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1838.]

NATURAL HISTORY.

247

benefit; which will sometimes be by private help, and sometimes by means of public charities. The fear, however, of giving improperly, must not be an excuse for the exercise of a covetous and selfish disposition, and for not giving at all: but whatever is laid out in employing the industrious, is of far more use than money given to them for nothing; and there are many persons among those who make it their rule to apply a considerable portion of their income to charitable purposes, who never give money to a man who is able to work, without requiring him to do some work for what he receives. This keeps a man up; it prevents him from looking upon himself in the light of a beggar; it does him good, without degrading him. And this mode of charity has been generally found to be by far the most serviceable. A little piece of land let, and rent paid for it, proves a most important help; alterations and improvements in estates or gardens; the employment of children in sweeping away leaves and rubbish; all these methods are productive of much good; and there is the satisfaction of thinking that instead of being accompanied with any harm, they are the means of preventing a great deal that is mischievous and bad. V.

[merged small][graphic][merged small]

THERE is a strange notion that the porcupine, when provoked, will dart out his sharp quills on the enemy who

attacks him. There is no truth in this. When these animals are angry, they will stamp with their feet on the ground, like a rabbit; and, at the same time, they shake their quills, and make a rattling noise, but they cannot dart them out. At the season of the year when porcupines cast their quills, they shake themselves with great violence, and, the quills being at that time loose, they throw them off, and some of them may fly to a considerable distance; this, having been observed, may probably have given the notion that the porcupine can throw his quills at an enemy.

[graphic]

:

THE BUFFALO.

THE buffalo is of the ox tribe, and is, in form, very like our common ox. It is a strong powerful animal. In their wild state, they inhabit the warmer parts of India and Africa; but they have been introduced into some of the countries of Europe, where, being tamed, they are made extremely useful. In Italy they are employed in agriculture and butter and cheese are made from their milk. These animals are very common in Western Hindostan. They are fond of wallowing in mud, and will swim over the broadest rivers. During inundations they are frequently observed to dive to the depth of ten or twelve feet, in order to force up, with their horns, the aquatic plants', and these they eat, whilst swimming. Our common oxen and cows have been brought to their present state of gentleness and usefulness, by long continued care and domestic treatment, but they are, originally, of the same

1 Plants growing in water.

1838.]

CAUTION AGAINST LIGHTNING.

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wild nature as buffaloes, bisons, and other creatures of the same tribe which inhabit the wild and woody regions of Asia, Africa, and America.-Chiefly from Bingley.

PROPER CAUTIONS AGAINST LIGHTNING, AND TREATMENT OF THOSE WHO ARE STRUCK BY IT.

WHEN persons happen to be overtaken by a thunder storm, although they may not be terrified by lightning, yet they naturally wish for shelter from the rain which usually attends it; and therefore, if no house be at hand, generally take refuge under the nearest tree they can find. But, in doing this, they, unknowingly, expose themselves to a double danger: first because, their clothes being thus kept dry, their bodies are rendered more liable to injury, the lightning often passing harmlessly over a body whose surface is wet; and secondly, because a tree, or an elevated object, instead of warding off, serves to attract and conduct the lightning, which, in its passage, frequently rends the trunk or branches, and kills any person or animal who happens to be close to it at the time. Instead of seeking protection, then, by retiring under the shelter of a tree, hay-rick, pillar, wall, or hedge, the person should either pursue his way to the nearest house, or get to a part of the road or field, which has no object that can draw lightning towards it, and should remain there until the storm has subsided.

It is particularly dangerous to stand near leaden spouts, iron gates, or palisades, at such times; metals of all kinds have so strong a conducting power for lightning, as frequently to lead it out of the course which it would otherwise have taken.

When in the house, avoid standing near the window, or door, or walls, during a thunder storm: the nearer you are placed to the middle of the room the better.

When a person is struck by lightning, strip the body, and throw buckets full of cold water over it, for ten or fifteen minutes; let continued friction, and inflation of the lungs be also practised; let gentle shocks of electricity be made to pass through the chest, when a skilful person can be procured to administer them; and apply blisters to the chest."Popular surgery." Extracted from the 16th Annual Report of the Royal Humane Society.

HYMNS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN FROM THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.

I.

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."

SINCE Adam sinned, no living man,
But He who took on Him our nature,
Has pass'd through life's extended span,
But as a weak and erring creature ;

And sorrow follow'd sin, we find,

And every age has cause for grief;
But He who died to save mankind,
Has promis'd comfort and relief.

For He declares those "bless'd that mourn
For sins of thought, of act, and deed;
And for our griefs, if rightly borne,
Sure hope and comfort are decreed.
Then let repentance mark our way,
And patience cheer our darkest day!

II.

"Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy."

GOD bids his creatures here below,
Relieve and pity others' woe,

Cold, hunger, pain, and grief:
The lowest insect that we meet
Has every joint, and limb, complete,
As man, creation's chief.

Then let me never take delight
To punish them by pain or fright.
To teaze or to destroy:
In mercy let me ever spare
Each living thing of earth or air,
That life they may enjoy.

For present life is all they have;
They have no hope beyond the grave.
But, by God's bountiful decree,
A glorious hope of Heav'n have we,
If we but strive to do His will

And His commandments to fulfil:

As we show mercy so may we

His bright, His gracious promise see!

The close of Sarum.
July 19th, 1837.

E.

1838.]

251

HONEST INDEPENDENCE.

EVERY man ought to take great pains to preserve his independence: he ought to use every exertion to support himself and his family, by his own industry, without being obliged to go a begging and borrowing. However humble a man's station may be, yet if he gains his livelihood, and maintains himself and his family by his own labour, then he is what may truly be called independent. What he earns is his own; and he has all the comfort and satisfaction of knowing that it is his own. He is not to feel conceited on this account, or set himself above his neighbours who are worse off than himself; but he feels it a very great happiness, that he need not be a burden to others, or put himself in the distressing condition of depending on another man's will for the supply of his daily wants. And, feeling the happiness of his condition, he seeks to maintain it; he calculates well as to how much he can earn; and he manages his expenses according to his income; and he contrives to keep a little money for the Savingbank, that he may have something to go to, in case there should be any hindrance to his work. The mind of such a man is set free from many of the disturbances and vexations to which careless people are exposed; he can be thankful to Providence for giving him health and strength to enable him to labour: and he can attend to his religious services without that disturbance of mind which harasses those who are involved in worldly difficulties, and cumbered with such vexatious cares.

When once a man grows negligent and idle, he soon gets into trouble; he then goes a begging for help, and if some charitable person relieves him, then he will often become more idle still. He sees that he can get money without working for it, and he trusts to that, so that instead of being an independent man, he has become a very dependent one, in truth, a beggar: and, from that time, all goes wrong with him; things are worse and worse every day; he has lost his independence and his honest spirit, and he never gets right again. "Idleness will clothe a man with rags." Moreover the same carelessness which leads a man to

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