and at the tip of each there is a spot of velvet-black, margined with steel-blue, which is separated from the red by a stripe of rich orange. That the effect of this flower-like appendage should not be impaired, the plumage of the body of the bird is exceedingly plain.

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Some crests are termed by Mr. Swainson, concealed," that is, when at rest, the feathers of the crown, which are not conspicuously elongated, are laid perfectly smooth. "When the bird, however, is excited, the central feathers of the crown suddenly expand, radiate almost in a circle, and display what is often a most beautiful and striking ornament." "These crests are generally of a bright yellow, red, or golden; sometimes, though very rarely, white." Mr. Swainson suggests the use of "concealed" crests, in the following passage :—

"The bright colours of the crest are only at the roots of the feathers, which are all tipped with the ordinary colour of the plumage; so that when these are expanded, they are no inapt representation of the opening petals of a marigold, or some beautiful little syngenesious flower; the predominant colour of that class, no less than of the crests which represent them, being different shades of yellow. Now it is a circumstance, no less singular than remarkable, in conjunction with what we shall presently state, that of between fifty and sixty birds possessing this sort of crest, every one is purely insectivorous, that is, living entirely upon insects, which are caught, not by hunting, but are seized only on their near approach." The tyrant fly-catchers of Brazil "take their station on a particular branch, and there patiently wait for such insects as come within range of a sudden dart. It is to this family of birds that the crests we have been de- | scribing are almost entirely restricted. We have frequently seen the bentevi of Brazil,-the most familiar, as well as common species, in that country,-open and shut his fine yellow crest, when merely occupied in watching for insects. This fact, joined with the considerations already mentioned, has more than once suggested to us the idea, that these flower-like ornaments are occasionally used as snares, to attract the attention of insects, so as to bring them within reach of being captured by a sudden

dart."

We can readily imagine that some of

our readers will regard it as improbable that insects do thus mistake the colouring of birds for flowers. Observation, however, would remove the doubt. A small piece of white paper, laid on the grass, will attract the cabbage butterfly as it slowly flies over a garden; and a coloured object, by no means more resembling a blossom than the feathers of these birds, will in like manner draw aside bees and other insects.-Eclectic Review.

BUILDING CASTLES IN THE AIR.

HOWEVER foolish may be the conduct of those who build castles in the air, who pile huge projects upon no foundations, and hang, as it were, a world upon nothing, yet there are few who, in some way or other, do not build such fascinating but aerial edifices. In some cases such a practice may be little more than foolish, and deserve only a smile; but in many instances it is dangerous, and often ruinous, inasmuch as it turns the thoughts and energies from employing adequate means to secure the desired end, and with dreams of certain success, betrays its dupe into shame, disappointment, and ruin. Means and ends are invariably coupled together in an indissoluble union; and it is our duty not only wisely to propose to ourselves the most desirable ends, but also to pursue them by the most diligent means; for to hope to attain the end without using the means is mere folly and fanaticism.

A common castle in the air with the young is, the expectation of success without effort. With an indistinct perception of some golden prospect in the distance that will soon open upon them, how often do the young look for some fortunate occurrence, some powerful friend, some lucrative situation, which once attained, they shall hasten from success to success, and at length be enabled to bask in the sunshine of prosperity during the glorious years of manhood and maturer age! They see, in imagination, the bright and warm sunlight in the distance before them, the towers of fortune and happiness glitter brightly in perspective, and they press on, or rather indolently wait, for the glory to shift its position, and cover them with its splendour. With such feelings and prospects, the present, with its duties and privileges, is despised; effort is distasteful, and the time that, well husbanded, might have secured some measure of the

another duty in connexion with this expectation, beside that of praying for its fulfilment: we are to labour for it, to study for it, to be liberal for it, to live for it. It is undoubtedly a great duty to pray for the coming of God's kingdom; but it is not all our duty. If we are in earnest in our prayers, our earnest ness will be manifest in our actions, and the prayer of the lip will become the effort of the life. God invariably connects heavenly blessing with human instrumentality, and we have no good ground for expecting that God will convert the world without the efforts of the church. It is not so much that our understandings do not believe this, as that our hearts are cold and worldly. We grudge the liberality, the effort, and the self-denial, which such a view of the coming of God's kingdom demands; and we content ourselves with the easier and cheaper duties of praying and hoping for its arrival. Instead of nerving themselves for vigorous exertion, too many that bear the Christian name, act as though they expected that some irresistible influence from heaven would some day suddenly fall upon the world, and mysteriously and instantaneously change a world of wickedness to a world of holiness, and the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God. Let us not indulge in such delusive expectations. Let us not hope to accomplish the end without the appropriate means. Let us not drag on heavily upon the rear of the Christian church, retarding its progress, cooling its zeal, discouraging its enterprise; but let us be found in the van, stimulating ourselves and others to deeds of holy usefulness, encouraging the timid, supporting the weak, and assisting the vigorous. If we pray that God will perform his part, let us see to it that we do ours. Let us enter into the spirit of the times, and the duties of the day; let us not spare our efforts, and God will not spare his blessing. Let us be vigilant, active soldiers, fighting under the great Captain of our salvation, and we shall not fight in vain.

There is a castle in the air very frequently built by the worldly, and the most dangerous in its consequences of any we have mentioned, namely, the hope of salvation without Christ, and of heaven without holiness. Even the worldly and depraved have hopes of reaching heaven. The worst men hope, if they are not

ready, they shall be; and the merely moral believe they are quite as well prepared as those who talk so much about religion. Whether they possess holiness or not, or whether they have faith in Christ or not, they hope that somehow or other they shall arrive at heaven with the best. Yet what is this opinion but a castle in the air, that will surely melt away in the light of eternity-an opinion based merely upon human hope, and neither supported by God's revealed will, nor probable in the nature of things? There is nothing can render man happy but a likeness to God, and if he be radically defective in this point, no possessions or condition can make him happy. Even heaven itself could not contribute to such a man's happiness; for heaven can be no heaven to him who has no proper fitness to enjoy it, nor sympathy with its engagements. If we would escape destruction and secure heaven, we must be careful not to form our opinions independently of the Bible, which is the cause of so many ruinous mistakes. Let us come with humble minds to the study of God's word, prepared to receive what it teaches and to practise what it enjoins, and we shall be preserved from many fatal errors. If we do this, we shall not be long in learning, that however men may dream, there is no way for a sinful man to be saved but by Jesus Christ, nor any heaven for those who have no fitness to enjoy it. We are all guilty creatures, and God, as the moral Governor of the universe, must uphold his law and punish offenders; and unless some mediator interpose between the sin and the punishment, justice must take its course, and the criminal must perish. But Christ meets us in this degraded and dangerous condition; he has brought about a reconciliation between God, the Lawgiver, and man, the criminal; and he offers to save us from our sin and its punishment, and bestow upon us that fitness for heaven which will enable us to enjoy it.

Let us beware how we build that dangerous castle in the air, hoping for heaven without holiness, or salvation without Christ. Let us not build upon the sand, but upon that sure foundation, that immovable rock, Jesus Christ; and we shall find that this will prove no baseless castle in the air, but a solid foundation, secure and immovable, in time and in eternity.

THE GEYSERS.

THE geysers of Iceland are celebrated fountains, which send forth immense volumes of boiling water. They are situated about thirty miles from the volcano called Hecla, in plains full of hot springs and streaming fissures. On approaching the Great Geyser, the traveller finds a mount of stones, and other rude deposits, which have been placed there by the action of the water, as it brings with it large masses out of the earth. By continual layers of these stones, the mount has been formed, which in its perpendicular height is about seven feet. At first the declivity is rapid, but a gradual descent soon commences, and the deposits are spread around to different distances, the least of which is about one hundred feet.

On the top of this mount is a basin formed by the action of the water, and the silicious layers which accompany its overflow, extend fifty-six feet in one direction, and forty-six in another. At AUGUST, 1843.

the bottom of this, and in the centre, there runs perpendicularly a pit or shaft, ten feet in diameter, through which, at the eruption of the geyser, the water is forced. The inside has a smooth surface, and the effect which the boiling fluid and the steam have had on it, has made it more dense and compact than the exterior crust. It is of a grey colour, when polished, and spotted with white and black.

At intervals of some hours, when the basin is full, explosions are heard underground, like the noise of distant artillery. In a short time the noise increases, the earth around the basin and mount heaves and sinks, the agitated water overflows, and loud reports follow in quick succession. The sound continues, and becomes more violent, until it reaches a roar, when, with a wonderful velocity, accompanied by a great noise, the boiling water, almost hid from view, by volumes of steam, rushes upwards to the height of sometimes

nearly one hundred feet. The column | is between nine and twelve feet in circumference, and continues to flow for seven or eight minutes, when it gradually subsides, and nothing is to be seen but boiling water in the basin, a few feet deep, and perfectly clear. With the water that rises from the basin, large stones also are precipitated from the earth, some even to a greater height than the water, and making altogether an exceedingly impressive scene. Well might Dr. Henderson say:

"While the jets were rushing up to heaven with the velocity of an arrow, my mind was forcibly borne along with them to the contemplation of the great and omnipotent Jehovah, in comparison with whom these and all the wonders scattered over the whole immensity of existence, dwindle into absolute insignificance, whose almighty command spake the universe into being, and at whose sovereign word the whole fabric might be reduced, in an instant, to nothing."

On leaving the mound, the hot water passes through a turfy kind of soil, and, by acting on the peat, mosses, and grass, produces some most beautiful petrifactions. The leaves of birch and willow especially, may be seen converted into exceedingly minute and delicate pieces of white stone, and in the most perfect state of preservation, every fibre being entire. Grass and rushes are also to be observed in the same state, and masses of peat, which all display the same finely arranged particles.

Another spring has been called the New Geyser. It has an orifice nine feet in diameter, and from it arises an immense volume of water and steam, while the stones are hurled to a height not less than fifty or eighty feet. This is accompanied by a noise more resembling thunder than any thing else. Dr. Henderson, who was present at some of its eruptions, says that he found it impossible to move from his knees, on which he had placed himself; but poured out his soul in solemn adoration of the almighty Author of nature, to whose control all her secret movements and terrifying operations are subject; "who looketh on the earth, and it trembleth, who toucheth the hills, and they smoke." The jets of water soon subsided, but their place was occupied by the spray and steam, which, having free room to play, rushed with a deafening roar, to a height little inferior to that of the water. The water, as it

made its way upwards, displays, at the time when the sun shines upon it, all the varied colours of the rainbow.

Dr. Henderson found he could make these fountains play. As he wished to see the strokr, as it is called, in action once more before he bade it an everlasting farewell, he told his servant to assist him in throwing into the basin all the loose stones that they could find around the mouth of the spring. They had not ceased doing this five minutes, when the wished-for phenomena recommenced, and the jets were carried up to the height of nearly two hundred feet, while many of the fragments of stones were thrown much higher, and some heavy masses were raised to an almost invisible height. Although Dr. Henderson was obliged to set out on his journey, he could not help often looking back on the thundering column of steam, and reflecting, with amazement, at his giving such an impulse to a body which no power on earth could control. F. S.

ANECDOTES OF JEWS.

SOME of Mr. Pieritz's anecdotes regarding the Jews in Palestine were very interesting. In Jerusalem, a Jew, named Munsternetze, when pressed much to read the Bible for himself, replied, "But I am afraid." "Why?" "Because,” said he, "I have a wife and children." He meant, that if he were to study the Bible, he would be convinced of the truth, and would, through the enmity of the Jews, reduce his family to poverty. Six weeks after Mr. Pieritz came there, a learned Jew, named Joseph, came to his house to converse with him, and remained from ten in the morning till five at night; and the result was, that he would not read his rabbinical books any more. Not long after, he came secretly every day, and they read over together most of Isaiah, and all Matthew, critically. One day he said that it had occurred to him that, as Messiah should have come just at the time when Christ appeared, it might be the case that Christ knowing this, had taken advantage of it; and, by the force of great genius, had brought all the prophecies to meet in himself. Mr. Pieritz gave him Isa. liii., Dan. ix., and Zech. xii., to compare and meditate upon. When he had read the first of these chapters, he returned, saying, that he understood it; at the same time, he applied it partly to the Jews, and partly to the Messiah as