The New-York Weekly Magazine, or Miscellaneous Repository Part 49

In the reign of Dermot O'Mullogh, in the kingdom of Connaught, about the beginning of the second century, a noisy fellow by the name of _Pat Riot_, made himself very conspicuous; the word _Patriot_ has come down to us perfect and unimpaired.

_For the +New-York Weekly Magazine+._

+JULIET.----A Story.+

The sun had descended just below the horizon--all nature was wrapped in solemn silence--when Juliet hastened to the tomb of her dear friend.

Having seated herself upon the green turf near his head, and looking with anxiety to the grave, she exclaimed-- "Oh Lovemore!-- Why leave your Juliet thus to mourn?-- Answer me, my dear, this once--how cruel to separate us!-- Oh Death, thou welcome messenger to those who are troubled--thou finisher of grief and despair--thou antidote to all future evils-- Why thus delay thy second coming?--- Or, why didst thou come so soon?-- What have I been guilty of, that thus thou dost torment?-- If Lovemore received the summons, why not Juliet?-- Oh Lovemore!--- thou who wert once the boast of creation, now to be no more!-- Thou who were once the delight of all who had the pleasure of thy acquaintance---now to be a companion for worms.--- Cruel fates thus to deprive me of my all--- If the summons must be obeyed, why was not the tomb of Lovemore made the receptacle for Juliet too.--- Lovemore---he is gone---alas! he's gone---never to return---never to behold his Juliet again.--- Lovemore! Lovemore!--- why thus callous to the cries of her whom it was ever thy wish to please?--- Must Juliet, thy beloved Juliet, weep in vain?--- And must those lips which never spoke of Lovemore but with affection and delight, be silenced without a reply?--- Surely you have not grown disdainful to her whom you once adored?--- If still thou art the Lovemore whom Juliet once beheld---if still thy affection for her is pure, why thus be silent?--- I conjure you by those tender vows which once you made, answer me now."---- "Juliet--- Juliet"---- "Hark!--- What voice is that I hear calling on Juliet's name?"---- "Why thus repine at the will of Heaven?--- and why thus dictate to thy Creator how to act?--- Consider thy presumption in reproving him.--- Will your repeated cries to heaven restore new vigour to that inanimate, cold, and putrified clay?--- No;--- all will be in vain.--- I charge you, reflect."---- "Have I erred?--- Oh! righteous Heaven, and have I been guilty of accusing thee of injustice?--- Have I called in question thy power?--- Yes;--- it is too true--- I have.--- Why did Juliet murmur, and why oppose thy just decrees?--- O Heaven, was it not for the affection she bore to thee, Lovemore, that caused her thus to transgress?--- Yes, it was, Juliet loved him, and Juliet still loves him---but her will must be submissive to the will of Heaven.--- He who gave thee birth, O Lovemore! has called you hence--- You have answered your mission.--- The summons served, the debt of nature's paid.--- Juliet will no longer grieve.--- Lovemore, soon shall you find thy Juliet in thy arms:--- then that tomb which is now the receptacle of thy body, shall be mine--- And that tear which was seen on Juliet's cheek shall be changed to joy.--- She who now weeps over thy cold clay, shall then be thy companion for ever." Here Juliet embraced the grave of Lovemore, and summoning up the virtues of resignation and patience to her aid, she silently quitted the spot---and calmly mourned, not murmured, till Heaven united her spirit with that of her departed lover.

TYRUNCULUS.

NEW-YORK _Sept. 21, 1796_.

A RURAL PICTURE.

On a s.p.a.cious lawn, bounded on every side by a profusion of the most odoriferous flowering shrubs, a joyous band of villagers were a.s.sembled; the young men dressed in green; youth, health, and pleasure in their air, led up their artless charmers, in straw hats adorned with the spoils of Flora, to the rustic sound of the tabor and pipe. Round the lawn, at equal intervals, were raised temporary arbours of branches of trees, in which refreshments were prepared for the dancers; and between the arbours, seats of moss for their parents, shaded from the sun by green awnings, on poles, round which were twined wreaths of flowers, breathing the sweets of the spring. The surprise, the gaiety of the scene, the flow of general joy, the sight of so many happy people, the countenances of the enraptured parents, who seem to live anew again, the sprightly season of youth in their children, with the benevolent looks of the n.o.ble bestowers of the feast, filled my eyes with tears, and my swelling heart with a sensation of pure, yet lively transport, to which the joys of the courtly belles are mean.

GLEANINGS.

When a man is disposed to reveal a secret, and expects that it shall be kept, he should first enquire whether he can keep it himself. This is good advice, perhaps a little in the Irish way.

All the wisdom in the world will do little while a man wants presence of mind. He cannot fence well that is not on his guard. Archimedes lost his life by being too busy to give an answer.

Notwithstanding the difference of estate and quality among men, there is such a general mixture of good and evil, that in the main, happiness is pretty equally distributed in the world. The rich are as often unhappy as the poor, as repletion is more dangerous than appet.i.te.

It is wonderful how fond we are of repeating a sc.r.a.p of Latin, in preference to the same sentiment in our own language equally well expressed. Both the sense and words of Omnia vincit amor (love conquers all) are worthy only of a school-boy, and yet how often repeated with an affectation of wisdom!

Revenge, speaking botanically, may be termed wild justice, and ought to be rooted out, as choaking up the true plant. A first wrong does but offend the law, but revenge puts the law out of office. Surely, when government is once established, revenge belongs only to the law.

For more than a century, has Billingsgate been proverbial for the coa.r.s.eness of its language. Whence is this? What connexion is there between fresh fish and foul words? Why should the vending of that useful commodity, and elegant luxury, prompt to oaths, execrations, and every corruption of language, more than any other? And to think that the parties concerned are of the fair s.e.x---O fye!

Reason has not more admirers than there are hypocrites. Hypocrites admire only the profits of wisdom, and approve just so much of her, as is agreeable and serviceable to their ends.

THE VICTIM OF MAGICAL DELUSION.

_OR, INTERESTING MEMOIRS OF MIGUEL, DUKE DE CA*I*A._ Unfolding Many Curious Unknown Historical Facts.

_Translated from the German of Tsc.h.i.n.k._

(Continued from page 95.)

"You know that he has been in our house some time ago, informing us of your exaltation to the ducal dignity, and at the same time, placed the declaration of the ghost, concerning the murder, in its proper point of view. However, you are still ignorant of the most important circ.u.mstance. I will not dwell on the uncommon praise he bestowed on your family, and you in particular, but only mention that he concluded his panegyrics with the observation, that the Countess herself would deem you deserving her love, if she should be acquainted more intimately with your Grace. This unexpected turn perplexed Amelia evidently. She replied, she did not doubt the amiable qualities of the Duke, however she vowed eternal fidelity to the Count. 'If that is your sole objection,' the Irishman replied, 'then I shall soon remove it. The deceased himself shall release you from your vow, from the performance of which he can derive neither benefit nor pleasure; it is in my power to make him declare it himself.' 'No, no!' exclaimed Amelia, terrified, 'the rest of the deceased shall not be interrupted; I should not be able to stand the sight of him.' 'No apparition, my Lady,' the Irishman replied, 'you shall neither hear nor see the deceased!'--With these words he took a blank piece of paper out of his pocket-book, requesting Amelia to write upon it the following words:----'Spirit of the Count of Clairval, shall I preserve my heart and hand faithful to thee till death, according to my vow?' As soon as the Countess had been persuaded to it with great difficulty, and wrote these words, the Irishman prevailed upon her to carry the paper to an apartment to which no one could have access without her knowledge and leave. Amelia chose the apartment contiguous to her bed-chamber. The shutters were bolted from within, the paper placed upon a table, and the room strongly fumigated by the Irishman, who uttered some mysterious words. When they had retired, the Irishman requested her to return and look after the paper; however she could see nothing but the words written by herself, upon which she shut the door, and put the key in her pocket.

"'Sleep easy,' the Irishman added, 'and don't open the chamber before to-morrow morning, when you will find an answer to your question.'

"The Irishman left us at eleven o'clock, and Amelia went to her bed-room, which she left not for a moment all night.--She went to bed, but uneasiness and curiosity did not suffer her to close her eyes. Not the least noise was heard in the adjoining apartment, and when Amelia entered it early in the morning, she had observed beneath the lines she had wrote, pale but legible characters, which she instantly knew to be the hand-writing of her deceased Lord------'Thy vow, which binds me to be a living being upon earth, and, thee to one who is deceased, shackles my liberty. I break these chains. The man by whose orders I have been a.s.sa.s.sinated is Vasco**ellos.'

"Imagine how Amelia was astonished at an incident which evidently was the effect of a superior power; the apartment, the shutters, and the door of which had been carefully secured, and which was guarded by Amelia herself, being entirely inaccessible to any mortal, except by violent means, of which no traces could be perceived on the window shutters. This miraculous event was decisive for my friend, who professed herself entirely at liberty from that moment.

"Your Grace will easily believe me, that the tender attachment to you, which had found access to her heart, guarded by a solemn vow, acquired additional activity when the shackles were thrown off. The ghost himself appeared to have silently approved, by naming the real murderer, the pa.s.sion for a Prince, whose father had been injured by an unjust suspicion. Amelia endeavoured, nevertheless, to conceal from me the real state of her heart, and, out of caprice, rather would leave me to guess, than to confess herself, what might have been misinterpreted as a weakness. However, that very constraint which she experienced by concealing a secret that struggled to break its confinement, some words which she dropped unknowingly, her gloomy looks and silent melancholy----in short, all those traits which seem to have told you so very little of Amelia's secret sentiments, convinced me soon that love was the silent tormentor of her heart. I communicated my discovery to her, and she confessed at last that I was not mistaken."

"Gracious Heaven!" I exclaimed, "she confessed---"

"And at the same time desired me earnestly to conceal it carefully from you; and do you know for what reason?"

"No!"

"Amelia feared she was not beloved by you. Your having proceeded on your travels during her illness without so much as taking leave of her, made her already suspect your indifference. This suspicion gained additional strength by your never having wrote a single line to her after your departure. Your behaviour during your present stay with us too, has cured her of that error as little as the information of your departure."

"Should it be possible my love could have escaped Amelia's looks?"

"It did not escape my observation.----I gathered carefully all the marks of it, and communicated them to my friend. However, they appeared to her to be nothing farther than proofs of gallantry, which every well-educated man is wont to offer at the shrine of beauty. 'Is it possible,' she said, 'that true, ardent love, could refrain so long from coming to an explanation?' And indeed, my Lord, can you say any thing against this objection?"

"My Lady, I could not entertain the least idea of such an explanation, while the misunderstanding concerning the murderer of Count Clairval was not removed, although I had not been ignorant of the residence of Amelia, which was unknown to me ever since the removal from the castle in the forest, and the mysterious conduct of the Countess has prevented me from declaring now, what I ardently wished to avow publicly ever since I got acquainted with her. What has made _you_ guess my happiness has induced _me_ to apprehend my misfortune----I even feared to offend the Countess by my presence. I expected secret dislike to me, at most pity, but never a return of my love."

"I see you are but a novice in love," Lady Delier said smiling, "and I have of course acted wisely that I opened your eyes!"

"O! my dearest Baroness!" I replied, kissing her hand, my grat.i.tude will end only with my life."

"Silence! Silence!" she exclaimed, putting her hand on my lips, "I have told you, as yet, only good news----the worst is coming now!"

"What can that be?" I asked with consternation.

"You shall hear Amelia's own words: 'The Duke' said she, 'does not love me, and even if he should have a pa.s.sion for me, and avow it, he should hear the confession of my reciprocal tenderness, but never receive my hand. I am indeed released of my vow, but my present liberty will raise my fidelity to my deceased Lord, which was till now mere duty, to merit, and I will remain constant to him, as far as it will be in my power.

I cannot command my love for the Duke, however my hand is at my disposal."

"Heavens! how you have damped my happiness!" I replied after a painful pause.

"Should a mere whim of the Countess really be able to dishearten your Grace? You do not consider how soon the love of a living adorer can subdue the fidelity to a deceased husband. Amelia's heart is yours, and her hand will certainly follow."

"It is not only this incert.i.tude that makes me uneasy; the Countess loves me because she cannot help it. Can a love which I do not owe to a voluntary attachment render me happy?"

"How you are roving! what ought to make you proud and happy damps your spirits. What was it that impelled Amelia irresistibly to love you? can it have been any thing else but the consciousness of your perfections, and an irresistible sympathy which has united your hearts; and what can be more desirable, what more sincere and durable than such bonds? My Lord, love has done every thing for you, and you have done nothing for love. Disclose to Amelia your sentiments, communicate to her your tenderness, and her involuntary attachment to you will soon be changed into a voluntary pa.s.sion."

"My dearest friend! My comforter!" I exclaimed, "what friendly genius is it that speaks through you, and animates my whole nature?"