ily tamed, and becomes a lovable and not a touchy pet. It is
eminently nocturnal.

SOUTHEY AND HIS CRITICS.

Robert Southey ("Common-Place Book," 4th series, p.44) writes:--

"I intend to be a hedgehog, and roll myself up in my own prickles: all I
regret is that I am not a porcupine, and endowed with the property of
shooting them to annoy the beasts who come near enough to annoy me."

MOLE.

This is perhaps the most remarkable of all our quadrupeds. Its
subterranean haunts and curious aptitudes for a life below the surface
of the ground are peculiarly worthy of study. The little hillocks it
turns up in its excavations are noticed by every one. Its pursuit of
worms and grubs, its nest, its soft plush-like fur, the pointed nose,
the strong digging fore-feet, the small all but hidden eyes, and
hundreds of other properties, render it a noticeable creature. The
following passage from Lord Macaulay's latest writings, although rather
long, may interest some in the story of this curious creature:--

THE MOLE AND KING WILLIAM.

"A fly, if it had God's message, could choke a king."[28] I never knew
till the 9th January 1862, when reading vol. v. of Macaulay's England,
that a horse, stumbling on a mole-hill, was the immediate cause of the
death of the great William III.

Lady Trevelyan, the sister of Macaulay, published vol. v. of her
brother's work, and added an account of the death of the illustrious
Dutchman, who did so much for our religious and civil liberties. The
historian was very partial to William, and the account of that monarch's
last days is Macaulay's last finished piece: it is here quoted in full
from the history:[29]--

"Meanwhile reports about the state of the king's health were constantly
becoming more and more alarming. His medical advisers, both English and
Dutch, were at the end of their resources. He had consulted by letter
all the most eminent physicians of Europe; and, as he was apprehensive
that they might return flattering answers if they knew who he was, he
had written under feigned names. To Fagon he had described himself as a
parish priest. Fagon replied, somewhat bluntly, that such symptoms could
have only one meaning, and that the only advice which he had to give to
the sick man was to prepare himself for death. Having obtained this
plain answer, William consulted Fagon again without disguise, and
obtained some prescriptions which were thought to have a little retarded
the appr