was ever in the midst of some crowded assembly—| a constant attendant at the opera on the fullest nights -the theatres royal and minor, charity sermons, masonic celebrations, bazaars, masquerades, concerts, balls, church festivals, fancy fairs, regattas-each | me devote you to ruin-leave me and forget me." succeeding day brought a new pursuit-and each succeeding night another domicile. The old lady was her companion upon all occasions; and although the mysterious hoverings and singular crowdings of the men continued to take place, she was never addressed by any male creature, except the persevering Ray-wife." bold, whose love seemed to increase by the inexplicable conduct of his pretty Adelaide.

"No, no, no! it cannot be! there is a word-3 phrase-that, were it uttered, would freeze your soul. This moment am I bearding the vengeance of the law. This moment may I be dragged to jail. Do not let

Once, at a fancy fair at the Zoological Gardens, a drunken ruffian grossly insulted the younger of the ladies in black, as they were promenading; and ere Raybold, who was walking behind, could advance to her assistance, her assaulter was struck to the earth by a tall, moustachioed man in a military undress. The ruffian sneaked off-the young lady fainted; and when she recovered, Douglas, to his great surprise, heard the whiskered gentleman say to the charmer, Go home, Adelaide, you are too nervous to remain. Leave Mrs. Clark here-she may be wanted." The lover offered his services-to his unutterable delight, they were accepted-a carriage was procured-he handed the lovely but mysterious Adelaide to her seat, and jumping in himself, heard the military gentleman direct the driver, as he was fastening the coach door, to put down his fare at the foot of Blackfriars' Bridge. "Douglas Raybold, you profess to love me-I believe you do, but you must cease this worse than useless affection, which can end but in sorrow and in shame. You do not know who or what I am, or you would shun me like a thing despised."

"Why not trust me with your confidence?"

"I cannot. The safety of others demands my silence. I am sold to wretchedness; my life is one of the bitter episodes of humanity-a black page in the volume of nature-a fact stranger than fiction. Do not, therefore, involve yourself in trouble by following so base a wretch with the aspirations of true love."

“Adelaide, I cannot believe but you are virtuous." "My chastity is unimpeachable-but I am the child of sin, revelling in the practices of guilt, and living by the wages of my wickedness."

"Explain this dreadful mystery. Who are those men that seem to rule your destiny, yet deign not to speak but on extreme occasions ?"

"My masters and my slaves. I permitted your society to-day, that I might caution you against farther noticings of the outcast who has interested you. I am grateful for your kindness-would to heaven I could dare receive it; but a continuance of acquaintance would be fatal to us both. Your life is not secure if you again venture to watch my goings forth."

"Adelaide, you have confessed an inclination pardon my boldness, I must speak plainly. I believe that you are inclined to return my love, but are suffering under some foul restraint. Let us fly from Eng. land; the rites of marriage shall consecrate our union-"

"Never, never. The fire that lights those eyes, the windows of the soul, cannot be an impure flame. I love you-I cannot say how fondly. You have confessed your love for me. I brave all consequenceshazard every danger-and boldly claim you as my

The carriage drew up at the bridge foot-Adelaide and the enamoured Douglas stepped forth upon the flag way. The hack was discharged at the lady's suggestion, and a boat engaged to take them up the river, but to what exact locality the waterman was not informed till he had gained the centre of the stream. Douglas was surprised to observe that they were bound back to the western precincts of the metropolis-that, upon landing at Westminster Hall stairs, another hack was engaged to conduct them to a new lodging in Oxford road, where they arrived, after a détour of nearly two hours-while the straight path would not have occupied more than one-eighth of the time.

These particulars were detailed to me, with other minutiae, by the unfortunate Douglas himself. Several days elapsed ere I again saw or heard from this erratic lover; when one morning, at daybreak, a police officer placed the following note in my hands:

"For God's sake, come to me directly. I am in custody on a charge of felony, and you are the only friend I have in London.

"DOUGLAS RAYBOLD. "Horsemonger Lane Jail, Thursday morning.”

I need not say how much this intelligence surprised me. I felt no uneasiness, because I was certain that I could afford an explanation that would release Raybold from detention, and the mistake, for such I was sure his arrest must prove, would be a source of after mirth. But I had a severer business to accomplish than I could have imagined; the presumption against my friend was strong and conclusive, and the utmost that my statements could effect was an order for his remand to jail, for the purpose of allowing him another hearing at the close of the week.

The mystery attending the ladies in black was solved they were connected with "the swell mob," an organised gang of fashionable thieves who infested all public places, and even intruded on the exclusive privacy of the higher circles of society.

Adelaide's father had been a roué of distinction. A series of heavy losses at play drove him to the provinces, where he did an extensive business in passing forged notes. A Yorkshire horse dealer, from whom he had purchased a foundered nag, was the means of his destruction. The horse was paid for in screw flimsies, as the counterfeit notes were called; and the biter, angry at being bitten, followed up the scent so closely that the smasher was arrested and brought to trial. The evidence was conclusive; the 'badness of his life

weighed heavily against him; and he was hanged by | pect the pretty, lady-like, innocent-looking Adelaide, the neck till he was dead. and her sick and aged relative.

Adelaide, then scarcely twelve years of age, was a handsome and accomplished child. Without being aware of the error of her ways, she had been early practised in the various rogueries wherein her father required her co-operation. One of his friends, a shrewd tactician, observed the value of the girl, and after committing the forger's body to its narrow house, returned to London with the hempen orphan-as the children of executed malefactors are denominated in the slang of the day. Every possible attention was paid to Adelaide's education; her deportment and general behaviour were framed upon fashionable habits and her manners were compelled to be genteel. She underwent severe rehearsals before she was consider. ed perfect in her part; but when she did appear upon the stage of life, her fashionable acts were terminated by a tragic dénouement.

These facts, for such they are, were communicated to me by the principal officer or leader of the Bow street police force. Since the above circumstances, the plan has become common. Every street robber or pickpocket dings his prize to another thief, and defies the law if his companion escapes. The reader

will recollect that his introduction to the ladies in

black took place at a morning concert, where the
Swell Mob had obtained pretty comfortable pickings.
A noble lord held the door to prevent the egress of the
thieves, yet his kind heart listened to the request of a
woman, and he suffered Adelaide and her companion
to walk down stairs with every one of the stolen
articles in safe possession. The meeting at Dulwich
was to receive from the hands of two well known
provincial thieves, a booty of considerable value,
which they, being watched, were afraid to deposit at
the police, accomplished the object in safety.
the receivers. The ladies in black, unsuspected by

of the ladies in black.

"The Swell Mob," of which Barrington, the celebrated pickpocket, may be considered the originator, was then in full play, and rifled the persons of the member of the swell mob, was placed in the hands Every article dinged or handed to the ladies, by a aristocratic and would-be fashionables with untiring of one of the various receivers-some low pawnbroker, zeal. Crowds of elegant and handsome men, free from all appearance of gaucherie, mixed with the many of dealer in marine stores. The thief afterwards called or keeper of an old iron shop dignified by the name at every ball, opera, or masquerade to which the tickets of admission were available. Ladies of the first dis-der-leaving a handsome per centage for the payment on him, and received the estimated value of his plun tinction were skilfully stripped of their diamonds, lords and gentlemen lost their watches and their pursesand yet such is the value of appearance, that not an individual in the room could they venture to suspect. This game lasted for one winter with wonderful success; but the officers began to notice the faces of several gentlemen who were always present when the robberies were perpetrated. An arrest or two on suspicion terminated in searching the offenders, and the stolen property was discovered.

It was to remedy this unpleasant result that Adelaide's guardian had conducted her education with such peculiar care. When sufficiently old, she was intrusted to the protection of an old lady, one of the family, but unknown to the police, and directed to visit the various places of fashionable amusement that were expected to be crowded in their attendance. The members of the highest class of "The Swell Mob" were made acquainted with the ladies-but never recognised them in word or look. Clad in large black satin opera cloaks, they quietly witnessed the amusements, but under pretence of ill health, or the expectation of the arrival of their equipage, neither the aunt nor the niece disrobed. When any of the fashionable thieves had made a speak, as they phrased it, they passed the seats of the ladies or encountered them in the promenade, and quietly moved the prize into their possession. It was quickly deposited in a secret pocket beneath the opera cloak, and once there, defied detection. If the thief was suspected or arrested on suspicion, he indignantly demanded a search. Nothing, of course, was discovered, and the officer and accuser were compelled to apologize. Im mense plunder was carried off in this way, for not even a hard-hearted, lynx-eyed policeman could sus

44

When the elderly relative" remained alone at the by her frequent contact with the most notorious memfancy fair, the suspicions of the police were aroused

bers of the swell mob. She was watched at her dedirectly to the fence or receiver, and deposited the parture; success had emboldened her, and she went the property recovered and owned; the conduct of the plunder of the day. A search warrant was obtained; ladies was placed under surveillance, and the fact of receiving completely proved. Adelaide and the elderly lady were arrested; and the love-stricken Douglas, having been seen hanging about them in mysterious communication, was included in the capture.

Poor Adelaide!-The attentions of the handsome student quickened the germ, which, for years, had been slumbering in the soil of the heart, but chilled by the coldness of an uncongenial clime, had failed to put forth its uncultivated shoots. The warmth of an honest love, the sun of woman's life, might have ripened the infant bud into golden, glorious fruit-but the blossom perished beneath the icy power of the law. She never held up her head, either at her examination before the magistrate or when placed upon her trial. The enormity of her guilt, now fully apparent, seemed to weigh her down; and she listened without a shudder to her sentence of eternal banishment to New South Wales.

Ray bold, having proved his identity, was discharged at the second hearing of the case. He interested himself warmly in the fate of the unfortunate Adelaide, but the cause of justice was too polent to be withstood. At the conclusion of the trial, he accompanied me back to my rooms. There was a resolute calmness in his air, but flashes of wild enthusiasm gleamed

from his eyes. "I shall go to New South Wales," the transport that carried out his intended wife. A said he. "That girl has coiled herself round my heart, merchant vessel was to sail during the ensuing week," and every struggle that I make but tightens the power and he hoped to reach the port of destination before of the folds. I will arrange with the captain of the the heavily-sailing and badly appointed government vessel to purchase the right of engaging her services craft. He had paid a handsome gratuity to the captain when we arrive. I shall be her master, but she shall of the transport, to ensure as much attention to the be my wife. With all her guilt, she is too pure to be comfort of his Adelaide as the regulations of the serleft to the contamination of a convict state." vice allowed. Her aged partner, who was included in the sentence, was to be permitted to share in the purchased privileges. The vessel, the Amphitrite, carrying a large number of convict females, sailed from the coast of England, in the early part of the year 1834. Before the week had elapsed, news was brought of her wreck upon the coast of France, in the vicinity of Boulogne, and that every one of the unhappy females had perished in the waves.

Argument was useless. He informed Adelaide of his intention, and the poor girl seemed to awake from the lethargy of the grave. A fresh existence opened to her view; a life of flowers and fairy happiness awaited her arrival at the land of her intended punishment and shame. I was present in the dark and gloomy cell, at the ratification of their vows, on the night previous to her embarkation; and, as she twined her small, well rounded arms about her lover's neck, and raised her full, expressive eyes, gemmed with the pearl of hope, to thank him with a fond confiding smile for his deep, unmatched affection-I thought that Douglas might have done a more foolish thing than snatch this beauteous girl from the pains and penalties of her unavoidable sin.

The horrors of the wreck are too fresh in the recallection of my readers to need repetition. Douglas wandered about the beach, and gazed on every corse thrown up by the remorseless waves, anxiously hoping to discover the body of his intended wife; his search was vain-the ill-fated Adelaide had found the honied peace she panted to enjoy-in the depths of the treach

Douglas was unable to obtain a passage on board erous and restless sea.

A PLEASANT TRAVELLING COMPANION.

BY DENSON EARLE HILL.

you! strange as one may say, that your's should therefore be the prima facia I meet this morning."

WHEN our amateur performances were at an end, I | mistake not, in the same evening; yes, sir, I assure resolved to quit France, and was glad to learn that an English gentleman would be happy to join me in a cabriolet, next morning, to proceed to Calais. Satisfied with this arrangement, without seeing my countryman, I retired to rest, and dreamed all night of the fair Eliza.

""Tis rather strange, altogether," I laughed, resolv. ing to draw out and trot this dust, pour passer le temps; he laughed too, but continued,

"Yes, sir; I am also British, longing, like yourself, no doubt of it, to see once more our gloria patria.There, sir, after the fatigues, perils, and privations of our campaigns, we shall repose upon our trophies, with them we've left beyind us."

"Sir, I thank you for the comparison."

At eight o'clock, on the following morning, I was prepared to start. My fellow-traveller was a prim, smug little man, with a frosty face, whom I knew by sight and by name. To the bow, the hand rubbing, and the benevolent smirk of a knight of the counter, he added an accent which chimed with his action most Bow-bellishly; yet was as precise and emphatic as if he gave himself credit for being thus curious in Cockney. His peculiarities must speak for them-Now I knows several of my acquaintances in the city, selves. I would not be so furmiliur with, after years, as with “An officer and a countryman!" he began, shak- one of the manly 'arts as have braved the battle field ing hands, not with me, but with himself. with me. Yes, my dear friend, forgive the liberty.

"No comparison, at all, my very good sir; a coincidence, nothink more. That sympathy which, as Byron, has it, Informs congenial spirits when they meet."

Mr. Commissary Tidmarsh, I believe," said I, Who is the propria persona to be trusted at once, is bowing. soon perceivable between true gents."

young idea how to shoot, as Milton's Midas says. Am num, sir; but, says I, while I am in my prime, shall I not correck?" I be tied to your la'ship's apron-string? Why, some of

"Thoroughly, sir; but I am sorry that you prefer these fine mornins you may break all to pieces, smash songs to plays."

"Oh, sir, wiser men even have considered playing quite as a secunduin artem, below all the others; but the muse of amateuring is creditable as a relaxation to those who may encounter a more orrida bella. That reminds me of the dooke, my dear Wellington, the yero of Waterloo, I may say-"

to the toone of thirty thousand; or your dressy daughter may run through every farden on't, my lady, always having company, or out visiting. Give me my 'oods and liberty."

No doubt of it, very true, sir, but disgustibus non

"You have enjoyed his grace's personal inter-disputandum; it's no use arguing with one's antipacourse?" I said.

Ad honores, I have had that honor, on business once for five minutes; but I was remembering an adventure, founded on his extrawnry recollection of faces; he's as bad as the royal family; in course you know the faculty is quite on the Georgium Sidus.Well, sir, the dooke is as notorious. Yes, there was in the Peninsular a particular officer he had seen perform in Madrid, a black, not a Negro servant, more like Massinger's Oronoko; bless me, that I should forget the name! "Tis written by Young; I've seen him do the villain myself, at Doory Lane Theatur, London, when I was in England. Samba, in the Vengeance, that's it, sir, but if you can refresh my memory as to the anecdote, shall rest obleeged."

"I believe you allude to when Wellington, reconnoitering behind some bushes, heard a splash in the river close to him, the aide-de-camp fancied him surprised by the enemy, but his Grace, on ascertaining that Captain Kent and his company of Rifles were fording the stream, said, 'Oh, 'tis only Zanga washing

the soot off.""

"So he did, sir, very true, upon my honour; yes, and in a few words from you, there I have it, short yet concise. Well, I had always heard that you were good company! You was not in Spain, I take it, sir ?" "Had not that honores, sir, to misquote your slipsop."

"Sir, many thanks. On my arrival, being sent to bring up stores, I was taken prisoner, but escaped, and glad enough'I was, for a grimmer old Castallion than my lockum tenum jailer you never saw; then I caught a fever, and was like to have made a sick transit of it: the hospital was so crammed we could neither sit nor lie in comfort; we were all in a complete jam satis. Poor Highlanders, sir, scarce decent, their's is the nastiest costume!"

"They are very proud, nevertheless, in sporting the garb of old Gael."

thies. You should see my intended, quite another guess kind of gal, I assure you. If you'll believe me, no pride in her. So out of the common, the wole affair; that's what I like. I met her first at a daunse; in course, handed her refreshments, got leave to call next day, and hope she'd caught no cold, talk of the weather, and so forth. Well, sir, we got on quite snug and chatty; and her mammar, the perfit lady, at once presses me to stay. Come, Mr. T.,' says she, we'll make no stranger of you; we don't kip fashionable hours-no ceremony-never stand upon forms-take us all in the family way, and make yourself at home, though there, I dare say, you'd have a better meal, but not an 'artier welcome." Well, sir, this was genteel; a very clever woman she is. So, when the cloth was laid, though there was the best of every think, as if nothink was good enough for me, she kip on apologizing: 'I hope you'll put up with our humble fare, it must be very dull for you,' and in the evening, when we tead, Miss asked was mine agreeable, and all that; and promised to scrape an acquaintance with my cousin, and get her to bring her work, come early, and spend the day. Such encouragement so filled me with hope, that I popped and was excepted. Yes, sir, and I go home to be the happy man, a turtle-dove, sir, a Darby and a Joan, as the dear old King and Queen, as long as he was statu quo, set us all an exempli gratia."

So should desert in arms be crowned!" said I. "That's Moore's idear, if I'm correck," continued Mr. Tidmarsh. "Surely so; a real genius, sir; inspired, as every body calls him. His Anacreon—such facility. A man of no birth, I believe, tho'?"

"Of a very old, high, and talented race," said I "and full of comic humor. Sir Thomas More, on the very day of his death, could not keep his counte

nance."

Thomas."

“Ah! there I have you, captain! because his ead— it was caput mortuum with him, poor gent!-was not “Ay, ay, sir, that's a good coverslut for their pover-apprized of his connexion, though, with the other ty; what old Gale wore, because he couldn't afford new smalls, they wear the save the siller, as they call it, sir; it's mere penury and stinginess. Some of their warm men do wear trews, you know; take my word for it, captain, 'tis necessitas non habit legs." "You are severe, Mr. Tidmarsh," I said. "Very true, sir, no doubt of it. Spain was my first spice of war. But for that sperit of proud independence which marks us all, sir, I had little need to brave the battle-field. My aunt, Lady Tidmarsh, has a house in Russell-square, her concern is in the city; she can leave me a good, fat legacy-a summum bo

"Easily traced, Mr. Tidmarsh. Sir Thomas and his brother, Hamilton Moore, whose system of navigation you may have seen, left one, a son, Francis Moore, physician, the other, a daughter, Hannah, authoress of the sacred dramas. That branch of the family did not introduce the second O into the name till these two married. Anacreon is their only child alive. Sir John, you know, fell at Corunna."

"No doubt of it; I declare that's very true, though I never heard of it before. Well, in my poor judgment, the son knows more about Venus than ever his father

did, in spite of his almanack; but, as a moral man, sir, I can't but wish that he had taken more after his pious mother."

nished as if he had not known, when he began his journey, where it was to end.

"I give you my word here we are, really, and we "His prose works, at least, are unexceptionable," I must part; for affairs retain me in this place. Thanks, persevered; "vide Edward and Zeluco." dear sir, I must say, for your good company."

"That's a wrinkle!" exclaimed Mr. Tidmarsh, taking out his tablets. "Must make mems. of that; I'll read them both; 'tis but fair, sir, to judge both sides of a man. Yet, I must say, that though Tom is as free about love as ever his poor brother Jack could be-methinks I see him now as plain as ever, handsome fellow!-yet I never detected any thing anti-christum in his verses, like Lord Byron's."

On our reaching Calais, Mr. T

'Flattering," he interrupted, "no, sir; my bitterest foe can't accuse me so; I'm for the plain truth, sir-I've no fancy for making agreeable false professions out of my own head; 'tis all non est inventus with me, I assure you."

"Au revoir!" I said; but saw no more of my very seemed as asto- tender friend.