"At Yule-time in our chamber
"We sit in warmth and light,
"While cold and howling round us
"Lies the black land of night.

"Athwart the room a sparrow
"Darts from the open door:
"Within the happy hearth-light
"One red flash,—and no more!
"We see it come from darkness,
"And into darkness go:-
"So is our life, King Edwin!
"Alas, that it is so!

"But if this pale Paulinus

"Have somewhat more to tell;

"Some news of Whence and Whither, "And where the soul will dwell;

"If on that outer darkness

"The sun of Hope may shine; "He makes life worth the living! "I take his God for mine!"

So spake the wise old warrior;
And all about him cried:
"Paulinus' God hath conquer'd!
"And he shall be our guide:-
"For he makes life worth living

"Who brings this message plain, "When our brief days are over,

"That we shall live again."

Anonymous.

CXLIII. THE PORCUPINE,

slug'-gish, lazy; slow; schwerfällig; träge. con-tempt'-i-ble, worthless; verächtlich. wol-ver-ene', the glutton; Vielfraß.

ex'-tir-pate, to root out; ausrotten.

en-dow', to enrich with any gift; ausstatten.

fe'-rine, like a wild beast; wild.

im-per-vi-ous, impenetrable; undurchdringlich.

in-vul ́-ner-a-ble, incapable of being wounded; unverwundbar. sup'-pli-cate, to beg; bitten; flehen.

del'-i-ca-cy, a dainty; Leckerbissen.

re-sent'-ment, anger; indignation; Entrüstung; Empfindlichkeit. mas'-tiff, a large variety of dog; Bullenbeißer.

quill, the prickle of a porcupine, or hedgehog; Stachel.

1. The Canada Porcupine, of all North American quadrupeds, possesses the strangest peculiarities in its organization and habits. In its movements it is the most sluggish of all our species. Although the skunk is slow of foot, he would prove no contemptible competition with it in a trial of speed. Under such circumstances the inquiry arises, what protection has this animal against the attacks of the wolverene, the lynx, the wolf, and the cougar? and how long will it be before it becomes totally extirpated?

2. But a wise Creator has endowed it with powers by which it can bid .defiance to the whole ferine race, the grizzly bear not excepted. If the skunk presents to its enemies a formidable battery, that stifles and burns at the same time, the porcupine is clothed in an impervious coat of mail bristling with bayonets.

3. We kept a living animal of this kind in a cage in Charleston for six months, and on many occasions witnessed the manner in which it arranged its formidable spines, in order to prove invulnerable to the attacks of its enemies.

4. It was occasionally let out of its cage to enjoy the benefit of a promenade in the garden. It had become very

gentle, and evinced no spiteful propensities; when we called to it, holding in our hand a tempting sweet-potato or an apple, it would turn its head slowly towards us, and give us a mild and wistful look, and then with stately steps advance and take the fruit from our hand. It then assumed an upright position, and conveyed the potato or apple to its mouth with its paws. If it found the door of our study open, it would march in, and gently approach us, rubbing its sides against our legs, and looking up at us as if supplicating for additional delicacies.

5. We frequently plagued it in order to try its temper, but it never evinced any spirit of resentment by raising its bristles at us; but no sooner did a dog make his appearance, than in a moment it was armed at all points in defence. It would bend its nose downward, erect its bristles, and, by a threatening sideway movement of the tail, give evidence that it was ready for the attack.

6. A large, ferocious, and exceedingly troublesome mastiff, belonging to the neighborhood, had been in the habit of digging a hole under the fence, and entering our garden. Early one morning we saw him making a dash at some object in the corner of the fence, which proved to be our porcupine, which had during the night made its escape from the cage.

7. The dog seemed regardless of all its threats, and probably supposing it to be an animal not more formidable than a cat, sprang upon it with open mouth. The porcupine seemed to swell up in an instant to nearly double its size, and as the dog pounced upon it, it dealt him such a sidewise blow with its tail, as to cause the mastiff to relinquish his hold instantly, and set up a loud howl in an agony of pain.

8. His mouth, tongue, and nose were full of porcupine quills. He could not close his jaws, but hurried openmouthed out of the premises. It proved to him a lesson for

life, as nothing could ever afterwards induce him to revisit a place where he had met with such an unneighborly reception.

9. Although the servants immediately extracted the spines from the mouth of the dog, we observed that his head was terribly swelled for several weeks afterwards, and it was two months before he finally recovered.

Audubon and Bachman.

CXLIV. THE GRAY FOREST-EAGLE.

pin'-ion, a wing; Flügel.

per-chance', by chance; von ungefähr.

shroud, to hide; verbergen.

plum'-age, the feathers that cover a bird; Gefieder.

gorge, a narrow passage between hills or mountains; Schlucht. blend, to mix; mischen.

keen, piercing; durchdringend.

erag, a steep, rugged rock; Klippe.

king'-fish-er, a bird that lives on fish; Eisvogel.
tal'-on, the claw of a fowl; Vogelklaue.

With storm-daring pinion and sun-gazing eye,
The gray forest-eagle is king of the sky!

O, little he loves the green valley of flowers,

Where sunshine and song cheer the bright summer hours,
For he hears in those haunts only music, and sees
Only rippling of waters and waving of trees;
There the red-robin warbles, the honey-bee hums,
The timid quail whistles, the sly partridge drums;
And if those proud pinions, perchance, sweep along,
There's a shrouding of plumage, a hushing of song;
The sunlight falls stilly on leaf and on moss,
And there's naught but his shadow black gliding across;
But the dark gloomy gorge, where down plunges the foam
Of the fierce, rock-lashed torrent, he claims as his home:

There he blends his keen shriek with the roar of the flood,
And the many-voiced sounds of the blast-smitten wood;
From the crag-grasping fir-top where morn hangs its wreath,
He views the mad waters while writhing beneath:
On a limb of that moss-bearded hemlock far down,
With bright azure mantle and gray mottled crown,
The kingfisher watches, where o'er him his foe,
The fierce hawk, sails circling, each moment more low;
Now poised are those pinions and pointed that beak,
His dread swoop is ready, when, hark! with a shriek,
His eye-balls red blazing, high bristled his crest,
His snake-like neck arch'd, talons drawn to his breast,
With the rush of the wind-gust, the glancing of light,
The gray forest-eagle shoots down in his flight;
One blow of those talons, one plunge of that neck,
The strong hawk hangs lifeless, a blood-dripping wreck;
And as dives the free kingfisher, dart-like on high
With his prey soars the eagle, and melts in the sky.

Alfred B. Street.

CXLV. A CHASE ON THE ICE.

se-ques'-tered, set apart; abgelegen.

pas'-time, amusement; Zeitvertreib.

ma'-zy, winding; sich windend.

thrill, a sharp tingling sensation; Schauer.

bra'-cing, giving strength; stärkend.

pre-ter-nat ́-u-ral, beyond what is natural; übernatürlich.

peer, to peep; gucken.

re-ver'-ber-ate, to resound; wiederhallen.

hoot'-ing, the cry of an owl; Eulengeschrei.

in-fer'-nal, hellish; höllisch.

be-night-ed, overtaken by the night; von der Nacht überrascht. ev-o-lu'-tion, a sudden change of direction; Schwenkung. haunch, the hip; Hüfte.