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are fetched away in the autumn. Between them and their home, some forty miles away, lies the great plateau, vast snowfields. There is much simplicity and much hospitality among these Norwegian herdgirls. And who would abuse that simplicity?-who would take advantage of that confiding hospitality? Finding that the naturalist or traveller is not a mere vagrant, these honest-hearted daughters of Eve will clear out one of their milk-huts for his accommodation. It is rudely built of stone, and but imperfectly protected from the wind and rain. A skin and a few coverlets are his bed; barley bread, milk, cheese, and groats, are his food. But if he loves nature, the vegetation of the district repays him for all his hardships. rounded as he is by bare, treeless, and, in some cases, snow-covered rocks, particular spots present a very beautiful and rich vegetation. On one spot, of about twenty square feet, Schouw found growing thirty different bright-flowered Alpine plants. These vigorous herbs not only enliven the scene, but afford, also, rich nourishment to the herds of the Norwegians, which are here scattered through the day among the rocks, and which return home spontaneously to be milked. As evening approaches, cows, sheep, and goats, flock in towards the chalets; the girls call them by name to be milked, and then present them with a gift of salt, the desire for which induces them the more willingly to return each evening from the neighbouring rocks to be relieved of the rich treasures that they have been elaborating from the herbage.

Quitting the simple but generous hospitality of the Norwegian herd-girls, the scientific traveller enters a barren region of rocky tracts and snow-fields. During the whole day he sees neither human beings nor domestic animals. Flocks of ptarmigans, and herds of wild rein-deer, alone inhabit these sterile districts. Neither tree, nor bush, nor blade of grass is to be seen; snow completely covers the ground. In some places it has partially melted, and lies in hollows, forming gigantic bridges, that rival our Stephenson's and Brunell's, over the fierce mountain torrents. Masses of vapour and clouds roll over the rocks. The rough ground and the damp snow tire the feet, while the shining surface of the snow dazzles the eyes. A high and widelyextended snow-covered ridge begins to show itself in the west. This is the great Folgefond, which lies beyond the fiord, but which, from the narrowness of the fiord, appears to rise from the rocky plateau, over which the traveller is passing. The fiord itself is not seen until the traveller

approaches the very edge of the western slope, when a most interesting specimen of natural scenery arrests his attention, and repays him for his toilsome and lonely wanderings. By several days' journey he has ascended a height of about 5,000 feet, when, all at once, he stands on the top of a steep slope that stretches down to the level of the sea, while directly opposite to him rises another snowy ridge, equally steep, and more elevated and lofty. The sea, down upon which he is looking, is here narrowed into a fiord or inlet, the breadth of which, at the bottom, is less than a mile. The inlet, in fact, is only a narrow deep clift in the mass of the rock. Woods present themselves somewhat further down, on the steep sides of the mountain, and quite at the bottom a very narrow border of bright green cultivated patches, dotted with wooden houses, not only diversifies and enlivens the scene, but reminds the stranger visitor that he is within the range of humanity, and that in the depths below are those of his bone and of his flesh, who, though unknown to him, will give him a hearty welcome as he descends to their isolated and rock-defended abodes. The descent is difficult, but in

the highest degree striking. First passing through the treeless zone, he descends through woods of birch; next he makes his arduous way through a pine forest, decorated with the showy blossoms of our own foxglove, the odour of the fresh-mown hay being wafted up by the breeze, till he arrives among fields of almost ripened corn, stands under cherry-trees bowed by the weight of their ripe fruit, and inhales the fragrant scent of innumerable rose-bushes, abounding in blossom. Pretty cottages, built of wood, and standing close together, greet the eye, and one of them opens in welcome to the discovered stranger. What a change from the bare plateau, and the dazzling snow-field, which an hour or two before alone met the eye of the solitary wanderer! It is a scene, too, specially calculated to demonstrate the influence of elevation upon climate and vegetation.

Schouw passed from the cloud-wrapped mountains of Norway to the clear summer sky of Italy, and as soon as he observed at Rome that the snow was disappearing from the Apennines, in the month of June, he prepared for an extended pedestrian excursion. He travelled first northwards to Tuscany, intending to follow the chain of the Apennines along its whole course to the southermost point of Calabria. An ass, bought at Rome, to carry his luggage, was his only companion throughout the greater part of the journey. Crossing the main chain at Norcia, he found himself at St.

Benedetto, on the coast of the Adriatic sea, surrounded by olive, vine, and orangegardens, and fields, from which the grain had already been harvested, and turned to the highest peak, the Gransasso d'Italia, that lies on a lateral branch of the Apennines, between Teramo and Aquila.

As far as Teramo, the traveller is in the hilly zone, where the woods are principally formed of evergreen oaks, and the thickets of myrtle and lentisks. Near Isola commences a steep ascent to the base, upon which Gransasso rests, and passing through Isola a few hours brings the naturalist into the zone of the beech, above the limit of corn culture, and above the elevation at which fixed human habitations are found. Here the traveller will have to take up his night-quarters with the herdsmen, who tend their sheep, under the open sky. They have no huts, but pass the night around rolled up in their sheepskins. Tired and thirsty the traveller may ask for milk, but he will most likely be refused a draught of this precious fluid, not from the ill-will of the Italian herdsmen, but from a foolish and superstitious notion that to give fresh milk to a stranger will bring harm upon their cattle. Reason and fact have a poor chance against superstition. In vain, in all probability, will the traveller assure these silly herdsmen that cattle-feeding flourishes in Switzerland and in Norway, although the keepers of the flocks meet the stranger with a bowl of fresh milk.

At break of day, after a pretty cold night, the traveller quits the company of these inhospitable, because superstitious, herdsmen, and passing the utmost limits of the beech is at the foot of Gransasso, upon the Arapictra, or Stone altar, a kind of terrace, 5,500 feet above the level of the sea, and in the midst of the loveliest Alpine flora. The mountain now becomes continually steeper; on the south and east sides so much so, that it can scarcely be climbed. On the north side a ravine makes it more accessible, though it is covered with snow. By digging steps in the hard snow it is possible to get nearly to the summit of the mountain; but one almost perpendicular cliff, 150 feet high, forbids the adventurous man of science standing on the summit of Gransasso, where he would be about 9,000 feet, by barometrical measurement, above the Adriatic.

Bringing together in brief view the difference of the Norwegian and Italian mountain characteristics, the condition of the atmosphere deserves first attention. The west coast of Norway is well known for its misty, cloudy sky, and its constant rains, though the east side has a clearer air. This almost constant rain and fog, these eternal

clouds enveloping the mountains, prevent the forms of the mountains from making themselves very prominent. Nature, indeed, exhibits grandeur, but bears a certain gloomy stamp upon it. Very different is it under the clear sky of Italy. Although clouds and rain are more frequent, even in summer, on the mountains than in the plains, the air is ordinarily clear, and therefore more transparent than in the mountainous countries of the north. The prospect thus becomes freer. The outlines of the mountains, under a more beautiful light, are sharper and purer.

The form of the mountain chains is another important distinction. Ascending the west of the Norwegian mountain plateau, or the higher, yet usually rounded symmits of the mountains, immeasurably waving surfaces, either displaying corn-fields or consisting of naked cliffs, meet the eye. The little portions, overgrown with Alpine plants, are not large enough, and the herbs themselves are too small, to contribute to the character of the landscape. The val ley of the east side lies too far away to be seen, and on the west the fiords are usually too narrow to be visible from the rocky peaks. The sea, also, is too distant, even when a fog does not veil the prospect. From the Apennines, which present no flat tracts of any considerable size, and when the peaks usually rise steeply upwards, the prospect is necessarily much more extensive. From Gransasso, for instance, the fertile valley on the north and south, as well as the coast-plains and Adriatic sea, all lie within the sphere of vision. Snow is seen, even during summer, in both of these mountainous regions; but in Italy it is, of course, found only at a much greater height. The large snow-fields on the Hardanger chain do not lie higher than between 4,000 and 5,000 feet; while Gransasso, at an elevation of 9,000 feet, retains its snow through the summer only towards the summit of its northern aspect.

In both chains the zone of the pretty Alpine herbs adjoins the snow line. In Norway the birch succeeds this line; further down the pine and fir are the most important trees; the beech is unknown until we reach the plains in the south of Norway. On the Apennines, on the contrary, the beech is the tree that ascends highest, and adjoins the zone of the Alpine flora. This geographical distribution is the more remarkable when compared with that of the corn culture. While barley is culti vated not far from the North Cape, on the Apennines, the cultivation of corn has almost ceased before the zone of the beech, which goes some thousand feet higher, is reached. The cause lies in the peculiar

dependence of corn-culture on the summer heat, while the beech is more affected by the heat of the whole year.

Cattle-feeding is the most important occupation in both these mountain ranges. It is, however, more considerable in the southern mountains of Norway than in the Apennines. In the former not only do sheep and goats find a summer pasture, but horned cattle also. In Norway stone huts are built, and husbandry is pursued: in Italy the herdsmen wander about with their sheep and goats, sleeping in skins under the open sky, or living in mud hovels. In both regions the herdsman's life is nomadic; but while in Norway the cows are kept by stall-feeding in the val leys, during winter, the sheep which have browsed during summer in the pastures of the Abruzzi are driven to the great plains of Puglia, where the climate allows them to remain in the open air throughout the winter.

The Northmen, as inhabitants of the mountains, have a more important distinction. The Norwegian peasant gives proofs of his activity and skill in his dwelling and its furniture. He has a taste for reading, and acquires habits of self-dependence. The Italian herdsman is indolent, ignorant, and little open to cultivation. Much of this difference depends upon their respective political condition and religious belief. The Norwegian mountaineer owns his farm, and is a freeman; the herdsman of the Apennines is the servant of a monastery, of a landholder, or even of a tenant. The religion of the Northman allows him freedom of thought: the Italian herdsman has his mental powers "cribbed, cabined, and confined by priests, who are as anxious to keep their devotees in ignorance and spiritual bondage, as Conference popelings are wishful that their flocks may continue 'teachable, manageable, and quiet.'"

BRIEF MEMOIR OF HER MAJESTY, VICTORIA I.

VICTORIA, the reigning Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, was born at Kensington Palace, May 24, 1819. Her father was Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III.; and her mother was Victoria Mary Louisa, daughter of the duke of Saxe-Coburg. Left a widow when her delicate infant was but eight months old, the Duchess of Kent devoted herself to the great purpose of training her daughter to be worthy of the crown which it seemed probable that she might wear. Queen Victoria is, therefore, the exponent of female nature rightly cultivated for the highest station a mortal can inherit by birth. The means by which this instruction was perfected, and the results to humanity, are studies for the statesman, philosopher, and Christian.

In our brief sketch we shall only allude to some of the seemingly small circumstances, yet really great events, because influencing a mind that was to have a vast influence on other minds. The ordering and training of Queen Victoria was entirely the work of her wise-hearted mother, and chiefly accomplished by female agencies. That her education was of the highest and most perfect order for her station, there are ample proofs; it has given to the greatest monarchy in the world the best sovereign the world contains; the best of

her own royal line; the best, morally speaking, that ever sat on England's throne. More than this, Victoria was trained to perform all her duties: she is an accomplished lady, as perfect in her feminine as in her queenly character; a dutiful daughter; a loving wife; a watchful mother; a kind mistress; a generous benefactor; an exemplary Christian. There are no striking contrasts, no weak inconsistencies in her conduct. Such uniform adherence to the right and proper, under circumstances when selfish propensities are so often stimulated and so easily gratified, must be the result of the conscientious principle early and unceasingly cultivated. In this lies the germ of all moral goodness, and the element of all true greatness. From conscientiousness, enlightened by the Divine precepts, are educed the virtues of obedience, temperance, truth, justice, mercy, prudence, fidelity, benevolence, and self-control; while the sweet feelings of love, hope, and faith, whose union and exaltation form the crowning grace of piety, owe their best and holiest charm to the same principle of right. Let us see how the teachings of a mother could thus lead her child in the way of righteousness, whose end is always happiness. Before the birth of this precious child, the Duchess of Kent had shown, in the previous circumstances of her life, and particularly in the personal sacrifices and risks she endured,

when, leaving her own home in Germany, she hastened to England, so that her offspring might be British born, her deep devotion to duty, and that innate wisdom which has guided her through every task and trial. The Duchess of Kent nursed her infant at her own bosom; always attended on the bathing and dressing; and, as soon as the little girl could sit alone, she was placed at a small table beside her mother's at her meals, yet never indulged in any except the prescribed simple kinds of food. Thus were the sentiments of obedience, temperance, and self-control early inculcated, and brought into daily exercise.

The Duke of Kent died in debt for money borrowed of his friends. The Duchess instructed the little Princess concerning these debts, and encouraged her to lay aside portions of money, which might have been expended in the purchase of toys, as a fund to pay these demands against her deceased father. Thus were awakened and cultivated those noble virtues, justice, fortitude, fidelity, prudence, with that filial devotion which is the germ of patriotism. And thus, throughout all the arrangements during the first seven years, the order, the simplicity, the conscientiousness of the teacher, were moulding the ductile and impressible mind and heart of the pupil to follow after wisdom and do the right. Love in her mother's form was ever around the little Princess: the counsels and examples of that faithful mentor, like an inspiration, served to lift up the young soul to have hope in God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well was it that the Duke of Kent left his wife sole guardian over their child. The Duchess could arrange the whole manner of Victoria's education, and superintend it. She did do this. From the day of her husband's death till Victoria was proclaimed Queen, the Duchess of Kent never separated herself from her daughter. They slept in the same apartment; the first lessons were given by maternal lips; and when careful teachers were employed, still the mother was ever present, sharing in the amusements and encouraging the exercises and innocent gaiety of the child. Thus was Victoria trained. Her intellectual education was as thorough as her physical and moral. From her cradle she was taught to speak three languages-English, German, and French. In her fifth year, her mother chose as preceptor for the Princess the Rev. George Davys. In the co-operation afforded by this gentleman with the wise plans of the Duchess for her daughter's instruction, he evinced great excellence of moral character, and his faithfulness was well rewarded. The Duchess

confided in him fully. When the Princess became heir-presumptive to the throne, and it was intimated to her mother that some distinguished prelate should be appointed instructor, and Earl Grey named the Bishop of Lincoln, then was the conscientious and truly noble mind of the Duchess displayed. She expressed her perfect approval of Dr. Davys as her daughter's tutor, and declined any change: but hinted, that if a dignified clergyman were indispensible to fill this important office, there would be no objection, if Dr. Davys received the preferment he had always well merited. He was soon afterwards made Dean of Chester. Such traits deserve notice, because illustrative of the good influence which surrounded the young Princess, and also because they exhibit the constancy of woman's esteem when gained by worthy conduct.

Besides her preceptor, Victoria had an excellent instructress, the Baroness Lehzen, whose services were likewise retained through the whole term of her education; and the long harmony so happily maintained between the mother and her auxiliaries in this important work of preparing a sovereign to be worthy of a throne, is an example worth consideration by those who would seek the best models for private education.

It has been stated repeatedly, and never contradicted, that the Princess Victoria was not aware of her claims on the succession till a little before the death of her uncle, George IV. The Duchess had thus carefully guarded her child from the pernicious flattery of inferiors, and kept her young heart free from hopes or wishes which the future might have disappointed. When the accession of King William placed her next the throne, she had completed her eleventh year, and evinced abilities and possessed accomplishments very rare for that tender age in any rank of life. She spoke French and German with fluency, and was acquainted with Italian; she had made some progress in Latin, being able to read Virgil and Horace with ease; she had commenced Greek and studied mathematics, and evinced peculiar aptness for that science of reality; indeed, in all the sciences connected with numbers, the royal pupil showed great skill and powers of reason. She had also made good proficiency in music and drawing; in both of which arts she afterwards became quite accomplished. Thus happily engaged in acquiring knowledge of every kind necessary for her royal station, among which a knowledge of the people was not neglected, nor the arts, sciences, and employments which most conduce to the prosperity and

advancement of a nation, this young Princess passed the intervening years till her majority, May 24, 1837. The day was kept as a general holiday throughout the kingdom. The city of London voted addresses of congratulation to the Princess Victoria and the Duchess of Kent on that occasion; which we notice in order to give a few sentiments from the reply of the Duchess. She said: "The Princess has arrived at that age which now justifies me in expressing my confident expectation that she will be found competent to execute the sacred trust which may be reposed in her; for, communicating as she does with all classes of society, she cannot but perceive that the greater the diffusion of religious knowledge and the love of freedom in a country, the more orderly, industrious, and wealthy is its population; and that the desire to preserve the constitutional prerogatives of the crown, ought to be coordinate with the protection of the liberties of the people."

In four weeks from that day, the sudden death of William IV., gave the sovereignty of the British Empire to this young maiden of eighteen. Beautifully has she fulfilled the expectations of her mother, and the hopes of the nation. The manner in which the Duchess relinquished her power over her daughter, was a fitting sequel to the faithfulness with which she had exercised it. The great officers of State and privy-councillors, a hundred or more of the noblest in the land, assembled on the morning of June 20th, at Kensington Palace. They were ushered into the grand saloon. Soon Victoria appeared, accompanied by her mother and the officers of her household. After the Duchess had seen her royal daughter enthroned on a seat of state prepared for the occasion, she withdrew, and left the young Queen with her Council. From that hour the Duchess treated her august daughter with the respectful observance which her station, according to Court etiquette, demands. No more advice, no farther instructions, not even suggestions were ever offered. Doubtless, if the Queen seeks her mother's counsel in private, it is always given in love and truth; but the good seed had been sown at the right time-it put forth, by the blessing of God, spontaneously. The soul like the soil must bear its own harvest.

On the 17th of June, 1837, the young Queen made her first public appearance as sovereign over her realm; she prorogued Parliament in person-never was the act done more royally.

On the 28th of July, 1838, she was crowned in Westminster Abbey. Never were the long and tedious ceremonies

more gracefully endured. From that time onward, there has been no diminution in her zeal; every duty devolving on her, every form prescribed, every custom held important in the Government, Victoria has performed, observed, and cherished. She has been the model of female royalty. But this is a trifling matter compared with the salutary influence her high principles, refined taste, and graceful propriety of manners, have wielded over those who give the tone to fashionable society-vice and folly retire abashed from her presence.

Victoria was married on the 10th of February, 1840, to her cousin, Prince Albert, of Saxe-Coburg, who had been for a time her associate in childhood; and whose development of character and talents has fully justified the wisdom of her choice and the worth of her influence. The union was one of mutual affection, and has been remarkably happy and fortunate. The royal pair have already seven childrenVictoria Adelaide, Princess Royal, born November 21, 1840; Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, born November 9, 1841; Alice Maud Mary, born April 25, 1843; Alfred Ernest, born August 6, 1844; Helena Augusta, born May 5, 1846; Louisa Caroline, born March 5, 1848; Arthur Patrick, born May 1, 1850. All these children are carefully trained under the supervision of their royal parents, and the family of the Queen is one of the best governed and guided in England. The recent birth has increased the number to eight.

"And you have never felt the importance and reality of religion on the services which you have attended ?"

With a look which seemed to indicate the feelings of despair, he answered in a tone of the utmost earnestness, "No!"

"What! can it be indeed possible that you have been favoured with devotional exercises, and the holy instructions of God's house for thirty years, and never have felt that religion was true or necessary?"