en possession of one of the
largest of the heads, which they conveyed away, first one carrying it a
few yards, then the other, it being too bulky for one alone to carry it
far at a time. In short, I was so well amused by watching their
manoeuvres that I suffered them to rob me of all my store. I saw a
little family of tiny squirrels at play in the spring on the top of a
hollow log, and really I think they were, without exception, the
liveliest, most graceful creatures I ever looked upon.

The flying squirrel is a native of our woods, and exceeds in beauty, to
my mind, any of the tribe. Its colour is the softest, most delicate tint
of grey; the fur thick and short, and as silken as velvet; the eyes like
all the squirrel kind, are large, full, and soft the whiskers and long
hair about the nose black; the membrane that assists this little animal
in its flight is white and delicately soft in texture, like the fur of
the chinchilla; it forms a ridge of fur between the fore and hind legs;
the tail is like an elegant broad grey feather. I was agreeably
surprised by the appearance of this exquisite little creature; the
pictures I had seen giving it a most inelegant and _batlike_ look,
almost disgusting. The young ones are easily tamed, and are very playful
and affectionate when under confinement.

[Illustration: Flying Squirrel]

How my little friend Emily would delight in such a pet! Tell her if ever
I should return to dear old England, I will try to procure one for her;
but at present she must be contented with the stuffed specimens of the
black, red, and striped squirrels which I enclose in my parcel. I wish I
could offer you any present more valuable, but our arts and manufactures
being entirely British, with the exception of the Indians' toys, I
should find it a difficult matter to send you any thing worth your
attention; therefore I am obliged to have recourse to the natural
productions of our woods as tokens of remembrance to our friends _at
home_, for it is ever thus we speak of the land of our birth.

You wish to know if I am happy and contented in my situation, or if my
heart pines after my native land. I will answer you candidly, and say
that, as far as regards matters of taste, early association, and all
those holy ties of kindred, and old affections that make "home" in all
countries, and among all nations in the world, a hallowed spot, I must
ever give the preference to Britain.

On the other hand, a sense of