and tail being tipped with light brown; the top of the head and the throat being of a yellowish brown. From this stage the transition is gradual to that of maturity.

The next example is the Hen-harrier, (Circus cyaneus.) The difference which age produces in the plumage of the harriers in general does not, in the present example, end here; for it exists to such an extent between the two sexes, as to have caused them, until very lately, to have been considered as distinct species; the female having obtained the name of the Hen-harrier, and the male that of the Ringtail. The Hen-harrier (the name now retained) is universally spread over Europe; it occurs also in some parts of Africa and of North America; every where restricting itself to low, flat lands, moors, and heaths. In its manners it has all the characters of its tribe. Dr. Richardson (see Fauna Boreali-Americana) observes, that it is a 66 common species on the plains of the Saskatchewan, seldom less than five or six being in sight at a time, each keeping to a particular beat, until it had completely examined it. Their flight was in general low; but though Mr. Drummond and I watched them for hours at a time, and lay as still in the grass as possible, they invariably rose out of gunshot as they passed over our heads, and the specimens were procured only by lying in ambush near the nest. Notwithstanding they appeared to be almost constantly on the wing, we seldom saw them carry anything away; and they seemed on the whole to be less successful hunters than the little Falco sparverius, or the lazy buzzards, that sat watching for their prey on the bough of a tree. A small green snake is very plentiful in that quarter, and forms a considerable portion of the food of this bird, whence its Cree name of the 'Snake Hunter.' The nests that we observed were built on the ground, by the sides of small lakes, of moss, grass, feathers, and hair, and contained from three to five eggs, of a smaller size than those of a domestic fowl, but similar in shape, and having a bluish white colour, without spots.

Colour of adult male: head, neck, and the whole of the upper surface of a blueish gray, verging into black on the quillfeathers; tail feathers gray, tipped with white; tail coverts and whole of the under surface white. Bill black, iris and tarsi yellow. Length, one foot six inches.

Colour of adult female: upper surface, dull brown, the feathers of the head and Under neck being edged with rufous. surface of a reddish yellow, with large brown longitudinal dashes; the quillfeathers are barred externally with brown and black, internally with white and black. Tail coverts white, with streaks of red. Two middle tail feathers barred with black and ash-colour, the others with reddish yellow and black. Length, one foot eight inches. The young of both sexes, though much more dull and indistinct in colour, resemble the female; and it is not until after the second year that the males begin to assume their characteristic dress, which is a gradual process, and not perfect till after two or three successive moults.

OLD HUMPHREY'S HIGHLAND TOUR

CONCLUDED.

That ancient man has play'd his part;
His flowery web is spun;
His toil, at last, is o'er and past;
His pleasant work is done.
With grateful heart he went abroad,
As cheerful as the day;
With sunny mind and grateful heart
He wends his homeward way.

ON my return from Callander to Glasgow, I had an agreeable fellow-traveller in the sheriff's depute for the county of Perth, to whom I mentioned the circumstance of the delay, or loss of my trunk, and of the long train of inconveniences to which it had subjected me. He much wished me to pay him a visit at Stirling, but I had it not in my power to avail myself of his friendly invitation. Our converse, on many points, was to me highly interesting, and hardly can I err in venturing the remark that we were mutually pleased with each other. We parted at the door of Comries' Hotel, Glasgow; and scarcely had I entered the house before my host announced to me the arrival of my long-lost trunk. was to me news of no trivial importance. A fresh and abundant supply of clothes, linen, and shoe-leather, to one who had been so long touring in the wet and the storm, was a source of great comfort-a positive treasure. My trunk, instead of being forwarded by mail to Inverness, had, for the sake of economy, been consigned by my host at Blair Athol to the care of a carrier, and thus had it been slowly creeping through the country, following me from one place to another,

This

while I was suffering the greatest incon- | venience for want of the comforts it contained.

A little to the south of Glasgow, on the Clyde, stands the royal burgh of Rutherglen. "Near the town is a kind of lane, known by the name of Din's Dikes, which is connected with the history of the unhappy queen Mary. Her majesty, during the battle of Langside, stood on a rising ground, about a mile from Rutherglen; and upon seeing her army give way, she commenced her precipitate flight to the south. Din's Dikes lay in her way,-and there two rustics, who were cutting grass, threatened to hew her in pieces with their scythes, if she did not surrender; but she was instantly rescued from those savages, and proceeded towards Galloway."

Further up the Clyde is Bothwell Castle, a magnificent ruin of princely grandeur, formed of polished red freestone, round which the broad and deep river makes a fine sweep. Often have the old walls given back the tones of the minstrel's harp, often have they rung with the boisterous mirth of feudal revelry. Power has there lifted its strong arm in strife, and pageantry wielded the lance in the tourney; but Time, with its withering touch, has crumbled the walls, and desolation been busy with its towers.

"Bothwell Church is an old Gothic structure, covered with large polished stones, laid over an arched roof. The date of its erection is unknown; but the Douglas arms, quartered with the Royal arms, are upon one of the windows, in allusion, probably, to the marriage of the earl of Douglas with the daughter of Christian, the sister of king Robert Bruce."

The superb pile of Hamilton Palace, with its portico of Corinthian pillars, lofty pediments, extended wings, and noble picture-gallery, attracts much attention; and so does the villa of Baru cluith, with its terraced garden overhanging the Avon.

"The banks of the Avon are bold and craggy, often wooded to the water's edge, with here and there a shapeless rock jutting forth its bald front through the trees. The channel or dell is from 200 to 300 feet in depth; and the water is seen at the bottom struggling and foaming over its rocky bed. The scenery is the finest of the kind, being superior to that of Roslin, to which it bears a great resemblance.

|

The battle of Drumclog was fought near the head of this romantic vale, on the first Sunday of June, 1679; on which occasion the Covenanters obtained a glorious triumph over Graham of Claverhouse, who had under his command 200 chosen horsemen, while the Covenanters, suddenly surprised in conventicle, were only 200 foot and 50 horse, all indifferently armed. Claverhouse lost thirtysix of his men, the Covenanters only six."

one.

It was my wish to visit the Falls of the Clyde, and Lanark, and the Cartland Crags, and Ayr; but the wish was a vain How true it is that "the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing," Eccles. i. 8. We are much more disposed to sigh for what we have not, than to rejoice for what we possess; and to lament the sights we have lost, rather than exult over those we have secured.

The Fall of Stonebyres, I am told, is very magnificent, thundering down, after rain, in full force, a depth of eighty feet. Bonniton Linn cataract flings itself like an avalanche into a boiling abyss. Dundaff Linn, though not large, is beautiful; and Corra Linn, scattered by projecting rocks into three falls, is magnificent in the extreme:

The crystal flood, the foam, the roar;
The rocky bed, the castled shore;
And trees and shrubs in every part,
Entrance the stranger's eye and heart.

If tradition be true, a frightened horse, with a daughter of one of the ancient kings of Scotland, named Corra, on his back, plunged from the head of the Fall into the gulf below; from which circumstance arises the name of Corra Linn. As I have elsewhere said, vast is the flood that descends; but what is it to the waters of the mighty ocean? And what is the ocean in size, compared with the world? And what is the world, when contrasted with the universe? How great and infinite, then, the power of the almighty Maker of them all, the bountiful Bestower of all our blessings! With what mingled awe and wonder and thankfulness should we regard his wondrous works and his holy word! How ardent should be our gratitude, and how loud should be our praise!

The Cartland Crags are on the river Mouse, which forces its way through an extraordinary chasm, formed by some strange convulsion. The craggy barriers are fearful, rising to a height of 400 feet. On entering a railroad-carriage, after

leaving Comries' Hotel, I was soon in Edinburgh; which place I quitted on the following morning, for a ride of about four hundred miles to London. As we whirled on through Haddington, in the neighbourhood where the battle of Preston Pans was fought, I could not but think of the miseries of war. It was at the field of Preston Pans that colonel Gardiner was dismounted from his horse by the stroke of a Highlander's scythe, and then dispatched with a blow from a broadsword. Poor Gardiner!-Is that a fit death-bed for a Christian man, where there are wrath-inflamed eyes, and angerburning hearts, and brandished weapons, and red reeking hands, and "confused noise, and garments rolled in blood?"

As we hurried on, many a striking scene, both on the land and sea, arrested my attention. The Scottish homesteads and farms appeared in excellent order, with cornstacks in abundance around them, but it would take half a dozen Scottish cornstacks, at least, to equal in size one of ours in England.

At Berwick-on-Tweed we were at no great distance from Norham Castle and Flodden Field, though I had no opportunity of paying a visit to either of them. The fight at Flodden was disastrous to the English, and still more so to the Scotch.

I am always glad either to beg, borrow, or steal the account of a battle given by another, rather than attempt to describe it in my own words. For this reason I shall now quote from the "Guide Book." "In the reign of Robert Bruce, Norham Castle was besieged by the Scotch, who raised two forts against it, one at the church, the other at Upsetlington; but it was bravely and successfully defended by sir Thomas Gray, its governor. In 1513, it surrendered to James Iv., who, after demolishing its outworks, and ravaging the country round, took up a position at Flodden, six miles distant, near the river Till, where was fought, on the 9th of September, 1513, that fatal battle, in which he fell with the flower of his nobility. The Scottish army was placed on Flodden ridge, and the English at Barmoorwood, on the opposite side of the Till. In the morning, the English crossed the Till by Twizel Bridge, and their rear by a ford a mile higher up, and drew up with their rear to the Tweed and facing the Scotch, who, setting fire to their tents, rushed down, under cover of the smoke, to

secure the eminence on which Brankstone is built. Surrey commanded the English centre, his two sons the right, Stanley the left, and lord Dacre the horse reserve. Huntly commanded the Scotch on the left, which at first gained some advantages; but the Borderers began to plunder, when the left division of the English attacked the Scotch, and routing their right, under Lennox and Argyle, fell on the centre, which was already pressed hard by Surrey. Night separated the combatants, the Scotch lost 10,000, and the English about 6,000 men. A full view of the field may be got from a hillock behind the position of the English right wing. An unhewn stone, called the King's stone,' marks the place where the king fell."

A second-class carriage is often entered by poor working men, who sit for the time in silence, as if they were tabooed, or interdicted, and feeling anything but kindly towards their betterdressed fellow-travellers. A civil remark made to such men, or an inquiry about anything they understand, has almost always an excellent effect, if it be made not in a patronizing, condescending spirit; but with frankness, friendliness, and kindness. If I have any insight into the heart, any knowledge of human character, then am I sure that half a dozen such men left the carriage in which I travelled, with more self-respect, and with more kindly feelings towards me, than they would have felt, had I not accosted them with civility. There should be a kindly feeling between all classes. A proud man may undervalue the remark, but a wise man will not despise it.

At Newcastle-on-Tyne we were conveyed in omnibuses from one part of the railroad to another. As we passed the old church, a gentleman sitting opposite me remarked that there were many excellent clergymen and ministers in Newcastle. I did not doubt the truth of his remark, but observing that the church clock was at least three or four hours behind time, I directed his attention to it, expressing a hope that the finger in the pulpit pointed more correctly than the finger of the dial.

The latter part of my journey I travelled alone, reviewing the past. Scottish scenes came before me in all their immensity, sterility, solitude, and sublimity. What interesting seasons had I passed, conversing with pleasant com

panions, and musing by myself at eventide by lonely lochs and solitary places, hearing no sound but my own breath and the hum of the sharded beetle wheeling around me his "drony flight,"—and was at last returning home.

A tourist who is ready to endure as well as enjoy, and to achieve as well as undertake, will find Scotland a fair field of enterprise. She has very much that will arrest his attention; Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Perth among her cities; Edinburgh, Stirling, Dumbarton, and Blackness among her castles; and Bannockburn, Stirling, Sheriffmuir, and Culloden among her battle-plains. Let Ben Macdhui, Ben Nevis, Braeriach, Cairngorm, Benlawers, and Ben y Gloe speak for her mountains; Loch Fine, Loch Awe, Loch Linne, Loch Lomond, and Loch Katrine for her lakes; and Glencoe, Glennevis, Glentilt, Glencroe, and Glenfinlas for her glens. Go to the Isles of Lewis, Skye, Mull, Staffa, and Iona; to the forests of Athol and Glenartney; to the Passes of Leny, Cattle, and Killiecrankie; and to the Falls of the Bruar, Clyde, Tummel, Foyer, and Aberfeldy, and say if your eye has not sparkled with emotion, and your heart bounded with unusual delight!

After hurrying onwards for a day and a night, I arrived at home in peace, with an exulting spirit, and a heart brimfull and running over with thankfulness for the pleasure I had partaken, and the preservation which had been mercifully extended to me as a tourist. I had seen much of Scotland, and breathed a blessing upon her from her highest hills and gloomiest glens; I had companionized with kindred spirits, drunk deeply of the cup of enjoyment, and revelled in the goodly and glowing scenes that had been spread around me. Oh that we were half as much in earnest for heaven, as determined tourists are for the brow of Ben Nevis or Ben Lomond! If, as pilgrims to the city with the golden gates, we had half the zeal, perseverance, and consistency that ardent tourists manifest, how many stumbling-blocks should we remove from our paths! How many lions in the way would be slain! Tourists are not ashamed of their object, but rather make it known, and encourage others to pursue it as well as themselves. They dress like tourists, think like tourists, talk like tourists, and act like tourists;

but do we, as Christian pilgrims, do the same? Shame upon us! shame upon

us!

The tourist grasps his staff, and despite of wind and weather, journeys onward. The wind may blow, and the rain may fall; the bog may be dangerous, and the mountain steep; but he battles with the rude elements, threads a pathway through the shaking quagmire, toils up the towering mountain, winning his way to its very crown, on which he stands, waving his cap exultingly, with some high-growing plant in his bosom, and success and triumph in his heart. Animated by the picture, let us go forward! Heaven is before us! On! Christian, on! Win thy way courageously, exultingly, successfully, triumphantly, strengthened by almighty power, and upheld by everlasting arms!

"THIS MAN RECEIVETH SINNERS."

It was

I REMEMBER one sermon which seemed to me nearer the perfection of preaching, than any that I have ever heard before or since. The preacher was one of my most valued friends. He is one of the most eloquent men this age has produced; but there was nothing of what the world calls eloquence in that sermon. rather the preaching of one who, like the great apostle, had thrown aside every advantage which belonged to himself or to his peculiar gifts-all eloquence and excellency of speech or of wisdom, and was determined to know nothing among his hearers, but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

The church in which I heard this sermon, had been lately built in the heart of a district in London, inhabited by the most abandoned characters- a locality reckoned hardly safe in open day. In walking thither, we had to pass through one street in particular, filled with dens of iniquity of various kinds. I have seen there, for instance, hundreds of silk pocket-handkerchiefs, of all colours and patterns, hung out openly for sale, furnished, it is well known, from the spoils of the pickpockets. There stood that quiet sanctuary; its open doors and free seats, inviting the very refuse and dregs of society to come in, and hear the full free offer of pardon and grace to the vilest and to the worst; and there, in the midst of a mixed multitude, hanging with breathless attention on his deep and solemn voice, stood that earnest preacher of the word, which had melted and trans