Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

1

O how the poor things shrunk! and, | went over the brook into a bushy field, finally, one after another, we would covered with a thick growth of hazel discover that the icy breath had sunk and brambles, with here and there a into their little lungs, and left them large old tree left standing. dead!

O what a piteous sight it was, when one day, after it became pleasant, Mr. Webber climbed the Locust-tree, close to our window, hoping to find this favorite family at least safe; and after an exclamation of grief, descended again, and, without another word, presented us with the shattered remains of this once beautiful cradle, with four little skeletons, the storm-wilted flesh dried, blackened on their delicate bones!

Many another such sad sight we saw -but we will not give you any more of the mournful details of this terrible season to us and the birds.

But although we have thus seen in how many various and accidental forms the sudden destruction may overtake the gentle inmates of the quiet wood, we can give you a quaint incident which shows that these same creatures may sometimes bear what seems a charmed life, and you will no longer wonder that ignorance invests incidents of the same class with superstitious importance, and that the "silver bullet" should be imagined necessary, as among the Indians and backwoodsmen, to break through the charm.

We had gone out upon our morning walk, and as I was not in very good health, Mr. W. carried his gun along for the purpose of shooting a young squirrel or rabbit, which would be more dainty food for my palled appetite. We

We were pushing our way along a narrow path, when, hearing a sudden rustle among the dried leaves, we saw the white tail of a rabbit go bobbing up and down as he went bounding off. He did not go far, however, but stopped in sight, just in the thickest of all the hazel clumps.

We could see him through the slim stems, standing erect, with his great wide eyes staring at us, just as you see him in the cut..

[graphic][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

more than twenty paces off! how ridiculous! Why, the creature is not even scared! Wait a bit, my little man, and I'll see if I can not scare you some!" and he proceeded rapidly to re-load, when to his disappointment he found that in getting over the fence he had lost the stopper to his shot-bag, and all his small shot was gone, except about half a dozen. But he happened to have a few rifle-bullets in his pocket, so he put two of these into his gun along with the half dozen small shot.

Mr. Rabbit, in the mean time, stood as immovably staring at us as if he had been some goblin statuette, hewn from brown stone, with great ebony-set eyes, and placed in some green nook to mock the passing sportsman; while the elfin creatures peeped from out the flowers, and clapped their hands in the mockery of tiny glee.

Bang! went the gun again! and the white spots showed themselves along the hazels in a direct line with the creature. But not a motion did Mr. Hare make!

"How strange!" said Mr. W. with a perplexed air. "You see the hazel stems are literally riddled all in a line with the creature, and yet he does not stir! Can it be possible that he has died in that strange attitude? That is absurd! However, we will try him again!" and down went two more bullets, which were the last.

Bang! went the gun again. No more white spots appeared upon the hazel stems, but Mr. Rabbit remained still immovable. I could not help laugh

ing at Mr. W.'s humorously perplexed look as he exclaimed

"Well, the creature must be a Witch Rabbit, surely! I have no more shot, but I am not going to give it up so! Here's a hazel stem which will about fit the bore of the gun, and they say that hazel is deadly to witches, so I will shoot it at him.

Bang! went the gun once more, and the rabbit remained, if anything, more immovable still. Mr. W. stared a moment, and laughing, said—

"I am afraid this witch is too strong for even the spell of the hazel! You go round to the brook, and get me a handful of the small gravel over which it runs. I have frequently shot birds with it when my shot gave out."

I clambered the fence, and was soon back with the gravel, and to my great amusement, as well as astonishment, saw Mr. Rabbit still standing there, with his great wide unwinking eyes staring at us.

Mr. W. fired several times with the gravel, with the same result as before, until we both burst into shouts of laughter, which proved to have greater effect upon our Witch Rabbit than all the roaring of the gun, and he went bounding slowly off through the thicket; and as we turned to go, we caught a glimpse of him a short distance off, staring after us with the same immovable stare.

We had a good laugh over the incident as we returned home. Mr. W. accounted for the quaint incident by saying he had probably lost the shot of the first charge out of his gun, by the

A BEAUTIFUL SENTIMENT.-PERSEVERE!

loosening of the light wad without his being aware of it-for, it will be remembered, there were no white marks after the first shot. The other shots with the two bullets, although in a straight line, were glanced by the thick hazel stems. The sticks were also glanced, and the gravel we found, on closer examination, to be of so light a quality, that it could only be propelled a few feet from the muzzle of the gun. We returned the next morning, and found our witch in the same 'form," and Mr. W. shot him easily, running, at the first fire.

66

Thus ended the mystery of the Witch Rabbit, which a superstitious person would have insisted all his life in regarding as a supernatural event. It might finally have become a legendary wonder. Such is, undoubtedly, the origin of the marvelous tales which fill the early literature of all lands concerning weird animals.

169

hands: we are happy in hope, and we grasp eagerly at the beauties around us-but the stream hurries on, and still our hands are empty. Our course in youth and manhood is along a wilder and deeper flood, amid objects more striking and magnificent. We are animated at the moving pictures and enjoy. ment and industry passing us: we are excited at some short-lived disappointment. The stream bears us on, and our joys and griefs are left behind us. We may be shipwrecked, we can not be delayed: whether rough or smooth, the river hastens to its home, till the roar of the ocean is in our ears, and the tossing of the waves is beneath our feet, and the land lessens from our eyes, and the floods are lifted up around us, and we take our further voyage where there is no witness save the Infinite and Eternal."

A Beautiful Sentiment.

SHORTLY before the departure of the lamented Heber for India, he preached a sermon which contained this beautiful illustration:

"Life bears us on like a stream of a

mighty river. Our boat first glides down the narrow channel-through the playful murmuring of the little brook, and the winding of its grassy borders. The trees shed their blossoms over our young heads: the flowers on the brink seem to offer themselves to our young

Persevere !

WHAT though the mountain's side be steep,
And rugged be the way!

What though the passing clouds obscure
The brightness of the day!
That mountain's summit has been pressed
By wearier feet than thine;
And through the clouds of thy despair
Rays from above still shine.

"There's not a rose without a thorn,"
No joy without a grief;
No autumn-time of gathering-in
Without the falling leaf.
Let "upward-onward" be thy lay,

Give in not nor despair;
Thou sharest but the common lot-
Thy burden meekly bear.

1

New York State Internal Improvements.

[graphic]

was

O one can To render this vast tract of country valpossibly uable, by providing some cheap mode over esti- of access to it, was the question to be mate the im-solved. After much time spent in deportance of liberation, it was decided to construct a the above canal connecting the Hudson with Lake named Erie. When the route was surveyed, it works. Yet, was ascertained that, to make a canal though it is extend from Albany to Buffalo, which is a great sub- 298 miles, it must be 362 miles longject, some idea of it may be given in a so much more length being required to brief article. The Hudson River is nav- go round the hills. In 1817 the work igable for sloops and steamboats to was commenced, and in 1825 it was Albany and Troy, 156 miles. For all finished. Did you ever see a canal? this distance, there was the best com- The one of which I am now telling you munication for carrying produce to mar- a ditch 362 miles long, 40 feet ket. But this was the only part of wide, and 4 feet deep. On one side this great State where there were any is a path, called the tow-path, on which natural facilities, by which the farmer the horses travel, towing the boats by could reach an extensive market with long ropes attached to their harness. the results of his industry. The State This is called the Erie Canal, because stretches off 350 miles westward, and it communicates with Lake Erie. Alno means of reaching any point west- though, as I have said, the canal was ward of Albany except the horse-con-extended 64 miles to avoid the hills, veyance. The consequence was, that, though the valleys of the Mohawk, Genesee, etc., are among the most fertile in the world, their productions were rendered almost valueless to the farmer, except so far as they were needed for his own consumption, on account of the expense of transportation to a point where they could be sold. The 298 miles between Albany and Buffalo were thinly settled, and wheat was, by long and tedious journeys, carried to Albany, and from thence shipped to New York.

there was still, by reason of the lesser hills and valleys that intervened, a necessity of sometimes raising and sometimes lowering the bed of the canal so as to have always a level space for the water. There was a total of 679 feet to

overcome.
of locks.

This was done by means When the canal is to be raised from one plane to another, a dock, or basin, of just sufficient capacity to permit a boat to be floated in, is constructed of solid mason work, say 100 feet long by 15 or 20 feet wide, and extend

ing from the bottom of the lower plane | increase of population, that the State is
to the top of the upper plane, with a now engaged in enlarging these canals,
gate at each end. This is a lock. To making them 80 feet wide and 7 feet
raise a boat from the lower to the up-deep. They are also, at each eleva-
per plane, this lock, or basin, is emptied tion, constructing two locks side by
when the water in the lock is on a side, instead of one, so that boats can
level with the water in the canal be- be passing up and down at the same
low. The boat being then floated into time, as well in the locks as on the
the lock, the gate at the lower end is level. On all of these canals were boats
closed, and the gate at the upper end called packets, for passengers, traveling
opened. Thus the lock is gradually four miles per hour night and day;
filled with water, and the boat slowly while the line-boats, carrying merchan-
raised to the level of the canal above, dise, travel only two miles per hour.
so that it can be floated out upon the The great mass of travelers used these
upper plane. To lower the boat from canal boats; while a small portion, who
the upper to the lower plane, it is float-traveled in haste, used lines of stages,
ed into the lock, the upper gate closed,
and the lower one opened, when, as the
water escapes, the boat settles to the
bottom of the lock, and floats out upon
the level below..

extending the whole length of the canal
lines. The travel and trade had become
very large (for the Erie Canal connect-
ing Lake Erie with the Hudson River
opened the whole lake shore to a mar-

and canals were constructed in
Ohio, connecting Lake Erie with the
Ohio River) — when the canal and stage
coach were to be superseded as a
means of travel. The waters of the
Hudson and of the canals were frozen
each winter, and travel could not wait.

When this canal was built, large vil-ket, lages immediately sprung up upon its banks, and the country was rapidly settled. But still, this only accommodated a part of the State. The country on either side of the canal was inaccessible, except with great difficulty. To reach these extensive regions, the system of lateral canals was adopted, running from the Erie Canal, at dif ferent points, north and south, to the borders of the State. Thus the Oswego Canal, the Genesee Valley Canal, the Chemung, Chenango, White Hall, and other canals, as you will see by referring to your geography, were constructed; and so much has the demand increased for facilities of transportation, in consequence of the great

In the year 1832 the steam-horse began to champ his bit on the banks of the Mohawk. A railroad was built from Albany to Schenectady. Then the rails were extended to Utica; and thus on and on, till there is a continuous railroad the whole length of the Erie Canal, of each of the lateral canals, and westward, through one and another of the states and territories of the West and the Far West. And now it stretches itself to reach the Pacific.

1

« AnteriorContinuar »