We must not wrong yourself and Sicily

By letting all your blooming years pass by
Unmated: you will give the world its due

From beauteous maiden and become a matron true."

แ

Then Lisa, wrapt in virgin wonderment
At her ambitious love's complete content,
Which left no further good for her to seek

Than love's obedience, said with accent meek—
'Monsignor, I know well that were it known

To all the world how high my love had flown,

There would be few who would not deem me mad,
Or say my mind the falsest image had

Of my condition and y your loftiness.

But heaven has seen that for no moment's space
Have I forgotten you to be the king,

Or me myself to be a lowly thing

A little lark, enamoured of the sky,

That soared to sing, to break its breast, and die.
But, as you better know than I, the heart
In choosing chooseth not its own desert,
But that great merit which attracteth it;
'Tis law, I struggled, but I must submit,
And having seen a worth all worth above,
I loved you, love you, and shall always love.
But that doth mean, my will is ever yours,
Not only when your will my good ensures,

But if it wrought me what the world calls harm—

Fire, wounds, would wear from your dear will a charm.

That you will be my knight is full content,

And for that kiss-I pray, first for the queen's consent."

Her answer, given with such firm gentleness,

Pleased the queen well, and made her hold no less

Of Lisa's merit than the king had held.

And so, all cloudy threats of grief dispelled,
There was betrothal made that very morn
"Twixt Perdicone, youthful, brave, well-born,
And Lisa, whom he loved; she loving well
The lot that from obedience befell.
The queen a rare betrothal ring on each
Bestowed, and other gems, with gracious speech.
And that no joy might lack, the king, who knew
The youth was poor, gave him rich Ceffalù

And Cataletta, large and fruitful lands-

Adding much promise when he joined their hands.
At last he said to Lisa, with an air

Gallant yet noble: "Now we claim our share
From your sweet love, a share which is not small;
For in the sacrament one crumb is all."

Then taking her small face his hands between,
He kissed her on the brow with kiss serene,
Fit seal to that pure vision her young soul had seen.

And many witnessed that King Pedro kept
His royal promise: Perdicone stept
To many honours honourably won,
Living with Lisa in true union.

Throughout his life the king still took delight
To call himself fair Lisa's faithful knight;
And never wore in field or tournament
A scarf or emblem save by Lisa sent.

Such deeds made subjects loyal in that land:
They joyed that one so worthy to command,
So chivalrous and gentle, had become
The king of Sicily, and filled the room.

Of Frenchmen, who abused the Church's trust,

Till, in a righteous vengeance on their lust,

Messina rose, with God, and with the dagger's thrust.

L'ENVOL.

Reader, this story pleased me long ago

In the bright pages of Boccaccio,

And where the author of a good we know,

Let us not fail to pay the grateful thanks we owe.

A YEAR AND A DAY.-PART I.

CHAPTER I.-FIVE TO ONE.

set out; and as its concluding words will be spoken neither by its hero nor by its heroine, nor indeed by any of the dramatis persona, regularly so styled, but by those who, in all dramas of real life, do actually speak the last words that is to say, certain among the spectators so these same spectators shall speak the prologue also, in order that, among other reasons, they may not be utter strangers to the audience when they step upon the stage before the fallen curtain at the last.

THE motive of this story is the manner in which the character of one Maurice Brandon was changed, so far as a complete change of character is ever possible: how, from being one with whom, either in his beliefs or conduct, no reader of this, it is hoped, will feel sympathy, he became one who at least deserves all sympathy, even though he should not be so fortunate as to receive it; how he was brought down from dwelling apart in a cloud-land of his own, to do, one may hope, some work as a man among a world of men; how, in a It was, then, some few years word, he served his apprenticeship since that three persons were sitto real and actual life. It is true ting together in a second-floor room that the force of external circum- in the Temple, certainly amusing. stances had seemingly more to do themselves exceedingly well with with this change than any special tobacco and brandy-and-water, and or peculiar merit in the man him- possibly entertaining each other inself; but since the moral of this differently with a mixture of silence story-in so far as it professes to and conversation. Their respective contain any moral whatever-must ages and features are of no particube taken as relating to this very lar consequence; their names-not point, it would be both inartistic that these are of much more imporand injudicious to discuss, by way tance-were Ramsden, Layton, and of epilogue, that which by the com- Hammond. As to their pursuits, mon consent of fabulists is always Ramsden, the tenant of the room, placed at the end, supposing it to was a barrister who, having been be placed anywhere at all. Such, unsuccessful in obtaining the guinthen, is the principal and funda- eas which are represented by briefs, mental motive of this story; but, had at last succeeded in pushing incidentally thereto, will be shown himself upon the staff of a wellhow two small households, obscure, known daily paper. Layton was a unconnected, and living far apart newspaper critic by profession, and from one another in two obscure never had been and never expected country towns, carried on together, to be anything else; and Hammond within the space of a single year, was a sort of amateur conversaan entire drama of human life- tional critic, who lived upon some on a small scale indeed, but com- small means, either of his own or plete in all its parts, from the begin- of his relations and friends, and ning to the end. considered himself, and was sidered, a "literary man," though he had never, to anybody's knowledge, done anything to carry out, the idea. They all belonged to the same set, and spent much time in criticising other people when they

Since, however, it is in neither of these country towns that this drama will be brought to a close, but in the least obscure of all the cities of the earth, it is not unfitting that there also it should

VOL. CV.-NO. DCXLIII.

2 N

con

Layton.-"Yes. Well, he says that it's up about the biggest tree. he ever saw, and no chance of coming down again-that it's all up, What in fact."

Layton.--"I thought we were to especially the title-page. Clever

Layton.-"Brandon all over. I'm going to pitch into it, hot and strong. But it'll sell."

Hammond.-"Sell? Trust Short for knowing what will sell-confound him!

Ramsden." My dear Hammond, that's a very inconsequential speech of yours. What has the trade ever done to you? Have you had dealings with Short? And if not, why this explosion?

Hammond.-"Well, well. I suppose Brandon and Short together know what they're about. But we shall see." ""

"

Ramsden (modestly).-" Do you know, I rather believe in Brandon." Layton.- Yes; no doubt he's clever-but he's too clever. I don't mean to say that I don't understand him myself, but I should think not one man in a thousand did. And firstly, be intelligible; secondly, be intelligible; thirdly, be intelligible. That's what I call my Demosthenic canon of criticism."

Hammond." And a very good one too. I hate books that it takes a Layton to understand. And I hate Saxon English."

Ramsden and Layton (shocked). "What!"

Hammond."I don't mean Anglo-Saxon, mind you; I mean the English that Brandon brought with him from Saxony, or wherever in Germany was his alma mater. He came hot from Heidelberg, or Jena, or Tübingen, you know, or some such place."

Ramsden.-"I see. Well, his style is peculiar, no doubt."

Hammond." I should rather think it was both his poetry and his prose. Do you know that

thing

Layton.-"Ah! poetry's not my line, away from the shop. When I said I understood Brandon, I meant his prose, of course."

Ramsden." Well, the man's a sort of a success, anyhow. There's no doubt about that. I know him a little."

Wilson.-"In for
Best authority."

he in for

everything.

Ramsden. Well, that's confounded hard lines. He'll have to make his books pay now; and, in spite of Hammond, he's not the man to do it. I'm afraid he's above writing to sell. I know what a bore I found it myself at first-not that I was ever proud."

Layton. "Well, one mustn't hit a man when he's down. I'll give Hammond, "So do I- and his book another look through.