ty feasts and rejoicings, and the young hero, lauded by all-caressed by the high-born and fair, forgot the image he had worshipped. With permission of the emperor, he paid court to a maiden of the imperial family. Yet in the new love was some trace of the former; for the young Countess Irma, his betrothed bride, resembled the marble statue in his temple, save that she possessed not the divine and ineffable charm that encompassed Minna like a halo of glory.

The mother of Countess Irma wished the marriage of the youthful pair to be celebrated with great magnificence in the ancestral castle of Count Oswald. She travelled thither with her daughter and a numerous train of followers, accompanied by the count, with the noble and distinguished guests they had invited to grace the occasion.— Count Oswald, happy as he was at Irma's side, felt a sensation of indefinite anxiety as they approached his home. It almost seemed to him as if he had been guilty of falsehood to a living and conscious object of love. He resolved never to enter the temple; he would remove to another castle, but would preserve the shrine of the beautiful statue unprofaned, veiled by its encircling drapery of rose-trees and myrtles-a monument of the happiest days of his life. From afar had the imprisoned goddess perceived the approach of Oswald; and a thrill of pain shot through her breast, as she saw him avoid the temple, and pass through the grounds with his bride. Numerous guests filled the gardens, which were gorgeously illuminated; for the following day was the bridal.

Suddenly a well-known step sounded; and the next moment Count Oswald stood before the marble figure. His face was pale; but on his finger glistened the ring of gold, with which he was on the morrow to espouse the lady Irma.

"Oh, divine image!" he exclaimed, sighing; "who can equal thee!"

He rushed wildly from the temple. Trumpets and lord'y music sounded through the still night from the lofty hall of the castle. The feet of the dancers and the blithe notes of revelry echoed to its festal sweep. Then did the wild storm of anguish its work, which the gleam of tender joy could never accomplish. The throb of de

spairing wo sent the warm blood once more through the veins of the Beautiful Goddess. Her fair hands were clasped and lifted heavenward, and slowly she passed from the temple, through the avenue of lindens, towards the castle.

There was high feasting in the ancient hall; the bride and guests were joyous; but Oswald was sad at heart; his soul had returned with an earnest and ineffable desire, that was in itself agony, to his early love. Ere long it was perceived that a strange lady, simply attired in white, but beautiful beyond description, mingled with the richly-dressed dames, who were glittering with jewels. None knew herbut none ventured to inquire her name. There was a glory about her that dazzled all eyes, and subdued all hearts.

She advanced towards Count Oswald, whose face was suffused with sudden joy. The music began to play more loudly; the strange lady placed her fair finger on her lip, and turning, passed in silence from the hall. Oswald hastened after her, none of the others venturing to follow.

What further took place is unknown. When the next morning the pages went to awaken their lord, they found his chamber empty. After much search, he was discovered in the little temple, lying lifeless at the feet of the marble statue. The arms of the goddess were stretched out over him; but she was cold and motionless as before. Only for a brief space had passion prevailed to animate that wondrous form; and her spirit was again locked in stone.

The Count Oswald was buried with great pomp. The castle passed into the hands of other possessors; and the fair statue was transferred from owner to owner, till lost sight of by the contemporaries of the count. It stands, at this day, in some cabinet of antiquities; and none know that life is hid beneath the polished marble, or that intense and yearning love abides in the breast that seems so cold. From time to time, it is said, this ardor of feeling is enabled to burst her fetters; and she mingles at night, for a brief space, among the living. Many, who know this, imagine themselves to have received visits from her; and some, to whom she has appeared in reality, are unconscious of being favored with a revelation of the Beautiful.

FOR a long period of time during and subsequent to the dark ages, the notion prevailed very extensively in the public mind, and dwelt in the dreams of statesmen, that a country was rich or poor according to the quantity of coined money it possessed. In times of violence and insecurity to property, this was in some sort true of individuals, because the possessor of the precious metals could, in exchange for them, always obtain that of which he stood in need; and those metals could be hoarded and secreted with safety, when almost all other descriptions of property were exposed to the inroads of lawless barons or the exactions of oppressive governments. This practice of burying gold and silver, universal in ancient, has been done away with in modern times, only in proportion as confidence in the security of property grew under regular governments. It still exists to a considerable extent in Ireland, Germany, Italy and Russia, and under the oppressive governments of the East, is universal. The vast quantities of the precious metals that have annually been exported to the countries of Asia since the discovery of the mines of America, do not seem to have increased their quantities in those regions. The earth swallows up annually the earnings of those who suffer extreme tortures from their rulers rather than betray their concealed treasures. The practice was general in Great Britain up to the revolution of 1683, since when it has ceased with the necessity that gave rise to it. It followed, that where great quantities were concealed, much must have been occasionally found. Hence, Treasure Trove," during the middle ages, formed an important branch of the revenues of most European governments. The real wealth of all nations consists in the products of labor only; but when no security exists for the produce of industry, the owners of property come to

regard only that portion which they are able to conceal from ruthless oppressors, as their real wealth; hence the precious metals only were considered as actual riches. What was thus true of individuals, was also supposed to be true of nations; and in those dark ages it was measurably the case; as when nations were constantly engaged in war, and the industry of the inhabitants had no opportunity to develope itself, that nation would be the strongest, the government of which could command the greatest supply of gold and silver to furnish forth its armies and pay its mercenaries. Such a state of affairs would not, however, enhance the wealth of the individuals; and it is only of late years, as correct ideas of political economy have been disseminated, that money has come to be regarded in its true light, viz., as a means of facilitating the exchange of wealth rather than as wealth itself. Real wealth consists in those commodities which of themselves contribute to the necessities, comforts and luxuries of the possessor, and in proportion as they promote these ends, are they valuable. The value of money can be realized only by parting with it. It is of no use whatever in localities where it is not surrounded with natural wealth; and in proportion as the abundance of those articles which constitute wealth increases, is the value of money enhanced, because it represents a larger quantity of each exchangeable commodity. When the industry of man had caused an accumulation of exchangeable and desirable articles, the possessor of a surplus of one sought to exchange it for some product of the industry of another. The owner of 100 bushels of wheat which he could not eat, found an advantage in exchanging it for a quantity of wool for clothing or other articles of use. The interchange conferred mutual benefits, and made wealth available. This plan of barter was soon

found to be incompatible with any extended operations, and the producers of all descriptions of wealth were impressed with the necessity of referring the transactions to some common equivalent. The quantities and qualities of one article that should be given for a certain quality and quantity of another, were very difficult to determine. The precious metals were early in demand, as matters of ornament, and the qualities they possessed, of being easily transported, not subject to depreciation, capable of great sub-division and of uniform value, doubtless soon caused them to be received in exchange for articles to be disposed of. They also were the result of labor, and perhaps more uniformly than any other article, indicated the amount of labor expended in their production. A given quantity of labor by a regular process, would always produce a certain weight of gold or silver. This circumstance fitted them, therefore, to measure more nearly the value of any article as estimated by the labor expended in its production. As thus, if it required five days' labor to produce 232 grains of pure gold, or 1760 grains of silver, then the latter quantity of silver was equal to the former quantity of gold; and if the same quantity of labor expended on wheat produced five bushels, then these three articles were equivalents for each other. This exchange of commodities for the precious metals by weight is of very early origin. The book of Genesis tells us that Abraham bought of the sons of Heth a piece of land, and weighed out 400 shekels of silver in payment, which it is stated

was

"current money with the merchant." Probably at first to ascertain the quality which would make it "current with the merchant," was matter of some considerable difficulty. The weight and color of the metals were probably the chief means of arriving at this information. The idea, however, soon presented itself, of stamping a piece of metal with an authoritative mark, indicating its weight and quality. This measure must have simplified transactions to an almost inconceivable extent. The quantity required in payment had but to be determined on, and the pieces were counted out to a number sufficient to make up the required weight, without the necessity of

weighing or assaying. From these circumstances it arose that the original coins of all countries had the same denomination of the weights in general use. Thus, the talent was a weight used by the Greeks from the earliest dates the as or pondo by the Romans; the livre by the French, and the pound by the English and Scotch. The coins originally used in all these countries were pieces of metals of these weights. That is to say, the metals were, for uniformity, formed into coins, or pieces of the ordinary weights of the country, to inform the public at a glance, how much gold or silver the piece contained. The Grecian talent, as the English pound, meant literally and truly a talent or pound, avoirdupois weight, of silver of a certain degree of purity. It was also usual to enact that coins of the legal weight and standard should be a legal tender; that is, that no proceedings should be instituted against him who had offered payment in the recognized coin. It soon came, however, to be true, that governments entrusted with this power and duty of stamping the metals with their weight and purity, used the power for corrupt purposes. The talent, and subsequently the pound, soon contained less of silver, both in quantity and quality, than its name indicated. The name of the coin, therefore, gradually lost its signification of the quantity of metal it contained, and the public became impressed with the idea that it was the stamp only that conferred value on the money. Fraudulent governments, by adding to the alloy in a coin, and reducing the weight, materially lessened its actual value, while the denomination remained the same. Under such a process, the prices of articles, as expressed in the coin, would gradually advance, while creditors would suffer a great wrong in being paid in the number of pieces specified in their contracts, but which pieces had been materially reduced in value. This was the system usually practised by arbitrary governments before the paper system enlarged the field and refined the science of public robbery. In 1103, the livre of weight in France was also a livre of money. That is, the piece of silver was stamped as weighing a livre. Gradually, however, this livre of silver was diminished in weight, until, in 1789, a livre weight

of silver was coined into 66 livres of money. Prices of commodities would adopt themselves to these changes as they took place, and other things being equal, the 66 livres of money in 1789, would command no more of the products of labor than did the one livre in 1103. Not so, however, with rents and debts. If the government for instance, in 1103, owed 66 livres, it could discharge it in 1789 with one of those livres coined into 66 pieces of the same denomination.

In coining the precious metals for circulation, experience showed that some mixture of the baser metals was necessary to make the coins durable. In their pure state the metals are soft, easily bent or injured, and exposed to rapid wear. These disadvantages are remedied by a small admixture of copper. The proportion in which this alloy should be added, experience has shown to be one part to nine of the pure metal. The material used in the alloy of gold is various. In the Spanish American mines, as silver is found mixed with gold, that has been used as the alloy, and imparts a pale color to the doubloons. Great Britain, France and Germany use copper only, and this gives their coins a very red color. In the United States, it has been attempted to preserve the gold color, and the alloy is one-fourth silver and threefourths copper.

This alloyed metal is called "standard," fixing the quality of the metals in the coins as the denominations originally did the weight. It is obvious that this "standard" was as liable to fraud as the weight, and was constantly changing. Almost all countries at the present day have different standards; and to ascertain the par of coins, it becomes necessary to find the weight of pure metal in each. Thus, the English standard for gold is 0.917 fine gold, and 83 of alloy. The French standard for gold is 0.9 fine to 0.1 alloy. The weight of the Louis is 6.45161 grammes. This multiplied by the standard, gives 5.806449 grammes of pure gold in a 20 franc Louis. The weight of the sovereign is 125,256 grains, or 7.980855 grammes, which, multiplied by its standard, gives 7.31844 grammes of pure gold. We have then the following proportion: 5.806449: 20 francs :: 7.31844: 25.2079 francs, or, 25.21

francs of French gold equals one sovereign of English gold. At the conquest, in 1066, 11 oz. 2 dwts. of pure silver and 18 dwts. of copper, making 1lb. avoirdupois of "standard" silver, was coined into £1. The fineness of gold is usually estimated by carat grains, equal to 2 dwts. Troy weight. Pure gold is said to be 24 carats fine. In 1344, 23 carats 3 grains of pure gold was coined into £13 3s. 4d. The quantity of coins produced from these weights of metals were constantly increased, down to Henry VIII., under whose tyranny great frauds were practised in the money of the country. At the commencement of his reign, 11 oz. 2 dwts. of pure silver was coined into £1 17s. 6d., and 23 carats 34 grs. pure gold into £22 10s. At the close of his rule, the quality of standard silver was reduced to 4oz. pure silver and 8oz. of copper; and this was coined into £2 8s. The gold had been reduced to 20 carats, and was coined into £30. That is, from a profit of 1s. on the coinage of a pound of silver, he had increased it to £4 4s., and on gold, from 8s. he had exacted £5. The greatest evils resulted from such arbitrary oppression, and Elizabeth restored the standard currency to 11 oz. 2 dwts. of pure silver, at which it continues to this day, and the gold to 23 carats 3 grains.This, in 1600, she again altered to 22 carats, at which rate it continues. Not so, however, the number of shillings coined from a pound Troy of standard silver. From the time of Elizabeth to 1816, this remained at 62. It was then altered to 66.

In adopting both gold and silver coins as money, it becomes obviously necessary to fix not only the standard weight of the coins, but also the proportion of the metals to each other, and to permit individuals to discharge the claims upon them either in gold or silver, according to some regulated proportion. The value of the precious metals, like that of all other articles, is necessarily constantly varying, not only in respect to all other commodities, but in relation to each other. When the legal values of both metals are fixed, and one is overvalued, all payments will naturally be paid in that metal, and it will become the sole medium of circulation. In 1675, under Charles II., the guinea was ordained to be 20 shillings. It