Графични страници
PDF файл
ePub

rode a buffalo. Port was inaccessible, and date-brandy was not to his taste. Health forced itself

upon him; and the sheik of the district began to conceive so good an opinion of the stranger, that he offered him his daughter, with a handsome portion of buffaloes, in marriage The offer was declined; but African offence is a formidable thing, and after having had a carbine-load of balls discharged one night through his door he thought it advisable to leave the neighbourhood of his intended father-in-law. I am not about to astonish the world, and throw unbelief on my true story, by saying that the lieutenant has since drank of nothing but the limpid spring. Whatever were his Mussulman habits, he resumed his native tastes with the force of nature. Port still had temptations for him; but prudence, in the shape of the matron sister and the pretty nieces, was at hand, and, like Sancho's physician, the danger and the glass vanished at a sign from those gentle magicians. Our chief anxiety arose from the good fellowship of the colonel. He had settled within a field of us, and his evenings were spent by our fire-side. He had been, by the chances of service, once on campaign with the lieutenant; and all campaigners know, that there is no free-mason sign of friendship equal to that of standing to be shot at together. But there was an unexpected preservative in this hazardous society. The colonel was incapable of exhibiting in the centre of his countenance that living splendour which made Falstaff raise Bardolph to the honour of his admiral; he could " carry no lantern in his poop." If envy could have invaded his generous soul, it would have arisen at the old, restored distinction of his comrade. He watched over his regimen; kept him to the most judicious allowance of claret; and the red nose of the lieutenant never flamed again.

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

My boat's by the tower, my bark's in the bay,
And both must be gone ere the dawning of day;
The moon's in her shroud, but, to guide thee, afar
On the deck of the daring's a love-lighted star :
Then wake, lady! wake!-I am waiting for thee,
And this night, or never, my bride thou shalt be!
Forgive my rough mood, unaccustomed to sue,
I woo not, perchance, as your land lovers woo;
My voice has been tuned to the notes of the gun,
That startle the deep when the combat's begun;
And heavy and hard is the grasp of a hand,
Whose glove has been ever the guard of a brand.
Yet think not of these, but this moment be mine,
And the plume of the proudest shall cower to thine;
A hundred shall serve thee, the best of the brave,
And the chief of a thousand shall kneel as thy slave;
Thou shalt rule as a queen, and thy empire shall last
Till the red flag by inches is torn from the mast.
O! islands there are on the face of the deep,
Where the leaves never fade, and the skies never weep!
And there, if thou wilt, shall our love-bower be,
When we quit for the greenwood our home on the sea;
And there shalt thou sing of the deeds that were done,
When we braved the last blast, and the last battle won.
O haste, lady! haste! for the fair breezes blow,
And my ocean-bird poises her pinions of snow;
Now fast to the lattice these silken ropes twine,
They are meet for such feet and such fingers as thine;
The signal, my mates!-Ho!-hurra!-for the sea.-
This night, and for ever, my bride thou shalt be!

THE OWL.

BY THOMAS HOOD, ESQ.

An indiscreet friend, says the proverb, is more dangerous than the naked sword of an enemy; and, truly, there is nothing more fatal than the act of a misjudging ally, which, like a mistake in medicine, is apt to kill the unhappy patient it was intended to cure.

No. 2.

B

This lesson was taught, in a remarkable manner, to the innocent Zerlina, a peasant; to conceive which, you must suppose her to have gone, by permission, into the garden of the Countess of Marizzo, near the Arno, one beautiful morning of June. It was a spacious pleasure ground, excellently disposed, and adorned with the choicest specimens of shrubs and trees, being bounded, on all sides, by hedge-rows of laurels and myrtles, and such sombre evergreens, and in the midst was a pretty verdant lawn, with a sun-dial. The numberless plants that belong to that bountiful season were then in full flower, and the delicate fragrance of the orange blossoms perfumed the universal air. The thrushes were singing merrily in the copses; and the bees, that cannot stir without music, made a joyous humming with their wings. All things were vigorous and cheerful, except one-a poor owl, that had been hurt by a bolt from a cross-bow, and so had been unable, by daylight, to regain its accustomed hermitage, but sheltered itself under a row of laurel trees and hollies, that afforded a delicious shadow in the noon-tide sun. There, shunning and shunned by all, as is the lot of the unfortunate, he languished over his wound, till a flight of pert sparrows espying him, he was soon forced to endure a thousand twittings, as well as buffets, from that insolent race. The noise of these chatterers attracting the attention of Zerlina, she crossed over to the spot, and, lo! there crouched the poor bewildered owl, blinking with his large bedazzled eyes, and nodding as if with giddiness from his buffetings, and the blaze of unusual light. The tender girl, being very gentle and compassionate by nature, was no way repelled by its ugliness, but, thinking only of its sufferings, took up the feathered wretch in her arms, and endeavoured to revive it, by placing it on her bosom. There, nursing it with an abundance of pity and concern, she carried it to the grass plat, and, being ignorant of its habits, laid out the poor drooping bird, as her own lively spirits prompted her, in the glowing sunshine;

for she felt in her own heart, at that moment, the kind and cheerful influence of the genial sun. Then, withdrawing a little way, and leaning against the dial, she awaited the grateful change, which she hoped to behold in the creature's looks; whereas, the tormented owl, being grievously dazzled, and annoyed more than ever, hopped off again, with many piteous efforts, to the shady evergreens. Notwithstanding, believing that this shiness was only because of its natural wildness, or fear, she brought it back again to the lawn, and then, running into the house for some crumbs, to feed it withal, the poor old owl, in the meantime, crawled partly back, as before, to its friendly shelter of holly.

The simple girl found it, therefore, with much wonder, again retiring towards those gloomy bushes. "Why, what a wilful creature is this," she thought, "that is so loth to be comforted. No sooner have I placed it in the warm, cheerful sunshine, which enlivens all its fellow birds to chirp and sing, than it goes back, and mopes under the most dismal corners. I have known many human beings to have those peevish fits, and to reject kindness as perversely; - but who would look for such unnatural humours in a simple bird?" Wherewith, taking the monkish fowl from its dull leafy cloisters, she disposed him once more on the sunny lawn, where he made still fresh attempts to get away from the overpainful radiance, but was now become too feeble, and ill, to remove. lina, therefore, began to believe that it was reconciled to its situation; but she had hardly cherished this fancy, when a dismal film came suddenly over its large round eyes, and then, falling over upon its back, after one or two slow gasps of its beak, and a few twitches of its aged claws, the poor martyr of kindness expired before her sight. It cost her a few tears to witness the tragical issue of her endeavours; but she was still more grieved, afterwards, when she was told of the cruelty of her unskilful treatment; and the poor owl, with its

Zer

melancholy death, were the frequent subject of her meditations.

In the year after this occurrence, it happened that the Countess of Marizzo was in want of a young female attendant, and, being much struck with the modesty and lively temper of Zerlina, she requested her parents to let her live with her. The poor people, having a numerous family to provide for, cheerfully agreed to the proposal, and Zerlina was carried by her benefactress to Rome. Her good conduct confirming the prepossessions of the Countess, the latter showed her many marks of her favour and regard, not only furnishing her handsomely with apparel, but taking her, as a companion, on her visits to the most rich and noble families, so that Zerlina was thus introduced to much gaiety and splendour. Her heart, notwithstanding, ached oftentimes under her silken dresses, for, in spite of the favour of the Countess, she met with many slights from the proud and wealthy, on account of her humble origin, as well as much envy and malice from persons of her own condition. She fell, therefore, into a deep melancholy, and, being interrogated by the Countess, she declared, that she pined for her former humble, but happy, estate; and begged, with all humility, that she might return to her native village. The Countess being much surprised, as well as grieved, at this confession, inquired if she had ever given her cause to repent of her protection; to which Zerlina replied, with many grateful tears, but still avowing the ardour of her wishes,—“ Let me return," said she, "to my homely life-this oppressive splendour dazzles and bewilders me. I feel, by a thousand humiliating misgivings and disgraces, that it is foreign to my nature;-my defects of birth and manners making me shrink continually within myself, whilst those who were born for its blaze, perceive, readily, that I belong to an obscure race, and taunt me with jests and indignities for intruding on their sphere. Those also, who should be my equals, are quite as bitter against me, for

« ПредишнаНапред »