Another hour,-and in a lighted room, Where glorious pictures lined the lofty wall They sate in social ease :-no brow of glooni, No sadden'd, downcast eye, that might recall Sorrowful musing, dimm'd the festival.

It was in honour of a gallant youth

Those friends were met,-the friends he dearest loved,-
All wishing he were there-and well, in sooth,
Might his gray father unto tears be moved,

Listening to his grateful praise,—his tears were unreproved.

Her bright eyes sparkling with delight and love, Told his young sister of his travels wide,

Of pleasant sojourn in some palmy grove,
And Indian cities in their gorgeous pride;
Of desert isles where savage tribes abide,

And glorious shores and regions of old fame :
Then were his trophies from all lands display'd,
Belt, baracan, and bow of wondrous frame,
High nodding crest, and deadly battle blade,
And birds of curious note in glittering plumes array'd.
And, in her joyful phrase, she told how he,
Ere their next meeting, o'er the wave would come,
Like a glad spirit, to partake their glee,

And cast delight and interest round his home :
Gaily she told, how sitting in that room

When the next harvest-moon lit up the pane,
He should himself, his marvellous tales relate.
-Alas! encircled by the Indian main,
That night beneath a tamarind tree he sat

Heart-sick with thoughts of home and ponderings on his fate.
The heavy sea broke thundering on the shore,

The dark, dark night had gather'd in the sky,
And from the desert mountains came the roar

Of ravening creatures, and a wild, shrill cry
From the scared night-birds slowly wheeling by.-
And there he lay, beneath the spreading tree,
Feverish and faint, and over heart and brain

Rush'd burning love, and sense of misery,
And wild, impatient grief, and longings vain
Within his blessed home to be at rest again.

Another year-and the relentless wave

Had wash'd away the white bones from the shore ;-
And, mourning for his son, down to the grave
Had gone the old man with his locks all hoar ;→
The household festival was held no more ;-

And when the harvest-moon came forth again,

O'er the dark pines, in red autumnal state,

Her light fell streaming through the window pane
Of that old room, where his young sister sate
With her down-droop'd head, and heart all desolate,

MARY HOWITT,

A FAIRY TALE.

BY MRS CHILD.

In ancient times two little princesses lived in Scotland, one of whom was extremely beautiful, the other dwarfish, dark coloured, and deformed. One was named Rose, and the other Marion. The sisters did not live happily together. Marion hated Rose, because she was handsome, and every body praised her. She scowled, and her face absolutely grew black, when any body asked her how her pretty little sister Rose did; and once she was so wicked as to cut off all her glossy, golden hair, and throw it into the fire. Poor Rose cried bitterly about it; but she did not scold, or strike her sister; for she was an amiable, gentle little being as ever lived. No wonder all the family and all the neighbourhood disliked Marion-and no wonder her face grew uglier and uglier, every day. The Scots used to be a very superstitious people; and they believed the infant Rose had been blessed by the fairies, to whom she owed her extraordinary beauty and exceeding goodness.

Not far from the Castle where the princesses resided, was a deep grotto, said to lead to the Palace of Beauty; where the Queen of the Fairies held her court. Some said Rose had fallen asleep there one day, when she had grown tired of chasing a butterfly, and that the Queen had dipped her in an immortal fountain, from which she had risen with the beauty of an angel.* Marion often asked questions about this story; but Rose always replied that she had been forbidden to speak of it. When she saw any uncommonly brilliant bird, or butterfly, she would sometimes exclaim, "Oh how much that looks like fairy-land!" But when asked what she knew about fairyland, she blushed, and would not answer.

Marion thought a great deal about this. "Why cannot I go to the Palace of Beauty?" thought she; "and why may I not bathe in the Immortal Fountain!"

One summer's noon, when all was still, save the faint twittering of the birds, and the lazy hum of the insects, Marion entered the deep grotto. She sat down on a bank of moss; the air around her was as fragrant as if it came from a bed of violets; and with a sound of far-off music dying on her ear, she fell into a gentle slumber. When she awoke it was evening; and she found herself in a small hall, where opal pillars supported a rainbow-roof, the bright reflection of which rested on crystal walls, and a golden floor inlaid with pearls. All around, between the opal pillars, stood the tiniest vases of pure alabaster, in which grew a multitude of brilliant and fragThere was a superstition that whoever slept on fairy ground was car ried away by the fairies.

rant flowers; some of them, twining around the pillars, were lost in the floating rainbow above. The whole of this scene of beauty was lighted up by millions of fire-flies, glittering about like wandering stars. While Marion was wondering at all this, a little figure of rare loveliness stood before her; her robe was of green and gold; her flowing gossamer mantle was caught up on one shoulder with a pearl, and in her hair was a solitary star composed of five diamonds, each no bigger than a pin's point. And thus she sung :

The Fairy Queen
Hath rarely seen

Creature of earthly mould,
Within her door,

On pearly floor,

Inlaid with shining gold.

Mortal, all thou see'st is fair,

Quick thy purposes declare!

As she concluded, the song was taken up, and thrice repeated by a multitude of soft voices in the distance. It seemed as if birds and insects joined the chorus-the clear voice of the thrush was distinctly heard; the cricket kept time with his tiny cymbal; and ever and anon, between the pauses, the sound of a distant cascade was heard, whose waters fell in music.

All these delightful sounds died away, and the Queen of the Fairies stood patiently awaiting Marion's answer. Courtesying low, and with a trembling voice, the little maiden said, "Will it please your majesty to make me as handsome as my sister Rose?" The Queen smiled: "I will grant your request," she said, "if you will promise to fulfil all the conditions I impose." Marion eagerly promised that she would. "The Immortal Fountain," replied the Queen," is on the top of a high, steep hill; at four different places fairies are stationed around it, who guard it with their wands; none can pass them except those who obey my orders. Go home now: for one week speak no ungentle word to your sister at the end of that time, come again to the grotto."

Marion went home light of heart. Rose was in the garden watering the flowers; and the first thing Marion observed, was that her sister's sunny hair had suddenly grown as long and beautiful as it had ever been. The sight made her angry; and she was just about to snatch the water-pot from her hand with an angry expression; but she remembered the fairy, and passed into the castle in silence. The end of the week arrived, and Marion had faithfully kept her promise. Again she went to the grotto. The queen was feasting when she entered the hall. The bees brought honeycomb and deposited it on the small rose-coloured shells, which adorned the crystal table: gaudy butterflies floated about the head of the Queen, and fanned

her with their wings; the cucullo, and the lantern-fly stood at her side, to afford her light; a large diamond beetle formed her splendid footstool, and when she had supped, a dew-drop, on the petal of a violet, was brought for her royal fingers.

When Marion entered, the diamond sparkles on the wings of the fairies faded, as they always did in the presence of anything not perfectly good; and in a few moments all the Queen's attendants vanished away, singing as they went,

The Fairy Queen

Hath rarely seen

Creature of earthly mould,
Within her door,

On pearly floor,

Inlaid with shining gold.

"Mortal! hast thou fulfilled thy promise?" asked the Queen. "I have," replied the maiden. "Then follow me." Marion did as she was directed—and away they went, over beds of violets and miguionette. The birds warbled above their heads, butterflies cooled the air, and the gurgling of many fountains came with a refreshing sound. Presently they came to the hill, on the top of which was the Immortal Fountain. Its foot was surrounded by a band of fairies clothed in green gossamer, with their ivory wands crossed, to bar the ascent. The Queen waved her wand over them, and immediately they stretched their thin wings and flew away. The hill was steep; and far, far up they went; and the air became more and more fragrant; and more and more distinctly they heard the sound of the waters falling in music. At length they were stopped by a band of fairies clothed in blue, with their silver wands crossed. "Here," said the Queen, "our journey must end. You can go no further until you shall have fulfilled the orders I shall give you. Go home now; for one month, do by your sister in all respects, as you would wish to have her do by you, were you Rose, and she Marion.” Marion promised, and departed. She found the task harder than the first had been. She could help speaking; but when Rose asked for any of her playthings, she found it difficult to give them gently and affectionately, instead of pushing them along; when Rose talked to her she wanted to go away in silence; and when a pocket mirror was found in her sister's room, broken into a thousand pieces, she felt sorely tempted to conceal that she did the mischief. But she was so anxious to be made beautiful, that she did as she would be done by.

All the household remarked how Marion had changed. "I love her dearly," said Rose, "she is good and amiable." "So do I," and

"So do I," said a dozen voices. Marion blushed, and her eye sparkled with pleasure, "How pleasant it is to be loved," thought she.

At the end of the month, she went to the grotto. The fairies in blue lowered their silver wands, and flew away. They travelled on -the path grew steeper and steeper; but the fragrance of the atmosphere was redoubled; and more distinctly came the sound of the waters falling in music. Their course was staid by a troop of fairies in rainbow robes and silver wands tipped with gold. In face and form, they were far more beautiful than anything Marion had yet seen. "Here we must pause," said the Queen; this boundary you cannot yet pass. 66 Why not?" asked the impatient Marion. "Because those must be very pure, who pass the rainbow fairies," replied the Queen."Am I not very pure ?" said Marion: "all the folks at the Castle tell me how good I have grown."

"Mortal eyes see only the outside," answered the Queen; "but those who pass the rainbow fairies must be pure in thought as well as in action. Return home-for three months never indulge an envious or wicked thought. You shall then have a sight of the Immortal Fountain." Marion was sad at heart; for she knew how many envious thoughts and wrong wishes she had suffered to gain power over her.

At the end of the three months, she again visited the Palace of Beauty. The Queen did not smile when she saw her; but in silence led the way to the Immortal Fountain. The Green Fairies and the Blue Fairies flew away, as they approached; but the Rainbow Fairies bowed low to the Queen, and kept their gold-tipped wands firmly crossed. Marion saw that the silver specks on their wings grew dim; and she burst into tears. "I knew," said the Queen, "that you could not pass this boundary. Envy has been in your heart, and you have not driven it away. Your sister has been ill; and in your heart you wished that she might die, or rise from the bed of sickness deprived of her beauty. But be not discouraged; you have been several years indulging wrong feelings; and you must not wonder that it takes many years to drive them away.

Marion was sad as she wended her way homeward. When Rose asked her what was the matter, she told her that she wanted to be very good, but she could not. "When I want to be good, I read my Bible and pray," said Rose; "and I find God helps me to be good." Then Marion prayed that God would help her to be pure in thought; and when wicked feelings rose in her heart she read her Bible, and they went away.

When she again visited the Palace of Beauty, the Queen smiled, and touched her playfully with her wand, then led the way to the Immortal Fountain. The silver specks on the wings of the Rain