ising upon his
head, and cold drops of sweat trickling down his brow. His ghastly and
bewildered look was hardly noticed by his parents and sister during the
first moments of salutation; and, when it was, the excuse was illness
and fatigue. He could neither eat nor drink, (it seemed as if he had
lost altogether the faculty of swallowing,) but sat silent and
stupified, turning his head ever and anon to the door, till it struck
one o'clock. About this time a knocking was heard, and the sister,
jumping up, cried it was John come home, and ran to open the door. But
it was not John; it was the minister of the parish; and he had scarcely
time to break the blow to the parents with the shield of religion, when
the dead body of their eldest son was brought into the house.--_Orient.
Herald_.

* * * * *

SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY.

_Zoological Gardens._

It is stated that upwards of one hundred and eighty pounds have been
received for the admission of the public to these gardens during one
week.

We omitted to mention last week, that one of the lamas was presented by
Robert Barclay, Esq. of Bury Hill; a leopard by Lord Auckland; several
animals from the Arctic regions by the Hudson's Bay Company, &c. The
pair of emus were bred at Windsor, by Lord Mountcharles. The emu is
hunted in New South Wales for its oil; it frequently weighs 100 lbs.,
and its taste, when cooked, more resembles beef than fowl.--See _Notes_,
p. 378, vol. xi. MIRROR.

_Venerable Orange Tree._

There is an orange tree, still living and vigorous, in the orangery at
Versailles, which is well ascertained to be above 400 years old. It is
designated the Bourbon, having belonged to the celebrated constable of
that name in the beginning of the 16th century, and been confiscated to
the crown in 1522, at which time it was 100 years old. A crown is placed
on the box in which it is planted, with this inscription, "Sown in
1421."

Thirty-four orange-trees have lately been received at Windsor, as a
present from the king of France to George IV.

_Potato Mortar._

M. Cadet-de-Vaux found mortar of lime and sand, and also that made from
clay, greatly improved in durability by mixing boiled potatoes with it.

_An Experimental Farm,_

As a school of practical husbandry for a part of central France, has
been formed by the celebrated Abbe de Pradt. It is situated about a
league from Avranches, on the great road from that city to Bort, in