Heat always deepens it, and cold immediately makes it paler. If a tame chameleon be placed upon a fender in front of the fire on a cold day, the side next the fire will become almost black, whilst the cold side is of a very pale-buff. Fear and hunger will also occasion some curious changes. The former generally produces the sudden appearance of numerous round dark spots.

The following fable will be better understood after the above explanation of the structure of the Chameleon :

THE CHAMELEON.

OFT has it been my lot to mark
A proud, conceited, talking spark,
With eyes, that hardly served at most
To guard their master 'gainst a post;
Yet round the world the blade* has been,
To see whatever could be seen.
Returning from his finished tour,
(Grown ten times perter than before),
Whatever word you chanced to drop,
The travell'd fool your mouth will stop;
"Sir, if my judgment you 'll allow-
I've seen and sure I ought to know!"
So, begs you 'd pay a due submission,
And acquiesce in his decision.

Two travellers of such a cast,
As o'er Arabia's wilds they pass'd,
And on their way, in friendly chat
Now talk'd of this, and then of that,
Discoursed awhile-'mongst other matter-
Of the Chameleon's form and nature.
"A stranger animal," cries one,
"Sure never lived beneath the sun!
A lizard's body! lean and long!
A fish's head! a serpent's tongue-

*Blade.] Pert fellow.

Its foot, with triple claw disjoin'd;
And, what a length of tail behind!
How slow its pace! and then its hue!
Who ever saw so fine a blue ?"
"Hold there!" the other quick replies,

"Tis green: I saw it with these eyes
As late, with open mouth it lay
And warm'd it in the sunny ray;
Stretch'd at its ease the beast I view'd,
And saw it eat the air for food."
“I've seen it, Sir, as well as you,
And must again affirm it blue;
At leisure I the beast surveyed
Extended in the cooling shade."

""Tis green, 'tis green, Sir, I assure ye." "Green!" cries the other in a fury,

Why, Sir, d'ye think I've lost my eyes?" ""Twere no great loss," the friend replies; "For, if they always serve you thus, You'll find them of but little use.'

So high at last the contest rose, From words they almost came to blows: When luckily came by a third : To him the question they referred; And begged he 'd tell 'em if he knew Whether the thing was green or blue. "Sirs," cries the umpire, cease your pother: The creature 's neither one nor t' other.

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I caught the animal last night,
And view'd it o'er by candlelight:
I mark'd it well; 'twas black as jet.
You stare but, Sirs, I've got it yet,
And can produce it." "Pray, Sir, do;
I'll lay my life the thing is blue."

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And I'll be sworn, that, when you've seen The reptile you'll pronounce him green." "Well then, at once, to ease the doubt," Replies the man, I'll turn him out; And when before your eyes I've set him, you don't find him black, I 'll eat him."

If

He said; then full before their sight
Produced the beast, and, lo! 'twas white.
Both stared; the man look'd wondrous wise:

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My children," the chameleon cries,

(Then first the creature found a tongue),
"You all are right, and all are wrong:
When next you talk of what you view,
Think others see as well as you;
Nor wonder, if you find that none
Prefers your eyesight to his own.”

CHAPTER IV.

THE USE OF MONEY.

-MERRICK.

THE master of an Industrial School in my neighbourhood applied to me for some suggestions as to the best way of giving his scholars some practical knowledge of the principles of trading, with the special object of showing them the necessity and use of what is called a "currency"—that is, something which, while being less troublesome to pass from one to another than goods would be, really represents to the holder the actual value of goods. I advised him to set up five booths at a little distance from each other, on a common not far from the school; and after having fitted them up as a butcher's, a baker's, a brewer's, a shoemaker's, and a tailor's shop, to put in as shopkeepers his five eldest scholars. He took my advice, and calling the boys to him, said:

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Now, my boys, each must do the best he can for himself, and I hope that no one will have to go without his dinner. What will you be, Harry ?"-"I will be 'the baker," said Harry, "and I shall have half my dinner in my own shop." "And you, John ?"—" The butcher." "For the same reason, I suppose. Then Richard shall be the brewer, William the tailor, and Frederick the shoemaker."

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All went to their shops. Harry and John felt pretty sure that the others would come to them, so they waited quietly for a while. Frederick, who saw that he must bestir himself if he did not wish to dine upon shoes, took two or three pairs of boots and shoes and set off for the baker's. Do you want any shoes?" said he. Luckily enough, Harry considered himself in want of shoes, and after trying on two or three pairs, he found one pair that would fit him. These he agreed to take, and, as the boys had no money, the price was to be paid in loaves; and it was settled that five quartern loaves would be a fair exchange.

Frederick had intended to go from the baker's to the butcher's, but he found his loaves and his shoes quite as much as he could carry. So he thought it best to take home his loaves first, and then go out in quest of meat. After some little time, he was again on his road with a parcel of shoes and boots, and soon arrived at the butcher's. But to the question, "Do you want any shoes ?" he did not get so favourable an answer as in the former case. No! John was well provided with shoes; he would like a waistcoat, or some beer or bread. Frederick now began to think he had made a mistake in carrying the bread home. Well, he could go back for it. So he asked John how many loaves he should require for the leg of mutton that was hanging up in his shop. After a little thought, John said six.

Frederick was puzzled, for this was one more loaf than he possessed. So he agreed with John to take some chops for four loaves, and after a second journey to fetch them, he reached home with bread and meat provided for his dinner. He must now start again to procure himself beer; so he came to Richard's shop with his shoes to see if he could exchange any for beer, but he was again disappointed. Richard wanted meat or bread, but Frederick had only enough of these for himself. The only article of clothing which Richard cared to

have was a coat. So Frederick had nothing for it but to hasten to William's shop, and see if he could obtain a coat for his shoes; but William thought it would be a very bad bargain to give a coat for one pair of shoes, and as to taking a whole bundle of shoes, that would be to make his a shoemaker's shop and not a tailor's.

While Frederick was considering what next to do, Harry the baker thought it was time to provide meat for his dinner. "I shall have no difficulty," he said to himself; "John is sure to want bread, and I have only to take enough to buy myself a joint. By-the-bye," thought he, "I may as well make one journey of it, and get my beer at the same time;" so he put a board on his head with eight good-sized loaves upon it, and set off to John's shop. He was much surprised, and not a little mortified, to find John abundantly supplied with bread, and wanting only beer to make up his dinner. 66 Well," said Harry, "I must get a double supply of beer and come back again to John." But when he came to Richard's booth, he found that he had set out on his travels.

Richard, who had not expected any difficulty in providing himself with bread and meat, was gone off to William (the tailor) to procure a coat. He had taken with him a nine-gallon cask of beer which was quite as much as he could carry in a wheelbarrow, and arrived at William's rather tired. William had coats enough, but he could not agree to exchange one for the barrel of beer that would be a very bad bargain; and if Richard would have consented to wheel up beer enough to make the exchange equal, William had no more fancy for filling his house with beer than with shoes; indeed the beer would be spoilt long before it was possible that he could drink it. So the negotiation about the coat came to nothing; however, Richard did not relish the idea of wheeling his heavy barrel back again. So he asked William what he would exchange