ful that a woman of Margaret's sense, possess- | kind of delighted astonishment at the beauty, vaing her knowledge of Virginia's character, could riety and elevation of the thoughts, which, rousfor a moment have entertained so vain an idea. ing from their slumber, almost unconsciously to Virginia listened with delight, and internally com- the speaker, clothe themselves in words. pared Augustus to all the heroes of romance with Carried away by the interest, which Gerald whom she was acquainted, and finally conclu- Devereux's conversation excited, Margaret, Arded that he bore a striking resemblance to Val- thur, and Mrs. Selden, who had joined the comancourt in the Mysteries of Udolpho. pany, found themselves uttering so many good When Augustus Vernon had finished his per- things, as to occasion them not only pleasure but formance, and laid aside the flute, Arthur in- surprise. One striking thought, one bright sally quired of Gerald Devereux if he was not a per- followed another, and it was one of those evenformer on that instrument. ings which all present would have marked with a white stone.

"Oh, no-I once made some execrable attempts at Gramachree, and a few more old Irish Virginia and Augustus did not partake of the melodies, but fortunately for myself and others, general inspiration; they seemed absorbed in I soon desisted. I am sure I have no musical themselves, and in each other. Gerald Devetalent, though I believe no one feels more ex-reux addressed several remarks to Virginia, for quisite enjoyment than I do in listening to a fine he wished to draw out the spirit that dwelt in so song well sung. Indeed, I can listen with plea- fair a shrine, but Virginia answered briefly though sure to the tones of a voice, without much com- politely, and evidently felt no interest in the conpass or variety, if they do but express any genu-versation that was going on around her. ine feeling with sweetness and simplicity, but instrumental music, unless it is excellent, is to me almost intolerable. Even the best instrumental music is a soul without a body, and we are not always sufficiently spiritual to understand its expression; we want words to make the idea palpable; but when it is merely ordinary, it jars upon the senses like discord, it is only a noise, nothing more, and the lower, the more unobtrusive the noise, the better it suits my taste."

Margaret smiled, but felt a little uneasy, as to whether Augustus would not understand the latter part of Gerald Devereux's speech to refer to his performance, but she was soon re-assured by the bright smile of self-complacency that played on his lips.

CHAPTER XII.

Oh. 'tis the heart that magnifies this life
Making a truth and beauty all its own.

Wordsworth.

And what was Charles Selden doing all this while? His father would at least have had no reason to regret the inactivity of a minister's life, could he have seen Charles' daily employments. From the earliest dawn until a late hour at night. his occupations were incessant, and the field of duty seemed continually extending before him. No duty was too humble, or too laborious, or too painful for him to perform willingly, animated by that "love which makes all things possible." He had given up his mind to the study of truth, in the noblest form in which it can manifest itself to the mind of man-religious truth, and from this source of all truth, he was continually

The conversation now became more general, more animated. Margaret had formed a high estimate of Gerald Devereux's mind from their first acquaintance; but she had no idea of the extent and variety of his powers, for now without the least wish for display, he scattered care- led to explore its tributary streams-the various lessly around rich treasures of thought and bril- branches of human knowledge, all of which pour liant gems of wit. His transitions from the noble their waters into this inexhaustible ocean, though and elevated to the humorous and pathetic, were it requires that the eye should be full of light to so gracefully, yet often so rapidly made, as to discover their connection with the fountain into produce the effect of delighted surprise on his which they empty themselves. In the branches auditors. The intellects even of the most bril- of natural science he traced with continually inliant and highly gifted of our species, are gener-creasing delight, wonderful displays of the love ally in a half-slumbering state; a moderate ex- and power of God, and perceived the various ercise of a moderate portion of our faculties, is uses to which they might be applied for the benefound quite sufficient for the common purposes fit of his brethren, for such he truly considered of life or society, but when a bright moment ar- all mankind. History he studied not as a mere rives when the mind is wide awake, what a world collection of facts, not to support any particular of thought, of fancy, does the child of genius theory, but to him it was interesting in the highspread out, as if by the stroke of a magic wand. est degree from its revelations of the dark and The electric spark is communicated to all who sad mysteries of the human heart, from the light are capable of receiving it, and all partake of a which it throws on the dealings of God with man

The first time I went to church after my arri

when he considered the progress and connection would never imagine them to be labors. I am of events in universal history, how often was his often surprised at minute instances of his thoughtheart elevated in wonder and love to that Su- fulness for my comfort, and for the happiness and preme Being who from "seeming evil still dedu- improvement of my boys; he has the happy facces good." Philological and metaphysical stu-ulty of being able to bring from his studies and dies especially connected themselves with the grave occupations, a mind present to all around profession which he had chosen-and in such him, and ready to seize every passing occasion pursuits the accuracy and subtlety of his mind, of entertainment and improvement. and his power of abstraction from the material. world, were increased. Every species of know-val here, it was with an odd mixture of sensaledge and literature had charms for him, and tions, that I could scarcely describe. As soon as every pursuit was connected with, and made sub- Charles commenced his sermon, I hung my head servient to, the great purposes of religion. To involuntarily, and felt as much dread and embarthe pure, all things are pure;" when the heart is rassment as if I had been about to address the softened, and the mind enlightened by the doc- congregation myself. The first tones of his voice, trines of genuine Christianity, then the eye be- however, and the first glance I cast upon him, comes single and full of light-it is fitted to see completely re-assured me; it was evident that truth wherever it may be found. he was wholly engrossed with his subject, and The moral world, illumined by love and faith, earnestly endeavoring to awaken in the minds of no longer appeared to Charles' vision as a dark his hearers, a sense of its unspeakable imporchaos in which good and evil contended for mas-tance, and to kindle in their hearts the flame of tery: the vices and follies of mankind no longer divine love which burned so brightly in his own. excited in his mind contempt or disgust;-the His voice and manner are surpassingly good, but world presented to him a vast field of usefulness so natural as completely to disarm criticism; and and labor, where glorious victories were to be the best proof of his excellence consists in the won, where immortal souls were to be rescued interest and attention which you observe painted from bondage and slavery, and made partakers on the countenances of his auditors. of unspeakable and undying happiness;-vice and folly he regarded as a skilful physician would the diseases of his patients-the more loathsome, the more inveterate the malady, the more earnest became his desire to remove it, and the more intense his compassion for the sufferer.

A letter which Mrs. Mason addressed about this time to her sister, will give some idea of Charles Selden in the character of a country parson.

Mrs. Mason to Mrs. Selden.

I breathed freely, then a little proudly, then almost forgot it was Charles to whom I was listening, in the interest inspired by the subject, and his manner of treating it, and in the searching examination, which he led his hearers to make of their own hearts.

As yet the whole work is before him, of establishing a spiritual church, with the Divine aid which I think is clearly promised in the Gospel to efforts such as his. The congregation is large, and composed chiefly of the most reputable inhabitants of the county. There are many nominal members of the church and some communicants; most of whom have been accustomed to consider it as a suitable and necessary thing for a member of the Episcopal Church to partake of the sacred ordinance without considering its

hearers are infected with the prevailing spirit of infidelity, and come to listen to his discourses to criticise and refute, but the evident inserest which is excited by his sermons in all classes, makes me hope that a spirit of investigation may be awakened in the minds even of scoffers and uubelievers.

I have been intending for many days, my dear sister, to allow myself the privilege of saying every thing good, bad, and indifferent to you, just as they arise in my mind, precisely as if I were sitting by your side, as in the happy days of old. I have been so busily engaged in making house-spiritual uses or requisitions. Many, too, of his hold arrangements, which you would have accomplished in the tenth part of the time it has taken me to effect them, and in paying and receiving visits, together with attempting to assist Charles in his multifarious duties, that I have not had a spare moment. I have always considered myself as a rather industrious person, but really this dear Charles of ours puts me completely Charles seems to have greatly at heart the spito shame, and makes me think sometimes, that ritual and physical improvement of the poorest I have never until now understood what a true and most ignorant of his parishioners, and the Christian can, and ought to be. From the ear-instruction of the children belonging to the conliest dawn until a late hour at night, his labors gregation. To his own servants, and to any of are incessant, and yet to observe the constant the colored people, whom he can induce to seek kindness and cheerfulness of his manner, you religious knowledge, he gives plain, impressive

acter which Anna Maria seems, with infinite pains, to have formed. She has aimed at a mixture of piety and romance, without understanding the nature of either, and her character is a ridiculous medley of contradictory preten sions; it is evident to every one but Charles, that she has made what would be called a dead set

oral instruction, so well adapted to their capaci- Jone's pleasure but his own, to the artificial charties and peculiar modes of thinking, that I, who have been present on some of these occasions, have been more struck with these simple and forcible expositions of truth, as a proof of talent in the minister who delivered them, than I have been in listening to many fine and highly polished discourses. You have reason to rejoice in such a son, my dear sister: it would be imposat him, and it would amuse you to see the quiet sible to appreciate him too highly.

unconsciousness of his manner, and to hear the dry simplicity of his remarks, in answer to some of her elaborate speeches, intended to excite his sympathy and admiration.

learned that the weapons of a woman's warfare must be rather defensive than offensive, and that it is impossible to pass on unwounded, without the shield and buckler of prudence and reserve. Yet she has so much candor, generosity, and tenderness of feeling mingled with spirit, that she really fascinates me, and the lights almost make me forget the shadows of her character.

Fortunately, Charles has not perceived the very strong interest he has excited in some of the young ladies of the congregation, as it might throw an unpleasant restraint over his manner; and But Mr. Travers has an inmate of his house, now he is perfectly unconscious and at his ease. a niece, Edith Fitzgerald, whose society is really One of the most prominent of his admirers, in delightful, she has so much character, talent aud this class of society, is a Miss Anna Maria Tra- originality, with noble and generous feeling. She vers, daughter of George Travers, with whom lost her mother, unfortunately, early in life, aud brother James was formerly well acquainted, and has had no female friend to supply her place, so a Miss Susan Brooke, who, she says, frequently that the want of feminine training and influence saw you during your days of belleship, and ad- are evident in her character and manner. There mired you very much, though she was never very is nothing bold or unfeminine about her, but there well acquainted with you. Both Mr. Travers is a sort of lofty independence and disregard for and his wife seem very kind-hearted. They took public opinion, a self-reliance, and promptness Charles warmly by the hand as soon as he set-in action, which seem rather to belong to young tled here, and though the old gentleman appears men than to young women. She has not yet to think he pushes his notions on religious subjects too far, he is evidently inclined to view his actions and opinions with the greatest indulgence. Charles' conduct and opinions being so different from those of most men, they have excited not only admiration and curiosity, but censure, malignant criticism and misinterpretation. On one occasion, when his character was severely handled, 1 heard that Mr. Travers defended him with much warmth. Mrs. Travers is extremely kind and inoffensive, but as simple as possible, and so fearful of giving offence that I believe she would not give her own children advice which she thought would be disagreeable. She is an excellent housekeeper, and indulges the natural kindness of her disposition, by attending to the bodily wants of all around her, with the agreeable consciousness, that such attentions can never give offence. Consequently she is one of the most popular ladies in the county, and I have never heard a gentleman mention her without praise, though commendations of her puddings, her pastry, and her coffee, are sure to form a considerable part of her eulogy.

I think I see you smile and say, "Charlotte is as apt to let her fancies run away with her, as she was at sixteen-how can she know so much of this young lady in so short a time." To this, I would reply, You are mistaken, dear sister; my proneness to take violent fancies, and form sudden friendships, has entirely vanished, indeed I view things in too sober a light now, but there really are some extraordinary persons left in the world, and there are some indications of intellectual and moral superiority about them, which cannot be mistaken, and yet, in some cases, cannot be so satisfactorily described, as to convince those who have never seen these gifted individuals, of the reality of their existence. Edith Fitzgerald is certainly one of these, as you will aeknowledge when you see her, as I hope you will ere long.

The young people of the family have of course grown up without control, and have followed the natural bent of their characters, or formed them- Charles and I are expecting the promised week selves after some fantastic models. Anna Maria, with much impatience, and Frank and Gustavus the eldest of the young ladies, has unfortunately ask me every day when Aunt Selden and their chosen the latter method; for nature in her ru- cousins are coming. Every thing is assuming dest forms is preferable to affectation, and I pre- quite a pleasant and comfortable aspect around fer the hoyden and giddy Juliana, and even the us, and I begin to have a home feeling here, which indifference which George manifests for every gives one you know a sort of individual attach

And "Fire" followed ev'ry roar
Of the true palmetto's thunder,
That shook the sea and shore,
And rent the foe asunder!

And as now came down the night
O'er the island and the bay,
Told her guns' quick flashing light,
Where that noble fortress lay!

But ere the noon was passed,
There was silence on the deep,
For the foe, in wounded haste,
Slipped his cables from their keep!
Then rose a sound upon the sea,
As of battle waged again-
It was the cry of "Victory!"
From Moultrie and his men.

|excellence, both as a just tribute to the memory of the dead, and an incentive to the living to emulate their well-earned fame. In this spirit, we desire to contribute our mite, however insignificant, to the praise of the great and good man, whose name is prefixed to this article; and so inevitably does the mention of the one name call up the recollection of the other, that it was impossible to take the first step, without being reminded of that contemporary and friend, with whom, for nearly fifty years, he was so intimately connected.

Chapman Johnson was born in the year 1779, in' Louisa county, Virginia, on a plantation in the immediate neighborhood of "Branham's" or "Boswell's old Ordinary." He had four brothers-two of whom were older than himself, and two younger-and three sisters. His mother died while he was still very young; but nevertheless

THE LATE CHAPMAN JOHNSON, ESQ. old enough to recall distinctly a scene in which he

owed his life to her exertions. His clothes had taken fire, and he was in imminent risk of being burnt to death, until his mother, not without injury to her own hands, succeeded in extinguishing the flames.

The death of Chapman Johnson has left a gap in the foremost rank of our illustrious men, that will not soon be filled. And his loss is felt the more sensibly, because it followed so closely upon the demise of another of Virginia's noblest His father owned the plantation on which he sous-his associate in youth-his competitor in lived, but thought himself too poor to afford his the race of usefulness and honor, wherein both sons an education; and their boyhood, in consewere victors,—his bosom friend from early man-quence, was passed in a state of the most prohood till the last moment of life. Benjamin found ignorance. Hoping at length to better his Watkins Leigh and Chapman Johnson! Where condition, by joining the profits of a tavern to shall we find two names so hallowed by the ten- those of the farm, he took charge of the inn alderness and truth of manly friendship-so radi- ready mentioned, and trusted in this way, to supant with the glory that springs from private vir- port his family with less difficulty. But the step tue and public worth? Unambitious of official was extremely ill-advised, so far as the interrank or political distinction, they were neverthe-ests of his sons were involved. Without educaless prompt, whenever called by the voice of duty, tion, wild and untrained, at an age the most susto sacrifice for the public good every consideration ceptible of impressions from those about them, of personal convenience or professional emolu- they were thrown into daily contact with the idle, ment. In times when such examples have been dissipated, and vicious company, which, at that lamentably rare, their disinterested love of coun- day even more than at present, infested our tavtry has been recognised and rewarded by the erns and other places of public resort throughout homage of men of every party. More than once, the country. Already deprived of a mother's at the summons of their native State, did they guardianship, they were destined to undergo, abandon, for a time, the professional labors to while yet of tender age, the loss of their surviwhich they had devoted themselves; but always ving parent. Their father died at the Ordinary; to return with eagerness to the duties and enjoy- and for some time the orphan boys continued ments of private life, so soon as the public ser- there, exposed without defence to all the misvice was fulfilled. And in that loved retirement, chievous influences of the place. That they did honored with the public esteem, beloved by their not wholly escape the contagion is no matter of numerous friends and acquaintance, comforted by surprise: on the contrary, it is more wonderful, the overflowing gratitude and affection of those that under circumstances so adverse, the moral nearest and dearest to them, they have spent the instinct and mental energy of nature should have tranquil evening of their lives, and calmly await-sprung up and matured amid the noxious weeds ed the coming of that dark hour which precedes by which they were surrounded. The eldest of the dawn of eternal day. the boys, as was natural, plunged more deeply

When such men as these are removed from into the current than the others; and the immithe scene of human action, a natural and lauda-nent danger of his ruin first awoke the fears and ble impulse prompts us to commemorate their stimulated the efforts of his brothers, Richard