ROMULUS and Remus were the grandsons of Numitor, king of Alba. Amulius, his brother, was a very ambitious man, who found means to deprive Numitor of his kingdom, and to obtain possession of it himself. The daughter of Numitor having committed a great crime, Amulius caused her to be buried alive; and her twin children, Romulus and Remus, were thrown into the Tiber, by com ROMAN HISTORY. ROMULUS AND REMUS. The Shepherd carrying Romulus and Remus to his wife. mand of this cruel usurper. happened that the river had overflowed its banks; and the satisfied with the occupation of tending flocks and herds, or hunting wild beasts: they chose rather to fight against the robbers who infested their country, whom they often conquered, and shared the plunder with their fellow shepherds. 153 having been thrown into the water where it was less deep, remained unhurt. Faustulus, one of king Numitor's herdsmen, dis covered the children in this perilous situation, and carried them to his wife, who took charge of them; and the shepherd educated them as his own sons. Other stories are related concerning the childhood of the two brothers: but the truth of them is not certain, and we have therefore avoided noticing them. When Romulus and Re mus grew up, they were disIn one of these contests, Remus was taken prisoner, and brought before the king, and accused of committing theft. Romulus having heard of his brother's situation, assembled his companions, in order to rescue him from his enemies. Faustulus, the herdsman, had inform- The city contained about a thousand ed him of his near connexion with Am- The two brothers then resolved to build a city, upon those hills on which they had formerly lived as shepherds. Numitor appointed lands for them; but they could not agree in their choice of a suitable place. They had recourse to the superstitious practice of observing the flight of birds, in order to settle the dispute and placed themselves on different hills. Remus beheld six vultures flying, and Romulus twelve. Another contest arose on account of the superior number beheld by Romulus, who asserted his right to begin the foundations of the new city. He commenced the walls; but their slenderness was ridiculed by Remus, who leaped over them with contempt. Romulus, provoked at this insult, struck his brother dead on the spot, declaring that no one should insult his walls unpunished. We are not informed if Romulus felt remorse for this wicked action. He continued to erect his city upon the Palatine hills, and made it a place of refuge for criminals, strangers, and slaves. houses, or, more properly, cottages, made of rough boards and covered with mud, surrounded by a feeble wall. It received the name of Rome, in honor of the founder, Romulus. The bad character of the inhabitants made them despised by the neighboring people, with whom they were frequently at war. On one occasion, Romulus invited the Sabines to witness a grand entertainment in honor of a heathen god; and his people having seized upon the women who had come to be spectators, forced them to remain in the city as their wives. Such violent proceedings gave great offence: the Sabines made war against the Romans, but were at last conquered by that fierce and barbarous people. Romulus afterwards divided the lands that he had gained by conquest, and allotted one third part to his subjects; another for the purpose of building temples, and providing for the priests; and a third for paying the expenses of the government. An hundred men were chosen from the most aged and experienced of the citizens, to give advice to the king on matters of importance: these persons were called the senators, After governing his new kingdom thirty-nine years, Romulus disappeared. Some writers assert that he was slain by the senators, who were disgusted with his tyrannical government. A temple was afterwards dedicated to him, and the people honored him as one of their gods. LETTER TO THE EDITOR, AND HIS REPLY. MORE VARIETY WANTED. MR. PARLEY, I AM much pleased with the magazine. I have read every number of it ever since you began to print it. I have got all the volumes neatly bound, and they make quite a snug little library. I have sometimes thought, of late, that there was not quite enough of variety in it. What you say is good, and I like it, and every body about here that takes it likes it; but if you could give us a little more variety we should like it better. ONE OF YOUr readers. We are much obliged to "One of our readers" for his compliments, and not less so for his suggestions about a want of variety in the magazine, though we do not quite understand what he means by variety. Does he mean variety of subjects? If so, we do not see how the numbers, especially of late, can be wanting in that respect. Let us take up then the last three or four numbers, for example. The January number has something to say about Amusements-Snow balling, Sleighing, Skating and Sliding. Then it has a good deal of pleasant moral instruction in the New Year's article, and the letter from Aunt Newbury. There are the travels of Richard Rover, and Mr. Audubon, and the pretended Adventures of a Cent. There is the story of Young Willard; a letter to the Editor about Fire Works; the Editor's reply to it; an article about the height of ani 155 mals; a Fable; a Puzzle; an Acrostic; a piece of Juvenile Music; an article on Jumping; one on long-toed boots; one on Building on Piles; the Conjuring Bird; three articles of natural history; a piece of poetry, and eight other anecdotes, besides many wise sayings and maxims. The number of engravings is ten; namely, sleigh riding, the boat capsizing, snow balling, the child at prayer, the magny, the conjuring bird, the heron, the blue jay, the long toed boot, and a cut in the title page. In the February number we have the Tell Tale, Cities burned by Volcanoes, a Lesson in Latin, an Indian story, the Kingfisher, Mr. Elliot and the Indians, the Tiger, the Rambles of Richard Rover, the Eider Duck, Journey over the Allegany Mountains, letter from Uncle Newbury, the Age of Trees, Presence of Mind, Lesson on a Picture, Journey down the Ohio, a Match Box, Diseases among Fish, and Juvenile Music; besides many anecdotes and other small articles. Thus we have, in this number, history, narrative, an original tale, anecdotes, journeys, travels, geography, natural history, moral instruction, and music. Here, too, in this number, are no less than nine engravings. The number for March contains an account of the convent of St. Bernard, a Letter from Aunt Newbury, a story of Hindoo Customs, the Collier, a curious Cascade near Mexico, travels of Audubon, Capture of Annawon, a cure for Laziness, story of James H. Beattie, About Deserters, a Dialogue about our bodies, Child's Almanac for March, stories about Herculaneum and Pompeii, discovery of the Southern States, an account of the Puffin, the Troublesome Parrot, a piece of Juvenile Music, and three or four anecdotes, and two enigmas.—Thus we have in this number history, biography, manners and customs, anecdotes, poetry, moral instruction, natural history, natural curiosities, travels, education, anatomy and physiology, instruction on health, narrative and music. The cuts in this number are twelve. We have not gone over with the April number but we believe, most confidently, that its variety is still greater than any of those we have mentioned; and that the number of the engravings is also greater. Will "one of our readers" therefore tell us what he means by a want of variety; or if we do not give him variety enough, will he be so good as to tell us how much enough is? DRINK AND AWAY. BY REV. WILLIAM CROSWELL. THERE is a beautiful rill in Barbary receiv ed into a large basin, which bears a name signifying "Drink and Away," from the great danger of meeting with rogues and assassins. Up! pilgrim and rover, To trouble and danger- By night and by day, The blood of his prey Shall stain the still water- With toil though thou languish, Or drink and away! Thy God is thy stay, Yield not in dismay Yea, there shalt thou rest thee Forever and aye, With none to molest thee Then, drink and away! THE LUNGS. The lungs are frequently called by people the lights. They are for breathing. The use of breathing is to carry pure air into the hollow lungs, by means of which the blood, after having become somewhat black and impure, is made of a lighter red, and more pure. four feet; and its length, from the neck to the tail, not far from six. THE Lama, or South American cam- in small quantity. Its height is about el, is found chiefly in Peru and Chili. Before the Spaniards conquered South America, it was the only beast of burden among the Indians; but since that time, mules have been introduced. The disposition of the lama is as mild and gentle as that of the sheep. The lama travels very slowly, seldom proceeding more than twelve or fifteen miles a day; but what it wants in speed it makes up in perseverance. Besides, it will go in places where hardly any other animal can, unless it is the mule; and it is very surefooted. This animal, like the camel, can abstain from drinking, a long time, some say four or five days. Like the camel, too, it will live on very coarse food, and The lamas lie down to be loaded, like the camel. When they are weary, no blows can quicken their pace. As they have no other means of defending themselves when angry, they do it by spitting, and they can throw their saliva upon their enemy about two rods. If it falls upon his skin it produces an itching and a slight degree of inflammation. This animal is much used in carrying the rich silver ores dug out of the mines in Potosi. In the time of Bolivar 300,000 of them were employed in this manner. . The wild lama, called guanaco, is stronger and more active than the tame |