grounds, Mr. Heber require from his butler the key of his cellar, receive no company for the period, or inspect every article brought in at his gates?" and added, "I shall write to him, saying I have ascertained that his habits are dissipated, and that nothing less than a thorough reformation of character can render him eligible for a connection with my family,—leaving it to him to discover means of proof:" which letter went, accompanied by one from Victorine, of the most persuasive kind, and breathing love and tenderness, but concurring by implication with that of her father. And never did Lancelot appear so despicable in his own eyes,-never vice so degrading,-never moral lesson so forcible, as that now inculcated; which told him plainly, that a fine person, good connections, taste, literary attainments, and £2000 a year, would not effect a passport into Mr. Dornford's family, without moral character. He recognized in it the consequence of persisting in a wayward scheme, which had wounded the heart of his parents, withdrawn him from their oversight, and left him exposed to the lure of the profligate, and the contagion of the profane. He bewailed the day, when, at a splendid café in Paris, in the midst of various groups of different nations distributed around the room,-statues, columns, and lamps, multiplied to thousands by immense mirrors, he wished to be thought too polite to differ from others in the same company, and feared to appear fastidious, by refusing to partake of the liqueur that was commonly preferred among them.

He resolved upon a change of conduct, and hoped, by substituting warm negus, well spiced, for the usual libation, to cheat his stomach into forgetfulness; but on one occasion, yielding to the force of a habit not entirely subdued, he ventured to quaff again the fiery draught, and, like one infatuated, took more than the accustomed quantity, which operating on a frame out of health at the time, bodily and mental, brought on a high fever, accompanied by delirium. His life was rescued by the skill of the physicians in attendance, but his case settled down into a confirmed lunacy. Long did the affectionate Victorine lament his melancholy fate, supported as she was by the consciousness of having been justified in the course she had pursued, which never excluded him from the sibility of their being one day happy together, though the

pos

idea of that possibility she permitted not herself now to indulge for a moment.

Frequent turns to Mrs. Clare's, visits in the circle of her numerous acquaintance, short excursions with her beloved father and Charlotte, the strawberry and cream party-the sale of fancy work on their grounds— the concert of music-the botanical display-the philosophical apparatus, were alike proved insufficient to dissipate the gloom that had overspread her mind; when she knew no greater happiness than she felt in conveying to Lancelot, as from an unknown friend, the well-chosen book, to cheer a lucid interval, or fruit from the hot-house, of which he was allowed to partake. Nor could she for a length of time be induced to listen to any other proposal of marriage, until, yielding to the solicitations of her friends, who thought new duties and a new scene might occasion a new train of reflections, she united her destinies with those of a gentleman of true piety and pleasing exterior, as well as education, taste, and fortune; who, well acquainted with all the foregoing circumstances, and knowing by the happiness he enjoyed what Mr. Heber's only son had lost, when desirous of making the evil of intemperance appear in a strong light, told the story of his Victorine's first love.

RECOGNITION;

OR,

-I do own that it is strange;-nay more,
The thing is passing strange,-'tis wonderful!
Yet wherein, tell us, does the marvel lie?—
In its own nature, nothing does exist
To make it so ;-'tis merely so to us:
Thousands around us daily do transpire,
And yet we note them not.-But if perchance
One strike our fancy, and we mark the thing,
In full amaze we cry,-How wonderful!

It is not necessary that a man should extend his organs of vision to the utmost tension that the membranes of the eye will allow, when passing through the streets of a town or city, in order to see society, or for the purpose of reading character. Nor is it indispensable to an acquaintance with individuals, that every action of their lives should be witnessed, or that every word should be heard; no! a wise man is aware, that character is developed in small matters, rather than by large things. A lady whose placid countenance and demure address in public would deceive a crowd of novices, would discover, unintentionally, to a man of understanding, her genuine character, by a toss of the head, a curl of the lip, or a scowl of the eye; and

while the general tone of her voice before strangers might be "winning soft, and most melodious," the harsh and haughty "No!" or loud and imperative" I will," although merely episodical to her usual address, would at once open the eyes, and convince the judgment of a close observer, that the latter bespoke the real character, the former was merely assumed.

A thousand instances might readily be presented of the mighty results which have issued from comparatively trivial causes, as well as in the means by which character is displayed. One illustration of the subject is given in the account of the unfortunate vizier, who, having offended his imperious master, was condemned to perpetual captivity in a lofty tower. At night, his faithful and affectionate wife came to weep beneath his prison window. "Cease your grief," said the sage; "go home for the present, and return hither when you have procured a live black beetle, together with a little ghee, (or buffalo's butter,) three clews, one of the finest silk, another of stout packthread, and another of whipcord, and, finally, a stout coil of rope. When she came again to the foot of the tower, provided according to her husband's commands, he directed her to touch the head of the insect with a little of the ghee, to tie one end of the silk thread around him, and to place the reptile on the wall of the tower. Seduced by the scent of the butter, which he conceived to be in store somewhere above him, the beetle continued to ascend till he reached the top, and thus put the vizier in possession of the end of the silk thread; who drew up the packthread by means of the silk, the small cord by means of the packthread, and by means of the cord a stout rope, capable of sustaining his own weight,--and so at last escaped from the place of his duresse.

Of the popular narrative above, all my readers were probably aware, before my paper reported it to them;but I have one to lay before them, of which but few have even heard, and concerning which every one who reads may feel disposed to employ the exclamation in my motto "WONDERFUL." Suggesting the propriety of bearing in mind the prefatory observations. I have made, until the finale of my tale is given, I shall, as a learned one of the learned profession would say, while declaiming upon, or taking up a digression from his brief,-proceed.

"It may profit you, young man," said the venerable Mr.

Howard, addressing himself to a person in the habit of a sailor, "to hear the history of one who has, by his own experience, proved in a measure the consequences resulting from a course which God has denounced by the prophet: 'Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink,-that continue until night, till wine inflame them;' while the advantages which are inseparable from fearing God, and keeping his commandments, may dispose you when you hear them, to implore divine power to go and do likewise."

The old man paused, as if to receive the request of his auditor to go on: he did not, however, immediately receive it. The sailor appeared to be lost in his own reflections, it was not, however, that he had been deaf to the brief address which had been delivered, for in a moment or two, as if arousing himself from the mental abstraction into which he had fallen, he sighed deeply, and with a look in which shame and sorrow were united, he said, "Your kindness, sir, is exercised on one who is unworthy of it; and yet, sir, I hope it will not be forgotten or disregarded." "If your future conduct corresponds with your present statement," resumed Mr. Howard, "your opinion of yourself, although natural, will be proved to be not quite correct. They alone are unworthy of kindness from their fellow men, who after experiencing it, forget or despise it; but come," he added, "shall I counsel and caution you for the future, by the recital of my own past brief history? and afterwards you will, perhaps, furnish us with some account of yourself." "I shall be obliged by the recital, sir," returned the sailor, "and happy to hear it; but of myself, sir, I must be"-"Well, well," interrupted Mr. Howard, in his own inimitably good-tempered and soothing manner,-observing a tear rolling down the stranger's cheek, "we shall see;-you will listen to an old man's story, then, will you?" An inclination of the head gave an affirmative, and Mr. Howard prepared himself for his task.

Before, however, I allow my venerable friend to tell his tale, I feel I must request to be allowed to tell my own, by explaining briefly who he was that I have so uncereEmoniously introduced as the chief speaker, the persons composing the present party, and by what means they were brought together; otherwise I may be accused of