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Eldest of the Pigmies. Hasten, oh hasten

To take your places,
Hasten to action!
Swiftness for strongness.
Peace hath still dominion;
Build ye the smithy,
To make for the army
Cuirass and weapons.
Come ye ants, hasten
Swiftly in throngings,
Metals procure us!
Come now ye dactyls,
Ye smallest, so many,
Το you be't commanded
Logs to fetch for us.
Heap up together
Secretly flamelets,

Coals bring ye for us.

Generalissimo. Come! draw out swiftly

With bow and arrows!

Shoot ye those herons
O'er that pool flying,
Nesting unnumbered
Proudly in grandeur,
All at one shot!

One as the other,

That with helm and adornment

We may appear.

Ants and Dactyli. Who will preserve us!

We procure irons,

They forge the fetters.

'Tis not the season

To tear ourselves from them,

So be obedient.

The Cranes of Ibykus. Murder cry and dying wailing!

Anxious beating of the pinions!

What a crying, what a groan
Presses upward to the heights!
Murdered are they all already,
By their blood the sea is reddened;
Wishes and desires misshapen,
Rob the herons' noble plumage.
Already waves it on the helmet
Of these fat and crooked-legged rascals.
Ye companions of our army,
Heron wanderers of the ocean,
We are calling you to vengeance.
In a thing so near related;

No one spare his strength or blood,

Eternal hatred to this brood.

[Disperse, croaking in the air.

424

THE GAMBLER.

No. 2.-Selected from the Records of the Eccentric Club, by order. NICK SOBER, Hon. Sec.

"NICK!" said the Major on joining the club, this evening, and addressing our Secretary, while a peculiar smile of satisfaction beamed upon his countenance ;—“ Ñick !—I did'nt think that old story would have looked so well in print." He then proceeded to tell us, that having got the Magazine, he took it home, and showed the tale to Flint. Having drawn his chair close up to the fire, he rung the bell, and his servant made his appearance. "Flint"-said he," being an old officer, I believe there is nothing like subordination;" Flint nodded assent-" but now, we are become subjects of a republic." "Ah Sir! 'tis a shame! the standing army will be abolished; I was afraid Old England would come to that at last." "You mistake me, Flint, 'tis the republic of letters, I speak of,your name is in print,-see, there it is!"-Flint stretched his neck over his Master's shoulder, and gazed intently on the spot where the Major's finger pointed.

"'Tis even so, Sir, but I never deserved that !" said he, rather perplexed to know what piece of roguery he had been guilty of to be thus gazetted." Well, sit ye down, returned the Major complacently, for being members of a republic, it is right, for the time being, that we should conform to the equal laws of that kind of government, and you shall hear." Flint hesitated a little, but remembering his master's humour, and his old principles of implicit obedience, he took his seat. He retained, however, sufficient of the spirit of subordination, to draw about arms length behind the Major.

The gallant officer then read the tale, with appropriate emphasis, to his servant, who, whenever his own name was mentioned, begged that the part might be read a second time; to which request the Major invariably acceded. These were not the only interruptions; for when the eager Flint was particularly struck by a passage, he would exclaim, "Word for word!—he was a good officer! poor fellow!" and when the tale was finished, his enthusiasm had mounted to such a pitch, that he cried out-"I will give twenty pounds to the Editor, for making me such an honest fellow!" "But then," said the Major, "like a good soldier, he took care of his retreat, and prudently added ;- If I had 'em!'”

The members smiled at this account of the man's vanity; while Balance whispered to Dick Careless, that he had not seen the Major himself in such a good humour before, since he was last promoted. Nothing seemed to discompose him: Manlove accidentally trod upon his well-polished boots; but the Major received his apologies with a smile; he put his hand in his pocket, for his cigar case, but found he had left it behind him ;-" Never mind," said he, "I will come supplied with a double quantity next time!-Had I known this, I would have asked Harvey to lend me some;" and then breaking into a milder tone, he continued, "I met poor Harvey just

now: I believe he has ruined himself by gaming; I would have told him of my literary fame, but not a joke did he utter-he was quite down-broken down."-" Ay"-interrupted Dick, "where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table in a roar? not one now to mock your grinning? quite chop-fallen?-Had'st thou remembered Shakspere, the quotation would have been happy." "No, Sir! said the authoritative voice of the President, "every thing in its place, and a time for all things.-Would'st thou give a stone to a hungry man? or satire to a man in grief?"

The Major nodded approbation, and said, while twisting the tassel of his walking stick round his finger, "During the whole of my life, my friends, on sea or on land, in the city or the camp, I never gamed; it hardens a man's heart!" "Horrid trade," ejaculated Manlove. "Tis not trade!" interrupted Subtle gravely; and we immediately saw, by the decided manner in which the able member spoke, that he was prepared to give us a long critical dissertation on gambling. He declaimed, doubtless, with much logical acuteness; but as his argument extended into many ramifications, it were tiresome, even if we considered it possible, to enumerate them all. We shall therefore lop off the branches, and expose the trunk of his discourse. "No, tis not trade!" said he,"it is merely an interchange of money; it does not increase capital, makes no demand upon labour, and therefore is of no benefit to the state; but it causes the drawing up of mortgages, conveyances, and other legal instruments, and thus though it be not a trade, it supports trade; it is of benefit to the learned brethren of the law, who are the chief props of the state: consequently, in another light, it is a good thing, and is of benefit to the state." When the barrister had thus delivered himself, Balance contended somewhat warmly that it gave no support to the working poor, and should be prohibited. "A man, Ned, can do what he chooses with his own money," said the Major, who did not like that another should have the privilege of drawing the strings of his purse. "Why, my dear Major," replied Subtle, who, learning which way Ned's opinion leant, thought it prudent for many reasons, to assist him, even at the expense of his own argument, 66 we should use our money for the public benefit; money is a trust"-"Indeed!" ejaculated Balance, " ca'nt you reverse that doctrine, and say, that trust is money? the Major will agree to that proposition." ،، We shall agree at least on this point," interrupted Manlove, "that it is a very great corrupter of the human heart!"

"True," said Balance, "I remember a circumstance which confirms your assertion, my dear Manlove. When I was at Rome, I became acquainted with a young man, whose name was Florimand de Beaumain, and felt a peculiar interest in his company; for his voice was plaintive, and his aspect bore an expression of melancholy unsuited to his age and quality. By degrees, we became intimate, and Florimand acquired such confidence in my friendship, that he hesitated not to inform me of many particulars respecting his family, which, he said, excusingly, might account in some measure for his unsocial manners.

N. S.-VOL. I.

"'Twas a brilliant sunny afternoon, in May, when I called upon my young friend, with an intention of taking a walk through the Strada Felice to the public gardens, as we had formerly agreed. I found him seated in a pensive posture, intently regarding a miniature which lay on the table; a sigh escaped from his bosom, as he lifted his head, and rose to receive me. 'I now perceive the secret cause of your grief, my dear Florimand,' said I, gaily, in truth, the arrows of Cupid leave an immedicable wound! Can I console thee?'-Consolation is only a poor physician in such a case,' he answered, trying to smile; and he then showed me the miniature, which, he said, was the portrait of his mother. The lady, as here represented, appeared to be of middle age, her hair was golden, and curled gracefully, and her face expressed that sweetness and melancholy, so indicative of her son. My friend then turned the locket, and showed me the likeness of his father. Your father must be much older than your mother,' said I, thoughtlessly, for his hair is grey, and his cheek much furrowed.' Would to God!' exclaimed he, bitterly, that that sunken eye, and that furrowed cheek, were indeed the results of age; my father is but one year older than my mother.' I had now probed the source of Florimand's anxiety, and, seeing the pain that I caused, I refrained from making further remark. But his bosom was full; and perhaps desirous of relieving it, by communicating his secret to another, he narrated to me some circumstances that had a fatal influence on his family.

6

"It appeared that his father, the Baron de Beaumain, had inherited, at an early age, extensive possessions; and although his reckless character was well known, yet his hand was sought by many an aspiring matron for her daughter, and where obstacles did not interpose, not infrequently for herself." "Very natural," interrupted the Doctor; "sympathy is as common to widows as to young women. I have been making some experiments lately"-But the Doctor's discourse was abbreviated by Balance, who continued thus: "The Baron moved in the gayest circles, and was remarkable for his joviality, spirit, and love of play. He entered fully into the fashionable talk of the day, decried marriage as a state of slavery, and resolved that he himself would never become a member of that honourable brotherhood. But the determinations of a passionate man are, at all times, brittle; and, on becoming acquainted with a young lady of high rank and singular beauty, the Baron was obliged to own her power over his affections; and, knowing that no method but an honourable one of gratifying his passion would be successful, he married her.

"As is usual, when human hopes are disappointed, many vexatious remarks were made, when the report of the Baron's affection was first promulgated; and not a few envious and significant glances were cast at the damsel, when it was thought this kind of attack on her honesty would be most effective. As these failed to blight her beauty or reputation, an unintelligible whisper, accompanied with a very intelligible shrug, was had recourse to; but these also were of no avail: the Baron consulted his own passions, and took the beautiful Jeannette to wife.

"For a short time after marriage, owing to the endearments of the affectionate woman, who had thrown herself upon his generosity, De Beaumain forsook play; but as no influence, except the most intense, could long hold dominion over his mind, he gradually became careless in his attentions: carelessness changed to disgust; and he believed that some of the envenomed slander, ejected at their marriage, might be true. Feeling himself thus justified in his negligence and cruelty, he relapsed into his former course of extravagance.No supplications on the part of his wife could arrest his passionate progress; and, as years rolled on, their property diminished, and the expenses of living increased.

"His son, Florimand,had now arrived at an age capable of discerning the errors in his father's conduct. He had often been an anxious witness of his mother's affliction: he had learned its cause; and impelled by the purest feelings of affection, he resolved to beseech his father to amend his life. This delicate task was begun with caution, and he did not immediately excite his father's displeasure; but when his solicitations became more earnest, the proud and selfwilled Baron considered them as censures, and forbade, for the future, what he termed such impertinent remarks. Florimand, grieved to see that his father heeded not his entreaties, and the Baron, feeling that his son had arrived at a troublesome age, determined to banish him from his presence, that he might not be a spy upon his actions, and sent him to Italy. His mother burst into tears when the Baron's resolution was announced. Florimand could not resist the impulses of his heart, and they wept together. In a few days the son left the house of his father-an exile from his home!"

"That was inhuman!" exclaimed Manlove, whose blue eyes beamed with more than wonted lustre. "Why, Sir," said the Major, dubiously, for he seemed to be dealing with a difficult question; "there is a good deal to be said for it-a family is an army in miniature, and discipline is discipline; is it not, Mr. Subtle?" The barrister, highly pleased at being thus appealed to, replied, gravely, "I think it cannot be disputed. If a ship obey not the rudder, it becomes a wreck: obedience is, doubtless, a means of safety: but, Sir, on the other side, if a headstrong man will ride a horse over a precipice, methinks the horse is at liberty to turn aside, or cast his rider, rather than lose his life." "Self-preservation is the first law of nature !" said the Doctor-" And subordination is the first law of society!" returned the Major. The President, apparently awakened by the quick succession of vibrations on his tympanum, raised his head, shook the dust from his beetling brows, and said, A soft answer turneth away wrath ;human conduct is a cameleon. The shortest speaker has the most sense!" These dicta ended the controversy, although the Major thought they were equally as far from a right understanding of the matter as when they set out.

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The club having vainly endeavoured to unravel this knot, Balance thus resumed the thread of his story: :-"So much had I learned from the young noble, when one day, on calling at his house, I was informed that he had suddenly left the city; and that it was pre

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