wood. I have never witnessed anything more affecting than the transports, the acclamations, and the applauses of the prisoners, during this demolition. In the midst of the tumult, I was struck with the melancholy and miserable looks of the Swiss, who regarded the operation with evident symptoms of grief. I mentioned this to the Prior, who replied, that the Swiss regretted the destruction of the cage, because he derived some fees for showing it to strangers. The explanation being overheard by the Duc de Chartres, he turned instantly round, and handing ten louis to the Swiss, said, 'In future, instead of showing the iron cage to travellers, you will have to point out to them the place where it once stood; and surely that view will be infinitely more gratifying to those who possess feelings of humanity.'”—Life and Times of Louis Philippe. A VIEW ON THE INDUS. WE halted next day near a village called Sonda. (Lat. 25° N., long. 68° 15′ E., and about a hundred miles from the ocean.) Hitherto the appearance of the country bordering the river had been monotonous and dreary. Here we had an agreeable change. From the head of the Hiláyá reach, on looking south, we could, for twelve miles, trace a noble stream full half a mile wide, and throughout the whole of that distance, as straight as an arrow in its course. The west bank for some distance to the south is lined by a low range of sandstone hills, between which and the river lies a belt of fine babooltrees. The opposite bank, though for a shorter distance, is clad with similar mimosa; and from among their dark foliage, on both sides of the river, little white-turreted towers occasionally show themselves to the river voyager. The barometer gave 136 feet for the height of the ridge; in climbing which we roused, from under a prickly pear-bush, a savage-looking hyena.-Wood's Journey to the Source of the River Oxus. A HERD OF TAME ALLIGATORS. [THE next extract immediately follows the one given above. Karáchí, the place mentioned in it, lies about a hundred miles west of Sonda, on one of the more northerly mouths of the river.-ED. Y. I.] Ar this spot the Indus takes a sharp turn, and in the bend is a projecting rocky ledge, under cover of which, on its south side, alligators love to sun themselves. They are the guryial or long-snouted variety, and are harmless; at least, I never heard of their being otherwise. It is strange that at Karáchí, a place so close to the Indus, fakirs should possess the other species, none of which are met with in the river. Among the outlying hills that skirt the Hala mountains, about nine miles from that town, is a hot spring, the temperature of which, where it wells from the earth, is 136° of Fahrenheit. The stream irrigates a small valley, and supplies some swamps with water, in which the fakirs keep numbers of tame alligators. The pond where we saw the congregated herd at feeding-time was about eighty yards long, and perhaps half as many wide. It was shallow, and studded with small grass-covered islets, the narrow channels between which would only admit of a single alligator passing through at a time. Two goats were slaughtered for that morning's repast; during which operation, a dozen scaly monsters rose out of their slimy bed, crawled up the back of the tank, and eyed with evident satisfaction the feast preparing for them. All being ready, a little urchin, not nine years old, stepped without our circle, and calling, Ow, ow, ("Come, come,") the whole tribe was in motion, and as soon as the amphibious animals had gained terra firma, the meat was distributed. Each anxious to secure a piece at his neighbour's expense, the scene that ensued was ludicrous enough, and not a little disgusting. A hind-quarter of a goat gave rise to a general engagement. One by one the combatants drew off till the prize remained in the grasp of two huge monsters. Their noses all but touching, each did his best to drag the bloody morsel from the jaws of his adversary; and a long struggle ensued, in which by turning and tossing, twisting and writhing, they strove for the mastery. It was a drawn battle; for the leg was torn asunder, and each retained his mouthful, when, with heads erect, they sought the water, showing as they crawled along considerable tact in avoiding their less successful neighbours. VOL. VI. Second Series. B 26 MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS. THOU Oughtest not to defer the execution of a work that is necessary, upon account of the uncertain hopes of some conveniences; especially when the use of those things thou wouldest stay for may otherwise be supplied. But the loss of time can never be recovered. Thou oughtest to be diligent in the pursuit of such things as are needful for the body; yet not to afflict thyself with the anguish of cares and fears, and such like passions: but quietly put the issue of thy labours into God's hands, and patiently expect what he will bless them with. To avoid envy, avoid all unnecessary and ambitious engrossing of business, and all insolent and proud affectation. A wise man will, sometimes, in business that is not of much concern, suffer himself even to be crossed on purpose and overborne, that he may prevent the risings of envy. Be always so precisely true in whatsoever thou relatest of thy own knowledge, that thou mayest get an undoubted and settled reputation of veracity; and thou wilt have this advantage, that every body will believe (without farther proof) whatsoever thou affirmest, be it never so strange. Labour by a wise and virtuous life to get thy soul so settled, that which way soever she turns her eye, the heaven is calm and serene about thee. No desire, no fear, no doubt, no difficulty, can assault the imagination of such a one, so as to cause offence or disquiet. REVIEW. 1. A Letter to a Friend on the Evidences and Theory of Christianity. By Lord Lindsay. 12mo. pp. 120. Hatchards. LORD LINDSAY's name is now well-known in connexion both with the Sinaitic peninsula, and the general topography of Palestine. He travelled with an observing eye and a reflecting mind, and few volumes have been more favourably received than those in which be gives an account of his journeyings. All that he saw appears to have strengthened his conviction of the truth of the sacred Scriptures, and he now gives a summary of the general evidences by which that truth is established. We have read the letter with much pleasure; for, though it contains no new evidence, yet, as a compendium of the old, it is constructed so as to be both clear and forcible. Nor does his Lordship look on Christianity as only a religion of form. His sentiments are decidedly, and as far as we can judge from his brief statements, Arminianly evangelical. To an educated young man, not without (unhappily) some degree of professional pride, this letter might be given very usefully. It is written evidently by the scholar and the gentleman. Happy the land, where all her nobles shall be Christians of the same school! 2. Rennie's Alphabets. (1.) Natural Philosophy. -(2.) Insects. 18mo. pp. 128.-(3.) Botany. W. S. Orr and Co. 18mo. pp. 129. 18mo. pp. 192. As the alphabet is the foundation of the art or science of reading, so every other art and science has its foundation, its elementary principles; and these, as bearing a similar relation to the science itself, that letters do to reading, may be called alphabets. In the three waistcoat-pocket volumes which we have just mentioned, Mr. Rennie has given the principles of the three sciences mentioned in the title; of Natural Philosophy generally, of Insects, (Entomology,) and of Botany. They have been published several years, but they deserve not to be overlooked. We believe that Messrs. Orr have published other "alphabets," but we content ourselves at present with mentioning these three. They contain (each) a large quantity of important information, which, though condensed, is not obscure? 3. Memoir of Maria ***, a converted Jewess. Second Edition. 24mo. pp. 122, cloth. Seeleys. SINCE the appearance of "The Dairyman's Daughter," we have not seen a short biography which has more deeply interested us, than this Memoir of a young Jewess. Born of affluent parents, who appear to have been tenderly attached to her, and being both intelligent and amiable, she grew up a general favourite with her family and friends. Just as she arrived at early womanhood, she injured her spine, by a fall down a steep flight of stairs; and thenceforward, for the brief remainder of life, her sufferings were great and continual. Before she died, she lost not only her sight, but the use of her left, and then of her right, arm. She likewise was subject to frequent and very severe spasmodic attacks. Circumstances led to the introduction of a Christian friend to conversation with her; and that conversation, together with the prayerful study of Scripture, led her not only to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, but to receive Him as her own Saviour. The account of her baptism, and of the great consolation and support she received, during a period of uninterrupted affliction, till she quietly fell asleep in Jesus, is given with great simplicity, and is the more interesting, that the labours of the biographer are entirely confined to the subject of the biography; whereas, in the "Dairyman's Daughter," the reader sometimes loses sight of Elizabeth to gaze on the lovely scenery so admirably depicted by the Author, or to join in his truly devotional reflections. In this admirable sketch, the reader is always in the company of Maria, sympathizing with her in her pain, and rejoicing with her that she had not only embraced Christian truth, but received Christian salvation. There are no particular references either to time or place, but the residence of this amiable sufferer appears to have been in Lincolnshire, and her death to have occurred in 1840, when she was about twenty-four or twenty-five years of age. Our readers, we believe, will thank us for bringing this short but valuable "Memoir" before them. NOTICES OF ANIMATED AND VEGETABLE NATURE, FOR JANUARY, 1842. BY MR. WILLIAM ROGERSON, of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. With sternest aspect o'er the meads and bowers, Seems but the sepulchre of glories past: Yet blends he pity with his harshest mood; And as the eagle, 'neath her fostering wing, As fondly as the dove protects her brood, So many a germ whence future flowers shall spring, A CERTAIN writer, speaking of the divine philanthropy, makes the following very just observation :-" The exuberant benevolence of God is not more richly developed in the creation, than in the preservation, of all the vast family. Every being is provided with proper powers and capacities to supply its wants, to protect its existence, and to propagate its species; whether it crawls on the earth, wings the air, or cuts the briny wave. The ox that crops the tender herb that covers the fair face of nature is not more amply provided for than the smallest insect that revels on the luxuriant juice of a single leaf. Every being has its proper enjoyment, and every sense its proper perfection. How infinite that wisdom which formed the design of creating one vast gradational scale of animated existence, of beings so exquisitely diversified in powers, capacities, and senses; yet every individual of every species has its proper sphere of action, its instinctive powers, and its inextinguishable thirst for the propagation of its kind! Where is the man who will not say, 'Praise the benevolent hand that gave me a being in the vast scale of existence, among so much goodness, and united with so much happiness?" " First week. If the weather prove mild, the slug, or shell-less snail, (limax,) makes its appearance, and commences its depredations on cabbages and other culinary plants. But if frosts bind the earth, and deep snows cover the face of nature, as may be expected at this time, this little reptile remains half-asleep in its hidingplace. Numbers of small birds eagerly search for food; and for that purpose approach our habitations. Skylarks flock together in |