RESTS ON THE HUN'S GRAVE.]

EIGHTH EVENING.

Heavy clouds obscured the sky, and the Moon did not make his
appearance at all. I stood in my little room, more lonely than ever,
and looked up at the sky where he ought to have shown himself. My
thoughts flew far away, up to my great friend, who every evening told
me such pretty tales, and showed me pictures. Yes, he has had an
experience indeed. He glided over the waters of the Deluge, and smiled
on Noah's ark just as he lately glanced down upon me, and brought
comfort and promise of a new world that was to spring forth from the
old. When the Children of Israel sat weeping by the waters of Babylon,
he glanced mournfully upon the willows where hung the silent harps.
When Romeo climbed the balcony, and the promise of true love fluttered
like a cherub toward heaven, the round Moon hung, half hidden among
the dark cypresses, in the lucid air. He saw the captive giant at St.
Helena, looking from the lonely rock across the wide ocean, while
great thoughts swept through his soul. Ah! what tales the Moon can
tell. Human life is like a story to him. To-night I shall not see thee
again, old friend. To-night I can draw no picture of the memories of
thy visit. And, as I looked dreamily towards the clouds, the sky
became bright. There was a glancing light, and a beam from the Moon
fell upon me. It vanished again, and dark clouds flew past; but still
it was a greeting, a friendly good-night offered to me by the Moon.

NINTH EVENING.

The air was clear again. Several evenings had passed, and the Moon was
in the first quarter. Again he gave me an outline for a sketch. Listen
to what he told me.

"I have followed the polar bird and the swimming whale to the eastern
coast of Greenland. Gaunt ice-covered rocks and dark clouds hung over
a valley, where dwarf willows and barberry bushes stood clothed in
green. The blooming lychnis exhaled sweet odours. My light was faint,
my face pale as the water lily that, torn from its stem, has been
drifting for weeks with the tide. The crown-shaped Northern Light
burned fiercely in the sky. Its ring was broad, and from its
circumference the rays shot like whirling shafts of fire across the
whole sky, flashing in changing radiance from green to red. The
inhabitants of that icy region were assembling for dance and
festivity; but, accustomed to this glorious spectacle, they scarcely
deigned to glance at it. 'Let us leave the souls of the dead to th