as if desirous of adding as much weight as possible to the muscular effort; these folds are then gradually tightened with such immense force as to crush the principal bones, and thus not only to destroy the animal, but to bring its carcase into a state the most easy for its being swallowed. This having been effected, the boa addresses himself so the task of swallowing the carcass. Having pushed the limbs into the most convenient position, and covering the surface with its glutinous saliva, the serpent takes the muzzle of the prey into its mouth, which is capable of vast expansion; and by a succession of wonderful muscular contractions, the rest of the body is gradually drawn in, with a steady and regular motion. As the mass advances in the gullet, the parts through which it has passed resume their former dimensions, though its immediate position is always indicated by an external protuberance. Their prey generally consists of dogs, goats, deer, and the smaller sorts of game. Bishop Heber considers as quite untrue the stories of their attacking such large animals as the buffalo or the chetah; but men are by no means exempt from their attacks. This is shewn by the following anecdote, which, with the engraving in illustration, is copied, from the 'Oriental Annual.' The original picture from which the engraving is taken was painted by Mr. W. Daniell, and is in the possession of the Baron de Noual de la Loyrie.

"A few years before our visit to Calcutta, the captain of a country ship, while passing the Sunderbunds, sent a boat into one of the creeks to obtain some fresh fruits which are cultivated by the few miserable inhabitants of this inhospitable region. Having reached the shore, the crew moored the boat under a bank, and left one of their party to take care of her. During their absence, the lascar, who remained in charge of the boat, overcome by heat, lay down under the seats and fell asleep. Whilst he was in this happy state of unconsciousness, an enormous boa constrictor emerged from the jungle, reached the boat, had already coiled its huge body round the sleeper, and was in the very act of crushing him to

death, when his companions fortunately returned at this auspicious moment; and attacking the monster, severed a portion of its tail, which so disabled it that it no longer retained the power of doing mischief. The snake was then easily dispatched, and found to measure sixty-two feet and some inches in length."

In Brazil, according to Koster, an opinion prevails that whoever has been bit by the boa constrictor has nothing to fear from any other snake. The notion is probably a prejudice.

REQUIEM.

I see thee still!

Remembrance, faithful to her trust,
Calls thee in beauty from the dust;
Thou comest in the morning light—
Thou'rt with me through the gloomy night;
In dreams I meet thee as of old,
Then thy soft arms my neck enfold,
And thy sweet voice is in my ear;
In every scene to memory dear
I see thee still!

I see thee still,
In every hallowed token round;
This little ring thy finger bound-
This lock of hair thy forehead shaded,
This silken chain by thee was braided;
These flowers, all withered now like thee,
Beloved, thou didst cull for me:

This book was thine-here didst tread- hou
This picture, ah! yes, here indeed
I see thee still!

1 see thee still!

Here was thy summer noon's retreat,
This was thy favorite fire-side seat,
This was thy chamber, where each day,
I sat and watched thy sad decay;
Here on this bed thou last didst lie,
Here, on this pillow, thou didst die!
Dark hour! once more its woes unfold-
As then I saw thee pale and cold,
I see thee still!

I see thee still!
Thou art not in the tomb confined,
Death cannot chain the immortal mind.
Let earth close o'er its sacred trust,
Yet goodness dies not in the dust.
Thee, oh! beloved, 'tis not thee,
Beneath the coffin's lid I see ;
Thou to a fairer land art gone-
There let me hope, my journey done,
I see thee still!

THE LYRE BIRD, OR SUPERB MENURA.

NEW HOLLAND, which affords so rich a harvest to the student of nature, and which produces the most singular and anomalous beings with which we are at present acquainted, is the native country of this rare and beautiful bird, the habits and manners of which are yet but little known. Considered by many naturalists as allied to the pardiseæ, or birds of paradise, it exhibits in its general form, and especially in the figure of its large elongated nails, which are evidently adapted for scratching up the soil, a certain degree of approximation to the gallinaceous tribe, to which others are inclined to refer it; but the reis, however, a group of ground thrushes as they are expressively called, to which, in the character of the plumage and habits, it would appear, we think, to be still nearer related.

One of the earliest notices we have of this bird, is in Dr. Shaw's Miscellany, where it is characterised as the Parkinsonian paradise bird (Paradisea Parkinsoniana); having, however, been previously described in the Linnæan Transactions, (Vol. vi. p 9C7, pl. 22) under the title of menura superba. Mons. Vieillot, who received from Mr. Sydenham Edwards a drawing of the bird, gave it, in his work on the birds of paradise, the name of Paradisea Parkinsoniana, in honour of J. Parkinson, Esq, of the Leverian museum, through whose means he obtained the drawing; but the original title, as given in the Linnæan Transactions, is that which is now received. Dr. Shaw, in his account of the manners of the superb menura, says, "At the early part of the morning it begins singing, having (as is reported) a very fine natural note; and gradually ascending some rocky eminence, scratches up the ground in the manner of some of the pheasant tribe, elevating its tail, and at intervals imitating the notes of every other bird within hearing; and after having continued this exercise for about two hours, again descends

into the valleys, or lower grounds." This account has been confirmed to us by the testimony of a gentleman, who, during his residence in New Holland, took particular pains to investigate its manners and habits: he describes the menura as being very shy and recluse, and consequently not easy to be observed. Its own notes are rich and melodious, and it imitates those of other birds with admirable tact and execution; these powers of melody are the more remarkable. as connected with its size and rasorial habits, for the voice both of the birds of paradise and of the gallinaceous tribe is harsh and discordant. Dr. Latham informs us, that the menura is "chiefly found in the hilly parts of the country, and called by the inhabitants the mountain pheasant;' as to its general manners, very litle has come to our knowledge. It will occasionally perch on trees, but for the most part is found on the ground, having the manners of our poultry, as is manifest from observing the ends of the claws which in most specimens are much blunted," Like many other desiderata to the naturalist from New Holland, this curious bird has never been brought alive to Europe.

In size, the menura is about equal to a pheasant. Its general plumage is of a dull brown, inclining to rufous on the quill-feathers; the tail, which is much longer than the body, consists of feathers so arranged, and of such different sorts, as to form, when elevated, a figure bearing no unapt resemblance to an ancient lyre; the character of these feathers will be better conveyed by our annexed sketch, than by description: the bill is compressed, the nostrils forming a longitudinal slit, covered with bristle-like feathers, the legs are strong, the toes completely divided, and armed with powerful blunted nails, those of the hind claws being especially developed.

A good specimen of this curious bird, whose style of plumage and voice thus justify its title, is to be seen in the rich museum of the Zoological Society in London, where it obtains a provisional place among the rasores, or birds whose habits confine them to the naked ground as their legitimate province.

SOLITUDE.Happy is the man who betimes acquires a relish for holy solitude, and accustoms himself to bear the yoke of christian discipline in his youth: who can sit alone and keep silence, and seek wisdom diligently where she may be found, in the scriptures of truth and in the writings of the saints. From these flowers of paradise, he extracts the honey of knowledge and divine love, and therewith fills every cell of his understanding and affection. The winter of affliction, disease, and old age, will not surprise him in an unprovided state. Precious beyond rubies are the hours of youth and health: Olet none of them pass unprofitably away!"-Bishop Horne.

The character in which the Arabic language is written at the present day differs materially from that commonly used eight hundred years ago, dating its origin as far back as the beginning of the fourth century after the Hegira. Previous to this epoch the Arabs made use of another character which we call Cufic, from the city Cufa, where it appears that it was first adopted. From its close resemblance to the ancient alphabet of the Syrians, called Estrangelo, it is more than probable that the Arabs derived it from this people, a fact which is confirmed by several historical traditions. From the very scanty remains of antiquity which the Mussulmen have preserved on this interesting subject, it is difficult to determine in what character the Arabic was written previous to the time of Mohammed; the most probable opinion is that it was the Cufic, or something very similar to it in point of shape, It may be observed, however, that the present Arabic character, which is called Neskhi, did not come into general use until long after its invention, and even now the inhabitants of Africa proper make use of a style of writing nearer approaching to the ancient Cufic than that common among the Asiatics.

The Cufic Inscription, of which the drawing on the preceding page is a copy, was discovered on a stone in this island, and is a valuable relic of the domination of the Arabs in Malta. The stone belonged originally to the noble family of Sciara, in whose possession it yet remains, being still to be seen in the wall of a house situated in Strada Stretta and Str. Brettanica, appertaining to the Baronessa Parisi, and at present occupied by the Judge G.B.Satariano.

It is to be regretted that so few particulars are known concerning this ancient remain. What little knowledge we have of its history, except what can be gathered from the inscription itself, we learn from Ciantar, whose information in this particular is very scanty and unsatisfactory. He writes: "There are still some monuments remaining of the domination of the Saracens in this island. In the court-yard of the house of one of our principal citizens, there exists fixed into the wall a stone near

ly square, being 22 inches wide and 24 inches long, on which is carved an epigraph of considerable length. Several learned foreigners have taken copies of it; we forwarded one about twenty-five years ago to the rector Giovannantonio Goti, who wrote to inform us that he had sent it to Monsignor Assemanni to be deciphered; but of this we heard nothing further. We communicated it also to our Camillo Falconet, a pensioned member of the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres at Paris, who is well versed in many languages and sciences, and he gave us the following explanation: That what is contained within the border is an epitaph of a daughter of one of the principal Arabs that ruled in this island, whose name was Hasan, and that the other words carved without the border, on the three sides, were certain sentences on death extracted from the Koran." Malta Illustrata, Vol. I. p. 691.

This summary and very unsatisfactory information of what is contained in the inscription was all that was known, until the Chevalier d'Italinsky, whilst passing through Malta, was induced to spend some time in deciphering this ancient monument, the interpretation of which had begun to be thought almost impossible, after the failure or very partial success of so many learned individuals who had undertaken the task. It must be observed, however, that on account of the damage which several letters had received, and the very singular form of a few others, some parts of the translation are given rather as presumptions than otherwise. A few words have also been introduced to accommodate the translation to the genius of our language, but which do not in any respect affect the meaning of the original. The following is a copy of this remarkable monument of the twelfth century in modern Arabic characters; the numbers refer to the several paragraphs into which the translation has been divided by the learned Chevalier d'Italinsky, from which it will be seen that No. 1 contains the epitaph. Nos. 2 and 3 two epigraphs spoken by Maimuna herself, and No. 4 an eulogy of the deceased, with some reflections on a future life.