their exercise; the kind heart has its own abundant reward, whatever be the gratitude of others. The case of Ferguson shows that the seed does not always fall on stony ground. It may appear somewhat absurd to dwell upon the benefit of a slight civility which cost, at most, but a few minutes of attention; but it is really important that those who are easy in the worldwho have all the advantages of wealth and knowledge at their command-should feel of how much value is the slightest encouragement and assistance to those who are toiling up the steep of emulation. Too often "the scoff of pride" is superadded to the "bar of poverty; and thus it is that many a one of the best talents and the most generous feelings

"Has sunk into the grave unpitied and unknown," because the wealthy and powerful have never understood the value of a helping hand to him who is struggling with fortune.

In investigating the natural history of the scriptures we find it difficult to identify some of the animals there described with any of those which are now known

upon the earth. Behemoth and leviathan "hugest of living creatures," have afforded employment to a host of learned men, some of whom, especially the Jewish Rabbins and early Christian writers, have indulged in speculations sufficiently fanciful, and furnished amusing examples of the extravagance into which the gravest minds will run when judgment surrenders the reins to imagination. Of all the animals whose names we meet in holy writ there is none about which a greater variety of opinions has been entertained than the unicorn. Numerous animals have, each in turn, been taken for it, and the claims of each have been supported by able advocates. It would serve no useful purpose, nor would our limits permit us to detail the arguments by which the various opinions in favor of the wild goat, the wild bull, the wild ass, the antelope, the deer and the rhinoceros have been sustained; suffice it to say that the last of these is now generally admitted to combine all the qualities assigned to the unicorn in the different passages in which that animal is mentioned in the Bible. The chief characteristics of the rhinoceros, says an eminent naturalist, " are rage, untameableness and strength," all which properties we will find the unicorn to possess. To the rage or ferocity of the animal we find the following testimony in Isaiah, "and the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness." His untameable disposition is thus alluded to by Job: "Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? wilt thou trust him because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labor to him? wilt thou believe him that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?"-In another place his strength is described as so great that the strength of the Lord is likened to it. Thus in the reply of Balaam to Balak when the terrified king besought him to curse the invading armies of Israel, we are told, " God brought them out of Egypt, he hath as it were the strength of a uni、 corn."

A remarkable peculiarity in the rhinoceros is that it possesses a single horn which is situated upon the front of the head in an erect posture, therein differing from other animals whose horns project in a direction more or less approaching to parallelism with the bone. This peculiarity is alluded to in the Bible. "My horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn." But there is a species of rhinoceros distinguished by the possession of two horns, and it is evident from the following passage that the unicorn also was sometimes found with more horns than one; "His horns are like the horns of a unicorn,"

The name of the rhinoceros is a Greek word, yet we have reason to believe that the animal was totally unknown to the ancient Greeks, as no mention of it occurs in Aristotle, and it was not described by any Greek before the time of Strabo. It would appear, however, from the description, that the oryx or Indian ass of Aristotle was identical with the rhinoceros; his informers, for he never saw the animal himself, comparing it to the ass from the clumsiness of its shape. It probably did not inhabit that part of India into which Alexander penetrated, as it was nearly 300 years after, that Pompey first introduced the animal into Europe. From his time until that of Heliogabalus they were frequently exhibited in the Roman spectacles; we find the figure of the rhinoceros among the animals of the Prænestine pavement, and we are told that Augustus introduced them into his show in his triumph over Cleopatra. They have frequently been transported to Europe in modern times, but were scarcely better known than the fabled unicorn of the poet and the painter, until some arrived in London in 1739, the careful examination of which discovered and corrected many prevalent errors and misconceptions. They have been recently exhibited in the caravans in our own country and are so generally known that a minute description may be deemed superfluous. The rhinoceros is usually about twelve feet long from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail; from six to seven feet high; and the circumference of its body is nearly equal to its length. It is therefore equal to the elephant in bulk,

and the reason of its appearing so much smaller to the eye than that animal, is that its legs are much shorter. But for its horn, its head would very much resemble that of a hog. Its skin is naked, rough, knotty and lying upon the body in folds in a very peculiar manner; if we run the fingers under one of these folds it feels like a board half an inch thick, but between the folds the skin is as smooth and soft as silk. The skin of the folds is of a brown color and is so hard that it will turn the edge of a scimitar. They do not congregate like the elephants, but lead a solitary savage life and are very hard to hunt, for though harmless except when attacked they are then furious and formidable; sabres, lances and javelins have no effect upon them, and their skin will even resist a musket ball, the only penetrable parts being the ears and the spot immediately below the eyes. They are frequently killed while asleep for the sake of the flesh which is much relished by the Indians, Africans and Hottentots.

Bruce informs us that the Rhinoceros lives entirely upon trees, these he first strips and then placing his snout as low in the trunk as he finds the horn will enter, he rips up the body of the tree and reduces it to thin pieces, he then takes as much of it as he can in his monstrous jaws and twists it with as much ease as an ox would do a root of celery. His horn is also a formidable weapon in war; the elephant, the boar and the buffalo are obliged to strike transversely, with their weapons; but the Rhinoceros, from the situation of his horn, employs all his force with every blow, so that the tiger will more willingly attack any other animal of the forest than one whose strength is so justly employed. Indeed there is no force which this terrible animal need apprehend; defended on every side by a thick horny hide which the claws of the lion or the tiger are unable to pierce, and armed before with a weapon that even the elephant does not choose to oppose. Travellers have assured us that the elephant is often found dead in the forests, pierced with the horn of a Rhinoceros.

July 1, 1832.

THE SONG SPARROW AND THE BAY-WINGED BUNTING.

The house sparrow of Europe has an upopular character. In some places, a price has been offered for its extirpation, and BUFFON sums up in the following style: "It is extremely destructive, its plumage is entirely useless, its flesh indifferent food, its notes grating to the ear, and its familiarity and petulance disgusting."

No share of this odium, however, ought to be extended to American sparrows, for I know of no birds more deserving of our regard and protection. Their interests and ours never interfere; indeed most of their labors conduce to our benefit; and their music though overpowered by the stronger notes of the thrush and of the robin, is always pleasing when it can be heard without interruption.

Of this family, the song sparrow is decidedly the finest. He visits us earlier in Spring than any other migratory songster, and sings to us for several weeks almost without a competitor. The same notes are repeated many times in succession; he then changes and repeats others in the same manner.