there were only two of his freed-men who were privy to it, who pitying their lady (she being determined to die, and who had therefore abstained from food for three days together,) declared her purpose to her husband, and besought him to save her who loved him so well. It was granted; and she was told that her Sabinus lived. She went to him in the tomb, where they lived undiscovered for many years, during which time she had several children in that solitary mansion. At last, the place of their abode became known; they were taken and brought to Rome, where Vespasian commanded they should be slain. Epopina then producing her children, said " Behold, O Cæsar! these children whom I have brought forth and bred in a monument, that thou mightest have more suppliants for our lives." But, the cruel Vespasian could not be moved with such words as these; they were both led to death, and Epopina joyfully died with her husband, with whom she had been buried for so many years before.

DEATH OF THE PATRIOT HOFER.

The name of Andrew Hofer, the brave leader of the Tyrolese, is not only dear to every German, but to every one who admires undaunted courage and genuine patriotism. Hofer was of a phlegmatic disposition, fond of ease and tranquillity, and only to be roused to action by the love of his country. The mention of a victory gained by Austria, or in the cause of his native country; an allusion to the old times of the Tyrol; an enthusiastic word in favour of the emperor, or the House of Austria, were appeals which had too powerful an effect on the feelings of Hofer; and he who, according to the testimony of those who attended him, conducted himself in his last moments as eroe Christiano e martire intrepido," was for some time bathed in tears, and unable to utter a word.

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When the French invaded the Tyrol, which had been abandoned by the Austrians, Andrew Hofer roused the slumbering spirit of his countrymen, and offered to lead them against the enemy. He declared that he would accept the office of commander-in-chief if they wished to confer it on him; but if they prefered any other leader, he was prepared to draw his sword as simple commandant of the Passeyr valley, where he was born; and that in whatever situation it pleased God to place him, he would sacrifice his life for the cause of his country. This declaration was received with shouts of approbation, and Hofer from that moment became commander-in-chief of the Tyrolese. The spirit of Hofer ran through the whole of the Tyrol, and in some of the districts the enthusiasm was such, that the women took an active part in the hostilities, and aided each other in hurling down stones upon the enemy's troops in the narrow defiles. A girl of eighteen, named Josephine Negretti, assumed the dress of a man, and was several times in action with the sharpshooters, carrying a rifle, and using it with considerable dexterity.

Three times Hofer delivered his country from the Bavarians and the French; and a grand festival was held at Inspruck, in honour of him. He was that day formally invested with a medal sent to him by the emperor in the great church, at the foot of the tomb of Maximilian, by the abbot of Wilna, amidst the acclamations of the people.

Tragical events now followed; the Bavarians gained ground in the Tyrol, and their successes were followed by a treaty of peace between France and Austria, Hofer could not brook the idea of becoming a subject of France,

and when he was deserted by all his followers, he retired to a place of concealment in the mountains near his native valley, where he remained for some time undiscovered, in spite of the active search that was made for him, and the reward that was offered for his head. The place of his concealment, in which he remained from the end of November to the end of January following, was a solitary Alpine hut, four long leagues from his own house, at times inaccessible from the snow which surrounded it; a few faithful adherents supplied him from time to time with the food which was necessary for himself and his family, and more than once he was visited by confidential messengers from the emperor of Austria, who used every entreaty to make him quit his abode, and follow them into Austria, assuring him, at the same time, a safe conduct through the enemy's army. But Hofer steadily refused all their offers, and expressed his determination never to abandon either his country or family. At length, the secret of his concealment was made known to the French, who sent a body of sixteen hundred men to take him prisoner; and two thousand more were ordered to be in readiness to assist them, so fearful were they of some attempt being made to rescue him. It was dark when the French approached his hut, but as soon as Hofer heard the officer enquire for him, he came intrepidly forward, and gave himself up. He was then marched, together with his wife, his daughter, and his son, who was twelve years old, through Meran to Botzen, amidst the shouts of the French soldiery and the tears of his countrymen.

On his arrival at Mantua, a court martial was immediately held, for the purpose of trying him; but while it was still sitting, a telegraphic dispatch from Eilan ordered him for execution within twenty-four hours, thus putting it out of the power of Austria to interfere in his behalf.

The fatal morning of execution now arrived. As the clock struck eleven, the generale sounded, a battalion of grenadiers were drawn out, and the officers who were to attend the execution entered the prison. As Hofer came from it, he passed by the barracks on the Porta Molina, in which the Tyrolese were confined; all who were there fell on their knees, put up their prayers, and wept aloud. Those who were at large in the citadel, assembled on the road by which he passed; and, approaching as near as the escort permitted them, threw themselves on the ground, and implored his blessing. This Hofer gave them, and then begged their forgiveness for having been the cause of their present misfortunes, assuring them, at the time, that he felt confident that they would once again return under the dominion of the emperor Francis, to whom he cried out the last "vivat," with a clear and steady voice. He delivered to Manifesti, the priest, every thing he possessed, to be distributed amongst his countrymen; this consisted of 500 florins in Austrian bank notes, his silver snuff-box, and his beautiful rosary; a few moments before his death, he also delivered to his faithful attendant his small silver rosary, which he constantly carried about him.

On the broad bastion, at a little distance from the Porta Ceresa, the commanding officer halted his men. The grenadiers formed a square open in the rear: twelve men and a corporal stepped forward, while Hofer remained standing in the centre. The drummer then offered him a white handkerchief to bind his eyes, and told him that it was necessary to kneel down, but Hofer declined the handkerchief, and peremptorily refused to kneel, observing, that he was used to stand upright before his Creator, and in that posture he would deliver up his spirit to him." He cautioned the corporal to perform his duty well, at the same time presenting him with a piece of twenty kreut

zers; and having uttered a few words by way of farewell, expressive of his unshaken attachment to his native land, he pronounced the word " fire," with a firm voice. His death, like that of Palm, was not instantaneous, for on the first fire he only sunk on his knees; a merciful shot, however, at last despatched him. The spot on which he fell, is still considered sacred by his countrymen and companions in arms.

Thus perished in the prime of life, Andrew Hofer, a plain uneducated village inn-keeper, who opposed for some time with success the enormous power of France and Bavaria, with an army of rude undisciplined peasants.

By his companions and countrymen he was regarded as the hero-the saviour of his country; and his name is never mentioned in the Tyrol without tears of grateful affection and admiration. A simple tomb has been erected to the memory of Hofer on the Brenner, at a short distance from his own habitation; it contains no other inscription than his name, and the dates of his birth and death. The record of his actions is left to be transmitted, as it doubtless will be, to the latest posterity, in the popular stories and rude ballads of the Mountaineers, who love and revere his name, and consider him as a model of disinterested loyalty and devoted attachment to his native land.

THE INNOCENT CULPRIT.

The danger of holding out the hopes of pardon to condemned criminals, on condition of discovering their accomplices, has been more than once exemplified in history. Continual reprieves, with this view, are a kind of mental torture, which, added to the love of life, the terrors of death, and withal a total depravity of soul, and brutal insensibility with respect to future state, may at length operate so fatally, as to induce the guilty wretch to accuse the innocent, and involve whole families in calamity. The following history will afford a melancholy example, that such false accusations have been persisted in to the last breath of life. It is that of an unfortunate man, who escaped the punishment of death, after experiencing all its horrors. It is related by M. Cassin, advocate in the parliament of Paris, in his memorial for the unfortunate family of Peter Paul Sirvin.

A certain man, being robbed in his own house one evening, accused a person called Yves Le Flem of having committed the robbery. Le Flem, of course, was sent to prison, and the person who had been robbed, and his maid servant, swearing positively to his person, he was condemned by the chief judge to be put to the torture, and then to be hanged. On an appeal, nothing appearing in his favor, the sentence was confirmed, as well against Le Flem, as against others, charged with being his accomplices, and with having committed other robberies. Le Flem underwent all the rigours of the torture, protesting his innocence with unshaken firmness, which was confirmed by the declaration of two of those who had been his accusers, and who were executed the next day. Two of the accused, condemned to be hanged the same day, persisted, while under torture, in their accusation of him. They were all three conducted to the place of execution, and Le Flem was to have been executed the last. The one died without retracting his false accusation. The other, just before he was turned off, yielded to his remorse, and declared Le Flem innocent. The officers had then the prudence to delay the execution of the latter, and his case being represented to the King, that unfortunate victim, to mistake on one hand, and to guilty accu

sation on the other, yet lives, indebted to the justice of his sovereign for the remaining years of a life he had been just on the point of ending by an ignominous death.

A NIGHT IN AN ARABIAN DESERT.

In the year 1805, Mr. Salamé, an Egyptian, resolving on becoming a traveller, accompanied the caravan from Cairo to Suez, and after visiting several places, and suffering shipwreck in the Red Sea, he got to Assiutt, whence he crossed the east bank of the Nile, to return to Cairo by the caravan. He dressed himself as a Bedouin Arab, for the sake of protection from the Turks. In the course of his progress, he was accidentally left alone in the desert, and gives a very amusing account of his night's adventures. He was informed that the caravan had been plundered by the Turks, and that the Arabs had scarcely time to escape to the mountains.

"At last," says he, "thinking that every soul in the caravan was in want of water and provisions, and that they could not proceed on to a great distance, without halting at some place, I thought the best way was to lift up my provisions on my shoulders, and proceed through the desert, following the footsteps of the camels. I walked till the moon was set, when it became so dark that I could not see the footsteps at all. Now being alarmed, fatigued, and hungry, I resolved to stop where I was, until the morning; yet I was sadly afraid of being seized by some animal during the night. However, after I had lain down on the ground, and eaten very heartily of almost uneatable bread and cheese, and drank bumperly of very unpleasant water, I thought I saw or heard the creeping of some animals at a distance; whereupon my fear increased, and I considered my body as a prey to the wild beasts, because I had no arms whatever, and there was no tree or place to take refuge. My only consolation in this distressing situation was, that I knew in that district of desert, there were no ferocious animals, as lions, tigers, &e., but a great number of gazelles, (a kind of deer), wolves, some wild sheep, and a few hyenas; and as for the latter, I had heard the Arabs say, that if you should strike fire, they would run away directly. I took two round pieces of flint, (which was in great abundance on the ground) and began to strike one upon the other as fast as I could; but the more fire and noise I made, the nearer I saw the animals coming towards me. I then left every thing, and began to run away towards a hill, whereupon I heard the voice of a man calling, "Whose shade is this? If a friend, do not fear; and if an enemy, thou shalt have a shot.' On hearing this, I was of course relieved, and answered with great cheerfulness, Friend, friend.'-' Of which tribe art thou ?’—‘I am of the Arabs Máázée.' His answer was, 'Who are of the same tribe as our Arabs.' I then went to him, and found that he was kept back to drive twelve or fifteen cows and oxen, belonging to our caravan, which were overcome with fatigue, and could scarcely move.'

The Arab offered Mr. Salamé his dromedary, which was of a particular breed, called "Eshany," and which goes, as the Arabs say, as far in one hour as the horse will go in ten. The rider of this kind of dromedary does not eat, and drinks but very little; he must fasten himself with a rope round it, and fill up his ears and nose with some cotton, to prevent the effect of the air produced by the velocity of this animal.

"When I mounted it," continued Salamé, "the Arabs told me not to

guide or touch her with the whip, but to let her alone; and that I might be sure that she would carry me in a very short time to the spot where the caravan was; and that I had only to keep myself steady on her back, and to fear nothing. I started with her about twelve o'clock at night, and when she was heated and began to gallop, I thought myself that I was flying in the air. At about two o'clock in the morning, I saw at a distance some fires; and in a quarter of an hour after, I found myself in a camp of Arabs, where she kneeled down by a black tent, and began to make a terrible noise. I immediately knew that it was not our caravan. However, at the dromedary's voice, I saw an old woman coming out of the tent, exclaiming, Welcome, my dear son!' but when she approached to kiss me, and found that I was not her son, she began to howl, Murder! murder! here is a Turkman who has murdered my son, and seized his dromedary!' and she made a horrible rout through the camp, when every one got up and came to her assistance. I then told them that I was neither Turk nor Mamluk; and stated the circumstance of the caravan, and how the dromedary had brought me to their camp. The woman would not believe my account, and insisted on revenging her son's blood, by smothering me under a camel's belly. On hearing this, I of course began to think seriously of my unhappy luck, and how to get over it. I asked for the chief of the tribe to whom I gave the name of the chief of our Arabs, and of the man with whom I was a passenger; and told him to arrest me at his tent while he sent to inquire where the caravan was, and to have a full information of the facts. Understanding that I was a harmless person, and possessed nothing but my life, he took me to his tent, and immediately dispatched one of his people to ascertain the fact. I staid in the family of this good man six days, when the messenger returned with confirmation of all the circumstances. I then requested him to send me to Cairo; upon which he said, that he could not send me with any of his men publicly, but he would convey me with some of the countrymen who were going to sell straw; and that I was to disguise myself like one of them, and to drive before a camel, loaded with straw. In short, I did all that he told me, and entered Cairo as a straw-seller."

THE HAPPY RETURN.

At the time the English army was in Portugal, under Lord Townshend and Count de Lippe, the following adventure happened to an ensign in a regiment there :-One morning, as he was at breakfast, a friar, much of the same liberal turn of mind, in regard to gallantry, with Dryden's father Dominic, waited on him, and, after the usual jargon of poverty and penance, told him, that he had a letter for him from one of the sisterhood of his convent, which he brought out of pure charity, supposing it contained some wholesome admonition, tending to reform him. The young gentleman opened the letter with eagerness, and, to his utmost surprise, found it written in English, and from a lady, begging in the most earnest terms, that he would contrive to deliver her from the miseries of her confinement. The officer, thinking his fair incognita was well acquainted with her messenger, before she would have trusted him, asked the friar, if he could see the lady. "Not unless you put on the habit of our order," replied the priest," which I have prepared for you." It may be imagined our gallant Englishman complied; for, in about half an hour, he was introduced to a most lovely young creature, who,