e is also infested by scorpions, whose sting is
little less virulent than a snake-bite; and by the spider called the
tarantula, which is extremely dreaded.--_The Cape, by A. W. Cole_.

LINES.

Ask me not with simple grace,
Pearls of thought to string for thee;
For upon thy smiling face,
Perfect gems I see--
In thine eyes of beauty trace
Lights that fadeless be.

Bid me not from Memory's land,
Cull fair flowers of rich perfume;
Love will shew with trembling hand,
Where far fairer bloom--
Clustering on thy cheek they stand,
Blushing deep--for whom?

Bid me not with Fancy's gale
Wake the music of a sigh;
From thy breath a sweeter tale,
Silver-winged, floats by;
Melodies that never fail,
Heard when thou art nigh!

Ask me not--yet, oh! for thee
Dearer thoughts my bosom fill,
Dimmed with tears I cannot see
To do thy gracious will:
Take, then, my prayer--In heaven may we
Behold thee lovelier still!

PERCIE.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF EXTREME MINUTENESS.

Dr Wollaston obtained platinum-wire so fine, that 30,000 pieces,
placed side by side in contact, would not cover more than an inch. It
would take 150 pieces of this wire bound together to form a thread as
thick as a filament of raw silk. Although platinum is the heaviest of
the known bodies, a mile of this wire would not weigh more than a
grain. Seven ounces of this wire would extend from London to New York.
Fine as is the filament produced by the silkworm, that produced by the
spider is still more attenuated. A thread of a spider's web, measuring
four miles, will weigh very little more than a single grain. Every one
is familiar with the fact, that the spider spins a thread, or cord, by
which his own weight hangs suspended. It has been ascertained that
this thread is composed of about 6000 filaments.--_Lardner's
Handbook_.

* * * * *

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Also sold by W. S. ORR, Amen Corner, London; D. N. CHAMBERS, 55 West
Nile Street, Glasgow; and J. M'GLASHAN, 50 Upper Sackville Street,
Dublin.--Advertisements for Monthly Parts are requested to be sent to
MAXWELL & Co., 31 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London, to whom all
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End of Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 436, by Variou