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crowd, and having routed the mob, he approached the tree in which his nest was placed. Before arriving there, however, he evidently became aware of my presence, and dropping his prey, which proved to be a rat, he ascended into the air to a great height, in circular gyrations, after the manner of a falcon, where he was soon joined by his consort; and the two birds continued to soar over my head while I remained there, uttering not only their usual hoarse croak, but also an extraordinary sound, resembling the exclamation, "Oh!" loudly and clearly ejaculated. At first I could hardly persuade myself that it proceeded from the throat of either of the ravens; but my doubt was soon dispelled, for there was no human being within sight; and after carefully examining one of the birds for some time with my glass, I observed that each note was preceded by an opening of the beak, the distance, of course, preventing sight and sound from being exactly simultaneous.

In the following year, the beech grove was deserted for the fir-clump. I shall never forget my delight on discovering their new retreat near the Tower-hill during the spring of 1844. In their new quarters the ravens now reign unmolested, the nest itself being concealed from ordinary observation among the evergreen boughs near the summit of one of the tallest trees, so as to escape the notice of the wayfarers who traverse Upperton-common, or pass along the high road which here skirts the ivycovered park-wall. Nay, even within the precincts, where these birds and their establishments are now held sacred, those who occasionally visit the spot for the express purpose of "having a look at the raven,' are generally disappointed, as they mount the steep hill and approach the clump, at seeing nothing of either of the birds, and at the apparent desertion of the place; but they are quickly undeceived. The short and angry barks of the male are just heard as he emerges from the dark boughs; then, if the young have been hatched, he is soon joined by the female, and both continue to soar round the heads of the strangers, gradually increasing their distance until they reach a considerable height, and occasionally varying their hoarse cry with the singular note to which I have already alluded. Their retreat is, therefore, as I have said, secure from ordinary observation; but what nest can escape the scru

tiny of an Argus-eyed school-boy, especially if his cranium should present a development of the true ornithological bump? Soon after the ravens had taken up their quarters here, a truant youth, wandering over the common with his empty satchel on his shoulder, caught a glimpse of one of the old birds, marked him down into the clump, and having satisfied himself by an exceedingly rapid process of reasoning, that its abode was there, and that the discovery and appropriation of its contents would repay him for the perils of the adventure, he scaled the wall, climbed the tree, robbed the nest, deposited four "squabs” (all that it contained) in his book-bag, and escaped undiscovered with his prize.

Imagine my feelings when, on visiting the fir-grove a few days after this occurrence, I could find no trace of either of the old ravens! At first curiosity was succeeded by suspicion, then suspicion by anxiety, and at last anxiety by conviction that something untoward had occurred; but on entering the clump, the whole truth flashed upon me at once: splinters of short, brittle boughs, on which the climber had attempted to rest his feet as he ascended the tree, lay around, mingled with portions of the lining, which was composed of the hair of the fallow-deer. Could the robber have taken all the young birds? So, to put an end to suspense, I mounted to the nest, clutched one of the branches immediately beneath it, raised myself up, and eagerly peeped into the interior. Empty! Not a bird, not a feather within it! Nothing but deer-fur and fledge-dust! What was to be done? If even one squab had been left, there would still have been room for hope that the attempt to protect the raven in his native haunts might possibly not have turned out, as now, an apparent failure. Another week elapsed, during which all inquiries (and they were many and searching) after the lost ones were unattended with success. I now visited the clump every day, but my ears were no longer gladdened by the welcome bark of the parent birds. Ring-doves and starlings roosted in the branches of the trees, and even the spiteful jackdaw, who had hitherto kept at such a respectful distance, now chattered among the boughs, as if he could not resist the temptation of having a look at the nest, with a view to appropriating a portion of it to his own use on a future occasion.

Well, at last the young birds were dis

covered, half-starved, in the possession of | their original captor, who willingly delivered them up. It was proposed to rear them in a state of domestication, and the operation of clipping their wings had already been performed on three of them before the idea occurred to me that even

yet, "at the eleventh hour," it was just possible that the restoration of the remaining perfect bird to the nest might have the effect of attracting the attention of either of the old ones, if they should happen to revisit the neighbourhood. Although but a "forlorn hope," the attempt was worth the trial. It was late in the evening, I remember, when I put it in execution, and the next morning found me again on my way to the firclump. Impatient to learn the result of my experiment, yet entertaining only a shadowy belief in the possibility of its success, I hastened to the park. Scarcely venturing to raise my eyes as I ascended the slope, I listened attentively; but no sound indicated the return of my absent friends. However, the scene soon changed, and amply was I repaid for all my previous care and anxiety, on perceiving, as I topped the hill, both the old ravens issuing from the trees, and flying round my head, just as if nothing had happened. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was true, nevertheless; my experiment perfectly succeeded; the young bird was safely reared; the ravens have since brought up several families in the same nest; and as this little episode in their biography has served to increase the interest taken in their welfare by those who have now, fortunately, the disposition as well as the power to protect them, I trust that they may long live in peace and security; and that if any lover of the picturesque, or admirer of our native birds, should hereafter visit the Tower-hill during "trysting time," he may never find "the ravens clump" untenanted.

So, says the "Quarterly Review," Mr. Knox leaves the story. We can give our readers one more act in this aërial drama. In the spring of this year, the ravens returned to their old nest, and repaired and occupied it according to their wont; incubation was already begun, when a violent spring-storm actually beat the mother from her nest, and scattered the eggs upon the ground. After a few days, the ravens began to repair the damage of the storm, and, abandoning the unfortunate tree, they constructed

upon another their new nest. But, alas! as the poet sang:

"Ravens, though, as birds of omen,

They teach both conjurers and old women
To tell us what is to befall,

Can't prophesy themselves at all."

A second storm, almost as soon as the nest was completed, again marred their work, and actually tore the nest itself from the tree. For a few days the ravens but conjugal disagreement finished what were missing after these, they returned; the violence of the winds had begun. The work of nidification was re-commenced, but one bird was set upon repairing the original, the other upon building a new nest. For a day or two the divided work proceeded, when, as if by mutual compromise, both abandoned their separate undertakings, and flew off together in search of a more favoured spot.

The appearance at the same moment with to build and incubate at Parhamof a pair of ravens, who proceeded forthpark, about eight miles distant, seems to mark out that place as the haven of their choice. There they will have the company of a goodly settlement of herons, who, like themselves, were driven from afar to seek the shelter of its ancient woods and hospitable owner.

ITALIAN CONVERTS.

INNUMERABLE are the means which the Lord employs to bring his children into the way of truth and life. Of this, the conversion of the Italians who are now gathered together, under the glorious banner of the Redeemer, is an undoubted proof. It would require too much time to relate in detail the circumstances which drove them from their native land into a strange soil, and the troubles which have befallen them in their exile. It is enough to know that all have contributed to the great design of Providence-the salvation of their souls. In a foreign country, amidst troubles and distress, they heard a voice of peace, which invited them to repose. Delightful invitation to afflicted souls! What philosophy could not produce, the gospel has wrought in them.

The word of God, which hitherto they had only found by piecemeal in their missals and breviaries, and which there had engaged their attention far less than the ceremonies with which its reading

was accompanied, became for them, amidst their trials, an object of high importance, and afforded matter for their most serious reflection. It was in this, and by means of this alone, that they could find rest-for it is the word of Him who is called the God of peace; it was by this that they discovered the way of salvation, as it became a lamp to their feet and a light unto their path. Leaving at length all human teaching, they began to learn anew in the school of the Holy Spirit, and soon found how profitable is his word, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, when it is received and studied with humility and simplicity of heart.

How great was the wonder and joy of the Italians, newly converted, to find from the book of truth, that it was not only consistent with reason to read the oracles of God, but that it was also his positive command to lay up these, his words, and teach them to their children, Deut. xi. 18-20. They found that Jesus Christ himself commanded men to search the Scriptures (John v. 39), and that he attributed the errors of the Sadducees to ignorance of the word, and charged the Pharisees with the heinous sin of having made it of none effect by their traditions, Matt. xv. 4; xxii. 29. But beside the command of God, the holy custom, practised not by the Jews alone, but by the Christians themselves, served as a further incitement to the Italians to read the Divine word. The ancient kings of the chosen people, notwithstanding the weighty cares attending the government of a nation, were to write it out with their own hand and read it all the days of their life. Children, even from tender infancy, were to study it with arduous care; and the attachment of the Hebrew people in general to their law, the respect which they entertained towards it, the veneration and the zeal with which they defended it, were displayed more than once in truly heroic deeds and illustrious martyrdoms. Nor were the first Christians inferior to the Jews in their zeal. The reading of the Bible was deemed the most important of their occupations. It seemed as if they only lived to carry out its precepts into practice, to show the world the virtue which it inspires, to shed their blood for its cause. This word was their strength, their consolation, the soul of their hope, the life of their heart. Insensible to the cruelties exercised upon themselves, the persecution of the holy

books became the object which alone could move them.

It is now generally acknowledged, that wherever the reading and free preaching of the word is permitted, the national advantages which follow are immense. Liberty is received, manners are cultivated, and the state of progress in which such nations are found, and the benefits which are derived from this, are unanswerable testimonies to the power of the word of God. If such are the effects which the reading and meditation of the Divine word produce, if its efficacy on the understanding and the heart of man be to renew, enlighten, arouse, humble, console, and sanctify, the converted Italians had reason to believe, and now having experienced its power, they have yet greater reason to conclude that it proceeded directly from God, and that having proceeded from Him, its authority in matters of faith is supreme and exclusive. They believe, too, that as it proceeds from him who wills that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth, it contains all things necessary in order to salvation, and should be free to all men without distinction.-F. B. D'ITALIA.-Evangelical Christendom.

STRANGE SNOWBALLS.

E'en the rude wintry elements, at times,
Appear to lay aside their churlishness
For sportive frolic, and the winds of heaven
Go forth on strange adventures.

It would be, perhaps, difficult to say whether we received the most pleasure from natural scenery in its customary form, or from the occasional strange and fantastic deviations of nature from her usual course. There appears, at times, a sort of sportiveness, a playful prodigality visible in the natural creation, that, clothed as it is with novelty, awakes our wonder, as well as calls forth our admiration. Instances of this kind, however, now and then have occasioned alarm.

In a recent number of the "Philosophical Magazine," Mr. Clouston, of Stomners, relates a curious circumstance, which, it appears, not only astonished and perplexed the neighbourhood in which it occurred, but filled the superstitious with great consternation.

"During one night a heavy fall of snow took place in Orkney, which covered the plain to a depth of several inches. Upon this pure carpet there rested next

morning thousands of large masses of snow, which contrasted strongly with its smooth surface. These occurred generally in patches of from one acre to a hundred in extent, while the clusters were often half a mile asunder. The fields so covered looked as if they had been scattered over with cart loads of manure, and the latter covered with snow; but on examination, the masses were all found to be cylindrical, like hollow fluted rollers, or ladies' swandown muffs, bearing a strong resemblance to the latter. The largest measured was three and a half feet long, and seven feet in circumference. The centres were nearly, but not quite hollow; and by placing the head within when the sun was bright, the concentric structure of the cylinder was apparent. They did

not

occur in any of the adjoining parishes, and were limited to a space of about five miles. The first idea as to the origin of these bodies was, that they had fallen from the clouds, and portended some direful calamity. But had they fallen from the atmosphere, their symmetry and loose texture must have been destroyed. The writer having examined them, was soon convinced that they had been formed by the wind rolling up the snow, as boys form snowballs. Their round form, concentric structure, fluted surface, and position with respect to the weather and eminences, proved this, and also from the fact of their lying lengthways, with their sides to the wind, and sometimes their tracks were visible in the snow for twenty or thirty yards in the windward direction, whence they had evidently gathered up their concentric layers. This seems to be the most singular example ever recorded of Boreas making snowballs.'

THE RAILWAY IN THE FOREST.

"TIME pressed," says Dr. Dixon, "and we were obliged to leave on Monday morning. Our course lay by rail across the country to the Lakes, a distance of 219 miles. I had been told that this route would afford me the opportunity of seeing, on an extended scale, the agricultural character and resources of the western country; and I was not disappointed. The entire territory was either perfectly new, or only very recently cultivated. This will appear from the fact, that many of the rising towns bear the name even of living men; as Polktown

called after the president, and Claysville, after the eminent statesman of that name. The whole scene was very curious; the only uniform and finished thing being the railroad on which we travelled; the greater part of the country still remaining unbroken forest. Through this forestscene our railroad had been cut, at a vast cost of money and labour; the trees having, of course, to be felled by the woodman's axe, as well as the road itself levelled and prepared. To the inhabitants of these solitudes, now limited to wild animals, the Indians being all gone,

the blazing of our fire, the fizzing of our steam, the sound of our whistle, the noise of our motion, and the rapidity of our speed, must appear a singular solecism in the midst of the sylvan scenes of their joyous freedom. What music for the forest is a railroad train! How fine and perfect the harmony between the singing of birds, the leap of squirrels, the bounding of the hind, the stag, the deer, and all the other forms of life and motion peculiar to the wilderness; and the smoke, ashes, dirt, creaking, bellowing of a huge train, laden with human, and all other kinds of lumber! We dashed along through these forest scenes, indifferent as to the sentiment of concord, the 'eternal laws and fitness of things,' and matters of that sort, notwithstanding; intent only upon our mission of progress, though it should oblige us to cut down all the trees in the universe, disturb the repose of nature in her lair, and quench the lights of heaven by the smoke of our civilizing chimneys.”

PRESUMPTION OF HUMAN REASON.

WHAT Surprises me, what stumbles me, what frightens me, is to see a diminutive creature, a little ray of light glimmering through a few feeble organs, controvert a point with the Supreme Being; oppose the intelligence that sitteth at the helm of the world; question what he affirms, dispute what he determines, appeal from his decisions, and, even after God has given evidence, reject all doctrines that are beyond his capacity! Enter into thy nothingness, mortal creature! What madness animates thee? How darest thou pretend, thou who art but a point, thou whose essence is but an atom, to measure thyself with the Supreme Being, with him whom the heaven of heavens could not contain?-Saurin.

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THE BRITANNIA TUBULAR BRIDGE.

THE Menai Straits, which have recently attracted the attention of all classes of the community, and the scientific men of every land, extend for more than twelve miles between the Isle of Anglesea and the Carnarvon shores of North Wales. Between the precipitous heights of either coast, the waters of the Irish Sea and of St. George's Channel are ever foaming, and long seemed to bid defiance to any efforts of man to maintain a secure and permanent communication between them. At length, however, under the auspices of the Parliamentary Commissioners for the Holyhead-road, the late Mr. Telford succeeded in spanning the channel with a solid and elegant structure, at an expense of rather more than 200,000l., and thus the desired object was, to a great extent, obtained.

The importance of rapid and easy communication between the shores of England and the sister isle had long been seen, and, in this age of railways, it was resolved that they should be rendered available in the promotion of this design. In accordance with this determination, a line was planned from Chester to Holyhead; and, trusting to the resources of the engineer

ing world, and encouraged by the success of other great efforts, it was decided that, if practicable, the "great tidal chasm" of the Menai Straits should be spanned by a railway, by means of which trains of passengers and goods might be transported with undiminished speed from shore to shore. Vast, indeed, was the undertaking. The peculiar difficulties of the site, the extent of the span, and the elevation which must be observed to avoid interference with the navigation of the channel, were obstacles which might well have been regarded as insurmountable. The task was, however, undertaken by the Company, and then committed to Mr. Robert Stephenson, whose ability, perseverance, and success, have rightly given to him a first rank amid the men of science of any age.

The plan primarily suggested for the accomplishment of this design was to appropriate one side of Telford's suspension bridge; but though that structure is well adapted for the purposes for which it was erected, it was found too light to sup port the heavy burdens which the passage of trains would impose; and that nothing would be adequate to the required purpose that could not support the weight of a rapidly moving mass over a rigid instead of a

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