shall twice have travelled over yon mountains, meet me in this place of meditation."

The heart of Magiscatzin throbbed with ardour and impatience; he seized the emerald; and entered with the step of impetuosity the city of Zocathlan.

VISITOR, NO. 24.

No. LXXXVII.

Oh Happiness! our being's end and aim,

Good, pleasure, ease, content; whate'er thy name :
That something still which prompts th' eternal sigh,
For which we bear to live, or dare to die;
Which still so near us, yet beyond us lies,
O'erlook'd, seen double, by the fool and wise.
Plant of celestial seed; if dropp'd below,
Say in what mortal soil thou deignst to grow?

POPE

"REJOICE, Son of Alibudah (said Magiscatzin); the

eye of Omniscience hath beheld thee with favour, though the dread lord of Zocathlan did not vouchsafe thee a smile; glory standeth ready to bind around thy neck her golden chain; and rosy-wreathed happiness prepareth her softest sofas for thy repose!-Immortal, eternal, lifegiving sun! eye of the world! dispenser of health, of riches, of beneficence! Hear me, sovereign with the golden locks. My vows, my prayers, are thine! a thousand victims, in token of thankfulness, shall bleed on thy altars; and the smoke of incense shall waft, in odorous clouds, my praises to thee, seated on thy flaming throne of ruby."

Thus spoke the delusive voice of flattery in the heart of Magiscatzin, as he trod with im

patience from the mountains; he held the wondrous emerald close to his breast; and formed to himself a thousand schemes of happiness! Ambition mantled in his cheek; and Pleasure, in her saffron vestment, danced before his eye. Disappointment was a stranger to his ideas; vain and erring, he considered not the universal condition of mortality!

Soon as he entered the city of Zocathlan, he turned not to the right hand or to the left; but bent his steady course to the dwelling of Curdistan. "There (said he) will I first prove the power of the of the great Tlalock's jewel; nor shall I have cause to prove it in any other dwelling than his! Curdistan's felicity shall be mine. Happy son of Alibudah, thou shalt be the magnificent Curdistan!" Unseen and unnoted, he cntered the gates, and ascended the numerous steps which led to the palace of Curdistan. He beheld, with rapture and admiration, the splendour of all things; the vessels shining with burnished gold; the paintings glowing with fictitious life; the attendants, richly adorned, and zealous in their services. But when he saw the nobles and grandees of Zocathlan, waiting in a spacious apartment, to catch the smile, and touch the border of Curdistan's robe, he repressed with difficulty the transports of his ex

pectations; and stood awhile deliberating with himself, whether he should not instantly return to the mountains of Tlascalan; claim the promise of the priest; and assume the envied character of the blest Curdistan. “Rather, first, Magiscatzin (said he within himself), refresh thy soul with a view of the mighty master of these profuse glories; and contemplate, delighted, in him, the radiant beams of gladness, which soon are to play around thee!" Instantly, he sought the apartment of Curdistan. He found it; entered trembling with anxious delight; but in a moment was struck with confusion and amazement!" Curse upon my fortune (were the first words he heard from the lips of him whom he envied), curse upon my fortune, and upon the hour which made me a slave to greatness and Itztapalapa! Had I been born an humble peasant, repose and peace would have smoothed my pillow; and all the torment of power had been unknown to my heart! Now the fears of solicitude drive sleep from my couch all the night; and all the day is enslaved to dissimulation, falsehood, and tumult! Seated high, how difficult is it to preserve that seat; and if I fall, I fall with tenfold destruction! Not respecting my person, but my power, a train of courtiers wait my approach; but, alas, I find no

friend in the circle; he only is my friend, on whom my hand showers gifts! Curse on them all, on myself, on my fortune; I am weary of existence." He had scarce uttered these words, to which every discomposure of countenance gave energy, before a messenger entered with the mandate of Itztapalapa, to deprive him of his honours and offices. Magiscatzin, terrified at the tempest of passions which tore him upon the receival of this fatal mandate (a mandate which he had but too much reason to suspect), shrunk disappointed from the palace, which he entered with the full gale of triumph; and, as he departed, observed every courtier stealing privately away; heard every lip freely owning the justice of the sentence, and cursing the pride and the folly of Curdistan.

Astonishment possessed the mind, and led the feet of Magiscatzin, long devious and unperceiving whither he tended. But, at length, recollection summoned the powers of his soul; he resolved to pursue his inquiries; and, less captivated with the glare of ambition, wished for the softer felicities of life. He hastened therefore to the house of Tabuca, attracted by the beauty of the daughter of Saram; whose graces the tongue of fame loudly resounded through the streets of Zocathlan; and who flourished in