c
of the man: "Be a good man, my dear; be virtuous, be religious, be a
good man. Nothing else will give you any comfort when you come to lie
here." There is nothing in the record of Sir Walter's life which any
friend would wish to blot. One can but be pained to excess by the record
of his business troubles, so hopeless in their entanglements, but
through all these even, his character glows with undiminished
brightness, and we love him ever more and more. He was a man built on a
large scale, both in intellect and heart, and, although he doubtless had
his failings, there is little that is recorded of him that detracts in
any way from his innate nobility. Such a funeral as his has seldom been
witnessed.

"The court-yard and all the precincts of Abbotsford were crowded
with uncovered spectators as the procession was arranged; and as it
advanced through Darnick and Melrose, and the adjacent villages,
the whole population appeared at their doors in like
manner,--almost all in black. The train of carriages extended more
than a mile; the yeomanry followed in great numbers on horseback,
and it was late in the day ere we reached Dryburg. Some accident,
it was observed, had caused the hearse to halt for several minutes
on the summit of the hill at Bemerside,--exactly where a prospect
of remarkable richness opens, and where Sir Walter had always been
accustomed to rein up his horse. The day was dark and lowering, and
the wind high. The wide enclosure at the Abbey of Dryburg was
thronged with old and young; and when the coffin was taken from the
hearse and again laid on the shoulders of the afflicted
serving-men, one deep sob burst from a thousand lips."

The heart of Scotland was broken at her great loss. And well might she
mourn. The sceptre which the great Wizard of the North had so long held
was broken, and no successor has yet risen to uphold the fame of Auld
Scotia. Nor will a successor arise. No hand like his will ever touch the
harp of his native land; no strains such as he evoked ever again sound
through the rocky glens and passes, and echo from the mountain-heights
of Scotland.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHARLES LAMB.

If there is a tender and touching story in all the annals of genius, it
is surely the life-history of Charles Lamb. Search where we will, there
is nothing to equal the pathos of this gentle and lovable life. Nowh