girl!" said Rodolph, compassionately, "her sorrow has turned her brain." "Mad? old man! I would I were," Jeannette replied with a frantic shriek. "But, I repeat it, I am innocent compared to the immaculate Blanche; I sought not to deceive my parent; I acknowledged my crime, was turned from my stern father's door, listened to his malediction, to his awful imprecation on his own head if he ever received me again; and even the very village lasess bade me take pattern by the Mountain Rose. And she has added duplicity to her crime! Behold her child!" and she threw back the cloak, and discovered the lovely form of a sleeping infant. " My child! my.child!" shrieked Blanche; and regardless of consequences, and alive only to a mother's feelings, she rushed forwards and, snatching it from Jeannette, she pressed the unconscious babe to her heart. "Thine! thine!" cried the old man, in a voice of stifled agony, as he staggered towards Blanche. "Father!" she cried, sinking at his feet, "forgive me!"-" Do not forgive her, Rodolph; bid her hence, that she, like me, may become a wanderer!" and, after uttering this, Jeannette slowly quitted the cottage. "Thou, guilty! thou! Oh, Blanche, Blanche, how hast thou deceived me!" A pause ensued, broken only by the sobs of Blanche. Rodolph grew paler; he grasped at a chair, unable even with its assistance to support himself, and he sunk on his knees. "My father! oh, my father!" shrieked Blanche, as she laid down the child, and flew to support him. "Merciful God! he will die!" she uttered in a voice of agony. "Father, speak to me! Father, speak, I implore you !" and she pressed her lips to his scarcely less cold cheek. "I forgive thee, unhappy child!" said Rodolph, speaking with difficulty, "Give me thy hand. Farewell, Blanche! thou wast my pride, my treasure; I loved

thee too well. I pardon thee. Weep not, my love; weep not, BlancheI can no more-Bless thee-bless thee-my-my unhappy Blanche !" The words died on his lips, a convulsive shudder thrilled through his frame, and he ceased to breathe.

Not a tear, not a groan, escaped the lips of Blanche, as she gazed for a few moments on the lifeless clay. Her heart throbbed, as though it would burst its confines; a parching fever ran through every vein, and her brain whirled with all the wild fury of a maniac. Darting with the speed of lightning out of the cottage, her feet scarcely touching the ground, she proceeded over hill and dale, while her white garments and dark hair, floating on the blast, gave her an appearance more than mortal. So quick were her movements, that she looked the spirit of the storm. Nor did even the storm without rage half so fiercely as that which raved within her bosom. "Revenge! revenge!" she loudly shouted, when at a distance she saw Jeannette. With ten-fold haste she speeded forward, and pursued her from rock to rock, till at length she reached her, and instantly wound her arm round the now shrinking Jeannette. "Revenge! venge!" she wildly shrieked, as with strength almost supernatural she dragged her on. "What would you do?" exclaimed the struggling Jeannette, as she vainly sought to release herself from the grasp of Blanche. "Blanche, you will drag me from my hold; surely you would not murder me?"-" You murdered him!" she frantically exclaimed, and still dragged her on to the very edge of the precipice, where they beheld the boiling waters beneath. "Spare me, Blanche! spare me! Ah, mercy! mercy!" "Hadst thou any on him, murderess?""Blanche! Blanche! I implore you for mercy, mercy!" A loud demoniac laugh from Blanche,

re

which curdled the blood with horror, was the only reply to this supplication. Exerting her whole strength, Blanche still dragged her onwards. Jeannette reeled; she clung tightly to Blanche; the earth gave way; they fell; a loud dash was heard in the waters, and all was silent.

(To be continued.)

The Essayist.

PROCRASTINATION.

"Мотто, indeed!" quoth my uncle, "'tis now-a-days, the only stock on which an author compounds his literary soup maigre, -the very pith, marrow, and cream, of its commentary: therefore, child, if you want one for your paper just look to that dial, whereon tempus fugit' stares you in the face every hour: or, take the old proverb, 'never put off till to-morrow what may be done to-day; or, 'procrastination is the thief of time; or, 'delays are dangerous; or, 'be wise to-day, 'tis madness to defer.' "-" Hold! hold, Sir;" said I, " those maxims are in every body's mouth."-" And," interrupted he, "as it should seem by their conduct, in nobody's memory: go, write your Essay, when you will, except now, for you are not comme-il-faut for dinner."

I smiled, implicitly followed my uncle's advice as far as the 'NOT now ' of it was concerned, but found, alas! that the proper period for writing my projected Essay_never arrived it was not written; I consequently lost much of the literary reputation with which a kind family circle had invested me; and, what was worse, the handsome remuneration with which my uncle was to have encouraged this effort of my pen. And now, my courteous reader, for courteous art thou, indeed, shouldst thou have followed me so

far, what thinkest thou of procrastination? Is it not delectable to suffer from it? To have a fine dinner spoiled, because your cook does not choose to keep her time?-to be absolutely starved because your guests do not choose to keep to yours? - to have fish and soup cold, because one servant delays putting them on the table? to have your wine hot, because another has not sought for it the timely aid of water, or ice?-to delay getting a new coat, until your old one is threadbare?-or, a new broom, until your old one does not " sweep clean?" -or, a new friend, until death has carried off the old one?-or, a new horse, until the old one nearly breaks your neck from his own infirmities? -or, a new love, until the old one has nearly broken your heart?-or, a wife, until coaxed into marriage with your housekeeper? - Is it not folly to delay reading a book until all the world are conversant with its contents?-to forbear becoming a young man, until you are branded either as an overgrown school-boy, or a formal fool?-to delay showing yourself the old one, until extreme age reduces you to second childhood? to procrastinate in your own affairs, for the purpose of becoming well-versed in those of your neighbours? and, in your profession or business, until men, once far beneath, tower proudly above you? Well, my crony reader, and now, what sayest thou to procrastination? "Oh, these are mere trifles, and it is not so bad after all!" Yes, these may be, indeed, mere trifles, but unhappily the principle extends to, and through, matters of vital importance, social, moral, and religious. Procrastination, that most extraordinary of mental delusions (when we reflect upon the fulminations launched by all mankind against the waste of precious time) is unfortunately a habit too prevalent amongst rational beings: and those who would lament and blame most bitterly had the husbandman to sow his grain when they required bread,-had the very materials of their garments to be prepared when they requested clothing. Those, but too frequently, procrastinate in concerns of such a nature, that utter, irretrievable ruin, is the dreadful consequences :-" Lost! lost! lost!" rings in their terrified ears; for lost do they find upon awaking from their enchanted slumber, lost and past, the time and opportunity for mental improvement, the renovation of bodily health, the establishment of themselves and families in prosperous temporal circumstances, and, for repentance! oh! how inconceivably dreadful is the situation of him who, in his dying hour, bitterly remembers, that he has, indeed, often, and often, heard the tender expostulation, the solemn warning, the awful denunciationand, though he has not absolutely closed his ears, and hardened his

BY J. K. PAULDING.

(Continued from page 215.)

"There was at that time a publicspirited little magistrate in office, by the name of Dirck Smet, a pipemaker by trade, who was the father of more laws than all the lawyers before or after him, from Moses down to the present time. He had the itch of legislation to a most alarming degree, and like Titus, considered he had lost a day, when he had not begotten at least one law. A single circumstance or event, no matter how insignificant, was enough for him. If a little boy hap

crastinated: he has done that which Time and Death, Judgment and Eternity, never do! Ah! were it not for procrastination, one pulpit exhortation to amendment of life would probably be as much as any man, blessed with a tolerable retentive memory, would have occasion, during the course of his mortal existence, to hear; but, as it is, the preacher and essayist alike hold forth in vain! Nevertheless, there are occasions upon which procrastination has not only its use, but is good and laudable; for it is good to delay the execution of all projects in connection with sin or folly; it is laudable to delay passing strictures upon that conduct, of which, blamable as it may appear, we are uninformed of the motives from which it originated: and public, as well as private, justice never appears so amiable as when she delays to strike

horse, which by the way was no such easy matter, by flying his kite, the worshipful Dirck Smet would forthwith call a meeting of the common council, and, after declaiming a full hour upon the dangers of kiteflying, get a law passed denouncing a penalty upon all wicked parents who allowed their children to indulge in that pestilent amusement. If there happened a rumour of a man, a horse, a cow, or any other animal, being bit by a mad dog, in some remote part of New England, or elsewhere, Dirck Smet would spout a speech enough to make one's hair stand on end, about the horrors of hydrophobia, and get a law passed against all the honest mastiffs of New Amsterdam, who had no more idea of running mad than I have at this moment. Owing to the number of little creeks intersecting the city, and the quantity of grass growing and intersecting the city, and the quantity of grass growing in the streets at that time, there was never a finer city for raising flocks of geese than new Amsterdam; -in fact, there were as many geese as inhabitants. Dirck declared war against these in a speech of three hours, which so overpowered the council that they all fell asleep, and passed a law banishing the geese from the city; although one of the members, who had the finest goose-pond in the place, talked very learnedly about the famous goose that saved the capitol. Is is said, that Dirck's antipathy to these honest birds, arose from having been attacked and sorely buffeted by a valiant old gander, whose premises he had chanced to invade on some occasion. He was, indeed, the most arrant meddler and busybody of his day, always poking bis nose into holes and corners, ferreting out nuisances, and seeking pretexts for new laws; so that if the people had paid any attention to them, they would have been under a worse tyranny than that of the Turk or the Spaniard. But they were saved from this by a lucky circumstance; the council thinking they did enough by making the laws, let them take care of themselves afterwards; and honest Dirck Smet was to busy begetting new laws, to mind what became of the old ones. Nevertheless, he got the reputation of a most vigilant magistrate, which means a pestilent intermeddler with people's domestic sports and occupations, and a most industrious busy. body in attempting impossibilities.

"As soon as Dirck Smet heard the story of the inroads of the winged monster, he fell into a fever of anxiety, to do something for the good of the community. He was on the point of proposing a severe law against winged monsters; but from this he was dissuaded by a judicious friend, who represented the difficulty of catching this sort of

delinquents, and that this was absolutely necessary, before he could punish them. Baffled in this point, he fumed about from one place to another, insisting that something must be done for the quiet and security of the city; and that a law of some kind or other was absolutely necessary on the occasion, if it were only to show their zeal for the public good. It was his opinion, that a bad law was better than no law at all, and that it would be an inexcusable piece of negligence, to let these interloping monsters fly over the wall with impunity.

"All this while his excellency the governor of New Amsterdam said nothing, but thought a great deal. He was a little jealous of the popularity of Dirck Smet, who had got the title of the father of the city, on account of having saved it from the horrors of flying kites, mad dogs, and hissing ganders. In fact, they were two such great men, that the city was not half large enough for them both; and the consequence was, that, instead of assisting, they only stood in each other's way, like two carts in a narrow lane. We can have too much of a good thing, even as regards laws and rulers. The governor was determined to do nothing, for no other reason that could ever be discovered, than because his rival was so busy. The fears of the good citizens, however, and their increasing clamours against the negligence of their rulers, at length roused the activity of the governor, who forthwith convened his council to deliberate upon the best means of saving the city of New Amsterdam.

" Dirck Smet, who was ex officio a member, was in his glory on this occasion, and talked so much, that there was no time for acting. At length, however, the inward man gave out, and he had not breath to say any thing more. It was then, tradition says, that a silent old member, who never made a set speech in his life, proposed, in as few words as possible, and in a quiet colloquial manner, that measures should be first taken to ascertain the truth of the story, after which means might be found to detect the miracle or the impostor, whatever it might be. It is affirmed the whole council was astonished that a man should be able to say so much in so few words, and that henceforth the silent member was considered the wisest of them all. Even Dirck Smet held his tongue for the rest of the sitting, thus furnishing another proof, my children, that good sense is an overmatch for the most confirmed garrulity. The same old gentleman suggested, that, as Saturday night seemed to be the period chosen for his two visits by the winged monster, it would be advisable to place some of the most trusty of the city guard in ambush, in the vicinity of the spot, where, according to the testimony of Jan Sol, he had flown over the wall, to intercept him there, or at least overtake him in his progress to the governor's garden. Every body wondered at the wisdom of this proposal, which was adopted, with only one dissenting voice. Dirck Smet moved as an amendment, that the word 'progress should be changed to flight, but it was negatived, greatly to his mortification; and therefore he voted against the whole proposition, declaring it went against his conscience.

"Accordingly, the next Saturday night a party was got in readiness, of six men of the city guard, under the command of Captain Balthazar Kuyff, of immortal memory, who had faced more ghosts in his generation than any man living. The whole band was equipped with an extraordinary number of nether garments for defence, and fortified with double allowance of Schiedam, to keep up their courage in

this arduous service. The captain was considered a person of the greatest weight in all the city, and in addition to this, he added to his specific gravity by stuffing into his pockets all the leaden weights he could borrow of a neighbouring grocer, for he did not know but the monster might fly away with him. His comrades remonstrated that this additional weight would impede his pursuit of the foe; but the captain nobly replied, it was beneath a soldier to run, either from or after an enemy. The most perfect secrecy was preserved in all these arrangements.

-"Thus equipped, they took their station, about eleven o'clock on the Saturday night following the last appearance of the winged monster, under cover of one of the neighbouring houses, and there waited the coming of the mysterious visitor. Twelve o'clock, the favorite hour of spectres of all sorts, came and passed, yet no spectre appeared peeping over the wall. By this time they began to be wearied with long watching, and it was proposed that they should take turns, one at a time, while the others slept off the fatigue of such unheard-of service. The lot fell on Jan Sol, who being, as it were, a sort of old acquaintance of the spectre, was supposed to be particularly qualified for this honour. Jan forthwith posted himself at the corner of the house, upon one leg, to make sure of keeping awake, as he had whilome seen the New Amsterdam geese do, ere they were banished from the city, by the inflexible patriotism of Dirck Smet, the great lawgiver.

"The little Dutch sentinel stood for about half an hour, sometimes on one leg, and sometimes on the other, with his head full of hobgobblins, and his heart full of fears. All was silent as the grave, save the sonorous music of the captain's vocal nose, as it might be poetically