+ ~ -
 
Please report pronunciation problems here. Select and sample other voices. Options Pause Play
 
Report an Error
Go!
 
Go!
 
TOC
 

pursuit of divine knowledge; whatever work he
doeth, he should do it unto God." Whatever
you have, resign to Him, and He will save you
from sickness, sorrow, fears, dangers, sins, and
pain.

"'Hemendra nath! Your constant endeavour
should be to do good to your wife. To-day, God
has given you a very responsible charge. Restrain
your passions, and be of good behaviour. In all
conditions of life, be of a calm spirit. You will
try to preserve and improve the soul of your wife
as much as your own. Strive to keep her in the
path of righteousness by precepts and example,
that she may follow you in the way of improvement
and felicity.

"'Sukumari Devi! Always try to do that
which is good for your husband. Depend with
all your heart on him, and whatever injunction
he gives for your good, obey him. Behave yourself
well. Be not extravagant and quarrelsome.
Try always to keep your mind, words, and actions
pure. Cheerfully and well perform the household
duties. Let God be your aim in everything.
Try always to help your husband, and to elevate
your own soul.

"'May the gracious God prosper you both, and
make you the possessors of that inheritance,
where there is joy everlasting!

"'Om! He, the one and formless, knowing
the necessities of His creatures, dispenseth,
through His manifold power, many an object they
desire. He it is that pervadeth the world from
the beginning to the end. Let Him engage us in
salutary thoughts.

"'Om! One only without a second!'

"The married pair bowed in reverence to God
with fervent spirit; and the guests present were
honoured with flower-garlands, sprinkled with
particles of sandal-wood."

A SCANDINAVIAN LEGEND.

I.
A LITTLE Water-Spirit all day long
  Sat singing by the stream. The fisher heard
  And smiled to hear that sweet voice, as it stirred
The reeds and rushes, with its hopeful song.
  "I hope, oh, I hope," that burden ever grew,
  "That the Redeemer of Mankind will save me too!"

II.
A stern hard Priest who rode along that way,
  Wrapped in a mantle of self-righteous zeal,
  Felt his wrath kindle at the soft appeal
That formed the burden of that trustful lay.
  "I hope, oh, I hope," burst from those lips anew,
  "That the Redeemer of Mankind will save me too!"

III.
There sat the little Spirit on the wave,
  As the Priest, turning in his saddle, cried,
  "Cease, cease that clamour; the Redeemer died,
The souls of men, not such as thee, to save.
  As soon shall blossoms this bare twig unfold,
  As thou salvation, impious Sprite, behold!"

IV.
With that same twig his lazy mule he smote,
  And the poor Spirit's cry of sharp despair
  At those fell words rang on the silent air,
As he sank down, too helpless now to float.
  But, lo! the Priest's mule scarce ten paces bore him,
  'Ere the dry twig burst out in bloom before him!

V.
Struck with remorse and shame, the salt tears ran
Down the hard face of that repentant man;
And turning back, his humbled head he bowed
Before God's throne of grace: then cried aloud,
"See, sinful man, the twig has bloomed, to prove
That God's love worketh in no narrow groove!
Thy soul, thou little Spirit, saved shall be
Pray thou that Christ like mercy show on me!"

VI.
And all that night, where trembling moonlight wakes
  The shadowy water with its silver strings,
  The fishers hear the little voice that sings
Louder than ever, till its burden breaks:
  "I hope, yea, I hopemy hope I now renew,
  That the Redeemer of Mankind will save me too!"

UNDER THE LEADS.

THE writer of the following account of one of
the most extraordinary escapes on record, was
Jacopo Casanova, who was born at Venice in
1725, and wrote his Memoirs in 1797. In the
thirty-first year of his age he was secretly
denounced at Venice on the charge of practising
magic; was suddenly arrested; and thrown into
the terrible dungeons of the Inquisition, where
he remained a close prisoner for sixteen months
(sotto i piombi) "under the leads."

A certain Abbé Chiari had written a satirical
novel, in which Casanova was so severely
handled that he threatened to be avenged on the
author, and openly proclaimed his intention of
giving him "the bastinado" whenever he
should chance to meet him. Before, however,
this purpose could be accomplished, Casanova
received an anonymous letter, in which he
was advised rather to take care of himself
than to think of punishing the Abbé Chiari,
for that an imminent danger threatened himself.
Casanova despised this communication,
because it was anonymous; but about the
same time, a spy of the Inquisition, named
Manuzzi, contrived to make his acquaintance,
by offering to sell him some diamonds on
credit. This person went, ostensibly for that
purpose, to Casanova's house, and, turning over
his books, observed some that treated of magic.
A few days after, Manuzzi paid Casanova another
visit, telling him that he knew a person, whom
he was not at liberty to name, who was willing
to give a thousand sequins for the books, five in
number, if he were allowed first to look over
them and judge of their authenticity. As Manuzzi
promised to return the volumes in four-and-
twenty hours, Casanova allowed him to take them
away, and at the end of the stipulated time
Manuzzi returned with them, saying that the
intended purchaser did not think them genuine. It
appeared by the sequel, though Casanova was not
aware of the fact for some years, that the books
had been shown to the Secretary of the Inquisitors
of State, who thus became confirmed in