suade himself was produced by the heat of the weather. At an unusually early hour he retired to his room. troubles and perils to come; and I was expressly forbidden by my father to say a word about the terrible events, which had cast an unnatural gloom "The next morning, when I got down stairs, I over my youthful career, to any of the friends found, to my astonishment, that the servants were (yourself included) whose counsel and whose symengaged in preparations for the departure of some-pathy might have guided and sustained me in the body from the house. I made inquiries of one of day of trial. them who was hurriedly packing a trunk. My master, sir, starts for Lyons the first thing this morning,' was the reply. I immediately repaired to my father's room, and found him there with an open letter in his hand, which he was reading. His face, as he looked up at me on my entrance, expressed the most violent emotions of apprehension and despair. "I hardly know whether I am awake or dreaming; whether I am the dupe of a terrible delusion, or the victim of a supernatural reality more terrible still,' he said in low, awe-struck tones as I approached him. One of the prophecies, which Alfred told me in private that he had read upon the scroll, has come true! He predicted the loss of the bulk of my fortune-here is the letter, which informs me that the merchant at Lyons, in whose hands my money was placed, has become a bankrupt. Can the occurrence of this ruinous calamity be the chance fulfilment of a mere guess? Or was the doom of my family really revealed to my dead son? I go to Lyons immediately to know the truth; this letter may have been written under false information; it may be the work of an impostor. And yet, Alfred's prediction-I shudder to think of it!" "The light, father!' I exclaimed, the light we saw last night in the study!' I "Hush! don't speak of it! Alfred said that should be warned of the truth of the prophecy, and of its immediate fulfilment, by the shining of the same supernatural light that he had seen-I tried to disbelieve what I beheld last night-I hardly know whether I dare believe it even now! This prophecy is not the last; there are others yet to be fulfilled-but let us not speak, let us not think of them! I must start at once for Lyons; I must be on the spot, if this horrible news is true, to save what I can from the wreck. The letter give me back the letter!-I must go directly!' "He hurried from the room. I followed him; and, with some difficulty, obtained permission to be the companion of his momentous journey. When we arrived at Lyons, we found that the statement in the letter was true. My father's fortune was gone; a mere pittance, derived from a small estate that had belonged to my mother, was all that was left to us. "My father's health gave way under this misfortune. He never referred again to Alfred's prediction, and I was afraid to mention the subject; but I saw that it was affecting his mind quite as painfully as the loss of his property. Over and over again he checked himself very strangely when he was on the point of speaking to me about my brother. I saw that there was some secret, pressing heavily on his mind, which he was afraid to disclose to me. It was useless to ask for his confidence. His temper had become irritable under disaster; perhaps, also, under the dread uncertainties which were now evidently tormenting him in secret. My situation was a very sad, and a very dreary one, at that time; I had no remembrances of the past that were not mournful and affrighting remembrances; I had no hopes for the future that were not darkened by a vague presentiment of "We returned to Paris; sold our house there; and retired to live on the small estate, to which I have referred, as the last possession left us. We had not been many days in our new abode, when my father imprudently exposed himself to a heavy shower of rain, and suffered, in consequence, from a violent attack of cold. This temporary malady was not dreaded by the medical attendant; but it was soon aggravated by a fever, produced as much by the anxiety and distress of mind from which he continued to suffer, as by any other cause. the doctor gave hope; but still he grew daily worse-so much worse, that I removed my bed into his room, and never quitted him night nor day. Still "One night I had fallen asleep, overpowered by fatigue and anxiety, when I was awakened by a cry from my father. I instantly trimmed the light, and ran to his side. He was sitting up in bed, with his eyes fixed on the door, which had been left ajar to ventilate the room. I saw nothing in that direction, and asked what was the matter. Ile murmured some expressions of affection towards me, and begged me to sit by his bedside till the morning; but gave no definite answer to my ques tion. Once or twice, I thought he wandered a little; and I observed that he occasionally moved his hand under the pillow, as if searching for something there. However, when the morning came, he appeared to be quite calm and self-possessed. The doctor arrived; and, pronouncing him to be better, retired to the dressing-room to write a prescription. The moment his back was turned, my father laid his weak hand on my arm, and whispered faintly: Last night I saw the supernatural light again—the second prediction-true; true-my death this time-the same hour as Alfred's-nine-nine o'clock, this morning.' He paused a moment through weakness; then added: Take that sealed paper-under the pillowwhen I am dead read it-now go into the dressing-room-my watch is there I have heard the church clock strike eight; let me see how long it is now till nine-go-go quickly!' "Horror-stricken, moving and acting like a man in a trance, I silently obeyed him. The doctor was still in the dressing-room; despair made me catch eagerly at any chance of saving my father; I told his medical attendant what I had just heard, and entreated advice and assistance without delay. "He is a little delirious,' said the doctordon't be alarmed; we can cheat him out of his dangerous idea, and so perhaps save his life. Where is the watch?' (I produced it)—' See; it is ten minutes to nine. I will put back the hands one hour; that will give good time for a composing draught to operate. There! take him the watch, and let him see the false time with his own eyes. He will be comfortably asleep before the hour hand gets round again to nine.' 6 "I went back with the watch to my father's bed-side. Too slow,' he murmured, as he looked at the dial-'too slow by an hour-the church clock-I counted eight.' "Father! dear father! you are mistaken,' I cried, I counted also; it was only seven.' "Only seven!' he echoed faintly, another I saw no society; my walks were limited to the hour then-another hour to live!' He evidently cottage garden and the neighboring fields, and my believed what I had said to him. In spite of the every-day unvarying occupation was confined to that fatal experiences of the past, I now ventured to hope the best from our stratagem, as I resumed my place by his side. The doctor came in; but my father never noticed him. He kept his eyes fixed on the watch, which lay between us, on the coverlid. When the minute hand was within a few seconds of indicating the false hour of eight, he looked round at me, murmured very feebly and doubtingly, another hour to live!' and then gently closed his eyes. I looked at the watch, and saw that it was just eight o'clock, according to our alteration of the right time. At the same moment, I heard the doctor, whose hand had been on my father's pulse, exclaim, My God! it's stopped! He has died at nine o'clock ?' "The fatality, which no human stratagem or human science could turn aside, was accomplished! I was alone in the world! 6 hard and resolute course of study, by which alone I could hope to prevent my mind from dwelling on what I had suffered in the past, or on what I might still be condemned to suffer in the future. Never was there a life more quiet and more uneventful than mine. "You know how I awoke to an ambition, which irresistibly impelled me to change this mode of existence. News from Paris penetrated even to my obscure retreat, and disturbed my self-imposed tranquillity. I heard of the last errors and weaknesses of Louis the Sixteenth; I heard of the assembling of the states-general; and I knew that the French Revolution had begun. The tremendous emergencies of that epoch drew men of all characters from private to public pursuits, and made politics the necessity rather than the choice of every Frenchman's life. The great change pre"In the solitude of our little cottage, on the paring for the country acted universally on inday of my father's burial, I opened the sealed let-dividuals, even to the humblest, and it acted on ter, which he had told me to take from the pillow of his death-bed. In preparing to read it, I knew that I was preparing for the knowledge of my own doom; but I neither trembled nor wept. I was beyond all grief; despair such as mine was then, is calm and self-possessed to the last. "The letter ran thus:- After your father and your brother have fallen under the fatality that pursues our house, it is right, my dear son, that you should be warned how you are included in the last of the predictions which still remains unaccomplished. Know, then, that the final lines read by our dear Alfred on the scroll prophesied that you should die, as we have died, at the fatal hour of nine; but by a bloody and violent death, the day of which was not foretold. My beloved boy! you know not, you never will know, what I suffered in the possession of this terrible secret, as the truth of the former prophecies forced itself more and more plainly on my mind! Even now, as I write, I hope against all hope; believe vainly and desperately against all experience, that this last, worst doom may be avoided. Be cautious; be patient; look well before you at each step of your career. The fatality by which you are threatened is terrible but there is a Power above fatality; and before that Power my spirit and my child's spirit now pray for you. Remember this when your heart is heavy, and your path through life grows dark. Remember that the better world is still before you, the world where we shall all meet! Farewell!' me. "I was elected a deputy, more for the sake of the name I bore, than on account of any little influence which my acquirements and my character might have exercised in the neighborhood of my country abode. I removed to Paris, and took my seat in the Chamber, little thinking at that time of the crime and bloodshed to which our revolution, so moderate in its beginning, would lead; little thinking that I had taken the first irretrievable step towards the bloody and the violent death which was lying in store for me. "Need I go on? You know how warmly 1 joined the Girondin party, you know how we have been sacrificed; you know what the death is which I and my brethren are to suffer to-morrow On now ending, I repeat what I said at the beginning :-Judge not of my narrative till you have seen with your own eyes what really takes place in the morning. I have carefully abstained from all comment, I have simply related events as they happened, forbearing to add my own views of their significance, my own ideas on the explanation of which they admit. You may believe us to have been a family of nervous visionaries, witnesses of certain remarkable contingencies; victims of curious, but not impossible chances, which we have fancifully and falsely interpreted into supernatural events. I leave you undisturbed in this conviction (if you really feel it); to-morrow you will think differently; to-morrow you will be an altered man. In the mean time remember what I "When I first read those lines, I read them now say, as you would remember my dying words: with the gloomy, immovable resignation of the Last night I saw the supernatural radiance Eastern fatalists; and that resignation never left which warned my father and my brother; and me afterwards. Here, in this prison, I feel it, which warns me, that, whatever the time when calm as ever. I bowed patiently to my doom, the execution begins, whatever the order in which when it was only predicted; I bow to it as the twenty-one Girondins are chosen for death, I patiently now, when it is on the eve of accomplish-shall be the man who kneels under the guillotine, ment. You have often wondered, my friend, at as the clock strikes nine !" the tranquil, equable sadness of my manner; after what I have just told you, can you wonder any longer? It was morning. Of the ghastly festivities of the night no sign remained. The prison-hall wore an altered look, as the twenty-one condemned men (followed by those who were ordered to witness their execution) were marched out to the carts appointed to take them from the dungeon to But let me return for a moment to the past. Though I had no hope of escaping the fatality which had overtaken my father and my brother, my life, after my double bereavement, was the existence of all others which might seem most likely the scaffold. to evade the accomplishment of my predicted The sky was cloudless, the sun warm and brildoom. Yourself and one other friend excepted, Illiant, as the Girondin leaders and their compan rigny saw Duprat take his position in the middle row of his companions, who stood in three ranks of seven each. Then the awful spectacle of the execution began. After the first seven deputies had suffered there was a pause; the horrible traces of the judicial massacre were being removed. When the execution proceeded, Duprat was the third taken from the middle rank of the condemned. As he came forward, and stood for an instant erect under the guillotine, he looked with a smile on his friend, and repeated in a clear voice the word, ions were drawn slowly through the streets to the place of execution. Duprat and Marigny were placed in separate vehicles; the contrast in their demeanor at that awful moment was strongly marked. The features of the doomed man still preserved their noble and melancholy repose; his glance was steady; his color never changed. The face of Marigny, on the contrary, displayed the strongest agitation; he was pale even to his lips. The terrible narrative he had heard. the anticipation of the final and appalling proof by which its truth was now to be tested, had robbed him, for" Remember!"—then bowed himself on the block. the first time in his life, of all his self-possession. Duprat had predicted truly; the morrow had come, and he was an altered man already. The carts drew up at the foot of the scaffold which was soon to be stained with the blood of twenty-one human beings. The condemned deputies mounted it; and ranged themselves at the end opposite the guillotine. The prisoners who were to behold the execution remained in their cart. Before Duprat ascended the steps, he took his friend's hand for the last time: "Farewell!" he said, calmly. Farewell! I go to my father, and my brother! Remember my words of last night.' With straining eyes, and bloodless cheeks, Ma 66 From Duffy's Magazine. THE FALL OF THE FAIRIES. "The general opinion, at least in Ireland, is, that during the war of Lucifer in heaven, the angels were divided into three classes. The first class consisted of those faithful spirits who, at once and without hesitation, adhered to the standard of the Omnipotent; the next consisted of those who openly rebelled and followed the great apostate, sharing eternal perdition along with him; the third and last consisted of those who, during the mighty clash and uproar of the contending hosts, stood timidly aloof, and refused to join either power. These (says the tradition) were expelled from heaven-some sent upon the earth, and some into the waters of the earth, where they are to remain, ignorant of their fate, until the day of judgment."-Carleton's Irish Superstilions. FROM the soul of the sky, That it loved to adorn, Down the blue depths of heaven, The lit sky at even. And the hosts that upheld Like the wings of his weakness, Like a weak, fading dream, At the flash of the sword- And vaunt of the proud : Stood the crest-fallen crowd. The blood stood still at Marigny's heart, as he looked and listened, during the moment of silence that followed. That moment past, the church clocks of Paris struck. He dropped down in the cart, and covered his face with his hands; for through the heavy beat of the hour he heard the fall of the fatal steel. "Pray, sir, was it nine or ten that struck just now?" said one of Marigny's fellow-prisoners to an officer of the guard who stood near the cart. The person addressed referred to his watch and answered "NINE O'CLOCK!" They were prostrate in heaven- And a host of bright angels * Now the exiles of heaven- As falls from the white sky Mid the mansions of ether, To seek amid mortals A mysteried home; And, like leaves of the Autumn, They moan through the air paths, For they see, in the moonlight, Through white clouds and star chinks A host of bless'd eyes, Looking down on them kindly And soothing their exile ЕРІТАРН. READER, pass on, nor idly waste your time From Chambers' Journal. THE MODERN TARTAR. 66 as diviner on a similar occasion. The missing valuable was a bull, and the sage having called for eleven stones, counted, arranged and rearranged THE phrase, “Catching a Tartar," points to a them with great gravity, and then appeared to peculiarity in Tartar life, which, however correct meditate. "If you would find your bull, go seek historically, is not in keeping with the actual cur- him in the north," said the magician; and withrent state of the Mongol character. It implies out querulously inquiring, like Shakspeare's Richsomething impetuous, stern, unyielding, relentless, ard, what Taurus did in that region, the Mongols and cruel; whereas the modern life of the children pursued a northern course, and by mere chance of the desert exhibits much that is simple, confid- actually discovered the animal. Samdad was ening, generous, and even chivalric. It is nothing tertained for a week, and took his departure laden to our discredit that we should have been so long with butter and tea. He hinted his regret that in discovering these features in the great nomadic his attachment to Mother Church" prevented class of the day, because European barbarians are him from playing the soothsayer to the two horseabsolutely prohibited from visiting the desert places men. which are the scenes of their wanderings; and but A peculiarity in Tartar manners, regarding for the enterprise of two Roman Catholic mission- stolen horses when abstracted near caravans, is aries from France, we should probably have re-likely to prove of more service than casting horomained in ignorance for a much longer period. scopes. Some time after the occurrence mentioned, These gentlemen, however, have thrown a light the missionaries lost a horse and mule. "We on this subject, which is too remarkable to be each mounted a camel, and made a circuit in search passed over without notice. Messrs. Gabet and of the animals. Our search being futile, we reHuc composed this work in 1846, but it has only solved to proceed to the Mongol encampment, and recently been published in this country, and its inform them that our loss had taken place near perusal cannot fail to modify many of our precon- their habitation. By a law among the Tartars, ceived notions regarding Tartar life. when animals are lost from a caravan, the persons occupying the nearest encampment are bound either to find them or replace them. This it is which has contributed to render the Mongols so skilful in tracking. A mere glance at the slightest traces left by an animal on the grass, suffices to inform the Mongol pursuer how long it is since it passed, and whether or not it bore a rider; and the track once found, they follow it throughout all its meanderings, however compli It will, for example, be admitted that, according to the hitherto popular acceptation of the character, Tartars were not exactly the sort of persons on whom practical jokes might be perpetrated with impunity. Read, however, the following anecdote: -While our two travellers were one day in their tents, two Tartar horsemen dashed up to the entrance, and threw themselves on the ground. "Men of prayer," said they, with voices full of emotion, "we come to ask you to draw our horo-cated. scope. We have this day had two horses stolen from us. We cannot find the robbers, and we come to you men of learning, to tell us where we shall find our property." "Brothers," answered the missionaries, "we are not lamas of Buddha, and do not believe in horoscopes. For a man to say that he can discover stolen goods by such means, is falsehood and deception." The horsemen entreated, but the priests were inflexible, and the disappointed Tartars mounted their steeds, and galloped off. It so happened that Samdadchiemba, the guide of the missionaries-a Christianized Oriental, but withal a very merry fellow-was present during this interview, but he sat drinking his tea without uttering a word. All on a sudden he knitted his brows, rose, and came to the door. The horsemen were at some distance; but the dchiahour, by an exertion of his strong lungs, induced them to turn round in their saddles. He motioned to them, and they, thinking that the horoscope was to be given, galloped once more to the tent. 66 My Mongol brothers," said Samdadchiemba," in future be more careful; watch your herds well, and you won't be robbed. Retain these words of mine in your memory; they are worth all the horoscopes in the world." Samdad-the reader will perhaps thank us for the abbreviation-gravely returned to the tent; and the Tartars did not dismount and whip him, as two horsemen of any other nation under the sun would have done, but quietly resumed their journey. It appeared that Samdad had once acted * Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China, during the years 1844-5-6. By M. Huc. Translated by W. Hazlitt, London, Republished by D. Appleton & Co. "We had no sooner explained our loss to the Mongol chief, than he said to us cheerfully: 'Sirs Lamas, do not permit sorrow to invade your hearts. Your animals cannot be lost; in these plains there are neither robbers nor associates of robbers. I will send in quest of your horses. If we do not find them, you may select what others you please in their place from our herd. We would have you leave this place as happy as you came to it.'" Eight horses darted off in pursuit; the missionaries were invited to take tea in the interim, and in two hours the strayed cattle were recovered. We should like to know in what other country travellers would be so treated. Regal personages in these regions observe the characterístic simple manners of the country. Our pilgrims were pursuing their solitary way, when the tramping of many horses and the sound of many voices disturbed the silence of the desert. A large caravan belonging to the queen of Mourguevan overtook them, and a mandarin addressed them. "Sirs, where is your country?" "We come from the west." 66 Through what districts have your beneficial shadows passed!" "We have come from Tolon Noor." "Has peace accompanied your progress?" "Hitherto we have journeyed in all tranquillity. And you-are you at peace, and what is your country?" "We are Khalkhas of the kingdom of Mourgue van. After some other Oriental queries and answers, her majesty comes up. The cavalcade halted, and the camels formed into a semicircle, the centre being occupied by a close four-wheeled carriage. aristocratic classes, fermented milk is preferred; but Europeans would perhaps regard this liquor as more honorable by being set aside than indulged in. Two mandarins, "decorated with the blue button," in the everlasting tea. Amongst the uppermost opened the door, and handed out the queen, who was attired in a long silk robe. "Sirs Lamas," said she, raising her hands," is this place auspicious for an encampment?" Royal pilgrim of Mourguevan," said we, 66 you may light your fire here in all security. For our selves, we must proceed on our way, for the sun was already high when we folded our tent." 66 We now proceed to exhibit some traits of Tartar character, as developed in their intercourse with their Asiatic brethren. As usual, a horseman overtakes or meets the travellers; and, after the customary salutations, the missionaries inquired why he and his brethren did not cultivate corn, instead of allowing every field to run to grass. 66 are "We Mongols," replied this stranger, formed for living in tents, and pasturing cattle. So long as we kept to that in the kingdom of Gechekten, we were rich and happy. Now, ever since the Mongols have set themselves to cultivating the land, and building houses, they have become poor. The Kitats (Chinese) have taken possession of the country; flocks, herds, lands, houses all have passed into their hands. There remain to us only a few prairies, on which still live under their tents such of the Mongols as have not been forced by utter destitution to emigrate to other lands." The Tartars are divided into two grand classes -lamas and laymen. The former act as priests, lawyers, physicians, painters, decorators, &c., and in fact monopolize every learned and liberal art and profession. Of course, they are held in high repute; and our travellers having, like Joseph Wolff, adopted sacerdotal costume, they were everywhere received with the honors and respect awarded to the indigenous clergy. It will duly appear, from subsequent illustrations, that mere ecclesiasticism did not secure the hospitality and kindness which they experienced at all hands; but even after making allowance for the national devotion to the cloth, the attentions showed by the Mongols are often marked by a delicate sense of the hospitable. On one occasion, M. Huc and his companions encountered an unusual storm of rain and wind. After travelling several weary miles, Samdad contrived to erect the tent in a place that, for the locality, was tolerable, but no more. My "We took pity on these wicked Kitats, who spiritual fathers," observed the guide, “ I told you came to us weeping, to solicit our charity. We we should not die to-day of thirst, but I am not at allowed them, through pure compassion, to cultiall sure that we don't run some risk of dying of vate a few patches of land. The Mongols insensihunger." In point of fact, there seemed no possibly followed their example, and abandoned the bility of making a fire. There was not a tree, not a shrub, not a root to be seen. As to argols, the rain had long since reduced that combustible of the desert to a liquid pulp. The pilgrims were about to partake of the primitive fare of meal steeped in cold water-a cheerless beverage to three men drenched to the skin-when at the critical juncture up came two Tartars. 66 66 "Sirs Lamas, this day the heavens have fallen. You doubtless have been unable to make a fire." "Alas! how should we make a fire? we have no argols." "Men are all brothers and belong to each other; but laymen should honor and serve the holy ones; therefore it is that we have come to make a fire for you." The fire soon blazed and crackled, and a hot repast speedily rejoiced the jaded frames of the two priests and the imp Samdad. "But if the Chinese are so baneful to you, why did you allow them to penetrate into your country?" nomadic life. They drank the wine of the Kitats, and smoked their tobacco on credit; they bought their manufactures on credit, at double the real value. When the day of payment came, there was no money ready, and the Mongols had to yield to the violence of their creditors, houses, lands, flocks, everything.' "But could you not seek justice from the tribunals?" "Justice from the tribunals! That is out of the question. The Kitats are skilful to talk and to lie. It is impossible for a Mongol to gain a suit against a Kitat. Sirs Lamas, the kingdom of Gechekten is undone !" After-experience amply corroborated the truth of these statements. "The commercial intercourse between the Tartars and the Chinese is revoltingly iniquitous on the part of the latter. So soon as the Mongols arrive in a trading town, they are The domiciliary hospitalities of the Tartars are snapped up by some Chinese, who carry them off, frank and artless, forming a marked contrast to the as it were, by main force to their houses, give formal reception of strangers among the Chinese. them tea for themselves, and forage for their "On entering, you give the word of peace, amor horses, and cajole them in every conceivable way. or mendon, to the company generally. You then The Mongols take all they hear to be perfectly seat yourself on the right of the head of the family, genuine, and congratulate themselves conscious, whom you find squatting on the floor opposite the as they are, of their inaptitude for business-upon entrance. Next, everybody takes from a purse, their good-fortune in thus meeting with brothers suspended at his girdle, a little snuff-bottle, and Ahaton, as they say, in whom they can place full mutual pinches accompany such phrases as these confidence, and who will undertake to manage Is the pasturage with you rich and abundant?' their whole business for them. A good dinner, " Are your herds in fine condition?' 'Did you provided in the back-shop, completes the illusion travel in peace?' Does tranquillity prevail?' and when once the Chinese has established his The mistress then silently holds out her hand to hold, he employs all the resources of a skilful and the visitor. He as silently takes from his breast- utterly unprincipled knavery. He keeps his vicpocket a small wooden bowl, the indispensable tim in his house, eating, drinking, and smoking vade mecum of all Tartars, and presents it to the one day after another, until his subordinates have hostess, who fills it with tea and milk, and returns sold all the poor man's cattle, or whatever else he it." In higher families, a table is spread with has to sell, and bought for him in return the butter, oatmeal, millet, cheese, all in small boxes commodities he requires, at prices double and treble of polished wood; and these luxuries are all mixed the market value. But so plausible is the Chinese, |