of it. This occurrence occupied but a short time, and caused very little interruption to the festivity. Presently Drusilla perceived Lavamund looking out at a window in a tower, to which he had been carried, and locked in, by Closter and the Hungarians. Lavamund by action beseechingly implored Drusilla to approach the tower. She did so he then, by a significant sign, made her understand that he required the long wand she held in her hand. Drusilla comprehended him, and tried to give him the white staff, but he could not reach it by several feet. She stepped on a high garden-bench, then lightly on the back of that, and Lavamund was in possession of the wand. He did not lose a moment; but, leaning out of the casement as far as he could, with the staff PUT THE HAND OF THE DIAL BACK one quarter of an hour. All this was done unperceived, and in less time than that in which it has been described. Elzevir and Drusilla now watched for events with fearful interest.

Count Neytracht began to be impatient: he glanced again at the dial. "The time is yet in my favour, though it creeps but slowly. I must be secure. Now now the ceremony must take place; yet shudders my flesh at holy ordinance. Baron, so please you, to the chapel; but first, all goblets to the brim. The health of the lovely Hermione, my beautiful bride." Here followed a deafening shout. The Hungarian proceeded, "I have adored her. I will cherish her. Guard her with strongest affection through life. Ever dote. protect "

Ever

And at this critical moment the distant clock of the church began to strike the Hour of ten.

"Ten it strikes!" shrieked the Transylvanian. "Again deceived! ha! The fifth century closes. Torments seize me!"

The splendid habiliments fell from the body of the necromancer. A skeleton alone was to be discovered where had sat the handsome Count Neytracht de Zarweise; and even those marrowless bones were but for a short time in the view of the horrified spectators.

A strong, black, leathern-skinned, and hog-bristled arm, seized on the skull, with sharp-clawed fingers. Sinner and punisher were then launched into the atmosphere, and continue falling, falling, falling, rapidly together (probably) around the globe to all eternity.

Sometimes their figures have been imagined by careful astronomers to be spots on the sun. Again, they have been supposed by others to be the man in the moon and his dog.

We, in looking through an old telescope left behind by our brother, the sea-captain, once thought we saw the figures plainly; though, some time after, we found a dead spider and fly crushed against the inner glass of the telescope !

In which Stanley and Amelia are married again.

INSPIRED with the most joyous feelings, Amelia early the next morning began to prepare for her second marriage. Her pleasure being perfectly unalloyed with those delicate apprehensions, which, under circumstances of an ordinary character, are inseparable from the contemplation of marriage, was of the purest conceivable caste. Her spirits were high; her heart was light; while Stanley, in order to increase her joy, addressed her throughout the day as Miss Joliffe, wooed her zealously, proposed to her with playful formality, and spoke of the morrow as the day on which their connubial felicity was to commence. This, of course, could not fail to impart additional delight to her who appreciated highly every kind word and look. She felt, indeed, truly happy; and the manifestation of that happiness proved that his influence over her heart was complete.

As the widow had been the previous evening informed that Captain Joliffe and his lady considered her presence at the ceremony indispensable, she, too, was excessively busy all the morning, being firmly resolved to create a favourable first impression, a resolution which invariably rendered the undertaking immense. By virtue of great perseverance, however, she on this occasion did achieve the preliminary object in view with comparative tranquillity and ease, and that, moreover, so early, that after having poured an additional stream of instructions into the comprehensive mind of her maid-who, when anything unusual occurred, always had a fine time of it - she entered her carriage with the view of dining with Stanley and Amelia, as proposed.

On her arrival she was introduced in due form to "Miss Joliffe," with the idea of which the widow was extremely amused, and she entered into the spirit of the thing with much pleasure, and dwelt with considerable point upon the chief characteristics of the position of the married lovers; which, she contended, was rather peculiar, and backed her views on the subject with much argumentative matter, which had the effect of inducing considerable mirth.

On dinner being announced, a small packet was delivered to Stanley, containing an elegant suite of pearls, the promised present of Sir William to Amelia. Stanley opened it; read the note by which it was accompanied, and then put them both into his pocket, where they remained till after dinner, when he rose, and, having produced them, said,

"My dear Miss Joliffe, I have the almost inexpressible pleasure to inform you that an honourable baronet, whom you hold in respect, and whom my mother very highly esteems-"

"Nay-nay," interrupted the widow, who blushed very deeply,"nay, that is not fair now, is it, my love?"

"I beg that I may not be interrupted," said Stanley, who then resumed, "I have, I say, the pleasure to announce that an honourable baronet has deputed me to present to you a case of pearls, your acceptance of which

"Oh! do let us look!" exclaimed the widow.

Do, there's a dear!"

"Pray open them!

"What is the use of my rising to make a brilliant speech," cried Stanley, "if my eloquence is to be murdered by these unseemly interruptions. The opposition is factious. But I pity you-I pity you both; and as I find that you cannot appreciate pure eloquence; as I find that you hold it, in the plenitude of your ignorance—which is dense to be far less brilliant and attractive than the eloquence of jewels, I scorn to enlighten the minds of such unintellectual ingrates, and therefore at once resume my seat with an appropriate contempt for the gross character of your taste."

"What dears!" exclaimed the widow, totally deaf to the affected indignation of Stanley. "How excessively elegant! And those drops! Dear me, how sweetly pretty! Well now, really! Do pearls become you, my love? Oh! Í should say so. yes; And, then, how veryvery chaste and quiet! But you do not seem to think so much of them as I do?"

"Oh! indeed I admire them exceedingly," said Amelia. "But, is it not singular that Sir William should have made me a present of them?" "Do not inquire of me," replied Stanley. "I was about to explain all, when I was disgracefully interrupted; but now, why, of course, you cannot expect

"Yes, please," said Amelia; "do, there's a good creature! know you will to oblige me, will you not?"

"Why, as a favour thus specially solicited, I scarcely know how to refuse. But I protest against the exercise of this species of influence. There never was a man so much influenced by his wife as I am by mine that is to be. It really is monstrous. I have nothing like a will of my own. I am governed as completely as an absolute slave. I submit to it now for the last time. You will understand, madam, that to-morrow I revolt."

Nay, that will be cruel," said Amelia, who always enjoyed the idea of his being governed by her. "To-morrow will be my own day." "Another case of tyranny! Well, I'll give you to-morrow; but after to-morrow I shall assume my natural dignity as a man! Now with regard to these pearls, Sir William happened to win a little money of me at Epsom; which money he declared that he would not receive unless I allowed him to make you a present. I repudiated the notion, of course; but eventually, in order to induce him to take it, I tacitly consented, and, behold the result!" "Do

"Well, really! Oh! how very honourable!" cried Amelia. you believe that if you had not consented he would not have received this money at all?'

"I believe this," said Stanley, "that if he had received it he would have made you a present, whether my consent had been obtained, or not."

"Well it, at all events, proves him to be a man of strict principle. It is really a very elegant present! But I scarcely know how I am to thank him."

At this moment a servant entered with a packet of about the same size, addressed to Amelia, which she opened, and proceeded to read a note it contained, while the widow and Stanley re-examined the pearls.

It is probably remarkable that the widow on this occasion was not in such raptures as she might have been, considering. It is true, she

was pleased at the manifestation of that honourable principle by which she had ever supposed Sir William to be actuated; still she did feel, and strongly, that, if the pearls had been presented to her, it would have been a different thing altogether; and so it would.

"My dearest girl!" cried Stanley, on perceiving the tears in Ame"what has happened?"

lia's eyes,

Amelia handed him the note, which he read, and then exclaimed, "Well, this is truly dreadful! The Captain," he added, addressing the widow with great solemnity, has presented Amelia with a set of brilliants to wear to-morrow! Now, isn't that appalling? Return them, my love: by all means send them back. Do not keep them, on any account. I wouldn't have them for the world. It's quite shocking!"

Amelia smiled through her tears, which were those of pure affection, and having kissed the case fervently, displayed the sparkling gems. The pearls were, of course, in an instant eclipsed. Had the brilliants been but paste, they would in her view have thrown them at once into the shade; but, as they were in reality brilliants, her delight was unbounded, and she viewed them with pride.

And then, the widow. Oh! nothing in her judgment could surpass them in beauty. She had a set, it was true, but they were not to be compared, in point of splendour, with those. Still, she must say, that she greatly preferred sapphires herself, and announced it distinctly to be her settled conviction that, if she were ever again tempted to make a purchase of the kind, lovely sapphires would be chosen; they were so dazzling-so strikingly dazzling! they were dears!

Of course she and Amelia, impatient as they both were to witness the effect of these jewels, soon after this retired; and immediately they had done so, Stanley, who well knew the widow's feelings, and who had watched the emotions these presents had induced, left the house, and having purchased a suite of sapphires, and requested them to be addressed to his mother, and sent to her residence forthwith, returned with so much expedition, that neither the widow nor Amelia had the slightest knowledge of his having been out.

Now, in history, both ancient and modern, coincidences are recorded of a strange and remarkable character; but it is extremely questionable whether one can be found upon record more strange or more remarkable than this, that at the moment these sapphires were being delivered at the door of the widow's residence, a bandbox arrived at the door of Stanley's. This bandbox-to which nothing in the recognised annals of bandboxes comparable in point of dimensions exists,-did produce a most extraordinary sensation. It was addressed to Joanna, and highly ingenious and conflicting were the conjectures which sprang from her utter inability to tell who had sent it, and what it contained. She did, however, eventually raise the lid, and with joy beheld a bonnet of deep interest, and of the Tuscan order of architecture, powerfully trimmed. Oh! with what rapture she gazed at its shape; with what exalted satisfaction she guessed what, in its native nakedness, it cost, fixed mentally the price of the ribbon per yard, and dwelt intensely upon the texture of the curtain behind. But, who on earth could have sent it? That she naturally held to be a highly-important question; but the mystery in which it was involved was so dark, that in her view it seemed to defy all solution. She laboured to solve it zealously she taxed her teeming memory, and racked her rich imagination to the utmost, but in vain; it appeared to be utterly impossible

to be done, and she was just about to give the thing up in despair, when she was struck with an idea that it was Bob. But then she considered that Bob had no money. She, notwithstanding, turned, and looked at him as he sat with his right elbow resting upon the back of his chair, and his forefinger placed upon his temple, while his merry eyes twinkled with pleasurable pride; and, as she looked, she saw that in his expression, which induced her on the impulse of the moment to exclaim, "Oh! Robert, it was you!"-when, as Bob did not deny the soft impeachment, but, on the contrary, smiled and seemed delighted, she flew to him, and thanked him, and shook his hand warmly, and could have kissed him, but didn't.

In the midst of our errors how frequently does it occur that we are correct; and when we are, how refreshing is the conviction! how pleasurable-how beautiful are the feelings of which that conviction is the germ! It is true too true that, by virtue of some inscrutable perversion of judgment, we often delude ourselves into the belief that we are right when we are wrong; but this wasn't the case with Joanna. She was perfectly correct. Bob did buy the bonnet; and had sent it, in order to mark as strongly as possible his sense of her politeness, a fact of which she no sooner became quite conscious than she was amazed!-overjoyed, but amazed!

"I hope," she observed, when her pulse had subsided to about eighty," I sincerely hope you haven't been a-borrowing of money for to make me this beautiful present? "Not a bit," replied Bob,- "not a bit. I'm in funds of my own." This created another mystery in the mind of Joanna. How he had become possessed of these funds she really could not conceive. It was, in her gentle judgment, most strange. It was so sudden.

At length Bob, who had some knowledge of human nature as developed in the deep recesses of respectable kitchens, perceiving that her native curiosity had been awakened, said, "You wonder, I dare say, now, where I got this money; and it's natural. But I don't mind telling of you candid. It's presents. Sir William give me one sov., and master-which is a grateful trump-give me five."

"Indeed! Well, you know, I'm never curious, and so, of course, I'm not at all ambitious to know; but, what could they possibly have made you such handsome presents for?"

Bob's notions of honour were high; and as, by the code which he recognised, he felt himself bound to keep his master's secrets faithfully within his own breast, he replied that he trusted that she would look at the thing strictly in the right light when he informed er that the implied obligation he was under not to explain he held to be sacred. Well, of course," said Joanna, "I've no right to ask, nor I don't very particular wish to know; but I hope that this isn't a reward for the disguisement of any clandestine intrigue? I mean, I hope there's no lady in the case?

66

"Why, you don't for a minute suppose such a thing?"

"Why, no, I don't suppose that it is so; only, if it is, missis ought to know it. You know nothing of that kind, Robert, ought to be kept away from her!"

"Don't injure your health upon that score: there's nothing of the sort: not a bit of it. Besides, is it likely? I should like to see her which could come up to missis. I never see one, and I've seen a few in my time. Why there's more of the lady in her little finger than