fathomable. Perhaps the padré had pronounced some quiet anathemas against the heretic priest in the ear of the young girl. Certain it was, that she was at once deeply interested in and gloomily afraid of the meek divine.

Having probably convinced the reader by this time, that he does not know what I am talking about, I will now mention to him, that in the month of December, 182-, the good ship Bertha, bound for Trinidad, from one of our American ports, was in latitude 14° North, longitude 58° West,-about opposite, the captain said, to the island of St. Lucia. We had been driven, by the wayward although not violent winds, far eastward of our intended course, and had not yet touched at one of the Carribean islands, as we had intended. It was our ardent desire to reach our destination by the 25th, in order to celebrate Christmas on shore; as there is no place where they make more of the festival than in the West Indies. The mixture of races, the universally careless and holiday disposition of all the inhabitants, together with their unsurpassed fondness for religious pomp, unite to make Christmas a rare occasion among them. But we were, at the time of which I am speaking, full two hundred miles from Trinidad, and had therefore despaired of reaching it on the desired occasion, as it was now December 23d. Accordingly, the young divine, who had succeeded in inducing a few persons to listen to evening prayers nightly, and had gradually brought within the circle of devotion nearly all the passengers and occasionally a man or two of the crew, suggested, that we should celebrate Christmas Eve on board. To this the whole fourteen passengers-aside from the padré, his charge, and her servant, who were not consultedagreed, and the reverend youth was instructed to request the countenance and assistance of the captain. The leaders in the movement, for certain manifest reasons, had concluded not to consult the young senora and her protector, although it was agreed that, when the occasion arrived, they should be invited to be present-not with any expectation that they would do so. As I have already stated, as soon as the petition was presented to the captain, he roared out his peremptory and furious assent.

Operations commenced immediately. The wife and sister-in-. law of an English physician, a resident in Puerto Espana, who was on board, with the aid of paper-cuttings, green veils, and artificial flowers, contrived to fashion some very pretty wreaths

and a neat semblance of a crucifix. Next morning the cabin was cleared, and large boxes, suitably arranged, and draperied over with white cloth, made quite a classic altar. This was festooned, and on its front, in small letters of green baize, was fixed the pregnant abbreviation, "I. H. S." The excitement and esprit de corps, which these preparations stirred up in our little circle, made the day decidedly the happiest of our voyage. The padré and his fair charge looked curiously on, and the former, when caught watching us with an air of eager interest, would devoutly cross himself, as if in behalf of us poor heretics, whom he, without doubt, esteemed ignorant worshippers of his God. . The sun went down. The water, bright and placid as a mirror, appeared to feel the sacredness of the hour. The sky was divinely blue, and the stars seemed to burn with unusual lustre. i thought of the shepherds on the Judæan hill-sides, watching their flocks by night, as I never had before. I could easily fancy, standing in the luxurious climate of the tropics, how much real enjoyment there might be, in lying all night in the open air, beneath the skies of Palestine, tending quiet sheep. Although a ship's side was a strange place to suggest to one fine fancies about green slopes, dotted with snowy flocks, and sleeping in the silver garniture of the moon-beams, yet my imagination went so far as to bring a counterfeit of the scene which was acted eighteen hundred years ago, before me. I saw the misty blue of the sky roll away like a curtain from a centre, and the circle filled with a white dazzling effulgence, crossed with auroral flashes, which it is impossible to describe. This heavenly amphitheatre was girded on every side by angels clad in the glistering white of the Mount of Transfiguration-myriads upon myriads lining the whole outside of the circle, and stretching far back into its invisible depths. I saw them lift their harps, and waited for the first swell of that sublimest anthem ever sung within the hearing of earthly ears. But here my imagination faltered. There was nothing in the hushed plashing of the water against the sides of the vessel, or the sharp creaking of the cordage, to suggest ideas of that glorious chorus. I turned my head, and silently followed the sound of the bell, which was to be the signal of the commencement of the evening's exercises.

The services went on. Perhaps the circumstances of the time had wrought me up to a pitch of excitement, but the rich old Eng

lish of the ritual seemed never to have been read in a tone half so thrilling. The rough old Captain was there, looking a defiance at every body, which at last grew so serious and marked, that I began to supect him of being deeply affected by the scene. Оссаsionally he would shake his head so resolutely, that I believed that his own sensibility was the object of his defiance. Full half of the crew were present, with that studious solemnity, which always makes Jack's devotion seem a sort of pious deference to the company present. The passengers, as a body, seemed deeply interested in the scene, and invariably echoed the response of the two or three of our number, who were evidently the only persons among us accustomed to the service. The Spanish girl, her padré and servant were in her private cabin. They had treated the invitation to be present politely, but told the Captain that they desired to conduct their devotions in their own apartment and according to the ceremonies of their own church. To which suggestion the Captain retorted with his usual violent affirmative, and menaced the man who should dare to say nay, with his most awful frown. In fact, I believe that, for the special assurance of the padré, he vouchsafed to use a round Spanish oath on this occasion.

But I could not but feel a little annoyed at the absence of the beautiful young girl. To tell the plain truth, all the passengers, and myself particularly, had taken a sort of of chivalrous interest in the affairs of the fair Spaniard and the young minister. We had read the intense meaning of her glorious eyes, and knew by the very shyness of the youth, that he was carrying on a mighty struggle with himself on account of the beautiful Romanist.Observing and being convinced of this, we felt outraged that there should be any thing to interfere with so delightful a romance.In default of surly parents, or jealous duenna, we were obliged to pounce upon sect-religious bigotry-as the infamous meddler that was keeping these young hearts apart. We became liberal apace in our religious views, and, within this little world on shipboard, came to the conclusion that nothing was more malevolent in its influence upon the sweet charities of life and the spontaneous goodness of human hearts, than sectarian animosities. We learned then, what it has taken me all my life since to learn in the great world of society, that such animosities are essentially unchristian, for the reason that they often raise war and division between

those who have every reason in the world to respect and love each other.

I said that I was annoyed at the absence of the Spanish girl; so were all the rest of the company. It was too bad, we thought, that she could not hear the rich voice of the young minister, in the service, and in the truthful and earnest remarks which he made respecting the occasion that had drawn us together. I almost fancied, that, could he have listened to him then, she would have read the reality of his piety in his face and manners and begun to understand how transparent and unreal was the curtain which men have, in religion's name, drawn between Christians of different denominations.

The benediction was uttered and the quiet little pageant was over. The Captain was the first to assert-of course daring the world to contradict him—that the clergyman had done his duty in the most approved manner. Nay, lest there might be some lingering doubt on this subject, the Captain swore it. His convictions were so very demonstrative, that it was plain that he was still terribly vexed at having gained so slender a victory over his own sensibility. To reconcile the old fellow to himself, I proposed that the company, without breaking up, should adjourn to the deck, and there hold a social meeting and talk of those far away. Forgive us, ye beloved, who were then so widely parted from us and who now many of you-are lost behind the blue veil of heaven; although ye stand, I trust, on the verge of your happy home, looking back to those, whom ye cherished here! Forgive us, I for we talked that night not of you.

say,

A light word, dropped by one of the party as we stepped upon the deck, about the fair young Spaniard, turned our thoughts and words, with a sort of overflow, towards her. As for myself, I kept as silent as I could; for, to tell the truth, as I was tolerably versed in the Spanish language, I had made somewhat more rapid progress than the rest in an acquaintance with Maria. The Spanish girl has not the stubborn shyness of the American damsel, which compels the latter to hide and disguise and at least make equivocal all the feelings of her heart towards you. Nor has she the garrulous and fascinating impertinence of the French mademoiselle, who tells you so much more than it is possible for her to feel, that you doubt whether she feels at all. The fair Spaniard lives her feelings. Even in her languishing and dreamy repose,

you seem to detect the steady intensity of her passion. Maria, therefore, I had perused like an open book, and found that she was heart-sore with an interdicted love; that the young minister had inspired her with a power of passion, which was to her-laboring under the ban of sect-terrible. Such a secret I would not tell, and preferred, therefore, to listen to the speculations of others.

The conversation showed that her uncommon sweetness had completely won over every person on board. The Captain vowed, that, next to his absent daughter Virginia, she was the loveliest lass that ever trod a ship's plank. It was especially amusing to see the manœuvres of speech employed by our clerical friend. He seemed to be in a haze as we talked, and only showed his intelligence of the subject-in-hand by careful confirmations of the opinions advanced. The very caution he showed in tempering his expressions, so as to make his praise faint and moderate, indicated what a concentrated rapture he had within him, which circumstances compelled him to repress. The ladies used their fondest vocabulary in describing the virtues of Maria, and made her out a very flower in sweetness and a dove in gentleness.

The evening was verging towards midnight, when we heard a sudden stamping of feet below as in a chase and pursuit. In another instant, the deck-stairs creaked under the rush of steps and Maria sprung from the scuttle towards us, while the old priest, with arms wide extended after her, was doing his best to catch hold of the skirt of her dress and stop her. In her hand, thrust far out from her body, was a document, which, as she rushed up, she pressed into my two hands. I understood, of course, so marked a gesture, and ten thousand brandished daggers could not have induced me then to relinquish my trust. The padré saw that the case was hopeless and, turning abruptly from the circle into which his chase had conducted him, he retreated down into the cabin. Maria staid close at my side, while I called for a light. Soon after, I had deciphered enough of the document (which Maria told me she had found in the good padré's prayerbook with some comments thereupon on another piece of paper,) to find that it was a copy of Leo XII's permit-of the existence of which Maria had been kept in profound ignorance, allowing Catholics to marry heretics on certain conditions. These conditions amounted to nothing more than the commutation of a little money