WHERE ARE THE EGGS?

Nor long since a gentleman in the county of Lancaster purchased some Rouen ducks, which he was assured were good layers. As he desired them to be prolific, he was particular in his inquiries, and the ducks in question were strongly recommended to him as possessing the quality which he wished. They did lay very well for a few weeks, and then their produce suddenly fell off, till at last it failed altogether. Every attention was paid to their treatment; their food was closely inspected, and their lodgment duly regarded; but in vain. Not an egg did they present to their owner in return for all his care and diligence. He complained to the person from whom he had purchased them, who assured him that they were most prolific layers up to the period when they were sold, and insinuated that the present owner must have neglected their food. The owner, however, assured him that such was not the case. 66 'Well then," said the seller, "I have no doubt they are laying yet; but the question is, where are the eggs?" "That," replied the owner, "is eggs-actly what I want to know." As the apparent sterility of the ducks still continued, the owner sought in every direction with the hope of finding the produce; but, as the ducks had never been known to stray from their pond, this labour was of course unattended with success. At length the birds, being deemed incurably barren, were sold, and no other ducks were placed upon the pond. Shortly after the water was drained off, when, lo! in the bottom of the pond were found no less than 163 duck eggs. It is believed that the ducks, having been disturbed by children who rummaged their nests for eggs, took to laying them in the water, an eccentricity not unfrequent

amongst these birds.

LINES BY AN OLD BACHELOR.
WHEN Beauty smiles,
Beware her wiles,

For mischief lies in ambush nigh-
When Beauty sighs,
Then Wisdom flies.

For danger lurks in every sigh.
Her smiles and sighs,
Like April skies,

Now sunlit all, now clouded o'er

Are but the forms

Of brooding storms,
That round the patient husband roar.
LET ME SEE HIM ONCE MORE.

LET me see him once more
For a moment or two,
Let him tell me himself

Of his purpose, dear, do;
Let him gaze in these eyes
While he lays out his plan
To escape me-and then,-
He may go-IF HE CAN !
Let me see him once more,
Let me give but one smile,
Let me breathe but one word
Of endearment the while;
I ask but that moment-
My life on the man!
Does he think to forget me,-
He may-IF HE CAN!

GUIANA.

29

LITTLE is known in England about this colony, except that on the coast it is one of the most unhealthy of the British possessions in America, being an alluvial flat, for the greater part having a very deep soil of decayed vegetable matter, remarkably fertile. The northern part

of

touches the river Orinoco near the sea, and the river Essequibo passes through its centre. It covers a space 100,000 square miles, and has a population of 3500 whites, and 100,000 persons of colour. The climate of the interior elevations is far more congenial to health than the flat country, but the latter being the seat or business is that most interesting to Europeans. It is the hottest part, and there the thermometer ranges from 84 to 90 deg., though in the interior, on more elevated ground, it is seldom above 80 deg. In January and November, the temperature is from 85 to 74 deg.; in August from 89 to 78 deg. But our present business is more immediately with the natural history of this colony.

Guiana may be said to be the garden of the New World: on its fertile soil the most beautiful, the most useful, and the grandest plants are spread out in profusion. Of the mahogany tree many superior kinds have been discovered in its forests. But surpassing its fellows in magnitude, and forming the great feature of the woodland, is the gigantic cabbage palm, 120 feet in altitude, with an erect tapering trunk unencumbered by branches for above 100 feet from the ground. The eta, a smaller kind of this palm, furnishes nuts as well as the cabbage; and the cokarito, a still less species, yields a delicate food in the long, thin, tender flakes which are inclosed in a husky tegument on its summit. The manicole, another species, affords along the whole coast, for fifty miles from the sea, a similar cabbage. Next in height to the cabbage palm is the silk cotton tree, 100 feet in altitude and 12 in circumference, without branches for 70 or 80 feet: from this vast stem the Indians hollow out canoes 70 feet in length. The locust tree affords the Indians food from a peculiar farinaceous or manna-like powder which covers its pods, and yields from between its greatest roots a clear transparent gum, which, when reduced by alcohol, is converted into an excellent lacquer or varnish. The timber of the green hart, or sipiera tree, is very valuable; and it yields a globular farinaceous fruit, from which the natives occasionally make bread. The purple hart tree has equally good timber. The bullet tree is used for the manufacture of the arms and shafts of windmills, or for any purpose where a solid durable wood is required. From the wasceba the Indians fabricate their bows, and their ironwood tree forms their clubs. The guiacum tree grows in Guiana to the height of 40 feet; and the wild cinnamon is abundant. The mawna tree produces a fruit exactly resembling oriental nutmegs, but without their fragrance or taste, and yields a valuable gum. The launa has a fruit resembling a lemon externally and an apple internally, from whose juice a singular blue fugitive dye, or natural sympathetic ink, is formed. The red mangrove covers the low wet soil of the coast and rivers, and affords a capital timber, and its bark is used in tanning leather. The white mangrove is an upland plant, and shuns the water: it is, therefore, destitute of the long depending fibrous shoots which form the characteristic feature of the other, and which, taking root in the loose.

swampy soil, soon support and extend their parent tree. The cassia fistula is natural to Guiana. Of the tetermere, the settlers form the panels of ceilings and wainscots, and furniture.

The caraba, or crabtree, is noted for its nuts, which yield, by expression, a copious thick oil, used by the Indians to grease and rub their skins with, in order to defend them from the piercing rays of the sun and the bites of mosquitoes and flies. An Indian will not appear in public unless he is thus anointed, which he calls being dressed. The savory tree is famed for its immense fruit, which contains in its kernels a substance of a more agreeable taste than any nut hitherto discovered. A superior wood to mahogany is obtained from the ducottabolla; and for elegant cabinet work the bourracourra, or letterwood, is yet unequalled. From the bark of the simaruba, a plant indigenous to the soil, a valuable specific for the dysentery is made. The wallabah is used to form the staves of sugar hogsheads, and its bitter bark is a good emetic. The nutmeg of the New World is brought only from the interior by the natives. It is as large as an ordinary apple, and is a remedy for diarrhoeas: its taste is warm and spicy. Gum anime, balsam capivi, and an infinite number of plants affording gums, balsams, and drugs, are everywhere met with; but the balsam most prized by the natives is that called arrecocerra, which is found only in the interior, and is their grand vulnerary for wounds, &c. A species of camphor tree has been discovered, which also affords the canella alba, or winter's bush. The xiarree is a sort of upas, whose poisonous atmosphere prevents other plants from thriving in its neighbourhood. The cuppy tree is used for fences, and takes a fine polish. The canavatepy also polishes well, and gives out the odour of a carnation in working. The berklac is of a pink colour, and adapted for all domestic

uses.

The fruits of Guiana are numerous beyond conception. The ducolla apple has the flavour of a marmalade of quinces. Guavas, avigato pears, shaddocks, avoira plums, pine apples, musk and water melons, every variety of delicious nuts, mammee apples, plantains, bananas, coffee, and cocoa nuts, the sugar cane, poppans, yams, cassava, forbidden fruit, oranges, lemons, citrons, limes, bergamot, sappadilla, custard apple, and cashew nuts, everywhere adorn the landscape; as do the beautiful tamarind tree, the Arabian jessamy, water lemon, and granadilla vine.

Flowers and shrubs are in infinite variety; and here the trooly furnishes leaves not less than from twenty to thirty feet in length, and two or three in breadth, which are used to thatch the houses, and last for years; whilst the nibbees, or llinas, which throw their fantastic arms round the tallest trees of the forest, and resemble from their leafless nature the cordage of a vessel, are actually used for that purpose, as, on being split into small ligaments, they are formed into a sort of rope.

been well described: we have little doubt it is the hippopotamus of Bancroft, though the large tusks he mentions separate it somewhat from the other species of tapirs. The lubba is a nondescript, which Bancroft informs us is of the size of a young pig, with a short, round, thick head, resembling a Dutch mastiff's, no tail, and short legs, and is covered with fine short hair of a chestnut colour, on the back diversified by white circular spots, three inches in circumference, and white under the belly. It feeds on grain, herbage, and fruit, and is amphibious. Its flesh is eaten even in preference to that of deer. Apes, from the great ourang outang to the little saccawinhee, fill the forests of the interior; and here the dreaded vampire bat may be seen of such an enormous size as to measure 324 inches between the tips of its wings.

Nothing can exceed the variety and splendour of the feathered race in this clime. The crested eagle, the vulture, Surinam falcon, an owl no larger than a thrush, the butcher-bird, the toucan, pelican, tiger-bird, herons, flamingo, spur-winged water hen trumpeter, or agame, are a few of those best known; which, with countless multitudes of splendid macaws and parrots, humming-birds and parroquets, enliven the otherwise dreary woods and forests. The grass sparrow is an elegant little creature, resembling a parroquet, perfectly green, with a white bill and red eyes. The mocking-bird is black, with crimson edges to the wings, and a crimson crown. The kisheekishee, a small bird from the interior, surpasses all in the variety and splendour of its brilliant colours.

Guiana affords most remarkable insects. Stedman mentions a butterfly which measured from wing to wing about seven inches, and of such a vivid blue colour that no ultramarine could equal it. Centipedes and scorpions abound, but their bite is not mortal. Of all the hideous monsters which this division of Nature's works affords, the great bush, or wood spider, is the most terrifying. One of them was placed by Stedman in a case bottle eight inches high, and filled it. It has five pair of thick legs, and is of a black colour, covered with long thick hair, whilst each leg is armed with a crooked yellow nail, and the pincers from its head, with which it seizes its prey, resemble those of a crab. The walking-leaf, and an animal mounted on six legs, each six inches long, and like those of a spider, are curiosities peculiar to the country. The fire-fly of Guiana is a most splendid insect, above an inch in length, and so luminous that, by the help of two of them, a person may read at night.

centipedes, &c.; which, in addition to their bites and stings, fly in our faces, crawl about our persons, and make an intolerable buzzing in our ears. In the evening, and particularly after rain, the confused noise of these

humming hosts is peculiarly disagreeable. It conveys the idea of breathing in an atmosphere of sounds, or amidst a great and animated hive, where every created insect joins in full chorus; the enormous frog of the country croaking the bass, in a voice which resembles the loud bellowing of an ox."

If Guiana is so prolific in birds and insects, it may with more reason be called the country of serpents and reptiles. The boa constrictor here reaches thirty feet in length, and three or four in circumference. The rattlesnake is eight or nine feet in length, and, together with the orococo or labarra, and whip-snake, carries death in its fangs. To these may be added the scarlet snake, the fire snake, the dreaded woods-master, the macouracoura, the caruna, the ibonana or corbra de coral, &c. It is a common opinion in this country that the more lively and various the colours of the snakes are, the more fatal is their poison. Accidents are very frequent, as the houses are open, and the rains often drive these reptiles to take shelter in them. "Sitting on my chair one evening," says Dr. Bancroft, "and putting my hand behind me, I perceived something unusually cold, which I took to be the back of the chair, but soon after felt it move; when starting up, I perceived I had laid my hand on one of these snakes (earunus, a very poisonous one), who was coiled in a heap, with the head uppermost; and, as the pressure of my hand had been light, and the warmth agreeable, he probably intended no injury; had it been otherwise, the consequences might have been fatal." The labarra appears to be the worst of all the Guiana reptiles. Bancroft cites the case of a negro carpenter, who, in turning over a piece of timber, was bitten by one on the forefinger of his right hand. The effects were instantaneous; for the man had but just time to kill the reptile when his limbs failed to support him, and he fell to the ground, and expired in less than five minutes from the time he received the wound; hemorrhage ensued from the nose, ears, lungs, &c., and the blood exuded, so as to occasion the appearance of purple spots on every part of the surface of the body. Stedman mentions a similar fate which befel one of his slaves, from inadvertently treading on a snake of the same species.

The waters are as prolific as the land in Guiana, its rivers swarming with alligators, lizards, water snakes, with the paca or cavy, the tapir, &c. Three kinds of frogs, and a venomous toad, the pipa, whose young lodge in cells on the parent's back, &c., may be cited amongst the amphibious tribe, whilst the same rivers and the coasts abound with every variety of tropical fish. That huge monster the manati, or sea cow, frequents most of them. The frog fish, a sort of large tadpole, and the torporific eel, or topedo, are common to every stream.

THE EXPANDING THE CHEST.-Those in easy circumstances, or those who pursue sedentary employment within doors, use their lungs but little, breathe but little air in the chest, and thus, independently of positions, contract a wretchedly small chest, and lay the foundation for the loss of health and beauty. All this can be obviated by a little attention to the manner of breathing. Recollect the lungs are like a bladder in their structure, and can stretch open to double their size with perfect safety, giving a noble chest and perfect immunity from con

31

sumption. The agent, and only agent required, is the common air we breathe, supposing, however, that no obstacle exists, external to the chest, such as lacing it tight with stays, or having the shoulders lie upon it. On rising from the bed in the morning, place yourself in an erect posture, with your head and shoulders thrown back from the chest, then inhale all the air that can be got in; then hold your breath as long as possible. Repeat these long breaths as many times as you please. Done in a cold air, it is much better, because the air is much denser, and will act much more powerfully in expanding the chest. Exercising the chest in this manner, it will become flexible and expansible, and will enlarge the capacity and size of the lungs.-Home Companion.

PUNCTUATION.-The following examples of mal-punctuation strongly illustrate the necessity of putting stops in their proper places. "Cæsar entering on his head, his helmet on his feet, armed sandals upon his brow, there was a cloud in his right hand, his faithful sword in his eye, an angry glare saying nothing, he sat down."

I saw a peacock with a fiery tail;

I saw a comet shower down with hail;

I saw the clouds curled with ivy round;
I saw an oak creep on the ground;
I saw an ant swallow up a whale;

I saw the sea brimmed full of ale;

I saw a glass filled with tears;

I saw men's eyes all on a flame of fire;

I saw a house at twelve o'clock at night;

I saw a man who saw this wondrous sight.

THE INFLUENCE OF COLOUR ON HEAT.-The influence which colour exerts over the apparel, as modifying its power of preserving warmth, is very remarkable. As a general rule, all the dark colours absorb more light and more of the sun's rays than those of a brighter kind, and in proportion to this quality is their power of absorbing heat. A good absorber is also a good radiator: hence, dark colours are good radiators of heat, and, according to the nature of their material, bad or good conductors. White, on the contrary, reflects the rays of light, and with them the heat, and thus is a bad absorber and bad radiator of heat. It is, therefore, well adapted both for a summer and winter dress: in the summer season, prohibiting the passage of heat from without inwards; and, in in the winter, in the contrary direction. Franklin, many years since, placed a number of small squares of various coloured cloths of the same material on the snow, and found, after a time, that the snow covered by the black piece was the most, and that beneath the white the least, melted. Sir Humphrey Davy took six pieces of copper (each an inch square and two inches thick) of equal weight-one yellow, one red, one green, one blue, and one black. On the centre of the under surfaces was placed a portion of a mixture of oil and wax, which became fluid at 76 degrees. The plates were then attached to a board painted white, and the coloured surfaces of all the pieces equally exposed to the direct rays of the sun. The result was, that the cerate on the black plate first began to melt, then that on the blue, next the green and red, and lastly the yellow. The square coated with white was scarcely affected by the heat, though the black had completely melted. More recently, a similar experiment was made by Stark. He enveloped the bulbs of a num

ber of thermometers in pieces of the same material, but of different colours, and immersed the whole in boiling water. The thermometer around which the black cloth was wound was covered with green, then red, and, last of all, white; the difference between the black and the white being 25 per cent. This influence of colour is antagonized by the nature of the material; and, as it acts superficially, it produces very little change on thick, although considerable on thin texture, such as gauze.

MONKEY GLEANERS.-Chinese ingenuity is said to have succeeded in teaching monkeys to gather tea on those spots which are not accessible to man but at the hazard of life. The monkeys clamber up to the tea plants, gather the green leaves from between the branches, and throw them down to those who are standing below. In order to encourage them to exertion, their masters

throw food to them from time to time. There is still up

another useful lesson which the Chinese have taught them. The labourer drives a herd of the monkeys who congregate in the mountain wilderness into a part of the country which abounds in the tea plant, and then sets about worrying and hunting them. The monkeys in their retreat break off the tenderest branches of the plant, and throw them at their pursuer, who gathers them forthwith under his arm, with thanks for the shower of missiles.-Javashe Courant.

LE PROMENADE DE LONGCHAMP.

EASTER is, in Paris, the most interesting period of the year; as then the Spring Fashions first make their appearance at Longchamp, which is a broad avenue through the Bois de Boulogne, extending nearly three miles from the Place de la Concorde, opposite the centre of the gardenfront of the Tuileries, to the Triumphal Arch of L'Etoile. This avenue (except on this occasion) takes the name of the Champs Elysée, through which it passes: there is on each side this road a broad foot-path laid down with asphalt, and upon Good Friday in each year, the entire population of Paris are en route, either en voiture, or à pied, proceeding up the right hand side of the avenue, to its termination at the Triumphal Arch of L'Etoile, returning down the opposite side, the space between being exclusively appropriated to the heads of the government, whether royal or republican, the foreign ambassadors, and to equestrians. Amongst these are many amazons with elegant riding habits. Gens d'armes are stationed at short distances to keep those who promenade à pied from intruding upon the part appropriated to those who promenade en voiture.

The Promenade of Longchamp commenced at the time of the monarchy under the ancien régime, when it was the fashion to attend the service at Easter, wherever the most exquisite music was to be heard, and at this period all the most splendid equipages of Paris were en route through the Champs Elysées, to a convent at the barriers, to attend the service and hear the music, which, both instrumental and vocal, was of the best description that Paris could supply.

This naturally attracted all the élite of the fashionable world, either in carriages or on foot, producing a scene of

the most animated and enchanting description; which was the origin of Longchamp.

The music is no longer heard, for the convent no longer exists, but the promenade is annually continued with all its splendour. It commenced (as before stated) under the ancien régime, was continued during the first republic, the empire, the restoration, the reign of Louis Philippe, and still exists, for, in the midst of political revolutions, there is one power and one throne which stand, immovable-that of la mode-whose sway is acknowledged by all France, and whose influence extends to all "Vive la mode" is a cry to parts of the civilized world. which there is no dissentient voice raised, for political revolutions have never interfered with Parisian elegance. The near approach of Longchamp puts all the Parisian élégantes on the qui vive. Some are making arrangements for the display of novel articles for their own toilette; others are speculating upon what their acquaintances will introduce; and all the marchandes de modes are in full activity, endeavouring to outshine each other in the production of novelties. We have had the privilege of being admitted to the atéliers of some of the most fashionable, and several of the costumes represented in this work are destined to figure upon that happy occasion.

THE following circumstance occurred to a Mrs. Barry, at the town of North Walsham, in the county of Norfolk, in the year 1788, whilst representing the character of Calista in the "Fair Penitent," in a barn. In the last skull, the above actress, who played the part, was sudact of the tragedy, where Calista lays her hand on the denly seized with an involuntary shuddering. She fell and during the night her illness continued; but the fol on the stage, and was instantly conveyed to her lodgings, lowing day, when sufficiently recovered to be able to conquired if he could tell from whom or whence he procured verse, she sent for the stage-keeper, and anxiously inthe skull used the preceding night. He replied, he procured it from the sexton, who informed him that it was the skull of one Norris, a player, who, twelve be years fore, was buried in an obscure corner of the churchyard. That same Norris was this lady's first husband. The Poor woman never recovered the shock. She died in six

weeks.

A SLAVE. That single word, what volumes does it speak! It speaks of chains, of whips and tortures, compulsive labour, hunger and fatigues, and all the miseries our wretched bodies suffer. It speaks of haughty power, and insolent commands; of insatiate avarice; of pampered pride and purse-proud luxury; and of the cold indifference and scornful unconcern with which the oppressor looks down upon his victims. It speaks of crouching fear, and base servility; of low, mean cunning, and treacherous revenge. It speaks of humanity outraged; manhood degraded; the social charities of life, the sacred ties of father, wife, and child trampled under foot; of aspirations crushed; of hope extinguished; and the light of know ledge sacrilegiously put out. It speaks of man deprived of all that makes him amiable or makes him noble; stripped of his soul, and sunk into a beast.