of their running foul of the passions and dispositions of others, and so leading to endless warfare among men. To prevent the diverse tastes and tendencies of mankind from jostling each other, society has established a conventional system of manners, known by the phrase "good breeding," which prevents one person from saying such things as he pleases, if the saying of such things be likely to displease others. This check, unfortunately, is of least avail in families, being there deranged in its exercise by the easiness and familiarity which near relationship and early habits have introduced, and even rendered in some measure laudable. As it is at the same time a fact in nature, that greater differences of disposition prevail among at least collateral relations, than what are to be found in an equal number of persons selected at random from the community, and as relations, moreover, are most frequently engaged in the transactions which are apt to produce contrariety of interest, and excite opposite natures, the result obviously must be, that dissensions more frequently take place among them than among other persons. When once offence has been given and taken among friends, it is easy to see that a reconciliation must be more difficult and hopeless than in any other case, since, even if there were no other causes, the very fact of the offence having been given by a friend must make it seem the less excusable.

Now, nothing can be clearer than that the true way to avoid such unhappy enmities is to call into exercise in fa-. milies, if not the formal manners which are necessary to avoid divisions in general society, at least a greater share of that mutual bearing and forbearing which constitutes the best part of "good breeding." Some one has remarked with much force, that, as two hard substances are necessary to strike fire, so two obdurate natures are requisite in a quarrel. In all dissensions, each invariably thinks himself the innocent and ill-used party, and throws the whole blame upon his neighbour. But this is an absurdity in nature. If either had had a sincere desire to avoid quarrel

ling, a little endurance and a little forbearance-no matter from which side would have had the effect. Did wrath come from one side !-would not "a soft word" from the other have "turned it away?" Hence, it may be observed. that an imperious and a yielding nature form a union little liable to be disturbed by quarrels. Let no one say that to be constantly giving way to the worse passions of a neighbour is an unmanly sacrifice that ought not to be made. Peace, peace, peace," as the good Lord Falkland cried, "give us peace upon any terms.' And, moreover, will the want of reason in one person excuse the want of a gentle spirit in another? Ought we not, rather, by yielding, to hold up an example to our less happily constituted friend, or, if all other good ends fail, by forgiveness heap coals of fire upon his head?

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THE TWO BROTHERS.

Or the divided affections too often observable among brothers, a most remarkable instance happened a few years ago in the family of a gentleman of the north of Scotland. George and William Stirling were the only sons of the gentleman alluded to, and they had grown to manhood in the exercise of that mutual kindness which it is so delightful to observe in relations of that degree of consanguinity. I am not aware that there was any thing remarkable in their characters: they were simply two respectable young men, of good education; and while the elder was reared to the enjoyment of a competent fortune, the younger soon attained such a degree of distinction at the bar as rendered his fate little less enviable. On the death of their mother, which took place when they were between twenty and thirty years of age, some dispute arose respecting a legacy, the destination of which had not been expressed in terms sufficiently clear, and which, after a brief suit at law, was determined in fa

vour of the elder brother. At first it was resolved by the two brothers that this plea should be amicably conducted, merely for the purpose of deciding an uncertain matter; but some circumstances unexpectedly occurred, which acting upon the inflammable nature of the elder, and not being met with a proper spirit by the younger brother, speedily produced a decided alienation between them. Each retired sullenly into the fortress of his own pride; nor were their father's entreaties and good offices, or their common recollection of twenty affectionate and happy years, of the least avail in bringing them once more together. They did not again meet for ten years: it was at their father's funeral. The old gentleman had died in presence of his eldest son only, reiterating with his latest breath those injunctions, so often before employed in vain, that his two sons might be restored to brotherly friendship: an object, he said, which engrossed his thoughts so much in life, that he felt as if he could not rest at peace in his grave unless it were accomplished. The two brothers met, but without taking the least notice of each other, when respectively mounting their carriages, in order to follow the corpse of their parent to the family burying-place in Aberdeen. Their hearts were still filled with fierce and indignant feelings towards each other, though it is not improbable that the elder had been somewhat touched, almost imperceptibly to himself, by the dying entreaties of his father. The procession, consisting of a hearse and the carriages of the two brothers, set out on its long and dreary journey, which was rendered additionally melancholy by the gloom of a December day. It was originally designed that there should be no stoppage, except to exchange horses, till they reached their destination; but this arrangement was destined to be strangely disconcerted. A fall of snow, which had begun only that morning in the low country, was found, when they reached the hilly region, to have been of two days' continuance; and it was with the greatest difficulty that they reached a lonely inn, about half way towards the capital, beyond which

it was declared by the postilions there was no possibility of proceeding that day. This humble place of entertainment was accustomed to lodge only such guests as carriers, and as it was partly occupied on the present occasion by various wayfarers, the host, with all anxiety to accommodate such distinguished guests as those who had just arrived, found he could not by any means offer them more than two rooms. It was his expectation, that, while one of these was devoted, as decency required, to the reception of the corpse, the other would serve for the two mourners ; and he accordingly proposed to make up an additional bed in the room which he had marked as that which would receive his living guests. What was his astonishment, and what was the astonishment of all the inmates of the house, when he was informed by a servant that one of the gentlemen would sleep in one of these rooms, while the other had no objection to that in which he had placed the corpse! It was not, however, for him to make any resistance to such an arrangement, and he accordingly caused the rooms to be prepared as befitted the taste of his guests.

It must communicate a strange feeling to know that two brothers-men of cultivated understanding, and each respected in his sphere for public and private worth-actually carried this dreadful arrangement into effect, in order to avoid what they must have contemplated as a more painful thing-the spending of a single night in each other's company. It was the younger who proposed, as a solution of the dilemma in which he found they were placed, to take up his quarters in the same chamber with the corpse: unpardonable as the elder was for his share of the dissension, it is but justice to him to state, that he could not, after the dying request of his father, have encountered the sensations which might be expected to arise in so dreadful a situation. During the evening, as the storm prevented them from going out of doors, each kept his own room, and was severally served with the refreshments which he required. Night came, and each went to rest.

Morning returned, and still the storm was unabated. It was therefore necessary to spend another day in the same extraordinary circumstances. Slowly, slowly waned the hours of the twilight day; and still the snow continued to fall in its broad and lazy flakes, seeming, to the two brothers, as each surveyed it listlessly from his window, the very personification of monotony. As the rooms were close to each other, and only divided by a thin partition, through which there was a door of communication, each of the unhappy gentlemen could overhear every thing that his neighbour did, almost to his very breathing. It at length became the amusement of each, unknown to his fellow, to watch the proceedings of the other-to note every footfall, to register every sigh. George, in particular, became interested, in spite of himself, in the situation of his brother, which, in consideration of what he had heard from the lips of his dying father, bore to him an aspect more repulsive and painful than it perhaps did to the actual sufferer. At length, when, after a weary day, the time of rest again drew nigh, and the house became more than usually still, he heard a groan-a groan partly suppressed, but still bearing distinctly the impress of unutterable anguish-proceed from his brother's room. He listened more intently, and in a few minutes he could make out that the living tenant of the death-chamber was prostrated beside the coffin-weeping-bitterly weeping-but still making every effort to bury the expression of his grief in his own bosom. It may easily be imagined that such sounds, coming upon a heart which had been insensibly undergoing a softening process during the whole day, must have had the best effect. Still the rancour of ten years was not to be got over by tears shed under such circumstances. He softly stole, however, to the door, and watched with the most intense anxiety every respiration and movement of his afflicted brother. After waiting a few minutes, he distinctly heard William breathe forth the words, Oh, mother!" and that in a tone which referred so pointedly to

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