"I love to view these things with curious eyes, And moralize;

And in this wisdom of the holly-tree,

Can emblems see,

Wherewith perchance to make a pleasant rhyme,
One which may profit in the after time."

The Holly is a greater favorite in Eng-
land than in America; among the reasons
which may be adduced for this are its more
general diffusion throughout the forests
and parks, and the leaves being more
glossy, and the berries redder, it is more
But
sought for as an ornamental tree.
whether in the old world or the new,
whether in the form of a bush reaching to
the ground, or a tall tree, it charms the
eye with its beauty and unfading green.
Evergreen! what comfort, nay, what posi-
tive pleasure in the word! The
very sound
tells of winter's severity softened, and it
has in it too an anticipation of the land,
whose

"Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood, Stand dressed in living green."

On account of its unfading glossy green, its berries of red coral, and its fine effect in winter, the Holly has been styled by English writers "the queen of the woodlands." When its red and green-colors that always harmonize-are encased in an enamelled crystal, after a night of what the English call hoar-frost, and the Americans sleet, its beauty almost beggars description:

"When every shrub, and every blade of grass,
And every pointed thorn seems wrought in glass;
In pearls and rubies rich the hawthorns show,
While through the ice the crimson berries glow."

In this country, the Holly in the Eastern and Middle States is found in moist lands near the coast; further south it has a wider range.

The flowers are of a dingy white, and come out in spring in clusters, which give place later in the year to the bright scarlet berries.

THE LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE.

(Parus Caudatus.)

BY H. R.

HE Titmouse family is quite exten- | garrulous as his English cousins. We ad

Tive, moving its branches in North mire his frisky ways, but we have to regret

'America, Europe and Asia; but only one
species build the pensile, purse-like nest,
the Long-tailed Titmouse, called also in
England, Long Tom, and Poke Pudding.
The last name comes from the ingenious
Other
nest, and means pudding-bag.
'names are, Long-tailed Mufflin, Long-tail
Mag, Long-tail Pie, Huck-muck, Bottle
Tom, Mum-ruffin, and Long-pod. There
is something in a name, and every one of
these is just ridiculous enough to show
that Tom in his ways is a little queer, and
that whether he can help it or not, his
manœuvres contribute to keep people in
good humor. This bird is found in all
The Titmouse best
parts of England.
known in America is the Chick-a-dee-dee,
as quick in his motions, and busy and

that in the art of making "homes without hands," he is hopelessly behind the pokepudding branch of the family. The head, neck, throat, breast, and a part of the outer tail-feathers of Long Tom are white; the back, wings and most of the tailhe under parts redfeathers are black; dish-white, with a tinge of red in other places. The beak is very short. From the tip of the beak to the end of the tail, this bird is about five and a half inches long. The eggs are very small, and of a delicate pink-white. They are less than half an inch in length, and weigh only one-third as much as the eggs of the great Titmouse. The Titmice are good warblers, and must be classed with the beautiful birds of England.

mice to coquette with their tails, and then and not of reason. they hop and flirt at a merry rate.

But when asleep at night this little bird seems only a puff of feathers. If any body can see where the long tail has gone, he is a knowing observer.

Tom is endowed with sharp sight, so that the insects on which he feeds may be readily seen. The farmer and gardener have reason to be thankful for his assistance in ridding their premises of those pests, the worms and small insects that infest garden and orchard. Animal food is his principal diet, though he has no objection at times to munching a few seeds, those of the broom for instance.

The nest is a great curiosity. It is eggshaped, and is constructed of moss, hair, or the finest of wool, the cocoon webs made by spiders and certain caterpillars, all firmly woven together. A shoddy house, you will say. Don't insult Tom by any such word. His manufacture is perfect in its way, though he works without a loom. And inside it is the softest couch for the coming brood that can be imagined, for the sensible parents have placed there a large quantity of light down, taken from the softest feathers. This is a safeguard against the cold air that is met near the ground in a change of weather, or against the long rains and driving storms of spring and early summer.

One who took the pains to count the number of feathers in the nest of the Titmouse, found no less than two thousand three hundred and seventy-nine! How many journeys, and what zeal do these figures imply! But then the busy pair were two or three weeks collecting these feathers.

The outside of the nest is ornamented with glistening lichens, selected to match the color of the bark of the tree on which it hangs. This is a very useful provision, for by means of it concealment is secured, and it becomes difficult for prying eyes to find the nest. Such adaptations as these are thoughts of the Creator, not of the bird or beast. They are acts of instinct,

For we can plainly

see that if the bird could reason to this extent, he would exhibit many other striking proofs of a rational nature, which he never does. In the habits of birds we see abundant evidence of the existence of a God, whose way of working is the more wondrous, because it goes with the cooperation of the thoughtless, yet somewhat sagacious creature.

The mother Titmouse is not afraid of a large family. From eight to sixteen eggs! What a prospect for so small a mother! Her wonderful house is made with a door near the top, so small that no cat or squir rel can intrude; her eggs are laid, her patient sitting is over, and it looks now as if she would soon be like the "old woman who lived in a shoe." What skilful packing as the baby titmice begin to grow! And what special care that each one of the dozen or sixteen young hopefuls may get his share as he takes his turn in being fed!

If the brood are great feeders, the little father and mother are good providers. The war upon the insect world now thickens. Wo now to the plant-lice, the bugs that turn the leaves of the rose-bushes to brown skeletons, the creepers that drop from the trees by their threads. Wo to the moths with the pretty name that make moon-like incisions upon the green plums, and to the small white butterflies whose progeny would have been an army of measuring worms. In two or three appletree moths, Long Tom easily slays a thousand or two prospective builders of worms' nests!

Now, the purse-like net swells outward below, because the family within are growing, and want room. Being well made, it is elastic, and stands the pressure well. Because the birdies are constantly making little swellings in the wall of their house, you are not to conclude that their nest is alive!

When the time comes for the family circle to leave the nest, it is a family circle still, and so continues all the year.

places. Every one wants to be in the middle. A cold wind may set in, or puss, with wistful eyes, may look up wickedly from below. So about nightfall there is crowding, and jostling, and bickering; but at last the question is settled; some must be on the outside, and it is the weakest, of course, who, at the end of the unbrotherly broil, go, not to the wall, nor exactly to the back seats, but to the second-class situations provided for such rustic assemblies.

The system of government seems to be patriarchal. Here is now a flock of a dozen or more who always fly and feed together. They move in obedience to the motions and chirpings of one leader, the father of the flock, we naturally suppose. There is a rustling amid the autumn leaves; the wind has startled the fairy throng, and every little bunch, just now all "fuss and feathers," has darted off at the signal of the leader, as quickly as a spark shot out from the burning yule-log. Such family agreement is charming to At times, for the quarrelsome disposition behold. of this little bird, he pays dearly. He brisBut birds generally have been over-tles up to the great Titmouse, and the enpraised for the love that is imagined to exist among them all the year round, and the Titmouse family must come in for their share of blame for bird-bickering. When the time comes for the family to settle away for the night, there is no little contention for what is deemed the snug

counter ends in murder, the greater bird despatching him, and picking out his brains. A combat with another bird of his own species, has often been known to end in both parties unexpectedly finding themselves in the hat of some school-boy or plowman.

OUR MISCELLANY.

THE BIBLE AND ENGLISH CIVILIZA- |ing, as with inspired fervor, that the one

tures on

TION.

Dr. Dollinger, the great German reformer of the day, has lately given a series of lecThe Paganism of the Great Cities." In contrast with what is too sadly true in this regard in Continental Europe, he affirms that the glory of England is the fact that the Bible is there believed in and read more extensively than in any other land. An investigation has also been entered into, by a French committee, as to the cause of the late terrible outbreak of Communism, and their report contained these words as a succinct embodiment of the whole: "The decadence of the religious spirit in the land." This, furthermore, was believed to be the natural consequence of the elimination of religious teaching from secular education. The noble and eloquent Hyacinthe, too, wherever he may lift his voice, is proclaim

great remedy for existing evils in Church and State is an open and accepted Bible. It would seem that Christendom on both sides of the Atlantic should see and heed the force of these observations.

A MISSIONARY HERO.

The London Christian World, speaking of the Rev. William Ellis, whose life was identified with the rescuing of Madagascar from heathenism, utters the following tribute:

"It would be enough to distinguish many a man that he had been the first to describe to the scientific world the great volcano of Hawaii; or to have introduced to botanists that marvel of beauty-the 'Madagascar Lace Plant;' or to have been the introducer, and had his name permanently identified with two descriptions of orchids (Gramma