The Bite of a Mad Dog

an unfortunate accident, which but too frequently happens in hot summers. The moment any person has been bit by a dog (whether mad or not) the wound should be dressed with salt and water, or a pickle made of vinegar and saltthe dog should not be killed till it is fully ascertained that it is mad. In which case, send immediately for medical aid, and till it arrives, excite a profuse sweat by friction with tepid oil, which will serve to expel the poison or to destroy its activity. Any medicine that may be afterwards taken, should be continued for at least forty days, during which time the patient should abstain from flesh and all salted and high seaconed provisions. He must avoid strong liquors, and live mostly upon a light and rather spare diet.

Poisonous Plants.

IT is the happiness of this island, Dr BUCHAN observes, to have very few poisonous animals, and those which we have are by no means of the most virulent kind.

We cannot, however, make the same observation with regard to poisonous vegetables. These abound every where, and prove often fatal to the ignorant and unwary. This indeed is chiefly owing to carelessness. Children ought early to be cautioned against eating any kind of fruit, roots, or berries, which they do not know; and all poisonous plants to which they can have access, ought as far as possible, to be destroyed. This would not be so difficult a task as some people imagine.

Poisonous plants have no doubt their use, and they ought to be propagated in proper places; but as they prove often destructive to cattle, they should be rooted out of all pasture grounds. They ought likewise, for the safety of the human species, to be destroyed in the neighbourhood of all towns and villages; which, by the bye, are the places where they most commonly abound. I have seen the poisonous hemlock, henbane, wolfsbane, and deadly night-shade, all growing within the environs of a small town, where, though several persons within the memory of those living in it, had lost their lives by one or other of these plants, yet no method that I could hear of, had ever been taken to root them out; though this might be done at a very trifling expense.

When any poisonous substance has been taken into the stomach, it ought, as soon as possible, to be discharged by vomits, clysters, and purges; and, when poison has been received into the body by a wound, it should be expelled by medicines which promote the different secretions, especially those of sweat, urine, and insensible perspiration; to which may be joined antispasmodics, or such medicines as take off tension and irritation; the chief of which are opium, muska camphire, and assafoetida.

T

I

HAIL thee, meek-eyed PEACE, allied to Heaven,
The choicest boon to mankind ever given;

The poor man's friend, the rich man's surest guard,
Support of commerce, industry's reward;
The bane of faction, antidote to strife,
Source of each joy, and bond of social life.
May thy soft influence ever bliss our Isle,
May Trade still flourish, and may Plenty smile!

O when shall man his truest int'rest know?
When shall his breast with kind affections glow?
'When shall his love, free, active, unconfin'd,
Embrace the interests of all mankind?

No seas shall bound it, and no space controul
The mutual feelings of each gen'rous soul:
No shade of colour, difference of sect;
No thirst of pow'r the bond of peace shall break.

Descend, bright Sp'rit of mercy, from above,
Breathe into man a portion of thy love;
Bid the rough passions of his breast be still,
With concord, harmony, his bosom fill;
Allay the transports of his guilty rage,
And mend the manners of a vicious age.
Then shall true glory lie in doing good,
And magnanimity in sparing blood;

All men embrace each other as their brothers,
And each respect the equal rights of others.
And love shall reign, and universal peace,
And sanguinary wars forever cease.

Σ -n, May 5th, 1814.

ALEXIS

ON SUMMER.

SEE
Summer comes, deck'd in her gay attire;
All nature now assumes her brighest hue.
The hills and vales conspire to sing thy praise,
God of the seasons. The meadows and the fields,
(Array'd in verdure and bedeck'd with flowers,)
The silver lake, the gently murm'ring rill,
The beauteous garden, and the shady wood,
In vast variety now meet the eye.

All we behold is gay; the sportive lambkins,
In wanton frolic skip around their dams.
There's not a creature but now shows its joy-
The winged songsters raise their tuneful notes,
And charm the ear with their melodious song.
The sprightly lark, shrill herald of the morn;
The nightingale, chief warbler of the
grove;
The linnet, thrush, and all the feather'd tribes,
Now make the woodlands ring with notes of praise:
And shall man then be last? Shall mar the chief
Of all his maker's works on earth below,
(For whom alone the various seasons roll)
Be last to sing that bounteous maker's praise?
Let every object which we now behold,

The hills and vales, the woods and verdant fields,
In all their beauty, raise the soul to him
Whom universal nature owns as Lord.

Edin. 11th May, 1814.

A CONSTANT READER.

A NIGHT THOUGHT.

MY frame now weary with the toils of day,
(Allotted by kind providence for me,)

I lay me down in peace, without dismay,
in hopes the cheering rays of morn to see.
So when the day of life draws to a close,

And all my wand'rings, cares, and toils are o’er,
Then shall the grave's dark shade be my repose,
Till night shall cease, and time shall be no more.
Then to the clouds triumphant let me soar,
To meet the Lord, who once for sinners died;
And to the captives set an open door,

That he from prison might them safely lead.
O'er all the billows of this life I'll toil,
In hopes of landing on that happy shore,
Where no false
shall my
vapour
heart beguile,
Nor anxious care molest me any more,

H.

CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.

WOULD not enter on my list of friends (Though grac'd with polish'd manners and fine sense, Yet wanting sensibility) the man

Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.
An inadvertent step may crush the snail,
That crawls at evening in the public path ;
But he that has humanity, forewarn'd,
Will tread aside, and let the reptile live.
The creeping vermin, loathsome to the sight,
And charg'd perhaps with venom, that intrudes
A visitor unwelcome into scenes

Sacred to neatness and repose, th' alcove,
The chamber, or refectory, may die :
A necessary act incurs no blame.

Not so, when held within their proper bounds,
And guiltless of offence, they range the air,
Or take their pastime in the spacious field:
There they are privileg'd. And he that hunts
Or harms them there, is guilty of a wrong;
Disturbs th' economy of Nature's realm,
Who, when she form'd, design'd them an abode.
Ye therefore who love mercy, teach your sons
To love it too. The spring-time of our years
Is soon dishonoured and defil'd, in most,
By budding ills, that ask a prudent hand
To check them. But alas! none sooner shoots,
If unrestrain'd, into luxuriant growth,
Than cruelty most dev'lish of them all.
Mercy to him that shows it is the rule
And righteous limitation of its act,

By which Heaven moves in pard'ning guilty man:
And he that shows none being ripe in years,
And conscious of the outrage he commits,
Shall seek it, and not find it in his turn.

NOTES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

COWPER.

THE favours of a Constant Reader, Pacis Amator, Vigil Observator, and J. G. are received.

We are highly gratified by the increasing encomiums bestowed on our labours by so many gentlemen whose judgment we prize; and if we cannot comply with the wishes of those friends, who have expressed a hope that The CHEAP MAGAZINE shall be continued after the termination of the present volume, we have at least determined that the few remaining numbers shall comprehend as much matter as possible, and have already commenced (as our readers will observe) printing closer in this.

Haddington; Printed and Published by G. MILLER & SON

LEWIS begins his task... Promises on both sides... The importance of truth...Difficulty of conquering bad habits ...The patience of Lewis...His method of checking a relapse... His great success in a short time...A way to prevent family quarrels... First quarterly meeting... Dick's gratitude to his brother...Lewis confesses his obligations to Lady L.'s book... Betty dics...Hammel and George get leave of absence from Edinburgh... Their improved appearance...Devotional exercises... Pleasing Reflections. The morning walk.

THE children were allowed to accompany their father and uncle in escorting their cousins part of their way, and on returning, Betty had some bread and milk in readiness in the room. The children never had been permitted to eat there, since they had ceased to be playthings, till this evening at tea. On beholding their supper laid in the parlour they looked glad surprise. "You shall always have your meals here, and be my young companions and friends," said Lewis, "if you earnestly strive to conquer VOL. II.

BB

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