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is one of the mildest and healthiest in the world.

Along the coast from latitude 37. to 42. south, there are innumerable islands or sand banks, extending to the distance of seven or eight leagues from the main; and within them are found some convenient harbours for ships to lie in, and numerous creeks navigable for boats. The chart published by Faden from the survey of Malespinas, though on a small scale, was found very correct, and indeed the only one to be relied on. During the months of September, October, November, and December, the banks are covered with sea elephants, in such numbers, that from fifteen to twenty sail, of 200 tons each, might annually load with oil, if the fishing were pursued under proper restrictions, such as not to kill any elephant under two years old, nor the fe

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males till they have pupped and brought up their young. A pup three or four weeks old, can shift for itself. These animals have been very much destroyed by the Americans, who kill pups producing only four or five gallons of oil, whilst if they were left to the age of two or three years, would produce as many barrels. The whole coast abounds besides with hair and fur seals; the trade in which, either for the London or China markets, might be worth attention.

The ship, from the crew of which this information has been obtained, was unfortunately wrecked whilst pursuing a profitable traffic on the coast. She was the only English vessel remembered there, although about twenty ships annually resort thither, a few of them French, but the greater number Amer. icans.

EXAMPLE VI.

-How an usurer, on the point of death, gave it in charge to his wife to have a care for the good of his soul; and how she married a second husband, and made a mock of him.

VII.-How a child exhorted its father to give up the practice of usury,and how be would not, and so died, and was damned.

VIII.-How an usurer,receiving the sacrament, said to the priest, "I value this handsome cup more than all that is within it," and instantly dropped down dead, and was damned.

IX.-How a usurer was buried in a church, in a marble sepulchre; and bow the next morning, both the sepulchre and

its stinking contents, were found in a field far distant.

X.-How a priest, refusing to inter the body of a usurer in consecrated ground, made a composition with the relations of the deceased that they should place the usurer's body on the back of his horse, and, wherever the horse should carry it, there it should be interred. And how the relations, notwithstanding that, against the spirit and reasoning of the covenant, they endeavoured to drive the horse, by blows, towards the church, could not succeed in making the animal move an inch forward in that direction, until, being tired, they suffered it to go its own way, which led to the foot of the gallows, and there the usurer was interred at last.

XI. Of another usurer, who, being buried in a church, could not rest, but got out of his grave, and played divers pranks within the said church, until, being duly exorcised, he confessed that he never should be quiet till they removed him out of consecrated ground; which was done accordingly.

XII. How a usurer, being at his death-ded, exhorted to make restitution

of his ill-gotten wealth, by disposing of it in a christian-like manner, answered the parish priest who attended him, saying," Imprimis, I give and bequeath you who are my pastor, to the devil.Item, I give to my wife and children all the estate, right, title, &c. which I have acquired in hell by my worldly dealings. Lastly, all the residue of my effects, together with myself, I absolutely give up and release to my good Lord, Satan, to whom, of right, the same do belong."

Immediately at the close of which nuncupative will, the residuary legatee came into the apartment, and carried off the testator's soul, which (it seems) was the only part of the benefits intended for him that he cared to possess.

A few other examples remain; but as I am apprehensive that they might rather tend to weaken the impressions which must be made by some of the foregoing, than to strengthen or improve them, I shall here close the chapter,

AMONG those who were accused as accomplices in the assassination of the Emperor Albert by John of Swabia, was the Baron Vonder Wart, though according to the unanimous testimony of early and later historians, he had not taken any immediate part in the deed itself. He was bound alive to the wheel. His wife Gertrude, did not forsake her unhappy husband even in his last moments, and she describes those dreadful hours in the following letter to Margarethe Freianstein, which is inserted in a book published at Haarlem in 1818, under the following title; "Gertrude Vonder Wart, or Fidelity till Death, a true history, of the 14th century, by J. C. Appenzeller."

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I prayed under the scaffold on which my husband was fastened alive upon the wheel, and exhorted him to fortitude. I then arose, and with thick pieces of wood built myself a kind of steps, by means of which I could mount up to the wheel, laid myself upon his trembling limbs and head, and stroked the hair from his face, which the wind had blown over it."I beseech you, leave me ! Oh, I beseech you!" he exclaimed continually. "When day breaks, if you should be found here, what will be your fate? and what new misery will you bring upon me? Oh God; is it possible that thou canst still increase my sufferings."

"I will die with you; 'tis for that I come, and no power shall force me from

you," said I, and spread out my arms over him, and implored God for my Rudolph's death.

The day broke slowly, when I saw many people in motion opposite us: I replaced the thick pieces of wood where I had found them. It was the guard who had fled on my appearance, but had remained near the spot and as it seemed, caused a report to be made of what had passed; for at day break all the people, men, women, and children, came flocking out of the town.

Among these people I recognised the gaoler, who had given me up the preceding evening to Von Landenberg. The report must also have reached him, that I had been with my husband, for he approached me shaking his head, and said: "Woman! this was not the intention when Landenberg fetched you yesterday !"

As more people approached, I saw also several women of my acquaintance, among them was the wife of the bailiff Hugo Von Winterthur: I saluted her, and begged her intervention with her husband, that he might order the executioner to put an end to my husband's cruel sufferings.

"He dare not do any thing for me,” sighed Wart upon the wheel, again moving his head at this moment, and looking down upon me with his swollen eyes" He dare not do any thing; the Queen pronounced the sentence; and the bailiff must therefore obey:

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silent.

All at once I heard a cry of "make way!" and a troop of horsemen approached with their vizors down.

The executioner kneeled, the confessor laid his hand upon his breast, the horsemen halted. Fathers and Mothers held up their children in their arms, and the guard with their lances formed a circle, while the tallest of the knights raised himself in his stirrups, and said to the executioner, "Whither are the crows flown that he still keeps his eyes?" and this was the duke Leopold.

My heart ceased to beat, when another knight with a scornful smile said: "Let him writhe as long as he has feeling; but then people must be gone. Confounded wretches! this sighing and crying makes me mad! No pity must be shown here; and she here, who so increases the howling, who is she? what does the woman want? the w away with her!"

I now recognised the voice of the Queen. It was Agnes, in the dress and armour of a knight. I remarked immediately that it was a woman's voice,and it is certain that it was Agnes. "It is Wart's wife!" I heard a third knight say. "Last night when the sen

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tence was executed, we took her with us to Kyburg. She escaped from us; and I must find her here then! We thought that in her despair she had leaped into the moat of the castle. We have been seeking her since this morning early. God! what faithful love. Let her alone; nothing can be done with her."

I here recognised the mild tempered youth, Von Landenberg. How well did he now speak for me! I could have fallen at his feet.

Well, Gertrude! cried a fourth tone, "will you not yet take rational advice? do not kill yourself! save yourself for the world! you will not repent of it."

Who was this, Margaretha? I trembled; it was she who wanted to persuade me at Brugk, to leave the criminal Wart to his fate, and pass days of joy with her. Then I too could almost have exclaimed, "God! this is too much! cease!"

Agnes made a sign to an esquire to raise me up, and bring me away from the scaffold. He approached me, but I threw my arm round it, and implored my own and my husband's death. But in vain! two men dragged me away. I besought assistance from Heaven; it was granted me.

Von Landenberg (otherwise a faithful servant of Austria) once more ventured to speak for me. "Cease to humble her; such fidelity is not found on earth: angels in Heaven must rejoice at it; but it would be good if the people were driven away."

They let me loose again; the horsemen departed; tears flowed from Lamprecht's eyes; he had acted strictly according to his duty, and executed the will of the Queen: he could now listen to the voice of nature and weep with me. "I can hold out no longer, noble lady! I am vanquished! your name shall be mentioned with glory among the saints in heaven, for this world will forget it. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life," said he gave me his hand and departed.

Every body now left the place except the executioner and the guard: evening came on, and at length silent

night; a stormy wind arose, and its howling joined with the loud and unceasing prayers which I put up to the Almighty.

One of the guard now brought me a cloak to protect me against the wind because it was night; but I got upon the wheel and spread it upon the naked and broken limbs of my husband; the wind whistled through his hair, his lips were dry. I fetched him some water in my shoe, which was a refreshment to us both. I know not, my dearest Margaretha, how it was possible for me to live through such heart-breaking and cruel hours!

But I lay, as if guarded and wonderfully strengthened by God's Angels and the Saints, continually praying near the wheel on which my whole world reposed.

During this time my thoughts were with God. As often as a sigh broke from the breast of my Rudolph it was a dagger in my heart. But I remembered the Holy Virgin, how she too had suf

fered under the cross of her Son, and consoled myself with the hope that after a short time of suffering, the eternal joys of Heaven would be my portion, and this gave me courage to suffer; I know too, for whom I suffered, and this gave me strength in the combat, so that I endured to the very last moment.

Though Wart had at first so earnestly begged of me not to increase his agonies by my presence, yet he now thanked me as much for not having left him ; in my prayers to God he found consolation and refreshment, and it was a comfort to his soul when I prayed.

How the last dreadful morning and noon were spent ; permit me to pass over in silence.-A few hours before evening, Rudolph moved his head for the last time; I raised myself up to him. He murmured very faintly, but with smiling love upon his lips, these words; Gertrude, this is fidelity till death, and expired.-On my knees I thanked God for the grace which he had given me to remain faithful to the end.

T will probably be in the recollection of our readers, that seven or eight months ago, the public papers contained a paragraph, stating the circumstance of there being a man of the above name, who had just found his way back to France, after an absence of thirty-seven years from his native country, during which, he had not only remained totally ignorant of the extraordinary events that were passing there, even to the existence of such a man as Napoleon Buonaparte; but had almost forgotten his own language. We have now the satisfaction of laying the singularly interesting account of this individual's sufferings before the public, and partly in his own words; for it appears that when M. Quesné, a French literary character of respectability, heard of Dumont's arrival, attended as it was by

some allusions to his past history, he determined to seek him out. As the particulars commuincated in their first interview, convinced the visitor, that the whole narrative ought to be placed on record, M. Quesné repeated his visits, and in a short time afterwards published the following account, the authenticity of which is drawn from such a variety of concurring testimonies all in favour of the narrator's character and correctness of memory, that the French editor, after having taken the utmost pains to satisfy his mind on the subject, saw no reason to entertain the smallest doubt of his hero's veracity.

After stating that he was born at Paris in 1768, and giving an account of his entrance into the navy with M. de Ternay, a rear-admiral, under whom Dumont served for more than a year, the