allows itself to fall to the ground from most wonderful heights, never seeming to be in the least damaged by its rapid descent. One would imagine that the creature must infallibly be dashed to pieces, but, almost before one can look round, the squirrel is off to the nearest tree trunk, where it is quickly lost to sight amongst the foliage.

As a refuge both by day and night, and also as a place wherein to rear their young, the squirrels always construct a large and comfortable nest, generally in the fork of some lofty branch, and always carefully concealed from sight. The materials are chiefly leaves, grass, and moss, woven together in a most beautiful manner, and forming a perfect protection against the rain. The old nests may sometimes be seen in winter when they are no longer surrounded by foliage, and stand out boldly among the naked boughs.

In these nests the young, three or four at a litter, are brought up, and remain until they are old enough to shift for themselves.

At the approach of winter the squirrels, not being able to find their food during the cold months, lay up stores for use during that period. Their provisions consist generally of nuts of various sorts, grain, beechmast, and so on, and are hidden away as a rule in holes at the roots of trees in the neighbourhood of their winter habitation. It is a somewhat curious fact that the squirrel never includes a bad nut in these hoards.

This winter retreat is also a nest of much the same character as the former, but hidden

point,' a hibernating animal is first awakened and then killed by the frost. Those animals, therefore, which pass the winter in a state of unconsciousness, always select a retreat where they are sheltered from the direct action of the elements, and where the temperature is only slightly varied.

While in the hibernating condition respiration entirely ceases, and the animal could be kept for hours under water, or in a vessel of carbonic acid gas, without the slightest effect. The circulation of the blood is greatly retarded, and digestion, at any rate in those animals which spend the whole winter in is

away in holes in trees, the junctions of large branches with the trunk, and similar localities. As soon as the cold weather fairly arrives, the squirrels, having previously laid up their winter stores, repair to this hiding-place, and there pass the time until spring, when they again return to their summer haunts. For the greater portion of the intervening period they lie in a state of complete unconsciousness, something more than sleep and less than death, and which can be only partially described by the word 'trance.' This state is not, as is generally imagined, produced by intense cold; for should the temperature fall below 32° Fahrenheit, or 'freezing

It is not generally known that squirrels can use their paws as paddles, and by their aid swim to considerable distances.

In some parts of the eastern coasts of Scotland, where innumerable armlets of the sea run many miles inland, the squirrels are in the habit of swimming across from shore to shore, and making rapid progress through the water. A friend was an eye-witness of this habit. Being in a boat, he came upon the little creature as it was swimming, and took it into the boat.

As it was tired with its journey, it allowed itself to be caught without any difficulty. But as soon as it felt itself rested, it sprang back into the water and swam steadily to land.

Leaving this country for America, we find there are many kinds of squirrels found in that country, several of which are very interesting. For example, there is the Grey Squirrel (Sciurus cinereus) of North America, which is extremely abundant, and often works very great damage to the growing crops. In Pennsylvania, more than a century ago, these animals were found to be so very destructive that a Government reward of threepence per head was offered for all that were killed. In a single year, a sum of no less than £8000 was expended in redeeming this promise, which gives a grand total of 640,000 squirrels destroyed.

Now, although these animals wrought such terrible mischief to the agriculturist, and by their numbers and perseverance ruined the result of his labours, in their native forests they were in their proper situation, doing the work for which they were sent into the world. But as soon as man arrived upon the scene, cleared away the jungle, and laid out the ground for cultivation, he upset the balance of nature: the squirrels were no longer required, and became a plague instead of a benefit, making it necessary to thin their number. Even our own squirrel is occasionally the cause of much damage, especially in young plantations, where it has a habit of nibbling off the topmost shoots, and so stopping the growth of the tree. Nor does it confine its depredations to vegetable life, for it is by no means uncommon to find a bird's nest ransacked by the animal, and the eggs or young ones devoured, as the case may be. It is probable that the squirrel is the real delinquent in many a case of nest-robbing when the blame falls on the shoulders of thoughtless schoolboys.

It occasionally happens with the grey squirrels, that, having pretty thoroughly devastated a neighbourhood, and finding winter approaching, they are unable to lay up a sufficient stock of food on which to subsist until the spring. Knowing instinctively that if they remain in their present locality they must inevitably die of starvation, they migrate in vast numbers, after the fashion of the lemming in Northern Europe, allowing nothing to check their course, climbing over instead of avoiding any obstacle, such as a wall or house, and leaving nothing eatable behind them. Every blade of grass and every green thing disappears, and the transit of one of these hosts leaves the country in much the same condition as if a swarm of locusts had passed over it.

Then there is the Black Squirrel (Sciurus niger), which, though not nearly so numerous as the preceding species, is still far from uncommon.

It is a

curious circumstance that the black and the grey squirrels seem unable to live in company, and as soon as the latter animal shows itself, the former disappears. As its name implies, this animal is of a uniform black hue, and from the fineness of the fur, is much sought after for the sake of the skin.

There is a somewhat strange-looking squirrel inhabiting Borneo, and which is popularly known as the Long-eared Squirrel (Sciurus macrotis). It is thus named on account of the singularly long fringe of hair with which the ears are decorated, which is of a dark brown colour, and pretty well two inches in length. The tail also is remarkably bushy.

Besides all these, there are some animals, none of them inhabiting this country, however, which are generally known as flying' squirrels on account of a singular modification of structure. This is found in

the skin of the flanks, which is developed to a large extent, almost hiding the paws in its folds when the creature is at rest. When in motion, however, and particularly during the tremendous leaps which these animals make from branch to branch, the legs are stretched out as far as possible, the loose skin acts as a parachute, and the squirrel is enabled to pass through a much greater distance than would otherwise have been possible.

The petaurists of Australia possess a similar development of the skin, and use it for a similar purpose. One of the best known of the flying squirrels is the Taguan (Pteromys petaurista) of India, which is of a brownish colour, varying from deep chestnut along the back to a greyish white on the under surface of the body. The tail is long and bushy, and very much darker in colour. The whole length of the animal is nearly three feet.

Leaving the true squirrels, we come to a very closely allied branch, the members of which, however, construct their habitations beneath the earth instead of among the branches of trees, and but rarely leave the ground. These are called ground squirrels, and are furnished with cheek-pouches, which the true squirrels do not possess. The object of these we shall presently see.

The Hackee, Chipping Squirrel, or Chipmuck, as it is indifferently termed (Tamias Lysteri), of North America is one of the most widely known of these quadrupeds. It is a very pretty little creature, rather less than a foot in total length, of a brownish-grey hue, with five black and two yellow stripes running longitudinally along the back. The under surface is of a fine white.

The hackee is very abundant over a great portion of North America, and may be seen almost everywhere dashing in and out of the underwood with a rapidity which has caused its movements to be compared to those of the wren.

By way of habitation, and also as a refuge from its numerous foes, it constructs rather complicated burrows below the surface of the earth. For this purpose it generally selects some protected situation, such as the roots of a large tree, the side of a bank, or the foot of a hedge. A winding tunnel, usually of considerable length, leads to the dwelling chamber, or nest, where the young are brought up, and from this run galleries leading to other chambers which are used for storehouses. In these a most astonish

ing quantity of food is laid up. In a single nest, we are told, were found no less than a peck of acorns, two quarts of buckwheat, a quart of beaked nuts, some grass seeds, and a quantity of maize, with which the interstices were filled up.

It seems almost incredible that so small an animal as the hackee can lay up so large a quantity of food, but such is the case, and it is in carrying the provisions to the burrow that the use of the cheek pouches is found. It can, of course, carry only a small quantity at a time. Four beaked nuts, for example, constitute the load for a single journey, three being packed into the pouches, and the fourth carried between the teeth. In order to prevent the nut from hurting its mouth, the hackee invariably bites off the sharp beak of the fruit before consigning it to the pouches.

When thus loaded, the animal presents a very curious appearance, bearing a ludicrous resemblance

to a human being suffering from a very bad attack of mumps.

The well-supplied condition of the hackee's larder is widely known, and in times of scarcity the natives repair to the burrows, and, digging out the contents, find the materials for a hearty meal.

When pursued by one of its numerous enemies, the chipping squirrel always takes refuge in its burrow, trusting in the inability of its pursuer to follow it down the complicated windings of its narrow tunnel. There is one foe, however, to whom this is no obstacle, and which follows the hackee to the very end of the burrow, there making a meal of the unfortunate owner. This enemy is found in the stoat, which sometimes kills the whole of the occupants of a burrow merely for the gratification of sucking their blood.

All three of the popular names are applied to this animal on account of the curious cry, which somewhat resembles the clucking of newly-hatched chickens. The scientific title, Tamias, is a Greek word, signifying a storekeeper, the application of which is at once apparent.

Short Historical Anecdotes.

BY REV. SIR GEORGE W. COX, BART., M.A.

THE

(1) The Emperor Akbar and his Subjects. HE most splendid court in the sixteenth century was that of Akbar, the greatest of the Mogul emperors of Hindustan. He was born at a time when the fortunes of his father Humayun were at their lowest ebb. When he was four years of age his mother took him to Cabul, which Humayun had succeeded in reconquering. The Emperor took the child into his arms, and said, 'Joseph was cast by his brothers into a well; but he was raised, as thou shalt be, to great glory.' His hope was abundantly realized. The life of his son was marked throughout by the strongest sense of duty; and duty with Akbar embraced the whole field of human conduct. Undauntedly brave in battle, he was full of mercy for the conquered. After one of the many battles fought on the field of Panipat, the Hindu general of the defeated army was brought before him by his tutor Behram Khan, who commanded him to strike off the head of the infidel. The boy, then fourteen years of age, burst into tears, and lightly touched the prisoner with his sword; but Behram, in no way satisfied with this mere sign of conquest, cut him down. Behram would have made the young emperor a conscientious Mahometan-that is, one who can tolerate no faith but his Own. But Akbar had scarcely reached manhood before he became convinced that though persecution may make men hide their opinions, it produces no change in them, and therefore fails in its own ends. His enemies accused him of being a persecutor himself; but the only instances of persecution recorded of him are the following. When one of his courtiers asked him what he supposed that orthodox Mussalman princes in other lands would say of him, Akbar ordered him to leave the room. When another told him that he was following the counsels of 'hellish' advisers, the Emperor said that such language assuredly deserved a blow; but the blow was not inflicted. Later in life he published his creed to his subjects. It was simply this-that God should be

reverenced and loved by all; that all were bound to serve and worship Him by living righteously, and by doing the good which would promote the welfare of their fellow-creatures, and bring to themselves the peace of a quiet conscience. For an account of Akbar's system of government, see Cox's History of the Establishment of British Rule in India.

(2) The Emperor Shah Jehan and Sivaji.

The name of the Mahrattas was for ages a sound of terror throughout Hindustan; and the power of the Mahrattas first became formidable in the time of Shah Jehan, the grandson of the illustrious Akbar. The struggle between the Mogul emperors and the Mahratta chiefs was the struggle between the Mahometan and the Hindu religions; and it was with the special purpose of regaining for Hinduism its old predominance that Sivaji, the founder of the Mahratta empire, braced himself to his work. He had grown up among the wild hills and valleys of the Western Ghauts; and with books and learning he would have nothing to do. He would not be taught either to read or to write, but he put an undoubting faith in the revelations which his mother said that she had received from the goddess Bhowani, and which announced his future greatness as the restorer of Hinduism to its ancient supremacy. He first gained possession of a hill fort at Poona, and was lucky enough to find in it a hoard of gold, which enabled him to repair its works and build another fortress on a neighbouring hill. At last he ventured to lay hands on convoys bearing treasures for the emperor; and Shah Jehan retaliated by placing Sivaji's father in a dungeon, in which he was walled in up to the shoulders, and telling him that the remaining bricks would be put in their places unless he immediately brought about the submission of his son. Sivaji, unable to resist this argument, threw himself on the Emperor's favour, received his forgiveness, and having obtained his father's freedom, betook himself to his old ways, building for his stronghold the impregnable fortress of Pertabgurh, on the summit of a hill a few miles to the south of Poona.

(3) Clive and Omichand.

The exploit of Clive in seizing and holding the fortress of Arcot is amongst the most memorable of military enterprises in the history of India, and perhaps of any other country. He had with him only 500 men, and of these 200 only were Europeans. Of the eight officers who accompanied him, four only had had any military training, and two only had been. in action; the rest were clerks who had just left their counting-houses. With this force he marched through a tremendous storm of lightning and rain, and by so doing struck terror into the garrison, which abandoned the fort and allowed him to enter it unopposed. fifty days he held it against overwhelming odds; and his final victory ensured the establishment of British rule in India. It is strange that a man thus great in legitimate war should have stooped, in subsequent dealings with the nation of India, to make use of those weapons of intrigue and falsehood which are as congenial to the Eastern as they are abhorrent to the English mind. When the conspiracy was formed for putting to death the Nawab Suraj-u-Daula, whose name is infamous for his share in the tragedy of the

For

Black Hole of Calcutta, Clive did not hesitate to join it. His agent was a merchant named Omichand; but Clive was, or seemed to be, astonished when Omichand demanded a sum of not much less than half a million sterling as the price of his secrecy, and insisted that this compact should be sanctioned by the treaty between the English and the man who was to be put into Suraj-u-Daula's place. Clive agreed to the terms, but he had two treaties drawn up-one on white paper, one on red, the compact being named only in the false one, for which he forged the signature of Admiral Watson. When Clive's great victory at Plassy made it necessary to carry out the treaty, he received Omichand with his usual graciousness; but when the treaty on white paper had been read, Mr. Scrafton, on a signal from Clive, turned to Omichand and informed him that the treaty on red paper was a trick, and that he was to have nothing. Omichand, it is said, fell back insensible, and when brought back to consciousness was little better than an idiot. This has been denied; but it has no bearing on Clive's share in the business. Happily, Clive's example has not been followed by Englishmen in India, and Lord Macaulay has well said that the one great lesson enforced by the whole history of British India is that it is not prudent to oppose perfidy by perfidy, and that the most efficient weapon with which men can encounter falsehood is truth.

(4) The Black Hole of Calcutta.

The tragedy of the Black Hole of Calcutta is a terrible commentary on the evils inherent in eastern despotism. In one sense it was an accident, but it was an accident which could never have happened in a country where the rulers are compelled to remember that they owe a duty to their subjects. Suraj-u-Daula never meant that his prisoners should be stifled to death; but they were stifled to death because, before he went to sleep, he had given no orders about them, and his officers dared not at the peril of their lives disturb him while he slept. In fact, this wretched youth (he was barely seventeen years old) had been brought up in the belief that his own pleasure was the one end to be aimed at by every one in everything, and he had learnt the lesson greedily. He saw that the English settlement in Calcutta was rising in importance; he believed the English to be the possessors of almost unimaginable wealth, and he resolved to seize their treasures and expel them from the country. It seemed at first as though he would succeed in his enterprise. The governor fled with the women and children to the ships, which dropped down the river, leaving those who remained behind to their fate. These were overpowered by the enemy, who rushed in when the gates were opened to admit a flag of truce sent by Suraj-u-Daula; and the prisoners were brought before the tyrant, who assured them that their lives were safe, and that no harm should befall them. But his mind was running on his personal disappointment. He had expected to find millions in the Calcutta treasury; he could lay hands only on £50,000. So he went off to sleep without saying a word about his captives. Their guards, who dared not disturb the Nawab, insisted that the prisoners, 146 in number, should all go into a room about 20 feet square, lit by a single small window. It was a dungeon in which two or three

refractory soldiers may have been confined at a time; and into this Black Hole the miserable prisoners were driven at the point of the bayonet, and the door was locked upon them. The fierce heat of an Indian mid-summer's night intensified the agonising death struggle, while their entreaties to the guards to fire upon them and end their misery were received with shouts of mocking laughter. In the morning sixteen only remained alive. For all these things Suraj-u-Daula cared nothing. He had no thought except for the treasures for which he was still vainly searching; but even the native historians have not a word to say about this horrible catastrophe. The truth is, that the people of India are among the kindest in the world, but they heed nothing beyond the narrow circle of their family and their caste; and thus, such an incident as that which has made the memory of Suraj-u-Daula infamous among Europeans, passes with them as a matter of course, not worth the mentioning.

(5) The Defence of Korygaum.

The struggle between the Mahrattas and the English was marked by two instances of singular heroism on the part of British officers. The Peshwa, or minister who had long since usurped the powers belonging to the successors of Sivaji, was evidently striving to gain his ends by systematic treachery, when Mr. Jenkins, the resident at Nagpore, placed on the neighbouring Sitabuldi hill a force of 1400 Sepoys, with three troops of Bengal cavalry, and four six-pounders. With these troops a battle, begun in the evening, was carried on through the night against a Mahratta army of nearly 20,000 men, with six-andthirty guns, and was decided the next day by the bravery and skill of Captain Fitzgerald, the commander of the Bengal horse. The Peshwa now sent for the representative of Sivaji from Satara, and pretended to rule in his name; but his plans were foiled by the splendid defence of Korygaum, by Captain Staunton, who, on Jan. 1, 1818, with 34 Europeans and about 750 native soldiers, defended the village until nightfall against the Peshwa's army of 25,000 horsemen and 6000 infantry. The Mahrattas refused to renew the fight the next day, and the Peshwa was driven to seek safety in flight.

(6) India under the Great Mogul.

In the year 1735, two Englishmen, dropping down the river with a convoy of treasure from Patna to Calcutta, saw a boat going by with baskets, which they supposed might contain fish; but in them they found thirty human heads. On that day, according to a long-standing agreement, the Raja of Monghyf had set out with thirty men to pay his tribute to the Nawab Alavardi Khan. The latter was likewise pledged to send only the same number to receive it, but with these he sent another force which was to lie in ambush. When the Raja came with his men, all were murdered except one, who carried the tidings of the massacre to the Raja's wife. She set the palace on fire and died with her son in the flames. That night the two Englishmen saw the smoke and blaze of a mighty conflagration as they lay at anchor in their boat on the river. The troops of Alavardi Khan were sacking and burning the city. Such was a specimen of government in Behar by a deputy of

the Viceroy of the Great Mogul, before the English brought order and peace to the country.

(7) Willoughby and the Magazine at Delhi. The great Sepoy Mutiny shook the British rule in India to its foundations. It also brought out wonderful instances of bravery and heroism on the part of British officers and soldiers; and among these the devotion of Lieutenant Willoughby and his comrades stands conspicuous. Willoughby was in charge of the great magazine at Delhi, when the mutinous regiments who had hurried away from Meerut crossed the bridge over the river and made their way into the city. The magazine contained an immense store of powder and ammunition; and its contents would be invaluable for extending and maintaining the rebellion. The mutineers were well aware of this, and, aided by the mob of Delhi, which was always furiously excitable and turbulent, they brought their whole strength to bear upon the position. They were further aided by the Sepoys of the regiment which had been stationed in the city to guard the magazine. The people surged in crowds before its walls, and messengers, speaking in the name of Bahadur Shah, the pensioned representative of the old Mogul emperors, demanded its surrender, and were met by an absolute refusal. The defenders stood out as long as they could, but the ammunition at hand was soon exhausted, and it was impossible to leave the guns to bring more powder. Willoughby saw that there was no alternative for men who were determined to do their duty. On his giving the signal, a train previously laid was fired, and some fifteen hundred rebels were blown into the air with the contents of the magazine. Willoughby with two or three companions escaped to Meerut, maimed and mutilated; but his injuries were mortal, and he died a few weeks later after terrible suffering, leaving

(8) Xerxes and Demaratos.

In his invasion of Greece, Xerxes had with him Demaratos, a deposed Spartan king. After the first general review of his unwieldy army, Xerxes asked the Spartan whether his countrymen would dare to oppose so overwhelming a force. On receiving his assurance that no harm should befall him for telling the truth, Demaratos told him frankly that if a thousand Spartans set out, they would most assuredly fight him. Xerxes laughed. 'What! a thousand men fight my great army! Come now, you were once their king; will you fight ten men? Yet if each of these will match ten of mine, you ought to match twenty. But if in size they are like the other Greeks whom I have seen, you must be only boasting. Let us reason it out. How could a thousand, or a myriad, or five myriads, who are all free, and not ruled by one man, withstand a host like mine? Why, we are more than a thousand to one, even if they were five thousand. If, like my people, they obeyed the will of one man, and were driven on by the scourge, they might_stand out against numbers larger than their own. But of course, being free, they will not do so. Besides, if their numbers were equal to mine, I doubt if they could withstand us. Why, I have among my spearbearers many men who will fight three Greeks at

once.' Demaratos, by way of answer, confessed that he did not suppose that Xerxes would like to hear the truth, adding that he had spoken only from a sense of duty, since, as the king well knew, he bore no love to the Spartans. They have robbed me of my power, and driven me to a strange land where I was kindly received by thy father. Is it likely that I should set lightly by the kindness which he showed me? As for myself, I do not say that I am able to fight with ten men or with two. Of my own choice I would not fight with one; but if fight I must, I would take my chance with one of those whom thou thinkest equal to three Greeks. So, too, the Spartans one by one are like other men; but taken together, they become terrible to their enemies, for, though they are free, they are not without a law. Law is their master, whom they fear much more than thy people fear thee. Whatever law commands, that they do; and it commands always the same thing, charging them never to fly from any enemy, how strong soever he be, but to remain in their ranks, and to conquer or die.'

(9) Gelon and the Greek Envoys. When the invasion of Greece by Xerxes began to look like a certainty, the Athenians and Spartans tried to secure the aid of the Greek cities in Sicily. But when their envoys, appearing before Gelon, the tyrant of Syracuse, warned him that the ruin of the Eastern Greeks would assuredly be followed by his own, Gelon reproached them bitterly for having left him to his own resources when he asked for their help against the Carthaginians. But I will not,' he said, deal with you as you have dealt with me. I will give you 200 ships and 20,000 men, with corn for all the army of the Greeks as long as the war shall last; but I can do this only if you will make me leader and chief of all the armies of the Greeks.' 'It is impossible,' the Spartan king replied; the children of Agamemnon cannot yield their place and their honour to a Syracusan. If you choose to help the Greeks, you must do so under the Spartans; if you will not, then stay at home.' Gelon kept his temper. 'My Spartan friend,' he said, 'abuse commonly makes a man angry; but I do not mean to pay back insults in kind. Let us make a compromise. If you rule

on land, I will rule at sea; if you rule by sea, I will rule on land.' But here the Athenian envoy broke in: 'King of the Syracusans, the Hellenes have sent us not because they want a leader, but because they want an army. Of an army you say little; about the When you asked to lead us all,

command much.

we left it to the Spartans to speak; but as to the command at sea, we cannot yield it. It is our birthright.' 'You seem likely to have many leaders,' retorted Gelon, 'but few to be led. But since you will yield nothing, and grasp everything, go home and tell the Greeks that the spring-time has been taken out of their year.'

(10) Dienekes at Thermopylæ.

Before the fight in the pass of Thermopylæ, in which Leonidas and his three hundred fell, a man of Trachis, it is said, told Dienekes the Spartan that when the Persians shot their arrows, the sun was darkened by them. Dienekes answered cheerily, 'Our friend from Trachis brings us good news: we shall be able to fight in the shade.'