a vow.”

‘*T, Victor?”

“Yes, you, with your calmness and womanly

gentleness, your terrible malignity.”

She knew not what he meant; and though she

had determined not to be weak, tears would come ;

just one passionate outburst, which she quelled

proudly the moment they were shed. But he saw

them, and drew her toward his couch.

‘This is the way I have to sue for pardon, ly-

ing helpless, maimed for life. I had rather you

had killed me, Margaret, than force me so to love

you that I can not longer hide it. Oh, Margaret, .

Margaret, it was cruel! JI, who shall never ask

any woman to be my wife.”

Margaret put out her hand very ooolly.

‘“* Good-night, Victor.”

‘*Must you go? Then I am mistaken. I hoped

you cared for me, Margaret, in spite of my detest-

able behavior.”

“Yes, I must go, Victor.”

‘*Tt has been very tiresome for you here, Mar-

garet, listening to my folly.”

‘No, I did not care to go out.”

Her perfect indifference at Jast enraged him, as

she knew it would.

‘*You seem to be in no way moved at .ny mis-

ery. I did not know you were so cold and heart-

less.”

‘* What would you have me say ?”

“Drop some delicious grains of pity; sweeten

the bitter pill with honeyed phrases.”

“T am very sorry this has happened.”

“But that is a cant expression. You are gener-

ally original.”

She was silent again, and moved toward the

door. He detained her, grasping her passive hand.

“ Among all your thanks to-day can you spare

a little forgiveness ?”’

‘* For what ?”

“For my rudeness and harshness.” His voice

was gentle again.

‘*There is more to forgive than that.”

‘*T dare say; but I am in earnest. Don’t go

Do you forgive me?”

“*No!”—firmly, softly, but emphatically.

‘*And why not? Is my sin so heinous?”

“The man is not a brave one who tells a woman

he loves her but will not ask her to be his wife.”

“ t ”

She went on as indifferently and coolly as if dis-

cussing some novel.

‘*It is not brave, nor is it honest, for he may

have won her love in some strange way.”

‘But she should let him know,” said Victor,

half amazed and half amused.

‘* A true woman’s self-respect is a barrier to that.”

Victor bit his lip.

T

“A cripple, doomed to drag a footless stump

after him all his life, has no right to ask a young

and beautiful, no, nor an old and ugly, woman to

be his wife.”

‘* Who has laid down that law ?”

“ A true man’s self-respect is the barrier.”

Margaret glanced up, a very sunbeam of a smile

playing over her features.

** It is a dead-lock, Victor.”

‘Tt shall not be, Margaret, if you will just stoop

down here a moment.”

“* What for ?”

‘* Now I have both your hands ; tell me, do you,

dare you love me?” +

There was no answer, and her curls drooped over

her face. He repeated the question, but she would

not reply.

For a moment or two his pale face worked. It

was hard for him to make the attempt he had al-

most sworn not to do—so hard, that for a moment

he faltered.

But the temptation was irresistible, and he saw

that nothing else would compel Margaret to an-

swer, so he spgke :

‘* Margaret, will you be my wife?”

“Yes, Victor,” came the answer, clearly spoken.

“The wife of a cripple ?”’

She crushed the words with a kiss.

For a long while there was stillness, Victor clasp-

ing tightly Margaret’s hands as if afraid she would

elude them, but in place of the pain and feverish

irritability on his features was a look of very ex-

pressive content.

Margaret’s tears were so nearly falling that it

was som? time before she could ask Victor what he

was thinking of, so unusual was his silence.

‘Keeping my Thanksgiving at last,” was the

reply.

A TRIBUTE.

How sleep the brave? Oh! not as cowards sleep,

Whose hands no labor bore;

Over their graves no loving one shall weep—

They shail be named no more.

No ringing voice above the tomb shall break,

Proclaiming truth more boldly for their sake.

Not so they sleep who for their country die—

On their name rests no blot ; .

Through the world’s changes, as the years roll by,

They never are forgot.

Earth's greatest soul may know no greater pride

Than to be called to die as they have died.

When Freedom's sons assemble to relate

The deeds that they have die,

Each telling of seme victory, made more great

Being so nobly won;

There Richarpson and Miroue.t shall be seen—

One bronzed and scarred, with a true soldier's mien;

The other, with his calm and steady eyes

Turned upward to the stars,

Seeking new inspiration from the skies,

"Neath the red planet Mars.

Upon the roll of fame their names are traced

In golden letters, ne'er to be effaced!

MAJOR-GENERAL BANKS.

On page 769 we give a portrait of NATHANIEL

P. Banks, Major-General in the Army of the Unit-

ed States, and commander of the Great Southern

Expedition which is now on its way to its destina-

tion. Our likeness is from a photograph by Brady.

General Banks was born at Waltham, Massa-

chusetts, on 30th January, 1816. His parents were

poor operatives who worked in the mills; young

Nathaniel went barefoot to the common school,

and there obtained all the education he ever en-

joyed asa lad. He was soon called upon to take

his place in a factory to earn his living, and for

several years he worked regularly with the other

operatives. Simultaneously he assisted in the es-

tablishment of a debating society, and contributed

to the columns of the local paper. He subsequent-

ly became editor of this paper, and in 1842 was

brought forward as Democratic candidate for As-

sembly from Waltham. He was defeated. He

ran again in 1843, and in each of the following

four years, with equal non-success. At length, in

1848, just as he was thinking of seeking fortune in

California, he was elected, and remained a member

of the Massachusetts Legislature until he was sent

to Congress, voting and acting with the Demo-

cratic party. In 1850 he was chosen Speaker of

the House ; and in 1852 was sent to Congress, and

became Speaker of that body too, after one of the

most memorable contests in our Congressional his-

tory. As Speaker of the House Mr. Banks won

high fame by his Parliamentary skill, firmness,

and fairness. It was well said of him, at the close

of his term, by a political opponent, that he “ stood

so straight that he almost leaned over to the other

side.”

At the close of Mr. Banks’s term in Congress he

withdrew from public life, and after spending some

time in retirement at Waltham, accepted the post

of Superintendent of the Illinois Central Railway,

which had just been vacated by General M‘Clellan.

He was discharging the duties of this post when

the rebellion broke out. It found him neither un-

prepared nor astonished. He went to Washington

in February, 1861; foretold the secession of Vir-

ginia and the outbreak of the civil war, and cre-

ated quite a commotion in the ranks of those who

pinned their faith to Mr. Seward’s honeyed phrases

and rose-color visions. When wer actually broke

out, and troops were called for, Mr. Banks was

at once designated by the public voice for a mil-

itary command, and he was accordingly appoint-

ed Major-General by the President. With his

usual foresight he had been studying strategy

for some time, and when he took the field was

thoroughly competent tocommand. He was given

a division of the Army of the Potomac, and set to

watch the upper fords of the river. Many months

were spent in training his army. At length, early

in 1862, he crossed the river and advanced up the

Shenandoah Valley. He was driving Jackson be-

| fore him, and doing his work well and faithfully,

when the War Department began to withdraw his

troops. First a brigade, then a regiment, then a

whole division were ordered to the defense of posts

which were supposed to be in danger; so that at

last General Banks was left with only about 4000

men, while Jackson lay opposite him with 15,000.

The circumstance soon became known to the wily

rebel, and the attack on Front Royal followed.

Banks's retreat to the north side of the Potomac,

without the loss of a gun and with a very small

loss in men, is rightly accounted one of the most

brilliant military operations of the war. Jackson’s

disappointment at the escape of the prey he already

deemed secured was severe. It was on the occasion

of this retreat that the incident of the little slave

girl, whom Banks carried out of Virginia “on the

national cannon,” took place: nothing in his career

has made him more popular than this.

When M‘Clellan commenced his retreat from the

Peninsula, Banks was ordered forward to the Rap.

pahannock under Pope. He fought the battle of

Cedar Mountain with very inferior forces to the

enemy, and with Sigel’s aid held him in check

until M‘Clellan had retreated safely to Yorktown.

He did not take part in the battles of Centreville

or Bull Run the second: wounded at the Rappa-

hannock, he was doing duty at Washington as

military commander,

General Banks has now been appointed to the

command of a Great Southern Expedition, part of

which has already sailed. That he will be heard

from in a manner which will rejoice the Northern

heart no one who knows his lucky star can doubt.

THE “PASSAIC” AND HER

TURRET.

Tue turret of the Passaic is unquestionably the

greatest engineering achievement ofthetime. The

successful operation of this structure with its mon-

ster guns marks an era in the history of naval war-

fare.

Our engraving on page 773 represents the turret

cut in two, through the vertical plane, the nearest

half supposed to be removed in order to afford a

full view of the interior. The enormous guns,

Dahlgren’s 15-inch, each weighing 42,000 pounds,

are seen in perspective resting on light elegant car-

riages made of wrought iron. By means of very

simple mechanism within the carriages, the con-

structor enables three men of moderate strength to

handle these ponderous pieces with great facility.

To the left of the muzzle of the nearest gun will be

seen the port stopper, a bent block of wrought iron

supported by a pivot, on which it turns so readily

that one man can bring its broad face before the

port-hole in less than five seconds, thereby effectu-

ally shutting out the enemy’s projectiles. .

The enormous balls, of 425 pounds weight, will be

seen conveniently arranged within curved guides

round the base of the turret, a broad jointed ring

for handling these terrific projectiles being also rep-

resented.

Our readers can form a good idea of the size of

the guns, 4 feet diameter, by comparison with the

gunners standing on the left. The turret, com-

posed of plate iron, is 23 feet outside diameter, 9

feet high, 11 inches thick, the entire weight being

240 tons. It might be supposed thaf such a pon-

derous mass could only be turned round by being

placed on friction rollers; yet this expedient has

not been resorted to. The constructor, deeming

such complication incompatible with the solidity

necessary to withstand the shocks of modern pro-

jectiles, boldly places the turret with its smooth

lower edge on a broad ring in the deck, and trusts

to his powerful mechanism within to cause the

stupendous mass to rotate on its base. The gun-

ner, placed behind the breech when the gun is to

be aimed, simply raises or depresses a light handle

and the gun instantly moves in the direction he

wishes. The exact point being attained, a retro-

grade half-movement of the handle at once arrests

the rotation of the turret and leaves the gun di-

rected to the desired object.

But the result of Captain Ericsson's bold con-

ception does not stop here. A still greater triumph

has attended his labors. Our readers will observe

on the engraving that the port-hole of the turret is

far less in width than the diameter of the muzzle

of the gun, and that, consequently, the gun must be

fired within the turret. The proposition to dis-

charge the largest cannon afloat within the narrow

space of this cylindrical iron chamber without put-

ting the muzzle through—not even info the port-

hole—is so startling that nothing short of positive

practical demonstration could prove its soundness.

It is a flattering comment on the judgment of Ad-

miral Gregory, and the other naval officers super-

intending the construction of our iron-clads, that

they did not oppose, but on the contrary warmly

seconded, Captain Ericsson’s plan. The result of

two careful trials, the second and final one made

on the 15th, has realized every expéctation. The

smoke is effectually kept out, and the noise from

the discharge of the monster guns within the tur-

ret is less than that of an ordinary field-piece.

Captain Ericsson, to whose genius the country

is indebted for this master-ziece, has been so kind

as to inspect our artist’s picture, and writes us that

it is very accurate. ;

The engraving on page 772 represents the Passaic

as she will appear at‘sea, and needs no description.

FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA.

WE devote pages 776 and 777 to illustrations of

FREDZRICKSBURG, which is at present the centre

of interest in Virginia, Our pictures, with one

exception, are from sketches by Mr. H. Didiot, of

the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers. The exception

is the picture of the Broken Bridge, which is from

a sketch by our old correspondent, Adjutant Cope.

The following description of the place was pub-

lished in Harper’s Weekly some time since :

Fredericksburg is the chief town of Spotteylvania Coun-

ty, in Virginia, and is situated on the right bank of the

RPEN'S

December 6, 1862.]

WEEKLY.

—

mnock River, at the head of tide-water. It is be-

tween fifty aud sixty miles from Richmond by railread,

and sixty-five miles xy the turapike, in a northerly direc-

tion. Turnpike roads connect it with Falmouth and New-

port—the former by a ferry aeress the Rappahannock—

and another turnpike leads through a wildermess te Orange

Court House, where a railroad ecennects it with Gordons-

ville. The town itself is pleasantly situated in a fertii>

valley, and has great advantages for commerce and man-

ufactures. The railroad from Washington, via Aquia

Creek, passed through it, and thereby a large traffic and

trade was done previous to the rebellion. As the through

trains generally stopped at Fredericksburg Station for » ,out

an hour on each trip, a not incomsiderable chance trade

was caused thereby in the immediate locality of the dépét.

It is distant from Aquia Creek by railroad about fifteen

miles, from which point part of the Potomac River traffic

used to be carried to Fredericksburg. A goed canal had

also been constructed from the town to a point on the Rap-

pahannock River, about forty miles above, by which large

quantities of wheat, flour, and tobaeco were received for

exportation. The river afforded extensive water power,

which, hewever, was not much used. The hills in the

neighborhood, varying in height from forty to one hundred

feet, abound in fine granite and freestone. About thirty

years since the prospect of Fredericksburg being a rapidly

rising town was very great; but it suddenly stopped in its

prosperity, and after, as it were, standing still for about

twenty years, it gradually retrograded in its importance.

In 1840 its population numbered nearly four thousand

souls; and in 1850, ten years after, it had only increased

eighty-eight persons—less than nine each year, and being

about two per cent. in a decade—a remarkably small in-

crease. Before the rebellion it contained five churches,

one orphan asylum, two seminaries, four newspaper offices,

and two banks. vss

Fredericksburg has changed hands more than

once. While the Potomac blockade lasted it was

a chief dépét for rebel supplies. When M‘Clellan

advanced to Yorktown it was evacuated, and was

occupied by M‘Dowell. After the battles of the

seven days before Richmond M‘Dowell fell back,

and the rebels again seized it. Burnside coming

up the Potomac to the aid of Pope, in August, occu-

pied it for a few days; when he marched to War-

renton it again fell back under the stars and bars.

The reader will find an account of its more recent

fortunes in the news column.

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LES MISERABLES.

Extract of Letter from Victor Huco to Mr. Wraxav.

‘*From the moment when M. Esquiros is your friend, as he is mine, you can not fail to produce an excellent

. )

work, having for guide and counselor that great and noble mind. Gi

VICTOR HUGO.”

gued

John Forster, the ablest critic in Kmgiand—the Literary Editor of the London Examiner—in speaking of the

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**On the publication of this celebrated Novel, im its original form, we entered very minutely into the story. It

only now remains for us to say that WE CAN CONSCIENTIOUSLY RECOMMEND IT TO THE PUBLIC 4S A PERFECTLY FAITH-

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French edition."

No.

HURST & BLACKET, London Publishers.