siderable pains to procure a domestic breed of them, but, though he succeeded in taming them so as to be troublesome in the house, he could never procure a breed either by themselves or with the tame pigeon. It is a curious fact, that he bred up together a ringdove, a white owl, and a sparrowhawk, which lived in amity, but of which the ring-dove was the master.

The CARRIER PIGEON is distinguished from all others, by a broad circle of naked white skin which surrounds the eyes; and by the colour of the plumage, which is of a dark blue inclining to black. From their attachment to their native place, these birds are employed in several countries as the most expeditious carriers of letters; and formerly they were commonly used in conveying letters from place to place in time of war, and in case of sieges, when all other means of communication were intercepted, or cut off by the enemy. These birds have been known to fly at the rate of seventy-two miles in the space of two hours and a half. One of them will carry a letter from Babylon to Aleppo in forty-eight hours, though the journey generally occupies a man for thirty days.

The PASSENGER PIGEON is about the size of the common pigeon. The head, throat, and upper parts of the body are ash coloured; the sides of the neck are of a glossy variable purple; the under parts of a similar colour, but paler; and there is a crimson mark round the eyes. These birds visit the different parts of North America in such immense flocks that we may justly apply to them Milton's expression of "numbers numberless." One flight of them is said to have been seen which extended to eighty miles:

"God made the country, but man made the town."

THE amiable poet-CowPER, who wrote this line, was a lover of the country with all its scenes of simplicity and loveliness. It was not his intention to say that men should not make towns and cities, but that he loved the country best. And I must range myself on the side of the poet; though I am quite aware that the citizen has advantages which the villager has not.

Having this fondness for the country, I get out among its green fields as often as my busy engagements will permit; and once every quarter, at least, that is, in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, for in all seasons I find something to please, I take my three little boys, and start off for a village excursion.

I must say, however, that if I have a preference for one of these seasons above the other, it is for autumn; and some of the reasons why may appear if I give a short sketch of our last autumnal excursion.

It was a fine but rather sultry afternoon in the last week of August. The heat was fatiguing, and we had not proceeded more than a mile before I was fain to rest myself on a dry bank, and stretched out on my back, watch the white fleeces of clouds as they floated high in the heavens over the face of the clear blue sky. And there I lay for some time, letting my imagination have full range over the vast and boundless fields of space above me, and onward my thoughts travelled among eternal scenes-beyond this world and time. My lads in the mean time, for they had provided bags for the purpose, had entered a recentlygathered wheat-field, and were busily employed picking up a few of the remaining ears of corn which they found among the short stubble.

I gave them full half an hour, which they thought a very short one, and then they came, rather reluctantly, for it was, to them, a happy employment, and the more they got the more they should have for mother to boil down and make into furmenty. However, they had each secured a good handful, which was enough for one boiling for them all, and their little sister too, and I did not wish them to take more, as it would be only like depriving some little ragged fellows, who had just entered the field, of a good belly-full of the healthy food.

We started again, and after surveying the orchard of a nurseryman, in which were many fruits good for food and pleasant to the eye, which my sons looked at with questionable admiration, as if they coveted a taste of the rich juices they contained, we came next to his beautiful flower-garden and hot-houses. These attracted my attention, but the lads seemed to be

VISIT TO A VILLAGE.

thinking more about the purple plums and red-rinded apples of the orchard.

We left one large village, which we sometimes visit, to the left, and passed on. For the days being long enough we were bent on having a more extended tour. But again we felt the heat to be oppressive, and having drunk of a brook by the way, we rested again for a season, and held a consultation as to whether we should return or advance. The question was soon decided: the majority was for advancing, and so up the hill we climbed, with slow and weary steps, to seek for a village which the friendly guidepost at the foot of the hill told us was two miles distant.

Having reached its summit, and kept on our course another mile or so, the village came gradually into view; and truly, from the road along which we were walking, it presented a most lovely and picturesque appearance. To our right, for some distance, were gentle hills of green grass fields, but the view on our left was limited.

Before us, as I have said, was the village; and the scene it then presented, if sketched in colours on canvas, would be beautiful, and form as truly an English picture as I ever beheld. There was the old parish church, with its time-worn tower, on one side of which was the white parsonage house embowered in trees, and on the other, partly hidden from view, the fine old stone mansion of the esquire. Beyond these was a long range of fine old trees of dark foliage, forming a striking overshadowing back ground, and as the sun shone directly upon the face of the whole scene, revealing all the varicus tints of the foliage, and fruits, and flowers, the prospect was enchanting; and I was very pleased when my boys expressed, with rapturous joy, their admiration and delight; for I think it right that children should be encouraged to love whatever is beautiful.

We crossed a few fields, and passing in front of the neat parsonage, entered the church-yard, where

"The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep,"

and having conned the mouldering gravestones which, as usual, recorded the virtues of "tender mothers" and "loving fathers dear," we peeped into the little sanctuary, which appeared to be fitted up in a very neat and comfortable style.

We then crossed an open green, and advanced up to the iron gates and palisades in front of the mansion, where we had a good view of the house and the large flower garden in front of it. Just at this time we heard a loud cackling scream, and turning in that direction, saw a flock of geese on the wing over the adjoining pool, which settled on the waters of the opposite shore.

We now walked through the village, which was a very small one, but very neat, admiring the cottages before which and along whose white-washed walls "flowers of all hues" were displaying their beauties in rich profusion. The people too of the place, as well as their dwellings, looked neat and tidy. There were no ragged dirty barefooted children-all seemed comfortable and happy, and I could not but wish that every cluster of habitations in my native land presented such a happy and contented aspect as this little Leicestershire village.

But we needed refreshment, and where were we to get it? for we had no cousins, or uncles, or aunts, there. Inquiring, we found a comfortable little public house, and finding that the landlady milked her own cows, and made her own butter, we had a rich repast -my boys of milk diluted with warm water, and I, many times filled, of

"The cup which cheers but not inebriates," whilst of the sweet bread and butter I cannot tell, for I do not know, how much was consumed, and if I did