deserts, who has survived several generations, remains singly perched on an oak which has grown old with her; there, while all her sisters maintain a profound silence, motionless, and, as it were full of thought, she delivers prophetic monosyllables, from time to time, to the winds. It is very remarkable that the teal, the duck, the goose, the woodcock, the plover, the lapwing, which serve us for food, all arrive when the earth is bare; while, on the contrary, the foreign birds by which we are visited in the season of fruits, administer only to our pleasures; they are musicians sent to heighten the delights of our banquets. We must, however, except a few, such as the quail and the wood-pigeon, the season for taking which does not commence till after the harvest, and which fatten on our corn, that they may afterwards supply our tables, Thus, the birds of winter are the manna of the rude northern blasts, as the nightingales are the gift of the zephyrs; let the wind blow from whatever point of the horizon it will, it is sure to bring us a present from Providence.-Chateaubriand. BIRDS. BIRDS, the free tenants of land, air, and ocean, Thick without burden, close as fishes' scales, And harsh, yet in accordance with the waves Their hardy broods to forage in all weathers; Others, more gorgeously apparelled, dwelt Montgomery's Pelican Island. COCOA-NUT AND TREE. ONE of the most bountiful provisions made by the Creator for the inhabitants of the torrid zone, is cer K tainly the cocoa-nut tree: and no where is it found in greater abundance and perfection than in India. It grows in a stately column, from thirty to fifty feet in height, crowned by waving branches, covered by long spiral leaves; under this foliage, bunches of blossoms, clusters of green fruit, and others arrived at maturity, appear in mingled beauty. The trunk furnishes beams and rafters for our habitations; and the leaves, when plaited together, make excellent thatch, common umbrellas, coarse mats for the floor, and brooms. The covering of the young fruit is extremely curious, resembling a piece of thick cloth; it expands after the fruit has burst through its enclosure; and then appears of a coarser texture. The nuts contain a delicious milk, and kernels sweet as the almond; these, when dried, afford abundance of oil; and, when that is expressed, the remains feed cattle and poultry, and make good manure. The shell of the nut furnishes cups and other domestic utensils, while the husk which encloses it, is of the greatest use; it is manufactured into ropes and cordage of every kind, from the smallest twine to the largest cable, which are far more durable than those of hemp. In the Nicobar Islands, the natives build their vessels, make their sails and cordage, supply them with provisions and necessaries, and provide a cargo of arrack, vinegar, oil, coarse sugar, cocoa-nuts, cordage, black paint, and several inferior articles, for foreign markets, entirely from this tree. Recent Travels. OUR COUNTRY AND OUR HOME. Touched by remembrance, trembles to that pole; For in this land of Heaven's peculiar grace, DOMESTIC ARTS. In the earlier ages of antiquity, it was not inconsistent with the highest dignity to act in what would now be accounted the meanest of menial employments. Among the ancient Egyptians, the women were occupied abroad in trade, merchandize, and agriculture; and descending to periods less remote, we find that in Lesser Asia, where it would seem women were far from being so much neglected as in many other parts of the world, even those of the first quality were not ashamed to perform the office of a washerwoman; and a similar practice afterwards prevailed in Greece. In the heroic ages, the Grecian wives and daughters, of whatever quality, were not brought up to idleness. Penelope, queen of the famous Ulysses, is so frequently introduced by Homer at her loom, that almost every one has heard the story of Penelope's web. The famous Helen, while confined by the besiegers of Troy, employed herself in an extraordinary piece of embroidery, which represented most of the battles fought between the Greeks and the Trojans; and Andromache, when she heard of the death of Hector, embroidered a representa tion of that tragical scene, and adorned it with flowers. But such soft employments, and such works of taste, were not the sole occupations of the women in these times. The same Andromache, who with her needle painted the fall of the hero of her country, was not ashamed to feed and take care of the horses of that hero, when living. Besides the arts of weaving and embroidery, which were not unknown to the women in the patriarchal ages, the Grecian fair employed themselves in spinning, which they performed standing, and in every other branch of the manufacture of cloth; a custom which continued during the most polished periods of Grecian history. Alexander the Great, and many other heroes and statesmen, wore garments spun and woven by their wives and sisters. During the chivalrous ages in Europe, various kinds of needlework formed a material part of female employment; and many women of the first rank were themselves taught, and instructed their daughters in the arts of flowering and embroidery, which they practised to such an extent, that much of the furniture of their houses was decorated in this manner with their own hands.-Anon. FILIAL REGRETS. SOME friend is gone, perhaps his son's best friend, When most severe, and mustering all its force, Was but the graver countenance of love; Whose favour, like the clouds of Spring, might lour, But had a blessing in its darkest frown, |