tonio had pledged their vows irretrievably to each other, and had read worlds of devotion in each other's hearts. All obstacles were forgotten, parental authority had ceased to alarm, privations were welcomed, constancy was sworn till death, and love reigned undisputed. In these moments of pure bliss, the young and beautiful pair saw not the clouds dimming the horizon of the future, neither did the far-off whistling of approaching storms reach their ears; all coming life seemed flowery, and joyous, and bright, and the frail bark in which they had trusted themselves seemed gliding from a smooth shore into a sunny and unruffled lake.

But this treacherous and delicious calm could not last long, and when Antonio began to talk of flight and marriage, unblessed by friends or kindred, Geraldine's cheek grew pale, and the lustre of bliss faded away from her violet eyes. The sweet dream in which she had been wrapt was suddenly dispelled; yet she withdrew not her taper fingers from the fond clasp of her

lover, neither did she for one moment repent the confession which had so blessed him; but in the young maiden heart the ties of home, and country, and connexion, are strongly intertwined and deeply-rooted, and Geraldine felt them in full force as she strove to unwind and uproot them for the sake of the gifted being before her, whose eloquent looks pleaded even more resistlessly than his flowing words. She felt bewildered, and powerless to act or think; she, therefore, gently released her hands from Antonio's, and sought her own apartment, leaving word with the servants to inform their mistress on her return home, that she had retired for the night with increased indisposition.

But sleep came not that night to bless and soothe Geraldine, neither did any any definite thought or plan rest in her mind; wherever she turned she encountered those dark, earnest, passionate eyes, fixed in supplication on hers; the soft-murmured words which had told her

the thrilling tale of devoted love rang in her ears throughout the night, and the delicious consciousness that she was the star, the hope, the one long dream of Antonio's life, left her no room for self-examination, or fears for the The future! fearful and mysterious

future. words!

Geraldine's nature was of that soft and gentle texture that bows to every breeze. She was a creature of light and joy; a summer flower, a delicate and gilded bark, a rainbow. She was not formed to contend with stormy waves, or to stand the cutting blasts of adversity, and the thread of her life was fragile as the spider's web. Happiness was her native element, and she could exist in no other.

The next morning she joined the family party with only a shade less in her cheek, and a more pensive smile in her blue eyes. She did not see Antonio till the evening, and then he seemed to avoid her, which she felt was the most delicate plan under their peculiar circumstances,

but as he wished her good night, he slipped a letter into her hand, which she speedily opened when she reached her room.

It was merely a recapitulation of the vows and protestations she had lately heard from him, and a passionate appeal to her, imploring her to give him a proof of the sincerity and strength of her attachment, by consenting to become his without delay. The return of Colonel and Mrs. Arbuthnot was near at hand, and then their facilities of meeting would cease.

The names of her father and mother recalled poor Geraldine to a sense of her real situation. True, they had not understood or appreciated her character, but they had been proud of her, and loved her with all the ardour of which their natures were capable; and above all, to them she owed her being, and to them she was bound by every tie she had been taught to consider as holy; she pictured to herself and exaggerated their grief; her soft nature could not believe in implacable resentment;

but she felt that their disappointment and mortification would be unbounded.

She threw herself on her knees, and raised her streaming eyes and fair hands to Heaven for strength and assistance, but started from her attitude in despair when she reflected that to pray for deliverance from her love was impossible; her mind was a chaos of conflicting thoughts, and her restless glance dwelt unconsciously on the calm cloudless moon which threw not its pure serenity into her distracted soul.

At length, worn out by emotions, she fell into a profound sleep, and the pale sorrowful look of Antonio haunted her in her dreams, and his low melodious voice reproached her for the wavering of her love.

Her sleep was long and heavy; and when she awoke, still with the vivid impressions of her dreams on her fancy, her resolution was taken to devote her life to Antonio, and to seek in his tenderness a compensation for parental displeasure. As to wealth or rank,