brother of Margarita, as having shown great activity in the apprehension of smugglers and bandits; and, consequently, was more detested on that account than as a partisan of Don Carlos. It might be supposed that one who had declared himself openly an enemy to the Constitution, and the existing Government, would have incurred risk to his personal liberty in declaring such political opinions; but as the civil war had only just broke out, and the priests were (there were several among the assembled travellers) secretly, if not openly, friendly to the cause he espoused, and advocates for the ancient state of things, no grounds existed for such an apprehension. He ran much more danger, even if a victor in the strife, from the dagger of the kinsman of Margarita. But no such thoughts did he entertain, or if they for a moment crossed his mind, the recollection of his stinging insult, loyalty to his sovereign, in whose cause he had received it, and the disgrace and shame of submitting to the indignity, and leaving it unavenged, nerved his arm with resolution to abide the conflict.

An old friar made an attempt to stop the effusion of blood; but on all sides a cry was heard, "Let them alone! Let them fight it out!" A circle was now formed about the two combatants; the brother of Margarita vociferating that whoever presumed to interfere should be responsible to him for the attempt. As for poor Margarita, without seeming to be terror-struck, as a young person of her age under such circumstances would naturally have been, she was seen on her knees in a corner of the building, praying fervently to the "Santa Virgen,"- not to separate the combatants, but to preserve the life of her cousin. Still it might be perceived, that this scene, had it not been for the interest she felt for one of the combatants, would have caused her no particular astonishment or terror.

The daughter of the innkeeper was at her side, endeavouring to comfort her by her caresses; and from time to time turning her head round with a female curiosity to observe how the duel proceeded. With that tact, which all women have, she calmly perceived the cause of Margarita's anxiety as to the issue of the conflict, and not conceiving that she could have any other fear than that of losing her lover, kept calling out with wild and almost savage accents

"Courage, my angel!-never fear, my dear little innocent! The officer will be killed. Alvas will not have a hair of his head injured. I have seen many affairs of this kind. With a good poniard a man has nothing to fear from a sabre. Let him say his last Ave Maria, -the poor officer! if he knows it by heart. And yet it is a pity such a handsome Don, but Alvas is handsome too; and then he is a Christino."

Whilst the women were thus engaged the fight became more and more animated. The officer, who was an excellent fencer, as well as swordsman, at first kept upon the defensive, following with his eye, and the point of his sword, every movement of the young Maio; but he rendered all his science of no avail by his manner of fighting. Now turning with the nimbleness of a cat round and round him; now standing motionless, or bending almost to the ground, his left arm in front; and, unrolling the ample folds of the mantle in which he was enveloped, whilst, behind this sort of curtain, his right hand invisibly brandished his long and formidable poniard.

At last, impatient of being kept so long in check, the officer assumed the offensive, and pressed his adversary, attacking him with fury.

"He is done for," said an old Torres, as he looked on, con amore. "It is all over with Alvas." Such, in fact, it would have appeared; but by a feint, Alvas all of a sudden let fall his cloak. The officer lifted his arm to cut him down, and at that instant fell to the earth. One groan, and all was over. The dropping of the cloak was, as I said, a feint in order to persuade his enemy to put himself off his guard; and, with the rapidity of lightning he had run in upon him, and buried his poniard to the hilt in his stomach. So great the force with which the blow was struck that Alvas' thick cloak, transfixed by the dagger before it reached the side of his adversary, was pinned to the wound.

"May God have mercy on his soul!" said the murderer, making a sign of the cross, and turning with a look of pity away from his fallen antagonist.

"Come, Alvas," said the brother of Margarita; "what is done is done. It was a glorious victory. And now, have a care of yourself: I see some carabineers at the top of the hill. Take my horse. Time presses. Take leave of Margarita, and away."

At the name of Margarita, Alvas made a step towards her; but stopping of a sudden. "No," said he, "not with these hands of blood. No. Adieu, adieu! Margarita dear Margarita! fare thee well!" Springing on his horse, he put his spurs into its sides, and for some minutes the profound silence kept by the witnesses of this scene of blood was only broken by the gallop of the horse, till lost in the distance.

At last the trot of the carabineers was heard, and the rattling of their sabres. The caravan was in motion. Margarita, still on her knees, thanked the "Santa Virgen," in tears, for having given the victory to Alvas, including in her prayers the name of the officer; whilst the girl of the inn related circumstantially all the details of the struggle. The corpse was placed on a hurdle, and carried by the soldiers to the nearest village for interment.

With Margarita and her brother, I soon overtook the caravan."

AN ASPIRATION FOR PLACE.

Ir kisses be the coin of Love,

The die sweet woman's rosy mouth,
Found still on earth, where'er we rove,
Or east, or west, or north, or south,

Let Statesmen on to glory plod,
And climb Ambition's paths of flint;
I only wish the little God

Would make me master of his mint.

B. J. M.

THE JOLLY MILLER.

A FRAGMENT.

Ir was a sultry day in the month of July, and there was scarcely wind enough to blow a thistle down.

Little urchins, with red faces, were chasing the butterflies, jacketin-hand; while some tried in vain to raise their paper-kites, running in every direction of the compass; but both Eolus and Boreas seemed out of breath, and they could not compass their design.

Lolling indolently at the foot of his mill-steps stood a stout miller whistling merrily, when a stranger, who had been for some time slowly toiling up the hill, accosted him.

"Why dost thou whistle, friend?" said he.

"For lack of wind," replied the miller abruptly; and the stranger smiled at the paradoxical reply.

"Thou art short-" continued he.

"Some six feet, at any rate," answered the miller, drawing himself up.

"Thou 'rt a merry

soul."

"Merry ?-pshaw !-flat as a cask of unbunged ale-no!--that's windy-rather like an unblown bladder, for that's flat for the same reason, want of wind."

"Then thou art only in spirits when thy mill's going like a racehorse."

"That's a bad comparison," said the miller; " for my mill only goes when it 's blown, and that's just when a horse stops."

"True; I should have said an ass, for that, too, goes the better for a blow."

"Thou hast hit it," said the miller, laughing; " and I shall henceforth never see a donkey without thinking

"Of me?" anticipated the stranger, joining in the laugh. "Surely," continued he, "thine is a happy vocation. Thy situation, too, is so much above the richest of thy neighbours, nay, even the great lord of the manor himself must look little from the height thou beholdest him."

"Why, yes,” replied the miller; "and, although I be not a proud man, I look down upon al; for not only the peasant, but the squire, is beneath me. "Tis true, like another tradesman, I depend upon my sails for a livelihood; but I draw all my money from the farmer's till: and then, all the hungry look up to me for their meal.”

"How grateful ought all to be for thy favours!"

"Ay, indeed; for, where would be either the highest or the lowest bread without my exertions? To be sure, if they be ungrateful I can give them the sack!"

"Every mouth ought to be filled with the miller's praise," said the stranger.

"Certainly," added the miller; "for every mouth would be imperfect without the grinders."

Here they both joined in a hearty laugh; and the jolly miller, finding the stranger's opinions and sentiments so flatteringly in unison with his own, give him an invitation to taste his malt, while they conversed upon his meal.

H. W.

VISIT TO THE ORGAN MOUNTAINS, IN BRAZIL.

THE first view of the town of Rio de Janeiro is far from prepossessing. The streets are exceedingly narrow and dirty, the houses low, and of the most primitive forms, and altogether destitute of symmetry or architecture. The palace is a large, ugly building, possessing as little interest as the smaller habitations. A few soldiers were on guard, or rather lounging at the palace-gate; two sentries sauntered to and fro with a listless, sleepy air; the butt-end of their muskets over their shoulders, and a paper cigar in each of their mouths. The officer's sword was not drawn, although on duty; but, in lieu of the cold steel, he grasped a pipe of peace. At this moment a female slave passed with a large pitcher of water upon her head. "Agoa," cried out the officer, and, taking the earthenware vase, he took a long draught, saying, "Muyto obligado," and again resumed his laborious duties at the gate of the palace. I soon after arrived at the fruit-market. Black girls, dressed in white, with red turbans, and long gold earrings, were sitting cross-legged on each side of the market, and before them lay the produce of the banana and the orange-tree, with figs, grapes, pines, and sweet lemons. A little further on they were selling sugar-canes cut into small portions, which looked less tempting than anything else in the market. All these women were playing upon a sort of small viola, an instrument they make themselves, and the sound of which is far less discordant than a first view would seem to promise. It is made of deal wood, with three little iron bars, not unlike a mousetrap. There are some large, dull-looking squares in Rio; but the only tolerable street is the Rúa d'Ouvidor, the abode of the French colony. Here you find coiffeurs, modistes, bibliothèques, orfévres, and every other trade; but the prices for French produce are exorbitant, nearly two-thirds dearer than in Paris. I then visited the custom-house and several churches, all very inferior buildings, and worthy of no sort of remark. After dinner the streets were tderably full. The green casements of all the windows were half oper, and women's faces were peeping out slyly, or receiving visits at the windows of the Rez de Chaussée. At nearly every house the tinkling sound of some sort of guitar or viola is heard, of which there are at least twenty different kinds.

After two days' sojourn in the town of Rio I departed on a visit to an uncle, who had an estate in the Organ Mountains, at the distance of sixty miles from the town. Here I remained some months, and was enabled to form some opinion of the society aid manners of the landholders and inhabitants of the interior of the country. At six in the morning I was booted and spurred ready for my departure to the Fazenda de St. Anna,—all the estates being alled "fazendas." The first part of the journey is performed by water-a boat leaving Rio for Piedade daily. The boat was light, with a thick, substantial awning, manned by aborigines, and steered by an Italian from Genoa. My only companion was a Portuguese, who devoured bons-bons for two hours, and then resigned himself to sleep. We passed many beautiful islands, on which the cocoa-tree, and fruits, and flowers, were growing in wild luxuriance. Some of these isles have been built upon, which has by no means improved their otherwise romantic appearance. One

is covered with ill-constructed, daubed yellow houses, belonging to the citizens and rentiers of Rio. When we arrived at the little village of Piedade, we landed, and I found my uncle's guide and two mules in readiness to conduct me to the fazenda. The guide was one of the sharpest-looking boys I ever saw, perfectly black, with a very Mephistopheles expression. He wore a white turban, and Turkish white trousers, gold earrings, and no shoes or stockings. He went by the name of the Black Dwarf, and has made himself famous, as I afterwards learned, by a variety of exploits. Two years before he had run away to Gongo with a little black girl, and had committed several daring robberies, for which he had been branded on both sides of his face.

On arriving at Trieschal, at the foot of the Organ Mountain, we halted for the night at an inn by the roadside. There was only one room, in which were nine beds; but I was lucky in having one all to myself, together with the furniture, consisting of a block for a table, three chairs, and a washhand-stand, besides a most superb pair of plated candlesticks and wax-lights, which were ill in keeping with the more humble decorations of the dormitory. At five in the morning the mules were saddled, and we again started. From the foot of the mountain the roads became dreadful, and the scenery much wilder, with huge precipices, and gigantic trees and thickets. Sometimes we were obliged to dismount, and lead our mules. I observed several flights of parrots and other beautiful birds; but nothing pleased me more than to watch the humming-birds, and to observe them darting into the flowers. They are not easily frightened. It is extremely difficult to kill them without injuring the feathers. The wild flowers in this savage spot were lovely in the extreme. A pattern bouquet would make the fortune of a French fleuriste, or designer in embroidery. After many difficulties, about ten o'clock we gained the top of the mountain, and were now upon the estate; and in a few minutes I arrived at the house, and received the hearty welcome of its owner. The skin of a spotted ounce was hanging up before the door, with its teeth and claws as trophies. Hunting expeditions sometimes take place here for several days together; the blacks carrying provisions, and at night knocking up little huts with a few sticks, and the leaves of the palm-tree. Opposite the house was an encampment of muleteers; a large wood fire was blazing under a shed, where the whole party were busily engaged in cooking their fieizao, or beans. They all wore the poncho -a large piece of cloth, with a hole in the middle, for the head; large straw hats, no shoes and stockings, but a large spur attached to the left heel only; which, with the belt containing their large knives, completed the costume. The mules composing the troop, thirty in number, were grazing about, delighted to be relieved from their heavy burthens for the rest of the day.

The dinner is a sort of table d'hôte. Every fazendeiro is obliged to keep open house; and any one passing by, whether rich or poor, noble or bourgeois, puts up at their house as if it were an inn; dining, sleeping, and breakfasting at their expense. At some tables even free blacks are received; and people without coats, shoes, or stockings, frequently present themselves at the fazenda, and dine with us. It put me in mind of what Voltaire said to a poor curé, who had thus taken up his abode at the house of the philosopher. Being asked in what he differed from Don Quixote, the curé was puzzled. Why, the Don, you know," replied Voltaire, "mistook all the inns for castles, but you seem to take all the castles for inns."

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