less, and ready for use.' 'Do the ordinary jugglers, or only the hereditary snakecharmers, catch the cobras?' 'We are the only persons who dare to catch them; and when the jugglers want snakes, they come to us for them with that adze,' (pointing to the hammer,) I have caught and taken out the fangs of many thousands.' 'Do you use any other snakes besides the cobras for your exhibitions?' 'No; because the cobra is the only one that will fight well. The cobra is always ready to give battle; but the other snakes are sluggish, only bite, and cannot be taught for our exhibitions.' What do the

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Arabs do if they happen to be bitten by a poisonous snake?' They immediately tie a cord tight round the arm above the wound, and cut out the bitten part as soon as possible, some burn it: they then squeeze the arm downwards, so as to press out the poison however, in spite of all this, they sometimes die.' 'Do you think it possible that cobras could be exhibited without the fangs being removed?' 'Certainly not; for the least scratch of their deadly teeth would cause death and there is not a day that we exhibit that we are not bitten, and no skill in the world would prevent it.""

THE POPLAR.

SOME of our young readers are aware that this tree (populus) is often mentioned by some of the Latin poets. Five species only of the genus are given by Linnæus; but the number has been more than doubled in the classifications of later botanists. The poplar is commonly known as of lofty height and rapid growth. Its wood is useful for various purposes; but its value would be greater if it were more solid and hardy. Two or three of the species claim to be mentioned,

The great white poplar is a native of rather moist woods and hedges, or mountainous thickets, in most parts of Europe. It flowers in March or April, and its leaves are fully expanded before Midsummer. Of these the upper side is dark-green, smooth, and veiny; the lower, very white, with dense soft down. The root is creeping, and throws up an abundance of young plants. 1

The common white or grey poplar is considered very handsome. Its bark is beautiful; its leaves are roundish, grey, and

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downy beneath. It is a native of wet ground in several countries of Western Europe; being sometimes found also in uplands of loamy soil. Its wood, firmer than that of several other species,-being, in fact, of slower growth,-is much in demand for flooring.

Of the aspen or trembling poplar, no part is "hoary." The long compressed footstalks cause the leaves to tremble to the gentlest breath of wind. The wood is soft, white, and of fine grain. Linnæus describes the beaver

as very fond of the bark.

Its

The black poplar throws up no suckers. The tree is large, and comparatively spreading; with a tough, close-grained wood. footstalks are but half the length of its smooth, deep-green, serrated leaves. Its inner bark is used, by the inhabitants of Kamtschatka, as a material for bread; and paper has been sometimes made of the cottony down of the seeds.

Of the Lombardy poplar, now abounding in England, Lord Rochford is said to have brought the first plant from Italy, during the last century, in his travelling-carriage. This species is distinguished by its upright growth, at least till it reaches a considerable height and age.

The Canadian, or berry-bearing poplar, is extremely hardy; and good for planting in exposed situations, on a poor, sandy soil.

The Carolina, or balsam-bearing poplar, has been often planted in gardens, for the fragrance of its buds and young leaves.

The poplar tacamahaca grows naturally in many parts of North America. Its buds are covered with a glutinous resin, of strong smell, the gum tacamahaca, which many readers of this page well know. The aroma of the best and rarest kind is, however, sweet

"MEET AGAIN!"

as that of lavender. This species sends up many suckers from its roots, by which it is easily multiplied.

On the whole, the use of the poplar among ourselves has been mainly for ornamental plantations, or for covering unsightly buildings. Among deciduous trees, its conic form is its distinction. Of the poplar of Italy it may be remarked, that, when agitated by the wind, it beautifully waves in one simple sweep from the top to the bottom, like an ostrich-feather on a lady's head. Poplars are easily multiplied by cuttings, layers, and suckers. The best time for transplanting the suckers is in October, when their leaves begin to decay. Some of the species, the Lombardy in particular, are valuable in dyeing.

Twice in the Old mention of this tree.

Testament we find

The reader may refer

to Gen. xxx. 37, and Hos. iv. 13; but he will not think any particular exposition of these passages dependent on the word, (libneh,) which some eminent biblical scholars take, indeed, to mean, not the poplar, but the storax-tree, which flourishes in the parts about the Levant. If we still incline to the opinion favoured by the authorized version, the white poplar will be understood; the Hebrew word signifying whiteness. "Rauwolf speaks of the number of white poplars that adorn all parts of Syria and Palestine, where the intense heats are mitigated not only by their shade, but by the constant rustling of their delicately-hung leaves." Lady Callcott inclines to trace the fable, that Hercules, visiting Hades, received a branch or young plant of this tree from Proserpine, to its aromatic and medicinal qualities.

PARAPHRASED, BY JAMES MONTGOMERY, FROM THE GERMAN.

JOYFUL words-we meet again! Love's own language, comfort darting Through the souls of friends at parting; Life in death-we meet again!

While we walk this vale of tears, Compass'd round with care and sorrow,

Gloom to-day and storm to-morrow, "Meet again!" our bosom cheers.

Far in exile while we roam,
O'er our lost endearments weeping,
Lonely, silent vigils keeping,

"Meet again!" transports us home. When this weary world is past, Happy they whose spirits soaring, Vast eternity exploring,

"Meet again!" in heaven at last.

MULTIFARIOUS MANUFACTURES

OF BIRMINGHAM.

BIRMINGHAM was called by Burke, more than half a century ago, the "toy-shop of

the world." By this phrase the orator intended to express both the flimsiness and elegance of the various manufactures of the town, and the extensiveness of the markets

which it supplied. It is not easily ascertainable whether among the men of Birmingham at that time the word "toy" had the meaning which it now conveys; but if the stranger at Birmingham inquires at the present day whether it manufactures "toys," and what, description of toys it most excels in, he will be furnished with a list of articles which will somewhat surprise him, if he attach to the word its usual meaning. The "toys" of Birmingham are divisible into three great classes,-heavy steel toys, light steel toys, and toys in general. The first includes articles by no means intended to be played with, such as the tools used in the trades of the carpenter, the cabinet-maker, the upholsterer, the machinist, the farrier, the shoemaker, and scores of other trades. Hammers, pincers, adzes, compasses, choppers, awls, nut-cracks, toasting-forks, turnscrews, saws, spades, and edge-tools of every description, form but a fraction of the immense variety of articles that are classed under this head by Birmingham manufacturers. The light steel toys include clasps, buckles, brooches, tassels, beads, chatelaines, and a whole host of articles made of steel, for the adornment of the house or the person; while the general toy manufacture includes metal, pearl, horn, glass, and florentine buttons in all their countless varieties, and a perfect maze of knick-knacks and gilt or plated trifles, which it would take a whole advertising sheet to make a catalogue of. Birmingham, in this sense, still remains the toy-shop, or rather the workshop, of the world; and supplies Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Polynesia, and Australia, not only with trifles, but with an immense variety of necessary articles. There is scarcely a house in Europe or America that is not indebted for some portion of its luxury or its comfort to the enterprise and ingenuity of the men of Birmingham. We place our feet in winter upon a Birmingham fender, and stir a Birmingham grate with a Birmingham poker. We ring for our servants with a Birmingham bell, and we write our letters of business and affection with Birmingham steel pens. Birmingham supplies our table with spoons, with forks, though not with knives, and our bed and window-curtains with rods, rings, and ornaments. We cannot dress or undress, whether we be men or women, without being beholden to the aid afforded us by Birmingham. It is that town which supplies half the globe with buttons for male costume, and with hooks and eyes for the costume of ladies. Pins and needles, and thimbles, principally come from Birmingham; and we never sit upon a chair or table, or lie upon a bed, or tread upon a floor, without deriving advantage from the industry of the

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metal-workers of that town and neighbourhood for Birmingham supplies England, Scotland, and Ireland, and many parts of the European and American continents, with nails, tacks, and screws. Not only in life, but in death, we have recourse to Birmingham. There is scarcely a coffin that is laid in the lap of earth within the limits of Great Britain that is not held together with the nails, and ornamented with the plates, and handles, and other funereal gewgaws of Birmingham. The Australian ploughs his field with a Birmingham ploughshare, shoes his horses with Birmingham shoes, and hangs a Birmingham bell around the necks of his cattle, that they may not stray too far from home on the hills or rich pasture-lands of that country. The savage in Africa exchanges his gold-dust, his ivory, and his spices for Birmingham muskets. The Boor of the Cape shoots elephants with a gun expressly made for his purpose by the Birmingham manufacturers. The army, the navy, and the East India Company's service draw from Birmingham their principal supplies of the weapons of destruction; the sword, the pistol, and the musket. The rifleman of the backwoods of Canada and the Hudson's Bay territories would be deprived for a while of the means of trade or sport, if Birmingham should cease its fabrication of gun barrels and locks; and all the tribe of sportsmen, whether they frequent the jungle, the moor, the mountain, or the lake, carry on their recreation by the aid of Birmingham. Even the far-distant men of California are obliged, in default of policemen, to defend their treasures with Birmingham guns, dirks, and daggers. The Negroes of the West Indies, and the slaves of Cuba, cut down the sugar-cane with Birmingham matchetts; and the grass is mowed, and corn is reaped, in England and the Antipodes, by scythes and sickles of its manufacture. In large and small articles it is equally industrious and equally successful: it turns into the world millions of buttons, and millions of pins, pens, nails, screws, hooks and eyes, per day, and even per hour; and administers to a greater extent than any other town in the world, to the comforts, the conveniences, the necessities, and the luxuries of civilized life. The town is par excellence the town of metal, and fully ninetenths of its population depend for their subsistence on the various manufactures which it carries on in iron, steel, zinc, brass, copper, gold, silver, electro-plate, and the substantial, as well as the showy, goods which it daily turns out in all these materials. Special Correspondent of the "Morning Chronicle."

THE RIVER NILE. [REALLY, this kind of travels, with all its defects, furnishes to some no trifling advantages. You may go as far as you please, and come back when you will. You may see as much or as little as you like. With one "swift glance of the mind" you may realize some one particular scene, in some particular country, and then come back, ready for another start in quite another direction. And putting all these scenes together every now and then, you may find a gradually advancing acquaintance with the world to which you belong, acquired at the wonderful expense of twopence per month!

But this is not all. Not only does space,

but time, vanish before you. You can sometimes travel in the present world, the world as it now is; and when it pleases you so to direct your trips, you can go back to the past world, and see what once was, but is now no longer. This month we will assist the reader of the "Miscellany" to do both. The works of art pass away. The Cairo that is now to be seen in Egypt, is not the city on its site, whatever its name then, that the Israelites beheld. But nature is unchanging. The Nile to us is what it was to the sister of Moses and the daughter of Pharaoh. We furnish a brief statement blending both present and past.-EDS. C. M.]

We have now to consider a river mighty and renowned, whose name would be chiefly associated in the mind of Israel with memories and traditions of bitter captivity, the "iron furnace" of Egyptian bondage. The Nile is the great river of northern and eastern Africa, pursuing a course of more than eighteen hundred miles, in a direction nearly due north, from the centre of that great continent to the Mediterranean. The various sources of this river are yet involved in obscurity; but they are believed to rise in lofty mountains to the north of the equator. The principal branches are called the White and the Blue Rivers, which, after passing through Abyssinia, unite in the region of Sennaar. From this point it receives but one tributary of any importance, until it falls into the Mediterranean, by several diverging mouths, forming the Delta of Egypt. The greater part of its course lies through a narrow valley, rarely exceeding a few miles in width, hemmed in on both sides by low ranges of mountains. Some portions of even this narrow strip are little better than the sandy desert around; but other parts, especially the lower course of the river, forming the land of Egypt, possess an astonishing fertility, owing to the annual deposition of a rich alluvial mud, by the overflow of the river in summer.

After the waters have retired within their banks, which takes place in November, the agricultural preparations begin; and the valley soon assumes the appearance of a delightful garden, covered with verdant crops, enamelled with flowers, and interspersed with groves of fruit-trees and luxuriant palms. The harvest is gathered in March and April, after which the heat becomes intense, and the suffocating khamseen, or south wind, sweeping along clouds of fine sand, and parching up all vegetation, makes the inhabitants look forward with eagerness to the rise of the Nile, the hope of the succeeding year.

All through the valley, on both sides of the river, lie scattered, in astonishing profusion, the monuments of ancient Egypt; grand and imposing palaces, temples, sepulchres, and colossal statues, the remnant of the power and science of those early days, when Abram visited the land of Ham, and Joseph preserved her from destruction.

The name of the Nile does not occur in Scripture, (unless it be the "Sihor" of Jer. ii. 18;) but it is spoken of as "the

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river" more than twenty times, and much of the early history of God's chosen people is linked with it. To describe all the scenes associated with it would be to transcribe nearly one-third of the books of Genesis and Exodus; but the limits assigned to this little volume will not permit us to do more than enumerate some of the most prominent of the incidents with which it is connected.

The researches of modern times, and the light reflected from the ancient monuments, prove that Egypt was a highly polished kingdom, renowned in arts and arms, when first visited by Abram. He stood upon the banks of the blue Nile, as it rolled through the majestic city of the Pharaohs; and his descendant, Joseph, witnessed beside its waters the depth of adversity and the height of prosperity. In the flags and rushes that waved along its margin, the fair infant Moses was exposed in his reedy cradle, when the daughter of the Monarch, approaching to bathe in its refreshing waters, felt tender compassion for the babe, and rescued him from the obscene crocodiles. On its brink stood the Prophet, when, having come to years, and preferred the afflictions of the people of God to the honours of the Egyptian Court, his wonder-working rod brought plagues upon the land of Ham. The frogs came swarming from the river's depths; and, worse than all, the river itself-whose waters were esteemed preferable to all others, the source of fertility and wealth - became blood; and that which had been honoured as a god, became abominable and loathsome to its admirers! The great contest between Jehovah and the gods of Egypt took place upon the banks of the Nile, which ended in the triumphant avenging and delivering of the enslaved house of Israel.

Varied were the scenes which, in afterages, were enacted beside the mighty "father of waters." The ravages of the desolator, Cambyses; the silken-sailed progresses of the voluptuous Cleopatra; the conflagration of the glorious library of the Ptolemies; the disastrous expedition of Napoleon; the bloody massacre of the Mamlooks, the rolling Nile has successively witnessed; and through all has seen the gradual, but sure, degradation of its possessors, from the very summit of civilization, opulence, and power, until Egypt has become- what divine prophecy long ago declared it should be-" the basest of kingdoms."-Gosse's Sacred Streams.

INCONSISTENCIES.

I OFTEN think how easy it is to talk virtue of all sorts, especially what I may call

domestic, and civil, and political virtue, and ecclesiastical virtue. It would not have done to say religious virtue, for that is true virtue;