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THE MAGIC CRYSTAL; OR,

surely come to actuality as the shadow follows the setting sun.I carry a talisman which has been faithful to the fatal trust towhich it was appointed—fool that I was to desire to know thesecrets of the after-being here, and to anticipate the echo of Fatebefore the footstep of Circumstance has fallen ! It is done!would that I could annihilate the fruition of my mad desire!But it may not be. I am brought face to face with Truth , andfeel that what should be to us a goddess is to me a fiend!Happiness, Hope, Trust, all flowers of promise, all blossoms ofimagination, all sweet untried mysteries, wither and decaybefore the hot desert-wind of scathing Reality. Men talk of themisery of doubt; would that I could know its blessedness ! Butif I ask a question mentally, the silent answer of the magic stoneis immediately and distinctly given; so that, from actual cogni-zance of the circumstances, I arrive almost at the very thoughtsof those about whom I occupy myself; and did I now, at thisvery moment, ask of what is Jocelyn Waldegrave thinking, theresponse would be immediate, full, and true.”

The auditor started, and a blush suffused his face: so doesthe heart even of frank youth shrink from the touch of another’sscrutiny.

“Go on ! ” he said, hastily.

“ I have but little more to add: you know my secret, mayyou never know its curse! Sufficient that it has been a minis-ter of evil to me in its never-failing accuracy. In every ease,disappointment and pain have awakened beneath the touch ofthis fatal talisman. Like the dragons’ teeth of old, where I pre-sumptuously have sown in my thirst for forbidden knowledge,I have reaped a harvest of contending mental perplexities,enemies to my peace and joy; but, unlike the fable, thesewarring, fearful fantasies, do not destroy themselves. I feel,until my very being, perchance, is thrown amongst them, forwhich they seem to crave. Friendship has been deprived of its