water were steamers and sailing craft, displaying lanterns of many different brilliant colors.

From the smoke-stacks of the steamers endless streams of fiery sparks stretched out to the westward. Between the river and the portico of the house the whole extent of the grounds was dotted with lamps. Every embowered rustic seat had a lamp suspended near it, and the fountain in front of the hall-door was all illuminated with many-colored lamps, whose colors were distributed through the water-jets, until the whole presented a strange medley, embracing every tint in all the brilliancy of the rainbow.

the acquaintance of one of the noblest girls that | moonbeams from thousands of little diamond man ever saw. With genuine purity of heart mirrors. Scattered over the broad expanse of she combined extraordinary wit and beauty; with youth she possessed wonderful discretion. She was but seventeen years of age when I first knew her, and altogether, I think, the most perfect creature I ever had the happiness to behold. I took a great fancy to Lily after our first minute of social intercourse, and made frequent visits to her at her father's residence in the country. I lived in the city at this time, some dozen miles from Bellegrove, but this distance was nothing to me, when well mounted, some lovely spring evening, and so I was there often. I delighted in Lily's society, and she plainly showed that she liked my company by her vivacity, and the interest which she displayed in making my time pleasant. There is a vast difference, though, between liking and loving, and and I did not feel certain that she loved me by any means. I very soon satisfied myself-and her, too, I believe-that I loved her, but it was a considerable time before I made any communication of the fact. Her father was wealthy, and I was comparatively poor, and I was afraid I might be called a fortune-hunter. I have since accused myself of libel upon Lily for having any such feeling, for you could not look upon her without losing sight of her fortune altogether in your admiration of its possessor.

After a time I made up my mind to address her, fortune or no fortune; and accordingly I did so one beautiful evening in the "blithe time of spring." I must confess that it was not without great misgiving on my part, for I was by no means satisfied that Lily loved me; and it was quite a surprise to me when she accepted me without any provisos whatever.

Of course my love doubled on the spot; that is, if an infinite quantity can be doubled, and I thought Lily never seemed such a treasure before. There is something delightful in the mutual confidence which immediately springs up between a newly-engaged couple. Lily made me her chief adviser in all matters ten minutes after we were engaged, and I believe she sought counsel from me upon every subject under the sun. It is pleasant to be looked up to by a being you love with such devotion as I loved Lily, and so I was supremely happy.

It was eight o'clock when I led Lily to the centre of the front drawing-room. We were nearly surrounded with groomsmen and bridemaids. The ceremony was performed very solemnly by Dr. -, from the neighboring city, and then the festivities of the evening commenced. I hardly think the happiness I enjoyed that evening can be the common lot of mankind. My heart was as light as down. I often found myself abstracted from the company around me, and my eyes resting on my wife at the opposite side of the room. My happiness was rendered more intense by meeting her eye fixed upon me nearly every time I looked.

I lift my eyes to her picture there, and I seem to be carried back to my wedding-night. She is painted in her wedding-dress, and has the very expression she had there in the drawing-room, when I so often met her gaze.

After dancing, promenading over the smooth graveled walks of the lawn, and a little music now and then, supper was announced. I must hasten over this joyful evening, for it is painful to me to recall a period of so great happiness in my present frame of mind.

It was at an early hour in the morning that the last carriage rolled away from the door. Many guests from a distance remained at Bellegrove, intending some to leave in the morning, and others to accompany us upon a bridal tour which we intended to make in a few days.

Lily rose in the morning with a considerable hoarseness, which increased so as to prevent her from speaking above a whisper. Toward even

After two months of happiness, during which my business suffered by my absence, the wed-ing, though, it passed off nearly altogether. We ding-day came. There was a vast assemblage of neighbors and friends, and relatives from a distance, at Bellegrove, that moonlight night in June.

The two spacious drawing-rooms were thrown into one, by withdrawing the folding-doors, and every window was open, making the rooms-in spite of the gathered crowd-quite cool. From the front windows of the rooms a beautiful river-view was spread out, and many persons were quietly gazing upon the scene, rapt in admiration. The broad river could be seen for six miles, and its calm surface, but slightly rippled by the gentle zephyrs, reflected back the

gave up the idea of traveling for a month, and then came a continual round of dinners and evening parties. I think it was in returning from the eighth or ninth of these parties that Lily caught an additional cold, rendering the slight one she had next to intolerable. I kept her in the house after that day, positively refusing to allow her to go out, and so the parties ceased. Her sickness, I thought, was nothing serious, and I went to the city to transact a piece of business, which would probably take me a day and a half to finish.

At nearly dusk in the evening a negro from Bellegrove came to my office with a note. It

IN MEMORIAM.

was from the Colonel, Lily's father, and ran | listening with suspended breath to hear her
respirations.
thus:

"DEAR JAMES-Being a little worried about Lily, I have concluded to send in for you, and out with you. She I wish you to bring Dr. constantly asks for you, and inquires whether you have come, whenever she hears a footstep. I believe Dr. Hendree is nonplussed, and too obstinate to call in assistance. You had better

come at once.

me.

"BELLEGROVE, July 22d." I thought the dear This note startled me. old Colonel was very uneasy, and was trying to In ten minutes I was on conceal it from me. beside the road to Bellegrove with Dr. My servant was with the Doctor's, who was, and followed with his chaise. Dr. still is, a man in whom I reposed the most implicit confidence, and I knew he would never deceive me about Lily's condition. He was a gentle, kind-hearted old gentleman, who always entered a sick room with as little noise as is made on a Brussels carpet by the velvety paws of a cat.

I described to the Doctor how I thought the case originated; that Lily had taken cold, and then by imprudence had caught another. I asked him if he thought any thing very serious He supposed it was the matter with Lily. could be little more than an obstinate and aggravated cold, and told me not to alarm myself. I asked him, as the Colonel's family physician, if Lily's constitution was a good one, or whether it was weak.

"Well," he said, for I remember his reply," her constitution is not very strong, but her health has generally been pretty good." Then he added, "Do not alarm yourself, James, there is no necessity for that."

In little more than an hour we reached Bellegrove, and the old Doctor, by my assistance, was soon in the hall with his medicines. I grasped the old Colonel's hand, and begged him He looked to tell me if there was danger. much worried, and told me to wait until Dr. "Can't you see the perhad seen her. plexity in Hendree's countenance ?" he said to me, in a low tone.

up stairs, and entered
I followed Doctor
A single light was burn-
the room with him.
ing behind a screen, and Lily's mother and a
black nurse were seated in the room, the latter
by the side of her daughter's pillow. My heart
sank as I beheld these arrangements. By or-
der of Dr. I did not allow Lily to see me
as I entered.

The extreme silence and caution about the
room told my heart plainly that my wife was
very ill. Hendree here came up, and the two
physicians whispered a long time together. I
thought I saw a momentary flash of excitement
upon Dr.'s countenance, once as I looked
Certainly the old
at them in consultation.
man's hand trembled violently as he took her
wrist. He sat some moments holding her arm,
looking most intently at her calm features, and

I never shall cease to remember the old Doc-
He seemed to be
tor's appearance as he left the couch and drew
Hendree over to a corner.
in great excitement, almost in a flurry, and
the shortness of the consultation, and his quick
movements, told me that the case was urgent-
that my wife, my bride Lily, was in danger.
Hendree came to me and insisted upon my go-
ing down stairs, that it was very important that
the room should be kept quiet. I suffered him
The Col-
to lead me out, and I went down stairs with a
I went
heavy heart. I could see no one.
onel had shut himself up in his room.
into the library and threw myself upon a sofa;
but how could I lie still while Lily was suffer-
ing up stairs? I jumped up and sat down,
then I wandered about the house, and at last I
sought my wife's room again.

came

I was refused admittance, but Dr. out and we sought the library together. When we got there I seized his hand, and begged him to tell me Lily's true condition.

"Be calm, James," he replied, solemnly; Your wife is "you must bear up like a man. ill, and in some danger, but I trust she may recover; it is a matter almost of life and death now to keep away every exciting cause, and I not only want you to behave like a man, and bear up yourself, but do not suffer the least noise to be made down stairs. The Colonel has the upper part of the house in charge ;" and then he added, after several minutes pause, "I would have given one thousand dollars to have seen this case twenty-four hours ago."

He left me very soon, and went up stairs. I went into the dining-room and drew a cup of coffee from the urn. Nobody seemed to have thought of eating, though the table was covered with refreshments.

I gave strict orders that not a word above a whisper should be uttered by any of the servants. Poor things! they needed no repetition It was only necessary to say, of the order. "Miss Lily is very ill," as their noiseless tread and sad countenances showed. I went into the library, and lying down, I soon fell into a sort of morbid sleep, which fatigues rather than reI started frequently from the freshes you. I would not have slept at all but for cushion, and had a great number of awful dreams. the fact that hard work and worry in the morning, and great anxiety in the evening, combined to break me down.

I must have slept this troubled sleep for sereral hours, for the next time I heard the clock strike its muffled bell it was two o'clock. I was in that half-dreamy state when we hear and hardly know what it is we hear. In a few minutes I heard a footstep. Old Doctor tered as I rose from my sofa. I endeavored to read his countenance, but it was calm and unmoved.

-en

"How is she, Doctor?" I whispered, almost choking.

rolled at a greater distance, the lightning seem

The spirit of my child-wife waned with the storm. As the storm waned away far over the woodlands, and it became calmer, we could only hear the tinkling of the water-drops in the tin pipes from the roof. As her spirit grew weaker, we could only hear the heavy breathing, and see the long efforts she made to regain the breath as it left her lips.

"Better, I trust; she is sleeping." The old man had come down to refresh him-ed further off. self with coffee, and soon I heard his soft slippers upon the stairs. His words quieted me somewhat, and I tried to read. I opened the family Bible and turned to John xiv., and read that sublime chapter over twice. "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." What tenderness and love these words of our Saviour convey! I found much comfort in what I read, and I prayed to God to take away all wickedness from my heart, and to spare me my Lily. After a while I slept again.

The next time I was awakened it was by a loud peal of thunder. I rose, and putting on my hat, sought the front portico. It was about half-past three in the morning, and a terrific thunder-storm was pouring out the vials of its wrath. The lightning was intensely vivid, and each flash seemed to wind around and embrace the columns of the portico, as if it would tear the structure to the earth. Almost simultaneously with the flashes came the most terribly deafening rolls of thunder I ever listened to.

I knew that the invalid could not sleep through this awful clamor, and still I feared to seek her room, lest I might render her condition more precarious by my presence. In a few moments the old nurse came down, and, with tears streaming down her face, called me to my darling's room. I went immediately, and my heart beat wildly as I opened the door. The Colonel, half-dressed, in slippers and dressinggown, was behind me. As we entered we saw in a moment that she was going.

Doctor Hendree was leaning upon the edge of a toilet, with his face buried in his hands; and dear old Doctor - with his head resting on his right hand, was sitting beside the table, gazing at my dying bride. His bronzed and furrowed cheek was wet with tears. I drew a chair beside her pillow, and took her hand.

"My husband!" she said, in a weak voice, and she gently pressed my hand.

"God bless your noble heart for that!" I said, and, for the first time, tears came to my relief.

The wild thunder and awful lightning shook the old house, and made it seem a mass of fire. "Pray, father," said Lily.

The dear old Colonel knelt, and we all followed his example, and between his sobs he put up a grand, touching prayer to the throne of Christ, that he would take this pure heart and guileless soul to his bosom.

For five minutes no word was spoken; but there in the silent chamber the tears fell fast.

A long, faint roll of thunder, as if the storm king was not yet satisfied, broke from the heavens. Lily revived.

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" and she breathed very hard. "To God, my husband!" With these words, all that was mortal of my child-wife ceased to exist, and her spirit took its flight to the outstretched arms of her Saviour. "Gone from earth to bloom in heaven," said old Doctor with a sigh which came from his heart.

The old man insisted upon my retiring to my bed, where I only remained until the sun poured its light into my chamber.

The funeral did not take place until the second day after her death. She was buried at the family grave-yard at Bellegrove.

After staying a week longer with the kind old Colonel, I left Bellegrove to try and find diversion from my grief in travel. I can not tell the desolation which I felt, and yet feel, for but two months have elapsed. I have returned to the city, and strive to submit to an all-wise decree of Providence-but thy ways are inscrutable, O Father! I am a widower at twenty-one.

Such a lesson has often been the salvation of an immortal soul, and I trust, through the example and influence of my lost darling, to find that Saviour who was her joy.

MOS

A WAY TO REMEMBER. OST self-educated men, who for the most part have to win their bread and their information together, feel that the pressing and material business of life has a tendency to interfere with the memory of the scientific facts or of the philosophical truths which, in the intervals of leisure, they have been at pains to acquire. Now, there are many every-day familiar things which, by any one sincerely in earnest, may be made powerful helps to the memory, and to habits of reflection, through the association of ideas. It may be useful to illustrate

Lily's mother was kneeling beside me, and I this position by a few examples. held her hand.

There are few readers who have traveled by "Amen!" said Lily, and every heart echoed any sort of carriage, who could have failed to the word. remark the appearances of motion impressed

Every eye in that chamber of death was upon the landscape. These are due, not to the

wet.

"Do not weep, mother; be cheerful, my husband; rejoice, father; for I go to Jesus." And she gave me a long gaze, full of angel-like love.

The storm was going over. The thunder!

landscape, but to the carriage. Such simple phenomena are easy of association with the motion of the earth and the immobility of the sun; they read many lessons to us on the difference between real and apparent motion.

Among the highest truths in nature, is the

pass over a distance equal to thirty-three millions three hundred and fifty thousand miles every year. The star, Alcyone, will be recalled as the principal star in the group of the Pleiades, now supposed to occupy the centre of gravity, and to be at present the sun about which the universe of stars composing our astral system are all revolving; the light from Alcyone requiring a period of five hundred and thirty-seven years to traverse the distance of the sun, from the central orb about which he performs his mighty revolutions; and the enormous term of eighteen million two hundred thousand years being required to be accomplished, if we may rely on the angular motion of the sun and system, as already determined, before the solar orb, with all its planets, satellites, and comets will have completed one revolution around its grand centre.

now confessed universality of motion. The toward the star marked in the constellation fixed stars are no longer fixed in the ordinary Hercules-with a velocity which causes it to sense, and the belief of thousands of years that they were absolutely fixed, is now proved to have arisen from an illusion of the senses. All are now conceded to be moving around each other with marvelous velocity; though, from the distance, the motion appears to us to be remarkably slow. The sun himself has his circuit of travel, measured by ages. In the words of a modern astronomer, "mutation and change are every where found; all is in motion; orbits expanding or contracting, their planes rocking up or down, their perihelia and nodes sweeping in opposite directions round the sun." It is well that we are likewise told that "the limits of all these changes are fixed; that these limits can never be passed, and that at the end of a vast period, amounting to many millions of years, the entire range of fluctuation will have been accomplished, the entire system, planets, orbits, inclinations, eccentricities, perihelia, and nodes, will have regained their original values and places, and the great bell of eternity will have then sounded One!"

Now among many things which we have not mentioned, but which are nevertheless involved in the above statement, there are not a few that are extremely difficult to be remembered, but which it would be serviceable to retain in memory by the aid of familiar associations. Recurring again to the phenomena of travel (for earth is to man none other than a magnificent | chariot wherein he rides around that great central luminary, the sun, in the midst of planetary systems without end), we may again refer to the apparent motion of the objects through which the passenger on the railway progresses. While passing in a direct line through a forest of trees, those trees toward which he is moving will appear to open out or separate from each other, while those left behind will appear to close up. Now this same opening out, and this same closing up, are actually the criteria employed to determine the astronomer touching the direction in which man on this earth is traveling through the starry forest in the skies. Borne along by the movement of the sun, the astronomer accordingly seeks a point in the heavens where the stars appear to be increasing their mutual distances. Finding this point, he next looks behind him in the opposite direction, and there perceiving the stars to close up on each other, he concludes that he has found the direction in which he is moving. In this manner it was, in fact, that Herschel determined that the solar system is traveling through space toward a point in the constellation Hercules. Now, many minds acting on this simple association, like the actor who receives the cue of a word or two from the prompter and then remembers his whole part, may, from the mere force of such a system, remember the whole of the discoveries of Argelander and Maedler. The sun, with its planets, will be seen sweeping toward the north pole of the heavens-in fact,

Still keeping to the incidents of travel, and the phenomenon of forest trees. Who has not observed, while journeying along a railway, how the trees of a forest apparently whirl around each other-an appearance produced by the rapid speed of the carriage? This incident, familiar as it is, may serve to raise habitually in the mind the notion of the parallax of the fixed stars. Parallax is the apparent change in the place of an object, occasioned by the real change in the place of the spectator. Since the parallactic motion of the forest trees becomes less and less perceptible as the velocity of the traveling beholder diminishes, or as the distance of the seemingly moving object becomes greater, it is evident that to measure the distance of the fixed stars is equivalent to determining the amount of the parallactic change in their relative positions, occasioned by the actual change of the positions from which they may be viewed by a spectator on the earth's surface. The spectator will, on the prompting of this remarkable suggestion, probably remember that when the orbitual motion of the earth was first propounded by Copernicus, and it was asserted to revolve in an ellipse of nearly six hundred million miles in circumference, and with a motion so swift that it passed over no less than sixty-eight thousand miles in every hour of time, the opponents of the great philosopher exclaimed, that this doctrine could not be true; "for," said they, "if we are sweeping around the sun in this vast orbit, and with this amazing velocity, then ought the fixed stars to whirl round each other, as do the forest trees to the traveler flying swiftly by them." To the unassisted eye this, which was the case in fact, did not appear; and the Copernicans were without a satisfactory reply. They could only venture a suggestion that, owing perhaps to the enormous distance of the fixed stars, no perceptible change was operated by the revolution of the earth in its orbit; in other words, that the pole of the heavens revolved in a curve of two hundred million miles in diameter, but that such was the distance of

the spheres of the fixed stars, that this curve | fine, that the direction in which the barrel of was reduced to an invisible point. After a contest of three hundred years' duration, the truth uttered by Copernicus, but not sufficiently illustrated, is at length indisputably established.

Record of Current Events.

CONGRESS is to adjourn on the 18th of August. chosen as Congressional delegate; and the bed to