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been ever made of gold." But when she begged that they might be brought for her to look at, he added, "that would lose too many days; and, besides, they are so numerous, that no room in your house would hold them." When she heard this, her desire and curiosity to see them became so strong, that she ordered him to conduct her to his vessel, saying, "I will myself go, and see your master's treasures." Very gladly Johan led her on board; but when the king saw her, and found her yet more beautiful than the statue, he thought his heart would have been torn to pieces by his rapture; and he showed her all the golden furniture in the ship, while Johan remained behind, and helped the sailors to raise the anchor, and spread the sails to the breeze; so that the vessel flew through the waters, like a bird through the air. Many hours went by, whilst she was looking at the birds and the beasts, the cups and the dishes; and, in her joy, she did not perceive the rapid course of the ship: but when, at last, she would have thanked the merchant, and gone home, she looked over the side of the vessel, and saw her own town and castle whitening in the distance. Then her soul fainted within her, and she called out, "Ah me, I am betrayed, I am ruined, and am in the power of this artful merchant. Better had I died." But the king took her by the hand, and said, "I am no merchant, but a king, and of birth as royal as your own. It is my love for you that has urged me to carry you away thus artfully: the first time I saw your statue, I fell, without power, to the ground." When the princess heard that, she was comforted, and her heart melted towards him, so that she quite willingly became his wife.

One day, whilst they were still on the wide sea, and the faithful Johan was sitting in the fore part of the ship, playing on a lute, he saw three ravens, which kept hovering near him; so he stopped, and listened to what they were saying to each other; which he perfectly understood. He heard the first say, "He is leading home the daughter of the king of the golden roof." "Yes," said the second, "but he has not got her safe yet." But," answered the third, "there she is, sitting beside him, in the ship." Then the first spoke again, and said, "How does that help him? For, when they land, a horse as red as a fox will spring to meet him, and he will jump on him; but, if he does, he will be carried away through the air, and never see his beautiful lady again." "But," asked the second, "is there no way of saving him?" "Oh yes," answered the first, "if another quickly takes the fire arms, which are stuck in his halter, and shoots him dead, then is the young king saved. But he who knows, and does, and tells that, will be turned to stone, from the foot to the knee." Then the second said, "I know yet more than that. If the horse were dead, the young king would not be sure of his bride, for, when they come into the castle, they will see, in a box, a wedding garment, which shines like silver and gold, although it is nothing but sulphur and pitch; and, if he puts it on, it will burn him to the marrow of his bones." But," said the third, "is there no way of saving him?" "Oh yes," answered the second, "if some one, with gloves on, takes hold of the garment, and throws it into the fire, then is the young king saved: but how does that help him? for he who knows, and does, and tells that, will be turned to store, from the knee to the heart." "Then," said the third, "I know more than that.

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For, even if the wedding garment were burnt, the young king would not be sure of his bride; for if, after the wedding, they begin dancing, and the bride dances, she will suddenly turn pale, and fall to the ground; and, if they do not raise her up immediately, and draw from her neck three drops of blood, she will never again recover: but how does that help him? for he who knows, and does, and tells that, will be turned to stone, from his heart to his head."

After this, they all three flew away, and the faithful Johan remained silent and sorrowful; for he thought to himself, "If I tell not my lord what I have heard, the misfortunes will fall upon him, and, if I do, my own life will be the sacrifice." But, at last, he resolved to keep his promise to the old king, and save his son, without telling him anything, even if it should cost him his life. Everything happened just as the ravens had said; for as soon as they were landed, a horse, as red as a fox, sprang to meet them. "Ah!" cried the king, "this shall carry me to the castle;" and, as he spoke, he laid his hand on his neck; but, before he could jump on his back, Johan rushed forward, drew the weapons from his halter, and shot him dead. When the other servants saw what was done, they murmured loudly, saying, "It was shameful to kill such a beautiful beast, and which would have carried the king so well to the castle." But the king ordered them to be silent, "For he is my faithful Johan, and who knows whether what he has done is not right?"

When they came into the castle, there stood in the hall an open box, in which lay a wedding garment, that shone like gold. The young king went up to it, and would have taken hold of it, but the faithful Johan pushed him away, seized it in his gloved hand, threw it quickly into the fire, and there let it burn. Then the other servants began to murmur again, and said, “See, now, he has burned the king's wedding garment." But the king answered, "Who knows whether it is not right? let him alone, he is my faithful Johan." After they were married, they went back into the hall, the musicians played their merriest tune, and the dancing began. At last, the bride and bridegroom arose, and joined it, and the faithful Johan sat near them, to watch the queen's countenance. All at once, she turned deadly pale, and fell to the ground; then he sprang hastily up, carried her in his arms into the next room, laid her down on a couch, and kneeling beside her, drew three blood drops from her neck. Immediately she began to breathe again, and at last sat upright: but the king, who had seen all that Johan had done, was very angry, and called out, in his rage, that he should be thrown into prison directly; and the other servants hastened to draw him away to the dungeons. The next day, Johan was judged, and condemned to die; but as he stood in the court, before he was taken away to execution, he said, "Every criminal is allowed to speak before he dies: may not I, also, make my defence?" And the king said,-certainly, he might do so. "Then," Johan continued, "my sentence is an unjust sentence; for I have served you most faithfully:" and he related all that he had heard the ravens say, and showed how all that he had done was necessary, to serve his lord and master. Then the king cried out, "Oh! my most faithful Johan, pardon! pardon!" and threw himseif on his neck: but, hardly had this good ser

vant uttered the last words, than he fell on the floor,

a senseless statue of stone.

Very great was the grief of the king and

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queen;

Poetry.

printed in Small Capitals under the title; in Selections, it is printed in Italics at the end.]

AGATHA.

[BY ANNABEL C. ]

AGATHA, the daughter of William the Conqueror, was betrothed to Earl Edwin, the Saxon chief, who, preserve the liberties of his countrymen, and whose life with his brother Morcar, made so brave an attempt to was the sacrifice of his devoted gallantry. The remainder of Agatha's history is told in the following ballad :—

the king, especially, continually lamented him, [In Original Poetry, the Name, real or assumed, of the Author, is saying, Alas, how have I rewarded his faithful services ! And he ordered the statue to be taken up into his chamber, and placed by his bed, and, whenever he looked at it, he wept, and said, "Oh! could I but make you alive again, my beloved Johan.' After a time, the queen had two little sons, who, as they grew, day by day became more and more the delight and joy of their parents. Once, when their mother was gone to the church, the children sat and played by the king, who stopped in the midst of his caressings, and looked up at the statue, full of grief, and sighed, "Ah! my beloved Johan, could I but make you alive again, I might, indeed, be happy." Then speech was given to the statue, and the stone spoke, and said, "If you are willing to sacrifice that which is dearest to your heart, you may restore me to life again." And the king answered, "All that I have in the world will I gladly give to free you." "Then," continued the statue, "you must, with your own hand, cut off the heads of your two little sons, and sprinkle me with their blood."

The poor king sat a long time grieving, when he heard that it was only by the death of his two children, that he could restore Johan to life. At last, as he thought of his great truth, and that he had died for him, he drew his sword, cut off their heads, and sprinkled the stone with their blood; and, immediately, life returned into it, and the faithful Johan stood again beside him, fresh and sound, and said to him, "Now will I, also, reward your truth and fidelity." So he took the heads of the two children, put them again upon their shoulders, washed their wounds with their own blood, and, instantly, they jumped and played about again, as if nothing had happened. Then the king was full of joy, and, when he heard the queen coming, he hid Johan and the two children in a great closet, and, as she entered, he asked her if she had been to pray in the church, and she answered, "Yes, but I could not help thinking of the faithful Johan, and how, for our sakes, he had perished miserably; and I prayed, that our great sin of ingratitude might be forgiven us." Then he said, "Dear lady, it will, indeed, be forgiven us, and we can restore him also to life again; but it will cost us both our children, for they must both die." When she heard his words, she turned very pale, and fear crept into her heart; but she said, firmly, Let us, then, sacrifice them, since only so can we pay the great debt we owe him for his constant truth." Then the king rejoiced, that she thought as he had thought, and he went and opened the closet, and brought out his little sons, and the faithful Johan; and said, "God be praised, he is freed, and our dear ones are restored to us!" and he related to her how it had all happened. Then was the cup of their happiness filled to overflowing, and they all three lived out their days together, in peace and prosperity, and in a perfect trust, that no doubt ever again disturbed.

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"Nay, urge me not, dear father!
Urge me not, I pray;

The sunlight shed o'er my youthful head.
Like a dream hath passed away:

Like a dream whose hues were lovely
In the shady night;

Whose robe of gold grew dim and cold
When dawned the early light:

Like a dew-drop in the morning,
Ere the sun hath shone;
Which, ere that sun its race hath run.
Its flowery-bed hath flown:

Like a bird that carols blythely,

Ere the bow is bent;
Then swiftly falls from the azure halls
Of the shining firmament.

So brightly dawned my morning,
My dream so early past;

And I awoke with a thunder stroke
To find it could not last.

For my lot seemed the fairest,
The highest destiny,
That ever might on maid alight,
Whatever her degree.

The present was all sunshine,
A blessed summer day;
The future spread like sunshine shed,
In the distance far away

On a mist that hid so softly,
With a silvery veil,

Both flower and tree, all things that he
By forest, hill, or dale.

Which, though it veiled their beauty,
Still itself was bright;

And round things beneath would ever wreathe
A radiant robe of light.

For my young troth was plighted

To a warrior true;

And my maiden heart in its inmost part
Him as its own lord knew.

For he was good and valiant;
Alas, that he is dead!

Ah me! ah me! oh woe is me!
Alas, for he is dead!

And o'er his grave the wild winds rave
And the cold, cold earth is spread.

Oh, I did love him dearly

All worldly things above;

And a soul so bright and a heart so right,
Who could not choose but love!

Our souls were knit together,

They were no longer twain;

No single thought but the other caught,

And responded to again.

He was my first love, father!

My first and only one;

And my heart is sere and my soul is drear

My happiness is done.

Then urge me not, dear father!
Urge me not, I pray;

The sunlight shed o'er my youthful head
Like a dream hath past away.

And force me not, I pray thee,

To wed the Spanish king;

And in foreign land from unknown hand
To take the bridal ring."

"Nay, daughter," stern he answered;

"Nay, it must be so;

I have said the word, and thou hast heard.
Thou must even go."

Then Agatha, all weeping,

To the king replied

That Conqueror proud, who spake aloud
To the maiden at his side!-

"Then God in heaven have mercy!
And rather let me die.

Let my spirit be free ere I cross the sea;
Oh, let me rather die!

That my soul may sail on a heavenly gale
To my own lord in the sky!”

These words said the maiden;

These, and only these.

They deck her with pride as a royal bride,
And she must cross the seas.

A ship with pennons flying

Waiteth in the bay;

They lead her there with a train so fair:
Lady Agatha must away.

The merry wind is singing

Through the sails so white;
Then bounding away like a child at play;
That ship was a goodly sight.

Thus on the waters bounding,
In truth she was most fair;

But though in pride she swept the tide,
A breaking heart was there.

The vessel rode on gaily,

Gaily on she sped;

The sun shone high in the clear blue sky,
And the calm sea round her spread.

But the words of humble prayer
Agatha had said,

Were heard above by the God of love!
Lady Agatha, she was dead!

Miscellaneous.

"I have here made only a nosegay of culled flowers, and have brought nothing of my own, but the string that ties them."-Montaigne.

THE EDITOR'S BOX.

then do the occupants of this box, seated on the front
benches, wheel round, and, turning their backs to the
Chamber, get up amongst themselves a counterpart of
the debates below. No pen could do justice to this
discussion-so original, varied, piquant, and at all times
instructive. Cutting words, gibing fancies, witty sallies,
sarcastic hits, extravagant eulogies, and outrageous in-
vectives, pass from mouth to mouth, and mingle every
tone. Often the friends or protégés of the editors
smuggle themselves into this box, with a passionate
fondness for the debates of this Chamber on a small scale.
It is a sight to see, too, with what a polite and insi-
nuating air some belated deputy, or unfortunate reporter
to the Chamber, or orator incompris (there is no trans-
lating the word), hands in a note to these dstributors of
praise and blame, defending his representative zeal,
giving explanations, or complaining of a mis-report.
And then this box has its intimate and private conver-
sations. It is before the opening of the discussion, or
during the division, that a small part of its frequenters,
disdaining the Salle des Pas Perdus, remain here; and,
half-reclined on the benches, gaily amuse themselves
with the small whims, petty crosses, and private in-
trigues, of the legislators then crowding around the
tribune. They know a hundred adventures and anec-
dotes-like the malicious chroniclers of the Eil de
Bauf-and, for my own part, I have retained more than
one of these; but their repetition here would be a bad
return for my welcome into that box. I leave them to
the ingenious indiscretion of the authors of all sorts of
"Mysteries." The box in question is a democratic
republic; it has a president, elected at the commence-
ment of each session, to keep its peace, and maintain
order, with the title of Syndic.
But it is about as
impossible to introduce order into this box, as to make
the thirty journals of Paris harmonize. The editors'
box is and ever will be a Babel-but an alluring Babel,
and a very instructive one-where I have spent many a
happy hour, and whose diversity of opinions and senti-
ments I greatly prefer to the uniformity of praise uttered
by my compatriots in the mines of Siberia, in honour of
his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias.-From a
Journey round the Chamber of Deputies.

JOURNALISM IN AUSTRIA.

THE number of journals at present published in the Austrian States is 159; which, compared with the population, amounting to 31,500,000, gives one journal for every 198,110 inhabitants. Of these journals, 40 are political, 12 commercial, and 107 literary and scientific. In Austria, properly so called, there are 29; in the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, 43; in Hungary, 21; in Bohemia, 17; and in the rest of the Austrian States, 49. Of these journals, 76 are written in German, 53 in Italian, 15 in Sclavonian, 1 in French, and 14 in various other dialects.--Galignani's Messenger.

JEREMY TAYLOR, in his beautiful sermon on the duties of the tongue, observes: "God is pleased with no music from below so much as in the thanksgiving songs of relieved widows, of supported orphans, of rejoicing, and THE box at the extreme right of the gallery, is that comforted, and thankful persons. This part of our comoccupied by the editors-in-chief of the Paris journalɛ;munication does the work of God and of our neighbours, and that box is the true political barometer of the and bears us to heaven in streams made by the overflowChamber, though visible only to an initiated few. If ing of our brother's comfort." the discussion in progress be important-if M. Guizot, M. Thiers, or M. Berryer, be at the tribune, all is earnest attention; the silence is broken only by some exclamation of enthusiasm, or some muttered expression of anger or indignation, mingling with the signs of blame or assent of the legislators below, during the interruptions so frequent in the French Chamber. But if, on the contrary, some honourable member attacks the tribune manuscript in hand, or begins a deliberate paraphrase of the articles of the journals (as happens at times) or if there be a suspension of the sitting, enabling the speech-weary deputies to rush to the tavern

The Duchess of Orleans

CONTENTS.

Page
177
179

Page

182

.

Ecclesiastical Architecture,
(with four Woodcuts)...... 186
Reading for the Young:-
The Faithful Johan
........ 189
POETRY:-

Agatha
Miscellaneous.

Lucy Cooper, Chap. IV. ....
Popular Year Book...
The Old Brown Coat, (Cap-
tain Marryat)
183
Fables from the German .... 184

Lady Mary, a Ballad, (Rev.
H. Alford) with Illustra-
tion...

185

191

192

London:-Published by T. B. SHARPE, 15, Skinner Street, Snow-hill.
Printed by R. CLAY, Bread Street Hill.

No. 13.]

London Magazine:

A JOURNAL OF ENTERTAINMENT AND INSTRUCTION
FOR GENERAL READING.

JANUARY 24, 1846.

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[PRICE 14d.

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But the battle of Poictiers, won in France,

But ours was a Christian conqueror,

Was the noblest of all his fights;
And every British heart should be
Proud when it thinks of that victory.

The French were many-the English few;
But the Black Prince little heeded:
His knights, he knew, were brave and true;
Their arms were all he needed.

He ask'd not how many might be the foe;
Where are they? was all that he sought to know.
So he spurr'd his steed, and he couch'd his lance,
And the battle was won and lost;
Captive he took King John of France,
The chief of that mighty host:
Faint grew the heart of each gallant foe;
Their leader was taken; their hopes were low.
Brave were the French; but at last they yield,
All wearied and worn out:
The prince is conqueror of the field;
And the English soldiers shout,
"God save our prince, our mighty lord!
Victory waiteth on his sword!"

Of all the knights who fought that day,
James Audley was the best;

His wounds were three, won valiantly,

On cheek, and brow, and breast:

And the Black Prince said, when the fight was o'er, He never had seen such a knight before.

And did they chain King John of France?

Was he in dungeon laid?

Oh, little ye know what a generous foe

Our English Edward made!

A gentle heart, and an arm of might-
These are the things that make a knight.
He set King John on a lofty steed,
White as the driven snow,
And without all pride he rode beside,

On a palfrey slight and low:

He spoke to the king with a reverent mien,
As though the king had his captor been.

He treated King John like an honour'd guest;
When at the feast he sate,

With courteous air, and with forehead bare,
The prince did on him wait;
And even when they to England came,
Our generous hero was the same.

But the prisoner's heart it grew not light,
For all the prince could say:

A captive king and a conquer'd knight,
Oh, how could he be gay?

E'en while his courteous words were speaking,
For his own dear France his heart was breaking.

Another lay shall the story teli

Of this valiant king and true:

He loved the Black Prince passing well,
And his worth full well he knew.
Then let us all unite to praise
That hero of the olden days.

The Romans when they won the day
And bore their captives home,
Caused them to march in sad array,

Fetter'd and chain'd, through Rome;
And every foe, though good and brave,
They held as victim or as slave.

Generous, and true, and kind:

Though the grave has now closed o'er his brow, He hath left this rule behind,That valour should ever wedded be

To mercy, and not to cruelty.

From Lays and Ballads of English History.

AMERICA AND HER SLAVE STATES.

No. IV. (Concluded.)

THE hot-springs of Washita may fairly rank, for natural curiosities, with those in the volcanic valley of New Zealand. A narrow vale, edged in on either side by lofty ridges of sandstone, where wretched log-cabins afford the sole accommodation for the traveller and visitor, comprises the far-famed watering-place. At the base of the eastern ridge, on a bed of clay slate, runs a shallow little stream, into which the hot-springs flow from the lofty face of the ridge, varying in their sources, from 150 to 300 feet above the bed of the brook. With a mean temperature of 145° Fahrenheit, these copious springs form, in times when the brook is swollen, a continuous upper surface of hot water, over the trickling cold stream below. At times, in the deep pools, fish float merrily in the lower cold stream, and, when tempted by crumbs of bread, trust their noses into the upper run of hot water, and retreat with a celerity proportioned to the warmth of the spring. With thirty-five springs, all flowing into one small stream, the great difficulty is to find cold water, From this curiosity of inanimate nature, let us pass to an example of the more than instinct of animate nature, an act of undoubted reasoning in the savage buffalo. The old hunter had struck, but far from mortally wounded, a huge male buffalo: enraged with the wound, the beast pressed him hard, and unable to reload, the hunter turned and fled :—

"In running down a short hill, some briars threw him down, and he dropped his gun. There was a tree not far from him, of about eighteen inches in diameter, and everything seemed to depend upon his reaching it; but as he rose to make a push for it, the buffalo struck him on the fleshy part of his thigh, with his horn, and slightly wounded him. Before the beast, however, could wheel round upon him again, he gained the tree, upon which all the chance he had of preserving his life rested. A very few feet from this tree grew a sapling, about four or five inches in diameter; a most fortunate circumstance for the hunter, as it contributed materially to save his life. The buffalo now doggedly followed up his purpose of destroying his adversary, and a system of attack and defence commenced that, perhaps, is without a parallel. The buffalo went round and round the tree, pursuing the man, jumping at him in the peculiar manner of that animal, every time he thought there was a chance of killing him; whilst Percival, grasping the tree with his arms, swung himself round it with greater rapidity than the animal could follow him. In this manner the buffalo harassed him more than four hours, until his hands became so sore with rubbing against the rough bark of the oak tree, and his limbs so fatigued, that he began to be disheartened. In going round the tree, the buffalo would sometimes pass between it and the sapling; but the distance between them was so narrow, that it inconvenienced him, especially when he wanted to make his jumps; he, therefore, went round the sapling instead of inside of it. The time thus con

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