the destroyer of his happiness. He hastened home, wrote a bitter and eternal farewell to Amelia, and was upon the point of sending it, when he changed his mind, determined to go and upbraid her in person; tore his letter, and repenting as soon as he had done so, wrote another, which, after some deliberation with himself, he burned, and set out for her house. It was then six o'clock of a clear cold December evening. Without exactly knowing why, De Cronstadt took the back way to the house of Amelia, and just as he had reached it, he saw the young officer come out, shutting the door cautiously after him, and supporting Amelia, muffled in a mantle that he had seen her wear a thousand times, and covered with a long veil. At the moment that he was putting her into a post-chaise, which was in waiting, her arm was seized by Ernest, who exclaimed in a tone, frenzied tone," By heavens, you shall not escape me!" Sternheim grasped him by the collar. "Hold! for the sake of heaven hold!" exclaimed the lady, but in a voice so different from Amelia's, that the astonished Ernest loosed his grasp; they darted into the carriage, and it was out of sight before he could take any means to satisfy his doubts. "It was not Amelia," said he, as soon as he could breathe; " and yet, cannot she have disguised her voice?" This thought sent him round to the front gate with the rapidity of lightning. "I must see. Madame de Waldemar."-" Sir, my lady is in the country."-" When did she go?" "She is but just gone." Ernest groaned, and muttering execrations upon his own folly and her perfidy, he hurried towards his home...... As he crossed the bottom of the street, a carriage was driving furiously towards him: the coachman called to him to take care, but he paid no attention. A blow from the pole of the carriage laid him senseless on the ground, and when he opened his eyes he found himself upon a sofa, and supported by Amelia. Yes, it was she herself hanging over him. with looks so full of grief and tenderness, that to doubt her truth was impossible. "Ah, Amelia!" said he in a faint voice," what have I not suffered in seeing you, as I thought, fly from me with another!"-" And what have you not deserved to suffer, rash and suspicious man,' replied she ina tone of gentle reproach, "for, breaking your promise so solemnly given to me? Ah! if it was not for the danger you have just encountered, do you think that I could ever forgive you? And even now I know not whether I ought not to banish you from my sight for ever." Our fair readers will have no difficulty in believing that De Cronstadt soon made his peace, and an explanation ensued that made him ashamed of his doubts. Sternheim had just eloped with, and privately married, a young lady, the bosom friend and first cousin of Amelia: the young couple sought a temporary refuge with her, but the bride did not appear to visitors. Circumstances arose which rendered them fearful of pursuit, and they went to seek an asylum with another friend; at the same time Amelia, who was a great favourite with her uncle, resolved to hasten to his house, in the hope of procuring their pardon. A person more prudent or less ardent than our fair widow would have waited for daylight to commence her 192 11 journey; but she said, and doubtless || carried to her house, and sent im she believed, that she was impatient mediately for medical assistance; but to exert her good offices for the new- as he was only stunned by the blow," married pair. Whether or not her he recovered before the arrival of benevolence was stimulated by the the surgeon to life and happiness. idea, that her abrupt departure would Time flew unheeded by the lovers," punish Ernest for his flirtation with till Amelia, casting her eyes upon Miss Sprotzler, we will not stop to the chimney-clock, exclaimed with inquire; suffice it to say, that her great naïveté," Good heaven! I had travelling-carriage quitted her house no idea it was so late. You must by the front gate almost at the same go now, dear Ernest, you must ins moment that Sternheim and his wife deed."-" Not till you have once stole from the back door to the post- more repeated the sweet assurance, chaise which waited for them. In that on your return"-" Ah!" the hurry of departure Amelia had hush!" cried she archly; "no more" forgotten something, and was return- promises, lest I remind you of your ing for it, when Ernest received the broken one." blow from the pole of her carriage, which might have been fatal but for the skill of the coachman, who pulled up in time to prevent the wheels from going over him. One may well believe that the sight of De Cronstadt insensible, perhaps dying, drove all thoughts of the intended journey out of Amelia's head. She had him At that instant the clock of the neighbouring church chimed twelve,' and Ernest bidding adieu to his beautiful mistress, hastened home, to retrace in the fond security of present happiness all the vicissitudes of delight and despair which he had experienced in twelve hours. . THE CONFESSIONS OF A RAMBLER. Pook Bertram continued his story as follows: "I was taken to a cart which stood at the distance of a few streets, in which they placed me with very little ceremony; and then my tortures commenced. My clothes were torn off and thrown into the street, and I was immersed in a tar-barrel, which occupied one end of the cart; as, of course, I was much taller than the barrel, I was forced down neck and heels together, so as to suffer the tar to cover the whole of my body except my face: a feather-bed was then brought, one end of which was ripped up, and I was transferred from 66 Morning began to dawn, and a large concourse of people to assem-> ble. They hailed my appearance in the cart (in which I was now placed)! with frantic shouts; and I was pa raded about the streets of Boston, the only mitigation of which my woes exposed to the gaze of the multitude, are capable. But to my story. The for the crowd was increased by add- governor, as soon as intelligence was ed comers from every street. Two carried to him of the transactions, men were placed in the cart with me, sent a detachment of military to reswho ever and anon threw large la- cue me from the hands of the mob. dlefuls of tar over my body, and then They succeeded; for, satiated pershowered feathers from sacks provi- haps with their cruelty, my tormended for the purpose. By these means tors made no opposition to the solmy form was soon divested of all diers, who were, however, unable to semblance of humanity, and I pre- secure one of the delinquents, who sented an appearance of some mon- disappeared as it were by magic. ster or demon, so completely was I was taken to my own house, where transformed. In this state I was car- my wife was in strong fits, and no one ried past my own house; I cast my but my dear Emily possessed the eyes towards that which had once least presence of mind. I was atbeen the abode of innocence and tended by her with the most anxious peace, when a ruffian, but perhaps care; my body was oiled repeatedly, he was merciful, threw a ladleful of to detach the tar from its hold upon tar in my face. My eyes were filled, my skin, and every method was taken and the torture was excruciating. I to restore me to my natural appear now felt it covering the whole of my ance. But my worst of miseries was head; I gave the first shriek of ago- yet to come. Having reason to susny which had been extorted from me,pect that another attack would be when my mouth was filled with the be made upon me, the governor redisgusting mixture. I now sunk down commended that myself and family completely exhausted, but was raised should leave Boston, and offered us up, and tied with ropes to the frame an escort to some place of security in of the cart, whilst my persecutors the interior. We gladly accepted his still continued at intervals heaping offer, though neither my wife nor mytar and feathers upon me. self was in a fit state to be removed. But a litter was constructed, upon which we were placed, side by side, and with a heavy heart I left the home of my fathers. I could not see it when I sighed my last farewell, for I was still blind from the effect of the barbarous treatment I had received. "How long this proceeding continued I know not; for after I had been exposed to it about two hours, I fainted, and did not recover my senses till the voice of my angel child sounded in my ear. But all was darkness and despair! My sight was lost; I could not articulate; and I prepared to die! Heaven, however, thought fit to prolong my wretched 'existence for its own wise purposes: would to God I could cease to repine at its decrees! 1 ff I have learnt from my child how I was preserved; and to her I owe Vol. IV. No. XXII. "I must hurry over this part of my story, for I cannot bear to dwell upon it. Our party was attacked by Indians, at no very great distance from the city; the soldiers were cruelly massacred; my angel wife, in endeavouring to shield me from the uplifted tomahawk of a savage chief, DD received the weapon in her breast, and fell a corpse by my side. I was sprinkled with her blood, and the shrieks of my child told me what had passed. Madness followed; for months I was a desolate and lost being. The chief who killed my wife, touched with some feelings of pity, preserved my Emily and me; but I was long unconscious to what was passing around; and when I again awoke to sense and recollection, I was the wretched thing you see me." Bertram now exhibited more of his face than they had yet seen, and it did indeed present a hideous spectacle. One eye was entirely lost; and from the other a rheum constantly distilled, which was sickening to look upon. His head was totally deprived of hair; one ear was nearly torn off; and his face was so disfigured with scars, as to be entirely bereft of the appearance of humanity. Mrs. Ridley and Hammond shuddered at beholding it: he replaced the coverings by which it was partly shrouded from view, and continued. "My body is scarred and disfigured like my face; but that were nothing compared to the tortures which afflicted my mind. When I look at my child driven from society, and compelled to be an outcast in this wilderness; when I reflect on my murdered wife, I am again almost bereft of my senses, and I could curse my persecutors, but some feeling still withholds me, and tells me to leave them to their God. But I wander sadly, and must endeavour to come to the end of my sad tale. "We remained with the chief who had preserved us for upwards of twelve months; and perhaps should still have been there, had not the vil lage been attacked by a hostile tribe, and the inhabitants compelled to fly. In the confusion, my child and I lost our protectors, and we wandered for several days in the pathless wilderness, till at length we came to this hut, which had doubtless been some solitary Indian's, and here we have taken up our abode; here we have dwelt, and never seen a human face till it was my fortune, in one of my wanderings, to rescue you; and here I could be well content to die but my child!" "She shall be mine," said Mrs. Ridley. "Think not that we will leave you here to perish in this inhospitable wild." "We should not perish, if health and strength were preserved to me," rejoined Bertram; "but if deprived of them, I know not what would be our fate, as we are beyond the reach of human assistance. We are two days' journey from Trenton, and quite out of the track of travellers, who never pass this way." "You shall go to Trenton with us, for which place I must instantly set out." "You! it is impossible that you should undertake the journey. Hammond has told me your story, and I honour and applaud the glorious motives by which you are actuated, but he must precede you to Trenton; I will be his guide, and procure some conveyance in which you can travel to your destination. To go on foot were to encounter certain death; at least in your present exhausted state." This proposal was eagerly pressed by Hammond: at length his mistress consented to adopt it, and it was settled that he and Bertram should set out in the morning; the latter saying he thought he never should again anxiety for Mrs. Ridley and his daughter tempted him once more to mingle with his species. venture to the abodes of men, but || company them to England; she became attached to a young American, and remained at Trenton, where she was still living, the mother of a numerous family. The faithful Hammond, however, was yet in their service. I must now bring Mr. and Mrs. Ridley's tale to a conclusion, and indeed little more remains to be told. She reached Trenton in safety, Hammond and Bertram returning on the fourth day with a litter and horses for her journey, Major Ridley was still in confinement; and the meeting between him and his wife may be imagined, not described. The faithful Hammond, with Bertram and his daughter, were also heartily welcomed; and poor Bertram seemed to have lived only to place his daughter in safety, for a few days after their arrival at Trenton he breathed his last in the arms of his attached child. Here the romance of Mr. and Mrs. Ridley's story ended. Thus far I have copied from a MS. which Mr. R. placed in my hands a few months after our acquaintance; and I learnt from him verbally, that he had no opportunity of again meeting the Americans in the field, as he was exchanged and sent home, on condition of not serving any more during the war. Emily Bertram did not, however, acI bu.. I Mr. and Mrs. Macleod lived to greet their child's return, and to see their young grandsons and granddaughters grow up around them; when they died in a good old age, blessing their descendants. Mr. and Mrs. Ridley (the former having, at the earnest request of his wife, long abandoned a soldier's life,) resided chiefly at their beautiful cottage in Scotland; but he was now in America on public business, to conduct which he had been appointed, contrary to his wishes, as it was considered that his former knowledge of the country might be of service. At the commencement of our acquaintance he was looking anxiously forward to the period which would conclude his mission, and allow him again to return to his happy home, to which I received a warm invitation to accompany them. A GLIMPSE OF SPAIN IN 1824. ABOUT the time," continued the shermit," when I flattered myself with peculiar favour from the object of my fondest adoration, the revolution in France spread commotion all over the Continent. One party, with { patriotic zeal, associated to demand a reform of the abuses committed in the name of our government: I brought all my influence and the aid of pecuniary resources to this enterprise, ColonelO'Niel was pledged C A RAMBLER. in his military capacity to support his royal master; and Donna Mirabella, with persuasive eloquence, condescended to argue against my hostility to the court, to which my own father and hers were unchangeable adherents. With joy could I have yielded to her sweet intercession, if my honour had not been irrevocably engaged; and for the sake of this tie, love and happiness must be immolate: it proved no bloodless sacri 3 |