The dogs danced round the tree, scratched the ground, or gnawed the roots, perfectly frantic at their game having escaped them; and the hunters looked ruefully at one another, for there was not an axe in the party.

'What's to be done, Ben ?' asked the major.

'Get him out,' replied Ben.

'Ah, it's all very well to say "get him out," but how's the question.'

'Smoke, to be sure,' said Ben, coolly. If the tree's hollow to the roots, as it may be, we'll build a fire there; if it isn't, we'll throw some burning chunks and Spanish moss down the hole. Never fear, I'll make him show.'

As Ben supposed, the tree was hollow to the roots; and soon a fire was made at the root of the tree, and before long faint wreaths of smoke were seen rising from the hole between the forks of the branches, whilst the bear could be easily heard moving about and grunting within the tree. Heaps of damp green moss were piled upon the fire, and columns of dense black smoke were driven by the wind as up a chimney through the hollow tree, till the bear could endure it no longer, and soon he was seen at the mouth of the hole.

Old Ben Rush raised his rifle deliberately and fired. The bear gave a bound as the bullet struck him, but then seemingly crouched down again. Half a dozen shot-guns were immediately discharged at him, whilst Ben coolly wiped out his rifle with a piece of tow on the end of his rod.

'Fire away, boys; make a useless sieve of his hide-I would if I were you,' sneered Ben.

'Why, the bear's dead!' shouted the major, after a long inspection.

'Well, I should think he was,' said Ben. 'Didn't I shoot? I killed the bear as dead as a herring the first fire; but, in course, as long as the other folks chose to pepper away it was no business of mine.'

Satisfied that he had disgraced the shot-guns, Ben prepared to ascend the tree by the aid of a stout grape-vine which had twined around it, and shove the bear from the crotch. This bear was destined to cost poor Ben dearly, and in its fall to revenge its death.

As soon as Ben had reached the bear, he managed with much exertion to push it out until the height of one portion overbalanced the other, when it fell heavily down. Rock, anxious to be foremost in the worry as he had been in the chase, rushed in too soon-the heavy bear, weighing six hundred pounds at least, crashed down upon the poor dog and broke his back.

This cast a gloom over us all, whilst poor Ben sorrowed as though he had lost a child.

'Ah!' he said, as he sat round the camp-fire that night, 'poor Rock! when he was a pup I did not think him of much account, but he fought his way into notice; and see what a dog he became! If dogs, as the red-skins suppose, go to the happy hunting-grounds, Rock'll always have plenty of meat and a kind master, for he was a truthful and brave dog.'

CANINE INTELLIGENCE.-Jesse.

A GENTLEMAN of Suffolk, on an excursion with his friend, was attended by a Newfoundland dog, which soon became the subject of conversation. The master, after a warm eulogium upon the perfections of his canine favourite, assured his companion that he would, upon receiving the order, return and fetch any article he should leave behind, from any distance. To confirm this assertion a marked shilling was put under a large square stone by the side of the road, being first shown to the dog. The gentlemen then rode for three miles, when the dog received his signal from the master to return for the shilling he had seen put under the stone. The dog turned back; the gentlemen rode on, and reached home, but, to their surprise and disappointment, the hitherto faithful messenger did not return during ho day. It afterwards appeared that he had gone to the Jace where the shilling was deposited, but the stone being large for his strength to remove, he had stayed howlat the place till two horsemen riding by, and attracted his seeming distress, stopped to look at him, when one

of them alighted, removed the stone, and seeing the shila ling, put it into his pocket, not at the time conceiving it to be the object of the dog's search. The dog followed their horses for twenty miles, remained undisturbed in the room where they supped, followed the chambermaid into the bedchamber, and secreted himself under one of the beds. The possessor of the shilling hung his trousers upon a nail by the bedside, but when the travellers were both asleep, the dog took them in his mouth, and leaping out of the window, which was left open on account of the sultry heat, reached the house of his master at four o'clock in the morning with the prize he had made free with, in the pocket of which were found a watch and money, that were returned upon being advertised, when the whole mystery was mutually unravelled, to the admiration of all the parties.

THE HUMMING-BIRD.-Goldsmith.

Or all the birds that flutter in the garden or paint the landscape, the humming-bird is the most delightful to look upon, and the most inoffensive. Of this charming little animal there are six or seven varieties, from the size of a small wren down to that of an humble-bee. A European would not readily suppose that there existed any birds so very small, and yet so completely furnished with a bill, feathers, wings, and intestines, exactly resembling those of the largest kind. Birds not so big as the end of one's little finger would probably be supposed mere creatures of imagination, were they not seen in infinite numbers, and as frequent as butterflies in a summer's day, sporting in the fields of America, from flower to flower, and extracting sweets with their little bills.

The smallest humming-bird is about the size of a hazel nut. The feathers on its wings and tail are black; but those on its body, and under its wings, are of a greenish brown, with a fine red cast or gloss, which no silk or velyet can imitate. It has a small crest on its head, green

at the bottom, and as it were gilded at the top; and which sparkles in the sun like a little star in the middle of its forehead. The bill is black, straight, slender, and of the length of a small pin.

It is inconceivable how much these birds add to the high finishing and beauty of a rich luxurious western landscape. As soon as the sun is risen, the hummingbirds of different kinds are seen fluttering about the flowers, without ever lighting upon them. Their wings are in so rapid motion that it is impossible to discern their colours, except by their glittering. They are never still, but continually in motion, visiting flower after flower, and extracting its honey as if with a kiss. For this purpose they are furnished with a forky tongue, that enters the cup of the flower and extracts its nectared tribute. Upon this alone they subsist. The rapid motion of their wings occasions a humming sound, from whence they have their name; for whatever divides the air swiftly must produce a murmur.

The nests of these birds are also very curious. They are suspended in the air, at the point of the twigs of an orange, a pomegranate, or a citron tree; sometimes even in houses, if a small and convenient twig is found for the purpose. The female is the architect, while the male goes in quest of materials; such as cotton, fine moss, and the fibres of vegetables. Of these materials a nest is composed, about the size of a hen's egg cut in two; it is admirably contrived, and warmly lined with cotton. There are never more than two eggs found in the nest; these are about the size of small peas, and as white as snow, with here and there a yellow speck. The male and the female sit upon the nest by turns; but the female takes to herself the greatest share. She seldom quits the nest, except a few minutes in the morning and evening when the dew is upon the flowers, and their honey in perfection. During this short interval the male takes her place. The time of incubation continues twelve days; at the end of which the young ones appear, much about the size of a bluebottle fly. They are at first bare; by degrees they

are covered with down; and, at last, feathers succeed, but less beautiful at first than those of the old ones.

Father Labat, in his account of the mission to America, says 'that his companion found the nest of a hummingbird in a shed near the dwelling-house, and took it in, at a time when the young ones were about fifteen or twenty days old. He placed them in a cage at his chamber window, to be amused by their sportive flutterings; but he was much surprised to see the old ones, which came and fed their brood regularly every hour in the day. By this means they themselves grew so tame, that they seldom quitted the chamber; and without any constraint, came to live with their young ones. All four frequently perched upon their master's hand, chirping as if they had been at liberty abroad. He fed them with a very fine clear paste, made of wine, biscuit, and sugar. They thrust their tongues into this paste till they were satisfied, and then fluttered and chirped about the room. I never beheld anything more agreeable,' continues he, 'than this lovely little family, which had possession of my companion's chamber, and flew in and out just as they thought proper; but were ever attentive to the voice of their master when he called them. In this manner they lived with him above six months; but, at a time when he expected to see a new colony formed, he unfortunately forgot to tie up their cage to the ceiling at night, to preserve them from the rats, and he found in the morning, to his great mortification, that they were all devoured.'

FACULTIES OF ANIMALS.-Jesse.

THE more I consider the subject, the more difficult it appears to fix any limit to the faculties of the animal creation. Under peculiar circumstances, animals will frequently evince a degree of sense truly surprising, and also extricate themselves from difficulties and dangers which man, with all his reasoning powers, would never have accomplished. They have perseverance, strong affections,

E