until they could be put apprentice to some trade that would enable them to get their own living. A much wiser method than that which generally falls to the lot of the unfortunate offspring of such amours, who are either deserted at their birth, or pampered for a few years, and taken out of their station, until the caprice or economy of their fathers prompts them to some alteration in their intentions, when they are turned adrift without a sufficiency to support the false ideas that have been instilled into them, or left to perish under an accumulated weight of misery and neglect. Fortune, however, continued to follow our young captain wherever he went; and after various acts of bravery, he was actually made postcaptain into a line of battle ship by mistake; and after an absence of less than ten years, he returned to England in the command of the very ship into which he had been pressed from under the cook's table in the Indiaman! Circumstances in the mean time had equally befriended him at home; for, during his absence, one of his sisters had married an officer of high consideration and rank, from which circumstance Will derived additional consequence. On taking his flag, this officer, of course, out of consideration to his lady, nominated her brother his flag-captain, and in this capacity he joined us at Jamaica. It was there I first saw Captain, and a more extraordinary-looking being I do not think was ever created. As he was universally allowed to be a sort of privileged person, he took no pains whatever to conceal or moderate his defects of either manners or appearance; he never cared in the least what he said or did, and every body wondered what sort of an animal the Admiral had imported. He was extremely plain in his person, but had nothing stern or forbidding about him; on the contrary, an expression of kindness and benevolence overcame his natural ugliness of countenance, in spite of his grotesque appearance, which he seemed to have done all in his power to heighten. In the hottest day in the West Indies he wore thick worsted stockings and coarse blue trowsers, which no other person could have endured; with a sailor's jacket, having no insignia of his rank except the straps on his shoulders, which indicated his right to wear epaulets; and his wizen face, which was more the colour of the underpart of toad's stomach than any human complexion, was surmounted by an old three-cornered cocked-hat, such as Admiral Benbow might have worn. This was his usual attire, but on great occasions the Admiral would prevail on him to dress himself suitably to his rank and station; though he was the only person who had sufficient influence over the Captain to effect such a change. It was evident, on these occasions, that his dignity was extremely irksome to him; but he loved and reverenced his brother-in-law, and obeyed him with the simplicity and deference of a child. With other people he was inflexibly obstinate, the more so when most in the wrong; but his shrewd sense whispered him on this particular occasion, that his own interest required blind obedience and non-resistance to his relative's will, whom he knew to be kindly disposed towards him. I have seen him, when escaped from all control, galloping about the park at the Penn, on an untamed South American horse that nobody else would have mounted, without saddle, bridle, or stirrups, dressed in tight buckskin pantaloons, in the full heat of a broiling Jamaica sun; and when reminded that the Admi ral might want him, he would hurry to his own room to get himself dressed in time, when it would take the utmost exertion of two of the black servants of the Admiral's establishment to get him out of his buckskin inexpressibles, which stuck to him like a wet wash-leather glove from heat and perspiration. Nothing could be more ludicrous than this operation, which bore more resemblance to skinning an eel than to any thing I have ever seen. His brother-in-law's care was now to enrich him, having placed him in a station which his family consequence required, and his frequent trips to the Spanish Main fully answered that purpose. But Fortune was not yet tired of loading him with her favours: he had attained rank earlier and more rapidly than most of his brother officers, riches had actually been put into his pocket ;-but all this was not sufficient-the Admiral died, and he became Commodore and Commander-in-chief on the West India station! He sincerely lamented his benefactor's loss, and faithfully reverenced his memory, and I believe was more sorry for his death than he could have been for any thing else in the world. He, however, did not fail to secure his interest on the whole, partly for the sake of the Admiral's family, and partly for his own; for he collected all the specie he could find in the island, and leaving the station to shift for itself, he set sail for England, with his precious freight on board, which yielded him an abundant harvest. He was greatly blamed for quitting his post; but Will was a sort of person who did not much care what any body thought now that the poor Admiral was no more; and the conduct of those he left behind showed that they only wanted the same opportunity to do the same thing; for he was no sooner gone than each, as they succeeded to the command, set off for different parts of the Spanish coast, that inexhaustible El Dorado of the Jamaica station. Will arrived safely in England, having realized about 20,000l. by freight, prize-money, and his previous successes in the East. But on shore he was a greater oddity even than at sea. He had married his mother's housekeeper on his first return to England, so that he had a home to go to; but as that lady had nothing to recommend her but her fat and good-nature-for she was as big round as the capstan of his own ship-she was not much countenanced by his family. Luckily, this tender union was not blessed with any results, and as he had no progeny, it is most probable that his money will go to his benefactor's children. The Commodore's good fortune attended him to the very last, and he was fortunate enough to die before he had experienced any reverses. His health had suffered considerably from hot climates, and his death was in my opinion an additional piece of good fortune, as it saved him from a painful and peevish old age; and he had no resources within himself, having never read any book but "Steel's List" in his life. I do not think it possible to find a more perfect instance of unvarying good fortune than in this worthy but extraordinary man. One sees people possessed of talents, connexion, industry, and exertion, toiling through a long life to eke out a miserable competency without success; and this man, by sheer luck alone, attained rank, riches, and power, and all that is most desirable, at an early age, and died before he had experienced a single reverse. He certainly, when once in the road to fortune, did nothing to mar it; but he did nothing to deserve it; he had not even high feelings or spirit to enjoy it. When we do meet with such examples, it almost inclines us to believe in predestination, and give up every thing to Providence; indeed it would be easy to adopt this Turkish feeling, if one did not occasionally see instances of virtue, talent, and perseverance meeting their just reward; and when we do behold the contrary, it is salutary and comfortable for us to believe that these things are intended for some wise purpose which we cannot comprehend, and that, if we are not rewarded according to our liking in this world, we may be in the next; for man is an egregious over-rater of his own merits. NO MORE. "There came a sound of song From the dark ruins-a faint strain As if some Echo that among Those minstrel halls had slumber'd long, Ah! where are they, who heard in former hours 'Tis thus in future hours, some bard will say They are gone-they too are gope.”—Evenings in Greece. No more!-a harp-string's deep, sad, breaking tone, A last low summer-breeze, a far-off knell, A dying echo of rich music gone, Through woods that shadow'd our first years to rove, And turn, and meet our own heart's answer there- Words of Despair!-yet Earth's, all Earth's-the woe To watch in dying hope, Affection's wane, No more! To wear impatiently a secret chain, To waste the untold riches of the heart No more! Through long, long years to seek, to strive, to yearn No more! On things that fail us, reed by reed, to lean, No more! Words of triumphant music!-bear we on No more! "Jamais, jamais! Je ne serai aimé comme j'aime," was the mournful expres sion of Madame de Stael. A RENCONTRE IN THE DESERT.* THE black tents soon disappeared in a few moments we found ourselves once more in the great solitude, with the worst auguries and the most dangerous companions around us. A gallop across the Desert, pathless and boundless as it appears, on the fine Arab courser of these Bedouins, is a glorious pleasure. The spirit exults within one at the interminable expanse; you lose in some degree the sense of humanity, and stretch away into infinite space as if disembodied already from its incumbrances. But the trot of an old hack camel is a very different description of enjoyment. Immediately on starting from the camp, each Arab resumed his seat behind us, and goaded his animal into a sort of reluctant canter. For a moment, we flew across the sands and herbage with a painful celerity. The trot or canter of a camel is less disagreeable in general than his walk, but these camels had lost all the elasticity of their youth; they went lumbering on, and soon relapsed into their ordinary gait. This provoked the Arabs to new efforts, and we again rushed forward as if in full flight from some powerful pursuer. The saddles added to our afflictions; they were composed of crossed boards and sharp projections; every step was felt through the entire frame. It was in vain to appeal to the Arabs: they were sufficiently refractory on leaving Homs; they now affected to command us: if they were not really such, they at least deemed themselves our masters. We at last left every thing to their discretion. Homs in the perspective consoled us. As the day zow declined every object became more and more beautiful: the sun sunk at once as if at sea; the stars seemed to rush out together over the deep blue sky; the young gazelles were seen glancing and playing at a distance before us; at one time a group of five or six very nearly approached us. In about two hours we reached a small rivulet, and it being now quite dark, proposed resting. We dismounted, but were obliged instantly to continue our route; the Arabs peremptorily interposed. They observed to us, with their usual exaggerated gesticulation, that a moment's unnecessary delay in such a spot might prove fatal: it was the accustomed watering-place of their enemies: their camels were usually to be seen in the neighbourhood about sunset. These representations were not to be contested; we crossed the rivulet, and in a short time after got into a safer situation, immediately under a small stony eminence, and spread what small portion still remained of the provisions of the preceding day. The Arabs watched these arrangements for some moments in silence, * Concluded from page 231. but scarcely had we commenced eating, when they instantly rushed forward and demanded their share of the repast. This was done in so peremptory a manner that we at first declined complying with their wishes; but brooking no opposition, these ferocious freebooters turned round on Mersheb and the soldier with violence, and proudly exclaimed, "What! is this the reward of our hospitality? Is it thus that these strangers repay us? Have they not eaten of our honey, and have they not drunk of our coffee? Have they not this morning sat down under our tents? and is it now that the Infidels refuse us bread?" We observed to them that their conduct had hitherto merited little kindness or consideration; but, to prevent the possibility of any new differences between us, they should be permitted to take whatever might be left. They received the answer with a sullen and frowning countenance, broke the bread in silence, and retired, without a word of thanks, to the edge of the stream, at a small distance from our group. They had not been there long when a new and alarming circumstance presented itself. We had spread our abbas on the ledges of the rock, and were preparing to throw ourselves down, for a few short hours of very doubtful repose, when we saw Mersheb, with two of the Arabs, running towards us from the circle near the brook, and calling in a loud and clamorous tone once more to mount. We expostulated, we demanded an explanation: the Arabs shook their heads; Mersheb placed his finger significantly on his lip; we had no means of resistance; we were alone; we were once more compelled to submit. This debate was more important to us than at the time we imagined: it nearly concerned our personal safety. We afterwards heard, that on receiving the bread and retiring from our group, two of the more turbulent, who had watched our movements with unusual attention, at a little distance from their party, returned, and in a low voice and very intelligible gestures, communicated to their fellows the prospects which were opening before them. "They had now, they represented, a very favourable opportunity of retaliating in full. We were about to stretch ourselves down upon the rock, and in a few moments would, undoubtedly, be asleep." This produced a rapid and discordant consultation; but it is difficult to say how it might have terminated had not Mersheb intervened, in a critical moment, and partly by entreaty, partly by menace, succeeded in baffling the projects of our two Arab friends. He drew a powerful picture of the great importance we were to the Pasha of Damascus, and how much he cherished us, and how inconsolable he would be at our loss; that an Inglis Bey was not an every-day sort of personage; and, for aught he knew, every hair of our heads might be valued at the life of an Arab, and God knows how many camels to boot. These considerations, urged with great solemnity, and probably with profound conviction of their truth, had, fortunately, their due influence. The Arabs began to balance their revenge against their lives and their camels, and for this time at least we were permitted to escape. We mounted our camels once more, and, with a cheer or two for Homs, answered rather surlily by the guttural growl of our disappointed protectors, again set out in full flight over the desert. The moon had not yet risen: there was a thick, stifling haze over the earth, steaming up after the violent heat of the day; we could scarcely see each other, though scarcely at the distance of ten paces; the ground was broken, rough, unequal; we were not allowed to keep together, and the Arabs prohibited us from uttering a single word. When an inquiry or a call to each other escaped us, "The enemy-the enemy!" was the instant reproof from the accompanying Arab, the "atra cura," behind us. These fears were partly feigned, and partly sincere. As we cleared the low hillocks immediately connected with the site of our late bivouac, they goaded on their beasts with increased velocity towards Homs. Every instant we felt increased apprehensions, not indeed that we should miss the way (the stars were sufficient guidance for our navigation), but that the camels, now nearly as much fatigued as ourselves, would stumble over the loose, ridgy plain, and precipitate us, with as much violence as if jerked from the top of an opposition stage-coach, from their backs. A camel is a very formidable |