eolian harp was fixed in one of the windows; and,
when the weather permitted them to be open, it breathed its deep
tones to the gale, swelling and softening as that rose and fell.

Ah me! what hand can touch the strings so fine?
Who up the lofty diapason roll
Such sweet, such sad, such solemn airs divine,
And let them down again into the soul?

This saloon of the two Minervas, Miss Seward says, contained the
finest editions, superbly bound, and arranged in neat wire cases, of
the best authors in prose and verse, which the English, French, and
Italian languages boast. Over them hung the portraits in miniature,
and some in larger ovals, of the favored friends of these celebrated
votaries to the sentiment which exalted the characters of Theseus and
Peirithous, of David and Jonathan.

The wavy and shaded gravel-walk which encircled this elysium was
enriched with curious shrubs and flowers. It was nothing in extent,
every thing in grace and beauty and in variety of foliage. In one
part of it you turned upon a small knoll, which overhung a deep,
hollow glen. At the tangled bottom of this glen, a frothing brook
leaped and clamored over the rough stones in its channel. A large
spreading beech canopied the knoll, and beneath its boughs a
semilunar seat admitted four persons. It had a fine effect to enter
the Gothic library at dusk, as Miss Seward says she first entered it.
The prismatic lantern diffused a light gloomily glaring, assisted by
the paler flames of the little lamps on the chimney-piece. Through
the open windows was shown a darkling view of the lawn, of the
concave shrubbery of tall cypresses, yews, laurels, and lilacs, of
the wooded amphitheatre on the opposite hill, and of the gray, barren
mountain which forms the background. The evening star had risen above
the mountain; and the airy harp rang loudly to the breeze, completing
the magic of the scene.

And what of the enchantresses themselves, beneath whose wand these
graces arose? Lady Eleanor was of middle height, and somewhat over-
plump, her face round and fair, with the glow of luxuriant health.
She had not fine features, but they were agreeable, enthusiasm in her
eye, hilarity and benevolence in her smile. She had uncommon strength
and fidelity of memory, an exhaustless fund of knowledge, and her
taste for works of imagination, particularly for poetry, was very
awakened; and she expressed all she felt with an ingenuous ardor, at
which cold-spirited beings