gether in a point at the top; movable houses were also made of the skins of beasts, stretched over a pole of a similar form. These were the earliest tents; but how long ago it is since the eastern nations, who were the first inhabitants of this earth, had such kinds of habitations, is not known.

We know that, at the present day, all savage nations have rude houses. The Icelanders build them of snow, as seen in pictures; and the Indians of America, as well as the savages of the South Sea islands, of the wilds of Africa and New Holland, form their huts in the rudest manner. We know, also, that the Irish mud cabins, and the Scotch hovels, and some of the English cottages, are not a great deal better than the huts of savages.

But, if you look at the buildings in our towns and cities, you will find them to be very different from the rude hut, wigwam, or snowhouse; you will observe that they are much larger, and of far greater beauty.

It is of some interest for us to inquire how houses are built, and about the materials of which they are made; and, lastly, of the different styles of architecture: for houses and temples were built of different forms in different ages, and are now very different in Asia from what they are in Europe and America.

Houses have walls, roofs, doors, chimneys, rooms, passages, stairs, floors, closets, sinks, cellars, pantries, kitchens.

The roof of a house is the top of it, and is built aslant, so that when it rains the water may run off. A frame-work of wood is made, which is first covered with boards, and afterwards with shingles or slates.

The walls of a house are made either of bricks or stones, laid one on the top of the other, and joined together by cement or mortar, or of wood.

The chimneys proceed from the fire

place to the top of the house, and come out through the roof, above which they are carried up several feet; on their top is often an earthen pot, called a chimney-pot. The use of a chimney is to carry off the smoke. Chimneys have not been thought of above a thousand years; before this time the smoke used to go out at a hole in the roof. This is the case now in the worst of Scotch and Irish cabins.

The doors of houses are made of pine or oak, and sometimes of mahogany; they swing on hinges, and have locks and catches to fasten them. Their use is to keep the cold out, and to connect one room with another, or the house with the street.

The rooms of houses are of various kinds. The houses of very poor people serve them for parlor and kitchen, and bed-room, which is very unhealthy. The house of a tradesman generally consists of a shop, a back parlor, a drawing-room, and several bed-rooms, with kitchen and cellar.

The houses of people who are rich consist of a great variety of apartments: -a saloon, a hall, a picture-gallery, a large dining-room, library, dressingrooms, breakfast-rooms, and many others. The house, or dwelling, of a king, a prince, is called a palace, which is generally very large, and contains many other apartments, fitted up in the most splendid manner.

The passages in a house lead from one room to another; the stairs lead to the bed-chambers, or other upper apartments; the floors of the rooms are generally made of pine or oak. The former are usually covered with painted canvass called oil-cloth, and the latter with carpet.

The cellar of a house is generally under ground, and is used for keeping coals, wood, beer, and wine in. Closets are for the purpose of placing clothes and linen in security; the pantry and larder are for provisions of various

kinds; and the kitchen is a place to cook our food in.

Edwin, the Rabbit-Fancier.

"EDWIN was a very tender-hearted boy, and very eager about a thing when he took it into his head; but his enthusiasm very often left him just at the time it ought to have remained with him. Thus he never pursued any study or amusement for any length of time with profit to himself, and often fell into very grievous errors.

"Oh! dear mamma,' said he one day to his mother, 'I do wish so that I had something for a pet; there is Charles Jones has a sweet little bird, and cousin James has a squirrel. I should so like something for a pet. Do, mamma, buy me something-a Guinea pig, or a couple of pigeons, or a rabbit. Oh! I saw such a beautiful white rabbit yesterday!

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Ay, my dear,' said his mamma, 'I am afraid you would soon grow tired of your rabbit, as you did of your gun, and bow and arrow, and ship, and rockinghorse.'

"Oh, but a rabbit is quite different, mamma; you can love a rabbit, you know, and coax it, and feed it, and make it happy. I should go out early in the morning, and pick some nice clover for it, and some thistle, and dandelion, and marsh-mallows. I know how to feed rabbits-I have learned all about it. I must not give them too much green stuff, but some nice bran and oats; and then I could make a little trough for it to eat from, you know; and-and-’

"I am sure, my dear, it would be too much trouble to you; rabbits require a great deal of care and attention, and you so soon get tired of anything you take up, that I fear it would soon suffer from neglect.'

Now, although Edwin was a little boy, he said to himself, 'I know it is only because mamma wishes to save her money; 'tis not because she really thinks I shall neglect the rabbit, but because she does not like to part with her money.' -He thought himself very cunning; did he not?

"So Edwin began to pout and whine, and to tease his mamma, being determined to let her have no peace.

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"You know, mamma,' said he,' I shall be so fond of it; I will make it a house; and then I could cut down some grass, and dry it, and make hay for it to lie upon; and I could sow some oats for it in my garden; I should not want anything else to amuse me all the year round.'

"Whether to humor Edwin, or to teach him a lesson, I will not say, but his mamma gave him a shilling, and off he ran, and purchased the milk-white, red-eyed rabbit.

Joyful enough was he when he brought it home: he paraded it round the house, showed it to every member of the family, housemaid, gardener, footman, and cook; and everybody praised the rabbit, and said it was a most beautiful creature.

"The next morning Edwin rose betimes, and began to look for wood to build his rabbit-hutch. He procured saw, nails, and hammer; and at last found some old planks, and began to saw them, and cut them, and chisel and plane, till his little arms ached again.

"He had soon cut two or three pieces of board up, but to no purpose; one was

too short, and another too long; a third had a knot in it; and a fourth was spoiled in splitting. Vexed with his want of success, Edwin said, 'I shall not make him a house to-night-he must be content with being fastened in the coal-hole to-night-he will have plenty of room to run about.'

"So Bunny was put into the coal-hole with a handful of cabbage-leaves, and told to make himself happy till the morning; and, as it happened to be a holiday, Edwin went to amuse himself by letting off fireworks.

"In the morning Edwin went to the coal-hole to look after Bunny. There it was, sure enough; but instead of its being a beautiful white rabbit, by hopping about among the coals it had become almost as black as the coals themselves.

It was difficult to say which was the dirtiest of the two, Edwin or his rabbit. The little boy, however, being quite out of patience, made no further effort, but shut the coal-hole door, and in great trouble ran to the nursery-maid to put him into cleaner trim. He did not go again into the place where the rabbit was that day, and so the poor thing was kept without food, for Edwin totally forgot he had not fed his pet.

"However, the next day he again repaired to the place, and, having caught Bunny, took it into the stable-yard, and put it into an unoccupied pig-sty. The first intention of making a house was quite given up, and Edwin began to think his rabbit a great plague; he, however, gave it some more cabbage leaves, and left it.

"The fact was, Edwin was getting tired of his rabbit; he, however, bought it a few oats, and gave it a little hay. He went out for a few mornings and gathered a little clover, but in less than a week this was thought to be a great deal of trouble; besides which, the rabbit seemed lame, and did not look so pretty as it did at first.

"At last, Edwin quite forgot his rabbit for two days, and when he went to look at it he was surprised to find it lying on its side. He called, Bunny, Bunny. The poor thing looked at him, and seemed pleased to see him, for its long ears moved as if it was.

"Edwin took it up; it seemed to have lost the use of its hind legs; it squeaked when it was touched; and so the little boy laid it down again. He felt it all over-it was very thin, and seemed half starved.

"Edwin now ran and got a saucerfull of oats, and placed it beside the poor thing; he also ran to the next field, and plucked some nice sow-thistle, and gave it to eat. Bunny looked grateful, and tried to eat, but could not.

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Edwin, in placing his hand down by its side, felt the beatings of its heart; it went beat, beat, beat-throb, throb, throb, quicker than a watch; and every now and then its head twitched, and the skin of its jaw drew up, as if it were in great pain.

"And yet the poor animal seemed glad to have some one by its side, and rubbed its nose against Edwin's hand; and then it panted again, and its eyes grew dim: it was dying. Poor little Edwin now began to cry.

"Oh! my poor dear, dear, dear Bunny,' said he, what shall I do to make you well?-oh! what would I give? Oh! I have killed you, for I know I have. Oh! my poor dear Bunny-let me kiss you, dear Bunny.' Here the little fellow stooped down to kiss his rabbit. Just

Ay,' said his mamma, who was called to the spot by his outcries; 'I feared it would be thus:who would think a house-bred rabbit could live in a damp pig-sty? The poor thing has been destroyed by neglect.'

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"Oh, yes, dear mamma, do not scold me; I know I have been very naughty. Oh, I do love my dear rabbit ;-I love it more now it is dead than I did when it was alive;-but is it really dead, mamma?—no; is it?—it is quite warm, and may get well again,-say it will, there's a dear, dear mother;' and then he cried again.

"The rabbit was, however, dead; and had caught its death in the way Edwin's mamma supposed, by being ill fed, and kept in a damp place, by thoughtless, if not cruel neglect.

"Edwin was overcome with grief,but it was now too late. Sad was the next night to him, for something told him he had been cruel to that which he had promised to love. He got no sleep; and early in the morning he arose, and went to the place where his pet was laid. "He wept all the next day; and, in the evening, he dug a grave in his own little garden, close by the side of a young rose tree. Then he wrapped the body in some nice hay, and laid it in its narrow cell, and placed rose-leaves upon it, and covered it gently with the earth; and his heart was like to burst when he heaped the mould over it, and he was forced to pause in his task by the full gushing of his tears. 12

VOL. IIL

THE next morning was fair, and we glided rapidly down the river. The banks on each side were hilly, and presented several small towns to our view. At length we noticed on the western border a tall blue mountain, which seemed to rise up like a vast thundercloud. This I was told was called the Kattskill. It consists of many peaks, with deep ravines, and beautiful waterfalls between them. The scenery among these mountains is so wild and interesting that many people visit them every year. Opposite to these mountains is the city of Hudson. We stopped there about an hour. I found it quite a small place then, but now it has seven thousand inhabitants.

Having taken on board three or four persons, with a quantity of butter, cheese, and other articles for New York, we departed and proceeded down the river. The scenery was still very beautiful. The river wound between tall mountains, which came down to the water's edge, and seemed sometimes to encircle it, so

as to make it appear like a lake. But, as we proceeded, the vast mountains appeared to recede, and open a passage for us. Frequently we passed close to the shore, and I could not but admire the wonderful beauty of the trees that clothed the sides of the mountain. It was autumn, you remember, and the leaves were of many colors; some were yellow, some red, some purple, and some green. There was something sad about all this; for we knew that these bright hues are but the signs of coming death. We knew that this coat of many colors which is thrown over the mountain, making it appear so gay, is but a gaudy mantle that will soon give place to the winter winding-sheet of snow. But still, even though the woods in autumn may be a little melancholy, I do not like them the less for that. As I passed As I passed along the mountain slopes, catching glimpses between the trees into the valleys, or far away between the tops of the peaks, seeming to float in a sea of azure, I felt as if I could make the woods my home forever!

The next day we passed by a lofty cliff, called West Point, where old Fort Putnam is situated, and where there is now an academy in which young men receive a military education. This was a famous place in the revolutionary war. Here was the scene of Benedict Arnold's treachery. He was entrusted with the command of this fort by Washington, who had great confidence in him; but Arnold was a bad man, and he secretly agreed to give up the fort to the British, if they would pay him a large sum of money, and give him a command in their army. Major André, a British officer, came up the river from New York, and met Arnold one night to arrange the

scheme.

On his return, André was taken by some Americans, and brought before Washington. He was tried as a spy,

and, being convicted, was sentenced to death, this being according to the usages of war. André was a fine young officer, and Washington wished very much to save his life. But this he could not accomplish consistently with his duty to his country.

*

André was confined at a house in the town of Bedford, next to Salem, and my friend Mat Olmsted recollected perfectly well to have seen him there. He described him as a tall young man, with blue eyes, his hair powdered white, and wearing a red coat. Matthew told me a great many stories about him. He said all the people were very sorry to have him executed. When he passed along between the files of soldiers to the scaffold, there was scarcely an individual who did not weep. Tears even rolled down the rugged cheeks of the soldiers, who had been accustomed to scenes of battle and bloodshed.

André alone seemed firm and collected. He walked erect, and such was his presence of mind when he ascended the scaffold, that happening to soil his coat by pressing against one of the posts, he calmly took out his handkerchief and brushed the dust away. This was a kind of sign and illustration of his life and character. Though he was a spy, he did not die dishonored; but the dignity of his bearing brushed away the soil upon the soldier, and he perished amid the regrets of those whom war had made his enemies, leaving behind him thousands of hearts to mourn his untimely fate.

The day after we passed West Point we saw something coming up the river, paddling through the water, and smoking away at a great rate. Mat said it must be a Dutchman, and a cousin to our Captain Volcano; but we were told it was a steamboat! I had heard of such a thing, but had never seen one. There had been a good deal said in the news