[Sidenote: The Mother of the Cagot.] Strange but beautiful is the strength of maternal affection. This object to all others so hideous--that for earth to hide his deformity, for death to close upon his afflictions, seems a boon to be prayed for, a mercy to be acknowledged with thankfulness--in the eyes of his mother is one of hope and of interest as great as the most perfect. She weeps not that he was born, but that he dies; weeps as passionately as the parent who loses the most beautiful, the most gifted offspring: perhaps more so than if he _had_ been beautiful and gifted, for then he would not have been exclusively dependant on her love and care. Is it not right there should be a source in the desert as well as in the valley? Blessed is the illusion the mother’s heart lends to her eyes! yet alas! for the “_Cagot_,” the earth brings forth healing herbs in vain, the Church withholds her rites in vain. Their degradation, their destitution is appalling. ❦ As the storm which bruises the flower nourishes the tree, so absence, which starves a weak affection, strengthens a strong one. ❦ Strain the Bow, and the arrow swerves; such is the case with the mind. ❦ [Sidenote: The Essex Ring.] _Lines written by Buchanan, in the year 1564, and sent by Mary Queen of Scotland, with a diamond ring, to Elizabeth Queen of England._ This Gem, behold, the emblem of my heart, From whence my Cousin’s image ne’er shall part; Clear in its lustre, spotless does it shine; As clear, as spotless is this heart of mine. What tho’ the stone a greater hardness wears, Superior firmness still the figure bears. This is the same ring so celebrated afterwards as that given by Queen Elizabeth to the Earl of Essex, and intrusted with a prayer for his life by that unfortunate nobleman to the Countess of Nottingham, who perfidiously concealed her mission till the solemnity of a death-bed influenced her to disclose the circumstance to the Queen. The ring is now in the possession of the descendant of Sir Thomas Warner, to whom it was given by King James I. ❦ [Sidenote: Reflections.] I regret the not having oftener noted down the hopes and agitations which have often influenced my feelings: it would have furnished some apology for that fitful and impatient inequality of manner, which has arisen from the strain of feeling which each hour has brought with it--the pain arising from the ineffectual struggle to obtain the credit for good intentions, and the just appreciation of my motives.