ly forced to sit down in an arm chair that stood in the grand hall. No sooner was he seated, when the chair flew up with him to a great height. The King, with his whole court, now made his appearance on a gallery opposite to Abell, and, at the same time, a number of wild bears, of which there never was yet a scarcity in that country, were driven into the hall. The poor vocalist almost dead with fright, was now addressed by the King, and was left to choose, either to sing instantly, or to be let down and to await his fate among the unceremonious inhabitants of the desert. Which part poor Abell took it is needless to mention, but the facetious narrator of this, well-authenticated anecdote says, Abell could not resist such a powerful mode of persuasion, and whether con amore or not, he sang so beautifully that the King and bears listened in silent admiration. Gerber Worterbuch, part i. p. 10. Affection with Simplicity.Tradition informs us that Sir Walter Raleigh being at his house, near Dartmouth, sent his servant to fetch him a pitcher of spring water. While the man was gone, the Knight filled a pipe, and began to smoke tobacCO. The artless fellow, on his return, having never seen the like before, concluded his master's brain to be on fire, and that the smoke proceeded from thence, when, with the best intention, the simpleton cast the contents of the pitcher in his master's face, exclaiming," that he would put out the fire," &c, It is thus versified : Tiger Fascination. Much has been said and written of the fascinating power possessed by the serpent, but the no less extraordinary similar gift (if it may be so termed) extended to the tiger, has seldom been noticed. Col. Ironside has informed us, that when a tiger is spied by deer particularly, they stop at once, as if struck by a spell, while the tiger lies still, his eyes fixed upon them, and quietly awaiting their approach, which they seldom fail to make, gradually, till within his spring; for the large royal tiger cannot run speedily or far. The glow of their eyes is fierce and powerful. I once passed,' says Col. I. a royal tiger in the night, near a wood, and could plainly perceive the scintillations of his eyes. When tigers roam or crouch, collect or hover about them, a number of birds continually screaming and crying as if to create an alarm. But the peacock seems to be particularly allured by them; for the instant a flock of pea-fowl perceive one, they advance towards him and begin See Raleigh's witless 'squire in haste strutting round him, with wings fluttering, quivering feathers, and return, bristling and expanded tails. Of this sentiment, also, the fowlers take their advantage; for, by painting a brown cloth screen about six feet square, with black spots or streaks, and advancing under its cover fronting the sun, the birds either approach towards him, or suffer them to steal near enough to be sure of their mark, by a hole left in the canvas for them to fire through. When peacocks perceive a tiger (whose eyes, when either enraged, or keen or eager for prey, appear as if emitting scintillations) they seem enchanted, look steadily at their enemy, and keep gradually and regularly approaching, till within his reach, when he springs upon and devours them. I have often thought that a pretty moral might be adduced from this fact. The tiger is certainly the handsomest of the feline species; and the beauty of the peacock is as striking, as vanity is notorious. Is it that these two beauties vie with each. other in display? Or, are the allurements spread by the peacocks the occasion of their destruction? This I am sure of, that we often see among the human species, instances of rivalship, which begin in coquettish attractions, proceed to unaccountable fascinations, and end in worse than tigrine ferocity. B. An old Officer.-It was his custom to make his children read a chapter in the Bible every Sunday afternoon. Upon mention being made of Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, coming to Jerusalem, (2 Kings, xxv. S.) he stopped the reader, and cried out in a tone of voice that showed how much he was interested in the matter, Good God! is that it any thing else; or the mere rope once sent on board will furnish the means for the shipwrecked person's preservation.' This he effects by throwing a shot from a mortar with a line attached to it, over the stranded vessel. Our limits will not allow us to enter into the simple though Jucid details with which he illustrates his plan, but we present the reader with an accurate representation of the apparatus and its uses. A. Night Ball. B. Man carrying apparatus. C. Ditto. D. D. Mortar and line in the act of being fired over the wreek. E. Grappling shot. F. Mortar, (supplied by S. Moore, Yarmouth, price 10 gs.) G. Large mortar calculated to project a 24lb. shot, with inch and half rope 200 yards, or deep sea line 270 yards, against the utmost power of the wind. H. Smaller mortar, calculated to project a small line when the vessel is stranded at a considerable distance from the depot of the larger mortar, thus hastening the moment of communication in cases of extreme danger, as by this means a larger rope may be drawn on board. I. The line coiled and the ball fixed ready for projection. is Capt. Manby has thus provided the means of almost certain communication both by day and night with distressed vessels; as the night ball is provided with a hollow case of thick pasteboard, with a fuze and quick match, and charged with about 50 fire balls, and a sufficiency of powder to inflame them. The fuze is so graduated that the shell shall explode at the height of 300 yards. The balls spread a brilliant light for nearly a minute, and give a clear view of every surrounding object. But the proudest testimony of its utility and efficacy is in the simple fact, that from the month of Feb. 1808, to Jan. 1827, it has been the means of saving from impending destruction 410 fellow-creatures. and the preservation of 58 vessels, many of them of considerable value. A TALE OF THE SIMPLON. NEITHER pen nor pencil can describe the wondrous depth of those valleys, nor the awe-inspiring majesty of those rocks, amid which the thunder cloud and the storm wanders as pilgrims that have mistaken their way. But there are thousands of our countrymen who have travelled over the Simplon, and to them description were useless. Such scenes, once beheld, are engraven too deeply on the memory to be effaced by aught save the great destroyer, Death. It was ten years ago, last September, that an English traveller, whom curiosity had led from the Simplon village to explore new scenery, was sitting under the shade of a beetling mass of rock, from which the struggling rhododendron of the Alps thrust forth its tough sinewy branches, blooming in purple beauty. His companions were, an Alpine hunter, beside whom lay a beautiful chamois, which had fallen a victim that morning to the fatal precision of his rifle,-and a young peasant, named Basile, from the little village of Berisaal. They had walked far that day, though it was but the grim and sultry hour of noon;' but when their light and exhilarating repast was ended, their youthful spirits suffered them not to rest idly till the clouds should have passed away which covered the distant summit of Mount Rose. The Englishman amused himself by setting stones in motion and watching their progress down the mountain side, and Basile entered warmly into the sport, exclaiming ever and anon, as he saw the stranger's emotion, that there was no country like Switzerland. The hunter, who had at first looked on with contempt, joined in the sport when he found that some small bets offered by Basile, had been good-humouredly taken by the Englishman,-and three more thoughtless, noisy gamblers never played at so foolish and mischievous a game. Their emu lation was at length excited by vain endeavours to reach a certain point with their ponderous missiles, which all lodged calmly on a projecting table of the mountain, and considerably short of the mark, though many hundred feet below them. Here, Basile!' cried the hunter, help me to move this stone.' Basile eager in the sport, ran to his assistance; and with their poles as levers, and by cutting away the clasping vegetation with their knives, they soon unbedded the wished-for prize, which lay on the upper side of the rock under the shadow of which they had rested. This rock was an irregular mass of granite, about 20 feet in height where it hung over toward the valley, and was known among the mountaineers by the name of Le Pavillon, or the Tent-on account of the shelter it afforded from the sun and the storm. For more centuries than it is permitted to man to trace back the ope⚫ rations of nature, it had lain there, gradually sinking deeper on the lower side. Mon Dieu !' cried the huntsman, what noise is that?' Basile looked aghast, and with pale trembling lips, mutter ed, ' It moves!' What moves?' asked the hunter. Le Pavillon,' replied the other, and the Englishman is beneath it.' 'Monsieur! monsieur!' shouted the hunter with admirable presence of mind, and the traveller ran toward them. At that moment, in compliance with the laws of gravitation, to obey which it was now at liberty, the huge mass bent forward its hoary front, snapping like threads of tow the complicated roots and the vegetation of ages, which had matted round, and, as it were, chained it to the mountain side. The young men were standing near the upper side, when (overbalanced by the impending weight beneath which they had been reposing) it seemed to rise from out of the earth like a thing of life.' The Englishman gazed in silent awe, as the ponderous fragment at first reeled slowly forward, as though incredulous of its release, and anon leapt down the steep resistless. It had reached the projecting table which had been the boundary of their amusementa crash like thunder was heard, and a chasm was seen at the brink of the ledge through which it had forced its way into a forest of pines below, where, for a few seconds, it was concealedthen, with renewed fury, it sprang forward. The hunter had been looking on hitherto with a feeling of pride-it was his native mountain-his native valleythe grandeur of the whole scene around was all his own-and he smiled in triumph. But his eye was from habit quicker than those of his companions; his countenance changed-he snatched the Englishman's telescope-levelled it in an instant to the valley, and exclaimed, Oh, misericorde !' 'What do you see?' cried his companions. "Oh! mercy, mercy! Santa Maria !' ejaculated the hunter, falling on his knees.— Speak?' shouted Basile, what is it?' Save her, save her! Oh, God!' cried the huntsman ; 6 |