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'Mrs. Bayton,' said I, addressing her, 'at what time will your husband come home?'

'What do you want with him?' she asked.

'I desire to serve him with a copy of the summons in the suit.' 'Leave his copy, as well as mine, with me; it's all the same.'

'Mrs. Bayton, I take the liberty to say to you that I think you have acted in this matter very strangely, very perversely; and I think that when you are cool, and come to look at it in your moments of calm and quiet, I am convinced that you will agree with me.'

To you, Mr. Sheriff, I would have acted entirely different, if you had n't come with that lawyer's man, that Mr. Largo; he set a pack of people to watch my house. I a' n't no thief - no robber-I'm a honest woman. I bought the pianner honestly; I paid for it in money and goods; and if the man I bought it of did n't come honestly by it, that a' n't my fault, is it?'

'It is not your fault, but it is your misfortune,' I replied. 'It is a pity you have damaged and broken the instrument, and made it the wreck it is; as, in its present condition, it is worthless, and now you will lose the piano-forte; as by your own act it has been destroyed. Pity, that you acted without thought.'

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'We'd better come alone, had n't we, Mr. Sheriff?' said THISON. he, pointing to Largo, had taken an old man's advice too many cooks-beside, my dream would n't a busted seven octavios, forty-nine cretursaxe, axes, hatchet, lath-hatchet, lath-boy-confound him, iny dream's busted on his account!'

'Well, I don't care again,' continued Mrs. Bayton; 'let him go on, and get a judgment, if he can! If he does, I s'pose I shall have to pay for the pianner, that's all; so there's no use making a fuss about it. It's done, and can't be helped now.'

I perceived a tear gathering in her eye, and now I was satisfied that she regretted her hasty act; impelled by passion as it was.

'I am going,' said TISE; 'time we were all off,' continued he. 'You had better not come at all with your Dutch regiment,' addressing Largo; 'you spiled all. You busted my dream. Too many cooks-forty-nine lath-boys-seven axes three octavios.'

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'Mr. Largo,' said I to that worthy, not at all pleased with the issue of this affair, and believing, with my old assistant, that he was the cause of the failure I had met with, in not getting the piano-forte, 'what shall I do with this 'wreck of matter' and this damaged case?'

He answered me, after consultation with one of the men he had brought with him, that I could take away the case, but as to the other part of the damage, he directed me to have nothing to do with it; I might leave it if I chose, but that the plaintiff would not take it.'

'And you want me to take this case, this shell?'

'Yes,' he replied. Take it; and I think it is a very hard shell for you to take, after your rich anticipations of a successful day, suggested by your old friend's dream.'

I directed THISON to superintend the removal of the remains, which he did to the satisfaction of every body, Mrs. Bayton included, who, when she came to ponder on the events of the day, and the terrible anger she

had shown, was glad to see the evidence of her passion removed. THISON observed to me, when the work was all accomplished, 'that Mrs. Bayton wasn't a bad woman, on'y she got in a towerin' passion when she seed Largo fidgetting about. Me and you could get along very well with her. But a' n't she a player on that insterment?' and he giggled. 'She played on it wid two axes and four hands. Gosh! first I seen the lightnin' and then I heard the thunder, and then thunder and lightnin' got mixed; then the little light notes at the top, and then the big heavy notes at the bottom; and then the case: what a swashing, smashin' bustin'! I think,' continued he, a laugh and a loud 'ha! ha!' preceding, I think she's a thunderin' musician; that is, she don't play so fine, but then, it's so strong, very strong, it fetched me off my feet a good many times. I tell you, she's a rouser.'

'But, THISON, how about the dream? Success smooth no ups or

downs!'

'It 'ud been all right, if it was n't for that axe - that Largo, I mean; he would fetch the Dutch regiment; and what good did it do him? None. If my dream is busted, I heerd the same kind of music to-day that I heerd last night in my dreain; and that's something toward the dream coming true!'

E VE'S MISSION.

PONDERING ON ADAM's situation,

(Such thoughts instructive are,)

Ere, in the dawn of the Creation,

EVE rose, its Morning-Star:

How melancholy seemed his station!
How perilous his elevation!

Imperial, absolute, and lonely;

A king-among dumb creatures only!
How any single man would harden,
Left to himself in any garden,
Without a being to restrict him

In sper ding nights, or losing days;
Of inconsistency convict him,
To call him brutal, contradict him,

Or tell him of his slovenly ways:
Without a moment's sick sensation,
And need of nursing and attendance,
To make him realize dependence:
And where no buttons lost from sleeves,
Showed the necessity of Eves.
But, in the glory of her mission,
Upon the earth a woman stands;
And lo! the Patriarch's condition-
A puppet in her hands,

Which rules, refrains, dislikes, desires,
Precisely as she pulls the wires.
And now, methinks, the only reason
That woman is permitted still,

With change, deceit, caprice, and treason,
To thwart and baffle men at will,
Is, lest, without her, we succeed in
Forgetting we have lost our Eden.

M W.

LITERARY NOTICES.

THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. By J. T. HEADLEY, Author of 'NAPOLEON and his Marshals,' 'WASHINGTON and his Generals,' etc., etc. In two volumes: pp. 658. New-York: CHARLES SCRIBNER.

Ir is a somewhat curious circumstance, that of all modern writers upon war and warfare, the two native authors who handle their bloody themes with the greatest apparent unction, who may be said really to write con amore of battle, and battle's awful doings, should be 'men of peace;' men who have been, or are still, clergymen. It will be at once inferred that we allude to Mr. ABBOTT, whose 'History of NAPOLEON,' in 'HARPER'S Magazine,' is attracting so much attention and conflicting comment, and Mr. HEADLEY, to whose last work we are about to pay our respects. We must do this latter gentleman the justice to say, that he is master of a style, in this peculiar department of literature, which at once enlists the attention of his readers, and carries them forward with him to the end of his task, with unabated interest. His subject may not be new; indeed, in his most popular books, it could not be; but he invests it with a 'newness of life:' he collects his materials most industriously, and from all available sources; and he arranges and groups his facts and incidents with the eye and the hand of a true artist. With some defects in the way of repetition of manner, in descriptions of kindred scenes of battle, whether upon the ocean or on the land, these volumes will commend themselves to the reader for the merits of conciseness, abundant correlative facts, and evident candor and impartiality. Mr. HEADLEY remarks in his preface:

'MORE books, probably, have been written on the war of 1812 than on any other portion of our history. The great political leaders of that time were so vindictive in their animosities, and took such strong and decided ground on all political questions, that the success of one or the other afterward in public life depended very much on his conduct during the war. Hence, much detached and personal history has been written in order to clear up or illustrate some particular event. A candidate for public office was often chosen for his services in the war; hence, every portion of it in which he took part was thoroughly investigated by both friends and foes. So, if one had failed in that trying period of the country, the world was sure to hear of it when he came up for the suffrages of the people. The war proved very unfortunate for some of the leaders, and court-martials and disgrace closed the career of many which had hitherto been bright and prosperous. These men have written long pamphlets and books in selfdefence, or they have been written by their descendants, so that if hearing both sides

would aid the reader in coming to a correct conclusion, he was pretty sure to reach it. When so many quarrels are to be settled, the public will not fail to be informed all about the origin of them. Another class of works have been written, designed only to furnish a synopsis of the war, and scarcely reach to the value of histories. Others have been confined solely to the military and naval movements; others still are devoted almost exclusively to political matters of that period; so that notwithstanding the large supply of works on the war of 1812, I know of none in which all these different topics are even attempted to be combined in proper proportions. The present work is an effort to accomplish that end without being too voluminous on the one hand, or too general on the other. I have endeavored to give impressions as well as facts; to trace the current and depict the phases of public feeling, rather than inflict on the reader long documents and longer debates, in which every thing that gave them life and interest was carefully excluded by the reporter.' Having no animosities to gratify, and no prejudices to favor, I have set down naught in malice, but have endeavored to ascertain, amid conflicting testimony, the exact truth, without regarding the friendly or hostile feelings the declaration of it might awaken. In many cases I have withheld much that was personal, because it was not necessary to my purpose, and useless only in self-defence. That I should reconcile difficulties which have never yet been healed, and please rivals who have ever hated each other, was not to be expected. I have attempted, also, to give a clear impression of the political and social feelings of the times, and make the reader, as far as lay in my power, live amid the scenes depict.'

In the first of the volumes before us is given, with all necessary minuteness, a review of the causes leading to the second war with England; commencing with a description of the oppressive acts of the British government and the forbearance of the United States, with the war-debates in Congress, etc. The remainder of the first and the whole of the second volume is devoted to graphic pictures of the successive battles which ensued, both on land and sea; the last ending with an account of the Dartmoor affair, accompanied by an engraving, both of which are reduced from an article in a former volume of this Magazine; and if our readers would see with how much more palpable goût Mr. IIEADLEY writes of a 'bloody and successful warfare,' than of battles in which the American soldiers 'didn't seem to take no interest,' let them read the accounts of PERRY's and General JACKSON's splendid victories, and the sad record of General HULL's ridiculous conduct and disgraceful surrender, and the battle of Bladensburgh. From all these we should be glad largely to quote, by way of contrast; but our limits forbid. So much the greater, however, will be the pleasure of the reader in perusing the volumes in their 'entirety.' We should not omit to add that the work is well and liberally illustrated, and that, like all the issues from the press of SCRIBNER, its typographical execution is unexceptionable.

THE JURIST AS A REFORMER: an Address pronounced before the House of Convocation of Trinity-College, in Christ-Church, Hartford, Connecticut, by WILLIAM E. CURTIS, M. A., Counsellor at Law, New-York, and Junior-Fellow of Trinity-College.

AN able and interesting paper, worthy alike of the author and the body before whom it was delivered. Although a glance at the title might appear to suggest a theme somewhat dry and foreign to mere literary tastes, the author has very rapidly and succinctly given in a short compass a view and review from earliest history of a science which concerns and interests all men alike, and whose development has been the accomplishment of ages. The style is elegant, and the treatment of the subject gives evidence of severe training on the part of the accomplished writer.

SALAD FOR THE SOLITARY. By an EPICURE. In one volume: New-York: LAMPORT, BLAKEMAN AND LAW.

'In

WE are not surprised to learn that this book, although only published a few weeks ago, has already reached a fifth edition. It well deserves its popularity. It is a work of one who has read much, and with discrimination, and whose good taste in the selection and the juxtaposition of his various matériel, is as rare as it is pleasant. The subjects of the volume are very various as well as multitudinous: the peculiarities of distinguished men, the pastimes of people of different countries, bibliographical anecdotes, the associations connected with plants, sleep and its mysteries, and other topics of the kind, all which are treated in the most entertaining manner, with the aid of instances and illustrations, gathered from innumerable sources. some respects,' says the 'Evening Post' daily journal, 'the work resembles the collections of the elder D'ISRAELI, which have always been favorites with a large class of readers; but D'ISRAELI was not satisfied with amusing and informing his readers; he wished also to be sentimental, and his sentimentality is sometimes nauseous. In the work before us we find a more manly tone of writing.' The volume is a handsome one, and is embellished with not a few unpretending but very pretty cuts. There is one thing, however, which we would venture to hint to our very agreeable author; and that is, the omission, in future editions, of such infelicitous phrases as, 'Says SOUTHEY, in his amusing work,' or, 'Says SYDNEY SMITH, in his review,' etc., etc. We should like to know who first introduced this clumsy form of expression to the public. He has much to answer for, 'whoever he may be, or not.'

A VISIT TO EUROPE, in 1851. By Professor BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, of Yale-College. NewYORK: G. P. PUTNAM AND COMPANY.

AMONG the very first books of travel in Europe that we remember to have read, was SILLIMAN'S 'Tour,' published before we saw the light of this nether planet, some forty-five years ago. We recollect many of its descriptions even now, and remember contrasting them subsequently with kindred scenes depicted by CARTER in the columns of the old 'New-York Statesman.' Nearly half a century after his first visit to Europe, our author again visits 'climes beyond the sea,' and the records of his journeyings form the two handsome volumes before us. Aside from the undeniable interest and variety of the work itself, many a graduate of 'Old Yale,' who has listened to the interesting lectures of the writer, and watched his beautiful experiments in the chemical laboratory of the college, when the hair now white with years upon that venerable brow was dark and shining, will secure its perusal for the reminiscences which it will evoke, and the pleasant thoughts which it will awaken: 'It is, like its predecessor, a great book of its kind, but a much better one; the work of a riper mind, prepared for wider and closer observation. It is more concise, and considerably more entertaining. It is a capital book for the tourist; better in all respects, with the exception of

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