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crowd who were waiting about the station took up the cry and repeated it. The real origin of the cry, however, was in this wise. There was an evening inspection of troops at Vincennes, and a great number of persons had assembled to witness it. While waiting for the operations to begin, a portion of the crowd, whose minds were as unoccupied as men's minds usually are when they are waiting in imminent expectation of an event in which they are interested, heard one of the woodkeepers who was employed in keeping the people back, call out to a friend he caught sight of among the spectators "Hé Lambert! est-ce vous Lambert?" Directly a fellow repeated the inquiry with affected interest; it was taken up by others, and in less than half an hour had been repeated by thousands of persons, and before midnight every part of Paris had rung with it. Such was the origin of the cry

of "Hé Lambert!"

EARL EIREK'S VOYAGE.

(A NORSE BALLAD.)

LISTEN to this antique story,
Listen to this legend hoary:
'Tis a rude and uncouth lay,
Which the Scalds of Norroway
To their kings at banquet sang
Till the smoky rafters rang.
'Tis like an ancient runic rhyme,
Whose verses graved in stone hath time
With mosses fill'd, and so effaced
That scarce the letters can be traced.
'Tis like a blazon'd book of old,
Whose pages once right glorious shone

With burning tints and lustrous gold, Though now the gleam of the gold hath gone, And the brightest tints have faded grown.

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Right welcome art thou to me," Earl Eirek said, and he took her hand, Pure white as the froth of the sea, In his own, as the pine-bark brown and rough, "For thou my bride shalt be."

And so they sail'd together,

That maid and the rover bold,

And oft did the smoke and flame arise

On English down and wold;

Low in the wave when they return'd
Was the ship with Saxon gold.

Earl Eirek voyaged homewards :

I wot 'twas just a year

Since he had seen the boat's dark hull
On the sinking sun appear,
When his good ship did once again
To the self-same spot draw near.

Again the day was closing

As he strode the vessel's deck,

And again the ball of the blood-red sun

A something dark did fleck;
His bride stood by, and with straining eye
She watch'd the distant speck.

The darksome spot did larger get
As the light began to fade,
-a stately ship-

And on it swept

Earl Eirek grew afraid,

And he pray'd to Thor to succour him
As he ne'er before had pray'd.

Scornfully curl'd his wife's red lip,

When she saw the rover's fright,

And she cried, "Now draw thy shining sword,
Thy sword of mickle might,

And fight thou for this treasure-ship,
As thou art wont to fight."

But oh! it was no treasure-ship
Earl Eirek gazed on then,

A grimly hoard were they on board,
More like to fiends than men ;
Their eyes did seem with light to gleam,
Like the eyes of a wolf in its den.

On, on it came, that elfin bark,

And the Northman's vessel near'd,
And the Northman's bride did leave his side,
And sprang with laughter weird

Upon the ghastly ship, which then
Like a sea-fog disappear'd.

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BY THE AUTHOR OF "MYSELF AND MY RELATIVES," "LITTLE FLAGGS," &c.

CHAPTER VII. THE ASSASSIN'S SHOT.

I NOW found myself placed in a rather novel position-about to accompany a man in a ride of several miles through a lonely country, while impressed with the conviction that at any point of the road he might fall a victim to the ferocity of a lawless tenantry. He was going forth in defiance of a threat and a warning, fully convinced that he would risk as much by staying at home as by braving the danger abroad. Before we set out Barnett came to me with a paper, which he requested me to sign as a witness in company with Tom Nugent. It was a codicil to his will, made long since.

"It is well to have one's affairs all settled," he said pleasantly, when we had both placed our names to the document. "Now, Stapleton, I shall be ready to go in a few moments," and he left the room.

"He's in for it now," said Nugent, who looked grave and anxious; "but he never could have shirked going out this day after getting that notice to intimidate him. If he comes back alive this evening he'll have gained a triumph that will be of service to him, perhaps as long as he lives. There's nothing like showing you don't care a snap o' your finger for threats of that kind. Barnett is as brave a fellow as ever I saw. See how his hand never shook as he wrote his signature before us there a while ago. God grant I may see him alive again. I think I'll stop at Knockgriffin till you'll be likely to return. I never could rest easy, thinking of that poor young fellow and his sister and all that, if I went home early, as I had fixed to go."

"Now, Stapleton!" called out Barnett's fine ringing voice from the hall; and I hurried to join him. His sister met me as I left the room, and I could perceive that she was much agitated, though not weeping.

"God bless you, Captain Stapleton!" she said, in some excitement. "I thank you from my heart for going with Denis to-day. You may serve to protect him in some measure. Very few would have liked to accompany him this morning; but you are a brave man, and I honour you. Good-bye, and many, many thanks."

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did I spring into my saddle with a lighter heart than I did that fresh summer morning, and never before did I think the perfume of the breeze or the look of the country more charming, as we left the demesne and entered upon the high road. Now and then, as we rode along, I thought of my mother's letter and the advice it contained, against which I was directly acting that day. Occasionally, too, I dwelt upon the information Travers had sent me respecting the destiny of our regiment after its removal from Templemore. To-morrow I must be at Cashel again, in all the fuss of packing up and preparing for a move. As the day advanced I grew somewhat dispirited again, and dwelt more deeply on the separation I must endure next day. I forgot all about Sir Denis and his danger, all about the grateful words uttered to myself by his sister; nothing was uppermost in my mind but the terrible fact that I must leave Knockgriffin before twentyfour hours had passed away! We rode over mile after mile of quiet, pleasant country, sometimes chatting, sometimes plunged in thought. I beheld the ruins of Athassel Priory; but cannot say I admired them particularly, my mind was too perturbed to permit me taking note of external things. When Sir Denis had transacted his business at Golden, we turned our horses' heads towards home, having still some hours of broad daylight before us. As usual, there appeared very few wayfarers on the roads. It was a sultry, peaceful evening. The sun, which had been shining warmly all the day, now lessened its power, though the effect of its previous brilliancy yet hovered in the atmosphere. I thought it a very melancholy evening-so still, so unruffled by breath of wind, almost ominous in its oppressiveness.

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"Well, the day is nearly over, Stapleton, and a short time will bring us to Knockgriffin,' said Barnett, rousing me from a miserable reverie. "So far we have escaped the vigilance of an assassin, if any has been on the watch for me. We are almost within our own boundaries now."

"I am delighted for your sake that the day has turned out so fortunate," replied I, endeavouring to appear glad at anything.

"Such a charming evening as it is too! Let us pause here to watch the effect of the sunset upon those hills."

She gave me her hand, and I received it with an earnest pressure. Without exaggeration, I may say I would have exposed myself to a far greater amount of danger than I was then likely to incur, merely to receive the reward of such We checked our horses' pace, and lingered words as had just then greeted my ears. Never to look at the red rays of the declining sun

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"But something peculiar has occurred," I continued, trying to shake off the confusion of brain that was overpowering my senses. "I have not been dreaming, surely? Where am I? Who is standing near me?"

"You have been wounded, Captain Stapleton, but not dangerously," replied the same sweet voice. "You are now at Knockgriffin. The surgeon has dressed your arm, and I have promised to take care of you, and prevent your talking too much."

"Thank God it is nothing more!" I exclaimed gratefully, while rapidly returning consciousness revealed to me clearly that I was lying on a sofa in a sitting-room of Knockgriffin House, and that Miss Barnett herself was watching over me. The pain of my arm, the feeling of faintness still oppressing me were completely forgotten as I closed my eyes in a delirium of happiness impossible to describe. It would have been easy for me to have died at that moment with one who was to me as a guardian angel standing thus near.

By degrees I comprehended the whole state of the case. I had been shot in mistake for Sir Denis Barnett. At first it was feared that my unfortunate arm would have been obliged to be amputated; but things turned out better than was expected. The doctors suffered the limb to hold its ground, and I was soon on the way to recovery. I had many days and nights of feverish bodily suffering; yet much mental consolation. I knew that I was an object of tender care to the being who was to me the dearest of all others upon earth. Sir Denis

overpowered me with kindness also; and for the weeks that I was an invalid at Knockgriffin I felt as happy as a king; alas! far happier than many kings, I trow !

My regiment, meanwhile, had left Templemore and gone to Limerick. Fate had decreed that I was to remain for some time longer in Tipperary; and though she certainly took somewhat rough measures to fulfil my destiny, I thanked her nevertheless devoutly. In a short time I was an interesting-looking individual— going about with an arm in a sling, with a languid appearance, pale complexion, and sentimental eyes-a hero in the estimation of everybody, including, probably, the person who had shot me, and adored by the servants, who were nearly all attached to Sir Denis. Sir Percy Stedmole quitted Knockgriffin on "urgent business" immediately after my mishap, and Nugent remained there only long enough to ascertain that I was not mortally wounded. Barnett and his sister put off going to Harrowgate for a month, and during the time I remained with them both devoted themselves entirely to me. The Cappamoyne lands were at length cleared of the objectionable tenantry without further attempt at opposition; but Ryan, the sullen young man who seemed so annoyed at the idea of quitting his ancestral home, went to America almost immediately, taking with him as his bride the beautiful Mary Killery, and thus relieving Barnett probably of a dangerous tenant.

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In those happy days of convalescence I perceived that Miss Barnett was quite altered from what she had seemed during my first days at Knockgriffin. Her manner was altogether different,-no longer cold, calm, and stately, but full of tenderness and pity. Occasionally she appeared subdued, tremulous, and easily agitated. I was gradually growing less and less afraid of her. In proportion as she betrayed signs of weakness, so did I become more courageous, and at length ventured to breathe my tale of love. I owed her gratitude for her kindness during my illness. What wonder, then, that this gratitude should take the deeper character of love? I was not ashamed of declaring my fervent attachment to her now. Even should she reject my suit, I felt that there could be no madness in speaking openly of my love. I did not presume to address her brother upon this point before alluding to it to herself. Louisa Barnett was just the sort of proud-spirited girl who would resent such impertinence on the part of a lover. Very humbly, and without much hope of success, I told her one evening, as we walked before the house among many-hued flower-plots, that from henceforth she must be all in all to me; that

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