times to break through per force when he opened the gate, but he always prevented her, and at length she turned patiently again. She had found some means of eluding him, however, for home she came on a Sabbath morning, the 4th of June; and she left the farm of Lochs, in Glen-Lyon, either on the Thursday afternoon, or Friday morning, the week previous but one. The farmer of Harehope paid the Highland farmer the price of her, and she lived on her native farm till she died of old age, in her seventeenth year. I have heard of sheep returning from Yorkshire to the Highlands; but then I always suspected that they might have been lost by the way. But this is certain, that when once one, or a few sheep, get away from the rest of their acquaintances, they return homeward with great. eagerness and perseverance. I have lived beside a drove-road the better part of my life, and many stragglers have I seen bending their steps northward in the spring of the year. A shepherd rarely sees these journeyers twice; if he sees them, and stops them in the morning, they are gone long before night; and if he sees them at night they will be gone many miles before morning. This strong attachment to the place of their nativity is much more predominant in our aboriginal breed, than in any of the other kinds with which I am acquainted. There is another peculiarity in their nature, of which I have witnessed innumerable instances. I shall only relate one, for they are all alike, and show how much the sheep is a creature of habit. A shepherd in Blackhouse bought a few sheep from another in Crawmel, about ten miles distant. In the spring following, one of the ewes went back to her native place, and yeaned on a wild hill called Crawmel Craig. On a certain day, about the beginning of July following, the shepherd went and brought home his ewe and lamb-took the fleece from the ewe, and kept the lamb for one of his stock. The lamb lived and throve, became a hog and a gimmer, and never offered to leave home; but when three years of age, and about to have her first lamb, she vanished; and the morning after, the Crawmel shepherd, in going his rounds, found her with a new-yeaned lamb on the very gair of the Crawmel Craig, where she was lambed herself. She remained there till the first week of July, the time when she was brought a lamb herself, and then she came home with hers of her own accord; and this custom she continued annually with the greatest punctuality as long as she lived. At length her lambs, when they came of age, began the same practice, and the shepherd was obliged to dispose of the whole breed. But with regard to their natural affection, the instances that might be mentioned are without number, stupid and actionless creatures as they are. When one loses its sight in a flock of short sheep, it is rarely abandoned to itself in that hapless and helpless state. Some one always attaches itself to it, and by bleating calls it back from the precipice, the lake, the pool, and all dangers whatever. There is a disease among sheep, called by shepherds the Breakshugh, a sort of deadly dysentery, which is as infectious as fire in a flock. Whenever a sheep feels itself seized by this, it instantly absents itself from all the rest, shunning their society with the greatest care; it even hides itself, and is often very hard to be found. Though this propensity can hardly be attributed to natural instinct, it is, at all events, a provision of nature of the greatest kind. ness and beneficence. There is another manifest provision of nature with regard to these animals, which is, that the more inhospitable the land is on which they feed, the greater their kindness and attention to their young. I once herded two years on a wild and bare farm called Willenslee, on the border of Mid-Lothian, and of all the sheep I ever saw, these were the kindest and most affectionate to their young. I was often deeply affected at scenes which I wit nessed there. We had one very hard winter, so that our sheep grew lean in the spring, and the thwarter-ill (a sort of paralytic affection) came among them, and carried off a number. Often have I seen these poor victims, when fallen down to rise no more, even when unable to lift their heads from the ground, holding up the leg, to invite the starving lamb to the miserable pittance that the udder still could supply. I had never seen aught more painfully affecting. It is well known that it is a custom with shepherds, when a lamb dies, if the mother have sufficiency of milk, to bring her in and put another lamb to her. have described the process somewhere else; it is done by putting the skin of the dead lamb upon the living one; the ewe immediately acknowledges the relationship, and after the skin has warmed on it, so as to give it something of the smell of her own progeny, and it has sucked her two or three times, she accepts and nourishes it as her own ever after. Whether it is from joy at this apparent reanimation of her young one, or a little doubt remaining on her mind that she would fain dispel, I cannot decide; but, for a number of days, she shows far more fondness, more bleating, and caressing, over this one, than she did formerly over the one that was really her own. But this is not what I wanted to explain; it was, that such sheep as thus lose their lambs, must be driven to a house with dogs, so that the lamb may be put to them; for they will only take it in a dark confined place. But here, in Willenslee, I never needed to drive home a sheep by force, with dogs, or in any other way than the following:-I found every ewe, of course, standing hanging her head over her dead lamb, and having a piece of twine with me for the purpose. I tied that to the lamb's neck, or foot, and trailing it along, the ewe followed me into any house or fold that I chose to lead her. Any of them would have followed me in that way for miles, with her nose close on the lamb, which she never quitted for a moment, except to chase the dog, which she would not suffer to walk near me. I often, out of curiosity, led them in to the side of the kitchen fire by this means, into the midst of servants and dogs; but the more that dangers multiplied around the ewe, she clung the closer to her dead offspring, and thought of nothing but protecting it. The same year there was a severe blast of snow came on by night, about the latter end of April, which destroyed several scores of our lambs; and as we had not enow of twins and odd lambs for the mothers that had lost theirs, of course we selected the best ewes, and put lambs to them. As we were making the distribution, I requested of my master to spare me a lamb for a hawked ewe which he knew, and which was standing over a dead lamb in the head of the hope, about four miles from the house. He would not do it, but bid me let her stand over her lamb for a day or two, and perhaps a twin would be forthcoming. I did so, and truly she did stand to her charge; so truly, that I think the like never was I equalled by any of the woolly race. visited her every morning and evening, and for the first eight days never catched her above two or three yards from the lamb; and always, as I went my rounds she eyed me long ere I came near her, and kept tramping with her foot, and whistling through her nose, to fright away the dog. He got a regular chase twice a day as 1 passed by, but however excited and fierce a ewe may be, she never offers any resistance to mankind, being perfectly and meekly passive to them. The weather grew fine and warm, and the dead lamb soon decayed, which the body of a dead lamb does particularly soon; but still this affectionate and desolate creature kept hanging over the poor remains with an affection that seemed to be nourished by hopelessness. It often drew the tears from my eyes to see her hanging with such fondness over a few bones, mixed with a small portion of wool. For the first fortnight she never quitted the spot, and for another week she visited it every morning and evening, uttering a few kindly and heart-piercing bleats each time; till at length every remnant o. her offspring vanished, mixing with the soil.-Ibid. SONG. From the Italian. The eyes with smiles thy form behold?"-- THE CHARACTERS OF SHAKSPEARE. SHAKSPEARE's worst characters have some claim upon our kindly feelings. Genius is the power of reflecting nature; for genius, as the word imports, is nature. The mind of Shakspeare was as a magic mirror, in which all human nature's possible forms and combinations were present, intuitively and inherently conceived, but as connatural portions of his own humanity. Whatever his characters were besides, they were always men. not Such they were in the world of his imagination—such_they are also in the world of reality. It is this harmony and correspondence between the world without and the world within, that gives the charm to his productions. His characters are not the mere abstractions of intellect from an understood class or species, but are generated in his own mind, as individuals having personal being there, and are distinctly brought out, not so much as representatives of character in actual nature, as the original productions of a plastic genius, which is also nature, and works like her. This is to be a poet -this is what is meant by a creative imagination.-Quarterly Review. IMPROMPTU. ON THE MARRIAGE OF MR. LAMB TO MISS PRIEST. In times remote, when heathens sway'd, Their deities to quiet; And by the priest the lamb was led But not without some riot. Mark how reverse the blissful scene, To bid the timid falter; For, lo! the Priest-how strange to say- National Magazine. The Selector, AND LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS. SUBTERRANEAN LAKE. BEFORE they (a party of missionaries) returned, they explored a celebrated cavern in the vicinity, called Kaniakea, (in Kairua, one of the Sandwich islands.) After entering it by a small aperture, they passed on in a direction nearly parallel with the surface; sometimes along a spacious arched way, not less than twentyfive feet high and twenty wide; at other times by a passage so narrow, that they could with difficulty press through—till they had proceeded about 1,200 feet; here their progress was arrested by a pool of water, wide, deep, and as salt as that found in the hollows of the lava within a few yards of the sea. More than thirty natives, most of them carrying torches, accompanied them in their descent; and on arriving at the water simultaneously plunged in, extending their torches with one hand, and swimming about with the other. The partially-illuminated heads of the natives, splashing about in this subterranean lake; the reflection of the torch-light on its agitated surface; the frowning sides and lofty arch of the black vault, hung with lava, that had cooled in every imaginable shape; the deep gloom of the cavern beyond the water; the hollow sound of their footsteps; and the varied reverberations of their voices, produced a singular effect; and it would have required but little aid from the fancy to have imagined a resemblance between this scene and the fabled Stygyan lake of the poets. The mouth of the lake is about half a mile from the sea, and the MR. S. had chased in the direction of the mimosas, trenching on the ground which our comrades were to take. He was getting closer to his object, and was about to dismount a second time, when his eyes glanced on the long-wished-for game,an enormous lion! He was walking majestically slow, but when Mr. S. gave the tallyho to us, he couched, and seemed inclined to wait, but soon afterwards cantered off to the mimosas. In a few seconds we were all up, at least our division. The first object was to prevent him from climbing the mountain, we therefore rode through the mimosas, about three hundred yards from where he had entered, and got between him and the heights. Diederik Muller and Mr. S. with their servants and led horses, then rode round the little grove, whilst we were stationed where we first entered. The grove was hardly five hundred yards in length, and twenty in breadth, consequently we could by this arrangement command the whole of it. The other part of our division having rode round the grove, came up opposite to us, but at a distance, and as we saw them dismount we did the same. Our situation was not very enviable; we had but one large gun, but Mr. Rennie, who carried it, was perfectly collected. We were talking to each other rather in a whisper, when Mr. Rennie very coolly said, "Listen, the gentleman is grumbling."-The sound was so very like distant thunder, that we doubted it, but at the same moment I caught a glimpse of the lion walking away not a hundred and fifty yards from us, and he must have been previously still nearer to us than we had calculated. I gave the alarm, which was echoed to our friends, who in an instant mounted and rode up to the lower end, calling upon us to advance. We were moving down to gain a position on a little height, when a gun was fired, followed by four more. convinced us our other division had joined. This We thought there would have been an end to our sport before it had well begun ; but on the contrary, the shots were fired not only to prevent him leaving the copse, but to prove their guns, for a miss fire is frequently of consequence. The last shot had the effect of turning him, and we had now a full view of him returning to the centre, whisking his tail about, and treading among the smaller bushes as if they had been grass, reminding us most forcibly of the paintings we had seen of this majestic animal. The last shot however had convinced us that our position was not safe, for the ball passed very near us. We called to inform the party of this, and they resolved on another plan of attack. They desired us to station two Hottentots on a hill above our position, and we were to join them. We crossed again through the bush, and it was then determined that we were all to dismount, and tie our horses together, and then to advance on foot. This is the usual plan, and it is done to secure any person from gallopping off by his horse taking fright or otherwise, which would induce the lion to pursue, and thus one or other might be sacrificed. We had hardly begun to tie our horses, when the Hottentots stationed on the hill, cried out that the lion was running off at the lower end, where he had attempted to escape before. We were on horseback in a second, but the lion had got a-head; we had him, however in full view, as there was nothing to intercept it. Off he scampered. The Tambookies who had just come up, and mixed among us, could scarcely clear themselves of our horses; and their dogs howling and barking,— we hallooing, the lion still in full view, making for a small copse, about a mile distant, and the number and variety of the antelopes on our left, scouring off in different directions, formed one of the most animated spectacles the annals of sporting could produce. Diederik and Mr. S. being on very spirited horses, were the foremost, and we wondered to see them pass on in a direction different from the copse where we had seen the lion take covert. Christian gave us the signal to dismount, when we were, as well as could be judged, about two hundred yards from the copse. He desired us to be quick in tying the horses, which was dor.e as fast as each came up. And now the die was cast,-there was no retreating. We were on lower ground than the lion, with not a bush around us. Diederik and Mr. S. had now turned their horses, for, as we afterwards learned, they had been run off with, in consequence of their bridles having broken. The plan was to advance in a hody, leaving our horses with the Hottentots, who were to keep their backs towards the lion, fearing they should become unruly at the sight of him, us. All these preparations occupied but a few seconds, and they were not completed, -when we heard him growl, and imagined he was making off again :—but no, —as if to retrieve his character frora suspicion of cowardice for former flight, he had made up his mind in turn to attack To the growl succeeded a roar, and in the same instant we saw him bearing down upon us, his eye-balls glistening with rage. We were unprepared; his motion was so rapid no one could take aim, and he furiously darted at one of our horses, whilst we were at their heads, without a possibility of preventing it. The poor horse sprung forward, and with the force of the action wheeled all the horses round with him. The lion likewise wheeled, but immediately couched at less than ten yards from us. Our left flank thus became exposed, and on it fortunately stood C. Muller and Mr. Rennie. What an anxious moment! For a few seconds we saw the monster at this little distance, resolving as it were on whom he should first spring. Never did I long so ardently to hear the report of a gun. We looked at them aiming, and then at the lion. It was absolutely necessary to give a mortal blow, or the consequences might perhaps be fatal to some one of the party. -A second seemed a minute.-At length Christian fired ;-the under-jaw of the lion dropped,-blood gushed from his mouth, and he turned round with a view to escape.-Mr. Rennie then shot him through the Spine, and he fell. At this moment he looked grand beyond expression. Turning again towards us, he rose upon his fore feet, his mouth bleeding, his eyes flashing vengeance. He attempted to spring at us ;-but his hind legs denied him assistance; he dragged them a little space, when Stephanus put a final period to his existence by shooting him through the brain.-He was a noble animal-measuring nearly twelve feet from the nose to the tip of the tail. Diederik and Mr. S. at this crisis rejoined us, and eagerly inquired if all were safe. They had seen the lion bear down upon us, and they thought it impossible but that one of us must have suffered. The anxiety now was to learn whose horse had been the victim, and it was soon announced that it was a highly valued one of poor Diederik's. The lion's teeth had pierced quite through the lower part of the thigh; it was lame, and Diederik thinking it irrecoverably so, deter mined on shooting it, declaring that no schelm beast should kill his horse.-We all however interfered, and it was at length arranged with two Tambookies, that if they would lead him to their kraal, they should have a goat for their trouble. The Tambookies had some beads given them for skinning the lion,-which they readily accomplished with their assagais; my trophy was the under jaw and teeth. The elements now seemed determined to crown the whole with a feu de joie, for in a few minutes we had just over us, a tremendous peal of thunder!-Scenes and Occurrences in Caffer Land. HOLY HEADS. THERE is a neat cathedral, well hung, as usual, with pictures relating to miracles. One of these is pre-eminent in absurdity, being the representation of two decapitated saints, whose heads appear floating in a little boat, on a most tempestuous sea. The story is, that suffering martyrdom by the axe, their heads were thrown into the sea, and sinking to the bottom, a stone took compassion on them, and being changed into a boat, brought them safe into this friendly port. I need scarcely say, that this parody of the heathen stones of Orpheus and Arion is religiously believed by most of the inbabitants, and that a great fast is kept every year in commemoration of the event. -Adventures in the Peninsula. A JONAS CRAB. DURING the evening, whilst we were occupied at the wooding-place, a party of natives were observed running towards us along the beach on the south side without the port, apparently returning from a hunting excursion, for the woods on the south side of the bay had been on fire for the last two days. As they approached, they retired behind the beach among the trees, and, upon their reaching the opposite side of the entrance, crept upon their hands and knees behind the bushes, where they remained, as they thought, concealed until the evening. A little before dark they were observed to creep out and range themselves upon the beach, as if meditating upon their plans for the night, but by this time it was so dark that we could not see what they afterwards did; in order to deter them from approaching us, a musket was fired over their heads, and if this had the desired effect, it was a happy circumstance for them, for an immense shark was caught in the middle of the night, which, from the extraordinary capacity of its mouth and inaw, could have swallowed one of them with the greatest ease. On opening the animal, we fully expected to discover the limbs of some of the natives, who we assured ourselves had crossed over to our side the water; but we only found a crab, that had been so recently swallowed, that some of our people made no hesitation in eating it for their supper.-King's Australia. Miscellanies. A JUDICIOUS LEGACY. THE following is a copy of a notice which is read in the parish churches of St. Mary and All Saints, Newmarket, every year during divine service, two Sundays preceding Easter Sunday, and on that day: Notice is hereby given, that in pur suance of the Will of John Perram, late of Turnford, in the parish of Cheshunt, in the county of Hertford, gentleman, deceased, a marriage portion of twenty-one pounds will be given to a young man (a parishioner of Newmarket,) who shall marry a woman (also a parishioner of Newmarket,) on Thursday in the ensuing Easter week. Neither of whom must be under twenty, nor above twenty-five years of age; nor be worth twenty pounds. The portion to be claimed at the vestryroom of Newmarket, St. Mary, on Monday, after Easter, at twelve o'clock, when the person claiming it must be prepared to prove himself entitled to it. case there be more than one claimant, it is to be decided by ballot to which of them the portion shall be given. And in The parties claiming the marriage portion, after producing certificates of their baptism and marriage, and satisfactory proof of their settlement in either parish, make oath that they are not worth twenty pounds. There is an investment in the three per cent. Consols, in the names of trustees, for the purpose of supplying the marriage portion, which has for the last eight years amounted to thirty pounds and upwards, clear of all expenses. The above portion has been claimed these last four or five years together,and twice by two of my servants. DRAMATIC BEAUTIES. (For the Mirror,) S. P. |