mean time he began to make the sacrifices which he vowed when he first set sail from Crete. The herald on his entrance into the city found the people in great agitation. Some lamented the king's death, while others, elated at the sudden news of the victory of Theseus, crowned the herald with garlands in demonstration of their joy. The herald carried back the garlands on his staff to the seashore, and after he had waited till Theseus had finished his sacrifice, he related the melancholy story of the king's death. Upon this the people ran in crowds to the city, showing their grief by cries and lamentations. From that circumstance, therefore, at the feast of the Oschophoria, not the herald but his staff is crowned with garlands, and all the people that are present always exclaim ExɛλE, OU, 10, the first of which expresses haste, and the other a consternation or depression of spirits. Theseus, when he went to Crete, did not take with him the usual number of virgins, but instead of two of them, he filled up the number with two youths of his acquaintance, whom he made pass for women, by disguising their dress, and by using them to the ointment and perfumes of women, as well as by a long and successful imitation of their voice. The imposition succeeded, their sex was not discovered in Crete, and when Theseus had triumphed over the Minotaur, he, with these two youths, led a procession with branches in their hands, in the same habit which is still used at the celebration of the Oschophoria. The branches were carried in honour of Bacchus or of Ariadne, or because they returned in Autumn when the grapes were ripe. Besides this procession, there was also a race exhibited, in which only young men whose parents were both alive, were permitted to engage. It was usual for them to run from the temple of Bacchus to that of Minerva, which was on the seashore. The place where they stopped was called orxopogiov, because the boughs which they carried in their hands were deposited there. The reward of the conqueror was a cup called TEνTа Thoa, five fold, because it contained a mixture of five different things, wine, honey, cheese, meal, and oil.— Plut. in Thes.

The word Ramalia is evidently a word formed from the Latin ramus a branch.

CHRONOLOGY.-Oxford as well as Cambridge Terms begin today.

POMONA. The autumnal Apples and Pears proceed to ripen, and the gathering of them constitutes a principal employment of the Horticulturist.

FAUNA.-The Woodcock Scolopax rusticola begins to arrive in England. The Woodcock is migratory, and in

different seasons is said to inhabit every climate: it leaves the countries bordering upon the Baltic in the Autumn and setting in of Winter, on its route to this country. They do not come in large flocks, but keep dropping in upon our shores singly, or sometimes in pairs, from the beginning of October till December. They must have the instinctive precaution of landing only in the night, or in dark misty weather, for they are never seen to arrive; but are frequently discovered the next morning in any ditch which affords shelter, and particularly after the extraordinary fatigue occasioned by the adverse gales which they often have to encounter in their aerial voyage. They do not remain near the shores to take their rest longer than a day, but commonly find themselves sufficiently recruited in that time to proceed inland, to the very same haunts which they left the preceding season. In temperate weather they retire to the mossy moors, and high bleak mountainous parts of the country; but as soon as the frost sets in, and the snows begin to fall, they return to lower and warmer situations, where they meet with boggy grounds and springs, and little oozing mossy rills which are rarely frozen, and seek the shelter of close bushes of holly, furze, and brakes in the woody glens, or hollow dells which are covered with underwood: there they remain concealed during the day, and remove to different haunts and feed only in the night. From the beginning of March to the end of that month, or sometimes to the middle of April, they all keep drawing towards the coasts, and avail themselves of the first fair wind to return to their native woods.

The Snipe Scolopax gallinago also comes now, and inhabits similar situations. From its vigilance and manner of flying, it is one of the most difficult birds to shoot. Some sportsmen can imitate their cries, and by that means draw them within reach of their shot; others, of a less honourable description, prefer the more certain and laborious method of catching them in the night by a springe like that which is used for the Woodcock.

The Snipe is migratory, and is met with in all countries: like the Woodcock, it shuns the extremes of heat and cold, by keeping upon the bleak moors in Summer, and seeking the shelter of the valleys in Winter. In severe frosts and storms of snow, driven by the extremity of the weather, they seek the unfrozen boggy places, runners from springs, or any open streamlet of water, and they are sure to be found, often in considerable numbers, in these places.

October 11. St. Ethelburge Virgin and Abbess. St. Gomer. St. Canicus.

other Martyrs. St. Philip.

SS. Andronicus and

The Greeks are said to celebrate St. Philip the Deacon today.

FAUNA.-Dr. Aikin in his Calendar of Nature has the following observation on beehives, and the taking of honey at this time of year:-" It is usually in October that the beehives are despoiled of their honey. As long as flowers are plentiful, the Bees continue adding to their store; but when these fail, they are obliged to begin feeding on the honey they have already made. From this time, therefore, the hive grows less and less valuable. Its condition is judged of by its weight. The common method of getting at the honey is, by destroying the Bees with the fumes of burning brimstone. The humane Thomson exclaims against this practice :

'Ah! see where, robbed and murdered, in that pit
Lies the still heaving hive! at evening snatched
Beneath the cloud of guiltconcealing night,
And fixed o'er sulphur; while, not dreaming ill,
The happy people in their waxen cells
Sat, tending public cares, and planning schemes
Of temperance, for Winter poor; rejoiced
To mark, full flowing round, their copious stores.
Sudden the dark oppressive steam ascends;
And, used to milder scents, the tender race,
By thousands, tumble from their honeyed domes,
Convolved, and agonizing in the dust.

And was it then for this you roamed the Spring,
Intent from flower to flower? for this you toiled,
Ceaseless, the burning Summer heats away?

For this in Autumn searched the blooming waste,
Nor lost one sunny gleam; for this sad fate"

"This cruel necessity may be prevented by using hives or boxes properly contrived, or by employing fumes which will stupefy but not kill them. In this case, however, enough of the honey must be left for their subsistence during the Winter." But Bees are not the only animals who toil in vain for their despoiling Lord of the Creation.

Sic vos non cobis mellificatis apes.

October 12. St. Wilfred Bishop and Confessor.

St. Wilfred was Bishop of York in the year 709. Butler, under the account of his life, vol. x. 247, gives the history of the invention of the gamut.

FLORA.-Aikin observes the gloom of the falling year is in some measure enlivened during this month, especially by the variety of colours, some lively and beautiful, put on by the fading leaves of trees and shrubs.

Those virgin leaves, of purest vivid green,

Which charmed ere yet they trembled on the trees,
Now cheer the sober landscape in decay:
The Lime first fading; and the golden Birch,
With bark of silver hue; the mossgrown Oak,
Tenacious of its leaves of russet brown;
The ensanguined Dogwood; and a thousand tints
Which Flora, dressed in all her pride of bloom,
Could scarcely equal, decorate the groves.

To these temporary colours are added the more durable ones of ripened berries, a variety of which now enrich our hedges. Among these are particularly distinguished the Hip, the fruit of the Wild Rose; the Haw, of the Hawthorn; the Sloe, of the Blackthorn; the Blackberry, of the Bramble; and the berries of the Alder, Holly, and Woody Nightshade. These are a providential supply for the birds during the Winter season; and it is said that they are most plentiful when the ensuing Winter is to be most severe.

FAUNA. The common Martin, whose nests hung under the eaves of our houses afford so agreeable a spectacle of parental fondness and assiduity, usually disappears.

The Royston Crow or Hooded Crow, which migrates northward to breed, returns about the beginning of this month. At the same time the Woodcock is first seen on our eastern coasts, though the great body of them does not arrive till November or December. Various kinds of waterfowl, which breed in the northern regions, approach our coasts at this season. About the middle of the month, Wild Geese quit the fens and go up to the ryelands, where they pluck the young corn.

The weather about this time is sometimes extremely misty, with a perfect calm. The ground is covered with Spiders' webs innumerable, crossing the path, and extended from one shrub to another.

October 13. St. Edward King and Confessor. St. Colman. St. Gerald. SS. Faustus, Januarius, &c. Martyrs. Seven Friars Minors Martyrs.

Orises at VI. 35'. and sets at v. 25.

CHRONOLOGY.-Henry IV. of England crowned in 1399. Napoleon Buonaparte arrived at St. Helena 1815.

Fontinalia.-Rom. Cal.

In order to explain this festival among the Romans it may be observed, that human nature is prone to exaltation, arising from the organ of Ideality; hence we overdo our veneration for all objects of past pleasure or utility, and lavish thereon praises and imaginary honours. The Fontinalia were festivals at Rome in honour of the blessings of good water. Fountains and wells were crowned with garlands, and had flowers and other offerings thrown into them. Hence Horace in Ode iii. 13, wrote on the eve of this day: O Fons Bandusiae splendidior vitrò Dulci digne mero non sine floribus, Cras donaberis hoedo.

He goes on then to lavish adulatory praises on the cool and refreshing spring of water, and the shades of trees growing on the broken rocks from which it sprung. Frequently wine and the blood of Goats were offered as sacrifices. Following our plan of comparing the ancient with modern ceremonies, we may observe that the Holy Water of modern Christendom received honour of a similar nature, and may be regarded as exhibiting the counterpart to the ancient custom under consideration. In more ancient times we read of virtues ascribed to the waters of Jordan, not entirely of a physical nature, but partaking of the mystic character of the Fontes Sacri of more recent times.

FLORA. In fine seasons the gardens are still agreeable, since Asters, Marigolds, African Marigolds, Chrysanthemums, Zinnias, and many other of the aestival plants still remain in blow, besides the still blowing stumps of old stocks, and the occasional appearance of Poppies sown late, which now flower.

FAUNA. Swallows and Martins, though much less numerous, are still seen, particularly when southwest winds prevail, which prevents their setting out on their journey. Goldfinches, the Titmice, and numerous small birds, are now seen feeding on the seeds in the garden, and devouring quantities of the seeds of the Sunflower, the evening Primrose, and other esculent grains.

POMONA.-The late or autumnal Peaches and Nectarines are now in season, and when the season will allow them to ripen they afford excellent fruit. The picking of Apples and autumnal Pears, and laying them up in the loft, still continues, if the weather be fine, to make up the occupation of the horticulturist. The Damson tree now casts its fruit on the ground: this, like many others of the Plum tribe, often