sion of the church to leave her convent; and that Father Velasquez undertook to procure.

"The joy of the young orphan when the friar communicated this intelligence to her, may easily be imagined; but her transports were checked by the fear that the father would be unsuccessful in procuring her release from the convent. The friar's interest was however greater than she had supposed; and he represented her case in such a manner to his eminence the Cardinal that she had permission to return to the world. The lady abbess's rage knew no bounds; she affected to be shocked at the impiety of Father Velasquez, in obtaining 'Albertina's liberty; and she declared that she could not, consistently with her notions of religion, consent to suffer the convent to lose any part of the Signor Verezzi's fortune. Velasquez knew that it would be in vain to try to wrest from the iron gripe of the church the patrimony of Albertina; and she was

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too happy in regaining her liberty, to waste a thought upon her fortune.

"The marquise received the signora in the kindest manner; and the gratitude of Albertina, her amiable temper, and gentle manners, soon converted pity into a sentiment almost maternal. The death of a near relation had obliged Di Soranzo to leave Naples for a short time; when he returned, Albertina was under the protection of the marquise.Those only who have loved, and endured the torment of supposing that it was criminal to indulge a passion which it was impossible to subdue, can conceive the delight which Di Soranzo felt, when he found his Albertina at liberty. She may yet be mine,' cried he, in a tone of transport. His poverty was forgotten, and every suggestion of reason and prudence vanished before the magic power of love.

"DiSoranzo was not personally known to the marquise, but he found it an easy matter to procure an introduction to

her; and Albertina's account of him was sufficient to make him a favourite with her patroness, who soon perceived that the young people regarded each other with affection. She communicated her discovery to Father Velasquez: I will own to you, father (cried she), that I could have wished it otherwise; Albertina's beauty and birth might have procured her a husband amongst the noblest youths of Naples: than Di Soranzo none can be worthier, but he is poor.'-She paused- What I can do shall not be withheld, but that will be little. I solemnly promised my late lord that, at my decease, I would leave the property which I enjoy from his bounty to the children of his nephew, now in Spain; my power to serve the lovers therefore, you see is limited.'

"In a short time, the marquise spoke to Di Soranzo, who acknowledged his passion for Albertina, and with all the sophistry of a lover, endeavoured to persuade the marquise that, limited as his

fortune was, it would be sufficient for his happiness, if Albertina deigned to share it. This (said the marquise with a smile), is the usual reasoning of lovers; but believe me, Di Soranzo, I will not be your enemy.'

"She communicated to Albertina, his wishes and his hopes; and her blushes, her confusion, convinced her patroness that her heart was Di Soranzo's. To be brief, the lovers were united in a short time, and never was felicity purer, or more likely to be permanent, than that of Di Soranzo and his Albertina.

"The death of the amiable marquise; was the first interruption to their happiness; and it was indeed severely felt by both it was also in a pecuniary way, a loss, as the marquise had little to bequeath, and during her life time her adopted daughter had shared her fortune; but in justice to Di Soranzo and his lovely wife it must be owned, that their tears flowed solely for the death of their benefactress; and self was

forgotten in their sorrow for her. Time restored them to tranquillity, and the birth of a girl made them once more happy.

"Though of a contented and humble spirit, Signora Di Soranzo had been accustomed to all the elegancies of life, and as she was not aware how limited her husband's means were, and how insufficient to support that stile of life to which she had been accustomed; and Di Soranzo loved her too tenderly to be as prudent as he ought to have been. In a short time after the death of the marquise he found himself involved; Albertina was shocked at what she term ́ed her own imprudence, and most sedulously set about a reform in their expences; love divested poverty of its horrors, and all might have been well but for the death of their infant. Di Soranzo felt this blow severely, but to the heart of Albertina it was a mortal stab. Her mother, (after whom she was named), was by birth a German, and in