they separated, John, with his small party, directing their course homewards, whilst Ranald accompanied his aged relation to his own country, which was much more distant.

John of Moidart, however, was all along playing a deep game he ordered a strong body of his father-in-law's people to lie in ambush in a certain spot, near the path by which Lovat and his men must necessarily pass on their return home; and he took care to join them himself, by travelling all night across the mountains.

The Frazers and young Clanranald appeared, and they were attacked by their wily foe: the combat was fearful, bloody, and fatal. It is said that no more than six of Lovat's party escaped, and not triple that number of their enemies. Ranald, unquestionably the lawful representative of the family, fell, covered with wounds, after having given proofs that he was possessed of the greatest bravery; and his memory is to this day respected, even among the descendants of those who destroyed him. John of Moidart obtained possession of the whole estate, and led a very turbulent life. Tradition says, that he compromised the claims of Macdonald, of Morar, for a third part of the lands, which he yielded up to him on relinquishing all further right.

The conflict is distinguished by the designation of Blar leine, or the battle of the shirts, the combatants having stripped themselves during the action. It was fought on the eastern end of Lochlochy, near the line of the Caledonian canal, in July, 1554. This subject has recently become of considerable importance being one of the principal points at issue between two chieftains of the Macdonalds. We do not pretend to interfere in any such questions; we merely relate the circumstances as they have been given to us by many persons in that country, some of them descendants of John of Moidart,

TO A TOPER IN LOVE.

'Tween women and wine, sir,
Man's lot is to smart:

For wine makes his head ache,
And woman his heart.

LINES,

ON HEARING ITALY STYLED THE PARADISK OF EUROPE.

Italia! oh Italia! thou who hast

The fatal gift of beauty, which became

A funeral dower of present woes and past,

On thy sweet brow is sorrow plough'd by shame,
And annals graved in characters of flame.

The paradise of Europe? aye, clear skies

Byron.

Like Love's young cheek ting'd with vermilion dyes
Tow'rs-temples-shrines and columns, such as make
Man boastful of his fathers, but awake

No corresponding feel of lofty thought
As the mementos of Rome's glory ought.
Hill, lake, and valley, bright as eye may see,
Love, banquets, music, beauty, luxury,

And each attraction that chains down and quells
Man's spirit with degenerating spells,

Are here! the ruby pout of lips that part,
Rose-like, to breathe out sweetness from the heart,
The silky sweetness of soft words that thrall
The enchanted listener, like the melting fall
Of summer evening's music, when we take
Light slumber on the bank of some bright lake;
The attractive warmth of eyes whose azure roll,
Woos every thought of sadness from the soul,
As morning sunbeams meet the dews of night,
And laugh them off with their absorbing light,
And sounds that come, like music from the spheres,
Melting the heart in love-reflecting tears;
And dazzling boards with wealthy luxury shine,
And flashing wit obscures the sparkling wine.
But why proceed? all these are here, and more,
Whose influence you defend, and I deplore.
I scorn that land of glory and of crime,
That land of all that's worthless and sublime,
Give me the nurselings of the western foam,
The spirits of my dear-my native home.
Their's is no column-record raised by art,
The memory of their sires is in the heart.
They-they, unlike pale luxury's willing slaves,
Whose love-songs wake the Adriatic waves,

Breaking into the starry court above,

As though men's hearts were only made for love:
They speak to beauty with that honest tone
Which heaven has made exclusively their own;
Yet, though they warmly sing their passion's songs,
They know their rights, and feel and speak their wrongs,
Feeling that man was made for liberty,

Whate'er his color, creed, or climate, be.

Curs'd be the slaves who in mute bondage lie,
Chains in the heart, and laughter in the eye,
As if 'twere bliss to fall from man's high rank,
And hear at every step their fetters clank.

If this be Europe's Paradise

But no

Turn from the slavish land,-'tis freedom's foe;
And mark the lone one of the western main,
Who, eagle-like, is battling with her chain,
And would again her slaveless realm regain.
Yes, though the links cling deep, there linger still
Without a stain, from centuries of ill,-
Virtues that, like the Amianthus,* tire

With their immortal strength destruction's fire ;
And which, like the fair isles whose beauty glows,
Where the now almost slaveless Egean flows,t
Are records rescued from time's surge to tell
Of the lost glories that beneath them dwell.
And the loud voice of millions has arisen,
Like the thunder-peal, up from their ocean-prison,
And gone before the earth! and freedom's word
Is not unheeded - has not been unheard!

They've dared to speak, they've given their thoughts to

fame,

And earth's remotest billow hears their claim,-
Freedom and truth their watchword.

Cork.

SIGMA.

One of the varieties of the Asbestos, which, when long exposed to the air, dissolves into a downy matter unassailable by common fire. Lady Morgan.

The islands of the Egean Sea are the summits of mountains, which belong to a country whose plains have been submersed by a sudden irruption of the waters of the Black Sea.-Sonnini's Travels in Greece

ON DISSATISFACTION.

In almost every stage of a man's life, there appears something wanting to complete his happiness. The mind is ever on the wing in quest of some object, the attainment of which, it is vainly hoped, will produce permanent felicity: but those persons pursue an imaginary pursuit. Were all our wishes gratified, we should feel unhappiness; for nothing, indeed, can be more dreaded, than that state of existence where the mind has nothing to wish; when no charming hopes beguile the hours of life, and no previous solicitude gives the zest to subsequent gratification.

The tradesman, who has toiled for years to gain an independence, vainly imagines to enjoy, in the autumn of life, perfect tranquillity. The melody of birds, the fragrance of meadows, the coolness of groves, the ripling of streams, and the charming sight of rural nymphs and swains at their early toil, in anticipation already he enjoys. But view him retired from business; does he now experience those exquisite delights? alas! after the novelty is over, his passion for those objects is abated, his mind, accustomed to regular avocations, is now exposed to the ravages of languor, without fondness for books, and destitute of an early fund of information, he now experiences a sensation perfectly new to him-want of employ. Independence proves to him a source of anxiety, and, if it were not for shame, he would relinquish his country seat, and abandon for ever those charms which he fondly thought existed in rural life, for the charming enjoyments of trade, that leave no time unemployed, and which, by its fatigues, like the wand of Morpheus, impart sweet repose. The insufficiency of wordly distinctions to produce happiness, is unquestionable. Though the laurel soon fades on the brow of the conqueror, and though the civic crown of honor quickly loses its brilliancy, yet men are daily seen pursuing, with unabating ardour, the means to gain those transitory enjoyments. What is the acclamation of the multitude but a momentary impulse? like the sunny rays of an April morn, short in their duration. The mass of mankind are changeful, and torrents of disapprobation and invective overwhelm the man who seeks for felicity from such precarious sources.

Happiness is, in many instances, ideal. Does not the

industrious cottager, if he is blest with health, enjoy as much felicity as the gentleman of extensive landed property? The sun smiles with as much benignancy on the thatched shed, as on the noble mansion. The meadow flowers shed their odours as lavishly to the peasant as the lord; and, though he cannot claim the possession of the domain, they afford to the beholder the same enjoyments. In short, every thing in nature gives, in a certain degree, to the untutored and to the refined, the same sensations. Happiness does not consist in titles, possessions, honors, fame, &c.; it depends upon the mind; if that is well regulated-if the passions are properly subordinate to reason, every man will enjoy a due portion of it.

He, it is true, that is placed by providence in an inde pendent situation, however moderate, with a cultivated mind and disciplined passions, is like a fortress situated on the summit of a rock, which braves the impetuosity of the tempest, and defies the attacks of any external enemy, and is only vulnerable to the assaults of time, at whose fell grasp the massy ramparts and lofty towers crumble into dust, and the most stupendous monuments of art moulder into ruins!

But still it must be admitted, that change of situation gives birth to thoughts and actions, of which the mind had no previous suspicion.

Few are the number of those whom prosperity has not made arrogant, and fewer those who have preserved a manly dignity and independent spirit in adversity. Hence it appears that scarcely any change, except from poverty, disease, and sorrow, is conducive to happiness. The capacities of most men are, in general, suited to their situations, and few would appear with honor and respectability were their wishes to be gratified.

How often do we see wealth united to meanness, ignorance, and folly, and insolence, their associates? The poor man is docile, industrious, and virtuous; but grant him his desiremake him rich-how is his mind changed! Indolence, arrogance, and voluptuousness sway his breast. Why, then, do most men desire a change in their situation, for the number is fewer that is thereby happier? To better their condition in life, most are desirous; it is the spur to industry; so far it is unexceptionable; but here it never rests: the wish for ease and luxury generally follows, new wishes multiply, desires are