Whose sword proclaimed him conqueror of the world,
Yet was himself unconquered, till his wills,
Like restive horses whom no bit can tame,
Raged uncontrolled; one giant-passion held
Supreme dominion in his captive breast,
Ambition led to victory his troops,

And lured him to destruction; 'twas a star
Whose beams seemed leading his triumphal chariot
To glory's sacred fane, yet was the while
Lighting him to the fate which Justice dooms
To crimes like his. Oh! mortal, learn from this
To shun the fate Ambition oft entails
Upon the votaries of its fearful shrine;

Think of Napoleon's fall, and oh! beware,
Beware Ambition.'

He spoke, and, like the lightning's vivid flash,
The vision vanished from my straining eyes;
But though 'twas gone, methought I heard a voice,
Like distant music floating on the gale,

'Twas as an angel whispered in my ear

And said-Beware Ambition.'

Halifax.

GULIELMUS.

OFT MUST THE DISMAL TONGUE OF TIME.

OFT must the dismal tongue of time

To scenes now past recall us,

And with our present thoughts must chime

For what may still befall us :

If fate's dark curtain we could move,
And man his mind could tutor,

How awful would the prospect prove
To gaze upon the future!

But first of Nature's works, proud man,
In wisdom's ways a child is-
Not e'en the present hour can scan,
Too oft from thought beguiled is:
Yet we, from what is past, may learn
The world is not all laughter,

And not too late our thoughts may turn
To what may come hereafter. W. C. O.

A CHAPTER ON GHOSTS.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamed of in your philosophy.-Hamlet. THE subject of ghosts, and the belief of disembodied spirits revisiting the earth after death in a visible form, has been a subject of speculation and inquiry, amongst the learned and wise of ali nations, from the most remote ages of the world, and forms therefore an important feature in the history of the human mind. The belief in ghosts and hobgoblins, in fact, is the basis and key-stone of all superstition; and though the march of intellect' has of late years done away a good deal with the prejudices of the times of old,' yet it still lurks, and, probably, will ever continue to do so, with the ignorant and vulgar of all countries. In Scotland the belief in fairies and brownies is current among the peasantry, and even, in some cases, with the better informed, not to mention the marvellous instances recorded of second sight,' as it is termed, and 'wraiths,' ' death lights,' &c. Such of our readers as have perused the charming novels of Sir Walter Scott, no longer the Great Unknown,' the interesting Traditions and Tales' of Allan Cunningham, honest Jamie Hogg, and others, will have found a vast store of information on these points, which tend in a great measure to illustrate the peculiar habits, manners, and superstitions of Scotia's hardy sons. In the northern countries of Europe, and in Germany, that land of legendary lore, there is hardly a river or a mountain, that is not peopled, in the fanciful minds of the natives, with the mischievous race of Number Nip,' whose freaks and frolics form the theme of many of the wild legends and traditions which have been handed down from time to time, by various writers of that country. Nor must we, in this enumeration, forget Italy, that land' of cloudless climes and starry skies,' whose people, enervated with the fervour of their climate, become early imbued with superstitious notions, and a decided love of the marvellous.

As it is not my intention in this paper to attempt to disprove any of the various accredited relations of supernatural appearances, I shall narrate, as briefly as may be, some of the most remarkable instances which occur at present to my memory, as illustrative of the preceding remarks. And now, gentle reader, 'lend me your ear,' as Mark Antony says, for I shall a tale unfold' which was related to me, some years ago, by a dear friend, who has since himself departed to that 'bourn from whence no traveller returns,' and who, though, previous to the following extraordinary visitation, sceptical in all that relates to supernatural appearances, became, from that period, as complete a convert. I cannot do better than give it in his own words, which, as nearly as I can recollect, (for it made a great impression on me at the time,) were to the following purport:

'You know,' said my friend, that I became intimately acquainted with a highly gifted young man during the period I was prosecuting my studies at Oxford; we both were students in the same college, and, except during the hours devoted to study, were almost inseparable. In fact, we were so firmly united in friendship, that nothing but the grim tyrant himself could loose the bonds which at the time so strongly held us together. We were congenial in our pursuits, tastes, and opinions, and, till the fatal period of our eternal separation, I cannot recall to my recollection a single incident which gave rise to the slightest difference. In this manner we passed several years; and it was only a short time previous to our finally quitting college, (during which period my friend had, by his splendid talents, acquired very high academical honours,) that the following unfortunate occurrence took place; an occurrence which I, though certainly not the aggressor, have never ceased bitterly to lament, and which will continue to be a source of pain and sorrow to me as long as I live. The circumstances which led to this deadly feud were briefly as follows: my friend, it appeared, had for some time before been deeply ena

moured of a most beautiful girl, and it so happened, that I, unconscious of his passion, (for he had carefully kept it a profound secret from me,) also became smitten with the surpassing loveliness of the same object, and it was not long before I perceived (I say it without vanity,) I had made an impression on the young lady. Totally unaware of any rivalry on his part, I unhesitatingly confided to him my amour, and mentioned the name of the lady. Never shall I forget the change which instantly passed over his features; he turned deadly pale, his lips quivered, and the intense workings of his mind became too obvious for concealment. The change in his manner towards me was almost as instantaneous; from the more than brotherly affection evinced the moment before, he became freezingly cold, and assumed a sullen and malignant aspect. I was, as you may well conceive, thunderstruck, and, for some moments, was at a loss to understand the reason of the sudden change in my friend's manner; but the startling truth soon flashed across my mind, and was, alas! shortly after too fatally developed. With a look of surprise, I asked my friend for some explanation of his extraordinary conduct, but he only gave me an indirect answer, and upon my further expostulation, his reply was, by taking up his hat and bursting from the room. I was not long left in suspense as to the cause of his strange behaviour, though, as I said before, I pretty well guessed the reason. the course of the evening, I received a note couched in the most haughty style, peremptorily requiring me to relinquish all pretensions to the hand of Miss H-, or to choose the alternative of giving him immediate satisfaction for my insolent assumption of the object of his just pretensions.

In

Being perfectly aware that all attempts to reason with a man so completely under the influence of passion and jealousy as he was, would be perfectly futile, and, perhaps, lead to worse consequences, I hesitated not a moment how to act, and sent word in reply, that if he considered himself aggrieved, I was both able and

willing to afford him any satisfaction he might require; though, I added, I was convinced he had imbibed a wrong notion of the matter, which an explanation would clear up to the satisfaction of all parties. But why should I dwell on this painful subject? suffice it to say, he waived all personal communication, otherwise than in an hostile manner, and madly persisted in a course which has caused me many years of unavailing sorrow and remorse. To be brief; we met in mortal strife, and, being both accomplished swordsmen, the conflict was long and dubious, till he, in making a furious pass, slipped forward, and before he could recover himself, my sword had passed through his body. As my object throughout the contest had been to disarm my antagonist, and for which I narrowly escaped death repeatedly, it is impossible for me adequately to describe the anguish of my feelings as I lay upon the body of my late friend, from whose wound the stream of life was fast ebbing. Giving me a fierce look of unutterable hatred and defiance, his spirit passed to its last ac

count.

'Ulysses has said "that the resentments of the dead are eternal," and from the strange, I may say awful, appearance which a few weeks after presented itself to my view, as far as I am concerned it would appear to hold good. After this truly disastrous and unhappy encounter, I was obliged to make a hasty exit from England, and during the interval between that and my return to take my trial it occurred. It was on a fine summer's evening in July, as I was returning home from a walk, indulging in a melancholy reverie, and almost unconscious of surrounding objects, that I found myself in a shady lane, the hedge on both sides of which was so high, that I could not see over it. The night was balmy; the bushes gleamed with fire-flies, brighter than the stars which the moon had veiled with her silver light. Suddenly an indefinable sensation came over me, I heard a rustling noise, and the figure of my friend stepped forth, as from the hedge, and stood before me as in life. His countenance appeared