black silk, and her prim clear-starched neckerchief; for with the exception of hi breast and fore-paws, Tink is of a glossy black. His honesty and his babits are unexceptionable, and his mousing admirable. There is not a mousehole, or a whole mouse to be seen or heard within the limits of his range. His temper too is even, and even so the whole tenor of his life; and never but once during the whole course of our ac quaintance, have I seen him display any symptoms of unbridled passion or ferine ferocity. I shall never forget the night Tink was comfortably coiled a-la-hedgehog before a blazing fire, when a purse, or a coffin (my worthy aunt was not by to decide which) bounced with an alarm ing pop, red-hot from the grate, and struck so forcibly on Tink's rounded back, that he leaped up half asleep, whisked to the extremity of the room, and there standing with his arched back, and his tail swelled to the size of a fox's brush, he wheeled courageously about, as if he anticipated a repetition of the same unintelligible attack; his eyes (green, blue, and yellow,) twice as big as ordi nary, rolling furiously about in search of the invisible assailant, and notwithstand ing I endeavoured to calm his fears by the most soothing expressions. he only answered me by a very impolite growl, and actually swore (a fashionable accomplishment I knew he had acquired) for the space of five minutes. I had always considered Tink as a most exemplary cat, but a very suspicious occurrence gave me reason to suspect he was not quite such a type of chastity as his Egyptian brethren. The twilight of an autumnal evening had gradually cast its sombre gray shadows around me. I was lolling listlessly in my arm chair, nibbling the end of my goose-quill, when, chancing to cast my eyes towards the window, I observed Tink (as I thought) looking wistfully through the lower panes at me; I arose to let in my favourite, when puss bobbed her head fearfully forward to stare at me, and then dropped from the sill. Throwing open the window I perceived the strange lady-cat, (the very spit, as the nurses say, of Tink,) striding leisurely down the gravel walk, smelling the flowerborders, and leering suspiciously round at me There was such a strong family like ness, that I am sure Tink himself would have forgiven the suspicions that then and there arose in my musing mind! But his mousing and fidelity, if not his In THE nests of birds are constructed with so much art, as to baffle the utmost exertion of human ingenuity to imitate them. Birds of the same species collect the same materials, arrange them in the same manner, and make choice of similar situations for fixing the places of their temporary abodes. In forming the nests, they make use of dry wood, bark, thorns, reeds, thick hay, and compact moss, as a foundation, and on this, as a first layer, they spread and fold, in a round form, all the most delicate materials, as down, wool, silk, spiders' webs, feathers, and other light substances adapted for the purposes for which they are intended, and to the climate in which the nests are situated. Thus, the ostrich, in Senegal, where the heat is excessive, neglects her eggs during the day, but sits on them in the night. At the cape of Good Hope, where the heat is less, the ostrich, like other birds, sits upon her eggs both day and night. countries infested with monkeys, many birds, which in other countries build in bushes and clefts of trees, suspend their nests upon slender trees, and thus elude the utmost art of their enemies. Mr. Pennant, in his "Indian Zoology," gives us the following wonderful account of the "Tailor Bird:"-" Had Providence left the feathered tribe unendued with any particular instinct, the birds of the torrid one would have built their nests in the unguarded manner as those of Europe; but there the lesser species having a certain prescience of the dangers that surround them, and of their own weakness, suspend their nests at the extreme branches of the trees, conscious of inhabiting a climate replete with enemies to them and their young, snakes that twine up the bodies of the trees, and apes that are perpetually in search of prey; but, heaveninstinctive, they elude the gliding of the one, and the activity of the other. Some form their pensile nest in the shape of a purse, deep and open at the top; others with a hole in the side; and others, still more cautious, with an entrance at the very bottom, forming their lodge near the summit. But the little species here described seem to have greater diffidence than any of the others. It will not trust its nest even to the extremity of the slender twigs, but makes one more advance to safety, by fixing it to the leaf itself. It picks up a dead leaf, and, surprising to relate, sews it to the side of a living one, its slender bill being its needle, and its thread some fine fibres; the lining, feathers, gossamer, and down." a beneficent wisdom influencing every operation. If such be the case, he must have the powers of his understanding totally obliterated, and his mind enveloped in impenetrable darkness.” The truant schoolboy, when he steals the tender nest, little thinks of the pangs he causes the bird who placed the embryo brocd in the snug retreat. He carries home in triumph this precious gem, to decorate a niche in the cupboard, and the poor bird As Philomel in poplar shades, alone prey, From the warm nest, unfledg'd, hath dragg'd The instinct which guides every species" of the feathered tribe in contriving the most proper habitation for the hatching of their young, instructs them also to repair to the situation the most suitable for them, with respect to their food, their pleasure, and their safety. Hence the choice of each species is in variably the same. Some repair to the rude thicket; some to the cleft or hollow tree; some weave their humble nests in the grassy dale or roughening waste; others delight in shaggy banks, in woodland solitudes, and unfrequented glooms; some build in the towering tree or inaccessible rocks; and others prefer the vicinity of man, and take shelter in his chimneys, or in his hospitable caves. "Some to the holly hedge Nestling repair, and to the thicket some; Their food its insects, and its moss their nests." THOMSON. away; Perch'd on a bough, she all night long complains, In the caverns of the various islands of the Soolo Archipelago, are found nests the size of a goose's egg, and in substance which are used in cookery; they are of much resembling isinglass. The Chinese gather these nests, and carry on a great traffic in them. They dissolve in broths, and make a kind of jelly of a very deliTheir value is chiefly ascertained by the uniform fineness and delicacy of their texture; those that are white and transparent being most esteemed, and often fetching in China their weight in silver. The birds that build these nests are small gray swallows. Authors differ much as to the materials of which cious flavour. Bingley has observed, that "the act of these nests are composed. Some suppose nidification is one of those wonderful contrivances of nature that would compel us, however we might otherwise be inclined to doubt it, to believe that we, and every other part of the creation, are constantly under the protection of a superintending Being, whose goodness knows no bounds. Without this, what can we suppose it is that instigates a creature that may never before have had young, to form a hollow nest to contain eggs, (things that as yet it knows nothing of,) and to concentrate a proper proportion of heat for the incubation? Without this, what can we suppose it is that dictates the necessity of forming the outside with coarse materials, as a foundation, and of lining it within with more delicate substances? How do these animals learn that they are to have eggs, and that these eggs will require a nest of a certain size and capacity? Who is it that teaches them to calculate the time with such exactness, that they never lay their eggs before the reception for them is finished? No person can surely be so blind as to observe all this, and not be able to perceive the superintendence of them to consist of seaworms of the molusca class; others, of the seaplant called agal-agal. It has also been supposed that the swallows rob other birds of their eggs, and after breaking the shells, apply the white of them in the composition of these structures. In this age of enter prise and free trade, we would recommend the court of aldermen to embark in this edible branch of Indian traffic, which may swell out the funds of the corporation. P. T. W. Select Biography. No. LV. JOHN KIMBER, THE BIBLIOMANIAC FARMER. MR. JOHN KIMBER of Chadley, near Lewes, was a farmer of the old school, plain in his dress, and unassuming in his manners; and though his unostentatious appearance, united with his many peculiarities, gained him the character of a miser, yet his taste for scarce and expensive books prompted him to spend consi derable sums of money in its gratification. Whilst some of his neighbours regarded him as the slave of avarice; others, not more justly, considered him as one of those whom "much learning had rendered mad." His learning, however, was very superficial; and though, like many other collectors, he was more gratified by possessing than by using his literary wealth; the books that he most sought after were such as were highly embellished; scarce editions he valued less than splendid copies, and what was showy pleased him more than what was useful. A gentleman, to whom Kimber was previously unknown, informed me that on one occasion, entering his bookseller's shop, he was surprised to hear a plain and meanly dressed farmer, whose conversation indicated a mind scarcely superior to that of the humblest peasant, bargaining with the bookseller for a copy of Macklin's Bible, published at about eighty guineas. With astonishment he soon beheld him pay down the stipulated sum, and place the six ponderous volumes in a sack, with which he had come furnished, and staggering under his load, carry them to the door, where an old carthorse stood ready to receive the burden. With some assistance, the well-tied sack was hoisted on the back of the animal, the stirrup leather fastened around it with cords, and the happy purchaser, balancing the load with his hand, trudged along by the side of his old servant, apparently anticipating the joy that awaited him, when the treasure he had amassed should be safely deposited amongst his bulky tomes at Chadley. On entering the house of Mr. Kimber, the visiter would perceive no trace of the owner's taste. Not a volume displayed its gay covering, not a shelf bent under the weight of literary labours; all his books were neatly packed in boxes, which, piled one upon the other, formed no inconsiderable part of the furniture of his bedroom; on these he gazed with pleasure, when the morning beamed, and to them he had recourse, when the evening twilight came, to wile away the hours till bedtime. Seated in his chimney corner he again and again turned over the leaves of his costly volumes, exulting in the embellishments, for which they were valued, and on account of which they were bought; and though he could not be said to be intimate with the letter-press of the volumes which he possessed, he was certainly not unacquainted with the engrav ings by which they were illustrated. But it was not on the books alone that Mr. Kimber expended large sums; he was equally the patron of science. Costly maps decorated the boxes, in which they were enclos; magnificent globes were safely packed in cases, which warned the carrier to be wary of his charge; theodolites and telescopes, protractors and quadrants, planetariums, lunariums, and portable orreries, were sheltered in boxes from the dust of the chambermaid, and ever ready for use as soon as unpacked. On the death of this literary and scientific farmer, his property, which was left to his brothers and nephews (and which did not amount to more than 40007.), was disposed of. His books and philosophical apparatus were sold by auction in Lewes ; and the competition was such as to turn to good account the taste of the worthy bibliomaniac. History and Antiquities of Lewes. The Novelist. No. CIII. THE STIRRUP CUP. FROM THE GERMAN. THE night was one of great inclemency it snowed and blew violently, when Hans Kirkenbeck departed homewards. His horse stood at the door, and in spite of the entreaties of his friends that he would partake of one goblet more, he disengaged himself from them, and rushed forth into the street. At that moment, a woman was passing-a tall, bony, wrinkled, grizzled hag, enveloped in a cloak, the hood of which she had drawn over her head. As Hans passed out at the door, he pushed against her: "Out of the way, Hoodekin!" he exclaimed. She, quickly turning, echoed his words angrily, "Hoodekin! Hoodekin! merry night to you, Hans Kirkenbeck! the day will come when it would please you mightily to have a hood to cover your aching brow."-" Away with you, hag!" interrupted Hans; and at the same moment, Jacob Geuldtstein, one of his companions, came out from the house, and he also bade her depart in words of no pleasant sound. The woman then became very wroth, and said, "You are well spoken, gentlemen, both of you, and merry, I make no doubt; for you, Jacob, you have a wife, and for her sake, I forgive you; but hark you, Hans Kirkenbeck!" she exclaimed, at the same time extending both her arms within her cloak, "for you! even as I shake off the snow from my withered limbs, flake by flake, even so shall you fall to the earth This is the name of a familiar spirit, a sort of Puck, so called, because a hoodekin, or litto hood, was a part of his usual covering. piece by piece!" Then Hans and his friend became more angry with the woman, and drove her away with blows. And Hans mounted his horse, and prepared to depart; but his friend stayed him, insisting that he should at least partake of the stirrup-cup, without which, it would be unfriendly to depart. Hans assented, and Jacob returned to the house to obtain it for him. In a few moments, the cup was presented; Hans seized it quickly, and as quickly drained it at a draught. An open hand waited to receive the goblet from him, he returned it, and was about to put spurs to his steed, when Jacob, issuing from the house, exclaimed to him loudly to stay. "Would you depart with a broken troth? I have brought you the cup," at the same time giving it to him. "I have already tasted it," said Hans, putting it by with his hand. "Nay," replied Geuldtstein, "that cannot be; did you not see me come from the house this instant ?" "I swear to you, man," rejoined Hans, "that I have ta'en of a cup which even now warmeth me, and whose taste is like bitter almonds." "Tush," answered Jacob, shaking off the snow which had fallen upon his hair, "this is no night to listen to your jokes, will you pledge me? Aye, or no ?" "To thy health, man!" answered Hans; and the next moment the cup was returned, and Hans was on his road. The snow had fallen so deep, that the streets resounded not to the tread of his horse, and oftentimes his progress was impeded by ledges, raised by the drifting wind; at length, however, he passed the barrier, and reached the open plain. The snow still fell heavily; the country, as well as he could see, appeared one huge whitened plain, and the line of road could only be discovered by here and there a well-known baiting-house, an old cottage, or the bare arms of some long-remembered tree. For several miles his horse went forwards merrily, as if aware that his route was towards home; but the continued beating of the snow, and its great depth, began to exhaust the animal's strength, and somewhat impeded his progress Hans, however, whom the coldness of the night affected, kept him to his utmost speed by frequent applications of the spur; nor was it the cold alone that rendered Hans uncomfortable, the cups which his companions had pressed upon him began to produce their effect, and he often found himself much mistaken as to the nature of the objects before him. His thoughts too were confused, and the old woman, whom he had treated so scornfully, was ever uppermost in his mind her maledictions hung upon his memory, nor could he forget that he had tasted of two stirrup-cups; 66 but that," thought he, "must have been a trick of Jacob Geuldtstein, and yet I saw him come out of the house." Still he went onwards, but his condition became continually worse-racking rains shot across his brow, and the increase of snow, and his own incapacity, rendered it more and more difficult to keep his horse in the The animal had, indeed, right track. often travelled that road before, and Hans depended much upon that circumstance; "he," said Hans, thinking aloud, "he did not-see this old woman-eh ?—that is not it-take two stirrup-cups I meanno? he did not take two stirrip-cups, thank God!" Still onwards they wentstill the condition of the master became worse; and the labour of the horse greater a cold stupor and numbness gra. dually seized upon Hans's faculties, from which he was only at intervals aroused by the most acute and distressing pains in his forehead. "We should be near home now, I think," said he, patting his horse's neck, just after he had been awakened to some sense of his situation by a sudden twinge "we should be nearer home now," and the next moment his horse's fore-feet dashed through some ice into water, and the animal made a sudden pause. Hans was again aroused-the situation of the country, as far as the falling snow would allow him to judge of it, seemed to indicate that they were upon the banks of a river, which, although covered with snow, was not sufficiently frozen to permit the horse to cross. That they had wandered from the right road was certain, for there was no river within many miles of Hans's residence; but how to regain the lost track was more than enough to baffle the wit of the half-frozen rider. He turned his horse back-in vain he endeavoured to discover some known object, some house or tree, but all was strange and obscure. "Well," said Hans, "we must go back again then; we must retrace the road we have come." This, however, was no easy task; the continual fall of snow quickly filled up all traces of the horse's feet, or the sudden gusts of wind at once effaced them, and Hans soon found by the unevenness of the ground, that even that hope was lost. Thus baffled, he first guided his horse one way, and then another, until the tired animal seemed to partake of the torpidity of his master, and often refused to answer to the rein. Hans, irritated and alarmed, spurred on the poor beast, who then again flew forward to the evident danger of both himself and his rider; but after some time, and great exertion, they again reached an even road, which Hans imagined to be that along which they had come. For some time, they went quie ly forwards, and Hans again sunk into a stupor, from which, when he was aroused by acute pain, he found his steed had paused at the entrance of a wood to which the road had conducted him. Hans, stupidly angry, began to vent his wrath upon the wretched steed, who no sooner felt the spur, than he rushed forward into the forest. In vain did Hans then endeavour to turn his course-his numbed arms had not strength to restrain the fury which he had himself roused-away the horse dashed with the fury of a cataract, and the beating of the branches of the trees which he had encountered in his course, added continually to his rage. They had scarcely proceeded a yard, when a bough struck off Hans's hat, and at that moment the recollection flashed across his mind, that the old woman had told him the time would come, when it would please him to have a hood to cover his aching brow. He shuddered to think how exactly the words were fulfilled. The stupor now gave way, before the blows which he received from the branches, and the dreadful sense of his situation. "Would to God, I had left my money behind me!" he exclaimed, recollecting that he had with him a heavy bag, the produce of some cattle which he had sold. The words had scarcely passed froin his lips when a voice, as if at his side, answered in a sneering tone, "You have ever been fond of thy purse-'twere pity you should part now."- -The voice came upon Hans's ears as that of the old Hoodekin; and his alarm-his terrorhis agitation-were increased tenfold. In vain Hans strove to check his horse's career-in vain he looked, or rather endeavoured to look, around him to mark from whence the voice came; the thick branches struck him so perpetually, that. he was obliged to bend down, even to the horse's neck, in order to preserve his seat. Forward, forward, still he went, with an impetuosity no strength could govern, no hand could restrain; and every moment his situation became more deplorable. The stupor had indeed passed away; but notwithstanding all his exertions, a chill an icy, deathlike coldness, pervaded his veins, and was even more insupportable than the still continued pains across his brow. At one time he endeavoured to soothe his horse into quietness, and at another uttered some ejaculatory prayer, but both were answered with a laugh of derision, which terrified him not less than the recollection of his misspent, nay, his abused life, all which came rushing into his mind. Hour'.after hour passed away, but still the horse proceeded; on, on, he went, and Hans began to hope that a short time would hurry him to the conclusion of his misery, either by death, or by their passing through the forest; but all was vain. The spellbound horse travelled still onwards, keeping near to the outside of the forest, until he came to the place from whence he first plunged into its depths, and then crossing the road again, he again pursued the same circle. In a short time all the horrors of exhaustion and a dreadful thirst succeeded, but there was no help-no consolation-no redress. If he spoke, a mocking voice answered with a sneer, or presented an empty stirrup-cup to his parched lips; his groans, his agonies, were the subject of derision and contempt; every thing within and around him was tor ture. But why need we pursue this horrible tale? The malediction of the Hoodekin was fulfilled, even to the very letter. Keeping in the circle which he at first traversed, the horse still proceeded, until the poor rider, ever exposed to the cutting strokes of the branches, thus fell to the earth piece by piece; nay, it is even asserted that peasants resident in the neighbourhood have, until lately, seen the skeleton horse and rider, still pursuing their charmed course- - still agonized-still tormented. Part of the wealth of Hans Kirkenbeck is said to have been at one time found by a woodcutter, who wisely brought the same unto the chapel of St. Thomas, by the priests of which, it was exorcised and appropriated to holy uses. STANZAS TO MARY. LY THE AUTHOR OF "FIELD FLOWERS," &c. And drear the snowcapt mountain; And warm to life the fountain. For me, when thou art weeping. H. B |