6 launching of their shipmate's body into the bosom of the deep. The topsails were then laid to the mast, and our ship, which had been moving silently but steadily through the water, became motionless. Four of the crew were soon seen issuing from below, bearing the body of their late companion, which they placed in the gangway; and the flag of his country, instead of a pall, was thrown over him, concealing from view the coarse covering which enclosed his remains. The third mate opened the Prayer Book, and commenced the solemn and beautiful service of the Episcopal Church. At the first sound of his voice every head was uncovered. As the ceremony proceeded, the crew unconsciously gathered nearer to the gangway, and rude hands were locked in each other, and tears were seen stealing down rough cheeks, 'from eyes unused to weep.' At the words, we therefore commit his body to the deep, to be turned into corruption, looking for the resurrection of the body when the sea shall give up her dead' the plank was raised and the body launched into the bosom of the Ocean, that mighty tomb where rest the father and the son, the mother and the daughter, the brother and the sister. Alas! how many have sunk into the depths of that mysterious sepulchre, whose only requiem has been the deep booming of the stormy waves. The perfect silence which reigned on board the ship as the body of our shipmate slowly disappeared, was at length broken by the hoarse summons to brace the yards'-and strong and excited as our feelings had been by the scene we had just witnessed, the order came as a relief. As the sails filled, the ship slowly moved from the spot where the last sad duties had been performed, and in the hurry and bustle of the voyage, the melancholy event, if not forgotten, at least was less frequently spoken of, and less keenly felt. Still a death at sea is, in many respects, more solemn than on shore. The feeling that the dying man is cut off from all ministering of kind relatives, and the void that is made in the small isolated community, are deeply felt; and though sailors are not apt to talk of their feelings on such occasions, their hearts are far from being insensible. I noticed on this occasion that, for a considerable time after the funeral, there was more mildness and gentleness exhibited in the intercourse of the crew with one another, and somewhat of kindness appeared in the tone and manner of the officers; and, except from the most abandoned and depraved, the language of profanity was seldom heard; even the boisterous mirth which sailors love so much, was for a time suspended. Although scarcely an hour had elapsed since the scene I have described had taken place, the tryworks were again in operation and work resumed, yet it was performed in silence-all seemed thinking of their lost compan ion. For myself, I can say, that I missed him perhaps more than any other; days, weeks, months even, elapsed, and still his countenance seemed to haunt me,-the expression of despair pictured upon it was ever before my imagination, nor until the voyage was ended could I retire to rest without the vision crossing my mind. Ere I finish my story I might as well inform you, that the whale which had caused the death of our shipmate was seen again the next morning about half a mile to windward. On approaching him it was discovered that the harpoon line which he had carried off was so entangled and completely wound around his head and jaws with repeated turns and hitches, as to prevent his opening his mouth to any considerable extent. Although the mate succeeded immediately in fastening to him, four hours elapsed before life was finally extinct, and then not till another boat had been dispatched to the assistance of the first. When brought alongside and made fast as usual, the crew seemed inclined to vent their indignation upon the lifeless carcass of the animal which had caused the death of their comrade. No noise was made at the windlass as his blubber was hoisted in, and those whose duties obliged them to come in contact with it, seemed to enjoy a malicious pleasure in darting their hooks and knives into it, or muttered some imprecation as each piece descended into the blubber-room. The captain, as usual, when 'cutting in,' came forward with his pitcher of grog, and nearly all followed the example of their superiors and partook of the allowance; though most of them thought it necessary to qualify and apologize for the act, by saying that it would help to drive the recollection of the late melancholy scene from their minds. "For my part," continued Williams, "I then, for the first time in my life, declined taking my allowance, and since that day not a drop has passed my lips. If it please God to keep me in the same mind, I intend to go through life without again touching the poison which I believe hastened my friend out of life, and which I know was the cause of overwhelming with despair those amiable beings whose happiness was so intimately bound up in his welfare." Thus Williams finished his tale, and some duty calling him away, he bade me good night. I retired to my berth, but for many hours the sorrowful and "o'er true tale" which I had just heard, so occupied my mind that I was unable to sleep, and when at length I did fall into a broken slumber, the incidents of the tale came to my mind again in dreams. H. H. THE SCHOLAR'S MATE. DELIA and DAMON on a certain day Sate by the checkered board at chess to play- The lady claimed of course the earliest move. And moves one pace the pawn that guards her queen ; At once the knight that stood her queen beside, Then forward sprang fair Delia's other knight, Who stood in arms upon his monarch's right, In vain he stood prepared to fight away The black-robed queen from her devoted prey-- The maiden blushed that pleasing debt to pay, B MARY, A TALE OF THE OHIO. THE traveler, as he journeys in the summer months through New England, admiring the ever-varying prospects presented by the numerous hills over which he passes one after the other in quick succession, will pause when he attains the elevation that overlooks the village of N. From this spot he will survey with silent admiration the scene spread out like a map before him; and, until he has revelled in the enchanting view, will feel little inclined to descend the long and gradual slope that leads to the plain in which the village is situated. Here the eye wanders for miles in every direction over the green and fertile valley beneath, rich with the varied glories which nature with a lavish hand has scattered through this delightful region. In the center of this extensive tract the snow-white spires of N. rise up to the clear blue heavens, through the mass of living verdure that half conceals this pretty village from the view. In the rear of the village is seen the Connecticut, with the bright azure of the sky mirrored upon its glassy bosom, winding its course with many a graceful sweep, till distance contracts its breadth into a narrow silvery stream, that contrasts with a pleasing ef fect with the vivid green of the low meadow which skirts its margin on either side, just before it steals round the high projecting point of woodland that shuts it out from further view. On the opposite side of the river the plain, with its alternate groves and lawns, reaches back several miles; it then gradually swells into rolling hills, rising one above the other like an amphitheatre, until the eye reposes in the back ground upon the blue mountainous ridge that stretches along the horizon and forms the eastern boundary of the great Connecticut Valley. The whole exhibits a scene of exquisite beauty, which in many instances approaches even to sublimity. The commencement of our story is dated in the delightful valley of which we have given but a very imperfect description. Many years have since rolled away, but the prevailing features of the village of N. remain unchanged. The same neat, whitepainted dwellings are there, with the few additions which have been made in the progress of time. And in front of them are the same gravel walks through grass-plats decked with shrubbery and flowers. The same noble and stately trees line each side of the streets, casting their cooling and refreshing shade upon the earth in the heat of a summer's day. And the same air of quiet repose pervades the place. །་ She It was in the afternoon of a warm and sultry day in the summer of 1806, that a young lady of singular beauty might have been seen seated at an open window, in a house that exhibited in its construction much architectural taste and design. was of the interesting age of seventeen. Her form was exceedingly graceful, and of the most symmetrical proportions; and her complexion fair and delicate and of a clear, tell-tale transparency, that revealed every varying and secret emotion of her heart. But it was in the mild radiance of her deep blue eyes, beaming with an expression of melting tenderness, that you read the language of her soul. In the light of those speaking orbs you saw the spirit itself of love and gentleness. Few could gaze upon that lovely countenance, rendered more interesting by a tinge of melancholy, without feeling that purity and innocence had their abode within. The window at which she sat was immediately in front of the garden underneath. Her cheek rested on her hand, while her eye, with a dreamy expression, looked abroad without fixing itself upon any one object. Was she listening to the melody of the feathered songsters of the garden, while they warbled their sweet notes of praise to Him who had endued them with a vivid and joyous sense of existence? No. Her abstracted air, her pale and thoughtful brow, and the shade of pensive sadness that overspread her features as she gazed on vacancy, told that her senses were absorbed in a revery which shut out every external impression. Her thoughts were straying far, far away, to a distant clime. The sound of quick and heavy footsteps, of some one entering the apartment, caused her to turn her head. It was her father. "Mary," said he to his daughter, as he laid a folded newspaper and two letters on the table, "I wish you would go to my room and bring me my portfolio, as the letter which I have just received requires an immediate answer." The quick glance of the young lady at the letters, discovered that one of them was directed to herself. She sprang forward and seized it, and a crimson tide rushed to her pale cheeks as she recognized in the well known characters of the superscription, the hand of the writer. "Mary, I'm in a prodigious hurry," cried the impatient father; "you will have time enough to read your letter when you return." The beautiful girl glided out of the apartment like a spirit of light, scarce touching the floor, as with soft and airy steps she sped her way to accomplish her errand. Little could her father enter into those feelings which the sight of that letter awakened. How did her heart throb with the hopes, the fears, the undefin |