they were held in so little esteem by the Romans that they were not considered eligible for public office. Even the Romans had an abhorrent prejudice against every species of interest on money. The Emperor Augustus converted a fund from the property of state criminals, to lend to the poor, without interest, to buy land, providing they could pledge something equal to twice the value borrowed. Alexander Severus made an improvement on this system by lending money at a low rate; but to the poor, to buy land, no interest was charged, agreeing to take payment from its produce. To were almost the only recognised usurers. check the rapacity of the Jews, a Minorite or Franciscan monk established a lending house in the year 1474, to help the poor at Perugia, in the states of the Church. We find the whole order of Franciscans supporting the establishing of lending houses, and, on the other hand, the Dominicans preaching most violently against them. Bernardinus Tomitano, a Minorite, about the year 1460, went all over Italy preaching against the Jews and their usurious dealings, and he often stirred the populace so with his eloquence, that they could hardly be restrained from massacring the whole Jewish community. Beckmann mentions that while in Florence the rich Jews bribed the Government, so that he was ordered to discontinue preaching and quit the territories of the Republic. taking interest, fearing the enemies of the system would reproach them with usury, but admonished all borrowers to give as much to the establishment for remuneration as their piety and ability would allow. This practice, of course, made matters worse, and they had to return to the old method. The Roman Pontiffs began to encourage the system of borrowing on pledges about the middle of the fifteenth century; it was in tended for the benefit of the poor only, no interest whatever being charged. To raise money for these benevolent institutions, we In 1492, when Bernardinus was travelling find the Popes bestowing indulgences and from town to town, he reformed the lending eternal salvation on all sides, to those who sub-house at Vicenza. He abolished the custom of scribed to the funds to support the lending houses. Children not born in wedlock were legitimatised, burthensome vows were annulled for all who subscribed to these funds. Even the servants, clerks, and officials had to give their time, gratis. Of course these, to say the least, unbusinesslike institutions soon became tiresome and unproductive. The Popes, therefore, eventually allowed the houses to give and take interest on a portion of the loan, sufficient to pay the working expenses of the establishment; but still they dare not call it by the odious name of interest, but termed it pro indemnitate. Of course the above evasion soon found enemies, in fact so great became the controversy in reference to their legality and impiety, that the greatest lawyers and divines of the day took up the question on either side, until Pope Leo X. silenced all opposition by issuing a bull to the effect that the system was legal, and threatened those with his vengeance who dared to question the fact. Shortly after we find cities all over Europe following the example of the Papal States by establishing lending houses. In Germany, during the fourteenth century, we find there was a sort of banking carried on under the name of Wechselbanke, or Bank of Exchange; and similar institutions flourished in Italy as early as the year 1171, for the Bank of Venice was established in that year, and did not cease until 1797, when the Republic was submerged by the French; but these banks were, more or less, mere money repositories. During the fifteenth century, loud complaints were made against usury, practiced by both Christians and Jews. The Jews, not coming within the pale of papal interdicts against usury, Venice seems to have been the last Italian city to adopt lending houses, owing to the power and wealth of the Jews, for they seem to have been tolerated in that city when driven from every other. Lending houses were first known in England as Lombards, from the fact that they were generally established by Italian merchants chiefly from Lombardy, whose grasping rapacity brought reproach on the system they introduced. They eluded the prohibitions of the Church by charging the interest beforehand and terming it a gift; for instance, if a person borrowed £20 he would have to give a bond or pledge for £25. The lending houses now known as Pawnbrokers have become institutions of octopus-like proportions. The three gold balls that denote the pawnbroker's establishment is the sign of the Lombards' guild; and many is the aching heart that has stood beneath them, contemplating the sacrifice of some treasured trinket, perhaps the ring that in happier times had united the girl to one she loved; or the mother about to dispose of the last memento of some lost sailor son; but why proceed? The relics of the dead must needs give place to the necessities of the living. Though a great convenience, and in many cases a blessing, the poor man's banker, if a running account is once opened, becomes the poor man's master. THE BROTHERS. FROM THE GERMAN OF SCHILLER. HE following anecdote of two Germans, (with a proud joy do I say it) has one indisputable merit-it is true. I hope it may instil more warmth into my readers, than all the volumes of Grandison or of Pamela. Two brothers, Barons of W, were in love with a young and excellent lady, and neither was acquainted with the passion of the other. The affection of both was tender and vehement it was their first: the maiden was beautiful, and formed of sensibility. They suffered their inclinations to increase to the utmost bounds, for the danger the most dreadful to their hearts was unknown to them, to have a brother for a rival. Each forbore an early explanation with the lady, and thus were both deceived, until an unexpected occurrence discovered the whole secret of their sentiments. Their love had already risen to its utmost height that most unhappy passion, which has caused almost as cruel ravages as its dreadful counterpart, had taken such complete possession of their hearts, as to render a sacrifice on either side impossible. The fair one, full of commiseration for the unhappy situation of these two unfortunates, would not decide upon the exclusion of either, but submitted her own feelings to the decision of their brotherly love. Conqueror in this doubtful strife, betwixt duty and sentiment, which our philosophers are always so ready to decide, but which the practical man undertakes so slowly, the elder brother said to the younger, I know thou lovest the maiden as vehement as myself. I will not ask for which of us a priority of right should determine. Do thou remain here, whilst I seek the wide world. I am willing to die, that I may forget her. If such be my fate, brother, then is she thine, and may Heaven bless thy love! Should I not meet with death, do thou set out, and follow my example.' He left Germany, and hastened to Holland; but the form of his beloved still followed him. Far from the climate which she inhabited, banished from the spot which contained the whole felicity of his heart, in which alone he was able to exist, the unhappy youth sickened, as the plant withers which is ravished from its maternal bed in Asia by the powerful European, and forced from its more clement sun into a remote and rougher soil. He reached Amsterdam in a desponding condition, where he fell ill of a violent and dangerous fever. The form of her he loved predominated in his frantic dreams; his health depended on her possession. The physicians were in doubt of his life, and nothing but the assurance of being restored again to her, rescued him from the arms of death. He arrived in his native city changed to a skeleton, the most dreadful image of consuming grief, and with tottering steps reached the door of his belovedof his brother. 'Brother, behold me once again. Heaven knows how I have striven to subdue the emotions of my heart. I can do no more.' He sunk senseless into the lady's arms. The younger brother was no less determined. In a few weeks he was ready to set out. 'Brother, thou carriedst thy grief with thee to Holland. I will endeavour to bear mine farther. Lead not the maiden to the altar till I write to thee. Fraternal love alone permits such a stipulation. Should I be more fortunate than thou wert, in the name of God, let her be thine, and may Heaven prosper thy union. Should I not, may the Almighty in that case judge further between us! Farewell. Take this sealed packet; do not open it till I am far from hence. I am going to Batavia.' He then sprung into the coach. The other remained motionless, and absorbed in grief, for his brother had surpassed him in generosity. Love, and at the same time, the sorrow at losing such a man, rushed forcibly upon his mind. The noise of the flying vehicle pierced him to the heart-his life was feared. The lady-but no! of her I must not yet speak. It contained a com The packet was opened. plete assignment of all his German possessions to his brother, in the event of fortune being favourable to the fugitive in Batavia. The latter, subduer of himself, sailed with some Dutch merchants, and arrived safely at that place. A few weeks after, he sent his brother the following lines: 'Here, where I return thanks to the Almighty, here, in another world, do I think of thee, and of our loves, with all the joy of a martyr. New scenes and events have expanded my soul, and God has given me strength to offer the greatest sacrifice to friendship-the maiden-God! here a tear doth fall-the last-I have conquered— the maiden is thine. Brother, it was not ordained that I should possess her; that is, she would not have been happy with me. If the thought should ever come to her, that she would have been-Brother! brother! with difficulty do I tear her from my soul. Do not forget how hard the attainment of her has been to thee. Treat her always as thy youthful passion at present teaches thee. Treat her always as the dear legacy of a brother, whom thy arms will never more enfold. Farewell! Do not write to me, when thou celebratest thy marriage— my wounds still bleed. Write to me, that thou art happy. My deed is a surety to me, that God will not forsake me in a foreign world.' The nuptials were celebrated. The most At the intense pain, his preposterous figure was the cause of producing the most uproarious bursts of merriment from the whole party. felicitous of marriages lasted a year. end of that period the lady died. In her expiring moments, she acknowledged to her most intimate friend the unhappy secret of her bosom:-the exiled brother she had loved the strongest. Both Brothers still live. The elder upon his estates in Germany, where he has married again. The younger remains in Batavia, and has become a fortunate and shining character. He made a Vow never to marry, and has kept it. A TRIP TO MOUNT EGMONT, BY CHARLES H. REDHEAD. By five o'clock on the following morning we had finished breakfast and were ready to commence the ascent of Mount Egmont in earnest. Our camping ground was only about two miles distant from the lower edge of the scoria, but in order to reach this, we had the unpleasant task before us of wading waist deep up the source of the "Stony River," which derived most of its water from the snow and ice as it thawed upon the sides of the mountain. It will be easy to imagine what the temperature of such water must have been, especially when it is understood that ice an inch thick was standing upon all the pools of shallow water in the neighbourhood, and how bitterly cold we found it as we slowly staggered along over the enormous boulders, breasting the rapid current of the torrent. By the time we had accomplished about a mile of this work, poor old Mr. Webster found that he could not stand the icycold water any longer, so he was obliged, though very reluctantly, to give up the idea of making the ascent, and to return to the camp to await our return. Mr. Woon, being remarkably stout, seemed to stand the cold water better than any of us, but his appearance was striking, to say the least of it, as he had divested himself of his lower garments, retaining only a pair of Wellington boots, which, with a short pea jacket that only reached to the small of his back, with a billy-cock hat and ponderous comforter completed his somewhat grotesque costume. To say that this kind of dress became his stout and rounded figure would scarcely be correct, but that it showed off his sturdy limbs and proportions, in an uncommonly prominent manner, few of us would have felt inclined to contradict, and cold as the water was, causing Leaving the bed of the torrent, we struck up a narrow rugged gorge, the sides of which were almost perpendicular, and ranged from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high. At the far end of this pass, immediately below the scoria line, our progress became very difficult and tedious, as the way was almost completely blocked up by enormous masses of volcanic rock, which had evidently been detached from the overhanging cliffs, or been thrown. out of the crater of Mount Egmont, at some remote period, when that mountain had been in active eruption. The sun was shining brightly, with scarcely a cloud to be seen, when we eventually overcame all the obstacles which had beset our mountain itself: this moss is very peculiar, path, and reached the moss covered rock of the from the fact of its being about fifteen or twenty inches deep, of a bright green colour, and quite as close and springy in its texture as fine sponge. Passing rapidly over this beautiful deposits of loose lava or scoria, in which we mossy carpet, we next came upon endless were somewhat surprised to find growing, in great luxuriance, large numbers of coarse and remarkably prickly thistles, but these only extended for about a quarter of a mile beyond the moss, when all traces of vegetable life ceased, and not an object was visible to relieve the eye from the uniform monotony of the dingy brown coloured scoria, over which the remainder of our journey to the summit was performed. After trudging silently forward, or upwards, for about three hours, we reached and here we rested for a short time to take a small crater, about half way from the top, some refreshment, and enjoy the beauty of the lovely panoramic scenery displayed below us. In the distance rose the Kaitaki range, standing out in bold relief, whilst the swamp we had crossed upon the previous evening, resembled exactly the appearance of an immense field of brilliantly upon it, had a decidedly beautiful waving golden corn, which, with the sun shining effect. About four p.m. we reached the summit, after about eleven hours consecutive walking, most of the time over loose ashes, in which we sunk at each step over our boot tops, which swell to about double their natural size, most occasioned acute pain, and caused our feet to of us being almost lamed by the irritation produced by the friction of these ashes. It was useless to empty ones boots, for no sooner was that done than in the course of another few steps they were just as bad as ever. I was very much surprised to find the top of the mountain of such great extent, it being. I should say, at least half-a-mile in diameter, In the centre was a frightful looking chasm or crater, about a thousand feet deep, down which we rolled large pieces of loose rock, but no sound was heard when they reached the bottom, so that the crater may have been much deeper than the figures I have given. It must be understood, that in a place of this kind it is almost impossible to form a correct idea of distance, the atmosphere being much thinner, and rarer than we have been accustomed to, which is very deceptive, besides the utter absence of any familiar objects, by which we could compare others as a guide to distance. The surrounding crust of the crater was not more than forty or fifty yards in thickness, very irregular in outline, and all the rough scraggy rocks and peaks bearing strong evidence of having been subjected to great heat; in fact, most of the loose stones lying about had all the appearance of once having been in a molten state. I observed amongst the latter that ironstone was much more plentiful than any other, and I procured some very curious specimens of this, intermixed with quartz and iron pyrites. On the top of a peak, to the left of where we came up, we found several bottles, containing papers, with the names of previous visitors, also a square piece of lead, with "Richard Brown" (a wellknown settler, who was murdered during the war) cut out in large letters. Of course, these relics were not interfered with, and we added another bottle to the collection, containing the names of our party with the date of the visit, and I have no doubt that these bottles, &c., still remain undisturbed on the highest pinnacle of bonny Mount Egmont. To fully describe everything we saw from the summit of this mountain would take up a great deal more time and space than I can spare, and it will be sufficient to state that we enjoyed a magnificent view of the beautiful undulating country which composes the province of Taranaki, for fifty miles round. On the south, the entrance to Cooke's Strait, with the faint blue outline of the middle island might be seen; whilst, on the north, the peculiarly shaped mountain of four peaks (one at each corner) called "Ruahpahu," which stands in the province of Auckland, and distant about ninety miles from Mount Egmont, was distinctly visible. The town of New Plymouth, with its serpentine beach of iron sand, could be traced without difficulty, and the Sugar loaves" (rocky cone shaped islands), which stand from two hundred to nine hundred feet high, appeared to be very little larger than good sized thimbles. I must say, that, although we had experienced some very rough and hard work to reach the top, the lovely panoramic scenery, combined with the peculiarities of the mountain itself, far more than repaid us for it all, and I am sure, every man in the party would agree with me, that it was with a feeling of regret that we at last tore ourselves away from the lovely prospect beneath and around us, to commence our downward journey, to return to our camp for the night. The return journey was a very different thing to the ascent, for at each step we slid down about ten feet, as the loose ashes gave way under our weight, but we had not descended more than a third of the way when clouds began to gather, in rapid succession, below us, whilst loud rumblings of thunder disturbed the hitherto appalling and solitary silence. It was evident to all that we were about to encounter one of those tremendous storms which occasionally visit the mountain districts of New Zealand. The clouds became more and more dense every moment below us, whilst the sun still shone brilliantly in a cloudless sky overhead; and as we looked down upon the now endless sea of drifting dark clouds the effect was very peculiar, giving one the impression that the world had suddenly turned upside down. This illusion was quickly dispelled, however, by our coming in contact with the vapour, in the form of a most furious hail storm, which was propelled by the force of a gale of wind, that every moment seemed to increase, until its violence resembled nothing short of a hurricane; indeed, in some of the gusts, we were obliged to lie down flat on our faces to prevent ourselves from being literally blown off the bare face of the mountain, and it was only after almost superhuman efforts that we managed to reach a ledge of rock, which afforded us a temporary shelter from the raging storm. No one who has not personally experienced one of these terrific mountain hail storms can form the slightest conception of their force and violence. The hailstones are unlike those usually seen in England, both in size and shape, being about as large as pigeons' eggs, whilst in form they are nothing better than jagged and irregularly sharp angled pieces of ice, which almost bring blood wherever they strike the unprotected skin. By degrees the hail gave place to a perfect deluge of rain, and when we arrived at the torrent, up which we had waded in the morning, we found it, as we had expected it would be, swollen to nearly twice the size, and in many places the water took us up to our necks; but, of course, as we were now travelling with the stream, and had been thoroughly drenched by the rain before we took to the river, it made very little difference to us how deep the water was, especially as we were all excellent swimmers. On our arrival at the camping ground we discovered Mr. Webster lying snugly under a large log, fast asleep, with an empty bottle lying beside him, whilst not a vestage of our tents was to be seen in any direction; and, on waking the old gentleman up, he informed us that he had managed to place the blankets and food in a dry place before the storm struck the camp, but before he could secure the tents they were blown away out of sight by the gale. "Well!" exclaimed Nelson Barrington, "this is a pretty concern; we shall be obliged to thatch a Whare' (native name for house). Come along! Look alive! and cut some grass and flax, whilst we (meaning himself and me) go into the bush to cut some poles." In less than half an hour the requisite amount of material was collected, and in an hour from the time we commenced we had constructed a watertight house, such as the Maories build for themselves when travelling in the bush, large enough to accommodate the whole party, and whilst Nelson Barrington and I were engaged in thatching, his brother, Willie, with the assistance of the rest of the party, had managed to collect a large quantity of firewood, and after considerable difficulty succeeded in lighting a fire, so that in an incredibly short space of time we were far more comfortably housed than we should have been under our tents. It was very fortunate that Mr. Webster had returned to the camp when he did, as otherwise the whole of our provisions would have been spoilt, and our blankets drenched with the rain. Our supper was quickly cooked, and as rapidly discussed, when, as may be imagined, we were all only too glad to take off our saturated clothes and wrap ourselves up in the warm dry blankets. "This rain will flood the swamp," said Nelson; "we shall have a lively time of it tomorrow, or I am much mistaken." "Do you think the water will be deep?" asked Mr. Webster, with a very perceptible shudder. "Deep!" exclaimed Willie, "it will be a regular lake, and I should be very much surprised if we don't have to swim across it." "Dear me!" exclaimed Mr. Webster, "what on earth shall I do, as I can scarcely swim a stroke; I hope the rain will soon cease. "Well, it is of no use talking about it now,' I remarked, we can neither make it better or worse. Cross the swamp we must, somehow or other, and in the meantime I propose we go to sleep." By the first streak of day we all turned out, although the rain was still coming down in torrents, and after a hurried breakfast, we made all possible speed in repacking our swags, which, by the way, were considerably lighter than when we arrived. This done, we started upon our last tracks to the stream, which Messrs. Webster and Woon had declined to wade; it was terribly swollen, but we were compelled to push on, for every moment's delay only made matters worse. When we arrived on the edge of the swamp we were agreeably surprised to find that we had over-estimated the quantity of water likely to be found in it. Of course it was considerably deeper, but nothing like so bad as I had been given to understand it would be after such heavy rain. Our progress across the swamp was necessarily slow and tiresome, as many of the tufts of "Tohi Tohi," which had served us as a footing upon the previous occasion, were now submerged, and the distances to be jumped over between each were considerably increased, so that numerous as had been the duckings on the former occasion, they were nothing as compared with those we experienced this time. It would be incorrect to say that we walked across the swamp, for, from the time we started until we reached the opposite shore, it was one continuous flounder, half swimming and half wading, whilst the rain was coming down in blinding sheets of water, and the cold was intense. (To understand this fall of temperature, it is necessary to observe that the bed of this swamp lies about 2,500 feet above the level of the sea, and its water is principally supplied from snow deposits on the mountain.) After four hours of this wretched work, to our intense relief and satisfaction, we landed safely upon a spur of the Kaitaki range, but here a frightful difficulty presented itself, and one upon which we had not calculated, viz., we had missed the track. After wasting an hour or more in fruitless search, we were obliged to face the range without one, cutting our way through the underwood and supplejacks with our billhooks; nor was this the only part of the difficulty, for, when we eventually reached the top of the range, we found ourselves enveloped in dense black clouds, which effectually obscured our view for more than a few yards in any direction, so that it was impossible to ascertain which was the proper course to take in order to pick up the track which led down to Coad's clearing, or, in other words, we were lost in the clouds. For hours we searched in every direction, but without avail, and several of the party gave up all hope, whilst Mr. Woon deliberately sat down and cried bitterly in despair. It was most touching and pathetic to |