He is diligent in

obliging to
his book, and
takes a pleasure in improving himself in every thing that
of praise. He rises early in the

is
makes himself clean and decent, and

his prayers. If he confesses it, and is sorry for ; and a lie, though he might thus good advice, is

he has done a
he scorns to
He loves to hear
give it him, and always

call names, or uses any ill

it.

to those that

it. He never swears, or

to his companions. He

is never peevish and fretful, but always cheerful
humoured. He scorns to steal or pilfer any
his play-fellows; and would rather

goodfrom

wrong than

wrong to any of them. He is always ready to what

to him. He is not
himself out of all

other boys run into. By these
up, a man of sense and virtue;

he is bid, and to mind what is
a wrangler or quarrelsome, and he
kinds of mischief
he becomes, as he
he is beloved and
lives in the world
mented by all.

respected by all who

credit; and when he

him; he

he is la

THE BATTLE OF HOHENLINDEN.

ON Linden when the sun was low,
All bloodless lay the untrodden snow;
And dark as winter was the flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly.

But Linden showed another sight,
When the drum beat at dead of night,
Commanding fires of death to light
The darkness of her scenery.

By torch and trumpet-sound arrayed,
Each horseman drew his battle-blade ;
And furious every charger neighed
To join the dreadful revelry.

Then shook the hills with thunder riven;
Then rushed the steed to battle driven;
And volleying, like the bolts of heaven,
Far flashed the red artillery.

And redder still these fires shall glow
On Linden's hills of purpled snow;
And bloodier still shall be the flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly.

"Tis morn: but scarce yon level sun
Can pierce the war-cloud rolling dun,
Where furious Frank and fiery Hun

Shout 'mid their sulphurous canopy.

The combat deepens: On, ye brave!
Who rush to glory or the grave!
Wave, Munich, all thy banners wave,
And charge with all thy chivalry!

Few, few shall part where many meet!
The snow shall be their winding-sheet,
And every turf beneath their feet
Shall be a soldier's sepulchre !

CAMPBELL.

THE STRUCTURE OF BIRDS.

THE structure of birds affords a striking instance of the care of Providence, in fitting animals for the kind of life to which they are appointed. Their bodies are so light as easily to float in the air. Their largest bones are hollow, so as to have sufficient strength without much weight. A certain degree of thickness is necessary to give strength to the bone, according to the size of the bird; but it is found that a hollow bone is as little liable to break as a solid one of the same thickness. The hollowness, therefore, of the bones, does not make them weaker, while at the same time it makes them lighter than if they were solid. Besides this, the entrails are so constructed as to contain certain cavities, which may be blown up like bladders, and are supposed to be useful, both in making the animal more buoyant, and in enabling it to keep its breath during the swiftness of its flight. The shape of birds is no less beautifully adapted to their situation. The small round head terminating in a sharp beak; the neck growing gradually thicker towards the shoulders, the gentle swell of the breast, the body lengthened out, and narrowing behind; all are admirably fitted for enabling them to

cleave their way through the yielding air. Nothing, indeed, can be more finely adapted for swiftness of motion than the whole frame of the bird in its flight; the forepart piercing the atmosphere by its sharpness, the feet drawn up or stretched out behind, the wings and tail spread out so as to float on the air, and the body of the animal all light and buoyant.

The wings of birds are so constructed as to combine lightness with strength. The feathers of which they consist are thickest at the roots, where most strength is required, but formed into a quill, hollow, and of a tough light consistency. They gradually grow thinner, and taper towards a point at the other extremity, where they do not need to be so strong; and thus every thing superfluous is avoided that would in the least add to the weight of the bird. To enable the animal to move the wings quickly and with force, it is provided with very strong muscles lying along each side of the breast,-so strong, in proportion to its size, that a swan has been known to break a man's leg with a flap of its wing. Thus it pursues its way for a long time through the air without weariness, though its wings be in constant motion.

The feathers of birds would be apt to be ruffled and put out of order by rain, were there not a curious contrivance to prevent it. Most birds have a gland or bag of oil situated under a tuft of feathers near the tail. The bird, by pressing this bag with its beak, extracts the oil from it, and with this oil it trims and dresses its feathers. This keeps them always in good order, and fits them for throwing off any wetness that might fall upon them. You often see birds working with their beak among their feathers at these times they are pluming and dressing themselves with the oil which nature has provided for that purpose. Hens, and other birds which have better opportunities of shelter and fewer occasions for flight, have little or none of this oil; and, accordingly, when they are caught in a shower, they have a very drenched and moping appearance.

Besides these advantages in their structure, which are common to the generality of birds, each kind has some peculiarity fittel for its own situation. Ducks, for ex

ample, and other waterfowl, have their breasts and bellies thickly covered with down, that these parts may receive no injury from being much in the water. They are also webfooted, for the purpose of swimming. Some, such as the heron, have long legs for wading in marshes and pools, and necks proportionably long for picking up their food. Others, again, such as swans, have short legs, with webbed feet for swimming easily, but still have long necks to gather up their food from below the water. Woodpeckers, which feed on insects in the rotten parts of trees, have short strong legs, with four claws, two standing out forwards and two backwards, that they may climb and take fast hold of the trunks of the trees. They have a sharp beak, by which they pierce the wood, and are provided with a tongue, which they can shoot out to a great length, and which ends in a sharp bony point, barbed somewhat like a fish-hook, so as to pierce and keep fast the insects on which the bird feeds. Swallows are so formed as not only to fly with great swiftness, but to wind and shift about quickly in the air; by which means, together with the wideness of their mouths, they are enabled to catch the insects flying about, which are their principal food. The pelican, which feeds on fish, has a large bag or net at the lower part of its beak, by which it catches the fish in sufficient abundance for the supply of its wants.

These are some instances of the care which Providence employs in furnishing those animals with the means of safety and subsistence. How pleasant is the thought that we are under the protection of the same great Being, whose care is so bountifully extended to the fowls of heaven!

CRUELTY TO INSECTS.

the cruel enterHe tore off their pleasure their im

A CERTAIN youth indulged himself in tainment of torturing and killing flies. wings and legs, and then watched with potent attempts to escape from him. Sometimes he collected a number of them together, and crushed them at once to death, glorying in the devastation he committed.

Alexis remonstrated with him in vain on this barbarous conduct. He could not persuade him to believe that flies are capable of pain, and have a right, no less than ourselves, to life, liberty, and enjoyment. The signs of agony which they expressed, by the contortions of their bodies, the cruel boy neither understood nor would attend to.

Alexis had a glass for enabling us to see small objects; and he desired his companion one day to examine a most beautiful and surprising animal. Mark, said he, it is studded from head to tail with black and silver, and its body is covered all over with the most curious bristles! The head contains a pair of lively eyes encircled with silver hairs, and the trunk consists of two parts which fold over each other. The whole body is ornamented with plumes and decorations, which surpass the dress of the greatest princes. Pleased and astonished with what he saw, the youth was impatient to know the name and properties of this wonderful and, when presented to his naked proved to be a poor fly, which had been the victim of his wanton cruelty. PERCIVAL.

from the magnit

THE NESTS OF BIRDS.

How curious is the structure of the nest of the goldfinch or chaffinch! The inside of it is lined with cotton and fine silken threads; and the outside cannot be sufficiently admired, though it is composed only of various species of fine moss. The colour of these mosses, resembling that of the bark of the tree on which the nest is built, proves that the bird intended it should not be easily discovered. In some nests, hair, wool, and rushes, are dexterously interwoven. In some, all the parts are firmly fastened by a thread, which the bird makes of hemp, wool, hair, or more commonly of spiders' webs.-Other birds, as for instance the blackbird and the lapwing, after they have constructed their nest, plaster the inside with mortar, which cements and binds the whole together; they then stick upon it, while quite wet, some wool or moss, to give it the necessary degree of warmth.-The nests of swal