Sandie, my lad,' said his wife, laying an arm particularly white and round about his neck as she spoke, are you not a queer man and a stern?. I have been your wedded wife now these three years; and beside my dower, have brought you three as bonny bairns as ever smiled aneath a summer sun. man, you are a douce man, and fitter to be an elder than even Willie Greer himself, I have the minister's ain word for't, to put on these hard-hearted looks, and gang waving your arms that way, as if ye said, I winna take the counsel of sic a hempie as you,' your ain leal wife; I will and I maun have an explanation.' To all this Sandie Macharg replied, "It is written-"wives, obey your husbands;" but we have stayed in our devotion, so let us pray; and down he knelt; his wife knelt also, for she was as devout as bonnie; and beside them knelt their household, and all lights were extinguished.

Now this beats a', muttered his wife to herself; however, I shall be obedient for a time; but if I dinna ken what all this is for before the morn by sunkettime, tongue is nae longer a tongue, nor my hands worth wearing.' The voice of her husband in prayer interrupted this mental soliloquy; and ardently did he beseech to be preserved from the wiles of the fiends and the snares of Satan; from witches, ghosts, goblins, elves, fairies, spunkies, and water-kelpies; from the spectre shallop of Solway; from spirits visible and invisible; from the Haunted Ships and their unearthly tenants; from maritime spirits that plotted against godly men, and fell in love with their wivesNay, but his presence be near us!' said his wife, in a low tone of dismay. God guide my gude-man's wits: I never heard such a prayer from human lips before. But Sandie, my man, lordsake rise: what fearful light is this?-barn and byre, and stable, maun be in a blaze; and Hawkie and Hurley, Doddie and Cherrie, and Damson-plum, will be smoored with red, and scorched

with flame.' And a flood of light, but not so gross as a common fire, which ascended to heaven and filled all the court before the house, amply justified the good-wife's suspicions. But to the terrors of fire Sandie was as immoveable as he was to the imaginary groans of the barren wife of Laird Laurie; and he held his wife, and threatened the weight of his right-hand-and it was a heavy one-to all who ventured abroad or even unbolted the door. The neighing and prancing of horses, and the bellowing of cows, augmented the horrors of the night; and to any one who only heard the din, it seemed that the whole onstead was in a blaze, and horses and cattle perished in the flame. All wiles, common or extraordinary, were put in practice to entice or force the honest farmer and his wife to open the door; and when the like success attended every new stratagem, silence for a little while ensued, and a long, loud, and shrilling laugh wound up the dramatic efforts of the night. In the morning, when Laird Macharg went to the door, he found standing against one of the pilasters a piece of black ship oak, rudely fashioned into something like human form, and which skilful people declared would have been clothed with seeming flesh and blood, had he admitted his visitants. A synod of wise men and women sat upon the woman of timber, and she was finally ordered to be devoured by fire, and that in the open air. A fire was soon made, and into it the elfin sculpture was tossed from the prongs of two pair of pitchforks. And the blaze that arose was awful to behold; and hissings, and burstings, and loud cracklings, and strange noises, were heard in the midst of the flame; and when the whole sunk into ashes, a drinking cup of some precious metal was found; and this cup, fashioned no doubt by elfin skill, but rendered harmless by the purification with fire, the sons and daughters of Sandie Macharg and his wife drink out of to this very day."

Ar the midnight hour they met, the moon was in the wane, they dared not gaze upon her whilst they framed the magic spell. From the mossy bank the glow-worm's glimmering light played on the stream below. They stood beneath the alders dank, and spake the words of fear. He placed the mystic circlet on her hand, and watched the appointed time. From a maniac's grave they had stolen the earth, they scattered the dust on the stream, they gazed on the northern star. That star withdrew her sparkling rays, and veiled her in a cloud in darkness, and with dread they uttered the awful spell.-The spirits of evil rejoiced, the wind moaned sadly around, the glow-worms quenched their fires, and they who had tempted their fate, who had scattered the maniac's dust, read their doom in the sighs of the wind, and wished the dread accents untold.

The forester departed, he roamed in other climes, the past appeared a dream, he thought not of his plighted vows, nor remembered the force of the spell. She dwelt in the forest glades, beside that limpid stream, far from the haunts of men in deepest solitude. Now days and months had fled, but the forester returned not; the fifth day of the week, when clouds enveloped the northern star, the wind was abroad in the oaks, and the mist and rain were eddying in the valley, the maiden bent her steps to that half-dreaded spot, beside the alders dank. She gazed upon

the bright blue gem, the token of the spell; its colour was unchanged, for the wearer still was true. She longed to prove her lover's faith, and watched the heavens with dread; she uttered the words that wake the dead, and looked on the magic ring; the blue stone turned to deadly white, and she knew her lover false. The spirits that heard the charm rejoiced in the echoes around, the midnight fogs fell damp and thick, but the chill was in her soul; consumption hovered in the mist and crept into her breast.

Her eye was bright, her cheek was fair, but the spell had numbered her days. She dropt like the flower of the field, and passed from the face of the earth.-She sleeps beside the maniac's grave, beneath the northern star.-The forester returned.-The abode of her he once loved was desolate-the thoughts of former days resumed their power, the secret spell still worked upon his mind; it haunted him in sleep, it haunted him by day, it was around, unseen, but every where-it stamped his features with a dire deceit, the eye that met avoided him, the hearts of all turned from him, he sought affection but he found it not, he lived unloved, unwept he died; no holy prayers e'er blessed his grave, or bid his troubled spirit rest-his ashes moulder in the wind, the pilgrim shuns the spot, for there the spirits of evil perform their unearthly rites, and frame the spells of death.

AT the foot of the Giant, or Ogre Mountain, (so called from its pre-eminent height), in a fertile district of Silesia, there fell to be divided among several relations the property of a rich commoner, who had died without children, and whose various farms were scattered about in different quarters of this romantic country.

For this purpose, they had assembled in a small inn of the head village, and would have very soon come to an amicable agreement on the division of their inheritance, had it not been that it included the Field of Terror; which, of course, no one was inclined to receive for his portion.

Yet the surface of this field was adorned with blooming flowers, and a variety of wild shrubs and underwood, betokening at once the fertility of the soil, and the neglect of the husbandman. Many years indeed had passed since any one had ventured there with a plough, nor had any seeds been planted or sown but those which Nature herself supplied. Or if some bold adventurer had now and then made such an attempt, the work-oxen were invariably seized with an uncontrollable fury-even the ploughman and sower fled in wild affright,-complaining that horrible spectres floated around them, pretending to join in their labour, and looking over their shoulders with an hideous confidence and familiarity, which no mortal courage could endure.

Who should now take this accursed and ominous field into his allotment became the grand question in debate. To every one it appeared (according to the usual way of the world) that what to himself was even an idea insupportable, might, by his neighbour, be encountered without risk or hesitation. Thus they continued disputing till a late hour of the evening. At last, after an interval of silence, one of the party announced the following suggestion.

"We are," said he " according to the injunctions of our predecessor, obliged to make some provision for a

poor cousin, who lives here in this village. To us the girl is but very distantly related-besides, she will probably soon have a good husband to protect her, for she is amiable and prudent, and is commonly called the beautiful Sabina. Therefore, my counsel is, that we freely give to our cousin in a present this "Field of Terror." We shall then have at once fulfilled our duty, and supplied a dowry for Sabina ; which, unpromising as it appears at present, may yet prove no inconsiderable fortune, if her husband should chance to be sufficiently skilful and courageous to venture on its improvement." The rest of the party unanimously approved of this motion; and one of their number was immediately despatched on an embassy to acquaint Sabina with their determination.

Before this debate was at an end, Sabina had, in the dusk of the evening, heard a light knocking at the door. To her question of "Who was there?" an answer was returned, which induced her immediately to rise from her seat, open the lattice, and look out. It was the well remembered and long wishedfor voice of Conrad; a young man like herself, handsome and amiable, but also extremely poor; on which account he had left the village about two years before as a soldier, in hopes of returning with such a portion of worldly gain as might render practicable a marriage with the beloved mistress, whose affections he had already won.

Pleasant and affecting was it now to behold how the tall and graceful young soldier, with joyful countenance, proffered his faithful right hand to Sabina, while her bright and beautiful eyes, glistening with tears, beamed through the changeless verdure of ivy boughs on her changeless lover!

"Ah, Conrad!" said she, deeply blushing," heaven be praised that your life has been preserved;-for this alone I prayed in your long absence; nor do I now require any other boon of fortune!"-"Her golden gifts indeed,"

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said Conrad, smiling and shaking his head, "have come but sparingly-yet, at least, I have returned richer than I went; and if my dear Sabina has but courage, I think we might now venture on marriage, and honourably brave the world.""Ah, faithful Conrad !" sighed his mistress," to link thy fate malterably thus, for weal and wo, with a poor helpless orphan !"-"Dearest girl," interrupted the soldier" if thou lov'st me, say but yes,' and rest assured that all will go well-we shall live together happier indeed than king and queen!"-"But," said Sabina, you then free-no longer a soldier?" Conrad, without speaking, now searched in a leather purse which contained his little fortune, for a silver medal, which he handed to Sabina, who held it so, that the light of her lamp fell on the device. With old-fashioned wit, a broken drum was there represented, and Sabina began to read the motto"Thank heaven war has"- "Thank heaven war has an end"-" It should say," added Conrad," it is true, indeed, that peace is not yet ratified; but there is a truce, which will probably have good results; and meanwhile, our general has disbanded his troops.'

With joyful anticipations, Sabina now gave her hand to her lover; then opened the cottage door, and allowed him, as her accepted bridegroom, to enter the small apartment, where he sat down beside his mistress, and related how he had gained a small sum in gold and silver, from an Italian officer, whom he had honourably conquered in the field; and who, by the surrender of this treasure, had ransomed his life.-Turning her wheel industriously, and smiling softly, at intervals, on her brave lover, Sabina congratulated herself, that neither to her own or to Conrad's future gains, the slightest imputation of injustice or violence could be attached.

During this conversation, her cousin made his appearance to deliver his embassy. Sabina, with modest blushes,

introduced him to Conrad as her accepted lover, just returned from an honourable campaign. "Ha, then," said her. new guest, I have luckily come in

the very nick of time; for if by chance your bridegroom has returned from the wars without much worldly gain, the dowry with which, by authority of your other cousins, I am now to present you, will no doubt be very welcome to him." Conrad, on the contrary, was of a spirit too proud and independent, and besides, was too much of a romantic lover, to express any sort of exultation on hearing this address. The humble Sabina, however, as yet unconscious of what her cousins really intended, seemed to acknowledge, on this occasion, the special favour of Providence, and cast down her eyes, with soft smiles of gladness and gratitude. But when she now heard that her whole portion was to be the Field of Terror, then the selfish avarice of her cousins struck at once with icy coldness on her heart, and she could no longer restrain the starting tears of disappointment. Her cousin looked at her with scornful smiles, pretending to regret that she should have reckoned on any better share of the inheritance, this being a much larger portion, than, from the degree of her relationship, she was entitled to receive.

Upon this, he wished immediately to retire. Conrad, however, intercepted his retreat, and, with a cold composure, which often accompanied his greatest indignation, he thus addressed him: "Sir, I perceive that of the good intentions of the deceased to my betrothed wife, you and your companions have chosen to make a jest, and that you are altogether resolved that not one farthing shall accrue to her from your inheritance. Yet we now take, in God's name, your allotment, hoping that this Field of Terror, which, in the hands of envious and avaricious poltroons, might have remained barren, may, under the management of a brave soldier, prove of more worth than you suppose."