28. Similar instances of attachment, apparently unnatural, have been often observed among the brute creation; but the principal circumstance which seems to render this account doubtful is, Captain Cartwright asserts, the Beaver will not eat either fish or any animal food. The contrary has been asserted, however, by Buffon; and perhaps both assertions may be founded in fact, as it relates to different species, or in different circumstances. It is even possible, that a domesticated animal may be taught to love food, for which, in its wild state, it had no relish. 29. Such instances of extraordinary friendship and affection among different species of the brute creation, should at least teach us humanity and gentleness to them. A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast." And cruelty is so far from being compatible with Christianity, that it sinks a man below the dignity of his species; yea, there is no animal in the creation that is so brutish. 30. I would only add, that the Beaver is also a most useful creature. Its skin is so important an article of commerce, that the hunting of it is a profession; and the Hudson Bay Company have sold above 50,000 skins at one sale. Its flesh is esteemed good for food; and besides, the inguinal glands of these animals generally produce two ounces of castor, a medical substance, the value of which is well known. And does not Providence, in making the creatures thus valuable to us, teach us how we should make ourselves valuable to each other? Man is estimated in society as he makes himself useful by industry, economy, and benevolence: a Christian is most valuable, who, in addition to these virtues, studies the good of all around him, and is, like Abra ham, an advocate with God for the salvation of mankind. THE ICHNEUMON, WITH REFLECTIONS. THE Divine Psalmist tells us, that "The works of God are sought out, of all them that have pleasure therein:" and such discoveries must be doubly sweet, when, in addition to the gratification of our innocent Curiosity, as it respects the works of Nature, we are enabled to discover traces of the Divine wisdom and goodness in their formation and economy; and it is assuredly our own fault if these escape us in any individual subject of inquiry. 2. The Ichneumon is a native of Egypt, Barbary, and the Cape of Good Hope. Its length, from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, is from twenty-four to forty-two inches, of which the tail takes near the half. Its colour is pale reddish grey, each hair being mottled with brown or mouse colour. The eyes are of a bright red, the ears almost naked, small and rounded, and the nose long and slender. The tail is very thick at the base, from whence it gradually tapers almost to a point, where it is slightly tufted. The hair is hard and coarse; and the legs are short. 3. In Egypt, the Ichneumon is considered as one of the most useful and inestimable of animals, being an inveterate enemy to the serpents, and other noxious reptiles, which infest the neighbourhood of the torrid zone. It attacks, without dread, that most fatal of serpents, the Cobra di Capello, or Hooded Snake; and, when it receives a wound in the combat, instantly retires, and is said to obtain an antidote from some herb; after which it returns to the attack, and seldom fails of victory. It is a great destroyer of the eggs of crocodiles, which it digs out of the sand; and even kills multitudes of the young of those terrible creatures. It was for this reason that, the ancient Egyptians ranked the Ichneumon among their deities. 5. It is sometimes domesticated, and kept in houses in India and Egypt, where it is found more useful than a cat in destroying vermin. It is easily tamed, is very active, and springs with great agility on its prey. It will glide along the ground like a serpent, as if without feet. Sometimes it sits up like a squirrel, and eats with its fore feet; catching any thing that is flung to it. It is a great enemy to poultry; and will feign itself dead till they come within its reach. It is said to be extremely skilful in seizing the serpents by the throat, in such a manner as to avoid receiving any injury. 6. Lucan has beautifully described the address of this animal in conquering the Egyptian asp: "Thus oft th' Ichneumon, on the banks of Nile, 7. I had (says M. d'Obsonville) an Ichneumon very young, which I brought up: I fed it at first with milk; and afterwards with baked meat, mixed with rice. It soon became even tamer than a cat; for it came when called, and followed me, though at liberty, into the country. 8. One day I brought to him a small water serpent alive; being desirous to know how far his instinct would carry him against a being with which he was hitherto totally unacquainted. His first emotion seemed to be astonishment mixed With angery for hair became erect; but, in an instant after, he slipped behind ne reptile, and, with a remarkable swiftness and agility, leaped upon its head, seized it, and crushed it between his teeth. 9. This essay, and new aliment, seemed to have awakened in him his innate and destructive voracity, which, till then, had given way to the gentleness he had acquired from his education. I had about my house several curious kinds of fowls; among which he had been brought up, and which, till then, he had suffered to go and come unmolested and unregarded; but, a few days after, when he found himself alone, he strangled them every one, ate a little, and, as appeared, had drank the blood of two. 10. In a wild state, the Ichneumon is said principally to frequent the banks of rivers; and, in times of flood, to approach the higher grounds and inhabited places, in quest of prey. It is reported to swim and dive oeeasionally, in the manner of an otter, and to continue beneath the water for a great length of time. Its voice is very soft somewhat like a murmur; and, unless it is struck or irritated, it never exerts it. When it sleeps, it folds itself up like a ball; and is not easily awaked. 11. These animals are short-lived, but grow very rapidly. In temperate climates, they cannot, without great difficulty, be either reared or preserved. Whatever care be taken, the frost incommodes them; and they generally fall a victim to the change. 12. In the history of rapacious animals, nothing is more observable than the economy of Divine Provi dence; which, while it gives existence to millions of this class of being, by implanting antipathies against each other, prevents the inordinate increase of any one species, preserves an equilibrium among them, and prevents the destruction of either, and especially of mankind. But our design, in the insertion of articles of this nature, is, not merely to convey natural information, but also to lead the ideas of our readers to subjects more spiritual and important. natural 13. The first reflection occurring to a spiritual mind, on the perusal of the above account, will arise from the Leoween the Iuhman and the Serpent; and the dexterity of the former in the destruction of the latter. How forcibly does this bring to recollection the first great mystic promise of salvation, given in Paradise; "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." 14. The wonderful instinct of the animal, in flying to its antidote, suggests also to the Christian, a very useful hint in all his engagements with his subtle enemy, -to fly to the only tree which antidotes his venom, and heals the wounds of conscience: "The accursed tree has blessings in it ;" and the very leaves of it are salutary to the nations of the redeemed, 15. The serpent, we may further remark, though the most sagacious of the brute creation, is yet vulner able in its head; so that, among animals, as among mankind, "The wise are taken in their own crafti ness;" and this remark is as fully applicable to the Old Serpent, the Devil, as to any of the venomous generation. 16. Lastly, The anecdote related by M. d'Obsonville suggests another lesson. The powers of education may go far towards civilization, and accompanied by an obliging temper, may be mistaken for the effects of grace; but let the suitable temptation come, without grace to resist it, and, like the ferocious disposition of the Ichneumon, the depravity of human nature instantly appears. THE INDUSTRY OF THE ANT IMPROVED. THE wise man, who was a great natural philosopher, directs us, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to observe the Ant, which is indeed a curious creature, well worthy of our notice. The head is large, adorned with two horns, each having twelve joints; its eyes are protuberant and pearled; it has jaws indented like a saw with seven little teeth, which exactly correspond, opening sideways very wide, so that it can grasp and carry bodies of four times its own bulk and weight. The head, breast, and belly, or tail, are joined to each other by a very slender ligament. The tail is furnished with a sting, from which it emite, when provoked, a poisonous liquid, which occasions pain and swelling. 2. Upon opening an ant-hill, we may perceive these busy creatures carrying in their mouths, and securing with great solicitude, small whitish bodies, usually called their eggs, but which are, in fact, ants in their aurelia state, each encompassed with an iategument of its own spinning. The parent's concern for these is so strong, that when alarmed, they instantly run away with them; and will sooner die than leave them. 3. Every ant's nest has a strait hole leading into it, about the depth of half an inch; which afterwards runs sloping downwards to the public magazine, where the grains they collect are stored up; to prevent the growth of which, they bite out the germen or bud. This is their constant practice; and if their corn be examin |