What were the feelings of Azinda, when he heard the fatal and predicted words; heard them from the mouth of him the loved! Her heart fhuddered, but the recalled to mind the expreffions of the dervife. She believed him her father, and knew of his piety and truth. She drew out the dagger unobferved ; but it dropped from her hand, and her head grew giddy. Azor ftarted, and the dervife appeared at the mouth of the cave. Azinda,' cried he, 'remem. ⚫ber my words!' The venerable figure of her preferver, and awful found of his voice, overcame her; and she plunged the dagger into the bofom of the aftonished and undefending prince, who funk down lifelef's from the blow, but her fenfes failed her as he gave it, and a deep fwoon, for a time, relieved her from the recollection of what he had done. On her recovery, the found herself in her apartments at the palace, whither the dervife had conveyed her; and he now brought her acquainted with what had paffed during her infenfibility, and alfo with fuch of the circumftances preceding it's caufe as the was yet ignorant of.

It has already been obferved, that Mirvan, ftruck with her appearance from the window, had become enamoured of her. He discovered the paffion of his brother, and envied him a felicity he was free to enjoy; while himself was reftricted by a care, of which, in his heart, he curfed the author. His apartments joined to thofe of Azinda; and the flightnefs of the partition between them fuffered him to overhear the laft converfation of his brother with her, and to learn their scheme of returning to the cave of the dervife, together with the plan of their meeting. This knowledge added tenfold to his torture, and he threw himself on the fofa in an agony. Oh!' exclaimed he for fome kind Genius, to affift me in this perplexity! Oh that I could go with Azinda to the cave of her father, in the ftead of Azor!' Scarcely had he

pronounced the name of his brother, when the ceiling gave way, and divided, running back on either fide, to yield a paffage to the Genius, who inftantly ftood befide the fofa on which the unhappy prince was reclined. Thy with is granted,' he cried. Lo! I invest thee with the appearance of thy brother, and with the power of imitating his hand: write to his miftrefs in his name, and appoint the time an hour fooner. Meet, and accompany her to the dwelling of the dervife, and reft there in peace. Before Mirvan could reply, the Genius was gone. He gazed in a mirrour, and beheld, with delight, the countenance of Azor. The delufive mandate was fent to Azinda, who met him, and was deceived by the form he wore. They arrived together at the cave, where he refted in peace, as the Genius had foretold.

The dervife now informed the king of the murder of the eldest prince by the rightful heir to the throne; and reminding them of the Oracle, discovered Azinda to the people, who, inflamed by his eloquence, and weary of a tyrannizing monarch, vowed to defend her rights. Morullah, enraged at the lofs of his favourite fon, the defeat of his darling fcheme, and the impotence of his wrath against a people fick of his government, and vain of their power of abolishing it, poifoned himself through grief and fhame: and Azor, who, amidst all these tumults, was yet employed in fecking for Azinda, whom he had waited for impatiently and in vain, was recalled by the meffengers of the dervife, who acquainted him, as he had done the princefs, with fuch circumftances as he had yet to learn; and afterwards introduced him into the prefence of his miftrefs, who, in a fhort time, re-afcended with him the throne of her forefathers.

Let not the wicked ever reft as fecure; for no human precaution can ward off the fore-doomed punishment of guilt.

appeared, at a certain hour, in the Park, walking to and fro in the Mall with a kind of mournful folemnity, or ruminating by himself on one of the benches, without taking any more notice of the

gay

gay crowd that was moving before him, than of fo many emmets on an ant-hill, or atoms dancing in the fun.

This man the duke fingled out as likely to be a fit object for a frolick. He began, therefore, by making fome enquiry concerning him, and foon learnt that he was an unfortunate poor creature, who having laid out his whole ftock in the purchase of a commiffion, had behaved with great bravery in the war, in hopes of preferment, but upon the conclufion of the peace had been reduced to starve upon half-pay. This the duke thought a favourable circumftance for his purpofe; but he learnt, upon farther enquiry, that the captain, having a wife and feveral children, had been reduced to the neceffity of fending them down into Yorkshire, whither he conftantly tranfmitted them one moiety of his half-pay, which would not fubfift them near the metropolis, and referved the other moiety to keep himfelf upon the pot where alone he could hope for an opportunity of obtaining a more advantageous fituation. Thefe particulars afforded a new fcope for the duke's genius, and he immediately be gan his operations.

After fome time, when every thing had been prepared, he watched an opportunity, as the captain was fitting alone, buried in his speculations, on a bench, to fend his gentleman to him with his compliments, and an invitation to dinner the next day. The duke having placed himself at a convenient diftance, faw his meffenger approach with out being perceived, and begin to speak without being heard; he faw his intended guest start at length from his reverie, like a man frighted out of a dream, and gaze with a foolish look of wonder and perplexity at the perfon that accofted him, without feeming to comprehend what he said, or to believe his tenfes when it was repeated to him till he did. In short, he faw with infinite fatisfaction all that could be expected in the locks, behaviour, and attitude, of a man addressed in fo abrupt and unaccountable a manner; and as the fport depended upon the man's fenfibility, he difcovered fo much of that quality on friking the first stroke, that he promifed himfelf fuccefs beyond his former hopes. He was told, however, that the captain returned thanks for the honour intended

him, and would wait upon his the time appointed.

grace at

When he came, the duke received him with particular marks of civility, and taking him afide with an air of great fecrecy and importance, told him that he had defired the favour of his company to dine, chiefly upon the account of a lady, who had long had a particular regard for him, and had expreffed a great defire to be in his company, which her fituation made it impoffible for her to accomplish without the affiftance of a friend; that having learnt thefe particulars by accident, he had taken the liberty to bring them together; and added, that he thought fuch an act of civility, whatever might be the opinion of the world, could be no imputation upon his honour. During this difcourfe, the duke enjoyed the profound astonishment and various changes of confusion that appeared in the captain's face; who, after he had a little recovered himself, began a speech with great folemnity, in which the duke perceived he was labouring to infinuate, in the best manner he could, that he doubted whether he was not imposed upon, and whether he ought not to refent it; and therefore, to put an end to his difficulties at once, the duke laid his hand upon his breast, and very devoutly fwore, that he told him nothing that he did not believe upon good evidence to be true.

When word was brought that dinner was ferved, the captain entered the dining-room with great curiosity and wonder; but his wonder was unspeak ably increased, when he faw at the table his own wife and children. The duke had begun his frolick by fending for them out of Yorkshire, and had as much, if not more, aftonished the lady than he had her husband, to whom he took care the should have no opportunity to fend a letter.

It is much more eafy to conceive than to defcribe a meeting fo fudden, unex pected, and extraordinary; it is fuffi cient to fay that it afforded the duke the highest entertainment, who at length, with much difficulty, got his guests quietly feated at his table, and perfuaded them to fall to without thinking either of yesterday or to-morrow. It happened that, foon after dinner was over, word was brought to the duke, that his law

yer

yer attended about fome bufinefs by his grace's order. The duke, willing to have a fhort truce with the various enquiries of the captain about his family, ordered the lawyer to be introduced, who pulling out a deed that the duke was to fign, was directed to read it, with an apology to the company for the interruption. The lawyer accordingly began to read; when, to compleat the adventure and the confufion and aftonithment of the poor captain and his wife, the deed appeared to be a fettle

ment which the duke had made upon them of a genteel fufficiency for life. Having gravely heard the inftrument read, without appearing to take any notice of the emotion of his guetts, he figned and fealed it, and delivered it into the captain's hand, defiring him to accept it without compliments: ' For, fays he, I affure you it is the last thing I would have done, if I had thought I 'could have employed my money or my time more to my fatisfaction any other way,'

gies; for as our news-writers muft adorn their papers with that which the criticks call the marvellous, they are forced, in a dead calm of affairs, to ranfack every element for proper amufements, and either to aftonish their readers from time to time with a strange and wonderful fight, or be content to lose their cuffom. The fea is generally filled with monfters, when there are no fleets upon it. Mount Etna immediately began to rage upon the extinction of the rebellion and woe to the people of Catanea, if the peace continues; for they are fure to be fhaken every week with earthquakes, till they are relieved by the fiege of fome other great town in Europe. The air has likewife contributed it's quota of prodigies. We had a blazing far by the last mail from Genca; and in the prefent dearth of battles have been very opportunely entertained, by perfors of undoubted credit, with a civil war in the clouds, where our fharp-fighted malecontents difcovered many objects invifible to an eye that is dimmed by whig-principles.

I question not but this effay will fall in with the prefent humour, fince it contains a very remarkable vifion of a Highland feer, who is famous among the mountains, and known by the name of

Second-Sighted Sawney. Had he been

feen this vifion fooner in print; for it happened to him very early in the late hard winter; and is tranfmitted to me by a ftudent of Glasgow, who took the whole relation from him, and stuck close to the facts, though he has delivered them in his own ftile.

Sawney was defcended of an ancient family, very much renowned for their fkill in prognofticks. Most of his ancestors were fecond-fighted, and his mother but narrowly escaped being burnt for a witch. As he was going out one morning very early to steal a fheep, he was feized on the fudden with a fit of fecond-fight. The face of the whole country about him was changed in the twinkling of an eye, and prefented him with a wide profpect of new scenes and objects which he had never seen till that day.

He difcovered at a great distance from him a large fabrick, which caft such a gliftering light about it, that it looked like a huge rock of diamond. Upon the top of it was planted a standard, ftreaming in a strong northern wind, and embroidered with a mixture of thistles and flower-de-luces. As he was amusing himself with this ftrange fight, he heard a bagpipe at some distance behind him; and, turning about, faw a general,

who

who feemed very much animated with the found of it, marching towards him at the head of a numerous army. He learnt, upon enquiry, that they were making a proceffion to the ftructure which ftood before him, and which he found was the Temple of Rebellion. He immediately ftruck in with them; but defcribed this march to the temple with fo much horror, that he fhivered every joint all the while he fpoke of it. They were forced to clamber over fo many rocks, and to tread upon the brink of fo many precipices, that they were very often in danger of their lives. Saw ney declared, that, for his own part, he walked in fear of his neck every ftep he took. Upon their coming within a few furlongs of the temple, they paffed through a very thick grove, confecrated to a deity who was known by the name of Treafon. They here difperfed themfelves into abundance of labyrinths and covered walks which led to the temple. The path was fo very flippery, the fhade fo exceedingly gloomy, and the whole wood fo full of echoes, that they were forced to march with the greateit warinefs, circumfpection, and filence. They at length arrived at a great gate, which was the principal avenue to that magnificent fabrick. Sawney ftood fome time at the entrance to obferve the fplendor of the building, and was not a little entertained with a prodigious number of ftatues, which were planted up and down in a fpacious court that lay before it; but, upon examining it more nicely, he found the whole fabrick, which made fuch a glittering appearance, and feemed impregnable, was compofed of ice; and that the feveral ftatues, which feemed at a diftance to be made of the whiteft marble, were nothing elfe but fo many figures in fnow. The front of the temple was very curioufly adorned with ftars and garters, ducal coronets, generals staffs, and many other emblems of honour, wrought in the most beautiful froft-work. After having ftood at gaze fome time before this great gate, he difcovered on it an infcription, fignifying it to be the Gate of Perjury. There was erected near it a great Coloffus in fnow that had two faces, and was dreffed like a Jefuit, with one of it's hands upon a book, and, the other grafping a dagger. Upon entering into the court, he took a particular furvey of feveral of the figures. VOL. I.

There was Sedition with a trumpet in her hand, and Rapine in the garb of a Highlander; Ambition, Envy, Difgrace, Poverty, and Difappointment, were all of them reprefented under their proper emblems. Among other ftatues, he obferved that of Rumour whispering an idiot in the ear, who was the reprefentative of Credulity; and Faction embracing with her hundred arms an old-fashioned figure in a steeple-crowned hat, that was defigned to exprefs a cunning old gypfey, called Paffive Obedience. Zeal, too, had a place among the reft, with a bandage over her eyes, though one would not have expected to have feen her reprefented in fhow. But the most remarkable obje&t in this court-yard was a huge tree that grew up before the porch of the temple, and was of the fame kind with that which Virgil tells us flourished at the entrance of the infernal regions; for it bore nothing but dreams, which hung in clufters under every leaf of it. The travellers refrefhed themselves in the fhade of this tree before they entered the Temple of Rebellion, and after their frights and fatigues, received great comfort in the fruit that fell from it. At length the gates of the temple flew open, and the crowd ruthed into it. In the centre of it was a grim idol, with a fword in the right-hand, and a firebrand in the left. The fore part of the pedestal was curioufly emboffed with a triumph; while the back part, that lay more out of fight was filled with gibbets and axes. This dreadful idol is worshipped, like feveral of old, with human facrifices; and his votaries were confulting among themselves how to gratify him · with hecatombs, when on a fudden they were furprized with the alarm of a great light which appeared in the fouthern part of the heavens, and made it's progrefs directly towards them. This light appeared as a great mafs of flame, or rather glory, like that of the fun in it's ftrength. There were three figures in the midft of it, who were known, by their feveral hieroglyphicks, to be Religion, Loyalty, and Valour. The laft had a graceful air, a blooming countenance, and a star upon it's breaft, which fhot forth feveral pointed beams of a peculiar luftre. The glory which encompafled them covered the place, and darted it's rays with fo much strength, that the whole fabrick and all it's ornaments began to melt. The feveral em3 D

blems

blems of honour, which were wrought on the front in the brittle materials above mentioned, trickled away under the first impreffions of the heat. In fhort, the thaw was fo violent,' that the temple and statues ran off in a fudden torrent, and the whole winter-piece was diffolved. The covered walks were laid

I

open by the light which fhone through every part of them, and the dream-tree withered like the famous gourd that was fmitten by the noon-day fun. As for the votaries, they left the place with the greatest precipitation, and difperfed themselves by flight into a thousand different paths among the mountains.

N a fair, rich, and flourishing country, whofe clifts are washed by the German Ocean, lived Sabinus, a youth formed by nature to make a conquest wherever he thought proper; but the conftancy of his difpofition fixed him only with Olinda. He was, indeed, fuperior to her in fortune; but that defect on her fide was fo amply fupplied by her merit, that none was thought more worthy of his regards than fhe. He loved her, he was beloved by her; and in a fhort time, by joining hands publickly, they avowed the union of their hearts. But, alas! none, however fortunate, however happy, are exempt from the fhafts of envy, and the malignant effects of ungoverned appetite. How unfafe, how deteftable, are they, who have this fury for their guide! How certainly will it lead them from themselves, and plunge them in errors they would have fhuddered at even in apprehenfion! Ariana, a lady of many amiable qualities, very nearly allied to Sabinus, and highly efteemed by him, imagined herself flighted, and injurioufly treated, fince his marriage with Olinda. By incautionfly fuffering this jealousy to corrode in her breaft, fhe began to give a loose to paffion; the forgot thofe many virtues, for which he had been fo long and fo juftly applauded. Caufelefs fufpicion, and mistaken refentment, betrayed her into all the gloom of difcontent; the fighed without ceafing; the happiness of others gave her intolerable pain; fhe thought of nothing but revenge. How unlike what she was, the chearful, the prudent, the compaffionate Ariana!

Sabinus had been long embarraffed by a tedious law-fuit; and the court determining the cause unexpectedly in favour of his opponent, it funk his fortune to the loweft pitch of penury from the higheft affluence. From the nearness of rela tionship, Sabinus expected from Ariana thofe affiftances his prefent fituation required; but she was infenfible to all his entreaties, and the juftice of every remonftrance, unless he first separated from Olinda, whom the regarded with deteftation. Upon a compliance with her defires in this refpect, fhe promised her fortune, her intereft, and her all, should be at his command. Sabinus was fhocked at the propofal; he loved his wife with inexpreffible tenderness, and refuled thofe offers with indignation which were to be purchased at fo high a price. Ariana was no lefs difpleafed to find her offers rejected, and gave a loose to all that warmth which she had long endeavoured to fupprefs. Reproach generally produces recrimination; the quarrel rofe to fuch a height, that Sabinus was marked for deftruction; and the very next day, upon the ftrength of an old family debt, he was fent to gaol, with none but Olinda to comfort him in his miferies. this manfion of diftrefs they lived together with refignation, and even with comfort. She provided the frugal meal, and he read for her while employed in the little offices of domestick concern. Their fellow prifoners admired their contentment; and whenever they had a defire of relaxing into mirth, and enjoying thofe little comforts that a prifon affords, Sabinus and Olinda were fure to be of the party. Inftead of reproaching each

In

union fo firmly, fo affectionately ed; and planned every scheme which the thought most likely to disturb it.

Fortune feemed willing to promote her unjuft intentions; the circumstances of

I

both lightened it, by bearing each a fhare of the load impofed by Providence. Whenever Sabinus fhewed the leaft concern on his dear partner's account, fhe

conjured