h a spiritual
visitation."

The one-eyed gentleman looked me full in the face, as if to say, "What
do you think of it?" It was useless to argue with him; so I only shook
my head. He nodded his in a very mysterious manner, and fell to poking
the fire with redoubled activity; and I bade him good night, and left
him to pursue his occupation.

THE SEXTON OF ST. HUBERT'S.

A STORY OF OLD ENGLAND.

CHAPTER I.

THE QUEEN OF THE MAY.

In a remote region in the northern part of England, the people still
cherish an attachment to old usages and sports, and hold the
observance of Christmas, May-day, and other time-honored festivals, a
sacred obligation. One village, in particular, is famous for its
May-day sports, which, as the curate is a little withered antiquary,
are conducted with great ceremony and fidelity to old authorities. The
May-pole is brought home, garlanded, and decked with ribbons, to the
sound of pipe and tabor, surrounded by a laughing throng of sturdy
yeomen and buxom maidens. It is erected on the great green, in the
centre of the village, to the universal delight of old and young, and
the dancing commences round it with high glee. The scene presented is
like that described by Goldsmith,--

"Where all the village train, from labor free,
Led up their sports beneath the spreading tree;
While many a pastime circled in the shade,
The young contending as the old surveyed;
And many a gambol frolicked o'er the ground,
And sleights of art and feats of strength went round."

It was a delightful spring, that of 17--, and a softer sky never
before smiled upon the village-green of Redwood, upon the 1st of May;
and among the merry damsels dancing round the May-pole, no heart was
happier, and no step was lighter, than that of Margaret Ellis, who,
for the first time, joined in the sports of the day. She was a child
of May, and this was the sixteenth anniversary of her birthday. A gay
brunette, her sparkling eyes had all the fire and the mirth of the
sunny and passionate south, while no lighter or more delicate foot
than hers could have been found upon the merry green. A rich bloom
mantled on her cheek, her lips were fresh and red, and her regular
teeth, displayed as she panted in the dance, were white as unsullied
snow. A tight little bodice, and a milk-white frock, set off the
charms of her person in the best manner. Then there was an air of
gayety and innocence about her which delig