taking the whole of the powder at once. Thus assured, Brinkhurst swallowed the deadly drug, and became extremely ill. Strange, indeed, was the settled malice and fortitude of Roberts, who so completely subdued his feelings, as to attend his victim, and with that apparent solicitude and affection, which completely banished suspicion; and procured himself a legacy of £50, besides articles of value, from his dying friend. On the third day Brinkhurst breathed his last. Roberts, still undismayed, actually assisted in the preparations for interment, and in carrying the body to the grave. It was evident the powder had caused the death of the young gentleman; every circumstance connected with it was carefully investigated. The letter supposed to have been written by J. N. was ascertained to be composed in a manner so little according to the abilities of the party, that he was immediately cleared; when several facts occurring to recollection respecting the conduct of Roberts, he was apprehended; and being examined by a justice of the peace, he confessed his guilt. In the course of this process, he was asked the name of the drug he employed; affecting ignorance, he declared he knew not, but should be able to point it out from any number of poisons arranged before him. Several were immediately procured, and he began to balance them in his hand, as if to judge by their weight. The moment he lifted the yellow arsenic, he threw as much as possible into his mouth, and, making violent efforts, he forced a sufficient quantity into his stomach to baffle every antidote; and he expired in dreadful torture four days afterwards!

A THIEVISH GHOST.

In giving an account of his voyage on the Red Sea, from the port of Loheia to Masuah, Mr. Bruce mentions an instance of superstition of the Rais (the master of the vessel on which he was aboard) and his sailors: "An Abyssinian," says he, "who had died on board, and who had been buried upon our coming out of Loheia bay, had been seen upon the bowsprit for two nights, and had terrified the sailors very much; even the Rais had been not a little alarmed; and, though he could not directly say that he had seen it, yet after I was in bed, he complained seriously to me of the bad consequences it would produce if a gale of wind were to arise, and the ghost were to keep his place there, and desired him to come forward and speak to him: "My good Rais,' said I, I am extremely tired, and my head aches much with the sun, which has been violent to day. You know that the Abyssinian paid for his passage, and if he do not overload the ship, (and I apprehend he should be lighter than when we took him on board) I do not think, that in justice or equity, either you or I can hinder the ghost from continuing his voyage to Abyssinia, as we cannot judge what serious business he may have there.' Rais now began to bless himself that he did not know any thing of his affairs. Then,' said I, if you do not find that he makes the vessel too heavy before, do not molest him; because, certainly if he were to come into any other part of the ship, or were to insist to sit in the middle of you, (in the disposiyou all are) he would be a greater inconvenience to you than in his post. The Rais began again to bless himself, repeating a verse from the Koran; bismilla sheitan regem,' in the name of God keep the devil from me. Now, Rais,' said I, if he does us no harm, you will let him ride upon the bowsprit till he is tired, or till he comes to Masuah; for I swear to you, unless he hurts or troubles us, I do not think I have any obligation to

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get out of bed to molest him, only see that he carries nothing off with him.' The Rais now seemed to be exceedingly offended, and said, for his part he did not care for his life more than any other man on board; if it were not from fear of a gale of wind, he might ride on the bowsprit and be d--n'd; but that he had always heard that learned people could speak to ghosts. Will you be so good, Rais,' said I, to step forward, and tell him that I am going to drink coffee, and should be glad if he would walk into the cabin, and say any thing he has to communicate to me, if he be a Christian, and if not, to Mahomet Gibberti.' The Rais went out, but, as my servant told me, he would neither go himself, nor could get any person to go to the ghost for him. He came back, however, to drink coffee with me. I was very ill, and apprehensive of what the French term a Coup de Soliel. 'Go,' said I to the Rais, ⚫ to Mahomet Gibberti, who was lying just before us, tell him that I am a Christian, and I have no jurisdiction over ghosts in these seas.'

"A Moor, called Yasine, well known to me afterwards, now came forward, and told me, that Mahomet Gibberti had been very bad, ever since we sailed, with sea-sickness, and begged that I would not laugh at the spirit, or speak so familiarly of him, because it might very possible be the devil, who often appeared in these parts. The Moor also desired that I would send Gibberti some coffee, and order my servant to boil him some rice with fresh water from Foosht; for hitherto our fish and our rice had been boiled in sea water, which I constantly preferred. The bad news of my friend Mahomet banished all merriment, I gave therefore the necessary orders to my servant to wait upon him, and at the same time recommended to Yasine to go forward with the Koran in his hand, and read all night, or till we should get to Zimmer, and then, or in the morning, bring me an account of what he had seen.

"On the tenth, at ten in the morning, I first saw Jibbel Teir, till then it had been covered with a mist. I ordered the pilot to bear down directly upon it. All this forenoon our vessel had been surrounded with a prodigious number of sharks. They were of the hammer-headed kind, and two large ones seemed to vie with each other which should be nearest our vessel. The Rais had fitted a large harpoon with a long line for thelarge fish in the channel, and I went to the bowsprit to wait for one of the sharks, after having begged the Rais, first to examine if all were tight there, and if the ghost had done it no harm by sitting so many nights upon it. He shook his head laughing, and said,⚫ The sharks seek something more substantial than ghosts.' If I am not mistaken, Rais,' said I, this ghost seeks something more substantial too, and you shall see the end of it.'

"I struck the largest shark about a foot from the head with such force, that the whole iron was buried in his body. He shuddered, as a person does when cold, and shook the shaft of the harpoon out of the socket, the weapon being made so on purpose; the shaft fell across, kept fixed to the line, and served as a float to bring him up when he dived, and impeded him when he swam. No salmon fisher ever saw finer sport with a fish and a rod. He had thirty fathom of line out, and we had thirty fathom more ready to give him. He seldom dived, but sailed round the vessel like a ship, always keeping part of his back above water. The Rais, who directed us, begged that we would not pull him, but give him as much more line as he wanted; and indeed we saw that it was the weight of the line that galled him, for he went round the vessel without seeking to go farther from us. At last he came nearer, upon our gathering up the line, and upon gently pulling it after, we brought him alongside, till we fastened a strong boat-hook in his throat; a man swung upon a cord was now let down to cut his tail, while hanging on the ship's side, but

he was, if not absolutely dead, without the power of doing harm. He was eleven feet seven inches from his snout to his tail, and nearly four feet round in the thickest part of him. He had in him a dolphin very lately swallowed, and about half a yard of blue cloth. He was the largest, the Rais said, he had ever seen, either in the Red Sea or the Indian Ocean.

"We were standing on with a fresh breeze, and all our sails full, when I saw, a little before sun-set, a white-fringed wave of the well known figure of a breaker. I cried to the Rais for God's sake to shorten sail, for I saw a breaker a-head, straight in our way. He said there was no such thing; that I had mistaken it, for it was a sea-gull. About seven in the evening we struck upon a reef of coral rocks. Arabs are cowards in all sudden dangers, which they consider as particular direction or mandates of Providence, and therefore not to be avoided. Few uncultivated minds have any calmness, or immediate resources in themselves when in unexpected danger. The Arab sailors immediately were for taking the boat, and sailing to the islands the boy had seen. The Abyssinians were for cutting the planks and wood of the inside of the vessel, and making her a raft.

"A violent dispute ensued, and after that a battle, when night overtook us, still fast upon the rock. The Rais and Yasine, however, calmed the riot, when I begged the passengers would hear me. I told them, You all know, or should know, that the boat is mine, as I bought it with my own money, for the safety and accommodation of myself and servants; you know likewise, that I and my men are all well armed, while you are naked; therefore do not imagine that we will suffer any of you to enter that boat, and save your lives at the expense of ours. On this vessel of the Rais is your dependence, in it you are to be saved or to perish; therefore all hands to work, and get the vessel off, while it is calm; if she had been materially damaged, she would have sunk before now.' They all seemed to take courage, and said they hoped I would not leave them. I told them, if they would be men, I would not leave them while there was a bit of the vessel together.

"The boat was immediately launched, and one of my servants, the Rais, and two sailors were put on board. They were soon upon the bank, where the two sailors got out, who cut their feet at first upon the white coral, but afterwards got firmer footing. They attempted to push the ship backward, but she would not move. Poles and hand-spikes, were tried in order to stir her, but these were not long enough. In a word, there was no appearance of getting her off before morning, when we knew that the wind would rise, and it was to be feared that she would then be dashed to pieces. Mahomet Gibberti and Yasine had been reading the Koran aloud ever since the vessel struck. I said to them in passing, Sirs, would it not be as wise for you to leave your books till you get ashore, and lend a hand to the people?' Mahomet answered, that he was so weak and sick, that he could not stand.' But Yasine did not slight the rebuke, he stripped himself naked, went forward on the vessel, and then threw himself into the sea. He, first, very judiciously felt what room there was for standing, and found that the bank was of considerable breadth, and that we were struck upon the point of it; that it rounded, slanting away afterwards, and seemed very deep at the sides, so the people, standing on the right of it, could not reach the vessel to push it, only those upon the point. The Rais and Yasine now cried for poles and handspikes, which were given them; two more men let themselves down by the side, and stood upon the bank. I then desired the Rais to get out a line, come astern with the boat, and draw her in the same direction that they pushed. "As soon as the boat could be towed astern, a great cry was set up, that

she began to move. A little after, a gentle wind just made itself felt from the east, and the cry from the Rais was,hoist the fore-sail, and put it a-back." This being immediately done, and a gentle breeze filling the fore-sail at the same time, they all pushed, and the vessel slid gently off free from the shoal. I cannot say I partook of the joy so suddenly as the others did. I had always some fears that a plank might have been started; but we saw the advantage of a vessel being sewed instead of nailed together, as she not only was unhurt, but made very little water. The people were all exceedingly tired, and nobody thought they could enough praise the courage and readiness of Yasine. From that day he grew into consideration with me, which increased ever after, till my departure from Abyssinia.

"There was a circumstance, during the hurry of this transaction, that gave us all reason to be surprised. The ghost was supposed to have been seen on the bowsprit again, as if pushing the vessel ashore; and as this was breaking covenant with me, as a passenger, I thought it was time some notice should be taken of him, since the Rais had referred it entirely to me. I inquired who the persons were that had seen him. The Moors of Humazen were the first that perceived him, and afterwards a great part of the crew had been brought to believe the reality of the vision. I called them forward to examine them before the Rais and Mahomet Gibberti, and they declared that, during the night, they had seen him go and come several times; once, he was pushing against the bowsprit, another time he was pulling upon the rope, as if he had an anchor ashore; after this, he had a very long pole or stick, in his hand, but it seemed heavy and stiff as if it had been made of iron, and when the vessel began to move, he turned into a small blue flame, ran along the gunnel on the larboard. side of the ship, and, upon the vessel going off, he disappeared. Now,' said I, it is plain by this change of shape, that he has left us for ever, let us therefore see whether he has done us any harm or not. Have any of you any baggage stowed forward?' The strangers answered, Yes, it is all there. Then,' said I, go forward, and see if every man has got his own.' They all did this without loss of time, when a great noise and confusion ensued; every man was plundered of something-stibium, nails, brass wire, incense, and beads; in short, all the precious part of their little stores was stolen.

"All the passengers were now in the utmost despair, and began to charge the sailors. C I appeal to you, Mahomet Gibberti and Yasine,' said I, whether these two Moors, who saw him oftenest, and were most intimate with him, have not a chance of knowing where these things are hid; for in my country, where ghosts are often seen, they are always assisted in the thefts they are guilty of, by those that see and converse with them. I suppose therefore it is the same with Mahometan ghosts.' The very same,' said Mahomet Gibberti and Yasine, as far as ever we heard.' Then go, Yasine, with the Rais, and examine that part of the ship where the Moors slept, while I keep them here; and take two sailors with you, that know the secret places. Before the search began, however, one of them told Yasine where every thing was, and accordingly all was found and restored. I would not have the reader imagine, that I here mean to value myself, either upon any supernatural knowledge or extreme sagacity, in supposing it was a piece of roguery from the beginning, of which I never doubted. But while Yasine and the sailors were busily pushing off the vessel, and I astern at an observation, Mahomet Gibberti sitting by his master, saw one of the Moors go to the repository of the baggage, and, after staying a little, come out with a box

and package in his hand. This he told his master, who informed me, and the ghost, finding his associates discovered, never was seen any more.

MILITARY DESPOTISM.

As an instance of the military despotism which, during a long period, harassed the Irish peasants, the following disgraceful anecdote is related in the "Letters from the Irish Highlands," lately published:

"The lady of the captain of a regiment quartered at Castlebar, in passing along the narrow pavement of that little town, was met by a young girl from the country, carrying a bundle on her head. Either from ignorance or inattention, the girl took the side nearest the wall. The lady stopped, and imperiously desired her to give way to her betters. The poor girl saw that something was wrong, but, not understanding the language in which she was addressed, she pressed still closer to the wall, without making any answer. The infuriated lady, after giving some vent to her passion, returned to the barracks; and insisted that exemplary vengeance should be taken on the offender. A file of soldiers were drawn out, and, headed by their captain, proceeded in search of the delinquent; whose punishment was decreed to be one, of which you may perhaps be as ignorant as I was, until enlightened by the explanation of our good nurse; who, from a window in the town, was herself a spectator of the disgraceful scene. The unfortunate girl was to be drummed out of the town. As soon as she made her appearance, she was hooted at, pelted, and pursued by the soldiers, making a hideous noise with drums, trumpet, &c. The people were afraid to receive her into their houses, and a rabble of men and boys were soon collected, and, flying from one street to another, she experienced a treatment similar to that of many a poor dog which has had the ill-luck to be called mad; and her end might perhaps have been the same, had not the charity of an old woman opened the door of a little hovel, in the out-skirts of the town-the poor girl rushed in, and, exhausted by fatigue and terror, sank fainting on the floor!"

VIRGILIAN PREDICTIONS APPLIED TO CHARLES I.

Charles I. being at Oxford during the civil wars, went one day to visit the public library. Among other books he was shewn a very beautiful impression of Virgil. Lord Falkland, who waited on his majesty, thinking to amuse him, proposed his consulting the Sortes Virgiliance on his fortune. It is well known our ancestors were much addicted to this sort of superstition. The king smiled, and opened the book, and the first passage that occurred was this" Et bello audacis," &c. Eneid, lib. iv. Which runs in English thus: "That, conquered by a warlike people, driven from his states, separated from his son Ascanius, he should be forced to go and beg foreign succour, that he should see his associates massacred before his eyes; that after making a shameful peace, he should neither enjoy his kingdom nor his life; that he should meet with an untimely death; and that his body should for ever be deprived of a sepulchre."-The king shewed much uneasiness at this prediction, and Falkland perceiving it, was in a hurry to consult himself the lot in hopes of hitting upon some passage that did not relate to his situation, and might divert his majesty's thoughts to other objects.

Opening the book himself, he found the regrets of Evander for the untimely