pathetic farewell to fair Alba, the mountain, cliff, and dun, and her green sheeling on the shores of Glen-Etive. Barach meets them on their landing, and detains Fergus, who reluctantly assigns his charge to his two sons, Red Buiné Borb and Illan Finn, to conduct them in safety to their journey's end. Deirdre's fears are more and more excited; she has dreams and visions of disasters. She urges Naisi to go to Dunseverick or to Dundelgan (Dundalk, the residence of Cuchullin), and there await the coming up of Fergus. Naisi is inflexible. It would injure the honour of his companion in arms to admit any apprehension of danger while under his pledge of safe conduct. The omens multiply. Deirdre's sense of danger becomes more and more acute. Still Naisi's reply is, "I fear not; let us proceed." At length they reach Emania, and are assigned the house of the Red Branch for their lodging. Calm, and to all appearance unconscious of any cause for apprehension, Naisi takes his place at the chess-table, and Deirdré, full of tears, sits opposite. Meanwhile the king, knowing that Deirdré was again within his reach, could not rest at the banquet, but sends spies to bring him word "if her beauty yet lived upon her." The first messenger, friendly to Clan Usnach, reports that she is "quite bereft of her own aspect, and is lovely and desirable no longer." This allays Conor's passion for a time; but growing heated with wine, he shortly after sends another messenger, who brings back the intelligence, that not only is Deirdré "the fairest woman on the ridge of the world," but that he himself has been wounded by Naisi, who had resented his gazing in at the window of the Red Branch, by flinging a chessman at his head, and dashing out one of his eyes. This was all that Conor wanted; he starts up in pretended indignation at the violence done his servant, calls his body guard, and attacks the Red Branch. The defence now devolves on the sons of Fergus. Clan Usnach scorn to evince alarm, or interfere in any way with the duties of their protectors. But Deirdré cannot conceal her consciousness that they are betrayed. "Ah me!" she cries, hearing the soldiery of Conor at the gates, "I knew that Fergus was a traitor." "If Fergus hath betrayed you," replied Red Buiné Borb, "yet will not I betray you." And he issues out and slays his "thrice fifty men of might." But when Conor offers him Slieve Fuad for a bribe, he holds back his hand from the slaughter, and goes his way. Then calls Deirdré, "Traitor father, traitor son!" "No," replies Illan Finn, "Though Red Buiné Borb be a traitor, yet will not I be a traitor. While liveth this small straight sword in my hand I will not forsake Clan Usnach!" Then Illan Finn, encountering Fiachra, the son of Conor, armed with Ocean, Flight, and Victory, the royal shield, spear, and sword, they fight "a fair fight, stout and manly, bitter and bloody, savage and hot, and vehement and terrible," until the waves round the blue rim of Ocean roared, for it was the nature of Conor's shield that it ever resounded as with the noise of stormy waters when he who bore it was in danger. Summoned by which signal, one of King Conor's nobles, coming behind Illan Finn, thrusts him through. "The weakness of death then fell darkly upon Illan, and he threw his arms into the mansion, and called to Naisi to fight manfully, and expired." Clan Usnach at length deign to lay aside their chess-tables, and stand to their arms. Ardan first sallies out, and slays his "three hundred men of might;" then Ainlé, who makes twice that havoc; and last, Naisi himself; and "till the sands of the sea, the dewdrops of the meadows, the leaves of the forest, or the stars of heaven be counted, it is not possible to tell the number of heads, and hands, and lopped limbs of heroes that there lay bare and red from the hands of Naisi and his brothers on that plain." Then Naisi came again into the Red Branch to Deirdré: and she encouraged him, and said, "We will yet escape; fight manfully, and fear not." Then the sons of Usnach made a phalanx of their shields, and spread the links of their joined bucklers round Deirdré, and bounding forth like three eagles, swept down upon the troops of Conor, making great havoc of the people. But when Cathbad, the Druid, saw that the sons of Usnach were bent on the destruction of Conor himself, he had recourse to his arts of magic, and he cast an enchantment over them, so that their arms fell from their hands, and they were taken by the men of Ulster; for the spell was like a sea of thick gums about them, and their limbs were clogged in it, that they could not move. The sons of Usnach were then put to death, and Deirdré, standing over the grave, sang their funeral song. The lions of the hill are gone, The falcons of the wood are flown, The dragons of the rock are sleeping, Lay their spears and bucklers bright Many a day the three before me Lay upon the low grave floor, 'Neath each head, the blue claymore; Lay the collars, as is meet, Of their greyhounds at their feet; Wo to Emain, roof and wall! Dig the grave both wide and deep, So saying she flung herself on the grave and expired. THE CURRENT EVENTS. HE wreck of the City of Washington following so soon after the tragedy of the Atlantic, on the same coast, yet so far out of their proper course, calls very forcibly for enquiry whether there be no means whereby a greater amount of safety may be secured. In the more recent disaster the fault lay in the compasses. No means of correcting them by observations were taken-sun, moon and stars being all invisible, it is said, for several days previous to the disaster. Depending on the compasses no coast was supposed to be near. Why should the lead be thrown at such a distance from the land? Many are the disasters which have happened from trusting implicitly to the magnet, particularly since iron ships came into use. We direct attention to an interesting article on this subject in our present number. WE are glad to welcome Prince Edward Island in to the Dominion, and the consequent removal of all fiscal barriers. Trade can now flow freely to and from her shores. We are not concerned to notice under what party the union was effected, nor to enquire whether it should have been accomplished under the leadership of a Laird or a Pope. The Island is fertile, and though it may have been purchased at a high figure, it will do the Confederation no harm in the end. The adhesion of Newfoundland to the Dominion may be shortly expected. A railway across that Island will make it gravitate into Confederation as in the case of Prince Edward Island. THE Pacific Railway developments are the engrossing subject of all circles, but they are in such a condition that it is impossible to pronounce any positive opinion in regard to the degree of guilt attaching to the various parties concerned. As yet we have only had ex parte statements, some of them indeed on oath, not, as it would appear, above suspicion on that account. We had hoped that the Government would have been able to shew that their hands were clean, perhaps they may yet be able to do so. THE Winnipeg correspondent of the Toronto Mail writes that one noteworthy feature connected with this year's emigration is the very general movement which appears to have commenced among Canadians and English people in the Northwestern States, who are leaving their American homes and taking up their abiding residence in Manitoba and the Northwest, under the shelter of the old flag once more. No doubt national sentiment has something to do with this, but the superior inducements which our Northwest offers have also great weight. Among these are, 1. The superiority of the soil; 2. The superiority of the climate; 3. The absence of the frightful storms in winter which do such damage in Minnesota and Dakota; 4. The almost entire absence of taxation. Already a number of persons from Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri have come in and taken up their claims, and they report that they are but the advance guard of a large emigration which will most surely follow. Or all the dependencies of the British Empire the most troublesome to the legislature of England is Ireland. It is an easy affair to manage the Canadas, or Australia, or New Zealand. Even India, with her rebellions and horrid massacres, is a quiet place and of easy government as compared with Ireland. Whigs and Tories are alike incompetent to produce a panacea for the ills which have from the time of Strongbow afflicted her. The Penal Laws have been repealed; the Emancipation Bill has been passed; the Tithe System has been abolished; the Tenant Right has been secured; the Episcopal Church has been cut adrift from the State, and the state of the country is as unsatisfactory as ever-not indeed, as regards material wealth, which grows, but as relates to party feeling and spirit, which is still bitter. It has been proposed by Lord John Russell to abolish the office of Lord Lieutenant, while other noble Lords have met this with a counter proposition that the Prince of Wales should assume the Vice-regal seat in the capital of Ireland. We notice, however, with satisfaction, that the last twelfth of July passed over peaceably, contrary to general expectation. And we trust that, without any more special legislation, Ireland may henceforth make that progress in the arts of industry to which the fertility of her soil and the genius of her sons alike entitle her. THE presence of the Shah of Persia in England during last month was a very noticeable event. He came from Brussels with a brilliant escort, was welcomed at Dover and Charing Cross by enthusiastic multitudes, was received with all royal honours by her Majesty, has been shewn round that he might see whatever was worth seeing, and might himself bless the vision of those who delight in royal personages. What lessons he has learned, how much information he will carry away, what advantage his visit It will be to his own or the English people, we cannot compute. is said that he has done a large business with BARON DE REUTER, who, by a series of companies, is to give Persia railways, canals, telegraphs, peace, plenty and civilization. The Baron and those under him will be great men in Persia for the next seventy years, as they alone will be permitted to construct any of those works on which the material prosperity of the country is based. With the exception of mines of gold, silver and precious stones, the great contractor is to be allowed to work all government mines, on paying fifteen per cent. of the profits to the state. He may require the owners of private mines to hand them over to him unless they have worked them within five years. If he discovers a mine he is to pay nothing for it but the mere price of the surface. Forests and canals are handed over to him on similar terms. The government guarantees to him six millions sterling to help on his various enterprises, and for twenty-five years he is to receive all customs dues of the kingdom, giving to the Shah a progressive bonus on his present revenue. No other is to set up a bank or credit establishment until the Baron has considered whether he would not like to take the business into his own hands. The Sultan also is to provide the necessary labour of all these works at current prices. At present, Persia is poor, but she is to be made rich by DE REUTER. She would need it by all accounts. Whether it will really pay to make canals and railways in a country where population is poor and scant, is a question for the capitalist with his associates to consider. There are, no doubt, many important works which will pay the contractor and benefit the country. We may therefore congratulate Persia that she is to become to some extent a partaker of the wealth and civilization of the age. THE Khan of Khiva having been thoroughly beaten in the appeal to arms has been glad to make peace with Russia by paying a large indemnity. Probably we should have less interest in this war save for the ultimate designs which Russia is supposed to have in pursuing it. Great Britain thinks she sees, in every movement of Russia towards Khiva and Persia, a step in the direction of India. England's true policy is, without doubt, to sustain and build up both these powers as a barrier against the possible designs of Russia on the Indian Territories. Anything which tends to weaken these nations cannot be looked on without some anxiety. As far as the capacity for fighting is concerned the Khivans are weak enough. They made no resistance worth notice during the campaign, and even behind the walls of their city the shew of fighting was poor. We hear of five men killed and thirty or forty wounded in the Russian army by the Khivans, whose valour is magnified by the victors as though they were of desperate courage. The present war is concluded, and Khiva will be permitted to have peace till the indemnity is paid, when some cause of quarrel will |