reside undisturbed in Loraine; and Philip V, the King of Spain, renounced his right to the succession of the French throne, in the event of the death of the Dauphin without children, who also on his part renounced all claim to the Spanish crown."

Marlborough, for a short time, again retired into private life at the Hague, where he had greater leisure and opportunity to carry out his schemes and plots with the Pretender, and George the Elector of Hanover, both of whom claimed the English Crown, and were engaged in various attempts to gain it.

George, Elector of Hanover, had been declared, by what is called the Act of Settlement, the rightful heir to the British Crown, should Mary, wife of William III of England, or Anne, afterwards Queen of England, die without issue; and as this actually occurred, he succeeded the latter Princess, and is known in English history as George I. He had been chosen by the English people as being the nearest Protestant heir to the House of Stuart. His mother, the Princess Sophia, being granddaughter to James I, by Elizabeth, wife of Frederick, the unfortunate Elector of Palatine, who lost all possessions in the 30 years' war, when George I ascended the throne in 1714. With this monarch the Whigs regained office, under the agreeable but changeable Duke of Shrewsbury, to whom Queen Anne had given the three important posts of Lord Treasurer, Lord Chamberlain, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

The Duke of Marlborough triumphantly returned from his exile at the Hague, and was appointed Commander-in-Chief by George I. He was, however, mistrusted by all, and was not even employed at the critical period of the rebellion in 1715, when the so-called Pretender, James III, attempted to raise a revolt in Scotland, and thereby place himself on the British throne.

James III very nearly accomplished his purpose, as he defeated every army that was sent against him, until a very large force was collected and placed under the command of the Duke of Argyle, who, with the assistance of Cadogan, one of Marlborough's ablest officers, totally routed his forces at the battle of Sheriff Muir, and the unfortunate Prince was obliged, after many adventures, to escape to France.

Louis XIV, the unrelenting enemy of Marlborough, died in 1715, and the great captain himself survived but a few years later. During the last year of Marlborough's life, his intellect was imperfect, and his memory frequently failed him; he expired on the 16th June, 1722, at 4 a. m. in the 72nd year of his age, after a long and brilliant career, having fought with death, inch by inch, until his frame was no longer able to bear up against disease and decay, and a violent paralytic attack terminated his sufferings. His body was conducted to the grave with all possible pomp and magnificence;

and we are told that "the funeral exhibited a display of military parade and royal pomp" greater than had ever before been offered to departed greatness. The coffin was placed upon a magnificent car; his shield and trophies of war were strewed around it, whilst Dukes and Earls were selected to bear the pall. Westminster Abbey was the place in which he was first interred; though, at the solicitation of his wife, his remains were afterwards transported to Blenheim, where they now repose, and a magnificent tomb marks the place of his rest. The Duchess of Marlborough long survived her husband, and possessed sufficient charms, at the age of 62, to induce the Duke of Somerset to make her a proposal of marriage; she, however, not only excused herself on account of age, but told him that, if she were only 30, she would never give to another that heart which had been devoted to John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. Her reply so pleased her suitor, that he afterwards sought her council in the choice of a wife. She lived until the year 1744, chiefly in retirement, and died at the great age of 84, leaving behind her a large fortune, and much personal property. Marlborough had no son; and, therefore, his title and honours went to his daughter, the Countess of Godolphin; while her son became Marquis of Blandford. "Marlborough had also three other daughters, who were married to the Dukes of Montague, Leeds, and Earl of Sunderland. The son of the Countess of Sunderland became Duke of Marlborough, and it is from him that the present Duke is descended."

(To be continued.)

A HUNT IN A HORSE-POND.

PRAY what is there to be found in a horse-pond, except mud, dead dogs and cats, and duck-weed? The answer to such questions is, simply, "Life;" Life in all diversity of form, beautifully and wonderfully arranged, each individual deriving benefit from the wellbeing of the mass; the mass itself prospering in ratio with the individual.

To the inhabitants of the Pond, the pond is the world; to the inhabitants of the world, the World, as compared to space, is but a pond; and when the adventurous Lizard has made a voyage of discovery round his pond, he has as much right, comparatively speaking, to boast of his performance to his fellow lizards, as Captain Cook had, when he first sailed round the world, to write two thick volumes for the information of his fellow-men. Well, let

us have a look at the pond-world; choose a dry place at the side, and fix our eyes steadily upon the dirty water: what shall we see? Nothing at first, but the above-mentioned uninteresting objects; but wait a minute or two; a little round black nob appears in the middle; gradually it rises higher and higher, till at last you can make out a frog's head, with his great eyes staring hard at you, like the eyes of the frog in the wood-cut facing Æsop's fable of the frog and the bull; not a bit of his body do you see, he is much too cunning for that, he does not know who or what you are; you may be a heron, his mortal enemy, for aught he knows. You move your arm, he thinks it is the heron's bill coming; down he goes again, and you see him not; a few seconds, he regains courage and re-appears, having probably communicated the intelligence to the other frogs; for many big heads and many big eyes appear, in all parts of the pond, looking like so many Hippopotami on a small scale. Soon a conversational "Wurk, wurk, wurk," begins; you don't understand it; luckily perhaps, as from the swelling in their throats it is evident that the colony is outraged by the intrusion, and the remarks passing are not complimentary to the intruder.

These frogs are all respectable, grown up well-to-do frogs, and they have in this pond duly deposited their spawn, and then, hardhearted creatures, left it to its fate; it has, however, taken care of itself, and is now hatched, at least that part of it which has escaped the hands of the gipsies, who not unfrequently prescribe baths of this natural jelly for rheumatism.

In the shallow water close by, is a dark black spot, that looks like a bit of old hat thrown away to rot. Touch it with the end of a stick; the mass immediately becomes alive. Presto! thousands of little black, long-tailed rascals seem immediately to start into life, these are embryo frogs, alias tadpoles, alias porwiggles, alias toebiters. This last significant title has been given them by the amphibious boys of Clapham Common, whose toes they bite, when fishing about for fresh-water curiosities in the numerous ponds of that district. These little creatures are evidently selfish, like other animals in the creation, for they are pushing, squeezing, and hustling each other in a manner that would call forth a severe rebuke from "Verbena," could she witness this confusion. And pray what are they all so anxious to get at? simply a dead kitten. And why should they not fight for good places? the dead kitten is to them what a turtle dinner is to the city folks; each duly appreciated by the rightful consumers.

But supposing there happens to be no dead kitten in their pond, what will the poor things get to eat? Why then they will do what the New Zealanders have done before them; they, the New Zealanders, ate up every specimen of the dinornis they could find on

their island, and then they set to work and ate up each other; so do the tadpoles. You ask a proof; last year, I went, with a tin quart pot in my hand, toe-biter hunting, on Clapham Common, and brought home exactly a quart of tadpoles; these I emptied into a tub, in the beer-cellar; there they lived, being fed on meat, several days, till one evening, on sending for a glass of the all-refreshing fluid, up comes John, with half a smile on his face, and simpers out, "If you please, Sir, I have brought the beer, but in drawing it I accidentally upset the tub of tadpoles." On arriving at the scene of the disaster, there were the poor things high and dry on the floor. I restored them to their tub, but forgot to put back their meat. The next morning, I found some had not recovered their accident, and round the bodies of their departed brethren were crowded the cannibal survivors, eating and pulling away, each for himself. After this, I left them much to themselves, and their numbers diminished considerably; the cook's opinion being, as usual, that that omnivorous creature, the cat, had a hand in it, bringing forward as an argument, which is not strictly zoological, as applied to tadpoles, that the "cat is fond of fish.”

By the discovery of skeletons, murders are often brought to light; so it was in the case of Tadpole v. Cat; the skeletons of the murdered froglins I found in abundance at the bottom of their tub, and beautiful little skeletons they were, the form of the little creatures being beautifully shown in a frame-work of delicate gristle, the various parts still united together, but separating on the slightest touch. These habits of eating each other may by some be considered horrible and unnatural; but when we consider the thousands of tadpoles that are hatched from the egg, its beneficial use in the economy of nature will at once be perceived. Were all the young tadpoles to become frogs, not only would mankind be cursed with a plague of Egypt, but the frogs themselves would suffer, inasmuch as there could not possibly be food for all, and starvation would be the consequence. Thus, by inquiry into the ways of an all-wise and munificent Creator, we may generally find that what at first sight seems cruel, is in reality merciful and kind.

Come again to the horse-pond a few weeks after the tadpole era, and you will find hundreds of lively little frogs, no longer black specs, but having lost their gills, and their tails, and their deadkitten appetites, sent forth to fight their way in the world, or may-be not in the world, but in the regions of the air above the world, thence suddenly to descend, to the astonishment of rustics, and to the delight of those profound philosophers, newspaper naturalists. It may not here be out of place to give the interpretation of frog showers, as now most generally received by competent judges. The actual fact, that considerable spaces of ground have been suddenly

covered with numerous small frogs, where there were no frogs before, has been proved beyond a doubt. Some have called in the aid of waterspouts, whirlwinds, and similar causes, to account for their elevation into the regions of air, and some have even thought that they were formed in the clouds, from whence they were precipitated. It has generally been in August, and often after a season of drought, that these hordes of frogs have made their appearance; but, with Mrs. Syddons we will exclaim, "How gat they there?" Simply as follows:the animals had been hatched, and quitted their tadpole state and their pond at the same time, days before they became visible to, or rather observed by, mortal eyes. Finding it unpleasant in the hot, baked fields, and also running a great chance of being then and there dried up by the heat of the sun, they wisely retreated to the coolest and dampest places they could find, namely, under clods and stones, where, on account of their dusky colour, they escaped notice. Down comes the rain, out come the frogs, pleased with the chance. Forthwith appears an article in the county paper; the good folks flock to see the phenomenon. There are the frogs hopping about, the visitors remember the shower, and a "simple countryman," urged by sundry sixpences, swears the frogs fell in the shower, and he saw them fall; frogs, visitors, countrymen, editors, are all pleased, and nobody undeceives them, nor are they willing to be undeceived, even though they buy a hundred copies of "The MEDLEY."

For the poor little frog another fate is often in store-no less than to be buried alive, in a two-legged, hat-wearing tomb. I have often seen boys allow frogs to jump down their throats, never to return, at the small charge of one half-penny each frog. "Fiat experimentum in corpore vili," they received no hurt, or ill effects, therefore shall one of the race be honoured with a free passage down yet another throat. I follow Mrs. Glasse's advice, and first "catch my frog," then place him on the brink of the abyss; he hesitates, I don't half like it, one, two, three, he jumps-the deed is done. Am I any the better or the worse for it? not that I know of; others are of different opinion. I am told that my "croaking fits" date their origin from the moment poor frogee entered upon his fatal journey. Many frogs have I eaten since this date, not "in statu naturali," but cooked, as a Frenchman only knows how to cook; and very good imitation of white-bait is a dish of cooked frogs-the comparison will not hold when the frogs have not seen the fire.

But, let us return to our horse-pond: we have been sitting there some time, looking at, and thinking about, the frog family. The sun is very hot, and no horse has come to drink. Like a dandy from his club, decked in his best, the great water lizard, Mr. Triton Cristalus (the king of the pond in the absence of the ducks, who are his arch-devourers) rolls lazily forth from his hiding-place. Look