the colour as well as lustre of jet. She was rather diminutive in form, but exceedingly light and graceful, and her beauty, added to her unaffected simplicity and liveliness of manners, obtained her general admiration. Although the Signora was a formidable competitor with the fair Ausonia for the palm of beauty, there was a vast difference in the expression which the features of the two ladies wore. Ausonia's, though always cheerful, were softened, and we may say beautified, by a slight pensive cast, mainly attributable to the mild ray which shone like moonlight from her large blue eyes. Adelaide's countenance on the contrary was always laughing, and her brilliant eye served to increase its witchery, in the same way that a sunbeam will heighten the polish of a plate of gold on which it shines. Near the Signora, sat the charming Lady Isabella Mornington, surrounded by a host of admirers, and opposite her was perched upon a high backed chair, the short ungainly form of the Honorable Miss Viper, who sat next. But, soft, ere we proceed a step further, the reader ought to be made acquainted with this lady. Miss Viper was about forty, and under the middle height; her figure, from the shoulder to the ankle, was one straight line,exhibiting nothing which the most fertile fancy could shape into even the semblance of a waist. Her black crisp hair was short and coarse, and in spite of daily pluckings, was interspersed with partial streaks of grey, indicative of her approaching age, and being curled in a most juvenile crop about her head, gave her forehead a lowering disagreeable expression, emblematical of her unamiable disposition. Her eyes were dark, but unless when excited, (and the irritability of her temper was such, that this was of no unfrequent occurrence), as void of expression as two withered black cherries, and beneath their wrinkled and compressed lids, lurked deceit and venom. glassy orbs themselves seemed to whisper to each other-venom; and the fiery flashing of her glance, when the spleen of her unaimable temper was aroused, bespoke trebly distilled venom -venom! These attractive organs of vision overlooked a long sharp, pointed The and most ill-tempered looking nose, bearing on its tip two amiable looking warts, peering most vituperatively at each other. Its colour; but here must the spirit of simile aid me. Reader, didst thou ever see a stagnant pool, covered with duck weed, to which the rising sun imparted a sort of bright rusty hue? Paint an old woman's proboscis with a similar tint, and thou wilt have the colour of the Honorable Miss Viper's nose before thee, save at the very extremity, which glowed with a redness unrivalled by any thing, save perchance a fine fresh cut rump steak; hollow cheeks, pointed chin, and thin bluish lips, disclosing stunted and discoloured teeth, added a finishing touch to her ugliness. But, however hideous. the face, it bore no commensurability with her mind and its concomitant vices. A mischief-maker in every sense of the word; it was her sole delight, or rather occupation, to form an intimacy. with the friends of those with whom' she was acquainted, and by her artful lies and diabolical deceit, raise suspicions, create a coolness, and finally rending asunder the bonds of sympathy by which they were united, break for ever that friendship, upon which she had looked with an eye of malignity, merely because she herself was without a being who would confide their joys or sorrows in her bosom, or perhaps for the purpose of revenging some real or ideal slight; for the slightest cause was sufficient to excite her most determined hate. To sum up this disagreeable pic ture in the words of an old ballad :"Her form was as hideous as that of a Demon, Her heart was composed from the essence of venom. It may be necessary to inform our patient readers, that when Seabright was a midshipman of about sixteen years of age, he had met this paragon of old maids on the Continent, where his smart manly air attracted her attention, and being at that time past all hope, she thought it would be no bad plan to win his youthful affections by every kind attention her nature would permit her to display, and thus be secure of a husband when he arrived at a proper age, as Miss Viper doubted not she would be able to maintain her sway over his heart till then; she having somewhere read that first love lasts for ever. The young rogue however soon penetrated the good lady's drift, and promised himself on the strength of it, some noble sport; he therefore forbore showing any of those half-mannish, halfboyish attentions to the ladies that he had been before wont in the presence of Miss Viper, and attached himself to her alone; the result of which was soon seen in the shape of sighs, smiles, ogles, squeezes, and moonlight walks; all of which formed an inexhaustible fund of conversation between our hero and his no less frolicksome messmates. Seabright, however, soon became tired of her caresses, and having one night nearly fatigued himself to death with walking along the sea shore to pick up shells for her amusement, he resolved to bring the affair to a climax at once, and took the opportunity, while kneeling, to secure a large cornelian which Miss Viper had dropped on the sands, of considering the best plan for so doing. The love-stricken Joan, for such was Miss Viper's Christian name,on observing her beloved remain rather longer upon his knee than was necessary, tripped up and asked if he was ill. 66 No," said the youth, "I was only comparing this blushing stone to your lips, and had come to the conclusion that nothing in nature can equal their unrivalled colour." "Oh you little flatterer!" cried Joan, pretending to blush, and putting up her fan to hide the glow which did not arise upon her cheek. "Ah, Miss Viper," rejoined the rogue, "did you know the sentiments of this beating heart, you would say that I was actuated by the purest truth; and instead of calling me flatterer, you would own that I did not express half my feelings towards you, and you would then see how dear you are to me. Joan, lovely Joan! for ever could I bask in the brilliance of those bright eyes; tell me then, dare I but for a moment indulge the idea of once calling you mine? Yet, say not yes, for I fear the blissful thought would incapacitate me from living." Oh "Dearest youth!" returned the lady, "how can you be so naughty, recollect the disparity of our ages; think what our mutual relations would say." "Age! what has age to do with love? Relations shall the trammels of their cold prudential advice be worn by hearts like ours? Perish the thought. No, Joan, possessed of thy fair hand, I will be thine while the tide of life rolls through my veins. If not, when next we meet the enemy, I will brave the cannon's mouth, the sword's point, the boiling billows, and should they cruelly refuse the death I seek, my own hand--' "Hold, Seabright, hold!" cried the old romantic maid, for in spite of the hideousness of her form and face, in spite of the still more vile conformation of her mind, and the determined malice of her disposition, Miss Viper was or rather pretended to be romantic, to be a lover of the soft charms of music and poesy; in fine, a woman, or rather girl, for all the arts that human ingenuity could invent, were brought into requisition to conceal her real age of taste and sentiment. " Hold," she continued, placing her tough hand in his, and sinking on his shoulder; "I am yours yours for ever!" Seabright nearly sank beneath the weight of his enamoured burden, who leaned against his breast, hugging herself in the idea of having at last secured a husband, and avoided the dreadful doom of leading apes in Pandemonium. The very thought drew pearly drops down. her leathern cheek; and what was her delight on discovering, from the agitation of her juvenile lover, and the heaving of his bosom, that his joy was equally unsupportable, and found the same vent as her own, in sobs and tears. Hastening to assure him again of her affection, she stooped still lower, and found the features of Seabright convulsed, not with sighs, but with suppressed laughter; which at sight of her pointed scarlet capped nose, aimed full at him, escaped in a loud peal from his quivering lips as he rose from his kneeling position. Disappointment, rage, and mortification, lent their aid in lighting up the fires which blazed in Miss Viper's eye on this discovery. For a moment she stood transfixed with astonishment; but finding no alleviation in Seabright's mirth, she drew closer to him and muttered "revenge," in a tone like that in which Satan might be fancied to have first whispered the word "sin" in man's ear, and then flew from him with her utmost speed. After his laughter had subsided, the natural goodness of Seabright's disposition made him feel somewhat angry with himself for the part he had acted, in deliberately wounding the feelings of any fellow-creature, however disagreeable in outward appearance, or however hateful in disposition. Still when he pictured to himself the rueful countenance of Joan, and the irresistible twirl of her nose, whilst the ornamental THE BRIDAL DAY. BY L. E. L. SHE leans besides her mirror, in her old accustomed place, Yet nothing unfamiliar is on her lovely face: She wears a wreath, a snow-white wreath, which yet she never wore ; The maiden goeth to the grove, and, of the flowers beneath, Once, only once, that wreath is worn,-once only may she wear Ay, let her soft and thoughtful eyes, upon her mirror dwell, She leaves her old familiar place, the hearts that were her own; It is an anxious happiness,-it is a fearful thing, And who may say what troubled hours, what sorrows wait her there? Ah! love and life and mysteries, both blessing and both blest; From Friendship's Offering. The Duchess de la Vallière and Madame de Maintenon. Romances by the Countess de Genlis.-COLBURN. MADAME DE GENLIS has really touched the very heart in these noble historical tales of misfortune. Perfect taste and moral genius are displayed in every page. The entire history of Madame de la Vallière, the celebrated and enchanting mistress of Louis XIV. is here given in the detail, with so much only of the tincture of romance as renders it the more agreeable. The Album of the Cambridge Garrick Club, containing Original and Select Papers on the Drama, and the Proceedings of that Society. With Illustrations. Edited by a Member of the Club.-W. H. Smith, Cambridge. The matter is certainly not so recherché as we anticipated on our first glance, yet it is a pleasant volume enough, and will no doubt prove acceptable to the lovers of the drama. Most of the anecdotes are quite new, and will be found interesting. Eight portraits, with memoirs, accompany the volume, of Garrick, Knowles, Macready, C. Kemble, Braham, Liston, Jerrold, and Miss Mitford, many of which are faithful likenesses. On Deformities of the Chest and Spine. By WILLIAM COULSON, M. R. S. THIS work, we perceive, has reached a second edition, in an almost unprecedented short period of time. The subjects it treats of have hitherto been too much neglected, even by medical men. The great merit of Mr. Coulson's treatise consists, however, not so much in prescribing remedies for the cure of these diseases, as in pointing out the causes by which they are produced. This he does in a lucid and popular manner, wholly unembarrassed by professional technicality, which, considering that this advice is addressed chiefly to the female sex, is most judicious. The first edition having been received with marked approbation by many eminent practitioners, the author has been induced to republish it in a more enlarged shape, and with additional illustrations, descriptive of the peculiar effects of the disease, which is quite palpable even to those who have never studied the anatomy of the human frame BRIGHTON. We are happy to state that their Majesties and the Princess Augusta continue in the enjoyment of good health. The Duchess of Gloucester has passed the last few nights in a tranquil state, and is now gradually recovering from her long and severe attack of illness. The King and Princess Augusta have frequently attended Divine Service in the Palace Chapel. The dinner parties at the Pavilion still continue on a very limited scale. His Majesty's picture by Sir David Wilkie and that of the Queen by Sir Martin Shee, are intended for the exhibition of the Royal Academy, this year, in the National Gallery. Nearly fifty of the royal establishments have been attacked with the prevailing epidemic. ST. PETERSBURGH. -The Empress has been indisposed, but is now gradually recovering. The ball which was to have taken place on the Emperor's birth day was posponed for ten days, in consequence of her Majesty's illness. GAIETIES IN HIGH LIFE. The Earl and Countess of Clanwilliam have left Wilton Castle on a visit to the Hon. Sydney Herbert. Northumberland House and Sion House, Isleworth, are ordered to be ready for the reception of their noble owners by the 10th of this month. The Duke and Duchess are still at Alnwick Castle, accompanied by a select number of friends. Eaton Hall, the seat of the Marquess and Marchioness of Westminster, has, during the holidays, been very gay and much frequented by the noble friends of the Marquess and Marchioness. The Earl and Countess of Mansfield and the Ladies Murray arrived in town from the Palace at Scone. The Duke of Wellington gives a grand dinner this week to Sir Robert Peel and a distinguished party. The Duke de Palmella, Sir John Hippisley, the Right Hon. the Master of the Mint, and Mr. and Mrs. Baring, have been on a visit at Highlands, in Essex, the seat of Mr. Labouchere. Earl Cowper is still at Pansanger, and we are happy to learn, in much better health. A great influx of company, both Whigs and Tories, have been enjoying the holidays at Lord Cowper's mansion. Lord Beresford will recommence his dinner parties this month in Cavendish square. L |