With mind determin'd in his front she stood, The charge produc'd, the dame was bid declare "Of noble lineage was my honour'd Sire, "His virtues, with the love of Liberty : The honour'd chiefs, the rev'rend priests, and seers, Were heard to sigh, and seem'd dissolved in tears, Lest Timoclia, in so brave a cause, Should fall a victim to a conqu’ror's laws. The hero rose, survey'd each sorrowing chief, "Be calm, he cry'd, what means this needless grief? "Think thou some rude barbarian's stated here, "That thirsts for blood, and deals revenge severè! "Know this, my princes, I would perish first; "To virtue Alexander shall be just! "No Greek amongst you more her cause could plead ; "Her maiden train no more shall shackles bear, T. N. THE PEDESTRIAN. Concluded from page 87 Mrs. Johnson's pork, for that is the name of the poor woman, was, by all the neighbouring gentry, held in high request; and my friend Mrs. Clavering, often, as a Christmas present, treated me with a sparerib. In passing a spot which I had so frequently contemplated with pleasurable emotion, my attention was attracted by perceiving the fence had been removed which had confined the sovereignty of the pigs; and even the little garden struck me as not having been well cultivated. Whilst gazing upon an alteration which gave a sudden turn to my feelings, a young man issued from the cottage in a sailor's jacket; and it instantly occurred to me, that the house was occupied by fresh inhabitants. Upon enquiring whether the industrious pair who had so long occupied the humble habitation, had removed to any other place of residence, the young man replied, "No, not yet, sir, but I fear they will soon be forced to go to the parish. His look, and tone of voice, as he expressed his apprehension, I am persuaded I never shall forget. Without making any reply, I opened the little wicket, and unceremoniously walked into the cottage. Stretched upon three chairs, tied together to form a sofa, I beheld the industrious mistress of the humble dwelling pale and emaciated; her eldest son, whom I knew had been a soldier, was sitting beside her, and endeavouring to persuade her to swallow a little gruel. The shelves over the dresser, which had shone with pewter of a silvery brightness, were now totally deserted; in short, an apartment which had formerly struck me as furnished with every thing that was useful, appeared entirely dismantled. I hope it was not mere curiosity which prompted me to enquire into an appearance so wholly unexpected. The young soldier, with a deep sigh, said, "Sir, if you'll please to walk into the garden, I'll tell you all about it.” arose spontaneously, and the young man followed me, where I heard a tale which harrowed up my feelings; for I discovered that the little savings of thirty years' industry and frugality, had been expended in endeavouring to bring to justice a titled villain. The seduction of his only daughter was the prelude to poor Johnson's misfortunes; and as there were circumstances attending it of peculiar notoriety and wickedness, he was led to believe that the destroyer of his happiness would be compelled to make the child of his affection completely independent. Gold, however, that baneful corrupter of integrity, was circulated with such profusion amongst the witnesses, upon whose testimony the unhappy father had depended, that instead of even obtaining pecuniary satisfaction, he was compelled to pay his own expenses. The unhappy victim of a lawless passion, who had actually been forced into a connexion which she detested, unable to support the anguish of her feelings, sunk into the grave in less than six months after the trial. From that noment, the ill-fated mother of the luckless Peggy lost the power of making the slightest effort to procure even the common necessaries of existence, and a stupefying torpor overwhelmed all her faculties. As the hard-earned savings of honest industry were scarcely sufficient to defray the law expences, the pigs and poultry were obliged to be sold to answer the additional charges attending sickness. The young men returned; occupation could not be procured for them; and in a short time they became a dead weight upon the hands of their industrious parents. Such was the mournful tale I heard from the young soldi. er; but how shall I convey to the imagination of my readers the varying turns in his expressive countenance, whilst painting the sufferings of his afflicted parents, and the cruel artifices which had been practised upon the object of his tenderness! He informed me, his second brother was that day gone to offer himself to an East India captain, whom he had heard was in want of a servant. In short, that they were all willing to undertake the most menial employment rather than be a burthen upon their parents. This is no imaginary tale, with high-wrought colouring, but an atrocious fact which has recently occurred; yet the wretch who has been the cause of misery so unparalleled, is received into society, and apparently admired! ON DOGS. If we look back into ancient history, we shall find the wisest and most celebrated nations of antiquity contending, as it were, with one another, which should pay the greatest honour to dogs. The old astronomers denominated stars after their name; and the Egyptians, in particular, a wise and venerable people, worshipped a dog among the principal of their divinities. The poets represented Diana as spending a great part of her life among a pack of hounds; and we know that the illustrious Theseus dedicated much of his time to the same companions. Julius Pollux informs us, that the dying purple and scarfet cloth was first, found out by Hercules' dog, who, roving along the sea-coast, and accidentally eating the fish Murex, or Purpura, his lips became tinged with that colour; from whence the Tyrians first took the hint of the purple manufacture. To this lucky event our fine gentlemen in the army are indebted for the scarlet with which they subdue the hearts of many fair ladies.. . Such was the reverence paid to dogs among the nations of antiquity; and if we descend to later times we shall not want examples, even in our days and nation, of great men devoting themselves to dogs. King Charles the Second, of pious and immortal memory, came always to the councilboard, accompanied with a favourite spaniel, who propagated his breed, and scattered his image through the land, almost as extensively as his royal master. His successor, king James, of pious and immortal memory likewise, was distinguished for the same attachment to these four-footed worthies. It is reported of him, that being once in a dangerous storm at sea, and obliged to quit the ship for his life, he roared aloud, with a most vehement voice, as his principal concern," Save the Dogs and colonel Churchill." A FRENCH MILITARY ANECDOTE. IN one of the Duke D'Enghien's Campaigns, an officer who had lost his, mistress, thought it necessary to fight for her. When he applied to the duke for permission, the latter asked him whether it was on' account of the love he had for her, and whether he wanted, by killing his rival to recover her. "No, replied the officer, but if I do not fight my courage will be doubted." "If that is all, said the duke, you may be easy about the matter: I shall give you an opportunity of putting that out of the question; for to-mor Tow I intend to fight myself. THE UNFORTUNATE RECLUSE. (Continued from page 108.) While thus employed, he adverted not to the path directly leading forward, but, in descending to the right of it, entered a sort of wilderness, whose intricate mazes diverged imperceptibly from the shore; and after several hours' fatigue, the tremendous edifice he had left, again appeared. Faint with long abstinence, unusual toil, and a bewildered mind, the energy of what at first might have been deemed curiosity, again gave way, and nature's claims could no longer be disputed. Once more he strongly condemned the motives that influenced his conduct, and induced a visit to that desolate shore. But while eagerly looking in the most probable direction, Messina caught his ardent gaze, as it arose indistinctly upon the blue horizon; but its distance checked every title to exultation, and he could only bend his steps towards the point that distinguished it, with but an' heartless hope of reaching the opposite shore; while Schabraco's résidence still attracted his attention, as he travelled parallel to its site. The morning was calm-the prospect sublime. A bright sun tinted Calabria's mountainous tracks; even Messina's lofty building caught a faint but mellow lustre. The most transcendent feature in a scenery so grand, when it first remotely caught his astonished eye, was scarcely visible; Mount Etna yielded her majestic figure in the fog that hung about her lower sides. Her towering head, indeed, was illumined with the brilliant ray, which shone with a radiance uninjured by the mist that enveloped its lower sides; which, even as he looked, drew up like a vast curtain, and gradually discovered a wild confused mass of picturesque imagery. The demands of nature had been somewhat allayed by the juice berries that grew on all sides; and Rinaldo felt himself at liberty to indulge that romantic enthusiasm, which expands the ideas, almost the limits, of mortal enjoyments. A 1 1 But this mental feast was quickly interrupted, and prndence whispered how necessary it was to effect his escape from a place, which, independent of his recent surprises, was remarkable for the ferocity of native spoilers." Taking, then another observation of the edifice, he was about to descend the hill, along which he was wandering, when the sound of an instrument, rising, as it were beneath VOL. II, R |