"The branches of the trees move about a great deal, mamma, when the wind blows them."

"Yes, they can be moved, if anything or any one moves them; but they cannot move of themselves, nor go from one place to another."

"No," said Willy, "they cannot fly, like the birds; or swim, like the fish in water; nor walk and run, like dogs and horses, and little boys and girls. Oh, poor plants! I should not like to be a plant, stuck in the ground, and not able to run about."

"You need not pity them, Willy, for you know they cannot feel."

"Oh, I forgot that: I am very glad they cannot feel; because, if they did, they would be so sorry not to be able to move."

His mother then repeated to him the following

lines:

"Plants, then, were only made to grow;
They cannot feel, or walk, you know:
But animals, as dogs and men,

Feel whips and pinches, now and then ;
And when they do not like to stay,

They turn about and run away."

Willy was much amused with these verses, which his mamma repeated till he learned them by heart.

PORCELAIN TOWER OF NANKIN.

NANKIN is a large city of China, and was formerly the capital of that empire. The streets are narrow, but handsome and well paved, and on each side are shops neatly furnished.

The most remarkable building in Nankin is the celebrated porcelain tower, which is two hundred feet high, and divided into nine stories. Inside, there are one hundred and ninety steps leading to the dif ferent apartments which are filled with gilt idols, placed in niches in the wall. this building was commenced five or six hundred years ago, and that it took nineteen years to complete it.

The Chinese say that

My young readers may have heard something of the peculiar manners and customs of the Chinese. These people are of the middle stature, with broad faces, small eyes, broad noses turned upwards, high cheek-bones, and thick lips. Like the Mahomedans, they shave the whole head, except a lock on the crown, which they tie in a long cue, that hangs down the back, not unfrequently like the lash of a whip, and as low as the calf of the leg. Many of the higher classes let their nails grow to an enormous

length, to show that they are not engaged in hard labor with their hands. This is very foolish, as industry is certainly more entitled to respect than idleness. Little feet are reckoned a great part of female beauty, and these are in consequence so tightly bandaged from infancy, that they are subjected to very great pain, and can hardly walk.

The dress of the common people is generally of blue or black cotton. White is worn only as mourning. The men's caps are shaped like a bell. The rest of the attire consists of a vest with wide trowsers or petticoats, and a loose coat or gown covering the whole. The use of silk and furs is forbidden to children, and boys are not permitted to wear a cap till a certain age. When this arrives, an officer of ceremonies places the cap on the boy's head, and gives him an exhortation to this effect:-"You will now dress like a man, take care you act like a man; and put away all the toys and trifles of childhood; become grave and study virtue, and deserve a happy life."

Rice is considered as the staff of life in China, and great quantities of it are eaten. The Chinese also make use of various kinds of animal food, in the choice of which they are by no means particular, as the common people eat pork, fish, fowls, cats, dogs, rats, and almost every other animal that has either died naturally or been killed.