girl, endeavour to compose yourself; I shall return, when, if you are disposed, we will take an airing, and visit our old doctor-he must prescribe for you; indeed, my sweet Julia, you must be careful of your health.';

: "My preceptress was absent an unusual time; my heart beat violently—I endured the most torturing suspense—I dared not break in on the privacy of my preceptress—I knew not what to think. Was that letter from De Villeroy? It must be so! I flew half breathless to her apartment: she was in strong hysterics, supported by her servants.

"An open letter lay upon the table; half-frantic, I read its contents, which were as follows, and dated from Sentalina:

6 MADAM,

With deep concern, I am obliged to communicate to you, as the

nearest

ncarest relative of captain de Villeroy', the heart-rending intelligence of his melancholy fate, who was wounded to death by savages, on the twenty-eighth ult. As commanding-officer of the regiment; it is my duty to recount the particulars of this painful recital, in doing which, believe me, I suffer the most poignant affliction; for captain de Villeroy was not only a valuable officer, but in his more private virtues, an inestimable friend. On the twenty-eighth ult. captain de Villeroy went with a party of brother-officers to skirmish near the advanced posts of the enemy, when unexpectedly a band of rude savages rushed from the mountains; they seized but one man, but that was an officer in our regiment. They were about to tear him to pieces; he called aloud for assistance to his companions, who were on the point of escaping. Villeroy alone remained." Dastardly cowards," uttered he, "would you suffer a brother-soldier

to be mangled before your face? Turn and let us avenge his cause! Fellowsoldiers, turn and save him!"

་

The solicitation came too late: a savage monster, more fierce than all the rest, at these words rushed like a tiger on De Villeroy, and, covered with wounds, he fell a martyr to the noblest cause that can animate the breast of a British soldier-humanity! The survivors of his dreadful fate bore to me the sad and afflicting certainty that the noble De Villeroy had breathed his last, in exertion to save that man's life, who it was well known was not his friend.

Madam, his death was more glorious than had he fallen in battle-it ascends to heaven; and the cypress which shadows his remains will blossom, when laurels will be no more remembered.

I am, madam, with profound respect, your most obedient servant,

'AUGUSTUS STANHOPE HOPE,

commanding-officer.'

The

The baron, deeply affected, returned the colonel's letter, which lady Julia had put into his hands, and she proceeded"You, my dear Valentine, who so well know the sensitive creature I ever was, and ever shall, while life supports my existence, conceive for a moment the sufferings of your Julia, the poignant anguish of which threw me into a delirium, and afterwards a fever, which continued many weeks, and which was aggravated by a circumstance which had now plainly begun to manifest itself, my state of pregnancy. The horrors of my then unhappy situation cannot be described: Mrs. Melbourne, ignorant of my clandestine marriage, imagined that I was seduced by her nephew, and gave way to the utmost grief and despair; she watched incessantly each turn of my disorder, in hope that a period might take place of some returning interval of reason, in which she could cautiously speak to me on the subject. At length,

by slow and imperceptible degrees, I recovered my lost De Villeroy was buried in the secret recesses of my heart; his image there, too faithfully engraven, could not, nor ever has been, obliterated.

"The first use I made of my convalescence was briefly to inform Mrs. Melbourne of my marriage with De Villeroy, the certificate of which I had care-: fully preserved, and producing it, I thought she would have fainted through excess of joy.

6

Then, dear, unhappy lady Julia,' cried she, you will still be preserved, and every mortal but myself be ignorant of the occurrences which have taken place. If you will be silent, nothing can be divulged, and your sister will remain a stranger to your fate. Let me have charge of your certificate; such a document must not at present appear in your possession; yet, trust me, I hold it dearer than my existence-my Robert's child will by this be preserved from any un

just