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very spot where this mysterious appearance had been observed. She then gave the ring to her lord, it was that which he had formerly worn. "Fatal, fatal night! Listen, Bertha!" exclaimed he, in a tone of anguish. "Impelled by curiosity, I visited the cave of the Water-Lady; it was on the third of the moon. She compelled me to an interchange of rings. It was from her hand that I received this fatal one, which you observe on my finger, and which I am bound by a solemn vow never to lay aside. I vowed also," he shuddered as he spoke to consent to receive a visit from her on the third of the moon ; this I was obliged to do, or incur all the consequence of her wrath, while yet in her power: from that fatal period, I have been obliged to submit to these intercourses with a strange being the consequence of my unhallowed curiosity. Last night was due to her!" Bertha listened in horror; the Count looked on his finger, the circlet of emerald was gone; how he knew not, but he hoped that he was now released from his terrible vow, yet felt a strange presentiment of impending misfortune. Bertha, notwithstanding her own distress, endeavoured to cheer him, but became alarmed herself at the ashy paleness of his countenance: he tried to persuade her he was not so disturbed

as she imagined, and turned to a mir ror, for the purpose of seeing whether his features were the deadly aspect she fancied; but a cry of horror issued from his lips: the mirror had reflected his dress, but neither his hands nor his face. He felt that he was under the bann of that mysterious being, with whom his fate was so strangely linked. A deadly chill darted through his heart; he rushed to his chamber, but no sooner had he laid his fingers upon the bolt of the door, than be felt them grasped by a cold icy hand. "Albert," cried a voice" thou hast broken the compact so solemnly ratified between us. Last night was the third of the moon : know that spirits may not be trifled with." Bertha had followed her bridegroom: she had heard the awful voice-she felt that some strange visitation was at hand, yet was not, therefore, deterred from entering the apartment.

The next day, no traces of either Albert or Bertha could be discovered, they were never seen again; and all agreed that they had perished by the revenge of the "Water-Lady." The castle was deserted; became a ruin, and the peasantry used ever afterwards to point out with dismay, the fatal cavern of the "Black Water Vault," and to relate to the traveller the legend of the " Water-Lady.

THE HARP.

A Tale.

FROM THE GERMAN OF KÖRNER.

THE Secretary Sellner had begun to taste the first spring of happiness with his youthful bride. Their union was not founded on the vague and evanescent passion which often lives and dies almost in the same moment-sympathy and esteem formed the basis of their attachment. Time and experience,

without diminishing the ardour, had confirmed the permanence of their mutual sentiments. It was long since they had discovered that they were formed for each other, but want of fortune imposed the necessity of a tedious probation: till Sellner, by obtaining the patent for a place, found himself

sunk on her pillow, and soon fell into a slumber, from whtch she awoke no more; and when the clock was striking nine, it was observed that she had breathed her last. The agonies of Sellner may be more easily conceived than described; during some days it appeared doubtful whether he would survive; and when, after a confinement of some weeks, he was at length permitted to leave his chamber, the powers of youth seemed paralyzed, his limbs were enfeebled, his frame emaciated, and he sunk into a state of stupor, from which he was only to be roused by the bitterness of grief. To this poignant anguish succeeded a fixed melancholy; a deep sorrow consecrated the memory of his beloved her apartment remained precisely in the state in which it had been left previous to her death; on the

in possession of an easy competence, and on the following Sunday brought home in triumph his long betrothed bride. A succession of ceremonious visits for some weeks engrossed many of those hours that the young couple would have devoted to each other. But no sooner was this generous duty fulfilled than they eagerly escaped from the intrusion of society to their delicious solitude; and the fine summer evenings were but too short for plans and anticipations of future felicity. Sellner's flute and Josephine's harp filled up the intervals of conversation, and with their harmonious unison seemed to sound the prelude to many succeeding years of bliss and concord. One evening, when Josephine had played longer than usual, she suddenly complained of head-ache; she had, in reality, risen with this ymptom of indisposition, but conceal-work-table lay her unfinished task; the d it from her anxious husband: na- harp stood in its accustomed nook turally susceptible of nervous untouched and silent; every night plaints, the attention which she had Sellner went in a sort of pilgrimage to lent to the music, and the emotions it the sanctuary of his love, and taking his excited in her delicate frame, had in- flute, breathed forth, in deep plaintive creased a slight indisposition to fever, tones, his fervent aspirations for the and she was now evidently ill. A phy-cherished shade. He was thus standsician was called in, who so little anticipated danger, that he promised a cure on the morrow. But after a night spent in delirium, her disorder was pronounced a nervous fever, which completely baffled the efforts of medical skill, and on the ninth day was confessedly mortal. Josephine herself was perfectly sensible of her approaching dissolution, and with mild resignation submitted to her

fate.

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Addressing her husband, for the last time, she exclaimed, "My dear Edward, heaven can witness it is with unutterable regret that I depart from this fair world, where I have found with thee a state of supreme felicity; but though I am no longer permitted to live in those arms, doubt not thy faithful Josephine shall still hover 'round thee, and as a guardian-angel encircle thee till we meet again." She had scarcely uttered these words when she

ing in Josephine's apartment, lost in thought, when a broad gleam of moonlight fell on the open window, and from the neighbouring tower the watchman proclaimed the ninth hour; at this moment, as if some invisible spirit, the harp was heard to respond to his Alute in perfect unison. Thunderstruck at this prodigy, Sellner suspended his flute, and the harp became silent; he then began, with deep emotion, Josephine's favourite air, when the harp resumed its melodious vibrations, thrilling with ecstacy. At this confirmation of his hopes he sunk on the ground, no longer doubting the presence of the beloved spirit; and whilst he opened his arms to clasp her to his breast, he seemed to drink in the breath of spring, and a pale glimmering light flitted before his eyes. "I know thee, blessed spirit !" exclaimed the bewildered Sell"thou didst promise to hover

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round my steps, to encircle me with thy immortal love. Thou hast redeemed thy word; it is thy breath that glows on my lips; I feel myself surrounded by thy presence." With rapturous emotion he snatched the flute, and the harp again responded, but gradually its tones became softer, till the melodious murmurs ceased, and all again was silent. Sellner's feeble frame was completely disordered by these tumultuous emotions; when he threw himself on his bed, it was only to rave deliriously of the harp. After a sleepless night he rose only to ancipate the renewal of his emotions; with unspeakable impatience he awaited the return of evening, when he again repaired to Josephine's apartment; where, as before, when the clock struck nine, the harp began to play, in concert with the flute, and prolonged its melodious accompaniment till the tones gradually subsided to a faint and tremulous vibration, and all again was silent. Exhausted by this second trial, it was with difficulty that Sellner tottered to his chamber, where the visible alteration in his appearance excited so much alarm, that the physician was again called in, who, with sorrow and dismay, detected aggravated symptoms of the fever which had proved so fatal to Josephine; and so rapid was its progress that in two days the patient's fate appeared inevitable. Sellner became more composed, and revealed to the physician the secret of his late mysterious communications, avowing his be

lief that he should not survive the approaching evening. No arguments could remove from his mind this fatal presage: as the day declined, it gained strength: and he earnestly entreated, as his last request, to be conveyed to Josephine's apartment. The prayer was granted. Sellner no sooner reached the wellknown spot than he gazed with ineffable satisfaction on every object endeared by affectionate remembrance.

The evening hour advanced; he dismissed his attendants, the physician alone remaining in the apartment. When the clock struck nine Sellner's countenance was suddenly illumined; the glow of hope and pleasure flushed his wan cheeks, and he passionately exclaimed

Josephine, greet me once more at parting, that I may overcome the pangs of death." At these words the harp breathed forth a strain of jubilee, a sudden gleam of light waved round the dying man, who, on beholding the sign, exclaimed—“ [ come I come to thee!" and sunk senseless on the couch. It was in vain that the astonished physician hastened to his assistance, and he too late discovered that life had yielded in the con flict. It was long before he could bring himself to divulge the mysterious circumstances which had preceded Sellner's dissolution; but once, in a moment of confidence, he was insensibly led to make the detail to a few intimate friends, and finally produced the harp, which he had appropriated to himself as a legacy from the dead.

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The following is one of a series of interesting tales on the traditions of the Scottish coast, and was originally printed in the London Magazine.

ON the Scottish side of the sea of Solway, is seen from Allanbay and Skinverness the beautiful old castle of Caerlaverock, standing on a small woody promontory, bounded by the river Nith on one side, by the deep sea on another, by the almost impassable morass of Solway on a third; while far beyond may be observed the three spires of Dumfries, and the high green hills of Dalswinton and Keir. It was formerly the residence of the almost

princely names of Douglas, Seaton, Kirkpatrick, and Maxwell: it is now the dwelling place of the hawk and the owl; its courts are a lair for cattle, and its walls afford a midnight shelter to the passing smuggler; or, like those of the city doomed in Scripture, are places for the fishermen to dry their nets. Between this fine old ruin and the banks of the Nith, at the foot of a grove of pines, and within a stone cast of tidemark, the remains of a rude cottage

are yet visible to the curious eye-the bramble and the wild plum have in vain tried to triumph over the huge, gray, granite blocks which composed the foundations of its walls. The vestiges of a small garden may still be traced, more particularly in summer, when roses and lilies, and other relics of its former beauty begin to open their bloom, clinging amid the neglect and desolation of the place, with something like human affection to the soil. This rustic ruin presents no attractions to the eye of the profound antiquary, compared to those of its more stately companion, Caerlaverock castle; but with this rude cottage and its garden, tradition connects a tale so wild, and so moving, as to elevate it, in the contemplation of the peasantry, above all the princely feasts and feudal atrocities of its neighbour.

tain of Criffel, confronting its more stately, but less beautiful neighbour, Skiddaw; while between them flowed the deep, wide, sea of Solway, hemmed with cliff, and castle, and town. As I sat looking on the increasing multitude of waters, and watching the success of the fishermen, I became aware of the approach of an old man, leading, as one would conduct a dog in a string, a fine young milch cow, in a halter of twisted hair, which passing through the ends of two pieces of flat wood, fitted to the animal's cheek-bones, pressed her nose, and gave her great pain whenever she became disobedient. The cow seemed willing to enjoy the luxury of a browze on the rich pasture which surrounded the little ruined cottage; but in this humble wish she was not to be indulged, for the aged owner, coiling up the tether, and seizing her closely by the head, conducted her past the tempting herbage, towards a small and closecropped hillock, a good stone cast distant. In this piece of self-denial the animal seemed reluctant to sympathize

she snuffed the fresh green pasture, plunged, and startled, and nearly broke away. What the old man's strength seemed nearly unequal to, was accomplished by speech." Bonnie lady, bonnie lady," said he, in a soothing tone, "it canna be, it mauna behinnie hinnie! what would become of my three bonny grand-bairns, made fatherless and mitherless by that false flood afore us, if they supped milk, and tasted butter, that came from the greensward of this doomed and unblessed spot?" The animal appeared to comprehend something in her own way from the speech of her owner: she abated her resistance; and indulging only in a passing glance at the rich deep herbage, passed on to her destined pasture. I had often heard of the sin

It is now some fifty years since I visited the parish of Caerlaverock; but the memory of its people, its scenery, and the story of the Ghost with the Golden Casket, are as fresh with me as matters of yesterday. I had walked out to the river bank one sweet afternoon in July, when the fishermen were hastening to dip their nets in the coming tide, and the broad waters of the Solway sea were swelling and leaping against bank and cliff, as far as the eye could reach. It was studded over with boats, and its more unfrequented bays were white with water-fowl. I sat down on a small grassy mound between the cottage ruins and the old garden plat, and gazed, with all the hitherto untasted pleasure of a stranger, on the beautiful scene before me. On the right, and beyond the river, the mouldering relics of the ancient religion of Scotland ascended, in unassimilating beauty, above the humble kirk of New Abbey and its squalid village; farther to the south rose the white sharp cliffs of Barnhourie,-gular superstitions of the Scottish peawhile on the left stood the ancient keeps of Cumlongan, and Torthorald, and the castle of Caerlaverock. Over the whole looked the stately green moun

santry, and that every hillock had its song, every hill its ballad, and every valley its tale. I followed with my eye the old man and his cow; he went but

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