cause it can traverse the hard, frozen surface of the snow with considerable speed, although with a strange, awkward gait. Its usual pace is a swinging trot, but so light is its action, and so long are its legs, that it quietly trots over obstacles which a horse could not easily leap, because the frozen surface of the snow, although competent to withstand the regular trotting force, could not endure the sudden impact of a horse when leaping.

As an example of the curious trot of this animal, I may mention that, on one occasion, an elk was seen to trot, uninterruptedly, over a number of fallen tree-trunks, some of which were nearly five feet in diameter.

It is a remarkable fact that the split hoofs of the elk spread widely when the foot is placed on the ground, coming together again with a loud snap when it is raised. In consequence of this peculiarity, the elk's progress is rather noisy, the crackling sounds of the hoofs following each other in quick succession.

Want of food is sometimes a danger to the elk ; but the animal is taught by instinct to clear away the snow and to discover the lichens on which it chiefly lives. The carnivorous animals, however, are always fiercely hungry in the Winter-time, and gain, from necessity, a factitious courage which they do not possess at other times. As long, however, as the frost lasts, the elk cares little for such foes, as it can distance them if they chase it ever so fiercely, or oppose them, if by chance it should find itself in a place where there is no retreat. They do not like to attack an animal whose skin is so thick and tough that, when tanned, it will resist an ordinary pistol-bullet, and which has, besides, an awkward knack of striking with its forefeet like a skillful boxer, knocking its foes over, and then pounding them with its hoofs until they are dead.

But when the milder weather begins to set in, the moose is in constant danger. The warm sun falling on the snow produces a rather curious effect. The frozen surface only partially melts, and the water, mixing with the snow beneath, causes it to sink away from the icy surface, leaving a considerable space between them. The "crust," as the frozen surface is technically named, is quite strong enough to bear the weight of comparatively small animals, such as wolves, especially when they run swiftly over it; but it yields to the enormous weight of the moose, which plunges to its belly at every step.

The wolves have now the moose at an advantage. They can overtake it without the least difficulty; and if they can bring it to bay in the snow, its fate is sealed. They care little for the branching horns, but leap boldly at the throat of the hampered animal, whose terrible fore-feet are now powerless, and, by dint of numbers, soon worry it to death. Man, too, takes advantage of this state of the snow, equips himself with snow-shoes, and skims over the slight and brittle crust with perfect security. An elk, therefore, whenever abroad in the snow, is liable to many dangers, and, in order to avoid them, it makes the curious habitation which is called the elk-yard.

This Winter home, as seen in our illustration, is very simple in construction, consisting of a large space of ground on which the snow is trampled down by continually treading it, so as to form both a hard surface, on which the animal can walk, and a kind of fortress in which it can dwell securely. The whole of the space is not trodden down to one uniform level, but consists of a network of roads or passages, through which the animal can pass with ease.

So confident is the elk in the security of the "yard," that it can scarcely ever be induced to leave its snowy fortification, and pass into the open ground.

This habit renders it quite secure from the attacks of wolves, which prowl about the outside of the yard, but dare

not venture within; but unfortunately for the elk, the very means which preserve it from one danger only lead it into another. If the hunter can come upon one of these elkyards, he is sure of his quarry; for the animal will seldom leave the precincts of the snowy inclosure, and the rifle-ball soon lays low the helpless victims.

The elk is not the only animal that makes these curious fortifications, for a herd of Wapiti deer will frequently unite in forming a common home.

One of these "yards" has been known to measure be tween four and five miles in diameter, and to be a perfect network of paths sunk in the snow. So deep, indeed, is the snow, when untrodden, that when the deer traverse the paths, their backs cannot be seen above the level of the white surface.

Although of such giant size, the "yard" is not by any means a conspicuous object, and at a distance of a quarter of a mile or so, a novice may look directly at the spot without perceiving the numerous paths. This curious fact can easily be understood by those of my readers who have visited one of our modern fortifications, and have seen the slopes of turf apparently unbroken, although filled with deep trenches.

AN EXTRAORDINARY SENTENCE.

A CORRESPONDENT sends us the following extract from a sentence pronounced by Judge Reading, of Chicago, upon the liquor dealers who had violated the law by selling rum to minors. The terrible sarcasm it contains is a powerful sermon on the whole business of rum-selling :

"By the law you may sell it to men and women, if they will buy. You have given your bond and paid your license to sell to them, and no one has a right to molest you in your legal business. No matter what the consequences may be; no matter what poverty and destitution are produced by your selling according to law, you have paid your money for this privilege, and you are licensed to pursue your calling. No matter what families are distracted and rendered miserable; no matter what wives are treated with violence; what children starve or mourn over the degradation of a parent-your business is legalized, and no one may interfere with you for it. No matter what mother may agonize over the loss of a son, or sister blush at the shame of a brother, you have a right to disregard them all, and pursue your legal calling-you are licensed. You may fit up your lawful place of business in the most enticing and captivating form; you may furnish it with the most costly and elegant equipments for your own lawful trade; you may fill it with the allurements of amusement; you may use all arts to allure visitors; you may skillfully arrange and expose to view your choicest wines and captivating beverages; you may induce thirst by all contrivances to produce a raging appetite for drink, and then you may supply that appetite to the full; because it is lawful; you have paid for it—you have a license. You may allow boys and children to frequent your saloon; they may witness the apparent satisfaction with which their seniors quaff the sparkling glass; you may be schooling and training them for the period of twenty-one, when they, too, can participate-for all this is lawful. You may hold the cup to their lips; but you must not let them drink—that is unlawful. For, while you have all these privileges for the money you pay, this poor privilege of selling to children is denied you. Here parents have the right to say, 'Leave my son to me until the law gives you a right to destroy him. Do not anticipate rights of protection. That will be soon enough for me, for his sister, for his mother, for his friends, for the community, to see him take the road to death. Give him to us in his

that terrible moment when I can assert for him no further

childhood at least. Let us have a few hours of his youth, in which we can enjoy his innocence, to repay us in some degree for the care and love we have lavished upon him.' "This is something which you, who now stand prisoners at the bar, have not paid for; this is not embraced in your license. For this offense the Court sentences you to ten days' imprisonment in the county jail, and that you pay a fine of seventy-five dollars and costs, and that you stand committed until the fine and costs of this prosecution are paid."

SUGGESTIVE ILLUSTRATION.

The

PRAYER was never meant to be a substitute for labor-an easy way of throwing our responsibilities upon God. old classic story of the teamster whose cart stuck in the mud, and who fell to crying to Hercules for help instead of using effort himself, and was told by the god he invoked to put his own shoulder to the wheel, shows that even a heathen mind could see that faith was never meant to exclude works. That is a good anecdote which they tell about Mr. Moody-and an authentic one, too-in his earlier days in Chicago, when the noon-day prayer-meeting had

been established, and he was a regular attendant. Brother K., a man of wealth, rose one day, and told the meeting of an opportunity which there was to do a certain good thing, if only three or four hundred dollars could be raised for the purpose, and he urged those present to pray earnestly that it might be done. Mr. Moody was on his feet, with a sudden inspiration, saying, "Brother K., I wouldn't trouble the Lord with a little thing like that; I would do it myself." The universal smile proved that every one took the point of his joke.-Congregationalist.

A CHRISTMAS WELCOME TO THE SAVIOUR.

GUEST.

AND art Thou come, dear Saviour! Hath Thy love
Thus made Thee stoop and leave Thy throne, above
The lofty heavens, and thus to dress

In dust, to visit mortals! Could no less
A condescension serve? And, after all,
The mean reception of a cratch*-a stall!
Dear Lord, I'll fetch Thee hence. I have a room-
"Tis poor, but 'tis my best-if Thou wilt come
Within so small a cell, where I would fain
Mine and the world's Redeemer entertain.
I mean my heart. "Tis filthy, I confess,
And will not mend Thy lodging, Lord, unless
Thou send before Thine harbinger-I mean
Thy pure and purging grace-to make it clean,
And sweep its inmost corners; then I'll try
To wash it also with a weeping eye.

And when 'tis swept and washed, I then will go,
And, with Thy leave, I'll fetch some flowers that grow
In Thine own garden-Faith and Love to Thee.
With these I'll dress it up, and there shall be
My Rosemary and Bays. Yet, when my best
Is done, the room's not fit for such a Guest.
But, here's the cure-Thy presence, Lord, alone
Can make the stall a court, the cratch a throne!

The old word for manger.

PRAISE IN DEATH.

JUDGE HALE, 1659.

A FEW years ago there was a terrible storm one Winter night on the coast of Fife, in Scotland. All the boats had got in from the herring fishing but one, which struck on a six men who manned her hung clinging to her keel, amid rock just as she was entering the harbor, and upset. As the the roar of the wind and the wild dashing of the waves, that threatened every moment to sweep them to the bottom, the captain (he was a Christian young man) cried, "Now is the time to sing praise to God," and his voice rose above the howling storm :

66

'My God, I am thine!

What a comfort divine, What a blessing to know That the Saviour is mine!"

A ROMAN FAMILY ESCAPING FROM THE MAL'ARIA.

ROME and the surrounding country are exceeding unhealthy during the warmer months of the year, whether in consequence of exhalations of mephitic gas, the chemical composition of the soil, or a general disarrangement of the equilibrium of electricity, is not known. That strange, murderous, but invisible, vapor, which spreads far and wide and poisons as it goes, is a mystery even to science itself.

More than half a century ago a celebrated author, in writing of the mal'aria (literally bad air) of Rome, says: "Its cause is unknown, although it has been a subject of inquiry for over two thousand years. In 1775 it was attributed to the Pontine marshes, but since then these have been drained, yet the mal'aria has increased rather than diminished. The Campagna of Rome at the present time is

ous. But, alas! they were poor, and could not abandon their bread-giving labors. They could not fly, like foreign travelers and wealthy Romans, at the mere approach of danger. As long as their hands could labor they must keep to their toil; but when the little one drooped-the baby, and the pet of the family-then the poor mother uttered a despairing cry: "Save my child! To the Tiber, loosen our boat, let us away!" And father, sisters, and brothers, had but one thought-to obey. They embark, their hearts full of anxious fear; but gradually the seven hills sink below the horizon, and soon a breath of pure, fresh air will revive their despairing souls and carry new life to their enfeebled bodies. Hope will speedily return to them. To revive a budding flower, only a ray of sunlight is needed; to restore its freshness, but a drop of dew is required! God is merciful, and every heart in the little family lifts itself up

His mercy and the dew of His love will yet restore to them their tender flower.

tember."

Our illustration pictures a family flying from the contagion of the mal'aria, or, rather, carrying it with them. The fever is consuming the women and marring their beauty, and the blood in their veins is poison-tainted. The atmosphere is heavy and fetid, the river Tiber runs sluggishly enough, and the oar seems clogged by its yellow, muddy water. No noise, no songs-every mouth is sealed, every eye hopeless and dull. Why did they remain so long in Rome? They should have left there the month previ

self, and God's mercy apprehended in Christ, that is the Ir is not so much our faith apprehending, as Christ Himcause why God performeth the promise of His covenant

unto us.

A MAN may want liberty and yet be happy, as Joseph was; a man may want peace, and yet be happy, as David was; a man may want children, and yet be blessed, as Job was; a man may want plenty, and yet be full of comfort, as Micah was; but he that wants the Gospel wants everything that should do him good. Advancement without the Gospel, is but a going high to have the greater fall.-Owen.