amount of chins and a long thin throat, caused the expression of his countenance to bear a most striking resemblance to that of a man slowly recovering from the effects of strangulation. Possessed of sufficient to enable him to live in comfort, he had, nevertheless, selected the square before mentioned, as the most fitting place for a town residence.

Towards the close of a certain evening in October, 18—, Peter Peepskin might have been seen seated in his parlour, for the ostensible purpose of taking tea. Whether the moon shone brightly, or the rain pattered against the windows, are circumstances which, alas! we have been unable to ascertain; this we know, that our hero was too lost in contemplation-too busy with his own thoughts, to pay attention to aught save the ceiling, on which his eyes were fixed. A whole hour passed before he attempted to disturb the silence, but at length, with a deep sigh, he gave vent to his dejection in the following manner :

"Day succeeds night, and night day"-(pronounced with the air of a man who has made some discovery of importance, and knows it) — "but my nights are sleepless-my days are full of woe. Alas! that love -ruthless destroyer of human felicity-should sway my breast! that a face of beauty should thus deject a man of sense!"

This last consideration seemed to affect Peter so powerfully, that, clasping his hands together, he exclaimed,—

He might have continued his soliloquy and quotations from the poets the whole night—indeed, he had already called to mind four lines applicable to his case, and was preparing to repeat them with great spirit, when no less a person than Tobiah Wilkinson, his much respected housekeeper, entered, and by her presence entirely expelled these flights of fancy.

Tobiah was a tall, thin, sallow female, equally pointed in her remarks and features, being, moreover, of a certain age and peculiar disposition, she exercised despotic sway over Peter and his household.

"I wonder," remarked the lady in question, with a reproachful air"I wonder, Mr. Peter, that you're not ashamed of yourself; this is the fourth night you've tried to disturb the square; but you're in love, I suppose-bah!"

"Tobiah," answered Peter rather warmly, for he was enraged at hearing his favourite passion thus carelessly abused—” Love is a tyrant that will bend the proudest spirit, and crush the most noble heart-have I not endured dangers ?"

Why-yes," returned the other, "but what man in his proper senses would think of walking into the heart of St. Giles's, with a black dose and batter pudding for a sick woman-it's a wonder you were not killed."

"I have braved the elements?"

"Braved the elements," exclaimed Tobiah, eyeing her master with the most perfect contempt. "Braved the fiddlesticks! sat under a pump, more likely, and thought it was raining,-why

"And yet," sighed Peter, regardless of Tobiah's scorn, "I am subdued-by what? by fire? no-by sword? no-by love?-yes, by love I am subdued, and henceforth, I am her slave."

These expressions, falling as they did, from the lips of the youthful and amorous looking Peter, had such an effect upon the mind of Tobiah, that, reeling against the wall, she filled the house with screams of laughter, on which our hero, justly incensed at such unexpected conduct, seized a candle and retired to his own room.

Left thus to her own meditations, our fair friend wiped her eyes, and proceeded to render herself as comfortable as circumstances would permit; the fire blazed merrily before long-and a bottle of suspicious make was very soon dragged from the cupboard, and the contents, a colourless fluid-water, doubtless, was very soon tasted, and mightily approved of; these and numberless other ceremonies of the like nature having been performed, Tobiah Wilkinson deposited herself in the easy chair and looked the very image of a plain lady, determined in spite of everything and everybody, to enjoy herself.

The hours rolled slowly on, and the most deep and perfect silence reigned throughout the house. The fire had begun to lose its cheerful blaze, and the candles to shed but a dim light around, there is something imposing in such a silence at dead of night; but no sentimental feeling of the kind seemed to harass the mind of Tobiah Wilkinson, whose closed eyes and deep breathing showed plainly into whose arms she had long since resigned herself. One-two-three had struck, and the last candle was struggling ere it expired, when a shrill scream resounded through the house,-Tobiah started, and composed herself to listen; it rose once more, but

"Nearer! clearer! deadlier than before!"

Such very peculiar noises, made at such a very peculiar time, would have seriously terrified a heart less fortified against cowardly impressions than Tobiah Wilkinson's,-even that masculine and heroic lady changed colour, and was reflecting whether, with the assistance of the boy Thomas, and a poker, she could put to flight the band of ruffians whom she doubted not were busily employed in cutting Peter's throat above, when the door was violently dashed open, and the gentleman himself,

pale as a sheet, rushed into the room ; the poor creature was trembling in every joint; he was dressed, with the exception of his coat and neckcloth, but his wild eyes and bristling hair gave him a most ghastly and death-like appearance. Some time elapsed before he seemed conscious of his situation, but restored in some degree by the entreaties of Tobiah, who expressed great anxiety to be made acquainted with the causes of the uproar, he satisfied her curiosity as follows.

"Listen.—When, driven by your conduct, I left this room; my heart was sad, and a strange foreboding had seized upon me, which all my efforts were unable to expel; even my chamber bore an unusual aspect,— it was cold and gloomy, and my timidity encreased each moment. The moon shed her pale light through the casement, while strange fantastic shadows rose in quick succession to my view; but it was the silence, the deep unnatural silence, that I found most difficult to bear.

"How long I lay in this nervous state I cannot tell, to me it seemed an age; when a slight noise, proceeding from the foot of my bed, attracted my attention. I turned towards the direction from whence the sound arose, and (here Peter became so agitated, that Tobiah was compelled to give him a tumbler of the white liquid : the effect was surprising一 he continued) - I saw standing before me, a dark dwarfish figure; I dare not describe him, nor the instructions which I received from his lips; but he assured me that he was acquainted with my love for Amelia, and would give her to me, It was when he approached to touch me, that I screamed and fled. No more-farewell.”

Before Tobiah had the least suspicion of his intentions, or could take means to prevent him, Peter had rushed out and sallied into the square. H. B.

(To be continued.)

A DENUNCIATION AGAINST THE

GREEKS ON THEIR

RETURN FROM THE TROJAN WAR.

When Greece, victorious from Ilion's coast,
Led back the remnants of her shattered host;
While Troy, still mouldering in its ashes lay,
A living record of the past affray ;

The sea was calm, the winds were still, no sound,
No murmur broke the sullen gloom around ;

A dark and dreary mist obscured the light,
And though 'twas mid-day, all was blackest night.

Each felt the coming storm, and as each ear
Listened impatient, while it feared to hear,

A voice-a fearful voice, whose every word
Struck deep into the inmost heart, was heard :-
Stay, ye proud victors, hear the fates; in vain
Ye seek to plough the watery paths again.

Look round ye: see the threatening clouds above;
Proclaim they not the wrath of mighty Jove?
Few, few shall live, the boasted tale to tell,
How Greeks and Trojans fought, and Ilion fell.
The childless mother, and the widowed wife,
With sorrow vain, shall mourn the fatal strife;
Aye, bitterly shall they bemoan the day
Which forced, perchance, their life's sole joy away,
To meet untimely death upon the battle plain,
Or sink, o'erwhelmed, beneath the stormy main.
These are thy triumphs, this thy victory, Greece,-
These the sole profits of thy hard-earned peace.
Go, bid Ulysses tell the bellowing deep,
How he saw Troy a desert, shapeless, heap.
Let Diomed, amid the thunder's roar,
Proclaim each warlike deed on Ilion's shore:
Bid him seek out a home in some far land,
For ever exiled from his native strand.
But thou, Idomeneus, once more shalt reign
King for a day, then wanderer again :

Nor hast thou, Agamemnon, long to roam,

To Greece, a stranger, and thy wished for home;
Thou, too, shalt mount the regal throne; yet know—

'Tis mounted but to court the assassin's blow;

And this shall wound thee deeper than the knife,

To recognise thy murderess,-thy wife.

Ages on ages first must pass away,

Ere the just anger of the gods decay.

Though nought of Troy be left,-though nought to tell The spot where thousands fought,-where thousands fell; Save where, in future years, the passing plough

Flings up some shattered skull, that bleached below;

Though o'er the site a grassy verdure springs,

And cattle browze above the tomb of kings,—

A Troy is left,-a people shall arise,

Whose mighty fame shall reach the farthest skies.

Far distant from the spot where Ilion stood,

Of Trojan offspring, and of Trojan blood,

A people, whose inheritance shall be

The birthright of the conqueror,-earth and sea.

Then tremble, mighty Greece, for thou shalt bow,
Fallen beneath the haughty victor's blow;
And, like the timid fluttering dove, shalt crouch,
T'escape the bold aspiring eagle's touch.

Woe to thee, vanquished Greece-Greece but in name,-
Sad monument of glory and of shame ;

Thy beauties vanished; but enough still left

To show what once thou wert, ere yet bereft ;
Thy gorgeous palaces, thy temples gone,
Thy shrines and sacred altars overthrown.

And who thy victors? they whose pride shall be,
To boast themselves of Dardan ancestry.
Pass on-pass on, ye Greeks; the fates are told;
And the dim page of future time unrolled."

S. S.

MY UNCLE STAPLETON AND HIS COLLEGE

REMINISCENCES.

(Continued from page 107.)

Bob Mortimer, candour compels me to admit, might have appeared in the eye of the over-scrupulous observer, in a state bordering in some degree upon the excited and boisterous;-seated upon a table, his legs dangling in mid air, his knees contributing to the support of a substantially and promiscuously garnished plate, by his side-though more frequently in close proximity to his lips-a long and taper glass, our friend, by such as knew his mood, might without hesitation have been pronounced, untramelled by sublunary care and happy in the extreme. Did he for one moment pause in his unremitting attentions, to the gradually failing remnants of the feast, it was but to give vent to some passing remark upon the characters or incidents of the preceding evening, or to pay the tribute of a laugh to the answering witticisms of his friends.

To judge from the self-satisfied and merry countenances, upon which the reproachful sun shone in the ball room at that early hour, the "mask" must have passed off with considerable success and eclat. In Mortimer's case and my own-that success had been most signal; many even of our own friends had been deceived by our well-assumed garb and accent. Amongst one or two we had at the commencement of the evening, passed for an illustrious Persian traveller and his attendant secretary, who were known at the time to be upon a visit to one of the oriental professors at the castle, whom I have before had occasion to mention.

"Stapleton," cried Mortimer, suddenly breaking off in the chorus