EARNESTNESS. was as good a shot as a Swiss marksman, and that it always aimed at the eye, as he had found from woeful experience. However this may be, it is a fact, and a singular one, that when removed from its native tree and fed in captivity, it loses this power of ejection. No injury need be feared from the forked apparatus at the tail of this larva; from these it pushes forth a pair of inner horns or tontacula (as shown in the figure), and it is inferred that these are of use to drive off insect enemies. In the course of about eight weeks this larva is full grown; and, after a day or two's restlessness, it begins to form a cocoon, in which, as a pupa, it may rest during the winter. The outline of this is silk; and, when at large, it selects for this purpose some cranny in the bark of a tree. As it proceeds, it nibbles off portions of the wood, and combines them with a sort of gummy matter. This all becomes shortly so hard as to resist 129 the point of a knife. When confined in a box, it will bite off portions of the paper with which it is lined, and interweave them with its silk. An observer once forced some of these larva to construct their cocoons beneath a glass tumbler, and their cocoon was then formed entirely of gum, and resembled horn when finished, being sufficiently transparent to allow of the pupa being seen through. In May or June the moth emerges, and succeeds in escaping from this hard case by means of an acid fluid with which it softens and at length penetrates the cell. It may sometimes be seen low on the willow trunks, in the act of drying its wings after emergence. But we must close, though we have not exhausted the history of our friend "the puss." Let our readers look for it, and watch its proceedings themselves. J. R. S. CLIFFORD. EARNESTNESS. "Life is earnest.' No matter where or how we are placed we must have earnestness. The apprentice must be in earnest in order to learn his business thoroughly. The student must be in earnest, or he will never make himself master of his art. The candidate for office must be in earnest, that he may be able to gain the requisite vote. The junior clerk must be in earnest, if he would obtain early promotion. The errand-boy must be in earnest to deliver his message and parcels quickly, or there is but a poor chance of advancement for him. Then sup pose that each of these has, through earnestness, gained his end. The apprentice has learned his trade; does he still need earnestness? Yes; for without it he cannot become a skilled workman, or be successful in business. The student has become acquainted with his art, but he must still labour to gain and maintain a reputation and connection for the practice of it. The candidate has succeeded, but he cannot honestly hope to attain a higher appointment except he devote his energies to the service. The junior clerk is now no longer a junior, and hopes one day to become the senior; but how can he hope to do so by other than the same means whereby he has obtained his present promotion? The errandboy has, after many months of hard toil, gained one step up the ladder; and by dint only of the same earnestness he will mount the higher steps-from chief messenger to salesman, from salesman to foreman, from foreman to manager, ay, and from that he may rise to a partnership in the very firm into which he, years ago (and this has often been the case), entered as an errand boy! Depend upon it, friends, there is nothing like earnestness. Nor is an earnest spirit necessary Time is earnest-passing by ; MEN OF THE MONTH. Of all the instruments invented by man, by which the range of human thought has been enlarged, the Telescope must have the first place. Discovered, as to its leading principle, about the same time as the microscope-towards the close of the sixteenth century, its powers were soon enlarged by various eminent philosophers, who diligently investigated the optical laws which regulate the passage of light through different substances. The old telescopes, however, laboured under a defect which most persons have noticed in looking through modern instruments of inferior construction-the images produced were somewhat indistinct, and exhibited fringes of colour round their edges. was therefore conceived by James Gregory about the middle of the seventeenth century; but the actual construction of the "Gregorian telescope," as it is called, was accomplished by the illustrious Newton, who applied himself especially to the perfecting of that instrument, on the following grounds. He considered that telescopes of the ordinary or refracting kind could not possibly be made to produce colourless images, because, to put the matter in the simplest language, the law by which the magnified image was formed involved the production of the fringes also. Newton, therefore, gave up what he deemed a hopeless task, and other investigators did not venture to dispute the conclusions of so high The idea of a reflecting telescope an authority. Thus, strange to say, MEN OF THE MONTH. the discoverer of the composition of light became an obstructor of the progress of optical science ! He On the 10th June, 1706, the family of a poor weaver in Spitalfields, named Dollond, received an accession in the birth of a son. Obscure as was this origin, the circumstances by which the child was surrounded soon became still more unfavourable, his mother being left a widow while little John was yet an infant. therefore enjoyed but few educational advantages. But while a mere boy, he displayed a decided taste for mathematical study, amusing himself by solving geometrical problems and constructing sun-dials. Necessity soon made him a silk weaver by trade, but the thirst for knowledge was equally strong, and John Dollond steadily improved his scanty leisure by an ardent pursuit of his favourite studies. We read of him next as settled in life, with children growing up around him; working hard for his family by day, and reading and experimenting by night. Thus he contrived to become a proficient in various branches of natural philosophy, to attain a considerable acquaintance with divinity and anatomy, and so far to master the Latin and Greek languages, as to be able to translate the New Testament from the one into the other. Here is a remarkable instance of what earnest perseverance and economy of time may accomplish, even when the pupil is compelled to become his own instructor. Not till he had passed the age of forty did Mr Dollond find an opportunity for the practical application of his philosophical acquirements. But in 1782 he was enabled to relinquish 131 the silk trade and join his eldest son, who had begun business as an optician, having inherited his father's tastes, and enjoyed his father's instructions. The elder partner now displayed his genius in improving and perfecting optical instruments, and the firm soon became distinguish. ed for its successful efforts in this direction. Meanwhile the telescope remained as Newton had left it. The great mathematician, Euler, attempted to meet the difficulties which had foiled the English philosopher; but without success. Dollond had published a paper in which he declared Euler's calculations to be at variance with one of Newton's experiments; to which Euler had replied. Dollond subsequently became convinced that both Euler and himself were in error, and his suspicions were excited that even Newton had been mistaken also. This bold and unprecedented idea was tested by a long series of experiments resulting in the clearest proof that the inference was well founded, and that the supposed insurmountable obstacle to the improvement of the telescope was founded in mistake. Next came the practical application of this brilliant discovery. By skilful combinations of plans of different kinds, Dollond produced instruments in which the coloured fringes were so reduced as to be scarcely visible at all: though some men of science scarcely ventured to believe the testimony of their own eyes. The truth of Dollond's conclusion was at length duly recognized abroad as well as at home, and he was honoured by the Royal Society not only with a fellowship in that distinguished body, but also with only guess at, and waiting till Prothe Copley Medal awarded to emi-vidence opened out for him a way of nent discoverers. Thus was produced the Achromatic Telescope, the work of a self-taught man, born in obscurity, and favoured with no help from fortune. It raised him to a position of deserved distinction, and conferred lasting benefits upon scientific observation. Slowly but surely he had plodded on from boyhood, accumulating knowledge, the practical use of which he could employing his natural gifts and acquired resources. Well says the Eastern proverb, "A stone that is fit for the wall is not left in the way." Doubtless, there are exceptions to this rule, yet those who seek and own the guidance of a Friend above will assuredly be brought into those positions and circumstances best fitted to enable them to glorify God and benefit their fellow-men. THE DEW-DROP. A tear-drop of the morning I looked it shone-a diamond, I saw thus how a water-drop hues As arching rainbows wear; And I thought how many an action, Of simplest, lowliest guise, May yet beneath the beam of heaven May show such beauteous motive Two mites, that make a farthing, Can buy a deathless name. The soothing sigh, the cheering smile Is written in His book. Fear not, then, lowly Christian; The dew that waits the dawning And bright shall shine thy jewell'd crown When Christ shall bring the day! FOURTH PAPER. CLISSON, situated upon the borders of three provinces, was the last place we visited, before our faces were again turned homewards. Here, however, the Breton element is lost, indeed we seem to have passed away from it some time before reaching Nantes. In the vicinity of Nantes are many places of interest and of beauty; rich in both of these is Clisson. Thither we drove on a bright sunshiny morning, and leaving Nantes at an early hour, we crossed over the bridges that join the islets of the Loire together and into the country, which however, for the distance of a few miles is flat and monotonous, but soon the richer aspect of a more southerly region is visible, and here we have our first view of the vineries of France; indeed they so cover the hills and meadows around that the whole landscape is tinted with the vine's peculiar green. Not upon poles, as in other places, do they grow here, but the shoots branch out each year from the old stump. These shoots are unsupported, and the bunches cluster thickly around the stump. In the fields around, peach trees grow plentifully; large, like our apple trees, and even the poorest cottage walls are hung all over with bunches of grapes; indeed the fruitfulness of the country is so |