A STRANGE STORY.

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the most unexpected corrections in small facts sometimes. And it was, in the third place, observed that he never wrote or received any letter, never desired any credit, but always paid for every thing in ready money, and made no use of bankers, bills of exchange, or letters of credit. However, he always seemed to have enough, and he lived respectably, though with no attempt at splendour or show.

Signor Gualdi met, shortly after his arrival at Venice, one day, at the coffee-house which he was in the habit of frequenting, a Venetian nobleman of sociable manners, who was very fond of art; and this pair used to engage in sundry discussions; and they had many conversations concerning the various objects and pursuits which were interesting to both of them. Acquaintance ripened into friendly esteem; and the nobleman invited Signor Gualdi to his private house, whereat-for he was a widower-Signor Gualdi first met the nobleman's daughter, a very beautiful young maiden of eighteen, of much intelligence, and of great accomplishments. The nobleman's daughter was just introduced at her father's house from a convent, or pension, where she had been educated by the nuns. This young lady, in short, from constantly being in his society, and listening to his narratives, gradually fell in love with the mysterious stranger, much for the reasons of Desdemona; though Signor Gualdi was no swarthy Moor, but only a well-educated gentleman-a thinker rather than a doer. At times, indeed, his countenance seemed to grow splendid in expression; and he boasted certainly wondrous discourse; and a strange and weird fascination would grow up about him, as it were, when he became more than usually pleased and animated. Altogether, when you were set thinking about him, he seemed a puzzling person, and of rare gifts; though when mixing with the crowd you would scarcely distinguish

him from the crowd; nor would you observe him, unless there was something akin to him in you excited by his talk.

And now for a few remarks on the imputed character of these Rosicrucians. And in regard to them, however their existence is disbelieved, the matters of fact we meet with, sprinkled-but very sparingly-in the history of these hermetic people, are so astonishing, and at the same time are preferred with such confidence, that if we disbelieve,which it is impossible to avoid, and that from the preposterous nature of their pretensions, we cannot escape the conviction that, if there is not foundation for it, their impudence is most audacious. They speak of all mankind as infinitely beneath them; their pride is beyond idea, although they are most humble in exterior. They glory in poverty, and declare that it is the state ordered for them: and this though they boast universal riches. They decline all human affections, or submit to them as advisable escapes only-appearances of loving obligations, which are assumed for convenient acceptance, or for passing in a world which is composed of them, or of their supposal. They mingle most gracefully in the society of women, with hearts wholly incapable of softness in this direction; and they criticise them in their own minds as altogether another order of beings from men. They are most simple and deferential in their exterior; and yet the self-value which fills their hearts ceases its self-glorying expansion only with the boundless skies. Up to a certain point, they are the sincerest people in the world; but rock is soft to their impenetrability afterwards. In comparison with the hermetic adepts, monarchs are poor, and their greatest accumulations are contemptible. By the side of the sages, the most learned are mere dolts and blockheads. They make no movement towards fame, because they abnegate and disdain it. If

THE "ILLUMINATED."

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they become famous, it is in spite of themselves: they seek no honours, because there can be no gratification in honours to such people. Their greatest wish is to steal unnoticed through the world, and to amuse themselves with the world. because they are in it, and because they find it about them. Thus, towards mankind they are negative; towards every thing else, positive; self-contained, self-illuminated, self-every thing; but always prepared to do good, wherever possible or safe.

To this immeasurable exaltation, what standard of measure, or what appreciation, can you apply? Ordinary estimates fail in the idea of it. Either the state of these occult philosophers is the height of sublimity, or it is the height of absurdity. Not being competent to understand them or their claims, the world insists that these are futile. The result entirely depends upon there being fact or fancy in the ideas of the hermetic philosophers. The puzzling part of the investigation is, that the treatises of these profound writers abound in the most acute discourse upon difficult subjects, and contain splendid passages upon all subjects,upon the nature of metals, upon medical science, upon the unsupposed properties of simples, upon theological and ontological speculations, and upon science and objects of thought generally,-upon all these matters they enlarge to the reader splendidly.

아

Egyptian "Crux."

B

CHAPTER THE FIFTH.

AN HISTORICAL ADVENTURE.

UT to return to Signor Gualdi, from whom we have notwithstanding made no impertinent digression,

since he was eventually suspected to be one of the strange people of whom we are treating. This was from mysterious circumstances which occurred afterwards in relation to him, and which are in print.

The Venetian nobleman was now on a footing of sufficient intimacy with Signor Gualdi to say to him one evening, at his own house, that he understood that he had a fine collection of pictures, and that, if agreeable, he would pay him a visit one day for the purpose of viewing them. The nobleman's daughter, who was present, and who was pensively looking down upon the table thinking deeply of something that the Signior had just said, raised her eyes eagerly at this expression of wish by her father, and, as accorded with her feelings, she appeared, though she spoke not, to be desirous to make one of the party to see the pictures. It was natural that she should secretly rejoice at this opportunity of becoming more intimately acquainted with the domestic life of one whom she had grown to regard with feelings of powerful interest. She felt that the mere fact of being his guest, and under the roof which was his, would seem

THE MYSTERIOUS PORTRAIT.

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to bring her nearer to him; and, as common with lovers, it seemed that their being thus together would, in feeling at least, appear to identify both. Signor Gualdi was very polite, and readily invited the nobleman to his house, and also extended the invitation to the young lady, should she feel disposed to accompany her father, since he divined from the expression of her face that she was wishful to that effect. The day for the visit was then named, and the Signior took his departure with the expressions of friendship on all sides which usually ended their meetings.

It followed from this arrangement, that on the day appointed the father and daughter went to Signor Gualdi's house. They were received by the Signior with warm kindness, and were shown over his rooms with every mark of friendliness and distinction. The nobleman viewed Signor Gualdi's pictures with great attention; and when he had completed his tour, he expressed his satisfaction by telling the Signior that he had never seen a finer collection, considering the number of pieces. They were now in Signor Gualdi's own chamber,-the last of his set of rooms,-and they were just on the point of turning to go out, and Gualdi was removing the tapestry from before the door to widen the egress, when the nobleman, who had paused to allow him thus to clear the way, by chance cast his eyes upwards over the door, where there hung a picture evidently of the stranger himself. The Venetian looked upon it with doubt, and after a while his face fell; but it soon cleared, as if with relief. The gaze of the daughter was also now riveted upon the picture, which was very like Gualdi; but she regarded it with a blush. The Venetian looked from the picture to Gualdi, and back again from Gualdi to the picture. It was some time before he spoke.

"That picture was intended for you, sir," said he at