who never yet had trembled in the sight of mortal man exhibited signs of fear---of apprehension--of shame, (if such it could be called, from the deep tinge of crimson which now flushed on a cheek that otherwise had owned the saffron hue; for no rose or lily had ever mantled there :)---No, not even in the morning of gay and jocund youth, had Margaret's cheek e'er blushed as it did now, in the presence of this rough, blunt, and hardy soldier; when tremulously, (for she had not yet recovered her confusion) she demanded to know, "what aught he had to say concerning the pious, holy man, Benvolio? who, in these sequestered walls, hath passed a life so sacred and devout, in holy exercises,” added she, more warmly, "that no tongue of slander's poisonous breath could e'er have power to touch his bright unsullied excellence! And, oh, for the sake of my late gallant lord, I prize Benvolio much; for much Albino loved him. In all his private councils, and affairs of state, none would he have so near him as the wise, prudent, holy man---the virtuous Benvolio! and I, in duty bound, you know, (heaven save me, a poor defenceless woman!) have profited by the example of my dear lord, and chose Benvolio too to direct the agency of all that may concern my deep and lengthened days of sad and sorrowing widowhood."

"Gentle dame, and well is he worthy of thy secret councils,' ironically pronounced St. Julian's page, "for, by my sword and buckler, well doth the pious holy gentleman know the advantage he can gain of womankind! whom, in his doctrines, he hath represented weak and powerless, and unable to direct themselves! It were meet then that the great Margaret, whom heaven has endowed so richly with intel

lectual gifts, should have so wise a counsellor, so sincere a friend."

A sarcastic smile too evidently betrayed the victory Sir Walter had gained (although but a momentary one) over the feelings of this proud vindictive woman; and, perhaps, it played too scornfully upon his lip, as he sarcastically pronounced

"That pious holy man, whose name, it appears, it is sacrilege to presume to mention in your presence so slightly, shall (if you refuse me audience) quickly know my errand here, and that St. Julian hath naught to do with the affair."

"I thought Sir Walter were a petitioner from St. Julian, on matters that concerned the state," responded the indignant lady," and not a bold intruder from himself: but, since so strongly you solicit to be heard in secret on this mighty business that concerns Benvolio, (which, as I take it, is but the mere coinage of your idle brain) why I will hear you in secret. Faulkner, retire---the gallant Sir Walter De Ruthen doth request a word or two of private conference. Retire, then, till again I need your service; and, mark you, Faulkner, let no one else have access to the armory while he is with your mistress. Go hence awhile, and remember that this order is imperative."

Sir Orville, at the immediate command of his liege mistress, respectfully retired; and the warrior and the lady of Albino were left together. The one scarcely able to repress the raging tumults that burned high within her breast; and the other feeling no rage at all; but there was a placid dignity sat in triumph on his martial brow; and, truth, the holy monitor that guided every

impulse of his heart, shone in brilliant hues on a set of features, where guile had never worn a mask!

"Now to your purport then, and quickly," uttered the Lady Margaret in a stifled tone; for she felt sensations, which to no mortal else she dared reveal! and in spite of the heroism which marked her dauntless and intrepid character, she feared that the communications which Sir Walter De Ruthen had to offer her were not of the most pleasing kind. In the meanwhile, he had (without ceremony) thrown his nodding plumes aside, and seated himself on the couch, exactly fronting to the indignant lady, where he could boldly take survey of features, which to all others but him, at this critical moment of affairs, would have expressed the direst purposes of revenge and cruelty; and, drawing forth a scroll from his vest, he unfolded it.-Already the eye of Lady Margaret had caught the signature it was the royal seal! the crest and the arms of the Emperor Josephus! and she trembled to behold it; while Sir Walter addressed her in the following terms, not seeming to remark the perturbation she so evidently betrayed.

Lady, there hath been some vile proceedings in your battlements,---some foul mysteries in the Castle of St. Clair, to which it appears, you and your pious friend, the holy father Benvolio, have both been accessary; and it hath reached the state, and mightily displeased the Emperor Josephus. You are herewith accused of having employed spies against the state, and by bribery and corruption most dishonourable, have forced confession from renegades and traitors in the Austrian army and their allies, to plant sedition

and enact treachery against their sovereign and their country. And by whose counsel hast thou been guided by whose baneful influence have these stratagems succeeded? and whose blood has been drained to effect these diabolical purposes ?---for the accomplishment of that demon, avarice and ambition !---for the completion also of far greater crimes I yet could name, but shudder to mention :-whose blood, I say, hath been shed to do all this? and where hath the vengeance fallen? not on the head of St. Julian! for of crimes he is innocent. Yon shining firmament of heaven which bespangles the western sky, nor dews that gem the morning flowers, breathes not more pure, than the unsullied fame of great St. Julian! It was not he who led the forces of the Austrian army against the Bohemians; he instigated not their revenge. No, lady, it was not St. Julian who aimed the sword against the breast of your gallant husband and Fernando, the young, the brave, the beautiful, thy only son !-it was not St. Julian who conducted them to the field of slaughter, even as the fell butcher's knife hangs o'er the neck of the innocent lamb he is about to sacrifice. No, not St. Julian led them to the fatal spot! but you, madam! you, and your pious friend ! yes, blush to own it, it was that holy man who conducted all your stratagems, aided all your councils, and abetted all your schemes; even he, the crafty, designing, artful, mercenary knave, who, abusing the holy functions of his sacred order, under authority of his high office, tramples on all laws, divine and human, and steps forth in the character, which best belongs to him, the murderer of your husband, and the assassin of your son!"

Surprised by treachery, the great Albino could not escape the vengeance of his foes! already apprized of his intentions, and acquainted with his designs,-the strength of his army and the weakness of his allies: he could not work impossibilities, and the great hero fell. But whose hand has laid him low? The pious priest the good, the virtuous Benvolio! and the great Margaret! she who would not scorn to lend a helping hand to do such goodly deeds, nor reject such friendly counsel, though it were to save a nations tears! But mark the result thou proud and haughty fair one : in refusing the supplies to St. Julian, you do but hurl a mightier ruin on thy head, and that of thy presumptuous minion. Ere long, thy battlements will crumble into dust-thy fortress be besieged-thy garrison be drained of all its stores, and the lofty towers of St. Clair become a mass of mouldering ruins! Bohemia will be spread around with famine and dismay! Its fair and flowery fields, once the pride of the industrious and the smiling peasantry, be exchanged for charnel houses, to cover the bones of their dead and their slaughtered heroes. The meandering streams, once so limpid and so pure, will flow with the innocent blood of millions. All must now yield to the fury and the rage of Josephus. None will be spared: the young virgin, nor the widowed matron-and age and infancy, alike must feel the butcher's knife. Rapin, lust, and murder, will now stalk forth amidst the sacred churches, the holy temples, and the smiling bowers of innocence and beauty; and none shall have power to send the monsters hence! Even the bones of thy great and buried ancestors, that repose in silence beneath the venerable cloisters of St. Clair, whate'er the distance