towards thyself, there is always great danger that it will be forgotten towards others. The character which seems the most natural for women to be dressed in, in the relation which they bear to their husband, is that of lovely dependance. I mean that the woman of thy choice should have the kindness and delicacy of a female, that she should raise her eyes to thee, and place upon thee her whole reliance for protection and kindness. This should be accompanied with a cheerful frankness, the parent of confidence, and that unrestrained communication of thought and feeling which identifies the souls of man and wife as one. I will not omit to mention that thy nature, John, being pensive and thoughtful, it will best suit thee to meet with a cheerful and lively temper in thy wife. I affirm not that every one should look for a temper opposite to his own in these engagements: but I maintain that too thoughtful a frame of mind is liable to beget unhappiness, when unrelieved by cheerfulness and vivacity. She should be mistress of prepossessing manners and a gentle address, calculated not to strike but to please; and should be well tutored in the performance of those inferior civilities and attentions, which are scarcely less amiable than a habit of general benevolence. The qualities which I have prescribed imply an absence of all testiness and irritable feeling, which, under the best disposition, may embitter every kind of social'life; of all coldness, which is the grave of love, and, radically, incompatible with the conjugal cha

racter; and of the unfortunate failing of feminine loquacity, an exemption from which will be meritorious in proportion as the instances of it are uncommon. Testiness in a wife is calculated to irritate a man, coldness to alienate him, and loquacity to madden him.

Last, but not least in importance, let me advise thee first carefully to assure thyself of the state of thy beloved's affections as towards thyself, and to ascertain beyond the reach of doubt that she is well disposed towards thee. For it is observable that the greatest goodness may exist, and that both parties may be equally amiable and estimable, and still be wanting in this bias of their hearts towards each other. Young people are often deceived by warm feelings. There are flights and eccentric motions which imitate love, as there are meteors and shooting lights which represent stars; but they are equally fallacious, equally the phantoms of heat, and equally fugitive.

I have written fully to thee, and know not that I have any thing to add, but should I find any thing more to mention I will put it in the form of a postscript. That I wish thee every good that falls within the sphere of humanity thou can'st not doubt; and wishing that thou may'st well succeed in thy present search, and that God may direct thee to a wife amiable and vir tuous, and possessing all the qualities I have above described, l ́subscribe myself, esteemed kinsman John, thy friend,

JACOB WEAVERS.

Sur l'appuis du monde
Que faut-il qu'on fonde
L'Espoir?

Cette mer profonde,
En debris feconde,
Fait voir

Calme au matin; mais l'onde,
Et l'orage y gronde

Le soir!

On what can mortals here
Rest hope devoid of fear,
From danger free ?
The morning sun so fair
May show no sign of care
On the calm sea :
Before high noon is there
The storm has rag'd, and where

Can the proud fleet be?

Ir was in the delightful season of summer, when all nature was clad in her gayest attire, that I was spending a week at the residence of an intimate friend, who lived near one of the largest mercantile towns of this vast trading empire. Among the many diversions which his good nature devised for me, our passion for variety often extended to a ride in the beautiful park, which is but a few miles distant from the town. On one of these occasions, under the auspices of a cloudless sun, and the buoyancy derived from the western breeze, I was particularly charmed with the appearance of a handsome and superior looking house at the distance of about an ordinary field from us, where neatness and gentility seemned the ruling deities. The windows, of which some were open to invite the restorative fragrance of the summer's gale, were ornamented with choice trees and green-house plants, tastefully selected and nicely arranged, while light folds of elegant drapery just appeared on each side, and were seen waving in the wind. A number of shrubs and climbing plants grew in the soil at the bottom, and extended their matted tendrils part of the way up the wall in front. The house was environed by extensive pleasure grounds, and by gardens laid out by the finger of taste, the intricacies of which were rendered for the most part impervious to the view of a distant beholder by the thick embowering shades of trees and shrubs that were interspersed in them. Among these umbrageous arcades there wound, in circles occasionally visible to the eye, broad gravel walks, whose sinuosities deceived the stranger with a double distance, and extended to the bottom of the garden, where the broad river that joins the sea rolled its purifying waters. Opulence seemed here to riot in exuberance, which was only controuled and corrected by the hand of taste, and which, combined with this, formed a delicate charm which was irresistible to the polished mind. Several airy figures in feminine attire were seen Eur. Mag. April, 1823,

playing near the windows, and at times indulged, at times eluded with tantalizing uncertainty, the gaze of the beholder.

I pulled the reins of our horse, and stopped the gig in a position that allowed of my better contemplating the fascinating scene. "And whose house is that," I enquired, after a pause, of my entertainer, "which seems already to pronounce so favourably of its inhabitant ?" "It is the house," said he," of Mr. Montague, a ship-merchant, a gentleman of honourable extraction, whose dealings are as extensive as they are creditable. He is a man of exalted reputation in the public esteem, a person of highly cultivated mind, of great generosity of heart, and of a delicate urbanity of manners. He carries on, with a partner, the most comprehensive speculations on the basis of a wellfounded credit; and the public streets, every day, present the appearance of numbers of his drays, conveying timber to and fro to the places for which they are destined. He has a family as amiable as himself; and for his serenity of disposition and domestic enjoyments, is at once the love and envy of all his neighbours." I paused after my friend's brief narrative, but it was only to dwell more at ease upon the fairy scene before me, and to imagine more nearly the gesture and manners of the man who was reported to be the happy possessor of the retreat. I thought I could never feast my eyes enough on so inviting a prospect, and felt an immoderate curiosity to become acquainted with the inmates of the mansion. As I reluctantly turned away my head, and slowly put the horse in motion, I mentioned to my friend, whose name was Herbert, the wish that was uppermost in my breast. He almost anticipated it, and proffered his services to introduce me personally to the family, with which, he said, he was well acquainted. Our ride that morning was soon at an end, and in the short space of a few days Herbert fulfilled his promise, and I was admitted to

R

the intimacy of the venerated Montague and his amiable consort and family. I found a man strong in his integrity, solid in, his informa tion, clear in his conclusions, liberal in his views, frank in his communications, and gentlemanly in his address. His wife was all that sweet ness of temper and delicacy of thought can picture to the imagination of a lovely woman, wedded to the affections of her husband. The family then consisted of three daughters, of whom two were nearly of the same age, being about fifteen, and nearly equal in beauty and accomplishments; and if a preference of the creature to the creator could ever be pardonable, one might find in them an excuse for youthful idola try. His style of entertainment was liberal, yet decorous and prudent; his furniture was handsome but plain; his demeanour open but ve nerable.

Among those who had a place at his table at this time was a young gentleman named Henry Charleton, a frequent but welcome visitor, whose parents lived in a distant part of the country. He was at that period of life when the green bloom of boyhood begins to be embrowned with the sun of opening youth; when the body revels in elasticity, and the mind feels with trembling consciousness the expansion of its faculties on a new and interesting scene. His temper was naturally cheerful, and his spirits displayed themselves in incessant sallies of mirth, not less pleasing, to the old than to the younger members of the family. They were generally, indeed, addresssed to the latter, and principally to the two young ladies I particularised, whose years and ideas alike corresponded with his own. But his good nature was dis pensed with so impartial an equality to both of these, that it was scarcely possible to tell to which his young heart preponderated; nor is the reader likely to derive any assistance in his conjectures from a more particular description of them. Eve lina was the eldest, and, of the two, in manner, more gentle and tender; but still her cheek glowed with a rather brighter tint than that which enlivened her sister's. She had dark black hair, and a jet black eye,

whose brilliant orb swam in circles of liquid crystal, and pierced the hearts of all she looked on with a keen and sudden pleasure. Her figure was not tall but elegant, and her person in general was small but symmetrical. Grace had stamped her signet on every limb aud every gesture. Marietta was much of the same size, and only appeared so far different in constitution as her complexion was rather more delicates but in all things besides she seemed no other than a twin sister of Eve lina. Her cheek showed more of the lilly than the rose, and her hair was of a bright shining glossy brown. She was less frank in her manner, and had a little more dignity in her demeanour. Her temper was not less sweet, but her disposition was more energetic and resoInte. Each was formed to be the favourite of one of two men, between whom a slight diversity of inclination prevailed. The lover, fondest of softness and diffidence, would attach himself to Evelina; while he, who preferred spirit with virtue, would bow to the influence of Marietta. Expanding youth had already smoothed their cheeks with the down of his wing, and new-inspired emotions lent a shade of blushing fer vour to their skin. Both possessed earsdelicately attuned to the sounds of music, both touched with magic softness the piano-forte, and ac companied its liquid notes with the richer melody of their enchanting voices. Evelina, indeed, exceeded her sister in the one accomplishment of fingering the harp with an air and manner, that pictured to the mind the vision of some angelic minstrel. In all other perfections they appeared to be equally distinguished: in the art of embroidery, in all the niceties of the needle, in drawing, in writing, they advanced step by step to the climax of excellence.

I could perceive that the parents doated on these two blooming scions with a fondness that prudence could scarcely controul. The mother embarked in them all her hopes of happiness, the father looked to them for the solace and blessing of his declining years. All that ingenuity could devise, and kindness execute, was done to increase the satisfac

tion and facilitate the improvement of the two sisters. In affection to their parents they were mutually emulous, nor was any inequality of interest observable in the good off ces with which they rewarded the attentions of their playful visitor. I was one who soon contracted a friendship with the young aspirant, in which disparity of years was entirely overlooked. As I had the good fortune to effect a favourable impression on the various members of the family, I received an invitation, with my friend Herbert, to continue my visits while I staid; so that I was several times again un der Mr. Montague's roof, and in truth was much influenced by this circumstance in prolonging my stay in the neighbourhood. Our time generally passed in innocent diversions within the house when the weather was unfavourable, and in the open air when the season tempted us to enjoy the freshness of the breeze. At the bottom of the garden, and on the edge of the river, there stood a summer-house built with every view to convenience, in which the young ladies often came to sit, bringing with them their sewing or the materials for writing, or p practising together the melodious inflexions of their fine voices. Hither young Charleton and myself attended them, fond of being satellites within their radiation, and amused them with reading alternately from some favour ite book, or dwelt with them on the rich empurpled beauties of the country, or the still and glowing effulgence of the summer's sky. On one of these occasions, when we were collected in the summer-house, among other subjects upon which the conversation turned, a sugges tion was started by my young friend Henry in the innocent ebullition of his gallantry, that myself and he should each make some present to the two young ladies, to be retained by them as a remembrance of the happy meetings with which accident had embellished the morning of our lives. I hailed the suggestion with enthusiasm, and waited not a moment after the termination of our conversation ére I accompanied my young friend to the different shops of ornamental articles in the town. Our choice, after long examination

and scrutiny, was at last made at the cabinet-makers, by our purchasing two handsome red inorocco work-boxes, surmounted on small embossed feet, and richly ornamented with gold. A neat plate of silver-gilt on the top of each work-box bore, in tasteful characters, the respective names of Evelina and Marietta Montague. We presented one of these to each of the two young ladies, and received a more than proportionate reward in the delicate thanks and chaste blushes which they produced.

But the time for my departure arrived. With heart dejected I paid a last visit to take leave of my new acquaintances, and parted from them at length with mingled admiration and regret. I already felt a congeniality of soul with the worthy Mr. Montague, a sincere respect for his lady, and a kind of paternal affection for the daughters; and I even anticipated a future period, when I' might see the sprightly Charleton claiming the hand of one of these as the reward of his long and welltried attachment.

Several years elapsed, and I was whirled with the rest of men in the vicissitudes of human affairs, which introduced me to many new friends, and separated me from many old ones. I did not within that time re-visit my friend Herbert, nor did I see any thing more of Mr. Montague or his family. The business I had engaged in fed me to perform frequent voyages to and from my native country, and in returning on the last of these, after encountering the perils of a tremendous storm, we were thrown much out of our course homeward, and compelled to put in at another sea-port, higher on the coast than the one we intended. This proved to be the same town where I had before formed my delightful acquaintance, and which I beheld at present on that account with stronger emotions of pleasure. It was now the month of October, when, after coming into the docks, and repairing the injury done to my dress, I had my horse landed that I might ride into the town to find an inn agreeable to my wishes. The evening was advancing with its blue autumnal mists, and as my thoughts were a little dejected by

what had past, and the shades of parting day inclined to melancholy, I rode but slowly on, since I was conscious of no cause to excite my diligence. The town, though really populous, appeared comparatively desolate; and I seemed to have the undisputed enjoyment of the public way, when on proceeding through one of the largest streets I observed before me a collection of people, who were anxiously pressing for admittance into one house. Importance or concern was depicted on the visages of all, and I made haste to inquire the cause of the assemblage from a respectable old man who stood on the edge of the causeway, only deterred from joining the throng by the violence of the pressure. "In that house," said he, "they are proceeding to sell by auction the goods of a respectable but unfortunate man, which have been removed hither from his family residence. All the town sympathize in his misfortunes, and would glad ly alleviate them. Many are now pressing into the room from a better motive than curiosity, and wish by their numbers and emulation to raise the prices of the articles, and im prove the sale." I was unconsciously interested in his humane narration, and, feeling myself at liberty to follow the bent of my inclination, I put up my horse at a neighbour ing inn, and joining the crowd on foot gained access into the saleroom. I gazed about for some time with the listlessness and dull surprise of a stranger, nor was my attention much arrested by several articles of furniture which I saw sold. At length the auctioneer's assistant handed to him something which drew forth a general buzz of commendation, and appeared to bear promise of greater value. Immediately a faint voice, tremulous with age and indicative of rustic artlessless, exclaimed with emotion, "those are not to be sold, sir," and I be held the two morocco work-boxes which young Charleton and myself had presented to the Miss Montagues. Imagination can scarce grasp the extent of misery that shot through my bosom, at thus seeing the certain signs of the ruin of my ancient friend. A trembling dizziness came over my eyes, and with

difficulty I gained the door to escape the astonished gaze of the byestanders. I then ran with the speed: of lightning to the residence of my friend Herbert, impetuously rang the bell, and, on meeting him at the door, poured out my full griefs into his bosom. I found young Charleton already in his house, where he was staying; they were conscious of the whole calamity, and, the moment they saw the cause of my emotion, acknowlenged the empire of sympathy, and mixed their sorrows with my own. Tears indeed were denied me, but sighs and regrets depicted the agitation of my soul. When I regained a degree of com posure I took my seat beside them, while Herbert briefly recapitulated the events that led to the lamented crisis.

"About two years," said he, "after your departure, while Mr. Montague was basking in the sun of opulence, rich in the tribute of every man's esteem, and richer still in the smiles and affection of his family, the bolt of destruction was levelled at his house, and his eldest daughter Evelina fell a sacrifice to consumption. This was indeed a heavy blow, and almost bowed Mr. Montague to the earth, while his wife gave herself up to the tyranny of desperation, and remained for a whole day under a total alienation of mind. But the cup of their misery was not yet full, and they were doomed again to stoop beneath the rod of afflicting providence. Among those who waited most on the dying Evelina, and who felt more or less the ill effects of their attention,, Marietta had been foremost in all the assiduities of love, and it was perceived that the viper had fixed his rapacious fangs on her heart. The long confinement to Evelina's room also injured the health of the delicate Mrs. Montague, but her frame appeared by degrees to rise superior to the attack. It was not so with Marietta. A slight, short cough first attracted the notice of her friends, and presented the earliest symptoms of approaching danger, and she was now gnawed with the worm of imparted consumption,, and betrayed all the signs of declension which foreran the dissolution of her sister. The disease,