is of great service to it, and is a
wonderful combination of muscle; Curier, the famous Naturalist, stating
that there is not far short of 40,000 muscles, having distinct action,
and so giving it an acute sense of touch and smell--so much so, that it
can pick up a pin, or pluck the smallest leaf. The Elephant is generally
about ten feet high, and sometimes reaches to twelve feet, and lives to
the age of seventy or eighty years.

[Illustration]

A WISE DOG.

There is a curly retriever at Arundel bearing the name of "Shock," which
sets an example of good manners and intelligence to the animals which
are not dumb. He carries the cat of the stables tenderly in his mouth,
and would carry the kitten, but at present the kitten prefers its own
means of locomotion. When Sanger's elephant got into trouble in the
river Arun, this wise Shock was sent to turn him out, and his
perseverance succeeded. He often will insist on carrying a bundle of
umbrellas to the station, and safely he delivers them to their owners,
and then, with many wags of his brown tail, he demands a halfpenny for
his trouble. This halfpenny he carries to the nearest shop, lays it on
the counter, and receives his biscuit in return. Need we say this dog
has a kind, sensible master?

[Illustration]

[Illustration: SUMMER.]

[Illustration]

M--THE MANDRILL.

_In Africa the Mandrill lives,
Full five feet tall he stands;
With furrowed cheek-bones, tufted hair,
And hairy arms and hands._

[Illustration]

N--THE NYLGHAU.

_In Hindustan's dense forest-depths,
Among the tangled groves,
With slender limbs but powerful frame
The shapely Nylghau roves._

[Illustration]

O--THE OSTRICH.

_O'er desert sands the Ostrich skims,
Beneath a burning sky;
Swift as the swiftest horse he runs,
But has no wings to fly._

[Illustration]

SPRING.

When Spring's soft breath sets free the rills,
And melts the Winter's hoards of snow,
How fast they leap adown the hills,
How wildly t'wards old ocean flow!

Jack Frost! we gladly part with thee,
For long indeed thy iron hand
Hath crushed the flowers relentlessly
That longed to brighten all the land.

And now the busy plow can trace
Its furrows through the fallow ground,
While countless lovely blossoms grace
The blooming fruit trees all around.

Yet though the snow amidst the brook
Is gliding fast--it fain would stay,
And as it takes a linge