupation to which poverty condemned him,

combined to reduce him to a state bordering on insanity. Five months after their arrival in England, he

"You will ask me," continued Evadne, "what I have done since; why I have not applied for succour to the rich

Greeks resident here; why I have not returned to my native country? My answer to these questions must

needs appear to you unsatisfactory, yet they have sufficed to lead me on, day after day, enduring every

wretchedness, rather than by such means to seek relief. Shall the daughter of the noble, though prodigal

Zaimi, appear a beggar before her compeers or inferiorssuperiors she had none. Shall I bow my head

before them, and with servile gesture sell my nobility for life? Had I a child, or any tie to bind me to

existence, I might descend to thisbut, as it isthe world has been to me a harsh stepmother; fain would I

leave the abode she seems to grudge, and in the grave forget my pride, my struggles, my despair. The time

will soon come; grief and famine have already sapped the foundations of my being; a very short time, and I

shall have passed away; unstained by the crime of selfdestruction, unstung by the memory of degradation,

my spirit will throw aside the miserable coil, and find such recompense as fortitude and resignation may

deserve. This may seem madness to you, yet you also have pride and resolution; do not then wonder that my

Having thus finished her tale, and given such an account as she deemed fit, of the motives of her abstaining

from all endeavour to obtain aid from her countrymen, Evadne paused; yet she seemed to have more to say,

to which she was unable to give words. In the mean time Raymond was eloquent. His desire of restoring his

lovely friend to her rank in society, and to her lost prosperity, animated him, and he poured forth with energy,

all his wishes and intentions on that subject. But he was checked; Evadne exacted a promise, that he should

conceal from all her friends her existence in England. "The relatives of the Earl of Windsor," said she

haughtily, "doubtless think that I injured him; perhaps the Earl himself would be the first to acquit me, but

probably I do not deserve acquittal. I acted then, as I ever must, from impulse. This abode of penury may at

least prove the disinterestedness of my conduct. No matter: I do not wish to plead my cause before any of

them, not even before your Lordship, had you not first discovered me. The tenor of my actions will prove that

I had rather die, than be a mark for scornbehold the proud Evadne in her tatters! look on the

beggarprincess! There is aspic venom in the thought promise me that my secret shall not be violated by

Raymond promised; but then a new discussion ensued. Evadne required another engagement on his part, that

he would not without her concurrence enter into any project for her benefit, nor himself offer relief. "Do not

degrade me in my own eyes," she said; "poverty has long been my nurse; hardvisaged she is, but honest. If

dishonour, or what I conceive to be dishonour, come near me, I am lost." Raymond adduced many arguments

and fervent persuasions to overcome her feeling, but she remained unconvinced; and, agitated by the

discussion, she wildly and passionately made a solemn vow, to fly and hide herself where he never could

discover her, where famine would soon bring death to conclude her woes, if he persisted in his to her

disgracing offers. She could support herself, she said. And then she showed him how, by executing various

designs and paintings, she earned a pittance for her support. Raymond yielded for the present. He felt assured,

after he had for awhile humoured her selfwill, that in the end friendship and reason would gain the day.

But the feelings that actuated Evadne were rooted in the depths of her being, and were such in their growth as

he had no means of understanding. Evadne loved Raymond. He was the hero of her imagination, the image

carved by love in the unchanged texture of her heart. Seven years ago, in her youthful prime, she had become

attached to him; he had served her country against the Turks; he had in her own land acquired that military

glory peculiarly dear to the Greeks, since they were still obliged inch by inch to fight for their security. Yet

when he returned thence, and first appeared in public life in England, her love did not purchase his, which

then vacillated between Perdita and a crown. While he was yet undecided, she had quitted England; the news

of his marriage reached her, and her hopes, poorly nurtured blossoms, withered and fell. The glory of life was

gone for her; the roseate halo of love, which had imbued every object with its own colour, faded;she was

content to take life as it was, and to make the best of leadencoloured reality. She married; and, carrying her

restless energy of character with her into new scenes, she turned her thoughts to ambition, and aimed at the

title and power of Princess of Wallachia; while her patriotic feelings were soothed by the idea of the good she

might do her country, when her husband should be chief of this principality. She lived to find ambition, as

unreal a delusion as love. Her intrigues with Russia for the furtherance of her object, excited the jealousy of

the Porte, and the animosity of the Greek government. She was considered a traitor by both, the ruin of her

husband followed; they avoided death by a timely flight, and she fell from the height of her desires to penury

in England. Much of this tale she concealed from Raymond; nor did she confess, that repulse and denial, as to

a criminal convicted of the worst of crimes, that of bringing the scythe of foreign despotism to cut away the

new springing liberties of her country, would have followed her application to any among the Greeks.

She knew that she was the cause of her husband's utter ruin; and she strung herself to bear the consequences.

The reproaches which agony extorted; or worse, cureless, uncomplaining depression, when his mind was

sunk in a torpor, not the less painful because it was silent and moveless. She reproached herself with the

crime of his death; guilt and its punishments appeared to surround her; in vain she endeavoured to allay

remorse by the memory of her real integrity; the rest of the world, and she among them, judged of her actions,

by their consequences. She prayed for her husband's soul; she conjured the Supreme to place on her head the

In the midst of such wretchedness as must soon have destroyed her, one thought only was matter of

consolation. She lived in the same country, breathed the same air as Raymond. His name as Protector was the

burthen of every tongue; his achievements, projects, and magnificence, the argument of every story. Nothing

is so precious to a woman's heart as the glory and excellence of him she loves; thus in every horror Evadne

revelled in his fame and prosperity. While her husband lived, this feeling was regarded by her as a crime,

repressed, repented of. When he died, the tide of love resumed its ancient flow, it deluged her soul with its

But never, O, never, should he see her in her degraded state. Never should he behold her fallen, as she

deemed, from her pride of beauty, the povertystricken inhabitant of a garret, with a name which had become

a reproach, and a weight of guilt on her soul. But though impenetrably veiled from him, his public office

permitted her to become acquainted with all his actions, his daily course of life, even his conversation. She

allowed herself one luxury, she saw the newspapers every day, and feasted on the praise and actions of the

Protector. Not that this indulgence was devoid of accompanying grief. Perdita's name was for ever joined

with his; their conjugal felicity was celebrated even by the authentic testimony of facts. They were

continually together, nor could the unfortunate Evadne read the monosyllable that designated his name,

without, at the same time, being presented with the image of her who was the faithful companion of all his

labours and pleasures. They, their Excellencies, met her eyes in each line, mingling an evil potion that

It was in the newspaper that she saw the advertisement for the design for a national gallery. Combining with

taste her remembrance of the edifices which she had seen in the east, and by an effort of genius enduing them

with unity of design, she executed the plan which had been sent to the Protector. She triumphed in the idea of

bestowing, unknown and forgotten as she was, a benefit upon him she loved; and with enthusiastic pride

looked forward to the accomplishment of a work of hers, which, immortalized in stone, would go down to

posterity stamped with the name of Raymond. She awaited with eagerness the return of her messenger from

the palace; she listened insatiate to his account of each word, each look of the Protector; she felt bliss in this

communication with her beloved, although he knew not to whom he addressed his instructions. The drawing

itself became ineffably dear to her. He had seen it, and praised it; it was again retouched by her, each stroke

of her pencil was as a chord of thrilling music, and bore to her the idea of a temple raised to celebrate the

deepest and most unutterable emotions of her soul. These contemplations engaged her, when the voice of

Raymond first struck her ear, a voice, once heard, never to be forgotten; she mastered her gush of feelings,

Pride and tenderness now struggled, and at length made a compromise together. She would see Raymond,

since destiny had led him to her, and her constancy and devotion must merit his friendship. But her rights

with regard to him, and her cherished independence, should not be injured by the idea of interest, or the

intervention of the complicated feelings attendant on pecuniary obligation, and the relative situations of the

benefactor, and benefited. Her mind was of uncommon strength; she could subdue her sensible wants to her

mental wishes, and suffer cold, hunger and misery, rather than concede to fortune a contested point. Alas!

that in human nature such a pitch of mental discipline, and disdainful negligence of nature itself, should not

have been allied to the extreme of moral excellence! But the resolution that permitted her to resist the pains of

privation, sprung from the too great energy of her passions; and the concentrated selfwill of which this was

a sign, was destined to destroy even the very idol, to preserve whose respect she submitted to this detail of

Their intercourse continued. By degrees Evadne related to her friend the whole of her story, the stain her

name had received in Greece, the weight of sin which had accrued to her from the death of her husband.

When Raymond offered to clear her reputation, and demonstrate to the world her real patriotism, she declared

that it was only through her present sufferings that she hoped for any relief to the stings of conscience; that, in

her state of mind, diseased as he might think it, the necessity of occupation was salutary medicine; she ended

by extorting a promise that for the space of one month he would refrain from the discussion of her interests,

engaging after that time to yield in part to his wishes. She could not disguise to herself that any change would

separate her from him; now she saw him each day. His connection with Adrian and Perdita was never

mentioned; he was to her a meteor, a companionless star, which at its appointed hour rose in her hemisphere,

whose appearance brought felicity, and which, although it set, was never eclipsed. He came each day to her

abode of penury, and his presence transformed it to a temple redolent with sweets, radiant with heaven's own

light; he partook of her delirium. "They built a wall between them and the world" Without, a thousand

harpies raved, remorse and misery, expecting the destined moment for their invasion. Within, was the peace

as of innocence, reckless blindness, deluding joy, hope, whose still anchor rested on placid but unconstant

Thus, while Raymond had been wrapt in visions of power and fame, while he looked forward to entire

dominion over the elements and the mind of man, the territory of his own heart escaped his notice; and from

that unthought of source arose the mighty torrent that overwhelmed his will, and carried to the oblivious sea,

During the first months of his Protectorate, Raymond and she had been inseparable; each project was

discussed with her, each plan approved by her. I never beheld any one so perfectly happy as my sweet sister.

Her expressive eyes were two stars whose beams were love; hope and lightheartedness sat on her cloudless

brow. She fed even to tears of joy on the praise and glory of her Lord; her whole existence was one sacrifice

to him, and if in the humility of her heart she felt selfcomplacency, it arose from the reflection that she had

won the distinguished hero of the age, and had for years preserved him, even after time had taken from love

its usual nourishment. Her own feeling was as entire as at its birth. Five years had failed to destroy the

dazzling unreality of passion. Most men ruthlessly destroy the sacred veil, with which the female heart is

wont to adorn the idol of its affections. Not so Raymond; he was an enchanter, whose reign was for ever

undiminished; a king whose power never was suspended: follow him through the details of common life, still

the same charm of grace and majesty adorned him; nor could he be despoiled of the innate deification with

which nature had invested him. Perdita grew in beauty and excellence under his eye; I no longer recognised

my reserved abstracted sister in the fascinating and openhearted wife of Raymond. The genius that

enlightened her countenance, was now united to an expression of benevolence, which gave divine perfection

Happiness is in its highest degree the sister of goodness. Suffering and amiability may exist together, and

writers have loved to depict their conjunction; there is a human and touching harmony in the picture. But

perfect happiness is an attribute of angels; and those who possess it, appear angelic. Fear has been said to be

the parent of religion: even of that religion is it the generator, which leads its votaries to sacrifice human

victims at its altars; but the religion which springs from happiness is a lovelier growth; the religion which

makes the heart breathe forth fervent thanksgiving, and causes us to pour out the overflowings of the soul

before the author of our being; that which is the parent of the imagination and the nurse of poetry; that which

bestows benevolent intelligence on the visible mechanism of the world, and makes earth a temple with

heaven for its cope. Such happiness, goodness, and religion inhabited the mind of Perdita.

During the five years we had spent together, a knot of happy human beings at Windsor Castle, her blissful lot

had been the frequent theme of my sister's conversation. From early habit, and natural affection, she selected

me in preference to Adrian or Idris, to be the partner in her overflowings of delight; perhaps, though

apparently much unlike, some secret point of resemblance, the offspring of consanguinity, induced this

preference. Often at sunset, I have walked with her, in the sober, enshadowed forest paths, and listened with

joyful sympathy. Security gave dignity to her passion; the certainty of a full return, left her with no wish

unfulfilled. The birth of her daughter, embryo copy of her Raymond, filled up the measure of her content, and

produced a sacred and indissoluble tie between them. Sometimes she felt proud that he had preferred her to

the hopes of a crown. Sometimes she remembered that she had suffered keen anguish, when he hesitated in

his choice. But this memory of past discontent only served to enhance her present joy. What had been hardly

won, was now, entirely possessed, doubly dear. She would look at him at a distance with the same rapture,

(O, far more exuberant rapture!) that one might feel, who after the perils of a tempest, should find himself in

the desired port; she would hasten towards him, to feel more certain in his arms, the reality of her bliss. This

warmth of affection, added to the depth of her understanding, and the brilliancy of her imagination, made her

If a feeling of dissatisfaction ever crossed her, it arose from the idea that he was not perfectly happy. Desire

of renown, and presumptuous ambition, had characterised his youth. The one he had acquired in Greece; the

other he had sacrificed to love. His intellect found sufficient field for exercise in his domestic circle, whose

members, all adorned by refinement and literature, were many of them, like himself, distinguished by genius.

Yet active life was the genuine soil for his virtues; and he sometimes suffered tedium from the monotonous

succession of events in our retirement. Pride made him recoil from complaint; and gratitude and affection to

Perdita, generally acted as an opiate to all desire, save that of meriting her love. We all observed the visitation

of these feelings, and none regretted them so much as Perdita. Her life consecrated to him, was a slight

sacrifice to reward his choice, but was not that sufficientDid he need any gratification that she was unable

His passage to power had been full of pain to both. He however attained his wish; he filled the situation for

which nature seemed to have moulded him. His activity was fed in wholesome measure, without either

exhaustion or satiety; his taste and genius found worthy expression in each of the modes human beings have

invented to encage and manifest the spirit of beauty; the goodness of his heart made him never weary of

conducing to the wellbeing of his fellowcreatures; his magnificent spirit, and aspirations for the respect

and love of mankind, now received fruition; true, his exaltation was temporary; perhaps it were better that it

should be so. Habit would not dull his sense of the enjoyment of power; nor struggles, disappointment and

defeat await the end of that which would expire at its maturity. He determined to extract and condense all of

glory, power, and achievement, which might have resulted from a long reign, into the three years of his

Raymond was eminently social. All that he now enjoyed would have been devoid of pleasure to him, had it

been unparticipated. But in Perdita he possessed all that his heart could desire. Her love gave birth to

sympathy; her intelligence made her understand him at a word; her powers of intellect enabled her to assist

and guide him. He felt her worth. During the early years of their union, the inequality of her temper, and yet

unsubdued selfwill which tarnished her character, had been a slight drawback to the fullness of his

sentiment. Now that unchanged serenity, and gentle compliance were added to her other qualifications, his

respect equalled his love. Years added to the strictness of their union. They did not now guess at, and totter

on the pathway, divining the mode to please, hoping, yet fearing the continuance of bliss. Five years gave a

sober certainty to their emotions, though it did not rob them of their ethereal nature. It had given them a child;

but it had not detracted from the personal attractions of my sister. Timidity, which in her had almost

amounted to awkwardness, was exchanged for a graceful decision of manner; frankness, instead of reserve,

characterised her physiognomy; and her voice was attuned to thrilling softness. She was now three and

twenty, in the pride of womanhood, fulfilling the precious duties of wife and mother, possessed of all her

heart had ever coveted. Raymond was ten years older; to his previous beauty, noble mien, and commanding

aspect, he now added gentlest benevolence, winning tenderness, graceful and unwearied attention to the

The first secret that had existed between them was the visits of Raymond to Evadne. He had been struck by

the fortitude and beauty of the illfated Greek; and, when her constant tenderness towards him unfolded

itself, he asked with astonishment, by what act of his he had merited this passionate and unrequited love. She

was for a while the sole object of his reveries; and Perdita became aware that his thoughts and time were

bestowed on a subject unparticipated by her. My sister was by nature destitute of the common feelings of

anxious, petulant jealousy. The treasure which she possessed in the affections of Raymond, was more

necessary to her being, than the lifeblood that animated her veinsmore truly than Othello she might say,

On the present occasion she did not suspect any alienation of affection; but she conjectured that some

circumstance connected with his high place, had occasioned this mystery. She was startled and pained. She

began to count the long days, and months, and years which must elapse, before he would be restored to a

private station, and unreservedly to her. She was not content that, even for a time, he should practice

concealment with her. She often repined; but her trust in the singleness of his affection was undisturbed; and,

when they were together, unchecked by fear, she opened her heart to the fullest delight.

Time went on. Raymond, stopping midway in his wild career, paused suddenly to think of consequences.

Two results presented themselves in the view he took of the future. That his intercourse with Evadne should

continue a secret to, or that finally it should be discovered by Perdita. The destitute condition, and highly

wrought feelings of his friend prevented him from adverting to the possibility of exiling himself from her. In

the first event he had bidden an eternal farewell to openhearted converse, and entire sympathy with the

companion of his life. The veil must be thicker than that invented by Turkish jealousy; the wall higher than

the unscaleable tower of Vathek, which should conceal from her the workings of his heart, and hide from her

view the secret of his actions. This idea was intolerably painful to him. Frankness and social feelings were the

essence of Raymond's nature; without them his qualities became commonplace; without these to spread

glory over his intercourse with Perdita, his vaunted exchange of a throne for her love, was as weak and empty

as the rainbow hues which vanish when the sun is down. But there was no remedy. Genius, devotion, and

courage; the adornments of his mind, and the energies of his soul, all exerted to their uttermost stretch, could

not roll back one hair's breadth the wheel of time's chariot; that which had been was written with the

adamantine pen of reality, on the everlasting volume of the past; nor could agony and tears suffice to wash

But this was the best side of the question. What, if circumstance should lead Perdita to suspect, and

suspecting to be resolved? The fibres of his frame became relaxed, and cold dew stood on his forehead, at this

idea. Many men may scoff at his dread; but he read the future; and the peace of Perdita was too dear to him,

her speechless agony too certain, and too fearful, not to unman him. His course was speedily decided upon. If

the worst befell; if she learnt the truth, he would neither stand her reproaches, or the anguish of her altered

looks. He would forsake her, England, his friends, the scenes of his youth, the hopes of coming time, he

would seek another country, and in other scenes begin life again. Having resolved on this, he became calmer.

He endeavoured to guide with prudence the steeds of destiny through the devious road which he had chosen,

The perfect confidence that subsisted between Perdita and him, rendered every communication common

between them. They opened each other's letters, even as, until now, the inmost fold of the heart of each was

disclosed to the other. A letter came unawares, Perdita read it. Had it contained confirmation, she must have

been annihilated. As it was, trembling, cold, and pale, she sought Raymond. He was alone, examining some

petitions lately presented. She entered silently, sat on a sofa opposite to him, and gazed on him with a look of

such despair, that wildest shrieks and dire moans would have been tame exhibitions of misery, compared to

At first he did not take his eyes from the papers; when he raised them, he was struck by the wretchedness

manifest on her altered cheek; for a moment he forgot his own acts and fears, and asked with

"Nothing," she replied at first; "and yet not so," she continued, hurrying on in her speech; "you have secrets,

Raymond; where have you been lately, whom have you seen, what do you conceal from me?why am I

banished from your confidence? Yet this is not itI do not intend to entrap you with questionsone will

With trembling hand she gave him the paper, and sat white and motionless looking at him while he read it.

He recognised the handwriting of Evadne, and the colour mounted in his cheeks. With lightningspeed he

conceived the contents of the letter; all was now cast on one die; falsehood and artifice were trifles in

comparison with the impending ruin. He would either entirely dispel Perdita's suspicions, or quit her for ever.

"My dear girl," he said, "I have been to blame; but you must pardon me. I was in the wrong to commence a

system of concealment; but I did it for the sake of sparing you pain; and each day has rendered it more

difficult for me to alter my plan. Besides, I was instigated by delicacy towards the unhappy writer of these

"That is allthis paper tells all. I am placed in the most difficult circumstances. I have done my best, though

Perdita shook her head doubtingly: "It cannot be," she cried, "I know that it is not. You would deceive me,

"To believe you," she exclaimed, "I would give up all, and expire with joy, so that in death I could feel that

"Perdita," continued Raymond, "you do not see the precipice on which you stand. You may believe that I did

not enter on my present line of conduct without reluctance and pain. I knew that it was possible that your

suspicions might be excited; but I trusted that my simple word would cause them to disappear. I built my

hope on your confidence. Do you think that I will be questioned, and my replies disdainfully set aside? Do

you think that I will be suspected, perhaps watched, crossquestioned, and disbelieved? I am not yet fallen so

low; my honour is not yet so tarnished. You have loved me; I adored you. But all human sentiments come to

an end. Let our affection expirebut let it not be exchanged for distrust and recrimination. Heretofore we

have been friendsloverslet us not become enemies, mutual spies. I cannot live the object of

"Exactly so," cried Perdita, "I knew that it would come to this! Are we not already parted? Does not a stream,

Raymond rose, his voice was broken, his features convulsed, his manner calm as the earthquakecradling

atmosphere, he replied: "I am rejoiced that you take my decision so philosophically. Doubtless you will play

the part of the injured wife to admiration. Sometimes you may be stung with the feeling that you have

wronged me, but the condolence of your relatives, the pity of the world, the complacency which the

consciousness of your own immaculate innocence will bestow, will be excellent balm;me you will never

Raymond moved towards the door. He forgot that each word he spoke was false. He personated his

assumption of innocence even to selfdeception. Have not actors wept, as they portrayed imagined passion?

A more intense feeling of the reality of fiction possessed Raymond. He spoke with pride; he felt injured.

Perdita looked up; she saw his angry glance; his hand was on the lock of the door. She started up, she threw

herself on his neck, she gasped and sobbed; he took her hand, and leading her to the sofa, sat down near her.

Her head fell on his shoulder, she trembled, alternate changes of fire and ice ran through her limbs: observing

"The blow is given. I will not part from you in anger;I owe you too much. I owe you six years of unalloyed

happiness. But they are passed. I will not live the mark of suspicion, the object of jealousy. I love you too

well. In an eternal separation only can either of us hope for dignity and propriety of action. We shall not then

be degraded from our true characters. Faith and devotion have hitherto been the essence of our

intercourse;these lost, let us not cling to the seedless husk of life, the unkernelled shell. You have your

Uncontrollable indignation flashed from the eyes of Raymond. He knew that this accusation at least was

false. "Entertain this belief," he cried, "hug it to your heartmake it a pillow to your head, an opiate for your

eyesI am content. But, by the God that made me, hell is not more false than the word you have spoken!"

Perdita was struck by the impassioned seriousness of his asseverations. She replied with earnestness, "I do

not refuse to believe you, Raymond; on the contrary I promise to put implicit faith in your simple word. Only

assure me that your love and faith towards me have never been violated; and suspicion, and doubt, and

jealousy will at once be dispersed. We shall continue as we have ever done, one heart, one hope, one life."

"I have already assured you of my fidelity," said Raymond with disdainful coldness, "triple assertions will

avail nothing where one is despised. I will say no more; for I can add nothing to what I have already said, to

what you before contemptuously set aside. This contention is unworthy of both of us; and I confess that I am

Perdita tried to read his countenance, which he angrily averted. There was so much of truth and nature in his

resentment, that her doubts were dispelled. Her countenance, which for years had not expressed a feeling

unallied to affection, became again radiant and satisfied. She found it however no easy task to soften and

reconcile Raymond. At first he refused to stay to hear her. But she would not be put off; secure of his

unaltered love, she was willing to undertake any labour, use any entreaty, to dispel his anger. She obtained an

hearing, he sat in haughty silence, but he listened. She first assured him of her boundless confidence; of this

he must be conscious, since but for that she would not seek to detain him. She enumerated their years of

happiness; she brought before him past scenes of intimacy and happiness; she pictured their future life, she

mentioned their childtears unbidden now filled her eyes. She tried to disperse them, but they refused to be

checkedher utterance was choked. She had not wept before. Raymond could not resist these signs of

distress: he felt perhaps somewhat ashamed of the part he acted of the injured man, he who was in truth the

injurer. And then he devoutly loved Perdita; the bend of her head, her glossy ringlets, the turn of her form

were to him subjects of deep tenderness and admiration; as she spoke, her melodious tones entered his soul;

he soon softened towards her, comforting and caressing her, and endeavouring to cheat himself into the belief

Raymond staggered forth from this scene, as a man might do, who had been just put to the torture, and looked

forward to when it would be again inflicted. He had sinned against his own honour, by affirming, swearing

to, a direct falsehood; true this he had palmed on a woman, and it might therefore be deemed less baseby

othersnot by him;for whom had he deceived? his own trusting, devoted, affectionate Perdita, whose

generous belief galled him doubly, when he remembered the parade of innocence with which it had been

exacted. The mind of Raymond was not so rough cast, nor had been so rudely handled, in the circumstance of

life, as to make him proof to these considerationson the contrary, he was all nerve; his spirit was as a pure

fire, which fades and shrinks from every contagion of foul atmosphere: but now the contagion had become

incorporated with its essence, and the change was the more painful. Truth and falsehood, love and hate lost

their eternal boundaries, heaven rushed in to mingle with hell; while his sensitive mind, turned to a field for

such battle, was stung to madness. He heartily despised himself, he was angry with Perdita, and the idea of

Evadne was attended by all that was hideous and cruel. His passions, always his masters, acquired fresh

strength, from the long sleep in which love had cradled them, the clinging weight of destiny bent him down;

he was goaded, tortured, fiercely impatient of that worst of miseries, the sense of remorse. This troubled state

yielded by degrees, to sullen animosity, and depression of spirits. His dependants, even his equals, if in his

present post he had any, were startled to find anger, derision, and bitterness in one, before distinguished for

suavity and benevolence of manner. He transacted public business with distaste, and hastened from it to the

solitude which was at once his bane and relief. He mounted a fiery horse, that which had borne him forward

to victory in Greece; he fatigued himself with deadening exercise, losing the pangs of a troubled mind in

He slowly recovered himself; yet, at last, as one might from the effects of poison, he lifted his head from

above the vapours of fever and passion into the still atmosphere of calm reflection. He meditated on what was

best to be done. He was first struck by the space of time that had elapsed, since madness, rather than any

reasonable impulse, had regulated his actions. A month had gone by, and during that time he had not seen

Evadne. Her power, which was linked to few of the enduring emotions of his heart, had greatly decayed. He

was no longer her slaveno longer her lover: he would never see her more, and by the completeness of his

Yet, as he thus determined, fancy conjured up the miserable abode of the Greek girl. An abode, which from

noble and lofty principle, she had refused to exchange for one of greater luxury. He thought of the splendour

of her situation and appearance when he first knew her; he thought of her life at Constantinople, attended by

every circumstance of oriental magnificence; of her present penury, her daily task of industry, her lorn state,

her faded, faminestruck cheek. Compassion swelled his breast; he would see her once again; he would

devise some plan for restoring her to society, and the enjoyment of her rank; their separation would then

Again he thought, how during this long month, he had avoided Perdita, flying from her as from the stings of

his own conscience. But he was awake now; all this should be remedied; and future devotion erase the

memory of this only blot on the serenity of their life. He became cheerful, as he thought of this, and soberly

and resolutely marked out the line of conduct he would adopt. He remembered that he had promised Perdita

to be present this very evening (the 19th of October, anniversary of his election as Protector) at a festival

given in his honour. Good augury should this festival be of the happiness of future years. First, he would look

in on Evadne; he would not stay; but he owed her some account, some compensation for his long and

unannounced absence; and then to Perdita, to the forgotten world, to the duties of society, the splendour of

After the scene sketched in the preceding pages, Perdita had contemplated an entire change in the manners

and conduct of Raymond. She expected freedom of communication, and a return to those habits of

affectionate intercourse which had formed the delight of her life. But Raymond did not join her in any of her

avocations. He transacted the business of the day apart from her; he went out, she knew not whither. The pain

inflicted by this disappointment was tormenting and keen. She looked on it as a deceitful dream, and tried to

throw off the consciousness of it; but like the shirt of Nessus, it clung to her very flesh, and ate with sharp

agony into her vital principle. She possessed that (though such an assertion may appear a paradox) which

belongs to few, a capacity of happiness. Her delicate organization and creative imagination rendered her

peculiarly susceptible of pleasurable emotion. The overflowing warmth of her heart, by making love a plant

of deep root and stately growth, had attuned her whole soul to the reception of happiness, when she found in

Raymond all that could adorn love and satisfy her imagination. But if the sentiment on which the fabric of her

existence was founded, became common place through participation, the endless succession of attentions and

graceful action snapped by transfer, his universe of love wrested from her, happiness must depart, and then be

exchanged for its opposite. The same peculiarities of character rendered her sorrows agonies; her fancy

magnified them, her sensibility made her for ever open to their renewed impression; love envenomed the

heartpiercing sting. There was neither submission, patience, nor selfabandonment in her grief; she fought

with it, struggled beneath it, and rendered every pang more sharp by resistance. Again and again the idea

recurred, that he loved another. She did him justice; she believed that he felt a tender affection for her; but

give a paltry prize to him who in some lifepending lottery has calculated on the possession of tens of

thousands, and it will disappoint him more than a blank. The affection and amity of a Raymond might be

inestimable; but, beyond that affection, embosomed deeper than friendship, was the indivisible treasure of

love. Take the sum in its completeness, and no arithmetic can calculate its price; take from it the smallest

portion, give it but the name of parts, separate it into degrees and sections, and like the magician's coin, the

valueless gold of the mine, is turned to vilest substance. There is a meaning in the eye of love; a cadence in

its voice, an irradiation in its smile, the talisman of whose enchantments one only can possess; its spirit is

elemental, its essence single, its divinity an unit. The very heart and soul of Raymond and Perdita had

mingled, even as two mountain brooks that join in their descent, and murmuring and sparkling flow over

shining pebbles, beside starry flowers; but let one desert its primal course, or be dammed up by choking

obstruction, and the other shrinks in its altered banks. Perdita was sensible of the failing of the tide that fed

her life. Unable to support the slow withering of her hopes, she suddenly formed a plan, resolving to

terminate at once the period of misery, and to bring to an happy conclusion the late disastrous events.

The anniversary was at hand of the exaltation of Raymond to the office of Protector; and it was customary to

celebrate this day by a splendid festival. A variety of feelings urged Perdita to shed double magnificence over

the scene; yet, as she arrayed herself for the evening gala, she wondered herself at the pains she took, to

render sumptuous the celebration of an event which appeared to her the beginning of her sufferings. Woe

befall the day, she thought, woe, tears, and mourning betide the hour, that gave Raymond another hope than

love, another wish than my devotion; and thrice joyful the moment when he shall be restored to me! God

knows, I put my trust in his vows, and believe his asserted faithbut for that, I would not seek what I am

now resolved to attain. Shall two years more be thus passed, each day adding to our alienation, each act being

another stone piled on the barrier which separates us? No, my Raymond, my only beloved, sole possession of

Perdita! This night, this splendid assembly, these sumptuous apartments, and this adornment of your tearful

girl, are all united to celebrate your abdication. Once for me, you relinquished the prospect of a crown. That

was in days of early love, when I could only hold out the hope, not the assurance of happiness. Now you have

the experience of all that I can give, the heart's devotion, taintless love, and unhesitating subjection to you.

You must choose between these and your protectorate. This, proud noble, is your last night! Perdita has

bestowed on it all of magnificent and dazzling that your heart best lovesbut, from these gorgeous rooms,

from this princely attendance, from power and elevation, you must return with tomorrow's sun to our rural

abode; for I would not buy an immortality of joy, by the endurance of one more week sister to the last.

Brooding over this plan, resolved when the hour should come, to propose, and insist upon its

accomplishment, secure of his consent, the heart of Perdita was lightened, or rather exalted. Her cheek was

flushed by the expectation of struggle; her eyes sparkled with the hope of triumph. Having cast her fate upon

a die, and feeling secure of winning, she, whom I have named as bearing the stamp of queen of nations on her

noble brow, now rose superior to humanity, and seemed in calm power, to arrest with her finger, the wheel of

We, the Arcadian shepherds of the tale, had intended to be present at this festivity, but Perdita wrote to

entreat us not to come, or to absent ourselves from Windsor; for she (though she did not reveal her scheme to

us) resolved the next morning to return with Raymond to our dear circle, there to renew a course of life in

which she had found entire felicity. Late in the evening she entered the apartments appropriated to the

festival. Raymond had quitted the palace the night before; he had promised to grace the assembly, but he had

not yet returned. Still she felt sure that he would come at last; and the wider the breach might appear at this

It was as I said, the nineteenth of October; the autumn was far advanced and dreary. The wind howled; the

half bare trees were despoiled of the remainder of their summer ornament; the state of the air which induced

the decay of vegetation, was hostile to cheerfulness or hope. Raymond had been exalted by the determination

he had made; but with the declining day his spirits declined. First he was to visit Evadne, and then to hasten

to the palace of the Protectorate. As he walked through the wretched streets in the neighbourhood of the

luckless Greek's abode, his heart smote him for the whole course of his conduct towards her. First, his having

entered into any engagement that should permit her to remain in such a state of degradation; and then, after a

short wild dream, having left her to drear solitude, anxious conjecture, and bitter, still disappointed

expectation. What had she done the while, how supported his absence and neglect? Light grew dim in these

close streets, and when the well known door was opened, the staircase was shrouded in perfect night. He

groped his way up, he entered the garret, he found Evadne stretched speechless, almost lifeless on her

wretched bed. He called for the people of the house, but could learn nothing from them, except that they

knew nothing. Her story was plain to him, plain and distinct as the remorse and horror that darted their fangs

into him. When she found herself forsaken by him, she lost the heart to pursue her usual avocations; pride

forbade every application to him; famine was welcomed as the kind porter to the gates of death, within whose

opening folds she should now, without sin, quickly repose. No creature came near her, as her strength failed.

If she died, where could there be found on record a murderer, whose cruel act might compare with his? What

fiend more wanton in his mischief, what damned soul more worthy of perdition! But he was not reserved for

this agony of self reproach. He sent for medical assistance; the hours passed, spun by suspense into ages; the

darkness of the long autumnal night yielded to day, before her life was secure. He had her then removed to a

more commodious dwelling, and hovered about her, again and again to assure himself that she was safe.

In the midst of his greatest suspense and fear as to the event, he remembered the festival given in his honour,

by Perdita; in his honour then, when misery and death were affixing indelible disgrace to his name, honour to

him whose crimes deserved a scaffold; this was the worst mockery. Still Perdita would expect him; he wrote

a few incoherent words on a scrap of paper, testifying that he was well, and bade the woman of the house take

it to the palace, and deliver it into the hands of the wife of the Lord Protector. The woman, who did not know

him, contemptuously asked, how he thought she should gain admittance, particularly on a festal night, to that

lady's presence? Raymond gave her his ring to ensure the respect of the menials. Thus, while Perdita was

entertaining her guests, and anxiously awaiting the arrival of her lord, his ring was brought her; and she was

The vanity of the old gossip was raised by her commission, which, after all, she did not understand, since she

had no suspicion, even now that Evadne's visitor was Lord Raymond. Perdita dreaded a fall from his horse, or

some similar accident till the woman's answers woke other fears. From a feeling of cunning blindly

exercised, the officious, if not malignant messenger, did not speak of Evadne's illness; but she garrulously

gave an account of Raymond's frequent visits, adding to her narration such circumstances, as, while they

convinced Perdita of its truth, exaggerated the unkindness and perfidy of Raymond. Worst of all, his absence

now from the festival, his message wholly unaccounted for, except by the disgraceful hints of the woman,

appeared the deadliest insult. Again she looked at the ring, it was a small ruby, almost heartshaped, which

she had herself given him. She looked at the handwriting, which she could not mistake, and repeated to

herself the words"Do not, I charge you, I entreat you, permit your guests to wonder at my absence:" the

while the old crone going on with her talk, filled her ear with a strange medley of truth and falsehood. At

The poor girl returned to the assembly, where her presence had not been missed. She glided into a recess

somewhat obscured, and leaning against an ornamental column there placed, tried to recover herself. Her

faculties were palsied. She gazed on some flowers that stood near in a carved vase: that morning she had

arranged them, they were rare and lovely plants; even now all aghast as she was, she observed their brilliant

colours and starry shapes."Divine infoliations of the spirit of beauty," she exclaimed, "Ye droop not,

neither do ye mourn; the despair that clasps my heart, has not spread contagion over you!Why am I not a

She paused. "To my task," she continued mentally, "my guests must not perceive the reality, either as it

regards him or me. I obey; they shall not, though I die the moment they are gone. They shall behold the

antipodes of what is realfor I will appear to livewhile I amdead." It required all her self command,

to suppress the gush of tears selfpity caused at this idea. After many struggles, she succeeded, and turned to

All her efforts were now directed to the dissembling her internal conflict. She had to play the part of a

courteous hostess; to attend to all; to shine the focus of enjoyment and grace. She had to do this, while in

deep woe she sighed for loneliness, and would gladly have exchanged her crowded rooms for dark forest

depths, or a drear, nightenshadowed heath. But she became gay. She could not keep in the medium, nor be,

as was usual with her, placidly content. Every one remarked her exhilaration of spirits; as all actions appear

graceful in the eye of rank, her guests surrounded her applaudingly, although there was a sharpness in her

laugh, and an abruptness in her sallies, which might have betrayed her secret to an attentive observer. She

went on, feeling that, if she had paused for a moment, the checked waters of misery would have deluged her

soul, that her wrecked hopes would raise their wailing voices, and that those who now echoed her mirth, and

provoked her repartees, would have shrunk in fear from her convulsive despair. Her only consolation during

the violence which she did herself, was to watch the motions of an illuminated clock, and internally count the

At length the rooms began to thin. Mocking her own desires, she rallied her guests on their early departure.

One by one they left herat length she pressed the hand of her last visitor. "How cold and damp your hand

is," said her friend; "you are over fatigued, pray hasten to rest." Perdita smiled faintlyher guest left her; the

carriage rolling down the street assured the final departure. Then, as if pursued by an enemy, as if wings had

been at her feet, she flew to her own apartment, she dismissed her attendants, she locked the doors, she threw

herself wildly on the floor, she bit her lips even to blood to suppress her shrieks, and lay long a prey to the

vulture of despair, striving not to think, while multitudinous ideas made a home of her heart; and ideas, horrid

as furies, cruel as vipers, and poured in with such swift succession, that they seemed to jostle and wound each

At length she rose, more composed, not less miserable. She stood before a large mirrorshe gazed on her

reflected image; her light and graceful dress, the jewels that studded her hair, and encircled her beauteous

arms and neck, her small feet shod in satin, her profuse and glossy tresses, all were to her clouded brow and

woebegone countenance like a gorgeous frame to a dark tempestportraying picture. "Vase am I," she

thought, "vase brimful of despair's direst essence. Farewell, Perdita! farewell, poor girl! never again will you

see yourself thus; luxury and wealth are no longer yours; in the excess of your poverty you may envy the

homeless beggar; most truly am I without a home! I live on a barren desert, which, wide and interminable,

brings forth neither fruit or flower; in the midst is a solitary rock, to which thou, Perdita, art chained, and thou

She threw open her window, which looked on the palace garden. Light and darkness were struggling

together, and the orient was streaked by roseate and golden rays. One star only trembled in the depth of the

kindling atmosphere. The morning air blowing freshly over the dewy plants, rushed into the heated room.

"All things go on," thought Perdita, "all things proceed, decay, and perish! When noontide has passed, and

the weary day has driven her team to their western stalls, the fires of heaven rise from the East, moving in

their accustomed path, they ascend and descend the skiey hill. When their course is fulfilled, the dial begins

to cast westward an uncertain shadow; the eyelids of day are opened, and birds and flowers, the startled

vegetation, and fresh breeze awaken; the sun at length appears, and in majestic procession climbs the capitol

of heaven. All proceeds, changes and dies, except the sense of misery in my bursting heart.

"Ay, all proceeds and changes: what wonder then, that love has journeyed on to its setting, and that the lord

of my life has changed? We call the supernal lights fixed, yet they wander about yonder plain, and if I look

again where I looked an hour ago, the face of the eternal heavens is altered. The silly moon and inconstant

planets vary nightly their erratic dance; the sun itself, sovereign of the sky, ever and anon deserts his throne,

and leaves his dominion to night and winter. Nature grows old, and shakes in her decaying limbs,creation

has become bankrupt! What wonder then, that eclipse and death have led to destruction the light of thy life, O

THUS sad and disarranged were the thoughts of my poor sister, when she became assured of the infidelity of

Raymond. All her virtues and all her defects tended to make the blow incurable. Her affection for me, her

brother, for Adrian and Idris, was subject as it were to the reigning passion of her heart; even her maternal

tenderness borrowed half its force from the delight she had in tracing Raymond's features and expression in

the infant's countenance. She had been reserved and even stern in childhood; but love had softened the

asperities of her character, and her union with Raymond had caused her talents and affections to unfold

themselves; the one betrayed, and the other lost, she in some degree returned to her ancient disposition. The

concentrated pride of her nature, forgotten during her blissful dream, awoke, and with its adder's sting pierced

her heart; her humility of spirit augmented the power of the venom; she had been exalted in her own

estimation, while distinguished by his love: of what worth was she, now that he thrust her from this

preferment? She had been proud of having won and preserved himbut another had won him from her, and

We, in our retirement, remained long in ignorance of her misfortune. Soon after the festival she had sent for

her child, and then she seemed to have forgotten us. Adrian observed a change during a visit that he afterward

paid them; but he could not tell its extent, or divine the cause. They still appeared in public together, and

lived under the same roof. Raymond was as usual courteous, though there was, on occasions, an unbidden

haughtiness, or painful abruptness in his manners, which startled his gentle friend; his brow was not clouded

but disdain sat on his lips, and his voice was harsh. Perdita was all kindness and attention to her lord; but she

was silent, and beyond words sad. She had grown thin and pale; and her eyes often filled with tears.

Sometimes she looked at Raymond, as if to sayThat it should be so! At others her countenance

expressedI will still do all I can to make you happy. But Adrian read with uncertain aim the charactery of

her face, and might mistake.Clara was always with her, and she seemed most at ease, when, in an obscure

corner, she could sit holding her child's hand, silent and lonely. Still Adrian was unable to guess the truth; he

entreated them to visit us at Windsor, and they promised to come during the following month.

It was May before they arrived: the season had decked the forest trees with leaves, and its paths with a

thousand flowers. We had notice of their intention the day before; and, early in the morning, Perdita arrived

with her daughter. Raymond would follow soon, she said; he had been detained by business. According to

Adrian's account, I had expected to find her sad; but, on the contrary, she appeared in the highest spirits: true,

she had grown thin, her eyes were somewhat hollow, and her cheeks sunk, though tinged by a bright glow.

She was delighted to see us; caressed our children, praised their growth and improvement; Clara also was

pleased to meet again her young friend Alfred; all kinds of childish games were entered into, in which Perdita

joined. She communicated her gaiety to us, and as we amused ourselves on the Castle Terrace, it appeared

that a happier, less careworn party could not have been assembled. "This is better, Mamma," said Clara,

"than being in that dismal London, where you often cry, and never laugh as you do now." "Silence, little

foolish thing," replied her mother, "and remember any one that mentions London is sent to Coventry for an

Soon after, Raymond arrived. He did not join as usual in the playful spirit of the rest; but, entering into

conversation with Adrian and myself, by degrees we seceded from our companions, and Idris and Perdita

only remained with the children. Raymond talked of his new buildings; of his plan for an establishment for

the better education of the poor; as usual Adrian and he entered into argument, and the time slipped away

We assembled again towards evening, and Perdita insisted on our having recourse to music. She wanted, she

said, to give us a specimen of her new accomplishment; for since she had been in London, she had applied

herself to music, and sang, without much power, but with a great deal of sweetness. We were not permitted

by her to select any but lighthearted melodies; and all the Operas of Mozart were called into service, that we

might choose the most exhilarating of his airs. Among the other transcendent attributes of Mozart's music, it

possesses more than any other that of appearing to come from the heart; you enter into the passions expressed

by him, and are transported with grief, joy, anger, or confusion, as he, our soul's master, chooses to inspire.

For some time, the spirit of hilarity was kept up; but, at length, Perdita receded from the piano, for Raymond

had joined in the trio of "Taci ingiusto core," in Don Giovanni, whose arch entreaty was softened by him into

tenderness, and thrilled her heart with memories of the changed past; it was the same voice, the same tone,

the self same sounds and words, which often before she had received, as the homage of love to herno

longer was it that; and this concord of sound with its dissonance of expression penetrated her with regret and

despair. Soon after Idris, who was at the harp, turned to that passionate and sorrowful air in Figaro, "Porgi,

amor, qualche ristoro," in which the deserted Countess laments the change of the faithless Almaviva. The

soul of tender sorrow is breathed forth in this strain; and the sweet voice of Idris, sustained by the mournful

chords of her instrument, added to the expression of the words. During the pathetic appeal with which it

concludes, a stifled sob attracted our attention to Perdita, the cessation of the music recalled her to herself,

she hastened out of the hallI followed her. At first, she seemed to wish to shun me; and then, yielding to

my earnest questioning, she threw herself on my neck, and wept aloud:"Once more," she cried, "once more

on your friendly breast, my beloved brother, can the lost Perdita pour forth her sorrows. I had imposed a law

of silence on myself; and for months I have kept it. I do wrong in weeping now, and greater wrong in giving

words to my grief. I will not speak! Be it enough for you to know that I am miserablebe it enough for you

to know, that the painted veil of life is rent, that I sit for ever shrouded in darkness and gloom, that grief is my

I endeavoured to console her; I did not question her! but I caressed her, assured her of my deepest affection

and my intense interest in the changes of her fortune:"Dear words," she cried, "expressions of love come

upon my ear, like the remembered sounds of forgotten music, that had been dear to me. They are vain, I

know; how very vain in their attempt to soothe or comfort me. Dearest Lionel, you cannot guess what I have

suffered during these long months. I have read of mourners in ancient days, who clothed themselves in

sackcloth, scattered dust upon their heads, ate their bread mingled with ashes, and took up their abode on the

bleak mountain tops, reproaching heaven and earth aloud with their misfortunes. Why this is the very luxury

of sorrow! thus one might go on from day to day contriving new extravagances, revelling in the paraphernalia

of woe, wedded to all the appurtenances of despair. Alas! I must for ever conceal the wretchedness that

consumes me. I must weave a veil of dazzling falsehood to hide my grief from vulgar eyes, smoothe my

brow, and paint my lips in deceitful smiles even in solitude I dare not think how lost I am, lest I become

The tears and agitation of my poor sister had rendered her unfit to return to the circle we had leftso I

persuaded her to let me drive her through the park; and, during the ride, I induced her to confide the tale of

her unhappiness to me, fancying that talking of it would lighten the burthen, and certain that, if there were a

Several weeks had elapsed since the festival of the anniversary, and she had been unable to calm her mind, or

to subdue her thoughts to any regular train. Sometimes she reproached herself for taking too bitterly to heart,

that which many would esteem an imaginary evil; but this was no subject for reason; and, ignorant as she was

of the motives and true conduct of Raymond, things assumed for her even a worse appearance, than the

reality warranted. He was seldom at the palace; never, but when he was assured that his public duties would

prevent his remaining alone with Perdita. They seldom addressed each other, shunning explanation, each

fearing any communication the other might make. Suddenly, however, the manners of Raymond changed; he

appeared to desire to find opportunities of bringing about a return to kindness and intimacy with my sister.

The tide of love towards her appeared to flow again; he could never forget, how once he had been devoted to

her, making her the shrine and storehouse wherein to place every thought and every sentiment. Shame

seemed to hold him back; yet he evidently wished to establish a renewal of confidence and affection. From

the moment Perdita had sufficiently recovered herself to form any plan of action, she had laid one down,

which now she prepared to follow. She received these tokens of returning love with gentleness; she did not

shun his company; but she endeavoured to place a barrier in the way of familiar intercourse or painful

discussion, which mingled pride and shame prevented Raymond from surmounting. He began at last to show

signs of angry impatience, and Perdita became aware that the system she had adopted could not continue; she

must explain herself to him; she could not summon courage to speakshe wrote thus:

"Read this letter with patience, I entreat you. It will contain no reproaches. Reproach is indeed an idle word:

"Allow me in some degree to explain my feeling; without that, we shall both grope in the dark, mistaking one

another; erring from the path which may conduct, one of us at least, to a more eligible mode of life than that

"I loved youI love youneither anger nor pride dictates these lines; but a feeling beyond, deeper, and

more unalterable than either. My affections are wounded; it is impossible to heal them:cease then the vain

endeavour, if indeed that way your endeavours tend. Forgiveness! Return! Idle words are these! I forgive the

"Common affection might have been satisfied with common usages. I believed that you read my heart, and

knew its devotion, its unalienable fidelity towards you. I never loved any but you. You came the embodied

image of my fondest dreams. The praise of men, power and high aspirations attended your career. Love for

you invested the world for me in enchanted light; it was no longer the earth I trodthe earth, common

mother, yielding only trite and stale repetition of objects and circumstances old and worn out. I lived in a

temple glorified by intensest sense of devotion and rapture; I walked, a consecrated being, contemplating

`The bloom has vanished from my life'there is no morning to this all investing night; no rising to the

setsun of love. In those days the rest of the world was nothing to me: all other menI never considered nor

felt what they were; nor did I look on you as one of them. Separated from them; exalted in my heart; sole

"Ah, Raymond, were we not happy? Did the sun shine on any, who could enjoy its light with purer and more

intense bliss? It was notit is not a common infidelity at which I repine. It is the disunion of an whole which

may not have parts; it is the carelessness with which you have shaken off the mantle of election with which to

me you were invested, and have become one among the many. Dream not to alter this. Is not love a divinity,

because it is immortal? Did not I appear sanctified, even to myself, because this love had for its temple my

heart? I have gazed on you as you slept, melted even to tears, as the idea filled my mind, that all I possessed

lay cradled in those idolised, but mortal lineaments before me. Yet, even then, I have checked thickcoming

fears with one thought; I would not fear death, for the emotions that linked us must be immortal.

"And now I do not fear death. I should be well pleased to close my eyes, never more to open them again. And

yet I fear it; even as I fear all things; for in any state of being linked by the chain of memory with this,

happiness would not return even in Paradise, I must feel that your love was less enduring than the mortal

"Yet I love you. Yet, and for ever, would I contribute all I possess to your welfare. On account of a tattling

world; for the sake of myof our child, I would remain by you, Raymond, share your fortunes, partake your

counsel. Shall it be thus? We are no longer lovers; nor can I call myself a friend to any; since, lost as I am, I

have no thought to spare from my own wretched, engrossing self. But it will please me to see you each day!

to listen to the public voice praising you; to keep up your paternal love for our girl; to hear your voice; to

"If you wish to break the chains that bind us, say the word, and it shall be doneI will take all the blame on

"Yet, as I have said, I should be best pleased, at least for the present, to live under the same roof with you.

When the fever of my young life is spent; when placid age shall tame the vulture that devours me, friendship

may come, love and hope being dead. May this be true? Can my soul, inextricably linked to this perishable

frame, become lethargic and cold, even as this sensitive mechanism shall lose its youthful elasticity? Then,

with lacklustre eyes, grey hairs, and wrinkled brow, though now the words sound hollow and meaningless,

then, tottering on the grave's extreme edge, I may beyour affectionate and true friend, "PERDITA."

Raymond's answer was brief. What indeed could he reply to her complaints, to her griefs which she jealously

paled round, keeping out all thought of remedy. "Notwithstanding your bitter letter," he wrote, "for bitter I

must call it, you are the chief person in my estimation, and it is your happiness that I would principally

consult. Do that which seems best to you: and if you can receive gratification from one mode of life in

preference to another, do not let me be any obstacle. I foresee that the plan which you mark out in your letter

will not endure long; but you are mistress of yourself, and it is my sincere wish to contribute as far as you

"Raymond has prophesied well," said Perdita, "alas, that it should be so! our present mode of life cannot

continue long, yet I will not be the first to propose alteration. He beholds in me one whom he has injured

even unto death; and I derive no hope from his kindness; no change can possibly be brought about even by

his best intentions. As well might Cleopatra have worn as an ornament the vinegar which contained her

I own that I did not see her misfortune with the same eyes as Perdita. At all events methought that the wound

could be healed; and, if they remained together, it would be so. I endeavoured therefore to sooth and soften

her mind; and it was not until after many endeavours that I gave up the task as impracticable. Perdita listened

to me impatiently, and answered with some asperity:"Do you think that any of your arguments are new to

me? or that my own burning wishes and intense anguish have not suggested them all a thousand times, with

far more eagerness and subtlety than you can put into them? Lionel, you cannot understand what woman's

love is. In days of happiness I have often repeated to myself, with a grateful heart and exulting spirit, all that

Raymond sacrificed for me. I was a poor, uneducated, unbefriended, mountain girl, raised from nothingness

by him. All that I possessed of the luxuries of life came from him. He gave me an illustrious name and noble

station; the world's respect reflected from his own glory: all this joined to his own undying love, inspired me

with sensations towards him, akin to those with which we regard the Giver of life. I gave him love only. I

devoted myself to him: imperfect creature that I was, I took myself to task, that I might become worthy of

him. I watched over my hasty temper, subdued my burning impatience of character, schooled my self

engrossing thoughts, educating myself to the best perfection I might attain, that the fruit of my exertions

might be his happiness. I took no merit to myself for this. He deserved it allall labour, all devotion, all

sacrifice; I would have toiled up a scaleless Alp, to pluck a flower that would please him. I was ready to quit

you all, my beloved and gifted companions, and to live only with him, for him. I could not do otherwise, even

if I had wished; for if we are said to have two souls, he was my better soul, to which the other was a perpetual

slave. One only return did he owe me, even fidelity. I earned that; I deserved it. Because I was mountain bred,

unallied to the noble and wealthy, shall he think to repay me by an empty name and station? Let him take

them back; without his love they are nothing to me. Their only merit in my eyes was that they were his."

Thus passionately Perdita ran on. When I adverted to the question of their entire separation, she replied: "Be

it so! One day the period will arrive; I know it, and feel it. But in this I am a coward. This imperfect

companionship, and our masquerade of union, are strangely dear to me. It is painful, I allow, destructive,

impracticable. It keeps up a perpetual fever in my veins; it frets my immedicable wound; it is instinct with

poison. Yet I must cling to it; perhaps it will kill me soon, and thus perform a thankful office."

In the mean time, Raymond had remained with Adrian and Idris. He was naturally frank; the continued

absence of Perdita and myself became remarkable; and Raymond soon found relief from the constraint of

months, by an unreserved confidence with his two friends. He related to them the situation in which he had

found Evadne. At first, from delicacy to Adrian he concealed her name; but it was divulged in the course of

his narrative, and her former lover heard with the most acute agitation the history of her sufferings. Idris had

shared Perdita's ill opinion of the Greek; but Raymond's account softened and interested her. Evadne's

constancy, fortitude, even her illfated and illregulated love, were matter of admiration and pity; especially

when, from the detail of the events of the nineteenth of October, it was apparent that she preferred suffering

and death to any in her eyes degrading application for the pity and assistance of her lover. Her subsequent

conduct did not diminish this interest. At first, relieved from famine and the grave, watched over by

Raymond with the tenderest assiduity, with that feeling of repose peculiar to convalescence, Evadne gave

herself up to rapturous gratitude and love. But reflection returned with health. She questioned him with

regard to the motives which had occasioned his critical absence. She framed her inquiries with Greek

subtlety; she formed her conclusions with the decision and firmness peculiar to her disposition. She could not

divine, that the breach which she had occasioned between Raymond and Perdita was already irreparable: but

she knew, that under the present system it would be widened each day, and that its result must be to destroy

her lover's happiness, and to implant the fangs of remorse in his heart. From the moment that she perceived

the right line of conduct, she resolved to adopt it, and to part from Raymond for ever. Conflicting passions,

longcherished love, and selfinflicted disappointment, made her regard death alone as sufficient refuge for

her woe. But the same feelings and opinions which had before restrained her, acted with redoubled force; for

she knew that the reflection that he had occasioned her death, would pursue Raymond through life, poisoning

every enjoyment, clouding every prospect. Besides, though the violence of her anguish made life hateful, it

had not yet produced that monotonous, lethargic sense of changeless misery which for the most part produces

suicide. Her energy of character induced her still to combat with the ills of life; even those attendant on

hopeless love presented themselves, rather in the shape of an adversary to be overcome, than of a victor to

whom she must submit. Besides, she had memories of past tenderness to cherish, smiles, words, and even

tears, to con over, which, though remembered in desertion and sorrow, were to be preferred to the

forgetfulness of the grave. It was impossible to guess at the whole of her plan. Her letter to Raymond gave no

clue for discovery; it assured him, that she was in no danger of wanting the means of life; she promised in it

to preserve herself, and some future day perhaps to present herself to him in a station not unworthy of her.

She then bade him, with the eloquence of despair and of unalterable love, a last farewell.

All these circumstances were now related to Adrian and Idris. Raymond then lamented the cureless evil of his

situation with Perdita. He declared, notwithstanding her harshness, he even called it coldness, that he loved

her. He had been ready once with the humility of a penitent, and the duty of a vassal, to surrender himself to

her; giving up his very soul to her tutelage, to become her pupil, her slave, her bondsman. She had rejected

these advances; and the time for such exuberant submission, which must be founded on love and nourished

by it, was now passed. Still all his wishes and endeavours were directed towards her peace, and his chief

discomfort arose from the perception that he exerted himself in vain. If she were to continue inflexible in the

line of conduct she now pursued, they must part. The combinations and occurrences of this senseless mode of

intercourse were maddening to him. Yet he would not propose the separation. He was haunted by the fear of

causing the death of one or other of the beings implicated in these events; and he could not persuade himself

to undertake to direct the course of events, lest, ignorant of the land he traversed, he should lead those

After a discussion on this subject, which lasted for several hours, he took leave of his friends, and returned to

town, unwilling to meet Perdita before us, conscious, as we all must be, of the thoughts uppermost in the

minds of both. Perdita prepared to follow him with her child. Idris endeavoured to persuade her to remain.

My poor sister looked at the counsellor with affright. She knew that Raymond had conversed with her; had he

instigated this request?was this to be the prelude to their eternal separation?I have said, that the defects

of her character awoke and acquired vigour from her unnatural position. She regarded with suspicion the

invitation of Idris; she embraced me, as if she were about to be deprived of my affection also: calling me her

more than brother, her only friend, her last hope, she pathetically conjured me not to cease to love her; and

with increased anxiety she departed for London, the scene and cause of all her misery.

The scenes that followed, convinced her that she had not yet fathomed the obscure gulf into which she had

plunged. Her unhappiness assumed every day a new shape; every day some unexpected event seemed to

close, while in fact it led onward, the train of calamities which now befell her.

The selected passion of the soul of Raymond was ambition. Readiness of talent, a capacity of entering into,

and leading the dispositions of men; earnest desire of distinction were the awakeners and nurses of his

ambition. But other ingredients mingled with these, and prevented him from becoming the calculating,

determined character, which alone forms a successful hero. He was obstinate, but not firm; benevolent in his

first movements; harsh and reckless when provoked. Above all, he was remorseless and unyielding in the

pursuit of any object of desire, however lawless. Love of pleasure, and the softer sensibilities of our nature,

made a prominent part of his character, conquering the conqueror; holding him in at the moment of

acquisition; sweeping away ambition's web; making him forget the toil of weeks, for the sake of one

moment's indulgence of the new and actual object of his wishes. Obeying these impulses, he had become the

husband of Perdita: egged on by them, he found himself the lover of Evadne. He had now lost both. He had

neither the ennobling selfgratulation, which constancy inspires, to console him, nor the voluptuous sense of

abandonment to a forbidden, but intoxicating passion. His heart was exhausted by the recent events; his

enjoyment of life was destroyed by the resentment of Perdita, and the flight of Evadne; and the inflexibility of

the former, set the last seal upon the annihilation of his hopes. As long as their disunion remained a secret, he

cherished an expectation of reawakening past tenderness in her bosom; now that we were all made

acquainted with these occurrences, and that Perdita, by declaring her resolves to others, in a manner pledged

herself to their accomplishment, he gave up the idea of reunion as futile, and sought only, since he was

unable to influence her to change, to reconcile himself to the present state of things. He made a vow against

love and its train of struggles, disappointment and remorse, and sought in mere sensual enjoyment, a remedy

Debasement of character is the certain follower of such pursuits. Yet this consequence would not have been

immediately remarkable, if Raymond had continued to apply himself to the execution of his plans for the

public benefit, and the fulfilling his duties as Protector. But, extreme in all things, given up to immediate

impressions, he entered with ardour into this new pursuit of pleasure, and followed up the incongruous

intimacies occasioned by it without reflection or foresight. The councilchamber was deserted; the crowds

which attended on him as agents to his various projects were neglected. Festivity, and even libertinism,

Perdita beheld with affright the increasing disorder. For a moment she thought that she could stem the torrent,

and that Raymond could be induced to hear reason from her.Vain hope! The moment of her influence was

passed. He listened with haughtiness, replied disdainfully; and, if in truth, she succeeded in awakening his

conscience, the sole effect was that he sought an opiate for the pang in oblivious riot. With the energy natural

to her, Perdita then endeavoured to supply his place. Their still apparent union permitted her to do much; but

no woman could, in the end, present a remedy to the increasing negligence of the Protector; who, as if seized

with a paroxysm of insanity, trampled on all ceremony, all order, all duty, and gave himself up to license.

Reports of these strange proceedings reached us, and we were undecided what method to adopt to restore our

friend to himself and his country, when Perdita suddenly appeared among us. She detailed the progress of the

mournful change, and entreated Adrian and myself to go up to London, and endeavour to remedy the

increasing evil:"Tell him," she cried, "tell Lord Raymond, that my presence shall no longer annoy him.

That he need not plunge into this destructive dissipation for the sake of disgusting me, and causing me to fly.

This purpose is now accomplished; he will never see me more. But let me, it is my last entreaty, let me in the

praises of his countrymen and the prosperity of England, find the choice of my youth justified."

During our ride up to town, Adrian and I discussed and argued upon Raymond's conduct, and his falling off

from the hopes of permanent excellence on his part, which he had before given us cause to entertain. My

friend and I had both been educated in one school, or rather I was his pupil in the opinion, that steady

adherence to principle was the only road to honour; a ceaseless observance of the laws of general utility, the

only conscientious aim of human ambition. But though we both entertained these ideas, we differed in their

application. Resentment added also a sting to my censure; and I reprobated Raymond's conduct in severe

terms. Adrian was more benign, more considerate. He admitted that the principles that I laid down were the

best; but he denied that they were the only ones. Quoting the text, there are many mansions in my father's

house, he insisted that the modes of becoming good or great, varied as much as the dispositions of men, of

We arrived in London at about eleven at night. We conjectured, notwithstanding what we had heard, that we

should find Raymond in St. Stephen's: thither we sped. The chamber was fullbut there was no Protector;

and there was an austere discontent manifest on the countenances of the leaders, and a whispering and busy

tattle among the underlings, not less ominous. We hastened to the palace of the Protectorate. We found

Raymond in his dining room with six others: the bottle was being pushed about merrily, and had made

considerable inroads on the understanding of one or two. He who sat near Raymond was telling a story,

Raymond sat among them, though while he entered into the spirit of the hour, his natural dignity never

forsook him. He was gay, playful, fascinatingbut never did he overstep the modesty of nature, or the

respect due to himself, in his wildest sallies. Yet I own, that considering the task which Raymond had taken

on himself as Protector of England, and the cares to which it became him to attend, I was exceedingly

provoked to observe the worthless fellows on whom his time was wasted, and the jovial if not drunken spirit

which seemed on the point of robbing him of his better self. I stood watching the scene, while Adrian flitted

like a shadow in among them, and, by a word and look of sobriety, endeavoured to restore order in the

assembly. Raymond expressed himself delighted to see him, declaring that he should make one in the

This action of Adrian provoked me. I was indignant that he should sit at the same table with the companions

of Raymond men of abandoned characters, or rather without any, the refuse of highbred luxury, the

disgrace of their country. "Let me entreat Adrian," I cried, "not to comply: rather join with me in

endeavouring to withdraw Lord Raymond from this scene, and restore him to other society."

"My good fellow," said Raymond, "this is neither the time nor place for the delivery of a moral lecture: take

my word for it that my amusements and society are not so bad as you imagine. We are neither hypocrites or

foolsfor the rest, 'Dost thou think because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?'"

I turned angrily away: "Verney," said Adrian, "you are very cynical: sit down; or if you will not, perhaps, as

you are not a frequent visitor, Lord Raymond will humour you, and accompany us, as we had previously

Raymond looked keenly at him; he could read benignity only in his gentle lineaments; he turned to me,

observing with scorn my moody and stern demeanour. "Come," said Adrian, "I have promised for you, enable

me to keep my engagement. Come with us." Raymond made an uneasy movement, and laconically

The party in the mean time had broken up. They looked at the pictures, strolled into the other apartments,

talked of billiards, and one by one vanished. Raymond strode angrily up and down the room. I stood ready to

receive and reply to his reproaches. Adrian leaned against the wall. "This is infinitely ridiculous," he cried, "if

"You do not understand," said Raymond. "This is only part of a system:a scheme of tyranny to which I

will never submit. Because I am Protector of England, am I to be the only slave in its empire? My privacy

invaded, my actions censured, my friends insulted? But I will get rid of the whole together.Be you

witnesses," and he took the star, insignia of office, from his breast, and threw it on the table. "I renounce my

"Let him assume it," exclaimed Adrian, "who can pronounce himself, or whom the world will pronounce to

be your superior. There does not exist the man in England with adequate presumption. Know yourself,

Raymond, and your indignation will cease; your complacency return. A few months ago, whenever we

prayed for the prosperity of our country, or our own, we at the same time prayed for the life and welfare of

the Protector, as indissolubly linked to it. Your hours were devoted to our benefit, your ambition was to

obtain our commendation. You decorated our towns with edifices, you bestowed on us useful establishments,

you gifted the soil with abundant fertility. The powerful and unjust cowered at the steps of your

judgmentseat, and the poor and oppressed arose like mornawakened flowers under the sunshine of your

"Can you wonder that we are all aghast and mourn, when this appears changed? But, come, this splenetic fit

is already passed; resume your functions; your partisans will hail you; your enemies be silenced; our love,

honour, and duty will again be manifested towards you. Master yourself, Raymond, and the world is subject

"All this would be very good sense, if addressed to another," replied Raymond, moodily, "con the lesson

yourself, and you, the first peer of the land, may become its sovereign. You the good, the wise, the just, may

rule all hearts. But I perceive, too soon for my own happiness, too late for England's good, that I undertook a

task to which I am unequal. I cannot rule myself. My passions are my masters; my smallest impulse my

tyrant. Do you think that I renounced the Protectorate (and I have renounced it) in a fit of spleen? By the God

that lives, I swear never to take up that bauble again; never again to burthen myself with the weight of care

"Once I desired to be a king. It was in the heyday of youth, in the pride of boyish folly. I knew myself when

I renounced it. I renounced it to gainno matter whatfor that also I have lost. For many months I have

submitted to this mock majesty this solemn jest. I am its dupe no longer. I will be free.

"I have lost that which adorned and dignified my life; that which linked me to other men. Again I am a

solitary man; and I will become again, as in my early years, a wanderer, a soldier of fortune. My friends, for

Verney, I feel that you are my friend, do not endeavour to shake my resolve. Perdita, wedded to an

imagination, careless of what is behind the veil, whose charactery is in truth faulty and vile, Perdita has

renounced me. With her it was pretty enough to play a sovereign's part; and, as in the recesses of your

beloved forest we acted masques, and imagined ourselves Arcadian shepherds, to please the fancy of the

momentso was I content, more for Perdita's sake than my own, to take on me the character of one of the

great ones of the earth; to lead her behind the scenes of grandeur, to vary her life with a short act of

magnificence and power. This was to be the colour; love and confidence the substance of our existence. But

we must live, and not act our lives; pursuing the shadow, I lost the realitynow I renounce both.

"Adrian, I am about to return to Greece, to become again a soldier, perhaps a conqueror. Will you accompany

me? You will behold new scenes; see a new people; witness the mighty struggle there going forward between

civilization and barbarism; behold, and perhaps direct the efforts of a young and vigorous population, for

liberty and order. Come with me. I have expected you. I waited for this moment; all is prepared; will you

"Wherefore?" asked Raymond"My dear fellow, I have done nothing else than reflect on this step the

livelong summer; and be assured that Adrian has condensed an age of reflection into this little moment. Do

not talk of reflection; from this moment I abjure it; this is my only happy moment during a long interval of

time. I must go, Lionelthe Gods will it; and I must. Do not endeavour to deprive me of my companion, the

"One word more concerning unkind, unjust Perdita. For a time, I thought that, by watching a complying

moment, fostering the still warm ashes, I might relume in her the flame of love. It is more cold within her,

than a fire left by gypsies in wintertime, the spent embers crowned by a pyramid of snow. Then, in

endeavouring to do violence to my own disposition, I made all worse than before. Still I think, that time, and

even absence, may restore her to me. Remember, that I love her still, that my dearest hope is that she will

again be mine. I know, though she does not, how false the veil is which she has spread over the realitydo

not endeavour to rend this deceptive covering, but by degrees withdraw it. Present her with a mirror, in which

she may know herself; and, when she is an adept in that necessary but difficult science, she will wonder at her

present mistake, and hasten to restore to me, what is by right mine, her forgiveness, her kind thoughts, her

AFTER these events, it was long before we were able to attain any degree of composure. A moral tempest

had wrecked our richly freighted vessel, and we, remnants of the diminished crew, were aghast at the losses

and changes which we had undergone. Idris passionately loved her brother, and could ill brook an absence

whose duration was uncertain; his society was dear and necessary to meI had followed up my chosen

literary occupations with delight under his tutorship and assistance; his mild philosophy, unerring reason, and

enthusiastic friendship were the best ingredient, the exalted spirit of our circle; even the children bitterly

regretted the loss of their kind playfellow. Deeper grief oppressed Perdita. In spite of resentment, by day and

night she figured to herself the toils and dangers of the wanderers. Raymond absent, struggling with

difficulties, lost to the power and rank of the Protectorate, exposed to the perils of war, became an object of

anxious interest; not that she felt any inclination to recall him, if recall must imply a return to their former

union. Such return she felt to be impossible; and while she believed it to be thus, and with anguish regretted

that so it should be, she continued angry and impatient with him, who occasioned her misery. These

perplexities and regrets caused her to bathe her pillow with nightly tears, and to reduce her in person and in

mind to the shadow of what she had been. She sought solitude, and avoided us when in gaiety and

unrestrained affection we met in a family circle. Lonely musings, interminable wanderings, and solemn music

were her only pastimes. She neglected even her child; shutting her heart against all tenderness, she grew

I could not see her thus lost, without exerting myself to remedy the evilremediless I knew, if I could not in

the end bring her to reconcile herself to Raymond. Before he went I used every argument, every persuasion to

induce her to stop his journey. She answered the one with a gush of tearstelling me that to be

persuadedlife and the goods of life were a cheap exchange. It was not will that she wanted, but the

capacity; again and again she declared, it were as easy to enchain the sea, to put reins on the wind's viewless

courses, as for her to take truth for falsehood, deceit for honesty, heartless communion for sincere, confiding

love. She answered my reasonings more briefly, declaring with disdain, that the reason was hers; and, until I

could persuade her that the past could be unacted, that maturity could go back to the cradle, and that all that

was could become as though it had never been, it was useless to assure her that no real change had taken

place in her fate. And thus with stern pride she suffered him to go, though her very heartstrings cracked at

To change the scene for her, and even for ourselves, all unhinged by the cloud that had come over us, I

persuaded my two remaining companions that it were better that we should absent ourselves for a time from

Windsor. We visited the north of England, my native Ulswater, and lingered in scenes dear from a thousand

associations. We lengthened our tour into Scotland, that we might see Loch Katrine and Loch Lomond;

thence we crossed to Ireland, and passed several weeks in the neighbourhood of Killarney. The change of

scene operated to a great degree as I expected; after a year's absence, Perdita returned in gentler and more

docile mood to Windsor. The first sight of this place for a time unhinged her. Here every spot was distinct

with associations now grown bitter. The forest glades, the ferny dells, and lawny uplands, the cultivated and

cheerful country spread around the silver pathway of ancient Thames, all earth, air, and wave, took up one

But my essay towards bringing her to a saner view of her own situation, did not end here. Perdita was still to

a great degree uneducated. When first she left her peasant life, and resided with the elegant and cultivated

Evadne, the only accomplishment she brought to any perfection was that of painting, for which she had a

taste almost amounting to genius. This had occupied her in her lonely cottage, when she quitted her Greek

friend's protection. Her pallet and easel were now thrown aside; did she try to paint, thronging recollections

made her hand tremble, her eyes fill with tears. With this occupation she gave up almost every other; and her

For my own part, since Adrian had first withdrawn me from my sylvatic wilderness to his own paradise of

order and beauty, I had been wedded to literature. I felt convinced that however it might have been in former

times, in the present stage of the world, no man's faculties could be developed, no man's moral principle be

enlarged and liberal, without an extensive acquaintance with books. To me they stood in the place of an

active career, of ambition, and those palpable excitements necessary to the multitude. The collation of

philosophical opinions, the study of historical facts, the acquirement of languages, were at once my

recreation, and the serious aim of my life. I turned author myself. My productions however were sufficiently

unpretending; they were confined to the biography of favourite historical characters, especially those whom I

As my authorship increased, I acquired new sympathies and pleasures. I found another and a valuable link to

enchain me to my fellowcreatures; my point of sight was extended, and the inclinations and capacities of all

human beings became deeply interesting to me. Kings have been called the fathers of their people. Suddenly I

became as it were the father of all mankind. Posterity became my heirs. My thoughts were gems to enrich the

treasure house of man's intellectual possessions; each sentiment was a precious gift I bestowed on them. Let

not these aspirations be attributed to vanity. They were not expressed in words, nor even reduced to form in

my own mind; but they filled my soul, exalting my thoughts, raising a glow of enthusiasm, and led me out of

the obscure path in which I before walked, into the bright noonenlightened highway of mankind, making

me, citizen of the world, a candidate for immortal honours, an eager aspirant to the praise and sympathy of

No one certainly ever enjoyed the pleasures of composition more intensely than I. If I left the woods, the

solemn music of the waving branches, and the majestic temple of nature, I sought the vast halls of the Castle,

and looked over wide, fertile England, spread beneath our regal mount, and listened the while to inspiring

strains of music. At such times solemn harmonies or spiritstirring airs gave wings to my lagging thoughts,

permitting them, methought, to penetrate the last veil of nature and her God, and to display the highest beauty

in visible expression to the understandings of men. As the music went on, my ideas seemed to quit their

mortal dwelling house; they shook their pinions and began a flight, sailing on the placid current of thought,

filling the creation with new glory, and rousing sublime imagery that else had slept voiceless. Then I would

hasten to my desk, weave the newfound web of mind in firm texture and brilliant colours, leaving the

But this account, which might as properly belong to a former period of my life as to the present moment,

leads me far afield. It was the pleasure I took in literature, the discipline of mind I found arise from it, that

made me eager to lead Perdita to the same pursuits. I began with light hand and gentle allurement; first

exciting her curiosity, and then satisfying it in such a way as might occasion her, at the same time that she

half forgot her sorrows in occupation, to find in the hours that succeeded a reaction of benevolence and

Intellectual activity, though not directed towards books, had always been my sister's characteristic. It had

been displayed early in life, leading her out to solitary musing among her native mountains, causing her to

form innumerous combinations from common objects, giving strength to her perceptions, and swiftness to

their arrangement. Love had come, as the rod of the masterprophet, to swallow up every minor propensity.

Love had doubled all her excellencies, and placed a diadem on her genius. Was she to cease to love? Take the

colours and odour from the rose, change the sweet nutriment of mother's milk to gall and poison; as easily

might you wean Perdita from love. She grieved for the loss of Raymond with an anguish, that exiled all smile

from her lips, and trenched sad lines on her brow of beauty. But each day seemed to change the nature of her

suffering, and every succeeding hour forced her to alter (if so I may style it) the fashion of her soul's

mourning garb. For a time music was able to satisfy the cravings of her mental hunger, and her melancholy

thoughts renewed themselves in each change of key, and varied with every alteration in the strain. My

schooling first impelled her towards books; and, if music had been the food of sorrow, the productions of the

The acquisition of unknown languages was too tedious an occupation, for one who referred every expression

to the universe within, and read not, as many do, for the mere sake of filling up time; but who was still

questioning herself and her author, moulding every idea in a thousand ways, ardently desirous for the

discovery of truth in every sentence. She sought to improve her understanding; mechanically her heart and

dispositions became soft and gentle under this benign discipline. After awhile she discovered, that amidst all

her newly acquired knowledge, her own character, which formerly she fancied that she thoroughly

understood, became the first in rank among the terrae incognitae, the pathless wilds of a country that had no

chart. Erringly and strangely she began the task of selfexamination with selfcondemnation. And then again

she became aware of her own excellencies, and began to balance with juster scales the shades of good and

evil. I, who longed beyond words, to restore her to the happiness it was still in her power to enjoy, watched

But man is a strange animal. We cannot calculate on his forces like that of an engine; and, though an impulse

draw with a fortyhorse power at what appears willing to yield to one, yet in contempt of calculation the

movement is not effected. Neither grief, philosophy, nor love could make Perdita think with mildness of the

dereliction of Raymond. She now took pleasure in my society; towards Idris she felt and displayed a full and

affectionate sense of her worthshe restored to her child in abundant measure her tenderness and care. But I

could discover, amidst all her repinings, deep resentment towards Raymond, and an unfading sense of injury,

that plucked from me my hope, when I appeared nearest to its fulfilment. Among other painful restrictions,

she has occasioned it to become a law among us, never to mention Raymond's name before her. She refused

to read any communications from Greece, desiring me only to mention when any arrived, and whether the

wanderers were well. It was curious that even little Clara observed this law towards her mother. This lovely

child was nearly eight years of age. Formerly she had been a lighthearted infant, fanciful, but gay and

childish. After the departure of her father, thought became impressed on her young brow. Children, unadepts

in language, seldom find words to express their thoughts, nor could we tell in what manner the late events had

impressed themselves on her mind. But certainly she had made deep observations while she noted in silence

the changes that passed around her. She never mentioned her father to Perdita, she appeared half afraid when

she spoke of him to me, and though I tried to draw her out on the subject, and to dispel the gloom that hung

about her ideas concerning him, I could not succeed. Yet each foreign postday she watched for the arrival of

lettersknew the post mark, and watched me as I read. I found her often poring over the article of Greek

There is no more painful sight than that of untimely care in children, and it was particularly observable in one

whose disposition had heretofore been mirthful. Yet there was so much sweetness and docility about Clara,

that your admiration was excited; and if the moods of mind are calculated to paint the cheek with beauty, and

endow motions with grace, surely her contemplations must have been celestial; since every lineament was

moulded into loveliness, and her motions were more harmonious than the elegant boundings of the fawns of

her native forest. I sometimes expostulated with Perdita on the subject of her reserve; but she rejected my

counsels, while her daughter's sensibility excited in her a tenderness still more passionate.

When our exiles had first arrived, a truce was in existence between the Turks and Greeks; a truce that was as

sleep to the mortal frame, signal of renewed activity on waking. With the numerous soldiers of Asia, with all

of warlike stores, ships, and military engines, that wealth and power could command, the Turks at once

resolved to crush an enemy, which creeping on by degrees, had from their stronghold in the Morea, acquired

Thrace and Macedonia, and had led their armies even to the gates of Constantinople, while their extensive

commercial relations gave every European nation an interest in their success. Greece prepared for a vigorous

resistance; it rose to a man; and the women, sacrificing their costly ornaments, accoutred their sons for the

war, and bade them conquer or die with the spirit of the Spartan mother. The talents and courage of Raymond

were highly esteemed among the Greeks. Born at Athens, that city claimed him for her own, and by giving

him the command of her peculiar division in the army, the commanderinchief only possessed superior

power. He was numbered among her citizens, his name was added to the list of Grecian heroes. His

judgment, activity, and consummate bravery, justified their choice. The Earl of Windsor became a volunteer

"It is well," said Adrian, "to prate of war in these pleasant shades, and with much illspent oil make a show

of joy, because many thousand of our fellowcreatures leave with pain this sweet air and natal earth. I shall

not be suspected of being averse to the Greek cause; I know and feel its necessity; it is beyond every other a

good cause. I have defended it with my sword, and was willing that my spirit should be breathed out in its

defence; freedom is of more worth than life, and the Greeks do well to defend their privilege unto death. But

let us not deceive ourselves. The Turks are men; each fibre, each limb is as feeling as our own, and every

spasm, be it mental or bodily, is as truly felt in a Turk's heart or brain, as in a Greek's. The last action at

which I was present was the taking of . The Turks resisted to the last, the garrison perished on the

ramparts, and we entered by assault. Every breathing creature within the walls was massacred. Think you,

amidst the shrieks of violated innocence and helpless infancy, I did not feel in every nerve the cry of a fellow

being? They were men and women, the sufferers, before they were Mohammedans, and when they rise

turbanless from the grave, in what except their good or evil actions will they be the better or worse than we?

Two soldiers contended for a girl, whose rich dress and extreme beauty excited the brutal appetites of these

wretches, who, perhaps good men among their families, were changed by the fury of the moment into

incarnated evils. An old man, with a silver beard, decrepit and bald, he might be her grandfather, interposed

to save her; the battle axe of one of them clove his skull. I rushed to her defence, but rage made them blind

and deaf; they did not distinguish my Christian garb or heed my wordswords were blunt weapons then, for

One of the fellows, enraged at my interference, struck me with his bayonet in the side, and I fell senseless.

"This wound will probably shorten my life, having shattered a frame, weak of itself. But I am content to die. I

have learnt in Greece that one man, more or less, is of small import, while human bodies remain to fill up the

thinned ranks of the soldiery; and that the identity of an individual may be overlooked, so that the muster roll

contain its full numbers. All this has a different effect upon Raymond. He is able to contemplate the ideal of

war, while I am sensible only to its realities. He is a soldier, a general. He can influence the bloodthirsty

wardogs, while I resist their propensities vainly. The cause is simple. Burke has said that, `in all bodies

those who would lead, must also, in a considerable degree, follow.'I cannot follow; for I do not sympathize

in their dreams of massacre and gloryto follow and to lead in such a career, is the natural bent of

Raymond's mind. He is always successful, and bids fair, at the same time that he acquires high name and

station for himself, to secure liberty, probably extended empire, to the Greeks."

Perdita's mind was not softened by this account. He, she thought, can be great and happy without me. Would

that I also had a career! Would that I could freight some untried bark with all my hopes, energies, and desires,

and launch it forth into the ocean of lifebound for some attainable point, with ambition or pleasure at the

helm! But adverse winds detain me on shore; like Ulysses, I sit at the water's edge and weep. But my

nerveless hands can neither fell the trees, nor smooth the planks. Under the influence of these melancholy

thoughts, she became more than ever in love with sorrow. Yet Adrian's presence did some good; he at once

broke through the law of silence observed concerning Raymond. At first she started from the unaccustomed

sound; soon she got used to it and to love it, and she listened with avidity to the account of his achievements.

Clara got rid also of her restraint; Adrian and she had been old playfellows; and now, as they walked or rode

together, he yielded to her earnest entreaty, and repeated, for the hundredth time, some tale of her father's

Each vessel in the mean time brought exhilarating tidings from Greece. The presence of a friend in its armies

and councils made us enter into the details with enthusiasm; and a short letter now and then from Raymond

told us how he was engrossed by the interests of his adopted country. The Greeks were strongly attached to

their commercial pursuits, and would have been satisfied with their present acquisitions, had not the Turks

roused them by invasion. The patriots were victorious; a spirit of conquest was instilled; and already they

looked on Constantinople as their own. Raymond rose perpetually in their estimation; but one man held a

superior command to him in their armies. He was conspicuous for his conduct and choice of position in a

battle fought in the plains of Thrace, on the banks of the Hebrus, which was to decide the fate of Islam. The

Mohammedans were defeated, and driven entirely from the country west of this river. The battle was

sanguinary, the loss of the Turks apparently irreparable; the Greeks, in losing one man, forgot the nameless

crowd strewed upon the bloody field, and they ceased to value themselves on a victory, which cost

At the battle of Makri he had led the charge of cavalry, and pursued the fugitives even to the banks of the

Hebrus. His favourite horse was found grazing by the margin of the tranquil river. It became a question

whether he had fallen among the unrecognised; but no broken ornament or stained trapping betrayed his fate.

It was suspected that the Turks, finding themselves possessed of so illustrious a captive, resolved to satisfy

their cruelty rather than their avarice, and fearful of the interference of England, had come to the

determination of concealing for ever the coldblooded murder of the soldier they most hated and feared in

Raymond was not forgotten in England. His abdication of the Protectorate had caused an unexampled

sensation; and, when his magnificent and manly system was contrasted with the narrow views of succeeding

politicians, the period of his elevation was referred to with sorrow. The perpetual recurrence of his name,

joined to most honourable testimonials, in the Greek gazettes, kept up the interest he had excited. He seemed

the favourite child of fortune, and his untimely loss eclipsed the world, and showed forth the remnant of

mankind with diminished lustre. They clung with eagerness to the hope held out that he might yet be alive.

Their minister at Constantinople was urged to make the necessary perquisitions, and should his existence be

ascertained, to demand his release. It was to be hoped that their efforts would succeed, and that though now a

prisoner, the sport of cruelty and the mark of hate, he would be rescued from danger and restored to the

The effect of this intelligence upon my sister was striking. She never for a moment credited the story of his

death; she resolved instantly to go to Greece. Reasoning and persuasion were thrown away upon her; she

would endure no hindrance, no delay. It may be advanced for a truth, that, if argument or entreaty can turn

any one from a desperate purpose, whose motive and end depends on the strength of the affections only, then

it is right so to turn them, since their docility shows that neither the motive nor the end were of sufficient

force to bear them through the obstacles attendant on their undertaking. If, on the contrary, they are proof

against expostulation, this very steadiness is an omen of success; and it becomes the duty of those who love

them, to assist in smoothing the obstructions in their path. Such sentiments actuated our little circle. Finding

Perdita immoveable, we consulted as to the best means of furthering her purpose. She could not go alone to a

country where she had no friends, where she might arrive only to hear the dreadful news, which must

overwhelm her with grief and remorse. Adrian, whose health had always been weak, now suffered

considerable aggravation of suffering from the effects of his wound. Idris could not endure to leave him in

this state; nor was it right either to quit or take with us a young family for a journey of this description. I

resolved at length to accompany Perdita. The separation from my Idris was painfulbut necessity reconciled

us to it in some degree: necessity and the hope of saving Raymond, and restoring him again to happiness and

Perdita. No delay was to ensue. Two days after we came to our determination, we set out for Portsmouth, and

embarked. The season was May, the weather stormless; we were promised a prosperous voyage. Cherishing

the most fervent hopes, embarked on the waste ocean, we saw with delight the receding shore of Britain, and

on the wings of desire outspeeded our well filled sails towards the South. The light curling waves bore us

onward, and old ocean smiled at the freight of love and hope committed to his charge; it stroked gently its

tempestuous plains, and the path was smoothed for us. Day and night the wind right aft, gave steady impulse

to our keelnor did rough gale, or treacherous sand, or destructive rock interpose an obstacle between my

DURING this voyage, when on calm evenings we conversed on deck, watching the glancing of the waves

and the changeful appearances of the sky, I discovered the total revolution that the disasters of Raymond had

wrought in the mind of my sister. Were they the same waters of love, which, lately cold and cutting as ice,

repelling as that, now loosened from their frozen chains, flowed through the regions of her soul in gushing

and grateful exuberance? She did not believe that he was dead, but she knew that he was in danger, and the

hope of assisting in his liberation, and the idea of soothing by tenderness the ills that he might have

undergone, elevated and harmonized the late jarring element of her being. I was not so sanguine as she as to

the result of our voyage. She was not sanguine, but secure; and the expectation of seeing the lover she had

banished, the husband, friend, heart's companion from whom she had long been alienated, wrapt her senses in

delight, her mind in placidity. It was beginning life again; it was leaving barren sands for an abode of fertile

beauty; it was a harbour after a tempest, an opiate after sleepless nights, a happy waking from a terrible

Little Clara accompanied us; the poor child did not well understand what was going forward. She heard that

we were bound for Greece, that she would see her father, and now, for the first time, she prattled of him to

On landing at Athens we found difficulties increase upon us: nor could the storied earth or balmy atmosphere

inspire us with enthusiasm or pleasure, while the fate of Raymond was in jeopardy. No man had ever excited

so strong an interest in the public mind; this was apparent even among the phlegmatic English, from whom

he had long been absent. The Athenians had expected their hero to return in triumph; the women had taught

their children to lisp his name joined to thanksgiving; his manly beauty, his courage, his devotion to their

cause, made him appear in their eyes almost as one of the ancient deities of the soil descended from their

native Olympus to defend them. When they spoke of his probable death and certain captivity, tears streamed

from their eyes; even as the women of Syria sorrowed for Adonis, did the wives and mothers of Greece

All these shows of despair struck Perdita with affright. With that sanguine but confused expectation, which

desire engendered while she was at a distance from reality, she had formed an image in her mind of

instantaneous change, when she should set her foot on Grecian shores. She fancied that Raymond would

already be free, and that her tender attentions would come to entirely obliterate even the memory of his

mischance. But his fate was still uncertain; she began to fear the worst, and to feel that her soul's hope was

cast on a chance that might prove a blank. The wife and lovely child of Lord Raymond became objects of

intense interest in Athens. The gates of their abode were besieged, audible prayers were breathed for his

My exertions were unremitted: after a time I left Athens, and joined the army stationed at Kishan in Thrace.

Bribery, threats, and intrigue, soon discovered the secret that Raymond was alive, a prisoner, suffering the

most rigorous confinement and wanton cruelties. We put in movement every impulse of policy and money to

The impatience of my sister's disposition now returned on her, awakened by repentance, sharpened by

remorse. The very beauty of the Grecian climate, during the season of spring, added torture to her sensations.

The unexampled loveliness of the flowerclad earththe genial sunshine and grateful shade the melody

of the birdsthe majesty of the woodsthe splendour of the marble ruinsthe clear effulgence of the stars

by nightthe combination of all that was exciting and voluptuous in this transcending land, by inspiring a

quicker spirit of life and an added sensitiveness to every articulation of her frame, only gave edge to the

poignancy of her grief. Each long hour was counted, and "He suffers" was the burthen of all her thoughts.

She abstained from food; she lay on the bare earth, and, by such mimicry of his enforced torments,

endeavoured to hold communion with his distant pain. I remembered in one of her harshest moments a

quotation of mine had roused her to anger and disdain. "Perdita," I had said, "some day you will discover that

you have done wrong in again casting Raymond on the thorns of life. When disappointment has sullied his

beauty, when a soldier's hardships have bent his manly form, and loneliness made even triumph bitter to him,

The stinging "remorse of love" now pierced her heart. She accused herself of his journey to Greecehis

dangershis imprisonment. She pictured to herself the anguish of his solitude; she remembered with what

eager delight he had in former days made her the partner of his joyful hopeswith what grateful affection he

received her sympathy in his cares. She called to mind how often he had declared that solitude was to him the

greatest of all evils, and how death itself was to him more full of fear and pain when he pictured to himself a

lonely grave. "My best girl," he had said, "relieves me from these phantasies. United to her, cherished in her

dear heart, never again shall I know the misery of finding myself alone. Even if I die before you, my Perdita,

treasure up my ashes till yours may mingle with mine. It is a foolish sentiment for one who is not a

materialist, yet, methinks, even in that dark cell, I may feel that my inanimate dust mingles with yours, and

thus have a companion in decay." In her resentful mood, these expressions had been remembered with

acrimony and disdain; they visited her in her softened hour, taking sleep from her eyes, all hope of rest from

Two months passed thus, when at last we obtained a promise of Raymond's release. Confinement and

hardship had undermined his health; the Turks feared an accomplishment of the threats of the English

government, if he died under their hands; they looked upon his recovery as impossible; they delivered him up

He came by sea from Constantinople to Athens. The wind, favourable to him, blew so strongly in shore, that

we were unable, as we had at first intended, to meet him on his watery road. The watchtower of Athens was

besieged by inquirers, each sail eagerly looked out for; till on the first of May the gallant frigate bore in sight,

freighted with treasure more invaluable than the wealth which, piloted from Mexico, the vexed Pacific

swallowed, or that was conveyed over its tranquil bosom to enrich the crown of Spain. At early dawn the

vessel was discovered bearing in shore; it was conjectured that it would cast anchor about five miles from

The news spread through Athens, and the whole city poured out at the gate of the Pir�us, down the roads,

through the vineyards, the olive woods and plantations of figtrees, towards the harbour. The noisy joy of the

populace, the gaudy colours of their dress, the tumult of carriages and horses, the march of soldiers

intermixed, the waving of banners and sound of martial music added to the high excitement of the scene;

while round us reposed in solemn majesty the relics of ancient time. To our right the Acropolis rose high,

spectatress of a thousand changes, of ancient glory, Turkish slavery, and the restoration of dearbought

liberty; tombs and cenotaphs were strewed thick around, adorned by ever renewing vegetation; the mighty

dead hovered over their monuments, and beheld in our enthusiasm and congregated numbers a renewal of the

scenes in which they had been the actors. Perdita and Clara rode in a close carriage; I attended them on

horseback. At length we arrived at the harbour; it was agitated by the outward swell of the sea; the beach, as

far could be discerned, was covered by a moving multitude, which, urged by those behind toward the sea,

again rushed back as the heavy waves with sullen roar burst close to them. I applied my glass, and could

discern that the frigate had already cast anchor, fearful of the danger of approaching nearer to a lee shore: a

boat was lowered; with a pang I saw that Raymond was unable to descend the vessel's side; he was let down

I dismounted, and called to some sailors who were rowing about the harbour to pull up, and take me into their

skiff; Perdita at the same moment alighted from her carriageshe seized my arm"Take me with you," she

cried; she was trembling and pale; Clara clung to her"You must not," I said, "the sea is roughhe will

soon be heredo you not see his boat?" The little bark to which I had beckoned had now pulled up; before I

could stop her, Perdita, assisted by the sailors was in itClara followed her mothera loud shout echoed

from the crowd as we pulled out of the inner harbour; while my sister at the prow, had caught hold of one of

the men who was using a glass, asking a thousand questions, careless of the spray that broke over her, deaf,

sightless to all, except the little speck that, just visible on the top of the waves, evidently neared. We

approached with all the speed six rowers could give; the orderly and picturesque dress of the soldiers on the

beach, the sounds of exulting music, the stirring breeze and waving flags, the unchecked exclamations of the

eager crowd, whose dark looks and foreign garb were purely eastern; the sight of temple crowned rock, the

white marble of the buildings glittering in the sun, and standing in bright relief against the dark ridge of lofty

mountains beyond; the near roar of the sea, the splash of oars, and dash of spray, all steeped my soul in a

delirium, unfelt, unimagined in the common course of common life. Trembling, I was unable to continue to

look through the glass with which I had watched the motion of the crew, when the frigate's boat had first been

launched. We rapidly drew near, so that at length the number and forms of those within could be discerned;

its dark sides grew big, and the splash of its oars became audible: I could distinguish the languid form of my

Perdita's questions had ceased; she leaned on my arm, panting with emotions too acute for tearsour men

pulled alongside the other boat. As a last effort, my sister mustered her strength, her firmness; she stepped

from one boat to the other, and then with a shriek she sprang towards Raymond, knelt at his side, and gluing

her lips to the hand she seized, her face shrouded by her long hair, gave herself up to tears.

Raymond had somewhat raised himself at our approach, but it was with difficulty that he exerted himself

even thus much. With sunken cheek and hollow eyes, pale and gaunt, how could I recognize the beloved of

Perdita? I continued awestruck and mutehe looked smilingly on the poor girl; the smile was his. A day of

sunshine falling on a dark valley, displays its before hidden characteristics; and now this smile, the same with

which he first spoke love to Perdita, with which he had welcomed the protectorate, playing on his altered

He stretched out to me his other hand; I discerned the trace of manacles on his bared wrist. I heard my sister's

sobs, and thought, happy are women who can weep, and in a passionate caress disburden the oppression of

their feelings; shame and habitual restraint hold back a man. I would have given worlds to have acted as in

days of boyhood, have strained him to my breast, pressed his hand to my lips, and wept over him; my

swelling heart choked me; the natural current would not be checked; the big rebellious tears gathered in my

eyes; I turned aside, and they dropped in the seathey came fast and faster; yet I could hardly be

ashamed, for I saw that the rough sailors were not unmoved, and Raymond's eyes alone were dry from among

our crew. He lay in that blessed calm which convalescence always induces, enjoying in secure tranquillity his

liberty and reunion with her whom he adored. Perdita at length subdued her burst of passion, and rose,she

looked round for Clara; the child frightened, not recognizing her father, and neglected by us, had crept to the

other end of the boat; she came at her mother's call. Perdita presented her to Raymond; her first words were:

"Beloved, embrace our child:" "Come hither, sweet one," said her father, "do you not know me?" she knew

his voice, and cast herself in his arms with half bashful but uncontrollable emotion.

Perceiving the weakness of Raymond, I was afraid of ill consequences from the pressure of the crowd on his

landing. But they were awed as I had been, at the change of his appearance. The music died away, the shouts

abruptly ended; the soldiers had cleared a space in which a carriage was drawn up. He was placed in it;

Perdita and Clara entered with him, and his escort closed round it; a hollow murmur, akin to the roaring of

the near waves, went through the multitude; they fell back as the carriage advanced, and fearful of injuring

him they had come to welcome, by loud testimonies of joy, they satisfied themselves with bending in a low

salaam as the carriage passed; it went slowly along the road of the Piraeus; passed by antique temple and

heroic tomb, beneath the craggy rock of the citadel. The sound of the waves was left behind; that of the

multitude continued at intervals, suppressed and hoarse; and though, in the city, the houses, churches, and

public buildings were decorated with tapestry and bannersthough the soldiery lined the streets, and the

inhabitants in thousands were assembled to give him hail, the same solemn silence prevailed, the soldiery

presented arms, the banners vailed, many a white hand waved a streamer, and vainly sought to discern the

hero in the vehicle, which, closed and encompassed by the city guards, drew him to the palace allotted for his

Raymond was weak and exhausted, yet the interest he perceived to be excited on his account, filled him with

proud pleasure. He was nearly killed with kindness. It is true, the populace retained themselves; but there

arose a perpetual hum and bustle from the throng round the palace, which added to the noise of fireworks, the

frequent explosion of arms, the tramp to and fro of horsemen and carriages, to which effervescence he was

the focus, retarded his recovery. So we retired awhile to Eleusis, and here rest and tender care added each day

to the strength of our invalid. The zealous attention of Perdita claimed the first rank in the causes which

induced his rapid recovery; but the second was surely the delight he felt in the affection and good will of the

Greeks. We are said to love much those whom we greatly benefit. Raymond had fought and conquered for

the Athenians; he had suffered, on their account, peril, imprisonment, and hardship; their gratitude affected

him deeply, and he inly vowed to unite his fate for ever to that of a people so enthusiastically devoted to him.

Social feeling and sympathy constituted a marked feature in my disposition. In early youth, the living drama

acted around me, drew me heart and soul into its vortex. I was now conscious of a change. I loved, I hoped, I

enjoyed; but there was something besides this. I was inquisitive as to the internal principles of action of those

around me: anxious to read their thoughts justly, and for ever occupied in divining their inmost mind. All

events, at the same time that they deeply interested me, arranged themselves in pictures before me. I gave the

right place to every personage in the group, the just balance to every sentiment. This undercurrent of thought,

often soothed me amidst distress, and even agony. It gave ideality to that, from which, taken in naked truth,

the soul would have revolted: it bestowed pictorial colours on misery and disease, and not unfrequently

relieved me from despair in deplorable changes. This faculty, or instinct, was now roused. I watched the re

awakened devotion of my sister; Clara's timid, but concentrated admiration of her father, and Raymond's

appetite for renown, and sensitiveness to the demonstrations of affection of the Athenians. Attentively

perusing this animated volume, I was the less surprised at the tale I read on the newturned page.

The Turkish army were at this time besieging Rodosto; and the Greeks, hastening their preparations, and

sending each day reinforcements, were on the eve of forcing the enemy to battle. Each people looked on the

coming struggle as that which would be to a great degree decisive; as, in case of victory, the next step would

be the siege of Constantinople by the Greeks. Raymond, being somewhat recovered, prepared to reassume

Perdita did not oppose herself to his determination. She only stipulated to be permitted to accompany him.

She had set down no rule of conduct for herself; but for her life she could not have opposed his slightest wish,

or do other than acquiesce cheerfully in all his projects. One word, in truth, had alarmed her more than battles

or sieges, during which she trusted Raymond's high command would exempt him from danger. That word, as

yet it was not more to her, was PLAGUE. This enemy to the human race had begun early in June to raise its

serpent head on the shores of the Nile; parts of Asia, not usually subject to this evil, were infected. It was in

Constantinople; but as each year that city experienced a like visitation, small attention was paid to those

accounts which declared more people to have died there already, than usually made up the accustomed prey

of the whole of the hotter months. However it might be, neither plague nor war could prevent Perdita from

following her lord, or induce her to utter one objection to the plans which he proposed. To be near him, to be

loved by him, to feel him again her own, was the limit of her desires. The object of her life was to do him

pleasure: it had been so before, but with a difference. In past times, without thought or foresight she had

made him happy, being so herself, and in any question of choice, consulted her own wishes, as being one

with his. Now she sedulously put herself out of the question, sacrificing even her anxiety for his health and

welfare to her resolve not to oppose any of his desires. Love of the Greek people, appetite for glory, and

hatred of the barbarian government under which he had suffered even to the approach of death, stimulated

him. He wished to repay the kindness of the Athenians, to keep alive the splendid associations connected with

his name, and to eradicate from Europe a power which, while every other nation advanced in civilization,

stood still, a monument of antique barbarism. Having effected the reunion of Raymond and Perdita, I was

eager to return to England; but his earnest request, added to awakening curiosity, and an indefinable anxiety

to behold the catastrophe, now apparently at hand, in the long drawn history of Grecian and Turkish warfare,

induced me to consent to prolong until the autumn, the period of my residence in Greece.

As soon as the health of Raymond was sufficiently re established, he prepared to join the Grecian camp,

near Kishan, a town of some importance, situated to the east of the Hebrus; in which Perdita and Clara were

to remain until the event of the expected battle. We quitted Athens on the 2nd of June. Raymond had

recovered from the gaunt and pallid looks of fever. If I no longer saw the fresh glow of youth on his matured

if his hair, slightly mingled with grey, and his look, considerate even in its eagerness, gave signs of added

years and past sufferings, yet there was something irresistibly affecting in the sight of one, lately snatched

from the grave, renewing his career, untamed by sickness or disaster. The Athenians saw in him, not as

heretofore, the heroic boy or desperate man, who was ready to die for them; but the prudent commander, who

for their sakes was careful of his life, and could make his own warriorpropensities second to the scheme of

All Athens accompanied us for several miles. When he had landed a month ago, the noisy populace had been

hushed by sorrow and fear; but this was a festival day to all. The air resounded with their shouts; their

picturesque costume, and the gay colours of which it was composed, flaunted in the sunshine; their eager

gestures and rapid utterance accorded with their wild appearance. Raymond was the theme of every tongue,

the hope of each wife, mother or betrothed bride, whose husband, child, or lover, making a part of the Greek

Notwithstanding the hazardous object of our journey, it was full of romantic interest, as we passed through

the valleys, and over the hills, of this divine country. Raymond was inspirited by the intense sensations of

recovered health; he felt that in being general of the Athenians, he filled a post worthy of his ambition; and,

in his hope of the conquest of Constantinople, he counted on an event which would be as a landmark in the

waste of ages, an exploit unequalled in the annals of man; when a city of grand historic association, the

beauty of whose site was the wonder of the world, which for many hundred years had been the strong hold of

the Moslems, should be rescued from slavery and barbarism, and restored to a people illustrious for genius,

civilization, and a spirit of liberty. Perdita rested on his restored society, on his love, his hopes and fame,

even as a Sybarite on a luxurious couch; every thought was transport, each emotion bathed as it were in a

We arrived at Kishan on the 7th of July. The weather during our journey had been serene. Each day, before

dawn, we left our night's encampment, and watched the shadows as they retreated from hill and valley, and

the golden splendour of the sun's approach. The accompanying soldiers received, with national vivacity,

enthusiastic pleasure from the sight of beautiful nature. The uprising of the star of day was hailed by

triumphant strains, while the birds, heard by snatches, filled up the intervals of the music. At noon, we

pitched our tents in some shady valley, or embowering wood among the mountains, while a stream prattling

over pebbles induced grateful sleep. Our evening march, more calm, was yet more delightful than the

morning restlessness of spirit. If the band played, involuntarily they chose airs of moderated passion; the

farewell of love, or lament at absence, was followed and closed by some solemn hymn, which harmonized

with the tranquil loveliness of evening, and elevated the soul to grand and religious thought. Often all sounds

were suspended, that we might listen to the nightingale, while the fireflies danced in bright measure, and the

soft cooing of the aziolo spoke of fair weather to the travellers. Did we pass a valley? Soft shades

encompassed us, and rocks tinged with beauteous hues. If we traversed a mountain, Greece, a living map,

was spread beneath, her renowned pinnacles cleaving the ether; her rivers threading in silver line the fertile

land. Afraid almost to breathe, we English travellers surveyed with ecstasy this splendid landscape, so

different from the sober hues and melancholy graces of our native scenery. When we quitted Macedonia, the

fertile but low plains of Thrace afforded fewer beauties; yet our journey continued to be interesting. An

advanced guard gave information of our approach, and the country people were quickly in motion to do

honour to Lord Raymond. The villages were decorated by triumphal arches of greenery by day, and lamps by

night; tapestry waved from the windows, the ground was strewed with flowers, and the name of Raymond,

When we arrived at Kishan, we learnt, that on hearing of the advance of Lord Raymond and his detachment,

the Turkish army had retreated from Rodosto; but meeting with a reinforcement, they had retrod their steps.

In the meantime, Argyropylo, the Greek commanderinchief, had advanced, so as to be between the Turks

and Rodosto; a battle, it was said, was inevitable. Perdita and her child were to remain at Kishan. Raymond

asked me, if I would not continue with them. "Now by the fells of Cumberland," I cried, "by all of the

vagabond and poacher that appertains to me, I will stand at your side, draw my sword in the Greek cause, and

All the plain, from Kishan to Rodosto, a distance of sixteen leagues, was alive with troops, or with the

campfollowers, all in motion at the approach of a battle. The small garrisons were drawn from the various

towns and fortresses, and went to swell the main army. We met baggage waggons, and many females of high

and low rank returning to Fairy or Kishan, there to wait the issue of the expected day. When we arrived at

Rodosto, we found that the field had been taken, and the scheme of the battle arranged. The sound of firing,

early on the following morning, informed us that advanced posts of the armies were engaged. Regiment after

regiment advanced, their colours flying and bands playing. They planted the cannon on the tumuli, sole

elevations in this level country, and formed themselves into column and hollow square; while the pioneers

These then were the preparations for a battle, nay, the battle itself; far different from any thing the

imagination had pictured. We read of centre and wing in Greek and Roman history; we fancy a spot, plain as

a table, and soldiers small as chessmen; and drawn forth, so that the most ignorant of the game can discover

science and order in the disposition of the forces. When I came to the reality, and saw regiments file off to the

left far out of sight, fields intervening between the battalions, but a few troops sufficiently near me to observe

their motions, I gave up all idea of understanding, even of seeing a battle, but attaching myself to Raymond

attended with intense interest to his actions. He showed himself collected, gallant and imperial; his

commands were prompt, his intuition of the events of the day to me miraculous. In the mean time the cannon

roared; the music lifted up its enlivening voice at intervals; and we on the highest of the mounds I mentioned,

too far off to observe the fallen sheaves which death gathered into his storehouse, beheld the regiments, now

lost in smoke, now banners and staves peering above the cloud, while shout and clamour drowned every

Early in the day, Argyropylo was wounded dangerously, and Raymond assumed the command of the whole

army. He made few remarks, till, on observing through his glass the sequel of an order he had given, his face,

clouded for awhile with doubt, became radiant. "The day is ours," he cried, "the Turks fly from the bayonet."

And then swiftly he dispatched his aidesdecamp to command the horse to fall on the routed enemy. The

defeat became total; the cannon ceased to roar; the infantry rallied, and horse pursued the flying Turks along

the dreary plain; the staff of Raymond was dispersed in various directions, to make observations, and bear

The ground on which the battle was fought, was a level plain so level, that from the tumuli you saw the

waving line of mountains on the widestretched horizon; yet the intervening space was unvaried by the least

irregularity, save such undulations as resembled the waves of the sea. The whole of this part of Thrace had

been so long a scene of contest, that it had remained uncultivated, and presented a dreary, barren appearance.

The order I had received, was to make an observation of the direction which a detachment of the enemy

might have taken, from a northern tumulus; the whole Turkish army, followed by the Greek, had poured

eastward; none but the dead remained in the direction of my side. From the top of the mound, I looked far

The last beams of the nearly sunken sun shot up from behind the far summit of Mount Athos; the sea of

Marmora still glittered beneath its rays, while the Asiatic coast beyond was half hid in a haze of low cloud.

Many a casque, and bayonet, and sword, fallen from unnerved arms, reflected the departing ray; they lay

scattered far and near. From the east, a band of ravens, old inhabitants of the Turkish cemeteries, came sailing

along towards their harvest; the sun disappeared. This hour, melancholy yet sweet, has always seemed to me

the time when we are most naturally led to commune with higher powers; our mortal sternness departs, and

gentle complacency invests the soul. But now, in the midst of the dying and the dead, how could a thought of

heaven or a sensation of tranquillity possess one of the murderers? During the busy day, my mind had yielded

itself a willing slave to the state of things presented to it by its fellowbeings; historical association, hatred of

the foe, and military enthusiasm had held dominion over me. Now, I looked on the evening star, as softly and

calmly it hung pendulous in the orange hues of sunset. I turned to the corsestrewn earth; and felt ashamed of

my species. So perhaps were the placid skies; for they quickly veiled themselves in mist, and in this change

assisted the swift disappearance of twilight usual in the south; heavy masses of cloud floated up from the

south east, and red and turbid lightning shot from their dark edges; the rushing wind disturbed the garments

of the dead, and was chilled as it passed over their icy forms. Darkness gathered round; the objects about me

became indistinct, I descended from my station, and with difficulty guided my horse, so as to avoid the slain.

Suddenly I heard a piercing shriek; a form seemed to rise from the earth; it flew swiftly towards me, sinking

to the ground again as it drew near. All this passed so suddenly, that I with difficulty reined in my horse, so

that it should not trample on the prostrate being. The dress of this person was that of a soldier, but the bared

neck and arms, and the continued shrieks discovered a female thus disguised. I dismounted to her aid, while

she, with heavy groans, and her hand placed on her side, resisted my attempt to lead her on. In the hurry of

the moment I forgot that I was in Greece, and in my native accents endeavoured to soothe the sufferer. With

wild and terrific exclamations did the lost, dying Evadne (for it was she) recognize the language of her lover;

pain and fever from her wound had deranged her intellects, while her piteous cries and feeble efforts to

escape, penetrated me with compassion. In wild delirium she called upon the name of Raymond; she

exclaimed that I was keeping him from her, while the Turks with fearful instruments of torture were about to

take his life. Then again she sadly lamented her hard fate; that a woman, with a woman's heart and sensibility,

should be driven by hopeless love and vacant hopes to take up the trade of arms, and suffer beyond the

endurance of man privation, labour, and painthe while her dry, hot hand pressed mine, and her brow and

As her strength grew less, I lifted her from the ground; her emaciated form hung over my arm, her sunken

cheek rested on my breast; in a sepulchral voice she murmured:"This is the end of love!Yet not the

end!"and frenzy lent her strength as she cast her arm up to heaven: "there is the end! there we meet again.

Many living deaths have I borne for thee, O Raymond, and now I expire, thy victim!By my death I

purchase theelo! the instruments of war, fire, the plague are my servitors. I dared, I conquered them all, till

now! I have sold myself to death, with the sole condition that thou shouldst follow meFire, and war, and

With a heavy heart I listened to the changes of her delirium; I made her a bed of cloaks; her violence

decreased and a clammy dew stood on her brow as the paleness of death succeeded to the crimson of fever, I

placed her on the cloaks. She continued to rave of her speedy meeting with her beloved in the grave, of his

death nigh at hand; sometimes she solemnly declared that he was summoned; sometimes she bewailed his

hard destiny. Her voice grew feebler, her speech interrupted; a few convulsive movements, and her muscles

relaxed, the limbs fell, no more to be sustained, one deep sigh, and life was gone.

I bore her from the near neighbourhood of the dead; wrapt in cloaks, I placed her beneath a tree. Once more I

looked on her altered face; the last time I saw her she was eighteen; beautiful as poet's vision, splendid as a

Sultana of the East Twelve years had past; twelve years of change, sorrow and hardship; her brilliant

complexion had become worn and dark, her limbs had lost the roundness of youth and womanhood; her eyes

With shuddering horror I veiled this monument of human passion and human misery; I heaped over her all of

flags and heavy accoutrements I could find, to guard her from birds and beasts of prey, until I could bestow

on her a fitting grave. Sadly and slowly I stemmed my course from among the heaps of slain, and, guided by

ON my arrival, I found that an order had already gone forth for the army to proceed immediately towards

Constantinople; and the troops which had suffered least in the battle were already on their way. The town was

full of tumult. The wound, and consequent inability of Argyropylo, caused Raymond to be the first in

command. He rode through the town, visiting the wounded, and giving such orders as were necessary for the

siege he meditated. Early in the morning the whole army was in motion. In the hurry I could hardly find an

opportunity to bestow the last offices on Evadne. Attended only by my servant, I dug a deep grave for her at

the foot of the tree, and without disturbing her warrior shroud, I placed her in it, heaping stones upon the

grave. The dazzling sun and glare of daylight, deprived the scene of solemnity; from Evadne's low tomb, I

Constantinople was invested, trenches dug, and advances made. The whole Greek fleet blockaded it by sea;

on land from the river Kyat Kbanah, near the Sweet Waters, to the Tower of Marmora, on the shores of the

Propontis, along the whole line of the ancient walls, the trenches of the siege were drawn. We already

possessed Pera; the Golden Horn itself, the city, bastioned by the sea, and the ivymantled walls of the Greek

emperors was all of Europe that the Mohammedans could call theirs. Our army looked on her as certain prey.

They counted the garrison; it was impossible that it should be relieved; each sally was a victory; for, even

when the Turks were triumphant, the loss of men they sustained was an irreparable injury.

I rode one morning with Raymond to the lofty mound, not far from the Top Kapou, (Cannongate), on which

Mahmoud planted his standard, and first saw the city. Still the same lofty domes and minarets towered above

the verdurous walls, where Constantine had died, and the Turk had entered the city. The plain around was

interspersed with cemeteries, Turk, Greek, and Armenian, with their growth of cypress trees; and other woods

of more cheerful aspect, diversified the scene. Among them the Greek army was encamped, and their

Raymond's eyes were fixed on the city. "I have counted the hours of her life," said he; "one month, and she

falls. Remain with me till then; wait till you see the cross on St. Sophia; and then return to your peaceful

"Assuredly," replied Raymond. "Yet Lionel, when I say this, believe me I look back with regret to our

tranquil life at Windsor. I am but half a soldier; I love the renown, but not the trade of war. Before the battle

of Rodosto I was full of hope and spirit; to conquer there, and afterwards to take Constantinople, was the

hope, the bourne, the fulfilment of my ambition. This enthusiasm is now spent, I know not why; I seem to

myself to be entering a darksome gulf; the ardent spirit of the army is irksome to me, the rapture of triumph

He paused, and was lost in thought. His serious mien recalled, by some association, the halfforgotten

Evadne to my mind, and I seized this opportunity to make inquiries from him concerning her strange lot. I

asked him, if he had ever seen among the troops any one resembling her; if since he had returned to Greece

He started at her name,he looked uneasily on me. "Even so," he cried, "I knew you would speak of her.

Long, long I had forgotten her. Since our encampment here, she daily, hourly visits my thoughts. When I am

addressed, her name is the sound I expect: in every communication, I imagine that she will form a part. At

I related my meeting with her; the story of her death was told and retold. With painful earnestness he

questioned me concerning her prophecies with regard to him. I treated them as the ravings of a maniac. "No,

no," he said, "do not deceive yourself,me you cannot. She has said nothing but what I knew

beforethough this is confirmation. Fire, the sword, and plague! They may all be found in yonder city; on

From this day Raymond's melancholy increased. He secluded himself as much as the duties of his station

permitted. When in company, sadness would in spite of every effort steal over his features, and he sat absent

and mute among the busy crowd that thronged about him. Perdita rejoined him, and before her he forced

himself to appear cheerful, for she, even as a mirror, changed as he changed, and if he were silent and

anxious, she solicitously inquired concerning, and endeavoured to remove the cause of his seriousness. She

resided at the palace of Sweet Waters, a summer seraglio of the Sultan; the beauty of the surrounding

scenery, undefiled by war, and the freshness of the river, made this spot doubly delightful. Raymond felt no

relief, received no pleasure from any show of heaven or earth. He often left Perdita, to wander in the grounds

alone; or in a light shallop he floated idly on the pure waters, musing deeply. Sometimes I joined him; at such

times his countenance was invariably solemn, his air dejected. He seemed relieved on seeing me, and would

talk with some degree of interest on the affairs of the day. There was evidently something behind all this; yet,

when he appeared about to speak of that which was nearest his heart, he would abruptly turn away, and with a

It had often occurred, that, when, as I said, Raymond quitted Perdita's drawingroom, Clara came up to me,

and gently drawing me aside, said, "Papa is gone; shall we go to him? I dare say he will be glad to see you."

And, as accident permitted, I complied with or refused her request. One evening a numerous assembly of

Greek chieftains were gathered together in the palace. The intriguing Palli, the accomplished Karazza, the

warlike Ypsilanti, were among the principal. They talked of the events of the day; the skirmish at noon; the

diminished numbers of the Infidels; their defeat and flight: they contemplated, after a short interval of time,

the capture of the Golden City. They endeavoured to picture forth what would then happen, and spoke in

lofty terms of the prosperity of Greece, when Constantinople should become its capital. The conversation

then reverted to Asiatic intelligence, and the ravages the plague made in its chief cities; conjectures were

Raymond had joined in the former part of the discussion. In lively terms he demonstrated the extremities to

which Constantinople was reduced; the wasted and haggard, though ferocious appearance of the troops;

famine and pestilence was at work for them, he observed, and the infidels would soon be obliged to take

refuge in their only hopesubmission. Suddenly in the midst of his harangue he broke off, as if stung by

some painful thought; he rose uneasily, and I perceived him at length quit the hall, and through the long

corridor seek the open air. He did not return; and soon Clara crept round to me, making the accustomed

invitation. I consented to her request, and taking her little hand, followed Raymond. We found him just about

to embark in his boat, and he readily agreed to receive us as companions. After the heats of the day, the

cooling landbreeze ruffled the river, and filled our little sail. The city looked dark to the south, while

numerous lights along the near shores, and the beautiful aspect of the banks reposing in placid night, the

waters keenly reflecting the heavenly lights, gave to this beauteous river a dower of loveliness that might

have characterised a retreat in Paradise. Our single boatman attended to the sail; Raymond steered; Clara sat

at his feet, clasping his knees with her arms, and laying her head on them. Raymond began the conversation

"This, my friend, is probably the last time we shall have an opportunity of conversing freely; my plans are

now in full operation, and my time will become more and more occupied. Besides, I wish at once to tell you

my wishes and expectations, and then never again to revert to so painful a subject. First, I must thank you,

Lionel, for having remained here at my request. Vanity first prompted me to ask you: vanity, I call it; yet

even in this I see the hand of fateyour presence will soon be necessary; you will become the last resource

"Do not deceive yourself," replied Raymond, "the separation at hand is one over which I have no control;

most near at hand is it; the days are already counted. May I trust you? For many days I have longed to

disclose the mysterious presentiments that weigh on me, although I fear that you will ridicule them. Yet do

not, my gentle friend; for, all childish and unwise as they are, they have become a part of me, and I dare not

"Yet how can I expect you to sympathize with me? You are of this world; I am not. You hold forth your

hand; it is even as a part of yourself; and you do not yet divide the feeling of identity from the mortal form

that shapes forth Lionel. How then can you understand me? Earth is to me a tomb, the firmament a vault,

shrouding mere corruption. Time is no more, for I have stepped within the threshold of eternity; each man I

meet appears a corse, which will soon be deserted of its animating spark, on the eve of decay and corruption.

His accent was mournful,he sighed deeply. "A few months ago," he continued, "I was thought to be dying;

but life was strong within me. My affections were human; hope and love were the daystars of my life.

Nowthey dream that the brows of the conqueror of the infidel faith are about to be encircled by triumphant

laurel; they talk of honourable reward, of title, power, and wealthall I ask of Greece is a grave. Let them

raise a mound above my lifeless body, which may stand even when the dome of St. Sophia has fallen.

"Wherefore do I feel thus? At Rodosto I was full of hope; but when first I saw Constantinople, that feeling,

with every other joyful one, departed. The last words of Evadne were the seal upon the warrant of my death.

Yet I do not pretend to account for my mood by any particular event. All I can say is, that it is so. The plague

I am told is in Constantinople, perhaps I have imbibed its effluviaperhaps disease is the real cause of my

prognostications. It matters little why or wherefore I am affected, no power can avert the stroke, and the

"To you, Lionel, I entrust your sister and her child. Never mention to her the fatal name of Evadne. She

would doubly sorrow over the strange link that enchains me to her, making my spirit obey her dying voice,

I listened to him with wonder; but that his sad demeanour and solemn utterance assured me of the truth and

intensity of his feelings, I should with light derision have attempted to dissipate his fears. Whatever I was

about to reply, was interrupted by the powerful emotions of Clara. Raymond had spoken, thoughtless of her

presence, and she, poor child, heard with terror and faith the prophecy of his death. Her father was moved by

her violent grief; he took her in his arms and soothed her, but his very soothings were solemn and fearful.

"Weep not, sweet child," said he, "the coming death of one you have hardly known. I may die, but in death I

can never forget or desert my own Clara. In after sorrow or joy, believe that you father's spirit is near, to save

or sympathize with you. Be proud of me, and cherish your infant remembrance of me. Thus, sweetest, I shall

not appear to die. One thing you must promise,not to speak to any one but your uncle, of the conversation

you have just overheard. When I am gone, you will console your mother, and tell her that death was only

bitter because it divided me from her; that my last thoughts will be spent on her. But while I live, promise not

With faltering accents Clara promised, while she still clung to her father in a transport of sorrow. Soon we

returned to shore, and I endeavoured to obviate the impression made on the child's mind, by treating

Raymond's fears lightly. We heard no more of them; for, as he had said, the siege, now drawing to a

The empire of the Mohammedans in Europe was at its close. The Greek fleet blockading every port of

Stamboul, prevented the arrival of succour from Asia; all egress on the side towards land had become

impracticable, except to such desperate sallies, as reduced the numbers of the enemy without making any

impression on our lines. The garrison was now so much diminished, that it was evident that the city could

easily have been carried by storm; but both humanity and policy dictated a slower mode of proceeding. We

could hardly doubt that, if pursued to the utmost, its palaces, its temples and store of wealth would be

destroyed in the fury of contending triumph and defeat. Already the defenceless citizens had suffered through

the barbarity of the Janisaries; and, in time of storm, tumult and massacre, beauty, infancy and decrepitude,

would have alike been sacrificed to the brutal ferocity of the soldiers. Famine and blockade were certain

Each day the soldiers of the garrison assaulted our advanced posts, and impeded the accomplishment of our

works. Fireboats were launched from the various ports, while our troops sometimes recoiled from the

devoted courage of men who did not seek to live, but to sell their lives dearly. These contests were

aggravated by the season: they took place during summer, when the southern Asiatic wind came laden with

intolerable heat, when the streams were dried up in their shallow beds, and the vast basin of the sea appeared

to glow under the unmitigated rays of the solstitial sun. Nor did night refresh the earth. Dew was denied;

herbage and flowers there were none; the very trees drooped; and summer assumed the blighted appearance

of winter, as it went forth in silence and flame to abridge the means of sustenance to man. In vain did the eye

strive to find the wreck of some northern cloud in the stainless empyrean, which might bring hope of change

and moisture to the oppressive and windless atmosphere. All was serene, burning, annihilating. We the

besiegers were in the comparison little affected by these evils. The woods around afforded us shade,the

river secured to us a constant supply of water; nay, detachments were employed in furnishing the army with

ice, which had been laid up on Haemus, and Athos, and the mountains of Macedonia, while cooling fruits and

wholesome food renovated the strength of the labourers, and made us bear with less impatience the weight of

the unrefreshing air. But in the city things wore a different face. The sun's rays were refracted from the

pavement and buildingsthe stoppage of the public fountainsthe bad quality of the food, and scarcity

even of that, produced a state of suffering, which was aggravated by the scourge of disease; while the

garrison arrogated every superfluity to themselves, adding by waste and riot to the necessary evils of the time.

Suddenly the system of warfare was changed. We experienced no more assaults; and by night and day we

continued our labours unimpeded. Stranger still, when the troops advanced near the city, the walls were

vacant, and no cannon was pointed against the intruders. When these circumstances were reported to

Raymond, he caused minute observations to be made as to what was doing within the walls, and when his

scouts returned, reporting only the continued silence and desolation of the city, he commanded the army to be

drawn out before the gates. No one appeared on the walls; the very portals, though locked and barred, seemed

unguarded; above, the many domes and glittering crescents pierced heaven; while the old walls, survivors of

ages, with ivycrowned tower and weedtangled buttress, stood as rocks in an uninhabited waste. From

within the city neither shout nor cry, nor aught except the casual howling of a dog, broke the noonday

stillness. Even our soldiers were awed to silence; the music paused; the clang of arms was hushed. Each man

asked his fellow in whispers, the meaning of this sudden peace; while Raymond from an height endeavoured,

by means of glasses, to discover and observe the stratagem of the enemy. No form could be discerned on the

terraces of the houses; in the higher parts of the town no moving shadow bespoke the presence of any living

being: the very trees waved not, and mocked the stability of architecture with like immovability.

The tramp of horses, distinctly heard in the silence, was at length discerned. It was a troop sent by Karazza,

the Admiral; they bore dispatches to the Lord General. The contents of these papers were important. The

night before, the watch, on board one of the smaller vessels anchored near the seraglio wall, was roused by a

slight splashing as of muffled oars; the alarm was given: twelve small boats, each containing three Janisaries,

were descried endeavouring to make their way through the fleet to the opposite shore of Scutari. When they

found themselves discovered they discharged their muskets, and some came to the front to cover the others,

whose crews, exerting all their strength, endeavoured to escape with their light barks from among the dark

hulls that environed them. They were in the end all sunk, and, with the exception of two or three prisoners,

the crews drowned. Little could be got from the survivors; but their cautious answers caused it to be surmised

that several expeditions had preceded this last, and that several Turks of rank and importance had been

conveyed to Asia. The men disdainfully repelled the idea of having deserted the defence of their city; and

one, the youngest among them, in answer to the taunt of a sailor, exclaimed, "Take it, Christian dogs! take the

palaces, the gardens, the mosques, the abode of our fathers take plague with them; pestilence is the enemy

we fly; if she be your friend, hug her to your bosoms. The curse of Allah is on Stamboul, share ye her fate."

Such was the account sent by Karazza to Raymond: but a tale full of monstrous exaggerations, though

founded on this, was spread by the accompanying troop among our soldiers. A murmur arose, the city was the

prey of pestilence; already had a mighty power subjugated the inhabitants; Death had become lord of

I have heard a picture described, wherein all the inhabitants of earth were drawn out in fear to stand the

encounter of Death. The feeble and decrepit fled; the warriors retreated, though they threatened even in flight.

Wolves and lions, and various monsters of the desert roared against him; while the grim Unreality hovered

shaking his spectral dart, a solitary but invincible assailant. Even so was it with the army of Greece. I am

convinced, that had the myriad troops of Asia come from over the Propontis, and stood defenders of the

Golden City, each and every Greek would have marched against the overwhelming numbers, and have

devoted himself with patriotic fury for his country. But here no hedge of bayonets opposed itself, no death

dealing artillery, no formidable array of brave soldiersthe unguarded walls afforded easy entrancethe

vacant palaces luxurious dwellings; but above the dome of St. Sophia the superstitious Greek saw Pestilence,

Raymond was actuated by far other feelings. He descended the hill with a face beaming with triumph, and

pointing with his sword to the gates, commanded his troops todown with those barricadesthe only

obstacles now to completest victory. The soldiers answered his cheerful words with aghast and awestruck

looks; instinctively they drew back, and Raymond rode in the front of the lines:"By my sword I swear," he

cried, "that no ambush or stratagem endangers you. The enemy is already vanquished; the pleasant places, the

noble dwellings and spoil of the city are already yours; force the gate; enter and possess the seats of your

An universal shudder and fearful whispering passed through the lines; not a soldier moved. "Cowards!"

exclaimed their general, exasperated, "give me an hatchet! I alone will enter! I will plant your standard; and

when you see it wave from yon highest minaret, you may gain courage, and rally round it!"

One of the officers now came forward: "General," he said, "we neither fear the courage, nor arms, the open

attack, nor secret ambush of the Moslems. We are ready to expose our breasts, exposed ten thousand times

before, to the balls and scimitars of the infidels, and to fall gloriously for Greece. But we will not die in

heaps, like dogs poisoned in summertime, by the pestilential air of that citywe dare not go against the

A multitude of men are feeble and inert, without a voice, a leader; give them that, and they regain the strength

belonging to their numbers. Shouts from a thousand voices now rent the airthe cry of applause became

universal. Raymond saw the danger; he was willing to save his troops from the crime of disobedience; for he

knew, that contention once begun between the commander and his army, each act and word added to the

weakness of the former, and bestowed power on the latter. He gave orders for the retreat to be sounded, and

I hastened to carry the intelligence of these strange proceedings to Perdita; and we were soon joined by

Raymond. He looked gloomy and perturbed. My sister was struck by my narrative: "How beyond the

imagination of man," she exclaimed, "are the decrees of heaven, wondrous and inexplicable!"

"Foolish girl," cried Raymond angrily, "are you like my valiant soldiers, panicstruck? What is there

inexplicable, pray, tell me, in so very natural an occurrence? Does not the plague rage each year in Stamboul?

What wonder, that this year, when as we are told, its virulence is unexampled in Asia, that it should have

occasioned double havoc in that city? What wonder then, in time of siege, want, extreme heat, and drought,

that it should make unaccustomed ravages? Less wonder far is it, that the garrison, despairing of being able to

hold out longer, should take advantage of the negligence of our fleet to escape at once from siege and capture.

It is not pestilenceby the God that lives! it is not either plague or impending danger that makes us, like

birds in harvesttime, terrified by a scarecrow, abstain from the ready preyit is base superstition And

thus the aim of the valiant is made the shuttlecock of fools; the worthy ambition of the highsouled, the

plaything of these tamed hares! But yet Stamboul shall be ours! By my past labours, by torture and

imprisonment suffered for them, by my victories, by my sword, I swearby my hopes of fame, by my

former deserts now awaiting their reward, I deeply vow, with these hands to plant the cross on yonder

He had been walking to and fro in the marble hall of the seraglio; his very lips were pale with rage, while,

quivering, they shaped his angry wordshis eyes shot firehis gestures seemed restrained by their very

vehemence. "Perdita," he continued, impatiently, "I know what you would say; I know that you love me, that

you are good and gentle; but this is no woman's worknor can a female heart guess at the hurricane which

He seemed half afraid of his own violence, and suddenly quitted the hall: a look from Perdita showed me her

distress, and I followed him. He was pacing the garden: his passions were in a state of inconceivable

turbulence. "Am I for ever," he cried, "to be the sport of fortune! Must man, the heaven climber, be for ever

the victim of the crawling reptiles of his species! Were I as you, Lionel, looking forward to many years of

life, to a succession of loveenlightened days, to refined enjoyments and freshspringing hopes, I might

yield, and breaking my General's staff, seek repose in the glades of Windsor. But I am about to die!nay,

interrupt me notsoon I shall die. From the manypeopled earth, from the sympathies of man, from the

loved resorts of my youth, from the kindness of my friends, from the affection of my only beloved Perdita, I

am about to be removed. Such is the will of fate! Such the decree of the High Ruler from whom there is no

appeal: to whom I submit. But to lose allto lose with life and love, glory also! It shall not be!

"I, and in a few brief years, all you,this panicstruck army, and all the population of fair Greece, will no

longer be. But other generations will arise, and ever and for ever will continue, to be made happier by our

present acts, to be glorified by our valour. The prayer of my youth was to be one among those who render the

pages of earth's history splendid; who exalt the race of man, and make this little globe a dwelling of the

mighty. Alas, for Raymond! the prayer of his youth is wastedthe hopes of his manhood are null!

"From my dungeon in yonder city I cried, soon I will be thy lord! When Evadne pronounced my death, I

thought that the title of Victor of Constantinople would be written on my tomb, and I subdued all mortal fear.

I stand before its vanquished walls, and dare not call myself a conqueror. So shall it not be! Did not

Alexander leap from the walls of the city of the Oxydracae, to show his coward troops the way to victory,

encountering alone the swords of its defenders? Even so will I brave the plagueand though no man follow,

Reason came unavailing to such highwrought feelings. In vain I showed him, that when winter came, the

cold would dissipate the pestilential air, and restore courage to the Greeks. "Talk not of other season than

this!" he cried. "I have lived my last winter, and the date of this year, 2092, will be carved upon my tomb.

Already do I see," he continued, looking up mournfully, "the bourne and precipitate edge of my existence,

over which I plunge into the gloomy mystery of the life to come. I am prepared, so that I leave behind a trail

of light so radiant, that my worst enemies cannot cloud it. I owe this to Greece, to you, to my surviving

We were interrupted by an attendant, who announced, that the staff of Raymond was assembled in the

councilchamber. He requested me in the meantime to ride through the camp, and to observe and report to

him the dispositions of the soldiers; he then left me. I had been excited to the utmost by the proceedings of

the day, and now more than ever by the passionate language of Raymond. Alas! for human reason! He

accused the Greeks of superstition: what name did he give to the faith he lent to the predictions of Evadne? I

passed from the palace of Sweet Waters to the plain on which the encampment lay, and found its inhabitants

in commotion. The arrival of several with fresh stories of marvels, from the fleet; the exaggerations bestowed

on what was already known; tales of old prophecies, of fearful histories of whole regions which had been laid

waste during the present year by pestilence, alarmed and occupied the troops. Discipline was lost; the army

disbanded itself. Each individual, before a part of a great whole moving only in unison with others, now

became resolved into the unit nature had made him, and thought of himself only. They stole off at first by

ones and twos, then in larger companies, until, unimpeded by the officers, whole battalions sought the road

About midnight I returned to the palace and sought Raymond; he was alone, and apparently composed; such

composure, at least, was his as is inspired by a resolve to adhere to a certain line of conduct. He heard my

account of the selfdissolution of the army with calmness, and then said, "You know, Verney, my fixed

determination not to quit this place, until in the light of day Stamboul is confessedly ours. If the men I have

about me shrink from following me, others, more courageous, are to be found. Go you before break of day,

bear these dispatches to Karazza, add to them your own entreaties that he send me his marines and naval

force; if I can get but one regiment to second me, the rest would follow of course. Let him send me this

Methought this was but a poor expedient; but I assured him of my obedience and zeal. I quitted him to take a

few hours rest. With the breaking of morning I was accoutred for my ride. I lingered awhile, desirous of

taking leave of Perdita, and from my window observed the approach of the sun. The golden splendour arose,

and weary nature awoke to suffer yet another day of heat and thirsty decay. No flowers lifted up their dew

laden cups to meet the dawn; the dry grass had withered on the plains; the burning fields of air were vacant of

birds; the cicale alone, children of the sun, began their shrill and deafening song among the cypresses and

olives. I saw Raymond's coalblack charger brought to the palace gate; a small company of officers arrived

soon after; care and fear was painted on each cheek, and in each eye, unrefreshed by sleep. I found Raymond

and Perdita together. He was watching the rising sun, while with one arm he encircled his beloved's waist;

she looked on him, the sun of her life, with earnest gaze of mingled anxiety and tenderness. Raymond started

"Nay, pardon me," he replied; "I have no right to command or reproach; but my life hangs on your departure

His voice had recovered its bland tone, but a dark cloud still hung on his features. I would have delayed; I

wished to recommend watchfulness to Perdita, but his presence restrained me. I had no pretence for my

hesitation; and on his repeating his farewell, I clasped his outstretched hand; it was cold and clammy. "Take

With an air of absence he was playing with her auburn locks, while she leaned on him; twice I turned back,

only to look again on this matchless pair. At last, with slow and heavy steps, I had paced out of the hall, and

sprung upon my horse. At that moment Clara flew towards me; clasping my knee she cried, "Make haste

back, uncle! Dear uncle, I have such fearful dreams; I dare not tell my mother. Do not be long away!" I

assured her of my impatience to return, and then, with a small escort rode along the plain towards the tower

I fulfilled my commission; I saw Karazza. He was somewhat surprised; he would see, he said, what could be

done; but it required time; and Raymond had ordered me to return by noon. It was impossible to effect any

thing in so short a time. I must stay till the next day; or come back, after having reported the present state of

things to the general. My choice was easily made. A restlessness, a fear of what was about to betide, a doubt

as to Raymond's purposes, urged me to return without delay to his quarters. Quitting the Seven Towers, I

rode eastward towards the Sweet Waters. I took a circuitous path, principally for the sake of going to the top

of the mount before mentioned, which commanded a view of the city. I had my glass with me. The city

basked under the noonday sun, and the venerable walls formed its picturesque boundary. Immediately

before me was the Top Kapou, the gate near which Mahomet had made the breach by which he entered the

city. Trees gigantic and aged grew near; before the gate I discerned a crowd of moving human figureswith

intense curiosity I lifted my glass to my eye. I saw Lord Raymond on his charger; a small company of

officers had gathered about him; and behind was a promiscuous concourse of soldiers and subalterns, their

discipline lost, their arms thrown aside; no music sounded, no banners streamed. The only flag among them

was one which Raymond carried; he pointed with it to the gate of the city. The circle round him fell back.

With angry gestures he leapt from his horse, and seizing a hatchet that hung from his saddlebow, went with

the apparent intention of battering down the opposing gate. A few men came to aid him; their numbers

increased; under their united blows the obstacle was vanquished, gate, portcullis, and fence were demolished;

and the wide sun lit way, leading to the heart of the city, now lay open before them. The men shrank back;

they seemed afraid of what they had already done, and stood as if they expected some Mighty Phantom to

stalk in offended majesty from the opening. Raymond sprung lightly on his horse, grasped the standard, and

with words which I could not hear (but his gestures, being their fit accompaniment, were marked by

passionate energy,) he seemed to adjure their assistance and companionship; even as he spoke, the crowd

receded from him. Indignation now transported him; his words I guessed were fraught with disdain then

turning from his coward followers, he addressed himself to enter the city alone. His very horse seemed to

back from the fatal entrance; his dog, his faithful dog, lay moaning and supplicating in his pathin a

moment more, he had plunged the rowels into the sides of the stung animal, who bounded forward, and he,

Until this moment my soul had been in my eyes only. I had gazed with wonder, mixed with fear and

enthusiasm. The latter feeling now predominated. I forgot the distance between us: "I will go with thee,

Raymond!" I cried; but, my eye removed from the glass, I could scarce discern the pygmy forms of the

crowd, which about a mile from me surrounded the gate; the form of Raymond was lost. Stung with

impatience, I urged my horse with force of spur and loosened reins down the acclivity, that, before danger

could arrive, I might be at the side of my noble, godlike friend. A number of buildings and trees intervened,

when I had reached the plain, hiding the city from my view. But at that moment a crash was heard.

Thunderlike it reverberated through the sky, while the air was darkened. A moment more and the old walls

again met my sight, while over them hovered a murky cloud; fragments of buildings whirled above, half seen

in smoke, while flames burst out beneath, and continued explosions filled the air with terrific thunders.

Flying from the mass of falling ruin which leapt over the high walls, and shook the ivy towers, a crowd of

soldiers made for the road by which I came; I was surrounded, hemmed in by them, unable to get forward.

My impatience rose to its utmost; I stretched out my hands to the men; I conjured them to turn back and save

their General, the conqueror of Stamboul, the liberator of Greece; tears, aye tears, in warm flow gushed from

my eyesI would not believe in his destruction; yet every mass that darkened the air seemed to bear with it a

portion of the martyred Raymond. Horrible sights were shaped to me in the turbid cloud that hovered over the

city; and my only relief was derived from the struggles I made to approach the gate. Yet when I effected my

purpose, all I could discern within the precincts of the massive walls was a city of fire: the open way through

which Raymond had ridden was enveloped in smoke and flame. After an interval the explosions ceased, but

the flames still shot up from various quarters; the dome of St. Sophia had disappeared. Strange to say (the

result perhaps of the concussion of air occasioned by the blowing up of the city) huge, white thunder clouds

lifted themselves up from the southern horizon, and gathered overhead; they were the first blots on the blue

expanse that I had seen for months, and amidst this havoc and despair they inspired pleasure. The vault above

became obscured, lightning flashed from the heavy masses, followed instantaneously by crashing thunder;

then the big rain fell. The flames of the city bent beneath it; and the smoke and dust arising from the ruins

I no sooner perceived an abatement of the flames than, hurried on by an irresistible impulse, I endeavoured to

penetrate the town. I could only do this on foot, as the mass of ruin was impracticable for a horse. I had never

entered the city before, and its ways were unknown to me. The streets were blocked up, the ruins smoking; I

climbed up one heap, only to view others in succession; and nothing told me where the centre of the town

might be, or towards what point Raymond might have directed his course. The rain ceased; the clouds sunk

behind the horizon; it was now evening, and the sun descended swiftly the western sky. I scrambled on, until

I came to a street, whose wooden houses, halfburnt, had been cooled by the rain, and were fortunately

uninjured by the gunpowder. Up this I hurrieduntil now I had not seen a vestige of man. Yet none of the

defaced human forms which I distinguished, could be Raymond; so I turned my eyes away, while my heart

sickened within me. I came to an open spacea mountain of ruin in the midst, announced that some large

mosque had occupied the space and here, scattered about, I saw various articles of luxury and wealth,

singed, destroyedbut showing what they had been in their ruinjewels, strings of pearls, embroidered

robes, rich furs, glittering tapestries, and oriental ornaments, seemed to have been collected here in a pile

Hours passed, while in this scene of ruin I sought for Raymond. Insurmountable heaps sometimes opposed

themselves; the still burning fires scorched me. The sun set; the atmosphere grew dimand the evening star

no longer shone companionless. The glare of flames attested the progress of destruction, while, during

mingled light and obscurity, the piles around me took gigantic proportions and weird shapes. For a moment I

could yield to the creative power of the imagination, and for a moment was soothed by the sublime fictions it

presented to me. The beatings of my human heart drew me back to blank reality. Where, in this wilderness of

death, art thou, O Raymondornament of England, deliverer of Greece, "hero of unwritten story," where in

this burning chaos are thy dear relics strewed? I called aloud for himthrough the darkness of night, over

the scorching ruins of fallen Constantinople, his name was heard; no voice repliedecho even was mute.

I was overcome by weariness; the solitude depressed my spirits. The sultry air impregnated with dust, the

heat and smoke of burning palaces, palsied my limbs. Hunger suddenly came acutely upon me. The

excitement which had hitherto sustained me was lost; as a building, whose props are loosened, and whose

foundations rock, totters and falls, so when enthusiasm and hope deserted me, did my strength fail. I sat on

the sole remaining step of an edifice, which even in its downfall, was huge and magnificent; a few broken

walls, not dislodged by gunpowder, stood in fantastic groups, and a flame glimmered at intervals on the

summit of the pile. For a time hunger and sleep contended, till the constellations reeled before my eyes and

then were lost. I strove to rise, but my heavy lids closed, my limbs overwearied, claimed reposeI rested

my head on the stone, I yielded to the grateful sensation of utter forgetfulness; and in that scene of desolation,

THE stars still shone brightly when I awoke, and Taurus high in the southern heaven showed that it was

midnight. I awoke from disturbed dreams. Methought I had been invited to Timon's last feast; I came with

keen appetite, the covers were removed, the hot water sent up its unsatisfying steams, while I fled before the

anger of the host, who assumed the form of Raymond; while to my diseased fancy, the vessels hurled by him

after me, were surcharged with fetid vapour, and my friend's shape, altered by a thousand distortions,

expanded into a gigantic phantom, bearing on its brow the sign of pestilence. The growing shadow rose and

rose, filling, and then seeming to endeavour to burst beyond, the adamantine vault that bent over, sustaining

and enclosing the world. The nightmare became torture; with a strong effort I threw off sleep, and recalled

reason to her wonted functions. My first thought was Perdita; to her I must return; her I must support,

drawing such food from despair as might best sustain her wounded heart; recalling her from the wild excesses

The position of the stars was my only guide. I turned from the awful ruin of the Golden City, and, after great

exertion, succeeded in extricating myself from its enclosure. I met a company of soldiers outside the walls; I

borrowed a horse from one of them, and hastened to my sister. The appearance of the plain was changed

during this short interval; the encampment was broken up; the relics of the disbanded army met in small

companies here and there; each face was clouded; every gesture spoke astonishment and dismay.

With a heavy heart I entered the palace, and stood fearful to advance, to speak, to look. In the midst of the

hall was Perdita; she sat on the marble pavement, her head fallen on her bosom, her hair dishevelled, her

fingers twined busily one within the other; she was pale as marble, and every feature was contracted by

agony. She perceived me, and looked up inquiringly; her half glance of hope was misery; the words died

before I could articulate them; I felt a ghastly smile wrinkle my lips. She understood my gesture; again her

head fell; again her fingers worked restlessly. At last I recovered speech, but my voice terrified her; the

hapless girl had understood my look, and for worlds she would not that the tale of her heavy misery should

have been shaped out and confirmed by hard, irrevocable words. Nay, she seemed to wish to distract my

thoughts from the subject: she rose from the floor: "Hush!" she said, whisperingly; "after much weeping,

Clara sleeps; we must not disturb her." She seated herself then on the same ottoman where I had left her in

the morning resting on the beating heart of her Raymond; I dared not approach her, but sat at a distant corner,

watching her starting and nervous gestures. At length, in an abrupt manner she asked, "Where is he?"

"O, fear not," she continued, "fear not that I should entertain hope! Yet tell me, have you found him? To have

him once more in my arms, to see him, however changed, is all I desire. Though Constantinople be heaped

above him as a tomb, yet I must find himthen cover us with the city's weight, with a mountain piled

aboveI care not, so that one grave hold Raymond and his Perdita." Then weeping, she clung to me: "Take

me to him," she cried, "unkind Lionel, why do you keep me here? Of myself I cannot find himbut you

At first these agonizing plaints filled me with intolerable compassion. But soon I endeavoured to extract

patience for her from the ideas she suggested. I related my adventures of the night, my endeavours to find our

lost one, and my disappointment. Turning her thoughts this way, I gave them an object which rescued them

from insanity. With apparent calmness she discussed with me the probable spot where he might be found, and

planned the means we should use for that purpose. Then hearing of my fatigue and abstinence, she herself

brought me food. I seized the favourable moment, and endeavoured to awaken in her something beyond the

killing torpor of grief. As I spoke, my subject carried me away; deep admiration; grief, the offspring of truest

affection, the overflowing of a heart bursting with sympathy for all that had been great and sublime in the

"Alas, for us," I cried, "who have lost this latest honour of the world! Beloved Raymond! He is gone to the

nations of the dead; he has become one of those, who render the dark abode of the obscure grave illustrious

by dwelling there. He has journeyed on the road that leads to it, and joined the mighty of soul who went

before him. When the world was in its infancy death must have been terrible, and man left his friends and

kindred to dwell, a solitary stranger, in an unknown country. But now, he who dies finds many companions

gone before to prepare for his reception. The great of past ages people it, the exalted hero of our own days is

counted among its inhabitants, while life becomes doubly `the desert and the solitude.'

"What a noble creature was Raymond, the first among the men of our time. By the grandeur of his

conceptions, the graceful daring of his actions, by his wit and beauty, he won and ruled the minds of all. Of

one only fault he might have been accused; but his death has cancelled that. I have heard him called

inconstant of purposewhen he deserted, for the sake of love, the hope of sovereignty, and when he

abdicated the protectorship of England, men blamed his infirmity of purpose. Now his death has crowned his

life, and to the end of time it will be remembered, that he devoted himself, a willing victim, to the glory of

Greece. Such was his choice: he expected to die. He foresaw that he should leave this cheerful earth, the

lightsome sky, and thy love, Perdita; yet he neither hesitated or turned back, going right onward to his mark

of fame. While the earth lasts, his actions will be recorded with praise. Grecian maidens will in devotion

strew flowers on his tomb, and make the air around it resonant with patriotic hymns, in which his name will

I saw the features of Perdita soften; the sternness of grief yielded to tendernessI continued:"Thus to

honour him, is the sacred duty of his survivors. To make his name even as an holy spot of ground, enclosing

it from all hostile attacks by our praise, shedding on it the blossoms of love and regret, guarding it from

decay, and bequeathing it untainted to posterity. Such is the duty of his friends. A dearer one belongs to you,

Perdita, mother of his child. Do you remember in her infancy, with what transport you beheld Clara,

recognizing in her the united being of yourself and Raymond; joying to view in this living temple a

manifestation of your eternal loves. Even such is she still. You say that you have lost Raymond. O, no! yet

he lives with you and in you there. From him she sprung, flesh of his flesh, bone of his boneand not, as

heretofore, are you content to trace in her downy cheek and delicate limbs, an affinity to Raymond, but in her

enthusiastic affections, in the sweet qualities of her mind, you may still find him living, the good, the great,

the beloved. Be it your care to foster this similaritybe it your care to render her worthy of him, so that,

I could perceive that, when I recalled my sister's thoughts to her duties in life, she did not listen with the same

patience as before. She appeared to suspect a plan of consolation on my part, from which she, cherishing her

newborn grief, revolted. "You talk of the future," she said, "while the present is all to me. Let me find the

earthly dwelling of my beloved; let us rescue that from common dust, so that in times to come men may point

to the sacred tomb, and name it histhen to other thoughts, and a new course of life, or what else fate, in her

After a short repose I prepared to leave her, that I might endeavour to accomplish her wish. In the mean time

we were joined by Clara, whose pallid cheek and scared look showed the deep impression grief had made on

her young mind. She seemed to be full of something to which she could not give words; but, seizing an

opportunity afforded by Perdita's absence, she preferred to me an earnest prayer, that I would take her within

view of the gate at which her father had entered Constantinople. She promised to commit no extravagance, to

be docile, and immediately to return. I could not refuse; for Clara was not an ordinary child; her sensibility

and intelligence seemed already to have endowed her with the rights of womanhood. With her therefore,

before me on my horse, attended only by the servant who was to reconduct her, we rode to the Top Kapou.

We found a party of soldiers gathered round it. They were listening. "They are human cries," said one: "More

like the howling of a dog," replied another; and again they bent to catch the sound of regular distant moans,

which issued from the precincts of the ruined city. "That, Clara," I said, "is the gate, that the street which

yestermorn your father rode up." Whatever Clara's intention had been in asking to be brought hither, it was

balked by the presence of the soldiers. With earnest gaze she looked on the labyrinth of smoking piles which

had been a city, and then expressed her readiness to return home. At this moment a melancholy howl struck

on our ears; it was repeated; "Hark!" cried Clara, "he is there; that is Florio, my father's dog." It seemed to me

impossible that she could recognise the sound, but she persisted in her assertion till she gained credit with the

crowd about. At least it would be a benevolent action to rescue the sufferer, whether human or brute, from the

desolation of the town; so, sending Clara back to her home, I again entered Constantinople. Encouraged by

the impunity attendant on my former visit, several soldiers who had made a part of Raymond's body guard,

It is impossible to conjecture the strange enchainment of events which restored the lifeless form of my friend

to our hands. In that part of the town where the fire had most raged the night before, and which now lay

quenched, black and cold, the dying dog of Raymond crouched beside the mutilated form of its lord. At such

a time sorrow has no voice; affliction, tamed by it is very vehemence, is mute. The poor animal recognised

me, licked my hand, crept close to its lord, and died. He had been evidently thrown from his horse by some

falling ruin, which had crushed his head, and defaced his whole person. I bent over the body, and took in my

hand the edge of his cloak, less altered in appearance than the human frame it clothed. I pressed it to my lips,

while the rough soldiers gathered around, mourning over this worthiest prey of death, as if regret and endless

lamentation could reillumine the extinguished spark, or call to its shattered prisonhouse of flesh the

liberated spirit. Yesterday those limbs were worth an universe; they then enshrined a transcendent power,

whose intents, words, and actions were worthy to be recorded in letters of gold; now the superstition of

affection alone could give value to the shattered mechanism, which, incapable and clodlike, no more

resembled Raymond, than the fallen rain is like the former mansion of cloud in which it climbed the highest

skies, and gilded by the sun, attracted all eyes, and satiated the sense by its excess of beauty.

Such as he had now become, such as was his terrene vesture, defaced and spoiled, we wrapt it in our cloaks,

and lifting the burthen in our arms, bore it from this city of the dead. The question arose as to where we

should deposit him. In our road to the palace, we passed through the Greek cemetery; here on a tablet of

black marble I caused him to be laid; the cypresses waved high above, their deathlike gloom accorded with

his state of nothingness. We cut branches of the funereal trees and placed them over him, and on these again

his sword. I left a guard to protect this treasure of dust; and ordered perpetual torches to be burned around.

When I returned to Perdita, I found that she had already been informed of the success of my undertaking. He,

her beloved, the sole and eternal object of her passionate tenderness, was restored her. Such was the maniac

language of her enthusiasm. What though those limbs moved not, and those lips could no more frame

modulated accents of wisdom and love! What though like a weed flung from the fruitless sea, he lay the prey

of corruptionstill that was the form she had caressed, those the lips that meeting hers, had drank the spirit

of love from the commingling breath; that was the earthly mechanism of dissoluble clay she had called her

own. True, she looked forward to another life; true, the burning spirit of love seemed to her inextinguishable

throughout eternity. Yet at this time, with human fondness, she clung to all that her human senses permitted

Pale as marble, clear and beaming as that, she heard my tale, and enquired concerning the spot where he had

been deposited. Her features had lost the distortion of grief; her eyes were brightened, her very person

seemed dilated; while the excessive whiteness and even transparency of her skin, and something hollow in

her voice, bore witness that not tranquillity, but excess of excitement, occasioned the treacherous calm that

settled on her countenance. I asked her where he should be buried. She replied, "At Athens; even at the

Athens which he loved. Without the town, on the acclivity of Hymettus, there is a rocky recess which he

My own desire certainly was that he should not be removed from the spot where he now lay. But her wish

was of course to be complied with; and I entreated her to prepare without delay for our departure.

Behold now the melancholy train cross the flats of Thrace, and wind through the defiles, and over the

mountains of Macedonia, coast the clear waves of the Peneus, cross the Larissean plain, pass the straits of

Thermopylae, and ascending in succession Oeta and Parnassus, descend to the fertile plain of Athens.

Women bear with resignation these long drawn ills, but to a man's impatient spirit, the slow motion of our

cavalcade, the melancholy repose we took at noon, the perpetual presence of the pall, gorgeous though it was,

that wrapt the rifled casket which had contained Raymond, the monotonous recurrence of day and night,

unvaried by hope or change, all the circumstances of our march were intolerable. Perdita, shut up in herself,

spoke little. Her carriage was closed; and, when we rested, she sat leaning her pale cheek on her white cold

hand, with eyes fixed on the ground, indulging thoughts which refused communication or sympathy.

We descended from Parnassus, emerging from its many folds, and passed through Livadia on our road to

Attica. Perdita would not enter Athens; but reposing at Marathon on the night of our arrival, conducted me on

the following day, to the spot selected by her as the treasure house of Raymond's dear remains. It was in a

recess near the head of the ravine to the south of Hymettus. The chasm, deep, black, and hoary, swept from

the summit to the base; in the fissures of the rock myrtle underwood grew and wild thyme, the food of many

nations of bees; enormous crags protruded into the cleft, some beetling over, others rising perpendicularly

from it. At the foot of this sublime chasm, a fertile laughing valley reached from sea to sea, and beyond was

spread the blue AEgean, sprinkled with islands, the light waves glancing beneath the sun. Close to the spot on

which we stood, was a solitary rock, high and conical, which, divided on every side from the mountain,

seemed a naturehewn pyramid; with little labour this block was reduced to a perfect shape; the narrow cell

was scooped out beneath in which Raymond was placed, and a short inscription, carved in the living stone,

Everything was accomplished with speed under my directions. I agreed to leave the finishing and

guardianship of the tomb to the head of the religious establishment at Athens, and by the end of October

prepared for my return to England. I mentioned this to Perdita. It was painful to appear to drag her from the

last scene that spoke of her lost one; but to linger here was vain, and my very soul was sick with its yearning

to rejoin my Idris and her babes. In reply, my sister requested me to accompany her the following evening to

the tomb of Raymond. Some days had passed since I had visited the spot. The path to it had been enlarged,

and steps hewn in the rock led us less circuitously than before, to the spot itself; the platform on which the

pyramid stood was enlarged, and looking towards the south, in a recess overshadowed by the straggling

branches of a wild figtree, I saw foundations dug, and props and rafters fixed, evidently the commencement

of a cottage; standing on its unfinished threshold, the tomb was at our righthand, the whole ravine, and

plain, and azure sea immediately before us; the dark rocks received a glow from the descending sun, which

glanced along the cultivated valley, and dyed in purple and orange the placid waves; we sat on a rocky

elevation, and I gazed with rapture on the beauteous panorama of living and changeful colours, which varied

"Did I not do right," said Perdita, "in having my loved one conveyed hither? Hereafter this will be the

cynosure of Greece. In such a spot death loses half its terrors, and even the inanimate dust appears to partake

of the spirit of beauty which hallows this region. Lionel, he sleeps there; that is the grave of Raymond, he

whom in my youth I first loved; whom my heart accompanied in days of separation and anger; to whom I am

now joined for ever. Nevermark menever will I leave this spot. Methinks his spirit remains here as well

as that dust, which, uncommunicable though it be, is more precious in its nothingness than aught else

widowed earth clasps to her sorrowing bosom. The myrtle bushes, the thyme, the little cyclamen, which peep

from the fissures of the rock, all the produce of the place, bear affinity to him; the light that invests the hills

participates in his essence, and sky and mountains, sea and valley, are imbued by the presence of his spirit. I

"Go you to England, Lionel; return to sweet Idris and dearest Adrian; return, and let my orphan girl be as a

child of your own in your house. Look on me as dead; and truly if death be a mere change of state, I am dead.

This is another world, from that which late I inhabited, from that which is now your home. Here I hold

communion only with the has been, and to come. Go you to England, and leave me where alone I can consent

A shower of tears terminated her sad harangue. I had expected some extravagant proposition, and remained

silent awhile, collecting my thoughts that I might the better combat her fanciful scheme. "You cherish dreary

thoughts, my dear Perdita," I said, "nor do I wonder that for a time your better reason should be influenced by

passionate grief and a disturbed imagination. Even I am in love with this last home of Raymond's;

"I expected this," cried Perdita; "I supposed that you would treat me as a mad, foolish girl. But do not deceive

yourself; this cottage is built by my order; and here I shall remain, until the hour arrives when I may share his

"And what is there so strange in my design? I might have deceived you; I might have talked of remaining

here only a few months; in your anxiety to reach Windsor you would have left me, and without reproach or

contention, I might have pursued my plan. But I disdained the artifice; or rather in my wretchedness it was

my only consolation to pour out my heart to you, my brother, my only friend. You will not dispute with me?

You know how wilful your poor, miserystricken sister is. Take my girl with you; wean her from sights and

thoughts of sorrow; let infantine hilarity revisit her heart, and animate her eyes; so could it never be, were she

near me; it is far better for all of you that you should never see me again. For myself, I will not voluntarily

seek death, that is, I will not, while I can command myself; and I can here. But drag me from this country;

and my power of self control vanishes, nor can I answer for the violence my agony of grief may lead me to

"You clothe your meaning, Perdita," I replied, "in powerful words, yet that meaning is selfish and unworthy

of you. You have often agreed with me that there is but one solution to the intricate riddle of life; to improve

ourselves, and contribute to the happiness of others: and now, in the very prime of life, you desert your

principles, and shut yourself up in useless solitude. Will you think of Raymond less at Windsor, the scene of

your early happiness? Will you commune less with his departed spirit, while you watch over and cultivate the

rare excellence of his child? You have been sadly visited; nor do I wonder that a feeling akin to insanity

should drive you to bitter and unreasonable imaginings. But a home of love awaits you in your native

England. My tenderness and affection must soothe you; the society of Raymond's friends will be of more

solace than these dreary speculations. We will all make it our first care, our dearest task, to contribute to your

Perdita shook her head; "If it could be so," she replied, "I were much in the wrong to disdain your offers. But

it is not a matter of choice; I can live here only. I am a part of this scene; each and all its properties are a part

of me. This is no sudden fancy; I live by it. The knowledge that I am here, rises with me in the morning, and

enables me to endure the light; it is mingled with my food, which else were poison; it walks, it sleeps with

me, for ever it accompanies me. Here I may even cease to repine, and may add my tardy consent to the decree

which has taken him from me. He would rather have died such a death, which will be recorded in history to

endless time, than have lived to old age unknown, unhonoured. Nor can I desire better, than, having been the

chosen and beloved of his heart, here, in youth's prime, before added years can tarnish the best feelings of my

"So much, my dearest Lionel, I have said, wishing to persuade you that I do right. If you are unconvinced, I

can add nothing further by way of argument, and I can only declare my fixed resolve. I stay here; force only

can remove me. Be it so; drag me awayI return; confine me, imprison me, still I escape, and come here. Or

would my brother rather devote the heartbroken Perdita to the straw and chains of a maniac, than suffer her

to rest in peace beneath the shadow of His society, in this my own selected and beloved recess?"

All this appeared to me, I own, methodized madness. I imagined, that it was my imperative duty to take her

from scenes that thus forcibly reminded her of her loss. Nor did I doubt, that in the tranquillity of our family

circle at Windsor, she would recover some degree of composure, and in the end, of happiness. My affection

for Clara also led me to oppose these fond dreams of cherished grief; her sensibility had already been too

much excited; her infant heedlessness too soon exchanged for deep and anxious thought. The strange and

romantic scheme of her mother, might confirm and perpetuate the painful view of life, which had intruded

On returning home, the captain of the steam packet with whom I had agreed to sail, came to tell me, that

accidental circumstances hastened his departure, and that, if I went with him, I must come on board at five on

the following morning. I hastily gave my consent to this arrangement, and as hastily formed a plan through

which Perdita should be forced to become my companion. I believe that most people in my situation would

have acted in the same manner. Yet this consideration does not, or rather did not in after time, diminish the

reproaches of my conscience. At the moment, I felt convinced that I was acting for the best, and that all I did

I sat with Perdita and soothed her, by my seeming assent to her wild scheme. She received my concurrence

with pleasure, and a thousand times over thanked her deceiving, deceitful brother. As night came on, her

spirits, enlivened by my unexpected concession, regained an almost forgotten vivacity. I pretended to be

alarmed by the feverish glow in her cheek; I entreated her to take a composing draught; I poured out the

medicine, which she took docilely from me. I watched her as she drank it. Falsehood and artifice are in

themselves so hateful, that, though I still thought I did right, a feeling of shame and guilt came painfully upon

me. I left her, and soon heard that she slept soundly under the influence of the opiate I had administered. She

was carried thus unconscious on board; the anchor weighed, and the wind being favourable, we stood far out

to sea; with all the canvas spread, and the power of the engine to assist, we scudded swiftly and steadily

It was late in the day before Perdita awoke, and a longer time elapsed before recovering from the torpor

occasioned by the laudanum, she perceived her change of situation. She started wildly from her couch, and

flew to the cabin window. The blue and troubled sea sped past the vessel, and was spread shoreless around:

the sky was covered by a rack, which in its swift motion showed how speedily she was borne away. The

creaking of the masts, the clang of the wheels, the tramp above, all persuaded her that she was already far

"Unkind! unkind!" exclaimed the poor victim, as with a deep sigh she looked on the waste of waters. Then

without further remark, she threw herself on her couch, and closing her eyes remained motionless; so that but

As soon as I heard that she had spoken, I sent Clara to her, that the sight of the lovely innocent might inspire

gentle and affectionate thoughts. But neither the presence of her child, nor a subsequent visit from me, could

rouse my sister. She looked on Clara with a countenance of woeful meaning, but she did not speak. When I

appeared, she turned away, and in reply to my inquiries, only said, "You know not what you have done!"I

trusted that this sullenness betokened merely the struggle between disappointment and natural affection, and

When night came on, she begged that Clara might sleep in a separate cabin. Her servant, however, remained

with her. About midnight she spoke to the latter, saying that she had had a bad dream, and bade her go to her

The breeze, that had flagged since sunset, now rose again. I was on deck, enjoying our swift progress. The

quiet was disturbed only by the rush of waters as they divided before the steady keel, the murmur of the

moveless and full sails, the wind whistling in the shrouds, and the regular motion of the engine. The sea was

gently agitated, now showing a white crest, and now resuming an uniform hue; the clouds had disappeared;

and dark ether clipped the broad ocean, in which the constellations vainly sought their accustomed mirror.

Suddenly I heard a splash in the sea. The sailors on watch rushed to the side of the vessel, with the

crysome one gone overboard. "It is not from deck," said the man at the helm, "something has been thrown

from the aft cabin." A call for the boat to be lowered was echoed from the deck. I rushed into my sister's

With sails abaft, the engine stopped, the vessel remained unwillingly stationary, until, after an hour's search,

my poor Perdita was brought on board. But no care could reanimate her, no medicine cause her dear eyes to

open, and the blood to flow again from her pulseless heart. One clenched hand contained a slip of paper, on

which was written, "To Athens." To ensure her removal thither, and prevent the irrecoverable loss of her

body in the wide sea, she had had the precaution to fasten a long shawl round her waist, and again to the

stanchions of the cabin window. She had drifted somewhat under the keel of the vessel, and her being out of

sight occasioned the delay in finding her. And thus the illstarred girl died a victim to my senseless rashness.

Thus, in early day, she left us for the company of the dead, and preferred to share the rocky grave of

Raymond, before the animated scene this cheerful earth afforded, and the society of loving friends. Thus in

her twentyninth year she died; having enjoyed some few years of the happiness of paradise, and sustaining a

reverse to which her impatient spirit and affectionate disposition were unable to submit. As I marked the

placid expression that had settled on her countenance in death, I felt, in spite of the pangs of remorse, in spite

of heart rending regret, that it was better to die so, than to drag on long, miserable years of repining and

Stress of weather drove us up the Adriatic Gulf; and, our vessel being hardly fitted to weather a storm, we

took refuge in the port of Ancona. Here I met Georgio Palli, the viceadmiral of the Greek fleet, a former

friend and warm partisan of Raymond. I committed the remains of my lost Perdita to his care, for the purpose

of having them transported to Hymettus, and placed in the cell her Raymond already occupied beneath the

pyramid. This was all accomplished even as I wished. She reposed beside her beloved, and the tomb above

I then came to a resolution of pursuing our journey to England overland. My own heart was racked by regrets

and remorse. The apprehension, that Raymond had departed for ever, that his name, blended eternally with

the past, must be erased from every anticipation of the future, had come slowly upon me. I had always

admired his talents; his noble aspirations; his grand conceptions of the glory and majesty of his ambition: his

utter want of mean passions; his fortitude and daring. In Greece I had learnt to love him; his very

waywardness, and selfabandonment to the impulses of superstition, attached me to him doubly; it might be

weakness, but it was the antipodes of all that was grovelling and selfish. To these pangs were added the loss

of Perdita, lost through my own accursed selfwill and conceit. This dear one, my sole relation; whose

progress I had marked from tender childhood through the varied path of life, and seen her throughout

conspicuous for integrity, devotion, and true affection; for all that constitutes the peculiar graces of the

female character, and beheld her at last the victim of too much loving, too constant an attachment to the

perishable and lost, she, in her pride of beauty and life, had thrown aside the pleasant perception of the

apparent world for the unreality of the grave, and had left poor Clara quite an orphan. I concealed from this

beloved child that her mother's death was voluntary, and tried every means to awaken cheerfulness in her

One of my first acts for the recovery even of my own composure, was to bid farewell to the sea. Its hateful

splash renewed again and again to my sense the death of my sister; its roar was a dirge; in every dark hull that

was tossed on its inconstant bosom, I imaged a bier, that would convey to death all who trusted to its

treacherous smiles. Farewell to the sea! Come, my Clara, sit beside me in this aerial bark; quickly and gently

it cleaves the azure serene, and with soft undulation glides upon the current of the air; or, if storm shake its

fragile mechanism, the green earth is below; we can descend, and take shelter on the stable continent. Here

aloft, the companions of the swiftwinged birds, we skim through the unresisting element, fleetly and

fearlessly. The light boat heaves not, nor is opposed by deathbearing waves; the ether opens before the

prow, and the shadow of the globe that upholds it, shelters us from the noonday sun. Beneath are the plains

of Italy, or the vast undulations of the wavelike Apennines: fertility reposes in their many folds, and woods

crown the summits. The free and happy peasant, unshackled by the Austrian, bears the double harvest to the

garner; and the refined citizens rear without dread the long blighted tree of knowledge in this garden of the

world. We were lifted above the Alpine peaks, and from their deep and brawling ravines entered the plain of

fair France, and after an airy journey of six days, we landed at Dieppe, furled the feathered wings, and closed

the silken globe of our little pinnace. A heavy rain made this mode of travelling now incommodious; so we

A strange story was rife here. A few days before, a tempest struck vessel had appeared off the town: the hull

was parched looking and cracked, the sails rent, and bent in a careless, unseamanlike manner, the shrouds

tangled and broken. She drifted towards the harbour, and was stranded on the sands at the entrance. In the

morning the customhouse officers, together with a crowd of idlers, visited her. One only of the crew

appeared to have arrived with her. He had got to shore, and had walked a few paces towards the town, and

then, vanquished by malady and approaching death, had fallen on the inhospitable beach. He was found stiff,

his hands clenched, and pressed against his breast. His skin, nearly black, his matted hair and bristly beard,

were signs of a long protracted misery. It was whispered that he had died of the plague. No one ventured on

board the vessel, and strange sights were averred to be seen at night, walking the deck, and hanging on the

masts and shrouds. She soon went to pieces; I was shown where she had been, and saw her disjoined timbers

tossed on the waves. The body of the man who had landed, had been buried deep in the sands; and none could

tell more, than that the vessel was American built, and that several months before the Fortunatas had sailed

I RETURNED to my family estate in the autumn of the year 2092. My heart had long been with them; and I

felt sick with the hope and delight of seeing them again. The district which contained them appeared the

abode of every kindly spirit. Happiness, love and peace, walked the forest paths, and tempered the

atmosphere. After all the agitation and sorrow I had endured in Greece, I sought Windsor, as the

How unwise had the wanderers been, who had deserted its shelter, entangled themselves in the web of

society, and entered on what men of the world call "life,"that labyrinth of evil, that scheme of mutual

torture. To live, according to this sense of the word, we must not only observe and learn, we must also feel;

we must not be mere spectators of action, we must act; we must not describe, but be subjects of description.

Deep sorrow must have been the inmate of our bosoms; fraud must have lain in wait for us; the artful must

have deceived us; sickening doubt and false hope must have chequered our days; hilarity and joy, that lap the

soul in ecstasy, must at times have possessed us. Who that knows what "life" is, would pine for this feverish

species of existence? I have lived. I have spent days and nights of festivity; I have joined in ambitious hopes,

and exulted in victory: now,shut the door on the world, and build high the wall that is to separate me from

the troubled scene enacted within its precincts. Let us live for each other and for happiness; let us seek peace

in our dear home, near the inland murmur of streams, and the gracious waving of trees, the beauteous vesture

of earth, and sublime pageantry of the skies. Let us leave "life," that we may live.

Idris was well content with this resolve of mine. Her native sprightliness needed no undue excitement, and

her placid heart reposed contented on my love, the wellbeing of her children, and the beauty of surrounding

nature. Her pride and blameless ambition was to create smiles in all around her, and to shed repose on the

fragile existence of her brother. In spite of her tender nursing, the health of Adrian perceptibly declined.

Walking, riding, the common occupations of life, overcame him: he felt no pain, but seemed to tremble for

ever on the verge of annihilation. Yet, as he had lived on for months nearly in the same state, he did not

inspire us with any immediate fear; and, though he talked of death as an event most familiar to his thoughts,

he did not cease to exert himself to render others happy, or to cultivate his own astonishing powers of mind.

Winter passed away; and spring, led by the months, awakened life in all nature. The forest was dressed in

green; the young calves frisked on the newsprung grass; the windwinged shadows of light clouds sped

over the green cornfields; the hermit cuckoo repeated his monotonous allhail to the season; the nightingale,

bird of love and minion of the evening star, filled the woods with song; while Venus lingered in the warm

sunset, and the young green of the trees lay in gentle relief along the clear horizon.

Delight awoke in every heart, delight and exultation; for there was peace through all the world; the temple of

"Let this last but twelve months," said Adrian; "and earth will become a Paradise. The energies of man were

before directed to the destruction of his species: they now aim at its liberation and preservation. Man cannot

repose, and his restless aspirations will now bring forth good instead of evil. The favoured countries of the

south will throw off the iron yoke of servitude; poverty will quit us, and with that, sickness. What may not

the forces, never before united, of liberty and peace achieve in this dwelling of man?"

"Dreaming, for ever dreaming, Windsor!" said Ryland, the old adversary of Raymond, and candidate for the

Protectorate at the ensuing election. "Be assured that earth is not, nor ever can be heaven, while the seeds of

hell are natives of her soil. When the seasons have become equal, when the air breeds no disorders, when its

surface is no longer liable to blights and droughts, then sickness will cease; when men's passions are dead,

poverty will depart. When love is no longer akin to hate, then brotherhood will exist: we are very far from

"Not so far as you may suppose," observed a little old astronomer, by name Merrival, "the poles precede

"The pole of the earth will coincide with the pole of the ecliptic," continued the astronomer, "an universal

"And we shall of course enjoy the benefit of the change," said Ryland, contemptuously.

"We have strange news here," I observed. I had the newspaper in my hand, and, as usual, had turned to the

intelligence from Greece. "It seems that the total destruction of Constantinople, and the supposition that

winter had purified the air of the fallen city, gave the Greeks courage to visit its site, and begin to rebuild it.

But they tell us that the curse of God is on the place, for every one who has ventured within the walls has

been tainted by the plague; that this disease has spread in Thrace and Macedonia; and now, fearing the

virulence of infection during the coming heats, a cordon has been drawn on the frontiers of Thessaly, and a

This intelligence brought us back from the prospect of paradise, held out after the lapse of an hundred

thousand years, to the pain and misery at present existent upon earth. We talked of the ravages made last year

by pestilence in every quarter of the world; and of the dreadful consequences of a second visitation. We

discussed the best means of preventing infection, and of preserving health and activity in a large city thus

afflictedLondon, for instance. Merrival did not join in this conversation; drawing near Idris, he proceeded

to assure her that the joyful prospect of an earthly paradise after an hundred thousand years, was clouded to

him by the knowledge that in a certain period of time after, an earthly hell or purgatory, would occur, when

the ecliptic and equator would be at right angles. Our party at length broke up; "We are all dreaming this

morning," said Ryland, "it is as wise to discuss the probability of a visitation of the plague in our well

governed metropolis, as to calculate the centuries which must escape before we can grow pineapples here in

But, though it seemed absurd to calculate upon the arrival of the plague in London, I could not reflect without

extreme pain on the desolation this evil would cause in Greece. The English for the most part talked of

Thrace and Macedonia, as they would of a lunar territory, which, unknown to them, presented no distinct idea

or interest to the minds. I had trod the soil. The faces of many of the inhabitants were familiar to me; in the

towns, plains, hills, and defiles of these countries, I had enjoyed unspeakable delight, as I journeyed through

them the year before. Some romantic village, some cottage, or elegant abode there situated, inhabited by the

lovely and the good, rose before my mental sight, and the question haunted me, is the plague there

also?That same invincible monster, which hovered over and devoured Constantinoplethat fiend more

cruel than tempest, less tame than fire, is, alas, unchained in that beautiful countrythese reflections would

The political state of England became agitated as the time drew near when the new Protector was to be

elected. This event excited the more interest, since it was the current report, that if the popular candidate

(Ryland) should be chosen, the question of the abolition of hereditary rank, and other feudal relics, would

come under the consideration of parliament. Not a word had been spoken during the present session on any of

these topics. Every thing would depend upon the choice of a Protector, and the elections of the ensuing year.

Yet this very silence was awful, showing the deep weight attributed to the question; the fear of either party to

hazard an illtimed attack, and the expectation of a furious contention when it should begin.

But although St. Stephen's did not echo with the voice which filled each heart, the newspapers teemed with

nothing else; and in private companies the conversation however remotely begun, soon verged towards this

central point, while voices were lowered and chairs drawn closer. The nobles did not hesitate to express their

fear; the other party endeavoured to treat the matter lightly. "Shame on the country," said Ryland, "to lay so

much stress upon words and frippery; it is a question of nothing; of the new painting of carriagepanels and

Yet could England indeed doff her lordly trappings, and be content with the democratic style of America?

Were the pride of ancestry, the patrician spirit, the gentle courtesies and refined pursuits, splendid attributes

of rank, to be erased among us? We were told that this would not be the case; that we were by nature a

poetical people, a nation easily duped by words, ready to array clouds in splendour, and bestow honour on the

dust. This spirit we could never lose; and it was to diffuse this concentrated spirit of birth, that the new law

was to be brought forward. We were assured that, when the name and title of Englishman was the sole patent

of nobility, we should all be noble; that when no man born under English sway, felt another his superior in

rank, courtesy and refinement would become the birthright of all our countrymen. Let not England be so far

disgraced, as to have it imagined that it can be without nobles, nature's true nobility, who bear their patent in

their mien, who are from their cradle elevated above the rest of their species, because they are better than the

rest. Among a race of independent, and generous, and well educated men, in a country where the imagination

is empress of men's minds, there needs be no fear that we should want a perpetual succession of the

highborn and lordly. That party, however, could hardly yet be considered a minority in the kingdom, who

extolled the ornament of the column, "the Corinthian capital of polished society;" they appealed to prejudices

without number, to old attachments and young hopes; to the expectation of thousands who might one day

become peers; they set up as a scarecrow, the spectre of all that was sordid, mechanic and base in the

The plague had come to Athens. Hundreds of English residents returned to their own country. Raymond's

beloved Athenians, the free, the noble people of the divinest town in Greece, fell like ripe corn before the

merciless sickle of the adversary. Its pleasant places were deserted; its temples and palaces were converted

into tombs; its energies, bent before towards the highest objects of human ambition, were now forced to

converge to one point, the guarding against the innumerable arrows of the plague.

At any other time this disaster would have excited extreme compassion among us; but it was now passed

over, while each mind was engaged by the coming controversy. It was not so with me; and the question of

rank and right dwindled to insignificance in my eyes, when I pictured the scene of suffering Athens. I heard

of the death of only sons; of wives and husbands most devoted; of the rending of ties twisted with the heart's

fibres, of friend losing friend, and young mothers mourning for their first born; and these moving incidents

were grouped and painted in my mind by the knowledge of the persons, by my esteem and affection for the

sufferers. It was the admirers, friends, fellow soldiers of Raymond, families that had welcomed Perdita to

Greece, and lamented with her the loss of her lord, that were swept away, and went to dwell with them in the

The plague at Athens had been preceded and caused by the contagion from the East; and the scene of havoc

and death continued to be acted there, on a scale of fearful magnitude. A hope that the visitation of the

present year would prove the last, kept up the spirits of the merchants connected with these countries; but the

inhabitants were driven to despair, or to a resignation which, arising from fanaticism, assumed the same dark

hue. America had also received the taint; and, were it yellow fever or plague, the epidemic was gifted with a

virulence before unfelt. The devastation was not confined to the towns, but spread throughout the country; the

hunter died in the woods, the peasant in the cornfields, and the fisher on his native waters.

A strange story was brought to us from the East, to which little credit would have been given, had not the fact

been attested by a multitude of witnesses, in various parts of the world. On the twentyfirst of June, it was

said that an hour before noon, a black sun arose: an orb, the size of that luminary, but dark, defined, whose

beams were shadows, ascended from the west; in about an hour it had reached the meridian, and eclipsed the

bright parent of day. Night fell upon every country, night, sudden, rayless, entire. The stars came out,

shedding their ineffectual glimmerings on the lightwidowed earth. But soon the dim orb passed from over

the sun, and lingered down the eastern heaven. As it descended, its dusky rays crossed the brilliant ones of

the sun, and deadened or distorted them. The shadows of things assumed strange and ghastly shapes. The

wild animals in the woods took fright at the unknown shapes figured on the ground. They fled they knew not

whither; and the citizens were filled with greater dread, at the convulsion which "shook lions into civil

streets;"birds, strongwinged eagles, suddenly blinded, fell in the market places, while owls and bats

showed themselves welcoming the early night. Gradually the object of fear sank beneath the horizon, and to

the last shot up shadowy beams into the otherwise radiant air. Such was the tale sent us from Asia, from the

Whether this story were true or not, the effects were certain. Through Asia, from the banks of the Nile to the

shores of the Caspian, from the Hellespont even to the sea of Oman, a sudden panic was driven. The men

filled the mosques; the women, veiled, hastened to the tombs, and carried offerings to the dead, thus to

preserve the living. The plague was forgotten, in this new fear which the black sun had spread; and, though

the dead multiplied, and the streets of Ispahan, of Pekin, and of Delhi were strewed with pestilencestruck

corpses, men passed on, gazing on the ominous sky, regardless of the death beneath their feet. The christians

sought their churches,christian maidens, even at the feast of roses, clad in white, with shining veils, sought,

in long procession, the places consecrated to their religion, filling the air with their hymns; while, ever and

anon, from the lips of some poor mourner in the crowd, a voice of wailing burst, and the rest looked up,

fancying they could discern the sweeping wings of angels, who passed over the earth, lamenting the disasters

In the sunny clime of Persia, in the crowded cities of China, amidst the aromatic groves of Cashmere, and

along the southern shores of the Mediterranean, such scenes had place. Even in Greece the tale of the sun of

darkness increased the fears and despair of the dying multitude. We, in our cloudy isle, were far removed

from danger, and the only circumstance that brought these disasters at all home to us, was the daily arrival of

vessels from the east, crowded with emigrants, mostly English; for the Moslems, though the fear of death was

spread keenly among them, still clung together; that, if they were to die (and if they were, death would as

readily meet them on the homeless sea, or in far England, as in Persia,)if they were to die, their bones

might rest in earth made sacred by the relics of true believers. Mecca had never before been so crowded with

pilgrims; yet the Arabs neglected to pillage the caravans, but, humble and weaponless, they joined the

I cannot describe the rapturous delight with which I turned from political brawls at home, and the physical

evils of distant countries, to my own dear home, to the selected abode of goodness and love; to peace, and the

interchange of every sacred sympathy. Had I never quitted Windsor, these emotions would not have been so

intense; but I had in Greece been the prey of fear and deplorable change; in Greece, after a period of anxiety

and sorrow, I had seen depart two, whose very names were the symbol of greatness and virtue. But such

miseries could never intrude upon the domestic circle left to me, while, secluded in our beloved forest, we

passed our lives in tranquillity. Some small change indeed the progress of years brought here; and time, as it

Idris, the most affectionate wife, sister and friend, was a tender and loving mother. The feeling was not with

her as with many, a pastime; it was a passion. We had had three children; one, the second in age, died while I

was in Greece. This had dashed the triumphant and rapturous emotions of maternity with grief and fear.

Before this event, the little beings, sprung from herself, the young heirs of her transient life, seemed to have a

sure lease of existence; now she dreaded that the pitiless destroyer might snatch her remaining darlings, as it

had snatched their brother. The least illness caused throes of terror; she was miserable if she were at all

absent from them; her treasure of happiness she had garnered in their fragile being, and kept forever on the

watch, lest the insidious thief should as before steal these valued gems. She had fortunately small cause for

fear. Alfred, now nine years old, was an upright, manly little fellow, with radiant brow, soft eyes, and gentle,

though independent disposition. Our youngest was yet in infancy; but his downy cheek was sprinkled with

the roses of health, and his unwearied vivacity filled our halls with innocent laughter.

Clara had passed the age which, from its mute ignorance, was the source of the fears of Idris. Clara was dear

to her, to all. There was so much intelligence combined with innocence, sensibility with forbearance, and

seriousness with perfect good humour, a beauty so transcendent, united to such endearing simplicity, that

she hung like a pearl in the shrine of our possessions, a treasure of wonder and excellence.

At the beginning of winter our Alfred, now nine years of age, first went to school at Eton. This appeared to

him the primary step towards manhood, and he was proportionably pleased. Community of study and

amusement developed the best parts of his character, his steady perseverance, generosity, and well governed

firmness. What deep and sacred emotions are excited in a father's bosom, when he first becomes convinced

that his love for his child is not a mere instinct, but worthily bestowed, and that others, less akin, participate

his approbation! It was supreme happiness to Idris and myself, to find that the frankness which Alfred's open

brow indicated, the intelligence of his eyes, the tempered sensibility of his tones, were not delusions, but

indications of talents and virtues, which would "grow with his growth, and strengthen with his strength." At

this period, the termination of an animal's love for its offspring,the true affection of the human parent

commences. We no longer look on this dearest part of ourselves, as a tender plant which we must cherish, or

a plaything for an idle hour. We build now on his intellectual faculties, we establish our hopes on his moral

propensities. His weakness still imparts anxiety to this feeling, his ignorance prevents entire intimacy; but we

begin to respect the future man, and to endeavour to secure his esteem, even as if he were our equal. What

can a parent have more at heart than the good opinion of his child? In all our transactions with him our

honour must be inviolate, the integrity of our relations untainted: fate and circumstance may, when he arrives

at maturity, separate us for everbut, as his aegis in danger, his consolation in hardship, let the ardent youth

for ever bear with him through the rough path of life, love and honour for his parents.

We had lived so long in the vicinity of Eton, that its population of young folks was well known to us. Many

of them had been Alfred's playmates, before they became his school fellows. We now watched this youthful

congregation with redoubled interest. We marked the difference of character among the boys, and

endeavoured to read the future man in the stripling. There is nothing more lovely, to which the heart more

yearns than a freespirited boy, gentle, brave, and generous. Several of the Etonians had these characteristics;

all were distinguished by a sense of honour, and spirit of enterprise; in some, as they verged towards

manhood, this degenerated into presumption; but the younger ones, lads a little older than our own, were

Here were the future governors of England; the men, who, when our ardour was cold, and our projects

completed or destroyed for ever, when, our drama acted, we doffed the garb of the hour, and assumed the

uniform of age, or of more equalising death; here were the beings who were to carry on the vast machine of

society; here were the lovers, husbands, fathers; here the landlord, the politician, the soldier; some fancied

that they were even now ready to appear on the stage, eager to make one among the dramatis person� of

active life. It was not long since I was like one of these beardless aspirants; when my boy shall have obtained

the place I now hold, I shall have tottered into a greyheaded, wrinkled old man. Strange system! riddle of

the Sphinx, most awestriking! that thus man remains, while we the individuals pass away. Such is, to

borrow the words of an eloquent and philosophic writer, "the mode of existence decreed to a permanent body

composed of transitory parts; wherein, by the disposition of a stupendous wisdom, moulding together the

great mysterious incorporation of the human race, the whole, at one time, is never old, or middleaged, or

young, but, in a condition of unchangeable constancy, moves on through the varied tenor of perpetual decay,

Willingly do I give place to thee, dear Alfred! advance, offspring of tender love, child of our hopes; advance

a soldier on the road to which I have been the pioneer! I will make way for thee. I have already put off the

carelessness of childhood, the unlined brow, and springy gait of early years, that they may adorn thee.

Advance; and I will despoil myself still further for thy advantage. Time shall rob me of the graces of

maturity, shall take the fire from my eyes, and agility from my limbs, shall steal the better part of life, eager

expectation and passionate love, and shower them in double portion on thy dear head. Advance! avail thyself

of the gift, thou and thy comrades; and in the drama you are about to act, do not disgrace those who taught

you to enter on the stage, and to pronounce becomingly the parts assigned to you! May your progress be

uninterrupted and secure; born during the springtide of the hopes of man, may you lead up the summer to

SOME disorder had surely crept into the course of the elements, destroying their benignant influence. The

wind, prince of air, raged through his kingdom, lashing the sea into fury, and subduing the rebel earth into

Their deadly power shook the flourishing countries of the south, and during winter, even, we, in our northern

That fable is unjust, which gives the superiority to the sun over the wind. Who has not seen the lightsome

earth, the balmy atmosphere, and basking nature become dark, cold and ungenial, when the sleeping wind has

awoke in the east? Or, when the dun clouds thickly veil the sky, while exhaustless stores of rain are poured

down, until, the dank earth refusing to imbibe the superabundant moisture, it lies in pools on the surface;

when the torch of day seems like a meteor, to be quenched; who has not seen the cloudstirring north arise,

the streaked blue appear, and soon an opening made in the vapours in the eye of the wind, through which the

bright azure shines? The clouds become thin; an arch is formed for ever rising upwards, till, the universal

cope being unveiled, the sun pours forth its rays, reanimated and fed by the breeze.

Then mighty art thou, O wind, to be throned above all other vicegerents of nature's power; whether thou

comest destroying from the east, or pregnant with elementary life from the west; thee the clouds obey; the sun

is subservient to thee; the shoreless ocean is thy slave! Thou sweepest over the earth, and oaks, the growth of

centuries, submit to thy viewless axe; the snowdrift is scattered on the pinnacles of the Alps, the avalanche

thunders down their valleys. Thou holdest the keys of the frost, and canst first chain and then set free the

streams; under thy gentle governance the buds and leaves are born, they flourish nursed by thee.

Why dost thou howl thus, O wind? By day and by night for four long months thy roarings have not

ceasedthe shores of the sea are strewn with wrecks, its keelwelcoming surface has become impassable,

the earth has shed her beauty in obedience to thy command; the frail balloon dares no longer sail on the

agitated air; thy ministers, the clouds, deluge the land with rain; rivers forsake their banks; the wild torrent

tears up the mountain path; plain and wood, and verdant dell are despoiled of their loveliness; our very cities

are wasted by thee. Alas, what will become of us? It seems as if the giant waves of ocean, and vast arms of

the sea, were about to wrench the deeprooted island from its centre; and cast it, a ruin and a wreck, upon the

What are we, the inhabitants of this globe, least among the many that people infinite space? Our minds

embrace infinity; the visible mechanism of our being is subject to merest accident. Day by day we are forced

to believe this. He whom a scratch has disorganised, he who disappears from apparent life under the influence

of the hostile agency at work around us, had the same powers as II also am subject to the same laws. In the

face of all this we call ourselves lords of the creation, wielders of the elements, masters of life and death, and

we allege in excuse of this arrogance, that though the individual is destroyed, man continues for ever.

Thus, losing our identity, that of which we are chiefly conscious, we glory in the continuity of our species,

and learn to regard death without terror. But when any whole nation becomes the victim of the destructive

powers of exterior agents, then indeed man shrinks into insignificance, he feels his tenure of life insecure, his

I remember, after having witnessed the destructive effects of a fire, I could not even behold a small one in a

stove, without a sensation of fear. The mounting flames had curled round the building, as it fell, and was

destroyed. They insinuated themselves into the substances about them, and the impediments to their progress

yielded at their touch. Could we take integral parts of this power, and not be subject to its operation? Could

Thus we began to feel, with regard to manyvisaged death let loose on the chosen districts of our fair

habitation, and above all, with regard to the plague. We feared the coming summer. Nations, bordering on the

already infected countries, began to enter upon serious plans for the better keeping out of the enemy. We, a

commercial people, were obliged to bring such schemes under consideration; and the question of contagion

That the plague was not what is commonly called contagious, like the scarlet fever, or extinct smallpox, was

proved. It was called an epidemic. But the grand question was still unsettled of how this epidemic was

generated and increased. If infection depended upon the air, the air was subject to infection. As for instance, a

typhus fever has been brought by ships to one sea port town; yet the very people who brought it there, were

incapable of communicating it in a town more fortunately situated. But how are we to judge of airs, and

pronouncein such a city plague will die unproductive; in such another, nature has provided for it a plentiful

harvest? In the same way, individuals may escape ninetynine times, and receive the death blow at the

hundredth; because bodies are sometimes in a state to reject the infection of malady, and at others, thirsty to

imbibe it. These reflections made our legislators pause, before they could decide on the laws to be put in

force. The evil was so widespreading, so violent and immedicable, that no care, no prevention could be

These were questions of prudence; there was no immediate necessity for an earnest caution. England was still

secure. France, Germany, Italy and Spain, were interposed, walls yet without a breach, between us and the

plague. Our vessels truly were the sport of winds and waves, even as Gulliver was the toy of the

Brobdignagians; but we on our stable abode could not be hurt in life or limb by these eruptions of nature. We

could not fearwe did not. Yet a feeling of awe, a breathless sentiment of wonder, a painful sense of the

degradation of humanity, was introduced into every heart. Nature, our mother, and our friend, had turned on

us a brow of menace. She showed us plainly, that, though she permitted us to assign her laws and subdue her

apparent powers, yet, if she put forth but a finger, we must quake. She could take our globe, fringed with

mountains, girded by the atmosphere, containing the condition of our being, and all that man's mind could

invent or his force achieve; she could take the ball in her hand, and cast it into space, where life would be

These speculations were rife among us; yet not the less we proceeded in our daily occupations, and our plans,

whose accomplishment demanded the lapse of many years. No voice was heard telling us to hold! When

foreign distresses came to be felt by us through the channels of commerce, we set ourselves to apply

remedies. Subscriptions were made for the emigrants, and merchants bankrupt by the failure of trade. The

English spirit awoke to its full activity, and, as it had ever done, set itself to resist the evil, and to stand in the

breach which diseased nature had suffered chaos and death to make in the bounds and banks which had

At the commencement of summer, we began to feel, that the mischief which had taken place in distant

countries was greater than we had at first suspected. Quito was destroyed by an earthquake. Mexico laid

waste by the united effects of storm, pestilence and famine. Crowds of emigrants inundated the west of

Europe; and our island had become the refuge of thousands. In the mean time Ryland had been chosen

Protector. He had sought this office with eagerness, under the idea of turning his whole forces to the

suppression of the privileged orders of our community. His measures were thwarted, and his schemes

interrupted by this new state of things. Many of the foreigners were utterly destitute; and their increasing

numbers at length forbade a recourse to the usual modes of relief. Trade was stopped by the failure of the

interchange of cargoes usual between us, and America, India, Egypt and Greece. A sudden break was made in

the routine of our lives. In vain our Protector and his partisans sought to conceal this truth; in vain, day after

day, he appointed a period for the discussion of the new laws concerning hereditary rank and privilege; in

vain he endeavoured to represent the evil as partial and temporary. These disasters came home to so many

bosoms, and, through the various channels of commerce, were carried so entirely into every class and

division of the community, that of necessity they became the first question in the state, the chief subjects to

Can it be true, each asked the other with wonder and dismay, that whole countries are laid waste, whole

nations annihilated, by these disorders in nature? The vast cities of America, the fertile plains of Hindustan,

the crowded abodes of the Chinese, are menaced with utter ruin. Where late the busy multitudes assembled

for pleasure or profit, now only the sound of wailing and misery is heard. The air is empoisoned, and each

human being inhales death, even while in youth and health, their hopes are in the flower. We called to mind

the plague of 1348, when it was calculated that a third of mankind had been destroyed. As yet western Europe

O, yes, it wouldCountrymen, fear not! In the still uncultivated wilds of America, what wonder that among

its other giant destroyers, Plague should be numbered! It is of old a native of the East, sister of the tornado,

the earthquake, and the simoom. Child of the sun, and nursling of the tropics, it would expire in these climes.

It drinks the dark blood of the inhabitant of the south, but it never feasts on the palefaced Celt. If perchance

some stricken Asiatic come among us, plague dies with him, uncommunicated and innoxious. Let us weep

for our brethren, though we can never experience their reverse. Let us lament over and assist the children of

the garden of the earth. Late we envied their abodes, their spicy groves, fertile plains, and abundant

loveliness. But in this mortal life extremes are always matched; the thorn grows with the rose, the poison tree

and the cinnamon mingle their boughs. Persia, with its cloth of gold, marble halls, and infinite wealth, is now

a tomb. The tent of the Arab is fallen in the sands, and his horse spurns the ground unbridled and unsaddled.

The voice of lamentation fills the valley of Cashmere; its dells and woods, its cool fountains, and gardens of

roses, are polluted by the dead; in Circassia and Georgia the spirit of beauty weeps over the ruin of its

Our own distresses, though they were occasioned by the fictitious reciprocity of commerce, increased in due

proportion. Bankers, merchants, and manufacturers, whose trade depended on exports and interchange of

wealth, became bankrupt. Such things, when they happen singly, affect only the immediate parties; but the

prosperity of the nation was now shaken by frequent and extensive losses. Families, bred in opulence and

luxury, were reduced to beggary. The very state of peace in which we gloried was injurious; there were no

means of employing the idle, or of sending any overplus of population out of the country. Even the source of

colonies was dried up, for in New Holland, Van Diemen's Land, and the Cape of Good Hope, plague raged.

O, for some medicinal vial to purge unwholesome nature, and bring back the earth to its accustomed health!

Ryland was a man of strong intellects and quick and sound decision in the usual course of things, but he

stood aghast at the multitude of evils that gathered round us. Must he tax the landed interest to assist our

commercial population? To do this, he must gain the favour of the chief landholders, the nobility of the

country; and these were his vowed enemieshe must conciliate them by abandoning his favourite scheme of

equalisation; he must confirm them in their manorial rights; he must sell his cherished plans for the

permanent good of his country, for temporary relief. He must aim no more at the dear object of his ambition;

throwing his arms aside, he must for present ends give up the ultimate object of his endeavours. He came to

Windsor to consult with us. Every day added to his difficulties; the arrival of fresh vessels with emigrants, the

total cessation of commerce, the starving multitude that thronged around the palace of the Protectorate, were

circumstances not to be tampered with. The blow was struck; the aristocracy obtained all they wished, and

they subscribed to a twelvemonths' bill, which levied twenty per cent on all the rentrolls of the country.

Calm was now restored to the metropolis, and to the populous cities, before driven to desperation; and we

returned to the consideration of distant calamities, wondering if the future would bring any alleviation to their

excess. It was August; so there could be small hope of relief during the heats. On the contrary, the disease

gained virulence, while starvation did its accustomed work. Thousands died unlamented; for beside the yet

On the eighteenth of this month news arrived in London that the plague was in France and Italy. These

tidings were at first whispered about town; but no one dared express aloud the soul quailing intelligence.

When any one met a friend in the street, he only cried as he hurried on, "You know!" while the other, with

an ejaculation of fear and horror, would answer,"What will become of us?" At length it was mentioned in

the newspapers. The paragraph was inserted in an obscure part: "We regret to state that there can be no longer

a doubt of the plague having been introduced at Leghorn, Genoa, and Marseilles." No word of comment

followed; each reader made his own fearful one. We were as a man who hears that his house is burning, and

yet hurries through the streets, borne along by a lurking hope of a mistake, till he turns the corner, and sees

his sheltering roof enveloped in a flame. Before it had been a rumour; but now in words inerasable, in definite

and undeniable print, the knowledge went forth. Its obscurity of situation rendered it the more conspicuous:

the diminutive letters grew gigantic to the bewildered eye of fear: they seemed graven with a pen of iron,

impressed by fire, woven in the clouds, stamped on the very front of the universe.

The English, whether travellers or residents, came pouring in one great revulsive stream, back on their own

country; and with them crowds of Italians and Spaniards. Our little island was filled even to bursting. At first

an unusual quantity of specie made its appearance with the emigrants; but these people had no means of

receiving back into their hands what they spent among us. With the advance of summer, and the increase of

the distemper, rents were unpaid, and their remittances failed them. It was impossible to see these crowds of

wretched, perishing creatures, late nurslings of luxury, and not stretch out a hand to save them. As at the

conclusion of the eighteenth century, the English unlocked their hospitable store, for the relief of those driven

from their homes by political revolution; so now they were not backward in affording aid to the victims of a

more widespreading calamity. We had many foreign friends whom we eagerly sought out, and relieved

from dreadful penury. Our Castle became an asylum for the unhappy. A little population occupied its halls.

The revenue of its possessor, which had always found a mode of expenditure congenial to his generous

nature, was now attended to more parsimoniously, that it might embrace a wider portion of utility. It was not

however money, except partially, but the necessaries of life, that became scarce. It was difficult to find an

immediate remedy. The usual one of imports was entirely cut off. In this emergency, to feed the very people

to whom we had given refuge, we were obliged to yield to the plough and the mattock our pleasuregrounds

and parks. Live stock diminished sensibly in the country, from the effects of the great demand in the market.

Even the poor deer, our antlered proteges, were obliged to fall for the sake of worthier pensioners. The labour

necessary to bring the lands to this sort of culture, employed and fed the offcasts of the diminished

Adrian did not rest only with the exertions he could make with regard to his own possessions. He addressed

himself to the wealthy of the land; he made proposals in parliament little adapted to please the rich; but his

earnest pleadings and benevolent eloquence were irresistible. To give up their pleasuregrounds to the

agriculturist, to diminish sensibly the number of horses kept for the purposes of luxury throughout the

country, were means obvious, but unpleasing. Yet, to the honour of the English be it recorded, that, although

natural disinclination made them delay awhile, yet when the misery of their fellowcreatures became glaring,

an enthusiastic generosity inspired their decrees. The most luxurious were often the first to part with their

indulgencies. As is common in communities, a fashion was set. The highborn ladies of the country would

have deemed themselves disgraced if they had now enjoyed, what they before called a necessary, the ease of

a carriage. Chairs, as in olden time, and Indian palanquins were introduced for the infirm; but else it was

nothing singular to see females of rank going on foot to places of fashionable resort. It was more common,

for all who possessed landed property to secede to their estates, attended by whole troops of the indigent, to

cut down their woods to erect temporary dwellings, and to portion out their parks, parterres and flower

gardens, to necessitous families. Many of these, of high rank in their own countries, now, with hoe in hand,

turned up the soil. It was found necessary at last to check the spirit of sacrifice, and to remind those whose

generosity proceeded to lavish waste, that, until the present state of things became permanent, of which there

was no likelihood, it was wrong to carry change so far as to make a reaction difficult. Experience

demonstrated that in a year or two pestilence would cease; it were well that in the mean time we should not

have destroyed our fine breeds of horses, or have utterly changed the face of the ornamented portion of the

It may be imagined that things were in a bad state indeed, before this spirit of benevolence could have struck

such deep roots. The infection had now spread in the southern provinces of France. But that country had so

many resources in the way of agriculture, that the rush of population from one part of it to another, and its

increase through foreign emigration, was less felt than with us. The panic struck appeared of more injury,

Winter was hailed, a general and neverfailing physician. The embrowning woods, and swollen rivers, the

evening mists, and morning frosts, were welcomed with gratitude. The effects of purifying cold were

immediately felt; and the lists of mortality abroad were curtailed each week. Many of our visitors left us:

those whose homes were far in the south, fled delightedly from our northern winter, and sought their native

land, secure of plenty even after their fearful visitation. We breathed again. What the coming summer would

bring, we knew not; but the present months were our own, and our hopes of a cessation of pestilence were

I HAVE lingered thus long on the extreme bank, the wasting shoal that stretched into the stream of life,

dallying with the shadow of death. Thus long, I have cradled my heart in retrospection of past happiness,

when hope was. Why not for ever thus? I am not immortal; and the thread of my history might be spun out to

the limits of my existence. But the same sentiment that first led me to portray scenes replete with tender

recollections, now bids me hurry on. The same yearning of this warm, panting heart, that has made me in

written words record my vagabond youth, my serene manhood, and the passions of my soul, makes me now

Here then I stand, as I said, beside the fleet waters of the flowing years, and now away! Spread the sail, and

strain with oar, hurrying by dark impending crags, adown steep rapids, even to the sea of desolation I have

reached. Yet one moment, one brief interval before I put from shoreonce, once again let me fancy myself

as I was in 2094 in my abode at Windsor, let me close my eyes, and imagine that the immeasurable boughs of

its oaks still shadow me, its castle walls anear. Let fancy portray the joyous scene of the twentieth of June,

Circumstances had called me to London; here I heard talk that symptoms of the plague had occurred in

hospitals of that city. I returned to Windsor; my brow was clouded, my heart heavy; I entered the Little Park,

as was my custom, at the Frogmore gate, on my way to the Castle. A great part of these grounds had been

given to cultivation, and strips of potatoland and corn were scattered here and there. The rooks cawed

loudly in the trees above; mixed with their hoarse cries I heard a lively strain of music. It was Alfred's

birthday. The young people, the Etonians, and children of the neighbouring gentry, held a mock fair, to which

all the country people were invited. The park was speckled by tents, whose flaunting colours and gaudy flags,

waving in the sunshine, added to the gaiety of the scene. On a platform erected beneath the terrace, a number

of the younger part of the assembly were dancing. I leaned against a tree to observe them. The band played

the wild eastern air of Weber introduced in Abu Hassan; its volatile notes gave wings to the feet of the

dancers, while the lookerson unconsciously beat time. At first the tripping measure lifted my spirit with it,

and for a moment my eyes gladly followed the mazes of the dance. The revulsion of thought passed like keen

steel to my heart. Ye are all going to die, I thought; already your tomb is built up around you. Awhile,

because you are gifted with agility and strength, you fancy that you live: but frail is the "bower of flesh" that

encaskets life; dissoluble the silver cord than binds you to it. The joyous soul, charioted from pleasure to

pleasure by the graceful mechanism of wellformed limbs, will suddenly feel the axletree give way, and

spring and wheel dissolve in dust. Not one of you, O! fated crowd, can escapenot one! not my own ones!

not my Idris and her babes! Horror and misery! Already the gay dance vanished, the green sward was strewn

with corpses, the blue air above became fetid with deathly exhalations. Shriek, ye clarions! ye loud trumpets,

howl! Pile dirge on dirge; rouse the funereal chords; let the air ring with dire wailing; let wild discord rush on

the wings of the wind! Already I hear it, while guardian angels, attendant on humanity, their task achieved,

hasten away, and their departure is announced by melancholy strains; faces all unseemly with weeping,

forced open my lids; faster and faster many groups of these woebegone countenances thronged around,

exhibiting every variety of wretchednesswell known faces mingled with the distorted creations of fancy.

Ashy pale, Raymond and Perdita sat apart, looking on with sad smiles. Adrian's countenance flitted across,

tainted by deathIdris, with eyes languidly closed and livid lips, was about to slide into the wide grave. The

confusion grewtheir looks of sorrow changed to mockery; they nodded their heads in time to the music,

I felt that this was insanityI sprang forward to throw it off; I rushed into the midst of the crowd. Idris saw

me: with light step she advanced; as I folded her in my arms, feeling, as I did, that I thus enclosed what was

to me a world, yet frail as the waterdrop which the noonday sun will drink from the water lily's cup; tears

filled my eyes, unwont to be thus moistened. The joyful welcome of my boys, the soft gratulation of Clara,

the pressure of Adrian's hand, contributed to unman me. I felt that they were near, that they were safe, yet

methought this was all deceit;the earth reeled, the firmenrooted trees moved dizziness came over

My beloved friends were alarmednay, they expressed their alarm so anxiously, that I dared not pronounce

the word plague, that hovered on my lips, lest they should construe my perturbed looks into a symptom, and

see infection in my languor. I had scarcely recovered, and with feigned hilarity had brought back smiles into

Ryland had something the appearance of a farmer; of a man whose muscles and full grown stature had been

developed under the influence of vigorous exercise and exposure to the elements. This was to a great degree

the case: for, though a large landed proprietor, yet, being a projector, and of an ardent and industrious

disposition, he had on his own estate given himself up to agricultural labours. When he went as ambassador

to the Northern States of America, he, for some time, planned his entire migration; and went so far as to make

several journeys far westward on that immense continent, for the purpose of choosing the site of his new

abode. Ambition turned his thoughts from these designsambition, which labouring through various lets and

hindrances, had now led him to the summit of his hopes, in making him Lord Protector of England.

His countenance was rough but intelligenthis ample brow and quick grey eyes seemed to look out, over his

own plans, and the opposition of his enemies. His voice was stentorian: his hand stretched out in debate,

seemed by its gigantic and muscular form, to warn his hearers that words were not his only weapons. Few

people had discovered some cowardice and much infirmity of purpose under this imposing exterior. No man

could crush a "butterfly on the wheel" with better effect; no man better cover a speedy retreat from a

powerful adversary. This had been the secret of his secession at the time of Lord Raymond's election. In the

unsteady glance of his eye, in his extreme desire to learn the opinions of all, in the feebleness of his

handwriting, these qualities might be obscurely traced, but they were not generally known. He was now our

Lord Protector. He had canvassed eagerly for this post. His protectorate was to be distinguished by every kind

of innovation on the aristocracy. This his selected task was exchanged for the far different one of

encountering the ruin caused by the convulsions of physical nature. He was incapable of meeting these evils

by any comprehensive system; he had resorted to expedient after expedient, and could never be induced to

Certainly the Ryland that advanced towards us now, bore small resemblance to the powerful, ironical,

seemingly fearless canvasser for the first rank among Englishmen. Our native oak, as his partisans called him,

was visited truly by a nipping winter. He scarcely appeared half his usual height; his joints were unknit, his

limbs would not support him; his face was contracted, his eye wandering; debility of purpose and dastard fear

In answer to our eager questions, one word alone fell, as it were involuntarily, from his convulsed lips: The

Plague. "Where?""Everywherewe must flyall flybut whither? No man can tellthere is no

refuge on earth, it comes on us like a thousand packs of wolveswe must all flywhere shall you go?

These words were syllabled trembling by the iron man. Adrian replied, "Whither indeed would you fly? We

"Help!" said Ryland, "there is no help!great God, who talks of help! All the world has the plague!"

"Then to avoid it, we must quit the world," observed Adrian, with a gentle smile.

Ryland groaned; cold drops stood on his brow. It was useless to oppose his paroxysm of terror: but we

soothed and encouraged him, so that after an interval he was better able to explain to us the ground of his

alarm. It had come sufficiently home to him. One of his servants, while waiting on him, had suddenly fallen

down dead. The physician declared that he died of the plague. We endeavoured to calm himbut our own

hearts were not calm. I saw the eye of Idris wander from me to her children, with an anxious appeal to my

judgment. Adrian was absorbed in meditation. For myself, I own that Ryland's words rang in my ears; all the

world was infected;in what uncontaminated seclusion could I save my beloved treasures, until the shadow

of death had passed from over the earth? We sunk into silence: a silence that drank in the doleful accounts

We had receded from the crowd; and ascending the steps of the terrace, sought the Castle. Our change of

cheer struck those nearest to us; and, by means of Ryland's servants, the report soon spread that he had fled

from the plague in London. The sprightly parties broke upthey assembled in whispering groups. The spirit

of gaiety was eclipsed; the music ceased; the young people left their occupations and gathered together. The

lightness of heart which had dressed them in masquerade habits, had decorated their tents, and assembled

them in fantastic groups, appeared a sin against, and a provocative to, the awful destiny that had laid its

palsying hand upon hope and life. The merriment of the hour was an unholy mockery of the sorrows of man.

The foreigners whom we had among us, who had fled from the plague in their own country, now saw their

last asylum invaded; and, fear making them garrulous, they described to eager listeners the miseries they had

beheld in cities visited by the calamity, and gave fearful accounts of the insidious and irremediable nature of

We had entered the Castle. Idris stood at a window that over looked the park; her maternal eyes sought her

own children among the young crowd. An Italian lad had got an audience about him, and with animated

gestures was describing some scene of horror. Alfred stood immoveable before him, his whole attention

absorbed. Little Evelyn had endeavoured to draw Clara away to play with him; but the Italian's tale arrested

her, she crept near, her lustrous eyes fixed on the speaker. Either watching the crowd in the park, or occupied

by painful reflection, we were all silent; Ryland stood by himself in an embrasure of the window; Adrian

paced the hall, revolving some new and overpowering ideasuddenly he stopped and said: "I have long

expected this; could we in reason expect that this island should be exempt from the universal visitation? The

evil is come home to us, and we must not shrink from our fate. What are your plans, my Lord Protector, for

"For heaven's love! Windsor," cried Ryland, "do not mock me with that title. Death and disease level all men.

I neither pretend to protect nor govern an hospitalsuch will England quickly become."

"Duties! speak rationally, my Lord!when I am a plague spotted corpse, where will my duties be? Every

man for himself! the devil take the protectorship, say I, if it expose me to danger!"

"Fainthearted man!" cried Adrian indignantly"Your countrymen put their trust in you, and you betray

"I betray them!" said Ryland, "the plague betrays me. Faint hearted! It is well, shut up in your castle, out of

danger, to boast yourself out of fear. Take the Protectorship who will; before God I renounce it!"

"And before God," replied his opponent, fervently, "do I receive it! No one will canvass for this honour

nownone envy my danger or labours. Deposit your powers in my hands. Long have I fought with death,

and much" (he stretched out his thin hand) "much have I suffered in the struggle. It is not by flying, but by

facing the enemy, that we can conquer. If my last combat is now about to be fought, and I am to be

"But come, Ryland, recollect yourself! Men have hitherto thought you magnanimous and wise, will you cast

aside these titles? Consider the panic your departure will occasion. Return to London. I will go with you.

Encourage the people by your presence. I will incur all the danger. Shame! shame! if the first magistrate of

Meanwhile among our guests in the park, all thoughts of festivity had faded. As summerflies are scattered

by rain, so did this congregation, late noisy and happy, in sadness and melancholy murmurs break up,

dwindling away apace. With the set sun and the deepening twilight the park became nearly empty. Adrian

and Ryland were still in earnest discussion. We had prepared a banquet for our guests in the lower hall of the

castle; and thither Idris and I repaired to receive and entertain the few that remained. There is nothing more

melancholy than a merrymeeting thus turned to sorrow: the gala dressesthe decorations, gay as they

might otherwise be, receive a solemn and funereal appearance. If such change be painful from lighter causes,

it weighed with intolerable heaviness from the knowledge that the earth's desolator had at last, even as an

archfiend, lightly overleaped the boundaries our precautions raised, and at once enthroned himself in the

full and beating heart of our country. Idris sat at the top of the halfempty hall. Pale and tearful, she almost

forgot her duties as hostess; her eyes were fixed on her children. Alfred's serious air showed that he still

revolved the tragic story related by the Italian boy. Evelyn was the only mirthful creature present: he sat on

Clara's lap; and, making matter of glee from his own fancies, laughed aloud. The vaulted roof echoed again

his infant tone. The poor mother who had brooded long over, and suppressed the expression of her anguish,

now burst into tears, and folding her babe in her arms, hurried from the hall. Clara and Alfred followed.

While the rest of the company, in confused murmur, which grew louder and louder, gave voice to their many

The younger part gathered round me to ask my advice; and those who had friends in London were anxious

beyond the rest, to ascertain the present extent of disease in the metropolis. I encouraged them with such

thoughts of cheer as presented themselves. I told them exceedingly few deaths had yet been occasioned by

pestilence, and gave them hopes, as we were the last visited, so the calamity might have lost its most

venomous power before it had reached us. The cleanliness, habits of order, and the manner in which our cities

were built, were all in our favour. As it was an epidemic, its chief force was derived from pernicious qualities

in the air, and it would probably do little harm where this was naturally salubrious. At first, I had spoken only

to those nearest me; but the whole assembly gathered about me, and I found that I was listened to by all. "My

friends," I said, "our risk is common; our precautions and exertions shall be common also. If manly courage

and resistance can save us, we will be saved. We will fight the enemy to the last. Plague shall not find us a

ready prey; we will dispute every inch of ground; and, by methodical and inflexible laws, pile invincible

barriers to the progress of our foe. Perhaps in no part of the world has she met with so systematic and

determined an opposition. Perhaps no country is naturally so well protected against our invader; nor has

nature anywhere been so well assisted by the hand of man. We will not despair. We are neither cowards nor

fatalists; but, believing that God has placed the means for our preservation in our own hands, we will use

those means to our utmost. Remember that cleanliness, sobriety, and even goodhumour and benevolence,

There was little I could add to this general exhortation; for the plague, though in London, was not among us. I

dismissed the guests therefore; and they went thoughtful, more than sad, to await the events in store for them.

I now sought Adrian, anxious to hear the result of his discussion with Ryland. He had in part prevailed; the

Lord Protector consented to return to London for a few weeks; during which time things should be so

arranged, as to occasion less consternation at his departure. Adrian and Idris were together. The sadness with

which the former had first heard that the plague was in London had vanished; the energy of his purpose

informed his body with strength, the solemn joy of enthusiasm and selfdevotion illuminated his

countenance; and the weakness of his physical nature seemed to pass from him, as the cloud of humanity did,

in the ancient fable, from the divine lover of Semele. He was endeavouring to encourage his sister, and to

bring her to look on his intent in a less tragic light than she was prepared to do; and with passionate

"Let me, at the first word," he said, "relieve your mind from all fear on my account. I will not task myself

beyond my powers, nor will I needlessly seek danger. I feel that I know what ought to be done, and as my

presence is necessary for the accomplishment of my plans, I will take especial care to preserve my life.

"I am now going to undertake an office fitted for me. I cannot intrigue, or work a tortuous path through the

labyrinth of men's vices and passions; but I can bring patience, and sympathy, and such aid as art affords, to

the bed of disease; I can raise from earth the miserable orphan, and awaken to new hopes the shut heart of the

mourner. I can enchain the plague in limits, and set a term to the misery it would occasion; courage,

"O, I shall be something now! From my birth I have aspired like the eaglebut, unlike the eagle, my wings

have failed, and my vision has been blinded. Disappointment and sickness have hitherto held dominion over

me; twin born with me, my would, was for ever enchained by the shall not, of these my tyrants. A

shepherdboy that tends a silly flock on the mountains, was more in the scale of society than I. Congratulate

me then that I have found fitting scope for my powers. I have often thought of offering my services to the

pestilencestricken towns of France and Italy; but fear of paining you, and expectation of this catastrophe,

withheld me. To England and to Englishmen I dedicate myself. If I can save one of her mighty spirits from

the deadly shaft; if I can ward disease from one of her smiling cottages, I shall not have lived in vain."

Strange ambition this! Yet such was Adrian. He appeared given up to contemplation, averse to excitement, a

so did he spring up from listlessness and unproductive thought, to the highest pitch of virtuous action.

With him went enthusiasm, the highwrought resolve, the eye that without blenching could look at death.

With us remained sorrow, anxiety, and unendurable expectation of evil. The man, says Lord Bacon, who hath

wife and children, has given hostages to fortune. Vain was all philosophical reasoningvain all

fortitudevain, vain, a reliance on probable good. I might heap high the scale with logic, courage, and

resignationbut let one fear for Idris and our children enter the opposite one, and, overweighed, it kicked

The plague was in London! Fools that we were not long ago to have foreseen this. We wept over the ruin of

the boundless continents of the east, and the desolation of the western world; while we fancied that the little

channel between our island and the rest of the earth was to preserve us alive among the dead. It were no

mighty leap methinks from Calais to Dover. The eye easily discerns the sister land; they were united once;

and the little path that runs between looks in a map but as a trodden footway through high grass. Yet this

small interval was to save us: the sea was to rise a wall of adamantwithout, disease and miserywithin, a

shelter from evil, a nook of the garden of paradisea particle of celestial soil, which no evil could

But we are awake now. The plague is in London; the air of England is tainted, and her sons and daughters

strew the unwholesome earth. And now, the sea, late our defence, seems our prison bound; hemmed in by its

gulfs, we shall die like the famished inhabitants of a besieged town. Other nations have a fellowship in death;

but we, shut out from all neighbourhood, must bury our own dead, and little England become a wide, wide

This feeling of universal misery assumed concentration and shape, when I looked on my wife and children;

and the thought of danger to them possessed my whole being with fear. How could I save them? I revolved a

thousand and a thousand plans. They should not diefirst I would be gathered to nothingness, ere infection

should come anear these idols of my soul. I would walk barefoot through the world, to find an uninfected

spot; I would build my home on some wavetossed plank, drifted about on the barren, shoreless ocean. I

would betake me with them to some wild beast's den, where a tiger's cubs, which I would slay, had been

reared in health. I would seek the mountain eagle's eyrie, and live years suspended in some inaccessible

recess of a seabounding cliffno labour too great, no scheme too wild, if it promised life to them. O! ye

heartstrings of mine, could ye be torn asunder, and my soul not spend itself in tears of blood for sorrow!

Idris, after the first shock, regained a portion of fortitude. She studiously shut out all prospect of the future,

and cradled her heart in present blessings. She never for a moment lost sight of her children. But while they

in health sported about her, she could cherish contentment and hope. A strange and wild restlessness came

over methe more intolerable, because I was forced to conceal it. My fears for Adrian were ceaseless;

August had come; and the symptoms of plague increased rapidly in London. It was deserted by all who

possessed the power of removing; and he, the brother of my soul, was exposed to the perils from which all

but slaves enchained by circumstance fled. He remained to combat the fiendhis side unguarded, his toils

unsharedinfection might even reach him, and he die unattended and alone. By day and night these thoughts

pursued me. I resolved to visit London, to see him; to quiet these agonizing throes by the sweet medicine of

It was not until I arrived at Brentford, that I perceived much change in the face of the country. The better sort

of houses were shut up; the busy trade of the town palsied; there was an air of anxiety among the few

passengers I met, and they looked wonderingly at my carriagethe first they had seen pass towards London,

since pestilence sat on its high places, and possessed its busy streets. I met several funerals; they were

slenderly attended by mourners, and were regarded by the spectators as omens of direst import. Some gazed

Adrian's chief endeavour, after the immediate succour of the sick, had been to disguise the symptoms and

progress of the plague from the inhabitants of London. He knew that fear and melancholy forebodings were

powerful assistants to disease; that desponding and brooding care rendered the physical nature of man

peculiarly susceptible of infection. No unseemly sights were therefore discernible: the shops were in general

open, the concourse of passengers in some degree kept up. But although the appearance of an infected town

was avoided, to me, who had not beheld it since the commencement of the visitation, London appeared

sufficiently changed. There were no carriages, and grass had sprung high in the streets; the houses had a

desolate look; most of the shutters were closed; and there was a ghast and frightened stare in the persons I

met, very different from the usual businesslike demeanour of the Londoners. My solitary carriage attracted

notice, as it rattled along towards the Protectoral Palaceand the fashionable streets leading to it wore a still

more dreary and deserted appearance. I found Adrian's antechamber crowdedit was his hour for giving

audience. I was unwilling to disturb his labours, and waited, watching the ingress and egress of the

petitioners. They consisted of people of the middling and lower classes of society, whose means of

subsistence failed with the cessation of trade, and of the busy spirit of moneymaking in all its branches,

peculiar to our country. There was an air of anxiety, sometimes of terror in the newcomers, strongly

contrasted with the resigned and even satisfied mien of those who had had audience. I could read the

influence of my friend in their quickened motions and cheerful faces. Two o'clock struck, after which none

were admitted; those who had been disappointed went sullenly or sorrowfully away, while I entered the

I was struck by the improvement that appeared in the health of Adrian. He was no longer bent to the ground,

like an over nursed flower of spring, that, shooting up beyond its strength, is weighed down even by its own

coronal of blossoms. His eyes were bright, his countenance composed, an air of concentrated energy was

diffused over his whole person, much unlike its former languor. He sat at a table with several secretaries, who

were arranging petitions, or registering the notes made during that day's audience. Two or three petitioners

were still in attendance. I admired his justice and patience. Those who possessed a power of living out of

London, he advised immediately to quit it, affording them the means of so doing. Others, whose trade was

beneficial to the city, or who possessed no other refuge, he provided with advice for better avoiding the

epidemic; relieving overloaded families, supplying the gaps made in others by death. Order, comfort, and

"I am glad you are come," he said to me, when we were at last alone; "I can only spare a few minutes, and

must tell you much in that time. The plague is now in progressit is useless closing one's eyes to the

factthe deaths increase each week. What will come I cannot guess. As yet, thank God, I am equal to the

government of the town; and I look only to the present. Ryland, whom I have so long detained, has stipulated

that I shall suffer him to depart before the end of this month. The deputy appointed by parliament is dead;

another therefore must be named; I have advanced my claim, and I believe that I shall have no competitor.

Tonight the question is to be decided, as there is a call of the house for the purpose. You must nominate me,

Lionel; Ryland, for shame, cannot show himself; but you, my friend, will do me this service?"

How lovely is devotion! Here was a youth, royally sprung, bred in luxury, by nature averse to the usual

struggles of a public life, and now, in time of danger, at a period when to live was the utmost scope of the

ambitious, he, the beloved and heroic Adrian, made, in sweet simplicity, an offer to sacrifice himself for the

public good. The very idea was generous and noble,but, beyond this, his unpretending manner, his entire

want of the assumption of a virtue, rendered his act ten times more touching. I would have withstood his

request; but I had seen the good he diffused; I felt that his resolves were not to be shaken, so, with an heavy

heart, I consented to do as he asked. He grasped my hand affectionately:"Thank you," he said, "you have

relieved me from a painful dilemma, and are, as you ever were, the best of my friends. FarewellI must now

leave you for a few hours. Go you and converse with Ryland. Although he deserts his post in London, he may

be of the greatest service in the north of England, by receiving and assisting travellers, and contributing to

supply the metropolis with food. Awaken him, I entreat you, to some sense of duty."

Adrian left me, as I afterwards learnt, upon his daily task of visiting the hospitals, and inspecting the crowded

parts of London. I found Ryland much altered, even from what he had been when he visited Windsor.

Perpetual fear had jaundiced his complexion, and shrivelled his whole person. I told him of the business of

the evening, and a smile relaxed the contracted muscles. He desired to go; each day he expected to be

infected by pestilence, each day he was unable to resist the gentle violence of Adrian's detention. The

moment Adrian should be legally elected his deputy, he would escape to safety. Under this impression he

listened to all I said; and, elevated almost to joy by the near prospect of his departure, he entered into a

discussion concerning the plans he should adopt in his own county, forgetting, for the moment, his cherished

resolution of shutting himself up from all communication in the mansion and grounds of his estate.

In the evening, Adrian and I proceeded to Westminster. As we went he reminded me of what I was to say and

do, yet, strange to say, I entered the chamber without having once reflected on my purpose. Adrian remained

in the coffeeroom, while I, in compliance with his desire, took my seat in St. Stephen's. There reigned

unusual silence in the chamber. I had not visited it since Raymond's protectorate; a period conspicuous for a

numerous attendance of members, for the eloquence of the speakers, and the warmth of the debate. The

benches were very empty, those by custom occupied by the hereditary members were vacant; the city

members were therethe members for the commercial towns, few landed proprietors, and not many of those

who entered parliament for the sake of a career. The first subject that occupied the attention of the house was

an address from the Lord Protector, praying them to appoint a deputy during a necessary absence on his part.

A silence prevailed, till one of the members coming to me, whispered that the Earl of Windsor had sent him

word that I was to move his election, in the absence of the person who had been first chosen for this office.

Now for the first time I saw the full extent of my task, and I was overwhelmed by what I had brought on

myself. Ryland had deserted his post through fear of the plague: from the same fear Adrian had no

competitor. And I, the nearest kinsman of the Earl of Windsor, was to propose his election. I was to thrust

this selected and matchless friend into the post of dangerimpossible! the die was castI would offer

The few members who were present, had come more for the sake of terminating the business by securing a

legal attendance, than under the idea of a debate. I had risen mechanicallymy knees trembled; irresolution

hung on my voice, as I uttered a few words on the necessity of choosing a person adequate to the dangerous

task in hand. But, when the idea of presenting myself in the room of my friend intruded, the load of doubt and

pain was taken from off me. My words flowed spontaneouslymy utterance was firm and quick. I adverted

to what Adrian had already doneI promised the same vigilance in furthering all his views. I drew a

touching picture of his vacillating health; I boasted of my own strength. I prayed them to save even from

himself this scion of the noblest family in England. My alliance with him was the pledge of my sincerity, my

union with his sister, my children, his presumptive heirs, were the hostages of my truth.

This unexpected turn in the debate was quickly communicated to Adrian. He hurried in, and witnessed the

termination of my impassioned harangue. I did not see him: my soul was in my words,my eyes could not

perceive that which was; while a vision of Adrian's form, tainted by pestilence, and sinking in death, floated

before them. He seized my hand, as I concluded "Unkind!" he cried, "you have betrayed me!" then,

springing forwards, with the air of one who had a right to command, he claimed the place of deputy as his

own. He had bought it, he said, with danger, and paid for it with toil. His ambition rested there; and, after an

interval devoted to the interests of his country, was I to step in, and reap the profit? Let them remember what

London had been when he arrived: the panic that prevailed brought famine, while every moral and legal tie

was loosened. He had restored orderthis had been a work which required perseverance, patience, and

energy; and he had neither slept nor waked but for the good of his country.Would they dare wrong him

thus? Would they wrest his hardearned reward from him, to bestow it on one, who, never having mingled in

public life, would come a tyro to the craft, in which he was an adept. He demanded the place of deputy as his

right. Ryland had shown that he preferred him. Never before had he, who was born even to the inheritance of

the throne of England, never had he asked favour or honour from those now his equals, but who might have

been his subjects. Would they refuse him? Could they thrust back from the path of distinction and laudable

ambition, the heir of their ancient kings, and heap another disappointment on a fallen house.

No one had ever before heard Adrian allude to the rights of his ancestors. None had ever before suspected,

that power, or the suffrage of the many, could in any manner become dear to him. He had begun his speech

with vehemence; he ended with unassuming gentleness, making his appeal with the same humility, as if he

had asked to be the first in wealth, honour, and power among Englishmen, and not, as was the truth, to be the

foremost in the ranks of loathsome toils and inevitable death. A murmur of approbation rose after his speech.

"Oh, do not listen to him," I cried, "he speaks falsefalse to himself,"I was interrupted: and, silence being

restored, we were ordered, as was the custom, to retire during the decision of the house. I fancied that they

hesitated, and that there was some hope for meI was mistakenhardly had we quitted the chamber, before

Adrian was recalled, and installed in his office of Lord Deputy to the Protector.

We returned together to the palace. "Why, Lionel," said Adrian, "what did you intend? you could not hope to

"This is mockery," I replied, "you devote yourself,you, the adored brother of Idris, the being, of all the

world contains, dearest to our heartsyou devote yourself to an early death. I would have prevented this; my

death would be a small evilor rather I should not die; while you cannot hope to escape."

"As to the likelihood of escaping," said Adrian, "ten years hence the cold stars may shine on the graves of all

of us; but as to my peculiar liability to infection, I could easily prove, both logically and physically, that in

"This is my post: I was born for thisto rule England in anarchy, to save her in dangerto devote myself

for her. The blood of my forefathers cries aloud in my veins, and bids me be first among my countrymen. Or,

if this mode of speech offend you, let me say, that my mother, the proud queen, instilled early into me a love

of distinction, and all that, if the weakness of my physical nature and my peculiar opinions had not prevented

such a design, might have made me long since struggle for the lost inheritance of my race. But now my

mother, or, if you will, my mother's lessons, awaken within me. I cannot lead on to battle; I cannot, through

intrigue and faithlessness rear again the throne upon the wreck of English public spirit. But I can be the first

to support and guard my country, now that terrific disasters and ruin have laid strong hands upon her.

"That country and my beloved sister are all I have. I will protect the firstthe latter I commit to your charge.

If I survive, and she be lost, I were far better dead. Preserve her for her own sake I know that you willif

you require any other spur, think that, in preserving her, you preserve me. Her faultless nature, one sum of

perfections, is wrapt up in her affectionsif they were hurt, she would droop like an unwatered floweret, and

the slightest injury they receive is a nipping frost to her. Already she fears for us. She fears for the children

she adores, and for you, the father of these, her lover, husband, protector; and you must be near her to support

and encourage her. Return to Windsor then, my brother; for such you are by every tiefill the double place

my absence imposes on you, and let me, in all my sufferings here, turn my eyes towards that dear seclusion,

I DID proceed to Windsor, but not with the intention of remaining there. I went but to obtain the consent of

Idris, and then to return and take my station beside my unequalled friend; to share his labours, and save him,

if so it must be, at the expense of my life. Yet I dreaded to witness the anguish which my resolve might excite

in Idris. I had vowed to my own heart never to shadow her countenance even with transient grief, and should

I prove recreant at the hour of greatest need? I had begun my journey with anxious haste; now I desired to

draw it out through the course of days and months. I longed to avoid the necessity of action; I strove to

escape from thought vainlyfuturity, like a dark image in a phantasmagoria, came nearer and more near,

A slight circumstance induced me to alter my usual route, and to return home by Egham and Bishopgate. I

alighted at Perdita's ancient abode, her cottage; and, sending forward the carriage, determined to walk across

the park to the castle. This spot, dedicated to sweetest recollections, the deserted house and neglected garden

were well adapted to nurse my melancholy. In our happiest days, Perdita had adorned her cottage with every

aid art might bring, to that which nature had selected to favour. In the same spirit of exaggeration she had, on

the event of her separation from Raymond, caused it to be entirely neglected. It was now in ruin: the deer had

climbed the broken palings, and reposed among the flowers; grass grew on the threshold, and the swinging

lattice creaking to the wind, gave signal of utter desertion. The sky was blue above, and the air impregnated

with fragrance by the rare flowers that grew among the weeds. The trees moved overhead, awakening nature's

favourite melodybut the melancholy appearance of the choked paths, and weedgrown flowerbeds,

dimmed even this gay summer scene. The time when in proud and happy security we assembled at this

cottage, was gonesoon the present hours would join those past, and shadows of future ones rose dark and

menacing from the womb of time, their cradle and their bier. For the first time in my life I envied the sleep of

the dead, and thought with pleasure of one's bed under the sod, where grief and fear have no power. I passed

through the gap of the broken palingI felt, while I disdained, the choking tearsI rushed into the depths of

the forest. O death and change, rulers of our life, where are ye, that I may grapple with you! What was there

in our tranquillity, that excited your envyin our happiness, that ye should destroy it? We were happy,

loving, and beloved; the horn of Amalthea contained no blessing unshowered upon us, but, alas!

As I wandered on thus ruminating, a number of country people passed me. They seemed full of careful

thought, and a few words of their conversation that reached me, induced me to approach and make further

inquiries. A party of people flying from London, as was frequent in those days, had come up the Thames in a

boat. No one at Windsor would afford them shelter; so, going a little further up, they remained all night in a

deserted hut near Bolter's lock. They pursued their way the following morning, leaving one of their company

behind them, sick of the plague. This circumstance once spread abroad, none dared approach within half a

mile of the infected neighbourhood, and the deserted wretch was left to fight with disease and death in

solitude, as he best might. I was urged by compassion to hasten to the hut, for the purpose of ascertaining his

As I advanced I met knots of countrypeople talking earnestly of this event: distant as they were from the

apprehended contagion, fear was impressed on every countenance. I passed by a group of these terrorists, in a

lane in the direct road to the hut. One of them stopped me, and, conjecturing that I was ignorant of the

circumstance, told me not to go on, for that an infected person lay but at a short distance.

"I know it," I replied, "and I am going to see in what condition the poor fellow is."

A murmur of surprise and horror ran through the assembly. I continued:"This poor wretch is deserted,

dying, succourless; in these unhappy times, God knows how soon any or all of us may be in like want. I am

"But you will never be able to return to the CastleLady Idrishis children" in confused speech were

"Do you not know, my friends," I said, "that the Earl himself, now Lord Protector, visits daily, not only those

probably infected by this disease, but the hospitals and pest houses, going near, and even touching the sick?

yet he was never in better health. You labour under an entire mistake as to the nature of the plague; but do not

fear, I do not ask any of you to accompany me, nor to believe me, until I return safe and sound from my

So I left them, and hurried on. I soon arrived at the hut: the door was ajar. I entered, and one glance assured

me that its former inhabitant was no morehe lay on a heap of straw, cold and stiff; while a pernicious

effluvia filled the room, and various stains and marks served to show the virulence of the disorder.

I had never before beheld one killed by pestilence. While every mind was full of dismay at its effects, a

craving for excitement had led us to peruse De Foe's account, and the masterly delineations of the author of

Arthur Mervyn. The pictures drawn in these books were so vivid, that we seemed to have experienced the

results depicted by them. But cold were the sensations excited by words, burning though they were, and

describing the death and misery of thousands, compared to what I felt in looking on the corpse of this

unhappy stranger. This indeed was the plague. I raised his rigid limbs, I marked the distortion of his face, and

the stony eyes lost to perception. As I was thus occupied, chill horror congealed my blood, making my flesh

quiver and my hair to stand on end. Half insanely I spoke to the dead. So the plague killed you, I muttered.

How came this? Was the coming painful? You look as if the enemy had tortured, before he murdered you.

And now I leapt up precipitately, and escaped from the hut, before nature could revoke her laws, and

On returning through the lane, I saw at a distance the same assemblage of persons which I had left. They

hurried away, as soon as they saw me; my agitated mien added to their fear of coming near one who had

At a distance from facts one draws conclusions which appear infallible, which yet when put to the test of

reality, vanish like unreal dreams. I had ridiculed the fears of my countrymen, when they related to others;

now that they came home to myself, I paused. The Rubicon, I felt, was passed; and it behoved me well to

reflect what I should do on this hither side of disease and danger. According to the vulgar superstition, my

dress, my person, the air I breathed, bore in it mortal danger to myself and others. Should I return to the

Castle, to my wife and children, with this taint upon me? Not surely if I were infected; but I felt certain that I

was nota few hours would determine the questionI would spend these in the forest, in reflection on what

was to come, and what my future actions were to be. In the feeling communicated to me by the sight of one

struck by the plague, I forgot the events that had excited me so strongly in London; new and more painful

prospects, by degrees were cleared of the mist which had hitherto veiled them. The question was no longer

whether I should share Adrian's toils and danger; but in what manner I could, in Windsor and the

neighbourhood, imitate the prudence and zeal which, under his government, produced order and plenty in

London, and how, now pestilence had spread more widely, I could secure the health of my own family.

I spread the whole earth out as a map before me. On no one spot of its surface could I put my finger and say,

here is safety. In the south, the disease, virulent and immedicable, had nearly annihilated the race of man;

storm and inundation, poisonous winds and blights, filled up the measure of suffering. In the north it was

worsethe lesser population gradually declined, and famine and plague kept watch on the survivors, who,

I contracted my view to England. The overgrown metropolis, the great heart of mighty Britain, was pulseless.

Commerce had ceased. All resort for ambition or pleasure was cut offthe streets were grassgrownthe

houses emptythe few, that from necessity remained, seemed already branded with the taint of inevitable

pestilence. In the larger manufacturing towns the same tragedy was acted on a smaller, yet more disastrous

scale. There was no Adrian to superintend and direct, while whole flocks of the poor were struck and killed.

Yet we were not all to die. No truly, though thinned, the race of man would continue, and the great plague

would, in after years, become matter of history and wonder. Doubtless this visitation was for extent

unexampledmore need that we should work hard to dispute its progress; ere this men have gone out in

sport, and slain their thousands and tens of thousands; but now man had become a creature of price; the life of

one of them was of more worth than the so called treasures of kings. Look at his thoughtendued

countenance, his graceful limbs, his majestic brow, his wondrous mechanismthe type and model of this

best work of God is not to be cast aside as a broken vessel he shall be preserved, and his children and his

Above all I must guard those entrusted by nature and fate to my especial care. And surely, if among all my

fellowcreatures I were to select those who might stand forth examples of the greatness and goodness of

man, I could choose no other than those allied to me by the most sacred ties. Some from among the family of

man must survive, and these should be among the survivors; that should be my taskto accomplish it my

own life were a small sacrifice. There then in that castlein Windsor Castle, birthplace of Idris and my

babes, should be the haven and retreat for the wrecked bark of human society. Its forest should be our

worldits garden afford us food; within its walls I would establish the shaken throne of health. I was an

outcast and a vagabond, when Adrian gently threw over me the silver net of love and civilization, and linked

me inextricably to human charities and human excellence. I was one, who, though an aspirant after good, and

an ardent lover of wisdom, was yet unenrolled in any list of worth, when Idris, the princely born, who was

herself the personification of all that was divine in woman, she who walked the earth like a poet's dream, as a

carved goddess endued with sense, or pictured saint stepping from the canvasshe, the most worthy, chose

During several hours I continued thus to meditate, till hunger and fatigue brought me back to the passing

hour, then marked by long shadows cast from the descending sun. I had wandered towards Bracknell, far to

the west of Windsor. The feeling of perfect health which I enjoyed, assured me that I was free from

contagion. I remembered that Idris had been kept in ignorance of my proceedings. She might have heard of

my return from London, and my visit to Bolter's Lock, which, connected with my continued absence, might

tend greatly to alarm her. I returned to Windsor by the Long Walk, and passing through the town towards the

"It is too late to be ambitious," says Sir Thomas Browne. "We cannot hope to live so long in our names as

some have done in their persons; one face of Janus holds no proportion to the other." Upon this text many

fanatics arose, who prophesied that the end of time was come. The spirit of superstition had birth, from the

wreck of our hopes, and antics wild and dangerous were played on the great theatre, while the remaining

particle of futurity dwindled into a point in the eyes of the prognosticators. Weakspirited women died of

fear as they listened to their denunciations; men of robust form and seeming strength fell into idiocy and

madness, racked by the dread of coming eternity. A man of this kind was now pouring forth his eloquent

despair among the inhabitants of Windsor. The scene of the morning, and my visit to the dead, which had

been spread abroad, had alarmed the countrypeople, so they had become fit instruments to be played upon

The poor wretch had lost his young wife and lovely infant by the plague. He was a mechanic; and, rendered

unable to attend to the occupation which supplied his necessities, famine was added to his other miseries. He

left the chamber which contained his wife and childwife and child no more, but "dead earth upon the

earth"wild with hunger, watching and grief, his diseased fancy made him believe himself sent by heaven to

preach the end of time to the world. He entered the churches, and foretold to the congregations their speedy

removal to the vaults below. He appeared like the forgotten spirit of the time in the theatres, and bade the

spectators go home and die. He had been seized and confined; he had escaped and wandered from London

among the neighbouring towns, and, with frantic gestures and thrilling words, he unveiled to each their

hidden fears, and gave voice to the soundless thought they dared not syllable. He stood under the arcade of

"Hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth," he cried, "hear thou, all seeing, but most pitiless Heaven! hear thou too,

O tempest tossed heart, which breathes out these words, yet faints beneath their meaning! Death is among

us! The earth is beautiful and flowerbedecked, but she is our grave! The clouds of heaven weep for usthe

pageantry of the stars is but our funeral torchlight. Grey headed men, ye hoped for yet a few years in your

longknown abodebut the lease is up, you must remove children, ye will never reach maturity, even

now the small grave is dug for yemothers, clasp them in your arms, one death embraces you!"

Shuddering, he stretched out his hands, his eyes cast up, seemed bursting from their sockets, while he

appeared to follow shapes, to us invisible, in the yielding air"There they are," he cried, "the dead! They

rise in their shrouds, and pass in silent procession towards the far land of their doomtheir bloodless lips

move nottheir shadowy limbs are void of motion, while still they glide onwards. We come," he exclaimed,

springing forwards, "for what should we wait? Haste, my friends, apparel yourselves in the courtdress of

death. Pestilence will usher you to his presence. Why thus long? they, the good, the wise, and the beloved, are

gone before. Mothers, kiss you last husbands, protectors no more, lead on the partners of your death!

Come, O come! while the dear ones are yet in sight, for soon they will pass away, and we never never shall

From such ravings as these, he would suddenly become collected, and with unexaggerated but terrific words,

paint the horrors of the time; describe with minute detail, the effects of the plague on the human frame, and

tell heartbreaking tales of the snapping of dear affinitiesthe gasping horror of despair over the deathbed

of the last belovedso that groans and even shrieks burst from the crowd. One man in particular stood in

front, his eyes fixed on the prophet, his mouth open, his limbs rigid, while his face changed to various

colours, yellow, blue, and green, through intense fear. The maniac caught his glance, and turned his eye on

himone has heard of the gaze of the rattlesnake, which allures the trembling victim till he falls within his

jaws. The maniac became composed; his person rose higher; authority beamed from his countenance. He

looked on the peasant, who began to tremble, while he still gazed; his knees knocked together; his teeth

chattered. He at last fell down in convulsions. "That man has the plague," said the maniac calmly. A shriek

burst from the lips of the poor wretch; and then sudden motionlessness came over him; it was manifest to all

Cries of horror filled the placeevery one endeavoured to effect his escapein a few minutes the market

place was clearedthe corpse lay on the ground; and the maniac, subdued and exhausted, sat beside it,

leaning his gaunt cheek upon his thin hand. Soon some people, deputed by the magistrates, came to remove

the body; the unfortunate being saw a gaoler in each he fled precipitately, while I passed onwards to the

Death, cruel and relentless, had entered these beloved walls. An old servant, who had nursed Idris in infancy,

and who lived with us more on the footing of a revered relative than a domestic, had gone a few days before

to visit a daughter, married, and settled in the neighbourhood of London. On the night of her return she

sickened of the plague. From the haughty and unbending nature of the Countess of Windsor, Idris had few

tender filial associations with her. This good woman had stood in the place of a mother, and her very

deficiencies of education and knowledge, by rendering her humble and defenceless, endeared her to usshe

was the especial favourite of the children. I found my poor girl, there is no exaggeration in the expression,

wild with grief and dread. She hung over the patient in agony, which was not mitigated when her thoughts

wandered towards her babes, for whom she feared infection. My arrival was like the newly discovered lamp

of a lighthouse to sailors, who are weathering some dangerous point. She deposited her appalling doubts in

my hands; she relied on my judgment, and was comforted by my participation in her sorrow. Soon our poor

nurse expired; and the anguish of suspense was changed to deep regret, which though at first more painful,

yet yielded with greater readiness to my consolations. Sleep, the sovereign balm, at length steeped her tearful

She slept; and quiet prevailed in the Castle, whose inhabitants were hushed to repose. I was awake, and

during the long hours of dead night, my busy thoughts worked in my brain, like ten thousand millwheels,

rapid, acute, untameable. All sleptall England slept; and from my window, commanding a wide prospect

of the starillumined country, I saw the land stretched out in placid rest. I was awake, alive, while the brother

of death possessed my race. What, if the more potent of these fraternal deities should obtain dominion over

it? The silence of midnight, to speak truly, though apparently a paradox, rung in my ears. The solitude

became intolerableI placed my hand on the beating heart of Idris, I bent my head to catch the sound of her

breath, to assure myself that she still existedfor a moment I doubted whether I should not awake her; so

effeminate an horror ran through my frame.Great God! would it one day be thus? One day all extinct, save

myself, should I walk the earth alone? Were these warning voices, whose inarticulate and oracular sense

AFTER a long interval, I am again impelled by the restless spirit within me to continue my narration; but I

must alter the mode which I have hitherto adopted. The details contained in the foregoing pages, apparently

trivial, yet each slightest one weighing like lead in the depressed scale of human afflictions; this tedious

dwelling on the sorrows of others, while my own were only in apprehension; this slowly laying bare of my

soul's wounds: this journal of death; this long drawn and tortuous path, leading to the ocean of countless

tears, awakens me again to keen grief. I had used this history as an opiate; while it described my beloved

friends, fresh with life and glowing with hope, active assistants on the scene, I was soothed; there will be a

more melancholy pleasure in painting the end of all. But the intermediate steps, the climbing the wall, raised

up between what was and is, while I still looked back nor saw the concealed desert beyond, is a labour past

my strength. Time and experience have placed me on an height from which I can comprehend the past as a

whole; and in this way I must describe it, bringing forward the leading incidents, and disposing light and

It would be needless to narrate those disastrous occurrences, for which a parallel might be found in any

slighter visitation of our gigantic calamity. Does the reader wish to hear of the pesthouses, where death is

the comforterof the mournful passage of the deathcartof the insensibility of the worthless, and the

anguish of the loving heartof harrowing shrieks and silence direof the variety of disease, desertion,

famine, despair, and death? There are many books which can feed the appetite craving for these things; let

them turn to the accounts of Boccaccio, De Foe, and Browne. The vast annihilation that has swallowed all

thingsthe voiceless solitude of the once busy earththe lonely state of singleness which hems me in, has

deprived even such details of their stinging reality, and mellowing the lurid tints of past anguish with poetic

hues, I am able to escape from the mosaic of circumstance, by perceiving and reflecting back the grouping

I had returned from London possessed by the idea, with the intimate feeling that it was my first duty to

secure, as well as I was able, the wellbeing of my family, and then to return and take my post beside Adrian.

The events that immediately followed on my arrival at Windsor changed this view of things. The plague was

not in London alone, it was every whereit came on us, as Ryland had said, like a thousand packs of

wolves, howling through the winter night, gaunt and fierce. When once disease was introduced into the rural

districts, its effects appeared more horrible, more exigent, and more difficult to cure, than in towns. There

was a companionship in suffering there, and, the neighbours keeping constant watch on each other, and

inspired by the active benevolence of Adrian, succour was afforded, and the path of destruction smoothed.

But in the country, among the scattered farmhouses, in lone cottages, in fields, and barns, tragedies were

acted harrowing to the soul, unseen, unheard, unnoticed. Medical aid was less easily procured, food was more

difficult to obtain, and human beings, unwithheld by shame, for they were unbeheld of their fellows, ventured

Deeds of heroism also occurred, whose very mention swells the heart and brings tears into the eyes. Such is

human nature, that beauty and deformity are often closely linked. In reading history we are chiefly struck by

the generosity and self devotion that follow close on the heels of crime, veiling with supernal flowers the

stain of blood. Such acts were not wanting to adorn the grim train that waited on the progress of the plague.

The inhabitants of Berkshire and Bucks had been long aware that the plague was in London, in Liverpool,

Bristol, Manchester, York, in short, in all the more populous towns of England. They were not however the

less astonished and dismayed when it appeared among themselves. They were impatient and angry in the

midst of terror. They would do something to throw off the clinging evil, and, while in action, they fancied

that a remedy was applied. The inhabitants of the smaller towns left their houses, pitched tents in the fields,

wandering separate from each other careless of hunger or the sky's inclemency, while they imagined that they

avoided the deathdealing disease. The farmers and cottagers, on the contrary, struck with the fear of

But winter was coming, and with winter, hope. In August, the plague had appeared in the country of England,

and during September it made its ravages. Towards the end of October it dwindled away, and was in some

degree replaced by a typhus, of hardly less virulence. The autumn was warm and rainy: the infirm and sickly

died offhappier they: many young people flushed with health and prosperity, made pale by wasting

malady, became the inhabitants of the grave. The crop had failed, the bad corn, and want of foreign wines,

added vigour to disease. Before Christmas half England was under water. The storms of the last winter were

renewed; but the diminished shipping of this year caused us to feel less the tempests of the sea. The flood and

storms did more harm to continental Europe than to usgiving, as it were, the last blow to the calamities

which destroyed it. In Italy the rivers were unwatched by the diminished peasantry; and, like wild beasts from

their lair when the hunters and dogs are afar, did Tiber, Arno, and Po, rush upon and destroy the fertility of

the plains. Whole villages were carried away. Rome, and Florence, and Pisa were overflowed, and their

marble palaces, late mirrored in tranquil streams, had their foundations shaken by their wintergifted power.

But frost would come at last, and with it a renewal of our lease of earth. Frost would blunt the arrows of

pestilence, and enchain the furious elements; and the land would in spring throw off her garment of snow,

released from her menace of destruction. It was not until February that the desired signs of winter appeared.

For three days the snow fell, ice stopped the current of the rivers, and the birds flew out from crackling

branches of the frostwhitened trees. On the fourth morning all vanished. A southwest wind brought up

rainthe sun came out, and mocking the usual laws of nature, seemed even at this early season to burn with

solstitial force. It was no consolation, that with the first winds of March the lanes were filled with violets, the

fruit trees covered with blossoms, that the corn sprung up, and the leaves came out, forced by the

unseasonable heat. We feared the balmy airwe feared the cloudless sky, the flowercovered earth, and

delightful woods, for we looked on the fabric of the universe no longer as our dwelling, but our tomb, and the

Yet notwithstanding these disadvantages winter was breathing time; and we exerted ourselves to make the

best of it. Plague might not revive with the summer; but if it did, it should find us prepared. It is a part of

man's nature to adapt itself through habit even to pain and sorrow. Pestilence had become a part of our future,

our existence; it was to be guarded against, like the flooding of rivers, the encroachments of ocean, or the

inclemency of the sky. After long suffering and bitter experience, some panacea might be discovered; as it

was, all that received infection diedall however were not infected; and it became our part to fix deep the

foundations, and raise high the barrier between contagion and the sane; to introduce such order as would

conduce to the wellbeing of the survivors, and as would preserve hope and some portion of happiness to

those who were spectators of the still renewed tragedy. Adrian had introduced systematic modes of

proceeding in the metropolis, which, while they were unable to stop the progress of death, yet prevented other

evils, vice and folly, from rendering the awful fate of the hour still more tremendous. I wished to imitate his

and I could find no means of leading the inhabitants of scattered towns and villages, who forgot my words as

soon as they heard them not, and veered with every baffling wind, that might arise from an apparent change

I adopted another plan. Those writers who have imagined a reign of peace and happiness on earth, have

generally described a rural country, where each small township was directed by the elders and wise men. This

was the key of my design. Each village, however small, usually contains a leader, one among themselves

whom they venerate, whose advice they seek in difficulty, and whose good opinion they chiefly value. I was

immediately drawn to make this observation by occurrences that presented themselves to my personal

In the village of Little Marlow an old woman ruled the community. She had lived for some years in an

almshouse, and on fine Sundays her threshold was constantly beset by a crowd, seeking her advice and

listening to her admonitions. She had been a soldier's wife, and had seen the world; infirmity, induced by

fevers caught in unwholesome quarters, had come on her before its time, and she seldom moved from her

little cot. The plague entered the village; and, while fright and grief deprived the inhabitants of the little

wisdom they possessed, old Martha stepped forward and said"Before now I have been in a town where

there was the plague.""And you escaped?""No, but I recovered."After this Martha was seated more

firmly than ever on the regal seat, elevated by reverence and love. She entered the cottages of the sick; she

relieved their wants with her own hand; she betrayed no fear, and inspired all who saw her with some portion

of her own native courage. She attended the marketsshe insisted upon being supplied with food for those

who were too poor to purchase it. She showed them how the wellbeing of each included the prosperity of

all. She would not permit the gardens to be neglected, nor the very flowers in the cottage lattices to droop

from want of care. Hope, she said, was better than a doctor's prescription, and every thing that could sustain

It was the sight of Little Marlow, and my conversations with Martha, that led me to the plan I formed. I had

before visited the manor houses and gentlemen's seats, and often found the inhabitants actuated by the purest

benevolence, ready to lend their utmost aid for the welfare of their tenants. But this was not enough. The

intimate sympathy generated by similar hopes and fears, similar experience and pursuits, was wanting here.

The poor perceived that the rich possessed other means of preservation than those which could be partaken of

by themselves, seclusion, and, as far as circumstances permitted, freedom from care. They could not place

reliance on them, but turned with tenfold dependence to the succour and advice of their equals. I resolved

therefore to go from village to village, seeking out the rustic archon of the place, and by systematising their

exertions, and enlightening their views, increase both their power and their use among their fellow

cottagers. Many changes also now occurred in these spontaneous regal elections: depositions and abdications

were frequent, while, in the place of the old and prudent, the ardent youth would step forward, eager for

action, regardless of danger. Often too, the voice to which all listened was suddenly silenced, the helping

hand cold, the sympathetic eye closed, and the villagers feared still more the death that had selected a choice

victim, shivering in dust the heart that had beat for them, reducing to incommunicable annihilation the mind

Whoever labours for man must often find ingratitude, watered by vice and folly, spring from the grain which

he has sown. Death, which had in our younger days walked the earth like "a thief that comes in the night,"

now, rising from his subterranean vault, girt with power, with dark banner floating, came a conqueror. Many

saw, seated above his viceregal throne, a supreme Providence, who directed his shafts, and guided his

progress, and they bowed their heads in resignation, or at least in obedience. Others perceived only a passing

casualty; they endeavoured to exchange terror for heedlessness, and plunged into licentiousness, to avoid the

agonizing throes of worst apprehension. Thus, while the wise, the good, and the prudent were occupied by the

labours of benevolence, the truce of winter produced other effects among the young, the thoughtless, and the

vicious. During the colder months there was a general rush to London in search of amusementthe ties of

public opinion were loosened; many were rich, heretofore poormany had lost father and mother, the

guardians of their morals, their mentors and restraints. It would have been useless to have opposed these

impulses by barriers, which would only have driven those actuated by them to more pernicious indulgencies.

The theatres were open and thronged; dance and midnight festival were frequentedin many of these

decorum was violated, and the evils, which hitherto adhered to an advanced state of civilization, were

doubled. The student left his books, the artist his study: the occupations of life were gone, but the

amusements remained; enjoyment might be protracted to the verge of the grave. All factitious colouring

disappeareddeath rose like night, and, protected by its murky shadows the blush of modesty, the reserve of

This was not universal. Among better natures, anguish and dread, the fear of eternal separation, and the awful

wonder produced by unprecedented calamity, drew closer the ties of kindred and friendship. Philosophers

opposed their principles, as barriers to the inundation of profligacy or despair, and the only ramparts to

protect the invaded territory of human life; the religious, hoping now for their reward, clung fast to their

creeds, as the rafts and planks which over the tempestvexed sea of suffering, would bear them in safety to

the harbour of the Unknown Continent. The loving heart, obliged to contract its view, bestowed its overflow

of affection in triple portion on the few that remained. Yet, even among these, the present, as an unalienable

possession, became all of time to which they dared commit the precious freight of their hopes.

The experience of immemorial time had taught us formerly to count our enjoyments by years, and extend our

prospect of life through a lengthened period of progression and decay; the long road threaded a vast labyrinth,

and the Valley of the Shadow of Death, in which it terminated, was hid by intervening objects. But an

earthquake had changed the sceneunder our very feet the earth yawneddeep and precipitous the gulf

below opened to receive us, while the hours charioted us towards the chasm. But it was winter now, and

months must elapse before we are hurled from our security. We became ephemera, to whom the interval

between the rising and setting sun was as a long drawn year of common time. We should never see our

children ripen into maturity, nor behold their downy cheeks roughen, their blithe hearts subdued by passion

or care; but we had them now they lived, and we livedwhat more could we desire? With such schooling

did my poor Idris try to hush thronging fears, and in some measure succeeded. It was not as in summertime,

when each hour might bring the dreaded fateuntil summer, we felt sure; and this certainty, short lived as it

must be, yet for awhile satisfied her maternal tenderness. I know not how to express or communicate the

sense of concentrated, intense, though evanescent transport, that imparadised us in the present hour. Our joys

were dearer because we saw their end; they were keener because we felt, to its fullest extent, their value; they

were purer because their essence was sympathyas a meteor is brighter than a star, did the felicity of this

How lovely is spring! As we looked from Windsor Terrace on the sixteen fertile counties spread beneath,

speckled by happy cottages and wealthier towns, all looked as in former years, heartcheering and fair. The

land was ploughed, the slender blades of wheat broke through the dark soil, the fruit trees were covered with

buds, the husbandman was abroad in the fields, the milkmaid tripped home with wellfilled pails, the

swallows and martins struck the sunny pools with their long, pointed wings, the new dropped lambs reposed

Man himself seemed to regenerate, and feel the frost of winter yield to an elastic and warm renewal of

lifereason told us that care and sorrow would grow with the opening yearbut how to believe the

ominous voice breathed up with pestiferous vapours from fear's dim cavern, while nature, laughing and

scattering from her green lap flowers, and fruits, and sparkling waters, invited us to join the gay masque of

Where was the plague? "Hereeverywhere!" one voice of horror and dismay exclaimed, when in the

pleasant days of a sunny May the Destroyer of man brooded again over the earth, forcing the spirit to leave its

organic chrysalis, and to enter upon an untried life. With one mighty sweep of its potent weapon, all caution,

all care, all prudence were levelled low: death sat at the tables of the great, stretched itself on the cottager's

pallet, seized the dastard who fled, quelled the brave man who resisted: despondency entered every heart,

Sights of woe now became familiar to me, and were I to tell all of anguish and pain that I witnessed, of the

despairing moans of age, and the more terrible smiles of infancy in the bosom of horror, my reader, his limbs

quivering and his hair on end, would wonder how I did not, seized with sudden frenzy, dash myself from

some precipice, and so close my eyes for ever on the sad end of the world. But the powers of love, poetry,

and creative fancy will dwell even beside the sick of the plague, with the squalid, and with the dying. A

feeling of devotion, of duty, of a high and steady purpose, elevated me; a strange joy filled my heart. In the

midst of saddest grief I seemed to tread air, while the spirit of good shed round me an ambrosial atmosphere,

which blunted the sting of sympathy, and purified the air of sighs. If my wearied soul flagged in its career, I

thought of my loved home, of the casket that contained my treasures, of the kiss of love and the filial caress,

while my eyes were moistened by purest dew, and my heart was at once softened and refreshed by thrilling

Maternal affection had not rendered Idris selfish; at the beginning of our calamity she had, with thoughtless

enthusiasm, devoted herself to the care of the sick and helpless. I checked her; and she submitted to my rule. I

told her how the fear of her danger palsied my exertions, how the knowledge of her safety strung my nerves

to endurance. I showed her the dangers which her children incurred during her absence; and she at length

agreed not to go beyond the enclosure of the forest. Indeed, within the walls of the Castle we had a colony of

the unhappy, deserted by their relatives, and in themselves helpless, sufficient to occupy her time and

attention, while ceaseless anxiety for my welfare and the health of her children, however she strove to curb or

conceal it, absorbed all her thoughts, and undermined the vital principle. After watching over and providing

for their safety, her second care was to hide from me her anguish and tears. Each night I returned to the

Castle, and found there repose and love awaiting me. Often I waited beside the bed of death till midnight, and

through the obscurity of rainy, cloudy nights rode many miles, sustained by one circumstance only, the safety

and sheltered repose of those I loved. If some scene of tremendous agony shook my frame and fevered my

brow, I would lay my head on the lap of Idris, and the tumultuous pulses subsided into a temperate flowher

smile could raise me from hopelessness, her embrace bathe my sorrowing heart in calm peace.

Summer advanced, and, crowned with the sun's potent rays, plague shot her unerring shafts over the earth.

The nations beneath their influence bowed their heads, and died. The corn that sprung up in plenty, lay in

autumn rotting on the ground, while the melancholy wretch who had gone out to gather bread for his

children, lay stiff and plaguestruck in the furrow. The green woods waved their boughs majestically, while

the dying were spread beneath their shade, answering the solemn melody with inharmonious cries. The

painted birds flitted through the shades; the careless deer reposed unhurt upon the fernthe oxen and the

horses strayed from their unguarded stables, and grazed among the wheat, for death fell on man alone.

With summer and mortality grew our fears. My poor love and I looked at each other, and our babes."We

will save them, Idris," I said, "I will save them. Years hence we shall recount to them our fears, then passed

away with their occasion. Though they only should remain on the earth, still they shall live, nor shall their

cheeks become pale nor their sweet voices languish." Our eldest in some degree understood the scenes

passing around, and at times, he with serious looks questioned me concerning the reason of so vast a

desolation. But he was only ten years old; and the hilarity of youth soon chased unreasonable care from his

brow. Evelyn, a laughing cherub, a gamesome infant, without idea of pain or sorrow, would, shaking back his

light curls from his eyes, make the halls reecho with his merriment, and in a thousand artless ways attract

our attention to his play. Clara, our lovely gentle Clara, was our stay, our solace, our delight. She made it her

task to attend the sick, comfort the sorrowing, assist the aged, and partake the sports and awaken the gaiety of

the young. She flitted through the rooms, like a good spirit, dispatched from the celestial kingdom, to

illumine our dark hour with alien splendour. Gratitude and praise marked where her footsteps had been. Yet,

when she stood in unassuming simplicity before us, playing with our children, or with girlish assiduity

performing little kind offices for Idris, one wondered in what fair lineament of her pure loveliness, in what

soft tone of her thrilling voice, so much of heroism, sagacity and active goodness resided.

The summer passed tediously, for we trusted that winter would at least check the disease. That it would

vanish altogether was an hope too deartoo heartfelt, to be expressed. When such a thought was heedlessly

uttered, the hearers, with a gush of tears and passionate sobs, bore witness how deep their fears were, how

small their hopes. For my own part, my exertions for the public good permitted me to observe more closely

than most others, the virulence and extensive ravages of our sightless enemy. A short month has destroyed a

village, and where in May the first person sickened, in June the paths were deformed by unburied

corpsesthe houses tenantless, no smoke arising from the chimneys; and the housewife's clock marked only

the hour when death had been triumphant. From such scenes I have sometimes saved a deserted infant

sometimes led a young and grieving mother from the lifeless image of her first born, or drawn the sturdy

July is gone. August must pass, and by the middle of September we may hope. Each day was eagerly

counted; and the inhabitants of towns, desirous to leap this dangerous interval, plunged into dissipation, and

strove, by riot, and what they wished to imagine to be pleasure, to banish thought and opiate despair. None

but Adrian could have tamed the motley population of London, which, like a troop of unbitted steeds rushing

to their pastures, had thrown aside all minor fears, through the operation of the fear paramount. Even Adrian

was obliged in part to yield, that he might be able, if not to guide, at least to set bounds to the license of the

times. The theatres were kept open; every place of public resort was frequented; though he endeavoured so to

modify them, as might best quiet the agitation of the spectators, and at the same time prevent a reaction of

misery when the excitement was over. Tragedies deep and dire were the chief favourites. Comedy brought

with it too great a contrast to the inner despair: when such were attempted, it was not infrequent for a

comedian, in the midst of the laughter occasioned by his disproportioned buffoonery, to find a word or

thought in his part that jarred with his own sense of wretchedness, and burst from mimic merriment into sobs

and tears, while the spectators, seized with irresistible sympathy, wept, and the pantomimic revelry was

It was not in my nature to derive consolation from such scenes; from theatres, whose buffoon laughter and

discordant mirth awakened distempered sympathy, or where fictitious tears and wailings mocked the

heartfelt grief within; from festival or crowded meeting, where hilarity sprung from the worst feelings of

our nature, or such enthralment of the better ones, as impressed it with garish and false varnish; from

assemblies of mourners in the guise of revellers. Once however I witnessed a scene of singular interest at one

of the theatres, where nature overpowered art, as an overflowing cataract will tear away the puny

manufacture of a mock cascade, which had before been fed by a small portion of its waters.

I had come to London to see Adrian. He was not at the palace; and, though the attendants did not know

whither he had gone, they did not expect him till late at night. It was between six and seven o'clock, a fine

summer afternoon, and I spent my leisure hours in a ramble through the empty streets of London; now

turning to avoid an approaching funeral, now urged by curiosity to observe the state of a particular spot; my

wanderings were instinct with pain, for silence and desertion characterised every place I visited, and the few

beings I met were so pale and woebegone, so marked with care and depressed by fear, that weary of

I was now in Holborn, and passed by a public house filled with uproarious companions, whose songs,

laughter, and shouts were more sorrowful than the pale looks and silence of the mourner. Such an one was

near, hovering round this house. The sorry plight of her dress displayed her poverty, she was ghastly pale,

and continued approaching, first the window and then the door of the house, as if fearful, yet longing to enter.

A sudden burst of song and merriment seemed to sting her to the heart; she murmured, "Can he have the

heart?" and then mustering her courage, she stepped within the threshold. The landlady met her in the

"See him," cried the woman, "yes, if you go to him; last night he was taken with the plague, and we sent him

The unfortunate inquirer staggered against a wall, a faint cry escaped her"O! were you cruel enough," she

The landlady meanwhile hurried away; but a more compassionate barmaid gave her a detailed account, the

sum of which was, that her husband had been taken ill, after a night of riot, and sent by his boon companions

with all expedition to St. Bartholomew's Hospital. I had watched this scene, for there was a gentleness about

the poor woman that interested me; she now tottered away from the door, walking as well as she could down

Holborn Hill; but her strength soon failed her; she leaned against a wall, and her head sunk on her bosom,

while her pallid cheek became still more white. I went up to her and offered my services. She hardly looked

up"You can do me no good," she replied; "I must go to the hospital; if I do not die before I get there."

There were still a few hackneycoaches accustomed to stand about the streets, more truly from habit than for

use. I put her in one of these, and entered with her that I might secure her entrance into the hospital. Our way

was short, and she said little; except interrupted ejaculations of reproach that he had left her, exclamations on

the unkindness of some of his friends, and hope that she would find him alive. There was a simple, natural

earnestness about her that interested me in her fate, especially when she assured me that her husband was the

best of men,had been so, till want of business during these unhappy times had thrown him into bad

company. "He could not bear to come home," she said, "only to see our children die. A man cannot have the

We were set down at St. Bartholomew's, and entered the wretched precincts of the house of disease. The poor

creature clung closer to me, as she saw with what heartless haste they bore the dead from the wards, and took

them into a room, whose halfopened door displayed a number of corpses, horrible to behold by one

unaccustomed to such scenes. We were directed to the ward where her husband had been first taken, and still

was, the nurse said, if alive. My companion looked eagerly from one bed to the other, till at the end of the

ward she espied, on a wretched bed, a squalid, haggard creature, writhing under the torture of disease. She

The enthusiasm that inspired her with this strange joy, blinded her to the horrors about her; but they were

intolerably agonizing to me. The ward was filled with an effluvia that caused my heart to heave with painful

qualms. The dead were carried out, and the sick brought in, with like indifference; some were screaming with

pain, others laughing from the influence of more terrible delirium; some were attended by weeping,

despairing relations, others called aloud with thrilling tenderness or reproach on the friends who had deserted

them, while the nurses went from bed to bed, incarnate images of despair, neglect, and death. I gave gold to

my luckless companion; I recommended her to the care of the attendants; I then hastened away; while the

tormentor, the imagination, busied itself in picturing my own loved ones, stretched on such beds, attended

thus. The country afforded no such mass of horrors; solitary wretches died in the open fields; and I have

found a survivor in a vacant village, contending at once with famine and disease; but the assembly of

I rambled on, oppressed, distracted by painful emotions suddenly I found myself before Drury Lane

Theatre. The play was Macbeththe first actor of the age was there to exert his powers to drug with

irreflection the auditors; such a medicine I yearned for, so I entered. The theatre was tolerably well filled.

Shakespeare, whose popularity was established by the approval of four centuries, had not lost his influence

even at this dread period; but was still "Ut magus," the wizard to rule our hearts and govern our imaginations.

I came in during the interval between the third and fourth act. I looked round on the audience; the females

were mostly of the lower classes, but the men were of all ranks, come hither to forget awhile the protracted

scenes of wretchedness, which awaited them at their miserable homes. The curtain drew up, and the stage

presented the scene of the witches' cave. The wildness and supernatural machinery of Macbeth, was a pledge

that it could contain little directly connected with our present circumstances. Great pains had been taken in

the scenery to give the semblance of reality to the impossible. The extreme darkness of the stage, whose only

light was received from the fire under the cauldron, joined to a kind of mist that floated about it, rendered the

unearthly shapes of the witches obscure and shadowy. It was not three decrepit old hags that bent over their

pot throwing in the grim ingredients of the magic charm, but forms frightful, unreal, and fanciful. The

entrance of Hecate, and the wild music that followed, took us out of this world. The cavern shape the stage

assumed, the beetling rocks, the glare of the fire, the misty shades that crossed the scene at times, the music

in harmony with all witchlike fancies, permitted the imagination to revel, without fear of contradiction, or

reproof from reason or the heart. The entrance of Macbeth did not destroy the illusion, for he was actuated by

the same feelings that inspired us, and while the work of magic proceeded we sympathized in his wonder and

his daring, and gave ourselves up with our whole souls to the influence of scenic delusion. I felt the beneficial

result of such excitement, in a renewal of those pleasing flights of fancy to which I had long been a stranger.

The effect of this scene of incantation communicated a portion of its power to that which followed. We forgot

that Malcolm and Macduff were mere human beings, acted upon by such simple passions as warmed our own

breasts. By slow degrees however we were drawn to the real interest of the scene. A shudder like the swift

passing of an electric shock ran through the house, when Rosse exclaimed, in answer to "Stands Scotland

Each word struck the sense, as our life's passing bell; we feared to look at each other, but bent our gaze on the

stage, as if our eyes could fall innocuous on that alone. The person who played the part of Rosse, suddenly

became aware of the dangerous ground he trod. He was an inferior actor, but truth now made him excellent;

as he went on to announce to Macduff the slaughter of his family, he was afraid to speak, trembling from

apprehension of a burst of grief from the audience, not from his fellowmime. Each word was drawn out with

difficulty; real anguish painted his features; his eyes were now lifted in sudden horror, now fixed in dread

upon the ground. This show of terror increased ours, we gasped with him, each neck was stretched out, each

face changed with the actor's changesat length while Macduff, who, attending to his part, was unobservant

A pang of tameless grief wrenched every heart, a burst of despair was echoed from every lip.I had entered

into the universal feelingI had been absorbed by the terrors of Rosse I reechoed the cry of Macduff,

and then rushed out as from an hell of torture, to find calm in the free air and silent street.

Free the air was not, or the street silent. Oh, how I longed then for the dear soothings of maternal Nature, as

my wounded heart was still further stung by the roar of heartless merriment from the publichouse, by the

sight of the drunkard reeling home, having lost the memory of what he would find there in oblivious debauch,

and by the more appalling salutations of those melancholy beings to whom the name of home was a mockery.

I ran on at my utmost speed until I found myself I knew not how, close to Westminster Abbey, and was

attracted by the deep and swelling tone of the organ. I entered with soothing awe the lighted chancel, and

listened to the solemn religious chant, which spoke peace and hope to the unhappy. The notes, freighted with

man's dearest prayers, re echoed through the dim aisles, and the bleeding of the soul's wounds was

staunched by heavenly balm. In spite of the misery I deprecated, and could not understand; in spite of the

cold hearths of wide London, and the corpsestrewn fields of my native land; in spite of all the variety of

agonizing emotions I had that evening experienced, I thought that in reply to our melodious adjurations, the

Creator looked down in compassion and promise of relief; the awful peal of the heavenwinged music

seemed fitting voice wherewith to commune with the Supreme; calm was produced by its sound, and by the

sight of many other human creatures offering up prayers and submission with me. A sentiment approaching

happiness followed the total resignation of one's being to the guardianship of the world's ruler. Alas! with the

failing of this solemn strain, the elevated spirit sank again to earth. Suddenly one of the choristers diedhe

was lifted from his desk, the vaults below were hastily openedhe was consigned with a few muttered

prayers to the darksome cavern, abode of thousands who had gone beforenow wide yawning to receive

even all who fulfilled the funeral rites. In vain I would then have turned from this scene, to darkened aisle or

lofty dome, echoing with melodious praise. In the open air alone I found relief; among nature's beauteous

works, her God reassumed his attribute of benevolence, and again I could trust that he who built up the

mountains, planted the forests, and poured out the rivers, would erect another state for lost humanity, where

Fortunately for me those circumstances were of rare occurrence that obliged me to visit London, and my

duties were confined to the rural district which our lofty castle overlooked; and here labour stood in the place

of pastime, to occupy such of the country people as were sufficiently exempt from sorrow or disease. My

endeavours were directed towards urging them to their usual attention to their crops, and to the acting as if

pestilence did not exist. The mower's scythe was at times heard; yet the joyless haymakers after they had

listlessly turned the grass, forgot to cart it; the shepherd, when he had sheared his sheep, would let the wool

lie to be scattered by the winds, deeming it useless to provide clothing for another winter. At times however

the spirit of life was awakened by these employments; the sun, the refreshing breeze, the sweet smell of the

hay, the rustling leaves and prattling rivulets brought repose to the agitated bosom, and bestowed a feeling

akin to happiness on the apprehensive. Nor, strange to say, was the time without its pleasures. Young

couples, who had loved long and hopelessly, suddenly found every impediment removed, and wealth pour in

from the death of relatives. The very danger drew them closer. The immediate peril urged them to seize the

immediate opportunity; wildly and passionately they sought to know what delights existence afforded, before

they defied the conquering pestilence to destroy what had been, or to erase even from their deathbed

One instance of this kind came immediately under our notice, where a highborn girl had in early youth

given her heart to one of meaner extraction. He was a schoolfellow and friend of her brother's, and usually

spent a part of the holidays at the mansion of the duke her father. They had played together as children, been

the confidants of each other's little secrets, mutual aids and consolers in difficulty and sorrow. Love had crept

in, noiseless, terrorless at first, till each felt their life bound up in the other, and at the same time knew that

they must part. Their extreme youth, and the purity of their attachment, made them yield with less resistance

to the tyranny of circumstances. The father of the fair Juliet separated them; but not until the young lover had

promised to remain absent only till he had rendered himself worthy of her, and she had vowed to preserve her

Plague came, threatening to destroy at once the aim of the ambitious and the hopes of love. Long the Duke of

L derided the idea that there could be danger while he pursued his plans of cautious seclusion; and he so

far succeeded, that it was not till this second summer, that the destroyer, at one fell stroke, overthrew his

precautions, his security, and his life. Poor Juliet saw one by one, father, mother, brothers, and sisters, sicken

and die. Most of the servants fled on the first appearance of disease, those who remained were infected

mortally; no neighbour or rustic ventured within the verge of contagion. By a strange fatality Juliet alone

escaped, and she to the last waited on her relatives, and smoothed the pillow of death. The moment at length

came, when the last blow was given to the last of the house: the youthful survivor of her race sat alone among

the dead. There was no living being near to soothe her, or withdraw her from this hideous company. With the

declining heat of a September night, a whirlwind of storm, thunder, and hail, rattled round the house, and

with ghastly harmony sung the dirge of her family. She sat upon the ground absorbed in wordless despair,

when through the gusty wind and bickering rain she thought she heard her name called. Whose could that

familiar voice be? Not one of her relations, for they lay glaring on her with stony eyes. Again her name was

syllabled, and she shuddered as she asked herself, am I becoming mad, or am I dying, that I hear the voices of

the departed? A second thought passed, swift as an arrow, into her brain; she rushed to the window; and a

flash of lightning showed to her the expected vision, her lover in the shrubbery beneath; joy lent her strength

to descend the stairs, to open the door, and then she fainted in his supporting arms.

A thousand times she reproached herself, as with a crime, that she should revive to happiness with him. The

natural clinging of the human mind to life and joy was in its full energy in her young heart; she gave herself

impetuously up to the enchantment: they were married; and in their radiant features I saw incarnate, for the

last time, the spirit of love, of rapturous sympathy, which once had been the life of the world.

I envied them, but felt how impossible it was to imbibe the same feeling, now that years had multiplied my

ties in the world. Above all, the anxious mother, my own beloved and drooping Idris, claimed my earnest

care; I could not reproach the anxiety that never for a moment slept in her heart, but I exerted myself to

distract her attention from too keen an observation of the truth of things, of the near and nearer approaches of

disease, misery, and death, of the wild look of our attendants as intelligence of another and yet another death

reached us; for to the last something new occurred that seemed to transcend in horror all that had gone before.

Wretched beings crawled to die under our succouring roof; the inhabitants of the Castle decreased daily,

while the survivors huddled together in fear, and, as in a faminestruck boat, the sport of the wild,

interminable waves, each looked in the other's face, to guess on whom the deathlot would next fall. All this I

endeavoured to veil, so that it might least impress my Idris; yet, as I have said, my courage survived even

One day, it was the ninth of September, seemed devoted to every disaster, to every harrowing incident. Early

in the day, I heard of the arrival of the aged grandmother of one of our servants at the Castle. This old woman

had reached her hundredth year; her skin was shrivelled, her form was bent and lost in extreme decrepitude;

but as still from year to year she continued in existence, outliving many younger and stronger, she began to

feel as if she were to live for ever. The plague came, and the inhabitants of her village died. Clinging, with

the dastard feeling of the aged, to the remnant of her spent life, she had, on hearing that the pestilence had

come into her neighbourhood, barred her door, and closed her casement, refusing to communicate with any.

She would wander out at night to get food, and returned home, pleased that she had met no one, that she was

in no danger from the plague. As the earth became more desolate, her difficulty in acquiring sustenance

increased; at first, her son, who lived near, had humoured her by placing articles of food in her way: at last he

died. But, even though threatened by famine, her fear of the plague was paramount; and her greatest care was

to avoid her fellow creatures. She grew weaker each day, and each day she had further to go. The night

before, she had reached Datchet; and, prowling about, had found a baker's shop open and deserted. Laden

with spoil, she hastened to return, and lost her way. The night was windless, hot, and cloudy; her load became

too heavy for her; and one by one she threw away her loaves, still endeavouring to get along, though her

She lay down among the tall corn, and fell asleep. Deep in midnight, she was awaked by a rustling near her;

she would have started up, but her stiff joints refused to obey her will. A low moan close to her ear followed,

and the rustling increased; she heard a smothered voice breathe out, Water, Water! several times; and then

again a sigh heaved from the heart of the sufferer. The old woman shuddered, she contrived at length to sit

upright; but her teeth chattered, and her knees knocked togetherclose, very close, lay a halfnaked figure,

just discernible in the gloom, and the cry for water and the stifled moan were again uttered. Her motions at

length attracted the attention of her unknown companion; her hand was seized with a convulsive violence that

made the grasp feel like iron, the fingers like the keen teeth of a trap."At last you are come!" were the

words given forthbut this exertion was the last effort of the dyingthe joints relaxed, the figure fell

prostrate, one low moan, the last, marked the moment of death. Morning broke; and the old woman saw the

corpse, marked with the fatal disease, close to her; her wrist was livid with the hold loosened by death. She

felt struck by the plague; her aged frame was unable to bear her away with sufficient speed; and now,

believing herself infected, she no longer dreaded the association of others; but, as swiftly as she might, came

to her granddaughter, at Windsor Castle, there to lament and die. The sight was horrible; still she clung to

life, and lamented her mischance with cries and hideous groans; while the swift advance of the disease

While I was directing that the necessary care should be taken of her, Clara came in; she was trembling and

pale; and, when I anxiously asked her the cause of her agitation, she threw herself into my arms weeping and

exclaiming"Uncle, dearest uncle, do not hate me for ever! I must tell you, for you must know, that Evelyn,

poor little Evelyn"her voice was choked by sobs. The fear of so mighty a calamity as the loss of our adored

infant made the current of my blood pause with chilly horror; but the remembrance of the mother restored my

presence of mind. I sought the little bed of my darling; he was oppressed by fever; but I trusted, I fondly and

fearfully trusted, that there were no symptoms of the plague. He was not three years old, and his illness

appeared only one of those attacks incident to infancy. I watched him longhis heavy half closed lids, his

burning cheeks and restless twining of his small fingersthe fever was violent, the torpor complete

enough, without the greater fear of pestilence, to awaken alarm. Idris must not see him in this state. Clara,

though only twelve years old, was rendered, through extreme sensibility, so prudent and careful, that I felt

secure in entrusting the charge of him to her, and it was my task to prevent Idris from observing their

absence. I administered the fitting remedies, and left my sweet niece to watch beside him, and bring me

I then went to Idris, contriving in my way, plausible excuses for remaining all day in the Castle, and

endeavouring to disperse the traces of care from my brow. Fortunately she was not alone. I found Merrival,

the astronomer, with her. He was far too long sighted in his view of humanity to heed the casualties of the

day, and lived in the midst of contagion unconscious of its existence. This poor man, learned as La Place,

guileless and unforeseeing as a child, had often been on the point of starvation, he, his pale wife and

numerous offspring, while he neither felt hunger, nor observed distress. His astronomical theories absorbed

him; calculations were scrawled with coal on the bare walls of his garret: a hard earned guinea, or an article

of dress, was exchanged for a book without remorse; he neither heard his children cry, nor observed his

companion's emaciated form, and the excess of calamity was merely to him as the occurrence of a cloudy

night, when he would have given his right hand to observe a celestial phenomenon. His wife was one of those

wondrous beings, to be found only among women, with affections not to be diminished by misfortune. Her

mind was divided between boundless admiration for her husband, and tender anxiety for her children she

waited on him, worked for them, and never complained, though care rendered her life one longdrawn,

He had introduced himself to Adrian, by a request he made to observe some planetary motions from his glass.

His poverty was easily detected and relieved. He often thanked us for the books we lent him, and for the use

of our instruments, but never spoke of his altered abode or change of circumstances. His wife assured us, that

he had not observed any difference, except in the absence of the children from his study, and to her infinite

He came now to announce to us the completion of his Essay on the Pericyclical Motions of the Earth's Axis,

and the precession of the equinoctial points. If an old Roman of the period of the Republic had returned to

life, and talked of the impending election of some laurelcrowned consul, or of the last battle with

Mithridates, his ideas would not have been more alien to the times, than the conversation of Merrival. Man,

no longer with an appetite for sympathy, clothed his thoughts in visible signs; nor were there any readers left:

while each one, having thrown away his sword with opposing shield alone, awaited the plague, Merrival

talked of the state of mankind six thousand years hence. He might with equal interest to us, have added a

commentary, to describe the unknown and unimaginable lineaments of the creatures, who would then occupy

the vacated dwelling of mankind. We had not the heart to undeceive the poor old man; and at the moment I

came in, he was reading parts of his book to Idris, asking what answer could be given to this or that position.

Idris could not refrain from a smile, as she listened; she had already gathered from him that his family was

alive and in health; though not apt to forget the precipice of time on which she stood, yet I could perceive that

she was amused for a moment, by the contrast between the contracted view we had so long taken of human

life, and the seven league strides with which Merrival paced a coming eternity. I was glad to see her smile,

because it assured me of her total ignorance of her infant's danger: but I shuddered to think of the revulsion

that would be occasioned by a discovery of the truth. While Merrival was talking, Clara softly opened a door

behind Idris, and beckoned me to come with a gesture and look of grief. A mirror betrayed the sign to

Idrisshe started up. To suspect evil, to perceive that, Alfred being with us, the danger must regard her

youngest darling, to fly across the long chambers into his apartment, was the work but of a moment. There

she beheld her Evelyn lying feverstricken and motionless. I followed her, and strove to inspire more hope

than I could myself entertain; but she shook her head mournfully. Anguish deprived her of presence of mind;

she gave up to me and Clara the physician's and nurse's parts; she sat by the bed, holding one little burning

hand, and, with glazed eyes fixed on her babe, passed the long day in one unvaried agony. It was not the

plague that visited our little boy so roughly; but she could not listen to my assurances; apprehension deprived

her of judgment and reflection; every slight convulsion of her child's features shook her frameif he moved,

she dreaded the instant crisis; if he remained still, she saw death in his torpor, and the cloud on her brow

The poor little thing's fever increased towards night. The sensation is most dreary, to use no stronger term,

with which one looks forward to passing the long hours of night beside a sick bed, especially if the patient be

an infant, who cannot explain its pain, and whose flickering life resembles the wasting flame of the

With eagerness one turns toward the east, with angry impatience one marks the unchequered darkness; the

crowing of a cock, that sound of glee during daytime, comes wailing and untunablethe creaking of

rafters, and slight stir of invisible insect is heard and felt as the signal and type of desolation. Clara, overcome

by weariness, had seated herself at the foot of her cousin's bed, and in spite of her efforts slumber weighed

down her lids; twice or thrice she shook it off; but at length she was conquered and slept. Idris sat at the

bedside, holding Evelyn's hand; we were afraid to speak to each other; I watched the starsI hung over my

childI felt his little pulseI drew near the mother again I receded. At the turn of morning a gentle sigh

from the patient attracted me, the burning spot on his cheek fadedhis pulse beat softly and

regularlytorpor yielded to sleep. For a long time I dared not hope; but when his unobstructed breathing and

the moisture that suffused his forehead, were tokens no longer to be mistaken of the departure of mortal

malady, I ventured to whisper the news of the change to Idris, and at length succeeded in persuading her that

But neither this assurance, nor the speedy convalescence of our child could restore her, even to the portion of

peace she before enjoyed. Her fear had been too deep, too absorbing, too entire, to be changed to security.

as one who has been cradled by a storm, and awakes to find the vessel sinking. Before, she had been visited

by pangs of fear now, she never enjoyed an interval of hope. No smile of the heart ever irradiated her fair

countenance; sometimes she forced one, and then gushing tears would flow, and the sea of grief close above

these wrecks of past happiness. Still while I was near her, she could not be in utter despairshe fully

confided herself to meshe did not seem to fear my death, or revert to its possibility; to my guardianship she

consigned the full freight of her anxieties, reposing on my love, as a wind nipped fawn by the side of a doe,

as a wounded nestling under its mother's wing, as a tiny, shattered boat, quivering still, beneath some

protecting willowtree. While I, not proudly as in days of joy, yet tenderly, and with glad consciousness of

the comfort I afforded, drew my trembling girl close to my heart, and tried to ward every painful thought or

One other incident occurred at the end of this summer. The Countess of Windsor, ExQueen of England,

returned from Germany. She had at the beginning of the season quitted the vacant city of Vienna; and, unable

to tame her haughty mind to anything like submission, she had delayed at Hamburg, and, when at last she

came to London, many weeks elapsed before she gave Adrian notice of her arrival. In spite of her coldness

and long absence, he welcomed her with sensibility, displaying such affection as sought to heal the wounds of

pride and sorrow, and was repulsed only by her total apparent want of sympathy. Idris heard of her mother's

return with pleasure. Her own maternal feelings were so ardent, that she imagined her parent must now, in

this waste world, have lost pride and harshness, and would receive with delight her filial attentions. The first

check to her duteous demonstrations was a formal intimation from the fallen majesty of England, that I was in

no manner to be intruded upon her. She consented, she said, to forgive her daughter, and acknowledge her

To me this proceeding appeared (if so light a term may be permitted) extremely whimsical. Now that the race

of man had lost in fact all distinction of rank, this pride was doubly fatuitous; now that we felt a kindred,

fraternal nature with all who bore the stamp of humanity, this angry reminiscence of times for ever gone, was

worse than foolish. Idris was too much taken up by her own dreadful fears, to be angry, hardly grieved; for

she judged that insensibility must be the source of this continued rancour. This was not altogether the fact:

but predominant selfwill assumed the arms and masque of callous feeling; and the haughty lady disdained to

exhibit any token of the struggle she endured; while the slave of pride, she fancied that she sacrificed her

False was all thisfalse all but the affections of our nature, and the links of sympathy with pleasure or pain.

There was but one good and one evil in the worldlife and death. The pomp of rank, the assumption of

power, the possessions of wealth vanished like morning mist. One living beggar had become of more worth

than a national peerage of dead lords alas the day!than of dead heroes, patriots, or men of genius. There

was much of degradation in this: for even vice and virtue had lost their attributeslifelifethe

continuation of our animal mechanismwas the Alpha and Omega of the desires, the prayers, the prostrate

HALF England was desolate, when October came, and the equinoctial winds swept over the earth, chilling

the ardours of the unhealthy season. The summer, which was uncommonly hot, had been protracted into the

beginning of this month, when on the eighteenth a sudden change was brought about from summer

temperature to winter frost. Pestilence then made a pause in her deathdealing career. Gasping, not daring to

name our hopes, yet full even to the brim with intense expectation, we stood, as a shipwrecked sailor stands

on a barren rock islanded by the ocean, watching a distant vessel, fancying that now it nears, and then again

that it is bearing from sight. This promise of a renewed lease of life turned rugged natures to melting

tenderness, and by contrast filled the soft with harsh and unnatural sentiments. When it seemed destined that

all were to die, we were reckless of the how and whennow that the virulence of the disease was mitigated,

and it appeared willing to spare some, each was eager to be among the elect, and clung to life with dastard

tenacity. Instances of desertion became more frequent; and even murders, which made the hearer sick with

horror, where the fear of contagion had armed those nearest in blood against each other. But these smaller

and separate tragedies were about to yield to a mightier interest and, while we were promised calm from

infectious influences, a tempest arose wilder than the winds, a tempest bred by the passions of man,

A number of people from North America, the relics of that populous continent, had set sail for the East with

mad desire of change, leaving their native plains for lands not less afflicted than their own. Several hundreds

landed in Ireland, about the first of November, and took possession of such vacant habitations as they could

find; seizing upon the superabundant food, and the stray cattle. As they exhausted the produce of one spot,

they went on to another. At length they began to interfere with the inhabitants, and strong in their

concentrated numbers, ejected the natives from their dwellings, and robbed them of their winter store. A few

events of this kind roused the fiery nature of the Irish; and they attacked the invaders. Some were destroyed;

the major part escaped by quick and well ordered movements; and danger made them careful. Their numbers

ably arranged; the very deaths among them concealed; moving on in good order, and apparently given up to

enjoyment, they excited the envy of the Irish. The Americans permitted a few to join their band, and presently

the recruits outnumbered the strangersnor did they join with them, nor imitate the admirable order which,

preserved by the TransAtlantic chiefs, rendered them at once secure and formidable. The Irish followed

their track in disorganised multitudes; each day increasing; each day becoming more lawless. The Americans

were eager to escape from the spirit they had roused, and, reaching the eastern shores of the island, embarked

for England. Their incursion would hardly have been felt had they come alone; but the Irish, collected in

unnatural numbers, began to feel the inroads of famine, and they followed in the wake of the Americans for

England also. The crossing of the sea could not arrest their progress. The harbours of the desolate seaports

of the west of Ireland were filled with vessels of all sizes, from the man of war to the small fishers' boat,

which lay sailorless, and rotting on the lazy deep. The emigrants embarked by hundreds, and unfurling their

sails with rude hands, made strange havoc of buoy and cordage. Those who modestly betook themselves to

the smaller craft, for the most part achieved their watery journey in safety. Some, in the true spirit of reckless

enterprise, went on board a ship of an hundred and twenty guns; the vast hull drifted with the tide out of the

bay, and after many hours its crew of landsmen contrived to spread a great part of her enormous

canvassthe wind took it, and while a thousand mistakes of the helmsman made her present her head now to

one point, and now to another, the vast fields of canvass that formed her sails flapped with a sound like that

of a huge cataract; or such as a sealike forest may give forth when buffeted by an equinoctial northwind.

The port holes were open, and with every sea, which as she lurched, washed her decks, they received whole

tons of water. The difficulties were increased by a fresh breeze which began to blow, whistling among the

shrouds, dashing the sails this way and that, and rending them with horrid split, and such whirr as may have

visited the dreams of Milton, when he imagined the winnowing of the archfiend's vanlike wings, which

increased the uproar of wild chaos. These sounds were mingled with the roaring of the sea, the splash of the

chafed billows round the vessel's sides, and the gurgling up of the water in the hold. The crew, many of

whom had never seen the sea before, felt indeed as if heaven and earth came ruining together, as the vessel

dipped her bows in the waves, or rose high upon them. Their yells were drowned in the clamour of elements,

and the thunder rivings of their unwieldy habitationthey discovered at last that the water gained on them,

and they betook themselves to their pumps; they might as well have laboured to empty the ocean by

bucketfuls. As the sun went down, the gale increased; the ship seemed to feel her danger, she was now

completely waterlogged, and presented other indications of settling before she went down. The bay was

crowded with vessels, whose crews, for the most part, were observing the uncouth sportings of this huge

unwieldy machinethey saw her gradually sink; the waters now rising above her lower decksthey could

hardly wink before she had utterly disappeared, nor could the place where the sea had closed over her be at

all discerned. Some few of her crew were saved, but the greater part clinging to her cordage and masts went

This event caused many of those who were about to sail, to put foot again on firm land, ready to encounter

any evil rather than to rush into the yawning jaws of the pitiless ocean. But these were few, in comparison to

the numbers who actually crossed. Many went up as high as Belfast to ensure a shorter passage, and then

journeying south through Scotland, they were joined by the poorer natives of that country, and all poured

Such incursions struck the English with affright, in all those towns where there was still sufficient population

to feel the change. There was room enough indeed in our hapless country for twice the number of invaders;

but their lawless spirit instigated them to violence; they took a delight in thrusting the possessors from their

houses; in seizing on some mansion of luxury, where the noble dwellers secluded themselves in fear of the

plague; in forcing these of either sex to become their servants and purveyors; till, the ruin complete in one

place, they removed their locust visitation to another. When unopposed they spread their ravages wide; in

cases of danger they clustered, and by dint of numbers overthrew their weak and despairing foes. They came

from the east and the north, and directed their course without apparent motive, but unanimously towards our

Communication had been to a great degree cut off through the paralysing effects of pestilence, so that the van

of our invaders had proceeded as far as Manchester and Derby, before we received notice of their arrival.

They swept the country like a conquering army, burninglaying wastemurdering. The lower and

vagabond English joined with them. Some few of the Lords Lieutenant who remained, endeavoured to collect

the militia but the ranks were vacant, panic seized on all, and the opposition that was made only served to

increase the audacity and cruelty of the enemy. They talked of taking London, conquering Englandcalling

to mind the long detail of injuries which had for many years been forgotten. Such vaunts displayed their

weakness, rather than their strengthyet still they might do extreme mischief, which, ending in their

We were now taught how, in the beginning of the world, mankind clothed their enemies in impossible

attributesand how details proceeding from mouth to mouth, might, like Virgil's evergrowing Rumour,

reach the heavens with her brow, and clasp Hesperus and Lucifer with her outstretched hands. Gorgon and

Centaur, dragon and ironhoofed lion, vast sea monster and gigantic hydra, were but types of the strange

and appalling accounts brought to London concerning our invaders. Their landing was long unknown, but

having now advanced within an hundred miles of London, the country people flying before them arrived in

successive troops, each exaggerating the numbers, fury, and cruelty of the assailants. Tumult filled the before

quiet streetswomen and children deserted their homes, escaping they knew not whitherfathers,

husbands, and sons, stood trembling, not for themselves, but for their loved and defenceless relations. As the

country people poured into London, the citizens fled southwardsthey climbed the higher edifices of the

town, fancying that they could discern the smoke and flames the enemy spread around them. As Windsor lay,

to a great degree, in the line of march from the west, I removed my family to London, assigning the Tower

for their sojourn, and joining Adrian, acted as his Lieutenant in the coming struggle.

We employed only two days in our preparations, and made good use of them. Artillery and arms were

collected; the remnants of such regiments, as could be brought through many losses into any show of muster,

were put under arms, with that appearance of military discipline which might encourage our own party, and

seem most formidable to the disorganised multitude of our enemies. Even music was not wanting: banners

floated in the air, and the shrill fife and loud trumpet breathed forth sounds of encouragement and victory. A

practised ear might trace an undue faltering in the step of the soldiers; but this was not occasioned so much

by fear of the adversary, as by disease, by sorrow, and by fatal prognostications, which often weighed most

Adrian led the troops. He was full of care. It was small relief to him that our discipline should gain us success

in such a conflict; while plague still hovered to equalise the conqueror and the conquered, it was not victory

that he desired, but bloodless peace. As we advanced, we were met by bands of peasantry, whose almost

naked condition, whose despair and horror, told at once the fierce nature of the coming enemy. The senseless

spirit of conquest and thirst of spoil blinded them, while with insane fury they deluged the country in ruin.

The sight of the military restored hope to those who fled, and revenge took place of fear. They inspired the

soldiers with the same sentiment. Languor was changed to ardour, the slow step converted to a speedy pace,

while the hollow murmur of the multitude, inspired by one feeling, and that deadly, filled the air, drowning

the clang of arms and sound of music. Adrian perceived the change, and feared that it would be difficult to

prevent them from wreaking their utmost fury on the Irish. He rode through the lines, charging the officers to

restrain the troops, exhorting the soldiers, restoring order, and quieting in some degree the violent agitation

We first came upon a few stragglers of the Irish at St. Albans. They retreated, and, joining others of their

companions, still fell back, till they reached the main body. Tidings of an armed and regular opposition

recalled them to a sort of order. They made Buckingham their headquarters, and scouts were sent out to

ascertain our situation. We remained for the night at Luton. In the morning a simultaneous movement caused

us each to advance. It was early dawn, and the air, impregnated with freshest odour, seemed in idle mockery

to play with our banners, and bore onwards towards the enemy the music of the bands, the neighings of the

horses, and regular step of the infantry. The first sound of martial instruments that came upon our

undisciplined foe, inspired surprise, not unmingled with dread. It spoke of other days, of days of concord and

order; it was associated with times when plague was not, and man lived beyond the shadow of imminent fate.

The pause was momentary. Soon we heard their disorderly clamour, the barbarian shouts, the untimed step of

thousands coming on in disarray. Their troops now came pouring on us from the open country or narrow

lanes; a large extent of unenclosed fields lay between us; we advanced to the middle of this, and then made a

halt: being somewhat on superior ground, we could discern the space they covered. When their leaders

perceived us drawn out in opposition, they also gave the word to halt, and endeavoured to form their men into

some imitation of military discipline. The first ranks had muskets; some were mounted, but their arms were

such as they had seized during their advance, their horses those they had taken from the peasantry; there was

no uniformity, and little obedience, but their shouts and wild gestures showed the untamed spirit that inspired

them. Our soldiers received the word, and advanced to quickest time, but in perfect order: their uniform

dresses, the gleam of their polished arms, their silence, and looks of sullen hate, were more appalling than the

savage clamour of our innumerous foe. Thus coming nearer and nearer each other, the howls and shouts of

the Irish increased; the English proceeded in obedience to their officers, until they came near enough to

distinguish the faces of their enemies; the sight inspired them with fury: with one cry, that rent heaven and

was reechoed by the furthest lines, they rushed on; they disdained the use of the bullet, but with fixed

bayonet dashed among the opposing foe, while the ranks opening at intervals, the matchmen lighted the

cannon, whose deafening roar and blinding smoke filled up the horror of the scene.

I was beside Adrian; a moment before he had again given the word to halt, and had remained a few yards

distant from us in deep meditation: he was forming swiftly his plan of action, to prevent the effusion of

blood; the noise of cannon, the sudden rush of the troops, and yell of the foe, startled him: with flashing eyes

he exclaimed, "Not one of these must perish!" and plunging the rowels into his horse's sides, he dashed

between the conflicting bands. We, his staff, followed him to surround and protect him; obeying his signal,

however, we fell back somewhat. The soldiery perceiving him, paused in their onset; he did not swerve from

the bullets that passed near him, but rode immediately between the opposing lines. Silence succeeded to

clamour; about fifty men lay on the ground dying or dead. Adrian raised his sword in act to speak: "By whose

command," he cried, addressing his own troops, "do you advance? Who ordered your attack? Fall back; these

misguided men shall not be slaughtered, while I am your general. Sheath your weapons; these are your

brothers, commit not fratricide; soon the plague will not leave one for you to glut your revenge upon: will

you be more pitiless than pestilence? As you honour meas you worship God, in whose image those also

are createdas your children and friends are dear to you,shed not a drop of precious human blood."

He spoke with outstretched hand and winning voice, and then turning to our invaders, with a severe brow, he

commanded them to lay down their arms: "Do you think," he said, "that because we are wasted by plague,

you can overcome us; the plague is also among you, and when ye are vanquished by famine and disease, the

ghosts of those you have murdered will arise to bid you not hope in death. Lay down your arms, barbarous

and cruel men men whose hands are stained with the blood of the innocent, whose souls are weighed down

by the orphan's cry! We shall conquer, for the right is on our side; already your cheeks are palethe

weapons fall from your nerveless grasp. Lay down your arms, fellow men! brethren! Pardon, succour, and

brotherly love await your repentance. You are dear to us, because you wear the frail shape of humanity; each

one among you will find a friend and host among these forces. Shall man be the enemy of man, while plague,

the foe to all, even now is above us, triumphing in our butchery, more cruel than her own?"

Each army paused. On our side the soldiers grasped their arms firmly, and looked with stern glances on the

foe. These had not thrown down their weapons, more from fear than the spirit of contest; they looked at each

other, each wishing to follow some example given him,but they had no leader. Adrian threw himself from

his horse, and approaching one of those just slain: "He was a man," he cried, "and he is dead. O quickly bind

up the wounds of the fallenlet not one die; let not one more soul escape through your merciless gashes, to

relate before the throne of God the tale of fratricide; bind up their woundsrestore them to their friends.

Cast away the hearts of tigers that burn in your breasts; throw down those tools of cruelty and hate; in this

pause of exterminating destiny, let each man be brother, guardian, and stay to the other. Away with those

As he spoke, he knelt on the ground, and raised in his arms a man from whose side the warm tide of life

gushedthe poor wretch gaspedso still had either host become, that his moans were distinctly heard, and

every heart, late fiercely bent on universal massacre, now beat anxiously in hope and fear for the fate of this

one man. Adrian tore off his military scarf and bound it round the suffererit was too latethe man heaved

a deep sigh, his head fell back, his limbs lost their sustaining power."He is dead!" said Adrian, as the

corpse fell from his arms on the ground, and he bowed his head in sorrow and awe. The fate of the world

seemed bound up in the death of this single man. On either side the bands threw down their arms, even the

veterans wept, and our party held out their hands to their foes, while a gush of love and deepest amity filled

every heart. The two forces mingling, unarmed and hand in hand, talking only how each might assist the

other, the adversaries conjoined; each repenting, the one side their former cruelties, the other their late

Adrian was obliged to exert his utmost prudence, first to allay the discord, and then to provide for the

multitude of the invaders. They were marched to various parts of the southern counties, quartered in deserted

villages,a part were sent back to their own island, while the season of winter so far revived our energy, that

the passes of the country were defended, and any increase of numbers prohibited.

On this occasion Adrian and Idris met after a separation of nearly a year. Adrian had been occupied in

fulfilling a laborious and painful task. He had been familiar with every species of human misery, and had for

ever found his powers inadequate, his aid of small avail. Yet the purpose of his soul, his energy and ardent

resolution, prevented any reaction of sorrow. He seemed born anew, and virtue, more potent than Medean

alchemy, endued him with health and strength. Idris hardly recognized the fragile being, whose form had

seemed to bend even to the summer breeze, in the energetic man, whose very excess of sensibility rendered

It was not thus with Idris. She was uncomplaining; but the very soul of fear had taken its seat in her heart.

She had grown thin and pale, her eyes filled with involuntary tears, her voice was broken and low. She tried

to throw a veil over the change which she knew her brother must observe in her, but the effort was

ineffectual; and when alone with him, with a burst of irrepressible grief she gave vent to her apprehensions

and sorrow. She described in vivid terms the ceaseless care that with still renewing hunger ate into her soul;

she compared this gnawing of sleepless expectation of evil, to the vulture that fed on the heart of Prometheus;

under the influence of this eternal excitement, and of the interminable struggles she endured to combat and

conceal it, she felt, she said, as if all the wheels and springs of the animal machine worked at double rate, and

were fast consuming themselves. Sleep was not sleep, for her waking thoughts, bridled by some remains of

reason, and by the sight of her children happy and in health, were then transformed to wild dreams, all her

terrors were realized, all her fears received their dread fulfilment. To this state there was no hope, no

alleviation, unless the grave should quickly receive its destined prey, and she be permitted to die, before she

experienced a thousand living deaths in the loss of those she loved. Fearing to give me pain, she hid as best

she could the excess of her wretchedness, but meeting thus her brother after a long absence, she could not

restrain the expression of her woe, but with all the vividness of imagination with which misery is always

replete, she poured out the emotions of her heart to her beloved and sympathising Adrian.

Her present visit to London tended to augment her state of inquietude, by showing in its utmost extent the

ravages occasioned by pestilence. It hardly preserved the appearance of an inhabited city; grass sprung up

thick in the streets; the squares were weedgrown, the houses were shut up, while silence and loneliness

characterised the busiest parts of the town. Yet in the midst of desolation Adrian had preserved order; and

each one continued to live according to law and customhuman institutions thus surviving as it were divine

ones, and while the decree of population was abrogated, property continued sacred. It was a melancholy

reflection; and in spite of the diminution of evil produced, it struck on the heart as a wretched mockery. All

idea of resort for pleasure, of theatres and festivals had passed away. "Next summer," said Adrian as we

parted on our return to Windsor, "will decide the fate of the human race. I shall not pause in my exertions

until that time; but, if plague revives with the coming year, all contest with her must cease, and our only

I must not forget one incident that occurred during this visit to London. The visits of Merrival to Windsor,

before frequent, had suddenly ceased. At this time where but a hair's line separated the living from the dead, I

feared that our friend had become a victim to the allembracing evil. On this occasion I went, dreading the

worst, to his dwelling, to see if I could be of any service to those of his family who might have survived. The

house was deserted, and had been one of those assigned to the invading strangers quartered in London. I saw

his astronomical instruments put to strange uses, his globes defaced, his papers covered with abstruse

calculations destroyed. The neighbours could tell me little, till I lighted on a poor woman who acted as nurse

in these perilous times. She told me that all the family were dead, except Merrival himself, who had gone

madmad, she called it, yet on questioning her further, it appeared that he was possessed only by the

delirium of excessive grief. This old man, tottering on the edge of the grave, and prolonging his prospect

through millions of calculated years,this visionary who had not seen starvation in the wasted forms of his

wife and children, or plague in the horrible sights and sounds that surrounded him this astronomer,

apparently dead on earth, and living only in the motion of the spheresloved his family with unapparent but

intense affection. Through long habit they had become a part of himself; his want of worldly knowledge, his

absence of mind and infant guilelessness, made him utterly dependent on them. It was not till one of them

died that he perceived their danger; one by one they were carried off by pestilence; and his wife, his helpmate

and supporter, more necessary to him than his own limbs and frame, which had hardly been taught the lesson

of selfpreservation, the kind companion whose voice always spoke peace to him, closed her eyes in death.

The old man felt the system of universal nature which he had so long studied and adored, slide from under

him, and he stood among the dead, and lifted his voice in curses.No wonder that the attendant should

I had commenced my search late in the day, a November day, that closed in early with pattering rain and

melancholy wind. As I turned from the door, I saw Merrival, or rather the shadow of Merrival, attenuated and

wild, pass me, and sit on the steps of his home. The breeze scattered the grey locks on his temples, the rain

drenched his uncovered head, he sat hiding his face in his withered hands. I pressed his shoulder to awaken

his attention, but he did not alter his position. "Merrival," I said, "it is long since we have seen youyou

must return to Windsor with meLady Idris desires to see you, you will not refuse her requestcome home

He replied in a hollow voice, "Why deceive a helpless old man, why talk hypocritically to one half crazed?

Windsor is not my home; my true home I have found; the home that the Creator has prepared for me."

His accent of bitter scorn thrilled me"Do not tempt me to speak," he continued, "my words would scare

youin an universe of cowards I dare thinkamong the churchyard tombsamong the victims of His

merciless tyranny I dare reproach the Supreme Evil. How can he punish me? Let him bare his arm and

transfix me with lightningthis is also one of his attributes" and the old man laughed.

He rose, and I followed him through the rain to a neighbouring churchyardhe threw himself on the wet

earth. "Here they are," he cried, "beautiful creaturesbreathing, speaking, loving creatures. She who by day

and night cherished the ageworn lover of her youththey, parts of my flesh, my childrenhere they are:

call them, scream their names through the night; they will not answer!" He clung to the little heaps that

marked the graves. "I ask but one thing; I do not fear His hell, for I have it here; I do not desire His heaven,

let me but die and be laid beside them; let me but, when I lie dead, feel my flesh as it moulders, mingle with

theirs. Promise," and he raised himself painfully, and seized my arm, "promise to bury me with them."

"So God help me and mine as I promise," I replied, "on one condition: return with me to Windsor."

"To Windsor!" he cried with a shriek, "Never!from this place I never gomy bones, my flesh, I myself,

are already buried here, and what you see of me is corrupted clay like them. I will lie here, and cling here, till

rain, and hail, and lightning and storm, ruining on me, make me one in substance with them below."

In a few words I must conclude this tragedy. I was obliged to leave London, and Adrian undertook to watch

over him; the task was soon fulfilled; age, grief, and inclement weather, all united to hush his sorrows, and

bring repose to his heart, whose beats were agony. He died embracing the sod, which was piled above his

breast, when he was placed beside the beings whom he regretted with such wild despair.

I returned to Windsor at the wish of Idris, who seemed to think that there was greater safety for her children

at that spot; and because, once having taken on me the guardianship of the district, I would not desert it while

an inhabitant survived. I went also to act in conformity with Adrian's plans, which was to congregate in

masses what remained of the population; for he possessed the conviction that it was only through the

benevolent and social virtues that any safety was to be hoped for the remnant of mankind.

It was a melancholy thing to return to this spot so dear to us, as the scene of a happiness rarely before

enjoyed, here to mark the extinction of our species, and trace the deep inerasable footsteps of disease over the

fertile and cherished soil. The aspect of the country had so far changed, that it had been impossible to enter

on the task of sowing seed, and other autumnal labours. That season was now gone; and winter had set in

with sudden and unusual severity. Alternate frosts and thaws succeeding to floods, rendered the country

impassable. Heavy falls of snow gave an arctic appearance to the scenery; the roofs of the houses peeped

from the white mass; the lowly cot and stately mansion, alike deserted, were blocked up, their thresholds

uncleared; the windows were broken by the hail, while the prevalence of a northeast wind rendered

outdoor exertions extremely painful. The altered state of society made these accidents of nature, sources of

real misery. The luxury of command and the attentions of servitude were lost. It is true that the necessaries of

life were assembled in such quantities, as to supply to superfluity the wants of the diminished population; but

still much labour was required to arrange these, as it were, raw materials; and depressed by sickness, and

fearful of the future, we had not energy to enter boldly and decidedly on any system.

I can speak for myselfwant of energy was not my failing. The intense life that quickened my pulses, and

animated my frame, had the effect, not of drawing me into the mazes of active life, but of exalting my

lowliness, and of bestowing majestic proportions on insignificant objectsI could have lived the life of a

peasant in the same waymy trifling occupations were swelled into important pursuits; my affections were

impetuous and engrossing passions, and nature with all her changes was invested in divine attributes. The

very spirit of the Greek mythology inhabited my heart; I deified the uplands, glades, and streams, I

Strange, that while the earth preserved her monotonous course, I dwelt with everrenewing wonder on her

antique laws, and now that with eccentric wheel she rushed into an untried path, I should feel this spirit fade;

I struggled with despondency and weariness, but like a fog, they choked me. Perhaps, after the labours and

stupendous excitement of the past summer, the calm of winter and the almost menial toils it brought with it,

were by natural reaction doubly irksome. It was not the grasping passion of the preceding year, which gave

life and individuality to each momentit was not the aching pangs induced by the distresses of the times.

The utter inutility that had attended all my exertions took from them their usual effects of exhilaration, and

despair rendered abortive the balm of self applauseI longed to return to my old occupations, but of what

use were they? To read were futileto write, vanity indeed. The earth, late wide circus for the display of

dignified exploits, vast theatre for a magnificent drama, now presented a vacant space, an empty stagefor

Our little town of Windsor, in which the survivors from the neighbouring counties were chiefly assembled,

wore a melancholy aspect. Its streets were blocked up with snowthe few passengers seemed palsied, and

frozen by the ungenial visitation of winter. To escape these evils was the aim and scope of all our exertions.

Families late devoted to exalting and refined pursuits, rich, blooming, and young, with diminished numbers

and carefraught hearts, huddled over a fire, grown selfish and grovelling through suffering. Without the aid

of servants, it was necessary to discharge all household duties; hands unused to such labour must knead the

bread, or in the absence of flour, the statesmen or perfumed courtier must undertake the butcher's office. Poor

and rich were now equal, or rather the poor were the superior, since they entered on such tasks with alacrity

and experience; while ignorance, inaptitude, and habits of repose, rendered them fatiguing to the luxurious,

galling to the proud, disgustful to all whose minds, bent on intellectual improvement, held it their dearest

But in every change goodness and affection can find field for exertion and display. Among some these

changes produced a devotion and sacrifice of self at once graceful and heroic. It was a sight for the lovers of

the human race to enjoy; to behold, as in ancient times, the patriarchal modes in which the variety of kindred

and friendship fulfilled their duteous and kindly offices. Youths, nobles of the land, performed for the sake of

mother or sister, the services of menials with amiable cheerfulness. They went to the river to break the ice,

and draw water: they assembled on foraging expeditions, or axe in hand felled the trees for fuel. The females

received them on their return with the simple and affectionate welcome known before only to the lowly

cottagea clean hearth and bright fire; the supper ready cooked by beloved hands; gratitude for the

provision for tomorrow's meal: strange enjoyments for the highborn English, yet they were now their sole,

None was more conspicuous for this graceful submission to circumstances, noble humility, and ingenious

fancy to adorn such acts with romantic colouring, than our own Clara. She saw my despondency, and the

aching cares of Idris. Her perpetual study was to relieve us from labour and to spread ease and even elegance

over our altered mode of life. We still had some attendants spared by disease, and warmly attached to us. But

Clara was jealous of their services; she would be sole handmaid of Idris, sole minister to the wants of her

little cousins; nothing gave her so much pleasure as our employing her in this way; she went beyond our

It was my task each day to visit the various families assembled in our town, and when the weather permitted,

I was glad to prolong my ride, and to muse in solitude over every changeful appearance of our destiny,

endeavouring to gather lessons for the future from the experience of the past. The impatience with which,

while in society, the ills that afflicted my species inspired me, were softened by loneliness, when individual

suffering was merged in the general calamity, strange to say, less afflicting to contemplate. Thus often,

pushing my way with difficulty through the narrow snowblocked town, I crossed the bridge and passed

through Eton. No youthful congregation of gallanthearted boys thronged the portal of the college; sad

silence pervaded the busy schoolroom and noisy playground. I extended my ride towards Salt Hill, on every

side impeded by the snow. Were those the fertile fields I lovedwas that the interchange of gentle upland

and cultivated dale, once covered with waving corn, diversified by stately trees, watered by the meandering

Thames? One sheet of white covered it, while bitter recollection told me that cold as the winterclothed

earth, were the hearts of the inhabitants. I met troops of horses, herds of cattle, flocks of sheep, wandering at

will; here throwing down a hayrick, and nestling from cold in its heart, which afforded them shelter and

Once on a frosty day, pushed on by restless unsatisfying reflections, I sought a favourite haunt, a little wood

not far distant from Salt Hill. A bubbling spring prattles over stones on one side, and a plantation of a few

elms and beeches, hardly deserve, and yet continue the name of wood. This spot had for me peculiar charms.

It had been a favourite resort of Adrian; it was secluded; and he often said that in boyhood, his happiest hours

were spent here; having escaped the stately bondage of his mother, he sat on the rough hewn steps that led to

the spring, now reading a favourite book, now musing, with speculation beyond his years, on the still

unravelled skein of morals or metaphysics. A melancholy foreboding assured me that I should never see this

place more; so with careful thought, I noted each tree, every winding of the streamlet and irregularity of the

soil, that I might better call up its idea in absence. A robin redbreast dropt from the frosty branches of the

trees, upon the congealed rivulet; its panting breast and halfclosed eyes showed that it was dying: a hawk

appeared in the air; sudden fear seized the little creature; it exerted its last strength, throwing itself on its

back, raising its talons in impotent defence against its powerful enemy. I took it up and placed it in my breast.

I fed it with a few crumbs from a biscuit; by degrees it revived; its warm fluttering heart beat against me; I

cannot tell why I detail this trifling incident but the scene is still before me; the snowclad fields seen

through the silvered trunks of the beeches,the brook, in days of happiness alive with sparkling waters, now

choked by icethe leafless trees fantastically dressed in hoar frostthe shapes of summer leaves imaged by

winter's frozen hand on the hard groundthe dusky sky, drear cold, and unbroken silencewhile close in

my bosom, my feathered nursling lay warm, and safe, speaking its content with a light chirppainful

reflections thronged, stirring my brain with wild commotioncold and deathlike as the snowy fields was

all earthmiserystricken the lifetide of the inhabitantswhy should I oppose the cataract of destruction

that swept us away?why string my nerves and renew my wearied effortsah, why? But that my firm

courage and cheerful exertions might shelter the dear mate, whom I chose in the spring of my life; though the

throbbings of my heart be replete with pain, though my hopes for the future are chill, still while your dear

head, my gentlest love, can repose in peace on that heart, and while you derive from its fostering care,

comfort, and hope, my struggles shall not cease, I will not call myself altogether vanquished.

One fine February day, when the sun had reassumed some of its genial power, I walked in the forest with my

family. It was one of those lovely winterdays which assert the capacity of nature to bestow beauty on

barrenness. The leafless trees spread their fibrous branches against the pure sky; their intricate and pervious

tracery resembled delicate seaweed; the deer were turning up the snow in search of the hidden grass; the

white was made intensely dazzling by the sun, and trunks of the trees, rendered more conspicuous by the loss

of preponderating foliage, gathered around like the labyrinthine columns of a vast temple; it was impossible

not to receive pleasure from the sight of these things. Our children, freed from the bondage of winter,

bounded before us; pursuing the deer, or rousing the pheasants and partridges from their coverts. Idris leant

on my arm; her sadness yielded to the present sense of pleasure. We met other families on the Long Walk,

enjoying like ourselves the return of the genial season. At once, I seemed to awake; I cast off the clinging

sloth of the past months; earth assumed a new appearance, and my view of the future was suddenly made

In answer to this question, I described our gloomy winter life, our sordid cares, our menial labours:"This

northern country," I said, "is no place for our diminished race. When mankind were few, it was not here that

they battled with the powerful agents of nature, and were enabled to cover the globe with offspring. We must

seek some natural Paradise, some garden of the earth, where our simple wants may be easily supplied, and the

enjoyment of a delicious climate compensate for the social pleasures we have lost. If we survive this coming

summer, I will not spend the ensuing winter in England; neither I nor any of us."

I spoke without much heed, and the very conclusion of what I said brought with it other thoughts. Should we,

any of us, survive the coming summer? I saw the brow of Idris clouded; I again felt, that we were enchained

to the car of fate, over whose coursers we had no control. We could no longer say, This we will do, and this

we will leave undone. A mightier power than the human was at hand to destroy our plans or to achieve the

work we avoided. It were madness to calculate upon another winter. This was our last. The coming summer

was the extreme end of our vista; and, when we arrived there, instead of a continuation of the long road, a

gulf yawned, into which we must of force be precipitated. The last blessing of humanity was wrested from us;

we might no longer hope. Can the madman, as he clanks his chains, hope? Can the wretch, led to the scaffold,

who when he lays his head on the block, marks the double shadow of himself and the executioner, whose

uplifted arm bears the axe, hope? Can the shipwrecked mariner, who spent with swimming, hears close

behind the splashing waters divided by a shark which pursues him through the Atlantic, hope? Such hope as

Old fable tells us, that this gentle spirit sprung from the box of Pandora, else crammed with evils; but these

were unseen and null, while all admired the inspiriting loveliness of young Hope; each man's heart became

her home; she was enthroned sovereign of our lives, here and hereafter; she was deified and worshipped,

declared incorruptible and everlasting. But like all other gifts of the Creator to Man, she is mortal; her life has

attained its last hour. We have watched over her; nursed her flickering existence; now she has fallen at once

from youth to decrepitude, from health to immedicinable disease; even as we spend ourselves in struggles for

her recovery, she dies; to all nations the voice goes forth, Hope is dead! We are but mourners in the funeral

train, and what immortal essence or perishable creation will refuse to make one in the sad procession that

HEAR YOU not the rushing sound of the coming tempest? Do you not behold the clouds open, and

destruction lurid and dire pour down on the blasted earth? See you not the thunderbolt fall, and are deafened

by the shout of heaven that follows its descent? Feel you not the earth quake and open with agonizing groans,

while the air is pregnant with shrieks and wailings, all announcing the last days of man?

No! none of these things accompanied our fall! The balmy air of spring, breathed from nature's ambrosial

home, invested the lovely earth, which wakened as a young mother about to lead forth in pride her beauteous

offspring to meet their sire who had been long absent. The buds decked the trees, the flowers adorned the

land: the dark branches, swollen with seasonable juices, expanded into leaves, and the variegated foliage of

spring, bending and singing in the breeze, rejoiced in the genial warmth of the unclouded empyrean: the

brooks flowed murmuring, the sea was waveless, and the promontories that overhung it were reflected in the

placid waters; birds awoke in the woods, while abundant food for man and beast sprung up from the dark

ground. Where was pain and evil? Not in the calm air or weltering ocean; not in the woods or fertile fields,

nor among the birds that made the woods resonant with song, nor the animals that in the midst of plenty

basked in the sunshine. Our enemy, like the Calamity of Homer, trod our hearts, and no sound was echoed

Once man was a favourite of the Creator, as the royal psalmist sang, "God had made him a little lower than

the angels, and had crowned him with glory and honour. God made him to have dominion over the works of

his hands, and put all things under his feet." Once it was so; now is man lord of the creation? Look at

himha! I see plague! She has invested his form, is incarnate in his flesh, has entwined herself with his

being, and blinds his heavenseeking eyes. Lie down, O man, on the flowerstrewn earth; give up all claim

to your inheritance, all you can ever possess of it is the small cell which the dead require.

Plague is the companion of spring, of sunshine, and plenty. We no longer struggle with her. We have

forgotten what we did when she was not. Of old navies used to stem the giant ocean waves betwixt Indus

and the Pole for slight articles of luxury. Men made perilous journeys to possess themselves of earth's

splendid trifles, gems and gold. Human labour was wasted human life set at nought. Now life is all that we

covet; that this automaton of flesh should, with joints and springs in order, perform its functions, that this

dwelling of the soul should be capable of containing its dweller. Our minds, late spread abroad through

countless spheres and endless combinations of thought, now retrenched themselves behind this wall of flesh,

At first the increase of sickness in spring brought increase of toil to such of us, who, as yet spared to life,

bestowed our time and thoughts on our fellow creatures. We nerved ourselves to the task: "in the midst of

despair we performed the tasks of hope." We went out with the resolution of disputing with our foe. We aided

the sick, and comforted the sorrowing; turning from the multitudinous dead to the rare survivors, with an

energy of desire that bore the resemblance of power, we bade themlive. Plague sat paramount the while,

Have any of you, my readers, observed the ruins of an anthill immediately after its destruction? At first it

appears entirely deserted of its former inhabitants; in a little time you see an ant struggling through the

upturned mould; they reappear by twos and threes, running hither and thither in search of their lost

companions. Such were we upon earth, wondering aghast at the effects of pestilence. Our empty habitations

As the rules of order and pressure of laws were lost, some began with hesitation and wonder to transgress the

accustomed uses of society. Palaces were deserted, and the poor man dared at length, unreproved, intrude into

the splendid apartments, whose very furniture and decorations were an unknown world to him. It was found

that, though at first the stop put to all circulation of property, had reduced those before supported by the

factitious wants of society to sudden and hideous poverty, yet when the boundaries of private possession were

thrown down, the products of human labour at present existing were more, far more, than the thinned

generation could possibly consume. To some among the poor this was matter of exultation. We were all equal

now; magnificent dwellings, luxurious carpets, and beds of down, were afforded to all. Carriages and horses,

gardens, pictures, statues, and princely libraries, there were enough of these even to superfluity; and there

was nothing to prevent each from assuming possession of his share. We were all equal now; but near at hand

was an equality still more levelling, a state where beauty and strength, and wisdom, would be as vain as

riches and birth. The grave yawned beneath us all, and its prospect prevented any of us from enjoying the

Still the bloom did not fade on the cheeks of my babes; and Clara sprung up in years and growth, unsullied by

disease. We had no reason to think the site of Windsor Castle peculiarly healthy, for many other families had

expired beneath its roof; we lived therefore without any particular precaution; but we lived, it seemed, in

safety. If Idris became thin and pale, it was anxiety that occasioned the change; an anxiety I could in no way

alleviate. She never complained, but sleep and appetite fled from her, a slow fever preyed on her veins, her

colour was hectic, and she often wept in secret; gloomy prognostications, care, and agonizing dread, ate up

the principle of life within her. I could not fail to perceive this change. I often wished that I had permitted her

to take her own course, and engage herself in such labours for the welfare of others as might have distracted

her thoughts. But it was too late now. Besides that, with the nearly extinct race of man, all our toils grew near

a conclusion, she was too weak; consumption, if so it might be called, or rather the over active life within her,

which, as with Adrian, spent the vital oil in the early morning hours, deprived her limbs of strength. At night,

when she could leave me unperceived, she wandered through the house, or hung over the couches of her

children; and in the day time would sink into a perturbed sleep, while her murmurs and starts betrayed the

unquiet dreams that vexed her. As this state of wretchedness became more confirmed, and, in spite of her

endeavours at concealment more apparent, I strove, though vainly, to awaken in her courage and hope. I

could not wonder at the vehemence of her care; her very soul was tenderness; she trusted indeed that she

should not outlive me if I became the prey of the vast calamity, and this thought sometimes relieved her. We

had for many years trod the highway of life hand in hand, and still thus linked, we might step within the

shades of death; but her children, her lovely, playful, animated childrenbeings sprung from her own dear

sideportions of her own being depositories of our loveseven if we died, it would be comfort to know

that they ran man's accustomed course. But it would not be so; young and blooming as they were, they would

die, and from the hopes of maturity, from the proud name of attained manhood, they were cut off for ever.

Often with maternal affection she had figured their merits and talents exerted on life's wide stage. Alas for

these latter days! The world had grown old, and all its inmates partook of the decrepitude. Why talk of

infancy, manhood, and old age? We all stood equal sharers of the last throes of timeworn nature. Arrived at

the same point of the world's agethere was no difference in us; the name of parent and child had lost their

meaning; young boys and girls were level now with men. This was all true; but it was not less agonizing to

Where could we turn, and not find a desolation pregnant with the dire lesson of example? The fields had been

left uncultivated, weeds and gaudy flowers sprung up,or where a few wheatfields showed signs of the

living hopes of the husbandman, the work had been left halfway, the ploughman had died beside the plough;

the horses had deserted the furrow, and no seedsman had approached the dead; the cattle unattended

wandered over the fields and through the lanes; the tame inhabitants of the poultry yard, baulked of their

daily food, had become wildyoung lambs were dropt in flowergardens, and the cow stalled in the hall of

pleasure. Sickly and few, the country people neither went out to sow nor reap; but sauntered about the

meadows, or lay under the hedges, when the inclement sky did not drive them to take shelter under the

nearest roof. Many of those who remained, secluded themselves; some had laid up stores which should

prevent the necessity of leaving their homes;some deserted wife and child, and imagined that they secured

their safety in utter solitude. Such had been Ryland's plan, and he was discovered dead and halfdevoured by

insects, in a house many miles from any other, with piles of food laid up in useless superfluity. Others made

long journeys to unite themselves to those they loved, and arrived to find them dead.

London did not contain above a thousand inhabitants; and this number was continually diminishing. Most of

them were country people, come up for the sake of change; the Londoners had sought the country. The busy

eastern part of the town was silent, or at most you saw only where, half from cupidity, half from curiosity, the

warehouses had been more ransacked than pillaged: bales of rich India goods, shawls of price, jewels, and

spices, unpacked, strewed the floors. In some places the possessor had to the last kept watch on his store, and

died before the barred gates. The massy portals of the churches swung creaking on their hinges; and some

few lay dead on the pavement. The wretched female, loveless victim of vulgar brutality, had wandered to the

toilet of highborn beauty, and, arraying herself in the garb of splendour, had died before the mirror which

reflected to herself alone her altered appearance. Women whose delicate feet had seldom touched the earth in

their luxury, had fled in fright and horror from their homes, till, losing themselves in the squalid streets of the

metropolis, they had died on the threshold of poverty. The heart sickened at the variety of misery presented;

and, when I saw a specimen of this gloomy change, my soul ached with the fear of what might befall my

beloved Idris and my babes. Were they, surviving Adrian and myself, to find themselves protectorless in the

world? As yet the mind alone had suffered could I for ever put off the time, when the delicate frame and

shrinking nerves of my child of prosperity, the nursling of rank and wealth, who was my companion, should

be invaded by famine, hardship, and disease? Better die at oncebetter plunge a poniard in her bosom, still

untouched by drear adversity, and then again sheathe it in my own! But, no; in times of misery we must fight

against our destinies, and strive not to be overcome by them. I would not yield, but to the last gasp resolutely

defended my dear ones against sorrow and pain; and if I were vanquished at last, it should not be

ingloriously. I stood in the gap, resisting the enemythe impalpable, invisible foe, who had so long besieged

usas yet he had made no breach: it must be my care that he should not, secretly undermining, burst up

within the very threshold of the temple of love, at whose altar I daily sacrificed.

The hunger of Death was now stung more sharply by the diminution of his food: or was it that before, the

survivors being many, the dead were less eagerly counted? Now each life was a gem, each human breathing

form of far, O! far more worth than subtlest imagery of sculptured stone; and the daily, nay, hourly decrease

visible in our numbers, visited the heart with sickening misery. This summer extinguished our hopes, the

vessel of society was wrecked, and the shattered raft, which carried the few survivors over the sea of misery,

was riven and tempest tost. Man existed by twos and threes; man, the individual who might sleep, and wake,

and perform the animal functions; but man, in himself weak, yet more powerful in congregated numbers than

wind or ocean; man, the queller of the elements, the lord of created nature, the peer of demigods, existed no

Farewell to the patriotic scene, to the love of liberty and well earned meed of virtuous aspiration!farewell

to crowded senate, vocal with the councils of the wise, whose laws were keener than the sword blade

tempered at Damascus!farewell to kingly pomp and warlike pageantry; the crowns are in the dust, and the

wearers are in their graves!farewell to the desire of rule, and the hope of victory; to high vaulting ambition,

to the appetite for praise, and the craving for the suffrage of their fellows! The nations are no longer! No

senate sits in council for the dead; no scion of a time honoured dynasty pants to rule over the inhabitants of a

charnel house; the general's hand is cold, and the soldier has his untimely grave dug in his native fields,

unhonoured, though in youth. The marketplace is empty, the candidate for popular favour finds none whom

he can represent. To chambers of painted state farewell!To midnight revelry, and the panting emulation of

beauty, to costly dress and birthday show, to title and the gilded coronet, farewell!

Farewell to the giant powers of man,to knowledge that could pilot the deepdrawing bark through the

opposing waters of shoreless ocean,to science that directed the silken balloon through the pathless air,to

the power that could put a barrier to mighty waters, and set in motion wheels, and beams, and vast machinery,

Farewell to the arts,to eloquence, which is to the human mind as the winds to the sea, stirring, and then

allaying it; farewell to poetry and deep philosophy, for man's imagination is cold, and his inquiring mind

can no longer expatiate on the wonders of life, for "there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom

in the grave, whither thou goest!"to the graceful building, which in its perfect proportion transcended the

rude forms of nature, the fretted gothic and massy saracenic pile, to the stupendous arch and glorious dome,

the fluted column with its capital, Corinthian, Ionic, or Doric, the peristyle and fair entablature, whose

harmony of form is to the eye as musical concord to the ear! farewell to sculpture, where the pure marble

mocks human flesh, and in the plastic expression of the culled excellencies of the human shape, shines forth

the god!farewell to painting, the high wrought sentiment and deep knowledge of the artists's mind in

pictured canvasto paradisaical scenes, where trees are ever vernal, and the ambrosial air rests in perpetual

glow:to the stamped form of tempest, and wildest uproar of universal nature encaged in the narrow frame,

O farewell! Farewell to music, and the sound of song; to the marriage of instruments, where the concord of

soft and harsh unites in sweet harmony, and gives wings to the panting listeners, whereby to climb heaven,

and learn the hidden pleasures of the eternals!Farewell to the welltrod stage; a truer tragedy is enacted on

the world's ample scene, that puts to shame mimic grief: to highbred comedy, and the low buffoon,

Alas! to enumerate the adornments of humanity, shows, by what we have lost, how supremely great man was.

It is all over now. He is solitary; like our first parents expelled from Paradise, he looks back towards the

scene he has quitted. The high walls of the tomb, and the flaming sword of plague, lie between it and him.

Like to our first parents, the whole earth is before him, a wide desert. Unsupported and weak, let him wander

through fields where the unreaped corn stands in barren plenty, through copses planted by his fathers, through

towns built for his use. Posterity is no more; fame, and ambition, and love, are words void of meaning; even

as the cattle that grazes in the field, do thou, O deserted one, lie down at eveningtide, unknowing of the past,

careless of the future, for from such fond ignorance alone canst thou hope for ease!

Joy paints with its own colours every act and thought. The happy do not feel povertyfor delight is as a

goldtissued robe, and crowns them with priceless gems. Enjoyment plays the cook to their homely fare, and

mingles intoxication with their simple drink. Joy strews the hard couch with roses, and makes labour ease.

Sorrow doubles the burthen to the bentdown back; plants thorns in the unyielding pillow; mingles gall with

water; adds saltness to their bitter bread; clothing them in rags, and strewing ashes on their bare heads. To our

irremediable distress every small and pelting inconvenience came with added force; we had strung our frames

to endure the Atlean weight thrown on us; we sank beneath the added feather chance threw on us, "the

grasshopper was a burthen." Many of the survivors had been bred in luxurytheir servants were gone, their

powers of command vanished like unreal shadows: the poor even suffered various privations; and the idea of

another winter like the last, brought affright to our minds. Was it not enough that we must die, but toil must

be added?must we prepare our funeral repast with labour, and with unseemly drudgery heap fuel on our

deserted hearthsmust we with servile hands fabricate the garments, soon to be our shroud?

Not so! We are presently to die, let us then enjoy to its full relish the remnant of our lives. Sordid care,

avaunt! menial labours, and pains, slight in themselves, but too gigantic for our exhausted strength, shall

make no part of our ephemeral existences. In the beginning of time, when, as now, man lived by families, and

not by tribes or nations, they were placed in a genial clime, where earth fed them untilled, and the balmy air

enwrapped their reposing limbs with warmth more pleasant than beds of down. The south is the native place

of the human race; the land of fruits, more grateful to man than the hardearned Ceres of the north,of trees,

whose boughs are as a palace roof, of couches of roses, and of the thirstappeasing grape. We need not

Look at England! the grass shoots up high in the meadows; but they are dank and cold, unfit bed for us. Corn

we have none, and the crude fruits cannot support us. We must seek firing in the bowels of the earth, or the

unkind atmosphere will fill us with rheums and aches. The labour of hundreds of thousands alone could make

this inclement nook fit habitation for one man. To the south then, to the sun!where nature is kind, where

England, late birthplace of excellence and school of the wise, thy children are gone, thy glory faded! Thou,

England, wert the triumph of man! Small favour was shown thee by thy Creator, thou Isle of the North; a

ragged canvas naturally, painted by man with alien colours; but the hues he gave are faded, never more to be

renewed. So we must leave thee, thou marvel of the world; we must bid farewell to thy clouds, and cold, and

scarcity for ever! Thy manly hearts are still; thy tale of power and liberty at its close! Bereft of man, O little

isle! the ocean waves will buffet thee, and the raven flap his wings over thee; thy soil will be birthplace of

weeds, thy sky will canopy barrenness. It was not for the rose of Persia thou wert famous, nor the banana of

the east; not for the spicy gales of India, nor the sugar groves of America; not for thy vines nor thy double

harvests, nor for thy vernal airs, nor solstitial sunbut for thy children, their unwearied industry and lofty

aspiration. They are gone, and thou goest with them the oft trodden path that leads to oblivion,

IN the autumn of this year 2096, the spirit of emigration crept in among the few survivors, who, congregating

from various parts of England, met in London. This spirit existed as a breath, a wish, a far off thought, until

communicated to Adrian, who imbibed it with ardour, and instantly engaged himself in plans for its

execution. The fear of immediate death vanished with the heats of September. Another winter was before us,

and we might elect our mode of passing it to the best advantage. Perhaps in rational philosophy none could be

better chosen than this scheme of migration, which would draw us from the immediate scene of our woe, and,

leading us through pleasant and picturesque countries, amuse for a time our despair. The idea once broached,

We were still at Windsor; our renewed hopes medicined the anguish we had suffered from the late tragedies.

The death of many of our inmates had weaned us from the fond idea, that Windsor Castle was a spot sacred

from the plague; but our lease of life was renewed for some months, and even Idris lifted her head, as a lily

after a storm, when a last sunbeam tinges its silver cup. Just at this time Adrian came down to us; his eager

looks showed us that he was full of some scheme. He hastened to take me aside, and disclosed to me with

To leave England for ever! to turn from its polluted fields and groves, and, placing the sea between us, to quit

it, as a sailor quits the rock on which he has been wrecked, when the saving ship rides by. Such was his plan.

To leave the country of our fathers, made holy by their graves!We could not feel even as a voluntary exile

of old, who might for pleasure or convenience forsake his native soil; though thousands of miles might divide

him, England was still a part of him, as he of her. He heard of the passing events of the day; he knew that, if

he returned, and resumed his place in society, the entrance was still open, and it required but the will, to

surround himself at once with the associations and habits of boyhood. Not so with us, the remnant. We left

none to represent us, none to repeople the desert land, and the name of England died, when we left her,

Yet let us go! England is in her shroud,we may not enchain ourselves to a corpse. Let us gothe world is

our country now, and we will choose for our residence its most fertile spot. Shall we, in these desert halls,

under this wintry sky, sit with closed eyes and folded hands, expecting death? Let us rather go out to meet it

gallantly: or perhapsfor all this pendulous orb, this fair gem in the sky's diadem, is not surely plague

strickenperhaps, in some secluded nook, amidst eternal spring, and waving trees, and purling streams, we

may find Life. The world is vast, and England, though her many fields and wide spread woods seem

interminable, is but a small part of her. At the close of a day's march over high mountains and through snowy

valleys, we may come upon health, and committing our loved ones to its charge, replant the uprooted tree of

humanity, and send to late posterity the tale of the ante pestilential race, the heroes and sages of the lost

Hope beckons and sorrow urges us, the heart beats high with expectation, and this eager desire of change

must be an omen of success. O come! Farewell to the dead! farewell to the tombs of those we

loved!farewell to giant London and the placid Thames, to river and mountain or fair district, birthplace of

the wise and good, to Windsor Forest and its antique castle, farewell! themes for story alone are they,we

Such were in part the arguments of Adrian, uttered with enthusiasm and unanswerable rapidity. Something

more was in his heart, to which he dared not give words. He felt that the end of time was come; he knew that

one by one we should dwindle into nothingness. It was not advisable to wait this sad consummation in our

native country; but travelling would give us our object for each day, that would distract our thoughts from the

swiftapproaching end of things. If we went to Italy, to sacred and eternal Rome, we might with greater

patience submit to the decree, which had laid her mighty towers low. We might lose our selfish grief in the

sublime aspect of its desolation. All this was in the mind of Adrian; but he thought of my children, and,

instead of communicating to me these resources of despair, he called up the image of health and life to be

found, where we knew notwhen we knew not; but if never to be found, for ever and for ever to be sought.

It devolved on me to disclose our plan to Idris. The images of health and hope which I presented to her, made

her with a smile consent. With a smile she agreed to leave her country, from which she had never before been

absent, and the spot she had inhabited from infancy; the forest and its mighty trees, the woodland paths and

green recesses, where she had played in childhood, and had lived so happily through youth; she would leave

them without regret, for she hoped to purchase thus the lives of her children. They were her life; dearer than a

spot consecrated to love, dearer than all else the earth contained. The boys heard with childish glee of our

removal: Clara asked if we were to go to Athens. "It is possible," I replied; and her countenance became

radiant with pleasure. There she would behold the tomb of her parents, and the territory filled with

recollections of her father's glory. In silence, but without respite, she had brooded over these scenes. It was

the recollection of them that had turned her infant gaiety to seriousness, and had impressed her with high and

There were many dear friends whom we must not leave behind, humble though they were. There was the

spirited and obedient steed which Lord Raymond had given his daughter; there was Alfred's dog and a pet

eagle, whose sight was dimmed through age. But this catalogue of favourites to be taken with us, could not be

made without grief to think of our heavy losses, and a deep sigh for the many things we must leave behind.

The tears rushed into the eyes of Idris, while Alfred and Evelyn brought now a favourite rose tree, now a

marble vase beautifully carved, insisting that these must go, and exclaiming on the pity that we could not take

the castle and the forest, the deer and the birds, and all accustomed and cherished objects along with us.

"Fond and foolish ones," I said, "we have lost for ever treasures far more precious than these; and we desert

them, to preserve treasures to which in comparison they are nothing. Let us not for a moment forget our

object and our hope; and they will form a resistless mound to stop the overflowing of our regret for trifles."

The children were easily distracted, and again returned to their prospect of future amusement. Idris had

disappeared. She had gone to hide her weakness; escaping from the castle, she had descended to the little

park, and sought solitude, that she might there indulge her tears; I found her clinging round an old oak,

pressing its rough trunk with her roseate lips, as her tears fell plenteously, and her sobs and broken

exclamations could not be suppressed; with surpassing grief I beheld this loved one of my heart thus lost in

sorrow! I drew her towards me; and, as she felt my kisses on her eyelids, as she felt my arms press her, she

revived to the knowledge of what remained to her. "You are very kind not to reproach me," she said: "I weep,

and a bitter pang of intolerable sorrow tears my heart. And yet I am happy; mothers lament their children,

wives lose their husbands, while you and my children are left to me. Yes, I am happy, most happy, that I can

weep thus for imaginary sorrows, and that the slight loss of my adored country is not dwindled and

annihilated in mightier misery. Take me where you will; where you and my children are, there shall be

Windsor, and every country will be England to me. Let these tears flow not for myself, happy and ungrateful

as I am, but for the dead world for our lost countryfor all of love, and life, and joy, now choked in the

She spoke quickly, as if to convince herself; she turned her eyes from the trees and forestpaths she loved;

she hid her face in my bosom, and weyes, my masculine firmness dissolvedwe wept together

consolatory tears, and then calmnay, almost cheerful, we returned to the castle.

The first cold weather of an English October, made us hasten our preparations. I persuaded Idris to go up to

London, where she might better attend to necessary arrangements. I did not tell her, that to spare her the pang

of parting from inanimate objects, now the only things left, I had resolved that we should none of us return to

Windsor. For the last time we looked on the wide extent of country visible from the terrace, and saw the last

rays of the sun tinge the dark masses of wood variegated by autumnal tints; the uncultivated fields and

smokeless cottages lay in shadow below; the Thames wound through the wide plain, and the venerable pile of

Eton college, stood in dark relief, a prominent object; the cawing of the myriad rooks which inhabited the

trees of the little park, as in column or thick wedge they speeded to their nests, disturbed the silence of

evening. Nature was the same, as when she was the kind mother of the human race; now, childless and

forlorn, her fertility was a mockery; her loveliness a mask for deformity. Why should the breeze gently stir

the trees, man felt not its refreshment? Why did dark night adorn herself with starsman saw them not?

Idris stood beside me, her dear hand locked in mine. Her face was radiant with a smile."The sun is alone,"

she said, "but we are not. A strange star, my Lionel, ruled our birth; sadly and with dismay we may look upon

the annihilation of man; but we remain for each other. Did I ever in the wide world seek other than thee? And

since in the wide world thou remainest, why should I complain? Thou and nature are still true to me. Beneath

the shades of night, and through the day, whose garish light displays our solitude, thou wilt still be at my side,

I had chosen nighttime for our journey to London, that the change and desolation of the country might be

the less observable. Our only surviving servant drove us. We past down the steep hill, and entered the dusky

avenue of the Long Walk. At times like these, minute circumstances assume giant and majestic proportions;

the very swinging open of the white gate that admitted us into the forest, arrested my thoughts as matter of

interest; it was an every day act, never to occur again! The setting crescent of the moon glittered through the

massy trees to our right, and when we entered the park, we scared a troop of deer, that fled bounding away in

the forest shades. Our two boys quietly slept; once, before our road turned from the view, I looked back on

the castle. Its windows glistened in the moonshine, and its heavy outline lay in a dark mass against the

skythe trees near us waved a solemn dirge to the midnight breeze. Idris leaned back in the carriage; her

two hands pressed mine, her countenance was placid, she seemed to lose the sense of what she now left, in

My thoughts were sad and solemn, yet not of unmingled pain. The very excess of our misery carried a relief

with it, giving sublimity and elevation to sorrow. I felt that I carried with me those I best loved; I was

pleased, after a long separation to rejoin Adrian; never again to part. I felt that I quitted what I loved, not

what loved me. The castle walls, and long familiar trees, did not hear the parting sound of our

carriagewheels with regret. And, while I felt Idris to be near, and heard the regular breathing of my children,

I could not be unhappy. Clara was greatly moved; with streaming eyes, suppressing her sobs, she leaned from

Adrian welcomed us on our arrival. He was all animation; you could no longer trace in his look of health, the

suffering valetudinarian; from his smile and sprightly tones you could not guess that he was about to lead

forth from their native country, the numbered remnant of the English nation, into the tenantless realms of the

south, there to die, one by one, till the LAST MAN should remain in a voiceless, empty world.

Adrian was impatient for our departure, and had advanced far in his preparations. His wisdom guided all. His

care was the soul, to move the luckless crowd, who relied wholly on him. It was useless to provide many

things, for we should find abundant provision in every town. It was Adrian's wish to prevent all labour; to

bestow a festive appearance on this funeral train. Our numbers amounted to not quite two thousand persons.

These were not all assembled in London, but each day witnessed the arrival of fresh numbers, and those who

resided in the neighbouring towns, had received orders to assemble at one place, on the twentieth of

November. Carriages and horses were provided for all; captains and under officers chosen, and the whole

assemblage wisely organized. All obeyed the Lord Protector of dying England; all looked up to him. His

council was chosen, it consisted of about fifty persons. Distinction and station were not the qualifications of

their election. We had no station among us, but that which benevolence and prudence gave; no distinction

save between the living and the dead. Although we were anxious to leave England before the depth of winter,

yet we were detained. Small parties had been dispatched to various parts of England, in search of stragglers;

we would not go, until we had assured ourselves that in all human probability we did not leave behind a

On our arrival in London, we found that the aged Countess of Windsor was residing with her son in the

palace of the Protectorate; we repaired to our accustomed abode near Hyde Park. Idris now for the first time

for many years saw her mother, anxious to assure herself that the childishness of old age did not mingle with

unforgotten pride, to make this high born dame still so inveterate against me. Age and care had furrowed her

cheeks, and bent her form; but her eye was still bright, her manners authoritative and unchanged; she received

her daughter coldly, but displayed more feeling as she folded her grandchildren in her arms. It is our nature

to wish to continue our systems and thoughts to posterity through our own offspring. The Countess had failed

in this design with regard to her children; perhaps she hoped to find the next remove in birth more tractable.

Once Idris named me casuallya frown, a convulsive gesture of anger, shook her mother, and, with voice

trembling with hate, she said"I am of little worth in this world; the young are impatient to push the old off

the scene; but, Idris, if you do not wish to see your mother expire at your feet, never again name that person

to me; all else I can bear; and now I am resigned to the destruction of my cherished hopes: but it is too much

to require that I should love the instrument that providence gifted with murderous properties for my

This was a strange speech, now that, on the empty stage, each might play his part without impediment from

The period of our departure was fixed for the twentyfifth of November. The weather was temperate; soft

rains fell at night, and by day the wintry sun shone out. Our numbers were to move forward in separate

parties, and to go by different routes, all to unite at last at Paris. Adrian and his division, consisting in all of

On the twentieth of November, Adrian and I rode for the last time through the streets of London. They were

grassgrown and deserted. The open doors of the empty mansions creaked upon their hinges; rank herbage,

and deforming dirt, had swiftly accumulated on the steps of the houses; the voiceless steeples of the churches

pierced the smokeless air; the churches were open, but no prayer was offered at the altars; mildew and damp

had already defaced their ornaments; birds, and tame animals, now homeless, had built nests, and made their

lairs in consecrated spots. We passed St. Paul's. London, which had extended so far in suburbs in all

direction, had been somewhat deserted in the midst, and much of what had in former days obscured this vast

building was removed. Its ponderous mass, blackened stone, and high dome, made it look, not like a temple,

but a tomb. Methought above the portico was engraved the Hic jacet of England. We passed on eastwards,

engaged in such solemn talk as the times inspired. No human step was heard, nor human form discerned.

Troops of dogs, deserted of their masters, passed us; and now and then a horse, unbridled and unsaddled,

trotted towards us, and tried to attract the attention of those which we rode, as if to allure them to seek like

liberty. An unwieldy ox, who had fed in an abandoned granary, suddenly lowed, and showed his shapeless

form in a narrow doorway; every thing was desert; but nothing was in ruin. And this medley of undamaged

buildings, and luxurious accommodation, in trim and fresh youth, was contrasted with the lonely silence of

Night closed in, and it began to rain. We were about to return homewards, when a voice, a human voice,

strange now to hear, attracted our attention. It was a child singing a merry, lightsome air; there was no other

sound. We had traversed London from Hyde Park even to where we now were in the Minories, and had met

no person, heard no voice nor footstep. The singing was interrupted by laughing and talking; never was merry

ditty so sadly timed, never laughter more akin to tears. The door of the house from which these sounds

proceeded was open, the upper rooms were illuminated as for a feast. It was a large magnificent house, in

which doubtless some rich merchant had lived. The singing again commenced, and rang through the

highroofed rooms, while we silently ascended the staircase. Lights now appeared to guide us; and a long

suite of splendid rooms illuminated, made us still more wonder. Their only inhabitant, a little girl, was

dancing, waltzing, and singing about them, followed by a large Newfoundland dog, who boisterously

jumping on her, and interrupting her, made her now scold, now laugh, now throw herself on the carpet to play

with him. She was dressed grotesquely, in glittering robes and shawls fit for a woman; she appeared about ten

years of age. We stood at the door looking on this strange scene, till the dog perceiving us barked loudly; the

child turned and saw us: her face, losing its gaiety, assumed a sullen expression: she slunk back, apparently

meditating an escape. I came up to her, and held her hand; she did not resist, but with a stern brow, so strange

in childhood, so different from her former hilarity, she stood still, her eyes fixed on the ground. "What do you

do here?" I said gently; "Who are you?"she was silent, but trembled violently."My poor child," asked

Adrian, "are you alone?" There was a winning softness in his voice, that went to the heart of the little girl; she

looked at him, then snatching her hand from me, threw herself into his arms, clinging round his neck,

ejaculating"Save me! save me!" while her unnatural sullenness dissolved in tears.

"I will save you," he replied, "of what are you afraid? you need not fear my friend, he will do you no harm.

"I never had any; I am a charity girl. Every body is gone, gone for a great, great many days; but if they come

Her unhappy story was told in these few words: an orphan, taken on pretended charity, illtreated and

reviled, her oppressors had died: unknowing of what had passed around her, she found herself alone; she had

not dared venture out, but by the continuance of her solitude her courage revived, her childish vivacity caused

her to play a thousand freaks, and with her brute companion she passed a long holiday, fearing nothing but

the return of the harsh voices and cruel usage of her protectors. She readily consented to go with Adrian.

In the meantime, while we descanted on alien sorrows, and on a solitude which struck our eyes and not our

hearts, while we imagined all of change and suffering that had intervened in these once thronged streets,

before, tenantless and abandoned, they became mere kennels for dogs, and stables for cattle: while we read

the death of the world upon the dark fane, and hugged ourselves in the remembrance that we possessed that

We had arrived from Windsor early in October, and had now been in London about six weeks. Day by day,

during that time, the health of my Idris declined: her heart was broken; neither sleep nor appetite, the chosen

servants of health, waited on her wasted form. To watch her children hour by hour, to sit by me, drinking

deep the dear persuasion that I remained to her, was all her pastime. Her vivacity, so long assumed, her

affectionate display of cheerfulness, her lighthearted tone and springy gait were gone. I could not disguise to

myself, nor could she conceal, her lifeconsuming sorrow. Still change of scene, and reviving hopes might

I had left her this evening, reposing after the fatigues of her preparations. Clara sat beside her, relating a story

to the two boys. The eyes of Idris were closed: but Clara perceived a sudden change in the appearance of our

eldest darling; his heavy lids veiled his eyes, an unnatural colour burnt in his cheeks, his breath became short.

Clara looked at the mother; she slept, yet started at the pause the narrator madeFear of awakening and

alarming her, caused Clara to go on at the eager call of Evelyn, who was unaware of what was passing. Her

eyes turned alternately from Alfred to Idris; with trembling accents she continued her tale, till she saw the

child about to fall: starting forward she caught him, and her cry roused Idris. She looked on her son. She saw

death stealing across his features; she laid him on a bed, she held drink to his parched lips.

Yet he might be saved. If I were there, he might be saved; perhaps it was not the plague. Without a

counsellor, what could she do? stay and behold him die! Why at that moment was I away? "Look to him,

She inquired among those who, selected as the companions of our journey, had taken up their residence in

our house; she heard from them merely that I had gone out with Adrian. She entreated them to seek me: she

returned to her child, he was plunged in a frightful state of torpor; again she rushed down stairs; all was dark,

desert, and silent; she lost all self possession; she ran into the street; she called on my name. The pattering

rain and howling wind alone replied to her. Wild fear gave wings to her feet; she darted forward to seek me,

she knew not where; but, putting all her thoughts, all her energy, all her being in speed only, most

misdirected speed, she neither felt, nor feared, nor paused, but ran right on, till her strength suddenly deserted

her so suddenly, that she had not thought to save herself. Her knees failed her, and she fell heavily on the

She was stunned for a time; but at length rose, and though sorely hurt, still walked on, shedding a fountain of

tears, stumbling at times, going she knew not whither, only now and then with feeble voice she called my

name, adding with heart piercing exclamations, that I was cruel and unkind. Human being there was none to

reply; and the inclemency of the night had driven the wandering animals to the habitations they had usurped.

Her thin dress was drenched with rain; her wet hair clung round her neck; she tottered through the dark

streets; till, striking her foot against an unseen impediment, she again fell; she could not rise; she hardly

strove; but, gathering up her limbs, she resigned herself to the fury of the elements, and the bitter grief of her

own heart. She breathed an earnest prayer to die speedily, for there was no relief but death. While hopeless of

safety for herself, she ceased to lament for her dying child, but shed kindly, bitter tears for the grief I should

While she lay, life almost suspended, she felt a warm, soft hand on her brow, and a gentle female voice asked

her, with expressions of tender compassion, if she could not rise? That another human being, sympathetic and

kind, should exist near, roused her; half rising, with clasped hands, and fresh springing tears, she entreated

her companion to seek for me, to bid me hasten to my dying child, to save him, for the love of heaven, to save

The woman raised her; she led her under shelter, she entreated her to return to her home, whither perhaps I

had already returned. Idris easily yielded to her persuasions, she leaned on the arm of her friend, she

endeavoured to walk on, but irresistible faintness made her pause again and again.

Quickened by the increasing storm, we had hastened our return, our little charge was placed before Adrian on

his horse. There was an assemblage of persons under the portico of our house, in whose gestures I

instinctively read some heavy change, some new misfortune. With swift alarm, afraid to ask a single

question, I leapt from my horse; the spectators saw me, knew me, and in awful silence divided to make way

for me. I snatched a light, and rushing up stairs, and hearing a groan, without reflection I threw open the door

of the first room that presented itself. It was quite dark; but, as I stepped within, a pernicious scent assailed

my senses, producing sickening qualms, which made their way to my very heart, while I felt my leg clasped,

and a groan repeated by the person that held me. I lowered my lamp, and saw a negro half clad, writhing

under the agony of disease, while he held me with a convulsive grasp. With mixed horror and impatience I

strove to disengage myself, and fell on the sufferer; he wound his naked festering arms round me, his face

was close to mine, and his breath, deathladen, entered my vitals. For a moment I was overcome, my head

was bowed by aching nausea; till, reflection returning, I sprung up, threw the wretch from me, and darting up

the staircase, entered the chamber usually inhabited by my family. A dim light showed me Alfred on a couch;

Clara trembling, and paler than whitest snow, had raised him on her arm, holding a cup of water to his lips. I

saw full well that no spark of life existed in that ruined form, his features were rigid, his eyes glazed, his head

had fallen back. I took him from her, I laid him softly down, kissed his cold little mouth, and turned to speak

in a vain whisper, when loudest sound of thunderlike cannon could not have reached him in his immaterial

And where was Idris? That she had gone out to seek me, and had not returned, were fearful tidings, while the

rain and driving wind clattered against the window, and roared round the house. Added to this, the sickening

sensation of disease gained upon me; no time was to be lost, if ever I would see her again. I mounted my

horse and rode out to seek her, fancying that I heard her voice in every gust, oppressed by fever and aching

I rode in the dark and rain through the labyrinthine streets of unpeopled London. My child lay dead at home;

the seeds of mortal disease had taken root in my bosom; I went to seek Idris, my adored, now wandering

alone, while the waters were rushing from heaven like a cataract to bathe her dear head in chill damp, her fair

limbs in numbing cold. A female stood on the step of a door, and called to me as I galloped past. It was not

Idris; so I rode swiftly on, until a kind of second sight, a reflection back again on my senses of what I had

seen but not marked, made me feel sure that another figure, thin, graceful and tall, stood clinging to the

foremost person who supported her. In a minute I was beside the suppliant, in a minute I received the sinking

Idris in my arms. Lifting her up, I placed her on the horse; she had not strength to support herself; so I

mounted behind her, and held her close to my bosom, wrapping my ridingcloak round her, while her

companion, whose well known, but changed countenance, (it was Juliet, daughter of the Duke of L)

could at this moment of horror obtain from me no more than a passing glance of compassion. She took the

abandoned rein, and conducted our obedient steed homewards. Dare I avouch it? That was the last moment of

my happiness; but I was happy. Idris must die, for her heart was broken: I must die, for I had caught the

plague; earth was a scene of desolation; hope was madness; life had married death; they were one; but, thus

supporting my fainting love, thus feeling that I must soon die, I revelled in the delight of possessing her once

We arrived at our home. I assisted her to dismount, I carried her up stairs, and gave her into Clara's care, that

her wet garments might be changed. Briefly I assured Adrian of her safety, and requested that we might be

left to repose. As the miser, who with trembling caution visits his treasure to count it again and again, so I

numbered each moment, and grudged every one that was not spent with Idris. I returned swiftly to the

chamber where the life of my life reposed; before I entered the room I paused for a few seconds; for a few

seconds I tried to examine my state; sickness and shuddering ever and anon came over me; my head was

heavy, my chest oppressed, my legs bent under me; but I threw off resolutely the swift growing symptoms of

my disorder, and met Idris with placid and even joyous looks. She was lying on a couch; carefully fastening

the door to prevent all intrusion; I sat by her, we embraced, and our lips met in a kiss long drawn and

Maternal feeling now awoke in my poor girl's bosom, and she asked: "And Alfred?"

"Idris," I replied, "we are spared to each other, we are together; do not let any other idea intrude. I am happy;

even on this fatal night, I declare myself happy, beyond all name, all thoughtwhat would you more, sweet

Idris understood me: she bowed her head on my shoulder and wept. "Why," she again asked, "do you

"Well may I be shaken," I replied, "happy as I am. Our child is dead, and the present hour is dark and

"I understand thee, my kind love," said Idris, "thuspale as thou art with sorrow at our loss; trembling and

aghast, though wouldest assuage my grief by thy dear assurances. I am not happy," (and the tears flashed and

fell from under her downcast lids), "for we are inmates of a miserable prison, and there is no joy for us; but

"We have been happy together, at least," I said; "no future misery can deprive us of the past. We have been

true to each other for years, ever since my sweet princesslove came through the snow to the lowly cottage of

the povertystricken heir of the ruined Verney. Even now, that eternity is before us, we take hope only from

the presence of each other. Idris, do you think, that when we die, we shall be divided?"

"Die! when we die! what mean you? What secret lies hid from me in those dreadful words?"

"Gracious God! are you ill, Lionel, that you speak of death? My only friend, heart of my heart, speak!"

"I do not think," replied I, "that we have any of us long to live; and when the curtain drops on this mortal

Idris was calmed by my unembarrassed tone and look; she answered:"You may easily believe that during

this long progress of the plague, I have thought much on death, and asked myself, now that all mankind is

dead to this life, to what other life they may have been borne. Hour after hour, I have dwelt on these thoughts,

and strove to form a rational conclusion concerning the mystery of a future state. What a scarecrow, indeed,

would death be, if we were merely to cast aside the shadow in which we now walk, and, stepping forth into

the unclouded sunshine of knowledge and love, revived with the same companions, the same affections, and

reached the fulfilment of our hopes, leaving our fears with our earthly vesture in the grave. Alas! the same

strong feeling which makes me sure that I shall not wholly die, makes me refuse to believe that I shall live

wholly as I do now. Yet, Lionel, never, never, can I love any but you; through eternity I must desire your

society; and, as I am innocent of harm to others, and as relying and confident as my mortal nature permits, I

"Your remarks are like yourself, dear love," replied I, "gentle and good; let us cherish such a belief, and

dismiss anxiety from our minds. But, sweet, we are so formed, (and there is no sin, if God made our nature, to

yield to what he ordains), we are so formed, that we must love life, and cling to it; we must love the living

smile, the sympathetic touch, and thrilling voice, peculiar to our mortal mechanism. Let us not, through

security in hereafter, neglect the present. This present moment, short as it is, is a part of eternity, and the

dearest part, since it is our own unalienably. Thou, the hope of my futurity, art my present joy. Let me then

Timidly, for my vehemence somewhat terrified her, Idris looked on me. My eyes were bloodshot, starting

from my head; every artery beat, methought, audibly, every muscle throbbed, each single nerve felt. Her look

of wild affright told me, that I could no longer keep my secret:"So it is, mine own beloved," I said, "the

last hour of many happy ones is arrived, nor can we shun any longer the inevitable destiny. I cannot live

Paler than marble, with white lips and convulsed features, Idris became aware of my situation. My arm, as I

sat, encircled her waist. she felt the palm burn with fever, even on the heart it pressed:"One moment," she

She kneeled, and hiding her face in her hands, uttered a brief, but earnest prayer, that she might fulfil her

duty, and watch over me to the last. While there was hope, the agony had been unendurable;all was now

concluded; her feelings became solemn and calm. Even as Epicharis, unperturbed and firm, submitted to the

instruments of torture, did Idris, suppressing every sigh and sign of grief, enter upon the endurance of

torments, of which the rack and the wheel are but faint and metaphysical symbols.

I was changed; the tightdrawn cord that sounded so harshly was loosened, the moment that Idris participated

in my knowledge of our real situation. The perturbed and passion tossed waves of thought subsided, leaving

only the heavy swell that kept right on without any outward manifestation of its disturbance, till it should

break on the remote shore towards which I rapidly advanced:"It is true that I am sick," I said, "and your

She made me lie down on the couch, and, drawing a low ottoman near, sat close to my pillow, pressing my

burning hands in her cold palms. She yielded to my feverish restlessness, and let me talk, and talked to me,

on subjects strange indeed to beings, who thus looked the last, and heard the last, of what they loved alone in

the world. We talked of times gone by; of the happy period of our early love; of Raymond, Perdita, and

Evadne. We talked of what might arise on this desert earth, if, two or three being saved, it were slowly

repeopled.We talked of what was beyond the tomb; and, man in his human shape being nearly extinct, we

felt with certainty of faith, that other spirits, other minds, other perceptive beings, sightless to us, must people

We talkedI know not how longbut, in the morning I awoke from a painful heavy slumber; the pale

cheek of Idris rested on my pillow; the large orbs of her eyes half raised the lids, and showed the deep blue

lights beneath; her lips were unclosed, and the slight murmurs they formed told that, even while asleep, she

suffered. "If she were dead," I thought, "what difference? now that form is the temple of a residing deity;

those eyes are the windows of her soul; all grace, love, and intelligence are throned on that lovely

bosomwere she dead, where would this mind, the dearer half of mine, be? For quickly the fair proportion

of this edifice would be more defaced, than are the sandchoked ruins of the desert temples of Palmyra."

IDRIS stirred and awoke; alas! she awoke to misery. She saw the signs of disease on my countenance, and

wondered how she could permit the long night to pass without her having sought, not cure, that was

impossible, but alleviation to my sufferings. She called Adrian; my couch was quickly surrounded by friends

and assistants, and such medicines as were judged fitting were administered. It was the peculiar and dreadful

distinction of our visitation, that none who had been attacked by the pestilence had recovered. The first

symptom of the disease was the deathwarrant, which in no single instance had been followed by pardon or

While fever producing torpor, heavy pains, sitting like lead on my limbs, and making my breast heave, were

upon me; I continued insensible to every thing but pain, and at last even to that. I awoke on the fourth

morning as from a dreamless sleep. An irritating sense of thirst, and, when I strove to speak or move, an

For three days and nights Idris had not moved from my side. She administered to all my wants, and never

slept nor rested. She did not hope; and therefore she neither endeavoured to read the physician's countenance,

nor to watch for symptoms of recovery. All her thought was to attend on me to the last, and then to lie down

and die beside me. On the third night animation was suspended; to the eye and touch of all I was dead. With

earnest prayer, almost with force, Adrian tried to draw Idris from me. He exhausted every adjuration, her

child's welfare and his own. She shook her head, and wiped a stealing tear from her sunk cheek, but would

not yield; she entreated to be allowed to watch me that one night only, with such affliction and meek

earnestness, that she gained her point, and sat silent and motionless, except when, stung by intolerable

remembrance, she kissed my closed eyes and pallid lips, and pressed my stiffening hands to her beating heart.

At dead of night, when, though it was mid winter, the cock crowed at three o'clock, as herald of the morning

change, while hanging over me, and mourning in silent, bitter thought for the loss of all of love towards her

that had been enshrined in my heart; her dishevelled hair hung over her face, and the long tresses fell on the

bed; she saw one ringlet in motion, and the scattered hair slightly stirred, as by a breath. It is not so, she

thought, for he will never breathe more. Several times the same thing occurred, and she only marked it by the

same reflection; till the whole ringlet waved back, and she thought she saw my breast heave. Her first

emotion was deadly fear, cold dew stood on her brow; my eyes half opened; and, reassured, she would have

exclaimed, "He lives!" but the words were choked by a spasm, and she fell with a groan on the floor.

Adrian was in the chamber. After long watching, he had unwillingly fallen into a sleep. He started up, and

beheld his sister senseless on the earth, weltering in a stream of blood that gushed from her mouth. Increasing

signs of life in me in some degree explained her state; the surprise, the burst of joy, the revulsion of every

sentiment, had been too much for her frame, worn by long months of care, late shattered by every species of

woe and toil. She was now in far greater danger than I, the wheels and springs of my life, once again set in

motion, acquired elasticity from their short suspension. For a long time, no one believed that I should indeed

continue to live; during the reign of the plague upon earth, not one person, attacked by the grim disease, had

recovered. My restoration was looked on as a deception; every moment it was expected that the evil

symptoms would recur with redoubled violence, until confirmed convalescence, absence of all fever or pain,

and increasing strength, brought slow conviction that I had recovered from the plague.

The restoration of Idris was more problematical. When I had been attacked by illness, her cheeks were sunk,

her form emaciated; but now, the vessel, which had broken from the effects of extreme agitation, did not

entirely heal, but was as a channel that drop by drop drew from her the ruddy stream that vivified her heart.

Her hollow eyes and worn countenance had a ghastly appearance; her cheekbones, her open fair brow, the

projection of the mouth, stood fearfully prominent; you might tell each bone in the thin anatomy of her frame.

Her hand hung powerless; each joint lay bare, so that the light penetrated through and through. It was strange

To take her from these heartbreaking scenes, to lead her to forget the world's desolation in the variety of

objects presented by travelling, and to nurse her failing strength in the mild climate towards which we had

resolved to journey, was my last hope for her preservation. The preparations for our departure, which had

been suspended during my illness, were renewed. I did not revive to doubtful convalescence; health spent her

treasures upon me; as the tree in spring may feel from its wrinkled limbs the fresh green break forth, and the

living sap rise and circulate, so did the renewed vigour of my frame, the cheerful current of my blood, the

newborn elasticity of my limbs, influence my mind to cheerful endurance and pleasurable thoughts. My

body, late the heavy weight that bound me to the tomb, was exuberant with health; mere common exercises

were insufficient for my reviving strength; methought I could emulate the speed of the race horse, discern

through the air objects at a blinding distance, hear the operations of nature in her mute abodes; my senses had

Hope, among my other blessings, was not denied to me; and I did fondly trust that my unwearied attentions

would restore my adored girl. I was therefore eager to forward our preparations. According to the plan first

laid down, we were to have quitted London on the twentyfifth of November; and, in pursuance of this

scheme, twothirds of our peoplethe peopleall that remained of England, had gone forward, and had

already been some weeks in Paris. First my illness, and subsequently that of Idris, had detained Adrian with

his division, which consisted of three hundred persons, so that we now departed on the first of January, 2098.

It was my wish to keep Idris as distant as possible from the hurry and clamour of the crowd, and to hide from

her those appearances that would remind her most forcibly of our real situation. We separated ourselves to a

great degree from Adrian, who was obliged to give his whole time to public business. The Countess of

Windsor travelled with her son. Clara, Evelyn, and a female who acted as our attendant, were the only

persons with whom we had contact. We occupied a commodious carriage, our servant officiated as

coachman. A party of about twenty persons preceded us at a small distance. They had it in charge to prepare

our halting places and our nightly abode. They had been selected for this service out of a great number that

offered, on account of the superior sagacity of the man who had been appointed their leader.

Immediately on our departure, I was delighted to find a change in Idris, which I fondly hoped prognosticated

the happiest results. All the cheerfulness and gentle gaiety natural to her revived. She was weak, and this

alteration was rather displayed in looks and voice than in acts; but it was permanent and real. My recovery

from the plague and confirmed health instilled into her a firm belief that I was now secure from this dread

enemy. She told me that she was sure she should recover. That she had a presentiment, that the tide of

calamity which deluged our unhappy race had now turned. That the remnant would be preserved, and among

them the dear objects of her tender affection; and that in some selected spot we should wear out our lives

together in pleasant society. "Do not let my state of feebleness deceive you," she said; "I feel that I am better;

there is a quick life within me, and a spirit of anticipation that assures me, that I shall continue long to make a

part of this world. I shall throw off this degrading weakness of body, which infects even my mind with

debility, and I shall enter again on the performance of my duties. I was sorry to leave Windsor: but now I am

weaned from this local attachment; I am content to remove to a mild climate, which will complete my

recovery. Trust me, dearest, I shall neither leave you, nor my brother, nor these dear children; my firm

determination to remain with you to the last, and to continue to contribute to your happiness and welfare,

I was only half reassured by these expressions; I could not believe that the overquick flow of her blood

was a sign of health, or that her burning cheeks denoted convalescence. But I had no fears of an immediate

catastrophe; nay, I persuaded myself that she would ultimately recover. And thus cheerfulness reigned in our

little society. Idris conversed with animation on a thousand topics. Her chief desire was to lead our thoughts

from melancholy reflections; so she drew charming pictures of a tranquil solitude, of a beauteous retreat, of

the simple manners of our little tribe, and of the patriarchal brotherhood of love, which would survive the

ruins of the populous nations which had lately existed. We shut out from our thoughts the present, and

withdrew our eyes from the dreary landscape we traversed. Winter reigned in all its gloom. The leafless trees

lay without motion against the dun sky; the forms of frost, mimicking the foliage of summer, strewed the

ground; the paths were overgrown; the unploughed cornfields were patched with grass and weeds; the sheep

congregated at the threshold of the cottage, the horned ox thrust his head from the window. The wind was

bleak, and frequent sleet or snowstorms, added to the melancholy appearance wintry nature assumed.

We arrived at Rochester, and an accident caused us to be detained there a day. During that time, a

circumstance occurred that changed our plans, and which, alas! in its result changed the eternal course of

events, turning me from the pleasant new sprung hope I enjoyed, to an obscure and gloomy desert. But I must

give some little explanation before I proceed with the final cause of our temporary alteration of plan, and

refer again to those times when man walked the earth fearless, before Plague had become Queen of the

There resided a family in the neighbourhood of Windsor, of very humble pretensions, but which had been an

object of interest to us on account of one of the persons of whom it was composed. The family of the

Claytons had known better days; but, after a series of reverses, the father died a bankrupt, and the mother

heartbroken, and a confirmed invalid, retired with her five children to a little cottage between Eton and Salt

Hill. The eldest of these children, who was thirteen years old, seemed at once from the influence of adversity,

to acquire the sagacity and principle belonging to a more mature age. Her mother grew worse and worse in

health, but Lucy attended on her, and was as a tender parent to her younger brothers and sisters, and in the

meantime showed herself so goodhumoured, social, and benevolent, that she was beloved as well as

Lucy was besides extremely pretty; so when she grew to be sixteen, it was to be supposed, notwithstanding

her poverty, that she should have admirers. One of these was the son of a countrycurate; he was a generous,

frankhearted youth, with an ardent love of knowledge, and no mean acquirements. Though Lucy was

untaught, her mother's conversation and manners gave her a taste for refinements superior to her present

situation. She loved the youth even without knowing it, except that in any difficulty she naturally turned to

him for aid, and awoke with a lighter heart every Sunday, because she knew that she would be met and

accompanied by him in her evening walk with her sisters. She had another admirer, one of the headwaiters

at the inn at Salt Hill. He also was not without pretensions to urbane superiority, such as he learnt from

gentlemen's servants and waitingmaids, who initiating him in all the slang of high life below stairs, rendered

his arrogant temper ten times more intrusive. Lucy did not disclaim himshe was incapable of that feeling;

but she was sorry when she saw him approach, and quietly resisted all his endeavours to establish an

intimacy. The fellow soon discovered that his rival was preferred to him; and this changed what was at first a

chance admiration into a passion, whose main springs were envy, and a base desire to deprive his competitor

Poor Lucy's sad story was but a common one. Her lover's father died; and he was left destitute. He accepted

the offer of a gentleman to go to India with him, feeling secure that he should soon acquire an independence,

and return to claim the hand of his beloved. He became involved in the war carried on there, was taken

prisoner, and years elapsed before tidings of his existence were received in his native land. In the meantime

disastrous poverty came on Lucy. Her little cottage, which stood looking from its trellis, covered with

woodbine and jessamine, was burnt down; and the whole of their little property was included in the

destruction. Whither betake them? By what exertion of industry could Lucy procure them another abode? Her

mother nearly bedrid, could not survive any extreme of faminestruck poverty. At this time her other

admirer stepped forward, and renewed his offer of marriage. He had saved money, and was going to set up a

little inn at Datchet. There was nothing alluring to Lucy in this offer, except the home it secured to her

mother; and she felt more sure of this, since she was struck by the apparent generosity which occasioned the

present offer. She accepted it; thus sacrificing herself for the comfort and welfare of her parent.

It was some years after her marriage that we became acquainted with her. The accident of a storm caused us

to take refuge in the inn, where we witnessed the brutal and quarrelsome behaviour of her husband, and her

patient endurance. Her lot was not a fortunate one. Her first lover had returned with the hope of making her

his own, and met her by accident, for the first time, as the mistress of his country inn, and the wife of another.

He withdrew despairingly to foreign parts; nothing went well with him; at last he enlisted, and came back

again wounded and sick, and yet Lucy was debarred from nursing him. Her husband's brutal disposition was

aggravated by his yielding to the many temptations held out by his situation, and the consequent

disarrangement of his affairs. Fortunately she had no children; but her heart was bound up in her brothers and

sisters, and these his avarice and ill temper soon drove from the house; they were dispersed about the country,

earning their livelihood with toil and care. He even showed an inclination to get rid of her motherbut Lucy

was firm hereshe had sacrificed herself for her; she lived for her she would not part with herif the

mother went, she would also go beg bread for her, die with her, but never desert her. The presence of Lucy

was too necessary in keeping up the order of the house, and in preventing the whole establishment from going

to wreck, for him to permit her to leave him. He yielded the point; but in all accesses of anger, or in his

drunken fits, he recurred to the old topic, and stung poor Lucy's heart by opprobrious epithets bestowed on

A passion however, if it be wholly pure, entire, and reciprocal, brings with it its own solace. Lucy was truly,

and from the depth of heart, devoted to her mother; the sole end she proposed to herself in life, was the

comfort and preservation of this parent. Though she grieved for the result, yet she did not repent of her

marriage, even when her lover returned to bestow competence on her. Three years had intervened, and how,

in their penniless state, could her mother have existed during this time? This excellent woman was worthy of

her child's devotion. A perfect confidence and friendship existed between them; besides, she was by no

means illiterate; and Lucy, whose mind had been in some degree cultivated by her former lover, now found in

her the only person who could understand and appreciate her. Thus, though suffering, she was by no means

desolate, and when, during fine summer days, she led her mother into the flowery and shady lanes near their

abode, a gleam of unmixed joy enlightened her countenance; she saw that her parent was happy, and she

Meanwhile her husband's affairs grew more and more involved; ruin was near at hand, and she was about to

lose the fruit of all her labours, when pestilence came to change the aspect of the world. Her husband reaped

benefit from the universal misery; but, as the disaster increased, the spirit of lawlessness seized him; he

deserted his home to revel in the luxuries promised him in London, and found there a grave. Her former lover

had been one of the first victims of the disease. But Lucy continued to live for and in her mother. Her courage

only failed when she dreaded peril for her parent, or feared that death might prevent her from performing

When we had quitted Windsor for London, as the previous step to our final emigration, we visited Lucy, and

arranged with her the plan of her own and her mother's removal. Lucy was sorry at the necessity which forced

her to quit her native lanes and village, and to drag an infirm parent from her comforts at home, to the

homeless waste of depopulate earth; but she was too well disciplined by adversity, and of too sweet a temper,

Subsequent circumstances, my illness and that of Idris, drove her from our remembrance; and we called her

to mind at last, only to conclude that she made one of the few who came from Windsor to join the emigrants,

and that she was already in Paris. When we arrived at Rochester therefore, we were surprised to receive, by a

man just come from Slough, a letter from this exemplary sufferer. His account was, that, journeying from his

home, and passing through Datchet, he was surprised to see smoke issue from the chimney of the inn, and

supposing that he should find comrades for his journey assembled there, he knocked and was admitted. There

was no one in the house but Lucy, and her mother; the latter had been deprived of the use of her limbs by an

attack of rheumatism, and so, one by one, all the remaining inhabitants of the country set forward, leaving

them alone. Lucy entreated the man to stay with her; in a week or two her mother would be better, and they

would then set out; but they must perish, if they were left thus helpless and forlorn. The man said, that his

wife and children were already among the emigrants, and it was therefore, according to his notion, impossible

for him to remain. Lucy, as a last resource, gave him a letter for Idris, to be delivered to her wherever he

should meet us. This commission at least he fulfilled, and Idris received with emotion the following letter:

"I am sure that you will remember and pity me, and I dare hope that you will assist me; what other hope have

I? Pardon my manner of writing, I am so bewildered. A month ago my dear mother was deprived of the use

of her limbs. She is already better, and in another month would I am sure be able to travel, in the way you

were so kind as to say you would arrange for us. But now everybody is goneeverybodyas they went

away, each said, that perhaps my mother would be better, before we were quite deserted. But three days ago I

went to Samuel Woods, who, on account of his newborn child, remained to the last; and there being a large

family of them, I thought I could persuade them to wait a little longer for us; but I found the house deserted. I

have not seen a soul since, till this good man came. What will become of us? My mother does not know

"Will you not send some one to us? I am sure we must perish miserably as we are. If I were to try to move my

mother now, she would die on the road; and if, when she gets better, I were able, I cannot guess how, to find

out the roads, and get on so many many miles to the sea, you would all be in France, and the great ocean

would be between us, which is so terrible even to sailors. What would it be to me, a woman, who never saw

it? We should be imprisoned by it in this country, all, all alone, with no help; better die where we are. I can

hardly writeI cannot stop my tearsit is not for myself; I could put my trust in God; and let the worst

come, I think I could bear it, if I were alone. But my mother, my sick, my dear, dear mother, who never, since

I was born, spoke a harsh word to me, who has been patient in many sufferings; pity her, dear Lady, she must

die a miserable death if you do not pity her. People speak carelessly of her, because she is old and infirm, as

if we must not all, if we are spared, become so; and then, when the young are old themselves, they will think

that they ought to be taken care of. It is very silly of me to write in this way to you; but, when I hear her

trying not to groan, and see her look smiling on me to comfort me, when I know she is in pain; and when I

think that she does not know the worst, but she soon must; and then she will not complain; but I shall sit

guessing at all that she is dwelling upon, of famine and miseryI feel as if my heart must break, and I do not

know what I say or do; my mothermother for whom I have borne much, God preserve you from this fate!

Preserve her, Lady, and He will bless you; and I, poor miserable creature as I am, will thank you and pray for

This letter deeply affected Idris, and she instantly proposed, that we should return to Datchet, to assist Lucy

and her mother. I said that I would without delay set out for that place, but entreated her to join her brother,

and there await my return with the children. But Idris was in high spirits, and full of hope. She declared that

she could not consent even to a temporary separation from me, but that there was no need of this, the motion

of the carriage did her good, and the distance was too trifling to be considered. We could dispatch messengers

to Adrian, to inform him of our deviation from the original plan. She spoke with vivacity, and drew a picture

after her own dear heart, of the pleasure we should bestow upon Lucy, and declared, if I went, she must

accompany me, and that she should very much dislike to entrust the charge of rescuing them to others, who

might fulfil it with coldness or inhumanity. Lucy's life had been one act of devotion and virtue; let her now

reap the small reward of finding her excellence appreciated, and her necessity assisted, by those whom she

These, and many other arguments, were urged with gentle pertinacity, and the ardour of a wish to do all the

good in her power, by her whose simple expression of a desire and slightest request had ever been a law with

me. I, of course, consented, the moment that I saw that she had set her heart upon this step. We sent half our

attendant troop on to Adrian; and with the other half our carriage took a retrograde course back to Windsor.

I wonder now how I could be so blind and senseless, as thus to risk the safety of Idris; for, if I had eyes,

surely I could see the sure, though deceitful, advance of death in her burning cheek and increasing weakness.

But she said she was better; and I believed her. Extinction could not be near a being, whose vivacity and

intelligence hourly increased, and whose frame was endowed with an intense, and I fondly thought, a strong

and permanent spirit of life. Who, after a great disaster, has not looked back with wonder at his inconceivable

obtuseness of understanding, that could not perceive the many minute threads with which fate weaves the

The cross roads which we now entered upon, were even in a worse state than the long neglected highways;

and the inconvenience seemed to menace the perishing frame of Idris with destruction. Passing through

Dartford, we arrived at Hampton on the second day. Even in this short interval my beloved companion grew

sensibly worse in health, though her spirits were still light, and she cheered my growing anxiety with gay

sallies; sometimes the thought pierced my brainIs she dying?as I saw her fair fleshless hand rest on

mine, or observed the feebleness with which she performed the accustomed acts of life. I drove away the

idea, as if it had been suggested by insanity; but it occurred again and again, only to be dispelled by the

About midday, after quitting Hampton, our carriage broke down: the shock caused Idris to faint, but on her

reviving no other ill consequence ensued; our party of attendants had as usual gone on before us, and our

coachman went in search of another vehicle, our former one being rendered by this accident unfit for service.

The only place near us was a poor village, in which he found a kind of caravan, able to hold four people, but

it was clumsy and ill hung; besides this he found a very excellent cabriolet: our plan was soon arranged; I

would drive Idris in the latter; while the children were conveyed by the servant in the former. But these

arrangements cost time; we had agreed to proceed that night to Windsor, and thither our purveyors had gone:

we should find considerable difficulty in getting accommodation, before we reached this place; after all, the

distance was only ten miles; my horse was a good one; I would go forward at a good pace with Idris, leaving

the children to follow at a rate more consonant to the uses of their cumbrous machine.

Evening closed in quickly, far more quickly than I was prepared to expect. At the going down of the sun it

began to snow heavily. I attempted in vain to defend my beloved companion from the storm; the wind drove

the snow in our faces; and it lay so high on the ground, that we made but small way; while the night was so

dark, that but for the white covering on the ground we should not have been able to see a yard before us. We

had left our accompanying caravan far behind us; and now I perceived that the storm had made me

unconsciously deviate from my intended route. I had gone some miles out of my way. My knowledge of the

country enabled me to regain the right road; but, instead of going, as at first agreed upon, by a cross road

through Stanwell to Datchet, I was obliged to take the way of Egham and Bishopgate. It was certain therefore

that I should not be rejoined by the other vehicle, that I should not meet a single fellowcreature till we

The back of our carriage was drawn up, and I hung a pelisse before it, thus to curtain the beloved sufferer

from the pelting sleet. She leaned on my shoulder, growing every moment more languid and feeble; at first

she replied to my words of cheer with affectionate thanks; but by degrees she sunk into silence; her head lay

heavily upon me; I only knew that she lived by her irregular breathing and frequent sighs. For a moment I

resolved to stop, and, opposing the back of the cabriolet to the force of the tempest, to expect morning as well

as I might. But the wind was bleak and piercing, while the occasional shudderings of my poor Idris, and the

intense cold I felt myself, demonstrated that this would be a dangerous experiment. At length methought she

sleptfatal sleep, induced by frost: at this moment I saw the heavy outline of a cottage traced on the dark

horizon close to us: "Dearest love," I said, "support yourself but one moment, and we shall have shelter; let us

As I spoke, my heart was transported, and my senses swam with excessive delight and thankfulness; I placed

the head of Idris against the carriage, and, leaping out, scrambled through the snow to the cottage, whose

door was open. I had apparatus about me for procuring light, and that showed me a comfortable room, with a

pile of wood in one corner, and no appearance of disorder, except that, the door having been left partly open,

the snow, drifting in, had blocked up the threshold. I returned to the carriage, and the sudden change from

light to darkness at first blinded me. When I recovered my sighteternal God of this lawless world! O

supreme Death! I will not disturb thy silent reign, or mar my tale with fruitless exclamations of horrorI

saw Idris, who had fallen from the seat to the bottom of the carriage; her head, its long hair pendent, with one

arm, hung over the side.Struck by a spasm of horror, I lifted her up; her heart was pulseless, her faded lips

I carried her into the cottage; I placed her on the bed. Lighting a fire, I chafed her stiffening limbs; for two

long hours I sought to restore departed life; and, when hope was as dead as my beloved, I closed with

trembling hands her glazed eyes. I did not doubt what I should now do. In the confusion attendant on my

illness, the task of interring our darling Alfred had devolved on his grandmother, the ExQueen, and she, true

to her ruling passion, had caused him to be carried to Windsor, and buried in the family vault, in St. George's

Chapel. I must proceed to Windsor, to calm the anxiety of Clara, who would wait anxiously for usyet I

would fain spare her the heartbreaking spectacle of Idris, brought in by me lifeless from the journey. So first

I would place my beloved beside her child in the vault, and then seek the poor children who would be

I lighted the lamps of my carriage; I wrapt her in furs, and placed her along the seat; then taking the reins,

made the horses go forward. We proceeded through the snow, which lay in masses impeding the way, while

the descending flakes, driving against me with redoubled fury, blinded me. The pain occasioned by the angry

elements, and the cold iron of the shafts of frost which buffeted me, and entered my aching flesh, were a

relief to me; blunting my mental suffering. The horses staggered on, and the reins hung loosely in my hands. I

often thought I would lay my head close to the sweet, cold face of my lost angel, and thus resign myself to

conquering torpor. Yet I must not leave her a prey to the fowls of the air; but, in pursuance of my

determination place her in the tomb of her forefathers, where a merciful God might permit me to rest also.

The road we passed through Egham was familiar to me; but the wind and snow caused the horses to drag

their load slowly and heavily. Suddenly the wind veered from southwest to west, and then again to

northwest. As Sampson with tug and strain stirred from their bases the columns that supported the Philistine

temple, so did the gale shake the dense vapours propped on the horizon, while the massy dome of clouds fell

to the south, disclosing through the scattered web the clear empyrean, and the little stars, which were set at an

immeasurable distance in the crystalline fields, showered their small rays on the glittering snow. Even the

horses were cheered, and moved on with renovated strength. We entered the forest at Bishopgate, and at the

end of the Long Walk I saw the Castle, "the proud Keep of Windsor, rising in the majesty of proportion, girt

with the double belt of its kindred and coeval towers." I looked with reverence on a structure, ancient almost

as the rock on which it stood, abode of kings, theme of admiration for the wise. With greater reverence and,

tearful affection I beheld it as the asylum of the long lease of love I had enjoyed there with the perishable,

unmatchable treasure of dust, which now lay cold beside me. Now indeed, I could have yielded to all the

softness of my nature, and wept; and, womanlike, have uttered bitter plaints; while the familiar trees, the

herds of living deer, the sward oft pressed by her fairyfeet, one by one with sad association presented

themselves. The white gate at the end of the Long Walk was wide open, and I rode up the empty town

through the first gate of the feudal tower; and now St. George's Chapel, with its blackened fretted sides, was

right before me. I halted at its door, which was open; I entered, and placed my lighted lamp on the altar; then

I returned, and with tender caution I bore Idris up the aisle into the chancel, and laid her softly down on the

carpet which covered the step leading to the communion table. The banners of the knights of the garter, and

their half drawn swords, were hung in vain emblazonry above the stalls. The banner of her family hung there,

still surmounted by its regal crown. Farewell to the glory and heraldry of England!I turned from such

vanity with a slight feeling of wonder, at how mankind could have ever been interested in such things. I bent

over the lifeless corpse of my beloved; and, while looking on her uncovered face, the features already

contracted by the rigidity of death, I felt as if all the visible universe had grown as soulless, inane, and

comfortless as the claycold image beneath me. I felt for a moment the intolerable sense of struggle with, and

detestation for, the laws which govern the world; till the calm still visible on the face of my dead love

recalled me to a more soothing tone of mind, and I proceeded to fulfil the last office that could now be paid

her. For her I could not lament, so much I envied her enjoyment of "the sad immunities of the grave."

The vault had been lately opened to place our Alfred therein. The ceremony customary in these latter days

had been cursorily performed, and the pavement of the chapel, which was its entrance, having been removed,

had not been replaced. I descended the steps, and walked through the long passage to the large vault which

contained the kindred dust of my Idris. I distinguished the small coffin of my babe. With hasty, trembling

hands I constructed a bier beside it, spreading it with the furs and Indian shawls, which had wrapt Idris in her

journey thither. I lighted the glimmering lamp, which flickered in this damp abode of the dead; then I bore

my lost one to her last bed, decently composing her limbs, and covering them with a mantle, veiling all

except her face, which remained lovely and placid. She appeared to rest like one overwearied, her beauteous

eyes steeped in sweet slumber. Yet, so it was not she was dead! How intensely I then longed to lie down

But death does not come at the bidding of the miserable. I had lately recovered from mortal illness, and my

blood had never flowed with such an even current, nor had my limbs ever been so instinct with quick life, as

now. I felt that my death must be voluntary. Yet what more natural than famine, as I watched in this chamber

of mortality, placed in a world of the dead, beside the lost hope of my life? Meanwhile as I looked on her, the

features, which bore a sisterly resemblance to Adrian, brought my thoughts back again to the living, to this

dear friend, to Clara, and to Evelyn, who were probably now in Windsor, waiting anxiously for our arrival.

Methought I heard a noise, a step in the far chapel, which was reechoed by its vaulted roof, and borne to me

through the hollow passages. Had Clara seen my carriage pass up the town, and did she seek me here? I must

save her at least from the horrible scene the vault presented. I sprung up the steps, and then saw a female

figure, bent with age, and clad in long mourning robes, advance through the dusky chapel, supported by a

slender cane, yet tottering even with this support. She heard me, and looked up; the lamp I held illuminated

my figure, and the moonbeams, struggling through the painted glass, fell upon her face, wrinkled and gaunt,

yet with a piercing eye and commanding browI recognized the Countess of Windsor. With a hollow voice

I pointed to the tornup pavement: she walked to the spot, and looked down into the palpable darkness; for

the vault was too distant for the rays of the small lamp I had left there to be discernible.

"Your light," she said. I gave it her; and she regarded the now visible, but precipitous steps, as if calculating

her capacity to descend. Instinctively I made a silent offer of my assistance. She motioned me away with a

look of scorn, saying in an harsh voice, as she pointed downwards, "There at least I may have her

She walked deliberately down, while I, overcome, miserable beyond words, or tears, or groans, threw myself

on the pavement nearthe stiffening form of Idris was before me, the death struck countenance hushed in

eternal repose beneath. That was to me the end of all! The day before, I had figured to my self various

adventures, and communion with my friends in after timenow I had leapt the interval, and reached the

utmost edge and bourne of life. Thus wrapt in gloom, enclosed, walled up, vaulted over by the omnipotent

present, I was startled by the sound of feet on the steps of the tomb, and I remembered her whom I had utterly

forgotten, my angry visitant; her tall form slowly rose upwards from the vault, a living statue, instinct with

hate, and human, passionate strife: she seemed to me as having reached the pavement of the aisle; she stood

motionless, seeking with her eyes alone, some desired objecttill, perceiving me close to her, she placed her

wrinkled hand on my arm, exclaiming with tremulous accents, "Lionel Verney, my son!" This name, applied

at such a moment by my angel's mother, instilled into me more respect than I had ever before felt for this

disdainful lady. I bowed my head, and kissed her shrivelled hand, and, remarking that she trembled violently,

supported her to the end of the chancel, where she sat on the steps that led to the regal stall. She suffered

herself to be led, and still holding my hand, she leaned her head back against the stall, while the moon beams,

tinged with various colours by the painted glass, fell on her glistening eyes; aware of her weakness, again

calling to mind her long cherished dignity, she dashed the tears away; yet they fell fast, as she said, for

excuse, "She is so beautiful and placid, even in death. No harsh feeling ever clouded her serene brow; how

did I treat her? wounding her gentle heart with savage coldness; I had no compassion on her in past years,

does she forgive me now? Little, little does it boot to talk of repentance and forgiveness to the dead, had I

during her life once consulted her gentle wishes, and curbed my rugged nature to do her pleasure, I should not

Idris and her mother were unlike in person. The dark hair, deepset black eyes, and prominent features of the

ExQueen were in entire contrast to the golden tresses, the full blue orbs, and the soft lines and contour of

her daughter's countenance. Yet, in latter days, illness had taken from my poor girl the full outline of her face,

and reduced it to the inflexible shape of the bone beneath. In the form of her brow, in her oval chin, there was

to be found a resemblance to her mother; nay in some moods, their gestures were not unlike; nor, having

There is a magic power in resemblance. When one we love dies, we hope to see them in another state, and

half expect that the agency of mind will inform its new garb in imitation of its decayed earthly vesture. But

these are ideas of the mind only. We know that the instrument is shivered, the sensible image lies in

miserable fragments, dissolved to dusty nothingness; a look, a gesture, or a fashioning of the limbs similar to

the dead in a living person, touches a thrilling chord, whose sacred harmony is felt in the heart's dearest

recess. Strangely moved, prostrate before this spectral image, and enslaved by the force of blood manifested

in likeness of look and movement, I remained trembling in the presence of the harsh, proud, and till now

Poor, mistaken woman! in her tenderest mood before, she had cherished the idea, that a word, a look of

reconciliation from her, would be received with joy, and repay long years of severity. Now that the time was

gone for the exercise of such power, she fell at once upon the thorny truth of things, and felt that neither smile

nor caress could penetrate to the unconscious state, or influence the happiness of her who lay in the vault

beneath. This conviction, together with the remembrance of soft replies to bitter speeches, of gentle looks

repaying angry glances; the perception of the falsehood, paltriness and futility of her cherished dreams of

birth and power; the overpowering knowledge, that love and life were the true emperors of our mortal state;

all, as a tide, rose, and filled her soul with stormy and bewildering confusion. It fell to my lot, to come as the

influential power, to allay the fierce tossing of these tumultuous waves. I spoke to her; I led her to reflect how

happy Idris had really been, and how her virtues and numerous excellencies had found scope and estimation

in her past career. I praised her, the idol of my heart's dear worship, the admired type of feminine perfection.

With ardent and overflowing eloquence, I relieved my heart from its burthen, and awoke to the sense of a

new pleasure in life, as I poured forth the funeral eulogy. Then I referred to Adrian, her loved brother, and to

her surviving child. I declared, which I had before almost forgotten, what my duties were with regard to these

valued portions of herself, and bade the melancholy repentant mother reflect, how she could best expiate

unkindness towards the dead, by redoubled love of the survivors. Consoling her, my own sorrows were

She turned to me. The hard, inflexible, persecuting woman, turned with a mild expression of face, and said,

"If our beloved angel sees us now, it will delight her to find that I do you even tardy justice. You were worthy

of her; and from my heart I am glad that you won her away from me. Pardon, my son, the many wrongs I

have done you; forget my bitter words and unkind treatmenttake me, and govern me as you will."

I seized this docile moment to propose our departure from the church. "First," she said, "let us replace the

"I cannot," she replied, "and, I pray you, neither do you. We need not torture ourselves by gazing on the

soulless body, while her living spirit is buried quick in our hearts, and her surpassing loveliness is so deeply

For a few moments, we bent in solemn silence over the open vault. I consecrated my future life, to the

embalming of her dear memory; I vowed to serve her brother and her child till death. The convulsive sob of

my companion made me break off my internal orisons. I next dragged the stones over the entrance of the

tomb, and closed the gulf that contained the life of my life. Then, supporting my decrepit fellowmourner,

we slowly left the chapel. I felt, as I stepped into the open air, as if I had quitted an happy nest of repose, for a

OUR escort had been directed to prepare our abode for the night at the inn, opposite the ascent to the Castle.

We could not again visit the halls and familiar chambers of our home, on a mere visit. We had already left for

ever the glades of Windsor, and all of coppice, flowery hedgerow, and murmuring stream, which gave shape

and intensity to the love of our country, and the almost superstitious attachment with which we regarded

native England. It had been our intention to have called at Lucy's dwelling in Datchet, and to have reassured

her with promises of aid and protection before we repaired to our quarters for the night. Now, as the Countess

of Windsor and I turned down the steep hill that led from the Castle, we saw the children, who had just

stopped in their caravan, at the inn door. They had passed through Datchet without halting. I dreaded to meet

them, and to be the bearer of my tragic story, so while they were still occupied in the hurry of arrival, I

suddenly left them, and through the snow and clear moonlight air, hastened along the well known road to

Well known indeed it was. Each cottage stood on its accustomed site, each tree wore its familiar appearance.

Habit had graven inerasably on my memory, every turn and change of object on the road. At a short distance

beyond the Little Park, was an elm half blown down by a storm, some ten years ago; and still, with leafless

snowladen branches, it stretched across the pathway, which wound through a meadow, beside a shallow

brook, whose brawling was silenced by frostthat stile, that white gate, that hollow oak tree, which

doubtless once belonged to the forest, and which now showed in the moonlight its gaping rent; to whose

fanciful appearance, tricked out by the dusk into a resemblance of the human form, the children had given the

name of Falstaff;all these objects were as well known to me as the cold hearth of my deserted home, and

every mossgrown wall and plot of orchard ground, alike as twin lambs are to each other in a stranger's eye,

yet to my accustomed gaze bore differences, distinction, and a name. England remained, though England was

deadit was the ghost of merry England that I beheld, under those greenwood shade passing generations had

sported in security and ease. To this painful recognition of familiar places, was added a feeling experienced

by all, understood by nonea feeling as if in some state, less visionary than a dream, in some past real

existence, I had seen all I saw, with precisely the same feelings as I now beheld themas if all my sensations

were a duplex mirror of a former revelation. To get rid of this oppressive sense I strove to imagine change in

this tranquil spotthis augmented my mood, by causing me to bestow more attention on the objects which

I reached Datchet and Lucy's humble abodeonce noisy with Saturday night revellers, or trim and neat on

Sunday morning it had borne testimony to the labours and orderly habits of the housewife. The snow lay high

I muttered to myself as I looked at the dark casements. At first I thought I saw a light in one of them, but it

proved to be merely the refraction of the moonbeams, while the only sound was the crackling branches as

the breeze whirred the snow flakes from themthe moon sailed high and unclouded in the interminable

ether, while the shadow of the cottage lay black on the garden behind. I entered this by the open wicket, and

anxiously examined each window. At length I detected a ray of light struggling through a closed shutter in

one of the upper roomsit was a novel feeling, alas! to look at any house and say there dwells its usual

inmatethe door of the house was merely on the latch: so I entered and ascended the moonlit staircase. The

door of the inhabited room was ajar: looking in, I saw Lucy sitting as at work at the table on which the light

stood; the implements of needlework were about her, but her hand had fallen on her lap, and her eyes, fixed

on the ground, showed by their vacancy that her thoughts wandered. Traces of care and watching had

diminished her former attractionsbut her simple dress and cap, her desponding attitude, and the single

candle that cast its light upon her, gave for a moment a picturesque grouping to the whole. A fearful reality

recalled me from the thoughta figure lay stretched on the bed covered by a sheether mother was dead,

and Lucy, apart from all the world, deserted and alone, watched beside the corpse during the weary night. I

entered the room, and my unexpected appearance at first drew a scream from the lone survivor of a dead

nation; but she recognised me, and recovered herself, with the quick exercise of selfcontrol habitual to her.

"Did you not expect me?" I asked, in that low voice which the presence of the dead makes us as it were

"You are very good," replied she, "to have come yourself; I can never thank you sufficiently; but it is too

"Too late," cried I, "what do you mean? It is not too late to take you from this deserted place, and conduct

My own loss, which I had forgotten as I spoke, now made me turn away, while choking grief impeded my

speech. I threw open the window, and looked on the cold, waning, ghastly, misshaped circle on high, and the

chill white earth beneathdid the spirit of sweet Idris sail along the moonfrozen crystal air? No, no, a

I indulged in this meditation for a moment, and then again addressed the mourner, who stood leaning against

the bed with that expression of resigned despair, of complete misery, and a patient sufferance of it, which is

far more touching than any of the insane ravings or wild gesticulation of untamed sorrow. I desired to draw

her from this spot; but she opposed my wish. That class of persons whose imagination and sensibility have

never been taken out of the narrow circle immediately in view, if they possess these qualities to any extent,

are apt to pour their influence into the very realities which appear to destroy them, and to cling to these with

double tenacity from not being able to comprehend any thing beyond. Thus Lucy, in desert England, in a

dead world, wished to fulfil the usual ceremonies of the dead, such as were customary to the English country

people, when death was a rare visitant, and gave us time to receive his dreaded usurpation with pomp and

circumstance going forth in procession to deliver the keys of the tomb into his conquering hand. She had

already, alone as she was, accomplished some of these, and the work on which I found her employed, was her

mother's shroud. My heart sickened at such detail of woe, which a female can endure, but which is more

painful to the masculine spirit than deadliest struggle, or throes of unutterable but transient agony.

This must not be, I told her; and then, as further inducement, I communicated to her my recent loss, and gave

her the idea that she must come with me to take charge of the orphan children, whom the death of Idris had

deprived of a mother's care. Lucy never resisted the call of a duty, so she yielded, and closing the casements

and doors with care, she accompanied me back to Windsor. As we went she communicated to me the

occasion of her mother's death. Either by some mischance she had got sight of Lucy's letter to Idris, or she

had overheard her conversation with the countryman who bore it; however it might be, she obtained a

knowledge of the appalling situation of herself and her daughter, her aged frame could not sustain the anxiety

and horror this discovery instilledshe concealed her knowledge from Lucy, but brooded over it through

sleepless nights, till fever and delirium, swift forerunners of death, disclosed the secret. Her life, which had

long been hovering on its extinction, now yielded at once to the united effects of misery and sickness, and

After the tumultuous emotions of the day, I was glad to find on my arrival at the inn that my companions had

retired to rest. I gave Lucy in charge to the Countess's attendant, and then sought repose from my various

struggles and impatient regrets. For a few moments the events of the day floated in disastrous pageant

through my brain, till sleep bathed it in forgetfulness; when morning dawned and I awoke, it seemed as if my

My companions had not shared my oblivion. Clara's swollen eyes showed that she has passed the night in

weeping. The Countess looked haggard and wan. Her firm spirit had not found relief in tears, and she

suffered the more from all the painful retrospect and agonizing regret that now occupied her. We departed

from Windsor, as soon as the burial rites had been performed for Lucy's mother, and, urged on by an

impatient desire to change the scene, went forward towards Dover with speed, our escort having gone before

to provide horses; finding them either in the warm stables they instinctively sought during the cold weather,

or standing shivering in the bleak fields ready to surrender their liberty in exchange for offered corn.

During our ride the Countess recounted to me the extraordinary circumstances which had brought her so

strangely to my side in the chancel of St. George's chapel. When last she had taken leave of Idris, as she

looked anxiously on her faded person and pallid countenance, she had suddenly been visited by a conviction

that she saw her for the last time. It was hard to part with her while under the dominion of this sentiment, and

for the last time she endeavoured to persuade her daughter to commit herself to her nursing, permitting me to

join Adrian. Idris mildly refused, and thus they separated. The idea that they should never again meet grew on

the Countess's mind, and haunted her perpetually; a thousand times she had resolved to turn back and join us,

and was again and again restrained by the pride and anger of which she was the slave. Proud of heart as she

was, she bathed her pillow with nightly tears, and through the day was subdued by nervous agitation and

expectation of the dreaded event, which she was wholly incapable of curbing. She confessed that at this

period her hatred of me knew no bounds, since she considered me as the sole obstacle to the fulfilment of her

dearest wish, that of attending upon her daughter in her last moments. She desired to express her fears to her

son, and to seek consolation from his sympathy with, or courage from his rejection of, her auguries.

On the first day of her arrival at Dover she walked with him on the sea beach, and with the timidity

characteristic of passionate and exaggerated feeling was by degrees bringing the conversation to the desired

point, when she could communicate her fears to him, when the messenger who bore my letter announcing our

temporary return to Windsor, came riding down to them. He gave some oral account of how he had left us,

and added, that notwithstanding the cheerfulness and good courage of Lady Idris, he was afraid that she

As she spoke, her eyes were fixed on a tomblike hollow of the cliff, and she saw, she averred the same to me

with solemnity, Idris pacing slowly towards this cave. She was turned from her, her head was bent down, her

white dress was such as she was accustomed to wear, except that a thin crepelike veil covered her golden

tresses, and concealed her as a dim transparent mist. She looked dejected, as docilely yielding to a

"Were I subject to visionary moods," said the venerable lady, as she continued her narrative, "I might doubt

my eyes, and condemn my credulity; but reality is the world I live in, and what I saw I doubt not had

existence beyond myself. From that moment I could not rest; it was worth my existence to see her once again

before she died; I knew that I should not accomplish this, yet I must endeavour. I immediately departed for

Windsor; and, though I was assured that we travelled speedily, it seemed to me that our progress was

snaillike, and that delays were created solely for my annoyance. Still I accused you, and heaped on your

head the fiery ashes of my burning impatience. It was no disappointment, though an agonizing pang, when

you pointed to her last abode; and words would ill express the abhorrence I that moment felt towards you, the

triumphant impediment to my dearest wishes. I saw her, and anger, and hate, and injustice died at her bier,

giving place at their departure to a remorse (Great God, that I should feel it!) which must last while memory

To medicine such remorse, to prevent awakening love and new born mildness from producing the same

bitter fruit that hate and harshness had done, I devoted all my endeavours to soothe the venerable penitent.

Our party was a melancholy one; each was possessed by regret for what was remediless; for the absence of

his mother shadowed even the infant gaiety of Evelyn. Added to this was the prospect of the uncertain future.

Before the final accomplishment of any great voluntary change the mind vacillates, now soothing itself by

fervent expectation, now recoiling from obstacles which seem never to have presented themselves before

with so frightful an aspect. An involuntary tremor ran through me when I thought that in another day we

might have crossed the watery barrier, and have set forward on that hopeless, interminable, sad wandering,

which but a short time before I regarded as the only relief to sorrow that our situation afforded.

Our approach to Dover was announced by the loud roarings of the wintry sea. They were borne miles inland

by the soundladen blast, and by their unaccustomed uproar, imparted a feeling of insecurity and peril to our

stable abode. At first we hardly permitted ourselves to think that any unusual eruption of nature caused this

tremendous war of air and water, but rather fancied that we merely listened to what we had heard a thousand

times before, when we had watched the flocks of fleececrowned waves, driven by the winds, come to

lament and die on the barren sands and pointed rocks. But we found upon advancing farther, that Dover was

overflowedmany of the houses were overthrown by the surges which filled the streets, and with hideous

brawlings sometimes retreated leaving the pavement of the town bare, till again hurried forward by the influx

Hardly less disturbed than the tempestuous world of waters was the assembly of human beings, that from the

cliff fearfully watched its ravings. On the morning of the arrival of the emigrants under the conduct of

Adrian, the sea had been serene and glassy, the slight ripples refracted the sunbeams, which shed their

radiance through the clear blue frosty air. This placid appearance of nature was hailed as a good augury for

the voyage, and the chief immediately repaired to the harbour to examine two steamboats which were moored

there. On the following midnight, when all were at rest, a frightful storm of wind and clattering rain and hail

first disturbed them, and the voice of one shrieking in the streets, that the sleepers must awake or they would

be drowned; and when they rushed out, half clothed, to discover the meaning of this alarm, they found that

the tide, rising above every mark, was rushing into the town. They ascended the cliff, but the darkness

permitted only the white crest of waves to be seen, while the roaring wind mingled its howlings in dire accord

with the wild surges. The awful hour of night, the utter inexperience of many who had never seen the sea

before, the wailing of women and cries of children added to the horror of the tumult.

All the following day the same scene continued. When the tide ebbed, the town was left dry; but on its flow,

it rose even higher than on the preceding night. The vast ships that lay rotting in the roads were whirled from

their anchorage, and driven and jammed against the cliff, the vessels in the harbour were flung on land like

seaweed, and there battered to pieces by the breakers. The waves dashed against the cliff, which if in any

place it had been before loosened, now gave way, and the affrighted crowd saw vast fragments of the near

earth fall with crash and roar into the deep. This sight operated differently on different persons. The greater

part thought it a judgment of God, to prevent or punish our emigration from our native land. Many were

doubly eager to quit a nook of ground now become their prison, which appeared unable to resist the inroads

When we arrived at Dover, after a fatiguing day's journey, we all required rest and sleep; but the scene acting

around us soon drove away such ideas. We were drawn, along with the greater part of our companions, to the

edge of the cliff, there to listen to and make a thousand conjectures. A fog narrowed our horizon to about a

quarter of a mile, and the misty veil, cold and dense, enveloped sky and sea in equal obscurity. What added to

our inquietude was the circumstance that twothirds of our original number were now waiting for us in Paris,

and clinging, as we now did most painfully, to any addition to our melancholy remnant, this division, with the

tameless impassable ocean between, struck us with affright. At length, after loitering for several hours on the

cliff, we retired to Dover Castle, whose roof sheltered all who breathed the English air, and sought the sleep

necessary to restore strength and courage to our worn frames and languid spirits.

Early in the morning Adrian brought me the welcome intelligence that the wind had changed: it had been

southwest; it was now northeast. The sky was stripped bare of clouds by the increasing gale, while the tide

at its ebb seceded entirely from the town. The change of wind rather increased the fury of the sea, but it

altered its late dusky hue to a bright green; and in spite of its unmitigated clamour, its more cheerful

appearance instilled hope and pleasure. All day we watched the ranging of the mountainous waves, and

towards sunset a desire to decipher the promise for the morrow at its setting, made us all gather with one

accord on the edge of the cliff. When the mighty luminary approached within a few degrees of the

tempesttossed horizon, suddenly, a wonder! three other suns, alike burning and brilliant, rushed from

various quarters of the heavens towards the great orb; they whirled round it. The glare of light was intense to

our dazzled eyes; the sun itself seemed to join in the dance, while the sea burned like a furnace, like all

Vesuvius alight, with flowing lava beneath. The horses broke loose from their stalls in terrora herd of

cattle, panic struck, raced down to the brink of the cliff, and blinded by light, plunged down with frightful

yells in the waves below. The time occupied by the apparition of these meteors was comparatively short;

suddenly the three mock suns united in one, and plunged into the sea. A few seconds afterwards, a deafening

Meanwhile the sun, disencumbered from his strange satellites, paced with its accustomed majesty towards its

western home. Whenwe dared not trust our eyes late dazzled, but it seemed thatthe sea rose to meet

itit mounted higher and higher, till the fiery globe was obscured, and the wall of water still ascended the

horizon; it appeared as if suddenly the motion of earth was revealed to usas if no longer we were ruled by

ancient laws, but were turned adrift in an unknown region of space. Many cried aloud, that these were no

meteors, but globes of burning matter, which had set fire to the earth, and caused the vast cauldron at our feet

to bubble up with its measureless waves; the day of judgment was come they averred, and a few moments

would transport us before the awful countenance of the omnipotent judge; while those less given to visionary

terrors, declared that two conflicting gales had occasioned the last ph�nomenon. In support of this opinion

they pointed out the fact that the east wind died away, while the rushing of the coming west mingled its wild

howl with the roar of the advancing waters. Would the cliff resist this new battery? Was not the giant wave

far higher than the precipice? Would not our little island be deluged by its approach? The crowd of spectators

fled. They were dispersed over the fields, stopping now and then, and looking back in terror. A sublime sense

of awe calmed the swift pulsations of my heartI awaited the approach of the destruction menaced, with that

solemn resignation which an unavoidable necessity instils. The ocean every moment assumed a more terrific

aspect, while the twilight was dimmed by the rack which the west wind spread over the sky. By slow degrees

however, as the wave advanced, it took a more mild appearance; some under current of air, or obstruction in

the bed of the waters, checked its progress, and it sank gradually; while the surface of the sea became

uniformly higher as it dissolved into it. This change took from us the fear of an immediate catastrophe,

although we were still anxious as to the final result. We continued during the whole night to watch the fury of

the sea and the pace of the driving clouds, through whose openings the rare stars rushed impetuously; the

This endured ceaselessly for three days and nights. The stoutest hearts quailed before the savage enmity of

nature; provisions began to fail us, though every day foraging parties were dispersed to the nearer towns. In

vain we schooled ourselves into the belief, that there was nothing out of the common order of nature in the

strife we witnessed; our disastrous and overwhelming destiny turned the best of us to cowards. Death had

hunted us through the course of many months, even to the narrow strip of time on which we now stood;

narrow indeed, and buffeted by storms, was our footway overhanging the great sea of calamity

It required more than human energy to bear up against the menaces of destruction that everywhere

After the lapse of three days, the gale died away, the sea gull sailed upon the calm bosom of the windless

atmosphere, and the last yellow leaf on the topmost branch of the oak hung without motion. The sea no

longer broke with fury; but a swell setting in steadily for shore, with long sweep and sullen burst replaced the

roar of the breakers. Yet we derived hope from the change, and we did not doubt that after the interval of a

few days the sea would resume its tranquillity. The sunset of the fourth day favoured this idea; it was clear

and golden. As we gazed on the purple sea, radiant beneath, we were attracted by a novel spectacle; a dark

speckas it neared, visibly a boat rode on the top of the waves, every now and then lost in the steep

valleys between. We marked its course with eager questionings; and, when we saw that it evidently made for

shore, we descended to the only practicable landing place, and hoisted a signal to direct them. By the help of

glasses we distinguished her crew; it consisted of nine men, Englishmen, belonging in truth to the two

divisions of our people, who had preceded us, and had been for several weeks at Paris. As countryman was

wont to meet countryman in distant lands, did we greet our visitors on their landing, with outstretched hands

and gladsome welcome. They were slow to reciprocate our gratulations. They looked angry and resentful; not

less than the chafed sea which they had traversed with imminent peril, though apparently more displeased

with each other than with us. It was strange to see these human beings, who appeared to be given forth by the

earth like rare and inestimable plants, full of towering passion, and the spirit of angry contest. Their first

demand was to be conducted to the Lord Protector of England, so they called Adrian, though he had long

discarded the empty title, as a bitter mockery of the shadow to which the Protectorship was now reduced.

They were speedily led to Dover Castle, from whose keep Adrian had watched the movements of the boat.

He received them with the interest and wonder so strange a visitation created. In the confusion occasioned by

their angry demands for precedence, it was long before we could discover the secret meaning of this strange

scene. By degrees, from the furious declamations of one, the fierce interruptions of another, and the bitter

scoffs of a third, we found that they were deputies from our colony at Paris, from three parties there formed,

who, each with angry rivalry, tried to attain a superiority over the other two. These deputies had been

dispatched by them to Adrian, who had been selected arbiter; and they had journeyed from Paris to Calais,

through the vacant towns and desolate country, indulging the while violent hatred against each other; and

By examining the deputies apart, and after much investigation, we learnt the true state of things at Paris.

Since parliament had elected him Ryland's deputy, all the surviving English had submitted to Adrian. He was

our captain to lead us from our native soil to unknown lands, our lawgiver and our preserver. On the first

arrangement of our scheme of emigration, no continued separation of our members was contemplated, and

the command of the whole body in gradual ascent of power had its apex in the Earl of Windsor. But

unforeseen circumstances changed our plans for us, and occasioned the greater part of our numbers to be

divided for the space of nearly two months, from the supreme chief. They had gone over in two distinct

They had found Paris a desert. When first the plague had appeared, the return of travellers and merchants, and

communications by letter, informed us regularly of the ravages made by disease on the continent. But with

the increased mortality this intercourse declined and ceased. Even in England itself communication from one

part of the island to the other became slow and rare. No vessel stemmed the flood that divided Calais from

Dover; or if some melancholy voyager, wishing to assure himself of the life or death of his relatives, put from

the French shore to return among us, often the greedy ocean swallowed his little craft, or after a day or two he

was infected by the disorder, and died before he could tell the tale of the desolation of France. We were

therefore to a great degree ignorant of the state of things on the continent, and were not without some vague

hope of finding numerous companions in its wide track. But the same causes that had so fearfully diminished

the English nation had had even greater scope for mischief in the sister land. France was a blank; during the

long line of road from Calais to Paris not one human being was found. In Paris there were a few, perhaps a

hundred, who, resigned to their coming fate, flitted about the streets of the capital and assembled to converse

of past times, with that vivacity and even gaiety that seldom deserts the individuals of this nation.

The English took uncontested possession of Paris. Its high houses and narrow streets were lifeless. A few pale

figures were to be distinguished at the accustomed resort at the Tuileries; they wondered wherefore the

islanders should approach their illfated cityfor in the excess of wretchedness, the sufferers always

imagine, that their part of the calamity is the bitterest, as, when enduring intense pain, we would exchange the

particular torture we writhe under, for any other which should visit a different part of the frame. They listened

to the account the emigrants gave of their motives for leaving their native land, with a shrug almost of

disdain"Return," they said, "return to your island, whose sea breezes, and division from the continent gives

some promise of health; if Pestilence among you has slain its hundreds, with us it has slain its thousands. Are

you not even now more numerous than we are?A year ago you would have found only the sick burying the

dead; now we are happier; for the pang of struggle has passed away, and the few you find here are patiently

waiting the final blow. But you, who are not content to die, breathe no longer the air of France, or soon you

Thus, by menaces of the sword, they would have driven back those who had escaped from fire. But the peril

left behind was deemed imminent by my countrymen; that before them doubtful and distant; and soon other

feelings arose to obliterate fear, or to replace it by passions, that ought to have had no place among a

The more numerous division of emigrants, which arrived first at Paris, assumed a superiority of rank and

power; the second party asserted their independence. A third was formed by a sectarian, a selferected

prophet, who, while he attributed all power and rule to God, strove to get the real command of his comrades

into his own hands. This third division consisted of fewest individuals, but their purpose was more one, their

obedience to their leader more entire, their fortitude and courage more unyielding and active.

During the whole progress of the plague, the teachers of religion were in possession of great power; a power

of good, if rightly directed, or of incalculable mischief, if fanaticism or intolerance guided their efforts. In the

present instance, a worse feeling than either of these actuated the leader. He was an impostor in the most

determined sense of the term. A man who had in early life lost, through the indulgence of vicious

propensities, all sense of rectitude or selfesteem; and who, when ambition was awakened in him, gave

himself up to its influence unbridled by any scruple. His father had been a methodist preacher, an enthusiastic

man with simple intentions; but whose pernicious doctrines of election and special grace had contributed to

destroy all conscientious feeling in his son. During the progress of the pestilence he had entered upon various

schemes, by which to acquire adherents and power. Adrian had discovered and defeated these attempts; but

Adrian was absent; the wolf assumed the shepherd's garb, and the flock admitted the deception: he had

formed a party during the few weeks he had been in Paris, who zealously propagated the creed of his divine

mission, and believed that safety and salvation were to be afforded only to those who put their trust in him.

When once the spirit of dissension had arisen, the most frivolous causes gave it activity. The first party, on

arriving at Paris, had taken possession of the Tuileries; chance and friendly feeling had induced the second to

lodge near to them. A contest arose concerning the distribution of the pillage; the chiefs of the first division

demanded that the whole should be placed at their disposal; with this assumption the opposite party refused

to comply. When next the latter went to forage, the gates of Paris were shut on them. After overcoming this

difficulty, they marched in a body to the Tuileries. They found that their enemies had been already expelled

thence by the Elect, as the fanatical party designated themselves, who refused to admit any into the palace

who did not first abjure obedience to all except God, and his delegate on earth, their chief. Such was the

beginning of the strife, which at length proceeded so far, that the three divisions, armed, met in the Place

Vend�me, each resolved to subdue by force the resistance of its adversaries. They assembled, their muskets

were loaded, and even pointed at the breasts of their so called enemies. One word had been sufficient; and

there the last of mankind would have burthened their souls with the crime of murder, and dipped their hands

in each other's blood. A sense of shame, a recollection that not only their cause, but the existence of the

whole human race was at stake, entered the breast of the leader of the more numerous party. He was aware,

that if the ranks were thinned, no other recruits could fill them up; that each man was as a priceless gem in a

kingly crown, which if destroyed, the earth's deep entrails could yield no paragon. He was a young man, and

had been hurried on by presumption, and the notion of his high rank and superiority to all other pretenders;

now he repented his work, he felt that all the blood about to be shed would be on his head; with sudden

impulse therefore he spurred his horse between the bands, and, having fixed a white handkerchief on the

point of his uplifted sword, thus demanded parley; the opposite leaders obeyed the signal. He spoke with

warmth; he reminded them of the oath all the chiefs had taken to submit to the Lord Protector; he declared

their present meeting to be an act of treason and mutiny; he allowed that he had been hurried away by

passion, but that a cooler moment had arrived; and he proposed that each party should send deputies to the

Earl of Windsor, inviting his interference and offering submission to his decision. His offer was accepted so

far, that each leader consented to command a retreat, and moreover agreed, that after the approbation of their

several parties had been consulted, they should meet that night on some neutral spot to ratify the truce. At the

meeting of the chiefs, this plan was finally concluded upon. The leader of the fanatics indeed refused to admit

the arbitration of Adrian; he sent ambassadors, rather than deputies, to assert his claim, not plead his cause.

The truce was to continue until the first of February, when the bands were again to assemble on the Place

Vend�me; it was of the utmost consequence therefore that Adrian should arrive in Paris by that day, since an

hair might turn the scale, and peace, scared away by intestine broils, might only return to watch by the silent

dead. It was now the twentyeighth of January; every vessel stationed near Dover had been beaten to pieces

and destroyed by the furious storms I have commemorated. Our journey however would admit of no delay.

That very night, Adrian, and I, and twelve others, either friends or attendants, put off from the English shore,

in the boat that had brought over the deputies. We all took our turn at the oar; and the immediate occasion of

our departure affording us abundant matter for conjecture and discourse, prevented the feeling that we left our

native country, depopulate England, for the last time, to enter deeply into the minds of the greater part of our

number. It was a serene starlight night, and the dark line of the English coast continued for some time visible

at intervals, as we rose on the broad back of the waves. I exerted myself with my long oar to give swift

impulse to our skiff; and, while the waters splashed with melancholy sound against its sides, I looked with

sad affection on this last glimpse of seagirt England, and strained my eyes not too soon to lose sight of the

castellated cliff, which rose to protect the land of heroism and beauty from the inroads of ocean, that,

turbulent as I had lately seen it, required such cyclopean walls for its repulsion. A solitary seagull winged its

flight over our heads, to seek its nest in a cleft of the precipice. Yes, thou shalt revisit the land of thy birth, I

thought, as I looked invidiously on the airy voyager; but we shall, never more! Tomb of Idris, farewell!

We were twelve hours at sea, and the heavy swell obliged us to exert all our strength. At length, by mere dint

of rowing, we reached the French coast. The stars faded, and the grey morning cast a dim veil over the silver

horns of the waning moonthe sun rose broad and red from the sea, as we walked over the sands to Calais.

Our first care was to procure horses, and although wearied by our night of watching and toil, some of our

party immediately went in quest of these in the wide fields of the unenclosed and now barren plain round

Calais. We divided ourselves, like seamen, into watches, and some reposed, while others prepared the

morning's repast. Our foragers returned at noon with only six horseson these, Adrian and I, and four

others, proceeded on our journey towards the great city, which its inhabitants had fondly named the capital of

the civilized world. Our horses had become, through their long holiday, almost wild, and we crossed the plain

round Calais with impetuous speed. From the height near Boulogne, I turned again to look on England;

nature had cast a misty pall over her, her cliff was hiddenthere was spread the watery barrier that divided

Ruined the nest, alas! the swans of Albion had passed away for everan uninhabited rock in the wide

Pacific, which had remained since the creation uninhabited, unnamed, unmarked, would be of as much

Our journey was impeded by a thousand obstacles. As our horses grew tired, we had to seek for others; and

hours were wasted, while we exhausted our artifices to allure some of these enfranchised slaves of man to

resume the yoke; or as we went from stable to stable through the towns, hoping to find some who had not

forgotten the shelter of their native stalls. Our ill success in procuring them, obliged us continually to leave

some one of our companions behind; and on the first of February, Adrian and I entered Paris, wholly

unaccompanied. The serene morning had dawned when we arrived at Saint Denis, and the sun was high,

when the clamour of voices, and the clash, as we feared, of weapons, guided us to where our countrymen had

assembled on the Place Vend�me. We passed a knot of Frenchmen, who were talking earnestly of the

madness of the insular invaders, and then coming by a sudden turn upon the Place, we saw the sun glitter on

drawn swords and fixed bayonets, while yells and clamours rent the air. It was a scene of unaccustomed

confusion in these days of depopulation. Roused by fancied wrongs, and insulting scoffs, the opposite parties

had rushed to attack each other; while the elect, drawn up apart, seemed to wait an opportunity to fall with

better advantage on their foes, when they should have mutually weakened each other. A merciful power

interposed, and no blood was shed; for, while the insane mob were in the very act of attack, the females,

wives, mothers and daughters, rushed between; they seized the bridles; they embraced the knees of the

horsemen, and hung on the necks, or enweaponed arms of their enraged relatives; the shrill female scream

was mingled with the manly shout, and formed the wild clamour that welcomed us on our arrival.

Our voices could not be heard in the tumult; Adrian however was eminent for the white charger he rode;

spurring him, he dashed into the midst of the throng: he was recognized, and a loud cry raised for England

and the Protector. The late adversaries, warmed to affection at the sight of him, joined in heedless confusion,

and surrounded him; the women kissed his hands, and the edges of his garments; nay, his horse received

tribute of their embraces; some wept their welcome; he appeared an angel of peace descended among them;

and the only danger was, that his mortal nature would be demonstrated, by his suffocation from the kindness

of his friends. His voice was at length heard, and obeyed; the crowd fell back; the chiefs alone rallied round

him. I had seen Lord Raymond ride through his lines; his look of victory, and majestic mien obtained the

respect and obedience of all: such was not the appearance or influence of Adrian. His slight figure, his fervent

look, his gesture, more of deprecation than rule, were proofs that love, unmingled with fear, gave him

dominion over the hearts of a multitude, who knew that he never flinched from danger, nor was actuated by

other motives than care for the general welfare. No distinction was now visible between the two parties, late

ready to shed each other's blood, for, though neither would submit to the other, they both yielded ready

One party however remained, cut off from the rest, which did not sympathize in the joy exhibited on Adrian's

arrival, or imbibe the spirit of peace, which fell like dew upon the softened hearts of their countrymen. At the

head of this assembly was a ponderous, darklooking man, whose malign eye surveyed with gloating delight

the stern looks of his followers. They had hitherto been inactive, but now, perceiving themselves to be

forgotten in the universal jubilee, they advanced with threatening gestures: our friends had, as it were in

wanton contention, attacked each other; they wanted but to be told that their cause was one, for it to become

so: their mutual anger had been a fire of straw, compared to the slowburning hatred they both entertained

for these seceders, who seized a portion of the world to come, there to entrench and incastellate themselves,

and to issue with fearful sally, and appalling denunciations, on the mere common children of the earth. The

first advance of the little army of the elect reawakened their rage; they grasped their arms, and waited but

their leader's signal to commence the attack, when the clear tones of Adrian's voice were heard, commanding

them to fall back; with confused murmur and hurried retreat, as the wave ebbs clamorously from the sands it

lately covered, our friends obeyed. Adrian rode singly into the space between the opposing bands; he

approached the hostile leader, as requesting him to imitate his example, but his look was not obeyed, and the

chief advanced, followed by his whole troop. There were many women among them, who seemed more eager

and resolute than their male companions. They pressed round their leader, as if to shield him, while they

loudly bestowed on him every sacred denomination and epithet of worship. Adrian met them half way; they

halted: "What," he said, "do you seek? Do you require any thing of us that we refuse to give, and that you are

His questions were answered by a general cry, in which the words election, sin, and red right arm of God,

Adrian looked expressly at their leader, saying, "Can you not silence your followers? Mine, you perceive,

The fellow answered by a scowl; and then, perhaps fearful that his people should become auditors of the

debate he expected to ensue, he commanded them to fall back, and advanced by himself. "What, I again ask,"

"Repentance," replied the man, whose sinister brow gathered clouds as he spoke. "Obedience to the will of

the Most High, made manifest to these his Elected People. Do we not all die through your sins, O generation

of unbelief, and have we not a right to demand of you repentance and obedience?"

"Beware," cried the man, "God hears you, and will smite your stony heart in his wrath; his poisoned arrows

fly, his dogs of death are unleashed! We will not perish unrevengedand mighty will our avenger be, when

"My good fellow," said Adrian, with quiet scorn, "I wish that you were ignorant only, and I think it would be

no difficult task to prove to you, that you speak of what you do not understand. On the present occasion

however, it is enough for me to know that you seek nothing of us; and, heaven is our witness, we seek

nothing of you. I should be sorry to embitter by strife the few days that we any of us may have here to live;

when there," he pointed downwards, "we shall not be able to contend, while here we need not. Go home, or

stay; pray to your God in your own mode; your friends may do the like. My orisons consist in peace and good

He bowed slightly to the angry disputant who was about to reply; and, turning his horse down Rue Saint

Honore, called on his friends to follow him. He rode slowly, to give time to all to join him at the Barrier, and

then issued his orders that those who yielded obedience to him, should rendezvous at Versailles. In the

meantime he remained within the walls of Paris, until he had secured the safe retreat of all. In about a

fortnight the remainder of the emigrants arrived from England, and they all repaired to Versailles; apartments

were prepared for the family of the Protector in the Grand Trianon, and there, after the excitement of these

AFTER the repose of a few days, we held a council, to decide on our future movements. Our first plan had

been to quit our wintry native latitude, and seek for our diminished numbers the luxuries and delights of a

southern climate. We had not fixed on any precise spot as the termination of our wanderings; but a vague

picture of perpetual spring, fragrant groves, and sparkling streams, floated in our imagination to entice us on.

A variety of causes had detained us in England, and we had now arrived at the middle of February; if we

pursued our original project, we should find ourselves in a worse situation than before, having exchanged our

temperate climate for the intolerable heats of a summer in Egypt or Persia. We were therefore obliged to

modify our plan, as the season continued to be inclement; and it was determined that we should await the

arrival of spring in our present abode, and so order our future movements as to pass the hot months in the icy

valleys of Switzerland, deferring our southern progress until the ensuing autumn, if such a season was ever

The castle and town of Versailles afforded our numbers ample accommodation, and foraging parties took it

by turns to supply our wants. There was a strange and appalling motley in the situation of these the last of the

race. At first I likened it to a colony, which borne over the far seas, struck root for the first time in a new

country. But where was the bustle and industry characteristic of such an assemblage; the rudely constructed

dwelling, which was to suffice till a more commodious mansion could be built; the marking out of fields; the

attempt at cultivation; the eager curiosity to discover unknown animals and herbs; the excursions for the sake

of exploring the country? Our habitations were palaces our food was ready stored in granariesthere was no

need of labour, no inquisitiveness, no restless desire to get on. If we had been assured that we should secure

the lives of our present numbers, there would have been more vivacity and hope in our councils. We should

have discussed as to the period when the existing produce for man's sustenance would no longer suffice for

us, and what mode of life we should then adopt. We should have considered more carefully our future plans,

and debated concerning the spot where we should in future dwell. But summer and the plague were near, and

we dared not look forward. Every heart sickened at the thought of amusement; if the younger part of our

community were ever impelled, by youthful and untamed hilarity, to enter on any dance or song, to cheer the

melancholy time, they would suddenly break off, checked by a mournful look or agonizing sigh from any one

among them, who was prevented by sorrows and losses from mingling in the festivity. If laughter echoed

under our roof, yet the heart was vacant of joy; and, when ever it chanced that I witnessed such attempts at

pastime, they increased instead of diminishing my sense of woe. In the midst of the pleasurehunting throng,

I would close my eyes, and see before me the obscure cavern, where was garnered the mortality of Idris, and

the dead lay around, mouldering in hushed repose. When I again became aware of the present hour, softest

melody of Lydian flute, or harmonious maze of graceful dance, was but as the demoniac chorus in the Wolf's

My dearest interval of peace occurred, when, released from the obligation of associating with the crowd, I

could repose in the dear home where my children lived. Children I say, for the tenderest emotions of paternity

bound me to Clara. She was now fourteen; sorrow, and deep insight into the scenes around her, calmed the

restless spirit of girlhood; while the remembrance of her father whom she idolised, and respect for me and

Adrian, implanted an high sense of duty in her young heart. Though serious she was not sad; the eager desire

that makes us all, when young, plume our wings, and stretch our necks, that we may more swiftly alight

tiptoe on the height of maturity, was subdued in her by early experience. All that she could spare of

overflowing love from her parents' memory, and attention to her living relatives, was spent upon religion.

This was the hidden law of her heart, which she concealed with childish reserve, and cherished the more

because it was secret. What faith so entire, what charity so pure, what hope so fervent, as that of early youth?

and she, all love, all tenderness and trust, who from infancy had been tossed on the wide sea of passion and

misfortune, saw the finger of apparent divinity in all, and her best hope was to make herself acceptable to the

power she worshipped. Evelyn was only five years old; his joyous heart was incapable of sorrow, and he

The aged Countess of Windsor had fallen from her dream of power, rank and grandeur; she had been

suddenly seized with the conviction, that love was the only good of life, virtue the only ennobling distinction

and enriching wealth. Such a lesson had been taught her by the dead lips of her neglected daughter; and she

devoted herself, with all the fiery violence of her character, to the obtaining the affection of the remnants of

her family. In early years the heart of Adrian had been chilled towards her; and, though he observed a due

respect, her coldness, mixed with the recollection of disappointment and madness, caused him to feel even

pain in her society. She saw this, and yet determined to win his love; the obstacle served the rather to excite

her ambition. As Henry, Emperor of Germany, lay in the snow before Pope Leo's gate for three winter days

and nights, so did she in humility wait before the icy barriers of his closed heart, till he, the servant of love,

and prince of tender courtesy, opened it wide for her admittance, bestowing, with fervency and gratitude, the

tribute of filial affection she merited. Her understanding, courage, and presence of mind, became powerful

auxiliaries to him in the difficult task of ruling the tumultuous crowd, which were subjected to his control, in

The principal circumstances that disturbed our tranquillity during this interval, originated in the vicinity of

the impostorprophet and his followers. They continued to reside at Paris; but missionaries from among them

often visited Versaillesand such was the power of assertions, however false, yet vehemently iterated, over

the ready credulity of the ignorant and fearful, that they seldom failed in drawing over to their party some

from among our numbers. An instance of this nature coming immediately under our notice, we were led to

consider the miserable state in which we should leave our countrymen, when we should, at the approach of

summer, move on towards Switzerland, and leave a deluded crew behind us in the hands of their miscreant

leader. The sense of the smallness of our numbers, and expectation of decrease, pressed upon us; and, while it

would be a subject of congratulation to ourselves to add one to our party, it would be doubly gratifying to

rescue from the pernicious influence of superstition and unrelenting tyranny, the victims that now, though

voluntarily enchained, groaned beneath it. If we had considered the preacher as sincere in a belief of his own

denunciations, or only moderately actuated by kind feeling in the exercise of his assumed powers, we should

have immediately addressed ourselves to him, and endeavoured with our best arguments to soften and

humanise his views. But he was instigated by ambition, he desired to rule over these last stragglers from the

fold of death; his projects went so far, as to cause him to calculate that, if, from these crushed remains, a few

survived, so that a new race should spring up, he, by holding tight the reins of belief, might be remembered

by the postpestilential race as a patriarch, a prophet, nay a deity; such as of old among the postdiluvians

were Jupiter the conqueror, Serapis the lawgiver, and Vishnu the preserver. These ideas made him inflexible

in his rule, and violent in his hate of any who presumed to share with him his usurped empire.

It is a strange fact, but incontestable, that the philanthropist, who ardent in his desire to do good, who patient,

reasonable and gentle, yet disdains to use other argument than truth, has less influence over men's minds, than

he who, grasping and selfish, refuses not to adopt any means, nor awaken any passion, nor diffuse any

falsehood, for the advancement of his cause. If this from time immemorial has been the case, the contrast was

infinitely greater, now that the one could bring harrowing fears and transcendent hopes into play; while the

other had few hopes to hold forth, nor could influence the imagination to diminish the fears which he himself

was the first to entertain. The preacher had persuaded his followers, that their escape from the plague, the

salvation of their children, and the rise of a new race of men from their seed, depended on their faith in, and

their submission to him. They greedily imbibed this belief; and their overweening credulity even rendered

How to seduce any individuals from such an alliance of fraud, was a frequent subject of Adrian's meditations

and discourse. He formed many plans for the purpose; but his own troop kept him in full occupation to ensure

their fidelity and safety; beside which the preacher was as cautious and prudent, as he was cruel. His victims

lived under the strictest rules and laws, which either entirely imprisoned them within the Tuileries, or let

them out in such numbers, and under such leaders, as precluded the possibility of controversy. There was one

among them however whom I resolved to save; she had been known to us in happier days; Idris had loved

her; and her excellent nature made it peculiarly lamentable that she should be sacrificed by this merciless

This man had between two and three hundred persons enlisted under his banners. More than half of them

were women; there were about fifty children of all ages; and not more than eighty men. They were mostly

drawn from that which, when such distinctions existed, was denominated the lower rank of society. The

exceptions consisted of a few highborn females, who, panicstruck, and tamed by sorrow, had joined him.

Among these was one, young, lovely, and enthusiastic, whose very goodness made her a more easy victim. I

have mentioned her before: Juliet, the youngest daughter, and now sole relic of the ducal house of L.

There are some beings, whom fate seems to select on whom to pour, in unmeasured portion, the vials of her

wrath, and whom she bathes even to the lips in misery. Such a one was the illstarred Juliet. She had lost her

indulgent parents, her brothers and sisters, companions of her youth; in one fell swoop they had been carried

off from her. Yet she had again dared to call herself happy; united to her admirer, to him who possessed and

filled her whole heart, she yielded to the lethean powers of love, and knew and felt only his life and presence.

At the very time when with keen delight she welcomed the tokens of maternity, this sole prop of her life

failed, her husband died of the plague. For a time she had been lulled in insanity; the birth of her child

restored her to the cruel reality of things, but gave her at the same time an object for whom to preserve at

once life and reason. Every friend and relative had died off, and she was reduced to solitude and penury; deep

melancholy and angry impatience distorted her judgment, so that she could not persuade herself to disclose

her distress to us. When she heard of the plan of universal emigration, she resolved to remain behind with her

child, and alone in wide England to live or die, as fate might decree, beside the grave of her beloved. She had

hidden herself in one of the many empty habitations of London; it was she who rescued my Idris on the fatal

twentieth of November, though my immediate danger, and the subsequent illness of Idris, caused us to forget

our hapless friend. This circumstance had however brought her again in contact with her fellowcreatures; a

slight illness of her infant, proved to her that she was still bound to humanity by an indestructible tie; to

preserve this little creature's life became the object of her being, and she joined the first division of migrants

She became an easy prey to the methodist; her sensibility and acute fears rendered her accessible to every

impulse; her love for her child made her eager to cling to the merest straw held out to save him. Her mind,

once unstrung, and now tuned by roughest inharmonious hands, made her credulous: beautiful as fabled

goddess, with voice of unrivalled sweetness, burning with new lighted enthusiasm, she became a steadfast

proselyte, and powerful auxiliary to the leader of the elect. I had remarked her in the crowd, on the day we

met on the Place Vend�me; and, recollecting suddenly her providential rescue of my lost one, on the night of

the twentieth of November, I reproached myself for my neglect and ingratitude, and felt impelled to leave no

means that I could adopt untried, to recall her to her better self, and rescue her from the fangs of the hypocrite

I will not, at this period of my story, record the artifices I used to penetrate the asylum of the Tuileries, or

give what would be a tedious account of my stratagems, disappointments, and perseverance. I at last

succeeded in entering these walls, and roamed its halls and corridors in eager hope to find my selected

convert. In the evening I contrived to mingle unobserved with the congregation, which assembled in the

chapel to listen to the crafty and eloquent harangue of their prophet. I saw Juliet near him. Her dark eyes,

fearfully impressed with the restless glare of madness, were fixed on him; she held her infant, not yet a year

old, in her arms; and care of it alone could distract her attention from the words to which she eagerly listened.

After the sermon was over, the congregation dispersed; all quitted the chapel except she whom I sought; her

babe had fallen asleep; so she placed it on a cushion, and sat on the floor beside, watching its tranquil

I presented myself to her; for a moment natural feeling produced a sentiment of gladness, which disappeared

again, when with ardent and affectionate exhortation I besought her to accompany me in flight from this den

of superstition and misery. In a moment she relapsed into the delirium of fanaticism, and, but that her gentle

nature forbade, would have loaded me with execrations. She conjured me, she commanded me to leave

her"Beware, O beware," she cried, "fly while yet your escape is practicable. Now you are safe; but strange

sounds and inspirations come on me at times, and if the Eternal should in awful whisper reveal to me his will,

that to save my child you must be sacrificed, I would call in the satellites of him you call the tyrant; they

would tear you limb from limb; nor would I hallow the death of him whom Idris loved, by a single tear."

She spoke hurriedly, with tuneless voice, and wild look; her child awoke, and, frightened, began to cry; each

sob went to the illfated mother's heart, and she mingled the epithets of endearment she addressed to her

infant, with angry commands that I should leave her. Had I had the means, I would have risked all, have torn

her by force from the murderer's den, and trusted to the healing balm of reason and affection. But I had no

choice, no power even of longer struggle; steps were heard along the gallery, and the voice of the preacher

drew near. Juliet, straining her child in a close embrace, fled by another passage. Even then I would have

followed her; but my foe and his satellites entered; I was surrounded, and taken prisoner.

I remembered the menace of the unhappy Juliet, and expected the full tempest of the man's vengeance, and

the awakened wrath of his followers, to fall instantly upon me. I was questioned. My answers were simple

and sincere. "His own mouth condemns him," exclaimed the impostor; "he confesses that his intention was to

seduce from the way of salvation our wellbeloved sister in God; away with him to the dungeon; tomorrow

he dies the death; we are manifestly called upon to make an example, tremendous and appalling, to scare the

My heart revolted from his hypocritical jargon: but it was unworthy of me to combat in words with the

ruffian; and my answer was cool; while, far from being possessed with fear, methought, even at the worst, a

man true to himself, courageous and determined, could fight his way, even from the boards of the scaffold,

through the herd of these misguided maniacs. "Remember," I said, "who I am; and be well assured that I shall

not die unavenged. Your legal magistrate, the Lord Protector, knew of my design, and is aware that I am here;

the cry of blood will reach him, and you and your miserable victims will long lament the tragedy you are

My antagonist did not deign to reply, even by a look;"You know your duty," he said to his

In a moment I was thrown on the earth, bound, blindfolded, and hurried awayliberty of limb and sight was

only restored to me, when, surrounded by dungeonwalls, dark and impervious, I found myself a prisoner

Such was the result of my attempt to gain over the proselyte of this man of crime; I could not conceive that he

would dare put me to death.Yet I was in his hands; the path of his ambition had ever been dark and cruel;

his power was founded upon fear; the one word which might cause me to die, unheard, unseen, in the

obscurity of my dungeon, might be easier to speak than the deed of mercy to act. He would not risk probably

a public execution; but a private assassination would at once terrify any of my companions from attempting a

like feat, at the same time that a cautious line of conduct might enable him to avoid the inquiries and the

Two months ago, in a vault more obscure than the one I now inhabited, I had resolved the design of quietly

laying me down to die; now I shuddered at the approach of fate. My imagination was busied in shaping forth

the kind of death he would inflict. Would he allow me to wear out life with famine; or was the food

administered to me to be medicined with death? Would he steal on me in my sleep; or should I contend to the

last with my murderers, knowing, even while I struggled, that I must be overcome? I lived upon an earth

whose diminished population a child's arithmetic might number; I had lived through long months with death

stalking close at my side, while at intervals the shadow of his skeletonshape darkened my path. I had

Any other fate I should have met with courage, nay, have gone out gallantly to encounter. But to be murdered

thus at the midnight hour by coldblooded assassins, no friendly hand to close my eyes, or receive my parting

blessingto die in combat, hate and execrationah, why, my angel love, didst thou restore me to life, when

already I had stepped within the portals of the tomb, now that so soon again I was to be flung back a mangled

Hours passedcenturies. Could I give words to the many thoughts which occupied me in endless succession

during this interval, I should fill volumes. The air was dank, the dungeon floor mildewed and icy cold;

hunger came upon me too, and no sound reached me from without. Tomorrow the ruffian had declared that I

My door was about to be opened. I heard the key turn, and the bars and bolts slowly removed. The opening of

intervening passages permitted sounds from the interior of the palace to reach me; and I heard the clock strike

one. They come to murder me, I thought; this hour does not befit a public execution. I drew myself up against

the wall opposite the entrance; I collected my forces, I rallied my courage, I would not fall a tame prey.

Slowly the door receded on its hingesI was ready to spring forward to seize and grapple with the intruder,

till the sight of who it was changed at once the temper of my mind. It was Juliet herself; pale and trembling

she stood, a lamp in her hand, on the threshold of the dungeon, looking at me with wistful countenance. But

in a moment she reassumed her selfpossession; and her languid eyes recovered their brilliancy. She said, "I

I obeyed instantly. We threaded with light steps many corridors, ascended several flights of stairs, and passed

through long galleries; at the end of one she unlocked a low portal; a rush of wind extinguished our lamp;

but, in lieu of it, we had the blessed moonbeams and the open face of heaven. Then first Juliet

I seized her reluctant hand"Dear friend," I cried, "misguided victim, do you not intend to escape with me?

Have you not risked all in facilitating my flight? and do you think, that I will permit you to return, and suffer

"Do not fear for me," replied the lovely girl mournfully, "and do not imagine that without the consent of our

chief you could be without these walls. It is he that has saved you; he assigned to me the part of leading you

hither, because I am best acquainted with your motives for coming here, and can best appreciate his mercy in

"And are you," I cried, "the dupe of this man? He dreads me alive as an enemy, and dead he fears my

avengers. By favouring this clandestine escape he preserves a show of consistency to his followers; but mercy

is far from his heart. Do you forget his artifices, his cruelty, and fraud? As I am free, so are you. Come, Juliet,

the mother of our lost Idris will welcome you, the noble Adrian will rejoice to receive you; you will find

peace and love, and better hopes than fanaticism can afford. Come, and fear not; long before day we shall be

at Versailles; close the door on this abode of crimecome, sweet Juliet, from hypocrisy and guilt to the

I spoke hurriedly, but with fervour: and while with gentle violence I drew her from the portal, some thought,

some recollection of past scenes of youth and happiness, made her listen and yield to me; suddenly she broke

away with a piercing shriek:"My child, my child! he has my child; my darling girl is my hostage."

She darted from me into the passage; the gate closed between usshe was left in the fangs of this man of

crime, a prisoner, still to inhale the pestilential atmosphere which adhered to his demoniac nature; the

unimpeded breeze played on my cheek, the moon shone graciously upon me, my path was free. Glad to have

EVENTFUL winter passed; winter, the respite of our ills. By degrees the sun, which with slant beams had

before yielded the more extended reign to night, lengthened his diurnal journey, and mounted his highest

throne, at once the fosterer of earth's new beauty, and her lover. We who, like flies that congregate upon a dry

rock at the ebbing of the tide, had played wantonly with time, allowing our passions, our hopes, and our mad

desires to rule us, now heard the approaching roar of the ocean of destruction, and would have fled to some

sheltered crevice, before the first wave broke over us. We resolved without delay, to commence our journey

to Switzerland; we became eager to leave France. Under the icy vaults of the glaciers, beneath the shadow of

the pines, the swinging of whose mighty branches was arrested by a load of snow; beside the streams whose

intense cold proclaimed their origin to be from the slowmelting piles of congelated waters, amidst frequent

storms which might purify the air, we should find health, if in truth health were not herself diseased.

We began our preparations at first with alacrity. We did not now bid adieu to our native country, to the graves

of those we loved, to the flowers, and streams, and trees, which had lived beside us from infancy. Small

sorrow would be ours on leaving Paris. A scene of shame, when we remembered our late contentions, and

thought that we left behind a flock of miserable, deluded victims, bending under the tyranny of a selfish

impostor. Small pangs should we feel in leaving the gardens, woods, and halls of the palaces of the Bourbons

at Versailles, which we feared would soon be tainted by the dead, when we looked forward to valleys lovelier

than any garden, to mighty forests and halls, built not for mortal majesty, but palaces of nature's own, with

Yet our spirits flagged, as the day drew near which we had fixed for our departure. Dire visions and evil

auguries, if such things were, thickened around us, so that in vain might men say

we felt them to be ominous, and dreaded the future event enchained to them. That the night owl should

screech before the noonday sun, that the hardwinged bat should wheel around the bed of beauty, that

muttering thunder should in early spring startle the cloudless air, that sudden and exterminating blight should

fall on the tree and shrub, were unaccustomed, but physical events, less horrible than the mental creations of

almighty fear. Some had sight of funeral processions, and faces all begrimed with tears, which flitted through

the long avenues of the gardens, and drew aside the curtains of the sleepers at dead of night. Some heard

wailing and cries in the air; a mournful chaunt would stream through the dark atmosphere, as if spirits above

sang the requiem of the human race. What was there in all this, but that fear created other senses within our

frames, making us see, hear, and feel what was not? What was this, but the action of diseased imaginations

and childish credulity? So might it be; but what was most real, was the existence of these very fears; the

staring looks of horror, the faces pale even to ghastliness, the voices struck dumb with harrowing dread, of

those among us who saw and heard these things. Of this number was Adrian, who knew the delusion, yet

could not cast off the clinging terror. Even ignorant infancy appeared with timorous shrieks and convulsions

to acknowledge the presence of unseen powers. We must go: in change of scene, in occupation, and such

security as we still hoped to find, we should discover a cure for these gathering horrors.

On mustering our company, we found them to consist of fourteen hundred souls, men, women, and children.

Until now therefore, we were undiminished in numbers, except by the desertion of those who had attached

themselves to the impostorprophet, and remained behind in Paris. About fifty French joined us. Our order of

march was easily arranged; the ill success which had attended our division, determined Adrian to keep all in

one body. I, with an hundred men, went forward first as purveyor, taking the road of the C�te d'Or, through

Auxerre, Dijon, Dole, over the Jura to Geneva. I was to make arrangements, at every ten miles, for the

accommodation of such numbers as I found the town or village would receive, leaving behind a messenger

with a written order, signifying how many were to be quartered there. The remainder of our tribe was then

divided into bands of fifty each, every division containing eighteen men, and the remainder, consisting of

women and children. Each of these was headed by an officer, who carried the roll of names, by which they

were each day to be mustered. If the numbers were divided at night, in the morning those in the van waited

for those in the rear. At each of the large towns before mentioned, we were all to assemble; and a conclave of

the principal officers would hold council for the general weal. I went first, as I said; Adrian last. His mother,

with Clara and Evelyn under her protection, remained also with him. Thus our order being determined, I

departed. My plan was to go at first no further than Fontainebleau, where in a few days I should be joined by

My friend accompanied me a few miles from Versailles. He was sad; and, in a tone of unaccustomed

despondency, uttered a prayer for our speedy arrival among the Alps, accompanied with an expression of

vain regret that we were not already there. "In that case," I observed, "we can quicken our march; why adhere

"Nay," replied he, "it is too late now. A month ago, and we were masters of ourselves; now," he turned his

face from me; though gathering twilight had already veiled its expression, he turned it yet more away, as he

He spoke in a smothered voice, then suddenly clasping his hands, he exclaimed, "Swiftly, most swiftly

advances the last hour for us all; as the stars vanish before the sun, so will his near approach destroy us. I

have done my best; with grasping hands and impotent strength, I have hung on the wheel of the chariot of

plague; but she drags me along with it, while, like Juggernaut, she proceeds crushing out the being of all who

strew the high road of life. Would that it were overwould that her procession achieved, we had all entered

Tears streamed from his eyes. "Again and again," he continued, "will the tragedy be acted; again I must hear

the groans of the dying, the wailing of the survivors; again witness the pangs, which, consummating all,

envelope an eternity in their evanescent existence. Why am I reserved for this? Why the tainted wether of the

flock, am I not struck to earth among the first? It is hard, very hard, for one of woman born to endure all that I

Hitherto, with an undaunted spirit, and an high feeling of duty and worth, Adrian had fulfilled his

selfimposed task. I had contemplated him with reverence, and a fruitless desire of imitation. I now offered a

few words of encouragement and sympathy. He hid his face in his hands, and while he strove to calm

himself, he ejaculated, "For a few months, yet for a few months more, let not, O God, my heart fail, or my

courage be bowed down; let not sights of intolerable misery madden this halfcrazed brain, or cause this frail

heart to beat against its prisonbound, so that it burst. I have believed it to be my destiny to guide and rule the

last of the race of man, till death extinguish my government; and to this destiny I submit.

"Pardon me, Verney, I pain you, but I will no longer complain. Now I am myself again, or rather I am better

than myself. You have known how from my childhood aspiring thoughts and high desires have warred with

inherent disease and overstrained sensitiveness, till the latter became victors. You know how I placed this

wasted feeble hand on the abandoned helm of human government. I have been visited at times by intervals of

fluctuation; yet, until now, I have felt as if a superior and indefatigable spirit had taken up its abode within

me or rather incorporated itself with my weaker being. The holy visitant has for a time slept, perhaps to show

me how powerless I am without its inspiration. Yet, stay for a while, O Power of goodness and strength;

disdain not yet this rent shrine of fleshly mortality, O immortal Capability! While one fellow creature

remains to whom aid can be afforded, stay by and prop your shattered, falling engine!"

His vehemence, and voice broken by irrepressible sighs, sunk to my heart; his eyes gleamed in the gloom of

night like two earthly stars; and, his form dilating, his countenance beaming, truly it almost seemed as if at

his eloquent appeal a more than mortal spirit entered his frame, exalting him above humanity.

He turned quickly towards me, and held out his hand. "Farewell, Verney," he cried, "brother of my love,

farewell; no other weak expression must cross these lips, I am alive again: to our tasks, to our combats with

He grasped my hand, and bent a look on me, more fervent and animated than any smile; then turning his

horse's head, he touched the animal with the spur, and was out of sight in a moment.

A man last night had died of the plague. The quiver was not emptied, nor the bow unstrung. We stood as

marks, while Parthian Pestilence aimed and shot, insatiated by conquest, unobstructed by the heaps of slain.

A sickness of the soul, contagious even to my physical mechanism, came over me. My knees knocked

together, my teeth chattered, the current of my blood, clotted by sudden cold, painfully forced its way from

my heavy heart. I did not fear for myself, but it was misery to think that we could not even save this remnant.

That those I loved might in a few days be as claycold as Idris in her antique tomb; nor could strength of

body or energy of mind ward off the blow. A sense of degradation came over me. Did God create man,

merely in the end to become dead earth in the midst of healthful vegetating nature? Was he of no more

account to his Maker, than a field of corn blighted in the ear? Were our proud dreams thus to fade? Our name

was written "a little lower than the angels;" and, behold, we were no better than ephemera. We had called

ourselves the "paragon of animals," and, lo! we were a "quintessence of dust." We repined that the pyramids

had outlasted the embalmed body of their builder. Alas! the mere shepherd's hut of straw we passed on the

road, contained in its structure the principle of greater longevity than the whole race of man. How reconcile

Sudden an internal voice, articulate and clear, seemed to say:Thus from eternity, it was decreed: the steeds

that bear Time onwards had this hour and this fulfilment enchained to them, since the void brought forth its

Mother of the world! Servant of the Omnipotent! eternal, changeless Necessity! who with busy fingers sittest

ever weaving the indissoluble chain of events!I will not murmur at thy acts. If my human mind cannot

acknowledge that all that is, is right; yet since what is, must be, I will sit amidst the ruins and smile. Truly we

Will not the reader tire, if I should minutely describe our longdrawn journey from Paris to Geneva? If, day

by day, I should record, in the form of a journal, the thronging miseries of our lot, could my hand write, or

language afford words to express, the variety of our woe; the hustling and crowding of one deplorable event

upon another? Patience, oh reader! whoever thou art, wherever thou dwellest, whether of race spiritual, or,

sprung from some surviving pair, thy nature will be human, thy habitation the earth; thou wilt here read of the

acts of the extinct race, and wilt ask wonderingly, if they, who suffered what thou findest recorded, were of

frail flesh and soft organization like thyself. Most true, they wereweep therefore; for surely, solitary being,

thou wilt be of gentle disposition; shed compassionate tears; but the while lend thy attention to the tale, and

Yet the last events that marked our progress through France were so full of strange horror and gloomy

misery, that I dare not pause too long in the narration. If I were to dissect each incident, every small fragment

of a second would contain an harrowing tale, whose minutest word would curdle the blood in thy young

veins. It is right that I should erect for thy instruction this monument of the foregone race; but not that I

should drag thee through the wards of an hospital, nor the secret chambers of the charnelhouse. This tale,

therefore, shall be rapidly unfolded. Images of destruction, pictures of despair, the procession of the last

triumph of death, shall be drawn before thee, swift as the rack driven by the north wind along the blotted

Weedgrown fields, desolate towns, the wild approach of riderless horses had now become habitual to my

eyes; nay, sights far worse, of the unburied dead, and human forms which were strewed on the road side, and

Sights like these had becomeah, woe the while! so familiar, that we had ceased to shudder, or spur our

stung horses to sudden speed, as we passed them. France in its best days, at least that part of France through

which we travelled, had been a cultivated desert, and the absence of enclosures, of cottages, and even of

peasantry, was saddening to a traveller from sunny Italy, or busy England. Yet the towns were frequent and

lively, and the cordial politeness and ready smile of the woodenshoed peasant restored good humour to the

splenetic. Now, the old woman sat no more at the door with her distaffthe lank beggar no longer asked

charity in courtierlike phrase; nor on holidays did the peasantry thread with slow grace the mazes of the

dance. Silence, melancholy bride of death, went in procession with him from town to town through the

We arrived at Fontainebleau, and speedily prepared for the reception of our friends. On mustering our

numbers for the night, three were found missing. When I enquired for them, the man to whom I spoke,

uttered the word "plague," and fell at my feet in convulsions; he also was infected. There were hard faces

around me; for among my troop were sailors who had crossed the line times unnumbered, soldiers who, in

Russia and far America, had suffered famine, cold and danger, and men still sternerfeatured, once nightly

depredators in our overgrown metropolis; men bred from their cradle to see the whole machine of society at

work for their destruction. I looked round, and saw upon the faces of all horror and despair written in glaring

We passed four days at Fontainebleau. Several sickened and died, and in the mean time neither Adrian nor

any of our friends appeared. My own troop was in commotion; to reach Switzerland, to plunge into rivers of

snow, and to dwell in caves of ice, became the mad desire of all. Yet we had promised to wait for the Earl;

and he came not. My people demanded to be led forwardrebellion, if so we might call what was the mere

casting away of strawformed shackles, appeared manifestly among them. They would away on the word

without a leader. The only chance of safety, the only hope of preservation from every form of indescribable

suffering, was our keeping together. I told them this; while the most determined among them answered with

sullenness, that they could take care of themselves, and replied to my entreaties with scoffs and menaces.

At length, on the fifth day, a messenger arrived from Adrian, bearing letters, which directed us to proceed to

Auxerre, and there await his arrival, which would only be deferred for a few days. Such was the tenor of his

public letters. Those privately delivered to me, detailed at length the difficulties of his situation, and left the

arrangement of my future plans to my own discretion. His account of the state of affairs at Versailles was

brief, but the oral communications of his messenger filled up his omissions, and showed me that perils of the

most frightful nature were gathering around him. At first the reawakening of the plague had been concealed;

but the number of deaths increasing, the secret was divulged, and the destruction already achieved, was

exaggerated by the fears of the survivors. Some emissaries of the enemy of mankind, the accursed Impostors.

were among them instilling their doctrine, that safety and life could only be ensured by submission to their

chief; and they succeeded so well, that soon, instead of desiring to proceed to Switzerland, the major part of

the multitude, weakminded women, and dastardly men, desired to return to Paris, and, by ranging

themselves under the banners of the so called prophet, and by a cowardly worship of the principle of evil, to

purchase respite, as they hoped, from impending death. The discord and tumult induced by these conflicting

fears and passions, detained Adrian. It required all his ardour in pursuit of an object, and his patience under

difficulties, to calm and animate such a number of his followers, as might counterbalance the panic of the

rest, and lead them back to the means from which alone safety could be derived. He had hoped immediately

to follow me; but, being defeated in this intention, he sent his messenger urging me to secure my own troop at

such a distance from Versailles, as to prevent the contagion of rebellion from reaching them; promising, at

the same time, to join me the moment a favourable occasion should occur, by means of which he could

withdraw the main body of the emigrants from the evil influence at present exercised over them.

I was thrown into a most painful state of uncertainty by these communications. My first impulse was that we

should all return to Versailles, there to assist in extricating our chief from his perils. I accordingly assembled

my troop, and proposed to them this retrograde movement, instead of the continuation of our journey to

Auxerre. With one voice they refused to comply. The notion circulated among them was, that the ravages of

the plague alone detained the Protector; they opposed his order to my request; they came to a resolve to

proceed without me, should I refuse to accompany them. Argument and adjuration were lost on these

dastards. The continual diminution of their own numbers, effected by pestilence, added a sting to their dislike

of delay; and my opposition only served to bring their resolution to a crisis. That same evening they departed

towards Auxerre. Oaths, as from soldiers to their general, had been taken by them: these they broke. I also

had engaged myself not to desert them; it appeared to me inhuman to ground any infraction of my word on

theirs. The same spirit that caused them to rebel against me, would impel them to desert each other; and the

most dreadful sufferings would be the consequence of their journey in their present unordered and chiefless

array. These feelings for a time were paramount; and, in obedience to them, I accompanied the rest towards

We arrived the same night at VilleneuvelaGuiard, a town at the distance of four posts from Fontainebleau.

When my companions had retired to rest, and I was left alone to revolve and ruminate upon the intelligence I

received of Adrian's situation, another view of the subject presented itself to me. What was I doing, and what

was the object of my present movements? Apparently I was to lead this troop of selfish and lawless men

towards Switzerland, leaving behind my family and my selected friend, which, subject as they were hourly to

the death that threatened to all, I might never see again. Was it not my first duty to assist the Protector, setting

an example of attachment and duty? At a crisis, such as the one I had reached, it is very difficult to balance

nicely opposing interests, and that towards which our inclinations lead us, obstinately assumes the appearance

of selfishness, even when we meditate a sacrifice. We are easily led at such times to make a compromise of

the question; and this was my present resource. I resolved that very night to ride to Versailles; if I found

affairs less desperate than I now deemed them, I would return without delay to my troop; I had a vague idea

that my arrival at that town, would occasion some sensation more or less strong, of which we might profit, for

the purpose of leading forward the vacillating multitudeat least no time was to be lostI visited the

stables, I saddled my favourite horse, and vaulting on his back, without giving myself time for further

reflection or hesitation, quitted VilleneuvelaGuiard on my return to Versailles.

I was glad to escape from my rebellious troop, and to lose sight for a time, of the strife of evil with good,

where the former for ever remained triumphant. I was stung almost to madness by my uncertainty concerning

the fate of Adrian, and grew reckless of any event, except what might lose or preserve my unequalled friend.

With an heavy heart, that sought relief in the rapidity of my course, I rode through the night to Versailles. I

spurred my horse, who addressed his free limbs to speed, and tossed his gallant head in pride. The

constellations reeled swiftly by, swiftly each tree and stone and landmark fled past my onward career. I bared

my head to the rushing wind, which bathed my brow in delightful coolness. As I lost sight of

VilleneuvelaGuiard, I forgot the sad drama of human misery; methought it was happiness enough to live,

sensitive the while of the beauty of the verdureclad earth, the starbespangled sky, and the tameless wind

that lent animation to the whole. My horse grew tiredand I, forgetful of his fatigue, still as he lagged,

cheered him with my voice, and urged him with the spur. He was a gallant animal, and I did not wish to

exchange him for any chance beast I might light on, leaving him never to be refound. All night we went

forward; in the morning he became sensible that we approached Versailles, to reach which as his home, he

mustered his flagging strength. The distance we had come was not less than fifty miles, yet he shot down the

long Boulevards swift as an arrow; poor fellow, as I dismounted at the gate of the castle, he sunk on his

knees, his eyes were covered with a film, he fell on his side, a few gasps inflated his noble chest, and he died.

I saw him expire with an anguish, unaccountable even to myself, the spasm was as the wrenching of some

limb in agonizing torture, but it was brief as it was intolerable. I forgot him, as I swiftly darted through the

open portal, and up the majestic stairs of this castle of victories heard Adrian's voiceO fool! O woman

nurtured, effeminate and contemptible beingI heard his voice, and answered it with convulsive shrieks; I

rushed into the Hall of Hercules, where he stood surrounded by a crowd, whose eyes, turned in wonder on

me, reminded me that on the stage of the world, a man must repress such girlish ecstasies. I would have given

worlds to have embraced him; I dared notHalf in exhaustion, half voluntarily, I threw myself at my length

on the grounddare I disclose the truth to the gentle offspring of solitude? I did so, that I might kiss the dear

I found everything in a state of tumult. An emissary of the leader of the elect, had been so worked up by his

chief, and by his own fanatical creed, as to make an attempt on the life of the Protector and preserver of lost

mankind. His hand was arrested while in the act of poniarding the Earl; this circumstance had caused the

clamour I heard on my arrival at the castle, and the confused assembly of persons that I found assembled in

the Salle d'Hercule. Although superstition and demoniac fury had crept among the emigrants, yet several

adhered with fidelity to their noble chieftain; and many, whose faith and love had been unhinged by fear, felt

all their latent affection rekindled by this detestable attempt. A phalanx of faithful breasts closed round him;

the wretch, who, although a prisoner and in bonds, vaunted his design, and madly claimed the crown of

martyrdom, would have been torn to pieces, had not his intended victim interposed. Adrian, springing

forward, shielded him with his own person, and commanded with energy the submission of his infuriate

Discipline and peace were at length restored in the castle; and then Adrian went from house to house, from

troop to troop, to soothe the disturbed minds of his followers, and recall them to their ancient obedience. But

the fear of immediate death was still rife amongst these survivors of a world's destruction; the horror

occasioned by the attempted assassination, past away; each eye turned towards Paris. Men love a prop so

well, that they will lean on a pointed poisoned spear; and such was he, the impostor, who, with fear of hell for

It was a moment of suspense, that shook even the resolution of the unyielding friend of man. Adrian for one

moment was about to give in, to cease the struggle, and quit, with a few adherents, the deluded crowd,

leaving them a miserable prey to their passions, and to the worse tyrant who excited them. But again, after a

brief fluctuation of purpose, he resumed his courage and resolves, sustained by the singleness of his purpose,

and the untried spirit of benevolence which animated him. At this moment, as an omen of excellent import,

his wretched enemy pulled destruction on his head, destroying with his own hands the dominion he had

His grand hold upon the minds of men, took its rise from the doctrine inculcated by him, that those who

believed in, and followed him, were the remnant to be saved, while all the rest of mankind were marked out

for death. Now, at the time of the Flood, the omnipotent repented him that he had created man, and as then

with water, now with the arrows of pestilence, was about to annihilate all, except those who obeyed his

decrees, promulgated by the ipse dixit prophet. It is impossible to say on what foundations this man built his

hopes of being able to carry on such an imposture. It is likely that he was fully aware of the lie which

murderous nature might give to his assertions, and believed it to be the cast of a die, whether he should in

future ages be reverenced as an inspired delegate from heaven, or be recognized as an impostor by the present

dying generation. At any rate he resolved to keep up the drama to the last act. When, on the first approach of

summer, the fatal disease again made its ravages among the followers of Adrian, the impostor exultingly

proclaimed the exemption of his own congregation from the universal calamity. He was believed; his

followers, hitherto shut up in Paris, now came to Versailles. Mingling with the coward band there assembled,

they reviled their admirable leader, and asserted their own superiority and exemption.

At length the plague, slowfooted, but sure in her noiseless advance, destroyed the illusion, invading the

congregation of the elect, and showering promiscuous death among them. Their leader endeavoured to

conceal this event; he had a few followers, who, admitted into the arcana of his wickedness, could help him

in the execution of his nefarious designs. Those who sickened were immediately and quietly withdrawn, the

cord and a midnightgrave disposed of them for ever; while some plausible excuse was given for their

absence. At last a female, whose maternal vigilance subdued even the effects of the narcotics administered to

her, became a witness of their murderous designs on her only child. Mad with horror, she would have burst

among her deluded fellowvictims, and, wildly shrieking, have awaked the dull ear of night with the history

of the fiendlike crime; when the Impostor, in his last act of rage and desperation, plunged a poniard in her

bosom. Thus wounded to death, her garments dripping with her own lifeblood, bearing her strangled infant

in her arms, beautiful and young as she was, Juliet, (for it was she) denounced to the host of deceived

believers, the wickedness of their leader. He saw the aghast looks of her auditors, changing from horror to

furythe names of those already sacrificed were echoed by their relatives, now assured of their loss. The

wretch with that energy of purpose, which had borne him thus far in his guilty career, saw his danger, and

resolved to evade the worst forms of ithe rushed on one of the foremost, seized a pistol from his girdle, and

his loud laugh of derision mingled with the report of the weapon with which he destroyed himself.

They left his miserable remains even where they lay; they placed the corpse of poor Juliet and her babe upon

a bier, and all, with hearts subdued to saddest regret, in long procession walked towards Versailles. They met

troops of those who had quitted the kindly protection of Adrian, and were journeying to join the fanatics. The

tale of horror was recountedall turned back; and thus at last, accompanied by the undiminished numbers of

surviving humanity, and preceded by the mournful emblem of their recovered reason, they appeared before

Adrian, and again and for ever vowed obedience to his commands, and fidelity to his cause.

THESE events occupied so much time, that June had numbered more than half its days, before we again

commenced our long protracted journey. The day after my return to Versailles, six men, from among those I

had left at VilleneuvelaGuiard, arrived, with intelligence, that the rest of the troop had already proceeded

It is strange, after an interval of time, to look back on a period, which, though short in itself, appeared, when

in actual progress, to be drawn out interminably. By the end of July we entered Dijon; by the end of July

those hours, days, and weeks had mingled with the ocean of forgotten time, which in their passage teemed

with fatal events and agonizing sorrow. By the end of July, little more than a month had gone by, if man's life

were measured by the rising and setting of the sun: but, alas! in that interval ardent youth had become

greyhaired; furrows deep and inerasable were trenched in the blooming cheek of the young mother; the

elastic limbs of early manhood, paralyzed as by the burthen of years, assumed the decrepitude of age. Nights

passed, during whose fatal darkness the sun grew old before it rose; and burning days, to cool whose baleful

heat the balmy eve, lingering far in eastern climes, came lagging and ineffectual; days, in which the dial,

radiant in its noonday station, moved not its shadow the space of a little hour, until a whole life of sorrow

We departed from Versailles fifteen hundred souls. We set out on the eighteenth of June. We made a long

procession, in which was contained every dear relationship, or tie of love, that existed in human society.

Fathers and husbands, with guardian care, gathered their dear relatives around them; wives and mothers

looked for support to the manly form beside them, and then with tender anxiety bent their eyes on the infant

troop around. They were sad, but not hopeless. Each thought that someone would be saved; each, with that

pertinacious optimism, which to the last characterised our human nature, trusted that their beloved family

We passed through France, and found it empty of inhabitants. Some one or two natives survived in the larger

towns, which they roamed through like ghosts; we received therefore small increase to our numbers, and such

decrease through death, that at last it became easier to count the scanty list of survivors. As we never deserted

any of the sick, until their death permitted us to commit their remains to the shelter of a grave, our journey

was long, while every day a frightful gap was made in our troopthey died by tens, by fifties, by hundreds.

No mercy was shown by death; we ceased to expect it, and every day welcomed the sun with the feeling that

The nervous terrors and fearful visions which had scared us during the spring, continued to visit our coward

troop during this sad journey. Every evening brought its fresh creation of spectres; a ghost was depicted by

every blighted tree; and appalling shapes were manufactured from each shaggy bush. By degrees these

common marvels palled on us, and then other wonders were called into being. Once it was confidently

asserted, that the sun rose an hour later than its seasonable time; again it was discovered that he grew paler

and paler; that shadows took an uncommon appearance. It was impossible to have imagined, during the usual

calm routine of life men had before experienced, the terrible effects produced by these extravagant delusions:

in truth, of such little worth are our senses, when unsupported by concurring testimony, that it was with the

utmost difficulty I kept myself free from the belief in supernatural events, to which the major part of our

people readily gave credit. Being one sane amidst a crowd of the mad, I hardly dared assert to my own mind,

that the vast luminary had undergone no changethat the shadows of night were unthickened by

innumerable shapes of awe and terror; or that the wind, as it sung in the trees, or whistled round an empty

building, was not pregnant with sounds of wailing and despair. Sometimes realities took ghostly shapes; and

it was impossible for one's blood not to curdle at the perception of an evident mixture of what we knew to be

Once, at the dusk of the evening, we saw a figure all in white, apparently of more than human stature,

flourishing about the road, now throwing up its arms, now leaping to an astonishing height in the air, then

turning round several times successively, then raising itself to its full height and gesticulating violently. Our

troop, on the alert to discover and believe in the supernatural, made a halt at some distance from this shape;

and, as it became darker, there was something appalling even to the incredulous, in the lonely spectre, whose

gambols, if they hardly accorded with spiritual dignity, were beyond human powers. Now it leapt right up in

the air, now sheer over a high hedge, and was again the moment after in the road before us. By the time I

came up, the fright experienced by the spectators of this ghostly exhibition, began to manifest itself in the

flight of some, and the close huddling together of the rest. Our goblin now perceived us; he approached, and,

as we drew reverentially back, made a low bow. The sight was irresistibly ludicrous even to our hapless band,

and his politeness was hailed by a shout of laughter;then, again springing up, as a last effort, it sunk to the

ground, and became almost invisible through the dusky night. This circumstance again spread silence and

fear through the troop; the more courageous at length advanced, and, raising the dying wretch, discovered the

tragic explanation of this wild scene. It was an operadancer, and had been one of the troop which deserted

from VilleneuvelaGuiard: falling sick, he had been deserted by his companions; in an access of delirium

he had fancied himself on the stage, and, poor fellow, his dying sense eagerly accepted the last human

At another time we were haunted for several days by an apparition, to which our people gave the appellation

of the Black Spectre. We never saw it except at evening, when his coal black steed, his mourning dress, and

plume of black feathers, had a majestic and awestriking appearance; his face, one said, who had seen it for a

moment, was ashy pale; he had lingered far behind the rest of his troop, and suddenly at a turn in the road,

saw the Black Spectre coming towards him; he hid himself in fear, and the horse and his rider slowly past,

while the moonbeams fell on the face of the latter, displaying its unearthly hue. Sometimes at dead of night,

as we watched the sick, we heard one galloping through the town; it was the Black Spectre come in token of

inevitable death. He grew giant tall to vulgar eyes; an icy atmosphere, they said, surrounded him; when he

was heard, all animals shuddered, and the dying knew that their last hour was come. It was Death himself,

they declared, come visibly to seize on subject earth, and quell at once our decreasing numbers, sole rebels to

his law. One day at noon, we saw a dark mass on the road before us, and, coming up, beheld the Black

Spectre fallen from his horse, lying in the agonies of disease upon the ground. He did not survive many

hours; and his last words disclosed the secret of his mysterious conduct. He was a French noble of distinction,

who, from the effects of plague, had been left alone in his district; during many months, he had wandered

from town to town, from province to province, seeking some survivor for a companion, and abhorring the

loneliness to which he was condemned. When he discovered our troop, fear of contagion conquered his love

of society. He dared not join us, yet he could not resolve to lose sight of us, sole human beings who besides

himself existed in wide and fertile France; so he accompanied us in the spectral guise I have described, till

It had been well, if such vain terrors could have distracted our thoughts from more tangible evils. But these

were too dreadful and too many not to force themselves into every thought, every moment, of our lives. We

were obliged to halt at different periods for days together, till another and yet another was consigned as a clod

to the vast clod which had been once our living mother. Thus we continued travelling during the hottest

season; and it was not till the first of August, that we, the emigrants,reader, there were just eighty of us in

We had expected this moment with eagerness, for now we had accomplished the worst part of our drear

journey, and Switzerland was near at hand. Yet how could we congratulate ourselves on any event thus

imperfectly fulfilled? Were these miserable beings, who, worn and wretched, passed in sorrowful procession,

the sole remnants of the race of man, which, like a flood, had once spread over and possessed the whole

earth? It had come down clear and unimpeded from its primal mountain source in Ararat, and grew from a

puny streamlet to a vast perennial river, generation after generation flowing on ceaselessly. The same, but

diversified, it grew, and swept onwards towards the absorbing ocean, whose dim shores we now reached. It

had been the mere plaything of nature, when first it crept out of uncreative void into light; but thought

brought forth power and knowledge; and, clad with these, the race of man assumed dignity and authority. It

was then no longer the mere gardener of earth, or the shepherd of her flocks; "it carried with it an imposing

and majestic aspect; it had a pedigree and illustrious ancestors; it had its gallery of portraits, its monumental

This was all over, now that the ocean of death had sucked in the slackening tide, and its source was dried up.

We first had bidden adieu to the state of things which having existed many thousand years, seemed eternal;

such a state of government, obedience, traffic, and domestic intercourse, as had moulded our hearts and

capacities, as far back as memory could reach. Then to patriotic zeal, to the arts, to reputation, to enduring

fame, to the name of country, we had bidden farewell. We saw depart all hope of retrieving our ancient

stateall expectation, except the feeble one of saving our individual lives from the wreck of the past. To

preserve these we had quitted England England, no more; for without her children, what name could that

barren island claim? With tenacious grasp we clung to such rule and order as could best save us; trusting that,

if a little colony could be preserved, that would suffice at some remoter period to restore the lost community

But the game is up! We must all die; nor leave survivor nor heir to the wide inheritance of earth. We must all

die! The species of man must perish; his frame of exquisite workmanship; the wondrous mechanism of his

senses; the noble proportion of his godlike limbs; his mind, the throned king of these; must perish. Will the

earth still keep her place among the planets; will she still journey with unmarked regularity round the sun;

will the seasons change, the trees adorn themselves with leaves, and flowers shed their fragrance, in solitude?

Will the mountains remain unmoved, and streams still keep a downward course towards the vast abyss; will

the tides rise and fall, and the winds fan universal nature; will beasts pasture, birds fly, and fishes swim, when

man, the lord, possessor, perceiver, and recorder of all these things, has passed away, as though he had never

been? O, what mockery is this! Surely death is not death, and humanity is not extinct; but merely passed into

other shapes, unsubjected to our perceptions. Death is a vast portal, an high road to life: let us hasten to pass;

We had longed with inexpressible earnestness to reach Dijon, since we had fixed on it, as a kind of station in

our progress. But now we entered it with a torpor more painful than acute suffering. We had come slowly but

irrevocably to the opinion, that our utmost efforts would not preserve one human being alive. We took our

hands therefore away from the long grasped rudder; and the frail vessel on which we floated, seemed, the

government over her suspended, to rush, prow foremost, into the dark abyss of the billows. A gush of grief, a

wanton profusion of tears, and vain laments, and overflowing tenderness, and passionate but fruitless clinging

During this disastrous journey we lost all those, not of our own family, to whom we had particularly attached

ourselves among the survivors. It were not well to fill these pages with a mere catalogue of losses; yet I

cannot refrain from this last mention of those principally dear to us. The little girl whom Adrian had rescued

from utter desertion, during our ride through London on the twentieth of November, died at Auxerre. The

poor child had attached herself greatly to us; and the suddenness of her death added to our sorrow. In the

morning we had seen her apparently in healthin the evening, Lucy, before we retired to rest, visited our

quarters to say that she was dead. Poor Lucy herself only survived, till we arrived at Dijon. She had devoted

herself throughout to the nursing the sick, and attending the friendless. Her excessive exertions brought on a

slow fever, which ended in the dread disease whose approach soon released her from her sufferings. She had

throughout been endeared to us by her good qualities, by her ready and cheerful execution of every duty, and

mild acquiescence in every turn of adversity. When we consigned her to the tomb, we seemed at the same

time to bid a final adieu to those peculiarly feminine virtues conspicuous in her; uneducated and unpretending

as she was, she was distinguished for patience, forbearance, and sweetness. These, with all their train of

qualities peculiarly English, would never again be revived for us. This type of all that was most worthy of

admiration in her class among my countrywomen, was placed under the sod of desert France; and it was as a

The Countess of Windsor died during our abode at Dijon. One morning I was informed that she wished to see

me. Her message made me remember, that several days had elapsed since I had last seen her. Such a

circumstance had often occurred during our journey, when I remained behind to watch to their close the last

moments of some one of our hapless comrades, and the rest of the troop past on before me. But there was

something in the manner of her messenger, that made me suspect that all was not right. A caprice of the

imagination caused me to conjecture that some ill had occurred to Clara or Evelyn, rather than to this aged

lady. Our fears, for ever on the stretch, demanded a nourishment of horror; and it seemed too natural an

I found the venerable mother of my Idris lying on a couch, her tall emaciated figure stretched out; her face

fallen away, from which the nose stood out in sharp profile, and her large dark eyes, hollow and deep,

gleamed with such light as may edge a thunder cloud at sunset. All was shrivelled and dried up, except these

lights; her voice too was fearfully changed, as she spoke to me at intervals. "I am afraid," said she, "that it is

selfish in me to have asked you to visit the old woman again, before she dies: yet perhaps it would have been

"Do you not perceive death in my face," replied she, "it is strange; I ought to have expected this, and yet I

confess it has taken me unaware. I never clung to life, or enjoyed it, till these last months, while among those

I senselessly deserted: and it is hard to be snatched immediately away. I am glad, however, that I am not a

victim of the plague; probably I should have died at this hour, though the world had continued as it was in my

She spoke with difficulty, and I perceived that she regretted the necessity of death, even more than she cared

to confess. Yet she had not to complain of an undue shortening of existence; her faded person showed that

life had naturally spent itself. We had been alone at first; now Clara entered; the Countess turned to her with a

smile, and took the hand of this lovely child; her roseate palm and snowy fingers, contrasted with relaxed

fibres and yellow hue of those of her aged friend; she bent to kiss her, touching her withered mouth with the

warm, full lips of youth. "Verney," said the Countess, "I need not recommend this dear girl to you, for your

own sake you will preserve her. Were the world as it was, I should have a thousand sage precautions to

impress, that one so sensitive, good, and beauteous, might escape the dangers that used to lurk for the

"I commit you, my kind nurse, to your uncle's care; to yours I entrust the dearest relic of my better self. Be to

Adrian, sweet one, what you have been to meenliven his sadness with your sprightly sallies; sooth his

anguish by your sober and inspired converse, when he is dying; nurse him as you have done me."

Clara burst into tears; "Kind girl," said the Countess, "do not weep for me. Many dear friends are left to you."

"And yet," cried Clara, "you talk of their dying also. This is indeed cruelhow could I live, if they were

gone? If it were possible for my beloved protector to die before me, I could not nurse him; I could only die

The venerable lady survived this scene only twentyfour hours. She was the last tie binding us to the ancient

state of things. It was impossible to look on her, and not call to mind in their wonted guise, events and

persons, as alien to our present situation as the disputes of Themistocles and Aristides, or the wars of the two

roses in our native land. The crown of England had pressed her brow; the memory of my father and his

misfortunes, the vain struggles of the late king, the images of Raymond, Evadne, and Perdita, who had lived

in the world's prime, were brought vividly before us. We consigned her to the oblivious tomb with reluctance;

and when I turned from her grave, Janus veiled his retrospective face; that which gazed on future generations

After remaining a week at Dijon, until thirty of our number deserted the vacant ranks of life, we continued

our way towards Geneva. At noon on the second day we arrived at the foot of Jura. We halted here during the

heat of the day. Here fifty human beingsfifty, the only human beings that survived of the foodteeming

earth, assembled to read in the looks of each other ghastly plague, or wasting sorrow, desperation, or worse,

carelessness of future or present evil. Here we assembled at the foot of this mighty wall of mountain, under a

spreading walnut tree; a brawling stream refreshed the green sward by its sprinkling; and the busy

grasshopper chirped among the thyme. We clustered together a group of wretched sufferers. A mother

cradled in her enfeebled arms the child, last of many, whose glazed eye was about to close for ever. Here

beauty, late glowing in youthful lustre and consciousness, now wan and neglected, knelt fanning with

uncertain motion the beloved, who lay striving to paint his features, distorted by illness, with a thankful

smile. There an hardfeatured, weatherworn veteran, having prepared his meal, sat, his head dropped on his

breast, the useless knife falling from his grasp, his limbs utterly relaxed, as thought of wife and child, and

dearest relative, all lost, passed across his recollection. There sat a man who for forty years had basked in

fortune's tranquil sunshine; he held the hand of his last hope, his beloved daughter, who had just attained

womanhood; and he gazed on her with anxious eyes, while she tried to rally her fainting spirit to comfort

him. Here a servant, faithful to the last, though dying, waited on one, who, though still erect with health,

Adrian stood leaning against a tree; he held a book in his hand, but his eye wandered from the pages, and

sought mine; they mingled a sympathetic glance; his looks confessed that his thoughts had quitted the

inanimate print, for pages more pregnant with meaning, more absorbing, spread out before him. By the

margin of the stream, apart from all, in a tranquil nook, where the purling brook kissed the green sward

gently, Clara and Evelyn were at play, sometimes beating the water with large boughs, sometimes watching

the summerflies that sported upon it. Evelyn now chased a butterflynow gathered a flower for his cousin;

and his laughing cherubface and clear brow told of the light heart that beat in his bosom. Clara, though she

endeavoured to give herself up to his amusement, often forgot him, as she turned to observe Adrian and me.

She was now fourteen, and retained her childish appearance, though in height a woman; she acted the part of

the tenderest mother to my little orphan boy; to see her playing with him, or attending silently and

submissively on our wants, you thought only of her admirable docility and patience; but, in her soft eyes, and

the veined curtains that veiled them, in the clearness of her marmoreal brow, and the tender expression of her

lips, there was an intelligence and beauty that at once excited admiration and love.

When the sun had sunk towards the precipitate west, and the evening shadows grew long, we prepared to

ascend the mountain. The attention that we were obliged to pay to the sick, made our progress slow. The

winding road, though steep, presented a confined view of rocky fields and hills, each hiding the other, till our

farther ascent disclosed them in succession. We were seldom shaded from the declining sun, whose slant

beams were instinct with exhausting heat. There are times when minor difficulties grow gigantictimes,

when as the Hebrew poet expressively terms it, "the grasshopper is a burthen;" so was it with our ill fated

party this evening. Adrian, usually the first to rally his spirits, and dash foremost into fatigue and hardship,

with relaxed limbs and declined head, the reins hanging loosely in his grasp, left the choice of the path to the

instinct of his horse, now and then painfully rousing himself, when the steepness of the ascent required that

he should keep his seat with better care. Fear and horror encompassed me. Did his languid air attest that he

also was struck with contagion? How long, when I look on this matchless specimen of mortality, may I

perceive that his thought answers mine? how long will those limbs obey the kindly spirit within? how long

will light and life dwell in the eyes of this my sole remaining friend? Thus pacing slowly, each hill

surmounted, only presented another to be ascended; each jutting corner only discovered another, sister to the

last, endlessly. Sometimes the pressure of sickness in one among us, caused the whole cavalcade to halt; the

call for water, the eagerly expressed wish to repose; the cry of pain, and suppressed sob of the

Adrian had gone first. I saw him, while I was detained by the loosening of a girth, struggling with the upward

path, seemingly more difficult than any we had yet passed. He reached the top, and the dark outline of his

figure stood in relief against the sky. He seemed to behold something unexpected and wonderful; for,

pausing, his head stretched out, his arms for a moment extended, he seemed to give an All Hail! to some new

vision. Urged by curiosity, I hurried to join him. After battling for many tedious minutes with the precipice,

Nature, or nature's favourite, this lovely earth, presented her most unrivalled beauties in resplendent and

sudden exhibition. Below, far, far below, even as it were in the yawning abyss of the ponderous globe, lay the

placid and azure expanse of lake Leman; vinecovered hills hedged it in, and behind dark mountains in

conelike shape, or irregular cyclopean wall, served for further defence. But beyond, and high above all, as if

the spirits of the air had suddenly unveiled their bright abodes, placed in scaleless altitude in the stainless sky,

heavenkissing, companions of the unattainable ether, were the glorious Alps, clothed in dazzling robes of

light by the setting sun. And, as if the world's wonders were never to be exhausted, their vast immensities,

their jagged crags, and roseate painting, appeared again in the lake below, dipping their proud heights beneath

the unruffled wavespalaces for the Naiads of the placid waters. Towns and villages lay scattered at the foot

of Jura, which, with dark ravine, and black promontories, stretched its roots into the watery expanse beneath.

Carried away by wonder, I forgot the death of man, and the living and beloved friend near me. When I

turned, I saw tears streaming from his eyes; his thin hands pressed one against the other, his animated

countenance beaming with admiration; "Why," cried he, at last, "Why, oh heart, whisperest thou of grief to

me? Drink in the beauty of that scene, and possess delight beyond what a fabled paradise could afford."

By degrees, our whole party surmounting the steep, joined us, not one among them, but gave visible tokens of

admiration, surpassing any before experienced. One cried, "God reveals his heaven to us; we may die

blessed." Another and another, with broken exclamations, and extravagant phrases, endeavoured to express

the intoxicating effect of this wonder of nature. So we remained awhile, lightened of the pressing burthen of

fate, forgetful of death, into whose night we were about to plunge; no longer reflecting that our eyes now and

for ever were and would be the only ones which might perceive the divine magnificence of this terrestrial

exhibition. An enthusiastic transport, akin to happiness, burst, like a sudden ray from the sun, on our

darkened life. Precious attribute of woeworn humanity! that can snatch ecstatic emotion, even from under

the very share and harrow, that ruthlessly ploughs up and lays waste every hope.

This evening was marked by another event. Passing through Ferney in our way to Geneva, unaccustomed

sounds of music arose from the rural church which stood embosomed in trees, surrounded by smokeless,

vacant cottages. The peal of an organ with rich swell awoke the mute air, lingering along, and mingling with

Musicthe language of the immortals, disclosed to us as testimony of their existencemusic, "silver key of

the fountain of tears," child of love, soother of grief, inspirer of heroism and radiant thoughts, O music, in this

our desolation, we had forgotten thee! Nor pipe at eve cheered us, nor harmony of voice, nor linked thrill of

string; thou camest upon us now, like the revealing of other forms of being; and transported as we had been

by the loveliness of nature, fancying that we beheld the abode of spirits, now we might well imagine that we

heard their melodious communings. We paused in such awe as would seize on a pale votarist, visiting some

holy shrine at midnight; if she beheld animated and smiling, the image which she worshipped. We all stood

mute; many knelt. In a few minutes however, we were recalled to human wonder and sympathy by a familiar

strain. The air was Haydn's "NewCreated World," and, old and drooping as humanity had become, the

world yet fresh as at creation's day, might still be worthily celebrated by such an hymn of praise. Adrian and I

entered the church; the nave was empty, though the smoke of incense rose from the altar, bringing with it the

recollection of vast congregations, in once thronged cathedrals; we went into the loft. A blind old man sat at

the bellows; his whole soul was ear; and as he sat in the attitude of attentive listening, a bright glow of

pleasure was diffused over his countenance; for, though his lacklustre eye could not reflect the beam, yet his

parted lips, and every line of his face and venerable brow spoke delight. A young woman sat at the keys,

perhaps twenty years of age. Her auburn hair hung on her neck, and her fair brow shone in its own beauty;

but her drooping eyes let fall fastflowing tears, while the constraint she exercised to suppress her sobs, and

still her trembling, flushed her else pale cheek; she was thin; languor, and alas! sickness, bent her form.

We stood looking at the pair, forgetting what we heard in the absorbing sight; till, the last chord struck, the

peal died away in lessening reverberations. The mighty voice, inorganic we might call it, for we could in no

way associate it with mechanism of pipe or key, stilled its sonorous tone, and the girl, turning to lend her

It was her father; and she, since childhood, had been the guide of his darkened steps. They were Germans

from Saxony, and, emigrating thither but a few years before, had formed new ties with the surrounding

villagers. About the time that the pestilence had broken out, a young German student had joined them. Their

simple history was easily divined. He, a noble, loved the fair daughter of the poor musician, and followed

them in their flight from the persecutions of his friends; but soon the mighty leveller came with unblunted

scythe to mow, together with the grass, the tall flowers of the field. The youth was an early victim. She

preserved herself for her father's sake. His blindness permitted her to continue a delusion, at first the child of

accidentand now solitary beings, sole survivors in the land, he remained unacquainted with the change, nor

was aware that when he listened to his child's music, the mute mountains, senseless lake, and unconscious

The very day that we arrived she had been attacked by symptomatic illness. She was paralyzed with horror at

the idea of leaving her aged, sightless father alone on the empty earth; but she had not courage to disclose the

truth, and the very excess of her desperation animated her to surpassing exertions. At the accustomed vesper

hour, she led him to the chapel; and, though trembling and weeping on his account, she played, without fault

in time, or error in note, the hymn written to celebrate the creation of the adorned earth, soon to be her tomb.

We came to her like visitors from heaven itself; her high wrought courage; her hardly sustained firmness,

fled with the appearance of relief. With a shriek she rushed towards us, embraced the knees of Adrian, and

uttering but the words, "O save my father!" with sobs and hysterical cries, opened the longshut floodgates of

Poor girl!she and her father now lie side by side, beneath the high walnuttree where her lover reposes,

and which in her dying moments she had pointed out to us. Her father, at length aware of his daughter's

danger, unable to see the changes of her dear countenance, obstinately held her hand, till it was chilled and

stiffened by death. Nor did he then move or speak, till, twelve hours after, kindly death took him to his

breakless repose. They rest beneath the sod, the tree their monument; the hallowed spot is distinct in my

memory, paled in by craggy Jura, and the far, immeasurable Alps; the spire of the church they frequented still

points from out the embosoming trees; and though her hand be cold, still methinks the sounds of divine music

WE had now reached Switzerland, so long the final mark and aim of our exertions. We had looked, I know

not wherefore, with hope and pleasing expectation on her congregation of hills and snowy crags, and opened

our bosoms with renewed spirits to the icy Biz, which even at Midsummer used to come from the northern

glacier laden with cold. Yet how could we nourish expectation of relief? Like our native England, and the

vast extent of fertile France, this mountainembowered land was desolate of its inhabitants. Nor bleak

mountaintop, nor snownourished rivulet; not the iceladen Biz, nor thunder, the tamer of contagion, had

Who was there indeed to save? What troop had we brought fit to stand at bay, and combat with the

conqueror? We were a failing remnant, tamed to mere submission to the coming blow. A train half dead,

through fear of deatha hopeless, unresisting, almost reckless crew, which, in the tossed bark of life, had

given up all pilotage, and resigned themselves to the destructive force of ungoverned winds. Like a few

furrows of unreaped corn, which, left standing on a wide field after the rest is gathered to the garner, are

swiftly borne down by the winter storm. Like a few straggling swallows, which, remaining after their fellows

had, on the first unkind breath of passing autumn, migrated to genial climes, were struck to earth by the first

frost of November. Like a stray sheep that wanders over the sleetbeaten hillside, while the flock is in the

pen, and dies before morningdawn. Like a cloud, like one of many that were spread in impenetrable woof

over the sky, which, when the shepherd north has driven its companions "to drink Antipodean noon," fades

We left the fair margin of the beauteous lake of Geneva, and entered the Alpine ravines; tracing to its source

the brawling Arve, through the rockbound valley of Servox, beside the mighty waterfalls, and under the

shadow of the inaccessible mountains, we travelled on; while the luxuriant walnuttree gave place to the dark

pine, whose musical branches swung in the wind, and whose upright forms had braved a thousand storms

till the verdant sod, the flowery dell, and shrubbery hill were exchanged for the skypiercing, untrodden,

seedless rock, "the bones of the world, waiting to be clothed with every thing necessary to give life and

beauty." Strange that we should seek shelter here! Surely, if, in those countries where earth was wont, like a

tender mother, to nourish her children, we had found her a destroyer, we need not seek it here, where stricken

by keen penury she seems to shudder through her stony veins. Nor were we mistaken in our conjecture. We

vainly sought the vast and ever moving glaciers of Chamonix, rifts of pendant ice, seas of congelated waters,

the leafless groves of tempest battered pines, dells, mere paths for the loud avalanche, and hilltops, the

resort of thunderstorms. Pestilence reigned paramount even here. By the time that day and night, like twin

sisters of equal growth, shared equally their dominion over the hours, one by one, beneath the icecaves,

beside the waters springing from the thawed snows of a thousand winters, another and yet another of the

Yet we were not quite wrong in seeking a scene like this, whereon to close the drama. Nature, true to the last,

consoled us in the very heart of misery. Sublime grandeur of outward objects soothed our hapless hearts, and

were in harmony with our desolation. Many sorrows have befallen man during his chequered course; and

many a woestricken mourner has found himself sole survivor among many. Our misery took its majestic

shape and colouring from the vast ruin, that accompanied and made one with it. Thus on lovely earth, many a

dark ravine contains a brawling stream, shadowed by romantic rocks, threaded by mossy pathsbut all,

except this, wanted the mighty background, the towering Alps, whose snowy capes, or bared ridges, lifted

This solemn harmony of event and situation regulated our feelings, and gave as it were fitting costume to our

last act. Majestic gloom and tragic pomp attended the decease of wretched humanity. The funeral procession

of monarchs of old, was transcended by our splendid shows. Near the sources of the Arveiron we performed

the rites for, four only excepted, the last of the species. Adrian and I, leaving Clara and Evelyn wrapt in

peaceful unobserving slumber, carried the body to this desolate spot, and placed it in those caves of ice

beneath the glacier, which rive and split with the slightest sound, and bring destruction on those within the

cleftsno bird or beast of prey could here profane the frozen form. So, with hushed steps and in silence, we

placed the dead on a bier of ice, and then, departing, stood on the rocky platform beside the river springs. All

hushed as we had been, the very striking of the air with our persons had sufficed to disturb the repose of this

thawless region; and we had hardly left the cavern, before vast blocks of ice, detaching themselves from the

roof, fell, and covered the human image we had deposited within. We had chosen a fair moonlight night, but

our journey thither had been long, and the crescent sank behind the western heights by the time we had

accomplished our purpose. The snowy mountains and blue glaciers shone in their own light. The rugged and

abrupt ravine, which formed one side of Mont Anvert, was opposite to us, the glacier at our side; at our feet

Arveiron, white and foaming, dashed over the pointed rocks that jutted into it, and, with whirring spray and

ceaseless roar, disturbed the stilly night. Yellow lightnings played around the vast dome of Mont Blanc, silent

as the snowclad rock they illuminated; all was bare, wild, and sublime, while the singing of the pines in

melodious murmurings added a gentle interest to the rough magnificence. Now the riving and fall of icy

rocks clave the air; now the thunder of the avalanche burst on our ears. In countries whose features are of less

magnitude, nature betrays her living powers in the foliage of the trees, in the growth of herbage, in the soft

purling of meandering streams; here, endowed with giant attributes, the torrent, the thunderstorm, and the

flow of massive waters, display her activity. Such the churchyard, such the requiem, such the eternal

Nor was it the human form alone which we had placed in this eternal sepulchre, whose obsequies we now

celebrated. With this last victim Plague vanished from the earth. Death had never wanted weapons wherewith

to destroy life, and we, few and weak as we had become, were still exposed to every other shaft with which

his full quiver teemed. But pestilence was absent from among them. For seven years it had had full sway

upon earth; she had trod every nook of our spacious globe; she had mingled with the atmosphere, which as a

cloak enwraps all our fellow creaturesthe inhabitants of native Europethe luxurious Asiaticthe

swarthy African and free American had been vanquished and destroyed by her. Her barbarous tyranny came

Still recurring scenes of misery and pain, the fruits of this distemper, made no more a part of our livesthe

word plague no longer rung in our earsthe aspect of plague incarnate in the human countenance no longer

appeared before our eyes. From this moment I saw plague no more. She abdicated her throne, and despoiled

herself of her imperial sceptre among the ice rocks that surrounded us. She left solitude and silence co heirs

My present feelings are so mingled with the past, that I cannot say whether the knowledge of this change

visited us, as we stood on this sterile spot. It seems to me that it did; that a cloud seemed to pass from over us,

that a weight was taken from the air; that henceforth we breathed more freely, and raised our heads with some

portion of former liberty. Yet we did not hope. We were impressed by the sentiment, that our race was run,

but that plague would not be our destroyer. The coming time was as a mighty river, down which a charmed

boat is driven, whose mortal steersman knows, that the obvious peril is not the one he needs fear, yet that

danger is nigh; and who floats awestruck under beetling precipices, through the dark and turbid

watersseeing in the distance yet stranger and ruder shapes, towards which he is irresistibly impelled. What

would become of us? O for some Delphic oracle, or Pythian maid, to utter the secrets of futurity! O for some

Oedipus to solve the riddle of the cruel Sphinx! Such Oedipus was I to benot divining a word's juggle, but

whose agonizing pangs, and sorrow tainted life were to be the engines, wherewith to lay bare the secrets of

destiny, and reveal the meaning of the enigma, whose explanation closed the history of the human race.

Dim fancies, akin to these, haunted our minds, and instilled feelings not unallied to pleasure, as we stood

beside this silent tomb of nature, reared by these lifeless mountains, above her living veins, choking her vital

principle. "Thus are we left," said Adrian, "two melancholy blasted trees, where once a forest waved. We are

left to mourn, and pine, and die. Yet even now we have our duties, which we must string ourselves to fulfil:

the duty of bestowing pleasure where we can, and by force of love, irradiating with rainbow hues the tempest

of grief. Nor will I repine if in this extremity we preserve what we now possess. Something tells me, Verney,

that we need no longer dread our cruel enemy, and I cling with delight to the oracular voice. Though strange,

it will be sweet to mark the growth of your little boy, and the development of Clara's young heart. In the

midst of a desert world, we are everything to them; and, if we live, it must be our task to make this new mode

of life happy to them. At present this is easy, for their childish ideas do not wander into futurity, and the

stinging craving for sympathy, and all of love of which our nature is susceptible, is not yet awake within

them: we cannot guess what will happen then, when nature asserts her indefeasible and sacred powers; but,

long before that time, we may all be cold, as he who lies in yonder tomb of ice. We need only provide for the

present, and endeavour to fill with pleasant images the inexperienced fancy of your lovely niece. The scenes

which now surround us, vast and sublime as they are, are not such as can best contribute to this work. Nature

is here like our fortunes, grand, but too destructive, bare, and rude, to be able to afford delight to her young

imagination. Let us descend to the sunny plains of Italy. Winter will soon be here, to clothe this wilderness in

double desolation; but we will cross the bleak hilltops, and lead her to scenes of fertility and beauty, where

her path will be adorned with flowers, and the cheery atmosphere inspire pleasure and hope."

In pursuance of this plan we quitted Chamonix on the following day. We had no cause to hasten our steps; no

event was transacted beyond our actual sphere to enchain our resolves, so we yielded to every idle whim, and

deemed our time well spent, when we could behold the passage of the hours without dismay. We loitered

along the lovely Vale of Servox; passed long hours on the bridge, which, crossing the ravine of Arve,

commands a prospect of its pineclothed depths, and the snowy mountains that wall it in. We rambled

through romantic Switzerland; till, fear of coming winter leading us forward, the first days of October found

us in the valley of La Maurienne, which leads to Cenis. I cannot explain the reluctance we felt at leaving this

land of mountains; perhaps it was, that we regarded the Alps as boundaries between our former and our future

state of existence, and so clung fondly to what of old we had loved. Perhaps, because we had now so few

impulses urging to a choice between two modes of action, we were pleased to preserve the existence of one,

and preferred the prospect of what we were to do, to the recollection of what had been done. We felt that for

this year danger was past; and we believed that, for some months, we were secured to each other. There was a

thrilling, agonizing delight in the thoughtit filled the eyes with misty tears, it tore the heart with

tumultuous heavings; frailer than the "snow fall in the river," were we each and allbut we strove to give

life and individuality to the meteoric course of our several existences, and to feel that no moment escaped us

unenjoyed. Thus tottering on the dizzy brink, we were happy. Yes! as we sat beneath the toppling rocks,

where the chamois grazed, and the timid squirrel laid up its hoarddescanting on the charms of nature,

drinking in the while her unalienable beautieswe were, in an empty world, happy.

Yet, O days of joydays, when eye spoke to eye, and voices, sweeter than the music of the swinging

branches of the pines, or rivulet's gentle murmur, answered mineyet, O days replete with beatitude, days of

loved societydays unutterably dear to me forlornpass, O pass before me, making me in your memory

forget what I am. Behold, how my streaming eyes blot this senseless paperbehold, how my features are

convulsed by agonizing throes, at your mere recollection, now that, alone, my tears flow, my lips quiver, my

cries fill the air, unseen, unmarked, unheard! Yet, O yet, days of delight! let me dwell on your longdrawn

As the cold increased upon us, we passed the Alps, and descended into Italy. At the uprising of morn, we sat

at our repast, and cheated our regrets by gay sallies or learned disquisitions. The livelong day we sauntered

on, still keeping in view the end of our journey, but careless of the hour of its completion. As the evening star

shone out, and the orange sunset, far in the west, marked the position of the dear land we had for ever left,

talk, thought enchaining, made the hours fly O that we had lived thus for ever and for ever! Of what

consequence was it to our four hearts, that they alone were the fountains of life in the wide world? As far as

mere individual sentiment was concerned, we had rather be left thus united together, than if, each alone in a

populous desert of unknown men, we had wandered truly companionless till life's last term. In this manner,

we endeavoured to console each other; in this manner, true philosophy taught us to reason.

It was the delight of Adrian and myself to wait on Clara, naming her the little queen of the world, ourselves

her humblest servitors. When we arrived at a town, our first care was to select for her its most choice abode;

to make sure that no harrowing relic remained of its former inhabitants; to seek food for her, and minister to

her wants with assiduous tenderness. Clara entered into our scheme with childish gaiety. Her chief business

was to attend on Evelyn; but it was her sport to array herself in splendid robes, adorn herself with sunny

gems, and ape a princely state. Her religion, deep and pure, did not teach her to refuse to blunt thus the keen

sting of regret; her youthful vivacity made her enter, heart and soul, into these strange masquerades.

We had resolved to pass the ensuing winter at Milan, which, as being a large and luxurious city, would afford

us choice of homes. We had descended the Alps, and left far behind their vast forests and mighty crags. We

entered smiling Italy. Mingled grass and corn grew in her plains, the unpruned vines threw their luxuriant

branches around the elms. The grapes, overripe, had fallen on the ground, or hung purple, or burnished green,

among the red and yellow leaves. The ears of standing corn winnowed to emptiness by the spendthrift winds;

the fallen foliage of the trees, the weedgrown brooks, the dusky olive, now spotted with its blackened fruit;

the chestnuts, to which the squirrel only was harvestman; all plenty, and yet, alas! all poverty, painted in

wondrous hues and fantastic groupings this land of beauty. In the towns, in the voiceless towns, we visited

the churches, adorned by pictures, masterpieces of art, or galleries of statueswhile in this genial clime the

animals, in new found liberty, rambled through the gorgeous palaces, and hardly feared our forgotten aspect.

The dovecoloured oxen turned their full eyes on us, and paced slowly by; a startling throng of silly sheep,

with pattering feet, would start up in some chamber, formerly dedicated to the repose of beauty, and rush,

huddling past us, down the marble staircase into the street, and again in at the first open door, taking

unrebuked possession of hallowed sanctuary, or kingly councilchamber. We no longer started at these

occurrences, nor at worse exhibition of changewhen the palace had become a mere tomb, pregnant with

fetid stench, strewn with the dead; and we could perceive how pestilence and fear had played strange antics,

chasing the luxurious dame to the dank fields and bare cottage; gathering, among carpets of Indian woof, and

beds of silk, the rough peasant, or the deformed halfhuman shape of the wretched beggar.

We arrived at Milan, and stationed ourselves in the Vice Roy's palace. Here we made laws for ourselves,

dividing our day, and fixing distinct occupations for each hour. In the morning we rode in the adjoining

country, or wandered through the palaces, in search of pictures or antiquities. In the evening we assembled to

read or to converse. There were few books that we dared read; few, that did not cruelly deface the painting

we bestowed on our solitude, by recalling combinations and emotions never more to be experienced by us.

Metaphysical disquisition; fiction, which wandering from all reality, lost itself in selfcreated errors; poets of

times so far gone by, that to read of them was as to read of Atlantis and Utopia; or such as referred to nature

only, and the workings of one particular mind; but most of all, talk, varied and ever new, beguiled our hours.

While we paused thus in our onward career towards death, time held on its accustomed course. Still and for

ever did the earth roll on, enthroned in her atmospheric car, speeded by the force of the invisible coursers of

nevererring necessity. And now, this dewdrop in the sky, this ball, ponderous with mountains, lucent with

waves, passing from the short tyranny of watery Pisces and the frigid Ram, entered the radiant demesne of

Taurus and the Twins. There, fanned by vernal airs, the Spirit of Beauty sprung from her cold repose; and,

with winnowing wings and soft pacing feet, set a girdle of verdure around the earth, sporting among the

violets, hiding within the springing foliage of the trees, tripping lightly down the radiant streams into the

sunny deep. "For lo! winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the

singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth forth her green

figs, and the vines, with the tender grape, give a good smell." Thus was it in the time of the ancient regal

Yet how could we miserable hail the approach of this delightful season? We hoped indeed that death did not

now as heretofore walk in its shadow; yet, left as we were alone to each other, we looked in each other's faces

with inquiring eyes, not daring altogether to trust to our presentiments, and endeavouring to divine which

would be the hapless survivor to the other three. We were to pass the summer at the lake of Como, and thither

we removed as soon as spring grew to her maturity, and the snow disappeared from the hill tops. Ten miles

from Como, under the steep heights of the eastern mountains, by the margin of the lake, was a villa called the

Pliniana, from its being built on the site of a fountain, whose periodical ebb and flow is described by the

younger Pliny in his letters. The house had nearly fallen into ruin, till in the year 2090, an English nobleman

had bought it, and fitted it up with every luxury. Two large halls, hung with splendid tapestry, and paved with

marble, opened on each side of a court, of whose two other sides one overlooked the deep dark lake, and the

other was bounded by a mountain, from whose stony side gushed, with roar and splash, the celebrated

fountain. Above, underwood of myrtle and tufts of odorous plants crowned the rock, while the star pointing

giant cypresses reared themselves in the blue air, and the recesses of the hills were adorned with the luxuriant

growth of chestnuttrees. Here we fixed our summer residence. We had a lovely skiff, in which we sailed,

now stemming the midmost waves, now coasting the overhanging and craggy banks, thick sown with

evergreens, which dipped their shining leaves in the waters, and were mirrored in many a little bay and creek

of waters of translucent darkness. Here orange plants bloomed, here birds poured forth melodious hymns; and

here, during spring, the cold snake emerged from the clefts, and basked on the sunny terraces of rock.

Were we not happy in this paradisiacal retreat? If some kind spirit had whispered forgetfulness to us,

methinks we should have been happy here, where the precipitous mountains, nearly pathless, shut from our

view the far fields of desolate earth, and with small exertion of the imagination, we might fancy that the cities

were still resonant with popular hum, and the peasant still guided his plough through the furrow, and that we,

the world's free denizens, enjoyed a voluntary exile, and not a remediless cutting off from our extinct species.

Not one among us enjoyed the beauty of this scenery so much as Clara. Before we quitted Milan, a change

had taken place in her habits and manners. She lost her gaiety, she laid aside her sports, and assumed an

almost vestal plainness of attire. She shunned us, retiring with Evelyn to some distant chamber or silent nook;

nor did she enter into his pastimes with the same zest as she was wont, but would sit and watch him with

sadly tender smiles, and eyes bright with tears, yet without a word of complaint. She approached us timidly,

avoided our caresses, nor shook off her embarrassment till some serious discussion or lofty theme called her

for awhile out of herself. Her beauty grew as a rose, which, opening to the summer wind, discloses leaf after

leaf till the sense aches with its excess of loveliness. A slight and variable colour tinged her cheeks, and her

motions seemed attuned by some hidden harmony of surpassing sweetness. We redoubled our tenderness and

earnest attentions. She received them with grateful smiles, that fled swift as sunny beam from a glittering

Our only acknowledged point of sympathy with her, appeared to be Evelyn. This dear little fellow was a

comforter and delight to us beyond all words. His buoyant spirit, and his innocent ignorance of our vast

calamity, were balm to us, whose thoughts and feelings were overwrought and spun out in the immensity of

speculative sorrow. To cherish, to caress, to amuse him was the common task of all. Clara, who felt towards

him in some degree like a young mother, gratefully acknowledged our kindness towards him. To me, O! to

me, who saw the clear brows and soft eyes of the beloved of my heart, my lost and ever dear Idris, reborn in

his gentle face, to me he was dear even to pain; if I pressed him to my heart, methought I clasped a real and

living part of her, who had lain there through long years of youthful happiness.

It was the custom of Adrian and myself to go out each day in our skiff to forage in the adjacent country. In

these expeditions we were seldom accompanied by Clara or her little charge, but our return was an hour of

hilarity. Evelyn ransacked our stores with childish eagerness, and we always brought some new found gift for

our fair companion. Then too we made discoveries of lovely scenes or gay palaces, whither in the evening we

all proceeded. Our sailing expeditions were most divine, and with a fair wind or transverse course we cut the

liquid waves; and, if talk failed under the pressure of thought, I had my clarinet with me, which awoke the

echoes, and gave the change to our careful minds. Clara at such times often returned to her former habits of

free converse and gay sally; and though our four hearts alone beat in the world, those four hearts were happy.

One day, on our return from the town of Como, with a laden boat, we expected as usual to be met at the port

by Clara and Evelyn, and we were somewhat surprised to see the beach vacant. I, as my nature prompted,

would not prognosticate evil, but explained it away as a mere casual incident. Not so Adrian. He was seized

with sudden trembling and apprehension, and he called to me with vehemence to steer quickly for land, and,

when near, leapt from the boat, half falling into the water; and, scrambling up the steep bank, hastened along

the narrow strip of garden, the only level space between the lake and the mountain. I followed without delay;

the garden and inner court were empty, so was the house, whose every room we visited. Adrian called loudly

upon Clara's name, and was about to rush up the near mountainpath, when the door of a summerhouse at

the end of the garden slowly opened, and Clara appeared, not advancing towards us, but leaning against a

column of the building with blanched cheeks, in a posture of utter despondency. Adrian sprang towards her

with a cry of joy, and folded her delightedly in his arms. She withdrew from his embrace, and, without a

word, again entered the summerhouse. Her quivering lips, her despairing heart refused to afford her voice to

express our misfortune. Poor little Evelyn had, while playing with her, been seized with sudden fever, and

For a whole fortnight we unceasingly watched beside the poor child, as his life declined under the ravages of

a virulent typhus. His little form and tiny lineaments encaged the embryo of the worldspanning mind of

man. Man's nature, brimful of passions and affections, would have had an home in that little heart, whose

swift pulsations hurried towards their close. His small hand's fine mechanism, now flaccid and unbent, would

in the growth of sinew and muscle, have achieved works of beauty or of strength. His tender rosy feet would

have trod in firm manhood the bowers and glades of earththese reflections were now of little use: he lay,

We watched at his bedside, and when the access of fever was on him, we neither spoke nor looked at each

other, marking only his obstructed breath and the mortal glow that tinged his sunken cheek, the heavy death

that weighed on his eyelids. It is a trite evasion to say, that words could not express our long drawn agony;

yet how can words image sensations, whose tormenting keenness throw us back, as it were, on the deep roots

and hidden foundations of our nature, which shake our being with earthquakethroe, so that we leave to

confide in accustomed feelings which like motherearth support us, and cling to some vain imagination or

deceitful hope, which will soon be buried in the ruins occasioned by the final shock. I have called that period

a fortnight, which we passed watching the changes of the sweet child's maladyand such it might have

beenat night, we wondered to find another day gone, while each particular hour seemed endless. Day and

night were exchanged for one another uncounted; we slept hardly at all, nor did we even quit his room, except

when a pang of grief seized us, and we retired from each other for a short period to conceal our sobs and

tears. We endeavoured in vain to abstract Clara from this deplorable scene. She sat, hour after hour, looking

at him, now softly arranging his pillow, and, while he had power to swallow, administered his drink. At

length the moment of his death came: the blood paused in its flowhis eyes opened, and then closed again:

without convulsion or sigh, the frail tenement was left vacant of its spiritual inhabitant.

I have heard that the sight of the dead has confirmed materialists in their belief. I ever felt otherwise. Was

that my childthat moveless decaying inanimation? My child was enraptured by my caresses; his dear voice

clothed with meaning articulations his thoughts, otherwise inaccessible; his smile was a ray of the soul, and

the same soul sat upon its throne in his eyes. I turn from this mockery of what he was. Take, O earth, thy

debt! freely and for ever I consign to thee the garb thou didst afford. But thou, sweet child, amiable and

beloved boy, either thy spirit has sought a fitter dwelling, or, shrined in my heart, thou livest while it lives.

We placed his remains under a cypress, the upright mountain being scooped out to receive them. And then

Clara said, "If you wish me to live, take me from hence. There is something in this scene of transcendent

beauty, in these trees, and hills and waves, that for ever whisper to me, leave thy cumbrous flesh, and make a

So on the fifteenth of August we bade adieu to our villa, and the embowering shades of this abode of beauty;

to calm bay and noisy waterfall; to Evelyn's little grave we bade farewell! and then, with heavy hearts, we

NOWsoft awhilehave I arrived so near the end? Yes! it is all over nowa step or two over those new

made graves, and the wearisome way is done. Can I accomplish my task? Can I streak my paper with words

capacious of the grand conclusion? Arise, black Melancholy! quit thy Cimmerian solitude! Bring with thee

murky fogs from hell, which may drink up the day; bring blight and pestiferous exhalations, which, entering

the hollow caverns and breathing places of earth, may fill her stony veins with corruption, so that not only

herbage may no longer flourish, the trees may rot, and the rivers run with gallbut the everlasting mountains

be decomposed, and the mighty deep putrefy, and the genial atmosphere which clips the globe, lose all

powers of generation and sustenance. Do this, sad visaged power, while I write, while eyes read these pages.

And who will read them? Beware, tender offspring of the re born worldbeware, fair being, with human

heart, yet untamed by care, and human brow, yet unploughed by timebeware, lest the cheerful current of

thy blood be checked, thy golden locks turn grey, thy sweet dimpling smiles be changed to fixed, harsh

wrinkles! Let not day look on these lines, lest garish day waste, turn pale, and die. Seek a cypress grove,

whose moaning boughs will be harmony befitting; seek some cave, deep embowered in earth's dark entrails,

where no light will penetrate, save that which struggles, red and flickering, through a single fissure, staining

There is a painful confusion in my brain, which refuses to delineate distinctly succeeding events. Sometimes

the irradiation of my friend's gentle smile comes before me; and methinks its light spans and fills

We quitted Como, and in compliance with Adrian's earnest desire, we took Venice in our way to Rome.

There was something to the English peculiarly attractive in the idea of this wave encircled,

islandenthroned city. Adrian had never seen it. We went down the Po and the Brenta in a boat; and, the days

proving intolerably hot, we rested in the bordering palaces during the day, travelling through the night, when

darkness made the bordering banks indistinct, and our solitude less remarkable; when the wandering moon lit

the waves that divided before our prow, and the nightwind filled our sails, and the murmuring stream,

waving trees, and swelling canvass, accorded in harmonious strain. Clara, long overcome by excessive grief,

had to a great degree cast aside her timid, cold reserve, and received our attentions with grateful tenderness.

While Adrian with poetic fervour discoursed of the glorious nations of the dead, of the beauteous earth and

the fate of man, she crept near him, drinking in his speech with silent pleasure. We banished from our talk,

and as much as possible from our thoughts, the knowledge of our desolation. And it would be incredible to an

inhabitant of cities, to one among a busy throng, to what extent we succeeded. It was as a man confined in a

dungeon, whose small and grated rift at first renders the doubtful light more sensibly obscure, till, the visual

orb having drunk in the beam, and adapted itself to its scantiness, he finds that clear noon inhabits his cell. So

we, a simple triad on empty earth, were multiplied to each other, till we became all in all. We stood like trees,

whose roots are loosened by the wind, which support one another, leaning and clinging with increased

Thus we floated down the widening stream of the Po, sleeping when the cicale sang, awake with the stars.

We entered the narrower banks of the Brenta, and arrived at the shore of the Laguna at sunrise on the sixth of

September. The bright orb slowly rose from behind its cupolas and towers, and shed its penetrating light upon

the glassy waters. Wrecks of gondolas, and some few uninjured ones, were strewed on the beach at Fusina.

We embarked in one of these for the widowed daughter of ocean, who, abandoned and fallen, sat forlorn on

her propping isles, looking towards the far mountains of Greece. We rowed lightly over the Laguna, and

entered Canale Grande. The tide ebbed sullenly from out the broken portals and violated halls of Venice: sea

weed and sea monsters were left on the blackened marble, while the salt ooze defaced the matchless works of

art that adorned their walls, and the sea gull flew out from the shattered window. In the midst of this

appalling ruin of the monuments of man's power, nature asserted her ascendancy, and shone more beauteous

from the contrast. The radiant waters hardly trembled, while the rippling waves made many sided mirrors to

the sun; the blue immensity, seen beyond Lido, stretched far, unspecked by boat, so tranquil, so lovely, that it

seemed to invite us to quit the land strewn with ruins, and to seek refuge from sorrow and fear on its placid

We saw the ruins of this hapless city from the height of the tower of San Marco, immediately under us, and

turned with sickening hearts to the sea, which, though it be a grave, rears no monument, discloses no ruin.

Evening had come apace. The sun set in calm majesty behind the misty summits of the Apennines, and its

golden and roseate hues painted the mountains of the opposite shore. "That land," said Adrian, "tinged with

the last glories of the day, is Greece." Greece! The sound had a responsive chord in the bosom of Clara. She

vehemently reminded us that we had promised to take her once again to Greece, to the tomb of her parents.

Why go to Rome? what should we do at Rome? We might take one of the many vessels to be found here,

I objected the dangers of ocean, and the distance of the mountains we saw, from Athens; a distance which,

from the savage uncultivation of the country, was almost impassable. Adrian, who was delighted with Clara's

proposal, obviated these objections. The season was favourable; the northwest that blew would take us

transversely across the gulf; and then we might find, in some abandoned port, a light Greek caique, adapted

for such navigation, and run down the coast of the Morea, and, passing over the Isthmus of Corinth, without

much land travelling or fatigue, find ourselves at Athens. This appeared to me wild talk; but the sea,

glowing with a thousand purple hues, looked so brilliant and safe; my beloved companions were so earnest,

so determined, that, when Adrian said, "Well, though it is not exactly what you wish, yet consent, to please

me"I could no longer refuse. That evening we selected a vessel, whose size just seemed fitted for our

enterprise; we bent the sails and put the rigging in order, and reposing that night in one of the city's thousand

Thus said Adrian, quoting a translation of Moschus's poem, as in the clear morning light, we rowed over the

But my friends declared that such verses were evil augury; so in cheerful mood we left the shallow waters,

and, when out at sea, unfurled our sails to catch the favourable breeze. The laughing morning air filled them,

while sunlight bathed earth, sky and oceanthe placid waves divided to receive our keel, and playfully

kissed the dark sides of our little skiff, murmuring a welcome; as land receded, still the blue expanse, most

waveless, twin sister to the azure empyrean, afforded smooth conduct to our bark. As the air and waters were

tranquil and balmy, so were our minds steeped in quiet. In comparison with the unstained deep, funereal earth

appeared a grave, its high rocks and stately mountains were but monuments, its trees the plumes of a hearse,

the brooks and rivers brackish with tears for departed man. Farewell to desolate townsto fields with their

savage intermixture of corn and weedsto ever multiplying relics of our lost species. Ocean, we commit

ourselves to theeeven as the patriarch of old floated above the drowned world, let us be saved, as thus we

Adrian sat at the helm; I attended to the rigging, the breeze right aft filled our swelling canvas, and we ran

before it over the untroubled deep. The wind died away at noon; its idle breath just permitted us to hold our

course. As lazy, fairweather sailors, careless of the coming hour, we talked gaily of our coasting voyage, of

our arrival at Athens. We would make our home of one of the Cyclades, and there in myrtlegroves, amidst

perpetual spring, fanned by the wholesome seabreezeswe would live long years in beatific unionWas

The sun passed its zenith, and lingered down the stainless floor of heaven. Lying in the boat, my face turned

up to the sky, I thought I saw on its blue white, marbled streaks, so slight, so immaterial, that now I

saidThey are thereand now, It is a mere imagination. A sudden fear stung me while I gazed; and,

starting up, and running to the prow,as I stood, my hair was gently lifted on my browa dark line of

ripples appeared to the east, gaining rapidly on usmy breathless remark to Adrian, was followed by the

flapping of the canvas, as the adverse wind struck it, and our boat lurchedswift as speech, the web of the

storm thickened over head, the sun went down red, the dark sea was strewed with foam, and our skiff rose

Behold us now in our frail tenement, hemmed in by hungry, roaring waves, buffeted by winds. In the inky

east two vast clouds, sailing contrary ways, met; the lightning leapt forth, and the hoarse thunder muttered.

Again in the south, the clouds replied, and the forked stream of fire running along the black sky, showed us

the appalling piles of clouds, now met and obliterated by the heaving waves. Great God! And we alonewe

threealonealonesole dwellers on the sea and on the earth, we three must perish! The vast universe, its

myriad worlds, and the plains of boundless earth which we had leftthe extent of shoreless sea

aroundcontracted to my viewthey and all that they contained, shrunk up to one point, even to our

A convulsion of despair crossed the lovebeaming face of Adrian, while with set teeth he murmured, "Yet

they shall be saved!" Clara, visited by an human pang, pale and trembling, crept near himhe looked on her

with an encouraging smile "Do you fear, sweet girl? O, do not fear, we shall soon be on shore!"

The darkness prevented me from seeing the changes of her countenance; but her voice was clear and sweet,

as she replied, "Why should I fear? neither sea nor storm can harm us, if mighty destiny or the ruler of

destiny does not permit. And then the stinging fear of surviving either of you, is not here one death will

Meanwhile we took in all our sails, save a jib; and, as soon as we might without danger, changed our course,

running with the wind for the Italian shore. Dark night mixed everything; we hardly discerned the white

crests of the murderous surges, except when lightning made brief noon, and drank the darkness, showing us

our danger, and restoring us to double night. We were all silent, except when Adrian, as steersman, made an

encouraging observation. Our little shell obeyed the rudder miraculously well, and ran along on the top of the

waves, as if she had been an offspring of the sea, and the angry mother sheltered her endangered child.

I sat at the prow, watching our course; when suddenly I heard the waters break with redoubled fury. We were

certainly near the shoreat the same time I cried, "About there!" and a broad lightning filling the concave,

showed us for one moment the level beach ahead, disclosing even the sands, and stunted, ooze sprinkled

beds of reeds, that grew at high water mark. Again it was dark, and we drew in our breath with such content

as one may, who, while fragments of volcanohurled rock darken the air, sees a vast mass ploughing the

ground immediately at his feet. What to do we knew notthe breakers here, there, everywhere, encompassed

usthey roared, and dashed, and flung their hated spray in our faces. With considerable difficulty and

danger we succeeded at length in altering our course, and stretched out from shore. I urged my companions to

prepare for the wreck of our little skiff, and to bind themselves to some oar or spar which might suffice to

float them. I was myself an excellent swimmerthe very sight of the sea was wont to raise in me such

sensations, as a huntsman experiences, when he hears a pack of hounds in full cry; I loved to feel the waves

wrap me and strive to overpower me; while I, lord of myself, moved this way or that, in spite of their angry

buffetings. Adrian also could swimbut the weakness of his frame prevented him from feeling pleasure in

the exercise, or acquiring any great expertness. But what power could the strongest swimmer oppose to the

overpowering violence of ocean in its fury? My efforts to prepare my companions were rendered nearly

futilefor the roaring breakers prevented our hearing one another speak, and the waves, that broke

continually over our boat, obliged me to exert all my strength in lading the water out, as fast as it came in.

The while darkness, palpable and rayless, hemmed us round, dissipated only by the lightning; sometimes we

beheld thunderbolts, fiery red, fall into the sea, and at intervals vast spouts stooped from the clouds, churning

the wild ocean, which rose to meet them; while the fierce gale bore the rack onwards, and they were lost in

the chaotic mingling of sky and sea. Our gunwales had been torn away, our single sail had been rent to

ribbands, and borne down the stream of the wind. We had cut away our mast, and lightened the boat of all she

contained Clara attempted to assist me in heaving the water from the hold, and, as she turned her eyes to

look on the lightning, I could discern by that momentary gleam, that resignation had conquered every fear.

We have a power given us in any worst extremity, which props the else feeble mind of man, and enables us to

endure the most savage tortures with a stillness of soul which in hours of happiness we could not have

imagined. A calm, more dreadful in truth than the tempest, allayed the wild beatings of my hearta calm

like that of the gamester, the suicide, and the murderer, when the last die is on the point of being castwhile

Hours passed thushours which might write old age on the face of beardless youth, and grizzle the silky hair

of infancy hours, while the chaotic uproar continued, while each dread gust transcended in fury the one

before, and our skiff hung on the breaking wave, and then rushed into the valley below, and trembled and

spun between the watery precipices that seemed most to meet above her. For a moment the gale paused, and

ocean sank to comparative silenceit was a breathless interval; the wind which, as a practised leaper, had

gathered itself up before it sprung, now with terrific roar rushed over the sea, and the waves struck our stern.

Adrian exclaimed that the rudder was gone;"We are lost," cried Clara, "Save yourselvesO save

yourselves!" The lightning showed me the poor girl half buried in the water at the bottom of the boat; as she

was sinking in it Adrian caught her up, and sustained her in his arms. We were without a rudderwe rushed

prow foremost into the vast billows piled up aheadthey broke over and filled the tiny skiff; one scream I

heardone cry that we were gone, I uttered; I found myself in the waters; darkness was around. When the

light of the tempest flashed, I saw the keel of our upset boat close to meI clung to this, grasping it with

clenched hand and nails, while I endeavoured during each flash to discover any appearance of my

companions. I thought I saw Adrian at no great distance from me, clinging to an oar; I sprung from my hold,

and with energy beyond my human strength, I dashed aside the waters as I strove to lay hold of him. As that

hope failed, instinctive love of life animated me, and feelings of contention, as if a hostile will combated with

mine. I breasted the surges, and flung them from me, as I would the opposing front and sharpened claws of a

lion about to enfang my bosom. When I had been beaten down by one wave, I rose on another, while I felt

Ever since the storm had carried us near the shore, we had never attained any great distance from it. With

every flash I saw the bordering coast; yet the progress I made was small, while each wave, as it receded,

carried me back into ocean's far abysses. At one moment I felt my foot touch the sand, and then again I was

in deep water; my arms began to lose their power of motion; my breath failed me under the influence of the

strangling watersa thousand wild and delirious thoughts crossed me: as well as I can now recall them, my

chief feeling was, how sweet it would be to lay my head on the quiet earth, where the surges would no longer

strike my weakened frame, nor the sound of waters ring in my earsto attain this repose, not to save my life,

I made a last effortthe shelving shore suddenly presented a footing for me. I rose, and was again thrown

down by the breakersa point of rock to which I was enabled to cling, gave me a moment's respite; and

then, taking advantage of the ebbing of the waves, I ran forwardsgained the dry sands, and fell senseless

I must have lain long deprived of life; for when first, with a sickening feeling, I unclosed my eyes, the light of

morning met them. Great change had taken place meanwhile: grey dawn dappled the flying clouds, which

sped onwards, leaving visible at intervals vast lakes of pure ether. A fountain of light arose in an increasing

stream from the east, behind the waves of the Adriatic, changing the grey to a roseate hue, and then flooding

A kind of stupor followed my fainting; my senses were alive, but memory was extinct. The blessed respite

was shorta snake lurked near me to sting me into lifeon the first retrospective emotion I would have

started up, but my limbs refused to obey me; my knees trembled, the muscles had lost all power. I still

believed that I might find one of my beloved companions cast like me, half alive, on the beach; and I strove

in every way to restore my frame to the use of its animal functions. I wrung the brine from my hair; and the

rays of the risen sun soon visited me with genial warmth. With the restoration of my bodily powers, my mind

became in some degree aware of the universe of misery, henceforth to be its dwelling. I ran to the water's

edge, calling on the beloved names. Ocean drank in, and absorbed my feeble voice, replying with pitiless

roar. I climbed a near tree: the level sands bounded by a pine forest, and the sea clipped round by the horizon,

was all that I could discern. In vain I extended my researches along the beach; the mast we had thrown

overboard, with tangled cordage, and remnants of a sail, was the sole relic land received of our wreck.

Sometimes I stood still, and wrung my hands. I accused earth and skythe universal machine and the

Almighty power that misdirected it. Again I threw myself on the sands, and then the sighing wind, mimicking

a human cry, roused me to bitter, fallacious hope. Assuredly if any little bark or smallest canoe had been near,

I should have sought the savage plains of ocean, found the dear remains of my lost ones, and clinging round

The day passed thus; each moment contained eternity; although when hour after hour had gone by, I

wondered at the quick flight of time. Yet even now I had not drunk the bitter potion to the dregs; I was not

yet persuaded of my loss; I did not yet feel in every pulsation, in every nerve, in every thought, that I

The day had clouded over, and a drizzling rain set in at sunset. Even the eternal skies weep, I thought; is there

any shame then, that mortal man should spend himself in tears? I remembered the ancient fables, in which

human beings are described as dissolving away through weeping into evergushing fountains. Ah! that so it

were; and then my destiny would be in some sort akin to the watery death of Adrian and Clara. Oh! grief is

fantastic; it weaves a web on which to trace the history of its woe from every form and change around; it

incorporates itself with all living nature; it finds sustenance in every object; as light, it fills all things, and,

I had wandered in my search to some distance from the spot on which I had been cast, and came to one of

those watch towers, which at stated distances line the Italian shore. I was glad of shelter, glad to find a work

of human hands, after I had gazed so long on nature's drear barrenness; so I entered, and ascended the rough

winding staircase into the guardroom. So far was fate kind, that no harrowing vestige remained of its former

inhabitants; a few planks laid across two iron trestles, and strewed with the dried leaves of Indian corn, was

the bed presented to me; and an open chest, containing some half mouldered biscuit, awakened an appetite,

which perhaps existed before, but of which, until now, I was not aware. Thirst also, violent and parching, the

result of the seawater I had drank, and of the exhaustion of my frame, tormented me. Kind nature had gifted

the supply of these wants with pleasurable sensations, so that Ieven I!was refreshed and calmed, as I ate

of this sorry fare, and drank a little of the sour wine which half filled a flask left in this abandoned dwelling.

Then I stretched myself on the bed, not to be disdained by the victim of shipwreck. The earthy smell of the

dried leaves was balm to my sense after the hateful odour of seaweed. I forgot my state of loneliness. I

neither looked backward nor forward; my senses were hushed to repose; I fell asleep and dreamed of all dear

inland scenes, of haymakers, of the shepherd's whistle to his dog, when he demanded his help to drive the

flock to fold; of sights and sounds peculiar to my boyhood's mountain life, which I had long forgotten.

I awoke in a painful agonyfor I fancied that ocean, breaking its bounds, carried away the fixed continent

and deep rooted mountains, together with the streams I loved, the woods, and the flocksit raged around,

with that continued and dreadful roar which had accompanied the last wreck of surviving humanity. As my

waking sense returned, the bare walls of the guard room closed round me, and the rain pattered against the

single window. How dreadful it is, to emerge from the oblivion of slumber, and to receive as a good morrow

the mute wailing of one's own hapless heartto return from the land of deceptive dreams, to the heavy

knowledge of unchanged disaster! Thus was it with me, now, and for ever! The sting of other griefs might

be blunted by time; and even mine yielded sometimes during the day, to the pleasure inspired by the

imagination or the senses; but I never look first upon the morninglight but with my fingers pressed tight on

my bursting heart, and my soul deluged with the interminable flood of hopeless misery. Now I awoke for the

first time in the dead worldI awoke aloneand the dull dirge of the sea, heard even amidst the rain,

recalled me to the reflection of the wretch I had become. The sound came like a reproach, a scofflike the

sting of remorse in the soulI gaspedthe veins and muscles of my throat swelled, suffocating me. I put

my fingers to my ears, I buried my head in the leaves of my couch, I would have dived to the centre to lose

But another task must be mineagain I visited the detested beachagain I vainly looked far and

wideagain I raised my unanswered cry, lifting up the only voice that could ever again force the mute air to

What a pitiable, forlorn, disconsolate being I was! My very aspect and garb told the tale of my despair. My

hair was matted and wildmy limbs soiled with salt ooze; while at sea, I had thrown off those of my

garments that encumbered me, and the rain drenched the thin summerclothing I had retainedmy feet were

bare, and the stunted reeds and broken shells made them bleedthe while, I hurried to and fro, now looking

earnestly on some distant rock which, islanded in the sands, bore for a moment a deceptive appearancenow

For a moment I compared myself to that monarch of the wasteRobinson Crusoe. We had been both thrown

companionless he on the shore of a desolate island: I on that of a desolate world. I was rich in the so called

goods of life. If I turned my steps from the near barren scene, and entered any of the earth's million cities, I

should find their wealth stored up for my accommodationclothes, food, books, and a choice of dwelling

beyond the command of the princes of former times every climate was subject to my selection, while he

was obliged to toil in the acquirement of every necessary, and was the inhabitant of a tropical island, against

whose heats and storms he could obtain small shelter.Viewing the question thus, who would not have

preferred the Sybarite enjoyments I could command, the philosophic leisure, and ample intellectual resources,

to his life of labour and peril? Yet he was far happier than I: for he could hope, nor hope in vainthe

destined vessel at last arrived, to bear him to countrymen and kindred, where the events of his solitude

became a fireside tale. To none could I ever relate the story of my adversity; no hope had I. He knew that,

beyond the ocean which begirt his lonely island, thousands lived whom the sun enlightened when it shone

also on him: beneath the meridian sun and visiting moon, I alone bore human features; I alone could give

articulation to thought; and, when I slept, both day and night were unbeheld of any. He had fled from his

fellows, and was transported with terror at the print of a human foot. I would have knelt down and

worshipped the same. The wild and cruel Caribbee, the merciless Cannibalor worse than these, the

uncouth, brute, and remorseless veteran in the vices of civilization, would have been to me a beloved

companion, a treasure dearly prizedhis nature would be kin to mine; his form cast in the same mould;

human blood would flow in his veins; a human sympathy must link us for ever. It cannot be that I shall never

behold a fellow being more!never!never!not in the course of years! Shall I wake, and speak to

none, pass the interminable hours, my soul, islanded in the world, a solitary point, surrounded by vacuum?

Will day follow day endlessly thus?No! no! a God rules the worldprovidence has not exchanged its

golden sceptre for an aspic's sting. Away! let me fly from the ocean grave, let me depart from this barren

nook, paled in, as it is, from access by its own desolateness; let me tread once again the paved towns; step

over the threshold of man's dwellings, and most certainly I shall find this thought a horrible vision a

I entered Ravenna, (the town nearest to the spot whereon I had been cast), before the second sun had set on

the empty world; I saw many living creatures; oxen, and horses, and dogs, but there was no man among them;

I entered a cottage, it was vacant; I ascended the marble stairs of a palace, the bats and the owls were nestled

in the tapestry; I stepped softly, not to awaken the sleeping town: I rebuked a dog, that by yelping disturbed

the sacred stillness; I would not believe that all was as it seemedThe world was not dead, but I was mad; I

was deprived of sight, hearing, and sense of touch; I was labouring under the force of a spell, which permitted

me to behold all sights of earth, except its human inhabitants; they were pursuing their ordinary labours.

Every house had its inmate; but I could not perceive them. If I could have deluded myself into a belief of this

kind, I should have been far more satisfied. But my brain, tenacious of its reason, refused to lend itself to

such imaginationsand though I endeavoured to play the antic to myself, I knew that I, the offspring of man,

The sun sank behind the western hills; I had fasted since the preceding evening, but, though faint and weary, I

loathed food, nor ceased, while yet a ray of light remained, to pace the lonely streets. Night came on, and sent

every living creature but me to the bosom of its mate. It was my solace, to blunt my mental agony by

personal hardshipof the thousand beds around, I would not seek the luxury of one; I lay down on the

pavement,a cold marble step served me for a pillow midnight came; and then, though not before, did

my wearied lids shut out the sight of the twinkling stars, and their reflex on the pavement near. Thus I passed

I AWOKE in the morning, just as the higher windows of the lofty houses received the first beams of the

rising sun. The birds were chirping, perched on the windows sills and deserted thresholds of the doors. I

awoke, and my first thought was, Adrian and Clara are dead. I no longer shall be hailed by their

goodmorrowor pass the long day in their society. I shall never see them more. The ocean has robbed me

of themstolen their hearts of love from their breasts, and given over to corruption what was dearer to me

I was an untaught shepherdboy, when Adrian deigned to confer on me his friendship. The best years of my

life had been passed with him. All I had possessed of this world's goods, of happiness, knowledge, or

virtueI owed to him. He had, in his person, his intellect, and rare qualities, given a glory to my life, which

without him it had never known. Beyond all other beings he had taught me, that goodness, pure and single,

can be an attribute of man. It was a sight for angels to congregate to behold, to view him lead, govern, and

My lovely Clara also was lost to meshe who last of the daughters of man, exhibited all those feminine and

maiden virtues, which poets, painters, and sculptors, have in their various languages strove to express. Yet, as

far as she was concerned, could I lament that she was removed in early youth from the certain advent of

misery? Pure she was of soul, and all her intents were holy. But her heart was the throne of love, and the

sensibility her lovely countenance expressed, was the prophet of many woes, not the less deep and drear,

These two wondrously endowed beings had been spared from the universal wreck, to be my companions

during the last year of solitude. I had felt, while they were with me, all their worth. I was conscious that every

other sentiment, regret, or passion had by degrees merged into a yearning, clinging affection for them. I had

not forgotten the sweet partner of my youth, mother of my children, my adored Idris; but I saw at least a part

of her spirit alive again in her brother; and after, that by Evelyn's death I had lost what most dearly recalled

her to me; I enshrined her memory in Adrian's form, and endeavoured to confound the two dear ideas. I

sound the depths of my heart, and try in vain to draw thence the expressions that can typify my love for these

remnants of my race. If regret and sorrow came athwart me, as well it might in our solitary and uncertain

state, the clear tones of Adrian's voice, and his fervent look, dissipated the gloom; or I was cheered unaware

by the mild content and sweet resignation Clara's cloudless brow and deep blue eyes expressed. They were all

to methe suns of my benighted soulrepose in my weariness slumber in my sleepless woe. Ill, most ill,

with disjointed words, bare and weak, have I expressed the feeling with which I clung to them. I would have

wound myself like ivy inextricably round them, so that the same blow might destroy us. I would have entered

Never shall I see them more. I am bereft of their dear conversebereft of sight of them. I am a tree rent by

lightning; never will the bark close over the bared fibres never will their quivering life, torn by the winds,

receive the opiate of a moment's balm. I am alone in the worldbut that expression as yet was less pregnant

The tide of thought and feeling rolls on for ever the same, though the banks and shapes around, which govern

its course, and the reflection in the wave, vary. Thus the sentiment of immediate loss in some sort decayed,

while that of utter, irremediable loneliness grew on me with time. Three days I wandered through

Ravennanow thinking only of the beloved beings who slept in the oozy caves of oceannow looking

forward on the dread blank before me; shuddering to make an onward stepwrithing at each change that

For three days I wandered to and fro in this melancholy town. I passed whole hours in going from house to

house, listening whether I could detect some lurking sign of human existence. Sometimes I rang at a bell; it

tinkled through the vaulted rooms, and silence succeeded to the sound. I called myself hopeless, yet still I

hoped; and still disappointment ushered in the hours, intruding the cold, sharp steel which first pierced me,

into the aching festering wound. I fed like a wild beast, which seizes its food only when stung by intolerable

hunger. I did not change my garb, or seek the shelter of a roof, during all those days. Burning heats, nervous

irritation, a ceaseless, but confused flow of thought, sleepless nights, and days instinct with a frenzy of

As the fever of my blood increased, a desire of wandering came upon me. I remember, that the sun had set on

the fifth day after my wreck, when, without purpose or aim, I quitted the town of Ravenna. I must have been

very ill. Had I been possessed by more or less of delirium, that night had surely been my last; for, as I

continued to walk on the banks of the Mantone, whose upward course I followed, I looked wistfully on the

stream, acknowledging to myself that its pellucid waves could medicine my woes for ever, and was unable to

account to myself for my tardiness in seeking their shelter from the poisoned arrows of thought, that were

piercing me through and through. I walked a considerable part of the night, and excessive weariness at length

conquered my repugnance to the availing myself of the deserted habitations of my species. The waning

moon, which had just risen, showed me a cottage, whose neat entrance and trim garden reminded me of my

own England. I lifted up the latch of the door and entered. A kitchen first presented itself, where, guided by

the moon beams, I found materials for striking a light. Within this was a bed room; the couch was furnished

with sheets of snowy whiteness; the wood piled on the hearth, and an array as for a meal, might almost have

deceived me into the dear belief that I had here found what I had so long soughtone survivor, a companion

for my loneliness, a solace to my despair. I steeled myself against the delusion; the room itself was vacant: it

was only prudent, I repeated to myself, to examine the rest of the house. I fancied that I was proof against the

expectation; yet my heart beat audibly, as I laid my hand on the lock of each door, and it sunk again, when I

perceived in each the same vacancy. Dark and silent they were as vaults; so I returned to the first chamber,

wondering what sightless host had spread the materials for my repast, and my repose. I drew a chair to the

table, and examined what the viands were of which I was to partake. In truth it was a death feast! The bread

was blue and mouldy; the cheese lay a heap of dust. I did not dare examine the other dishes; a troop of ants

passed in a double line across the table cloth; every utensil was covered with dust, with cobwebs, and

myriads of dead flies: these were objects each and all betokening the fallaciousness of my expectations. Tears

rushed into my eyes; surely this was a wanton display of the power of the destroyer. What had I done, that

each sensitive nerve was thus to be anatomized? Yet why complain more now than ever? This vacant cottage

revealed no new sorrowthe world was empty; mankind was deadI knew it wellwhy quarrel therefore

with an acknowledged and stale truth? Yet, as I said, I had hoped in the very heart of despair, so that every

new impression of the hard cut reality on my soul brought with it a fresh pang, telling me the yet unstudied

lesson, that neither change of place nor time could bring alleviation to my misery, but that, as I now was, I

must continue, day after day, month after month, year after year, while I lived. I hardly dared conjecture what

space of time that expression implied. It is true, I was no longer in the first blush of manhood; neither had I

declined far in the vale of yearsmen have accounted mine the prime of life: I had just entered my

thirtyseventh year; every limb was as well knit, every articulation as true, as when I had acted the shepherd

on the hills of Cumberland; and with these advantages I was to commence the train of solitary life. Such were

The shelter, however, and less disturbed repose which I enjoyed, restored me the following morning to a

greater portion of health and strength, than I had experienced since my fatal shipwreck. Among the stores I

had discovered on searching the cottage the preceding night, was a quantity of dried grapes; these refreshed

me in the morning, as I left my lodging and proceeded towards a town which I discerned at no great distance.

As far as I could divine, it must have been Forli. I entered with pleasure its wide and grassy streets. All, it is

true, pictured the excess of desolation; yet I loved to find myself in those spots which had been the abode of

my fellow creatures. I delighted to traverse street after street, to look up at the tall houses, and repeat to

myself, once they contained beings similar to myselfI was not always the wretch I am now. The wide

square of Forli, the arcade around it, its light and pleasant aspect cheered me. I was pleased with the idea,

that, if the earth should be again peopled, we, the lost race, would, in the relics left behind, present no

I entered one of the palaces, and opened the door of a magnificent saloon. I startedI looked again with

renewed wonder. What wildlooking, unkempt, halfnaked savage was that before me? The surprise was

I perceived that it was I myself whom I beheld in a large mirror at the end of the hall. No wonder that the

lover of the princely Idris should fail to recognize himself in the miserable object there portrayed. My tattered

dress was that in which I had crawled half alive from the tempestuous sea. My long and tangled hair hung in

elf locks on my browmy dark eyes, now hollow and wild, gleamed from under themmy cheeks were

discoloured by the jaundice, which (the effect of misery and neglect) suffused my skin, and were half hid by a

Yet why should I not remain thus, I thought; the world is dead, and this squalid attire is a fitter mourning garb

than the foppery of a black suit. And thus, methinks, I should have remained, had not hope, without which I

do not believe man could exist, whispered to me, that, in such a plight, I should be an object of fear and

aversion to the being, preserved I knew not where, but I fondly trusted, at length, to be found by me. Will my

readers scorn the vanity, that made me attire myself with some care, for the sake of this visionary being? Or

will they forgive the freaks of a half crazed imagination? I can easily forgive myselffor hope, however

vague, was so dear to me, and a sentiment of pleasure of so rare occurrence, that I yielded readily to any idea,

that cherished the one, or promised any recurrence of the former to my sorrowing heart.

After such occupation, I visited every street, alley, and nook of Forli. These Italian towns presented an

appearance of still greater desolation, than those of England or France. Plague had appeared here earlierit

had finished its course, and achieved its work much sooner than with us. Probably the last summer had found

no human being alive, in all the track included between the shores of Calabria and the northern Alps. My

search was utterly vain, yet I did not despond. Reason methought was on my side; and the chances were by

no means contemptible, that there should exist in some part of Italy a survivor like myselfof a wasted,

depopulate land. As therefore I rambled through the empty town, I formed my plan for future operations. I

would continue to journey on towards Rome. After I should have satisfied myself, by a narrow search, that I

left behind no human being in the towns through which I passed, I would write up in a conspicuous part of

each, with white paint, in three languages, that "Verney, the last of the race of Englishmen, had taken up his

In pursuance of this scheme, I entered a painter's shop, and procured myself the paint. It is strange that so

trivial an occupation should have consoled, and even enlivened me. But grief renders one childish, despair

fantastic. To this simple inscription, I merely added the adjuration, "Friend, come! I wait for thee!Deh,

On the following morning, with something like hope for my companion, I quitted Forli on my way to Rome.

Until now, agonizing retrospect, and dreary prospects for the future, had stung me when awake, and cradled

me to my repose. Many times I had delivered myself up to the tyranny of anguishmany times I resolved a

speedy end to my woes; and death by my own hands was a remedy, whose practicability was even cheering

to me. What could I fear in the other world? If there were an hell, and I were doomed to it, I should come an

adept to the sufferance of its torturesthe act were easy, the speedy and certain end of my deplorable

tragedy. But now these thoughts faded before the new born expectation. I went on my way, not as before,

As I wandered along the plain, at the foot of the Appennines through their valleys, and over their bleak

summits, my path led me through a country which had been trodden by heroes, visited and admired by

thousands. They had, as a tide, receded, leaving me blank and bare in the midst. But why complain? Did I not

hope?so I schooled myself, even after the enlivening spirit had really deserted me, and thus I was obliged

to call up all the fortitude I could command, and that was not much, to prevent a recurrence of that chaotic

and intolerable despair, that had succeeded to the miserable shipwreck, that had consummated every fear, and

I rose each day with the morning sun, and left my desolate inn. As my feet strayed through the unpeopled

country, my thoughts rambled through the universe, and I was least miserable when I could, absorbed in

reverie, forget the passage of the hours. Each evening, in spite of weariness, I detested to enter any dwelling,

there to take up my nightly abodeI have sat, hour after hour, at the door of the cottage I had selected,

unable to lift the latch, and meet face to face blank desertion within. Many nights, though autumnal mists

were spread around, I passed under an ilexmany times I have supped on arbutus berries and chestnuts,

making a fire, gypsylike, on the ground because wild natural scenery reminded me less acutely of my

hopeless state of loneliness. I counted the days, and bore with me a peeled willowwand, on which, as well

as I could remember, I had notched the days that had elapsed since my wreck, and each night I added another

I had toiled up a hill which led to Spoleto. Around was spread a plain, encircled by the chestnutcovered

Appennines. A dark ravine was on one side, spanned by an aqueduct, whose tall arches were rooted in the

dell below, and attested that man had once deigned to bestow labour and thought here, to adorn and civilise

nature. Savage, ungrateful nature, which in wild sport defaced his remains, protruding her easily renewed,

and fragile growth of wild flowers and parasite plants around his eternal edifices. I sat on a fragment of rock,

and looked round. The sun had bathed in gold the western atmosphere, and in the east the clouds caught the

radiance, and budded into transient loveliness. It set on a world that contained me alone for its inhabitant. I

took out my wandI counted the marks. Twenty five were already tracedtwentyfive days had already

elapsed, since human voice had gladdened my ears, or human countenance met my gaze. Twentyfive long,

weary days, succeeded by dark and lonesome nights, had mingled with foregone years, and had become a

part of the pastthe never to be recalleda real, undeniable portion of my lifetwentyfive long, long

Why this was not a month!Why talk of daysor weeksor monthsI must grasp years in my

imagination, if I would truly picture the future to myselfthree, five, ten, twenty, fifty anniversaries of that

fatal epoch might elapseevery year containing twelve months, each of more numerous calculation in a

diary, than the twentyfive days gone byCan it be? Will it be?We had been used to look forward to

death tremulously wherefore, but because its place was obscure? But more terrible, and far more obscure,

was the unveiled course of my lone futurity. I broke my wand; I threw it from me. I needed no recorder of the

inch and barleycorn growth of my life, while my unquiet thoughts created other divisions, than those ruled

over by the planetsand, in looking back on the age that had elapsed since I had been alone, I disdained to

give the name of days and hours to the throes of agony which had in truth portioned it out.

I hid my face in my hands. The twitter of the young birds going to rest, and their rustling among the trees,

disturbed the still eveningairthe crickets chirpedthe aziolo cooed at intervals. My thoughts had been of

deaththese sounds spoke to me of life. I lifted up my eyesa bat wheeled roundthe sun had sunk

behind the jagged line of mountains, and the pale, crescent moon was visible, silver white, amidst the orange

sunset, and accompanied by one bright star, prolonged thus the twilight. A herd of cattle passed along in the

dell below, untended, towards their watering placethe grass was rustled by a gentle breeze, and the

olivewoods, mellowed into soft masses by the moonlight, contrasted their seagreen with the dark chestnut

foliage. Yes, this is the earth; there is no changeno ruinno rent made in her verdurous expanse; she

continues to wheel round and round, with alternate night and day, through the sky, though man is not her

adorner or inhabitant. Why could I not forget myself like one of those animals, and no longer suffer the wild

tumult of misery that I endure? Yet, ah! what a deadly breach yawns between their state and mine! Have not

they companions? Have not they each their matetheir cherished young, their home, which, though

unexpressed to us, is, I doubt not, endeared and enriched, even in their eyes, by the society which kind nature

has created for them? It is I only that am aloneI, on this little hill top, gazing on plain and mountain

recesson sky, and its starry population, listening to every sound of earth, and air, and murmuring wave,I

only cannot express to any companion my many thoughts, nor lay my throbbing head on any loved bosom,

nor drink from meeting eyes an intoxicating dew, that transcends the fabulous nectar of the gods. Shall I not

then complain? Shall I not curse the murderous engine which has mowed down the children of men, my

brethren? Shall I not bestow a malediction on every other of nature's offspring, which dares live and enjoy,

Ah, no! I will discipline my sorrowing heart to sympathy in your joys; I will be happy, because ye are so.

Live on, ye innocents, nature's selected darlings; I am not much unlike to you. Nerves, pulse, brain, joint, and

flesh, of such am I composed, and ye are organized by the same laws. I have something beyond this, but I

will call it a defect, not an endowment, if it leads me to misery, while ye are happy. Just then, there emerged

from a near copse two goats and a little kid, by the mother's side; they began to browse the herbage of the

hill. I approached near to them, without their perceiving me; I gathered a handful of fresh grass, and held it

out; the little one nestled close to its mother, while she timidly withdrew. The male stepped forward, fixing

his eyes on me: I drew near, still holding out my lure, while he, depressing his head, rushed at me with his

horns. I was a very fool; I knew it, yet I yielded to my rage. I snatched up a huge fragment of rock; it would

have crushed my rash foe. I poised itaimed itthen my heart failed me. I hurled it wide of the mark; it

rolled clattering among the bushes into dell. My little visitants, all aghast, galloped back into the covert of the

wood; while I, my very heart bleeding and torn, rushed down the hill, and by the violence of bodily exertion,

No, no, I will not live among the wild scenes of nature, the enemy of all that lives. I will seek the

townsRome, the capital of the world, the crown of man's achievements. Among its storied streets,

hallowed ruins, and stupendous remains of human exertion, I shall not, as here, find every thing forgetful of

man; trampling on his memory, defacing his works, proclaiming from hill to hill, and vale to vale,by the

torrents freed from the boundaries which he imposedby the vegetation liberated from the laws which he

enforcedby his habitation abandoned to mildew and weeds, that his power is lost, his race annihilated for

I hailed the Tiber, for that was as it were an unalienable possession of humanity. I hailed the wild Campagna,

for every rood had been trod by man; and its savage uncultivation, of no recent date, only proclaimed more

distinctly his power, since he had given an honourable name and sacred title to what else would have been a

worthless, barren track. I entered Eternal Rome by the Porta del Popolo, and saluted with awe its time

honoured space. The wide square, the churches near, the long extent of the Corso, the near eminence of

Trinita de' Monti appeared like fairy work, they were so silent, so peaceful, and so very fair. It was evening;

and the population of animals which still existed in this mighty city, had gone to rest; there was no sound,

save the murmur of its many fountains, whose soft monotony was harmony to my soul. The knowledge that I

was in Rome, soothed me; that wondrous city, hardly more illustrious for its heroes and sages, than for the

power it exercised over the imaginations of men. I went to rest that night; the eternal burning of my heart

The next morning I eagerly began my rambles in search of oblivion. I ascended the many terraces of the

garden of the Colonna Palace, under whose roof I had been sleeping; and passing out from it at its summit, I

found myself on Monte Cavallo. The fountain sparkled in the sun; the obelisk above pierced the clear

darkblue air. The statues on each side, the works, as they are inscribed, of Phidias and Praxiteles, stood in

undiminished grandeur, representing Castor and Pollux, who with majestic power tamed the rearing animal at

their side. If those illustrious artists had in truth chiselled these forms, how many passing generations had

their giant proportions outlived! and now they were viewed by the last of the species they were sculptured to

represent and deify. I had shrunk into insignificance in my own eyes, as I considered the multitudinous beings

these stone demigods had outlived, but this afterthought restored me to dignity in my own conception. The

sight of the poetry eternized in these statues, took the sting from the thought, arraying it only in poetic

I repeated to myself,I am in Rome! I behold, and as it were, familiarly converse with the wonder of the

world, sovereign mistress of the imagination, majestic and eternal survivor of millions of generations of

extinct men. I endeavoured to quiet the sorrows of my aching heart, by even now taking an interest in what in

my youth I had ardently longed to see. Every part of Rome is replete with relics of ancient times. The

meanest streets are strewed with truncated columns, broken capitalsCorinthian and Ionic, and sparkling

fragments of granite or porphyry. The walls of the most penurious dwellings enclose a fluted pillar or

ponderous stone, which once made part of the palace of the Caesars; and the voice of dead time, in still

vibrations, is breathed from these dumb things, animated and glorified as they were by man.

I embraced the vast columns of the temple of Jupiter Stator, which survives in the open space that was the

Forum, and leaning my burning cheek against its cold durability, I tried to lose the sense of present misery

and present desertion, by recalling to the haunted cell of my brain vivid memories of times gone by. I rejoiced

at my success, as I figured Camillus, the Gracchi, Cato, and last the heroes of Tacitus, which shine meteors of

surpassing brightness during the murky night of the empire;as the verses of Horace and Virgil, or the

glowing periods of Cicero thronged into the opened gates of my mind, I felt myself exalted by long forgotten

enthusiasm. I was delighted to know that I beheld the scene which they beheld the scene which their wives

and mothers, and crowds of the unnamed witnessed, while at the same time they honoured, applauded, or

wept for these matchless specimens of humanity. At length, then, I had found a consolation. I had not vainly

sought the storied precincts of RomeI had discovered a medicine for my many and vital wounds.

I sat at the foot of these vast columns. The Coliseum, whose naked ruin is robed by nature in a verdurous and

glowing veil, lay in the sunlight on my right. Not far off, to the left, was the Tower of the Capitol. Triumphal

arches, the falling walls of many temples, strewed the ground at my feet. I strove, I resolved, to force myself

to see the Plebeian multitude and lofty Patrician forms congregated around; and, as the Diorama of ages

passed across my subdued fancy, they were replaced by the modern Roman; the Pope, in his white stole,

distributing benedictions to the kneeling worshippers; the friar in his cowl; the darkeyed girl, veiled by her

mezzera; the noisy, sunburnt rustic, leading his heard of buffaloes and oxen to the Campo Vaccino. The

romance with which, dipping our pencils in the rainbow hues of sky and transcendent nature, we to a degree

gratuitously endow the Italians, replaced the solemn grandeur of antiquity. I remembered the dark monk, and

floating figures of "The Italian," and how my boyish blood had thrilled at the description. I called to mind

Corinna ascending the Capitol to be crowned, and, passing from the heroine to the author, reflected how the

Enchantress Spirit of Rome held sovereign sway over the minds of the imaginative, until it rested on me

I was long wrapt by such ideas; but the soul wearies of a pauseless flight; and, stooping from its wheeling

circuits round and round this spot, suddenly it fell ten thousand fathom deep, into the abyss of the

presentinto selfknowledgeinto tenfold sadness. I roused myselfI cast off my waking dreams; and I,

who just now could almost hear the shouts of the Roman throng, and was hustled by countless multitudes,

now beheld the desert ruins of Rome sleeping under its own blue sky; the shadows lay tranquilly on the

ground; sheep were grazing untended on the Palatine, and a buffalo stalked down the Sacred Way that led to

the Capitol. I was alone in the Forum; alone in Rome; alone in the world. Would not one living manone

companion in my weary solitude, be worth all the glory and remembered power of this timehonoured city?

Double sorrow sadness, bred in Cimmerian caves, robed my soul in a mourning garb. The generations I

had conjured up to my fancy, contrasted more strongly with the end of allthe single point in which, as a

pyramid, the mighty fabric of society had ended, while I, on the giddy height, saw vacant space around me.

From such vague laments I turned to the contemplation of the minutiae of my situation. So far, I had not

succeeded in the sole object of my desires, the finding a companion for my desolation. Yet I did not despair.

It is true that my inscriptions were set up for the most part, in insignificant towns and villages; yet, even

without these memorials, it was possible that the person, who like me should find himself alone in a

depopulate land, should, like me, come to Rome. The more slender my expectation was, the more I chose to

It became necessary therefore, that for a time I should domesticate myself at Rome. It became necessary, that

I should look my disaster in the facenot playing the schoolboy's part of obedience without submission;

Yet how could I resign myself? Without love, without sympathy, without communion with any, how could I

meet the morning sun, and with it trace its oft repeated journey to the evening shades? Why did I continue to

livewhy not throw off the weary weight of time, and with my own hand, let out the fluttering prisoner from

my agonized breast?It was not cowardice that withheld me; for the true fortitude was to endure; and death

had a soothing sound accompanying it, that would easily entice me to enter its demesne. But this I would not

do. I had, from the moment I had reasoned on the subject, instituted myself the subject to fate, and the servant

of necessity, the visible laws of the invisible GodI believed that my obedience was the result of sound

reasoning, pure feeling, and an exalted sense of the true excellence and nobility of my nature. Could I have

seen in this empty earth, in the seasons and their change, the hand of a blind power only, most willingly

would I have placed my head on the sod, and closed my eyes on its loveliness for ever. But fate had

administered life to me, when the plague had already seized on its preyshe had dragged me by the hair

from out the strangling wavesBy such miracles she had bought me for her own; I admitted her authority,

and bowed to her decrees. If, after mature consideration, such was my resolve, it was doubly necessary that I

should not lose the end of life, the improvement of my faculties, and poison its flow by repinings without

end. Yet how cease to repine, since there was no hand near to extract the barbed spear that had entered my

heart of hearts? I stretched out my hand, and it touched none whose sensations were responsive to mine. I was

girded, walled in, vaulted over, by sevenfold barriers of loneliness. Occupation alone, if I could deliver

myself up to it, would be capable of affording an opiate to my sleepless sense of woe. Having determined to

make Rome my abode, at least for some months, I made arrangements for my accommodationI selected

my home. The Colonna Palace was well adapted for my purpose. Its grandeurits treasure of paintings, its

I found the granaries of Rome well stored with grain, and particularly with Indian corn; this product requiring

less art in its preparation for food, I selected as my principal support. I now found the hardships and

lawlessness of my youth turn to account. A man cannot throw off the habits of sixteen years. Since that age, it

is true, I had lived luxuriously, or at least surrounded by all the conveniences civilization afforded. But before

that time, I had been "as uncouth a savage, as the wolf bred founder of old Rome"and now, in Rome

itself, robber and shepherd propensities, similar to those of its founder, were of advantage to its sole

inhabitant. I spent the morning riding and shooting in the CampagnaI passed long hours in the various

galleriesI gazed at each statue, and lost myself in a reverie before many a fair Madonna or beauteous

nymph. I haunted the Vatican, and stood surrounded by marble forms of divine beauty. Each stone deity was

possessed by sacred gladness, and the eternal fruition of love. They looked on me with unsympathising

complacency, and often in wild accents I reproached them for their supreme indifferencefor they were

human shapes, the human form divine was manifest in each fairest limb and lineament. The perfect moulding

brought with it the idea of colour and motion; often, half in bitter mockery, half in selfdelusion, I clasped

their icy proportions, and, coming between Cupid and his Psyche's lips, pressed the unconceiving marble.

I endeavoured to read. I visited the libraries of Rome. I selected a volume, and, choosing some sequestered,

shady nook, on the banks of the Tiber, or opposite the fair temple in the Borghese Gardens, or under the old

pyramid of Cestius, I endeavoured to conceal me from myself, and immerse myself in the subject traced on

the pages before me. As if in the same soil you plant nightshade and a myrtle tree, they will each appropriate

the mould, moisture, and air administered, for the fostering their several propertiesso did my grief find

sustenance, and power of existence, and growth, in what else had been divine manna, to feed radiant

meditation. Ah! while I streak this paper with the tale of what my so named occupations werewhile I shape

the skeleton of my daysmy hand tremblesmy heart pants, and my brain refuses to lend expression, or

phrase, or idea, by which to image forth the veil of unutterable woe that clothed these bare realities. O, worn

and beating heart, may I dissect thy fibres, and tell how in each unmitigable misery, sadness dire, repinings,

and despair, existed? May I record my many ravingsthe wild curses I hurled at torturing natureand how

I have passed days shut out from light and foodfrom all except the burning hell alive in my own bosom?

I was presented, meantime, with one other occupation, the one best fitted to discipline my melancholy

thoughts, which strayed backwards, over many a ruin, and through many a flowery glade, even to the

During one of my rambles through the habitations of Rome, I found writing materials on a table in an author's

study. Parts of a manuscript lay scattered about. It contained a learned disquisition on the Italian language;

one page an unfinished dedication to posterity, for whose profit the writer had sifted and selected the niceties

of this harmonious languageto whose everlasting benefit he bequeathed his labours.

I also will write a book, I criedfor whom to read?to whom dedicated? And then with silly flourish (what

Yet, will not this world be repeopled, and the children of a saved pair of lovers, in some to me unknown and

unattainable seclusion, wandering to these prodigious relics of the ante pestilential race, seek to learn how

beings so wondrous in their achievements, with imaginations infinite, and powers godlike, had departed from

I will write and leave in this most ancient city, this "world's sole monument," a record of these things. I will

leave a monument of the existence of Verney, the Last Man. At first I thought only to speak of plague, of

death, and last, of desertion; but I lingered fondly on my early years, and recorded with sacred zeal the virtues

of my companions. They have been with me during the fulfilment of my task. I have brought it to an endI

lift my eyes from my paperagain they are lost to me. Again I feel that I am alone.

A year has passed since I have been thus occupied. The seasons have made their wonted round, and decked

this eternal city in a changeful robe of surpassing beauty. A year has passed; and I no longer guess at my state

or my prospects loneliness is my familiar, sorrow my inseparable companion. I have endeavoured to brave

the stormI have endeavoured to school myself to fortitudeI have sought to imbue myself with the

lessons of wisdom. It will not do. My hair has become nearly greymy voice, unused now to utter sound,

comes strangely on my ears. My person, with its human powers and features, seem to me a monstrous

excrescence of nature. How express in human language a woe human being until this hour never knew! How

give intelligible expression to a pang none but I could ever understand!No one has entered Rome. None

will ever come. I smile bitterly at the delusion I have so long nourished, and still more, when I reflect that I

have exchanged it for another as delusive, as false, but to which I now cling with the same fond trust.

Winter has come again; and the gardens of Rome have lost their leavesthe sharp air comes over the

Campagna, and has driven its brute inhabitants to take up their abode in the many dwellings of the deserted

cityfrost has suspended the gushing fountainsand Trevi has stilled her eternal music. I had made a rough

calculation, aided by the stars, by which I endeavoured to ascertain the first day of the new year. In the old

outworn age, the Sovereign Pontiff was used to go in solemn pomp, and mark the renewal of the year by

driving a nail in the gate of the temple of Janus. On that day I ascended St. Peter's, and carved on its topmost

My only companion was a dog, a shaggy fellow, half water and half shepherd's dog, whom I found tending

sheep in the Campagna. His master was dead, but nevertheless he continued fulfilling his duties in

expectation of his return. If a sheep strayed from the rest, he forced it to return to the flock, and sedulously

kept off every intruder. Riding in the Campagna I had come upon his sheepwalk, and for some time

observed his repetition of lessons learned from man, now useless, though unforgotten. His delight was

excessive when he saw me. He sprung up to my knees; he capered round and round, wagging his tail, with the

short, quick bark of pleasure: he left his fold to follow me, and from that day has never neglected to watch by

and attend on me, showing boisterous gratitude whenever I caressed or talked to him. His pattering steps and

mine alone were heard, when we entered the magnificent extent of nave and aisle of St. Peter's. We ascended

the myriad steps together, when on the summit I achieved my design, and in rough figures noted the date of

the last year. I then turned to gaze on the country, and to take leave of Rome. I had long determined to quit it,

and I now formed the plan I would adopt for my future career, after I had left this magnificent abode.

A solitary being is by instinct a wanderer, and that I would become. A hope of amelioration always attends on

change of place, which would even lighten the burthen of my life. I had been a fool to remain in Rome all this

time: Rome noted for Malaria, the famous caterer for death. But it was still possible, that, could I visit the

whole extent of earth, I should find in some part of the wide extent a survivor. Methought the seaside was

the most probable retreat to be chosen by such a one. If left alone in an inland district, still they could not

continue in the spot where their last hopes had been extinguished; they would journey on, like me, in search

of a partner for their solitude, till the watery barrier stopped their further progress.

To that watercause of my woes, perhaps now to be their cure, I would betake myself. Farewell,

Italy!farewell, thou ornament of the world, matchless Rome, the retreat of the solitary one during long

months!to civilized lifeto the settled home and succession of monotonous days, farewell! Peril will now

be mine; and I hail her as a frienddeath will perpetually cross my path, and I will meet him as a benefactor;

hardship, inclement weather, and dangerous tempests will be my sworn mates. Ye spirits of storm, receive

me! ye powers of destruction, open wide your arms, and clasp me for ever! if a kinder power have not

decreed another end, so that after long endurance I may reap my reward, and again feel my heart beat near the

Tiber, the road which is spread by nature's own hand, threading her continent, was at my feet, and many a

boat was tethered to the banks. I would with a few books, provisions, and my dog, embark in one of these and

float down the current of the stream into the sea; and then, keeping near land, I would coast the beauteous

shores and sunny promontories of the blue Mediterranean, pass Naples, along Calabria, and would dare the

twin perils of Scylla and Charybdis; then, with fearless aim, (for what had I to lose?) skim ocean's surface

towards Malta and the further Cyclades. I would avoid Constantinople, the sight of whose wellknown

towers and inlets belonged to another state of existence from my present one; I would coast Asia Minor, and

Syria, and, passing the sevenmouthed Nile, steer northward again, till losing sight of forgotten Carthage and

deserted Libya, I should reach the pillars of Hercules. And thenno matter wherethe oozy caves, and

soundless depths of ocean may be my dwelling, before I accomplish this longdrawn voyage, or the arrow of

disease find my heart as I float singly on the weltering Mediterranean; or, in some place I touch at, I may find

what I seeka companion; or if this may not beto endless time, decrepit and grey headedyouth already

in the grave with those I lovethe lone wanderer will still unfurl his sail, and clasp the tillerand, still

obeying the breezes of heaven, for ever round another and another promontory, anchoring in another and

another bay, still ploughing seedless ocean, leaving behind the verdant land of native Europe, adown the

tawny shore of Africa, having weathered the fierce seas of the Cape, I may moor my worn skiff in a creek,

These are wild dreams. Yet since, now a week ago, they came on me, as I stood on the height of St. Peter's,

they have ruled my imagination. I have chosen my boat, and laid in my scant stores. I have selected a few

books; the principal are Homer and ShakespeareBut the libraries of the world are thrown open to meand

in any port I can renew my stock. I form no expectation of alteration for the better; but the monotonous

present is intolerable to me. Neither hope nor joy are my pilotsrestless despair and fierce desire of change

lead me on. I long to grapple with danger, to be excited by fear, to have some task, however slight or

voluntary, for each day's fulfilment. I shall witness all the variety of appearance, that the elements can

assumeI shall read fair augury in the rainbowmenace in the cloudsome lesson or record dear to my

heart in everything. Thus around the shores of deserted earth, while the sun is high, and the moon waxes or

wanes, angels, the spirits of the dead, and the everopen eye of the Supreme, will behold the tiny bark,