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for I had expected it would give me double strength to get rid of this fever and reach home." Rosaura turned pale, and let the patient into a secret; but what surprised and delighted him was, that she played her guitar nearly as often as before, and sung too, only less sprightly airs. "You get better and better, Signor,' said she, " every day; and your mother will see you and be happy. I hope you will tell her what a good doctor you had?"-"The best in the world," cried he, "and as he sat up in bed, he put his arm rouud her waist, and kissed - her. "Pardon me, Signora," said the poor girl to her hostess; "but I felt that arm round my waist for a week after :-aye, almost as much as if it had been there." "And Charles felt that you did," thought his mother; 66 for he never told me the story."" He begged my pardon," continued she," as I was hastening out of the room, and hoped I should not construe his warmth into impertinence and to hear him talk so to me, who used to fear what he might think of myself, it made me stand in the passage, and lean my head against the wall, and weep such bitter and yet such sweet tears! But he did not hear them :-no, Madam, he did not know indeed how much I—how much I--" "Loved him, child," interupted Mrs. Montague; "you have a right to say so; and I wish he had been alive to say as much to you himself." " "Oh, good God!" said the dying girl, her tears flowing away, "this is too great a happiness for me, to hear his own mother talking so." And again she lays her weak head upon the lady's hand. The latter would have persuaded her to sleep again, but she said she could not for joy: "for I'll tell you, Madam,' ," continued she; "I do not believe you will think it foolish, for something very grave at my heart tells me it is not so; but I have had a long thought" (and her voice

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and look grew somewhat more exalted as she spoke) 66 which has supported me through much toil and many disagreeable things to this country and this place; and I will tell you what it is and how it came into my mind. I received this letter from your son." Here she drew out a paper which though carefully wrapped up in several others was much worn at the sides. It was dated from the village, and ran thus:-" This comes from the Englishman whom Rosaura nursed so kindly at Venice. She will be sorry to hear that her kindness was in vain, for he is dying: and he sometimes fears, that her sorrow will be still greater than he could wish it to be. But marry one of your kind countrymen, my good girl; for all must love Rosaura who know her. If it shall be my lot ever to meet her in heaven, I will thank her as a blessed tongue only can.' As soon as I read this letter, Madam, and what he said about heaven, it flashed into my head that though I did not deserve him on earth, I might perhaps, by trying and patience, deserve to be joined with him in heaven, where there is no distinction of persons. My uncle was pleased to see me become a religious pilgrim but he knew as little of the contract as I; and I found that I could earn my way to England better and quite as religiously by playing my guitar, which was also more independent; and I had often heard your son talk of independence and freedom, and commend me for doing what he was pleased to call so much kindness to others. So I played my guitar from Venice all the way to England, and all that I earned by it I gave away to the poor, keeping enough to precure me lodging. I lived on bread and water, and used to weep happy

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tears over it, because I looked up to heaven and thought he might sea me. I have sometimes, though not often, met with small insults; but if ever they threatened to grow greater, I begged the people to desist in the kindest way I could, even smiling, and saying I would please them if I had the heart; which might be wrong, but it seemed as if deep thoughts told me to say so; and they used to look astonished, and left off; which made me the more hope that St. Mark and the Holy Virgin did not think ill of my endeavours. So playing, and giving alms in this manner, I arrived in the neighbourhood of your beloved village, where I fell sick for a while and was very kindly treated in an outhouse; though the people, I thought, seemed to look strange and afraid on this crucifix, though your son never did, though he taught me to think kindly of every body, and hope the best, and leave every thing except our own endeavours to heaven. I fell sick, Madam, because I found for certain that the Signor Montague was dead, albeit I had no hope that he was alive." She stopped awhile for breath, for she was growing weaker and weaker; and her hostess would fain have had her keep silence; but she pressed her hand as well as she might, and prayed with such a patient panting of voice to be allowed to go on, that she was. She smiled beautifully, and resumed :-"So when so when I got my strength a little again, I walked on and came to the beloved village; and I saw the beautiful white church spire in the trees ; and then I knew where his body slept; and I thought some kind person would help me to die with my face looking towards the church, as it now does and death is upon me, even now: but lift me a little higher on the pillows, dear lady, that I may see the green ground of the hill."

She was raised up as she wished, and after looking awhile with a placid feebleness at the hill, said in a very low voice-"Say one prayer for me, dear lady, and if it be not too proud in me, call me in it your daughter." The mother of her beloved summoned up a grave and earnest voice, as well as she might, and knelt, and said, "O heavenly Father of us all, who in the midst of thy manifold and merciful bounties bringest us into strong passes of anguish, which nevertheless thou enablest us to go through, look down, we beseech thee, upon this thy young and innocent servant,-the daughter, that might have been, of my heart,and enable her spirit to pass through the struggling bonds of mortality and be gathered into thy rest with those we lovedo, dear and great God, of thy infinite mercy; for we are poor weak creatures both young and old"-here her voice melted away into a breathing tearfulness; and after remaining on her knees a moment longer, she rose, and looked upon the bed, and saw that the weary smiling one was no more.

Printed and published by Joseph Appleyard, No. 19, Catherine-street, Strand. Price 2d. And sold also by A. GLIDDON, Importer of Snuffs, No. 31, Tavistockstreet, Covent-garden. Orders received at the above places, and by all Book,

sellers and Newsmen.

THE INDICATOR.

There he arriving round about doth flie,
And takes survey with busie curious eye:
Now this, now that, he tasteth tenderly.

SPENSER,

No. XXXVIII.-WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28th, 1820.

1

THE EGYPTIAN THIEF.

RHAMPSINITUS was the richest prince that ever sat on the Egyptian throne. In order to secure his treasures, to have them at the same time near him, and to produce their effect upon the public mind even when invisible, he had a great stone tower built, which was connected with the palace by a wall. In this tower, which seemed as blind as it was strong, (for the light was admitted only on the side looking into one of the palace gardens)-in this tower were the cups, and the goblets, and the golden bars, and the costly stuffs, and the colours, and the spices, and the precious stones, and the pillars of emerald, and the curious carved images, and thousands upon thousands of talents of gold. The people looked up to the great tower, and thought of it's many rooms, and considered the shining treasure which illuminated the other side of those stone walls like the light of a divine presence; and they walked about, awe-stricken as the stranger at the sight of the Pyramids, and said humbly to themselves, "Great is the glory of Rhampsinitus."

But a wonder was to fall upon Rhampsinitus himself; and he became perplexed beyond the poorest of his subjects. He found his golden money diminishing, and it was impossible to conjecture how it could be. The architect who built the tower had contrived it with such skill that not an entrance could be thought of or forced, besides the one by which the king entered; and it was clear that nobody entered there. The key was solitary of it's kind; the door always sealed with the royal signet; and the passage lay through the royal chamber. Yet day after day, more money disappeared. The diminution even took place in the very strongest room of the whole building.

The king's mind was greatly astonished; nor could the priests and soothsayers relieve him. They feared that the circumstance was ominous to Egypt; and that the overflow of the Nile, the season for which was now approaching, would not take place. But the river

performed it's mighty part as usual, and every Egyptian heart was gladdened but the king's. Application was made to the God Apis to know if it was the deity himself that diminished the pride of Rhampsinitus; but upon some of the gold and jewels being offered to the sacred breast, he blew the breath out of his nostrils at them indifferently, and turning to his ivory manger, took a pull of the sacred hay. It was the opinion of the priests that the offering to the god had not been large enough; gods, they said, having very great ideas, and size being necessary to move them to any acknowledgment of a sensation. Rhampsinitus however contented himself with setting traps round the plundered vessels; and it was the talk all night in the palaces both of the king and of Apis, whether the plunderer would turn out to be a common mortal. It is remarkable that more priests than civil officers thought he would; and they told the king's people so, when their opinion was asked; but added, that it would only shew itself so much the more remarkably, to be a judgment of heaven.

This opinion was greatly corroborated by the singularity of the event; for in truth, a common mortal was found caught in one of the traps, but when they came to look who he was, he had no head. 66 It is very extraordinary!" said Rhampsinitus. It would be so," said the priests, 66 were it not supernatural." A search was made all over the room and tower, and the king began to incline to their opinion. Not a crevice or flaw was to be found.

The king ordered the body to be hung up in the most public part of Memphis, and gave directions to the guards who watched it to seize any who should exhibit symptoms of distress at the spectacle.

The

Not morning a report was made to him that the body was gone.

of the guards knew whither. All that could be gathered was, that towards nightfall a man came driving some asses by the spot, laden with skins of wine; that the pegs, by some means or other, became loosened from the skins, and set the wine floating over the ground; that the man, seeing this, tore his hair and made vehement outcries for assistance; that assistance however being given him, and among others by the guards, he abused those who helped him and refused for a long time to be pacified; that having at last got over his confusion of mind, and finding not so much wine lost as he supposed, he made a present of a flask to the guards; and lastly, that after they had all made merry, and he had driven his asses away, they were astonished to find the dead body gone also. The king saw plainly that the last part of the account wanted a good deal of the truth. He saw that some ingenious person had succeeded in making the guards dead drunk; and with all his anger, he could hardly repress a feeling of admiration for the unknown, when on having the soldiers brought before him, he discovered that the men had found time and courage enough to shave all their right cheeks in derision.

"Who can this extraordinary person be?" thought Rhampsinitus.. "It is he that must have been the accomplice of the first thief and cut off his head to prevent detection. He were a man to do wonderful things against the enemies of a king, if he were his friend. He shall

see what a terrible thing it is to mock the king and be his enemy.' The Egyptian monarch, in the rage and plenitude of his will, commanded his daughter to admit the addresses of men indiscriminately, a thing however not so scandalous in those times as in others. There was only this condition annexed, that every one, who enjoyed the company of the princess, should tell her the most cunning and the most wicked thing he had ever done in his life. A day had only passed, when she brought him news of the robber. A man had told her that the most wicked thing he had ever done in his is life, was the cutting off his own brother's head in order to prevent his being known as a robber of the king's treasury. "And the most cunning thing?" asked the monarch. "The most cunning thing, Sir," added the princess, was his having made your guards drunk with wine in order to carry off his brother's body, his mother having threatened to come and disclose the whole affair, in case the body remained exposed."-" And where is this impudent-souled traitor?" exclaimed the king. "Alas, Sir," answered the princess, "I know not." "Did I not bid you catch his arm," said the king, "the instant you discovered him?" I did, Sir," replied the lady," but what was my astonishment on finding it detach itself from his body, while he glided away in the darkness of the night?""How!" cried the prince:"why this is a sorcerer,

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what sort of man is he?" 66 A young man,' "said the princess, "with sparkling eyes and a world of wit." "The artful impostor," said the king, has beguiled you of your heart, and taught you this tale to deceive me." 66 Pray look in this box, Sir," said the daughter, lifting up the lid of a lyre-case. It contained a human arm; and the king, by certain marks, plainly knew it to be one of the arms of the dead body. This audacious man therefore, whoever he was, must have come prepared with it, and presented it to his fair detainer in the dark instead of his own.

The king, having satisfied himself of the robber's personal qualities from his daughter, and finding that he would as much grace a court as a cabinet, fairly lost his rage in delight. He made public proclamation, that upon the offender's appearing in the royal presence, he would not only pardon but reward him; and the proclamation had not been made for more than the sinking of an inch of Nile-water, when the prodigious thief appeared. He was, as the princess had described him, a young man with a lively countenance, and he was not slow in showing his wit, for on the king's asking him why he had plundered his property, he said he had not done so; because by the laws of justice every man can make use of his own; but the king's property was too large for any one man to make use of; therefore, by the same laws, it was not his own. On being further asked who he was, he said he was the son of the man who had built the Tower of Treasure; that his father had contrived one of the stones of it in such a way, that they who were in the secret could remove it at will; that the old man on his death-bed communicated the information to his sons, who used always to plunder in company; that it was by his brother's own request he cut his head off, and carried it away, in order to prevent the ruin of them both and

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