care to his poor widow by his simple but honest companions.

All hopes of better times being buried in the grave of poor Giacomo, Agnese found herself obliged to sell the little family patrimony, that she might have wherewithal to discharge the few debts she had been obliged to contract.

This business being completed, she and her children prepared to quit the secluded valley which had till then been all the world to them. They received the parting blessings and prayers of their few neighbours; and, carrying with them all the little property that remained to them, they set forth-the world before them where to choose-in search of a resting-place and a living.

At the last turn of the road from which they could see their own dear home, they laid down their bundles, and turned to look upon it for the last time. The soft rose-coloured light of dawn tinged the summits of the lofty mountains; and from among the woods which lay in deep shadow on their sides, peeped forth the little peaceful nest which had sheltered them; but no curling wreath of blue smoke rose among the trees, telling of a cheerful happy hearth, and of peaceful industry within. All looked still and

deserted; and as Agnese gazed upon it, she wept, and wept bitterly. Her little girls, clinging to her, joined their tears in sympathy; but no tear moistened the eye of Antonio, her eldestborn. As he turned and looked, first on the little farm, then on his weeping mother, his eye flashed, his cheek crimsoned, and his whole frame seemed to dilate, as if with the inward workings of some mighty thought. At last, as she sadly turned to leave, he detained her; and with an energy and enthusiasm scarcely to be conceived of by the colder temperaments of the north, exclaimed: "Mother, I here take upon me a vow, never to rest till I have won back the home of my fathers, and given it you again, as the shelter of your old age. So help me Christ and our Blessed Lady!" continued he, seizing a small crucifix which hung to his mother's girdle, and kissing it fervently, as the seal of his

Vow.

Agnese looked with astonishment on the almost inspired countenance of her boy,-her simple, quiet Antonio; and, struck with a feeling almost amounting to reverence, she could only faintly say, "Amen, my son." Then taking up their loads, the little party rapidly descended towards the plains.

Their intention was to find their way to Leghorn, at which place Agnese hoped to meet with employment for herself and her girls, and whence Antonio expected to be able to procure a passage in some vessel bound for England;-that country, the fame of which rang through all the valleys of his native hills, as the El Dorado of their simple inhabitants.

Weary and footsore, they at length reached their destination. Of the difficulties which Agnese met with in establishing herself there, and of her success at last in obtaining work for herself and her daughters, in one of the large straw-hat manufactories of the place, it is not my design now to speak. Antonio is the hero of this little tale; to him let us turn.

Since the moment when he had taken upon himself the vow already mentioned, a remarkable change had come over his character. Instead of the quiet, docile child he had hitherto appeared, there was now a spirit and energy in every look and action, which shewed an inward consciousness that he had a part, and a noble part, to perform, and that he felt within himself the power and capacity to perform it. To his mother this change was particularly apparent in his manners towards herself. The

affectionate, child-like dependence of him who had hitherto watched every turn of her eye, seeming only to exist in her encouragement and approbation, was suddenly succeeded by the firm, calm self-dependence of a mature mind, giving instead of claiming protection and support. Agnese was never weary of looking at him and admiring him.

The long silent meditations in which he was absorbed as they travelled along, were succeeded by prompt and vigorous action as soon as they reached Leghorn. Immediately on arriving, he sought out one of the persons named providitori, who are in the habit of furnishing Italian emigrants with those animals, of different kinds, on which they depend as their stock in trade during their rambles through the world. The man to whom he applied had at this time no very great variety on hand; but Antonio's attention was soon caught by the antics of a very droll-looking monkey, of which he determined to become the possessor; and in a short time the purchase was completed, and he carried off Giacco in triumph.

This purchase took a large proportion of the little sum which Agnese had given to her son as his share of what remained to her from the sale

of their little property, after all their debts and their expences had been paid; but enough yet remained, he hoped, to defray his passage to England. And now, having secured his travelling companion, and feeling that nothing remained to detain him from the object to which he had devoted himself, he was most impatient to sail.

He lingered day after day about the port; but the winds were contrary, and no vessels left the harbour. At last, one fine morning, having previously made an arrangement with the captain of an English brig for his passage, by the help of a sailor who knew enough of Italian to be his interpreter, he took a long farewell of his mother and sisters, who stood on the quay to see him off; and sprang into the vessel with Giacco in his arms, just as she was spreading her white sails to the breeze that was to bear her far away.

His eye rested on his mother as long as he could distinguish her receding form. When his straining sight could no longer behold her, he felt for the little crucifix, which, still wet with her tears, she had hung round his neck, as the talisman of his safety through all the unknown perils and dangers of his way; and solemnly to