Footstep. "This venerated memorial is five feet seven inches in length, two feet seven inches in breadth, and the very slight resemblance which it has to the shape of a foot is given by a margin of plaster coloured to resemble the rock. A temple built of wood surmounts the rock, and is retained in its exalted situation by strong iron chains." Of course there is a priest's house here; the thing would be incomplete without such an appendage. The peak is in itself a very extraordinary natural object, leaving altogether out of view the sacred foot-mark. The ascent is not peculiarly difficult, though pilgrims often choose a dangerous path, to increase their own merit. The rocks are covered with numerous inscriptions. With the usual daring of the British soldier, Major Forbes frequently prosecuted the chase of wild elephants, which, as well as crocodiles, snakes, and leopards, are abundant in Ceylon. Seeing that single hunters there attack the wild elephant, it may well be believed that the scene which took place at the killing of the elephant at Exeter 'Change, some years ago, caused great laughter in Ceylon. The newspapers took out a plan of the scene, with the various objects regularly marked, such as A, the elephant, B, a party of the Guards; and, after all, a return was given of the ammunition expended in killing an elephant in a cage. We may well believe, we say, that all this would appear very ridiculous to a sportsman familiar with scenes like the following:-"In an extremely thick dark copse, matted with thorny creeping plants, two elephants had taken shelter. Creeping in on my breast for a few feet, I could distinguish the legs of a very large elephant, whose head was concealed by the foliage; but of my taking a proper aim. Looking round, and another and smaller one was sufficiently visible to allow seeing the coolies (native attendants) close to the edge of the brushwood, and being myself, as I imagined, ready to back out and face the expected charge of the large elephant, I fired at the other, and it fell dead. I then attempted to rise, but felt myself entangled by thorns. I had no time to repeat my efforts at escape; for I immediately felt the tangled mass of vegetation pressing forward upon me, while the big elephant rushed up almost close to where I lay, and there came through the keeper's body? We sar In the course of an excursion, Major For with a pretended conjuror, who was placed in rober an awkward predicament. "He had, uni himself, inspired his neighbours with a belief that had the power of bringing rain by performing certa. ceremonies, and they had spread his fame ever the whole district. From this, and his knowledge of the appearance of the sky, and the various signs of comir showers or approaching heavy rains, he had long in posed on the people, and reaped considerable profit until at last their eagerness of belief outrunning his powers of imposition, not only destroyed his occupa tion, but nearly cost him his life. It was urged by some one, and acquiesced in by all, that as there was no doubt of his ability to call down rain when necessary, it ought not to be left to his caprice when this talent should be exercised; and that, when required by a whole village, he should be obliged to furnish rain in sufficient quantities; that, if he did so, he was to be liberally rewarded; but, on the contrary, if he were contumacious, and refused to give the necessary supply, he should be tormented with thorns, or beat into compliance. Having suffered severe punishments on various occasions, he at last made up his mind no longer to be a responsible agent for the weather, and loudly and constantly denied having any authority in the matter. This, although deemed to be a false excuse, proved a sufficient protection to stood uttering that fearful, shrill, trumpet-like squeal with which these animals generally accompany their charge. I suppose it was unwilling to leave its fallen companion; for it did not follow the coolies, who ran off, but remained, trumpeting, and standing with its round shapeless legs within my reach, and its head almost over me. I had a rifle, carrying a ball of two ounces weight, in my hand; this I raised perpendicularly under the elephant's head, and with the butt-end resting on the ground, pulled the trigger. The shot took effect; the animal staggered back eight or ten paces towards the dead one, while, by violent exertions, I disentangled myself from my most uncomfortable position." The sportsman had no further trouble with the mortally wounded animal. His deficiency of moisture; but, this season, the people, him during several se, but, this season, the people, losing all patience from a long-continued drought, which was destroying their crops, dragged the recusant cloud-compeller to various villages, in which he suffered severely for his supposed neglect. Even the chief of the district had determined on having rain by force, if fair means proved insufficient, and had sent some of his followers to bring the conjuror to the village where water was most required: it was while on his way there that he was fortunate enough to see me, and, making his escape, threw himself on my trot tection. In the court-house the old man stated that he was in terror of his life, for at present there way every appearance of a continuance of the same dry weather that had already done so much mischief; and then gravely proceeded to prove to me by many oaths that it was no fault of his that no rain was forthcoming. I had some difficulty in protecting this old impostor, particularly as a few slight showers fell near his village, which was situated on one of the highest inhabited parts of the district; and I have no doubt the people thought, not that they had been the infatuated dupes of a rogue, but that I was imposed upon by a churlish wizard." We learn from the work before us, as well as from which e After the few!me dared he may probably position, however, was one of awful risk, because it is other sources, that Ceylon is at present one of the most lives. The extent to which the natives carry their daring in attacking wild elephants, is extraordinary. When a kraal, or enclosed space for catching these animals, is formed, and a herd has been driven into it, the hunters pass backwards and forwards with great boldness, effecting the operation of noosing. Partly protected by tame decoy elephants, they prick the feet of the wild ones, and on the legs being lifted, throw nooses dexterously round them. The noosed elephant starts off, but is speedily brought to its knees, the hunter having given the other end of the rope several turns round a tree. Major Forbes says he has seen men, stationed on trees, actually descend on the backs of wild elephants to dislodge them from the spot. When it is remembered that the animals are in an excited state, and that the hunter who comes within fair reach is sure either to be crushed to death by their trunks, or to be spiked by their tusks, the coolness of the native noosers appears very wonderful. On one occasion (says Major Forbes), " an unlucky hunter was seized by an elephant's trunk. Fortunately I regained my gun, and still more fortunately, considering the hurry in which I fired, the ball passed through the animal's head without injuring the man, who was released from a gripe so severe that it had already forced blood from his mouth and nostrils." Our author does not conceive the elephant to be nearly so sagacious as is commonly supposed, but allows that it occasionally exhibits peculiar cunning. "In 1829, one of the hunting elephants at Matale, having shown symptoms of a capricious irritable temper, was in consequence secured to a tree near the stables; next day, as the keeper was standing barely within reach, the brute suddenly seized him at the moment another elephant was passing, and pressed the unfortunate man against this animal's front, until one of the thick blunt tusks task becomes eary and wen retain the habit to the d tired of the task; for even porn months during winter, he w nearly as well as before." Though we have been indebted for the matter of this article to the work of Major Forbes, yet our desire to make our account of Ceylon of a general character has prevented us from giving a sufficient specimen of the actual style of the writer, and we shall probably return, therefore, to these volumes on another occasion. TRAINING OF CAPONS FOR NURSES TO POULTRY. OUR LADY TEAL A LEGEND OF 118 bounds of the ancient kingdom of ve WHOEVER passes at the present day bably behold, if he looks well around hers, & ruinous chapel, exhibiting the traces of gen chitectural beauty, and finely situated on the of a rising eminence. Within the walls of chapel, the passer-by may also observe the vextiren various old monuments, bearing the nearly defarend names of Penalba, Saenz, and Correa. He will be told, moreover, that the chapel was dedicated to Our Lady Tendudia, and he will still hear the peasant making orisons to the Virgin, under that particular designa tion. If he be an Englishman, and acquainted, even slightly, with the language of Spain, it is furthermore probable that the traveller will exclaim, "Our Lady Stop-the-day! [such being the meaning of the term Tendudia]; what an odd phrase to tack to the name of the Virgin!" And if he be so fortunate as to meet with some of the older peasants of the district, whose memories are stored with the traditions of the past, he will in all likelihood hear the following legend of a bygone age, in explanation of what has caused his Capons may be trained to perform the office of nurses to young poultry, which they will execute in a better manner than even the mothers of the chicks. To those who attempt artificial incubation, this is a matter of some consequence, for no hen will readily nurse any chickens but those which she has hatched; whereas, the capon is an ever-ready nurse. In order to induce capons to take charge of chickens, Baptista Porta, an Italian writer, suggests that the skin of their breast should be irritated with nettles, so that they become anxious to chicks which are put to them. But this is a barbarous allay the itchiness by sitting and rubbing upon the young and far from certain mode of training. Others recommend to make the capon drunk with oat pickles steeped in brandy, believing that the capon in his intoxicated condition will fancy himself a hen, and so take charge of the chicks which crowd around him. This, however, is a fully more vicious plan of education-not that it causes the capon to acquire tippling habits, but because the animal, when tipsy, will most likely trample upon and kill the young family consigned to his care. The best mode of training seems to be that mentioned by Mr Rannie, in his volume on the Habits of Birds, in the Library of Entertaining Knowledge. He quotes the proceedings of Réaumur, the naturalist. Réaumur, he observes, "having been convinced that under the care of the woman who had the charge of the such empirical practices were useless, put three capons poultry-yard at the Chateau de Vaujour; and as she proceeded on a regular and rational plan of tuition, put in force not for a single night or day, but continued for several days in succession, they caine out of her school surprise. In the thirteenth century, the Moors occupied a great portion of the kingdom of Spain, and were engaged in continual contests with the Christian natives. "Oh, brave times!" says an old chronicler of these wars, "when every knight of the cross was brave as his sword, and true as its Toledan steel; and when to contend with the infidel was to win either the laurel of victory, or the palm of martyrdom! Oh, brave times! when every lady was beautiful as the day, and gave to her own true knight the encouragement of her smiles, and the aid of her prayers!" Of all the ladies to whom the chronicler might here allude, none could be more lovely than Donna Bibiana, daughter and only child of Don Raymon de Penalba, a gentleman of the kingdom of Toledo. Donna Bibiana, at the date of our story, was very young. She had large, soft, blue eyes, dark tresses, a sweet and smiling mouth, with an elegant figure, and feet so small that it was a miracle how even her slender figure moved about on them so firmly, though so lightly. Besides, she was extremely good and charitable to the poor, though she was far from being rich. As in duty bound, she detested the Moors very cordially, and in short had all the qualities of a pious and accomplished beauty of the day. No, Donna Bibiana, or rather her father, was not overburdened with riches. Don Raymon, in fact, depended very much upon his sword for subsistence. Like a bold warrior, and a good subject of his sovereign, he had spent all his days in battling with the and had often enriched himself with their spoils, only Moors, who were no very distant neighbours of his, to be impoverished again by their reprisals. But though this sort of work left Don Raymon sometime in poorish circumstances, such was never very long the case; for when his coffers were empty, he always called out his attendants, and led them once more against the infidels. At the close of the year 1240, Don Raymon set forth on one of these knightly expeditions. He was accompanied by ten of his men, and with them he crossed the Guadalquivir, directing his course towards the Moorish province of Jaen. When he reached the country of the enemy, he separated his warriors, sending five one way, and going himself in another this, when suddenly, on rounding the corner of a hill, direction with the remainder. He had scarcely done he found himself in front of half a dozen well-ap pointed Moors, who were apparently making their way towards the demesnes of the Christians with much the same intentions as his own. But what says the pro In the summer of 1788, Mr Metcalf lost his wife, who had brought him four children. He had before this realised a handsome sum by his road and bridge contracts, but he lost considerably in his old days by some cotton speculations into which he was led by his enterprising spirit. In 1792, he gave up his extense engagements, and settled at Sposforth, near Wetherby, in his native county. Here, having retained as much of his fortune as to secure a comfortable independence, he spent his latter days in happy case, in the bosom of his family. He died in the year 1802. FORBES'S CEYLON.* CEYLON is an island in the Southern Ocean, lying off the When the rebellion broke out in 1745, Metcalf's | the glass, the gentleman remarked to the landlord that | stirring spirit led him to join the English army as a his guide had surely taken drink since his arrival. “I musician, and he remained with them up till the vic-judge so," added he, "from the appearance of his tory of Culloden. He then returned home, but not eyes." "Eyes! bless you, sir, don't you know that until he had formed a plan of future employment from he is blind?" "Blind!" cried the traveller; "blind! what he had learned-for we can scarcely say observed gracious heavens !" "Yes, sir, he is blind as a stone!" --in Scotland. He adopted the idea that a number Metcalf was called in, and his late companion, yet of the cotton and worsted manufactures of the north trembling with agitation, exclaimed," Had I known would sell well in England, and accordingly he made your condition, sir, I would not have ventured with one or two journeys back to Scotland for these stuffs, you for a hundred pounds !” "And I," said Metcalf, which he disposed of in Yorkshire. Among a thou- "would not have lost my way for a thousand !” sand articles, he knew exactly what each cost him, The nicety of touch which Metcalf had acquired from a peculiar mode of marking. Still this trafficking was very wonderful. He could play at cards with no did not prove suitable for a permanent line of life, and other guide; and when persons were by on whom he in 1751 he commenced driving a stage-waggon, twice | could depend, he frequently played for serious stakes, a-week in summer and once in winter, between York and won, through the advantage of his uncommon and Knaresborough. This employment apparently memory. Even when no friend was near him, it would drew his attention to the subject of roads, and fixed have been very difficult for an opponent to have taken him in the pursuit which finally gained him his chief unfair advantage, such was his acuteness of ear and celebrity, and proved a source of no slight advantage powers of observation. One occasion is mentioned to his country. During his leisure hours he had where he won eighteen guineas from strangers at studied mensuration in a way peculiar to himself, and cards. when certain of the girth and length of any piece of timber, could reduce its contents to feet and inches, or could bring the dimensions of any building into yards and feet. In short, he had formed for himself accurate and practical modes of mensuration. At this time it chanced that a new piece of road, about three miles long, was wanted between Fearnsby and Minskip. Being well acquainted with the locality, he proposed to contract for it, and his offer was accepted. The materials for the road were to be taken from one quarry, and there, with his wonted activity, he erected temporary houses, hired horses, fixed racks and mangers, and set the work a-going with great spirit. He completed the road much sooner than was expected by the trustees, and in every way to their satisfaction. Thus commenced the most remarkable portion of this man's life. Metcalf soon undertook other road contracts, and, strange to say, succeeded in laying down good lines where others were hopeless of success. In Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Derbyshire, during a period of nearly forty years, he pursued the employment of road-making and bridge-building, being by far the most noted and esteemed follower of such occupations in those parts. The large bridge at Borough-bridge, and various others, might be named as proofs of his abilities and success. An anecdote is told, which will exhibit the ingenious way in which he overcame difficulties which staggered other surveyors. Among the numerous roads for which he contracted, was one on the Manchester line, between Blackmoor and Standish-Foot. The original surveyor took the new line over deep marshes, which, in the opinion of the trustees and all concerned, seemed only passable by cutting or digging the earth till a solid bottom was found. This plan appeared to Metcalf tedious and expensive, and he attempted to prove to the trustees that such was the case; but they were fixed in their original views, and only permitted the blind roadmaker to follow his own way, on condition that he should afterwards execute their plan if his own failed. Metcalf began to his task. The worst part of the line was on Standish Common, where a deep bog existed, which it seemed impossible to cut a road through. Metcalf set his men to work in cutting a line, and draining off the water, as far as that was possible. So little progress, however, was at first made, that every body laughed at the poor blind man, who, it was thought, would have given up the task in despair, had he had his eyes like other people. Nevertheless, he proceeded unweariedly, until he had levelled the bog across, and he then ordered his men to collect heather or ling, and bind it in round bundles which they could span with their hands. These bundles were laid down close together on the cut line, and successive bundles laid over them again, after which they were covered and pressed down with stones and gravel. The issue was, that this portion of the road, when completed, was so remarkably firm and good, that it needed no repairs for twelve years, while other parts required frequent repairs. Even in winter it was perfectly dry. It was Metcalf's custom, in making purchases of wood, hay, or stones, to span the articles with his arms, and then calculate the amount mentally. Having learned the height, he could tell with great accuracy what number of square yards were contained in a stack of grain, of any value between one and five hundred pounds. His memory was astonishing, and it was no doubt principally by this faculty that he was enabled to traverse so many towns, and ride along so many roads. While in York, on one occasion, a The aboriginal people of Ceylon were the Veddahs, friend of his, the landlord of the George Inn, asked a tribe who yet live in a rude state in some districts him as a personal favour to guide a gentleman towards of it. The name of Cingalese, or Singhalese, was deHarrowgate. This place lay in Metcalf's own way, rived from Singha, the ancestor of an invading race and he agreed to the request upon condition that his from Hindustan, by whom the dynasty of 543 B.C. was blindness was kept a secret from the gentleman. The founded. At the same era, according to the native pair accordingly started, both on horseback, and Met- chronicles, the great Buddha died, who was canonised as calf taking the lead. By a little dexterity, Metcalf the head of the old religion of the island, and in whose contrived to pass some gates without leading to a sus- honour were erected the majority of the numerous picion of the truth, and finally the travellers entered temples, ruinous and entire, that are yet to be seen a forest beyond Knaresborough, where there was as in the country. The Buddhist religion is still the yet no turnpike. Evening came on, and by asking prevalent native one, and this idol's relics are every his companion if he saw lights in particular directions, where reverenced, as we shall have occasion after Metcalf brought the journey to a safe close, though inwards to show from the work of Major Forbes. The those days a man with all his eyes about him might Cingalese, like other oriental nations, are afflicted well have strayed from the path. On landing at the Granby inn, the two travellers, took some liquor, after which Metcalf retired. Having noticed some difficulty on the part of his companion in lifting warin | From native records in the Pali language, a tongue bearing apparently the same relation to the vernacular Cingalese that Sanscrit does to Hindostanee, a pretty full account has been obtained of the history of Ceylon. A list of the kings, with an accompanying narrative of their chief acts, has been drawn up, extending over a period of not less than twenty-four centuries, or from about the year 543 before Christ till the present time. In all, one hundred and sixtyfive sovereigns are found on this list. Like other eastern nations, the Cingalese can neither be said to have been civilised nor barbarous during the period in question, though they certainly retrograded rather than advanced latterly. They built extraordinary and magnificent edifices; but these, with striking though not uncommon inconsistency, were chiefly devoted to the rites of a savage and contemptible idolatry. Till after the middle of the eighteenth century, the Cingalese, though previously visited by Portuguese and Dutch traders and settlers, maintained their independence without difficulty. About 1780, however, the islanders quarrelled with the Indo-British powers, and hostilities then commenced, which continued with little intermission down to the year 1815, when the native king, a cruel despot, whose intolerable conduct precipitated the subjugation of his country, was dethroned, and the island added to the dominions of Britain, as what is termed a crown colony, with the consent of a large proportion of the inhabitants. The Cingalese, in short, underwent the fate which inevitably follows the struggles of barbarism with civilisation. Since 1815, Ceylon has been ruled by successive British governors, the present one being Mr Stewart Mackenzie of Seaforth. with the prejudices of caste. Excepting the royal one, the highest caste in the island is that of the land-cultivators, including the chiefs and great families. Trades-people and labourers form another; but it would be tiresome and fruitless to enter into details on this point, as each caste has many subdivisions, the limits of which are so strongly marked that even the individual branches cannot intermarry. The lowest caste, the Rhodias, were for ages so utterly despised and so cruelly treated, that they could not live in common houses, or own land, or approach a temple; and, lastly, they could be killed by any one with impunity. The British have done much to abolish this detestable prejudice. There existed no small degree of learning among the Cingalese, but it was almost entirely confined to the Buddhist priesthood. The community at large were very ignorant. After this general account of Ceylon, we turn with pleasure to the details of Major Forbes's interesting work, which combines adventure very pleasantly with elaborate information, the fruit of many years' experience and observation. He landed on the island in the autumn of 1826, and continued there for several succeeding years, during which time he visited almost every locality on its surface, possessed of any interest or importance. The ancient city of Kandy, long the capital of the island, and standing very nearly in its centre, is described by him as of considerable extent, judiciously planned, and situated on an angular piece of ground, with the base resting on two large artificial lakes. Describing a part of the environs, Major Forbes says, "The course of the rapid Mahavilla-ganga winds below; the green hills and forest-clad mountains, rising to a height of upwards of six thousand feet, lie beyond ; and this, with clumps of palmyra, tufts of cocoa-nut trees, and every variety of forest foliage," constitute the scenery close around Kandy. The chief native buildings are the temples of Buddha, of which the town contains several, and two colleges for the ordination of the Buddhist_priests. There are also temples to the gods Nata, Vishnu, Katagramma, and others, whom the Cingalese wor ship as well as Buddha. They sacrifice, likewise, to demons, a red cock being the usual offering on such occasions. Major Forbes observes, that the doctrines of the Buddhist religion are certainly unexceptionable in many points, the fundamental maxim being as follows: "Abstain from all sin, acquire all virtue, repress thine own heart." But these lessons are greatly neglected in practice, and the actual religion consists but of vile idolatries. For example, the author of the work before us witnessed a magnificent festival at Kandy, in honour of Buddha's tooth, a relic supposed to have been saved from the funeral pile of the god. This relic, which is merely a piece of discoloured ivory, nearly two inches in length, and one inch in diameter at the base, has for twenty-four hundred years been an object of veneration; and though the enemies of the Buddhists repeatedly endeavoured to destroy it, it always came out of the danger in a triumphant and miraculous way. It was thrown into a pit of burning charcoal, and burst out unscathed, emitting rays that "illumined the universe." It was buried deep in the earth, and reappeared in the centre of a golden_lotus. It was placed on an anvil to be destroyed, and sunk into the solid iron till the peril was over. Such are the sort of tales told of the tooth. It is now kept in a temple attached to the old palace of the Kandian kings, being laid on a silver altar, and enclosed in six cases of gold, ornamented with rubies and precious stones, besides other valuable appendages. In the brilliant pageantry of the festival, the rich altar and resplendent ornaments of the relic, the great size and elegant decorations of the temporary buildings, the peculiar and picturesque dresses of the chiefs, the majestic elephants, and dense mass of people, threw an air of imposing grandeur over the spectacle. The Dalada (as they call the tooth) was exhibited, and the offerings continued for three successive days. The offerings consisted of things the most heterogeneous; gold chains and gold ornaments; gold, silver, and copper coins, of all denominations; cloths, priests' vestments, flowers, sugar, areka-nuts, betel-leaves." The plate illustrative of this festival, given by Major Forbes, presents us with a scene which perhaps excels in grandeur any thing ever imagined by poet or painter, unless it be some one of the conceptions of Martin. The Dalada ranks highest among the visible objects of Cingalese worship; but very little inferior is the amount of veneration bestowed on a mountain of a remarkable character termed Adam's Peak, which is situated in the interior of the island, and was visited by our author. "The Mahommedans believe that the first man, Adam, whose height was equal to a tall palm-tree, after having been thrown down from Paradise, which was in the seventh heaven, alighted on this peak, and remained standing on one foot until years of penitence and suffering had expiated his offence." A mark, resembling a gigantic foot-print, has suggested this story, which is of great antiquity. The Buddhists, however, assert the foot-mark to be that of Buddha, while the Hindoos declare it to have been made by Siva in stepping over from Ceylon to the Continent. Hence the peak is an object of veneration to all parties, and pilgrims visit the spot in great numbers. The peak is 7420 feet high, and has a level space on the summit enclosed by a wall. In History and Antiquities. By Major Forbes, 78th Highlanders. stone or rock nine feet high, and on this is the Sacred the centre of this space stands an isolated granite 2 vols. Bentley, London. * Eleven Years in Ceylon. Comprising Sketches of the Field Sports and Natural History of the Colony, and an Account of its Footstep. "This venerated memorial is five feet seven inches in length, two feet seven inches in breadth, and the very slight resemblance which it has to the shape of a foot is given by a margin of plaster coloured to resemble the rock. A temple built of wood surmounts the rock, and is retained in its exalted situation by strong iron chains." Of course there is a priest's house here; the thing would be incomplete without such an appendage. The peak is in itself a very extraordinary natural object, leaving altogether out of view the sacred foot-mark. The ascent is not peculiarly difficult, though pilgrims often choose a dangerous path, to increase their own merit. The rocks are covered with numerous inscriptions. With the usual daring of the British soldier, Major Forbes frequently prosecuted the chase of wild elephants, which, as well as crocodiles, snakes, and leopards, are abundant in Ceylon. Seeing that single hunters there attack the wild elephant, it may well be believed that the scene which took place at the killing of the elephant at Exeter 'Change, some years ago, caused great laughter in Ceylon. The newspapers took out a plan of the scene, with the various objects regularly marked, such as A, the elephant, B, a party of the Guards; and, after all, a return was given of the ammunition expended in killing an elephant in a cage. We may well believe, we say, that all this would appear very ridiculous to a sportsman familiar with scenes like the following:-"In an extremely thick dark copse, matted with thorny creeping plants, two elephants had taken shelter. Creeping in on my breast for a few feet, I could distinguish the legs of a very large elephant, whose head was concealed by the foliage; but another and smaller one was sufficiently visible to allow of my taking a proper aim. Looking round, and seeing the coolies (native attendants) close to the edge of the brushwood, and being myself, as I imagined, ready to back out and face the expected charge of the large elephant, I fired at the other, and it fell dead. I then attempted to rise, but felt myself entangled by thorns. I had no time to repeat my efforts at escape; for I immediately felt the tangled mass of vegetation pressing forward upon me, while the big elephant rushed up almost close to where I lay, and there stood uttering that fearful, shrill, trumpet-like squeal with which these animals generally accompany their charge. I suppose it was unwilling to leave its fallen companion; for it did not follow the coolies, who ran off, but remained, trumpeting, and standing with its round shapeless legs within my reach, and its head almost over ine. I had a rifle, carrying a ball of two ounces weight, in my hand; this I raised perpendicularly under the elephant's head, and with the butt-end resting on the ground, pulled the trigger. The shot took effect; the animal staggered back eight or ten paces towards the dead one, while, by violent exertions, I disentangled myself from my most uncomfortable position." The sportsman had no further trouble with the mortally wounded animal. His position, however, was one of awful risk, because it is impossible to tell whether an elephant's strength will be destroyed by one ball or twenty. Major Forbes relates several instances of fatal accidents from the fierceness of wounded elephants. In one case a rentleman was crushed to death in an instant by an lephant, and two of his friends, on attacking the same animal, would certainly have perished also, but for an accident. The creature charged, and came up to them, when they had barely time to run a few feet aside. Happily they both went to the left, and the elephant passed them, to their great surprise. It was afterwards discovered that one of their shots had destroyed the vision of the right eye. This accident saved their lives. The extent to which the natives carry their daring in attacking wild elephants, is extraordinary. When a kraal, or enclosed space for catching these animals, is formed, and a herd has been driven into it, the hunters pass backwards and forwards with great boldness, effecting the operation of noosing. Partly protected by tame decoy elephants, they prick the feet of the wild ones, and on the legs being lifted, throw nooses dexterously round them. The noosed elephant starts off, but is speedily brought to its knees, the hunter having given the other end of the rope several turns round a tree. Major Forbes says he has seen men, stationed on trees, actually descend on the backs of wild elephants to dislodge them from the spot. When it is remembered that the animals are in an excited state, and that the hunter who comes within fair reach is sure either to be crushed to death by their trunks, or 66 to be spiked by their tusks, the coolness of the native noosers appears very wonderful. On one occasion (says Major Forbes), an unlucky hunter was seized by an elephant's trunk. Fortunately I regained my gun, and still more fortunately, considering the hurry in which I fired, the ball passed through the animal's head without injuring the man, who was released from a gripe so severe that it had already forced blood from his mouth and nostrils." Our author does not conceive the elephant to be nearly so sagacious as is commonly supposed, but allows that it occasionally exhibits peculiar cunning. "In 1829, one of the hunting elephants at Matale, having shown symptoms of a capricious irritable temper, was in consequence secured to a tree near the stables; next day, as the keeper was standing barely within reach, the brute suddenly seized him at the moment another elephant was passing, and pressed the unfortunate man against this animal's front, until one of the thick blunt tusks came through the keeper's body." We also hear much about the attachment of these creatures to their keepers, but Major Forbes says that there are few of the old hunting elephants that have not killed people employed about them at one time or another. In the course of an excursion, Major Forbes met with a pretended conjuror, who was placed in rather an awkward predicament. "He had, unluckily for himself, inspired his neighbours with a belief that he had the power of bringing rain by performing certain ceremonies, and they had spread his fame over the whole district. From this, and his knowledge of the appearance of the sky, and the various signs of coming showers or approaching heavy rains, he had long imposed on the people, and reaped considerable profit; until at last their eagerness of belief outrunning his powers of imposition, not only destroyed his occupation, but nearly cost him his life. It was urged by some one, and acquiesced in by all, that as there was no doubt of his ability to call down rain when necessary, it ought not to be left to his caprice when this talent should be exercised; and that, when required by a whole village, he should be obliged to furnish rain in sufficient quantities; that, if he did so, he was to be liberally rewarded; but, on the contrary, if he were contumacious, and refused to give the necessary supply, he should be tormented with thorns, or beat into compliance. Having suffered severe punishments on various occasions, he at last made up his mind no longer to be a responsible agent for the weather, and loudly and constantly denied having any authority in the matter. This, although deemed to be a false excuse, proved a sufficient protection to him during several seasons in which there was no deficiency of moisture; but, this season, the people, losing all patience from a long-continued drought, which was destroying their crops, dragged the recusant cloud-compeller to various villages, in which he suffered severely for his supposed neglect. Even the chief of the district had determined on having rain by force, if fair means proved insufficient, and had sent some of his followers to bring the conjuror to the village where water was most required: it was while on his way there that he was fortunate enough to see me, and, making his escape, threw himself on my protection. In the court-house the old man stated that he was in terror of his life, for at present there was every appearance of a continuance of the same dry weather that had already done so much mischief; and then gravely proceeded to prove to me by many oaths that it was no fault of his that no rain was forthcoming. I had some difficulty in protecting this old impostor, particularly as a few slight showers fell near his village, which was situated on one of the highest inhabited parts of the district; and I have no doubt the people thought, not that they had been the infatuated dupes of a rogue, but that I was imposed upon by a churlish wizard." We learn from the work before us, as well as from other sources, that Ceylon is at present one of the most flourishing of our eastern possessions. Being a crown colony, it is exempted from the many petty exactions and obligations to which the company-governed continent of India is subject. In fact, it is a comparatively free country, and is rapidly improving both in its social and physical condition. Although greatly opposed by local prejudice, we are glad to know that juvenile education, accompanied by a knowledge of the English language, is making considerable progress and what more is required in the first instance to render its people intelligent and happy? Though we have been indebted for the matter of this article to the work of Major Forbes, yet our desire to make our account of Ceylon of a general character has prevented us from giving a sufficient specimen of the actual style of the writer, and we shall probably return, therefore, to these volumes on another occasion. TRAINING OF CAPONS FOR NURSES TO POULTRY. Capons may be trained to perform the office of nurses to young poultry, which they will execute in a better manner than even the mothers of the chicks. To those who attempt artificial incubation, this is a matter of some consequence, for no hen will readily nurse any chickens but those which she has hatched; whereas, the capon is an ever-ready nurse. In order to induce capons to take charge of chickens, Baptista Porta, an Italian writer, suggests that the skin of their breast should be irritated with nettles, so that they become anxious to allay the itchiness by sitting and rubbing upon the young chicks which are put to them. But this is a barbarous and far from certain mode of training. Others recommend to make the capon drunk with oat pickles steeped in brandy, believing that the capon in his intoxicated condition will fancy himself a hen, and so take charge of the chicks which crowd around him. This, however, is a fully more vicious plan of education-not that it causes the capon to acquire tippling habits, but because the animal, when tipsy, will most likely trample upon and kill the young family consigned to his care. The best mode of training seems to be that mentioned by Mr Rannie, in his volume on the Habits of Birds, in the Library of Entertaining Knowledge. He quotes the proceedings of Réaumur, the naturalist. Réaumur, he observes, "having been convinced that such empirical practices were useless, put three capons under the care of the woman who had the charge of the poultry-yard at the Chateau de Vaujour; and as she proceeded on a regular and rational plan of tuition, put in force not for a single night or day, but continued for several days in succession, they caine out of her school very well instructed in the space of ten or twelve days. Her method was, neither to pluck their feathers, to sting them with nettles, nor to make them drunk. She kept them alone for a day or two in pretty deep and rather narrow buckets, darkened by a covering of boards, taking them out two or three times a-day to feed. After making the capon in this manner wearied of solitude, she placed with him for companions two or three chickens, somewhat advanced in growth, and gave them all their food in common. If he ill used them, they were removed for a day or more, and then others were put to him. By such means, varied as circumstances indicate, the capon will contract a habit of living amicably with two or three chickens; and the number being increased by degrees, he will at last begin to take pride in his flock, so that it may be enlarged to any extent. Upon receiving his liberty in these circumstances, he will sit upon the chicks cold, and will lead them to places where they may find as a hen does, whenever they require to be protected from food, clucking like a hen to call them together when they straggle. He will likewise redouble his clucking when he finds such dainties as a piece of bread or an earthworm, which he will divide into several small portions to share it amongst them all, and will seem delighted to see them eat heartily of what he deprives himself of for their sake. After the few first days of training a capon, during which he may probably injure or kill two or three chickens, the task becomes easy; and when once he is taught, he will retain the habit to the end of his life, nor ever become tired of the task; for even when unemployed for several months during winter, he will take to it again in spring nearly as well as before." OUR LADY TENDUDIA, A LEGEND OF SPAIN. WHOEVER passes at the present day through the bounds of the ancient kingdom of Toledo, will probably behold, if he looks well around him, a small and ruinous chapel, exhibiting the traces of great architectural beauty, and finely situated on the slope of a rising eminence. Within the walls of the chapel, the passer-by may also observe the vestiges of various old monuments, bearing the nearly defaced names of Penalba, Saenz, and Correa. He will be told, moreover, that the chapel was dedicated to Our Lady Tendudia, and he will still hear the peasant making orisons to the Virgin, under that particular designation. If he be an Englishman, and acquainted, even slightly, with the language of Spain, it is furthermore probable that the traveller will exclaim, “Our Lady Stop-the-day! [such being the meaning of the term Tendudia]; what an odd phrase to tack to the name of the Virgin!" And if he be so fortunate as to meet with some of the older peasants of the district, whose memories are stored with the traditions of the past, he will in all likelihood hear the following legend of a bygone age, in explanation of what has caused his surprise. In the thirteenth century, the Moors occupied a great portion of the kingdom of Spain, and were engaged in continual contests with the Christian natives. "Oh, brave times!" says an old chronicler of these wars, "when every knight of the cross was brave as his sword, and true as its Toledan steel; and when to contend with the infidel was to win either the laurel of victory, or the palm of martyrdom! Oh, brave times! when every lady was beautiful as the day, and gave to her own true knight the encouragement of her smiles, and the aid of her prayers!" Of all the ladies to whom the chronicler might here allude, none could be more lovely than Donna Bibiana, daughter and only child of Don Raymon de Penalba, a gentleman of the kingdom of Toledo. Donna Bibiana, at the date of our story, was very young. She had large, soft, blue eyes, dark tresses, a sweet and smiling mouth, with an elegant figure, and feet so small that it was a miracle how even her slender figure moved about on them so firmly, though so lightly. Besides, she was extremely good and charitable to the poor, though she was far from being rich. As in duty bound, she detested the Moors very cordially, and in short had all the qualities of a pious and accomplished beauty of the day. No, Donna Bibiana, or rather her father, was not overburdened with riches. Don Raymon, in fact, depended very much upon his sword for subsistence. Like a bold warrior, and a good subject of his sovereign, he had spent all his days in battling with the Moors, who were no very distant neighbours of his, and had often enriched himself with their spoils, only to be impoverished again by their reprisals. But though this sort of work left Don Raymon sometime in poorish circumstances, such was never very long the case; for when his coffers were empty, he always called out his attendants, and led them once more against the infidels. At the close of the year 1240, Don Raymon set forth on one of these knightly expeditions. He was accompanied by ten of his men, and with them he crossed the Guadalquivir, directing his course towards the Moorish province of Jaen. When he reached the country of the enemy, he separated his warriors, sending five one way, and going himself in another direction with the remainder. He had scarcely done this, when suddenly, on rounding the corner of a hill, he found himself in front of half a dozen well-appointed Moors, who were apparently making their way towards the demesnes of the Christians with much the same intentions as his own. But what says the pro verb "He that goes for wool may come back shorn;" and such was doomed to be the fate of the Moors on this occasion. Don Raymon was as discreet as bold. His first act, on seeing the Moors, was to put his bugle to his lips, and sound the signal of recal to the other division of his band. Then, turning to those with him, he bade them prepare for the attack, but at the same time, like a prudent man, he cried, "Mark the leader of the infidels; take him alive! His cloak of scarlet, with its gay gold fringes, and his diamonded scimitar, speak of riches. We must have a sweeping ransom from him." It was not long ere they passed the line of Raymon's castle, and came upon the traces of the Moors. The horses of the latter had performed a long journey from Jaen in the morning, and were far from being so fresh as those of the Christians. Don Martin pressed the latter to their full speed. He was ever in front, and ascended every spot of rising ground with the speed of lightning, scanning the horizon for the first glimpse of the foe. "On! on he cried, exultingly, at length; "I behold the enemies of our faith!" "The intelligence inspired the pursuers with new zeal. They now saw in the distance a cloud of dust, and occasionally the gleam of bright weapons struck by the rays of the sun. Slowly but progressively they drew nearer to the flying Moors. But, alas! the sun was rapidly sinking towards the horizon. If the night set in before the encounter, the Moors would inevitably find a secure refuge in the mountains. 66 Oh, our Lady!" cried the anxious Don Martin, "leave not a young Christian maiden in the hands of these infidels!" As he spoke, he pressed on his companions to fresh speed. But the Arab coursers, with their outstretched necks, seemed to swallow the space before them, and although the distance between the parties was always diminishing, the chase was still continued. When at length the Christians came almost within spear length of the Moors, the sun nearly touched the horizon, rendering it a matter of great doubt if the encounter, when it did take place, would be effectual in the rescue of Bibiana. "Oh, our Lady!" exclaimed Don Martin in tones of agonised entreaty, “Nostra Segnora, Ten du dia! Ten du dia!" The legend tells that the entreaty was heard, and that the light of day did not pass away so early as usual. If you, having a strong faith in natural causes, were to suggest to the Spanish narrators of the tradition that the evening was probably nothing more than a remarkably fine one, you would only be pitied for your scepticism. However this may be, the Moors were forced to wheel and sustain the shock of their pursuers. For nearly an hour afterwards, a bitter conflict was kept up, which was terminated by Don Martin Saenz passing his knightly sword through the body of Almoreb, after a gallant single combat, viewed by the whole of both parties. The rest of the Moors immediately surrendered, and Donna Bibiana was not only recovered, but as the band of Almoreb was almost entirely composed of young men of rank who had joined him in his expedition, a great spoil was obtained through the capture and ultimate ransom of the Moorish prisoners. While his men attacked without delay the rest of the Moors, Don Raymon, who never desired others to do what he could do for himself, rode sword in hand against the leader of the enemy. The latter defended Aimself bravely, but seeing his companions cut down one by one around him, he turned his bridle-rein, and betook himself to flight. The speed and freshness of his horse would have saved him, had not the other half of the Spanish party, on hearing the signal call, made a circuit of the hill, and so met and seized the Meor in his flight. With his captive, and the spoils of the rest of the enemy, the Christian chief made his way back, with all due haste, to his own territory. Don Raymon de Penalba was not wrong in his supposition that the Moor was a man of wealth and distinction. Almoreb, as he was named, was a youth of the highest rank and greatest possessions in the kingdom of Jaën. His ransom was fixed by Penalba at 1500 maravedis of gold, and whilst they were waited for, the Moor was taken by his captor to the castle where Donna Bibiana usually resided. Almoreb saw the young lady, and immediately conceived a violent passion for her. Being a bigoted follower of the prophet, however, he at first only proposed to the Christian maiden to fly with him at the close of his imprisonment, without speaking of any intervening ceremony, such as is usually gone through on these occasions. Being very handsome, and having been greatly admired by the youthful beauties of Jaën, the gallant Moor was rather disappointed by the coldness with which Donna Bibiana_listened to his advances. But his passion grew every day stronger, and at length he made distinct proposals for her hand to her father. The intermarriage of Moors with Christians was by no means uncommon in those days, notwithstanding all the hostile struggles between the two races. Don Raymon was dazzled by the wealth and rank of the Moor, and being a kind father, whose anxiety to acquire fortune had a special reference to the future welfare of his daughter, the good knight thought marriage just as fair a way of attaining his aim as war. He therefore very earnestly recommended to Don Raymon, to prevent any such annoying adDonna Bibiana the acceptance of Almoreb's pro- ventures afterwards, immediately bestowed the hand posals. But the young lady was of a different way of of his daughter on Don Martin. Donna Bibiana and thinking, and gave a direct negative to the suit of her husband were so grateful for the event just rethe Moor. It has been mentioned that the young corded, that, in commemoration thereof, they built a lady was very pious, and had a proportionate dislike chapel, and distinguished it by the name of the chapel of the infidels. But truth compels us to say that of "Our Lady Tendudia." From that time forth the she was greatly guided in her opinions on this occa- pious people of the country around paid their orisons sion by a distant relative of her own, a young and to Nostra Segnora under that name. Such is the handsome cavalier, by name Don Martin Saenz, whose legend attached to the ruins which the traveller may exhortations were peculiarly adverse to the wishes of see, if he chooses, near the springs of the far-famed the Moor. Don Martin had a castle and some few Guadalquivir. There were laid, in the lapse of time, acres of land near the banks of the Azuer, and all the the mortal remains of the fair Bibiana, with many a wishes of Donna Bibiana were bounded to the sove- Saenz of her blood and race; and there, also, were laid reignty of this castle, and of the heart of Don Martin. many of the name of Correa and Penalba, to whose The latter had a particular aversion to the Moors, families the chapel remained ever a spot of strong which had been augmented greatly since the capture and peculiar interest. of Almoreb. He would at once have provoked the Moor, it is probable, to single combat, had not the 1500 golden maravedis of Don Raymon been depen- Let us suppose ourselves carried back sixty years in dent upon the safe return of the captive to his friends. the stream of time, and to live again, the youthful subTherefore Don Martin contented himself with for-ject of the young king George III. Let us likewise imatifying Bibiana by every possible means in her resolve gine that in those days the divine spirit of prophecy had to refuse the proffered suit. come upon us, unveiling to our sight the events of the shall be rent in twain (American war in 1776). In fifteen future. In seven years from this time the British empire years men shall rise from the earth and fly through the air (invention of balloons, 1780). In twenty years the French monarchy, the oldest that ever was, and now so flourishing, shall come to an end. A virtuous prince (Louis XVI. 1793), not yet king, shall in twenty-three years lay down his life on the scaffold: his wife and sister shall share the same fate. In those same days, news shall travel with the speed of the wind, and what was done at mid-day shall be known at the farthest bounds of the kingdom ere the setting of the sun (the Telegraph, 1794). In twenty-six years a conqueror shall arise (Bonaparte), who shall water his horses in the Nile, the Jordan, the Tagus, and the Borysthenes. This conqueror shall rerestored (dethronement of Pius VII.) Finally, he whom the world could not contain, shall die a captive on a rocky island (St Helena), neither in Europe, Asia, Africa, nor America, but in the midst of the vast ocean: a few feet of earth his empire, a willow his monument. In those days metals shall be found which float on the water and burn under it (sodium and potassium, discovered by Sir Humphry Davy). Ships shall stem the stormiest ocean without sails or oars (steam-ships). Carriages shall run without horses, with the speed of the wind (locomotive engines). (The ordinary speed of the wind is 35 miles an hour; that shall be conveyed from India to the mighty Babylon in a of the engines on the Great Western Railway is 39.) Men month: from America in ten days: from one end of England to the other in eight hours. Bridges shall hang by a chain over the sea, while roads shall be made under it (the Menai Bridge and the Thames Tunnel). To those days of bloodshed shall succeed days of liberty. The Negro shall no longer be bought or sold. The slave shall be set free. The Greek shall be freed from the Turk; Having received his ransom-money, and seeing that Don Raymon would not press his daughter against her wishes, Almoreb paid his captor, and withdrew to his own country, to meditate plans which he was not long of carrying into execution. But a few weeks had passed away, when Don Raymon received a letter, apparently signed by Don Pelayo Correa, Grand-Master of the Order of St James, desiring him to come instantly to Ciudad-Real, with Don Martin Saenz, and every man-at-arms whom he could command. The knight instantly obeyed the wishes of the grand-master; but scarcely had he left his castle, when Almoreb, at the head of a hundred Moors, appeared before the place. The gates being opened by a servant whom he had bribed during his captivity, the Moor entered, and carried off Bibiana, in spite of her tears and cries. She was placed in a litter, and without delay her captors took the road to Jaën. Only one of the men left in the castle had escaped the scimitars of the Moors. He immediately directed his course to Ciudad-Real, and arrived just in time to find Penalba stupified with the tidings that Don Pelayo had sent no message for him. The servant cleared up the mystery. "Let us pursue the ruffians instantly," cried Don Martin Saenz, as he rushed out for his war-horse, on which he soon appeared, urging Penalba to follow him. Indeed, Don Raymon and Pelayo were scarcely less eager to commence the pur suit. Hastily gathering a band of nearly a hundred followers, they scoured across the country in the direction of Jaën, from which, fortunately, CiudadReal was not much farther away than Raymon's castle, though lying at a different point of the compass. THE PROPHET OF 1770. store the chair of St Peter, and throw down what he had the Catholic from the Orangeman. The very beasts a those days shall have laws to protect them. Those day shall be days of great light. Men shall plough without horses (steam plough); they shall spin without hands (power-loom); they shall calculate by wheels (Babbage's machine); the sun shall engrave for them (the Dague rotype); they shall write with the lightning (electric telegraph). One machine shall print in one hour many thousand books, each of which shall take a man mare days to read; a man may buy a book for a penny; fr a penny he may send it to the ends of the empire. They shall read the rocks instead of a book (geology), and de cipher the history of beings which lived and died ere man existed. In the heavens new stars shall be dis covered: some, sisters of the earth; some, brothers of the sun (the planets, five in number, discovered since the American war; and the double stars by Sir William Herschel); and of all the colours of the rainbow. In the days, likewise, they shall read the Pyramids (Young's and Champollion's discoveries). They shall find out the mouth of the Niger and the Magnetic Pole: the way to every thing shall have been discovered but the way to be happy.-Phonix (Edinburgh newspaper). Let us hope that in time the way to be happy shall also be discovered SIMPLE PLEASURES THE BEST. When the inordinate hopes of youth, which provete their own disappointment, have been sobered down by longer experience and more extended views—when th keen contentions and eager rivalries which employed riper years have expired or been abandoned—when we have seen, year after year, the objects of our fiercest be tility and of our fondest affections lie down together in the hallowed peace of the grave-when ordinary pic sures and amusements begin to be insipid, and the derision which seasoned them to appear flat and imper tunate when we reflect how often we have mourned and been comforted, what opposite opinions we have surtes sively maintained and abandoned, to what inconsiste habits we have gradually been formed, and how quently the objects of our pride have proved the sours of our shame, we are naturally led to recur to the days of our childhood, and to retrace the whole of our eze, and that of our contemporaries, with feelings of greater humility and indulgence than those by whic had been accompanied; to think all vain but affects and honour, the simplest and cheapest pleasures de truest and most precious, and generosity of sentime the only mental superiority which ought either to be wished for or admitted.-Jeffrey. BENEFICIAL INFLUENCE of tea. The beneficial results of the introduction of tea m coffee have been strangely overlooked or underrated. has been, however, well described as leading to the most wonderful change that ever took place in the d both in a moral and physical point of view. These bere of modern civilised nations-a change highly important ages have the admirable advantage of affording stimula without producing intoxication, or any of its evil conse quences. Lovers of tea and coffee are, in fact, rarely drinkers; and hence the use of these beverages has bene fited both manners and morals. Raynal observes, that the use of tea has contributed more to the sobriety of the Chinese than the severest laws, the most eloquent dis courses, or the best treatises on morality." Tea is so little drunk in Germany, that it acts like medicine when taken by a native; and persons decline a cup of good sent."-Hints for the Table. bolea, with "No, I thank you; I am quite well at pre THE SPARROW AND THE CAGED BIRD. FOUNDED ON AN ANECDOTE RELATED IN THE NATURALIST'S MAGAZINE. -Seolsman. I dote on every little bird That twitters in the sun I love them all, from having heard The simple tale of one! In cage that 'neath the eaves was hung A little yellow warbler sung A song of distant isles! One morn, when loud his melody, A sparrow, and, from sympathy, Poor bird! could'st thou come forth with me, I felt my holiest thoughts ascend, Such heaven-taught love to trace, And deem'd, perchance, this captive's friend, The Howard of its race! J. H. LONDON: Published, with permission of the proprietors, by W. S. ORK, Paternoster Row; and sold by all booksellers and news men.-Printed by Bradbury and Evans, Whitefriars. CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF "CHAMELE "CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,& NUMBER 436. BAD TEMPER. BAD temper, though a thing which every body in the world either manifests in himself, or suffers from in others, is not well understood. If its physiological causes and nature were generally known, its powerful action, as the blight of domestic happiness, might perhaps be in some degree mitigated. The nursery gives us a strong hint of the real nature of bad temper. It is well known to all who have had any charge over infants, that, before their mental faculties have begun to act, if blessed by nature with a sound healthy constitution, fed properly, kept comfortable, and not subjected to external injury of any kind, they are generally quiet, or, to use the ordinary phrase of the occasion, good tempered. Health and good temper are, in fact, synonymous at that period of life. From this it may fairly be presumed, that, when children are peevish and fractious, they are not in a sound and comfortable state, but in the experience of uneasy sensations of some kind. Often, when an infant, usually good tempered, takes a sudden and apparently inexplicable fit of crying, it is found on examination that a pin has taken a wrong direction in its dress, or something troubles the stomach, or in some other way the child is undergoing suffering. The direct explanation of all crying and fretfulness in early childhood is, simply-uneasy physical sensation. The sources or causes of fretfulness or bad temper in a child of the age indicated, are very few, because there are then only a few sensations. The child can feel a flesh wound or sore; or a derangement of the alimentary functions; or a want of those appliances which may be ranged under the term bodily comfort; but it can feel little else. Nervous irritability, though in the constitution, is not then developed, and scarcely can become the source of any unpleasant sensations. Even the senses are as yet dormant, and therefore cannot become a medium for the approach of disagreeable affections. We may here remark, that this limitation of the sources of uneasiness in an infant renders all prognostications of the future temper of a human being from cradle manifestations, extremely liable to error. One who is hereafter to be the victim of nervous irritability, and from other causes to be remarkable for bad temper, may be a healthy, well-kept infant, and therefore placid. Another, who, in adult life, is to be quite the reverse, may suffer in the first few months of his existence from ill health, mistreatment, or some accidental sore, and therefore appear very ill tempered. But we are anticipating. As the faculties of a child increase, as sense after sense awakens, and one feeling after another becomes active in his nature, the sources of agreeable sensations may be said to be multiplied, for there is not one sense, or faculty, or feeling, which is not primarily designed to be a means of giving us pleasure. There is not, however, one of these senses or faculties which is not also liable to be disagreeably affected. This may be, either by its being disappointed of some object which it desires, or being acted upon by something the opposite to that which excites it agreeably. For example, the sense of taste may be disappointed of some expected or desired treat, or may be called upon to palate a nauseous drug; the desire of approbation may be thwarted in an effort to become dux of the class, or subjected to the severest mortification in a public whipping; a boy who hoards marbles and tops may be thwarted in a wish to collect a few more, or enraged by losing at play a large portion of what he previously possessed. In numberless various ways, the juvenile faculties may be offended, and in each case there will be an experience of angry feeling as the natural consequence. This feeling may not find vent, or it may be checked by an effort of reflection, or from some other cause; but the rise of SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 1840. such an emotion in the mind as a consequence of a 11 ject or wes of ... All these phenomena depends o Men, it is obvious, are endowed by nature with very Then men are born with the senses and faculties in every conceivable variety of power and tendency to activity; and, as they go on in life, those various natural proportions are further varied by the different circumstances of individuals calling, in each, different faculties into vivid and habitual action, and leaving others in comparative dermancy. Every one of these faculties in every individual is liable to be disagreeably affected in the proportion of its natural or acquired activity; and what may be called the predominating or most conspicuously active faculty, is always the most liable to be so affected. Thus, there is no per is experienced, one particular facity of the hous organisation, which may be described as the Marve or Destructive sentiment, is called into mo activity, according to the amount and atore offence, and the degree of strength and irra which may characterise that particular faculty t individual. The manifestations of this sent it to many forms, from the extreme of physical vin down to the sly gibe and the peevish exclamation. At first sight, it appears a thing created only for evil; but there can be no reasonable doubt that it has been implanted in our nature for wise ends, and, under good regulation, would do nothing but good service. Such is the faculty which every disagrecable sensation arouses in our minds. The opposite feeling, Benevolence, is in like manner roused when any faculty is agreeably affected. Hence the gracious smile which in most cases follows praise, the good humour which the bon-vivant expresses over a well-furnished table, the kindness which a talkative man shows to a good listener, and so forth. 66 mere It is the frequent exhibition of this malevolent faculty which constitutes what is called bad temper. We repeat, wherever bad temper is found, it is nothing more or less than the revenge of unpleasant sensations. Some men are said to be of habitual bad temper; they are constantly angry, or snappish, or peevish. In many such cases, permanent uneasiness in the bodily feelings from bad health is the cause of the malady, for such it may be called. Often, again, it arises from the habitual dissatisfaction of some mental faculty; for example, self-esteem may be in a constant gangrene in consequence of some degrading or supposedly degrading circumstances in past or present life; the feeling of attachment may have been so wrung and tortured by a disappointment, that all loving may be declared, in the language of Amiens, folly" or the hopes of life in general may have been so blighted, that misanthropy is the consequence. To be habitually under the influence of envy and jealousy, is no uncommon condition: while such an influence lasts, there must be bad temper, for these are disagreeable affections of certain of the faculties. Of occasional bad temper, or bad temper only on particular points, most readers must be acquainted with examples. The mildest of men are found to have some little point in their constitution, liable to be so galled as to call forth angry feelings. An honest farmer whom we knew in early life, the most benignant and kindly of human beings, was never known to be angry except when he saw a fence broken down, or an idle herd-boy allowing the cattle to get amongst the corn. Another amiable man, who was said to be fond of the pleasures of the table, was considered by the working people under him as not safely approachable, especially for any thing like a favour, during the hollow and hungry hour before dinner. A third we have known, whose irritable point regarded nice arrangements in his |