ment, which he did not quit for three days, under pretext of indisposition. The fair Esterle endeavoured, but in vain, to draw him from his seclusion, and he, meanwhile, matured his plan.

"On the third night he undressed and went to bed as usual; but no sooner had he dismissed his attendants, than he rose and repaired by a private door to the King's chamber. Here he waited in concealment for the midnight hour. The clock struck twelve, and the spectre appeared, with all the horrors that had attended its first visit.

"King Joseph !" began a sepulchral voice; but it was prevented from proceeding by the Herculean arm of the Elector, who seized the apparition by the throat, and dashed it on the floor. "What impudent scoundrel art thou?" thundered the Elector. The King trembled behind his curtain for the fate of Augustus. "Jesus!-Maria!" shrieked the spectre- Mercy!-For God's sake!-I am a Pater."

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"What!" cried the Elector-" thou art a spirit! then hie thee back to purgatory, whence thou art come."

'He had, meanwhile, opened the window, and with a long, loud shriek, down rolled the pretended ghost over the roofs of the buildings of the imperial palace. The chains clanked amid the stillness of night, and accelerated the fall. The noise brought a sentinel on duty at the palace to the spot, and in the unlucky spectre he recognised a dependent of the King's confessor.

The miserable wretch certainly did not expect to be thus remunerated for so honorable a mission. He was dashed almost in pieces, and expired in a few hours; but his spirit has not been known to have ever returned from purgatory.

'Shame, horror, and indignation, were now expressed in the countenance of the King. He was incensed at the base intrigue, and vowed, on his accession to the throne, to expel all the Jesuits from the country. Time, however, moderated the vehemence of this rash resolve: he did not keep his word; indeed, he was scarcely able to dismiss a confessor by whom he had been so egregiously imposed upon.

'This adventure excited an extraordinary sensation at Vienna, and strong interest and admiration in behalf of the Elector. The Emperor Leopold alone expressed his displeasure at this precipitate conduct at a foreign court, and became evidently colder towards Augustus, who seemed not to observe the change, finished his intrigue with the ambitious Hungarian Countess, and then quitted Vienna in triumph.

'The cunning fathers of the Society of Jesus were obliged, for that time, to relinquish the plan they had matured, for catching in their net one of the most powerful apostates of Germany, whose ancestors had so essentially promoted the Reformation. But it was only for a time. What priestcraft could not on this occasion accomplish was effected soon afterwards by an unlucky longing after the Polish crown. The very same Augustus, who had so zealously defended the principles of Protestantism, voluntarily deposited his solemn recantation of the faith of his forefathers in the hands of the Cardinal-Archbishop of Raab. In possession of an imaginary dignity, he was, in the sequel, involved in a series of humiliations and difficulties, which obscured his glory, and cooled the attachment of his honest Saxons.

"He continued till his death in what is styled the only true faith. He now suffered spirits to walk at pleasure, and his annals even relate that he treated all subsequent nocturnal apparitions with peculiar complaisance.'

The Bear of Friedrichshall is not a ghost story, but it is perhaps something better:

"When Charles XII. of Sweden was besicging the town of Friedrichshall, in Norway, in the winter of the year 1718, one night between twelve and one o'clock, something that had the appearance of a huge bear was perceived in the place not far from the powdermagazine. His tremendous roar as he approached drove the sentries from their post, and terrified them to such a degree, that they ran breathless to the guard-house, declaring that the devil in the form of a bear haunted that part of the town.

'For this violation of their duty the men were instantly put in irons, and a subaltern was ordered to proceed immediately with a fresh party to occupy the post which they had deserted. These, however, together with the subaltern, presently betook themselves to flight. They protested that the monster had advanced straight to meet them, and that he had vomited flames of fire from his gasping jaws.

'An officer now received directions to go with a sufficient force and sift the story of this formidable apparition to the bottom: but after their arrival no traces of the shaggy quadruped were to be seen. It had vanished, probably because the clock had already struck one; for it is well known that the devil and his imps are visible only in the same hour with spectres and apparitions.

'The very next morning the rigid commandant, adhering to the letter of the articles of war, caused the soldiers belonging to the two parties who had abandoned their post, the subaltern not excepted, to be hanged. They died in the firm conviction that it was the devil whom they had seen.

When the troops for guard-duty were drawn up on the parade, and had their different posts, among which was that at the powdermagazine, allotted to them, those to whom the watch there between the hours of eleven and one was assigned could not by any means be prevailed on to do their duty. "Since we have the choice," said they, "of having our heads screwed off by the devil, or being tucked up by the hangman, we would rather die by the hand of the latter than fall into the tremendous claws of Beelzebub."

'The commandant, who knew all his men, selected from among them the most intrepid, and promised each of them, who would under. take the midnight duty at the powder-magazine, twelve ducats, and promotion to a halbert. After a long pause, two sturdy Pomeranians offered to take the duty at the two posts in the front and rear of the building, but only on the condition that each post should this time consist of two men, and that two others of their comrades should agree to accompany them. Two more were accordingly found, and the four resolute fellows, after loading their muskets with a brace of balls, and providing them with fresh flints, repaired to their posts.

'The whole garrison was in fearful expectation, which became more and more intense the nearer the dreadful hour approached. Not a

snore was heard on the benches of the guard-house; not a subaltern narrated his achievements; not a drummer played merry-andrew tricks; a dead silence every where prevailed. At the powder-magazine the four sentries, with quick strides, paced up and down their beat, at the same time repeating their prayers aloud.

'The dreadful hour arrived, and with the last stroke of the clock a low growl was heard at a distance. The faint glimmering of fire was soon afterwards discerned. The roaring became more frightful, and the infernal bear himself appeared. Two of the sentries, without waiting the nearer approach of the monster, ran away; a third, one of the Pomeranians, in the act of taking aim, fell to the ground, and broke his arm; and the fourth, his countryman, alone fired. But he had either missed his foe, or, what seemed most likely to him at this critical moment, he was destined to learn from experience the truth of the ancient well-known adage, that "spirits cannot be wounded.” The tremendous animal, with horrid roar, now made towards him, and he also took to his heels.

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The commandant had given strict orders, that if any thing occurred during the night, it should be instantly reported to him. subaltern was accordingly dispatched; but before he returned, an old captain resolved to go and meet the goblin. He ordered a sergeant to follow him; the latter refused, till the drawn sword of the captain forced him to obey.

. Before he set out he armed himself with a hatchet, stuck a loaded pistol in his sash, and made the sergeant take a carbine. He moreover posted men at small intervals all the way towards the powdermagazine, that in case of emergency they might hasten the more speedily to each other's assistance. The undaunted officer then went forward, followed by the sergeant. On approaching the dangerous spot he saw a glimmering light at the door of the powder-magazine. He redoubled his pace. "Quick, comrade, but softly!" said he in a low voice; "this is a devil of a peculiar kind."

'He succeeded in approaching the magazine unobserved. Without losing a moment, he gave the bear, which was groping at the door of the building, such a blow on the head with the hatchet, as laid the monster sprawling.

،، Clap the carbine to his throat ! cried the captain to his com panion; but don't fire till he stirs !" He then discharged his pistol as a signal to his men, and several soldiers immediately hastened with torches and lanterns to the spot..

The bear, which was still alive, being stripped of his hide, proved to be a resolute Swede, provided with picklocks and crow-bars. He had contrived to produce the appearance of vomiting fire by means of the lighted end of a match which he held between his teeth, and with which he designed to have blown up the magazine.

The commandant caused him to be hanged the next day in his ursine accoutrements. The brave captain was immediately promoted to the rank of major, and the sergeant to an ensigncy.'

Upon the whole this is a very insignificant affair, and, if it were not for its title-page and plates, although the latter are not very excellent, would be totally undeserving of notice.

THIS is one of the most absurd and truly French follies that have been lately displayed. The impudent audacity of the person who has thus chosen to thrust herself and her adventures upon the notice of the public can only be equalled by the trite indecency of which they are composed. Her story is one which the most limited knowledge of the world is sufficient to inform us is neither new nor rare. A young unprotected female falls an easy prey to the seductive arts of a nobleman. This nobleman is a Duke of Saxe Coburg-a brother of that person who derives so large an income from the bounty of this nation, and who puts forward such very slender claims to the respect of the English people. She is afterwards induced by the persuasions of her seducer to go to the capital of his dominions, where she experiences every sort of cruelty and mortification from the ignorance, the mean, ness, and the pride, which are known to abound in those parodies upon monarchies. Although she, with her child, was exposed to every inconvenience and privation, she seems to have been less moved by them than by the gross and ungallant manner in which the brutal German carried on his tender intercourse with her. The following account, perhaps a little coloured, will illustrate her faculty in this particular style:

The duke had a small country house at Russenau. The distance from Russenau to the farm of Eberhard is a good quarter of a league. After a brilliant fête, at which I was present, and at which the duke had over-fatigued himself, he sent me word that he was very ill, and obliged to remain at Russenau, and he begged that I would go to see him. The night was set in; the weather was shocking; the rain fell in torrents, and some flashes of lightning portended a violent storm. However, I did not hesitate, and I followed with a quick step the guide whom the prince had sent to me.

"When I thought I perceived in the distance the masses of the house of Russenau, impatient to arrive there, and having already been longer than I expected, I began to run: but the man who attended me ran after me, and growling loudly when he overtook me, made me return back part of the road, placed me, sentinel-like, under a large tree which I had left behind me, and told me, with a great German oath, to wait there until I should be called. I was mute with astonishment. It was still worse when I saw my guide go alone into the house; he shut the door, bolted it doubly, and disappeared.

'I heard the noise of the unwieldy bolts which he made fast. I saw the light which he carried as he ascended the stairs, and made several windings through the buildings, and at length he vanished from my eyes. All was silent around, and nothing was heard, save that low and plaintive murmur which precedes and follows tempests, and marks the intervals of their cessation. Terror, suspense, the effect of the rain and the wind upon my delicate and agitated nerves, gave me a shivering; all my limbs were chilled and trembling. For two hours I remained in this situation; not a being came near me.

"At length I heard a voice that called me; I was so agitated, so frightened, so benumbed with cold, that I had not courage to quit my position under the tree. I was called again; I distinctly recognised

the voice of the prince; I approached and I perceived him at a small window, holding a small lantern in his hand, and beckoning to me.

"Come, come, Pauline!"-"Is the door open ?"—" No, there would be danger; something would be suspected; the porter, besides, is gone to bed!"-" But how can I go?"-"At the foot of this wall I have placed a ladder."-" Ah, I beg of you, Ernest, do not come down; it is too high; you will kill yourself. Ernest, my prince, my friend, do not come down, I conjure you.”—There is nobody going down, you are to come up; it is for you, Pauline, as you were coming to see me, it was for you I have placed the ladder.".

Tis well I see you are not so ill as I was told, you are jesting too pleasantly for that."-" I swear to you I am not jesting; 'tis no joke, I assure you."-"You are laughing."-" No, upon my honour, Pauline. You will be heard if you do not come up quickly. Be quick; it rains heavily. See, there is lightning, you may be sure 'tis going to thunder. I am alarmed for you; come-ascend."— "Where is the ladder ?”—“ There it is, under the window.”—“ But it does not reach half way; I shall never be able to get up to your balcony.""I will reach you a chair through the window, and will lift it up with both my hands."'—" But I shall be killed."-" Bah !"

'I was considering with fear the five or six feet which were between the balcony and the top of the ladder, when there came a loud peal of thunder. Terrified, I mounted quickly, without knowing what I was doing, and in danger a hundred times of killing myself, I ascended the ladder, the chair, and the balcony. I was scarcely landed, when a blast of wind broke the panes of the window; the ladder slipped away, and the prince saw me fall insensible in his arms.

Such were the attentions of a prince for a woman whom he had seduced, and who was to present him with a son ;-such was the delicate gallantry and sensibility of the Duke of Coburg !'

The flippant authoress finds time, in the midst of all the horrors which she somewhat copiously scatters over her narration, to have some fun with the bad French of her ducal lover. The following letter of the Prince Leopold serves to show that the parsimony of which he has been accused is not a habit which he has acquired in England:

'Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg to Pauline. 'Mademoiselle,-I send you through M. Tittel a hundred florins, to serve for your expenses; and I would advise you to be economical, because it is not possible to send you money every moment; it is not very long since money has been sent you; therefore live so as to conform yourself to your finances.

(Signed) LEOPOLD, PRINCE OF SAXE COBURG,'

After living for some time at Coburg, the heroine resolves to go to Vienna for the education of her son. On the road, as she says, her life and that of her son were attempted by one Fichler, an agent of the duke, to whose care he had intrusted her. This story is highly improbable, but somewhat romantic :

An old berline was our vehicle. If the duke were sending it to the infernal shades, he could not have made a better choice. Broken, old, and mouldy, it looked as if it would fall to pieces at the second turn

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