The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

OUR- .SGSOSULABT. A wiseacre thinks tha' Columbus i3 not entitled to much credit for discovering America, as the country is so large that he could no1 well have missed it. This is the warmest weather I ever knew," observed Lord Langdale to Lord Lyndhurst; it is enough to dissolve wriything." Yes," said the chancellor, even an injunction without any argument." I. "Well, Jeems," said Zeb, "I kissed Julia for the first time last night, and I declare it electrified I me." "No wonder," said Jeems; "it was a Gal-vanic battery." Miseries of an Author.—"James! James (in a louder My) PI have been c dling you this half-hour, and dinner is getting quire c<-ld "Oh! is it? Well, you know I have just killed The crud old uncle his property of course comes to his ns-phew, Charles, and I am marry- ing him to Emily. .Keep the mutton hot urtil the cere- mony is over, there's a cluar." Candid.—Not long since a gentleman took his little daughter to a dentist!s to have a tooth extracted. After the operation her father said .0 her—"Now, my dear, if you don't put your tongue where the tooth came out you'll have a gold tooth." To which she replied-If I should have one, f-.ther, it wouldn't be long before you were trying to get it out." VTarranted.c7-A young apprentice to the shoemaking business asked his master .what-answer he should give to the often-repeated question, "Does your master warrant his shoes ? Answer, Thomas, said the master, that I warrant them to prove good; and if they don't I'll make them-gocd, for nothing." Zinc-White.-An equally valuable application of zinc-white is for painting purposes when exercised on a less extensive scale tban the fronts of houses. Portrait and miniature painters were formerly in the habit of using white-lead very extensively in their lighter tints, on ac- count of its brilliancy and opacity and many have been the complaints of the blackening of their flesh tint?,— the pearly hues ofa fair girl's lace becoming, in a few years' time, darker than a mulatto. This is now very generally obviated by the employment of zinc-white, the lead compound being banished from the studios of most artists. An Ingenious Proprietor.- The subjoined notice is said to have been made to all the tenantry on an estate in the north of Scotland, wnere the iron fence round the house was maliciously or wantonly destroyed:—"Notice, "lvhereas some person or persons in the neighbourhood of have in the most outrageous manner commenced, and for some time gone on, with the destruction of the wire fences along —— wed and whereas no reliable information has been obt.iiue respecting the offenders, the proprietor has, aiter mature consideration, resolved upon adding one pound to your rent, with a view of marking his detestation of such conduct, and making you feel how much it is to your interest to maintain the ordi- nary proprieties of civilised life, and not allow the dis- trict to become stained by such lawless and disgraceful acts." How to Tell a Mad Dog.—All who are in charge of a mad dog may, by a little attention, discover the early symptoms of, rabies, and prevent any mischief by sequestrating the animal in time. L> he fidgetty and sullen? Does be, when ill, manifest importunate affec- tion ? Is he affected with hallucination? Does he ex- hibit ardent thirst ? Does he scratch his ear violently ? Does he paw at the coiners of the mouth, and not keep the mouth permanently open while doing so? Does he refuse his natural food, and exhibit a depraved appetite? Is he insensible to pain ? Is his voice strangely altered? Any one of these symptoms should awaken suspicion, and a close observation w 11 then quickly discover the true state of the case. We advise all our readers to commit these symptoms to memory-to learn them as a lesson is learnt, which, in after life, may be of paramount importance. A Promising OfKeer. -I am captin of the Bald- insville Company. I riz gradually but majestically from drummer's secretary to my present pesition. But I found the ranks wasn't full by no means, and commenced for to recroot. Ilavin notist a gineral desire on the part of young men who are into the crisis to wear epylits, I determined to have my company composed excloosively of offissers, everybody to rank as brigadeer-ginral. The follering was among the varis questions which I put to recroets Do you know a mask d battery from a hunk of gingerbread? Do you know a eppylit from a piece of chalk ? If I trust you witti a real gun, how many men of your own company do you speck you can manage to kill durin the war ? Hav you ever heard of Ginral Price of Missouri, and can you avoid simler accidents in case of battle ? Have you ever had the measels and, if so, how many? How air you now? Show me your tongue, &c. &c. Son e of the questions were sarcussti- cal.—American Paper. The Strength of Cannon.-The result of a num- ber of experiments on guns and gunpowder, ordered by the United States Government, has just been published. One very remarkable point elicited by these experiments is the enormous pressure which cast-iron guns axe able to bear without bursting:. The highest pressure observed in a cannon was 100,000 bs. (upwards of 24 tons) to the square inch; but th's was greatly exceeded in a shell. A very strong shell was cast the exterior diameter being twelve inches, and the interior a little less than four, with an orifice only one-tenth of an inch in diame- ter, this orifice being the ^nly outlet for the gas. The cavity was filled with powder, which was fired, when the instrument indicated the mormous pressure of 185,000 lbs. (nearly 45 tons) to the square inch. The explanation of the gun bearing such pressures as these is, that time is required for the rupture of any mass of iron, though the rupturing force may be greatly in excess of the resist- ance of that mass. In the ordinary discharge of cannon, the gun is subjected at each discharge to a force which would inevitably burst it if permitted to act for any appreciable length of time so that it may be said that cannon do not burst because they have not time to do so before the bursting pressure is relieved. "He Shoots Grouse FL ing!"— It was amusing to hear the account that Peter constantly gave of me. One accomplishment after another was detailed, and in fact, my "character" was given most minutely. After informing the people what my name was and to what country I belonged, Peter would thus address the won- dering audience Tbe Englishman can talk a little Norse, and he can cock meat, potatoes, and coffee."—" Ja so!" ejaculated the by-standers—" he cuts out wooden spoons with his knife "-increased wonder—and he shoots with a shot gun and rifle also." But what," they would ask, is the dog used for ? The dog is a Fugl-hund (bird dog), and when it finds the game it stands quite still; then the Englishman walks up to it, the grouse get up, and he shoots them when flying." This last piece of information was invariably too much for the audience, who would now burst into loud excla- mations Ja so ja M han skyd ryper fliegen! -"ja so! Ja so!"—gradually dying away like distant music. And 011 Peter reassuring them that such was indeed the case, they would again go off in ejaculations, and mutter "Han skyd ryper fliegen" (lIe shoots grouse flying 1) for the next five minutes to come.- Wild Life in theFJelds of Norway. Count Cavour's Ambition.—"When quite a youBg man he carried on a correspondence with the Marchioness Barollo, who returned him his letters many years afterwards. Among them was one written, when Cavour was only 24, in reply to the Marchioness's con- dolences on his disgrace at court, and in it were these words —' I am very grateful, Madame, to you, for the interst you are kind enough to take in my misfortunes but I can assure you I shall make my way ("ferai ma carriere ") notwithstanding. I own that I am ambitious -enormously ambitious-and when I am minister, I hope I shall justify my ambition. In my dreams, I see myself already minister of the kingdom of Italy. Many young men have had, perhaps, dreams as wild as this and I own that the second incident I have to relate, though less striking, impresses me more. Cavour's aunt, of whom I have spoken already, the Duchess of Clermont- Tonnerre, had large estates, chiefly of forest land in the Ardennes, which were badly managed and brought in much less than thev ought to have done. Cavour heard of this during his absence from home, and requested the Duchess to give him permission to undertake the manage- ment of her estates. His request was granted, and for nearly two years Cavour lived upon this out-of-the way property, managing it himself, until he had doubled both the value of the estate and its rental. "-Cavour: a Memoir. Steam Carriages.-Steam-carriages and road- engines are, however, no novelties. A hundred years ago (1759) Dr. Robinson, of Edinburgh, suggested them and Cinquot, a Frenchman, completed one ten years later. Oliver Evans, an American, next attempted the matter, and our own Watt took out a patent, amongst other improvements of the steam-engine, for a mode of applying it to wheel-carriages; but there is no record of his ever having attempted to carry it into practice. In 1786 or 1787, Wm. Symington constructed a working model (which is still to be seen at the South Kensington Museum) of a very pretty-looking steam-carriage. Trevethick.-and Vivian, Griffiths of Brompton, Gordon, Gurney, \Matuie.->ly, Fraser, Hancock, and (itliers, tried various inventions or schemes between 1802 and 1831. Gurney was the first to run on common roar's, and Han- ¡ cock, in 1833, established, as is well-known, his carriages on the Paddington-road, and ran them daily, without intermission, for more than five months. An Embarrassed iSffan.The embarrassed man cannot afford a single virtue. First and foremost, truth must go. Life wbuld be unbearable without a cultivated self-decention, the "lie that eateth in the next step is inevitable and very easy, a careful deceiving of others. A sense of honour goes; the measures that would have startled Mm once now positively commend themselves as ways of extrication—"the empty bag cannot stand up- right." Good temfier goes. How can a man live serene with a sword hanging over his head ? How can he stand the friction of family intercourse, with some hidden sore which any unguarded touch may torture? Natural affection goes. The death of a once loved relative grows to be the mere preamble to the falling in of a legacy; children are viewed as expenses rather than pleasures; the wronged, untrusted wife, be she ever so gentle, appears an enemy and an accuser. Where all is so wretched, who can wonder if the stimulant be sought, which at least can procure the temporary forgetfulne-ss of all ? And to this a man, by nature intelligent, kindly, generous, cheerful, may be brought by small and slow degrees! Well if it be not lower still! Well if, to the unscrupulous character that could carelessly run up bills without any certainty of power to pay therii-could pur- chase selfish indulgence by the degradation of the loan- swindling more palpable still, forgery and theft, nay, murder itself, has not been presented as tbe only means of self-preservation.—Memoirs of an Unknown Life. First Love.- We must plead guilty to the weak- ness of ,believing that' love ofteft leaps into existence unawares and with a first impression—a first sight— darting across the awakening soul as the first streak of light flashes over the grey sky of morning, and gives assur- ance of a sun behind, which, by-and-by, will flood the heavens with its meridian splendour. Often that first sun- ray of love illumines the horizon of maidenhood when as little is known (save by intuition) of the character, mind, and person of him whose hand kindled the prophetic flash, as Svlvie knew of the Marquis de St. Amar. The one face haunts—the voice echoes in the ears, palpitating through the spirit—an electric thrill shoots athwart, the frame at the lightest touch of that chosen one's hand—his presence brightens all creation, and wings the heaviest hours; the pulses are attuned in harmony to the beating of his; an internal recognition makes the briefest acquaintance seem of long existence, and the most incomprehensible and con- tradictory traits reasonable and natural. All this is very unphilosophical—very absurd—ye 17 except to those who have themselves experienced the sensation.—From "Lost and Regained," in The Ladies' Treasury. Tricks of the Stock Exchange.—Stock Ex- change tricks are endless, and those who perpetrate them are seldom troubled with tender consciences. Mr. Fran- cis declares, "It is not uncommon for two persons to collude together thus:—One bays and the other sells for the account to the largest amount for which each can procure credit; of course, one must lose, and the other take the spoils. The nominally successful broker receives a large sum, the defaulter figures on the black board. A division of the profits is then privately effected; the gainer pursues his avocations on the funds, while the loser becomes a prosperous gentleman." Whoever pur- chases stock, and is not thoroughly acquainted with his broker, had need to be extremely cautious. A dealer requested his agent to buy some consols, and the business being complete, was astonished to receive a visit from the broker in the evening. He was told that a dispute had occurred as to the price in the stock receipt; he wished to possess it that he might be certain on the subject. The buyer knew that the document had no intrinsic value, and readily gave it up. The signatures to the receipt, however, were forged; and the broker, secure from dettcticn or pursuit, quietly left the country. -City Press. The Great Eastern.—Of the wonders of the Great Eastern much has been said, but more remains to say. The last thing uttered is curious—let the corres- pondent of a contemporary speak for himself: It was only after seeing all that I wanted to see, and had got home to dinner, that I heard of the full wonders of the Great Eastern. A lady told me, and she had seen it, of the meadow in the hold, where the cows feed during the voyage. The grass growing here is sufficient to graze the cows, with, the addition of the slops of the ship. The depth of soil in this meadow is so great, that, in case of death on board ship, instead of sewing the body up in a hammock, and committing it to the deep, it is decently interred here, and removed ashore on arriving in port! And one of the ship doctors assured me, on my asking him why the vessel carried two surgeons, that the ac- cidents of the ship were, on an average, five a day, rendering a death a matter of ordinary occurrenr e! In fact, I heard a great d al more about the Great Eastern than I saw such, for instance, as berths in the fore part of the vessel being at a premium of ten per cent., on account of the passengers getting home so much sooner than those in the after part." The Ex-Queen of Naples.—The Roman question sticks in the gizzard of the Italians frightfully, and yet they betray more calm than is consistent with their natures, according to our value of that nature. The reading they place upon the French tenacity to Roman occupation is simply that a great loss of influence would be the result to France, if she were to give up Rome and it is not to be expected that she will do so except there be a pressnre from without. This pressure the Italians ex- pect from England, and recognise, in the proceedings of this country at Naples--the 900 guns now in the bay- a3 a source of great comfort to them. It is, however, slow work; and the Fischetta and the Perseveranza amuse themselves by relating canards or facts (who knows which ?) about the doings of the Neapolitan family at Rome-of course not much to their honour. The latest hit describes the proceedings of the ex-Queen of Naples that she dresses like a man, smokes, swears, shoots, and rattles through Rome, driving four- in-hand, to the admiration of the travelling, sporting English, and the disgust of the Italian ladies, who "cut" the Queen dead. She has been shooting tom-cats, like our Brompton rifleman, celebrated by Sir Robert Peel in the House of Commons. One of her shots was, how- ever, unfortunate, for she killed the cat of the wife of Signor Bertazzoli, who lives in the Quirinal. The lady is the sister of Cardinal Antonelli, and to him she appealed for vengeance against the cause of the catas- trophe, and his answer was Lascia fare, che tra breve sarai largamente vendicata, perche la Regina lascera il Quirinale." (" Let her do it; you will soon be amply revenged, for the Queen will shortly quit the Qairinal.") It is to be hoped her Majesty will come to London. She would set the tongues wagging, and <nve ample occupation to the pens of the chroniclers o on dits of the day.—Court Journal. Lord Palmerston and the Station-master. —A correspondent of the Court Journal is responsible for the following somewhat improbable story:—"At one of the chief stations on the Great Western Railway is a station-master noted for conceit and flunkeyism. One day he descried a gentleman pacing the platform with a cigar in his mouth. Mr. —— at once accosted the offender, and requested him forthwith to stop smoking. The gentleman took no notice of this command, but con- tinued his walk, emitting a silvery cloud. Mr. repeated his behests more peremptorily than before; but still the owner of the Havana maintained a provoking disregard. A third time the order was repeated, accom- panied with the threat that if the obstinate sinner did not obey he would be handed over to the tender mercies of the porters. The stranger took no more beed than before; and so at last Mr. pulletl the cigar out of the smoker's mouth and flung it away. This violent act produced no more effect than commands and threats, and the peripatetic philosopher continued his walk quite serenely. Presently a carriage and four drove up-an equipage well-known to Mr. as that of the Duke of Beaufort. To his inconceivable horror the refractory smoker entered the said chariot, and drove off to Bad- minton. Mr. —— asked, in tremulous tones, who the stranger was, and he felt ready to sink into the earth when he heard that it was Viscount Palmerston. He at once ordered a chaise and pair, and drove off to Badmin- ton. Arrived there, he sent in his card, and urgently requested a private interview with Lord Palmerston. His Lordship soon appeared, when Mr. began a most abject anologv for having so grossly insulted His Lordship: had he known who his Lordship was he would not have so treated his Lordship for the world.' The Premier heard the station-master out; then looking down upon him sternly, and with his hands in his pockets, said, 'Sir, 'I respected you because I thought you were doing your duty like a Briton; but now I see you are nothing but a snob.' And thus ended the station-master's interview with the Premier." A Scotch Romance.—The rent-roll of one of the Macdonalds, who was Lord of Cantire, and lord also of Islay and Rheinds, in the year 1542 was scarcely ..equal to £ 140 sterling. And yet these Macdonalds of Saddellwere ?ome of the greatest among the great. Our Prince of Wales still bears the title which they held. Many are the legends of their prowess and power, though the tales told of tbeiK are more peculiar than pleasing.. It is said of this chieftain, surnam-d "Righ Fiongal, that he was accustomed to amuse himself by keeping watch from the battlements of his castle, and firing at any suspicious- looking person, with a gun that he called "the cuckoo," the notes of which, as may be imagined, were listened to with less delight than those of the bit the1 new-comer of the spring." There is a legend extant that this proprietor of the cuckoo" went to Ireland, and not only fell in love with the wife of another meln, but brought her back by force to Saddell. Castle. The husband followed, and Macdonald made' him a prisoner (without the wife's knowledge), and endeavoured to rid himself of the incumbrance by the tedious process of starvation. So he shut him up in a barn, but the poor man kept himself alive by eating the grain. Then Macdonald removed him to another place, where a generous hen came daily, and charitably laid an egg for him, by means of which diurnal gift he sustained life. Macdonald then kept him shut up in the deep dungeon of the-castle, where no aid could reach him, where the poor wretch died miserably, after gnawing his hand and arm. But Macdonald gave him burial; and his widow saw the funeral from the top of the castle, and asked whose it was. It is Thomson's," said Macdonald. "Is it my Thomson's?" she asked. "Yes," was the reply. Wait a little, and I will be with you," she said; and she leapt from the battlements. So they buried her in the same grave with her husband.- Glencreggan. Legends concerning the Flounder.—The French fishermen account for the distorted mouth of the flounder by the-following legend:—St. Christopher, a martyr of the third century, one day took it into his head to bless the fishes and preach to them. All the in- habitants of the deep came and listened with attention and respect except the flounder, who derided the holy man by making faces at him. The saint, indignant at the. insult, cursed the whole brood of flounders, and condemned them for ever after to exhibit themselves with mouths awry. In the course of ages the rebuke thus given by St. Christopher seems to have wrought a change in the character of the flounder, for a Greek legend, still current at Constantinople, ascribes the dis- cordant colour of the two sides of the fish to ihe fdct that when the Turks conquered Constantinople, in 1452, some priests at a church near the Silivria gate were frying flounders for dinner just as the infidels entered the city, and were among the first victims of the massacre. The fish, filled with pious respect -for the church, expressed their horror at the sacrilegious deed by jumping out of the frying-pan into a neighbouring stream, whence they made their way to the sea completely cooked on one side. In token of their miracle, the entire species has ever since exhibited the mark of the fire generally on the right side, though, now and then, an eccentric individual displays it on the left side. Jute.—Within the last twenty years, a new export from India, in the shape of jute and its fabrics, has grown up from insignificance into commercial import- ance, and is now among the chief exports of the country, Jute is generally grown as an after-crop in India upon high ground, and "flourishes best in a hot and rainy season. The seed is sown broadcast in April or May, when there is sufficient rain to moisten the ground. It rises on good soil to the height of twelve feet, and flowers between August and September. The stems are usually three-fourths of an inch in diameter. When the crop is ripe, the stems are cut close to the root, made up into bundles, and deposited for a week in some neighbouring pond or stream. The process of separating the fibre from the stem is thus described by Mr. Healy in the "Journal of Agriculture for India: "—"The native operator, standing up to his middle in water, takes as many of the sticks in his hands as he can grasp, and removing a small portion of the bark from the end next the roots, and grasping them together, he, with a little management, strips off the whole from end to end, with- out breaking either stem or fibre. He then, swinging the bark around his head, dashes it repeatedly against the surface of the water, drawing it towards him to wash off the impurities." The filaments are then hung up to dry in the sun, often in lengths of twelve feet, and when dried the jute is ready for the market. The colour at first is a pure white, but gradually changes to yellow. The fibre, which is fine and delicate, is tubular, like that of flax and cotton, and is easily wrought; but its tenacity is not equal to that of other textile materials, although it is substituted in many fabrics for wool, flax, and cotton. A k-.rge portion of the crop, which already exceeds two hundred thousand tons, is exported to England as it comes from the field, and is there used in the manufacture both of wool and cotton to cheapen the fabric. The vigilant eye will often detect it in woollen manufactures, in shawls, and even in sail-cloths; but when spun with cotton or wool, it is very difficult to discover its presence. Beasts on the Tight Rope. No reasonable doubt can be entertained that elephants have been taught to walk on ropes. The bibliography of the subject, which we spare the reader, may be found in Aldrovandi, De Qnadrupedibus, lib. i. From this it appears that the Funambula species was the_A.?»^i,n_ not the Asiatic, ele- phant. To show the preciseness of i-onords one statement is, Nero, according to Xiphilinus's account, gave great and most magnificent games in hunour of his mother; on which occasion, an elephant, introduced into the theatre, mounted an arch on the_top of it, and from thence walked upon a rope with a man on his back." Whoever, now, should go to the expense of training elephants to walk a rope would probably receive very considerable returns for his outlay. With the exception, however, of elephants, we may hold quadruped funam- bulists to have mistaken their vocation. The animals who are really at home amidst giddy heights, delighting to traverse suspension-bridges composed of a single rope or cane, are the quadrumani, the four-handed animals, the monkeys, great and small. In fact, the best rope-dancers imitate their personal mechanism as far as they can. True, Blondin has no prehensile tail; but hh hands are prehensile to an eminent degree, while his feet are quite handy, grasping the rope. Without wishing to offend those gentlemen (on the contrary, to pay them a compli- ment), we may take Leotard to be a flying squirrel of superior grace, and Biondin an experienced gorilla of surpassing abilities and suavity.—Dickens' All the Year Round." A Curious Feast.-A native named Stephen long known to my family, and a great favourite with us, all, came to the fence separating Brookwood from my farm, and called me by name Tamiti." I observed at the same time, three other armed natives seated on the hill-side in my land. I felt sure that Stephen called me for something particular, and that I need not fear any treachery. I had my emblem of peace across my breast and over my shoulder. 1 went at once to him, and he said, Come with me to your house, and get what you wish to save, and I will help you." I did so, and found a native woman at the door. Stephen said, This woman will take care of your house the Maories are going into every house, and will take everything they find that may be of any use to them, but nothing shall be taken from you." Stephen had often worked for me, and 15 shillings was due to him. He wished for the money, and I told him the family was in town, and needed all I had, Never mind, let me have a small blanket," he said, "that will do as well." Had it been at any other time, I should have been amused at a trifling circumstance which occurred. Stephen was followed into the house by a little, ugly, old Maori, who imme- diately seated himself at the kitchen table, on which, in the confusion of leaving, we had put a dish of potatoes and meat, a large pot of butter, some honey, and a canister filled with sugar. He began at once to help himself, cramming honey, butter, sugar, meat and potatoes into his mouth as fast as he could. Having feasted to his heart's content on this curious compound of eatables, he attempted to force the butter into the canister but finding he could not without wasting the sugar, he got up from the table, took the butter in his fingers, and was endeavouring to roll it up in his blanket, when, seeing his back turned towards the table, I quickly put the canister on a shelf out of sight. The look of astonishment at the sudden disappearance of this prize, when the Maori turned round, was a source of quiet amusement to Stephen. —New Zealand Settlers and Soldiers. A Prairie Fire in Africa.-The whole country before us was one huge lake of flames. Turning to Mortar, I exclaimed, Good God, our return is cut "off! I had seen many wood and grass fires, but nothing to equal this. Immediately in front of us lay stretched out like a sea a vast pasture prairie, dotted with occasional trees, bounded in the distance by groves of huge giraffe thorns--all in a blaze! Th: jugh the very midst of this lay our path. By delaying a few hours the danger would have been considerably diminished, if not,altogether over; but delay in our case seemed almost more dangerous than going forward; and so on we pushed, trusting to some favourable accident to bring us through the perils we had to face. As we advanced we heard distinctly the sputtering and hissing of the inflamed grasses and brush- wood, the cracking of the trees -as they reluctantly yielded their massive forms to the unrelenting and, all- devouring element, the screams of startled birds, and other commingling sounds/of terror and devastation. There was a great angle iii-our road, running parallel, as it were, to the raging fire, but afterwards turning abruptly into a burning savannah. By the time we had reached this point the conflagration, still in its glory on our right, was fast receding on our left, thus opening a passage, into which we darted without hesitation, although the ground was still smouldering and reeking, and in some cases quite alive with flickering sparks from the recent besom of hot flames that had swept 'over it. Tired as our cattle were, this heated state of the ground made the peor brutes step out pretty smartly. At times we ran great risk of being crushed by the falling timbers. Once a huge trunk, in flames from top to bottom, fell athwart our path, sending up millions of sparks, and scattering innumerable splinters of lighted wood all around us, whilst the numerous nests of the social grosbeaks—the Textor eryihrorhynchus—in the ignited trees, looked like so many lamps suspended in designs at once natural, pleasing, and splendid. It was altogether a glorious illumination, worthy of Nature's palace with its innu- merable windows and stately vaulted canopy. But the danger associated with the grand spectacle was too great and too imminent for us thoroughly to appreciate its mag- nificence. Indeed, we were really thankful when once our backs were; turued on the awful scene. At break of day we halted for a few minutes to breathe and to change oxen, then continued to journey on. I dispatched all the loose cattle ahead, giving the men orders to return with a fresh team as soon as they had drunk, fed, and rested a little. We, arrived at the vley a little before midnight, on May 24, but on attempting to kraal the trek- oxen, notwithstanding their fatigue, the thirsty brutes leapt over the stout and tall thorn fences as though they had been so many rushes, and with a wild roar set off at full speed for Okaoa fountain, which they reached the following day, having been more than one hundred and fifty hours without a single drop of water.—The Okavango River, The Lakes of Killarney.-Al though actually one and the same body of water, one lake in a great measure supplying the others, still they are divided into parts—Lough Leane, or the lower lake Muckross, Tore, or the Middle Lake; and the Upper Lake-with a river called the Long Range, two and a-half miles in length, runningfrom the Upper to the Middle Lake. The Lower Lake is five miles long by three miles broad; the Middle two miles by one broad and the Upper Lake, two and a-balf miles by three-quarters of a mile in breadth. Besides a number of smaller cascades, there are four particularly worthy of notice:—The Tore Cascade, about four miles from Killarney town, said to be the finest of the Lake Waterfalls Derricunnihy Cascade, eight and three-quarter miles distant; Esknamucky, six and a-half miles distant; and O'Sullivan's Cascade, four and a-half miles; the last-mentioned visited from Ross Island, by boat; the other three may be visited by road from Killarney. The bosom of the Lower Lake is dotted with islands of various size and form, some of them connected with the surrounding shores and with each other by bridges constructed so as to appear in keeping with the surrounding scenery. On the Lower Lake there are thirty islands on the Middle, four and on the Upper, six; but none of these are of a large size. It is said that the circumference of the entire is about thirty miles. The Upper Lake is in its level five feet higher than the Middle or Lower Lakes, which are only separated from each other by a narrow slip of land projecting from Muckross island; the Upper Lake is two miles distant from the nearest point of the Middle Lake. From the immediate vicinity of the town, a chain of mountains fully forty miles in length is distinctly visible; those in the immediate vicinity of the lakes are very imposing in their appearance, varying as they do from 1,100 to 3,400 feet in height above the level of the sea. The principal of these are M'Gillycuddv's Reek, upwards of 3,400 feet; Mangerton, 2,700; Purple Mountain the same height; Tomies, 2,400; the Devil's Punch Bowl, 2,200; Tore, 1,750; and the Eagle's Nest, 1,100. Talking Canaries.—Some twenty years ago, the writer went to what was then the Cosmorama, in Regent- street,, for the purpose of seeing and hearing the first talk- ing canary of which any mention is made. It was an ex- ceedingly fine bird, of beautiful plumage, and the history of its singular power was given by the exhibitor. The canary had been, as usual, in the family room, when it was suddenly heard to speak, and to repeat what it had uttered, and it was not long before its vocabulary was con- siderably increased; the words being distinctly articulated in the midst of its song. There appeared to have been no teaching of the bird; its power of imitation was spontane- ously exercised. At the time the writer heard it. it dis- tinctly uttered the words, Mary, dicky deaf, 0 pretty dicky dear, and pretty queen. Five hundred guineas were said to have been offered for the canary, but in a few weeks it was dead. Mr. Leigh Sotheby has recently described another talking canary. Its parents had previously and successfully reared many youngones; but, about five years ago, they hatched only one out of four eggs, the which they immediately neglected, bv commencing the rebuilding of a nest upon the top of it. Upon this discovery, the unfledged and forsaken bird, all but dead, was taken away, and placed in flannel by the fire, when, after much attention, it was restored, and then brought up by hand. Thus treated, and away from all other birds, it became familiarised only with those who fnrl it; and, consequently, its first singing notes were of a character totallv different, to tkosp nsmii with tho canary. Constantly being talked to, the bird, when about three months old, astonished its mistress by repeating the endearing terras used in talking to it, such as Kissie, kissie," with its significant sounds. This went on, and from time to time the little bird repeated other words and now, it is said, for hours together, except during the moult- ing season, it astonishes by ringing the changes, according to its own fancy, and as plain aB any human voice can articulate them, on the several words-" Dear, sweet Titchie" (its name), 11 Kiss Minnie," "Kiss me, then, dear Minnie" Sweet, pretty little Titchie," Kissie, kissie, kissie," "Dear Titchie," I- Titchie wee, gee, gee, gee," Titchie, Titchie."—CasseWs Popular Natural History.