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Diary and Chronology.

Wednesday, May 19.

St. Peter Celestine. -High Water 25m after 11 Morn -56m after 11 After. St. Peter. Our saint was born in Apulia about the year 1221; from his infancy he evinced the most extraordinary piety. On the death of Nicholas IV. he was unanimously elected Pope. After having sat in the chair four months, he abdicated the su.. preme dignity of the church the 13th of December, 1292. St. Peter is said to have died in his 75th year.

May 19, 1822-Expired Camille Jordan, the celebrated French orator and politician. When his place (Lyons) opposed the tyranny of the National Convention, he first displayed his eloquence After the siege of Lyons, he retired to Switzerland, and from thence came to this country, where he formed a connexion with Erskine, Fox, &c, and studied our literature, legislation, and constitution. Subsequently, he went to Germany, where he also became acquainted with several of the first literati. In 1800 he was recalled to France, and opposed the pretensions of Buonaparte, then First Consul. During the Imperial Government, he lived in entire seclusion, occupied solely with literary pursuits. Attached to the Bourbons, he endeavoured to promote their restoration in 1814.

Thursday, May 20.

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Ascension Day-St, Bernardin of Sienna, d. A.D. 1444.-Sun rises 8m aft 4-sets 53m aft 7. May 20, 1750.-The celebrated French author, Marmontel, in his life, says to-day, "I had carelessly finished my tragedy of Cleopatre;' and this piece, which, in the collection of my works, is that on which I have employed the most labour, savoured of the precipitation with which we write, at an age when we have not yet felt how difficult it is to write well. It needed all the indulgence of the public to obtain the very moderate success of eleven representations. I had introduced upon the stage the denouement with which history furnished me, and Vaucauson had undertaken to contrive for me an automaton aspic, that at the moment when Cleopatre pressed it to her bosom to excite its bite, should imitate, almost to nature, the motion of the living aspic, But the surprise created by this ingenious piece of mechanism diverted the spectators from the true interest of the moment. I have since preferred a denouement more simple. Besides, I ought to acknowledge that I had presumed too much on my own powers, when I hoped to persuade my audience to pardon Antony's excessive error. The example it affords is terrible; but the extreme difficulty was to make it affecting."

Friday, May 21.

High Water Oh 53m Morn 19m Aftern

Marianne Colston, in her " Journal of a Four in France, Italy, &c." under this day writes, "We saw here (Ancona) an image of the Virgin, which is said to possess the miraculous power of opening and shutting its eyes; and so far as we could comprehend the account given us, both by our cicerone, and a religieuse who showed us the church, when Bonaparte was here, and desired the image to be brought to him, he, terrified at seeing it open its eyes, threw his handkerchief over it, when the indignant Madonna threw it back again."

Saturday May 22.

St. Basilicus, mar. A.D. 372.-New Moon 13m after 7 Morning.

May 22, 1645.-The siege of Oxford by Sir Thomas Fairfax commenced on this day, and lasted till the 5th of June; when the siege was raised, and the next day Sir Thomas went to Borstall House near Brill, in Buckinghamshire, which he endeavouring to storm, was courageously repelled by Sir William Campion.

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Sunday, May 23.

SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY.

Lessons for the Day, 12 chap. Deut. morn.-13 chap. Deut. even.

St. Desiderius, Bishop of Langres, 7th Century.

May 23, 1617.-Born at Lichfield, Elias Ashmole, the celebrated heraid and antiquarian. He was the founder of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, & died in 1693, at Lambeth." Monday, May 24.

Sts. Donation and Rogation, mar A D. 287.-Sun rises 3m after 4-sets 58m after 1. May 24, 1543.-Expired in his 70th year, Copernicus, the famous astronomer, to whom we are

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indebted for the establishment of the planetary system of Pythagoras. At the age

of only twenty-seven, this great man had acquired such fame, that he was called
to Rome to take the office of a publie professor of mathematics in that city. He
however, still continued his astronomical pursuits, notwithstanding his public
engagements, and diligently observed the lunar eclipse of 1500. Being desirous to
devote himself more particularly to astronomy, he left Rome, and having ultimate-
ly settled at Frauenburg, he commenced a rigorous examination of the different
systems of the universe, the result of which was the firmest conviction of the truth
of that which now bears his name. His immortal work, On the Revolution of the
Celestial Orbs, forms a perfect body of astronomy.
Tuesday, May 25.

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St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, Vir. d. A.D. 1607.-High Water Im aft & mor.-21m aft 4 Aft. Our saint, who was a native of Blondelmonti, entered the order of the Carmelites in 1582; in 1604 she was chosen sub-prioress, in which station she edified the community twenty-four years and three months.

ERRATUM. Page 303, column 1, for "one day," read "our day."

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Ir was a joyful day when the division of the army to which I belonged, then encamped in the south of Spain, received orders to strike their tents, and to occupy as winter quarters the villages in the immediate neighbourhood.

There, for the first time since my arrival in the Peninsula, I was separated from my friend Edwards, with whom I had hitherto shared the same tent, but who now had quarters assigned to him in the. house of an elderly gentleman and his lady, who, having no family of their own, had adopted a niece, bereaved of her parents by death while she was yet too young to feel the loss. She might at that 21-VOL. V. X

See page 352,

time be about the age of nineteen, and was by far the finest woman I had ever seen, even in her own land of beauty; and few men whose affections were free could have looked upon Francesca Zamora without emotion.

Edwards was a young man of a gay and light-hearted disposition, one of those who can dally with love, and play around its flame without being much scorched; but his attentions to the fair Spaniard were so marked, and such a mutual regard seemed to subsist betwixt them, as in less troubled times would have rendered their union for life a matter of more than mere probability.

But with the first appearance of spring our army took the field in pursuit of the enemy, who commenced their retreat towards, the north, and Edwards and I became messmates and sharers of the same tent as formerly.

It was at the close of a long and harassing march that we were joined by an officer who had been left behind in our late quarters for a few days on regimental duty, and by him informed, that, shortly after the departure of the regiment, Fran

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cesca Zamora had disappeared from the house of her friends, and that every search after her had proved in vain.

Her loss had excited deep and universal regret, for she was the pride of the village, and the delight of all hearts. Edwards seemed much affected at the time, and for several days was in low spirits, but afterwards regained his usual gaiety, and seemed to have forgotten the circumstance altogether.

We had nearly concluded a long day's march without getting sight of the enemy, when towards evening, all at once, from a rising ground, we beheld them posted upon a ridge of heights from which they showed no disposition to retire.

Our troops immediately moved on to dislodge them, in the face of a furious cannonade, as well as of a heavy and destructive fire of musketry, and after a sharp action, succeeded in driving them from the heights; but darkness coming on, it was impossible to follow up our advantage, and we contented ourselves with occupying the position from which we had driven them.

Our loss was severe-and among those

who returned not from the strife was Edwards. Yet he had not been seen among the killed or wounded, and there seemed no possibility of his having been taken prisoner by the enemy, as they had not given us an opportunity of coming in close contact with them. In the report of the casualties, therefore, he was returned as missing; and, oh! with what agonies of doubt and sickening suspense is that brief word fraught, as it meets the startled gaze of far-distant friends! What vague and dark conjectures does it call up into the bosom of affection, compared to which certainty of any kind, even of death itself, were a relief!

We bivouacked during the night, which was stormy and dark, save when the moon would break out in momentary gleans through the black and billowy clouds careering over the sky; and I sat all alone by a fire which my servant had kindled, musing upon the strange and wild vicissitudes of a soldier's life, and the mysterious disappearance of Edwards, whose absence made a miserable gap in my existence. I be The friendships formed in camp,

'lieve, are few; for hardships and privations have a tendency to shut up the avenues to the heart against generous and social feelings, and to render it cold and selfish; yet, if once formed, they seem to be strengthened by such trials, and a community of suffering becomes a bond of union. But of the few friends whom I possessed during the campaign, and with whom I had lived in a state of intimacy almost unknown to social and civilized life, every battle had deprived me of one, and now I was alone and a stranger amidst the crowds of a camp, where yet the strong necessity of circumstance compels men to herd together, and to form new intimacies, even with the memory of a lost friend warm at the heart.

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It was now verging towards the middlewatch of the night, when a sudden thought came into my mind, that I would go and search for Edwards upon the field of battle. Who knows (thought I) but he may have escaped notice among the dead, or he may be still alive, but disabled by wounds, and perchance perishing for want of human aid?-The plan was no sooner conceived than I felt an irresistible impulse towards its accomplishment. therefore hastily drew my cloak around me, and proceeded alone towards the contested ground, which lay at no great distance in our rear. In a melancholy mood I approached its precincts, which were skirted by a lonesome wood, and had no sooner entered the "valley of death" than 1 stumbled over a dead body. I sprang up with a feeling of horror, and at that moment a sudden stream of moonlight falling on the pale face and lifeless form before me, revealed to my shuddering recognition an officer whom I had known in England, and had frequently seen at the banquet and the ball the gayest of the gay; and now, oh what a dreary meeting, at the dead of night, and on the field of battle, to jostle with his corpse! I passed over the ground with more slow and cautious steps; but had not proceeded far, when I was startled by the sound of footsteps, and, upon directing my attention towards the place whence it proceeded, could distinguish a tall figure muffled up in a Spanish cloak approaching through the gloom.

"Who goes there?" I exclaimed, (as is the soldier's wont in cases of danger or of doubt;) but receiving no auswer, and observing that the unknown stood still, I again called out, "Who are you, and with what intent do you roam among the dead at the midnight hour? Speak instantly, or I shall hold you as a plunderer, and treat you as a foe."

Upon hearing these words the stranger

slunk back into the wood, which confirmed my suspicions, that he was one of those marauders who follow in the wake of an ariny, and come forth with stealthy steps, in the shadow of the night, to plunder the dead and to despatch the wounded, in order to obtain their clothes and money Ruthless hands had already been busy at their sacrilegious work on the battle-field; for, amidst the fitful gleams shot from the moon, as her waning crescent sailed through the storm, I had frequent glimpses of the naked and outraged dead, lying in their gory wounds, with their pale ghastly faces turned towards the sky, and glimmering in the cold wan night-beam. Meantime the storm waxed wilder every moment, and howled and wailed through the wood. There was something fearful in that uproar of nature, contrasted with the dreary silence and peace of death. A feeling of painful solemnity passed over my heart; and, after traversing the field without making any discovery respecting Edwards, I retraced my steps and returned to the camp. The operations of the campaign which succeeded I pass over, as not being relevant to my narrative. But about a month after this affair with the enemy, while reposing in my tent during the heat of noon, I was startled by the apparition (for such for a moment I conceived it to be) of my lost friend.

Yes; Edwards it was who stood before me, though much changed and emaciated, but, overcome with amazement, I gazed upon him without the power of utterance.

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Why don't you speak?" were his first words;-"ghosts, you know, must be questioned ere they break silence; however, on account of our long intimacy, for this once I dispense with this condition of their nature." As soon as I had recovered from the shock produced by the presence of one whom I had iong numbered with the dead, I made him give me an account of his mysterious disappearance and unexpected return. It was to the following effect :

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About the middle of the action, mentioned in the foregoing pages, Edwards received a severe wound, by which he was so disabled as to be unable to move from the spot where he had fallen, surrounded by the dying and the dead. In this helpless situation he remained unnoticed until the fall of night, when his wounds became stiff and agonizing, and at last nature was so far overpowered with suffering, that he sunk into a slumber, which would have ended in the sleep of death, had he not been roused from it, by feeling his temples chafed, and his head gently raised from the ground.→

Slowly and heavily he raised his eyes, and a burst of moonlight breaking through the gloom, showed him the pale face of Francesca Zamora bending over him, as she supported his head upon her bosom. As soon as he showed symptoms of returning life and consciousness, she beckoned to a female attendant in waiting, who immediately approached, and by their joint-exertions Edwards was moved to a solitary and deserted cottage at some distance, where medical assistance was procured, and his wounds were dressed by the surgeon of a village a few miles in rear of the scene of action.

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Thus it was, that, under the influence of a romantic passion, and perhaps a presentiment that she might be the preserver of its object, Francesca had quitted her kindred and her home,-had sacrificed the approval of her friends, and, more than all, had risked her reputation, and with a female domestic had contrived, by means only known to themselves, to track the movements of the army undiscovered and unsuspected, and at length, on a night of storm, and a field of death, to snatch from the brink of the grave the object of her first affection. Alas that a love so rare and so devoted as hers should ever meet with so sad a fate!-that after saving him from death, and tending him in sickness, till her fair young face faded with watching his fevered slumbers, which was done with a patience that ceased not from its labour of love until he was once more restored to a state of convalescence, that after these, and all her other sacrifices and sufferings, she should have to learn, ere he departed for the army, that he was already betrothed to a lady in his own land!

Edwards was not wanting in gratitude; he poured out his heart before her at parting, calling her his preserver and dearest friend, but said that a gulf of fate was fixed between them, and that she berself must cease to regard him, were he base enough to break his vows; he, however, expressed his hope that she would still think of him as a friend who was indebted to her for life, and who would cherish her memory till his latest breath; finally, he obtained from the unfortunate girl a promise that she would again return to her friends.

Shortly after the return of Edwards, I was appointed to take charge of an escort about to proceed to Lisbon with a party of our sick and wounded men; and as our route lay through that part of the country which we had occupied as winter quarters, Edwards requested that I would make particular inquiries respecting his deliverer, as he felt he could not be happy

until he had heard of her safe arrival at her native village. At an early hour in the morning I marched off with my party, and bade adieu to the camp, whose white tents faded away into the horizon like the dying gleam of distant sails. I proceeded with my charge, by slow and easy marches, until we reached our late village-quarters, where, upon inquiry, I learnt, with regret, that Francesca had not returned, nor had ever been heard of since the time of her departure from her inconsolable friends; and as it was supposed she must have met with some fatal accident, masses had been said for the repose of her soul.

As I had seen and known her in her day of smiles, her romantic and melancholy story made a deep impression upon my mind, and the mystery that now hung over her fate gave rise in my imagination to a thousand vague and dismal conjectures respecting her. But the beautiful and exciting scenes through which I passed gradually began to efface from my mind these and all other subjects of painful contemplation,-not but that the face of the country tended at times to revive them, for here and there it bore the records of ruin; but the healing principle of Nature was busy at the work of renovation, and was spreading a garment of green-a beautiful oblivion over what she could not restore. Young flowers were springing up on the battle-field, making the grave a place of beauty and the nursery of new life; and the poor peasants, who had been hunted from their hearths into the dens and caves of the wildest sierras, were once more returning to their homes, and beginning to repair the work of destruction.

I had now been a considerable time upon the march, when, at the close of a long day's journey, we arrived at a village where I found it would be necessary to allow my party a day's rest, as the sick and wounded were beginning to suffer much from fatigue and exposure to the heat of the climate; and on the following evening I sauntered forth to take a survey of the place, which was beautifully situated at the foot of some stupendous mountains. I had strayed about a mile from the village, when, upon turning the angle of one of the hills, I came suddenly upon a large mansion which stood in the gorge of one of the defiles of the mountains, from whence might be had a glimpse of their mystic recesses, wending away through the shadowy mazes of rock and glen; while, on the other side, a vast range of champaign country, variegated with woods and waters and old castles, stretched away to the horizon in one wide gleam of evening glory. From the ap pearance of the building before me, I

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