effort, remained seated by the agitated parent of Gideon. Several hours had passed away, and the oft interrupted converse of the ladies had given place to silence, when Marion, rushing into the parlor, exclaimed-"He is come: but what a poor, maimed, miserable object. Oh, my brother! better had he fallen in the field ;" and, shuddering, she hid her face on the arm of the sofa. "Inhuman girl! " ex When, however, the invalid began to rally from the fatigue of his journey, and the still more overpowering agitation of his spirit, the Laird enjoined the friends to remain quietly where they were through the night, saying, he must hurry home to prepare the ladies for the joyful news, but would return in the morning to escort them to the Grange, at which place Mrs. Scott and Marion were on a visit. In vain Lieutenant Malcolm talk-claimed Margaret, her fine face ed of prosecuting his westward jour- crimsoning with a flush of indignaney; the hospitable owner of the tion as she supported the sinking Grange put a decided negative on frame of Mrs. Scott; but before she the proposition, declaring that he had time to add another word the must positively deliver up his charge invalid entered the parlor, supportto his widowed mother, and then ed by the arm of his friend. Agieffect his escape as best he could tation had diffused a death-like hue from the fair damsels of Slitterick. over features wasted by long illness, which was rendered more striking by the black fillet bound across his forehead. The luxuriant curls of his dark auburn hair had been shorn off, his eyes sparkled no longer with the laughing gladness of joyous youth, and his feeble, attenuated frame, spoke of long-endured suffering. Margaret could have wept Malcolm smiled at the lightness of his heart as he held the stirrup of Mr. Halliburton; and, after or dering beds to be prepared, rejoined his friend. On reaching home, the Laird found the fair inmates sauntering before the house; when something unusual in his manner as he joined them, alarmed the maternal fears of Mrs. Scott, and she inquired, in hurried tones, whether any letters had arrived from France ? Thus assailed, the caution with which Mr. Halliburton had resolved to disclose the arrival of Gideon was put to flight, and he declared at once the truth. Wild with joy, Marion alternately threw her arms round the neck of her mother and her friend, whose quivering lip and pale countenance were the only outward signs of the deep and conflicting emotions which agitated her bosom. Sleepless, though from different causes, passed the night with the inmates of the Grange; and after an early and hurried breakfast, Mr. Halliburton set out to escort the friends to his mansion; but long ere it was possible for him to have reached Hawick, Marion was on the watch for his return, whilst Margaret, with a self-conquering could have turned her eyes in horror from the spectral-like appearance of her early companion; but love, stronger than sisterly affection, enabled her to conceal her feelings, as with a smile she welcomed back the war-worn invalid, and, arranging the cushions of the sofa, assisted to place him at his ease by the side of his widowed parent. In the simple inexperienced mind of Marion Scott the returned warrior was imaged as one of the most interesting objects of female sympathy; the languid eye, the bronzed countenance, which spoke of hardship and toil beneath a burning sun, the scarcely perceptible halt, the slight scar, even the dégagée sling the gift, perhaps, of love-all told a tale of heroism on which her young imagination delighted to dwell. But when the reality of suffering presented itself to her view, and that in the person of a dearly-cherished brother, it at once put to flight the unreal visions of her fancy, and filled her affectionate bosom with horror and dismay. The bereaved widow clasped her recovered treasure to her maternal bosom, and with chastened feelings breathed a mental petition that he might be spared to become the comforter and stay of her old age. Slowly Marion raised her face, and stole a hasty glance towards the invalid. He beckoned her to approach. She rushed into his extended arms, and wept on his bosom. Margaret, followed by Lieutenant Malcolm, had joined her father in the dining parlor, that the first meeting of relatives, so dear, might be free from restraint; but Gideon unblessed, except in her presence, soon despatched Marion to recall their friend. The lively girl, recovered from the first shock which the altered appearance of the invalid occasioned, threw a deprecating glance to Lieutenant Malcolm, as Margaret Halliburton mildly reproached her for the mischief her want of self-control might have occasioned to the sufferers. That glance, and the tear which stood in her large dark eye, called forth an interest in the heart of the gallant young warrior, which no after circumstances had power to erase. In a short time the clear air of his native hills, the cares of affection and friendship, but especially the sweet smiles of Margaret, exerted their sanative influence on the debilitated frame of Gideon. The hue of health gradually reappeared on his cheek, his eyes resumed somewhat of their wonted brilliancy, the black fillet no longer bound his forehead, and the scar it covered was now shaded, though not wholly concealed, by the profusion of dark curls that once again clustered round his manly visage ; nor did he ever recollect the wounded limb, except as furnishing a ready excuse for accepting the proffered arm of Margaret Halliburton, as the youth ful friends rambled amongst the pastoral haunts of the Slitterick. In Thus supported, would he linger on his path, till the bright cheerful laugh of Marion sounded from behind a far-off knoll, and he was alone with nature and the cherished maiden of his first young love. such moments, the light of a joy long untasted shone in his eyes, and past perils and anticipated evil were, for awhile, forgotten. A month sped rapidly away in this free and happy intercourse, till Lieutenant Malcolm almost forgot that he had other claims on his affections, when a rather reproachful letter from his only brother reminded him of his selfish neglect. It fell like some unlooked-for and sudden misfortune on the heart of the young soldier. Now, for the first time, he discovered that he indeed loved the sister of his friend; now felt the bitter pang of tearing himself from the object of a first and fervent love. With an unsteady voice he communicated the purport of his brother's letter to his friends, and declared his intention of repairing his neglect by setting off on the following morning for Nithsdale. All were loud in expressing their regrets for the privation they should sustain by his absence, except her who felt it as a death-stroke to her happiness. As the evening drew to a close, Marion found the task of longer feigning cheerfulness impossible; and leaving the social circle, she strolled to a wooded hagg at a short distance from the house. It was a favorite resort of the young friends during the noon-day heats of sum→ mer, and she entered a natural grotto, now damp with the autumnal rains, and nearly choked up by the falling leaves; but her mind was in that state of excitement which rendered her little heedful of external objects; and, seating herself on a rustic bench, she leant her head on her hand and sank into a painful reverie. The last few hours had torn the veil from her eyes: she སྟནས། felt that she loved her brother's friend, and she feared that she had yielded up her young heart where it was unvalued-perchance despised. Associated with this last idea, as it rose to her mind, was a feeling of maidenly pride which aroused her from the enervating contemplation in which she had been indulging, and with the self-conquering resolution of concealing the workings of her soul, she arose and proceeded to the house. The friends conversing, in a low earnest tone, struck her ear as she returned through the hagg; and a certain consciousness, inexplicable to herself, made her deviate into another path. But the quick eye of love had caught a glimpse of her white drapery; and, impelling Gideon through a thicket of tangled underwood, they soon encountered the object of their previous conversation. "Methinks my pretty sister evinces little gratitude for the cares lavished by Lieutenant Malcolm on her suffering brother, by deserting us on the eve of his departure." "You wrong me, Gideon," replied Marion, blushing deeply; 66 put my gratitude to any test you please, and condemn me should I be found wanting." Malcolm grasped the hand of the agitated maiden, exclaiming, "then let me at once dare my fate!" and when she looked round, her brother was gone-she stood alone with her lover. An explanation soon ensued; and, on their return to the house, Gideon, who had long suspected the cherished secret of the lovers, joyfully hailed, as his future brother, the dearest friend of his heart. The widowed mother of Marion feared for the steadiness of one so young and giddy as her child; but the reasonings of her friend, and the soothings of Gideon, in part allayed her apprehensions, though it was not without deep agitation she blessed and embraced the happy pair on their entrance. This night silence seemed to have exerted an unwonted spell over the usually joyous party assembled round the supper table at the Grange, though the meditative mood of each originated from different and very opposite feelings. Absorbed in blissful dreams of the future, sat the affianced pair; but a radiant gladness illumined their features, and a bright flush glowed on their cheeks, which strikingly contrasted with the sad thoughtful smile of Margaret Halliburton, the painful, though self-conquering composure of Gideon, and the grave and scrutinizing glances of the worthy laird, who, for the first time, began to tremble for the peace of his darling child, and to doubt the prudence which had exposed her to such free and intimate intercourse with one who seemed to regard her but with fraternal affection. How erroneous this judgment of the simple-hearted affectionate father! Gideon loved his daughter with a fervor and hopelessness that was fast sapping the spring of his young existence, though honor and gratitude alike restrained him from wooing the wealthy heiress of his kind and liberal benefactor, to share his ruined fortunes. Day after day he resolved to leave the Grange, yet with a lover's inconsistency he still lingered on; and Margaret, self-deceived, termed her love sisterly regard, and by her winning, unobtrusive kindness, riveted still closer those chains which bound together their warm and too susceptible hearts. Roused, however, to a more lively sense of his desolate prospects, by the contrasting brightness of the happier fortunes of his friend and sister, he resolved to seek in absence, and the duties of his profession, a relief to his deeply wounded heart. The involvement of his prospects had never been alluded to since his return; but after the departure of Malcolm, finding himself alone with Mr. Halliburton, he led to the subject, by regretting that circumstances put it out of his power to add aught to the very scanty dowry of Marion. "On my own account it matters not, as I shall shortly rejoin my corps, and my pay is sufficient to supply all the legitimate wants of a sober bachelor like myself." A smile lurked in the mirthful eye of the laird, as Gideon began to speak, and he resolved to punish him for his want of confidence; but when he listened to the mournful tones of his voice-looked on the calm hopelessness of his pale countenance and reflected on his honorable forbearance, the warmhearted old man grasped his hand, and, in the fullness of his heart, declared how long and ardently he had desired to embrace him as a son. "Go, then," he continued, "and ascertain the sentiments of Margaret, of which I know nothing-should they prove favorable to your hopes, it is well-if otherwise, then-" "Then," interrupted the impassioned youth," then, after life will be to me a dreary blank," and rushed from the apartment. In the garden he found Margaret; leaning on her offered arm, they sauntered along a rural pathway overhung by bramble, and wild rose-bushes, loaded with their dark and scarlet fruits, till they reached a thymy bank that looked down on the Slitterick. The clear waters of this pastoral stream reflected the soft autumnal clouds intermingled with the shadows of a few scattered trees that grew on the margin; a picturesque homestead stood on a steep acclivity on the opposite bank, and the fleecy flocks ranged over the healthy pastures beyond. For some moments they gazed in silence on the peaceful scene; when Gideon said, in the low suppressed tones of deep inward emotion-" It rests with you, my early companion, whether I shall ever again look on this glorious landscape!" There was a sadness in his voice that awakened a responding chord in the bosom of Margaret; but, sacred be the blissful communion of their pure and holy affection, as, standing alone beneath the blue vault of heaven, in the solemn hour of twilight, their young hearts co-mingled. A bright clear harvest moon had risen and lighted the lovers on their return to the house, before which the laird paced with a perturbed and restless air. But one glance at the blushing happy face of his daughter removed all his doubts; he took her hand, placed it in that of her lover, and called down the choicest blessings of Heaven on their heads. THE WILD GARLAND,* AND SACRED MELODIES.t THESE two little unpretending volumes, from the pens of sister and brother, are, in our eyes, severally or conjointly, of more worth than many an ambitious tome put together in one heavy lump, that, by power of puffing, had each in its day enjoyed, perhaps, no inconsiderable share of popular applause. In these days, much as we love and admire the age, it is, we fear, one of the very rarest qualities even of true merit to be unpretending; per haps because there is so much pretence without any merit at all, that people of worth feel that they must stand up for themselves and their claims, else both will go unheeded, and unacknowledged by the world. Yet they who in happy humility "Hold the noiseless tenor of their way," and prefer the pleasure to the fame of doing good, the calm of conscience to the trouble of glory, seldom go entirely without the reward * Harvey and Darton, Gracechurch Street, London. even of reputation. Their path, though silent, is not unseen-though lowly, is not obscure. More eyes are upon them than they think in their simplicity; ears from a distance catch the sweet music of their strains; and tongues "syllable their names," even in cities, while themselves know it not, in their seclusion. How pleasant-nay, how much more than pleasant to take up by chance from some table groaning under a load of fashionable novels, some small volume, composed by some lover of nature, that hath found its way there, heaven knows how, like some real rosebud yielding its fragrance among artificial flowers. 'Tis the next best thing to meeting in commonplace but talkative society, where all are jealously a-jabber from fear of being thought stupid, some maid or matron who loves silence best, except when her heart inditeth a good matter, and who then breathes, in a voice "Gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman," some sentiment, which, whether original or not,-and we doubt if anything be entirely original, touches an answering chord in our heart, and inclines our head kindly -perhaps tenderly-towards the fair speaker all the rest of the evening. We believe the authors of these little volumes are Quakers. Alas! of one of them we must say was; for Samuel Miller Waring lost his life by a lamentable accident. He was a man of genius, undoubtedly, as his poetry proves; that he was a man of virtue was proved by his life. His sister survives; and of her Duodecimo let us first speakThe "Wild Garland; or Prose and Poetry, connected with English Wild Flowers, intended as an Embellishment to the Study of Botany." We believe that in the fulfilment of her pleasant task, she was assisted by her brother; but hearts touched by the same or kindred feelings express them in language that breathes of their common origin; and there fore we shall not think of speculating on the shares respectively to be assigned to each of the coadjutors. The "Wild Garland," though manifestly written by one who is an adept in the science of Botany, yet lays no claim to science, professes not to throw any fresh light upon the subject, nor to initiate by any new method into its hidden mysteries; but simply to give additional interest to the study of botany, by the association of ideas poetical, historical, or classical, with some of the beautiful productions of our fields and woods. As it is absolutely "a Wild Garland," the author says that the strict arrangement of class and order has not been observed. The flowers of which it is composed have been gathered as fancy directed, and are offered to the reader, not as the fairest and most fragrant, but as a sample of the treasures every hedgerow and meadow may furnish. There are in all but eighty pages-and we have no fault to find with them except that they are too few. The engravings are excellent-and it does one's eyes and heart good to look on them all so naturally colored-the round-leaved Sundew, the Common Furze, the two-flowered Linnæa, the Red Poppy, the Wild Germander, the Violet, the Snowdrop, the Common Primrose, the Cowslip, the Common Daisy, the Common Broom-treasures which are strewed along the wayside, both the highways and bye-ways, which he who stands still may gather, and he who runs may read. There are some touching lines on the roundleaved Sundew. Its beauty is truly said to consist in the form and appearance of the leaves which are thrown out immediately from the root, and spread over the surface of the ground; each plant forming a little circular plot of green cupshaped leaves, thickly fringed with hairs of a deep rose-color. These hairs support small drops, or globules, of a pellucid liquor-like dew, which continue even in the hottest |