nation, the death hunter' is provided with a strong leathern strap, which he buckles round it, so loosely, as to leave sufficient space for the insertion of his head between the leather and the wood; a gimblet secures it in the middle of the lid,' which is temporarily fastened by a couple of nails; he then, by a dexterous balancing of his load, slips his forehead under the loose part of the aforesaid strap, and starts off with almost incredible strides, to the house where the corpse lays. Annihilation waits upon any unlucky lamp which is not at its due distance from the ground; for the death hunter has, (as may readily be supposed), enough to do to look where he goes. Arrived at the house of mourning, he is soon disencumbered of his load, and thinks less of the unpleasant duty he has to perform, than of the dram which is invariably offered to him, and which he quite as invariably takes, merely' as he assures you, to settle his stomach. The death hunter in the course of a week undergoes a variety of transformations; he is at one time page,' at another porter,' at another bearer' and sometimes occupies the office of featherman.' If he is coach page,' he is distinguished by a long dark coloured wand, either gilded or painted yellow towards the top, and walks in all befit ting solemnity, with the handle of the coach door in one hand. When he is hearse page,' his post is beside the hearse, or the horses which draw it, and he carries in his hand a sort of truncheon, gilded at both ends. When he is bearer, it is only necessary that he should assist in removing the body (i, e, coffin and all), into the hearse, and afterwards to the grave, and assist in lowering it into its las bed chamber. In all of these situationse is to be discovered as the death hunter,' by a certain something in the whole tenor of his appearance, which bids defiance to all the goose quills in Christendom to describe. But see him as porter' some frosty day in December, after he has stoodstock still' some three quarters of an hour against an unsympathising door post: with his teeth chattering in his head, his whole frame chilled and benumbed, shivered in the cold, and conveying every whit as good a resemblance of ' death himself, as of his hunter. The death hunter' has a variety of minuter affairs to attend to than we have here described; he has to take in the case,' screw down' the last lid; carry 'the bag' about to different jobs:' and look after parish clerks, sextons, and grave diggers, without end. His equipment consists merely of a rusty suit of black, hatbands,' gloves,' and 'favours,' are supplied to him upon proper occasions. ་ But the death-hunter' is seen in all his glory, when he is seated along with six or seven of his companions on the top of a hearse: when he is in this situation, he is going to a country job,' which he always considers as more profitable and more pleasant than a job,' in town: every two or three miles, they stop to water the horses and also to beer the men. When matters are arranged for the return of the whole party, including the dead body and the mourners,' it is customary for all the death-hunters to adjourn to some public-house to dress,' where they each have their pint of porter, and wait till the undertaker sends word that he is ready to move; the whole tribe immediately is in motion, and with their tumbled hatbands, dirty gloves, and threadbare coats, present a spectacle which contrast oddly enough with the mournful and solemn occasion upon which they have assembled. wet The death-hunter enjoys nothing so much, as waiting and drinking his beer, while the parapharnalia of a funeral is being arranged. His conversation is all about bearers' and feathers,' and rainy weather and churchwardens; when it rains, he is of necessity often through,' which is an incident of his life that he deems worthy of remembrance; the situation of church-yards naturally engages the attention of one who so often frequents them, and their peculiarities and attractions are talked of by him with unceasing loquaciousness: in short his fancy lies that way. He is a kind of outrider to death, and conveys in his first glance, long lessons upon the great mortality' of man. But to himself, the house of death' appears not as the house of mourning.' and though he may assist in consigning, in the space of one day several of his fellow creatures to that bourne from whence no traveller returns;' yet he thinks no more about his latter end, than those of his neighbours who have not half the opportunities which he has of reflecting upon the uncertainty of life." That which is always under our eyes escapes notice, and it is only by chance or accident, that our thoughts are di rected to lessons, which are tanght to as by every moment of our existence. R. J." THE FOUR BROTHERS. thee to be the cleverest thief in the world.' Immediately he climbed up the tree, and took out the egg without disturbing the birds; and while he held it out betwixt his finger and thumb, the third son took aim, and shot at it with such nicety, that the ball passed directly through the egg. At these proofs of their skill the father rejoiced exceedingly, assured that they would not fail of success in the world.' short time afterwards the whole was much afflicted, for the king's (A Danish-Story.). daughter had disappeared, nor could There was a man who had four sons, any one tell what had become of her.' and as they were no now grown to man's A great reward was offered by the estate, he sent them forth to seek their king-nay, even the hand of the prinfortunes in the world. They, therefore, cess herself, to whomsoever should" departed on their travels, in the course bring her home. Upon this the four of which they arrived at a large forest, brothers departed for court, and having where there dwelt a magician. They obtained a promise of reward in case of resolved on taking up their abode with success, set out in search of the lost' this seer, and becoming his disciples; princess. At length the one who posfor which purpose they staid with him sessed the art of divination, discovered two or three years. During this time that she was in the centre of a large he taught the eldest brother to be an lake, where she was detained in captivity expert mechanic, far exceeding in skill by a horrible dragon, within an enany thing throughout the whole land; chanted castle that was guarded by furîthe second was a seer, so skilled in his ous monsters. After a journey of many art, that he could tell events that befell days, they arrived at the lake, in the in distant places; the third brother be- centre of which stood a magnificent came such a wondrous marksman, that castle; but as there was neither boat' no one could rival him in shooting; and nor any other vessel whatever to ferry as for the fourth, he became a master. them across, they were forced to consult thief, quite a prodigy in his profession. how they were to proceed; which havThus instructed in their respective calling done, the eldest cut down a tree, ings, the brothers took leave of their tutor, and returned home to their father, to whom they related what they had learnt; but he refused to credit them till they gave him satisfactory proofs of their proficiency. Accordingly, they went out into a wood, and felled a very Jarge tree, which being done, the father said, How shall we carry it home? Thereupon the eldest son took his axe, and began to hew it, when in a few minutes he formed it into a very beautiful car, thus giving a most satisfactory proof of his mechanical ability. The father then addressed himself to the second brother, said, 'Canst thou tell me how many eggs there are in that crow's nest on the top of yonder tree?"" five, replied he, which the father Knew to be the exact number, having before examined them for that purpose. He next said to the fourth son, If thou canst steal the fifth egg out of the nest without the birds noticing it. I will grant when lo scarcely had his axe touched it, before he had formed a wonderful bridge, that reached from the shore of the lake to the castle. The seer now directed the thief how he was to steal away the princess from the dragon whereupon, he alone crossed the bridge, leaving his brothers on the side of the lake, and arrived safely at the portal of the castle. Here he found four fierce lious; yet nothing daunted, he threw a lamb among them, and each attempting to seize the prey for himself, the savage animals fought with such fury, that they quickly destroyed each other. He now advanced into the court-yard, where he found four large bears, whom he also overcame by the same stratagem, and entered the castle without hindrance. (To be continued.) Published by CoWIE & STRANGE, 64, Paternoster Row, and 24, Fetter Lane. As the following story, which is averred to be authentic, and to have hap. pened very lately, may serve to shew, that the stories of this kind, with which the public are, from time to time, every now and then alarmed, are nothing more than artful impostures, it is presumed, it will be useful as well as entertaining to our readers to give it a place. A person who kept a lodging-house near the springs at Aix-la Chapelle, having lost his wife, committed the management of his family to his daughter, a sprightly, well-made, handsome girl, about twenty. There were at that time, in the house, two ladies and their waiting-woman, two Dutch officers, and a Dominican Friar. It happened, that, as the young wo man of the house was asleep one night in her bed, she was awakened by something that attempted to draw the clothes off the bed. She was at first frightened; but thinking, upon recollection, that it might be the house-dog, she called him by his name. The clothes, however, were still pulled from her; and she still imagining it was by the dog, took up a brush that lay in her reach, and attempted to strike him. At that moment she saw a flash of sudden light, that filled the whole room; upon which she shrieked out; all was again dark and silent, and the clothes were 10 longer drawn from her. In the morning, when she related this story, every one treated it as a dream; and the girl herself at last took it for granted, that it was no more than an illusion. The night following, she was again awakened by something that jogged her, and she thought she felt a hand in the bed; upon endeavouring to repress it, another flash of lightning threw her into a fit of terror: she shut her eyes, and crossed herself. When she ventured to open her eyes again, the light was vanished; but, in a short time, she felt what she supposed to be a hand again in the bed; she again endeavoured to repress it, and looking towards the foot of the bed, saw a large luminous cross, on which was written distinctly, as with light, the words, Be Silent! She was now so terrified, that she had not power to break the injunction, but shrunk down into the bed, and covered herself over with the clothes. In this situation she continued a considerable time; but, being again molested, she ventured once more to peep out, when, to her unspeakable astonish ment, she saw a phantom stand by the side of her bed, almost as high as the cieling: a kind of, glory encircled its head, and the whole was in the form of a crucifix, except that it seemed to have several hands, one of which again approached the bed. long gallery in another story; and the two Dutch officers were absent on a visit, at a neighbouring village. No other violence, however, was offered to the girl that night. As soon as the morning dawned, she got up, ran down to her father, and told all that had happened: the two ladies were not long absent; they did not say much, but quitted the house. The Friar asked the girl several questions, and declared that he had heard other instances of the like nature, but said, the girl would do well to obey the commands of the vision, and that no harm would come of it. He said, he would remain to see the issue; and, in the mean time, ordered proper prayers and masses to be said at a neighbouring convent of his order, to which he most devoutly joined his own. The girl was comforted with this spiritual assistance; but notwithstanding, took one of the maids to be her bedfellow the next night. In the dead of the night, the flaming cross was again visible, but no attempt was made on either of the women. They were, however, greatly terrified; and the servant said, she would rather leave her place, than lie in the room again. The Friar, the next morning, took the merit of the spirit's peaceable behaviour to himself. The prayers and masses were renewed, and application was made to the convents at Liege for auxiliary assistance. The good Friar, in the mean time, was by no means idle at home: he performed his devotions with great ardour, and towards evening bestowed a plentiful libation of holy Supposing the phenomenon to be some celestial vision, she exerted all her fortitude, and leaping out of bed, threw herself upon her knees before it; but she instantly found herself assaulted in a manner which convinced her she was mistaken she had not strength to dis-water on the chamber and bed. engage herself from something that embraced her, and therefore screamed out as loud as she could, to alarm the house, and bring somebody to her assistance. : Her shrieks awakened the ladies who lay in an adjacent chamber, and they sent their woman to see what was the matter. The woman, upon opening the room, saw a luminous phantasm, which greatly terrified her, and heard, in a deep threatening tone, the wordsAt thy peril be gone!' The woman instantly screamed out and withdrew: the ladies rose in the utmost consternation and terror, but nobody came to their assistance: the old man, the father of the girl, was asleep in a remote part of the house; the Friar also rested in a room at the end of a The girl not being able to persuade the servant to sleep with her again in the haunted room, and being encouraged by the Friar to abide the issue, having also great confidence herself in the prayers, masses, and sprinklings, that had been used on the occasion, she ventured once more to sleep in the same room by herself. In the night, after hearing some slight noises, she saw the room all in a blaze, and a great number of luminous crosses, with scraps of writing here and there very legible, among which the precept 'to be silent,' was most conspicuous. In the middle of the room she saw something of a human appearance, which seemed covered only with a linen garment, like a shirt it appeared to diffuse a radiance round it; and at length, by a slow and silent pace, approached the bed. When it came to the bed-side, it drew the curtain more open, and lifting up the bed-clothes, was about to come in. The girl, now more terrified than ever, screamed out with all her power. As every body in the house' was upon the watch, she was heard by them all; but the father, only had courage to go to her assistance, and his bravery was probably owing to a considerable quantity of reliques, which he had procured from the convent, and which he brought in his hand. When he came, however, nothing was to be seen but some of the little crosses and inscriptions, several of which were now luminous only in part. Being himself greatly terrified at these appearances, he ran to the Friar's apartment, and with some difficulty prevailed upon him to go with him to the haunted room. The Friar at first excused himself upon account of the young woman's being there in bed. As soon as he entered, and saw the crosses, he prostrated himself on the ground, and uttered many prayers and incantations, to which the honest landlord most heartily said Amen. The poor girl in the mean time, lay in a kind of trance; and her father, when the prayers were over, ran down stairs for some wine, a cordial being necessary to recover her: the Friar, at the same time, ordered him to light and bring with him a consecrated taper; for hitherto they had no light but that of the vision, which was still strong enough to discover every thing in the room. In a short time the old man entered with a taper in his hand, and in a moment all the luminous appearances vanished. The girl, soon after recovered, and gave a very sensible account of all that had happened; and the landlord and the Friar spent the rest of the night together. The Friar, however, to shew the power of the dæmon, and the holy virlue of the taper, removed it several times from the chamber, before the day broke, and the crosses and inscriptions were again visible, and remained so till the taper was brought back, and then vanished as at first. When the sun arose, the Friar took his leave to go to matins, and did not return till noon. In the mean time the two Dutch officers came home, and As they were young gentlemen of a military profession, and Protestants, they were at once bold and incredulous. They pretended, however, to adopt the opinion of the landlord, that the appearances were supernatural; but it happened that, upon guce to the room they found the re to which he taper, on the virtue ocks of his hair lord had so largel, or with his right mediately percent glittering bunch of common candle frou his doublehe had brought . How he smirks This discover the entrance of a wellthere was a frau osed face! and with that vanished ared oliteness does, he secrated light mustness to the gen-> mere human artifice. to be of nig They therefore consulted at length agreed, that the manged in be continued; that the landloray,' not say one word of the candle, or t suspicions it had produced; that his daughter, the next night, should sleep in the apartment which had been quitted by the ladies, and that one of the officers should lie in the girl's bed, while the other, with the landlord, should, wait in the kitchen, to see the issue. This plan was accordingly, with great secrecy, carried into execution. For two hours after the officer had been in bed, all was silent and quiet, and he began to suspect that the girl had either been fanciful, or that their secret had transpired: when all on a sudden, he heard the latch of the door gently raised; and perceiving something approach the bed and attempt to take up the clothes, he resisted with sufficient strength to frustrate the attempt, and immediately the room appeared to be all in a flame; he saw many crosses, and inscriptions enjoining silence and a passive acquiescence in whatever should happen; he saw also, in the middle of the room, something of a human ap pearance, very tall, and very luminous. The officer was at first struck with ter |