mercury is obtained by catching it as it falls out of the crevices of the mine.

Though quicksilver is generally in a fluid state, yet it is frequently frozen in Russia and other cold countries. It sometimes freezes in our own country. Mercury congeals at about 40 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit. This closes our ramble through the mineral creation for the present. In our next volume I shall give you a continuation of these articles, and wood-cut illustrations for each. We shall descend, in imagination, into mines of salt, coal, gold, silver, lead, &c. &c.; and I shall endeavor to introduce into our budget much information that will be of great benefit to you as long as you live.

"BUT where are the Malays?" That is right, my young friend. Never fear to ask an important question. The boy who is too proud to ask a question which he cannot solve, will make the man too ignorant to impart instruction. You must learn all you can

from books, and then you will need many lessons and not a few suggestions from those, who have trod the path of knowledge before you.

The Malays are in India, settled here and there in different parts of that country. Very many of them are in Malaya, or what is more commonly called Malacca. Look upon your globe, and you will find this country to be the most southerly part of the continent of Asia. It is a vast cape, extending far into the sea. Now I have given you a picture of one of their villages, and told you where they are to be found, tell me, if you can, how you would get to them?

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I should ride the pony."

Oh, Sammy! That would never do. Pony would need grass before he could swim across the water.

'I should go around the water."

It would be too cold to cross the ice; neither you nor pony could stand it.

"How would you go, Iddy?"

"I should take passage in a ship-go round Cape Horn-visit some of the islands in the Pacific Ocean-and then keep on to Malacca."

Ay, ay, it is for visiting cousins that you are after, I reckon. I think I might go that way to meet an old friend; but I should not for the sake of seeing whales, or for the quickest voyage.

"I know the way," says Mary; "Uncle George always goes round the Cape of Good Hope, and up the Indian Ocean, and his way, I am sure, must be the right way.”

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ter one.

Right enough," says Master Walley, "till somebody finds a betBut for my part I prefer to wait till I can go on Whitney's railroad to Oregon, and then take a short sail across the Pacific. Why should we drag along at six knots an hour, in these days of steam and lightning?"

Ladies and gentlemen, fix all that to suit yourselves, but of one thing I assure you; the Malays are a queer people. But I doubt whether I would go far to see them. And for the present, at least, I trust my readers will be satisfied with a few things which I shall tell about them.

The Malays are a people widely diffused throughout the East.

It is said that they were not natives of the peninsula, which they consider more especially to be theirs, or, in other words, they were not natives of Malacca, but that they came from Palembang, in Sumatra, on the banks of the river Malaya. It is believed that they founded the city of Malacca in 1252.

Their mayor is called sultan. He has nobles under him, but they are not so noble as some other nobles, and the government is not very substantial.

The Malays are dreaded as pirates by the people of Asia. They pursue plunder or conquest with awful daring; they have no mercy for strangers, and their friendship is uncertain. A small offence they take as an insult, which they revenge with frenzy and fury. Some writers, however, maintain that such is not the natural disposition of the Malays, but that the oppressions of their conquerors have driven them to this course of proceeding. These writers say that the Malays "possess higher sentiments of honor, greater fidelity to their word, and, upon the whole, a more estimable character than the natives of India. They are even mild and courteous in their domestic deportment." But they admit that "piracy is their irregular habit, most deeply rooted in their nature; to it their ideas attach no disgrace; on the contrary, its successful prosecution is considered glorious."

Their language is very soft and smooth, and has become a sort of current dialect in the mercantile associations of the East.

DEAD DOGS.

Here is the prettiest puzzle I ever saw. It is the picture of two Now if you add four short lines to the drawing, the dogs will change and become two dogs running away. Who can tell where to place the lines?

Honesty is the Best Policy.

A TRUE STORY.

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A FEW years ago, I was acquainted with three boys, who lived in one of the back towns in Vermont, the oldest of whom was about sixteen, and the youngest about twelve years of age. In the town where they lived it was sometimes customary, when the grain fields were infested with squirrels, for the young men and boys to have a "squirrel hunt," in order to kill off these little mischievous animals These three boys, who lived near each other, were quite impatient for the day to come, when they might go in quest of game. At length the time arrived. They agreed to go together; the oldest was to use the gun, and the others were to assist in finding and carrying the game. They had not proceeded far on their way, when they came near to a barn, which stood in the open field, at a considerable distance from any dwelling-house. Stop, stop," says Edward, and in a moment he raised his gun, and down dropped a squirrel, that was pertly sitting on the barn door, seeming by his impudent chattering to bid defiance to his new visitors. This they thought was a very good beginning. After they had walked nearly half a mile, and had come to a hill, from which they could look back over the ground they had travelled, William, looking round, exclaimed, "See, Edward, the barn where you killed the squirrel is all in a blaze!" "O William," cried Edward, "what shall we do? the wad from my gun must have caught in the straw and set the barn on fire." They ran back with as much haste as possible to see if they could obtain help to extinguish the flame. But it was too late. There were no houses near, and the barn was completely enveloped in the fire. After looking a little time on the mischief they had carelessly, but unintentionally, done, they turned back sorrowful.

"What shall we do now?" said Edward; "we have burnt Mr. Clarke's barn, and have got nothing to pay for it with--what will he do with us?" "O," said,William, "he will never know who did it, if we are not foolish enough to tell of it, for no one saw us, and there are a great many other boys hunting about the fields to-day." Edward walked along thoughtfully, and for a time made no reply

He had been taught that "Honesty is the best policy," and he was evidently struggling against the temptation to conceal an act, which he ought to make known. At length he resolved what to do, and said to his companions, "I am going to Mr. Clarke, and shall tell him I have accidentally set his barn on fire, and promise to pay him for it, as soon as I can earn money enough." "Why, Edward," exclaimed William, "Mr. Clarke will punish us, and likely as not he will send us to prison, if we tell him what mischief we have done." "I cannot help that," replied Edward; "I will do right, come what will." Upon this they set off in haste, and after walking a mile they found Mr. Clarke. Edward told him the whole truth, and expressed much sorrow that he had been so careless, and took all the blame to himself. He promised Mr. C. that he would pay him for the barn, if he should live long enough to earn the money. Mr. C., who was a very passionate man, was very angry with Edward, and treated him harshly, and told him he ought to be sent to the state's prison. Edward turned away deeply mortified, not knowing what to do. He went home with a heavy heart and related all that had happened. As soon as the neighbors heard of the misfortune of poor Edward, and how honest he had been, and how harshly he had been used by Mr. C., they felt a sympathy for him, and generously contributed money enough to pay for the barn. My young friends, it is always safe to do right. "Honesty is the best policy."