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Ay, my own boy! thy sire

Is with the sleepers of the valley cast,
And the proud glory of my life hath passed,
With his high glance of fire.

Wo! that the linden and the vine should bloom,
And a just man be gathered to the tomb!

Why bear them proudly, boy!
It is the sword he girded to his thigh,
It is the helm he bore in victory.
And shall we have no joy?

For thy green vales, O Switzerland, he died!
I will forget my sorrow-in my pride.

N. P. Willis.

13. The Parrot.-The Eagle.

Foreign; not of this country. Beau'tiful; lovely. Docil'ity; readiness to learn. Facility; easiness. Surpri'sing; wonderful. Counterbal'anced; equalled. Mis'chievous; destructive, hurtful. Inclina'tion; proneness, tendency. Sev'eral; various. Extended; stretched out. Piercing; penetrating. Preserve'; secure, protect. Provi'ded; furnished. Inaccess'ible; that cannot be approached. Decayed'; faded. Crook'ed; bent, curved.

THE parrot is the best known among us of all foreign birds, as it unites the most beautiful plumage with the greatest docility. The facility with which the parrot is taught to speak, and the great number of sentences it is capable of repeating, are equally surprising. But its agreeable qualities are counterbalanced by the mischievous inclination which it has to gnaw whatever it can reach.

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In their native woods, these birds live together in flocks, and generally breed in hollow trees, where they make a round hole for the accommo

dation of their young, but do not take the trouble of lining it within. They lay two or three eggs, about the size of those of a pigeon, and marked with little specks. The natives are very assiduous in seeking out their nests, and usually take them by cutting down the tree. By this means indeed, the young parrots are liable to be killed, but if one of them survives it is a sufficient reward. The old ones are shot with heavy arrows headed with cotton, which knock them down without killing them.-Nat. Hist.

The Eagle.-THERE are several kinds of eagles, but that called the golden eagle is the largest, and is commonly called the king of birds. He is found in the deserts of Arabia, and the northern parts of Asia and Europe. He is a bird of great strength, exceedingly bold, and very voracious and fierce in devouring his prey. He is of a great size, nearly four feet long from the point of the bill to the end of the tail; and between the points of each wing, when extended, nearly six feet: his beak is very strong, crooked and sharp; so also are his talons or claws. The common prey of the eagle consists of hares, rabbits, kids, lambs, &c. but when pressed by hunger he will seize on larger animals.

His sight is so exceedingly sharp and piercing, that he can see his prey upon the ground, though at a great height in the air, and he darts upon it with surprising rapidity. And as his eye is of such great use in spying his prey, nature has contrived to preserve it with uncommon care, having, instead of one, provided it with four lids or covers. Eagles generally build their nests on the sides of high and inaccessible rocks, or on the tops of old,

decayed, large trees, and seldom lay above two eggs at a time.

The legs of the eagle are feathered down to the feet, of a dusky colour, and the feet are yellowish. He has four talons, very sharp and crooked. This bird is said to live to a great age, but the exact extent of his life is unknown.-Natural History.

The Sound of the Sea.

Thou art sounding on, thou mighty sea,
For ever and the same!

The ancient rocks yet ring to thee,

Whose thunders none can tame.

O! many a glorious voice is gone
From the rich bowers of earth,
And hush'd is many a lovely one
Of mournfulness, or mirth.

The Dorian flute, that sighed of yore
Along thy wave, is still;

The harp of Judah peals no more

On Zion's awful hill.

And Memnon's, too, hath lost the chord
That breathed the mystic tone;

And the songs at Rome's high triumphs poured
Are with her eagles flown.

And mute the Moorish horn, that rang

O'er stream and mountain free,

And the bymn the learned Crusaders sang
Hath died on Galilee.

But thou art swelling on, thou deep,

Through many an olden clime,

Thy billowy anthem ne'er to sleep

Until the close of time.-Mrs. Hemans.

14. Vultures.

Evidently; plainly, obviously. Ordain'ed; appointed. Perform'; fulfil, execute. Exam'ining; observing closely. Perfectly; completely. Forma'tion; structure. Allot'ted; assigned. Pu'trid; rotten. Putres'cent; growing putrid. Taint; defile, pollute. Infectious; contagious. Ena'bles; fits. Sustain' ; support, endure. Divi'ding; separating. Car'rion; corrupted flesh. Obli'ges; forces, compels.

VULTURES have evidently been ordained to perform very necessary and useful duties on the globe. To those who have had an opportunity of examining these birds, it need not be remarked how perfectly the formation of a vulture is adapted to that share in the daily business of the globe, which has evidently been allotted to it, that of clearing away putrid or putrescent animal matter, which might otherwise taint the air, and produce infectious diseases.

Many of the vultures are among the largest of the feathered tribe, and all, even the smaller species, have great bodily strength in proportion to their size. Their legs are strong, but as they are not, like eagles and owls, intended for seizing and preying on live animals, they have not been furnished with claws so sharp, or with nails so much curved as theirs. The head and neck of vultures could not have been, like those of other birds, covered with feathers, because these being in the reach of their beak, could not have been easily kept clean, and would soon have become clotted by the blood of the carcasses on which they feed. These parts are therefore, either quite bare, or clothed only with a short woolly or downy covering. Their wings are long and large, and their bones, though thick, are remarkably light, a con

decayed, large trees, and seldom lay above two eggs at a time.

The legs of the eagle are feathered down to the feet, of a dusky colour, and the feet are yellowish. He has four talons, very sharp and crooked. This bird is said to live to a great age, but the exact extent of his life is unknown.-Natural History.

The Sound of the Sea.

Thou art sounding on, thou mighty sea,
For ever and the same!

The ancient rocks yet ring to thee,
Whose thunders none can tame.

O! many a glorious voice is gone
From the rich bowers of earth,
And hush'd is many a lovely one
Of mournfulness, or mirth.

The Dorian flute, that sighed of yore
Along thy wave, is still;

The harp of Judah peals no more

On Zion's awful hill.

And Memnon's, too, hath lost the chord
That breathed the mystic tone;

And the songs at Rome's high triumphs poured
Are with her eagles flown.

And mute the Moorish horn, that rang

O'er stream and mountain free,

And the hymn the learned Crusaders sang
Hath died on Galilee.

But thou art swelling on, thou deep,

Through many an olden clime,

Thy billowy anthem ne'er to sleep

Until the close of time.-Mrs. Hemans.

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