openly, or what was more dangerous, secretly | mercantile compeers obtained a run of lucraconspired for his overthrow; his father became tive custom. alarmed at the magnitude of his operations, and eventually he was compelled to resign his establishment into the hands of another. His death was characteristic of the man. While travelling in Italy he received a pistolball in his brains, fired by a husband, who mistook him for a robber, while ascending a ladder to the lattice of his dormitory. Snelling and Southmead, with the aid of Bob's gold and the liberality of a capitalist, set up a “ship-chandlery," which, through the patronage and efforts of Mr. Selden and his Caroline retired to the country, and after a few years married a middle-aged widower, who had several little scions about him requiring the culture and attention of a mother. Laura felt her disappointment keenly for a season; but as health, youth, and riches, are generally more than equal to the aggressions of sorrow, readers will not be surprised to learn that she was at the last advices affianced to a man of worth and probity, one capable of appreciating her merits, and upon whose arm she can repose with confidence. THE TOWER OF LAHNECK. A PARAPHRASE. BY EDITH MAY. PERCHED on a rock, a river at its base, One fair May afternoon, Through a maze Of matted shrubbery they forced a path They were young and gay, While one, With tears of joyous pride, and outstretched hand, Warning shadows grew Long on the meadows, while they talked of home, A strange dread In a deep trembling, all the ruin seemed Then the German rose, Hiding in her soul Back to the turret's verge, and steadfastly, Nay! upon the path Tracking the mountain, some one stirred beneath, Slowly approaching. Both together leant Over the parapet, and called aloud. Alas! the thin, light air refused to keep Never looked up. But, could their frantic cries They watched the twilight They had strayed far That sunny day; none in the distant town They left behind knew whither, or would think To seek them here. The stars shone thick above; The gloom below was studded here and there Steeds of the eagles." Now bright floods of light Midnight from the skies By the near flight of that unholy bird Swerved and stepped falsely; whether desperate fear That drowned the owl's hoot, only looked to know What desolate hours were hers Who knelt down in the starlight, stretching forth Her shuddering arms to Heaven, and from that time Patiently suffered! Was she saved at last?What say the bargemen floating down the Lahn, The boatmen at the ferry, to and fro, Hourly plying; or the rustic groups That loiter as they pass? To their belief, Since from its heights the robber baron swept His hawk's eye o'er the valleys, never foot Ias trod the ruined summit. Only once, Albert, the fisher, resting on his oar, After the day's toil, marvelled to discern A wild she eagle, wheeling from the clouds, Sit screaming to her mate with outspread wings, Where the red sunset crowns the Tower of Lahneck. OH! VISIT ME IN DREAMS. BY MISS E. W. BARNES. Orr in my day-dreams, Brother, do I see I hear thy sigh, o'er bygone, happy hours; I see thee, and I feel that thou art near, Thy glad laugh weaves its gladness round me still. Would that my visions of the night were blest, Thou, with the shadowy train of loved ones dear, Speak of our blest reunion in that land Where Love shall bind us once more hand in hand. VOL. VIII. Tsing Vu! The moon is at the full,' And round as Dema's shield: But once it was a creese, Within its sheath of clouds. Its curve was half withdrawn from out the sheath, And I have followed thee; Thy boat sailed down the river like a swan ; The prying night-wind blew thy veil aside, But nothing to the light, Within my lady's eyes. Her lids are whiter than the fringed folds Lying along her cheek: Her cheek is a celestial honey-suckle : Oh! that I were the bee to suck its honey! (For my lips are red as roses, and love the ladies' lips!) If I could only press my mouth to thine, And wreathe my arms like tendrils round thy waist!- Tsing Vu! The moon is at the full, As I must, even to death, If thou art still unkind! The Feast of Lanterns will be held to-night;" Spear-pointed at the knee: They march, and counter-march, and look for me, My palakeen awaits thee, come to the show to-night, Heart of hearts, Love of loves: The wonder of the world, NOTES. 1 "The moon is at the full." der of the line of Tsoome, which laid the foundations of Kan-túne, the tenth dynasty from the demi-gods of Paradise. The laws of Tsomi being framed in an honest, simple age, are honest and simple, just to all: those of Confucius are more abstract, (Po-pé says, indeed, that many are bodily abstracted from the Cham statues of Lower Tartary.) Confucius being, like many a later phi great favourite with the celestial lawyers, who, with their more (?) civilized brethren, are fond of litigation, and a long bill of costs. The full moon has always been a season of rejoicing among the people of China; then the lover may sing ditties under his lady's window, and the lady may hear, and answer him, either by a wave of her hand or scarf, or the more favourable go-between of voice, and no scan-losopher, a little muddy and transcendental at times, is a dal follow it. The servant is then on an equality with his master, the maid with her mistress. The streets are full of processions at night, generally of the lower order of citizens; bands, with gongs, drums, and a shrill flute much used in the Chinese army, parade the public squares, and let off brilliant and many-coloured fireworks, before the pagodas and statues of the reigning monarch. The Saturnalia of the ancient Romans were but faint shadows of the moonshine nights of China. "Her lids are whiter than the fringed folds Pu-re-né is the Goddess of Chastity; her couch is spread in the everlasting winters of Far-ne-yéa, "the whitest land in Paradise," as it is called by the Chinese poets. Pu-re-né sleeps for ever on a couch of snows, guarded by a vestal train, whose only arms are long spears of ice,the icicles that drip from the mouth of the cavern of Death. Pu-re-né rests for ever in a kind of half sleep, dreaming of Youth, only once beheld by her, from the towers of her palace, a beautiful man-boy playing in the garden of Childhood. Growing enamoured of him, the Gods, to preserve her chastity, removed him to the bleak lands of Old Age, and threw her into an everlasting sleep: and wisely, too, adds the satirical Po-pé, for even the Gods themselves could not have prevented her from accomplishing her desires, had they left in her natural wakefulness. 3 "Deep read in all the laws Of Tsomi and Confucius." "The Feast of Lanterns will be held to-night." The Feast of Lanterns is one of the most fantastic in all the calendar. At dusk, or early sunset, a single lantern is lit in the tallest pagoda in the city, and run up to its eastern cupola, where it is swung by a priest, while a multitude in the sacred enclosure surrounding the temple chaunt a hymn, dedicated to that purpose in the ritual; an odd, meaningless jargon, full of uncouth interjections, "Pointless in all save exclamation points!" This done, a smaller lantern is lit thereat, by the priest, and lowered to the multitude below, who use it to kindle the sea-fowl candles in their own lanterns; when this ceremony-a prelude to what follows-is performed, the procession begins to march to the bath, where all must be purified by the virginity of the waters. When the ablution is over, and the moon has arisen, the procession begins its last march, tramping through the principal street of the city. (By-the-by, our militia heroes must have heard of this, or learned it by intuition, as they do everything else!-for they always disgrace themselves in the same public manner.) Pom-pom balls, sugar-plums, comfits, and all kind of confectionary, are thrown from the windows on the populace, as in the Italian carnivals; and a scene of merriment ensues mocking description. Songs are sung, jests bandied about, and fun runs riot on Tsomi was one of the earliest kings of China; the foun- the moonshine nights of China. THE BROKEN PROMISES. BY MRS. HUGH S. CHAPTER I. WITHIN sight of the beautiful and picturesque Susquehanna, about half way between Harrisburg and Northumberland, stands a neatly elegant mansion. The taste of the owner is displayed by his having placed his dwelling on a slight eminence, from which the wide-spread and transparent river may be seen, at a point where the high projecting cliffs have evidently been rent asunder by repeated torrents, though at a short distance they present to the traveller the idea that he is gazing upon a calm and beautiful lake, protected by precipitous and towering rocks. character not to be shaken by the little bursts of passion that too frequently govern the actions of the young and beautiful. How long she had stood as we have attempted to describe her, we will not pretend to say; but she at length seemed to make an effort to rouse herself, and raising her fine eyes to heaven, she said, as if ejaculating unconsciously, "It will soon be over! One painful effort more, and then I shall only have to pray for resignation. But oh! Henry, what is the fate that is in store for you?" "And what but the happiest fate can be in store for him?" asked a voice that made the young apostrophizer start, and looking round, she saw her friend Caroline Fraser, who had entered the chamber just as her last words were uttered. My dear Angelica," continued the gay young girl in a joking tone, "what on earth made you express so pathetic a query about the fate of Henry Longridge? What but the most enviable fate can be in store for one for whom fortune has treasured up her richest gifts?" Angelica was silent, but turning from the window she sank upon a chair as if scarcely able to support herself. "Had I not seen Harry a few minutes ago," pro at your agitation; but I have just had a hearty laugh with him about the party of last evening, and hastened to continue the merriment with you. Now do pray tell me what evil you can possibly anticipate for one who is young, rich, talented, and destined to be the husband of the handsomest girl in the state?" Angelica only shook her head. "Well, if the last proposition is too much for your modesty to assent to, tell me if he isn't young?" In a handsomely furnished chamber in this house, a lovely fair girl stood at a window that commanded the view to which we have referred. She was perfectly motionless, resting her right arm against the side of the window-frame, and pressing her polished forehead against the back of a small white hand, whilst the other that held a cambric handkerchief, rested on the sill. She might, to a casual observer, have been thought to be engrossed by a contemplation of the rich scenery before her-for, though late in the season, the trees were not yet stripped of their many-ceeded the visiter, "I should have been alarmed coloured mantles, but were glittering in the sun with all the varied hues of declining autumn, but on a more minute inspection, it would have been found that her beautiful deep blue eyes, clear and transparent as the waters on which she appeared to look, were in reality gazing on vacancy, whilst the rich and glossy ringlets, like spun gold, having dropped over her face as it bent forward, had caught some of the tears, in which her handkerchief was already steeped, and held the shining treasure, as jewels befitting so exquisite a setting. It might be seen too, that both the hand that supported the Madonna-shaped head, and that which grasped the handkerchief, were clasped in a manner indicative of strong emotion, and that her bosom frequently swelled, as if the heart that was encased in it was ready to burst its bonds. That this excess of agitation had been called forth by no common cause was evident, for it was impossible to look at the lovely face without discovering traits of mind far exceeding the beauty even of its exquisite lineaments, and that the small and finely formed mouth bespoke an energy of "Certainly," answered Angelica, in a tone that suited so self-evident a question. "And handsome?" 66 Conspicuously so." "And as talented as handsome?" "And about to become the husband of Angelica Melville?" "Oh no, no!" cried the young girl, starting in agony from her seat, and pacing the room in agitation; "never! never!" The interrogator sat for a few moments silent, and appeared to be struggling with some strong emotion, of which even a nice discriminator would have found it difficult to determine the nature, |