eignty of a new reign. were no longer seen by the burghers floating from the high towers of the city. Poignant was the regret of the rebel leaders as they saw the cognizance of the seigniors whom they had chosen consigned to degradation Some, aghast at the treaty with the enemy, though they did not dare openly to impugn it, declared privately, that it was too tough to swallow; and quoted apophthegms to prove that, although seemingly well weighed, and fraught with good to a few, it would prove a thorough slough of ruin to many. Others boldly arraigned. the plan of the campaign, and besought their neighbors speedily to execute condign punishment upon the generals. But the cool phlegm of the benign knight by whose means peace had been wrought, and who scarcely deigned to reply, even when his deeds were most bitterly inveighed against, soon brought the greater number to a more resigned mind. Eight knaves, however, like gnarling dogs, dared openly to malign him: one, especially, who was a shipwright, said that he had brought a blight upon their hopes; that they would never kneel to the conqueror; and that a feigned flight for a time would have been less shameful than giving up their rights after such a slight resistance. But although they thus oppugned him, and gnashed their teeth in rage, and hissed and coughed at him, they could do nought besides; and the peasantry — delighted with the bright prospect of being restored to their plough, whilst their wives kneaded their bread, and having felt the weight of the ghastly and ghostly horrors of war-no longer sighed for glory. Even if they were ruled with a tight hand, they thought it better than carrying knapsacks, whilst their crops were naught, and their children, to whom not even a handful of dough could be assigned, were suffering the gnawing pangs of hunger. When the soughing of the evening breeze was heard through the knotted branches of the gnarled oak which stood on the knoll above the town, they collected round it, and, recalling their past fright, and the mighty power of their adversaries, owned that aught but submission would have been folly. If they had sought excuses for themselves, they might have complained of the leaders, who ought not to have led the citizens of the borough into peril; but all were now knit together by this new blessing of peace. They who had fought side by side, numerous as gnats, collected in knots, and talked of the gherkins they had bought or sold. Gardening knives, and sticks with knobs, were the only weapons now exhibited. They listened to any suggestions of rebellion with as much dislike as the early Christians felt in listening to the teaching of the Gnostic heretics, or a bankrupt when he hears the proposals of his assignees. War was a gnome which haunted them with terror; and when the light of day at length faded, they went straight to their cottages, with no design except that of sleeping soundly. No fear was there now of being awakened by neighing horses, or being caught and ordered to case their thighs in armor, and then stand on a height, as a mark for the enemy, without the hope of obtaining even a short furlough. The knowledge of war had taught them all a lesson; and, as they knocked each other on the back with their knuckles, which some had a knack of doing, they laughed heartily at the recollection of the danger they had escaped. EXERCISE XVII. IRREGULAR SOUNDS OF UA, UE, UI. Laura Guinness was born in Guernsey. Her father, who was a stern pedagogue, died as he was haranguing his boys upon the duties of the decalogue. His widow did not long survive him; and Laura was then left to the guardianship of a man who was in league with a party of intriguing rogues and demagogues. Having made himself a nuisance to the Government, he thought it advisable, soon after Parliament was last prorogued, to leave England, and make a cruise to Antigua, accompanied by his ward. There they were the guests of a noble general, who was famous in guerilla warfare, and had been a great conqueror, and whose property once belonged to an Indian Cazique. Laura's manners were piquant: she spoke several languages, and could play a little on the guitar; and professed also to understand the Eclogues of Virgil, and had acquired some knowledge about Mahometan mosques. The General, who, unlike the roguish guardian, was a man without guile, and of great virtue, though somewhat opaque in intellect, thought she would prove a suitable wife. He gave her bouquets, and took her for picturesque walks; but his attentions might be termed oblique rather than direct, for he did not venture upon any particular dialogue until one evening when they met at a masquerade, and Laura, after dancing a quadrille, and making the circuit of the room, was refreshing herself with a biscuit and fruit. The General then begged her to guess his wishes. Laura professed to be under the guidance of the guardian, and turned the conversation by asking for some lemon juice and water. The General, in pursuance of his object, pursued the guardian, and found him partaking of the plentiful victuals provided for the party. He mentioned the amount of guineas which he had stored up in exchequer bills; produced a catalogue of the antique jewels and marquetry which he had inherited from his father, who belonged to the guild of Goldsmiths; and offered to give any guarantees that might be required for the truth of his statement. In the end, his suit was accepted; but Laura, who was as giddy as a harlequin, proved herself a sad coquette. She continued to coquet even after her engagement. Her dress was so grotesque as to be a subject for constant critiques. Her tongue was never silent: her manners were brusque; and she turned every thing into burlesque. Against the General's wishes, she joined in some private theatricals, and, appearing in the casque of a warrior, spoke the prologue and epilogue to the play; and, at length, being urged on by colleagues worse than herself, she brought her self into difficulties from which it was almost impossible to rescue her. The general's heart was sorely bruised. He gave up all his former pursuits, and devoted himself to Laura, in the hope of rescuing her from her foolish companions. The only guerdon he asked was, that she should observe the etiquettes of society. But all was in vain. On a bright morning, Laura was married to a young recruit; and the poor old general, after shedding tears, plentiful as the streams which disembogue themselves through the sluices of a floodgate, or pour through the hollow cavity of a conduit, died of a broken heart. EXERCISE XVIII. H, P, AND W SILENT. Sarah Groves was the daughter of a sempstress. As a child she learnt to write a good hand, to read the psalter, to sing psalms, and practise psalmody generally. She could also make raspberry vinegar, according to a receipt, and understood the symptoms of illness so as to concoct ptisans and rhubarb mixtures for persons afflicted with rheums, rheumatism, or other maladies. But her uncle, a rich, honest man, made her his heiress; and then Sarah changed very much, forgot her care for the wretched, and fancied she was a scholar, and, although as dull as a rhinoceros, imagined it would be more honorable to talk about rhetoric, rhomboids, rhyme, and rhythm, than to wrap up medicines for the poor. Yet she was but a silly, wriggling girl, with a wry neck and |