I have gone through. If you have no objection, I will give you a sketch of my story; indeed I am anxious to do so, in order, by accounting for the reveries into which I so frequently fall, to obtain your forgiveness for them.'

Osmond bowed, and said he should conceive himself honoured by his Lordship's confidence.

Accordingly the Count began as follows.

CHAP. XII.

The Gods are just....

But how can finite measure infinite?

Reason, alas! it does not know itself:

But man, vain man, would, with this short-lin'd plummet,
Fathom the vast abyss of heav'nly justice.

Whatever is, is in its causes just:

But purblind man

Sees but a part o' th' chain, the nearest link;
His eyes not carrying to that equal beam
That poises all above.'

DRYDEN ORBIT.

'I HAVE already told you that I am the heir of the Placentia family: at a very early period I succeeded to my paternal titles and estates; my mother dying in giving me birth, and my father soon after falling in the field of battle. By his will, I was placed under the guardianship of my maternal uncle, the Marchese Morati, who having no children of his own, adopted me as his son, and treated me in every instance, as did also his amiable lady, as if I had been so in reality.

My education was suitable to my rank, and happily did my days glide on, until I completed my nineteenth year; from which period (continued the Count, casting his eyes towards heaven, and heaving a deep sigh) I may date the commencement of all my sorrows. Gracious God! had it been thy will to have snatched me hence at that time, what misery should I have been spared! But

Y

to proceed.... Among the many young men I became acquainted with, on repairing from the Castle of Acerenza, the residence of my uncle, to Naples, for the completion of my education, there was none I so much admired, or became so strongly attached to, as the Count de Molina, only son of the Duke of that name, a nobleman then high in the confidence of his Sovereign, and filling the principal employments in the state, but whose hereditary fortune, through various causes, was much impaired.

'De Molina returned my regard, and shortly becoming almost inseparable, I was introduced to his family, and thus obtained an opportunity of beholding his sister, the heavenly Elizara, about thirteen, when first she met my ardent gaze. To see, and not to love her, was impossible; and ere I was well sensible of being her slave, I found, on being united to her depended my future happiness; but that I should find no difficulty in accomplishing my wishes relative to her, I confidently assured myself, my rank and fortune entitling me to an alliance with the most illustrious.

'Conceiving that my uncle, as my guardian, was the properest person to disclose those wishes, I hastened to Acerenza, and flinging myself at the feet of the good man, implored him to repair without delay to Naples, and be at once the revealer and advocate of my passion for the beautiful Elizara. He heard the acknowledgment of it with satisfaction, her connections being such as to render an alliance with her truly desirable. Accordingly, he had no hesitation in complying with my request. In full assurance of succeeding in his embassy, he set out for Naples, leaving me behind him, for the purpose of accompanying my aunt thither, as soon as we received a summons from him to follow.

'I will not dwell on the delightful reveries in which I indulged after his departure, since, alas! they were full of anticipations of happiness I was destined never to experience; suffice it to say, that never was a wretch fated to disappointment, less prepared for it than I was; for oh! my friend, I was doomed to experience the most severe, the most excio iating one, doomed to hear that Elizara

was engaged....engaged too, as if to aggravate the anguish imparted by the circumstance, to an enemy of my house, the Marchese Salvilina....more, that she loved him, that she had given him possession of that virgin heart for which I sighed! Gracious Heaven, what were my feelings on being informed of this by my uncle! I raved.... I wept....I abandoned myself to despair, and during its first paroxysms, might have been tempted to have raised my hand against my life, but for the vigilance of those by whom I was surrounded; and if I had, seeing I was utterly lost to hope, should I have been much to blame, my dear friend?? addressing Osmond with peculiar ear

nestness.

you

My dear Count,' returned Osmond, your putting such a question to me, convinces me you never consulted your reason on the subject, since, had done so, it must have convinced you that the Divine Being, who sent us into this world, only has a right to recal us from it; that trials are incidental to this life; that to shrink from those we meet with, is to betray a want of due confidence in the goodness of the Almighty, which merits not his forgiveness, and fastens a stigma on our characters nothing can remove, such as the soldier would incur, who, finding himself on a post of danger, meanly deserted it. By suffering well,' says the poet, our fortune we subdue.' But even, allowing we should not all be happy enough to experience some lucky revolution in our fate, surely we should derive consolation and firmness of mind from the conviction, that in proportion to our sufferings here will be our felicity hereafter, provided those sufferings be borne with patience and fortitude.'

6

Always right, always right,' exclaimed the Count, with his usual versatility, immediately giving into the opinion of Osmond. My dear friend, if long blessed with your society, I clearly perceive I shall become quite an altered man: already, through your arguments, and the example of moderation and calmness you set me, I find myself acquiring a greater command over my feelings than I ever before possessed; once able to subjugate them completely, and from the state of calmness I should of consequence find my mind in, I should be able

to reason and reflect as you have done, and, of course' see all in a right light.'

If we early attempt the conquest of ourselves, we shall find the attempt neither a very painful, nor yet an unavailing one,' returned Osmond. Man against his fellow man may put forth all his strength in vain ; but never shall he do so in a combat with his own passions, provided he delays not too long taking the field against them. But come, my dear Count, the beauty and serenity of the evening invite us to take a promenade on deck; when we return hither, we will, if you please, resume the game of chess we commenced this morning, for I perceive you are agitated, and cannot therefore think of allowing you to pursue your narrative this even. ing.'

You are all kind consideration, my friend,' said the Count, as he followed him up the cabin stairs.

The next morning, as soon as breakfast was over, he thus continued his story :....

'My uncle took me to different parts of Italy, trusting change of scene would divert and finally expel the corroding grief that had taken possession of my heart, and which, with deep regret, he perceived materially affecting my health; he, besides, incessantly represented to me the derogatory light in which I should make myself appear, by continuing to pine for an object I could not possess, and who had never entertained a tender sentiment for me; the foolish and ridiculous part I acted, in wasting my days in vain regrets for a being, while so many fully equal, if not superior to her, would be delighted to receive my addresses: in short, nothing that tenderness and wisdom could suggest, as likely to cure me of my unhappy passion, was omitted by him; but to no purpose did he exert himself to eradicate it....which perceiving, and that I grew rather worse than better for being hurried about, he at length hearkened to my ardent solicitations to return to Acerenza, for the delightful solitudes of which, than which nothing perhaps can be conceived more enchanting, I absolutely longed.

"Their tranquillity had soon a salutary effect upon me; by degrees the agitation of my spirits subsided.

The anguish of my mind abated sufficiently to permit the renewal of my former studies, that in particular of the English language. In the poetry of your country I frequently found a softness, a tenderness, not rivalling, 'tis true, but certainly, in some instances, not inferior to that for which the Italian poetry is famed. The dramatic writers, in particular, I found to excel in both; hence they became my favourite authors, insomuch that I was seldom without the works of one or other of them about me, especially when I quitted the Castle, for the purpose of wandering amongst the awful shades embowering it, and which at this period I much delighted in.

After a long and solitary ramble one evening, feeling myself somewhat fatigued, I seated myself upon a verdant bank, within the shelter of a richly variegated and extensive wood, then glowing with the refulgence of the setting sun. Charmed with the awful tranquillity of the scene, so soothing and so well according with the feelings then prevailing in my mind, I could not forbear, in the enthusiasm it excited, repeating aloud, from a volume of your poet Shakespeare, which I had just drawn from my pocket....

This shadowing desert, unfrequented woods,
I better brook than flourishing peopl❜d towns.
Here I can sit alone, unseen of any,
And to the nightingale's complaining notes
Tune my distresses, and record my woes.'

Scarcely had the sound of my own voice ceased to vibrate on my ear, ere another, softer and more sweet than any I had ever before heard, saluted it, chaunting a simple melody. It seemed to be near; but in vain did my eyes wander around, in eager quest of the object from whom it came: at length, on its ceasing, I arose, and cautiously advancing towards the spot whence I fancied it had proceeded, espied, through the trees, a young lad sitting on a mossy bank, clad in a shepherd's habit, his face entirely concealed from view by a large hat.

On my approach, as if alarmed by the rustling noise occasioned by my making my way through the thickets that interposed between him and me, he started up, and fed with precipitation, The elegance of his figure,