for the elixir of life. He was reported to have died also, in the year 1541, but he survived above a century. The members of our society or fraternity bind themselves by a solemn oath to keep our secrets inviolable; the nature of this oath is so extra ordinary, that even a mere attempt to violate it is prevented by death. Suppose this fraternity to consist of a stated number of persons, one of whom occasionally retired, if you had an offer to become one of them, would you accede to it ?" "But do I not recollect," said Lubeck," you said something extraordinary would be required?"

"We have conditions," said the stranger, "but by you they are easily to be fulfilled. You must be free from crime, you must separate yourself from the world, and all that is in itparents, relations. friends-and take a vow.of celibacy."

The look of eager hope and delight with which Lubeck had. till now, listened to the latter words of the stranger, changed at once to disappointment and sorrow. His expectations, which had been raised to the highest pitch of excitement, were now dashed to the ground at once.

"6 never,

him, dug, with his own hands, his grave, and on the monument erected to the memory of the little god, whose effigy was carved in marble, he laid his own torch. And there, before the torch of Hymen, and on the tomb of lost Love,' many a vow was offered up, and many plighted hearts have wept to find the temple of Hymen, the burying place of Love. Alas! your happiness is like polished steel, rusted by a breath; nor can you hope to quaff the full cup of pleasure, and find no dregs."

Life may be like an ocean of troubled water," said Lubeck, "but there is a pearl for which we venture on its bosom. In vain, in vain, you endeavour to change my determination. No - love is all of life worth living for. If I were to enter your fraternity, shall I quaff the waters of Lethe ?--No!-remember, then, our memory is like a picture gallery of past days; and would there not be one picture which would haunt me for ever? and should I not curse the hour in which I bartered happiness for knowledge?-Do you not think-?"

"It is vain," said the stranger, interrupting him, "it is vain to argue with you now; a heart boiling as yours does,

"Can you be so infatuated as to reject my offer ?" The lover, in his imagination, has no comparison to her he loves; her form exists, perfect, supreme, and all absorbing, in his mind. No tasteful imagery, no descriptive words, could give the feelings as they there exist; to him the plainest language speaks the best, for his own mind then adds the most, to that which gives the least. Lubeck briefly replied, "You

never saw her."

Consider, I pray you," resumed the stranger, "that, in fifty or sixty years, your earthly career will be run, and in how much less time will beauty have passed away; that beauty, at whose altar you are now about to sacrifice continued youth, health, and a surpassing knowledge."

"But," added Lubeck, "even when her beauty shall have faded, her mind will still remain."

"Still," said the stranger, "still! what mean you?-Some fifty or sixty years! And can you balance these few years with centuries of that enjoyment which you so lately desired? believe me, if your marriage be happy, joy will make you grieve for the brevity of life; but if, as too often happens, you find the temple of Hymen borders too closely upon the buryingplace of Love, then sorrow will cause you to be weary of its length."

The stranger here paused a few moments, and then continued:"It is said, mankind petitioned Jupiter, that Hymen and Love should be worshipped together in the same temple; for in consequence of their dwelling apart, many an offering had been given to Love, which should have been dedicated to Hymen; and that Hymen had many a vow, which ought first to have been offered to Love. To this reasonable request the god promised compliance, and hymen and Love descended to earth, to erect a temple for that purpose. For some time the two gods were undecided as to where the structure should be placed, till at length they fixed upon a spot in the domains of youth, and there they began erecting it. But, alas! it was not yet completed when age came and usurped the place, turned their temple to a ruin, and used them so harshly, that they filed. From thence they roamed about, Hymen disliking one place, and love another; here, parents consented and children refused; there children solicited, and parents forbade; and the world was continually throwing obstacles in their way. Poor Love, who was a wavering and tender child, felt the effect of this, and was already thinking of returning, when they fortunately hit upon a spot which they thought would suit them. It was situated about midway up a hill; the prospect was neither extensive nor confined; one half was in the domain of wealth while the other stood on the precincts of poverty; before them was content; pleasure resided in a splendid palace on one side, and industry in a cot on the other; ambition was above them, and vice below. Here, then, they erected their temple, But Love, who had been wearied with the length of the road, and fatigued by the hardships of the journey, in less than a month afterwards fell sick and died. He was buried within the temple; and Hymen, who has ever since lamented

head. I give you a month to consider-I will then see you again; time may change your present resolutions. I should regret that an unstable, evanescent passion, like love, should part us; however, should your mind change in the mean time, remember where I was first heard-Till then, adieu."

"Till then," said Lubeck, "will never be; but, before we part, pardon an injustice I did you in my own thoughts. The extraordinary nature of your conversation led me at first to conceive that I was listening to the reveries of a madman. Farewell-you cannot give me happiness like that you would deprive me of."

The stranger smiled, and, bowing, left the apartment.

The

The time was rapidly approaching which had been fixed for Lubeck Schieffel's marriage with Hela, when, on the morning following his conversation with the stranger, he received the intelligence that she was attacked by a violent illness. most celebrated physicians of the place were summoned to attend her; but the symptoms, which from the first had been serious, resisted their utmost efforts, and now became alarming. Day after day passed on, and the disorder still increased, and it appeared, that a few days at farthest, and she would no longer exist, for whom Lubeck had so lately given up length of life and surpassing knowledge.

The crisis arrived, and the dictum of the physicians destroyed that hope to which the lover till then had clung.

Lubeck, nearly distracted, was gazing intently on that fair and faded form which lay before him, and marked the hectic red slowly give place to that pale wan hue, the sure foreteller of the approach of death. On one side the bed of his dying child, sat the aged father of Hela ;-he was silent for he was hopeless; on the other side stood the physician, who, to the fre. quently uplifted and enquiring eye of the old man, shook his head expressive of no hope. Will nothing save her?" whispered Lubeck, his tremulous voice broken by sobs: "Nothing, save a miracle!" was the reply. Nay, then it must be said Lubeck, and rushed out of the room.

་་

A week only had elapsed, and we find Hela restored in a most unaccountable manner, to health and beauty, by an unknown medicine, procured by Lubeck from an unknown source, which no enquiry could induce him to divulge. Week passed after week, and nothing had been said by Lubeck relating to the approaching marriage; he was oppressed by a deep melancholy, which every attention of Hela seemed but to increase.

They were taking one of their accustomed rambles; it was one of those beautiful evenings, which are frequent towards the latter end of autumn; the sun was just sinking behind the dark blue mountains, and the sky seemed one continued sheet of burnished gold. The bright leaves of the trees, the surrounding rocks and the distant hills, were gilded by the same heavenly alchymy. This gradually changed to a deep red, glowing like the ruby, mingling beautifully with the brown and yellow tints which autumn had spread over the scene. Not a sound was heard, save, at measured intervals, the long drawn melancholy note of some distant unseen bird, and, but for this, they

two might have seemed the sole inhabitants of a silent world; 'midst natur's beauties the most beautiful, the bright setting sun seemed to have lent its lustre to their eyes, its colour to their cheeks, and to delay his setting, as if unwilling to quit a scene so lovely. Slowly he set, and as slowly, and almost imperceptibly, the glowing red changed to the soft pale twilight, and the moon, then in her full, gradually ascended, mistress of the scene; and then the stars peeped forward, one by one, as if fearful of the light, at length another, and another came, till the whole face of Heaven was filled with brightness. It was Hela's voice, that, almost in a whisper, broke on the silence around. "It will be fine to-morrow-it always is after such a sunset as this."

"I think it will- and I hope it may," said Lubeck, "if you would have it so! but why to-morrow?"

"Oh, to-morrow was to have been our-wedding-day." There are remembrances we would fain suppress; thoughts, which recalled, weigh heavy on the heart; ideas, which we have struggled to keep down, on which to dwell were far too great a pain, and these the mind, when wearied, had forgotten. And yet-one word, one little word, shall recal every thought, bring in an instant each remembrance forth, and waken memory though it slept for years.

"Hela!" exclaimed Lubeck, dreadfully agitated," that day can never be !"

"What! Lubeck?" she replied, doubting that she had heard correctly.

"Hela," continued he," when you lay upon your bed of sickness; when mortal aid seemed unavailing-your life despaired of remember it was then I brought the medicine which so unaccountably restored you;-driven to desperation by your impending fate,-I sought relief from beings who had the power to give it-even then,-from them obtained that medicine, but it was purchased by my happiness,—I took a vow which parted us for ever!"

"Dreadful," said Hela, "what?"

"I cannot tell you more," he hurriedly exclaimed. "In your absence, I have often resolved to tell you this, but never before could I mention it when we were together. I feared it would break your heart- I felt it was breaking mine. I could not bear to think of it-I would have persuaded myself it was a dream-I tried to conceal it from myself; I would have forgotten all-but that I saved you. Alas! I could not hide it from myself, and it were cruel to have hidden it longer from you. Hela, I could not bear to hear that day named, and not to tell you that day can never be!"

"What mystery! Lubeck — speak plainly-let me know all!"

"Listen," he continued, "since I must tell you. You have heard of the Rosicrucians, and believed, perhaps, that they existed only in the imagination of the superstitious and foolish; too truly I can prove the truth of what you have heard. Vast, indeed, their knowledge-vast, indeed, their power-to them may be given to penetrate the secrets of nature-to them a being co-existent with a world; but to me they possessed that, which was more valued than their power, than knowledge, or than life itself-it was that medicine that saved you." To obtain it, I was compelled to take that fearful oath which separated us for ever-an oath of celibacy.-I am a Rosicru

cian."

thought that when I gave up all my happiness, dooming myself to a long life of misery (for life without you is misery)-I had thought that she, for whom this sacrifice was made, would, at least, have been grateful, and have praised my motives: this was my only hope; but now, when I have told the oath that gave her to life, and me to misery, she thinks me false. The only consolation I expected was her thanks, and these I have not-No, Hela, no, you never more shall doubt me. I cannot spare you this, my last resource, to prove how true is the heart that you have doubted

"Hela, look on the beautiful heavens; how often have I gazed with deepest reverence on its varied lights, but never with that intensity of feeling that I do now; for I feel that I partake a being with them. There is a star this night sheds its last ray-a world shall cease to exist-a life must perish with it. See yon small cloud, that comes slowly over the face of Heaven; and mark—it wings its light way to that pale star. Now, Hela, now, you never more shall doubt me-on that star depends my

She turned-and lifeless at her feet lies what was once her lover; silent awhile she stood, as if she doubted what she saw was real; then her clasped hands convulsive pressed her head; and in her heart she felt ages of anguish in one moment's woe.

Hark, what is it that troubled echo so repeats; that wakes the fox, and startles all around?-the wolf bays fearfully; the startled owl screams harshly as she takes her hurried flight. It was a shriek, a long and fearful shriek-and oh, the tale it tells is of despair-that every joy is fled, that hope is vanished, and a heart is broken.

Silent is echo now; the angry wolf is heard no more; the startled owl has rested from her flight and terror, and stilness once again commands the scene.

The moon has climbed her highest, and sinking, follows darkness to the west: a little while, and then-full in the east appears the pale small arch of light, that darkens, and then brighter comes again; and then the long faint rays of the approaching sun, and last himself, in all his brightness comes, like a conqueror, and deposes night.

The birds are chirping gladly on the trees; and gently on the ear comes, by degrees, the distant hum of an awaking world. But there is a silence man can never break, there is a darkness suns can never light-there is a sleep that morn shall never awaken--and such is death's and Hela's.

THE CREED OF THE OLD ALCHEMISTS.-The alchemists believed in two grand arcana, or secrets-the philosopher's stone and the elixir vita. The former was the source of wealth, the latter of undying youth. It was asserted, with regard to the philosopher's stone, that as all minerals were not wholes in themselves, but only compounds of certain different earths forming their integral state, it was only necessary to analyse any given mineral, and ascertain the nature and relative quantities of its component parts. This being done to a nicety, it only remained for skilful alchemists to collate their materials, regulate the proportions, and submit them to the amalgamating action of fire, to render their labours complete. With regard to the elixir vita, the arguments were somewhat of a metaphysical cast. It was said that as Adam and Eve ate and drank previous to their fall, their bodies were probably of the same nature and materials while they were immortal, as after the fall, which rendered them mortal. By their eating and drinktal in essence, were yet liable to waste, inasmuch as their food was required to supply that corporeal wear and tear and evaporation; and from this reasoning the alchemist deduces the proposition that something must exist in nature which perpetually renewed their youth and vitality-conferring upon them, in a word, the boon of immortality; hence the idea that a principle of eternal life existed in nature. The next step was to determine whether this principle was a solid or a liquid. They believed that the blood was the main element of life; hence the terms "old blood" and "young blood circulating in the veins." They, therefore, came to the conclusion that the principle of eternal life was a liquid, and upon it they bestowed the name of a heavenly elixir.

"Farewell," she at length exclaimed. "Had you loved me with half the devoted fervour that I loved, you sooner would have died than have given me up; but, let it be. Farewell. Time will soon take my remembrance from your heart-if ever love existed there for me; go-seek some other favourite —and in your length of years, quit her as easily as you part from me; boast to her of the foolish fondness of an innocent heart, and tell the simple tale of one who could not live to prove your story false."

"False, Hela-false! exclaimed Lubeck, driven to desperation by her reproach," you never more shall doubt me; I had

is expressive, to me, of some tone and feeling of my soul, and, in the balmy solitude of some secluded spot constructed upon the green swards, my spirit leaves its clay, and wings its way into some unknown, unseen, but native clime, and, there refreshing itself with the living streams of pure and holy truth, returns anon to prepare me for conflicts in the narrow vale that lies 'twixt life and death."

This is a fine manifestation of the principles we would inculcate.

Here is another, who, under the signature of "FIDE ET FORTITUDINE," thus addresses us :

"With all the desperation of the parched traveller in Afric's sandy deserts, I have sought to quench my thirst for occult knowledge-by reading-by inquiry-by study-by attempts to force my soul into the invisible world; and, though glimpses of the wonderful and the indefinite have sometimes flitted past, the shadows of mortality have as suddenly shrouded them in darkness, and I have again awoke to the dull monotony and ignorance of human life. I have conversed with men who have professed their intimacy with the world of spirits-their willingness to initiate me-but, with all my efforts, it has ended in disappointment.

"That there is-has been-must be-a power for the mortal to commune with the immortal, I feel and know, for I have been repelled again and again from the heavenly portal, perhaps for the want of the form, and ceremony, and words requisite to enter into the secret nature. You have evidently studied this earthly lore; know ye of any who can instruct me-can enlighten me-on these mysterious subjects?

"It has long been my cherished opinion that there be some brothers of the "Rosy Cross" who possess some wondrous knowledge-where are they to be found that I, who despe rately thirst with all holy aspirations, may not pass through this ignorant existence without one draught at their immortal founts. You reside in the brain of the world-Londonwhere more knowledge is concentrated than dwelleth i the eight hundred millions of extremities-tell a kindred spirit how to seek these things, what to do to obtain entrance to the

THE SELF-INSTRUCTOR IN ASTROLOGY.

CHAPTER VIII. THE ADVANTAGES OF ASTROLOGY AND PHYSIOGNOMY.