autumn shrubbery seemed the very perfection of nature. The river Saranac was winding its serpentine course between the banks, (on each side of which, the little village of Plattsburgh rose in picturesque beauty,) and as it fell, sparkling and foaming over the mill-dam, pursued its devious way under the bridge and gently rolled along to pour its waters into the beautiful Bay of Cumberland, which stretched before the eye in the distance. The waves of the lake were laving the variegated shrubbery which adorned its banks. The beautiful islands were peacefully reclining upon its bosom, and the blue mountains rising in grand succession beyond, lent a degree of sublimity to the scene.

The fleet of M'Donough, moored within the Bay, was gallantly riding at anchor, as if in the proud consciousness of coming victory, yet, evincing in its calm and graceful outline, no preparation for the scene of carnage which was so soon to deface its loveliness; all was peace and serenity in the landscape, forming altogether a picture of inimitable grandeur and beauty, and a striking contrast to the agitation which marked the countenance of a lady, who was seated at the little parlour window of a pleasant but unpretending mansion, which looked out upon the scenery I have attempted to describe. There sat the young mourner, communing with her own heart, which laboured with painful forebodings as to the issue of the engagement, which, it was anticipated, would soon take place between the contending armies, and at the same time watching with all a mother's fondness the gambols of her only remaining son, a child of three years old, and a pet dog, who were playing

on the grass under the shade of the tall poplars which grew near the window. She was very pale, and her face bore the marks of deep mental suffering; her wasted frame told that pain and sorrow had made deep ravages upon her naturally delicate constitution. She seemed in deep meditation, and frequently brushed the tear-drop from her eye, with the obvious resolution to suppress her emotions. The child, at length wearied with the vain effort to harness Fidele in a little chair, which he substituted for a carriage, sprang upon the piazza and jumping on the seat under the window, seized his mother affectionately around the neck: "Oh! don't cry, mamma-you promised papa you would not cry any more for dear little brother Oliver. Oh mamma! he is an angel in heaven now--up in that bright beautiful heaven-don't cry any more-(and the sweet child wiped the tears from her pale cheek with the corner of his little white apron)-we will soon go to that beautiful place to see him. Sister Anna says he can't come back to us. I am glad that naughty bonny-horse did not kill mamma too;" and again he wound his little arms around her neck and covered her with kisses. At that moment a man on horseback dashed furiously along, passing over the bridge to the cantonment. In a few moments all seemed bustle and confusion in the streets. Mrs. Stanley watched with a beating heart the movements she could not understand, yet apprehending they were in some way connected with the expected invasion, when all at once her two little daughters came flying in.

"Oh mamma! the British! the British are coming! our teacher said so, and told us to hasten home to our

parents before the streets were in confusion; she kept Louisa and I with her until she was ready to go home, and came nearly home with us herself, fearing we might get hurt; and mamma," said Louisa," you don't know how she cried and kissed us, and said she hoped God would bring us together again some time or other -but-look mamma! what are they doing over the river?" Mrs. Stanley saw at once from the general commotion that something unusual was going onAnna and Louisa were old enough to remember the events of the preceding summer. They had not forgotten the horrors attending their flight, nor the desolation which awaited their return; their little hearts trembled:-they threw their arms around their mother's neck, weeping violently. Little Charles caught the contagion, and although he did not understand the cause of alarm, wept from sympathy. Mrs. Stanley was still feeble, not having perfectly recovered from injuries received when thrown from a carriage a few months before. She was aware that the safety of her little family, perhaps the life of her sick husband, depended upon her own firmness and good management. After putting up a silent prayer to that Being who had so marvellously protected, when instant and certain death seemed to menace her, that he would give her wisdom and strength and courage to support her in the coming emergency, she felt her mind composed, and although the weakest of the weak, was assured she should be sustained. "My sweet little girls," said she, "the time has now arrived, which is to prove the force and strength of the precepts I have tried to instil into your minds-you are both very young, but you always understand

mamma.

I have, ever since reason began to dawn, treated you as friends and companions, not like babies or silly children-you must now prove yourselves worthy of your mother's confidence. War is a dreadful calamity; we must prepare to brave its dangers in common with our friends and neighbours, and to you, my children, I look for consolation and assistance in the coming trial: your dear father has been ill many weeks, it is but two days since his fever left him. He is quite too feeble to bear agitation, and you must assist me to keep him composed. Remember, my dear daughters, that God is your Father and your Friend; his care is over you equally in war as in peace, in the camp of an enemy as in the arms of your parents; his power is over all,-and he has promised to protect those who put their trust in him. I expect much from you, my daughters, and trust I shall not be disappointed. You, Anna, must make your little brother your own particular charge; -be as a mother to him on this occasion. The care of your father, indeed of every thing now devolves upon me-Louisa will assist us both,-you, dear Anna, will set the example, as you are the eldest." The sweet babes, for babes they were, again kissed their proud fond mother, and drying their tears, promised to be all she desired. She told them to remain quietly in the parlour, while she went to Mr. S's to inquire the truth of the reports. Mr. S was their nearest neighbour, and the families had for many years been on terms of intimacy. There, she found all in the confusion of packing and moving: Mr. S had stepped out, and could not be found. On learning that Mrs. S

and the young ladies had been gone an hour, she re

turned as fast as her trembling limbs and palpitating heart would permit. Dr. Stanley had been several weeks confined to his bed with a fever,-his feeble wife had herself performed all the duties of nurse, scarcely leaving his bed-side a moment, night or day; herself just recovering from a long illness. Dr. Stanley's anxiety for the health of his wife had, no doubt, retarded his own recovery, and as he was now pronounced out of danger, he had urged her to let Cynthia sit with him while she went down stairs to inhale the fresh, healthy breezes from the river. She was thus seated in compliance with his request, when the circumstances we have named occurred. When Mrs. Stanley returned from the house of Mr. Sit would be impossible to describe the feeling of helplessness and desolation which oppressed her heart. The preceding summer, when Plattsburgh was invaded by Murray, and her home despoiled of every comfort, she had a husband to protect herself and babes, in as far as his single arm could do it:-now, that beloved husband, enfeebled by a long illness, convalescent it is true, but so weak that he could scarcely bear his own weight, must look to her for support; and she, who until her marriage at the age of seventeen had leaned implicitly upon an only brother, and after that event, upon her husband with child like dependence in every emergency, what could she do? in her weak state, with her fractured limbs scarcely knit together-the bandages still in use, what could she do? "Oh! my God," she mentally exclaimed, "preserve my senses-let not reason desert her throne!" then rushing into her own room, closed the door to prevent intrusion, and sank almost