76 THE TORPEDO. 76 unless by force or accident. While the membranous tubes, disposed like honey weather is calm, he remains suspended or comb, and divided, by horizontal partitions, hanging from the branches; but during a into small cells, which are filled by a muhigh wind, when the boughs of the closely cous substance. They are situated between growing trees are shaken and laced together, the gills and the forward fins. as it were, he passes from one to the other with ease and quickness. He never moves upon, but under the branches; he hangs there to rest, to eat, and to sleep. The color of his fur is so nearly that of the moss on the bark, that it is not easy to discover him, except when he is moving.-In short, instead of being an object of disgust, or even of pity, I do not know a creature that appears more happy, as long as man and other animals will let him alone. It is man, by his "meddling" that makes a great many of the woes that his fellow animals feel. It is guns, and snares, and traps, and aviaries, and cages, that make birds and beasts most unhappy. THE TORPEDO. Shape and size-How taken-Its electrical apparatus. THIS fish is remarkable for its shape and character. It is distinguished by its short and somewhat fleshy tail, and a head nearly as large as its body. Its teeth are small and very sharp. It attains a very large size, and is said sometimes to weigh nearly 100 pounds. Fishermen call it the numbfish, or cramp-fish. They are not very numerous, at least, they are not often taken. Those few are usually caught by the hook and line, in fishing for cod. They frequent sandy coasts, and are found both in Europe and America. The electrical apparatus, which gives this fish the power of shocking or benumbing the animal it touches, consists of small The power of the torpedo, to benumb animals, enables it not only to secure its food, but to defend itself against enemies. Whoever attempts to lay hold of it receives a sudden paralyzing shock in his arms; and small fishes, it is said, are completely stunned by it. Not only the torpedo, and the electrical eel possess this electrical faculty; it is stated by naturalists, that the African catfish and several other fishes have the same power though in a much smaller degree. Temperance, regular and moderate employ ment, and a cheerful temper are great preservatives of health. Physicians rarely take medicine him by the arm, I exciaimed; "Would you perish?" "Let me go," cried he, "to save her or die." Seeing that despair deprived him of reason, Domingo and I, in order to preserve him, fastened a long cord round his waist and seized hold of each end. Paul then precipitated himself towards the ship, now swimming, and now walking upon the breakers. Sometimes he had hope of reaching the vessel, which the sea, in its irregular movements, had left almost dry, so that you could have made its circuit on foot: but suddenly the waves, advancing with new fury, shrouded it beneath mountains of water, which then lifted it upright upon its keel. The billows, at the same moment, threw the unfortunate Paul far upon the beach, his legs bathed in blood, his bosom wounded, and himself half dead. 78 GRANDFATHER'S STORIES, ABOUT OLD TIMES. The moment he had recovered his senses, he arose, and returned with new ardor towards the vessel, the parts of which now yawned asunder from the violent strokes of the billows. The crew then despairing of their safety, threw themselves in crowds into the sea, upon yards, planks, hen-coops, tables and barrels. At this moment we beheld an object fitted to excite eternal sympathy;—a young lady in the stern of the St. Geran (the vessel see the engraving) stretching out her arms towards him who made so many efforts to join her. It was Virginia. She had discovered her lover by his intrepidity. The sight of this amiable young woman, exposed to such horrible danger, filled us with unutterable despair! As for Virginia, with a firm and dignified mien she waved her hand, as if bidding us an eternal farewell. All the sailors had now thrown themselves into the sea, except one, who vainly attempted to save Virginia. Then was heard redoubled cries from the spectators, "Save her! Save her! Do not leave her!" But at that moment a mountain billow, of enormous magnitude, ingulphed itself between the isle of Amber and the coast, and menaced the shattered vessel, towards which it rolled bellowing, with its black sides and foaming head. At this terrible sight the sailor flung himself into the sea; and Virginia, seeing death inevitable, placed one hand upon her clothes, and the other on her heart, and lifting her lovely eyes, seemed like an angel prepared to take her flight to heaven. 78 Virginia; and also the sailer who had en deavored to save her life. This man, who had escaped from almost certain death, kneeling on the sand, exclaimed, “Oh, my God! thou hast saved my life, but I would have given it willingly for that poor young woman!" Domingo and myself drew Paul senseless to the shore, the blood flowing from his mouth and ears. The governor put him into the hands of a surgeon, while we sought along the shore for the corpse of Virginia But the wind having suddenly changed, which frequently happens during hurri canes, our search was in vain. For Parley's Magazine. GRANDFATHER'S STORIES, ABOUT OLD TIMES. I LOVE to hear my grandpa tell About the days of old. I love to hear his stories well, He tells me where the houses stood, Where now are streets, 't was then a wood, No schoolhouses could e'er be found No stages ran upon the road; Of chaises there were few; He tells me much (of days of yore) Oh day of horror! Every thing was A SUBSCRIBER THIS tree grows in many other parts of the world, as well as Brazil. Its trunk is large, crooked and full of knots. At a short distance from the ground, innumerable branches spring forth, and extend in every direction, in a straggling, irregular, and unpleasing manner. The branches are armed with short, strong, upright thorns. The flowers are red. The largest of these trees reach the height of thirty or forty feet. When first cut, the wood is of a pale red, but becomes darker by exposure to air. It is varied, however, with irregular and fantastical black spots. The bark of the tree, which is extremely thick, and the pithy part, The heart of the tree, alone, is are useless. valuable. It is a very hard and dry wood. The thickest pieces, with a close grain, are considered the best. Its principal use is in dyeing red. The color which it gives is, however, rather fleeting. The most permanent colos produced by it, are those in which the natural purple red, is changed by acids into an orange or yellow color. Red ink is made by boiling this wood in beer, wine, or vinegar, and adding a little alum. Nicaragua or Peach wood, is a species of Brazil wood. Though it contains less of the coloring matter than the common Brazil wood, it yields a color which is brighter, more delicate, and more beautiful. It is sometimes sold at $133, a ton. 80 HOW TO USE THIS MAGAZINE. NATURAL HISTORY IN SCHOOLS. A FRIEND of education, now travelling in the southern states, in a letter makes the following remarks. "One plan I wish you would suggest in Parley's Magazine, which is, the collection of leaves, without much regard to the flower on the herb, or the plant. Such a collection might be called, perhaps, a folium, more properly than a Herbarium, which embraces more than the leaves. Such a collection could be made and preserved by every little girl and boy, of five years old, in the country; and besides leading them to observe and examine, and furnishing them with employment combining amusement and instruction, the collection would be really beautiful, if collected and preserved as they might be, even by children, were it only suggested to them. "If the leaves of the forty four oaks were arranged on white paper, formed into a book for the purpose, I am sure they would be worthy one look of Peter Parley himself, or of the Rambler.-This is something that every child can do, and that will benefit every child that does it, and every country where it is done by all the children. Such collections could also be easily exchanged, by the schools in Georgia and Massachusetts, and by those in Michigan and Florida, and by the children of America with those of Europe." This plan is interesting, because it would lead young folks to think. Besides, it is not all "theory." It has been put in practice again and again, in Germany and Prussia, both by parents and teachers. Many boys in America—and some of them very tall ones, too,—do not know one leaf from another; and if a hundred sorts of leaves were thrown together in a heap, they could 80 not pick out and give the appropriate names to half a dozen of the whole. Yet these very boys, it may be, are familiar not only with all the hard Latin and Greek words, in their books, but with the names of the heathen gods and goddesses, heroes, and heroines. The German and Prussian boys are taught to have their eyes open, and to notice what is around them, men, animals, trees, plants, &c. MORE ABOUT USING THIS MAGAZINE. ONE excellent method of using this magazine, is the following. Let one of the children in a family, or in a class, read some interesting article, while the rest sit still and hear. Then, when he is through, let each in his turn, tell what he has been reading about. Sometimes, it will be well for them to repeat it verbally (by word of mouth.) At others, it will be best for them all to write it on slates. This will be the means of forming or strengthening the habit of attending to what they hear and read: a habit of great importance, but very much neglected. It will also cultivate and strengthen the memory. A good memory, not of words alone, but of ideas and things, is worth every thing to the young; though some affect to despise it. In this way, they will not only cultivate the faculties of attention and memory, but also improve in spelling, and writing, and composing. For they ought to take pains to write well, and to spell every word correctly. And to relate a story in this way which we have read or heard, what is it but learning to compose? More than all, they will be learning to THINK. And if there be any one thing which should be urged upon the young again, and again, and again, it is to learn to THINK! |