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THE BLACK MASK.

A LEGEND OF HUNGARY,

Concluded from page 311.

THE summer into the autumn flowed, and the winter came; and another summer was already at hand; and yet the count never returned: and already the finger of grief had laid its heavy and unerring touch upon her frame. No longer was she what she had been; and her altered appearance at last attracted the attention of her father, who bad continued to think her illness but momentary, but now awoke to the sad feeling that she was dangerously ill, Perhaps dying, and with all the agony of one who felt that he had neglected too long an important duty, he determined no longer to delay, but at once set out for Vienna, where medical aid could be procured; and if the gentle and balmy airs of Italy could avail aught, they could at once travel southward. She was perfectly passive to the proposed excursion; and if she had any objections, the thought that she might hear some intelligence of her lover, would have overcome them all; so that, ere many days elapsed, they had arrived in the Austrian capital. Vienna was at this time the scene of every species of festivity and rejoicing. That court had just returned from an excursion to Carlsbad; and all ranks, from the proud noble to the humble bourgeois, vied in their endeavours to welcome a monarch, who had already given rise to the greatest expectations. Balls, redoutes, and masquerades, with all the other pleasures of a carnival, formed the only occupation, and the only theme of conversation, throughout the city. The baron and his daughter, how ever, little sympathizing in a joy so strongly in contrast to the sad occasion which led them thither, sought and found an hotel, outside the barrier, where they might remain unknown and unmolested, as long as they should think proper to remain in the capital.

They had not been many days in their new abode, when tempted one morning by the fineness of the weather; and Adela feeling herself somewhat better, they strolled as far as the Prater; but on reaching it, they were much disappointed in their expectation of quiet and seclusion, for all Vienna seemed assembled there to witness a grand review of the troops, at which the emperor was to be present, they, therefore, at once, determined on ret acing their steps, and endeavour, if possible, to reach the

city, before the troops should have left it. With this intention they were hastening onward, and had already reached the open space where the troops usually manoeuvred. when they stood for some minutes attracted by the beauty of the scene; for already heavy masses of cavalry and artillery were to be seen as they slowly emerged from the dark woods arcund, taking up their respective stations upon the field. Half regretting to lose so splendid a spectacle, they were again turned to proceed, when a young officer galloping up to the spot where they now stood, informed the baron, that a traileur regiment was about to take up that position on the field, and requested, with great politeness, that he would accept for himself and his daughter seats upon a platform with some of his friends, from which, without danger or inconvenience they might witness the review: this invitation politely urged, as well as the fact, that they could not now hope to reach the city without encountering the crowds of soldiery and people induced them to accede, and ere many minutes elapsed they were seated on the balcony.

The field now rapidly filled. Column after column of infantry poured in, and the very earth seemed to shake beneath the dense line of cuirassiers, who, with their long drooping cloaks of white, looking like the ancient Templars, rode past in a smart trot-their attention now was, however, suddenly turned from these to another part of the field, where a dense crowd of people were seen to issue from one of the roads which led through the park, and as they broke forth into the plain, the air was rent with a tremendous shout, followed the moment after by the deafening roar of the artillery, and while the loud cry of "Dev Kaisec," "Leb der Kaiser," rose to the skies from thousands of his subjects-the gorgeous housings and golden panoply of the Hungarian hussars, who formed the body guard, were seen caracalling upon their beautiful "shimmels," (such is the term given them), and in the midst of them rode the emperor himself, conspicuous even there for the address and elegance of his horsemanship.

The cavalcade had now reached the balcony where the baron and his daughter were sitting; there it halted for several minutes. The emperor seemed to be paying his respects to some ladies of the court who were there, and they were sufficiently near to observe that he was

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uncovered while he spoke; but yet could not clearly discern his features. Adda's heart beat high as she thought of one who might at that moment be among the train; for she knew that he was the personal friend of the emperor and his favourite aide-de-camp. The cavalcade now was slowly advancing, and stood within a few paces of where she was; but at the same time being totally concealed from her view by the rising up of those who sat beside her, in their anxiety to behold the emperor. She now, however, rose and leaned forward; but no sooner had she looked than she, with a loud cry, fell fainting back into the arms of her father. The suddenness of the adventure was such, that the baron had not even yet seen the emperor, and could but half catch the meaning of her words as she dropped lifeless upon his neck. He had been but too often of late a witness to her frequent faintings to be much alarmed now; and he at once attributed her present weakness to the heat and excitement of the moment. Now, however, she showed no sign of recovering sensibility, but lay cold and motionless where she had fallen at first, surrounded by a great number of persons anxiously professing aid and assist ance; for it was no sooner perceived that they were strangers, than carriages were offered on all sides to convey them home, and glad to avail himself of such a civility at the moment, the baron disengaged himself from the crowd, and carried the still lifeless girl to a carriage.

During the entire way homeward, she lay in his arms speechless and cold she answered him not as he called her by the most endearing names; and at last he began to think he never again should hear her voice, when she slowly raised her eyes, and gazed on him with a wild and vacant stare-she passed her hands across her forehead several times ss if endeavouring to recollect some horrid and frightful dream; and then muttering some low indistinct sound, sank back into her former insensibility, When they reached home, medical aid was procured; but 'twas too plain the lovely girl had received some dreadful mental shock, and they knew not how to administer to her. She lay thus for two days, and on the morning of the third, as the heart-broken and wretch ed father who had never left her bedside, gazed upon the wreck of his once beauteous child-the warm tears falling fast upon her cheek; what was his joy to discover symptoms of returning ani

mation. She moved-her bosom gently heaved and fell; and raising one arm, placed it round her father's neck, and smiling, drew him gently towards herwith what an ecstacy of joy he watched the signals of recovering life; and as he knelt to kiss her, he poured forth his delight in almost incoherent terms. As consciousness gradually returned, he told her of her long trance, and of his parental fears. He told her of his de. termination that she should mix in the gaieties of the capital on her recovery, and said, that if she had been strong enough, that very evening she should accompany him to a grand masked ball given by the emperor to his subjects. Her face, which had hitherto been pale as marble, now suddenly became suffused with an unnatural glow-a half suppressed shriek escaped her the smile faded from her lips-her eyes gradually closed, and the pallid hne of death again resumed its dominion. It was but a transient gleam. The hopes of the fond father were crushed to the earth, and the house became a scene of wailing and lamentation.

Since the review, Vienna continued the scene of every species of gaiety and dissipation. The emperor was constantly on foot or horseback throughout the city, and nothing was wanting on his part to court popularity among all classes of his subjects; and with this intention, a masquerade was to be given at the palace, to which all ranks were eligible; and great was the rejoicing in Vienna at a mark of such royal condescension and favour. The long-wished-for evening at length arrived, and nothing could equal the splendour of the scene. The magnificent saloon of the palace, lighted by its myriads of coloured lamps, shone like a fairy palace, while no costume, from the rude garb of the wanderer through the plains of Norway, to the gorgeous display of oriental grandeur, were wanting to so delightful a spectacle. Here stood a proud Hungarian, in all the glitter of his embroidered pelisse and gold-tasseled boots; and here a simply clad hunter from the Tyrol, with his garland of newly-plucked flowers in his bonnet; while, ever and anon, the tall, melancholy, and dark-visaged Pole, strode by with all the proud bearing and lofty port for which his countrymen are celebrated. There were bands of dancers from Upper Austria, and musicians from that land of song, Bohemia. The court had also, on this occasion, adopted the cos

tume of various foreign nations. All beheld the sovereign and could address him, as he, in compliance with etiquette, was obliged to remain unmasked.

As the evening advanced, he seized a moment to leave the saals, and habit himself in domino: under which disguise, after many ludicrous rencontres with his friends, he was leaning listlessly against a pillar near where a number of Hungarian peasants were dancing. Their black velvet boddices so tightly laced with bright chains of silver, and blood-red calpacks, reminded him of having seen such before. The train of thong hts thus excited banished all recollection of the scene around him-the music and the dance he no longer minded. All passed unheeded before his eyes; and, lost in reverie, he stood in complete abstraction. A vision of his early days came over him; and not last, but mingling with his dream of all beside, the image of one once dearly loved! He heaved a deepdrawn sigh, and was about to leave the spot, and drown all recollection in the dissipation of the moment, when he was accosted by one whom he had not before seen. Considering her, perhaps, as one of the many who were indulging in the badinage and gaiety of the place, he wished to pass on; but then there was that in the low plaintive tone in which she spoke, that chained him to the spot.

The figure was dressed in deep black; the heavy folds of which concealed the form of the wearer as perfectly as did the black hood and mask her face and features. She stood for a moment silently before him, and then said, Can the heart of him whom thousands rejoice to call their own. be sad amid a scene like this?"

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"What mean you?" cried he, "How knew you me?""

"How knew I thee?" she repeated in a low melancholy tone.

There was something in the way these few words were uttered which chilled his very life's blood; and yet he knew not wherefore. Wishing, however, to rally his spirits, he observed, with an assumed carelessness. "My thoughts had rambled far from hence, and I was thinking of—"

"Of those you had long forgotten is it not?" said the mask.

"How!" cried he; "what means this! You have roused me to a state of frightful uncertainty, and I must know more of you ere we part."

"That shall you do," said the mask ; "but my moments are few, and I would speak with you alone." Saying which

she led the way, and he followed to a small cabinet, which leading off one angle of the saloon, descended into a secluded court-yard of the palace. A single carriage now stood at the entrance, and as the emperor entered a small remote apartment, the thought of some deception being practised on him, made him resolve not to leave the pa lace. The mask was now standing beside a marble table, a small lamp the only light of the apartments. She turned her head slowly round as if to see if any one was a listener to their interview; on perceiving that they were alone, she laid her hand gently upon his arm; he shuddered from some indescribable emotion as he felt the touch; but spoke not. There was a silence of some moments. "I have come to keep my promise," said the mask in the same low voice in which she at first addressed him. "What promise have you made ?" said the emperor, agitated; "I can bear this no longer." "Stay! stop!" cried she gently; and the voice in which that word was uttered thrilled to his inmost heart: it was a voice well known, but long forgotten,

"To keep a promise am I come bethink thee, is there no debt of uttered vows unpaid then? Have you all now you ever wished for, ever hoped?" He groaned deeply.

"Alas!" he exclaimed involuntarily "that I could be spared that thought! I do remember one-but

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"Then hear ine, false-hearted! She who once loved thee, loves thee no more: her vows are broken-broken as her heart. She has redeemed her pledge

farewell!" and the voice with which the word was uttered faltered and died. away in almost a whisper.

He stood entranced-he spoke notmoved not; the hand which leaned upon his arm now fell listlessly beside him, and the mask made a gesture of departure.

"Stay!" cried le. "Not so you leave not thus. Let me know who you are, and why you come thus?" and he lifted his hand to withdraw her mask by force. But she suddenly stept back, and waving him back with one hand, said in a low and hollowed voice, ""Twere better you saw me not. it not, I pray you, Sir, for your own sake, ask it not-my last, my only prayer!" and she again endeavoured to pass him as he stood between her and the small door which led towards the court-yard.

Ask

"You go not hence, till I have seen

you unveiled," he said in a voice of increased agitation.

In

The mask then lifting the lamp which stood by with one hand, with the other threw back the hood which concealed her face. He beheld her-he knew her -she was his own. lost, betrayed, Adela-not as he first found her; but pale, pale as the marble by which she stood her lips colourless; and her eye beamed on him lustreless and cold as the grave, of which she seemed a tenant. The heart which was proof against death in a hundred forms, now failed him. The great king was a miserable heart-stricken man he trembled turned and fell fainting to the ground. When he recovered, he threw his eyes wildly around, as if to see some one whom he could not discover. He listened-all was silent, save the distant sounds of festivity and the hum of gladsome voices. Pale and distracted he rushed from the spot, and summoning to his own apartment a few of his confidentials, he related to them his adventure from its commencement. an instant a strict search was set on foot. Many had seen the mask, though none spoke to her, and no one could tell when or how she had disappeared. The emperor at last bethought him of the carriage which stood at the door it was gone. Some thought it had been a trick played off on one so celebrated for fearlessness as the emperor. Accordingly, many took the streets which led from the court-yard and terminated in the Augustine kirch and monastery. This way only could the carriage have gone; and they had not proceeded far when the rattling of the wheels met their ears they listened, and as it came nearer, found it was the same carriage which stood at the portal. The driver was interrogated as to where he had been. He told them that a mask, dressed in black, had left the Saal, and bid him drive to the church of the Augustine, and that he had seen her enter an hotel adjacent.

The emperor, accompanied by two friends masked, ent their steps to the hotel. He inquired of the inmates, and then learnt his vicinity to his noble and ill-requited Hungarian_host, and his loved and lost Adela. Few, however humble, would at that moment have exchanged state with the monarch of Austria and Hungary, for remorse bound him down like a stricken reed.

"Lead me to the baron," he cried hastily, unable to bear the weight of recollection.

The man shook his head. "Noble, Sir," said he, "the baron lies on a bed of sickness; since this morning he bas uttered no word; I fear he will never rise again."

"His daughter-lead me to herquick!"

"Alas, sir, she died this morning!" "Liar, slave!" cried the emperor, in a paroxysm of grief and astonishment,f but an hour since I saw her living! Dare not tamper with me!"

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The man stared incredulously, and, pointed to the staircase, and taking a lamp he beckoned him to follow. He led the way in silence up a broad staircase and through the long corridor, until he stopped at a door which he gently opened, and making the sign of the cross, entered the room-they followed. The apartment was lighted with waxlights, and at one extremity, on a large couch, lay two females buried in sleep. At the other end was a bed with the cur- ts tains drawn closely around; wax-lights were burning at the head and foot. The emperor, with an unsteady step, approached the bed, and with a trembling hand drew aside the curtain. There, extended on a coverlid of snowy whiteness, lay the object of his solicitude, and at her feet were the mask and domino! He thought she slept, and in the low tender accent with which he first won her young heart, he breathed her name; but there was no response. He took her hand-it was cold, and fell from his nerveless grasp. He gazed stedfastly on her countenance-it was pale as, when lifting her mask, she met his astonished gaze. But this was no trance-her eyes were now closed for ever-her heart had ceased to beatshe was beautiful, though in death! Her arms were crossed upon her bosom, and on the fingers of her right hand was entwined a chain of gold with a signet ring! None could see the scalding tears that were shed, or knew the bitter and agonizing remorse that tore the bosom of the emperor as he gazed for the last time on the pallid features of one, perhaps the only one, who had ever loved him for himself alone. Forgetful of his state-forgetful of all but his own heart-he knelt by the side of the dead, and never were accents of contrition more sincerely breathed by human being than by that monarch in his hour of humiliation.

Years rolled on. The old baron and his daughter sleep side by side in the cemetery of St. Augustine's monastery.

They left no kindred; he was the last of his race; and the old castle on the Danube soon fell into decay, and became an outlaw's den. The emperor recovered in time his gaiety amidst the blandishments of his court; but as often as the season of the chase returned, his nobles remarked that he was never more the same light-hearted and reckless sportsman. Few knew why; but the associations were too strong-he could never banish from his mind the parting look of her whom he had first met in the dark forests of Hungary.

SONNET.

Had I met thee in the morn

Of boyhood s bliss,

When the light of love was born,
When roses blushed without a thorn,
When every breath was but the sigh
Of sympathy,

And every touch was transport's kiss!
Thee, lady, I had loved.
But now

The glow of youth is gone

The pulse bad perished on my brow, The blossom wither'd on its bough, And nought can please-not even thee, Most lovely one!

Varieties.

VALUE OF A HOITY TOITY.-An elderly man having just left the society of a sprightly girl, exclaimed to his wife," Well, I would not, for the worth of a hundred thousand pounds, be such a hoity-toity as our niece Julia.""Oh! nonsense, Robert," said his wife" hoity toities are all the go with the young men of the present day.'"I suppose so," replied Robert, you would not take their part.”—“Certainly not, my dear-nothing like being in the fashion."

66

J.Z.

or

EXTRAORDINARY JAPANESE MIRROR. -A curious mirror has been recently brought from China to Calcutta, and is now amusing the Dilettanti, and perplexing the philosophers of our Eastern metropolis. This mirror is made of white metal; it has a circular form, and is about five inches in diameter. It has a knob in the centre of the back, by which it can be held, and on the rest of the back are stamped. in relief, certain circles with a kind of Grecian border. Its polished face has that degree of convexity, which gives an image of the face half its natural size; and its remarkable property is, that when you reflect the rays of the sun from the polished surface, the image of the ornamental border, and circles stamped on the back, is seen distinctly reflected on the wall. The gentleman

who brought it from China says that they are very uncommon in that country; and that this one, with a few others, was brought by a Dutch ship from Japan several years ago. On the back of one of these was a dragon, which was most distinctly reflected from the polished side. George Swinton, Esq., who has sent the account of this curiosity to England, ingeniously conjectures that the phenomena may have their origin in a difference of density in different parts of the metal, occasioned by the stamping of the figures on the back, the light, being reflected more or less strongly from parts that have been more or less compressed. Other speculations have been formed as to how these strange effects are produced, but as the original mirror is to be sent to England, either to Sir David Brewster or to Sir John Herschel, in such able hands the question cannot remain long undetermined.

Philosophical Mag. TISTY TOSTY-A derivation.-This is a game played by two persons with a ball made of cowslips, and simply a contraction of "This to ye"-"Toss'd to ye." Forty-four times, the number the ball must be kept up, rhymes as this-" Tisty tosty, four and forty." z.

RATS IN JAMAICA. In no country is there a creature so destructive of property as the rat is in Jamaica; their ravages are inconceivable. One year with another, it is supposed that they destroy at least about a twentieth part of the sugar-canes throughout the is land, amounting to little short of £200,000 currency per annum. The sugar-cane is their favourite food; but they also prey upon the Indian corn, on all the fruits that are accessible to them, and on many of the roots. Some idea will be formed of the immense swarms of those destructive animals that infest this island, from the fact, that on a single plantation thirty thousand were destroyed in one year. Traps of various kinds are set to catch them, poison is resorted to, and terriers, and sometimes ferrets, are employed to explore their haunts, and root them out; still, however, their numbers remain undiminshed, as far at least as can be judged by the ravages they commit. They are of a much larger size than the European rat, especially that kind of them called by the negroes racoons. On the experiment being tried of putting one of these and a cat together, the latter declined attacking it.

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