reception, I saw two Chinese boys discussing with much earnestness who should be the possessor of an orange. They debated the point with a vast variety of gesture, and at length, without fighting, sat down and divided the orange equally between them. At that moment my attention was attracted by several old Chinese, some of whom had grey beards, and nearly all of them huge spectacles. A few were chirping and chuckling to singingbirds, which they carried in bamboo cages, or perched on a stick; others were catching flies to feed the birds; the remainder of the party seemed to be delightfully employed in flying paper kites, while a group of boys were gravely looking on, and regarding these occupations of their seniors with the most serious and gratified attention.

Being resolved on learning the language, I procured a Chinese master, who happily understood English. I was fully prepared to be told that I was about to study a language without an alphabet, but was somewhat astonished, on his opening the Chinese volume, to find him begin at what I had all my life previously considered the end of the book. He read the date of the publicationThe fifth year, tenth month, twenty-third day.'-We arrange our dates differently, I observed; and begged him to let me know something of their ceremonials. commenced by saying, 'When you receive a distinguished guest, do not fail to place him on your left hand, for that is the seat of honor; and be cautious not to uncover the head, as it would be an unbecoming act of familiarity?'Davis.

He

SUMMER MORNING SCENE.

THE meek-eyed morn appears, mother of dews,
At first faint gleaming in the dappled east,
Till far o'er ether spreads the widening glow ;
And from before the lustre of her face

White break the clouds away. With quicken'd step
Brown night retires; young day pours in apace,
And opens all the lawny prospect, wide.
The dripping rock, the mountain's misty top,
Swell on the sight and brighten with the dawn.

Blue, thro' the dusk, the smoking currents shine;
And from the bladed field the fearful hare
Limps awkward: while along the forest glade
The wild deer trip, and often turning gaze
At early passengers. Music awakes
The native voice of undissembled joy ;
And thick around the woodlands hymns arise.

Falsely luxurious, will not man awake,
And, springing from the bed of sloth, enjoy
The cool, the fragrant, and the silent hour,
To meditation due, and sacred song?

For is there aught in sleep can charm the wise?
To lie in dead oblivion, losing half

The fleeting moments of too short a life;
Total extinction of the enlightened soul!
Or else to fev'rish variety alive,

'Wilder'd, and tossing thro' distemper'd dreams!
Who would in such a gloomy state remain
Longer than nature craves; when every muse
And every blooming pleasure wait without,
To bless the wildly-devious morning walk?-Thomson.

PROGNOSTICS OF THE WEATHER.

RED clouds in the west, at sunset, especially when they have a tint of purple, portend fine weather; the reason of which is, that the air, when dry, refracts more red or heat-making rays; and as dry air is not perfectly transparent, they are again reflected in the horizon. A coppery or yellow sunset generally foretels rain; but as an indication of wet weather approaching, nothing is more certain than the halo around the moon, which is produced by the precipitated water; and the larger the circle the nearer the clouds, and consequently the more ready to fall. The old proverb is often correct:

A rainbow in the morning is the shepherd's warning;
A rainbow at night is the shepherd's delight.

A rainbow can only occur when the clouds containing the rain are opposite to the sun. In the evening the rainbow

is in the east, and in the morning in the west; and as our heavy rains in this climate are usually brought by the westerly wind, a rainbow in the west indicates that the bad weather is on the road to us; whereas, the rainbow in the east proves that the rain in these clouds is passing from us.

When the swallows fly high, fine weather may be expected or continued; but when they fly low and close to the ground, rain is almost surely approaching. This is explained as follows:-Swallows pursue the flies and gnats, and flies and gnats usually delight in warm strata of air; and as warm air is lighter, and usually moister, than cold air, when the warm strata of our air are high, there is less chance of moisture being thrown down from them by the mixture with cold air; but when the warm and moist air is close to the surface, it is almost certain that, as the cold air flows down into it, a deposition of water will take place. When sea gulls assemble on the land, stormy and rainy weather is almost always approaching; the reason of which might be thought to be, that these animals, sensible of a current of air approaching from the ocean, retire to the land to shelter themselves from the storm. This is not the case, however. The storm is their element; and the little petrel enjoys the heaviest gale, because, living on the smaller sea insects, he is sure to find his food in the spray of a heavy wave, and he may be seen flitting above the edge of the highest surge.

The reason of this migration of gulls and other seabirds to the land, is their security of finding food; and they may be observed, at this time, feeding greedily on the earthworms driven out of the ground by severe floods; and the fish on which they prey in fine weather on the sea, leave the surface and go deeper in storms. The search after food is the principal cause why animals change their places. The different tribes of the wading birds always migrate when rain is about to take place. The vulture, upon the same principle, follows armies; and there is no doubt, that the augury of the ancients was a good deal founded upon the observation of the instinct of birds. There are many superstitions of the vulgar owing to the same source. For anglers, in spring, it is always unlucky to see single magpies, but two may be always regarded as a favourable omen; and the reason is, that

in cold and stormy weather, one magpie alone leaves the nest in search of food, the other remaining sitting upon the eggs or the young ones; but if two go out together, it is only when the weather is warm and mild and favourable for fishing.-Sir H. Davy.

THE CREATOR'S WORKS.

THERE's not a star whose twinkling light
Illumes the distant earth,

And cheers the solemn gloom of night,
But mercy gave it birth.

There's not a cloud whose dews distil
Upon the parching clod,

And clothe with verdure vale and hill,
That is not sent by God.

There's not a place in earth's vast round,
In ocean deep, or air,

Where skill and wisdom are not found,
For God is every where.

Around, beneath, below, above,
Wherever space extends,

There heaven displays its boundless love,
And power with mercy blends.- Wallace.

ON QUARRELLING.

I THINK it may be remarked as a very common fault, or at least an oversight, in those who have the management of children, that sufficient care is not taken to prevent quarrelling and altercation amongst them ; as if this too natural propensity were an unimportant and inconsiderable sin. Some parents, to whom I have spoken on the subject, have not perceived the propriety of interfering with the little bickerings and disputes that are

continually going on amongst children; assuming that it is better to let them settle their own disputes, and to get their selfish tempers corrected by collision with each other. I wish simply to point out what seems to me false and dangerous in this plan, and the consequences that plainly result from it.

Parents and teachers will not let their children lie; they will not let them steal. Why? Because they are sins, offensive to God, and injurious to the well-being of society. But they will suffer them to quarrel from morning to night, provided their disagreements do not break out into open violence, or become disturbing to others. What impression can the mind of the children receive from this, but that disputing and quarrelling are either no sin, or less a sin than those breaches of the divine law, which are so carefully corrected when they occur; and growing up with this impression, it is but too commonly apparent that they continue to think so to the end of their lives.

I do not know whether it can be necessary to say any thing to prove that quarrelling, wrangling, or disputing, is a sin. If we consider how very plainly the Scripture speaks respecting it, how strongly it is reprobated, how positively it is forbidden, without any reference to the ground of quarrel, or object of dispute ;-if we consider how much opposed it is to the whole tone and spirit of Christianity, of which the very life and essence are forbearance, gentleness, and peace; and above all, if we regard that high example, by which we are to walk, His example, to be conformed to whose likeness we were redeemed, it would appear quite unnecessary to prove that quarrelling is a sin, forbidden of God, and offensive in his sight. If, on the contrary, we observe how the peace of families is destroyed by it; how the fondest ties of domestic affection cannot restrain, or self-interest itself control it; how truth is disgraced by it, and religion dishonoured; we might doubt if any body believes it to be a sin at all.

The word of God says, "The children of God must not strive." And if they must not, why do we bring up our children in a habit, which the strongest principle of after life will slowly, perhaps never, enable them to subdue? I say nothing of the occasions of quarrel among children;