suspense with the expectation of some great event. Victor, his son, and the ministers assembled first in the royal cabinet, where, amidst the tears of all present, the king affixed his signature to the act of abdication; and, proceeding into the great hall of the palace, where the nobility and the diplomatic corps were assembled, he commanded Di Borgo to read the document in a loud voice, and to betray no weakness. Then, amid the deep hush of expectation and astonishment, the marquis read before all the formal abdication of Victor Amadeus. The breathless silence which ensued when the voice of the reader had ceased, was broken by the sobs of the old nobles, who now learnt for the first time that the master they had so long served was about, by withdrawing himself from his people, to forestall the inevitable separation of the grave. After Charles had, with the deepest emotion, kissed his father's hand, the nobles did homage to the two kings, when Victor took the opportunity of saying a last gracious word to each, and recounting their several merits and services to his son; to the end he betrayed not the slightest sign of feeling, but stood enjoying all the excitement and tears of which he was the object. For so strangely mingled is the web of human nature, that it offers us here the spectacle of a sovereign, prosperous, wise, and rich in the experiences of a long life, delighting in the pageant of this scene where he was chief actor, and not less blind to all its consequences than the simplest novice, who plays her part as the bride of Heaven, fluttered by the interest she excites, and thoughtless of the years which lie, heavy and dark, behind the veil.

Up to this hour the king had kept his wife in complete ignorance of the great change he contemplated; and Theresa, divining some mystery, and believing, naturally enough, that it concerned herself, had solved it according to her own desires, imagining herself already a queen, and lavishing every art and fascination of which she was

perhaps, had any human heart beaten higher with hope and ambition than the Marchesa's on this eventful third of September, when she took her place among the other ladies assembled in Polyxena's apartment. The fair bevy of dames and damsels must have endured an agony of curiosity; and, though conjecture and whisper were silenced by the presence of the princess, whose calm, proud face betrayed no sign that she held the secret of the hour, a whole battery of significant glances was opened upon the Marchesa, who awaited, with ill-concealed impatience, the announcement which she dared to hope would place her higher than her mistress. At length distant sounds of the breakingup of the assembly were heard-at length footsteps approached the door; the king entered, followed by his son; proclaimed that he had accomplished his abdication, and saluted Polyxena as Queen of Sardinia. In the first anguish of a disappointment as cruel as it was unlooked for, Theresa turned pale, and seemed ready to faint; but on a lady inquiring if the Marchesa felt ill, she summoned enough self-command to reply, to the malicious courtesy, that the pleasure she experienced in offering her duty to the new queen had overpowered her for the moment.

Victor spent the rest of the day in arranging his plans, and discussing with child-like eagerness the new life upon which he was about to enter. He was persuaded with some difficulty to retain the title of king; but he steadily refused both guards and retinue; declaring that henceforth he would be simply a country gentleman, living in retirement on his estate. He entreated Charles to fulfil faithfully the trust committed into his hands, and renewed recommendations he had before made of certain ministers, especially begging him to rely on the Marquis D'Ormea, an able statesman, whom Victor had lately created Minister of the Interior. It is curious to note that the old king, in the midst of pious protestations that he had done with this world, and should spend the

better, did not forget to stipulate for a weekly bulletin of all political news, both foreign and domestic.

Not until he was on the point of quitting Rivoli next morning for Chambery, which he had chosen as his retreat, did Victor's spirits give way. Then, in the midst of his adieus, he faltered and burst into tears. Even at this eleventh hour Charles entreated him to resume the sovereignty; but, recovering himself, he hastily entered the carriage, accompanied by his wife. The Marchesa claims our pity, for her wrong was as great as her disappointment. Setting her ambition aside, a woman of less spirit would have been stung to the quick on finding herself thus duped by her husband-at the utter selfishness and careless contempt with which he had entirely ignored her in an affair so important to them both. Such considerations served to swell the tide of grief and rage which Theresa could hardly keep within bounds through that journey, where every league of the road seemed a fresh separation from the world of life and pleasure she loved, till it was lost in mountain passes, frowning as a barrier to her return.

On the sixth of October the coronation of the new sovereign was celebrated with extraordinary pomp; and the simplicity which had hitherto prevailed gave place at once to a magnificence

more accordant to the tastes of Charles Emmanuel. For some time an active correspondence was maintained between Turin and Chambery; Victor, kept informed of the minutest affairs, and consulted on every occasion, however trivial, found his political appetite grow by what it fed on. The Marquis D'Ormea, who soon acquired unbounded influence over Charles, ill-brooked his old master's constant interference, and watched every token that his ruling passion was still strong with a jealous eye. In the February of 1731, he took the occasion of an apoplectic fit with which the ex-king was seized, to discontinue the weekly despatches; and, in consequence, when Charles paid a visit to his father at the end of March, he

although too proud to complain of the omission. Meantime, as the spring advanced, fresh misunderstandings broke out between the court of Rome and Sardinia. The dispute waxed warm; and Charles, acting under the guidance of D'Ormea, not only refused any concession, but broke off diplomatic relations with Rome, and caused one of his theologians to put forth a defence of his conduct, a copy of which he despatched to Chambery. In the midst of the ex

king's anger that this step had been resolved upon without his concurrence, he was struck with the promptitude and energy, so foreign to Charles's character, which it exhibited, and gave the credit where it was really due-to the Marquis. This embroilment with Rome served to heighten the discontent which had of late been growing upon Victor; he was angry and sore at the meagre news received from Turin, while the despatches, when they did arrive, filled as they were with debates in which he had had no share, and affairs concluded without his counsel, only fed the irritated mood in which, from his retreat at Chambery, he had watched others playing the game of power, till he grew fevered with longing to take it out of their hands. Nor could it have been otherwise; war, political intrigue, the pursuit of fame and power-these objects, and these alone, had been for half a century the very breath of life to this man, who went into his retirement with a disposition as restless and eager as ever, with a mind utterly unfurnished by those tastes which sweeten solitude. Unlike Charles V., whom he proposed as his model, there was little of the religious element in the nature of the Italian, who, in believing his heart set on forsaking the world to serve his Maker, had interpreted a mere impulse as a fixed mental condition, as he had taken the Martinmas summer of passion in his blood for that steady, serene affection which is the true sunshine of declining life. A contemporary historian says that Theresa turned the reaction which had come upon her husband to her own purpose;

suspense with the expectation of some great event. Victor, his son, and the ministers assembled first in the royal cabinet, where, amidst the tears of all present, the king affixed his signature to the act of abdication; and, proceeding into the great hall of the palace, where the nobility and the diplomatic corps were assembled, he commanded Di Borgo to read the document in a loud voice, and to betray no weakness. Then, amid the deep hush of expectation and astonishment, the marquis read before all the formal abdication of Victor Amadeus. The breathless silence which ensued when the voice of the reader had ceased, was broken by the sobs of the old nobles, who now learnt for the first time that the master they had so long served was about, by withdrawing himself from his people, to forestall the inevitable separation of the grave. After Charles had, with the deepest emotion, kissed his father's hand, the nobles did homage to the two kings, when Victor took the opportunity of saying a last gracious word to each, and recounting their several merits and services to his son; to the end he betrayed not the slightest sign of feeling, but stood enjoying all the excitement and tears of which he was the object. For so strangely mingled is the web of human nature, that it offers us here the spectacle of a sovereign, prosperous, wise, and rich in the experiences of a long life, delighting in the pageant of this scene where he was chief actor, and not less blind to all its consequences than the simplest novice, who plays her part as the bride of Heaven, fluttered by the interest she excites, and thoughtless of the years which lie, heavy and dark, behind the veil.

Up to this hour the king had kept his wife in complete ignorance of the great change he contemplated; and Theresa, divining some mystery, and believing, naturally enough, that it concerned herself, had solved it according to her own desires, imagining herself already a queen, and lavishing every art and fascination of which she was

perhaps, had any human heart beaten higher with hope and ambition than the Marchesa's on this eventful third of September, when she took her place among the other ladies assembled in Polyxena's apartment. The fair bevy of dames and damsels must have endured an agony of curiosity; and, though conjecture and whisper were silenced by the presence of the princess, whose calm, proud face betrayed no sign that she held the secret of the hour, a whole battery of significant glances was opened upon the Marchesa, who awaited, with ill-concealed impatience, the announcement which she dared to hope would place her higher than her mistress. At length distant sounds of the breakingup of the assembly were heard-at length footsteps approached the door; the king entered, followed by his son; proclaimed that he had accomplished his abdication, and saluted Polyxena as Queen of Sardinia. In the first anguish of a disappointment as cruel as it was unlooked for, Theresa turned pale, and seemed ready to faint; but on a lady inquiring if the Marchesa felt ill, she summoned enough self-command to reply, to the malicious courtesy, that the pleasure she experienced in offering her duty to the new queen had overpowered

her for the moment.

Victor spent the rest of the day in arranging his plans, and discussing with child-like eagerness the new life upon which he was about to enter. He was persuaded with some difficulty to retain the title of king; but he steadily refused both guards and retinue; declaring that henceforth he would be simply a country gentleman, living in retirement on his estate. He entreated Charles to fulfil faithfully the trust committed into his hands, and renewed recommenda tions he had before made of certain ministers, especially begging him to rely on the Marquis D'Ormea, an able statesman, whom Victor had lately created Minister of the Interior. It is curious to note that the old king, in the midst of pious protestations that he had done with this world, and should spend the

better, did not forget to stipulate for a weekly bulletin of all political news, both foreign and domestic.

Not until he was on the point of quitting Rivoli next morning for Chambery, which he had chosen as his retreat, did Victor's spirits give way. Then, in the midst of his adieus, he faltered and burst into tears. Even at this eleventh hour Charles entreated him to resume the sovereignty; but, recovering himself, he hastily entered the carriage, accompanied by his wife. The Marchesa claims our pity, for her wrong was as great as her disappointment. Setting her ambition aside, a woman of less spirit would have been stung to the quick on finding herself thus duped by her husband—at the utter selfishness and careless contempt with which he had entirely ignored her in an affair so important to them both. Such considerations served to swell the tide of grief and rage which Theresa could hardly keep within bounds through that journey, where every league of the road seemed a fresh separation from the world of life and pleasure she loved, till it was lost in mountain passes, frowning as a barrier to her return.

On the sixth of October the coronation of the new sovereign was celebrated with extraordinary pomp; and the simplicity which had hitherto prevailed gave place at once to a magnificence more accordant to the tastes of Charles Emmanuel. For some time an active correspondence was maintained between Turin and Chambery; Victor, kept informed of the minutest affairs, and consulted on every occasion, however trivial, found his political appetite grow by what it fed on. The Marquis D'Ormea, who soon acquired unbounded influence over Charles, ill-brooked his old master's constant interference, and watched every token that his ruling passion was still strong with a jealous

eye.

In the February of 1731, he took the occasion of an apoplectic fit with which the ex-king was seized, to discontinue the weekly despatches; and, in consequence, when Charles paid a visit to his father at the end of March, he

although too proud to complain of the omission. Meantime, as the spring advanced, fresh misunderstandings broke out between the court of Rome and Sardinia. The dispute waxed warm; and Charles, acting under the guidance of D'Ormea, not only refused any concession, but broke off diplomatic relations with Rome, and caused one of his theologians to put forth a defence of his conduct, a copy of which he despatched to Chambery. In the midst of the exking's anger that this step had been resolved upon without his concurrence, he was struck with the promptitude and energy, so foreign to Charles's character, which it exhibited, and gave the credit where it was really due to the Marquis. This embroilment with Rome served to heighten the discontent which had of late been growing upon Victor; he was angry and sore at the meagre news received from Turin, while the despatches, when they did arrive, filled as they were with debates in which he had had no share, and affairs concluded without his counsel, only fed the irritated mood in which, from his retreat at Chambery, he had watched others playing the game of power, till he grew fevered with longing to take it out of their hands. Nor could it have been otherwise; war, political intrigue, the pursuit of fame and power-these objects, and these alone, had been for half a century the very breath of life to this man, who went into his retirement with a disposition as restless and eager as ever, with a mind utterly unfurnished by those tastes which sweeten solitude. Unlike Charles V., whom he proposed as his model, there was little of the religious element in the nature of the Italian, who, in believing his heart set on forsaking the world to serve his Maker, had interpreted a mere impulse as a fixed mental condition, as he had taken the Martinmas summer of passion in his blood for that steady, serene affection which is the true sunshine of declining life. A contemporary historian says that Theresa turned the reaction which had come her husband to her own purpose; upon

suspense with the expectation of some great event. Victor, his son, and the ministers assembled first in the royal cabinet, where, amidst the tears of all present, the king affixed his signature to the act of abdication; and, proceeding into the great hall of the palace, where the nobility and the diplomatic corps were assembled, he commanded Di Borgo to read the document in a loud voice, and to betray no weakness. Then, amid the deep hush of expectation and astonishment, the marquis read before all the formal abdication of Victor Amadeus. The breathless silence which ensued when the voice of the reader had ceased, was broken by the sobs of the old nobles, who now learnt for the first time that the master they had so long served was about, by withdrawing himself from his people, to forestall the inevitable separation of the grave. After Charles had, with the deepest emotion, kissed his father's hand, the nobles did homage to the two kings, when Victor took the opportunity of saying a last gracious word to each, and recounting their several merits and services to his son; to the end he betrayed not the slightest sign of feeling, but stood enjoying all the excitement and tears of which he was the object. For so strangely mingled is the web of human nature, that it offers us here the spectacle of a sovereign, prosperous, wise, and rich in the experiences of a long life, delighting in the pageant of this scene where he was chief actor, and not less blind to all its consequences than the simplest novice, who plays her part as the bride of Heaven, fluttered by the interest she excites, and thoughtless of the years which lie, heavy and dark, behind the veil.

Up to this hour the king had kept his wife in complete ignorance of the great change he contemplated; and Theresa, divining some mystery, and believing, naturally enough, that it concerned herself, had solved it according to her own desires, imagining herself already a queen, and lavishing every art and fascination of which she was

perhaps, had any human heart beaten higher with hope and ambition than the Marchesa's on this eventful third of September, when she took her place among the other ladies assembled in Polyxena's apartment. The fair bevy of dames and damsels must have endured an agony of curiosity; and, though conjecture and whisper were silenced by the presence of the princess, whose calm, proud face betrayed no sign that she held the secret of the hour, a whole battery of significant glances was opened upon the Marchesa, who awaited, with ill-concealed impatience, the announce ment which she dared to hope would place her higher than her mistress. At length distant sounds of the breakingup of the assembly were heard-at length footsteps approached the door; the king entered, followed by his son; proclaimed that he had accomplished his abdication, and saluted Polyxena as Queen of Sardinia. In the first anguish of a disappointment as cruel as it was unlooked for, Theresa turned pale, and seemed ready to faint; but on a lady inquiring if the Marchesa felt ill, she summoned enough self-command to reply, to the malicious courtesy, that the pleasure she experienced in offering her duty to the new queen had overpowered

her for the moment.

Victor spent the rest of the day in arranging his plans, and discussing with child-like eagerness the new life upon which he was about to enter. He was persuaded with some difficulty to retain the title of king; but he steadily refused both guards and retinue; declaring that henceforth he would be simply a country gentleman, living in retirement on his estate. He entreated Charles to fulfil faithfully the trust committed into his hands, and renewed recommendations he had before made of certain ministers, especially begging him to rely on the Marquis D'Ormea, an able statesman, whom Victor had lately created Minister of the Interior. It is curious to note that the old king, in the midst of pious protestations that he had done with this world, and should spend the