"That, my dear, is a very incorrect idea. The possession of such a domain as this, Edwin, is by no means essential to felicity. Happiness is dependent on nothing of an external nature: it arises from the state of the mind. The possessors of palaces and thrones may be, and have been, very miserable. He who knew what would satisfy the human mind, has affirmed, that the happiness of a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.' The desires of the human heart are infinite, and nothing less than the friendship and enjoyment of an infinite Being can possibly satiate them. Solomon, with his immensity of riches and pleasures, was still unblessed. Haman was wretched, though a vast empire was prostrate at his feet. Wolsey, in his dying moments, when things appear to men as they really are, acknowledged that he had mistaken the path to happiness; that, in the emphatic language of holy writ, he had spent his money for that which was not bread, and his labour for that which satisfieth not.' 'If I had served my God,' said he, 'as I have served my king, he would not have forsaken me in my old age.' Forget not, Edwin, that a good man must be happy in affliction or poverty, or even in death; and a bad man cannot be happy, although his circumstances may be ever so prosperous."

"The next thing, papa, mentioned in my journal, is the bees. Mr. Wallace has a fine apiary. I wish you would have one, papa. But then you must have a glass hive, or you could not look at the bees. I do not know, papa, that I was ever much more pleased than in looking at these wonderful little creatures. What a surprising thing is the honey-comb. Did you ever examine one?"

"Oh yes, many times. I have often thought, that it is not so surprising that men should build a fine city, as it is that this insect should build the honey-comb."

"How smooth and beautiful they make their cells, though they have nothing to work with but their feet and their two teeth. Who could have taught them to make their honey-cells deeper and larger than the others? Mr. Wallace says they do so. It is delightful to see how they help one another, and how they follow and obey their queen and sovereign."

"Yes, it is. I do not know any insect that is so wonderful as the bee, Edwin. You shall have a hive. And I will lend you an excellent work, written by a sensible foreigner on this subject, whose name was Huber. It is the best treatise I have seen: it will give you almost all the information which you can wish for on the subject. I am glad, my dear boy, that you

make so good a use of your eyes. This is the way not only to gain information, but to have a perpetual source of amusement constantly at hand. We will walk a little, as the rain is passed away; and should we be spared till tomorrow, we will have another page or two of your journal."

CHAP. VII.

WE SHOULD CAREFULLY USE OUR EYES.

"CHESTERFIELD, you know, papa, is the nearest town to Mr. Wallace's house. He one day took us to see the iron foundries of Mr. Smith, with whom he is acquainted. We were all very much pleased with them. It is very pleasant, you know, papa, to learn how any thing is made. Mr. Smith was particularly kind to me. He said, papa, many times, that he should have been very glad if you had been of our party. He hopes you will go and visit him. I do not think, however, papa, that the process of mak

ing iron pleased us so much as the wild beasts, which were at the fair. I had seen most of them before, as you always take me to see wild beasts, when any come near us."

"Yes, Edwin, I wish you to have an extensive acquaintance with the works of God."

"It was a very large collection, papa, and was well worth seeing. There was a small serpent, about ten feet long, of the toa species: I never saw one before. It was very finely marked. Though I admired it, I felt a kind of terror in looking at it."

"I do not wonder at this: I always do so. Yet this was a very small one, indeed, compared with the account we have of one in the Roman history. Valerius Maximus, quoting from Livy, informs us, that a snake of a prodigious size stopped the army of Atilius Regulus in Africa. After killing several of the soldiers, it was destroyed by a shower of stones. The skin of this prodigious animal was sent to Rome, and hung up for public inspection in a temple. We are assured that its length was one hundred and twenty feet. It is not, however, unlikely, that the account is somewhat exaggerated. Mr. Mac Leod, the surgeon of the frigate which conveyed the late embassy to China, tells us, that at Batavia they took on board a boa constrictor which had been sent from Borneo. 'He

was shut up,' he says, 'in a wooden cage, the bars of which were sufficiently close to prevent his escape. It had a sliding door, for the purpose of admitting the articles on which he was to subsist. The dimensions of the crib were about four feet high, and about five feet square; a space sufficiently large to allow him to coil himself round with ease. The live stock for his use during the passage, consisting of six goats of the ordinary size, were sent with him on board, five being considered as a fair allowance for as many months. At an early period of the voyage, we had an exhibition of his talent in the way of eating, which was publicly performed on the quarter-deck, upon which he was brought. The sliding door being opened, one of the goats was thrust in, and the door of the cage shut. The poor goat, as if instantly aware of all the horrors of its perilous situation, immediately began to utter the most piercing and distressing cries; butting instinctively at the same time, with its head towards the serpent.' You may read, Edwin, the other part of the account at your leisure. For my own part, I feel much when I peruse narratives of this kind; and I am sure I could not, with any comfort, have been a spectator of such a scene."

"There was a very fine elephant in the col