Oh! in such moments how the soul expands
Beyond the limits of her mortal bands,
And realizes, that in very sooth,

In the bright image of the God of truth,
Of love, und justice, she was greatly made:
And spite of all that may her rank degrade,
And link her to the dust, while here below;
Still will her native force the ill outgrow;
Still will she spurn alliance with dull earth,
And re-assert the glories of her birth.

When from the paths of justice man has ranged,
When friend is from the bosom friend estranged
By sordid interest; when dark wiles are coun'd,
And acts unjust are fenced by deed and bond,
Till unsuspecting honesty, betray'd,

Finds, when too late, how lightly oaths are made,
O for some Portia then, the good, the fond,
Such deed to cancel, and to tear the bond!

Bond first and holiest is the nuptial tie,
Knitting two souls in sacred harmony;
Yet, by device of law, how oft in scorn
Of justice, is the solemn compact torn.
And in its place, in solemn mockery plann'd,
Another bond is framed by knavery's hand;
While many a gentle heart is doom'd to bleed
And weep in silence o'er the heartless deed.

Yet, wrong'd one, hope; tears bright as thine may win
The perjured wanderer from the paths of sin;
When reason's power is vain, when precepts fail,

The eloquenee of goodness may prevail,

Be patient still, nor let thy heart despond

Some Portia, sent by heaven, may tear the bond.

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THE MONARCHS AND THE PLAYERS; A SCENE AT ERFURT IN 1808.

WHAT an extraordinary movement existed in the year 1808, in the contracted limits of the ancient city of Erfurt, which is now so dull and deserted! What a period was that when the omnipotent will of the wonderful man, who for many years reposed on the rock of St. Helena from the astonishing dream of his life, concentrated in this spot, as by the stroke of a magician's wand, emperors, kings, and all that was renowned and illustrious among mankind! What a tumult of brilliant equipages with six and eight horses, among which thronged the crowd of spectators, eager to indulge their curiosity, although at the imminent peril of being crushed or trodden under foot! Citizens and rustics, strangers from all ountries, courtiers in their richly-embroidered costumes,

whose antique form, now recalled into use, appeared almost ridiculous to the children of a new generation. Polish Jews, statesmen, and officers covered with ribands and crosses, the wives of citizens, and ladies exquisitely apparrelled, porters, and female peasants, with their panniers at their backs, all crowded together, and endeavoured to make their way through the motley group. From time to time the French soldiers, marching to exercise with military music, added to the confusion of the thoroughfares. The street of Anger, however extensive, all the other streets, in fact the entire city, was insufficient to accommodate the strangers who had flocked to Erfurt. The principal inhabitants were driven out of their apartments, and took refuge in the garrets of their domestics, to make room for the train of the emperor of the French; and in the streets which were remote from the centre of the city, the proprietors of houses were rejoiced at the harvest of gold which they reaped from the letting of their lodgings. The hotels were crowded to the very roofs.

Napoleon had brought in his train to Erfurt the principal performers of the French theatre. Talma, Madamoiselle Duchesnois, Madamoiselle Mars, the exquisite Georges, and the beautiful Burgoing, appeared several times each week to play their finest pieces before the august assemblage; and for this purpose, a small theatre, which was discovered in the old college of the Jesuits, had been arranged with a truly French promptitude and elegance.

For each representation tickets of admission to the boxes were distributed among the foreign and native ladies; but it was no easy matter to obtain them. It was necessary to enter into a long, tedious and ceremonious correspondence with our friends who were in the suite of the grand-duke of Weimar ; it occasioned them much trouble, and they had to make interest with the state footman up to M. de Champagny before my fair friends and myself could obtain tickets to witness the representation of the tragedy of Edipus, in which Talma, and Mademoiselle Raucourt were to play.

Our party arrived at Erfurt from Weimar, separated in several carriages; we deposited our precious tickets in the apartments which we had engaged at the hotel, and made an attempt to walk in the streets; but the shocking confusion and crowd in every part of the city compelled us to return to our rooms. We counted our tickets, and were thunderstruck when we perceived that two of them were missing. It was in vain that we searched every where in the room, had the carpets

taken up, and examined every piece of furniture-the tickets had disappeared. One of the waiters had, most probably, made something by them; for these tickets of admission were great articles of traffic at that time, and strangers arriving at Erfurt, without any acquaintances there, frequently paid more than a louis d'or for one.

"Ah! if we had but one or two young officers with us now," sighed the youngest and fairest of our party; "for an epaulet or a decoration are equivalent to a ticket here" The idea was an excellent one. Among our friends at Erfurt, we soon discovered some cavaliers of the right sort, and it was under their escort and protection that we bent our steps toward the theatre, through the awful crowd by which its avenues were beseiged. At the top of the staircase we were received by an officer of the guard, who distributed our party into several boxes of the theatre, which was still almost empty.

I was fortunate enough with two of my friends to be placed in the front seat of a box close to the stage, from whence we could observe every thing that took place in the house. We congratulated ourselves on being so comfortably accommodated, but our joy did not continue long. The boxes near ours were soon filled to overflowing, and the door of the one we occupied was hastily opened.

"What," said the soldier or gend'arme, I know not which, under whose superintendance we were placed-"what! three women occupying three chairs! There's room for six at least!" and so saying, he introduced between us two ladies, with whom fortunately we were well acquainted.

All the boxes, as well as ours, became more and more crowded; we were mercilessly squeezed; we could scarcely move, and almost fainted with the heat, but we had no time to be ill; the importance of the grand spectacle which was beginning to arrange itself under our eyes in the pit, so absorbed our attention to the exclusion of every thing else, that we forgot all the inconveniences of our position.

Immediately in front of the stage two arm-chairs were placed for the two emperors, and on each side of these were ranged common chairs for the kings and reigning princes. The space behind these seats began to be filled. We saw the statesmen and generals of the greatest powers of Europe enter-men with whose names the world then rang, and which have now become a part and parcel of history. Their uniforms stiffened with gold-lace, and their air of vivacity and assurance distinguished the French from the more staid and serious Ger

mans.

There were Berthia, Soult, Caulaincourt, Savary, Lasnes, Duroc, and many others equally illustrious; and it seemed as if the grandeur of their master was reflected upon the features of each. We saw Goethe, with his calm and dignified physiognomy; and the venerable Wieland, whom the grand-duke of Weimar had brought with him to Erfurt. The duke of Gotha, and many German princes, who were either sovereigns or allied to reigning houses, were grouped around the two patriarchs of German literature.

The rolling of drums was now heard outside.

"It is the Emperor !" exclaimed every voice in the theatre. "Fools and imbeciles! what are you about?" shouted forth the commanding officer in a rage to the drummers. "It is only a king!"

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And in fact a German king was ushered into the theatre; and three other monarchs appeared shortly afterwards. Without ceremony and without salute, the kings of Saxony, Bavaria, and Wirtemburgh made their appearance. The king of Westphalia, who arrived later, eclipsed them all by the splendour of his rich embroidery, and the brilliancy of his jewels. The Emperor Alexander, distinguished by his majestic stature, next seated himself in his arm-chair. The large box exactly opposite the centre of the stage dazzled all eyes by the bursts of splendour which it flung around. The queen of Westphalia, covered with diamonds, sat in the middle; close to her the charming Stephanie, grand-duchess of Baden, was more remarkable for her grace and beauty than for her dress. Some German princesses were seated near the two sovereign ladies; while the gentlemen and ladies of their court occupied the back of the box.

At this moment, Talleyrand made his appearance in a small box, constructed expressly for him, on a level with the pit and close to the stage, because the weakness of his feet would not allow of his standing in the pit among the men. The emperor and the kings stood in front of his box, to converse with the minister, who was seated comfortably and at his ease. Every body was at the rendezvous except HIM who had brought all these grandees together; he was still absent, and he made them wait a long time.

At length a deeper and more prolonged roll on the drums was heard, and all eyes were turned with anxious curiosity to the place of entrance-and then he was seen, this most incomprehensible man, of this most inconceivable epoch He was dressed in the plainest manner possible, which he always preAPRIL, 1843.

C

ferred; and, slightly saluting the assembled sovereigns, whom he had caused to wait so long, he took possession of his armchair at the right of the emperor of Russia. His compact and rather short figure, contrasted with the elegant shape of Alexander. The four kings seated themselves on their chairs without arms, and the play began; but it was in vain that Talma displayed all his art; and that Raucourt, whose beauty and talent had preserved their attractions for half a century, lamented the ravages which Jocasta's weak charms had caused -for we had no eyes or attention for any thing but the spectacle which the pit presented. Nevertheless, the gensd'armes at the door of our box did their best to complete our deficient education, and to inculcate upon us, between the acts, the etiquette which we should observe in the presence of the master of the world!

"Take away that opera-glass! The emperor does not like to be looked at in that way!" said one of them, leaning over the heads of all the ladies who were seated behind us.

"Sit upright, and don't stretch your neck so!" said another -"the emperor dislikes it!"'

We were rather impatient at this schooling; but we took an example from the kings and princes before us, and we endured philosophically from the French what it was not in our power to avoid.

Immediately after the commencement of the tragedy, which he had witnessed, perhaps, a hundred times, Napoleon settled himself comfortably in his arm-chair, and was soon in a profound sleep. It is well known that he could sleep whenever he pleased both day and night; and eye-witnesses have assured us, that in the very middle of a decisive battle, he purposely slept for an hour or two, in order to recruit himself and to collect new energy, and that he always awoke at the hour he had fixed. On this very day he had fatigued himself in manoeuvring his troops for many hours over a great extent of country.

It was a singular sight for us to behold that terrible man wrapped in gentle slumber, whose gigantic plans were to cause the happiness or misery of half the earth. Thirty years have since (1838) glided away-how many changes have taken place in this interval? What a powerful upward flight the world has taken in this fourth part of a century! What exists now could not then have been guessed. How curiously has Time brandished his scythe in this fraction of space, and what a terrible harvest has he gathered! Where are the kings, the mighty