brother knew nothing of the amour. This obliged the young man to come to an explanation. "It has been currently reported," said he, "that you receive addresses from a man of some distinction. Pray, who is he? If he is a man of honor and character, as they say he is, Mars, who confounds all things, takes but little thought of what country he may be. What necessity imposes is no disgrace, but we may rather think ourselves fortunate, at a time when justice yields to force, if that which force might compel us to happens not to be disagreeable to our own inclinations." Thus encouraged, the young woman sent for the Brutian and presented him to her brother; and, as she behaved to him in a kinder and more complying manner through her brother's means, who was very indulgent to his passion, it was not very difficult to prevail with the Brutian, who was deeply in love, and was withal a mercenary, to deliver up the town upon promises of great rewards from Fabius. During these transactions, Fabius, in order to make a diversion, gave directions to the garrison of Rhegium to lay waste the Brutian territories, and, if possible, to make themselves masters of Caulonia. These were a body of eight thousand men, composed partly of deserters and partly of the most worthless of that infamous band brought by Marcellus out of Sicily, and therefore the loss of them would not be great nor much lamented by the Romans. These men he threw out as a bait for Hannibal, and by sacrificing them hoped to draw him to a distance from Tarentum. The design succeeded accordingly, for Hannibal marched with his forces to Caulonia, and Fabius in the mean time laid siege to Tarentum. The sixth day of the siege, the young man having settled the matter with the Brutian officer by means of his sister, and having well observed the place where he kept guard and promised to let in the Romans, went to Fabius by night and gave him an account of it. The consul moved to the appointed quarter, though not entirely depending upon the promise that the town would be betrayed. There he himself sat still, but at the same time ordered an assault on every other part, both by sea and land. This was put in execution with great noise and tumult, which drew most of the Tarentines that way to assist the garrison and repel the besiegers. Then, the Brutian giving Fabius the signal, he scaled the walls and got possession of the town. On this occasion Fabius seems to have indulged a criminal ambition, for, that it might not appear that the place was betrayed to him, he ordered the Brutians to be put first to the sword. But he failed in his design, for the former suspicion still remained, and he incurred, besides, the reproach of perfidy and inhumanity. Many of the Tarentines also were killed; thirty thousand of them were sold for slaves; the army had the plunder of the town, and three thousand talents were brought into the public treasury. Whilst everything was ransacked and the spoils were heaped before Fabius it is reported that the officer who took the inventory asked what he would have them to do with the gods, meaning the statues and pictures. Fabius answered, "Let us leave the Tarentines their angry gods." However, he carried away a colossus of Hercules, which he afterward set up in the Capitol, and near it an equestrian statue of himself in brass. Thus he showed himself inferior to Marcellus in his taste for the fine arts, and still more so in mercy and humanity. Marcellus in this respect had greatly the advantage. Hannibal had hastened to the relief of Tarentum, and, being within five miles of it when it was taken, he scrupled not to say publicly, "The Romans too have their Hannibal, for we have lost Tarentum in the same manner that we gained it." And in private he then first acknowledged to his friends that he had always thought it difficult, but now saw it was impossible with the forces he had, to conquer Italy. Fabius for this was honored with a triumph more splendid than the former, having gloriously maintained the field against Hannibal and baffled all his schemes with ease, just as an able wrestler disengages himself from the arms of his antagonist, whose grasp no longer retains the same vigor, for Hannibal's army was now partly enervated with opulence and luxury, and partly impaired and worn out with continual action. Marcus Livius, who commanded in Tarentum when it was betrayed to Hannibal, retired into the citadel and held it till the town was retaken by the Romans. This officer beheld with pain the honors conferred upon Fabius, and one day his envy and vanity drew from him this expression in the Sen ate: paid to Fabius, they elected his son consul. When he had entered upon his office and was settling some point relating to the war, the father, either on account of his age and infirmities or else to try his son, mounted his horse to ride up to him. The young consul, seeing him at a distance, would not suffer it, but sent one of the lictors to his father with orders for him to dismount and to come on foot to the consul if he had any occasion to apply to him. The whole assembly were moved at this, and cast their eyes upon Fabius, by their silence and their looks expressing their resentment of the indignity offered to a person of his character. But he instantly alighted and ran to his son and embraced him with great tenderness. My son," said he, "I applaud your sentiments and your behavior. You know what a people you command and have a just sense of the dignity of your office. This was the way that we and our forefathers took to advance Rome to her present height of glory, always considering the honor and interest of our country before that of our own fathers and children." Soon after, Scipio defeated Hannibal in a pitched battle, pulled down the pride of Carthage and trod it under foot. This afforded the Romans a pleasure beyond all their hopes and restored a firmness to their empire, which had been shaken with so many tempests. But Fabius Maximus did not live to the end of the war to hear of the overthrow of Hannibal or to see the prosperity "True," said Fabius, laughing; "for if of his country re-established, for about the you had not lost the town, I had never time that Iannibal left Italy he fell sick recovered it." and died. We are assured that EpaminonAmong other honors which the Romans das died so poor that the Thebans buried "I, not Fabius, was the cause of recovering Tarentum." WASHING TON RESIGNING HIS COMMISSION. 421 him at the public charge, for at his death | glistened in every eye. The tenderness of nothing was found in his house but an iron the scene exceeded all description. spit. The expense of Fabius's funeral was not, indeed, defrayed out of the Roman treasury, but every citizen contributed a small piece of money toward it-not that he died without effects, but that they might bury him as the father of the people, and that the honors paid him at his death might be suitable to the dignity of his life. Translation of JOHN and WILLIAM LANGHorne. When the last of the officers had taken his leave, Washington left the room and passed through the corps of light infantry to the place of embarkation. The officers followed in a solemn, mute procession with dejected countenances. On his entering the barge to cross the North River, he turned toward the companions of his glory, and, by waving his hat, bid them a silent adieu. Some of them answered this last signal of respect and affection with tears, and all of them gazed upon WASHINGTON RESIGNING HIS COM- the barge which conveyed him from their MISSION. THE 66 With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I must devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable." Having drank, he added, 'I cannot come to each of you to take my leave, but shall be obliged to you if each of you will come and take me by the hand." General Knox, being next, turned to him. Incapable of utterance, Washington grasped his hand and embraced him. The officers came up successively, and he took an affectionate leave of each of them. Not a word was articulated on either side. A majestic silence prevailed. The tear of sensibility sight till they could no longer distinguish in it the person of their beloved commander-inchief. The army being disbanded, Washington proceeded to Annapolis, then the seat of Congress, to resign his commission. On his way thither he of his own accord delivered to the comptroller of accounts, in Philadelphia, an account of the expenditure of all the public. money he had ever received. This was in his own handwriting, and every entry was made in a very particular manner. Vouchers were produced for every item, except for secret intelligence and services, which amounted to no more than 1982 pounds 10 shillings sterling. The whole which, in the course of eight years of war, had passed through his hands, amounted only to 14,479 pounds 18 shillings 9 pence sterling. Nothing was charged or retained for personal services, and actual disbursements had been managed with such economy and fidelity that they were all covered by the above moderate sum. After accounting for all his expenditures of public money (secret-service money, for obvious reasons, excepted) with all the exactness which established forms required from the in- | I would not trouble him to accompany me ferior officers of his army, he hastened to resign into the hands of the fathers of his country the powers with which they had invested him. This was done in a public audience. Congress received him as the founder and guardian of the republic. While he appeared before them, they silently retraced the scenes of danger and distress through which they had passed together. They recalled to mind the blessings of freedom and peace purchased by his arm. They gazed with wonder on their fellow-citizen, who appeared more great and worthy of esteem in resigning his power than he had done in gloriously using it. Every heart was big with emotion. Tears of admiration and gratitude burst from every eye. The general sympathy was felt by the resigning hero, and wet his cheek with a manly tear. "IF DAVID RAMSEY. FREDERICA BREMER. F it should so happen," says this lady in a letter to her friend Mary Howitt, "that, as regards me, any one should wish to cast a kind glance behind the curtain which conceals a somewhat eventful life, he may discover that I was born on the banks of the Aura, a river which flows through Abo, and that several of the venerable and learned men of the university were my godfathers. At the age of three years I was removed with my family from my native country of Finland into Sweden, where my father purchased an estate, after he had sold his property in Finland (about that time ceded a province of Russia). If any one kindly follows me to my new home, from childhood to youth, through the inward elementary chaos and the outward uninteresting and commonplace picture of a family which every autumn removed in their covered carriage from their estate in the country to their house in the capital, and every spring trundled back again from their house in the capital to their country-seat. Nor would I inflict upon him minute sketches of the young daughters who played on the piano, sang ballads, read novels, drew in black chalk and looked forward with longing glances to the future, when they hoped to see and do wonderful things. With humility I must confess that I always regarded myself as a heroine. Casting a glance into the family circle, it would be seen that its members collected in the evening in the great drawing-room of their country home, where the works of German poets were read aloud, and those of Schiller made a profound impression on the mind of one young girl in particular. A deeper glance into her soul will show that a heavy reality of sorrow was spreading by degrees a dark cloud over the splendor of her youthful dreams. Like early evening it came over the path of the young pilgrim of life, and earnestly, but in vain, she endeavored to escape it. There is a significant picture at the commencement of every mythology. In the beginning there is a bright and warm and divine principle. which allies itself to darkness, and from this union of light and darkness, of fire and tears, proceeds a god. I believe that something similar to this takes place in every human being who is born to a deeper life, and something similar took place in her who writes these lines. Looking at her a few years later, it will be seen that a great change has | Neighbors, a picture of domestic life in Swetaken place. Her eyes have long been filled den which strongly recommended itself by with tears of unspeakable joy; she is like its originality to the favor of its readers. one who has arisen from the grave to a new Encouraged by the warm reception accorded life. What has caused this change? Have to this work, its translator, Mrs. Howitt, proher splendid youthful dreams been accom- duced, in 1843, The Home, and subsequently plished? Is she a heroine? Has she be introduced to our acquaintance in an English come victorious in beauty or renown? No; dress The Diary, The H. Family, The Presthe illusions of youth are past, the season of ident's Daughters, Nina, Brothers and Sisyouth is over, and yet she is again young, ters, Life in Dalecarlia and The Midnight for there is freedom in the depth of her soul; | Sun. the light has penetrated the darkness and illuminated the night; whilst, with her eye fixed upon that light, she has exclaimed, with tears of joy, Death, where is thy sting? Grave, where is thy victory? Many a grave since then has been opened to receive those whom she tenderly loved, many a pang has been felt since then; but the heart throbs joyfully and the dark night is over. If it be desired to hear anything of my writings, it may be said that they began in the eighth year of my age, when I apostrophized the moon in French verses, and that during the greater part of my youth I continued to write in the same ambitious strain. At the present time, although I stand on the verge of the autumn of my many To this pleasant autobiographical sketch some further facts remain to be added. In the year 1842 the English literary world was agreeably startled by the publication of The In 1849, Miss Bremer bade adieu to the two beloved relatives who represented the gay family circle of other days, and realized her long-cherished project of a journey to America and a careful and prolonged investigation of its various points of interest. Her progress was facilitated by the most cordial and universal hospitality, and, although this personal experience tended naturally to tint couleur de rose her sketches of domestic society, it may be doubted if any previous travellers in America of her sex have presented us with more sound and comprehensive views of its great political and social institutions generally, or more glowing and vivid descriptions of the scenery and moral and physical atmosphere of the Southern States, than she has done. During the course of Miss Bremer's wanderings she addressed a large number of letters to her sister, which formed the nucleus of the work entitled Homes of the New World, published in 1853. It made its appearance simultaneously in England, the United States and Sweden, the manuscript sheets having been submitted to the hands of her former experienced and careful translator. On her return from America, in 1851, |