odd volume, and began to read an account of a very singular country and people.

10. Each individual was furnished with a habitation, and time was allowed him, above what was necessary to provide abundantly for all his wants, to adorn and furnish it as much as he chose.

11. Some, of course, were too indolent to do any thing; and the dwelling which they had received remained unfurnished and comfortless, as at the first. Others were contented to do but very little ; while others, again, labored incessantly to procure what was inconvenient and useless.

12. Some, oddly enough, filled but one apartment to overflowing; and some, whose labor was well directed and unremitting, collected and arranged all that was useful and ornamental.

13. The halls were filled with beautiful creations of the pencil, and the most exquisite specimens of sculpture.

14. The drawing rooms were festooned with the most costly drapery. Magnificent vases were filled with fadeless flowers, diffusing the most delicious perfumes. Mirrors were arranged, that gave back not merely the features, but the thoughts and the intents of the heart.

15. The alcoves were furnished with couches so luxurious, that to repose on them was not only rest, but to be at peace; and within these apartments, strains of harmony from unseen instruments, floated continually.

16. Our friend was too literal in her feelings to perceive, as a more experienced reader very soon would have done, that the story was an allegory. The country represented the world we live in; the people, human beings universally; the habitations, the minds that God has given us; and the fitting up may be considered a rude, but rather an ingenious illustration of the degrees of knowledge and

virtue, to which different individuals attain in this life.

17. It is probable, however, that the piece made a deeper impression upon her than it would have done, had she understood its figurative import at first; for I have seldom seen a countenance express more than hers did, when she said to me, a few minutes after she had finished it, "I have learned something to-night.

18. "I never thought before, that it was necessary to work in order to be wise and good, as it is to be rich. And I am sure, that if our minds can be furnished with so much elegance by our own exertions, it is certainly worth as much labor, as it is to furnish the houses we live in."

19. Here, then, you will perceive that the mind of our young friend was presented under a similitude, which impressed upon her the truth, that her own well-directed efforts would be able to fill it with stores of useful knowledge, and the graces of refined feeling.

20. She resolved to make these efforts; and, if she perseveres, how much of the happiness of her future life will she owe to a THOUGHT

THE CRITIC.

TRANSLATED BY EPES SARGENT.

1. ONCE on a time, the nightingale, whose singing Had with her praises set the forest ringing, Consented at a concert to appear.

Of course, her friends all flocked to hear,
And with them many a critic, wide awake
To pick a flaw, or carp at a mistake.

She sang as only nightingales can sing;

And when she'd ended,

There was a general cry of " Bravo! splendid!
While she, poor thing,

Abashed and fluttering, to her nest retreated,
Quite terrified to be so warmly greeted.
The turkeys gobbled their delight; the geese,
Who had been known to hiss at many a trial,
Gave this one no denial :

It seemed as if the applause would never cease.

2. But 'mong the critics on the ground,

An ass was present, pompous and profound,
Who said, "My friends, I'll not dispute the

honor

That you would do our little prima donna.
Although her upper notes are very shrill,
And she defies all method in her trill,
She has some talent, and, upon the whole,
With study, may some cleverness attain.
Then, her friends tell me, she's a virtuous soul;
But-but—"

"But"-growled the lion, "by my mane,

I never knew an ass, who did not strain
To qualify a good thing with a but!"

"Nay," said the goose, approaching with a strut,
"Don't interrupt him, sir; pray let it pass;
The ass is honest, if he is an ass!"

3. "I was about," said Long Ear, "to remark, That there is something lacking in her whistle'; Something magnetic,

To waken chords and feelings sympathetic, And kindle in the breast a spark

Like-like, for instance, a good juicy thistle."

4. The assembly tittered, but the fox, with gravity, Said, at the lion winking,

"Our learned friend, with his accustomed suavity, Has given his opinion without shrinking; But, to do justice to the nightingale,

He should inform us, as no doubt he will, What sort of music 'tis, that does not fail His sensibilities to rouse and thrill."

5. "Why," said the critic, with a look potential, And pricking up his ears, delighted much At Reynard's tone and manner deferential, "Why, sir, there's nothing can so deeply touch My feelings, and so carry me away

As a fine, mellow, ear-inspiring bray."

6. "I thought so," said the fox, without a pause; "As far as you're concerned, your judgment's

true;

You do not like the nightingale, because

The nightingale is not an ass like you!"

THE EAGLE CATCHING A SALMON.

1. I HAVE often been struck with the singular attachment hunters sometimes have for some bird, or animal, while all the rest of the species they pursue with deadly hostility.

2. On the shore of the Raquette, a small lake in the Adirondack region, in the State of New York, lived my friend Beach. About five hundred yards from his hut stands a lofty pine tree, on which a gray eagle had built its nest annually, during the nine years he has lived on this spot.

3. The Indian who dwelt here before him, says that the same pair of birds made their nest on that tree for ten years previous-making, in all, nine

teen years they have occupied the same spot, and built on the same branch.

4. It is possible, however, that the young have taken the place of their parents. At all events, Beach believes them to be the same old dwellers, and hence regards them as squatters like himself, and entitled to equal privileges.

5. From his cabin door he can see them in sunshine and in storm, quietly perched on the tall pine, or wildly cradled, as the mighty fabric bends and sways to the blast. He has become attached to them, and hence requests every one who visits him not to touch them.

6. I verily believe, he would like to shoot the man who should harm one of their feathers. They are his companions in that solitude, proud occupants of the same wild home, and hence bound together by a link it would be hard to define, and yet which is strong as steel.

7. If that pine tree should fall, and those eagles move away to some other lake, he would feel as if he had lost a friend, and the solitude would become doubly dreary.

8. He, however, one day came near losing his bold eagle. He was lying at anchor, fishing, when he saw his favorite bird high up in heaven, slowly sweeping round and round in a huge circle, evidently awaiting the approach of a fish to the surface.

9. For an hour or more, he thus sailed with motionless wings above the water, when all at once he stopped and hovered a moment, with an excited gesture; then, rapid as a flash of light, and with a rush of his broad pinions, like the passage of a sudden gust of wind, came to the still bosom of the lake.

10. He had seen a large salmon trout near the surface, and, plunging from his high watch tower, drove his talons deep into his victim's back.

So