images are so so appropriate, and the sentiments so pathetic, that it must please every reader of taste.

The story on which it is founded, is simply as follows. A very strong attachment was formed by two young people, in the neighbourhood of the Swamp, when the death of the lady interrupted their prospects of happiness: an event that made such an impression upon her lover, that he lost his senses. His mind being absorbed by her image, and familiar with the scenery of the place, he imagined that she was still alive, and dwelt upon this lake. Determined to find her on whom his soul was fixed, he went in pursuit of her; and, as he was never seen afterwards, it is supposed that he perished in some of the dangerous morasses that environ it.

! THE LAKE OF THE DISMAL SWAMP.

"They made her a grave too cold and damp

For a soul so warm and true;

And she's gone to the Lake of the Dismal Swamp,

Where all night long, by a fire-fly

She paddles her white canoe.

* lamp,

"And her fire-fly lamp I soon shall see,
And her paddle I soon shall hear;
Long and loving our life shall be,

And I'll hide the maid in a cypress tree,

When the footstep of Death is near,"

* The fire-fly is an insect common in this part of the country; in its flight, it sheds a beam of light, brighter than the glow

worm.

Away to the Dismal Swamp he speeds,

His path was rugged and sore;
Through tangled juniper, beds of reeds,
Through many a fen where the serpent feeds,
And man ne'er trod before!

And when on the earth he sunk to sleep,
If sleep his eye-lids knew,

He lay where the deadly vines* do weep
Their venomous tears, and nightly steep
The flesh with blistering dew!

And near him the she wolf stirr'd the brake,
And the rattle-snake breath'd in his ear,
Till he starting cried-from his dream awake-
"Oh! when shall I see the dusky lake,
And the white canoe of my dear?"

He saw the lake, and a meteor bright,
Quick o'er the surface play'd-

"Welcome," he said, "my dear one's light;"
And the dim shore echoed for many a night,
The name of the death-cold maid!

Till he form'd a boat of the birchen bark,
Which carried him off from the shore;

Far he followed the meteor spark,

The winds were high, and the clouds were dark,
And the boat return'd no more.

* A plant that grows wild in America, resembling the vine, but of such a poisonous quality, that it blisters the skin whereever it touches.

But oft from the Indian hunter's camp,
This lover and maid so true,

Are seen by the hour of midnight damp,
To cross the lake by a fire-fly lamp,

And paddle their white canoe.

ON VARIETY AND INCONSISTENCY OF CHARACTER.

IT has been said, that the knowledge derived from an

acquaintance with mankind, is as useful an acquisition, as that gained by the study of books. It is certain that it lies more within the general grasp, as it depends neither on wealth nor leisure, but on observation. Whether a person goes into company for amusement, or is thrown by business into familiar association with others of different ranks and pursuits, he has equally an opportunity of remarking the various shades of character that distinguish one man from another. All are influenced by the same principles: the pursuit of pleasure, and dread of pain, are the springs of human action; but they are modified by the difference of temperament, education, example, and association, which are the causes of the variety of dispositions and habits found in the world.

I believe it will be acknowledged by those who have visited savage tribes, that there is a much greater uniformity of character amongst them, than is to be seen

in nations highly refined. The life and occupations of savages are nearly alike, except the variations occasioned by climate and local situation. The prime object of solicitude is to procure food for the day: hunting or fishing, therefore, is the task of every individual; and, when that is obtained, with a shelter from the weather, their principal wants are supplied; they have no longer any thing to do, but indolently to recline and enjoy their pipe. Strangers to the elegant resources of literary attainment, they have scarcely an idea of cultivating their intellectual faculties, which, from disuse, are lost to their possessor, who is often but little superior to the most sagacious brutes. Unacquainted with the sweet influences of religious principle, they are guided by the impulse of passion, and love and hate most cordially. A portrait of one, will give a tolerable resemblance of the rest; but, in countries where the influence of religion, learning, education, and a laudable ambition to excel in different professions, bias the mind, the variety of characters is as great as that of countenances. two faces are alike; nor can we find two men who exactly resemble each other in disposition and inclination. Nay, so powerful are these influences, that the same man often differs from himself; and it is no uncom mon thing to perceive a strange mixture of vice and virtue in the same person. Charity leads us to hope, that, in such cases, the intentions are good, but that bad habits have inadvertently been adopted, from a want of impartial self-examination, and that strict guard that we should set over our words and actions, according

No

to the divine precept: "Watch and pray always, lest ye enter into temptation."

I am led into these observations, by an epitaph that accidentally fell into my hands, which delineates one of these half virtuous characters, who seem as if they intended to act wisely, but from yielding to the sallies of ungoverned temper, so often deviate from the path of excellence, as to cancel the esteem due to their good qualities.

INSCRIPTION ON A MONUMENT ERECTED IN HORSLEY DOWN CHURCH, IN CUMBERLAND.

Here lie the bodies of

THOMAS BOND, and MARY his wife,
She was temperate, chaste, and charitable;
But

She was proud, peevish, and passionate.

She was an affectionate wife and a tender mother;

But

Her husband and child, whom she loved, seldom saw her

countenance without a disguising frown,

Whilst she received visitors, whom she despised, with an endearing smile.

Her behaviour was discreet towards strangers;

But

imprudent in her family.

Abroad, her conduct was influenced by good breeding;

But

at home, by ill-temper.

M