three other Arab servants; the whole mounted on five camels, one of these useful animals carrying a tent and baggage. A plentiful supply of provisions-as sugar, biscuit, rice, coffee, &c.—was also taken; for in the desert no species of food is to be had, except occasionally a sheep or kid from tribes of wandering Arabs. Four skin-sacks of water completed the provisionary department; and last of all were included cooking and table utensils, and a supply of charcoal. The English costume is recommended as preferable for travelling, on account of a certain fear which even the remote inhabitants of the desert have come to entertain of our power. The author, however, was on divers occasions saved from the rapacious extortions of native chiefs only by his own firmness and the never-failing address of his servant Komeh, whose qualities of browbeating and intimidation were invaluable. All things being ready for the journey, each man mounted his camel, and the little cavalcade turning its face towards the east, went off in its 'noiseless track over the broad expanse, as a vessel spreads its sail, and slips quietly to sea; while the minarets of Cairo grew fainter and fainter, till we lost them in the red and dusky hue of an Egyptian atmosphere.' The sensations on first riding a camel are singular and half-dreamy,' but after a time, the position on a broad pile of carpets, along with the see-saw motion, becomes painfully fatiguing, and the traveller longs for repose. The route followed was that now taken by the overland mails to Suez, and the party encamped for the night near the first station. Off again next morning-and the same route continued. The practice is to start early, before the sun has gained his power. The mornings are described as delicious. While the sun is not yet up, but under the light of a growing radiance in the east, it is for some time delightful to walk over the fine shining gravel surface of the silent desert, my cheerful Komeh by my side, with his pipe, and the Arabs in straggling groups coming up slowly behind. What most surprised me was the elasticity of spirits I generally experienced in the wilderness. The dry pure air probably had much to do with this. Sometimes the sense of free movement over the boundless expanse was indescribably and wildly ecstatic; in general, the incidents of our little caravan seemed sufficient stimulus, and a universal cheerfulness prevailed among us in those hours of dawn.' Very different was the feeling when the sun had gained a noontide ascendancy, and every living thing was overcome with the intolerably heated glare. The camels,' says our author, in his vividly pictorial style, now groan with distress; the Arabs are silent, slipping from time to time alongside the water-skins, and, with their mouths to the orifice, catching a few gulps without stopping; then burying their head in the ample bernous, pace on again quietly, hour after hour. The water, which smacks of the leathern bottle, or zemzemia, in which it is contained, warm, insipid, and even nauseous, seems but to increase the parching thirst; the brain is clouded and paralysed by the intolerable sultriness; and with the eyes protected by a handkerchief from the reflected glare of the sand, and swaying listlessly to and fro, I keep at the same horrible pace along the burning sand. ..... The hot film, like the glow of a kiln, now trembles over the glittering sands, and plays the most fantastic tricks with the traveller, cheating his vision with an illusory supply of what his senses madly crave. Half-dozing, half-dreaming, as I advanced, lulled into vague reverie, the startling MIRAGE, shifting with magic play, expands in gleaming blue lakes, whose cool borders are adorned with waving groves, and on whose shining banks the mimic waves, with wonderful illusion, break in long glittering ferent from the leathery decoction of the zemzemia. lines of transparent water-bright, fresh water, so difOn our approach the vision recedes, dissolves, combines again into new forms, all fancifully beautiful; then slowly fades, and leaves but the burning horizon, upon which, at rude intervals, is seen perhaps a dim black speck, appearing over the rolling sandy swell like a ship far out at sea. The film of the desert gives it gigantic dimensions as it approaches: it proves, as it nears us, to be a caravan of camels from Suez, coming along with a noiseless tread; a few laconic words are exchanged between the Arabs without stopping; in another hour it is left far behind, until again it disappears from vision. Thus pass the sultry and silent hours of noon. There is a terrible and triumphant power of the sun upon this wide region of sterility and death, like that of a despot over a realm blighted by his destructive sway; no trace of verdure is there but the stunted shrub, which struggles at wide intervals about the sandy bed of some dried water-course; no sign of living thing but the burrow of the rat, the slimy trail of the serpent, or the carcase of the camel, who makes his grave as well as his home in the wilderness, met with in every stage of decay; from the moment when the vultures have but just fleshed their beaks in wind whistles through the ghastly framework of his his fallen corpse, till, stripped of every integument, the naked ribs, and his bones, falling asunder, and bleached by heat and wind, serve to mark the appointed track upon which his strength was spent.' After a day of this kind, how grateful the cool of evening, and how entrancing the spectacle of the great clear firmament, studded with sparkling orbs! No wonder that of old the shepherds of the desert were worshippers of the stars!' After reaching Suez, the traveller pursued a route on the eastern side of the gulf of the same name towards the rocky district of Sinai, which occupies the narrow part of the peninsula formed by the Gulf of Suez on the west, and the Gulf of Akabah on the east. The track pursued was pretty nearly that followed by the Israelites after their escape from Egypt, and led into a mountainous region, rocky, grand, and generally sterile, water-courses, or wadys, and spots rendered fertile by but interspersed with sweet little valleys, ravine-like springs. In wandering through these solitudes, the mind is awed, not more by the rugged grandeur of the scenery, than by historical associations, and the visible traces of a civilised people long since extirpated. As a traveller in search of what could derive aid from the pencil, Mr Bartlett, with much toil and danger among precipitous rocks, sought for certain hieroglyphical carvings which have engaged the inquiries of the learned. His search was rewarded; and under an umbrella, to shelter him from the scorching heat of the sun, he was able to copy these remarkable tablets, which are accordingly represented in his volume. 'I looked at them,' says he, with a feeling which more than rewarded me for my previous chagrin and toil.' The tablets, which are cut in the face of different rocks, and near, as is said, the exhausted workings of a copper mine, are Egyptian, and consist of figures of men, birds, and creatures of a combined fantastic character, the whole referring to an early period of Egyptian history, probably coeval with Suphis, the builder of the Great Pyramid, 2120 years before the Christian era. They are believed to indicate the conquest of the country by one of the Egyptian sovereigns. Besides those visited by Mr Bartlett, there are others of later date, which clusion, he observes, 'Is it not almost too marvellous exhaustion prevented him from examining. In confor belief that these tablets existed before the exodus of the Israelites, when Moses, with all his host, actually passed, beyond question, down the valley Mokatteb, or a short distance below, on his way towards Wady Feiran and Sinai? They must be regarded, I presume, as among the most ancient sculptures in existence; and yet it is evident that when they were executed, the arts were by no means in their infancy, but that centuries at least had elapsed since their unknown and remote origin.' In Wady Maghara, through which the traveller immediately afterwards went, a vast number of inscriptions occur on the rocks, some of which could have been executed only by the aid of ladders. All, including figures of camels and other animals, are rude in figure, and from the most careful examination, they appear to be comparatively modern; a reasonable conjecture making them out to be memorials of the passage of early Christian pilgrims to the heights of Sinai. To the towering and jagged peaks of the celebrated mountain Mr Bartlett was now bound, and we must leave to the imagination his account of the magnificent scenery which was here unfolded to his view. With regard to which is the true Sinai of the Bible, there are various opinions; some contending for Mount Serbal, which is 6342 feet above the Red Sea; while others favour the claims of Mount St Catherine, 1700 feet higher. On the summit of the Serbal is a huge block of granite, to which the traveller clambered, and found on it a Sinaitic inscription. The view from the top of this exposed protuberance extended from the Red Sea to Egypt, and across the desert north-eastward to the hills of Edom and Palestine; embracing, indeed, the whole scene of the Israelitish wanderings, and in whose wild bosom an entire generation was entombed. Travellers through the region of Sinai frequently observe the ruins of chapels, cells, convents, and other places of devotional resort in past times. Some of these date their origin from an early period in the history of the church, while others were established during the fervour of the Crusades, and the possession of Palestine by the Christians. A few survived the Saracenic reconquests, being tolerated on payment of a certain annual tribute; but all are now deserted except the convent of St Catherine, which is occupied by a reduced establishment of Greek monks under a superior. The convent of St Catherine, which is situated in a valley on one of the slopes of the mountain of that name, forms a useful and hospitable place of reception for travellers, who, however, as at an inn, are expected to leave a sum (100 piastres, equal to a pound) for several days' living. The convent is a collection of buildings walled round like a fort; and for security, the only access is by a door at the height of thirty feet, to which travellers are drawn up by a windlass. By the superior of the convent Mr Bartlett was kindly received and entertained; and here enjoying repose for a few days, he was able to observe the nature of the establishment and the appearance of its environs, and by favour was permitted to dine in the old vaulted refectory with the monks. The most interesting building within the enclosure is the church. On entering it for the first time, I was both pleased and surprised: although somewhat spoiled by tasteless and gaudy decoration, it is a fine simple solemn basilica, built in the time of Justinian, and is kept with the nicest care by the brethren. Leaning against a carved seat, I waited through the service, of which I understood nothing, but which is described by a previous traveller as " simple, dignified, and solemn, consisting in great part in the reading of the Gospels, with the touching responses and chants of the Greek ritual.".... It was affecting to see some very old men come tottering in from a side-passage during the service, whose beards, long to their girdles, as they knelt down, swept the marble pavement; and who, after a brief but earnest prostration in prayer, withdrew, failing nature being apparently unequal to the fatigues of an entire service..... The floor is of inlaid marble. The altar-skreen is highly, but not tastefully decorated; and, like the rest of the building, is ornamented with pictures of saints, male and female, painted in the Byzantine style, on a ground of gold. Numerous silver lamps add to the richness of the effect. Behind the altar is the chapel, over the spot where the Burning Bush is supposed to have stood: upon it the utmost richness of decoration has been lavished; and the floor is covered with costly carpets. This holy spot may not be visited without taking off one's shoes. The relics of St Catherine, whose body, after martyrdom at Alexandria, was conveyed, according to tradition, to the summit of the neighbouring mountain, to which she has given her name, are also preserved with great veneration in another chapel.'. ... The library of the convent contains, according to Burckhardt, fifteen hundred Greek books, and seven hundred Arabic manuscripts: the inmates are not described as literary. Our traveller visited the garden of the convent, an enclosure which, by care, produces some useful fruits and herbs. In the midst of the garden, and partly below the ground, is situated the cemetery or charnelhouse, where the earthly remains of the monks are consigned to their repose. Here was shown a large collection of bones arranged in ghastly symmetry, arm-bone to arm-bone, thigh-bone to thigh-bone, in a compact pile, with a mass of upheaped skulls;' but this spectacle was less ghastly than a sight which presented itself in an inner vault. This was the skeleton of an anchorite, who appeared to have been conveyed from the solitary cell in the mountains, just as he was found after encountering alone the terrors of the last enemy, fixed in the convulsive form that nature took in the parting struggle: the close-clenched hands, the emaciated head sunk on the bony chest, the attitude of agonizing supplication-with some few rags of his hairshirt yet clinging to his frame-all gave to this skeleton the ghastliness of life in death, and told of long years of self-inflicted penance and solitary agony endured by its parted tenant.' What a picture! But adjoining there was a fully more extraordinary exhibition. Ia a box close by were the remains of two hermits, traditionally brothers, of exalted station, who, binding themselves by the leg with a chain, also wore out a life of penitence and prayer in the adjacent mountain. Could we know the histories of those whose mouldering relics lie here before us, how often, indeed, might truth appear stranger than fiction, reality beyond the wildest visions of romance!' We have now, we think, presented a sufficient specimen of the contents of this pleasing book of travel, and shall hasten to a conclusion. From Sinai Mr Bartlett and his party proceeded to the head of the Gulf of Akabah, where, procuring an escort of Arabs, he proceeded to Petra, a deserted city, abounding in elegant rock carvings, in the recesses of the land of Edom. Petra, which has latterly been frequently described, did not fall short of the traveller's expectations. During the occupancy of Syria by the Romans, it was an entrepot of commerce between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, as it had been centuries before; and now it became enriched with those Greek and Roman monuments which survive till the present day. By the Saracens the place was utterly sacked, and rendered desolate. Mr Bartlett's sketches of the defaced but still magnificent sculptures in Petra are the most valuable in the book; while his descriptions convey a good general idea of the locality and its singular appearance. Prophecy, as is well known, points to the desolation of Edom, and its present condition closely accords with the fate which was said to await it. But our author takes leave to say that a minute application of particular passages in a well-known work [Keith ?] on the subject is not borne out by facts. The passage, "None shall pass through it for ever," alluded, doubtless, to the total breaking up of the great commercial routes, as well as its general abandonment and ruin; and not, as is fancifully sup posed in the work in question, to the utter exclusion even of a single passenger or traveller, inasmuch as caravans of Arabs are, and probably ever have been, in the habit of going to and fro in different directions; and numerous travellers also of late years passed unharmed through the length and breadth of the land.' Here we take leave of Mr Bartlett, again recommending his volume to attention at this festive season, and venturing a hope that he will next year present us with an equally agreeable production of his pen and pencil. ROBERT BLUM. AMONG the remarkable characters thrown up from the depths to the surface of society by the recent continental revolutions, not one perhaps is more remarkable than Robert Blum, one of the leaders of the German republican party. The following is an outline of the fortunes of this individual, as given in the newspapers; and it will be admitted that if the history were fully written, it would indeed furnish one of the most remarkable of biographies, full of vicissitude and suffering, but showing an energy of mind continually rising superior amid every struggle, and crowned at last by success and fame, only to close by a bloody death.' it he was the recognised leader of the extreme Left, or Liberals. When the emperor of Austria fled from Vienna the last time, Blum was deputed by the Frankfort Assembly to bear to the Viennese the resolution of the Assembly, that Vienna had deserved well of Germany. Unfortunately for him (but whether it will prove to be unfortunate for the country at large remains to be seen), he was taken prisoner, tried by a court-martial, and his life has been the sacrifice. A violent protest against his imprisonment, signed by Blum, and handed in to the military authorities, expedited, if it did not occasion his execution. The protest was delivered in at four o'clock the 8th November; at six o'clock M. Blum was tried, and at half-past seven he was led out to be shot. About an hour and a-half before the time of execution, a chaplain was deputed to visit him, and prepare him for death, of which he had as yet had no notice. At first he could not believe the messenger of death, but the gloomy afterwards appeared quite calm and collected, remarking tidings were soon corroborated by official intelligence. He to the chaplain, 'You know, perhaps, that I am a German Catholic; I trust, therefore, you will exempt me from auricular confession.' The minister, being of his own persuaHe was born on the 10th of November 1807 (the birth- sion, of course assented. Blum then begged a little time day of Luther, it is remarked) at Cologne, on the Rhine. to write to his wife, children, and mother, which was His father was a student, who failed in his examination granted. Afterwards the chaplain and he conversed a for the church, and became first a cooper, and afterwards a good deal together. Bluin was still very calm, and exneedle-maker, but could scarcely earn his bread in either pressed his pleasure that he had become acquainted with trade from bad health. He died, leaving three children; he, to leave you a remembrance, but I have only my such a worthy and truly Christian man.' I wish,' said and the mother contracted a second marriage with a day-hair- brush left; will you accept that from me, and labourer, one of the class that lives by loading and unloading the barges on the Rhine. This man had children by a former marriage, and the union of the two families increased the misery of both. In the disastrous years 1816 and 1817 they were brought down to absolute starvation, and the boy Robert was obliged to contribute to the existence of all by his talents for-begging! Even at this early age he had a certain gift of language, a power of persuasion that was difficult to resist; and it is recorded that, by his pathetic description of the dreadful condition of the family, he opened the heart of an old miserly uncle, who had never before been known to part with a penny, but who sent him home loaded with a supply of food, and enriched with a piece of silver! A sister of his father subsequently paid the small sum required for his attendance at the Jesuits' school, and his progress was so rapid as to excite wonder. He then became one of the boys who attend the priest during the celebration of mass, having in the intervals of the services to watch the open church. In these solitary hours, instead of becoming impressed with the solemnity of the place, he fell into religious doubts, especially on one of the principal tenets of the Catholic church. He explained them to the priest, and was enjoined a penance for his presumption. He refused to perform it, and left church and priest to seek his fortune elsewhere. He did not possess the letter of recommendation'-a good countenance; but, among his other fatalities, had to struggle against the unfavourable impressions made by his ungainly, not to say repulsive, appearance. He became first the shop-boy of a tinman, and then the general servant and candle-snuffer of a theatre-exhibited talents and honesty, and was made cashier and money-taker. He followed the manager from town to town for some years, collected books, read, and at last wrote for the annuals and journals with great success. At length he fixed himself in Leipsic as a bookseller, plunged into politics, and showed that he possessed unequalled powers of eloquence-powers that not even his opponents could deny, and which frequently they could not resist. His influence over the people became immense, and more than once he proved it by restraining them within the bounds of peace and order. He was chosen a member of the municipality; and when the German Diet was summoned at Frankfort, under the new system, he was immediately elected one of the deputies for Saxony. In | thereby afford me my last pleasure?' He was now summoned to proceed to death. An officer approached to put him in irons, but he said, I will die as a free German; you will believe my word that I will not make a ridiculous attempt to escape; spare me your chains.' Ilis request was granted, and the procession moved on, guarded by two thousand military. As they proceeded, Blum was much affected, and wept. But he was soon calm again, and remarked to those with him, 'Yes, Robert Blum has wept, but not the delegate Blum—he dies with a free conscience; but the husband, the father-I thought of my dear wife and children.' execution. Blum stepped out of the carriage, and inAbout half-past seven they arrived at the place of quired who was to shoot him. The answer was, the mark well: on the 26th of October they wounded me Jäger.' Blum replied, 'I am glad of that; the Jäger in the shoulder.' As they were going to blindfold him, he expressed a wish to die 'looking death in the face;' but the commanding officer told him that the Jäger would aim better if they did not see his eyes. Blum answered, 'Since that is the case, I willingly submit.' He then spoke his last words: 'I die for German freedom: for that I have fought. My country, forget me not!' As is the custom, the provost begged three times for mercy; after which nine men stepped forward, and fired: the two first balls struck him-one in the eye, and the other on the left side of the breast. On Monday the news arrived in Leipsic, and caused much sensation. In the evening, a great town's meeting was held in the Odéon, when many resolutions were passed, among which were That all friends of Blum should wear signs of mourning, either on their hats or on their breasts That his corpse should be brought to Leipsic' and that an anniversary of his death should be held.' After the meeting, the people marched in great numbers to the Austrian consul's residence, and pulled down his coat of arms, and carried it to the market-place, where they first hung it upon a lamp-post, and afterwards trampled upon it, and smashed it to pieces. Other riots took place in the evening, but were suppressed by the Communal Guard. A much more satisfactory demonstration was made by the formation of a subscriptioncommittee for the benefit of Blum's widow and four children. In the meantime, the Frankfort Assembly has almost unanimously passed a decree, in which it protests before all Germany against the arrest and execution of the deputy Robert Blum, which took place in contempt of the law of the empire of the 30th of September, and summons the ministry of the empire to take the most energetic measures to cause those persons to be tried and punished who took part, directly or indirectly, in his arrest and execution.' So much for the beggar boy of Cologne ! THE MISSPENT GUINEA. I AM blest, or sometimes I am tempted to say troubled, the reader's benefit; merely premising that Dolly related them in corroboration of a favourite superstition, entirely setting aside the useful lesson inculcated. About thirty-six years ago, Dolly's father had presented a fine hale specimen of the honest English woodman, a hewer of forest giants, living amid the sweet scenes of nature. He was employed in thinning and felling some ancient plantations bounding the Duchess of Brunswick's grounds, at a part where the wooden palings had given way, separating the grounds from the adjacent park, thus leaving a picturesque gap, which gave to view the woodland glades, and green savannas, and the graceful fawns darting across in all directions. His son was working in company with Saul Mayflower, and a young girl of about sixteen rested on the prostrate trunk of a fallen tree, having brought the labourers' dinner from the village, entering by the park and through the gap. She was now waiting until the hungry men had finished their welcome meal; but she did not long sit still, for, with the wild exuberance of youthful innocent spirits, she bounded hither and thither, her fair locks streaming on the wind, her frolic laugh re-echoing through the glades, and her blue eyes lit up with animation and delight. Presently she espied a plank lying directly across the tree on which she had been seated. 'Oh what a beautiful see-saw, if I had but a play fellow!' she exclaimed; and as if her wish had been heard, just at that moment a young lady, apparently ten or eleven years old, plainly attired in a white frock and coarse straw-bonnet, emerged from the surrounding shrubberies, and standing still for a space to contemplate the group before her, suddenly bounded forward, and seated herself on the vacant end of the inviting plank. With shouts of laughter that were perfectly heartfelt, as if such liberty was novel and enchanting to the last degree, and she was determined to make the most of it, the young lady began singing, Here we go up, up, up! and here we go down, down, down!' and not behind -hand was her companion, nothing loath to be so congenially met. They romped, they sang, and were in the height of their glorious merriment, when two stately ladies, attended by a venerable gentleman, came quickly for ward, evidently in search of the runaway; but though the young lady appeared startled, she was not in the least daunted, and it seemed clear there would be a struggle for her own way. There was somewhat in her noble and truly English countenance which savoured of high spirit and command; and though she too was fair, with brown hair and blue eyes, how marked the contrast between herself and her peasant playfellow! Yet both were pretty creatures, and the latter looked the happiest and least thoughtful. Respectful remon strances, and a whispered communication from one of A lady of my acquaintance, the wife of an officer in the ladies, seemed to influence the charming little lady the army, completed a beautiful present of her own into regaining her decorous propriety again; she in handiwork, which she designed as an offering for the her turn gravely advanced to the old gentleman and Princess - Royal on her birthday; but understanding whispered a request, the import of which may be that her gracious Majesty had altogether forbidden guessed from the fact of his taking out a purse, and the practice of sending gifts to the royal children, her with a low reverence placing in her hand a bright chagrin was unbounded, and loud and long were her golden guinea. She then turned towards her late com lamentations over wasted time and worsteds. Dolly, panion, pleasantly asking, What is your name?' and who is of course a privileged personage, and knew the when the answer was given of Alice Mayflower,' relady extremely well, volunteered her opinion and re-joining, Mine is Charlotte: keep this for my sake; and marks-all tending, as she supposed, to consolation. sometimes remember our happy moments in the woods For her part, she would rather have any gift rejected together.' than accept one from royal hands, however great the benefit or honour conferred! Dolly, in making this announcement, displayed unusual agitation and vehemence of demeanour, but declined to afford explanation then, merely affirming that royal gifts always brought ill-luck to the recipients. Knowing her invincible obstinacy on every point where her ignorant prejudices or opinions were concerned, I made no remark, but patiently awaited the elucidation which I foresaw was forthcoming. Nor was I wrong in my supposition, as of her own accord she narrated the circumstances piecemeal, which I will put together for The golden guinea was transferred to Alice Mayflower's hand, and the young lady led off by her attendants; but more than once she looked back, nodding her head; and when the last shred of her white robe had disappeared, then, and not till then, did those she had left recover speech, for, said Saul Mayflower, That was the Princess Charlotte! I saw her alight from her carriage this very morning when she came to visit her grandmamma. God bless her-God bless her sweet face and kind heart!' What an immense sum this golden guinea appeared to Alice Mayflower-what inexhaustible riches! She hung it round her neck, suspended by a gay ribbon; but she looked at it so often, that at length she thought it would be very pleasant to have something prettier than that, which she might still wear in honour of the gracious donor. In the village a new shop was opened, and such splendid things were sold there! earrings'real gold earrings,' the ticket said-for half a guinea;' still she would have a half' left; and the earrings were so lovely'-' such a bargain!' Why should not she have earrings? There was Nelly Smith had a pair of coral ones, and Sally Muggins had a necklace. Poor Alice Mayflower! she needed a mother's care: she had lost hers at her first entrance into the world. Her only sister, nearly fifteen years her senior, was in distant service, for Saul Mayflower could not support two daughters at home; and Alice cooked and washed for her father, and kept the cottage neat. And Saul loved her so tenderly-the youngest darling of his age, so fair and frolicsome she was too-that he fairly spoilt her, and could not bear to say nay when he ought to have done so. When Alice sported her earrings, he chided her for changing the royal gift for such thriftless baubles; but when he saw how well she became them, as she tossed her head, shaking back the luxuriant curls to show them off better, what more could he say? It was an innocent wish to possess the finery after all. Alas! weak father, in after-days you looked back with bitter remorse and self-reproach for not having checked in the bud those first insidious approaches of the enemies to domestic purity and peace-female vanity, and the love of finery and display. Alice had still another halfguinea remaining; but she never rested till that was also gone it seemed to burn her neck as it hung there. Bright colours would show off her earrings to better advantage; and having once given way to her ruling passion, and found that it reigned paramount to all other considerations, it was not long ere she found the means to gratify it more fully than she could ever hope to do in her poor father's cot, clad in the homely garb of her station. A lady of fashion, whose villa residence was situated in the vicinity of Alice Mayflower's native village, having just parted with her personal attendant, required a good-looking' young woman to fill the vacant situation; and many circumstances, all trivial in themselves, but tending towards the same conclusion, finally ended in the inexperienced Alice becoming lady's-maid on short notice, and after but little consideration. Saul wished the lady with whom his Alice was to live had been older, and not quite so gay and flighty; but he had not the heart to prevent his dear child's aggrandizement, for she intreated his leave to go. She longed to see the world, and the wages promised were most liberal. Perhaps the father's strongest reason for consenting was, that he found times were not so good as they had been;' the woodman's employment must fail as age crept on, and it was as well Alice should make friends for herself. Alice would often, very often, come and see him when they (for already she classed herself with her mistress) were not in London; and so she departed, full of gaiety and pleasurable anticipations. To follow poor Alice Mayflower's downward progress were needless, as well as painful. Suffice it to say, that the lady to whose care she was confided was one who, provided that her domestics were honest towards herself, and contributed to her comfort, inquired and concerned herself no further. Alice fell into evil company. Her associates were unprincipled, and her career of vanity and folly ended by her being detected in the act of secreting articles beneath her shawl in a lace-shop, whither she had been sent on a commission from her lady. A valuable piece of Mechlin lace was found in her possession on her trunks being searched; she was committed to prison; her mistress, horror-struck, would have nothing to say on her behalf, but utterly abandoned her; and she was tried, convicted, and sentenced to seven years' transportation. Who may tell of the father's agony and despair? The poor honest man was utterly struck down: deprived of speech, and of the use of his limbs, the dreaded workhouse received him; for with all her exertions, his eldest daughter could not keep him from that, and soon his gray hairs were brought down in sorrow to the grave: and who could mourn when it closed over him? Misfortunes, it is commonly said, never come singly; and at the period when his aid was so much needed, Saul Mayflower's only son had been injured by the fall of a tree which he was engaged in felling. After he had lingered for many weeks in an hospital, death terminated his sufferings. 'And all this misery was accounted for,' sobbed Dolly, by my unhappy sister receiving that fatal royal gift of a golden guinea. Oh! wo the day when Alice hung it round her white neck, for it was an evil day for us all! But she died penitent, and sleeps in the convict's grave far, far away. Poor thing-poor thing!' I, 'Has it never struck you, my good, dear Dolly,' said that the fault existed in your sister's mind, and might have been brought out by a thousand other circumstances as well as the trifle you blame?' But would she ever have got the earrings, if it hadn't been for the guinea?' urged Dolly, indignant at my stupidity. Why, ma'am, if our own dear sovereign lady was to offer me, with her own fair hands, a bit o' gold with her beautiful likeness stamped on it, do you think I'd dare take it?' 'I do not think you will ever be tried, good Dolly,' answered I, 'or I wouldn't be too sure of the result, seeing that your capacious pockets often need replenishing; for begging sailors are singularly numerous at our gate, and snuff is a dear luxury-is it not, Dolly?' THE DIFFERENT EUROPEAN RACES. AT a moment like the present, when the various contests now agitating this quarter of the globe are assuming an aspect of strife betwixt race and race, some short review of the different European races may not be uninteresting. At the spread of the Roman power, two great nations occupied the greater part of western Europe--the Celts and Iberians. That event, and the subsequent irruption of the Teutonic tribes, which overran the Roman Empire, led at last to an amalgamation of the invaders and invaded, and thus those two races have to a considerable extent lost their individuality-the Iberians, indeed, almost wholly so. Their blood is still the prevailing element in the population of most of the countries of western Europe; but the unmixed nations of their lineage are now comparatively few. In the early days of Rome the Celts inhabited Gaul, the British islands, and parts of Spain and Italy. At present they are the natives of the greater part of Ireland, the Highlands of Scotland, and Isle of Man, calling themselves 'Gael;' and the people of Wales, Cornwall in England, and Brittany in France, who are termed 'Kymry.' Those two divisions of the Celtic family have distinct dialects of their ancient language, which they all still retain except the Cornish, who lost theirs in the beginning of the last century, after having been on the decline for generations. The last who spoke it were the fishermen and market-people about the Land's End. Celtic blood is much mingled in the nations of Spain and Italy; and in France, notwithstanding the many settlements of invaders, the main stock of the population is undoubtedly Celtic. On consideration this will not appear surprising: the Romans, the first conquerors of France, were partly of Celtic origin themselves, as is apparent from their language; and the Franks, the subsequent invaders, were never so numerous as the original inhabitants who remained. In the east and south of France, in the parts appropriated by the Burgundians and Visigoths, and in Normandy, the settlement of the Northmen, the Teutonic admixture is most obvious; in Brittany, as |