harmless kinds of reptiles than for those of a dangerous and venomous description.-The naked and tender body of the Earth-Worm is no doubt pretty securely lodged in the subterraneous vaults it forms for itself in the earth, and the Serpent, in the absence of defensive weapons, enjoys no little security in the dread its very form inspires, but still the former is exposed to many an injury in his lowly situa tion, and the latter may oft wait long for the approach of his victims; but the feeble worm when cut in several parts by the gardener's spade, evinces a remarkable tenacity of the vital powers, and the voracious Liboya, which can swallow at a meal an animal three times as thick as itself, at other times, when no food presents itself, exhibits an abstemiousness that is astonishing*.

The instinctive sagacity of an animal, said at first to be 'more subtile than any beast of the field,' and whose wisdom was pointed out by the Saviour of men as being necessary to be united with the harmlessness of the dove in the dispositions of his disciples, must naturally be expected to be very remarkable, and it certainly is so, whether manifested in the wonderful docility which some of these creatures assume in a state of captivity--the convenient places in which they lie in wait for the approach of their preyt

the

ingenuity of man is exerted for the preservation of his species; and as Vipers are the only animals of a venomous kind, from whose bite the inhabitants of Great Britain have any thing to fear, the discovery of WILLIAM OLIVER, the Viper-catcher at Bath, that the application of Qlive Oil was an effectual cure for the bite of one of these animals, may not be improperly mentioned here, to the honour of that person who submitted to some dangerous experiments in corroboration of the truth of this discovery.

See BARR's continuation of BUFFON.

* A single meal with many of the Snake kind seems to be the adventure of a season; and is an occurrence for which they have been for weeks, nay, sometimes for months, in patient expectation. Vipers are often kept in boxes for six or eight months without any food whatever; and there are little Serpents sent over to Europe from Grand Cairo that live for several years in glasses without eating.

The dancing Serpents carried about by jugglers and strollers in the East Indies, will raise their heads and part of their bodies at the sound of music, moving them in such a manner as to keep time with the instrument, while their tails continue in a coil at the bottom of the basket.

The enormous Boa has been observed to secret himself near the brink

-the commodious attitude in which those of the venomous kind put themselves for darting at their victims; or the subtile artifices to which those of the more harmless kind have recourse in eluding an enemy

*

The Black Snake of Virginia lays its eggs in dunghills or hotbeds, where aided by the heat of the sun they are hatched and brought to maturity. The blind worms betake themselves at the approach of winter to those secret recesses, where in a state of torpidity they are sometimes found in vast numbers twisted together; and the common earth-worm, when warned of danger from the mole, by the moving of the earth, darts upwards to the surface, and is out of his reach in an instant.

USES OF REPTILES.

In a former paper I noticed the indispensible necessity of animals of prey, and the bad consequences that must have inevitably ensued, had the whole of earth's various tenants been left to die a natural death, and their carcases been left to rot unburied.

Amongst animals of this description we may undoubtedly reckon the race of Serpents; and whether we consider the fitness of their bodies for entering the dens, and caves, and holes of the earth, or their voracious appetites for such sort of food in common with reptiles of an inferior order, we must certainly allow that they are wonderfully adapted for the purpose. This, then, may be one reason, and a very sufficient one too, for the formation of Serpents, that, besides helping to rid the earth of a vast number of the smaller obnoxious vermin, they find their way with the greatest ease into the most secret recesses of putrefaction, and destroy those noisome carcasses in a short period, to which the other large animals of similar tastes could not, by the peculiar structure of their bodies, have had access.

The

brink of a pool where the unsuspecting Buffalo must needs go to drink.

Serpents the most venomous, will suddenly spring up on their tail at the approach of a large animal, erect their head, and inflict the deadly wound in a moment; while some of those who are less so, when closely pursued, or excited by rage or fear, will emit a most horrible factor, in order as it were to force the enemy to retire from the pursuit.

The utility of the Leech is too well known to need description-and, humiliating though to the rich proud man! in midst of his possessions, or fraught with despair to those whose hopes extend not beyond death and the grave, those curiously wrought and noble edifices, in which man lives, and moves, and has his being, shall ere long, claim kindred with the most ignoble reptile in the Creation of God; and in the mansions of the tomb become the repast of crawling worms! How consolatory the suggestions of religion in such a prospect as this!-How welcome the shield of Faith on such an occasion ?

"Faith builds a bridge from this world to the next O'er death's dark gulph, and all its horror hides. 'Tis Faith disarms destruction,"

and enables the true Christian to say, in the words of JOB: "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin wORMS destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." C. P.

EVENING INSTRUCTIONS;

OR, A

FATHER'S ADVICE TO HIS SON ON THE CHOICE OF A TRADE.

MANUFACTURES knives, forks, rasors, scissars, lancets, and all other sorts of cutting instruments, and the chief art. in his business consists in giving the steel a proper temper.

The principal manufacturing town for cutlery in this kingdom is Sheffield, and although the London-made goods in general bear a higher price, many of those manufactured in the country may be as good in quality. Articles

*The wheel of the manufacturing cutler is usually turned by a labourer.

Articles of Cutlery manufacture are forged by fire, and after being brought to the proper form and size, are ground, polished, and such of them as require it put into handles.

In severe winters, the manufacture of skates forms no inconsiderable part of the cutler's business. In some of the principal shops swords are mounted; but the blades generally come from abroad, where they are forged by hammers moved by water-mills.

As shaving with a bad rasor is a very troublesome operation, cutlers have long exerted their ingenuity to bring that article to the greatest possible degree of perfection.

The handles of various instruments are made of ivory, which cannot only be turned like wood, but by a chemical process may be softened, and hardened again after being worked to any pattern.

The Surgical instrument maker makes use of the best steel, and must be particularly careful in finishing and polishing the articles of his manufacture.

An Apprentice to a cutler in Edinburgh is bound for six years; gets nothing for the first year, but has 2s. per week the second, 3s. the third, 4s. the fourth, 5s. the fifth, and 6s. the sixth.-Journeymen in Scotland earn from 20s. to 21s. set wages per week; by the piece 20s. to 30s.; but in the manufacturing towns in England much more.

Anecdote of the Emperor Alexander.

TO THE PUBLISHERS OF THE CHEAP MAGAZINE.

Gentlemen,

you

IN the 108th page of your first volume have given to the Emperor ALEXANDER a title, which, in the sense which every good man would wish it understood when applied to himself, never more became an earthly monarch; and it is reasonably to be expected that what first (at least as far as I know) appeared in the pages of your humble monitor, will soon be adopted as a general sentiment, and the NEW AND TRUE ALEXANDER THE GREAT, be the name by which the illustrious. sovereign

sovereign of all the Russias shall be distinguished among the nations, from pole to pole.

It was indeed a sublime spectacle which he presented on the banks of the Wilna, when the godlike prince wept for joy at the first symptoms of returning animation on a poor subject, who had just been rescued from a watery grave; but circumstances have occurred since those pages were printed in which the magnanimous ALEXANDER has shown himself great indeed; in which, instead of taking vengeance on a guilty nation and capital, and allowing his barbarous hordes (as they have been called) to destroy the monuments of the arts accumulated in Paris, he has spared his enemies with a generosity which must ever endear him to their memory, proved himself the friend and patron of science, and what above all holds out the brightest prospect of felicity and concord among the nations, has declared, that his sole object is to be useful to mankind.

The following anecdote, faithfully copied from a late newspaper, will sufficiently illustrate my meaning.

"His majesty the Emperor of Russia has been pleased to receive a deputation from the National Institute, composed of the President and Secretaries, with several members. In answer to their address he expressed himself in nearly the following terms: "I have always thought highly of the progress which the French have made in the sciences and literature. They have greatly contributed to the diffusion of knowledge in Europe. I by no means impute to them the calamities of their country; and I feel extremely interested in the re-establishment of their liberty. TO BE USEFUL TO MANKIND IS THE ONLY OBJECT OF MY CONDUCT. This is the only motive of my coming to France. I shall embrace with pleasure, gentlemen, an opportunity of forming a more particular acquaintance with you."

Who can read this, particularly the words in capitals, without exclaiming: Happy dawn that opens on the world, after a long and tempestuous night of cruelty and oppression, of sanguinary wars, and of blood!-Is it a dream?Or may we not rather conclude that the happy time is fast approaching, when the sword indeed shall be converted in

to