part of the lake, and not far from Rob Roy's Cave, a band of music was stationed a short distance up the mountain, and another upon the side of a hill on the opposite shore; these bands played alternately, and sometimes together, or responsive to each other. All the neighbouring communities participated in the festivities, which were chiefly confined to the upper part of the Loch. Near Tarbert there was erected a circle with seats, rising one above the other in imitation of the Colosseum at Rome, but upon a smaller scale, with benches for about two thousand persons; upon these the elders were seated, to see the young people dance in the area, which was a fine turf surrounded by a border of flowers, bounded by dwarf shrubs. The numerous assemblage of cheerful individuals tastefully attired, of superior manners, together with the vessels decorated with colours, and the bands of music at different stations, all contributed to render the scene highly brilliant, and surpassing any thing of the kind that Saadi had ever before witnessed. As the sun declined, the music played an air commencing, "Low sinks the Orb of Day," accompanied by innumerable voices; sometimes the voices of females only, then of boys, and afterwards of men, while all appeared to feel the most lively interest in the scene. The leader of the band took a conspicuous station, and with his signal the most exact time was preserved. The effect of the grandeur of the scenery gilded by the rays of the setting sun, was heightened by the harmonious voices of a happy people, in whom Saadi had become warmly interested. For half an hour after the sun had gone down the company promenaded in the colonnades and groves, when there was a brilliant disUpon one of the islands there

play of fireworks.

M

was a small wooden structure, in imitation of a temple, erected for the occasion; it was illuminated with gas in glasses of various colours. At nine o'clock the concerts and balls commenced, and lasted till eleven.-On his return, Saadi found that his two faithful attendants had been before him: they had trimmed his lamp and prepared his coffee, notwithstanding they appeared fatigued with the exertions of the day. Saadi recommended them to retire to rest.

CHAPTER X.

"Welcome, ye marshy heaths! ye pathless woods,
Where the rude native rests his wearied frame
Beneath the sheltering shade; where when the storm,
As rough and bleak it rolls along the sky,
Benumbs his naked limbs, he flies to seek
The dripping shelter. Welcome, ye wild plains
Unbroken by the plough, undelved by hand
Of patient rustic."-Southey.

THE festivities of the preceding day did not interrupt the customary pursuits of the communities; but Saadi, wishing to indulge himself in his occasional retirement, spent the chief part of the morning in straying among the mountains, with a volume of poems in his hand, containing, with other of his favourite pieces, "Clifton Grove by Kirke White.-Douglas saw him about mid-day sitting under a branching oak, and watching the gambols of a herd of deer in the valley beneath. He waited his descent, when he invited him to a beautiful alcove close to the margin of the water, and by the side of a mountain stream that fell over a jutting rock into the lake. This was a favourite resort of

Margaret Mackenzie, and it was indebted to her elegant taste for its chief embellishments. A mirror, with a frame formed of shells fronting the entrance, reflected the opposite mountains and the boats as they passed; over the mirror was a small marble tablet with the following inscription;

-"Gaze, stranger, here!

And let thy soften'd heart intensely feel
How good, how lovely, Nature!"

There were other poetical extracts inscribed on boards encircled with wreaths of flowers beautifully painted, some half-concealed by the jessamine that spread itself luxuriantly around the interior of the alcove. The entrance was a rustic portal covered with ivy; while the mignionette on each side, and a stand of flowers in the centre, yielded a most delicious fragrance." What have you there?" inquired Saadi, seeing that Douglas held a large scroll in his hand.

Douglas.-"Two letters supposed to have been written by a youth in London, who had been sent there with a deputation from Manchester, during the year 1826, to inquire what relief was in contemplation for the distressed manufacturers. It is however in the same hand-writing as the manuscript at the end of the Report of the Irish Committee : and, as the narrative is equally at variance in many respects with the character of those times, it is probable that with some truth a considerable portion of fiction is blended.-Allusion is made to the Report of an Emigration Committee, which is not extant, but its object may be learnt from the letters themselves."

Saadi.-"Believe me, Douglas, I was not very anxious to hear more of these Reports of Committees, but I must confess the subject awakens my

curiosity. Emigration as the means of relief! why I thought their miseries arose from possessing too much? When the Grecian colony was led forth by Miltiades to the Golden Chersonesus, they went to seek a greater extent of territory, their own being insufficient for the supply of their wants. If there is time before the bugle announces the dinner hour, I should be happy to hear it."

Douglas. "On the back of the scroll is written as follows:- Charles Wansford, the son of poor parents, weavers at Bradford, evinced such precocity of talent, that at the age of sixteen he was sent with a deputation from the artisans to London, to ascertain what measures were in progress for the relief of the unemployed.' The manuscript contains two letters addressed by him to his brother Henry, disclosing some particulars in the history of that period."

LETTER I.

Charles Wansford to his brother Henry.

The melancholy errand that brought me hither has prevented my noticing, except in a slight manner, the magnificence of this great metropolis: but I am so overwhelmed with anxiety for the distresses of our dear parents, that I can scarcely allow myself a moment's relief in the contemplation of any other object. Indeed our condition is truly pitiable; -to behold an industrious family in vain seeking employment; a father and mother hastening to a premature grave, and their children languishing for food without any prospect of relief, although we are told there is plenty in the land,—are reflections too afflicting for the stoutest heart to bear.-You remember, Henry, that dreadful period before the

London Benevolent Society afforded us a seasonable relief, when famine had almost approached our doors, we were prevailed upon to attend a public meeting on the Downs. With what horror did we shrink from the insidious and wicked proposal of an appeal to arms! We snspected at the time that those who would have instigated us to the commission of crimes, the bare mention of which chills me with horror, were actuated by motives widely different from those which had drawn the wretched sufferers to the spot. They told us that the higher classes delighted in oppression, and that they were deaf to the cries of hunger and distress. Since our arrival, we have had interviews with many influential persons, all anxiously inquiring and seeking the means of relief; and at no period has so strong a desire been manifested by all ranks to elevate the labourers in the scale of society. But the different classes are so much unknown to each other, that severe distress is not heard of even in contiguous districts; and the sufferers of Manchester or even of London may be as unheeded as those who are enduring the calamities of an earthquake in the Caraccas.

Among the various remedies that have been suggested, that of Emigration upon a large scale has excited some attention. The publication of a Report of the committee has created a strong sensation, and led to remarkable events. Through the interest of one of the County members, our deputation was admitted into the House of Commons just as the members of the Committee appeared at the bar by order of the Speaker. He informed them, that "while there was such abundance of food, he could perceive no necessity for emigration; but at a period of general calamity he was not unwilling to try various experiments, if they were not attended with