The young Ginevra was his all in life,
Still as she grew, for ever in his sight.
She was all gentleness, all gaiety,

Her pranks the favourite theme of every tongue.
But now the day was come, the day, the hour;
And in the lustre of her youth, she gave
Her hand, with her heart in it, to Francesco.

Great was the joy, but at the bridal feast,

When all sat down, the bride was wanting there—
Nor was she to be found! Her father cried,
""Tis but to make a trial of our love!"

And fill'd his glass to all; but his hand shook,
And soon from guest to guest the panic spread.
'Twas but that instant she had left Francesco,
Laughing and looking back, and flying still,
Her ivory tooth imprinted on his finger,
But now, alas! she was not to be found;
Nor from that hour could anything be guess'd,
But that she was not! Weary of his life,
Francesco flew to Venice, and forthwith
Flung it away in battle with the Turk.

Orsini lived; and long might'st thou have seen
An old man wandering as in quest of something,
Something he could not find-he knew not what.
When he was gone, the house remain'd awhile
Silent and tenantless then went to strangers.

Full fifty years were past, and all forgot,
When on an idle day, a day of search
Mid the old lumber in the gallery,

That mouldering chest was noticed; and 'twas said
By one as young, as thoughtless, as Ginevra,

66

Why not remove it from its lurking-place?" 'Twas done as soon as said; but on the way

It burst-it fell; and lo! a skeleton;

And here and there a pearl, an emerald-stone,
A golden clasp, clasping a shred of gold:

1 Venice, in the north of the Adriatic Sea, built on a number of islands. "There is a glorious city in the sea. The sea is in the broad and narrow streets, Ebbing and flowing; and the salt sea-weed

Clings to the marble of her palaces.
No track of men, no footsteps to
and fro,

Lead to her gates. The path lies
o'er the sea
Invisible."

All else had perish'd

save a nuptial ring,
And a small seal, her mother's legacy,
Engraven with a name, the name of both -
"GINEVRA." There had she found a grave!
Within that chest had she conceal'd herself,
Fluttering with joy, the happiest of the happy;
When a spring-lock, that lay in ambush there,
Fasten'd her down for ever!

forma. pluma. charger. fido. signum.

numerus.

funus.

natum.

At the period to which the following poem refers, A. D. 998, the house of Saxony ruled over the kingdom of Italy. "At the age of fifteen, the young Otho III., entered Italy with a German army, to receive the united crowns of the empire and of Lombardy. With the help of the same army, he brought about the elevation of his relative, Bruno of Saxony (who took the name of Gregory V.), to the papal chair. The Italians perceived with amazement that the Germans, by whom they had never been conquered, treated them as a conquered nation; that they no longer paid any regard to their rights and privileges; that they forcibly appropriated to themselves the tiara of Rome, the imperial crown, and the royalty of Lombardy, to each of which, election alone could confer a right." 1 Crescentius, a man whose heart burned with the remembrance of the ancient glory of Rome, took the title of consul, and placed himself at the head of the cause of Roman liberty, of Italian independence. From the condition of a subject and an exile, he twice rose to the command of the city, oppressed, expelled, and created the popes, and formed a conspiracy for restoring the authority of the Greek emperors. In the fortress of Angelo, or Mole of Hadrian, which commands the principal bridge and entrance of Rome, he maintained an obstinate siege, but was at last reduced to capitulate to the youthful Otho III., on a promise of safety. The latter, however, contrary to the capitulation to which he had sworn, put to death the champion of Italy. His body was suspended on a gibbet, and his head was exposed on the battlements of the castle.

Otho III. died on the 19th January, 1002. His death was caused by poison, which was given him by Stefania, the widow of the consul Cre

scentius.

Sismondi's" Fall of the Roman Empire."

I look'd upon his brow -no sign
Of guilt or fear was there;

He stood as proud by that death-shrine
As even o'er despair

He had a power: in his eye
There was a quenchless energy,

A spirit that could dare

The deadliest form that death could take, And dare it for the daring's sake.

He stood, the fetters on his hand,

He raised them haughtily;

And had that grasp been on the brand, It could not wave on high

With freer pride than it waved now; Around he look'd with changeless brow On many a torture nigh:

The rack, the chain, the axe, the wheel,
And, worst of all, his own red steel.

I saw him once before; he rode
Upon a coal-black steed,

And tens of thousands throng'd the road,
And bade their warrior speed.

His helm, his breast-plate, were of gold, And grav'd with many dint, that told Of many a soldier's deed;

The sun shone on his sparkling mail,

And danced his snow-plume on the gale.

But now he stood chain'd and alone,
The headsman by his side,

The plume, the helm, the charger gone;
The sword, which had defied
The mightiest, lay broken near;
And yet no sign or sound of fear
Came from that lip of pride;
And never king or conqueror's brow
Wore higher look than did his now.

He bent beneath the headsman's stroke
With an uncover'd eye;

A wild shout from the numbers broke
Who throng'd to see him die.

There is a land, of every land the pride,
Beloved by heaven o'er all the world beside;
Where brighter suns dispense serener light,
And milder moons emparadise the night;
A land of beauty, virtue, valour, truth,
Time-tutor❜d age, and love-exalted youth :
The wandering mariner, whose eye explores
The wealthiest isles, the most enchanting shores,
Views not a realm so bountiful and fair,
Nor breathes the spirit of a purer air;
In every clime the magnet of his soul,
Touch'd by remembrance, trembles to that pole :
For in this land of heaven's peculiar grace,
The heritage of nature's noblest race,
There is a spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest,
Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside
His sword and sceptre, pageantry and pride,
While in his soften'd looks benignly blend
The sire, the son, the husband, father, friend:
Here woman reigns: the mother, daughter, wife,
Strews with fresh flowers the narrow way of life!
In the clear heaven of her delightful eye,
An angel-guard of loves and graces lie;

Around her knees domestic duties meet,

And fire-side pleasures gambol at her feet.

Where shall that land, that spot of earth be found?
Art thou a man?- a patriot?-look around;
Oh, thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps roam,
That land THY COUNTRY, and that spot THY HOME!
O'er China's garden-fields, and peopled floods;
In California's pathless world of woods;

Round Andes'3 heights, where Winter, from his throne,
Looks down in scorn upon the Summer zone;
By the gay borders of Bermuda's isles,
Where Spring with everlasting verdure smiles;
On pure Madeira's 5 vine-robed hills of health;
In Java's swamps of pestilence and wealth;
Where Babel stood, where wolves and jackals drink,
Midst weeping willows on Euphrates' brink;
On Carmel's crest; by Jordan's reverend stream,
Where Canaan's glories vanish'd like a dream;
Where Greece, a spectre, haunts her heroes' graves,
And Rome's vast ruins darken Tiber's waves;
Where broken-hearted Switzerland bewails
Her subject mountains, and dishonour'd vales;

1 China is celebrated for its highly cultivated lands agriculture forming the principal occupation of the people. Every acre of ground capable of cultivation is turned up by the spade or the plough, and converted into a rice or a corn-field. Numerous rivers and canals intersect the country, and navigation is so common, that almost as many people live on the water as on the land.

2 California is on the western side of N. America, and is divided into Old or Lower, and New or Upper California. In the latter part there are very large forests.

3 Andes, a chain of mountains, running through S. America, from the Isthmus of Panama to Terra del Fuego. 4 Bermudas, four islands in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of America. They belong to Britain, and are used principally as a place for convicts.

5 Madeira, an island in the Atlantic Ocean, noted for its wines, and the salubrity of its climate. Invalids resort to it for the sake of their health.

6 Java, an island of the East Indies, to the S. of Borneo. It is low, and in some places marshy, which renders the air unhealthy. Rice is largely cultivated.

7 Babel or Babylon, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Chaldea or Babylonia, and one of the most famous cities in the world. It was situated on the river Euphrates. Her destruction and condition are thus foretold :-"Therefore the wild beasts of the desert, with the wild beasts of the island, shall dwell there and it shall be no more inhabited for ever."— Jer. 1. 39.

:

8 Carmel, a famous mountain of Palestine, forming the southern boundary of the Bay of Acre.

9 Here her ancient and present condition are contrasted. Thus, too, Byron speaks of her present state: "Shrine of the mighty! can it be, That this is all remains of thee? Approach thou craven crouching slave,

Say, is not this Thermopyla?"