2. Ah! what a sound will rise, how wild and dreary, When the death-angel touches those swift keys! What loud lament and dismal Miserere

Will mingle with their awful symphonies!

3. I hear even now the infinite fierce chorus,
The cries of agony, the endless groan,
Which, through the ages that have gone before us,
In long reverberations reach our own.

4. On helm and harness rings the Saxon hammer, Through Cimbric forest roars the Norseman's song, And loud, amid the universal clamour,

O'er distant deserts sounds the Tartar gong.

5. I hear the Florentine, who from his palace Wheels out his battle-bell with dreadful din; And Aztec priests upon their teocallis

Beat the wild war-drums made of serpent's skin;

6. The tumult of each sacked and burning village; The shout that every prayer for mercy drowns ; The soldier's revels in the midst of pillage;

The wail of famine in beleaguered towns;

7. The bursting shell, the gateway wrenched asunder,
The rattling musketry, the clashing blade;
And ever and anon, in tones of thunder,
The diapason of the cannonade.

8. Is it, O man! with such discordant noises,
With such accursed instruments as these,
Thou drownest Nature's sweet and kindly voices,
And jarrest the celestial harmonies ?

F

9. Were half the power that fills the world with terror, Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts, Given to redeem the human mind from error,

There were no need of arsenals nor forts;

10. The warrior's name would be a name abhorrèd!
And every nation, that should lift again.
Its hand against a brother, on its forehead
Would wear for evermore the curse of Cain!

11. Down the dark future, through long generations, The echoing sounds grow fainter, and then cease; And like a bell, with solemn, sweet vibrations,

I hear once more the voice of Christ say, 'Peace!'

12. Peace! and no longer from its brazen portals
The blast of War's great organ shakes the skies,
But beautiful as songs of the immortals,

The holy melodies of love arise.

THE RHINOCEROS.

1. Every one is familiar with the general appearance of the rhinoceros-the massive but misshapen head, the bulky body not unlike that of a hog shorn of its bristles, the armour-like hide, the enormous limbs, and the ludicrously small eyes. It may, indeed, be admitted that it is the very image of ugliness. Yet the huge animal is not so awkward in its movements as its appearance would indicate. It is remarkably swift of foot; and it is also a good aquatic animal, able to swim great distances. Its favourite haunt is by the bank of rivers, where it delights to wallow in the mud, and lives a sluggish kind of existence unless provoked by its enemies.

2. A now extinct species of rhinoceros once existed in England, and ranged over the greater part of Europe; but in the present day it is confined to some of the warmer parts of Asia and Africa. Of the Asiatic species, the best known is the Indian rhinoceros, which has but one horn, and is remarkable for the heavy folds into which its almost impenetrable hide is gathered up. The skin beneath these flaps and under the body is comparatively soft, and can be easily pierced through. Two other varieties are found in the islands of Java and Sumatra respectively. The first

is one-horned and very tractable; the second has two horns, and is said to be so excessively timid that it is held in no terror by the natives.

3. There are four well-known African species, all of them two-horned. Two of these varieties are black, and two are white, the former being far more formidable than the latter. The first is the Borèlé, or Little Black Rhinoceros, a very fierce and extremely dangerous animal. A brave and experienced hunter justified his flight from one by saying: 'I would rather face fifty lions than one of these animals in such an exposed situation; for not one in a hundred would take it as quietly as this has done. A wounded black rhinoceros seldom waits to be attacked, but charges instantly; and there would not have been the least chance of saving one's life in an open place like this.' The second species is called the Keitloa, or Twohorned Black Rhinoceros. It receives the latter name because both of its horns are long, and is a larger and heavier animal than the Borèlé. The two white varieties are of even greater size; but, being of comparatively mild temper, they are not dangerous to man, unless when wounded, hotly pursued, or fighting in defence of their young.

4. As we have said, the African rhinoceros is a most dangerous animal to attack. His strength is second only to that of the elephant; and this, seconded by his immense weight and great swiftness, renders him a truly formidable opponent. Gordon Cumming, the lionhunter of South Africa, says that a horse with a rider can rarely overtake one; while another sportsman speaks of them as darting about 'like lightning.' Fortunately, the sight of the rhinoceros is very defective. His small eyes are exceedingly deep set,