Whilst I retained the freshness of my original complexion, and the lustre of my dark eyes, his had become wan, and pale, and dim with disease; and care and sickness had planted wrinkles on the brow, whose image in me still rose in smooth and polished whiteness. This change was observable also in the dissatisfied look, with which the lady would often revert from the contemplation of my features to that of her husband's. Heu! quam mutatus ab illo was the sentiment intelligibly expressed in the sigh she heaved; whilst the disconsolate regard she would fix upon her children, indicated her apprehensions that the time was not far off when I should be all that was left to them of their father.

"A few months passed away in this manner, at the end of which the splendid apartment in which I hung was entirely deserted by the lord of the mansion, and seldom visited by the lady. The silence was unbroken by aught but the hurried visits of the domestics, whose faces were full of business not unmixed with consternation, and of the children, who came to amuse themselves with play, but whose sports were conducted with a listlessness and a suppressed mirth, very unlike their former unrestrained exuberance of spirits. I, and my fellows that hung around the wall, each in his splendid frame, eyed one another in silence, and seemed by our looks to inquire, what might be the meaning of the unwonted solitude of a room, that used to be the rendezvous of a gay and smiling circle. We were not left long to our conjectures :—the door was one day suddenly thrown open, and some sable-clad ministers were seen bearing a coffin, covered with purple, and richly studded with silver nails, and ornamented with armorial bearings. They placed it immediately before me, ou some chairs planted conveniently for the purpose; and the lid, which was not fastened down, was now removed. There lay in the paleness and stillness of death, and in the midst of the apartment over whose gay pleasures he had so often presided, the corpse of the noble person whose image I once bore. I, the counterfeit resemblance, still preserved the hue and shape of undecaying youth, and now looked down upon my original, laid out before me in the habit and the ghastliness of death. Here we were left alone together in the silent and darkened chamber-both of us, De Grey-the same De Grey, but how unlike each other!-he, stretched out in his grave-clothes with a shrouded eye, and a sad brow; and I, vigorous and erect, with an eye beaming with intelligence, and a look of dignified self-complacency. Could my original have but once opened those eyelids, on which death had set his seal, and caught a glimpse of his former self, he would have spmpathized with me in the regret which I then strongly felt that the thin colours, which the artist had spread upon canvass, should have been more enduring than the complexion, which a more cunning hand had painted upon his face.

"My reflections were interrupted by the opening of the door, and the entrance of the widow, who, with clasped hands and the wo-begone countenance of one left alone in the world, stood before the corpse of him that had been used to bear upon himself the burden of their common cares and anxieties. As these recollections thronged in upon her mind, she seemed to bow beneath the pressure of her afflictions. She knelt by the side of the coffin, and gave audible vent to her sorrows in recapitulating his numberless excellences, reproaching herself with

having overlooked or not sufficiently regarded them till now that they were lost to her for ever, and upbraiding herself with every unkind expression, that the infirmity of her temper had led her to use towards one who was never unkind to her either in word or deed. She appeared to take a kind of pleasure in enhancing by these and such reflections the loss she had sustained, and had worked herself up to a passion of grief, when a female, clad like herself in deep black, came in, and with words of tender consolation drew her from the chamber. Not long after persons entered the room, who carefully nailed down the coffin lid and then affixed a plate of bright metal, containing, as I supposed, an inscription of the birth and death of the deceased; I was now left alone in the world.

"It was long before the lady's grief appeared to admit of any alleviation, and before she could even look upon the picture of her husband without_discovering marks of the most acute anguish. For some months I was covered with a green curtain, which was removed only at morning and night, when she came to repeat her prayers before me, to recal afresh the virtues of the deceased, and to weep at the recollection of the irreparable loss she had sustained. Every month, however, carried away with it some portion of her grief, and I could perceive that she began to contemplate me, if not without emotion, at least with resignation.

"The curtain which, during this interval, was often left undrawn, was gradually less and less regarded, till at length it was removed, and she now passed me frequently without a glance; or, if her eyes dwelt upon me for a moment, it was with a look of indifference. I remained hanging in my place almost wholly unnoticed, until the expiration of the second year from the death of my original, when one morning she appeared before me in a rich dress, and gave orders for taking me down, and had me conveyed into a room which seemed a common receptacle of valuables out of use. Before, however, I was carried from the apartment, of which I had so long been esteemed the principal ornament, I had the mortification of seeing my place occupied by the portrait of a gentleman very showily dressed, who, as I saw him from time to time exercising the authority with which my original had once been vested, I concluded had stepped into his place.

"From my station in the attic, where I was placed with my face to the wall, I was after some years redeemed by the son of De Grey, who secretly transferred me to his house in town, and assigned me a place over his drawing-room mantel-piece. Here would he point out to his friends the striking likeness I bore to his father, and expatiate on his many virtues with affectionate enthusiasm. I remained but a short time in this honorable station; for my possessor having embarked in certain political intrigues towards the end of Elizabeth's reign, he was committed to the Tower, and his goods were confiscated. In the general wreck of his property I fell into the hands of Sir James Melville, then on a mission to the English court from James VI., who carried me to Scotland, and presented me to his master, by whose orders I was hung up as a rare specimen of art in the audience chamber at Stirling Castle.

"On the day following, among the persons presented at the king's levee, was one in an Italian dress, who, with an air of mystery,

་།། །

delivered despatches from the Grand Duke of Florence, stating that he had discovered, by intercepted letters, a design of assassinating the King of Scotland. After his majesty had read this startling intelli

gence, the seeming Italian advanced nearer, and informed him in a whisper that the name of Ottavio Baldi, by which he had been introduced, was assumed only for security, and that he was really Henry, the brother of Sir Edward Wotton, of England. *

"When asked to name his recompence for this important discovery, he contented himself with requesting a portrait, which he had admired in the audience chamber, and which was no other than myself. I was accordingly removed from the post which I had occupied only a few hours, and reconveyed by my new owner to London. Upon his return to Italy he presented me to the celebrated Earl of Essex, who gave me a place in the drawing-room of his mansion, opposite to Richmond palace, where it was my lot to witness many tender interviews between him and Queen Elizabeth. After the execution of this nobleman, I fell into the hands of a dealer, and was subsequently sold as a portrait of Lord Darnley. Condemned sometimes to hang for years in the dark back room of an obscure individual; and at others, polished and revarnished as the portrait of some illustrious sage, soldier, or statesman, I have gone through innumerable impostures, and borne by turns the name of almost every distinguished individual of the Court of Elizabeth, except that of the person whom I actually represented. At a picture sale yesterday, I happened to be purchased by the gentleman of this house, who has placed me where you now behold me. Nothing could have broken the silence which these lips have preserved through the changes of my long existence, but a circumstance so remarkable as that of finding myself, after all the vicissitudes of my fortunes, in the identical chamber in which I was first exhibited. This, stranger, was the festive room, where the circle of admiring friends crowded round me to criticise the likeness. Yonder are the rusted nails by which I was suspended to the wall; close to that couch, where you are now lying, was placed the coffin of my deceased original.".

Startled by this announcement, I jumped up, and striking my hand violently upon the table beside me, I suddenly-AWOKE!

W. H.S.S.

THE DIARY OF LUC' ANTONIO VITERBI, KEPT BY HIM DURING THE TIME HE WAS STARVING HIMSELF TO DEATH IN THE PRISONS OF CORSICA, IN THE YEAR 1821.

We have lately met with a very agreeable, and at the same time a very unpretending little work, entitled Sketches in Corsica, written by Mr. Benson, of the Chancery Bar. It appears to have been published last year, though, by some accident, it then escaped our notice. It contains a variety of anecdotes of the romantic manners of Corsica. With one story we were particularly struck-but more especially with a very curious document connected with it, à translation of which follows a preliminary explanation of the circumstances that led to

* For an account of this curious incident, see "Reliquiæ Wottonianæ."

Viterbi's condemnation to death, which we give in the words of Mr.
Benson:-

Luc' Antonio Viterbi, the son of Simone Paolo Viterbi, was born His education was at first at Penta, in Corsica, in the year 1769. superintended by his father, who appears to have been a man of considerable attainments: and it was completed at Florence. By two marriages he had a son, Orso Paolo, and seven daughters. He led a tranquil life, devoting himself to literary pursuits, and enjoying the pleasures which spring from virtuous affections, until the French Revolution began to engage the attention of the Corsicans, when Luc' Antonio and his father were among its most eminent advocates. When the Notables of the Canton of Casinca met at the convent of Venzolasca, Simone Viterbi was there with his two sons, his relatives, and some of his friends. The Notables assembled in the refectory; and here it was proposed to exclude the family of Frediani from the Electoral Assembly, because they were noble, and consequently, it was alleged, enemies of liberty. Simone Viterbi at first objected to the proposal; but at last joined the majority, and the Frediani were excluded. Piero Giovanni Serpentine, a friend of the Frediani, and one of the Notables, reproached Simone Viterbi for his vacillation, exclaiming, 'Tis you, you babbler, who shall be excluded:' Simone replied, I am surprised that a coward, like yourself, should dare to Serpentine immediately rushed on raise his voice within these walls.' Simone, and stabbed him. A report of Simone's death instantly reached the ears of his sons Luc' Antonio and Piero, who were in the court-yard of the convent. Luc' Antonio forcing open the door of the refectory, flew to his father's assistance, and whilst attending on his parent, it was learnt that Francesco Andrea Frediani had been killed at the door of the refectory. This was imputed to the Viterbi family, and particularly to Luc' Antonio, and the public opinion of the island favoured the suspicion. There was a deadly feud between the families of Frediani and Viterbi.

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Four months after the death of Francesco Andrea, some of the partizans of the Frediani arrived at Penta, from the canton of Vallerentia, and were seen entering, at mid-day, the house of Venturino Suzzarini, which was opposite to the dwelling of the Viterbi. Suzzarini's attachment to the Frediani was well known. The Viterbi witnessing this arrival, and suspecting the cause of it, prepared to defend themselves. An attack with musketry soon commenced, in which Suzzarini and others were wounded, and two of the party killed. Luc' Antonio was not present at this affair, being at Balagna. Five months afterward, Piero, his brother, riding past the house of Donato Frediani, was struck by a musket-ball on the shoulder; there Such was the state of was no doubt from whence the shot came. hostility between these two families, when Paoli, under the authority The arrival of that of the French Republic, returned to Corsica.

chieftain seems, for a while, to have lulled their animosity, and we find the Viterbi eagerly espousing the cause of Paoli; but separating themselves from him, when, opposing the French Republic, he called in the assistance of Great Britain.

On the capitulation of Bastia to the English, Luc' Antonio embarked with all his family for Toulon. No sooner was he gone, than

the Frediani, who had joined the English faction, burnt the houses of the Viterbi, laid waste their property, and made themselves sole masters of Penta. When the English abandoned the island, the Viterbi returned, and summoning the Frediani before a tribunal, demanded remuneration for their losses. As this time, the father of Francesco Andrea Frediani, wishing to settle the differences that so long had disturbed the two families, proposed a marriage between a daughter of Luc' Antonio and his grandson. This proposal was acceded to, and Simone Viterbi, conceiving that the marriage would soon take place, set off for Porta d'Ampugnani, in order to stay the proceedings of the tribunal. The object of the old man's journey was mistaken by the opposite party, and as he was returning from Porta he was mortally wounded by assassins employed by the Frediani, Luc' Antonio joining the gens d'armérie pursued the Frediani, and they were all arrested except Carlo Frediani, who taking refuge in the marshes of the canton of Tavagna, there died. Luc' Antonio was accused of disinterring Carlo, and even of stabbing the dead body. The tribunals proceeded against the Frediani, as well on the original cause of complaint, as in respect of Simone Viterbi's assassination, and the chief members of the family were decreed to indemnify the Viterbi for their losses, and sentenced to the galleys for ten years. At this time the French government was organizing the tribunals, and Luc' Antonio Viterbi was appointed accusateur public. He filled the office with honour; and continued to hold it until his refusal to give his vote for Buonaparte's elevation to the empire. Luc' Antonio now retired to Penta, and lived in privacy; but the agents of Buonaparte subjected him to great vexations; and he was imprisoned without cause by Gen. Berthier. In 1814, Donato Frediani was killed as he was entering his house Luc' Antonio, although suspicion at first fell upon others, was ultimately accused as an accomplice, and his son denounced as the actual perpetrator of this crime. Before, however, any process was instituted against them, Corsica was set in commotion by Napoleon's escape from Elba. The plain of Bivinco was fixed upon as the place of rendezvous for the people of the arrondissement of Bastia; and Luc' Antonio, at the head of a hundred followers, prepared to join the camp. On his march he met with General Casalta, who commanded another body, and both entertaining the same political views, in opposition to Buonaparte, they proceeded together. Approaching the camp, they learnt that the Ceccaldi, and other personal enemies of the Viterbi, were there, and Luc' Antonio being dissuaded from going, replied that the good cause required his attendance, and proceeded. No sooner, however, was he arrived, than a skirmish ensued between the Ceccaldi and the Viterbi, in which two of the former fell. Luc' Antonio fled to Borgo, with his son; and in their absence, through the influence of the Bounaparte faction, they were condemned to death; although, in fact, the Ceccaldi had been the aggressors. It was also decreed that his property should be confiscated, his house burnt, and a column of infamy erected on its site. Luc' Antonio and his son, for a time escaped the search of their pursuers; but the affairs of the island being now settled, a new process was commenced on the part of the Ceccaldi against Viterbi and his son, and they were both confined in the prison of Bastia.