"

rooma flitted towards us with the cocoa bowl. I retained her hand in mine, and gazed upon her with an expression in my glances, that sufficiently betrayed the interest she excited in my heart. She did not seem displeased with my admiration, but hung down her head and blushed, with such bewitching innocence and beauty, as rendered her a thousand times more enchanting in my eyes than ever. When we had now drank unceasingly for three days, I said to my opponent, It grieves me, O Sisquo Dumfki, that this contest must be carried on to the death. Even if you are victorious in this trial, as sixteen years ago you were with my illustrious parent, you have no chance of escaping with your life. I myself, till I became acquainted with your noble sentiments, thirsted for your blood; and now that I know you all that a chief should be, my soul is tortured with regret that it will be impossible to save you.' With an unmoved countenance the hero heard me declare, as it were, his condemnation to certain death. He drained off the bowl which he happened to have in his hand, and replied, Death comes only oncethe Great Spirit rejoices in the actions of majestic men. There are casine and tobacco in Elysium.' But I was resolved, if possible, to preserve my friend from the destruction prepared for him by my mother. Sisquo,' I said, let us delay the conclusion of our contest till some fitter opportunity. If you would save your life, and make me the happiest of kings and of mortals, pretend to be overcome by the casine, and ask to be left in this tent to sleep. I will place round it a body of my own guards, with orders to prevent all emissaries from the queen from entering it under pain of death. In the mean time I will wed your daughter, if it seems good

C

to

you; and when by this means you are connected with the royal house, your life will become sacred, even from the vengeance of an offended woman.' 'It seems good to me,' he replied, 'O mightiest potentate on Alatamaha's banks; and well pleased shall I resign the victory to you, in hopes of concluding a whole week with you on some future opportunity. With regard to Nem

rooma - what is she but a silly flower, which will be too highly honoured by being transplanted into the gardens of the mighty Quin

molla?'

66

In pursuance of this resolution, the noble Sisquo Dumfki assumed every appearance of total inebriety; he hiccuped, sang, roared, and finally sank down in a state of apparent insensibility. I confess I was

astonished at the absence of Nemrooma on this interesting occasion. She came not near to cover her father with skins or leaves, and the duty was left to me of casting over him the royal mantle, and turning his feet towards the fire. With an expressive grasp of the hand, I left him to provide for his safety; for my mother, I was well aware, would take every means in her power to put him to death in revenge for his victory over her husband. On issuing from the tent, I was hailed victor by ten thousand voices; the whole combined nations which owned my sway, seemed delirious with the triumph I had achieved. No conqueror returning from a successful expedition, with the imperial robe purpled to a deeper die with the blood of thousands of his subjects,

was ever received with such an enthusiasm of attachment. Calling aside the captain of my guard, Í gave him the strictest injunctions to allow no one to enter the tent in which my illustrious competitor reposed, and proceeded to the wigwam of the queen. She was smoking when I entered; and the clouds which circled round her head, gave to her piercing black eyes the likeness of two brilliant stars shining in a lowering heaven.

"He is dead?' she said; 'my son would scarcely venture into the presence of his mother if the murderer of his father was left aliye.'

"No, my mother,' I replied, 'he is sunk in deep sleep, and we are sufficiently revenged by having conquered at his own weapons the hero, of the Chicasaws.'

"He sleeps!-'tis well. It shall be my care to see that he never awakes - the tomahawk in a woman's hand, is as sure as a poisonous drug in the bowl-for, mark me, Quinmolla, no powers can persuade me, that the glorious Atta-kull-kulla

met with fair treatment at the hand of his rival at the feast. Have I not seen him often and often drink not only for five days, but for weeks and months together, and start up from his debauch as fresh as if he had been bathing in the warrior's streams the shadowy land? Tell me, my son, that Sisquo Dumfki has for the last time seen the light of day.'

in

"I cannot,' I replied; it goes against my soul. He trusts me-why should I be faithless as the hyena or the white men!-No, mother, let him live, for my spirit burns with admiration of the beautiful Nemrooma.'

"The feather in thy hair was torn surely from the pigeon's wing, and not the eagle's. What! hast thou no fear of the wrath of your father, whose form I often see gloomily reposing beneath the shadow of the stately palm-tree which he loved the most-fearest thou not, that rushing from the land of spirits, he blasts thee to the earth, with the sight of those frowning brows, which no mortal can look upon and live? Away! thou art unworthy of the blood of a thousand forest kings, who, long ere we removed to these plains, reigned on the shores of the eternal Sire of Rivers;* and unworthier still, since you prefer your love to your revenge, of the ancestry of the Milesian lords, the O'Flaherties of the Tipperary wilds.' I stood astonished at this torrent of indignation, but my rage was at length roused as she proceeded, Nemrooma! and what seest thou in that paltry girl to wean thee from the nobler passion of vengeancé? But cease to cherish fantastic hopes the setting sun of yesterday went down upon her death.'

"What! hast thou dared to blight the lily which I intended to carry in my bosom-how? when? where?'

cruelty, you shall dearly pay for this. Ere the palm-trees are gilded seven times with the morning and evening suns, expect my return, and to suffer for your crimes.'

"I rushed into the open air as I spoke, and leaving tents, wigwams, friends, and subjects far behind me, I darted into the thickest of the forest, and pursued my way to a winding of the river, where I kept a canoe constantly prepared for my fishing expeditions. In it I found a supply of provisions, my rods, and lines; my war-club, and my bow with poisoned arrows. I embarked, and pushing out into the middle of the stream, I pursued my way as raidly as I could, in hopes of overtaking the beautiful Nemrooma, or perhaps of seeing her on the bank, if she should have been fortunate enough to swim to land. I kept my eyes intently fixed on every bend of the stream, in case her canoe should have been stranded, but in vain. All that day I kept on my course, and began to fear that ere I could overtake her, she would be carried down to a bluff in the river, which we had called Crocodile Island, and in that case I knew there was no hope of her safety. How peacefully, O Alatamaha, glided thy glorious expanse of waters, bearing the vast shadows of the umbrageous oaks upon their bosom, while thy banks were made vocal by the music of unnumbered birds! Little did such a scene of placid beauty accord with the tumultuous throbbings of Nemrooma's agonized breast. I thought what must have been her feelings while floating past those magnificent scenes, clothed with all the verdure of luxuriant nature, and enlivened with the glittering plumage of the various people of the skies, which glanced for a moment across her like glimpses of sunshine, and then flitted once more into the shadows of the woods. The banks were also ornamented with hanging garlands and bowers, formed, as it were, for the retreat of the river divinities, of the most beautiful shrubs and plants. And here and there the eye was delighted with the large white flowers of the ipomea, surrounded with its dark-green leaves.

"The Alatamaha is broad and deep,' replied my mother, 'a canoe is frail and slight-ill may a maiden's arm contend with an impetuous river. Alone in a fragile bark-unused to the paddle-she was floated down the stream.'

66 6

sedges at the shore. The conqueror now directed his course to the canoe. He raised his head and shoulders out of the water, and putting his little short paws into the boat, he overturned it in an instant, and, in a few moments, fragments of it were swimming about in all directions. When Nemrooma saw the horrid scene, she clung convulsively to my arm, and in some degree impeded my efforts to effect our escape. I cautioned her to be still, and pushed with all my force towards the entrance of the river out of the lagoon. But, alas! fortune was here against us. It was the time at which myriads upon myriads of fish take their course up the river; and, as the stream is shallowest at this place, the crocodiles had chosen it as their position to intercept their prey. The whole water, for miles on each side, seemed alive with fish. The line of crocodiles extended from shore to shore; and it was the most horrific sight I ever witnessed, to see them dash into the broken ranks of the fish, and grind in their prodigious jaws a multitude of the largest trouts, whose tails flapped about their mouths and eyes, ere they had swallowed them. The horrid noise of their closing jaws-their rising with their prey, some feet upright above the waterthe floods of foam and blood rushing out of their mouths, and the clouds of vapour issuing from their distended nostrils, were truly horrifying. Anxious to escape, I now began to paddle towards the shore of the lagoon, in order to land and wait till the army of fish had forced their passage, after which, I concluded, it would be easier for us to elude the satiated monsters; but ere we had got half way across the lake, I perceived we were pursued by two of an unusual size. From these escape by flight was impossible. They rapidly gained upon us, and at last one of them, raising himself out of the water, was just preparing to lay his paw upon the canoe, when I discharged an arrow, which luckily pierced his eye. With a roar of mingled rage and pain, he sank below the water, and left me to prepare for the assault of his companion. With a tremendous cry, he came up, and darted as swift as an arrow under my boat, emerging upright on

"But all these enchanting sights were insufficient to divert my thoughts from the probable fate of the beautiful Nemrooma. All night I plied my course, and, on the morning, could still discover no trace either of the girl or her canoe. About noon, I was made aware, by the extraordinary sounds which saluted my ears from a distance, that I was approaching the Crocodile lagoon. Inspired by fresh anxiety to overtake her, if possible, before entering on that fearful scene, I plied my utmost strength, and, at a bending of the river, was rewarded for all my labours and anxiety, by a view of the tender bark only a short way in front. Before I could place myself at her side we had entered the dreadful lake, and the placid water was broken into a thousand ripples by the countless multitudes of the alligators which inhabited the place. The noise they made was of the most appalling description. Terrified at the perilous situation in which she was placed, the lovely girl uttered a scream of joy when she saw me, and had only self-possession enough to step from her own canoe into mine, when she fell down in a state of insensibility, from the violence of her contending feelings. No sooner was her frail bark deserted, than it became the object of a fearful battle to the monsters of the deep. A crocodile of prodigious size rushed towards the canoe from the reeds and high grass at the bank. His enormous body swelled; his plaited tail, brandished high, floated upon the lagoon. The waters, like a cataract, descended from his open jaws. Clouds of smoke issued from his nostrils. The earth trembled with his thunder. But immediately from the opposite side a rival champion emerged from the deep. They suddenly darted upon each other. The boiling surface of the lake marked their rapid course, and a terrific conflict commenced. Sometimes they sank to the bottom, folded together in horrid wreaths. The water became thick and discoloured. Again they rose to the surface, and their jaws clapt together with a noise that echoed through the surrounding forest. Again they sank, and the contest ended at the bottom of the lake; the vanquished monster making his escape to the

my lee-quarter, with open jaws, and belching water and smoke, that fell upon me like rain in a hurricane. Leaving the bow to the skilful Nemrooma, I seized my club, and beat him about the head, and kept him for a few minutes at a distance. I saw, however, he was making preparations for his final spring, his mouth was opened to a fearful width, when an arrow struck him directly on the tongue, and pinned it to his jaw. He shouted as he felt the pain, and darted off, no doubt, in quest of assistance. I shot to the bank with the speed of lightning, lifted the almost fainting Nemrooma from the canoe, and led her to the foot of an immense magnolia, which I perceived at no great distance. Before we left the river, however, we saw a prodigious number of crocodiles gathered round the boat, and one of them even crawled into it, and we heard our last hope of safety take its leave in the crash of its breaking sides, as it crumbled into fragments beneath the unwieldy monster's weight. The shore, I was aware, was also the resort of incredible multitudes of bears. Our provisions were exhausted, our arrows left in the canoe, and we could see no possibility of avoiding an excruciating death." The narrator here stopt for a moment, and the traveller, breathless with interest, said to him, " For God's sake, tell me, sir, how you got safe off?"

Whilst the stranger prepared to reply, I took advantage of the pause to look round the room. The supper table was deserted. The passengers had all paid their reckoning, and the waiter was standing expectingly at the corner of the sideboard.

"I assist you?" said the traveller, "how is that possible?"

"Coach is quite ready, sir," interrupted the waiter.

"The fact is," rejoined the young man, "I have just got to that point, in a tale I am writing for next month's Blackwood, and curse me if I know how to get naturally away from the Crocodile Island."

"Coach can't wait another moment, sir," said the waiter; supper, two and sixpence."

66

Supper!" exclaimed the traveller, "this d-d fellow with his cockand-a-bull story, about being king of the jackdaws, or kickshaws, or Lord knows what, has kept me from eating a morsel.”

"Coachman can't wait a moment,

"How we got safe off?" replied the Indian chief; "that's just the thing that puzzles me, and I thought you might perhaps be able to assist me."

66

sir."

"I tell you I haven't tasted a mouthful since I left Birmingham."

"You can't help me to a plan for getting the young people off the island?" said the youth.

"May the devil catch both of them, and a hundred crocodiles eat every bone in their skins!"

"Two and sixpence for supper, sir," said the waiter.

"Two hundred and sixty devils first," cried the traveller in a prodigious passion, buttoning up his cloak and preparing to resume his journey-"let that infernal Indian king, who is only some lying scribbler in a magazine, pay for it himself, for I'm hanged if he hasn't cheated me out of my cold beef, and drank every drop of my porter to the bargain."

"All right, gentlemen," said the coachman in the yard.

"All right," replied the guard; "tsh! tsh! ya! hip--ts! ts!"-and the half-famished outside passenger was whirled along Corn Market, and over Magdalen Bridge, at the rate of eleven miles an hour.

nd "I assist you?" said the traveller,
Tell "how is that possible?"

ne.

"Coach is quite ready, sir," interm- rupted the waiter.

Pat

the

"The fact is," rejoined the young for man, "I have just got to that point, w, in a tale I am writing for next ra- month's Blackwood, and curse me if uth I know how to get naturally away en from the Crocodile Island." "Coach can't wait another moaw. ment, sir," said the waiter; "sup and per, two and sixpence." Supper!" exclaimed the travelof with ler, "this d-d fellow with his cockal-and-a-bull story, about being king of the the jackdaws, or kickshaws, or Lord an knows what, has kept me from eatved ing a morsel." left

66

"Coachman can't wait a moment,

odi- sir."

red

our

"I tell you I haven't tasted a even mouthful since I left Birmingham." "You can't help me to a plan for e in getting the young people off the s it island?" said the youth. "May the devil catch both of the The them, and a hundred crocodiles eat re- every bone in their skins!" of

"Two and sixpence for supper, ust- sir," said the waiter. and

"Two hundred and sixty devils pid- first," cried the traveller in a proThe digious passion, buttoning up his ent, cloak and preparing to resume his in- journey-"let that infernal Indian ake, king, who is only some lying scrib bler in a magazine, pay for it him re- self, for I'm hanged if he hasn't to cheated me out of my cold beef, and drank every drop of my porter to per ers the bargain."

?"

""

"All right, gentlemen," said the
the
at coachman in the yard.

ied

"All right," replied the guard; "tsh! tsh! ya! hip-ts! ts!"-and the the half-famished outside passenger ght was whirled along Corn Market, and over Magdalen Bridge, at the rate of eleven miles an hour.

sist

THE SIEGE OF ANTWERP.

BY LADY EMMELINE STUART WORTLEY.

ONCE more the fierce artillery
Shakes the pale earth and rends the sky;
The howitzers their harvests reap-

Their jubilee the cannon keep.

The sulphurous gloom-the thunderous crash,
Burst round-while warrior-weapons clash!
Still rooted to their guns they stand,
They of the unswerving heart and hand;
Those heroes of a narrow'd field,
Who cannot quail,-who will not yield!
Well may ye stand as mountains there,
Ye lions, on your frowning lair;
Ye proud defenders of a trust,
That shall not crumble into dust;
Or if ye stand-or if you fall-
Famous ye must be, and ye shall;
For if ye fall-that citadel,
Your arms defended long and well,
Shall give to ye-the True and Brave,
The Soldiers most Majestic Grave!
Ye shall be honour'd, glorious band!
Breathing Palladium of your land.
But may ye fall not!-though before
Your walls streams forth the Tricolor!
(Which still retains its rainbow'd hues,
Though steep'd so oft in crimsoning dews
Which still its ray of white retains,
Though darken'd by so many stains!)
Though France's leaguering hosts be there,
Where is their conquering Eagle? Where!
Who led them in all triumph on

From shore to shore-from throne to throne ?
That Eagle's stormward flight is done!
And set for him is Victory's Sun!

VOL. XXXIII. NO. CCIII.

Where England's winged leviathans, And England's ocean-veterans? The hurricanes against them rose, As erst against their scattered foes, When the Armada of proud Spain Threaten'd the Sea-Kings with the chain, Like Xerxes' fetters, doom'd to prove Vain, as of flax and frost-work wove; Then gird ye for the lengthen'd fight, And Victory, Victory be with right! Though pent in your bastion'd den of war, Scanning your armed foes from afar, Ye! whose stern bosoms proudly beat, Those foes with clashing swords to greet! But though the sword be sheath'd, the shell Can do its work of slaughter well. Hark! how the city's ribs of stone, And old foundations seem to groan,As on the thickening tempest sweeps, With sound of heavy-rushing deeps.