We will leave the travellers to pur fue their journey, while we return to the Baron de Morenzi. Du Val, ever indefatigable in a caufe, wherein his own advantage was concerned, had refolved to make use of the first opportunity, which should offer, to fecure the lovely Emma, in the abfence of her father. For this purpofe he arofe at break of day, and with two trufty domeftics, in whom he could confide the bafeft defigns, took his fecret ftand behind a thick hedge, that fenced the fmall garden of Bernard, with an intent to watch his departure from the cottage, and to feize the unprotected victim, whom he had devoted to his own avarice and the licentious paffion of Morenzi. While this wretch was lurking in ambufh, fome peafants, accustomed to call their well-beloved neighbour to the occupations of the day, having repeated their ufual fignal to no purpofe, knocked at the door; they received no anfwer; an univerfal confternation prevailed among them. After confulting fome time, they agreed to force the door, which having effected, they entered, and found to their aftonishment the cottage deferted. Du Val and his affociates had by this time joined in the fearch, and having no difficulty to account for the fight of Bernard and his daughter, haftened to the castle to inform the Baron of a circumftance fo mortifying to his paffion. Morenzi exasperated with rage and difappointment, vowed vengeance on the fugitives, and ordering a carriage to be got ready, threw himself into it with Du Val, determined to overtake the objects of his fury. Although well daughter, impatiently waited the ap convinced that they had been too cau- ment fhe hall find in her devoted Altious to attempt concealing themfelves bert, the protector of her innocence, in the village, before his departure, he the champion of her honour, the avenordered that every cottage fhould be ger of her wrongs At that inftant fearched. They took the fame road a carriage drove furiously into the yard, which Bernard had chofen; and they and two perfons alighted from it, in purfued the wanderers as clofely, as the one of whom, as it was now day, Al. interval of fome hours would admit. bert recognised the face of Morenzi.While Morenzi was in the purfuit of The impelfe of the moment induced this venerable old man, Bernard ftudi- him to follow the Baron. They enter cully anxious to protect his perfecuted ed a room at the fame time- Villain, traitor, traitor, ufurper!" exclaimed Albert, fhutting the door, and inattentive to his own unarmed fituation, "defend thy felf, if thou dareft encounter the juft refentment of Henry de Clairville, whofe mother's blood demands the juftice of a fon's revenge, from a fon, who calls upon thee to expiate with thy life thy monstrous crimes." The coward heart of Morenzi, ftruck with the horrors of all-confcious guilt, froze in his bofom; and he stood fixed in mute wonder and difmay. The Count de Bournonville, accompanied by Bernard and his attendants, had joined by this time, the unarmed Albert, who might have fallen a victim to the Baron's refentment, had not a fenfe of his own villainy, together with his aftonishment and terror at the fight of the injured fon of Clairville arrested the trembling arm of Morenzi. The cautious friends of Albert, almost by force dragged him from the room, and leaving Du Val only with Morenzi, fastened the door upon them, which was guarded on the outfide by the Count's armed retinue to prevent an efcape. The Baron had caught a view of Fargeon, and recollecting in him the man, whom he had employed to affaffinate the young Henry, be felt a strong and fatal prefage of his own impending fate! his brain was feized with fudden defperation; he fnatched from his pocket a loaded piftol, and before Du Val could wreft the weapon from his hand, he lodged its contents in his own head, and fell thus felf-convicted, the devoted facrifice of his confcious and accumulated crimes! into the room, found the Baron lifeless, and Du Val leaning over his dead mafter, with looks expreffive of horror and confternation. When Albert viewed his fallen enemy, he stood for some moments wrapt in filent wonder-then exclaimed, "Chafte fhade of my departed mother, be appeafed! The arm which fhed thy guiltnefs blood, has, in his own, revenged thee, and marks, by this dread deed of juftice, the unerring hand of heavenly retribution." He then quitted the apartment, and withdrew with the Count de Bournonville, who had given orders that proper attention to the body should be paid. They now confulted what measures they thould take to conceal from Emma a catastrophe fo fatal, till they could remove her from this horrid fcene. Bernard determined to go to his daughter's chamber; and undertook with cautious tenderness to unfold to her the extraordinary circumftance, that Albert and the Count had alighted from their chaife at the moment of Emma's arrival. Haraffed by the violent agitations of mind and body which fhe had undergone, Emma had enjoyed for fome time the most refreshing and profound repofe; from which he was roufed at length by confused founds of voices that proceeded from below. She ftarted up, and recollecting all at once her perilous fituation, which the height of the fun beaming through the curtains, painted in ftrong colours, the felt her apprehenfion of purfuit renewed; haftening therefore to adjuft her drefs, she tied Du Val, terrified, flew to a window, on her ftraw bonnet, with an intent to and throwing open the fash, proclaimed rejoin her father, when he suddenly enmurder, in a voice fo audible, that he tered, and tenderly enquiring after her instantly collected together a concourfe health, he found her fo apprehenfive of of perfons, who, urged by curiofity, danger from the interval of time, which furrounded the house, and demanded they had loft at the inn, that he venturadmittance into the room from whence ed to inform her of Albert's arrival, and the alarm proceeded: the affrighted of his waiting impatiently to be admit landlord likewife peremptorily claimed ted to her prefence. The glowing blush liberty to enter; which being granted, of momentary pleafure animated her on condition that the prifoners fhould lovely cheek, but inftantly retreating, not be fuffered to efcape, they ruthed was fucceeded by a deadly palenefs. VOL. LVIIL 6 H "Ah, Ah, my father," faid fhe, "how neighbourhood with unfeigned tranfport fhall I avoid him? We must meet no and exulting joy. The unlooked for restoration of a family to which they were strongly attached by every tie of affection, gratitude, and duty, broke at once the galling yoke of that oppreffive flavery, under which the tenants had groaned during the short reign of an ufurper, and promised them at once li berty and happiness. t no more-I have taught my heart to renounce each fond idea which it had dared to form. Honour demands the facrifice. Let us fly then from redoubled danger." "O my exalted girl," interrupted Bernard, with tears of tranfport glistening in his eyes; "Well doft thou deferve the bright reward, which now awaits thy courage and thy The approach of the young Marquis virtue; defcend with me into the gar- to the manfion of his ancestors, being den, where thou mayeft guiltlefs be- announced, he was met fome miles from hold again thy worthy Albert, thy the castle by all the peasantry, who faithful, and thy destined husband. Let welcomed and followed him with acclame lead thee to him, he fhall refolve mations of unfeigned delight. thy timid doubts, and banish that incredulity which speaks in thy countenance. Emma followed her father in filent aftonishment, to a fmall fhrubbery at the end of a ferpentine walk, where Albert waited her approach, whom in an inftant, fhe beheld at her feet. "Receive," faid he, with a look of rapture, "the heart, the hand of Albert, or rather of Henry de Clairville, the lawful heir of that ufurped castle and its wide domains. I hail thee miftrefs of thofe facred fhades, where first my vows of conftancy and love were offered in the attefting ear of heaven! Within those hallowed walls a folemn ceremony fhall bind our faith -the Baron de Morenzi is no more. "" Alas," interrupted Emma, in a tremulous voice," has Albert then drenched his fword in blood!-do I behold a murderer ?"-" No," replied her lover, Morenzi fell the victim of his confcience, and of heaven's avenging judgement. Accept a guiltlefs hand, a conftant heart, and a name unfullied The Count de Bournonville at this inftant reached the fpot, when the young lover prefented to him the fair object of his affections, whom he faluted with refpect and cordiality, felicitating them 2 both on their approaching happiness. Events fo extroardinary being foon circulated through the adjacent country, they were received at the caftle of Clair ville with dread and wonder, but in its The return of Bernard and his beauteous daughter, who were universally beloved, was likewife hailed by their ruftic neighbours, with an honest simplicity of heart, to which that envy is unknown, which so often mingles with the fentiments of those born in the fuperior ranks of life; and they cordially congratulated Bernard, on the rewards, which awaited his merits, in the advancement of his virtuous daughter. As the high and venerable turrets of his native castle rofe in the view of Henry, emerging from the thick foilage of the lofty trees by which they were furrounded, a thousand varied emotions filled his noble heart: tears to the me mory of his unfortunate and revered parents, rolled down his manly cheek; while gratitude to heaven, for the reftoration of thofe rights, that empowered him to diffufe happinefs to all around him, foftened his filial forrow. Bernard and Emma entered their little dwelling with fenfations very dif ferent from thofe, with which they had fo lately quitted it. They wäfted their mutual thanks to that Being, whofe mercy had preferved them from the machinations of a once dreaded, but now vanquifhed enemy. The profperous fortune that awaited Emma, filled her bofom with humble gratitude; but the lowly unambitious mind of this child of innocence, impenetrable to pride and vanity, felt no haughty, exultation in the the profpect of her approaching elevation to a rank, the fplendor of which, could neither dazzle her eyes, nor miflead her judgment. The Marquis de Clairville, fuffered not the object of his true and tried affection to remain long in her humble retreat; he reminded Bernard of the promife which he had given him of his daughter's hand. The fcruples of delicacy, the conflicts of duty, and the claims of honour, no longer could be urged as obftacles to oppofe fuch generous wishes : fufficient ly had Emma proved the conscientious virtues of her heart; fuperior therefore to the arts of difguife and affectation, fhe obeyed her father's fummons to meet her noble lover at the altar; where they exchanged their mutual vows, and were crowned, by an approving Providence, with that refined happiness, which difinterefted love and irreproachable honour alone can merit : For bleffings ever wait on virtuous deeds, And tho' a late, a fure reward fucceeds. CONGREVE, CURIOUS OBSERVATIONS ON THE REIGN AND IN order to give a fpecimen of Mr the gyldedde bawble thatte envyronnes Malone's very ingenious detection of the heade of majestye, noe norre honourMr Ireland's publication of certain papers attributed to Shakespeare, &c.* and of his critical ability, we fhall prefent our readers with the following curious obfervations, on the character and reign of Queen Elizabeth. No. 4, A Letter from Shakspeare to Anna Hatherreway.. But now I ought in due form to invoke Venus, and her fon, and all the loves and graces, to liften to my tale; res mofte weyghtye wulde give mee halfe the joye as didde thyffe mye lyttle worke forre thee. The feelinge thatte dydde neareste approache untoe itte was thatte whiche commethe nygheste untoe God, meeke and gentle Charytye."-I fhall not at prefent trouble you with any more of this foft epiftle than what I have now tranfcribed. At the bottom of the page we find, Anna Hatherre for lo! I am next to prefent you with waye, which is meant for the fuperfcrip a letter from the Stratford youth to the lady whom he afterward married. Though love, like death, levels all diftinctions, yet as that paffion, which the poet tells us first invented verfe, certainly exalts the mind, as well as improves the heart, and makes almost every man eloquent, what may we not expect from the tender effufions of fuch a foul as Shakespeare's in such a situation !-Prepare then, my Lord, to behold our bard in circumstances in which he has never before been viewed. This precious letter is accompanied with a lock of the poet's hair," too intrinse to unloofe" and most curiously braided, in fpeaking of which he affures his deareste Anna, that no rude hande hathe knottedde itte, thye Willys alone hathe done the worke. Neytherre page 258. * See tion, the poet foreseeing that two centuries afterward, it would become the fashionable mode to difcard the superfluous to or for, with which fuch addreffes were formerly introduced. But how far the lady here meant was entitled to this addrefs, or how probable it was, that this letter fhould ever reach her hands, may be worth our inquiry. The truth is, the had no title whatfoever to either of those names: fhe was chriftened plain Anne, and her name was not Hatherrewaye, as fhe is here abfurdly called, but Hathaway. Your Lordship well remembers the firft rife of the yet prevailing paffion for long and fonorous chriftian names, inftead of the more familiar appellations with which our fimpler ancestors were contented. The lady Elzas, lady. Matildas, and lady Louifas, have now gained a complete afcendency, and a lady 6 H 2 Betty of this epiftle without obferving, that dear and dearest was not fo common an addrefs at that period as at prefent. Had the fabricator of this letter given us-" My fweet Anne," it might have paffed well enough. Thus, Sir John Harrington begins his letter to his lady, dated Dec. 27. 1602, with the words "Saveet Mall," for which, if the maker of thefe MSS. had invented an epiftle for that knight, we undoubtedly fhould have had-My dearest Maria. Though, after what has been now flated, it may feem fuperfluous to ani madvert further on this fpurious paper, 1 muft not omit to obferve, that the word themfelves is here (as in other places) contrary to the practice of that age, fpelt as one word instead of two [thenne indeede fhalle Kynges themmefelves bowe ande paye homage toe itte:] nor can I difmifs it without particularly noticing the other fentence which I have transcribed from it. Betty or lady Fanny is no where to be found. Lady Betty Germine was, I believe, the last in this country; and you have, I think, still in Ireland, one lady Betty, of the Noble houfe of Cavendish, who keeps up the memory of the olden time. But to talk of Anna Hatherrewaye in 1582, is truly ridicu Jous. Mafter Slender, and "fweet Anne Page," might have taught the fabricator better. In the Indexes of the Prerogative Office, in which the entries are made in Latin, and in fome old Parish Registers, where the entries have been made by clergymen in the fame language, we find Annas and Marias enough; and fo alfo in fome of our oldeft poets, in imitation of the Cynthia and Delia of Propertius and Tibullus, and in order to give a dignity to their verfe: but, in plain profe, the moft diligent researcher will, I am confident, not difcover a fingle Anna in the fixteenth century. The name of the father of this lady, here abfurdly called Hatherrewaye, was, as Mr Rowe long fince mentioned, Hathaway; and the tradition which he received from Stratford upon this fubject, is confirmed by the will of lady Barnard our poet's grand-daughter, which I difcovered and publifhed fome years ago; and by a deed executed by her, in my poffeffion, the in her will exprefsly notices feveral of her relations of the name of Hathaway. As to the true orthography of both the Chriftian and furname of the perfon to whom this letter is pretended to be addreffed, we need only confult the register of Stratford, were the following entry occurs under the head of marriages in 1579-80. "Jan. 17. William Wilfon to Anne Hathaway of Shotterye." I once thought it not improbable that the lady whofe marriage is here recorded, afterward became the wife of our poet; but that could not have been the cafe for a reafon which I have affigned in his life. However it fufficiently eftablishes the forgery be fore us. I cannot difmifs the first two words Whenever hereafter any light fhall be given, that may lead to a difcovery of the now unknown hand that has dared to fabricate this tiffue of impofture, the vulgarifms, and the fentiments found in it, may be worth attending to, as they may aid the detection. Thus, from the prefent contemptuous mention of kings, it is no very wild conjecture to suppose, that the unknown writer is not extremely adverfe to thofe modern republican zealots who have for fome time paft employed their feeble, but unwearied, endeavours to diminish that love and veneration, which every true Briton feels, and I trust will ever feel, for royalty, fo happily and beneficially inwoven in our ineftimable conftitution. Such, however, was his ignorance of the period to which the letter before us must be referred, that, for the fake of the fentiment, the contemptuous language of the prefent day is introduced, at a time when it was as little known, as the orthography and phrafcology which the writer has employed. Our author was married to Anne Hathaway in or before September, 1583. We |