possible that they may have been brought by the currents, if it were only upon some of the trunks of trees which are so often hurried on with them.

It is very dangerous at Martinique to pass the trunks of hollow trees in the woods, as this animal frequently reposes there; or to push the hand into birds'-nests, where they often remain squatted, after having devoured the eggs of the young. Poultry are very attractive fare for them, and they frequently conceal themselves among the reeds of which the roofs of the cottages are formed. They retreat also, during the day, into the holes of rats or crabs. These reptiles are seldom to be seen in the towns, unless it be the young ones which are carried thither among bundles of fodder. The inefficacy of the efforts of man to destroy this plague has led to the introduction of some English terriers of a particular kind, which have already been very serviceable.

M. de Jonnes recommends the introduction of the serpent-bird of the Cape of Good Hope-that long-legged bird of prey, which is of so essential service in South Africa. The experiment was tried, but did not at first succeed.

ALLIGATOR.-Our dictionaries supply no materials towards the etymology of this word, which was probably introduced into the language by some of our early voyagers to the Spanish and Portuguese settlements in the newly-discovered world. They would hear the Spaniards discoursing on the animal by the name of el lagarto, or the lizard; Lat. lacertu; and on their return home, they would inform their countrymen that this sort of crocodile was called an alligator. It would not be difficult to trace other corrupted words in a similar manner.

SEA ELEPHANTS.-It is curious to remark, says Mr. Weddell, in the account of his late voyage towards the South Pole, that the sea elephant, when lying on the shore, and threatened with death, will often make no effort to escape into the water, but lie still and shed tears, only raising the head to look at the assailants, and, though very timid, will wait with composure the club or the lance which takes its life. In close contact, every human effort would be of little avail for the destruction of this animal, unwieldy as it is, were it to rush forward and exert the power of its jaws; for this, indeed, is so enormous, that, in the agony of death, stones are ground to powder within his teeth.

THE SEAL.-When a seal cannot escape, it will bite in self-defence, but it does so only in extremities; and if a blow be aimed at it with a stick, it tries to seize the stick rather than bite the assailant. In this it sometimes suc

ceeds, and then wriggles off to the water, where it swims about with the stick in its mouth, in a playful or triumphal manner. It is more easily tamed than, perhaps, any other animal, is capable of feeling a great deal of affection, and appears fond of the society of man. During the time that rumoured invasions by the French caused all parts of the coast of Britain to be fortified, a small party on one of the little islands in the Firth of Forth, above Edinburgh, amused themselves by taming a seal. It had all the affection and all the playfulness of a dog. It fished for itself, and (we believe) sometimes for its masters. It fawned about them, licked their hands, and, if it did not accompany those who made an excursion in the boat, it was sure to meet them on their return. It always came to their hut to sleep, and conducted itself as if it felt that it was one of the party. Sometimes it would snatch up a stick or a brush, and scamper off to the water, where it swam about with the plunder in its mouth, often approaching the shore till within reach of its observers, and then it would be off to a distance. But though it seemed to take a delight in teazing them in that way, it always came back with whatever it had taken, and laid it at their feet, fawning and fondling all the while. Indeed, if they did not give chase, it seldom remained long in the water, but came back apparently disappointed at being deprived of its sport. When they went to Leith for orders or stores, the seal generally accompanied them, swimming all the way at the side or stern of the boat; and when the boat was made fast at the pier at Leith, it took up its position inside, and kept watch till they returned. Fish was not its only food; it could eat many things, and it was very fond of bread and milk. There was no saying how far its training might have been carried, but it fell out of a bed and was killed while young. Seals are often caught in rather a cruel manner; iron hooks are placed in the front of the rock or bank on which they are basking, or in a beam of timber placed against it: a person then steals near to the place where they lie, fires a musket or makes any other loud noise; at which they take alarm, and, forgetting their usual caution in avoiding dangers, plunge headlong towards the water, and are caught suspended upon the hooks. As seals approach more nearly to the nature and character of land animals than any other inhabitants of the water which are not well fitted to locomotion upon land, so they are, like these, subject to epidemical disease, which often affects them to a very great extent. There have been instances in which the beaches every where on the north-coast of Scot

land, and the islands of Orkney and Shetland, have been covered with the bodies of dead seals which were cast ashore by the tide; and when that has occurred, the seals that were swimming in the water were weak and sickly. The source of these casualties is not known; and no observation appears to have been taken of the particular state either of the atmosphere or the sea.

FISHES TRAVELLING ON LAND.-The Doras costota or hassar is one of those species of fishes which possess the singular property of deserting the water, and travelling over land. In these terrestrial excursions, large droves of the species are frequently met with during the dry seasons. When the water is leaving the pools in which they commonly reside, while most other fishes perish for want of their natural element, or are picked up by rapacious birds, the flat-headed hassars, on the contrary, simultaneously quit the place, and march over land in search of water, travelling for a whole night, as is asserted by the Indians, in search of their object. Mr. Campbell, of Sparta Estate, Essequibo, and his family, in an excursion to the sand reefs, fell in with a drove of these animals, which were on their march over land to a branch of Pomeroon. They were so numerous that the negroes filled several baskets with those they picked up. Their motion over land is described to be somewhat like that of the two-footed lizard. They project themselves forward on their bony arms, by the elastic spring of the tail exerted sidewise. Their progress is nearly as fast as a man will leisurely walk. The strong scuta or bands which envelope their body must greatly facilitate their march, in the manner of the plates under the belly of serpents, which are raised and depressed by a voluntary power, in some measure performing the office of feet. The Indians say that those fishes carry water within them for a supply on their journey. There appears to be some truth in this statement; for it has been observed that the bodies of the hassars do not dry like those of other fishes when taken out of the water; and if the moisture be absorbed, or they are wiped with a dry cloth, they have such a power of secretion that they become instantly moist again. It is scarcely possible to dry the surface while the fish is living.

THE fourth class of animated beings are fishes, the inhabitants of a different element from man, but not less wonderful in their organization, nor less various in their forms and habits than the other classes. Many hundred species, who reside in the unfathomable depths of the ocean, are doubtless unknown to man, and he knows little of the real habits and economy even of those the most familiar to him. The eye can reach but a very short way into the depth of the sea; and that only when its surface is glassy and serene. In many seas, it perceives nothing but a bright sandy plain at bottom, extending for several hundred miles, without an intervening object. But, in others, particularly in the Red Sea, it is very different: the whole bed of this extensive body of water is, literally speaking, a forest of sub-marine plants, and corals formed by insects for their habitation, sometimes branching out to a great extent. Here are seen the madrepores, the sponges, mosses, sea-mushrooms, and other marine productions, covering every part of the bottom. The bed of many parts of the sea, near America, presents a very different, though a very beautiful appearance. This is covered with vegetables, which make it look as green as a meadow; and, beneath, are seen thousands of turtles, and other sea-animals, feeding.

THE SHAD ASCENDS RIVERS, AND IS FASCINATED BY MUSIC.-The shad is shaped somewhat like a bream; the back bluish, the head and sides pale king's yellow; the latter with eight purplish blue spots in a line nearer the back than the median line; the belly is yellowish purple. This

fish, like many others, ascends rivers at a certain season for the purpose of spawning, though its usual haunt is the open sea. It is worthy of remark, that though the time of its appearance in the same rivers is pretty constant, it does not ascend all rivers at the same time. In the Nile it appears in January, and sometimes as early as December. It passes up the Rhone in March; whereas it is seldom seen before April or May in the Rhine, the Elbe, and the Wolga. In Germany the shad is taken by means of nets, to which bows of wood, hung with a number of small bells, are attached in such a manner as to chime in harmony when the nets are moved. The shads, when once attracted by the sound, will not attempt to escape while the bells continue to ring. Ælian, in his "Various History," mentions that, in ancient times, the shad was allured by the sound of castanets.

STANZAS.

THE Roman heart and Grecian brow,
And eloquence and sense refin'd;
Actions all godlike; and the vow

Of patriot soul, of attic mind-
These the admiring world shall own:
Yet where are they? They all have flown!

Where are the mighty Cæsars now?

Where are their palaces and towers?
Beneath the hand of Time they bow,

Despite of royal pride and powers.

How worthless is the gaudy gem
That glittered in their diadem!

Their course is run-their sun gone down;

Return'd to earth, from whence they came:

Good men may learn that e'en renown,

However won 's but an empty name:

The terror of the Goth-but rust!

The Queen of Empires-in the dust !—
T. H. CORNISH.

THE LEAF-MOON-FISH OF CEYLON. In Mr. Bennet's splendid work, "The Fishes of Ceylon," is engraved and described a fish of very singular form, the body being broad and short, and two very large fins, one on the back, and another on the abdomen, give the whole outline somewhat the appearance of a broad crescent; in the centre of which the tail, short and fan-shaped, projects like a leaf-and hence the Ceylonese name of kola handah, the leaf-moon. It is rather a scarce fish, and being considered by the native fishers as unwholesome from a sort of food to which it is