Saturday, August 11,....1810.

ate mind, that she valued fortune only as it might enable her to promote the comfort of those she loved; and that, whatever her own future destiny might be, the de

of his two amiable children, and elated with some new prospects of commercial emolument, he resolve ed, at last, to comply with the generous entreaty of Constantia,

light of having secured the felici-though at some little hazard of

leaving her exposed to indigence.

The prudent lover was recalled; his return soon restored the declining health of his mistress; all difficulties were adjusted by a pecuniary compliance with his demands; the day of marriage was fixed; and Constantia, after sacrificing every shilling of her settled portion, attended her sister to church, with a heart more filled with exultation and delight, than that of the bride herself, who had risen from a state of dejection and despair to the possession of the man she loved. But the pleasure that the generous Constantia derived from an event which she had so nobly promoted, was very soon converted into concern and anxiety. Ina visit of some weeks, to the house of the new-married couple, she soon discovered that her brother-in-law, tho' entitled to the character of an honest and well meaning man, was very far froin possessing the rare and invaluable talent of conferring happiness on the objects of his regard. Though he had appeared, on their first ac

ty of her sister, would be infinitely more valuable to her than any portion, whatever. She enlarged on the delicacy of her sister's health, and the danger of thwarting her present settled affection. In short, she pleaded for the suspended marriage with such genuine and pathetic eloquence, that her father embraced her with tears of delight and admiration; but the more he admired her generosity, the more he thought himself obliged to refuse her request, He abhorred the idea of making such a noble minded girl, what she was desirous, indeed, of making herself, an absolute sacrifice to the establishment of her sister; and he flattered himself, that the affection of his eldest girl, which the kind zeal of Constantia had represented to him in so serious a light, would be easily obliterated by time and reflection. In this hope, however, he was greatly deceived the poor girl, indeed, attempted at first to display a resolution, which she was unable to support; her heart was disappointed, and her health began to suffer.. Constantia was al-quaintance, a man of cultivated most distracted at the idea of proving the death of a sister whom she tenderly loved, and she renewed her adjurations to her father with such irresistible importunity, that, touched with the peculiar situation

understanding, and an elegant address, yet, under his own roof, he indulged himself in a peevish irritability of temper, and a passion for domestic argument, peculiarly painful to the quick feelings of

per of its master, or, at least, from opportunities of amusing herself with the expected children of her sister; but, alas in this her sccond hope, the warm-hearted Constantia was more cruelly disappointed Her sister was, in due

Constantia, who, from the exqusite sensibility of her frame, possessed an uncommon delicacy both of mind and manners. She observed, however, with great satisfaction, and with no less surprise, that her sister was not equally hurt by this fretful infirmity of her husband.time, delivered of a child; but it Happily for her own comfert, that lady was one of those good, loving women, whose soft, yet steady af fection, like a drop of melted wax, has the property of sticking to any substance on which it accidentally falls. She often adopted, it is true, the quick and querulous stile of her husband; nay, their domestic debates have run so high, that poor Constantia has sometimes dreaded, and sometimes almost wished, an absolute separation; but her lively terrors on this subject, were gradually diminished,by observing, that although they frequently skirmished after supper, in a very angry tone, yet, at the breakfast table the next morning, they seldom failed to resume a becoming tenderness of language. These sudden and frequent transitions from war to peace, and from peace to war, may possibly be very entertaing to the belligerent parties themselves; but I believe they always hurt a benevolent spectator. Constantia shortened her visit.She departed, indeed, disappointed and chagrined: but she generously concealed her sensations, and cherished a pleasing hope, that she might hereafter return to the house with more satisfaction, either from an improvement in the tem

proved a very sickly infant, and
soon expired. The afflicted mother
languished for a considerable time,
in a very infirm state of health,
and, after frequent miscarriages,
sunk herself into the grave. The
widower, having passed the cus
tomary period in all the decencies.
of mourning, took the earliest op-
portunity of consoling himself for
his loss, by the acquisition of a
more opulent bride; and, as men
of his prudent disposition have but
little satisfaction in the sight of a
person from whom they have re-
ceived 'great obligations, which
they do not mean to repay, he
thought it proper to drop all inter-
course with Constantia. She had
a spirit too noble to be mortified by
such a neglect. Indeed, as she
believed, in the fondness of her re-.
cent affliction, that her sister might
have still been living, had she.
been happily united to a man of
more amiable temper, she rejoiced
that his ungrateful conduct reliev-
ed her from a painful necessity of
practising hypocritical civilities,
towards a relation, whom in her
heart, she despised. By the death,
of her sister she was very deeply.
afflicted, and this affliction was soon
followed by superior calamities.
(To be continued.)

Account of a Singular Custom at
Metelin, with Conjectures on the

Antiquity of its origin.

By the Right Honourable James, Earl of Charlemont, President R. I. A. From the Transactions of the Royal

Irish Academy, 1789.].

THOUGH the extreme beauty and amenity of the Grecian islands, especially those on the Asiatic side of the Egean sea, may render it difficult to make a choice among them, yet, if I were desired to declare a preference, I should probably fix on Metelin, the ancient Lesbos. This enchanting island, proud of the birth of Alçæus and of Sappho, still retains those

height of forest trees, of myrtles, pomegrantes, and of arbutes, rich at once in blossom and in berry, of mulberries growing wild, and laden with fruit, of every other tree Of noblest kind for sight, smell, taste !

While the luxuriant vine, climbing wild and unrestrained even to their topmost branches, adorns and enriches them with its vivid green, and with its clustering fruit. Winter is here altogether unknown-The climate forbids it. The verdure is perpetual, and the frequency of evergreens gives to December the colour of June.-The parching heat of summer is never felt. The thick shade of

charms which gave rise and inspi-trees, and thousands of crystal

ration to their poetry; and though
its groves no more resound with
their sacred strains, the cause that
inspired them still seems to exist,
and love still lingers in his favour-
ite retreat.-

Spirat adhue Amor
Vivuntque commissi Calores
Eoliae Fidibus Puellæ !

springs, which every where arise, and form themselves into unnumbered rivulets, joined to the refreshing sea-breeze, the constant companion and corrective of noontide heat, qualify the burning air, and render the year a neverending May

Nature here reigns triumphant, Breathing the smell of field and grove,

and by shewing what she can perform alone and unassisted, teaches us to despise the weak efforts of her inadequate mimick.The mountains, whose rugged tops exhibit a pleasing interposition of rocks and of pine groves have their green sides, for many miles along the coast, covered with olives, whose less agreeable verdure is corrected, embellished, and brightened by a lively mixture of bays

nd of laurels aspiring to the

attune

The trembling leaves, while universal

Pan,

Knit with the Graces, and the Hours in dance,

Leads on the eternal spring!

No wonder then if the inhabitants, the better to enjoy these various beauties, should construct their houses in the following pecu

liar manner :-each house is a

square tower neatly built of hewn stone so high as to overtop the