absorbed in thought; he noticed not the objects that surrounded him; nor did he condescend to return (or perhaps heeded not) the salutation which the superior officers paid him on his arrival.

On Blosset's face, who stood at a little distance from the general, might be discerned an undefinable something that told the beholder all was not right within, an outward restlessness that bespoke the heart ill at ease with itself: this sensation was contagious; and as the officers of the "legion" watched the vacillating motion of his body, and the unsettled glance of his eye, they felt a "presentiment" of evil irresistibly steal upon their minds. In this mood, the deep and almost appalling silence that had hitherto reigned was broken by a lengthened roll of muffled drums, and immediately succeeded by a full-toned peal of martial music. It was the dead march in Saul! Every heart vibrated to the sound, every eye was strained to catch a glimpse of the procession, which was now seen slowly advancing by the principal street leading to the "Grande Plaza." Twelve men (with their arms reversed) headed the line of march; next came six drummers with muffled drums; these were followed by the band of the " legion; " then came the unfortunate criminals, by whose side marched Trayner; twelve more men brought up the This military pomp (an unúsual display at the execution of private soldiers) appeared singular. At length the horrid truth flashed upon the mind! An officer was to die and that officer could be only Hodgkinson or Risdale, perhaps

rear.

both!

As the procession drew nigh, the doubt was solved. The two mutineers were tied together by the arms. Immediately after them came Risdale, closely escorted by Trayner. They entered the square. Up to that instant, the young man had received no intimation of his doom! When those of his brother-officers who resided in the same quarters had quitted, a short time previous, to attend parade, they left him congratulating himself that his arrest would spare him the painful task of witnessing the death of the very men whose fate he was now unconsciously to share! Blosset now advanced and dropped the point of his sword to Paez, who, without changing his position, replied to this silent but unequivocal demand, " Let the execution proceed!" The two men were now placed on their knees, with their faces towards the wall; the platoon, in double file, took their station at about ten paces' distance from the objects of their aim; then, and not till then, Trayner approached Risdale, and made a motion to dispossess him of his uniform jacket. Risdale started back as though he had trodden on a viper, and the ejaculation of," Am I really one of the unfortunate beings to die!" burst from his lips. The agony of that moment, to be felt, must have been witnessed cannot be described! He gazed vacantly round him: who can paint the unutterable anguish which that look portrayed? A convulsive motion agitated his frame, an involuntary tribute paid to feeble nature; and when Blosset bade him bear his fate like a man, he answered

it

firmly, (in the words of "Macduff,") "I shall, but must likewise feel it as a man!" Another moment restored him to self-possession. He divested himself of his uniform, and cast it with indignation at his feet he then glanced tremulously round, till his eye rested on Captain Scott, who commanded the company on the extreme right of the square: he articulated his name. Scott, yielding to the sudden impulse, sprung towards him, but was arrested by Blosset, and compelled to resume his post. The colonel asked Risdale what he desired? and on his replying that he merely wished his family to be informed of his doom, promised that his wish should be complied with. From this instant, never was greater courage displayed by mortal, than was evinced by Risdale. With unfaltering steps he approached the fatal spot, and knelt in front of the party that was to terminate his existence! His eyes were unbandaged, and, by a refinement of barbarity-which could only have emanated from the villainous Trayner, upon whom the arrangements had devolved-the muskets were unloaded, and each succeeding word of command of the "platoon exercise," as it was audibly pronounced, sounded like a reiterated knell of death on the ears of the unfortunate victims, and protracted the agony of their sufferings. At the word "Make ready," Risdale raised his hands, and crossed them upon his bosom in token of resignation; the next moment his body lay extended a bloody and a breathless corse, and left his pure spirit to wing its flight to brighter realms with the damning record of man's injustice!

Six

I have little more to add it may, however, gratify my reader to learn, that the 66 Eye of Providence winked not at oppression. weeks had scarcely elapsed since the dreadful scene I have related took place, when Blosset was wounded in a duel by Major Power, who had served in the same regiment with him in Egypt; and after lingering three days, a prey to all the horrors of remorse, he died unlamented, and was interred in the aisle of the small church of Achaquas with all the pomp of military and masonic honors!

The vile and detested Trayner, scouted by his countrymen (with the rank of lieutenant-colonel conferred upon him by Paez in reward of his meritorious services), joined a native corps and accompanied it to a distant province. In an action which took place some time after, he was wounded, and with the Creole colonel ("Penango "), deserted by his men, left upon the field of battle, writhing with pain, and parched with thirst, he was found by the Spaniards, and by the order of their general (the savage Morales), unresistingly butchered, thus affording a terrible example of Divine retribution!

Several of the personages mentioned in my tale still, I believe, exist. Years may revolve, and various be the vicissitudes of their fortune, yet memory will never cease to associate in its reminiscence, with the town of Achaquas, or the name of the Colombian " Liberator," a recollection of the horrors that resulted from the sanguinary festival of the Eve of Saint

Simon!

would become of the darker part of the fair sex ?-if none but tall, gentlemanly men, with aquiline noses, could hope to woo successfully, where would nine-tenths of modern beaux procure partners for life?

"Only think of that mawkin being my son's passion," said the Electress Sophia, speaking of George the First's mistress, the Duchess of Kendal, who was neither handsome nor clever; and some such depreciating remark not unfrequently passes our mind when we are introduced by our friend to the bride of whom we have heard so much, and search in vain for personal or intellectual perfection in her who has been described to us as "sovereign to all the creatures on the earth." On such occasions what have we to do but to recollect that 66 non è bello quel ch'è bello, ma è bello que che piace," and to rejoice that the silly. custom practised in days of chivalry has been abolished, and that a man of honor is not any longer bound to prove the superior charms of his lady-love by that illogical and unsatisfactory argument, the point of the sword. He who admires a brunette so exclusively that, like the Ethiopians, he would almost paint the devil white, is not now maimed for life because some remarkably good fencer of his acquaintance happens to fall in love with a blonde.

But, incredible as it may seem to the young and the ardent, neither Love nor Hymen is essential to the happiness of life, much as, under favorable circumstances, they both promote it. It is possible to live and die happily unmarried, without either wealth to gild our solitude, or intellectual riches to supply all other wants; but (to pass by those higher resources open to the poor and the ignorant, which it were irreverent to mention here, and without which life is an aimless, insipid dream), there is one essential of happiness for the want of which nothing can compensate, and this is affection felt and returned. But how would

this yearning of our nature after liking and love be gratified, if we were all of one mind as to the qualities which excite those feelings? Where would the host of insignificant bores, dull dunces, and tiresome old maids, get their little share of praise and kindness, if there were not some in the world who did not think them dull, tiresome, and insignificant? Those who are rich in "honor, love, obedience, troops of friends," like those who are rich in gold, have no idea with what small and humble nutriment the mass of their fellow beings is supported: yet to lose that portion, small as it is, would be to exchange contentment for misery, sufficiency for starvation. Nor can we judge of the degree of estimation in which persons, to us extremely unpleasing, may be held in their own little circle. I remember once traveling in a public conveyance with a female who seemed to connect in herself everything that is disagreeable and repulsive-the most unprepossessing countenance-the most absurd and unsuitable dress, in which poverty and finery mingled-manners at once vulgar and affected—a loud harsh voice-and an inexhaustible flow of silly and conceited chatter. As the coach stopped to set her down, the thought involuntarily passed my mind, "how sorry they must be you are come !"-when, lo! to rebuke my rash judgment, out rushed a whole party of anxious expectants, and, amidst showers of welcomings and embraces, my traveling companion passed in triumph along the little gravel-walk which led to the house, leaving me to admire that bounteous arrangement which had converted my poison into others' sugar-plum. If, therefore, we are sometimes annoyed by the absurd tastes of our acquaintance, and inclined to wish that everybody were as wise as ourselves, let us recollect that this difference of opinion is the fertile source of a thousand blessings to society and individuals, and that multitudes are indebted for the