"Whilst I smoked my pipe, caressed the children, and related the various incidents of the day, my Marianne would sit knitting, and smilingly encourage the hopes I painted to them of happiness to come. Then would she rise and imprint a kiss upon my rude cheek: we were indeed very happy!

"You must know, señores, that when a young man I was reckoned somewhat a good-looking sort of fellow. Our happiness was not destined to be of long duration, for just at this period, Napoleon, from severe losses, continued to make repeated calls of assistance, both at home and from his allies, and I, unfortunately (being a naturalised Frenchman), was included in the conscription.

"Never shall I forget the evening of my return from Grenoble ; the fearful state of anxiety in which I found my dear Marianne, who guessing the fatal truth I in vain tried to conceal, fainted in my arms. All that night she suffered a severe relapse-she was already weakened through a severe illness, though I tried all in my power to comfort and console her, saying that I should only be obliged to leave her for a fortnight, that-that-in fact, señores, I scarcely knew what I said. It was all of no avail, and towards the following midnight she expired in my arms, in the presence of the parish priest, a few friends, and my poor children, who, too young to understand the fatal truth, played laughingly round about the death-bed, like sweet cherubs escorting her pure soul to the realms above. But when aware of the truth, when aware of the loss they had sustained, they cried and looked anxiously at their mother, and former gentle playmate, who, doubly dear to them, was then no more. Some few days after this I followed her to her last resting-place, where I had a neat little stone-cross erected over her grave, with this simple inscription:—' Tu as été bonne mère, prie pour tes enfants.'

"With a heavy heart I quitted the hallowed spot. Courage, courage!' I exclaimed, I have still a duty to perform.' I then bethought me of my children, my almost orphans, and as the time was fast approaching for me to join the army, it occurred to me that I could not confide my property, and the care and education of my beloved ones, to one more worthy than our parish priest, a man respected for his probity and religious zeal. I therefore waited upon him and unbosomed myself freely. He sympathised with me and gave me most excellent advice. A deed was hastily drawn up, in which I settled upon him all my property, and confided to him the care and tutorship of my children; he offered to give me some acknowledgment, which I peremptorily refused.

"The following morning I took my children to his house, and occupied my several remaining hours in kissing and bidding them adieu. As I left the porch of the priest's little dwelling, he followed offering up prayers for my speedy and safe return; after receiving his parting blessing, and oft-repeated assurances of protection to my beloved ones; with a heavy heart, shaking the hands of the neighbours and friends who waylayed my path, I proceeded on my way to join my regiment at Poitiers.

"I will not attempt to describe to you my various campaigns, but shall at once come to the time of my arrival, with the French army (under Marshal Soult), in Spain.

"I was some time at the blockade of Cadiz, stationed at intervals at St. Lucca, Puerto, and the Isla; I was also at the battle of Barossa,

where a small force of your gallant countrymen, under General Graham, routed and defeated the divisions of Ruffin and Laval, commanded by Victor in person. I was shot in the right leg towards the close of the action, and soon, from exhaustion, fell to the ground.

"The following morning a party of runaway Spaniards, who had accompanied La Peña in his retreat to the heart of Cadiz, came more for plunder than any other purpose, to the field of battle; but, thanks to the generosity of an English officer, who also lay wounded near me, I was placed in a cart and conveyed to the town. There, in the employ of Lieutenant Brereton, I picked up the little English I speak.

"Soon after this peace was proclaimed, and I was about to set out for my once dear and happy home, when an accident occurred which nearly cost me my life. As I was helping to convey a barrel of gunpowder from an inner to an outer fort, a Spanish officer, who was smoking on the ramparts, accidentally dropped his cigar upon it, and instantaneous explosion resulted. I alone escaped with my life, at the cost of two years spent in a Spanish hospital. On my recovery, I proceeded by a sailing-vessel to Bayonne, and thence, by easy marches, across the Basque provinces; and at last arrived at Grenoble.

"It would be impossible for me to attempt to describe to you the happiness I experienced, as, early one fine sharp frosty morning, I beheld, rising like an illuminated picture from the rest of the village, my own farm-house. The agreeable surprise I contemplated affording my children, who, though too young when I quitted them to be enabled then to recognise my person, would have been taught to love and cherish me by my friend, the good old parish priest. Ah! it was indeed too much joy to contemplate; and I knelt down in anxious and fervent prayer. It was true, I had not heard from them or their adopted father since I quitted the village, but still my heart seemed to whisper to me that they were well, that they were happy, and longing for my oft-wished, and prayed-for return.'

"

For several moments a continued sobbing choked the Ventéro's utterance, but at last he continued::

From

"In a few words then, señores, I soon reached the village, and went direct to my old friend the pastor's dwelling; there I learned, to my great satisfaction, that he had long since left, to occupy a better post that of curé to the Cathedral Church of Grenoble. thence I hastened to my farm-house, feeling sure at least of finding one of my children at home. I knocked at the door, a strange old woman opened it. I inquired for my children by their names, one after another, but to each question the old dame replied, that they were not there, that they did not live there, indeed, that they had not done so since their father had left to join the Grande Armée.' Then she looked wistfully in my face, and shook her head, for she had recognised me. 'Oh, Georgio Folketti!' she exclaimed, things have indeed changed for the worst since I first knew thee, an honest and as worthy a lad as ever breathed.' She spoke of poor Marianne, too, and then of my little ones. She spoke of them as of children only, as of those long since no more; and every word, every sigh which escaped her, was like a sword-thrust through my heart. She led me into the kitchen, and seated me by the fire, for it was very cold, and the snow lay thick upon the ground; my shoes, too, were worn out by long and weary marching."

He again relapsed into silence, looking vacantly about him; then

seemed to be wrapped in thought; and at last, recovering his selfpossession, continued his narrative:

"I learnt from this old woman that Dévaux, the vicaire, a year or two after I left, came into some property bequeathed to him by a distant relative. She also told me that he had never taken care of my children; that they had been left to wander about the village like beggars, depending for their daily food upon the benevolent. All this was to me as a dream; but I soon forgot the past, and thought only of present happiness. I longed to see my children, no matter in what shape; for your child, señores, mais c'est toujours votre enfant,' in the hour of misery as in that of fortune.

"You will scarcely believe what I am about to tell you. I found that my eldest boy had been sent to the galleys for robbing a baker's shop; that my poor little Marianne, her mother's pet, had been the victim of a French vicomte, who afterwards deserted her and her child; but, that our heavenly Father, in his great mercy, had called them both from this world of sin and iniquity.

"As for the other lad,' continued the old dame, 'I scarcely dare tell you about him,' and as she spoke she looked towards the window, and directed my attention to a passer-by, saying, That is your son, Robert.' I hastily left the kitchen, and rushed towards him; for I had at least one left to love and be beloved by. Alas! all that met my gaze, in return for my embrace, was a vacant stare-a childish laugh. He was an idiot! I returned with my silly boy into the house, and prayed the good old dame to take charge of him till I returned; this she promised to do, and, unperceived by her, I seized an old rusty dagger that was hanging over the mantel-piece, and proceeded with rapid strides on the road to Grenoble.

"I soon found out the abode of Dévaux, and easily gained adinission to his presence. He recognised me immediately, at first looked somewhat confused, but soon regained his self-possession. He was dining in company with two friends, and naturally anxious to have an explanation of his past conduct, I followed up question upon question, whilst he remained perfectly silent: this excited me the more, and I insulted him. His friends interfered, when he, for the first time, motioning them to silence, thus addressed me, in a tone of voice implying the very many great wrongs he had suffered.

666

Georgio Folketti, have you returned home only to insult those who have at all times befriended you and yours? Ungrateful man! has not your family sufficiently disgraced me? have they not, I may add, sufficiently degraded me? Look at the conduct of your eldest son, and your daughter; and yet, in the face of all this, you thus rudely treat me under my own roof.'

"I could scarcely credit my senses, the surrounding objects seemed to wheel about me, and I raved wildly at this act of duplicity. I asked him for a restitution of my property.

"Your property!' he sarcastically replied, to what property do you allude? At this his friends laughed, and treated me as a madman, and, with the aid of two servants, drove me from the house. "I wandered about till night came on, then stealthily crept over the little garden-wall, and soon reached an old painted window, which I fancied looked into Dévaux's room; this I easily opened, entered, and found I had not mistaken. It was a large, oblong, dismal room, with high oak wainscoting, hung around with old paintings in curiously

carved frames, very antique chairs and tables, with a cumbersome bed in a recess, partially concealed by thick dusty tapestry. A wood fire burnt lazily on the hearth, and the tout ensemble seemed to promise a horrible reception to its occupant. I myself paused in very fear as I counted the minutes, nay, even the seconds, that ticked the near approach of midnight. It was a cold, comfortless night. The wind swept down the old narrow streets in sudden gusts, whistling off time. Shortly afterwards I heard the friends bidding each other good night; the outer door was closed, barred, and unbolted. I heard the heavy steps of the curé coming up stairs, and I then concealed myself in the recess behind the bed.

"He entered his bed-room in a state of intoxication, and approached the fire, where he for a time seated himself. He then mechanically knelt down by the bed-side and prayed. He little thought it was his last prayer! He repeatedly kissed some relics hanging round his neck, for he was very superstitious, and then, in fancied security, he approached an old armoire, which he opened and disclosed his treasures, consisting of heaps of gold and silver, from which he repeatedly clutched handfuls and kissed them. He then opened the very deed by which I had years before conveyed to him my property. The moment was too propitious; I advanced noiselessly to the back of his chair, and firmly placing my hand upon his shoulder, exclaimed, 'It is I, Dévaux,-do you recognise me?'

"He shuddered in very fear, and lost all power of utterance, as he gazed in terrified anxiety from his glittering gold to me. I threw the deed into the fire, and bade the man, who should have fed the souls of his flock with sound doctrines, prepare himself for death, as he would shrive the blackest murderer on the scaffold. I could not hurry him from off the face of the earth, with the weight of his many sins unconfessed. He prayed! not to the Lord above, but to me; he prayed that I would spare his life. I was deaf to all his entreaties, and, as the last stroke of midnight resounded from the great cathedral clock, he fell at my feet a corpse.

"I listened to the retreating footsteps of the night-watch, as they marched by, and, as the last sound of their voices (passé minuit, bons citoyens, dormez en paix) died away, I left the scene where I had severely revenged my past wrongs. And now, señores," added the Ventéro, rising, and going towards a little cupboard in the wall, "you must know that I have but two things which I prize in the world. This dagger!" said he, showing us an old rusty one with ominous dark stains upon the blade, was the instrument of my vengeance, and night and morning I gaze upon those stains (which will never wash out) with exultation and delight."

Just at this moment a little merry whistler approached us, and the idiot son stood by his father's side.

"This is my second treasure!" exclaimed the Ventéro.

Our host informed us, that on leaving the curé's house, he went in search of his son, started direct for Spain, and settled down almost like an anchorite, where we then were.

Shortly after the old French soldier had concluded his story, we all dozed off into a troubled sleep, from which the calésà-men roused us late in the afternoon, to inform us that it was time to start.

Hastily settling our score, and packing up our provisions, we bade the Ventéro and his son adieu, and jumping into the calésàs, received a parting " Via Ustedes con Dios."

STORY OF A HAUNTED HOUSE.

BY MRS. ROMER.

"Thereby hangs a tale."

It is scarcely possible for any race of people to be more strongly imbued with superstition than the Egyptian Mohammedans. Their belief in supernatural influences is unlimited; and not to mention the inexplicable witchcraft of the Evil Eye, the different descriptions of spirits supposed by them to be allowed to wander upon earth, and interfere with the actions of mankind, exceed in variety the category of kelpies, wraiths, and bogles, which the Scottish peasantry formerly pinned their faith upon. Besides the legions of viewless ginn (or genii) for whose propitiation all manner of deferential observances are in use, and the ghools which are believed to haunt cemeteries, and feed upon the ghastly tenants of the grave, there are efreets, a term equally applied to malicious demons, and to the ghosts of murdered persons, which latter are religiously believed by the Egyptians to "revisit the glimpses of the moon," and wander restlessly round the scene that witnessed the destruction of their earthly part. Woe to the luckless mortal who should come in contact with an efreet during its nocturnal perambulations, for one touch of that shadowy form would turn him into a demoniac! Such, at least, is the faith of the ignorant Egyptians; and that being the case, it is not to be wondered at that they invariably fly with terror from any habitation that has acquired the unenviable reputation of being possessed by a haunting spirit.

Mrs. Poole, in her "English woman in Egypt," has given an interesting account of her sojourn, during the commencement of her residence in Cairo, in a house where a murder had been committed, and which was reputed to be haunted—of the vexations to which she was subjected by the strange noises that were nightly heard, and the consequent terrors of her servants-of the curious methods that were resorted to in order to lay the ghost-and of the impenetrable mystery that involved its final disappearance. When I was in Egypt, Mrs. Poole had removed to another habitation, therefore I had no opportunity of seeing the haunt of her unearthly visitant; but it was my lot to visit in a house in the environs of Cairo, similarly circumstanced, where, although I did not see the ghost, I heard all about it. It is of that house that I am now about to treat.

About three miles from Cairo, and not more than a quarter of a mile from the vice-regal residence of Shoubra, at a place called Minieh (which, however, must not be confounded with the distant town of Minieh, known to all travellers going up the Nile), situated in the midst of verdant fields, and just near enough to Mohammed Ali's rus in urbe to benefit by the superior cultivation, and the shady avenues that surround that luxurious retreat, there is a pretty country-house, at present in the possession of the English viceconsul, but which, for several years before he became its proprietor, had remained uninhabited. Notwithstanding the advantages of its position, it had been completely deserted, for popular belief had marked it out as a place accursed-a spot haunted by an efreetand among a people so credulously superstitious as the Moham