arts which can be taught to woman. And it must be confessed it is a most severe trial for those women to be called to lay down beauty, who have nothing else to take up. It is for this sober season of life that education should lay up its rich resources. However disregarded they may hitherto have been, they will be wanted now. When admirers fall away, and flatterers become mute, the mind will be compelled to retire into itself; and if it find no entertainment at home, it will be driven back again upon the world with increased force. Yet, forgetting this, do we not seem to educate our daughters exclusively for the transient period of youth, when it is to maturer life we ought to advert? Do we not educate them for a crowd, forgetting that they are to live at home? for the world, and not for themselves? for show, and not for use? for time, and not for eternity?

Not a few of the evils of the present day arise from a new and perverted application of terms; among these, perhaps, there is not one more abused, misunderstood, or misapplied, than the term accomplishments. This word, in its original meaning, signifies completeness, perfection. But I may safely appeal to the observation of mankind, whether they do not meet with swarms of youthful females, issuing from our boardingschools, as well as emerging from the more private scenes of domestic education, who are introduced into the world under the broad and universal title of accomplished young ladies, of all of whom it cannot very truly and correctly be pronounced, that they illustrate the definition by a completeness which leaves nothing to be added, and a perfection which leaves nothing to be desired?

It would be well if we would reflect that we have to educate not only rational but accountable beings; and, remembering this, should we not be solicitous to let our daughters learn of the well-taught, and associate with the wellbred? In training them, should we not carefully cultivate intellect, implant religion, and cherish modesty? Then, whatever is engaging in manners would be the natural result of whatever is just in sentiment and correct in principle; softness would grow out of humility, and external delicacy would spring from purity of heart. Then the decorums, the proprieties, the elegancies, and even the graces, as far as they are simple, pure, and honest, would follow as an almost inevitable consequence; for to follow in the train of the Christian virtues, and not to take the lead of them, is the proper place which religion assigns to the graces.

Whether we have made the best use of the errors of our predecessors, and of our own numberless advantages, and whether the prevailing system be really consistent with sound policy, true taste, or Christian principle, it may be worth our while to inquire.

Would not a stranger be led to imagine, by a view of the reigning mode of female education, that human life consisted of one universal holi

day, and that the grand contest between the several competitors was, who should be most eminently qualified to excel and carry off the

prize, in the various shows and games, which were intended to be exhibited in it? and to the

exhibitors themselves, would he not be ready to apply Sir Francis Bacon's observation on the Olympian victors, that they were so excellent in these unnecessary things, that their perfection must needs have been acquired by the neglect of whatever was necessary?

It will be prudent to reflect that in all polished countries an entire devotedness to the fine arts has been one grand source of the corruption of the women; and so justly were these pernicious consequences appreciated by the Greeks, among whom these arts were carried to the highest possible perfection, that they seldom allowed them to be cultivated to a very exquisite degree by women of great purity of character. And while corruption, brought on by an excessive cultivation of the arts, has contributed its full share to the decline of states, it has always furnished an infallible symptom of their impending fall. The satires of the most penetrating and judicious of the Roman poets, corroborating the testimonies of the most accurate of their historians, abound with invectives against the general depravity of manners introduced by the corrupt habits of female education, so that the modesty of the Roman matron, and the chaste demeanour of her virgin daughters, which, amidst the stern virtues of the state, were as immaculate and pure as the honour of the Roman citizen, fell a sacrifice to the luxurious dissipation brought in by their Asiatic conquest : after which the females were soon taught a complete change of character. They were instructed to accommodate their talents of pleasing to the more vitiated tastes of the other sex, and began to study every grace and every art which might captivate the exhausted hearts, and excite the wearied and capricious inclinations, of the men; till, by a rapid, and at length complete enervation, the Roman character lost its signature, and through a quick succession of slavery, effeminacy, and vice, sunk into that degeneracy of which some of the modern Italian states now serve to furnish a too just specimen.

TRUE FRIENDSHIP.-Friendship founded on the principles of worldly morality, recognized by virtuous heathens, such as that which subsisted between Atticus and Cicero, which the last of these illustrious men has rendered immortal, is fitted to survive through all the vicissitudes of life; but it belongs only to a union founded on religion, to continue through an endless duration. The former of these stood the shock of conflicting opinions, and of a revolution that shook the world; the latter is destined to survive when the heavens are no more, and to spring fresh from the ashes of the universe. The former possessed all the stability which is possible to sublunary things; the latter partakes of the eternity of God.

ABORIGINAL ANIMALS OF BRITAIN, AND THEIR ASSOCIATIONS. WHY is it that when birds and their associations charm all readers and incline them to regard with heightened interest the feathered denizens of our woods and rocks, our wild sea cliffs, our meadows, and furze-clad commons, that no one has taken thought concerning the animals of Britain?

Look abroad into the beauteous solitudes of Nature, and see how many reoicing creatures bound merrily on the dewy grass; look into the fields, and along the roads, mindful of those who bow their necks to the yoke of man, or minister to his necessities, and tell me if you know all that may be known respecting them.

Methinks I hear some one say, "What handsome COWS are grazing in yonder meadow," and, perhaps, another rejoins, "I am glad the hedge is between us." The first speaker merely regarding them with reference to the effect which they produce in landscape scenery; the second, thinking only of personal safety. And yet the creature which is suggestive of such different thoughts is invested with associations of deep interest, and such as pertain to the history of our race.

Let

us

not slightly pass them by, but rather amuse a passing hour with waking up the memories of years long since departed.

The often repeated adventures of Guy Earl of Warwick with that terrific animal, whose depredations are equally recorded in legends and in song, go far to prove that even in this country the fearful outbreaks of the formidable creature were such as called forth the prowess of ancient heroes, and induced Philip of Macedon to hunt his quarry about Mount Obela. But the adventures of which we speak were not peculiar to the Earl of Warwick. Fitzstephen, who lived in the reign of Henry I., spoke concerning a savage animal, the Urus Silvestris, which infested the wild and extensive forests that spread wide and far in the neighbourhood of London. "The forests," quoth he, "were vaste, nay, almost pathless, in some parts well watered with running streams, and having open spaces that produced abundance of bright flowers, but whether open or thickly shaded, no one dared to venture there alone, and without being well armed, on account of outlaws, and desperate cattle, which it was hard to daunt." The Scottish forests were infested in like manner; and the family of Turnbull derived their name from the fact of one of

their ancestors having turned a wild bull from King Robert Bruce, when, rushing out of a thicket, he made a furious thrust at that monarch. This is presumed to have occurred early in the fourteenth century. Descendants of the "desperate cattle," mentioned by Fitzstephen, still range the Scottish hills. Boetius also speaks of them under the name of Tubati Bisontes, as a wild race of white oxen, that were equally fierce and untractable. Time was, when immense herds were seen in the vast forests of that country, as well as in those of northern Europe; but neither history nor tradition records the era when a few submitted to domestication, and others were destroyed. Most probably, some deserted foundling, taken to a farmer's yard, and carefully nurtured, first suggested the idea of bringing the young of such aboriginal animals to subjection; certain it is, that, previous to the Reformation, large berds were fed in parks belonging to ecclesiastical establishments, and that after their dissolution, vast numbers were transferred to the wooded territories of Drumlanrig, with other tracts of equal extent and sylvan character, belonging to Scottish chiefs.

The habits of such as still remain in a wild state differ from those of the domestic species, and probably assimilate with the peculiar characteristics of their savage ancestors. If a stranger appears in their vicinity, they immediately cease grazing, or else start wildly up, if lying still, and gallop in a circle round him; then stop to graze, tossing their heads, and showing signs of defiance; another moment, and they again wheel round, with menacing looks, and he who thus becomes an object of dislike, will do well to effect an immediate retreat. Dr. Fuller tells us, that when passing through a lonely district in the Scottish Highlands, he came unexpectedly upon one of those white oxen, apparently only two days old; the young creature was extremely weak, and scarcely able to support its slender frame; yet it rose immediately on being stroked, and began to paw t..e ground, bellowing at the same time with all its might, and after retiring backward for a few paces, again came forward, and struck at the narrator's legs; but, missing its aim, through weakness, it fell upon the ground.

and was unable to rise. Presently, however, was heard an answering roar, and a tremendous rush among the distant underwood, and onward with incredible celerity came the affrighted mother, accompanied by the herd, to its relief. Flight was impossible, and Dr. Fuller did not attempt it. He merely retired to a short distance, without betraying any symptoms of fear, and being armed with a strong oak cudgel, none of the excited creatures seemed inclined to attack him.

Domestic oxen are widely diffused throughout the ancient continents, reclaimed without doubt from a wild condition. Almost every country has its peculiar breed,-Madagascar and Caffraria, Abyssinia and Tuscany, Hungary and the Roman States, European Turkey, Calmuc Tartary, and the Ukraine. The Caffres and Hottentots rear a fine kind, of extraordinary size and remarkable intelligence. They readily submit to all kinds of domestic labour; nay, they are so tractable as to be managed, if possible, with more ease than horses; the voice or whistle of their master suffices to direct their course, and, in return for their docility, they become rather the friends than the servants of the native farmers. How widely different, as I once observed elsewhere, is their condition from that of many poor oxen in our own country, who have frequently much to endure from their owners. If we understood our true interest and happiness, we should treat our four-footed dependents with kindness and consideration, assured that the goad, or blows, or neglect, only render them self-willed and stupid. Men, whom the enlightened Englishman is pleased to regard as far inferior to himself, entertain, in many instances, a more correct judgment respecting the rights of the animal creation. The Hottentot loves his ox, and the Arab his horse, and these domesticated creatures, in return, cooperate cheerfully with their masters, whether ploughing the stubborn soil or scouring the vast and burning desert. By such reciprocity of kindly offices, each animal increases in docility and intelligence; he becomes more affectionate and confiding; he yields to gratitude and love, what, in this country, is too frequently the consequence of fear.

Hottentots train their oxen for warlike purposes, and employ them nearly in the same manner as the Indians do their elephants. They are called backleys, from a word, signifying, in their language, war; yet the name thus given them is not altogether just, for the war which they carry on is solely defensive, and has for its object such ferocious animals attack their master's flocks. Every kraal, or village, has at least six of these welltrained animals, selected from among the fiercest oxen; and if one of the number happens to die, or becomes infirm from

as

age, another is chosen to succeed him. The office of judge in this important matter is assigned to the oldest and most intelligent Hottentot in the kraal, who carefully looks over the herd, and selects the animal which he most approves. The creature is then placed with an experienced backley, whom he never quits, either by night or day; during the former, they are tied together by the horns; in the latter, they work conjointly, till, at length, the unwieldy pupil adopts the habits of his tutor, and becomes also a vigilant defender of the herd. Travellers relate that war

oxen know every one in the kraal, whether men, women, or children, and evince the utmost kindness towards them; that they even allow little toddling creatures to pull their tails, and play with their terrific horns when lying down, or to seat themselves upon their backs; but woe to any stranger who ventures to approach one of these formidable animals, unless accompanied by a Hottentot.

Observe, yonder cow! Many associations are connected with her. She brings to mind the earliest ages of society, when cattle constituted the chief riches of a great man; when Jabal, the son of Adah, had much wealth in flocks and herds, and when Abraham and Lot, in after times,

were unable to dwell together, by reason of their cattle. On her rest, also, the memory of those benevolent laws, which restricted the length of a furrow to one hundred and twenty paces, and those equally merciful regulations which enacted that the patient ox should rest a few minutes at the end of each furrow, or before commencing a new one. Sugges tive, too, is that quiet, ruminative animal of edicts which equally regulated the labours of the husbandman, and of poets who record his blameless occupations. Hesiod gives it as the character of a good husbandman that he attends to his duties, and looks before him in order to form his furrow aright. Our Lord uses the phrase