into the fun of the thing heart and soul, and as he hooked on the salmon for a second haul, he interlarded his labours with such ejaculations as, "Oh, Misther Murphy, sir, but you're the funny jintleman. Oh, Misther Murphy, sir, how soft the stranger is, sir. The salmon's ready for ketchin' now, sir. Will you catch him yet, sir?"

"Coax him round, Billy," said Murphy.

The young imp executed the manœuvre with adroitness; and Murphy was prepared for another haul, as Johnstone's weariness began to manifest itself.

"Do you intend wemaining here all day?-do you know, I think I've no chance of any spo't."

The day Hilloa! I've

"Oh, wait till you hook one fish, at all events," said Murphy: "just have it to say you killed a salmon in the new style. is promising better. I'm sure we'll have sport yet. another!" and Murphy began hauling in the salmon. "Billy, you rascal, get ready: watch him-that's it-mind him now!" Billy made all the splash he could in the water as Murphy lifted the fish to the surface and swung him into the boat. Again there was the flop. ping and the riot in the boat, and Billy screeching, "Kill him, sir !— kill him, sir! or he'll be off out o' my hands!" In proper time the fish was killed, and shown up in triumph, and Johnstone imposed upon. And now he began to experience that peculiar longing for catching a fish, which always possesses men who see fish taken by others, and the desire to have a salmon of his own killing induced Johnstone to remain on the river. In the long intervals of idleness which occurred between hooking up a salmon, which Murphy did every now and then, Johnstone would be talking about business to Dick Dawson, so that they had not been very long on the water until Johnstone had enlightened Dick on some very important points connected with the election. Murphy now pushed his boat towards the shore.

"You're not going yet?" said Johnstone,-" Do wait till I catch a fish."

"Certainly," said Murphy; "I'm only going to put Billy ashore and send home the fish we've already caught. Mrs. O'Grady is pas. sionately fond of salmon."

Billy was landed, and a large basket in which the salmon had been brought down to the boat was landed also-empty; and Murphy, lifting the basket as if it contained a considerable weight, placed it on Billy's head, and the sly young rascal bent beneath it, as if all the fish Murphy had pretended to take were really in it, and he went on his homeward way, with a tottering step, as if the load were too much for him.

“That boy," said Johnstone, "will never be able to cawwy all those fish to the house."

"Oh, they won't be too much for him," said Dick.

"Curse the

fish! I wish they'd bite. That thief Murphy has had all the sport ; but he's the best fisherman in the county, I'll own that."

The two boats all this time had been drifting down the river, and on opening a new reach of the stream, a somewhat extraordinary scene of fishing presented itself. It was not like Murphy's fishing, the result of a fertile invention, but the consequence of the evil destiny which presided over all the proceedings of Handy Andy.

The fishing party in the boats beheld another fishing party on shore, with this difference in the nature of what they sought to catch; that while they in the boats were looking for salmon, those on the shore were seeking for a post-chaise, and as about a third part of a vehicle so called was apparent above the water, as the reach of the river was opened, Johnstone exclaimed with extreme surprise,

"Well! if it ain't a post-chaise!"

"Oh! that's nothing extraordinary," said Dick,-" common enough here."

"How do you mean?" said Johnstone.

"We've a custom here of running steeple-chases in post-chaises." Oh, thank you," said Johnstone ; come, that's too good."

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"You don't believe it, I see," said Dick; "but you did not believe the salmon fishing till you saw it."

66

Oh, come now! How the deuce could you leap a ditch in a postchaise ?"

"I never said we leaped ditches; I only said we rode steeple.chases. The system is this: you go for a given point, taking high-road, byroad, plain, or lane, as the case may be, making the best of your way how you can. Now, our horses in this country are celebrated for being good swimmers, so it's a favourite plan to shirk a bridge some. times by swimming a river."

"But no post-chaise will float," said Johnstone, regularly arguing against Dick's mendacious absurdity.

"Oh! we're prepared for that here. The chaises are made light, have cork bottoms, and all the solid work is made hollow, the doors are made water-tight, and if the stream runs strong the passenger jumps out and swims."

"But that's not fair," said Johnstone; "it alters the weight."

"Oh! it's allowed on both sides," said Dick, "so it's all the same. It's as good for the goose as the gander."

"I wather imagine it is much fitter for geese and ganders than hu man beings. I know I should wather be a goose on the occasion."

“Well, I think you'd have a good chance," said Dick.

"All this time they were nearing the party on shore, and as the post. chaise became more developed, so did the personages on the bank of the river; and amongst these, Dick Dawson saw Handy Andy in the

custody of two men, and Squire O'Grady shaking his fist in his face, and storming at him. How all this party came there, it is necessary to explain. When Handy Andy had deposited Johnstone at Merryvale, he drove back to pick up the fallen postillion and his brother on the road; but before he reached them, he had to pass a public house -I say had to pass-but he didn't. Andy stopped, as every honourable postillion is bound to do, to drink the health of the gentleman who gives him the last half-crown; and he was so intent on 'doing that same," as they say in Ireland, that Andy's driving became very equivocal afterwards. In short, he drove the post,chaise into the river; the horses got disentangled by kicking the traces, which were very willing to break, into pieces,-and Andy, by sticking to the neck of the horse he rode, got out of the water. The horses got home without the post-chaise, and the other post-chaise and pair got home without a postillion, so that Owny Doyle was roused from his bed by the neighing of the horses at the gate of the inn. Great was his surprise at the event, as, half-clad, and a candle in his hand, he saw two pair of horses, one chaise, and no driver at his door. The next morning the plot thickened; Squire O'Grady came to know if a gentleman had arrived at that town on his way to Neck-or-nothing Hall. The answer was in the affirmative. Then "where was he?" became a question. Then the report arrived of the post-chaise being upset in the river. Then came stories of postillions falling off, of postillions being changed, of Handy Andy being employed to take the gentleman to the placeand out of these materials the story became current that" an English gentleman was dhrowned in the river in a post-chaise." O'Grady set off directly with a party to have the river dragged, and near the spot, encountering Handy Andy, he ordered him to be seized, and accused him of murdering his friend.

It was in this state of things that the boats approached the party on the land, and the moment Dick Dawson saw Handy Andy, he put out his oars, and pulled away as hard as he could. At the moment he did so, Andy caught sight of him, and pointing out Johnstone and Dick to O'Grady, he shouted, "There he is!-there he is! I never murdhered him!-there he is!-stop him, Misther Dick! stop for the love o' God!"

"What is all this about?" said Johnstone, in great amazement. "Oh, he's a process server," said Dick; "the people are going to drown him, maybe."

"To dwown him!" said Johnstone, in horror.

"If he has luck," said Dick, "they'll only give him a good ducking; but we had better have nothing to do with it. I would not like you to be engaged in one of these popular riots."

"I shouldn't wellish it," said Johnstone.

"Pull away, Dick," said Murphy; "let them kill the blackgard, if they like."

"But will they kill him weally?" inquired Johnstone, somewhat horrified.

"but as

"'Faith, it's just as the whim takes them," said Murphy; we wish to be popular on the hustings, we must let them kill as many as they please."

Andy still shouted loud enough to be heard. they're going to murdher me!"

"Misther Dick,

"Poor wetch!" said Johnstone, with a very uneasy shudder.

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Maybe you'd think it right for us to land and rescue him," said Murphy.

"Oh, by no means," said Johnstone.

"You're better acquainted

with the customs of the countwy than I am."

"Then we'll row back to dinner as fast as we can," said Murphy.

I waited in vain

With sorrow and pain

Hope lingered through many a day;

46

Till her spirit was dead,

And she said, as she fled,

Out of sight, out of mind," is the way.

At length a bird came,

And I thought 'twas the same

That he promised his message should bring;

I search'd the poor dove,

But no letter of love

Or token was under his wing!

Another flew o'er,

And a letter he bore

'Twas my own bird, but, ah! well-a-day!

To some rival it came,

And I could but exclaim,

"Out of sight, out of mind," is the way.

J. AUGUSTINE WADE.

INSCRIPTION FOR A GIN-PALACE.

CORNELIUS AGRIPPA, Old Nick to subdue

When rebellious, would threaten to cut off his queue.
Had the Fiend dealt with us, such a menace had fail'd:
'Tis an easy thing here to get Spirits retail'd.

VINCENT EDEN;*

OR, THE OXONIAN.

CHAPTER I.

THE FRESHMAN.

THE last day of the Oxford Easter vacation had arrived—and a brighter or more beautiful one never poured its full tide of sunlight over that queen-like and majestic city. The grey college wall, and the solemn church spire, seemed alike to have laid aside their wonted air of gloomy grandeur-and each old tower, as it imaged back the glow of heaven from its features of deep repose, resembled the furrowed countenance of some veteran warrior, illumined by the momentary smile which the tale of bygone glory has awakened. A noble sight, in truth, at any time, and to any eye, is that proud City of Science, as with its crown of countless towers it breaks upon the gaze of the traveller -but mostly does it come home to his heart, who, after long years of wandering, revisits the scenes which smiled on his feelings in their freshness-on his youth in all its gay inexperience. Yes, Oxford! though the times and ties which once bound me to thee have passed away and perished-though from the dim womb of departed years a still small voice oft whispers of wasted hours and misdirected energies -yet do I love thee-yet does memory bear me back to moments when, wild and wayward as I was, I have stood beneath the face of night, and gazed on those solemn walls with a chastened heart and higher aspirations—with dreams of days, perchance even yet to come, of happiness and honour. But I grow egotistical already-let me resume my tale.

The clocks and bells once more rang out the college dinner-hour of five, as the Blenheim, with its neat team of greys, rolled rapidly across the Magdalen bridge-dashed up the High Street, where a few straggling caps and gowns were seen hurrying home to dinner-turned sharply down the Corn-market, nearly upsetting the Master of Baliol, and his unconscious pad nag, in the manœuvre-and finally deposited its freight at the door of the Star Hotel. The descent of the manmountain of a coachman from his perch was speedily followed by a flight of eight or ten Mackintoshes and pea-jackets, which, on farther development, were discovered to contain a corresponding number of

* The Author begs to premise that the circumstances of the following Tale are fictitious--that the characters are intended as representatives of classes, and that if their attributes have been appropriated by any individuals, and have wounded such persons' feelings in consequence, the effect thus produced cannot but be a source of deep regret.