in this quarter is, that almost every separate edifice appears to have a high and pointed dome of brick-work, which, being of the same light coloured earth used in the bricks of the buildings, resembles, at a distance, a number of large straw bee-hives. We entered the city through the Bab-el-Ullah, or the gate of God, so called from its leading to Jerusalem and Mecca-both holy cities, and buth places of pilgrimage, the last only to the Mahommedans, but the first to all the several classes of Jews, Christians, and Moslems, by each of whom it is held in high estimation, and called by all El-Khodsel-Shereef, the Holy and the Noble.

The street through which we passed was paved in the centre, upon a raised level, forming an excellent road for beasts of burden, camels, and horses, and would easily admit the passage of six or eight abreast. Below this raised road, was an unpaved space on each side, and within this again a pavement of smaller stones nearly as broad as the central raised way, for foot passengers, along the fronts of the dwellings, shops and other edifices that lined the street. Had the buildings been at all correspondent to the length and breadth of this fine road, the effect of the whole would have been excellent; but these were, in general, poor and mean, and totally destitute of uniformity, whether in size, style, or material.

Among the principal edifices I noticed several mosques, some of modern, and others apparently of a pretty old date. The shops were all open, and many manufactories of cotton, silk, stuff, and leather, were carried on at each side of the street in the open air. Nothwithstanding my disappointment at the general inferiority of the buildings of this fine street, to the expectation I had formed of them, I was, nevertheless, much pleased at the cleanliness of every thing we saw and the apparent health and beauty of the people of all classes that we met in our way, as well as the richness and gaiety of apparel, among the young and old, the rich and poor, in proportion to their several ages and ranks; the oldest and the poorest among them, however,

being much better dressed than the ordinary class of people in any Arab or Turkish town that I had yet

seen.

There was a degree of order and tranquillity also visible in every part of the street, even that most thickly crowded with people, which was pleasing to witness, and gave a very favourable impression as to the sober and orderly habits of the inhabitants.—Buckingham.

NATURAL HISTORY.

THE WHITE-HEADED OR BALD EAGLE.

THE following picturesque description of the Whiteheaded or, as it is commonly called, the Bald Eagle, and its predatory habits, is extracted from the fourth volume of Wilson's American Ornithology.

The celebrated cataract of Niagara is a noted place of resort for those birds, as well on account of the fish procured there, as for the numerous carcasses of squirrels, deer, bears, and various other animals, that in their attempts to cross the river above the falls have been dragged into the current, and precipitated down that tremendous gulf, where, among the rocks that bound the rapids below, they furnish a rich repast for the vulture, the raven, and the Bald Eagle, the subject of the present account.

This bird has been long known to naturalists, being common to both continents, and occasionally met with from a very high northern latitude, to the borders of the torrid zone, but chiefly in the vicinity of the sea, and along the shores and cliffs of our lakes and large rivers. Formed by nature for braving the severest cold; feeding equally on the produce of the sea and of the land; possessing powers of flight capable of outstripping even the tempests themselves; unawed by any thing but man; and from the ethereal heights to which he soars, looking abroad, at one glance, on an immeasurable expanse of forests, fields, lakes, and ocean, deep below him, he appears indifferent to the little localities of change of seasons; as in a few minutes he can pass

from summer to winter, from the lower to the higher regions of the atmosphere, the abode of eternal cold, and from thence descend at will to the torrid or the arctic regions of the earth. He is therefore found at all seasons in the countries he inhabits, but prefers all such places as have been mentioned above, from the great partiality he has for fish.

In procuring these, he displays, in a very singular manner, the genius and energy of his character, which is fierce, contemplative, daring, and tyrannical; attributes not exerted but on particular occasions; but, when put forth, overpowering all opposition. Elevated on the high dead limb of some gigantic tree that commands a wide view of the neighbouring shore and ocean, he seems calmly to contemplate the motions of the various feathered tribes that pursue their busy avocations below; the snow-white gulls slowly winnowing the air; the busy tringe (sandpipers) coursing along the sands; trains of ducks streaming over the surface; silent and watchful cranes, intent and wading; clamarous crows, and all the winged multitudes that subsist by the bounty of this vast liquid magazine of nature. High over all these hovers one whose action instantly arrests all his attention. By his wide curvature of wing, and sudden suspension in air, he knows him to be the fish-hawk (Pandion Haliætus, Savigny,) settling over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye kindles at the sight, and balancing himself, with half-opened wings, on the branch, he watches the result. Down, rapid as an arrow from heaven, descends the distant object of his attention, the roar of its wings reaching the ear as it disappears in the deep, making the surge foam around. At this moment the eager looks of the eagle are all ardour; and levelling his neck for flight, he sees the fish-hawk once more emerge, struggling with his prey, and mounting in the air with screams of exultation. These are the signal for our hero, who, launching into the air, instantly gives chase, and soon gains on the fish-hawk; each exerts his utmost to mount above the other, displaying in the rencontre the most ele

gant and sublime aerial evolutions. The unincumbered eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the point of reaching his opponent, when, with a sudden scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the latter drops his fish; the eagle, poising himself for a moment as if to take a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches it in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten booty silently away to the woods.

These predatory attacks and defensive manœuvres of the eagle and fish-hawk are matters of daily observation along the whole of our sea-board, from Georgia to New England, and frequently excite great interest in the spectators. Sympathy, however, on this as on most other occasions, generally sides with the honest and laborious sufferer, in opposition to the attacks of power, injustice, and rapacity, qualities for which our hero is so generally notorious, and which, in his superior, man, are equally detestable. As for the feelings of the poor fish, they seem altogether out of the question.

THE KANGAROO BEETLE.

THE various tribes of insects, particularly the Beetles, present more extraordinary forms than any other portion of animated nature. The little real knowledge we possess of their habits, makes it very improbable that we shall ever be able properly to apreciate the wisdom of the Creator in furnishing them with so peculiar an arrangement of parts; but that this has been done for the benefit of the individual, we cannot have the least reason to doubt. To some, a terrific appearance may have been given for the purpose of deterring their enemies; and the hard shell of the Beetle affords an excellent protection for its tender body, against the attacks of other more powerful creatures.

The Mole Cricket is furnished with a very strong pair of legs in front; the last joint of which is made much in the form of the fore-legs of the mole, and in both cases, turned sideways like the human hand. In this case, there is not the least doubt, that this pe