bul-bul, fearful that these charms of his infancy might reclaim the wanderer to his native plains. At these moments the hand of Hassein would wipe away those tears with a brother's kindness, and he would restore her countenance to its brightest smile, by an assurance, that the rose of Benares growing by her side, and the bul-bul that sung above her head, were more dear to him than all which Persia boasted or her poets sang."

Ammiader, like many Bramins, was also a merchant and a man of power and wealth. He dealt in diamonds and golden tissues; and when he perceived the down of manhood deepen on the lip of Hassein, he instructed him on the subject of his merchandize, and confided to him the most important projects, and the disposal of the richest bales; and when he had attained the age of sixteen years, he sent him forth to the distant kingdom of Siam, and the Isle of Java, to extend his commerce and increase his substance.

Hassein was naturally courageous and active, and his heart panted to prove its love and fidelity towards a master so munificent, a friend so generous; therefore, he set out on his journey with a gladsome breast, though the tears of the gentle Ya-o-bi damped his ardour. For the space of nineteen moons he prosecuted his journey with a vigour no danger could alJay, and a prudence far beyond his years. He returned to receive the praises and thanks of Ammiader, and to perceive that with the garb of early womanhood, his beauteous daughter (lovelier by a thousand graces than before) had assumed a timid and fearful air, and shrunk from him as a stranger. It was now Hassein first began to ask his own heart, "if he were not indeed an alien and a deceiver?" and when again he entered on the service of the temple, his conscience upbraided him as one unworthy the high office he partook. The agony of his soul was visible in his countenance, and the cold drops that bedewed his brow; and Ya-o-bi, forgetful of all but the pity and alarm which filled her bosom, flew to his assistance, and in the tender soothings of woman's kindness, restored his soul to peace.

But day after day the same sorrow returned, for the floodgates of affection were unlocked; and although the kindness of the yielding Ya-o-bi from time to time assuaged his anguish, and opened even the promise of bliss beyond the

dreams of hope, still was the cup of anguish on his lip, and the cold hand of retribution lay pressing on his heart. A thousand times did he resolve to lay bare the secret of his soul to the Bramin, and beseech him to inflict on him the severest penance; but as often did the dread of being torn for ever from Ya-c-bi unman his soul. Could he swell the flood of tears she had already shed for his sorrows? Could he bid her blush for the sins of him to whom the fondest wishes of her virgin heart were given? Impossible!

As these grievous thoughts, the offspring of perplexity and sorrow, agitated the bosom of Hassein; the Bramin, Ammiader, approached him with an air of more than his wonted benignity," My son!" said he, "why wanderest thou alone in the grove, when all around is silent and gloomy? but why should I enquire, for have I not read the secret of thy soul, and am aware that thou lovest Ya-o-bi with more than a brother's affection? In the modesty of thine own nature thou hast mistrusted the liberality of mine-but know, that the son I received in sorrow, I will honour in joy; for thou hast been to me as the sun which dispelleth the dark mists of the valley, and giveth to us the earth and its beauty. Take then my beloved Ya-o-bi, and with her a portion of my great treasure, and let my aged eyes be closed by the babes of your love."

As these words were uttered by the Bramin, the agony of remorse and the tenderness of gratitude alike penetrated the bosom of Hassein. He fell at the feet of Ammiader, and bathed his curling tresses in the dust before him; tears streamed from his downcast eyes, and his limbs trembled as if the angel of death had shaken him, as he answered,—“ Father! thou hast received me as thy son, but I was unto thee as a serpent; for behold I won thy love by a lie, and listened to thee for the purpose of extracting that divine knowledge, which I was commanded by my master, the Shah of Persia, to learn. 'Tis true I have become thy convert, my inmost soul is devoted to the worship of Indra, and my heart is solely given to thee, and thy beauteous daughter. Since I entered thy dwelling no falsehood hath defiled my lips-no selfish desires polluted my fidelity, but what availeth the virtue that is planted on a soul capable of iniquity."

As Hassein uttered these words the horror and sorrow of

the Bramin were manifest in his countenance, which was wild with terror and dismay; for his own sense of culpability in having suffered a stranger, and a child, to deceive him in a point of such infinite magnitude, far exceeded the remorse and anguish even of the deceiver, and when at length words were given him he could only exclaim :—

"Rise. wretched youth, the murderer of thy friend, and father! the sacred Ganges, in which I have this very night performed my ablutions, shall to-morrow receive me for a victim. Rise, I have forgiven thee! thou wert young and obedient, and thy sin was not thine own but another's; whereas, thy love, thy diligence, and thy courage, sprang from thy own heart as a fountain of pure waters. Take then the last embrace of the father of poor Ya-o-bi, and”

Nay, father, nay! I conjure you do not die," cried Hassein in agony, it is for me to die, the unhappy aggressor, blest if by a death of lingering torture I may avert the wrath of the Sultan from the house of my father. Provide me, I beseech thee, with the means of instant departure, and send with me two faithful slaves that may repeat to thee the courage with which I meet my fate, and the safety of that knowledge thou hast committed to my breast. So shall the soft tears of the fair Ya-o-bi be wiped by thy hand, and my memory dwell with honour in thy breast.

To this plan Ammiader consented. But he first made a vow to Indra, on his own altars, that if the slaves returned not within three moons he would complete self-sacrifice, though his heart-strings bled with the woes of Ya-o-bi, thus doubly bereaved. and carefully did he even now avoid her enquiring eye, and evasively answer her conjectures.

Three swift dromedaries, accustomed to skim the deserts of Arabia, waited at the rising of the next sun, for the wretched Hassein and his attendants. He tore himself from the abode of Ya-o-bi with an effort to which the courage of despair, perhaps, alone is equal. His brow was stern, his sinews were knit together as with iron, for he went forth to suffer and to endure.

But alas! when the towers of Benares, and the green groves of its gardens were lest far behind; when the panting dromedaries demanded rest, and even the powers of youth were in need of refreshment, what were the sorrows of those

softer emotions which overwhelmed his soul when the soft, idolized image of the lovely Ya-o-bi, or that of her mourning father, stood before the vision of his memory!

At length he arrived at the gates of Ispahan, no longer beheld with any emotion, save that of renewed resolution, and that energy which springs from terrible necessity. He demands an audience of the Vizier, but finds himself conducted to the presence of the Sultan, at whose right hand that faithful minister still waited in the effulgence of royal favour.

The sight of his venerated brother, the remembrance of his early love, almost overcame the powers of Hassein. but he rallied them only the more effectively, when, prostrate at the foot of the throne, he recounted the story of his wanderings, professed his determination to die without revealing the mysteries of his religion, and concluded by invoking mercy upon his kindred, and vengeance on himself as the sole transgressor.

Awful was the pause which succeeded. The eyes of Hairiri were bent in pity on the culprit, as he also fell down before the Sultan, and already did the minister of wrath prepare the silken bow-string for the aged and the young; when, to the astonishment of all around, he whose word was the fiat of fate, thus spake the dictates of wisdom and beneficence.

"In the days of youth the love of knowledge itself is a passion headstrong and untractable; the curb of experience hath fallen on my desires, and the cares of government have restrained my ardour. Arise then, unhappy youth! preserve the secrets thou hast attained, and enjoy the life which I have granted to thee. To night shalt thou feast in my palace, and be honoured for thy courage and thy ingenuousness; tomorrow shalt thou retrace thy steps, bearing presents for the good Ammiader and the fair Ya-o-bi, to whom I then surrender thee."

To the young, ardent and loving heart-the heart which has trembled and wept, and, therefore, can best appreciate the promise of hope and the fulfilment of joy, must we leave the pleasant task of following Hassein once more over the plains of Indostan, and restoring him to beautiful Benares, to his adopted father, and his lond, faithful bride, the lovely and virtuous Ya-o-bi.

THE MINER'S CORPSE.

But ever and anon, of grief subdued

There comes a token.

calls up to view

The cold-the changed-perchance the dead, anew,
The mourn'd-the lov'd-the lost.

Byron

In one of the mining districts of Hungary there lately occurred an incident which partakes largely of the romantic, and is of most affecting interest.

In opening a communication between two mines, the corpse of a miner, apparently of about twenty years of age, was found in a situation which indicated that he had perished by an accidental falling-in of the roof of the mine. The corpse was in a state of softness and pliability, the features fresh and undistorted, and the whole body completely preserved, as is supposed, from the impregnation with the vitriolic water of the mine. When exposed to the air, the body became stiff, but the features and the general air were not discomposed.

The person of the deceased was not recognized by any one present, but an indistinct recollection of the accident by which the sufferer had been thus engulphed in the bowels of the earth, more than half a century, was prolonged by tradi tion among the miners and country people. Further inquiry was here dropped, and the necessary arrangements were made to inter the body with the customary rites of burial.

At this moment, to the astonishment of all present, there suddenly appeared a decrepid old woman of the neighbouring village, who, supported by crutches, had left the bedridden couch to which infirmity had for some years confined her, and advanced to the scene with feelings of joy, of grief, and of anxiety, so intensely painted on her aged face, as to give her the appearance of an inspired person, also with an alacrity which seemed truly miraculous. The old woman gazed upon the corpse for an instant, and, sweeping the long hair from its forehead, in order to obtain a more perfect view of its features, her countenance became, as it were, superna turally lighted up; and in the midst of piercing cries and bysteric sobs, she declared the body to be that of a young man to whom she had been engaged by ties of mutual affec