Imatges de pàgina
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ants of that country. They passed the winter: in a cottage on the banks of the Lake of Ulswater, and continued there till the May follow

dence at C. "This country," says Mrs. Smith, "had many charms for Elizabeth; she drew correctly from nature, and her enthusiastie admiration of the sublime and beautiful often carried her beyond the bounds of prudent precaution with regard to her health. Frequently in the summer she was abroad during twelve or fourteen hours, and in that time walked many miles. When she returned at night, she was always more cheerful than usual; never said she was fatigued, and sel

squares of the periods of the planets are in proportion to the cubes of their distances, but I confessed my inability to assist her; when I came down next morning to breakfast, I founding, when they removed to their present resiher with a folio sheet of paper almost covered with figures; she rose as soon as it was day. light, and by means of Bonycastle's Arithmetic, had learned to extract the cube-root, and had afterwards calculated the periods and distances of several planets, so as clearly to shew the accuracy of Kepler's rule, and the method of employing it. In such pursuits as I have mentioned I could accompany her, but in others she had a much better assistant in our mutual friend Miss H—, who, fortunately for us, spent four months in our neighbour-dom appeared tired. It is astonishing how she hood, and was the companion of our studies and our pleasures. She led Miss Smith to the study of the German language, of which she was afterwards particularly fond. She assisted her in botanical and other pursuits, as well as in different branches of the mathematics.

"I do not know when Elizabeth began to learn Spanish, but it was at an earlier period than that of which I am now speaking; when|| she was with us she read it without difficulty, and some hours every morning before breakfast were devoted to these studies. She acquired some knowledge of the Arabic, and Persian languages during the following winter, when a very fine dictionary and grammar, in the possession of her brother, led her thoughts to Oriental literature. She began to study Latin and Greek in the year 1794, when Mr. C's excellent library, and improving conversation, opened to her an inexhaustible fund of information. She studied Hebrew from my mother's Bible, with the assistance of Parkhurst; but she had no regular instruction in any language except French. Her love of Ossian led her to acquire some knowledge of the Erse language, but the want of books made it impossible for her to pursue that study as far as she wished. Some extracts from her letters will shew how she was employed during the following years." But here we reluctantly must refer our readers to the work itself for a perusal of those interesting extracts.

In October 1800, her mother informs us, they left Ireland, and determined on seeking out some retired situation in England; in the hope that by strict economy, and with the blessing of cheerful contented minds, they might yet find something like comfort; which the frequent change of quarters, with four children, and the then insecure state of Ireland, made it impossible to obtain, notwithstanding the kind and generous attention they invariably received from the hospitable inhabit

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found time for all she acquired, and all she accomplished. Nothing was neglected; there was a scrupulous attention to all the minntiæ of her sex; for her well-regulated mind, far from despising them, considered them as a part of that system of perfection at which she aimed; an aim which was not the result of vanity, nor to attract the applause of the world; no human being ever sought it less, or was more entirely free from conceit of every kind. The approbation of God and her own conscience were the only rewards she ever. sought."

In confirmation of the above, we transcribe the following reflections taken from one of Miss Elizabeth Smith's pocket-books, dated the first of January, 1798, when the author was in her twenty-first year, and which we earnestly recommend to the attention of our fair readers :-" Being now arrived at what is called years of discretion, and looking back on my past life with shame and confusion, when I recollect the many advantages I have had, and the bad use I have made of them, the hours I have squandered, and the opportunities of improvement I have neglected;—when I imagiue what with those advantages I ought to be, and find myself what I am;-I am resolved to endeavour to be more careful for the future, if the future be granted me; to try to make amends for the past negligence, by employing every moment I can command to some good purpose; to endeavour to acquire all the little knowledge that human nature is capable of on earth, but to let the word of God be my chief study, and all others subservient to it; to model myself, as far as I am able, according to the Gospel of Christ; to be content while my trial lasts, and when it is finished to rejoice, trusting in the merits of my Redeemer. I have written these resolutions to stand as a ♪ witness against me, in case I should be inclined to forget them and to return to my former

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indolence and thoughtlessness, because I have found the inutility of mental determinations. May God grant me strength to keep them!" Of this paper Mrs. Smith says:-"I firmly believe this prayer was accepted, for I do not recollect any instance in which she could justly be accused of either indolence or thoughtless ness, except on the subject of health; on that point she trusted too much to the strength of a naturally good constitution; and had so little confidence in human skill, that she neglected such means in the commencement of her last illness, as in all probability would have removed it."

In the year 1803, Miss Elizabeth Smith finished her translation of the Book of Job; and daring the two last years of her life she was engaged in translating from the German some letters and papers written by Mr. and Mrs. Klopstock. In the summer of the year 1805, we are told by Mrs. Smith, in a letter to a friend, that this lovely young woman was seized with a cold which terminated in her death; and on the seventh of August, 1806, we are informed "the angel spirit fied."

We have now given a short sketch of the life of an admirable young lady whose age did not exceed thirty, but whose knowledge and whose acquirements far exceeded her years. We could, with pleasure, have made many extracts from her Fragments, shewing the depth of her understanding, and the goodness of her heart, but we must refer our readers to that source from whence, at the commencement of our history, we professed to have obtained it; and we shall conclude with a poem, sent by a friend to Mrs. Smith after the death of her daughter, as containing a just description of her angelic mind.

How cross the moors and up the hills to wind, And leave the fields and sinking vales behind: How arduous o'er the mountain steeps to go, And look by turns on all the plains below; How scal'd th' aërial cliffs th' adven'trous maid,

Whilst, far beneath, her foil'd campanion

staid?

"Yet whilst to her sublimest scenes arise, Of mountains pil'd on mountains to the skies, The intellectual world still claim'd her careThere she would range, amid the wise and fair, Untutor'd range;-her penetrating mind Left the dull track of school-research behind; Rush'd on, and seized the funds of Eastern Jore,

Arabia, Persia, adding to her store.

"Yet unobtrusive, serious, and meek, The first to listen, and the last to speak; Though rich in intellect, her powers of thought In youth's prime season no distinction sought; But ever prompt at duty's sacred call, She oft in silence left the social hall, To trace the cots and villages around, No cot too mean, where misery might be found: How have I seen her at the humblest shed, Bearing refreshment to the sick man's bed; His drooping spirits cheer'd—she from his door Return'd, amid the blessings of the poor!

"Oh, lost Eliza: dear, ingenuous maid, While low in earth thy cold remains are laid, Thy genuine friendship, thy attentions kind, Rise like a vision on my pensive mind; Thy love of truth, thy readiness to please, Thy sweet refin'd simplicity and ease, Enhanc'd the favours of ingenious art, And made thy gifts pass onward to the heart : These beauteous tints, these peaceful scenes I view,

Thy taste design'd, and ready friendship drew; "How dark this river, murmuring on its Long shall my care the sweet memorials save

way;

This wood how solemn, at the close of day! What clouds come on, what shades of evening

fall,

Till one vast veil of sadness covers all!-
Then why alone thus lingering do I roam,
Heedless of clouds, of darkness, and of home?
Well may I linger in this twilight gloom
Alone, and sad-Eliza's in her tomb!
She who so late, by kindred taste ally'd,
Paced this lone path, conversing at my side;
The wildering path 'twas her delight to prove,
Through the green valley, or the cooling
grove.

"Can I forget, on many a summer's day, How through the woods and lanes we wont to stray;

The hand that trac'd them rests within the grave!

'Lamented maiden! pensive and alone, While sorrowing friendship pours her tender

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ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

CONRADINE;
OR,

INNOCENCE TRIUMPHANT.

CONRADINE was the natural son of Robert, Count of Provence, who died in 1245, on his return from the council of Lyons. On receiving information of the event, Louis IX. King of France, ordered troops to march to Provence, in order to take possession of that country as the inheritance of his wife, the eldest daughter of the deceased Count. Conradine, who was by this time old enough to bear arms, secing the necessity of defending what his father had bequeathed him, put him self at the head of an army, under the pretext of enforcing the rights of the younger daughter of the Count, who had declared her his heiress. Louis was ignorant of the private testamentary arrangements of the deceased; he thought it more adviseable to negociate than to hazard any engagement. In Robert's will, the Count of Toulouse was designated as the future husband of the younger Countess Beatrix. For this union nothing was wanting but the dispensation of the Pope, because they were too nearly related. Louis, however, contrived matters so that the grant of this dispensation was deferred, and meanwhile entered into negociations in Provence with Tarascon and Villeneuve, the guardians of the young Countess. These men likewise managed things with such address that the Count of Toulouse was excluded from the succession, in favour of Charles of Anjou, to whom the King gave the Countess Beatrix in marriage. At the same time Villeneuve excited himself iù behalf of Conradine with such success, that he was confirmed in the possession of all that had been bequeathed him.

Being now relieved from all solicitude, Conradine disbanded his troops,with the exception of his usual body guard. This guard was numerous, and he kept it up, not from apprehension, for he was afraid of nothing, and death was not terrible to him, but out of pride, which rose in him to the highest pitch of extravagance. Like Vespasian, he thought himself formed of different materials from the rest of mankind. He had extended the wall of his castle, and had secured the interior with gate upon gate, and bulwark upon bulwark, to

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| keep his vassals at a proper distance. Those servants whose attendance on his person he could not dispense with, never spoke to him but with fear aud trembling. He introduced a great number of ceremonies, each more formal than the other. His eating, drinking, and retiring to bed were each accompanied with a peculiar etiquette. When he sat down to table, a herald mounted the rampart of the castle and thrice shouted through the eyelet holes: "Ye men of Provence! you may now eat; Conradine is at table." Immediately afterwards a bell rung to announce the time for dinner. When his vassals heard the sound, they were obliged to kneel and pray to heaven to bless their lord's repast. The neighbouring princes were not invited to his court except on gala days, when he held a great levee, for the purpose of augmenting the splendour of his court and person. No person was admitted into is castle without a special invitation. When he went to bed a herald again proclaimed that it was time to retire to rest; the bell again rang, and the door of every house was locked. Each family then assembled as in the days of the patriarchs. The evenings were long, but not longer than the stories with which the youths were amused. The travels

and adventures of Peter of Provence were never forgotten. This was a popular romance, originally composed in Provençal verses, and long afterwards transposed into common prose. They were entertained also with the miraculous deeds of the Bishop of Arles, and the heroic achievements of the valiant Selva, who fought so bravely for the citizens of Sienna when they were at war with the Florentines; or, by the light of an iron lamp, in the form of a shell, suspended from a nail, they sang the compositions of the Troubadours.-After dinner Conradine was accustomed to take a nap,--a practice still common in Provence. As long, therefore, as the prince was engaged in the important business of digestion, no person who followed a noisy trade, was allow| ed to work. People of that description accordingly threw down their hammers and. slumbered over their anvils and their lap

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their estates at a low price, and enfranchised their vassals. He announced that he would purchase such possessions as were offered him for sale. Abundance of offers were made him and his territories were soon increased by Tarascon, Beaucairo, Riez, and Frejus. A

thing he had, doubtless under the idea that much more extensive possessions would fall to his lot in the partition of the promised land, or that he should at least indemnify himself a hundred fold by plunder.

Elzear was not the only one who engaged in this holy expedition from motives of interest, aud who, taking up arms for the cause of the

stones. Conradine permitted no kind of games or sports except on holidays; for he looked upon idleness as a proof of high rank, on this principle, that he who does nothing, is probably superior to others inasmuch as he wants for nothing. Every Sunday, however, all the drummers and fifers in the neighbour-Count de Sabean, named Elzear, sold him every ing country assembled in the courts of the castle, and he condescended on such occasions to honour the dances of his faithful vassals with his presence. Pius, ribbons, nets, were the prizes which he distributed among the most skilful dancers. To such youths and damsels as excelled the rest in running he allotted silver goblets and other articles of that kind. It was curious to see both sexes ming-Almighty, committed without remorse numling in the race, running towards the same goal, aspiring to the same prize, and how the softer sex sometimes vanquished the other. A light short petticoat fluttered from the waist to the knees of the female competitors, a thin veil covered their bosoms, and in this airy attire they seemed as if they flew. Sometimes the maiden ran beside her lover, who took good care not to distance her but to let her win the prize, that he might afterwards receive it from her hands. Conradine introduced other games besides these; for example, throwing blindfold at a cock, with sticks or stones, and wrestling either on dry ground or upon the water. The diversion in which he himself took the greatest delight was the chace, and particularly falconry. This tedious sport he commonly pursued for half the day: the rest of his time Couradine spent in splendid lassitude, amidst the incessant repetition of the same ceremonies and the same formalities of etiquette. Alone in his castle, without ambition, without envy, he might have enjoyed tranquillity, had he not been tormented with pride. In war he had no particular passion for conquest, but he was fond of the glory that was acquired by it.

About this time the crusades were universally preached up. King Louis and his brothers had taken the cross; great numbers of the nobility, and several prelates, followed their example. Conradine was likewise invited to do the same; but as he was not in debt, as his finances were in a good condition, and setting his pride out of the question, his subjects were satisfied with him, he rejected the proposal. On the other hand, the absence of Charles of Anjou, and other powerful lords of Provence, afforded him a favourable opportunity for aggrandizing himself by force of arms. He took advantage, however, in a different way of the folly of his superstitious neighbours, most of whom, in order to raise money, sold

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beriess acts of plunder, piracy, and murder.
Such is the invariable result of superstition
and ignorance. In a word, Count Elzear sold
all his estates, reserving, however, the liberty
of redeeming them at the expiration of a
year. He likewise stipulated that Conradine
should support his five daughters during this
interval, after which he might either send
them to their uncle in Gascony, or shut them
up in a convent. These five young ladies were
so many Graces. Such an elegant shape, such
a delicate complexion, such beauteous and
expressive eyes were never seen before. If a
man beheld one of them he could not help
falling in love with her; but if he saw them
all at once it was impossible to decide which
of them deserved the preference The youngest
was fifteen, and the eldest scarcely twenty.
They had a great number of admirers. The
most renowned Knights of Guienne, Langue-
doc, and Dauphiné, publicly wore their co-
lours, and had their cyphers, together with
their device, embroidered on their scarfs.
This device was a flower with the motto,-"I
am yet a flower, and have nothing to give but
a flower," in allusion to the slenderness of
their fortune.

Before his departure, their father addressed
them nearly in the following manner :- It is
possible, my dear girls, that I may never retara
from beyond the sea.
In the event of my
death, remember that you have a kinsman in
Charles of Anjou, and a still nearer relation in
Beatrix; implore them to take you under
their protection. If it should happen that
they can do nothing for you, repair to the
court of the King of France; you are sure
there to meet with compassion and relief.
But," added he, with a deep sigh, "perhaps
Conradine may chuse one of you for his con-
sort. It is better to be the master of one's
own humble home, than to be dependant on
the bounty of great aud powerful relations.

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them a good night." What a brute!" ex-
claimed Louisa smiling." He must be
"But how?"
tamed," rejoined Euphrosyne.
"Nothing is more easy,
asked Bridget.
his

You have every opportunity of inducing Con-
radine to such a step. My blessing be with
you, my dear girls; the Almighty will he your
upon
protector!"-His daughters fell
neck, and bedewed his cheeks with their tears.
The Count departed.

answered Clotilda; "it depends entirely upon
ourselves."-" By flattery," said Louisa," for
he is proud." "By flattery!" rejoined Eu-
phrosyne. "Ah, no, sister!"-" Let us not
degrade ourselves so low," continued Gertrude;
"his equals are obliged to kneel."-"How
then?" said Bridget." It is sufficient," re-
joined Clotilda, "for us to shew ourselves,
without appearing to seek him, and as if by
accident. He will see us; the little advan-
tages which nature has bestowed on us will
make some impression upon him, and he will
be unable to resist. By degrees the savage
will be tamed; he will begin to be a man ; love
will soon begin to manifest itself, and he will
thus be led to think of marriage. Yes, yes,
my dear sisters, one of us must be his wife.”
All of them at once fixed their eyes on the

As Conradine took no part in the expedition, his castle was open to all the crusaders. The concourse assembled there was considerable. The daughters of the Count de Sabean performed the part of hostess in the castle, and never was such mirth witnessed there as that which they kept up. Out of gratitude for so courteous a reception, the Knights held tournaments in honour of them. Many even gave challenges in earnest; for, said they, who would not lay down his life with pleasure for these amiable sisters?-The tournaments continned three days, during which the Knights exerted all their strength and dexterity. The conquerors thought themselves happy if they were then allowed to imprint a kiss on the hauds of the lovely sisters; and the vanquish-looking glass, which seemed to say to them: ed lamented that fortune deprived them of the like gratification. From these tournaments most of the Knights,at their departure, carried away a wound, inflicted against their will by a single glance of these fair females, accompanied with an agreeable recollection of the pleasure which they had diffused; for, whether they spoke or listened, a smile continually played upon their lips. They were incessantly in motion; their hearts alone remained peaceful and quiet. They were not in love, but, as the reader may already have concluded, their time did not hang heavy on their bands.

The sisters were extremely fond of flowers. The first favour they asked of Conradine was that he would give them a plot of gardenground, which they cultivated with their own hands. As the flowers grew up they divided among themselves the care of attending them. The eldest, Euphrosyue, was particularly fond of the rose; Louisa preferred the tulip; Gertrude chose the ranunculus; Bridget's favourite flower was the violet; and Clotilda tended the carnation. Their apartment was adorned with these flowers, whose variegated colours and mingled odours regaled at once the sight and the smell. Around it stood frames for embroidery, and other implements for female a pleasure to see the occupations. It was fairest hands in the world engaged in turning the spinning-wheel, throwing the shuttle, or|| using the needle. Conradine visited them every evening on his return from the sports of the field, looked stedfastly at them without uttering a word, and after gazing thus for hours together, he retired, and scarcely wished

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"With such beauteous eyes as yours you cannot fail of success."

They were not rivals; their friendship, therefore, remained undiminished. One assisted to dress the other; Clotilda plaited "There, sister," said Bridget's hair, and Euphrosyne arranged Clotilda's flowing locks.

"this robe suits you better than that; one; blue is better adapted to your complexion than rose-colour." In this manner passed a part of the forenoon. But you should have seen them when they went to the church of the All of them wore straw Capuchins to mass. hats, which seemed half inclined to conceal their lovely eyes, and they held each other by the hand like the Graces. There was not a knight and esquire that met them, but what saluted them with a low bow, and at the same time heaved a deep sigh. "What a pity," said they to one another, "what a pity it is that they love nobody." When they came from mass, they went to a field where snares were set, and taking the cord in their hands they roused the decoy-birds with a whistle. Deceived by the leaves with which the snares were covered, and the singing of the decoys, the birds came and perched upon the foliage; one of the sisters immediately pulled the cord, and the bird was caught. But they did not murder their prisoners. Such as were distinguished by the beauty of their plumage, or the melody of their notes, were kept; but the others were set at liberty. To bring up and attend the former was one of their favourite occupations.

Conradine now met them oftener than he

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