foliage of various hues, were growing. Some of the cliffs appeared like the towers of old castles frowning over the rapid torrent beneath. They reminded me of Matlock in Derbyshire. Onward came the river, rolling close beneath the mount on which we stood; but thus obstructed, it sought its way onward, and taking a circuit of several miles, was again seen urging its impetuous course at the foot of the Monmouthshire mountains to our left. So that this river was close beneath us on both sides. Half a mile, at most, would have joined it here; but it was compelled to travel seven, at least, before it found its way to the valley by which, below Chepstow, it empties its troubled waters into the Severn.

Here another companion joined us, a young minister from Coleford, who was acquainted with the spot; but I trembled as I saw him descend the rugged sides of the mount, and dare not trust myself to follow him. We spent half an hour gazing on this remarkable prospect.

One thing amused us. On our left was a sort of ferry. On the Monmouth side we observed a drove of asses with empty coal panniers. The boat was brought to, and the asses one after the other leaped into it, urged by a smart cut from behind by a boy who stood ready with a whip for the purpose. We could hear the crack of the whip, and the loud laugh of the young urchin as he plied his wonted task.

Just here, as well as in other places, the river forms a kind of rapid, and it was interesting to notice the manner in which the boatmen managed to bring their craft up or down the current. Many things, that at first sight appear to a stranger impossible, are thus overcome by skill and perseverance.

Here I must stop; for what still remains to be told of this journey will fill another paper.

PIGEONS are found in every quarter of the globe except within the frigid zones, and in no tribe do we meet with plumage more delightful, either for diversity or brilliancy. It is, however, in the tropical climates where their colouring is most vivid.

The GREEN PIGEON is a native of Continental India and the Asiatic Isles, and inhabits their deep forests, or lodges among the exuberant growths of the banyan tree, itself a forest. Its bill is stouter and thicker than that of the common pigeon, very hard, and hooked at the tip; the wings, of a medium length, are strong and pointed; the legs short, and partly covered with feathers, and the feet, formed for perching, have sharp semi-circular claws; the eyes are bright red. The general colour of the head and lower part of the body is green; the back a dark brown, with a purple tinge; and the greater wing-coverts and secondary quills edged with the brightest yellow. The tree where its nest is fixed affords it both food and security; and its colour is so similar to the leaf of the banyan, on the small red fig of which it feeds, that if a bird does not move, a person may look

for many minutes before he can perceive one, although there may be fifty among the branches. It is wild

and timid, and is generally seen in flocks, except at pairing time, when the couples retire to nestle in the recesses of the forest. Their nest is composed of a few twigs loosely put together, and they have not more than two eggs.

The RING-DOVE, or CUSHAT, is widely disseminated throughout Europe, either as a migratory or stationary bird. In our own woods it is a permanent resident; although in winter it seeks the turnip or young clover fields in search of food; assembling in large flocks for this purpose towards the end of October, and continuing together till the genial weather in spring awaken their natural instincts, and they again pair off to the woods:

"Sweet, constant bird! the lover's favourite theme!
Protected by thy love-inspiring lay,

Seldom thou mov'st thy house; year after year,
The self-same tree beholds thy youngling pair
Matured to flight."

GRAHAME.

The cushat breeds twice, in spring and in autumn; and the nest, a flimsy fabric, consisting of a few sticks

loosely put together, is erected indiscriminately on bush or tree-the beech, the holly, the young fir, or the thorn: the eggs are two in number, white, and of an oblong shape. Both sexes sit alternately during the time of incubation, and are equally attentive to their young, who, when first excluded from the shell, are blind, and but thinly covered with down: they rear them upon a milky pulp ejected from the crop, where the food has undergone a preparatory process before being given to them. As the little ones increase in size, and require to be more frequently supplied, the food remains less time in the parental craw, and is gradually less broken, till, when nearly fledged, they receive it but little altered from the state in which it was swallowed by the old pair. The ring-dove is among the largest of the species, measuring from sixteen to seventeen inches in length. The bill is of a yellowish colour, and slightly arched; the wings calculated for vigorous flight, the feet adapted for perching or walking, and the tail square or even at the end; the general colour above is bluish-grey, the breast and belly purplish red, passing into the same colour in the lower region; the neck, which is glossed with green, has a white patch on each side, nearly meeting below, and forming a kind of semi-collar or ring, whence the name originated; the feet are red, the claws black. It is easily tamed, but has never been known to breed in confinement; and although brought up from the nest, if set at liberty, it seeks the woods, and returns to man no more. Its strains are monotonous

"Deep-toned

The Cushat plains; nor is her changeless plaint
Unmusical, when with the general choir

Of woodland harmony it softly blends."-GRAHAME.

Mr. Montagu, we are told, reared a number of different birds together-a common pigeon, a ring-dove, a white owl, and a sparrow-hawk, which lived in perfect harmony, and the ring-dove was master of

the whole. The WOOD-PIGEON is a bird of inferior size, and in our island is chiefly confined to the southern and midland counties of England, and those parts of them only which are well wooded. Its habits are similar to the ring-dove, but its flesh is of a more exquisite flavour. By some naturalists it has been considered as a younger specimen.

The ROCK-DOVE is the stock of our common pigeon, but will not breed with it, and it never builds in the same localities, choosing hollows in decayed trees, or on the forks of the higher branches of others, while the latter, in its wild state, prefers the holes of rocks on the sea-shore, or ruinous old towers, and is found along the whole stretch of our coasts, among the precipitous cliffs, as far as the Orkneys, retiring to the inmost recesses of their extensive caverns, beyond where the sea-fowl breed. The rock-dove is about thirteen and a half inches in length; has a bluish-grey plumage; the bill brown; the neck and upper part of the breast a dark purple ground, glossed with shades of green and purplish red, the varied tints glittering with lively changing hues, according as the light falls upon them; the wings, when closed, exhibit two broad dark bars, one across the middle of the greater coverts; the other at the end of the secondary quills; the lower part of the back is white; the tail deep grey, black at the tip.-But this species is best known as the COMMON PIGEON of the dove-cot, in which state, although under the guardianship of man, it can hardly be said to be domesticated: it contributes, however, much to his benefit, affording pleasant and nutritious food, and a considerable profit to the proprietors of the pigeon-house; for, as they breed eight or nine times in a year, vast numbers of young pigeons are produced by this system. These abodes may be compared to huge caverns, where the fowl is furnished, with a dwelling, but is left perfectly at liberty to