had been bred up in the family. No sooner was the father out of sight, than a large snake made its appearance, and was crawling towards the cradle. When the dog saw the child's life in danger, he instantly seized the snake by the back of the head, and destroyed it.

Soon after, when the father returned from court, the dog, as if conscious of the service he had performed, ran out to meet his master. The man, seeing the dog stained with blood, imagined he had killed the child; and, without making any farther reflection or inquiry, struck the faithful little animal such a blow with his stick, that he instantly expired.

When the father came into the house, and saw the child safe, and the snake lying dead by the side of the cradle, he smote his breast with grief, accusing himself of rashness and ingratitude towards the dog. While he was uttering these woful lamentations, in came his wife, who, having learned the cause of his distress, blamed him severely for his want of reflection. He confessed his indiscretion, but begged her not to add reproaches to his distress, as reproof could now avail nothing. "True," said she, "advice can be of no service in the present instance; but I wish to rouse your mind to reflection, that you may reap instruction from your misfortunes. Shame and repentance are the sure consequences of precipitation and want of reflection.

"I have heard," continued she, "that a king of Persia had a favorite hawk. Being one day on a hunting party, with his hawk on his hand, a deer started up before him. He let the hawk fly, and followed the deer with great eagerness, till, at length, it was taken. The courtiers were all left behind in the chase The king, being thirsty, rode

about in search of water. Reaching at length the foot of a mountain, he discovered a little water, trickling in drops from the rock. He accordingly took a little cup out of his quiver, and held it to catch the water.

"Just when the cup was filled, and the king was going to drink, the hawk, which had followed his master, alighted, shook his pinions, and overset the cup. The king was vexed at the accident, and again applied the vessel to the hole in the rock. When the cup was replenished, and he was lifting it to his mouth, the hawk clapped his wings, and again threw it down: at this the king was so enraged, that he flung the bird with such force against the ground, that it immediately expired.

"At this time, the officer called the tabledecker, came up. He took a napkin out of his budget, wiped the cup, and was going to give the king some water to drink. The king said he had a great inclination to taste the pure water that distilled through the rock; but, not having patience to wait for its being collected in drops, he ordered the table-decker to go to the top of the mountain, and fill the cup at the fountain head.

"The table-decker, having reached the top of the mountain, saw a large serpent lying dead at the spring, and perceived that the poisonous foam of this reptile had mixed with the water which fell in drops through the rock. He descended, related the fact to the king, and presented him with a cup of cold water out of his flagon.

"When the king lifted the cup to his lips, the tears gushed from his eyes. He then related to the table-decker the adventure of the hawk, and made many reflec tions upon the destructive consequences of precipitancy and thoughtlessness; and, dur

The Persian, thus instructed by the good counsel of his wife, ever after guarded himself against that rashness to which he had been before addicted.

THE COCOON.

Little George came running home from school in fine glee holding in his hand a silk Cocoon, which he had found on his way home. He thought it looked very pretty, out knew nothing how it was made, or vhat it was good for, until his mother told im. Thinking that perhaps some of my eaders are as ignorant respecting the nature nd use of this little thing, as George was, I m going to tell them something about it.

A cocoon is a small silk ball, made by black grub called the silk-worm. This Form is hatched from an egg about the size f a mustard seed. At first it is very small, ut in a short time its size is increased to vo and a half, or three inches in length. During the short space of three weeks, it ists its skin twice, and passes through four vere attacks of sickness. It lives upon e leaves of the mulberry tree, and those, hose business it is to make silk, keep a eat many of these worms, and cultite the tree in great abundance. The orms are usually placed upon tables or elves and are constantly supplied with od by having the leaves of the mulberry attered thickly over them. After spendg some time in eating, they begin to spin e silk and wind around themselves, till ey form a ball of an oblong form about an ch and a half long. This ball is called a coon. The gum, which becomes silk on ing exposed to the air, is contained in two

The length of the thread differs according to the size of the ball; some of them are three hundred, and some six hundred yards long. This silk is used for sewing, such as you see in small skeins, and also for cloth, such as is used for ladies' dresses. The threads are so very fine, that when used for sewing, it takes a large number of them to form one sufficiently large.

The process of making silk has been long known in America, but it has received but little attention till quite recently. It is said, that the art was first known in China, and was held there as a great secret. The seeds of the mulberry were carried ・ from China to Constantinople, by two Roman Catholic priests, in the top of their canes. They planted the seed, expecting when the tree grew, to find the worms upon it, but being disappointed, they went again and procured some of the eggs of the silkworm, for which they were handsomely rewarded by the king.

THE MANNERS OF THE JEWS, No. II.

ANCIENT HABITATIONS.

The Israelites, in the wilderness, lived in tents for forty years. Many of these were what we should call booths, made of the branches of trees. That they might remem

ber this, the feast of tabernacles was to be kept. Read about it, Lev. xxiii. 39-43. Such a booth Jonah made when he went and sat on the east side of Nineveh, to see what would happen to the city. Without some such shelter, it is impossible to endure the hot mid-day sun of those countries. If travellers have no tents, they put some of their garments upon sticks and creep under them, or get into the shade of a rock, or even pile up stones.

The houses of the rich were built with stone or bricks, but those of the poor were of wood, or more frequently of mud, as they are to this day in many parts of the east, and in some villages in Europe. Houses built of mud were not well fitted to withstand the torrents, which at times flowed from the mountains of Palestine. This is alluded to by Christ, in Matt. vii. 26, 27.

Thieves also could easily dig or break through mud walls, to which the Saviour refers, when he exhorts his disciples not to lay up treasures, where thieves break through and steal. Such robberies are very frequent in the East Indies at the present day. The holes or cracks in these walls afford a harbor for serpents, see Amos, v.19.

The Egyptian bricks were made of mud. clay, and straw, mixed together, and generally baked in the sun, not burnt in kilns. These were the bricks the Israelites were employed in making; so we may understand why they needed the straw which Pharaoh forbade his officers to give them, Exod. v. 7. Bricks of this sort are found among the ruins in Egypt at the present day; in some places they still remain very hard, while, where less baked, they have

C

The Esquimaux are a race of people, who live along the northern coast of North America. They resemble more the natives of the North of Europe than the American Indians. Though small, they are well formed and hardy. Their faces are round and full, their eyes small and black, and their noses small, but not much flattened. Their complexions are clear and their skins mooth. Captain Parry remarks, that in his respect there is between this people and Europeans, more shades of dirt, than of any other difference. Their hair is black and straight.

The Esquimaux are very dexterous in he management of their canoes. These consist of a light wooden frame, covered

with seal-skins, sewed together with sinews. The skins are not only extended round the bottom and sides, but likewise over the top, forming a complete deck, and having only one opening to admit the Esquimaux to his seat. The paddle is about ten feet long, light, and flat at each end.

A canoe more curious still, is sometimes used. Seal or hippopotamus skins are sewed together, and in some cases a single skin answers the purpose of forming a large and buoyant float. When the air is expelled, the whole canoe may be placed in a very small space, and carried in the fishing-bag of the navigator.

In the Esquimaux language, the canoe is called a kaiak or man's boat, to distinguish it

from umrak, the woman's boat, which latter is a large boat for transporting the women, with their families and possessions.

THE DOWNY WOODPECKER.

"The principal characteristics," says Wilson, "of this little bird, are diligence, familiarity, perseverance, and a strength and energy in the head and muscles of the neck which are truly astonishing. Mounted on the infected branch of an old apple-tree, where insects have lodged their corroding and destructive brood in crevices between the bark and wood, he labors sometimes for half an hour incessantly at the same spot before he has succeeded in dislodging and destroying them. At these times you may walk up pretty close to the tree, and even stand immediately below it, within five or six feet of the bird, without in the least embarrassing him; the strokes of his bill are distinctly heard several hundred yards off; and I have known him to be at work for two

calls this 'incessant toil and slavery ;' their attitude 'a painful posture;' and their life 'a dull and insipid existence;' expressions improper because untrue, and absurd because contradictory. The posture is that for which the whole organization of his frame is particularly adapted; and though to a wren or a humming-bird the labor would be both a toil and a slavery, yet to him it is, I am convinced, as pleasant and as amusing as the sports of the chase to the hunter, or the sucking of flowers to the humming-bird. The eagerness with which he traverses the upper and lower sides of the branches; the cheerfulness of his ery; and the liveliness of his motions, while digging into the tree and dislodging the vermin, justify this belief.

"About the middle of May, they build their nests in the hole of an apple, pear, or cherry-tree, and often the neighborhood of a farm-house is selected for this purpose. The tree is minutely reconnoitred for several days previous to the operation, and the work is first begun by the male, who cuts a hole in the solid wood, as circular as if described with a pair of compasses."

JOHN WILEY, New York.

MARSHALL & BROWN, Providence.

J. MCFARLANE & Co, Kingston, Upper Canada. NEILSON & COWAN, Quebec.