circular by turning round its body during There is a singular mechanism for the purpose of placing the eggs in a proper position. The eggs are excluded from a cavity just behind the breast. Here there is an organ placed somewhat in form of a hook or bent spatula, which the spider can move in such a manner as to direct every individual egg it lays to the exact spot in the next cup where it wishes it to be placed. The sense of touch in this organ must, of course, be very acute, as by touch it must be wholly guided; for its eyes, though eight in number, and very piercing, are situated on the upper part of the head, and cannot be brought within sight of the nest. J. R. TRAVELLING EXPENSES IN FORMER Of travelling expenses in the thirteenth century, a roll is in existence, and is too interesting to be passed over. It contains a steward's accompts of the daily expenses of a person of rank, in the reign of Edward I., on a journey from Oxford to Canterbury, and during his sojourn in London, about the year 1289; while the record throws much light upon the mode of our ancesrs' living, at a period concerning which we have very few similar memorials. One day's expenses are as follow:-" In bread, sixpence; two gallons of wine, a gift of hospitality from the rector of Berton; item in bread, sixpence; two gallons of wine, a gift of hospitality from the rector of Mistern; beer, sixpence; herrings, three-pence; stock fish, four-pence; porpoise and fish, four-pence; perch and roach, seven-pence; large eels, seven-pence; vegetables, threepence farthing; figs and raisins, two-pence; fuel, five-pence; a bed for two nights, twopence: hay for seven horses, seven-pence; a bushel of oats, twenty-pence; apples, a halfpenny; sum, six shillings and eightpence halfpenny." The most expensive day in the roll is on a sunday, " in expenses of my lord at Westminster, when he held a breakfast there for knights, clerks, and esquires:-bread, two shillings; beer, twelvepence; wine, three shillings and eightpence; half a salmon for the standard, with the chine, three shillings and eightpence; a fresh conger eel, three shillings; three fat pikes, five fat eels, and twentyseven fat roaches, twelve shillings and fourpence; half a hundred lamprons, twelvepence; oysters, three-pence; vegetables, two-pence; the hire of a boy to prepare the breakfast, one penny; fare to Westminster, one penny; a basket, one penny farthing. On the same day, at the inn: bread, five-pence farthing; beer from the store; two gallons of beer for the boys, two-pence; fish from the store; candles, a halfpenny; fuel, a halfpenny; hay bought, five-pence three farthings; straw, sixpence; two bushels of oats, eight-pence; two pair. of shoes for my lord, twelve-pence; sum, thirty shillings and three-pence farthing."Domestic Life in England. HOW TO BEGIN. READER, do you wish, or do you think you wish, to become a christian? A great many persons think they wish to enter God's service, when they really do not. Ascertain first, then, whether you desire to serve God, by considering what that service is. 1. It will, in the first place, require you to give up at once every thing which he has forbidden. There are certain known and open sins condemned by his moral law, which must be entirely and for ever abandoned, or you cannot be his. One man allows himself certain practices in his dealings with others, which his conscience secretly tells him are wrong, and he is unwilling to give them up. His heart clings to them, and they stand, like an impassable wall, between his soul and salvation. Another is engaged in a calling which is ruinous to the souls and bodies of his fellow-men. A third violates the sabbath, by bringing into it secretly his business or his pleasure; and a fourth indulges in habits which his own conscience, and the word of God, distinctly condemn. They all, perhaps, think they wish to become christians, and often say that they do not know how to begin! They read the Bible, and perhaps offer cold and formal prayers, and even take their place among religious inquirers; but the way is dark before them. They find no peace or happiness in piety; but it is just because they are not willing to renounce the pleasures of sin. He, therefore, who thinks he wishes to give himself up to God, should look carefully within, examine faithfully his conduct and character, and see whether there is nothing which he knows is wrong, and which he is, nevertheless, unwilling to abandon if there is, it is vain to think that he wishes to become a christian. He prefers sin. 2. It is not only necessary to renounce what God has forbidden, but to devote yourself to the work of doing what he requires. A large portion of the human race seem to have no idea of the design with which they were created. Hence they seem fully satisfied with themselves, if they are not doing any thing which can be shown to be positively in itself wrong. They seem never to think of the guilt of neglecting the work which God has placed them here to do. A man, for example, will give himself up entirely to the pursuit of pleasure. His whole time is employed in finding or making enjoyments for himself. He is careful, perhaps, not to fall into any immorality, and then he says, What harm can there be in a little innocent amusement? He thinks those are fanatical who object to such a life as he leads. Mistaken man! God has placed you in this world, not to amuse yourself, but to do work for him; and the charge against you is not merely the intrinsic wickedness of what you do, but also the guilt of neglecting what God has commanded you to do. A husbandman employs labourers to work in his vineyard, but instead of entering faithfully upon their work, they sit down upon a green bank, and spend their hours in idleness, or else engage together in some athletic game. One, more faithful than the rest, attends to his duty, and perhaps points the rest, occasionally, to their employer's neglected work, and warns them of his displeasure. "What a narrow-minded, fanatical fellow is this!" says one in reply. "What harm can there be in a little innocent enjoyment? "None at all," answers another. "Our employer is a benevolent man. His object is our happiness, and he wishes us to use the opportunities for enjoyment which he puts into our hands. He cannot wish to interrupt our pleasures." So saying, they turn away from their faithful companion, and give themselves up again. to their pleasures. Other labourers see the example of idleness and unfaithfulness which they set, and follow it; and they quiet all their apprehensions as to the future, by persuading themselves that their employer is too merciful a man even to dismiss them from his service, and thus bring them and their innocent families to want and suffering. It is just so with men. God stations them in this world to accomplish certain purposes, which he plainly marks out. We are commanded to devote our time, and all our powers, to the work of promoting holiness and happiness all around us, and of preparing ourselves and others for our final home. One man, neglecting these objects altogether, devotes himself entirely to the work of acquiring property, simply for the pleasure of feeling and saying he possesses it. In this work he is entirely absorbed. He rises early and lies down late; he is industrious, and frugal, and watchful; but the object of all is simply the increasing of his stores. He spends his life in this work, never thinking of what God has given him to do in this world; or if he thinks of it, he has no intention of doing it. The unhappy man must find at last, that though there may be, in itself, no sin in acqui ing property, there is great sin in spending a whole life in the entire neglect of the real business which God had assigned him. If, then, you think you desire to become a christian, consider whether you are willing to do, in this world, the work which God has assigned to you, or whether you prefer employing yourself about some other. It is in vain to say that other employment is innocent in itself. You cannot be God's servant without being willing to do his work. And what is that work? Why, that you should first study to improve your own character in holiness, and that you should endeavour to acquire and to preserve property and influence as a means of doing good to others; of promoting the prosperity, and happiness, and welfare of your neighbours, and the community in which you dwell; relieving the sick and the suffering, and advancing the cause of universal knowledge, piety, and happiness. Are you willing to engage in this work? If not, do not.vainly imagine you wish to be a christian. 3. One thing more is necessary. I have said you must be willing to abandon all sinful practices, and to engage at once in God's work. You must also be willing that your adherence to the cause of God and religion should be openly known. Many persons wish to come and make secret peace with God, because pride remonstrates against an open admission of his claims. But this will not do. You cannot in this way render your Maker that efficient service which his cause requires; and besides, since you have been openly in the wrong, it is right for him to insist upon your openly admitting it, and making your repentance as public as your sin. Now, these three things are most manifestly implied in entering God's service. To pretend to choose his service without being willing to do these things, is plainly absurd. Any one, then, can easily tell whether he does or does not wish to enter this service. Are you ready to abandon at once all known sin, and to devote yourself to the service of God, and to do it openly, so that your return to duty may be known? If you are willing, the return is easy. The great atonement for all your past sins has been made, and the way is entirely open for your coming at once to God, through the great Mediator, and surrendering soul and body, time, talents, influence, and property, to his work. He will assuredly accept the surrender. It must be made deliberately and solemnly. All its validity depends upon its being sincere and honest; but the more formal it is in manner the better. The first great covenant which God made with the Hebrews, was executed in writing, and deposited with solemn ceremony in a gilded box, which was carried with them in their wanderings for many years. So let the christian now make his covenant with God. Let it be a deliberate and formal and solemn act. If he utters aloud, in his hour of solitude, the words of consecration, the work will be more effectually done, than if he breathes them in silence; and to reduce them to writing, and sign them with his name, and then read them solemnly before God, some think will be better still. They urge that it should be done deliberately, as a most solemn and binding act. God will be a witness, when you desire him to be your perpetual protector and friend. Such a covenant might be as follows: "Oh! my Maker, I will henceforth have thee for my Master, and I will be thy servant. I stop here, in my neglect of thy commands. I stop here, in my life of irreligion and selfish pursuit of worldly good. I will now begin to serve thee. This body is thine; thou hast created it, and preserved it, and hast given to it all its powers. I have used it thus far for my own purposes, but henceforth I will use it for thine. This intellect I surrender to thee. I have employed its powers in devising and executing my own selfish plans, but from this time it is sacred to the service of God. This wealth and this influence, which thou hast given me, shall henceforth be devoted to the purposes for which they were bestowed. I will give myself to the work of doing good: I will seek my employment and my happiness in co-operating with thee, in carrying forward thy plans, for removing suffering, and drawing men away from sin. Lord, receive me as a servant and follower. Make me wholly thine own. Help me to begin imme. diately my new work, and to persevere in it to the end. Encourage and strengthen me. When difficulties and trials press around me, wilt thou sympathize with me and come to my help. When I shall stray again from duty, and forget this my solemn covenant with thee, restore my backsliding feet, and grant me forgiveness and peace. Watch over me to the end, and thus prepare me for a more faithful and a happier service in another world. "In thus coming to thee, to commence a new life in thy service, all my hope for forgiveness for my past sins, and guidance and help for the future, is in thine undeserved mercy, through Jesus Christ, who died for me. I would be crucified with him, and thus bring to a close my life of sin. I would henceforth live a new life by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.' Now, who is there, young or old, high or low, rich or poor, who does not perfectly understand what is meant by such a surrender of himself to God as this? There are, doubtless, many who do not wish thus to enter into their Maker's service; they choose to continue in their own; but it is difficult to conceive how any one can say that he does not perfectly understand how to do this, if he is only inclined to do it, or can deny that enter. ing thus into the service of God is the plain and unquestionable duty of every intelligent being whom he has formed. They, therefore, who do not begin at once to serve their Maker, neglect their duty, not because they do not know how to do it, but because they do not wish to do it. They love better the pleasures of sin.-Abbott. BOTANY.-No. XVI PAPAVERACEE. THIS division of plants borrows its general denomination from the papaver, or poppy, of which an example may be seen in the red poppy (papaver rhæas) of our corn fields, which makes such a magnificent display of garish red in sandy soils. In some places the white poppy is to be met with; which is the same species as that from which the opium is prepared, and hence it is called somniferum, or sleep-inducing. The opium obtained in this country from the juice of this plant, either wild or cultivated, is many times less effective than the opium brought from Turkey; so much has climate to do with the maturation of this drug. The genera which compose this order are not numerous, and are connected with each other by the presence of about a hundred stamens, all of them seated below the fruit; two deciduous leaves for calyx, and four regular petals in the corolla. In budding the two leaves of the calyx compose a folding case for the protection of the other parts, resembling a bivalvular shell. We have again occasion to notice an arithmetical correspondence between certain members of the fructification; for here we observe two leaves to the calyx, and four, or twice two petals, in the corolla; and if the stamens be carefully examined, they will be found to be in sets, which are also divisible by two: such a numerical harmony has He who reckons up the grains of sand upon the sea-shore, impressed upon a single group of plants. The seeds are generally very numerous, and are borne upon ridges, which descend upon the inside of the capsule. After having obtained a general notion of this order, by inspecting the poppy, we may look under the hedges which enclose some kitchen garden, in expectation of finding the greater celandine, which is known by its deciduous yellow flower, pale, or glaucous green leaves, and the yellow juice which exudes from it when wounded. The presence of this yellow juice enables us to ascertain the greater celandine, with more ease than a laboured description of its parts. A large dose of this juice is poisonous; but for many ages | the herbalists have endowed it with properties of high utility; so that in some works it has been styled the "gift of Heaven." Agreeably to an old notion, received among the writers of other times, herbs often presented some sign or signature of their peculiar qualities; hence the yellow juice of the celandine seemed to intimate by its yellow dye that the plant was ordained for the removal of that saffron hue which cha racterizes the jaundice. The capsule of the celandine is composed of two valves, or folding pieces, and the seeds are curiously furnished with a glandular crest. In sandy fields, near the sea-shore, the yellow-horned poppy makes a striking figure, with its large yellow flowers, and its wavy leaves, which embrace the stem at their base. The genus glaucium, of which the yellow-horned poppy forms a representative, may be distinguished from the chelidonium, or celandine, by its twocelled capsule and its kidney-shaped seeds, which are destitute of a crest. We have now glanced, in a very cursory manner, at an assemblage of plants, which are closely allied by the conformation of the parts that are subservient to the ornament and protection of the fruit, and by the yielding of a milky or yellow juice, possessed of active properties. The inquisitive may here read one fold in the living page of nature, whose every leaf delights and gives us wisdom. We will conclude by submitting a few examples to a single view. Papaver rheas, common poppy. Papaver argemone, rough-podded poppy. Chelidonium majus, greater celandine. Glaucium euteum, yellow-horned poppy. Argemone Mexicana.- The writer of this paper, when in Mexico, heard great efficacy ascribed to the yellow juice of this plant in diseases of the eye: this suggests a curious correspondence between it and the celandine, the juice of which has long had a reputation for curing the disorders of that precious organ. Hypocoum procumbens.—This is distinguished from the rest by having only four stamens, and by a seed-vessel, which resembles a pod. OLD HUMPHREY ON MORNING WALKS. WHEN the body is in health, and the mind at ease, a morning walk before breakfast is a very delightful thing; but if, in addition to this, the morning be a fine May morning, the scene a pleasant one, and the heart in a happy frame, then it is more delightful than ever. It is said that they who rise early only now and then, love to talk of early rising all through the day, while they who are accustomed to it, enjoy it heartily as a thing of course, without prating about it. You must not, however, because I speak in praise of early rising, look on Old Humphrey as a lie-a-bed. There are times and seasons when things which have been common to us, suddenly appear to greater advantage. It was thus with me the other morning, when walking abroad before the hum of the busy world had broke on my ear. The clear bright blue sky set me thinking of heaven and of angels. If the underside of heaven be so beautiful, what must the upper be! If the very floor of our heavenly Father's abode so delight the eye, how will his mansions of eternal glory overcome us with delight and surprise! The balmy breath of the morning, in the neighbourhood of a nursery-ground, was sweet indeed; and the herbs and flowers, and rows of fresh-springing peas and beans, and strawberry plants, and the fresh ruddy shoots of the hawthorn, and the bulby clusters of young leaves on the top of the sycamore, about to burst into form and beauty, all spoke of hope and cheerfulness to the heart. last I came to a spot so truly beautiful to the eye; a spot where wood and water, heightened by the jubilee of the rejoicing birds, so affected me, that I gazed upon it, and thought that if sin, and sorrow, and death could be banished from the world, earth would then become a kind of heaven. At For a moment Old Humphrey was half inclined to doubt whether aught in the heavenly world could exceed in beauty the earthly one; but this was but for a moment: for the thought occurred, If God has so clothed the grass of the field, so adorned with beauty the dwelling-place of sinners, how much more will he adorn the dwellingplace of saints! If the footstool of the Eternal be thus unutterably lovely, what will be the splendour of his everlasting throne? The heavens we are journeying to will, doubtless, as much exceed the earth we innabit, as spiritual things exceed temporal things. Here we can see, and hear, and conceive, what God has spread around us; but " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart to con ceive what God hath prepared for them that love him." On my return, when the sun was higher in the heavens, I passed by a pleasant house with a stone front. The windows were open, and the clean table-cloth was seen spread, with the coffee-pot standing on the table. The tones of a piano forte were heard, while a low, but melodious voice, chanted forth the morning hymn. The garden was in full bloom; the shrubs were green as the very grass; the flowers under the veranda, were beautiful; the very cat, sunning herself on the stone step, looked comfortable; and Old Humphrey stepped along with so light a foot, and so happy a heart, that he felt more like a young man than an old one. If you are early risers, if you are walkers abroad while the east is glowing with the beams of the golden sun, you know something about these things; but if you are not, you are robbing yourselves of health and of happiness. If you rise betimes, you will enjoy more of God's creation; improve your health, temper, and tone of mind; the day will pass more pleasantly with you; and when night comes, you will, with a more fervent spirit, thank the Father of mercies for his abundant blessings, and sink into a sounder slumber. CHEMISTRY.-No. XIX. ELEMENTS OF VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL SUBSTANCES. MANY of the subjects which have been briefly adverted to in former papers might have been pursued more at length, but the nature of the work has prevented a more enlarged description, and confined our attention to the principles rather than the details of the science. There is, however, one branch of chemistry that deserves some attention before we close our short introduction to chemistry; that is, the composition of the various substances in the vegetable and animal kingdoin. The substances constituting these classes of bodies, and especially the vegetable, are presented to our notice under an almost boundless diversity of appearances; but the chemist has little to do with their external appearance; for although the most minute and tender plant is as much an object of his attention as the majestic forest tree, yet his only object is to determine the principles of their elementary composition. |