he spectacles were not to be
found! Our informant related the circumstance with tears of indignation;
we threatened to investigate the matter, yet her meek and mild spirit
implored us to withhold: she too passed from us a short time after, and is,
we hope, gone where her good deeds will not be forgotten.

PHILO.

[1] We give this paper as an illustration of the office of the _Sisters of
Charity_. The incidents upon which the Drama is founded, are those of
the Two Sisters of Ancona, a pretty little tale in the Juvenile
Keepsake, by Mrs. Godwin. One sister in an attempt to carry provisions
and intelligence to her lover, is taken prisoner by the French, and
condemned to die; the other is a nun, who effects her escape by
changing dresses, and remains, and actually perishes in her stead. On
the stage, the sister is made the daughter of the Sister of Charity,
and the fruit of a secret and unhappy connexion with a French officer,
who proves to be the commander of the detachment--hence both their
lives are saved.

* * * * *

NOTES OF A READER.

MONT BLANC.

The most interesting night of the late season of the Royal Institution,
was the lecture or narrative, given by Dr. Clarke of his ascent of Mont
Blanc in 1825. Dr. Clarke led his audience from Geneva to the summit,
detailing the enterprise, which, however, he considers not by any means so
dangerous as has been represented. At 9,000 feet above the level of the
Mediterranean the air becomes extremely rarified, and the sky exhibits a
blue-black appearance. He does not consider it at all safe for persons to
attempt the ascent, having a tendency to apoplexy, for at the height of
15,000 feet above the level of the sea, the extremely rarified state of the
air, as well as the almost unbearable oppression of the sun's rays, though
surrounded with snow, would increase that tendency to an alarming extent.
So oppressive is the sun, that on sitting down in the shade he was asleep
instantly. The passage, just above the Grande Plateau (a surface of ice
and snow, many acres in extent, 10,000 feet above the level of the sea) is
a point of great difficulty. This chink is about seven feet wide and of
immeasurable depth. To get over it the guides first proceed to render the
passage more easy. He cautions travellers to pay implicit attention to
guides, as the accident in 1822, when three persons sunk into the c