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THE ELECTRICAL EEL.

There are some fishes which possess the wonderful power of being able to stun their prey by what is called an electric shock. The most remarkable of these is the electrical eel, which inhabits some of the ponds and marshes of South America.

A specimen of this eel was lately exhibited at Paris. Most people were satisfied by a single touch, that it possessed the power of electricity. But one doctor, either too credulous, or too rash, seized the fish with both his hands. He quickly had reason to repent his folly. The animal imparted to him the most violent shocks, which forced him to leap about and utter the most piercing screams. He then fell into convulsions, in consequence of being unable to shake the fish from his grasp. In this situation he remained some time and would probably have died, had not some one plunged his hands into water, which caused the eel to drop off. The doctor has since been dangerously ill. The following is a picture of this singular fish.

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A Bramin at Benares in India was so cautious of causing the death of any living animal, that before him as he walked, the place was swept, that he might not destroy any insect. The air was fanned when he ate for the same purpose. Some mischievous European gave him a microthe animalculæ, or little insects, myriads of scope to look at the water he drank. On seeing which inhabit a drop of water, he threw down and broke the cup and vowed that he would not drink water again: he kept his promise and died.

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DRUNKENNESS

A Welshman was for some time awfully habituated to the vice of drunkenness, but was at length restored to sobriety by the following singular incident. He had a tame goat which would follow him to the alehouse he frequented. One day, by way of frolic, he gave the animal

so much ale that it became intoxicated. What particularly struck the Welshman was, that from that time, though the creature would follow him to the door, he never could get it to enter the house. He was thereby led to see how much his sin had sunk him beneath a beast, and from that time became a sober man.

THE SCOTTISH THISTLE. Different nations have usually adopted some emblem of distinction, which is engraved upon their coins or painted upon their ensigns: thus the eagle is the emblem of the United States, the lion of England, &c. The Scottish emblem is the thistle, and there is a curious story connected with its adoption:

When the Danes invaded Scotland, it was deemed unwarlike to attack an enemy in the thick darkness of night, instead of a pitched battle by day; but on one occasion the invaders resolved to avail themselves of this stratagem; and in order to prevent their tramp from being heard, they marched barefooted. They had thus neared the Scottish force unobserved, when a Dane unluckily stepped with his naked foot upon a superbly prickled thistle, and instinctively uttered a cry of pain, which discovered the assault to the Scots, who ran to their arms and defeated the foe with terrible slaughter. The thistle was immediately adopted as the emblem of Scotland.

GOOD BOOK-KEEPERS.

Sir Walter Scott, in lending a book one day to a friend, cautioned him to be punctual in returning it. "This is really necessary," said the poet in apology; "for though many of my friends are bad arithmeticians, I observe almost all of them to be good bookkeepers'

THE ASS.

The ass is generally considered a stupid animal, but he is in fact quite intelligent, and nothing can excel his patience. He is very useful to the poor people in many countries, and it is a pity that he is so badly used. The following story, of what happened in England, should make us feel interested for this poor creature:

Thomas Brown residing near Harwich, travelled the country as a pedler, having an ass,

neys,

the partner of his trade. From suffering under a paralytic affection, he was in the habit of assisting himself on the road by keeping hold of the crupper of the saddle, or more frequently the tail of the ass. During a severe winter, some years ago, whilst on one of his jour"the old man and his ass," were sudThere denly plunged into a wreath of snow. they lay long, far from help, and ready to perish. At length the poor ass, after a severe struggle, got out; but finding his unfortunate master absent, he eyed the wreath for some time with a wistful look, and at last forced his way through it, to where his master still lay, when, placing his body in such a position as to afford a firm grasp of the tail, the honest pedler was thereby enabled to take his accustomed hold, and was actually dragged out by the faithful beast to a place of safety.

The feelings of a parent, regarding a child in dangerous sickness, are beautifully expressed in the following verses, written by Barry Cornwall, an English poet.

Send down thy winged Angel, God.

Amidst this night so wild,

And bid him come, where now we watch,

And breathe upon our child.

She lies upon her pillow, pale,

And moans within her sleep,
Or wakeneth with a patient smile,
And striveth not to weep!

How gentle and how good a child
She is, we know too well,
And dearer to her parents' hearts
Than our weak words can tell.

We love we watch throughout the night,
To aid, when need may be;
We hope and have despaired at times,
But now we turn to Thee!

Send down thy sweet-souled angel, God'
Amidst the darkness wild,

And bid him soothe our souls to-night,
And heal our gentle child'

No. 2.

FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH.

SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 1833.

VOL. I.

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The principal Crater of Mount Vesuvius, with a view of the bay of Naples.

VOLCANOES.

A volcano is a mountain, which sends forth fire, smoke and a melted substance, called lava. The place, from which the flame and smoke issue, is called the crater, or month. In some cases, the crater is more than a mile wide; and clouds of cinders, stones, and often enormous rocks, are sent forth from it. The lava pours down

the sides of the mountain, and sometimes covers whole towns and villages.

There are about one hundred and ninetyfive volcanoes in the world. Some of the most remarkable are, Cotopaxi in South America, mount Etna in Sicily, mount Hecla in Iceland, and mount Vesuvius in Italy, near Naples.

The above picture represents the princi

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pal crater of mount Vesuvius. People may walk about the edges of this crater, and look down into it with perfect safety, when it is not sending forth fire.

More than seventeen hundred years ago, two great cities, called Pompeii and Herculaneum, were overwhelmed by an eruption of mount Vesuvius. These cities were so completely covered by streams of lava, and showers of ashes, that the spot where they stood remained unknown until about one hundred years since. The government of Naples have lately caused people to dig away the lava, and many curious things have been found under it. Whole streets have been uncovered. In some places baths have been laid open, and the remains of human beings found, with rich ornaments about them. It is probable that a part of the inhabitants had time to save themselves by flight; but many were doubtless destroyed while trying to escape.

More than thirty severe eruptions of mount Vesuvius have taken place, since the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The two most tremendous ones of modern times were those of 1631 and 1794.

one.

The eruption of 1779 was a remarkable For a month, loud rumbling noises had been heard, and quantities of smoke and ashes had been thrown up. On the 7th of August, at midnight, a stream of fire shot up from the crater to a very great height, and cast around it a light, which made every thing seen for many miles distant. The lava flowed down the sides of the mountain, and showers of red ashes were scattered far about. The next evening, a terrible explosion took place, which broke the windows, in the houses of many of the neighboring towns. The remaining part of the lava fortunately fell on the mountain itself, but it

gave out a heat, which was felt for many miles round.

Mount Etna is situated near the eastern coast of the island of Sicily, and has long been celebrated for its eruptions. It is a very high mountain, and may be seen from a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. An eruption of this volcano has happened within the last two months. Three new craters have been formed, one of which vomits lava, the second stones and sand, and the third only smoke.

The lava has spread widely over the neighboring land, but the inhabitants have had time to escape. The country was filled for miles round by people, who had come to see the eruption. The spectacle is represented as an awful and sublime one.

Mount Hecla in Iceland is another remarkable volcano. Iceland is a large island, but little more than one hundred miles distant from the eastern coast of Greenland. The people are a virtuous, contented and happy race, and very fond of reading. The climate of the island is cold, and the appearance bleak and desolate.

On approaching Hecla the ground is so covered with lava, that it is difficult to walk. Neither plants nor grass are to be seen, and the summit of the mountain is covered with snow.

There are other volcanic mountains, besides Hecla, in Iceland. One of these called Skaptar Yokal burst forth in 1783, and covered some of the best parts of the island with lava. Clouds of ashes filled the air; the waters were corrupted, and the fish driven from the coast. The rocks were torn in pieces with a dreadful noise: villages and churches were overwhelmed, cultivated lands were buried, and rivers dried up. Many cattle and sheep were destroyed, and

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