The ascent of watery exhalations from the earth during the middle of the day, and their sudden condensation at night by the chilling frosts of this month, make it in general a time of mists and fogs: the singular appearance of these, as they sometimes come gradually over the landscape, is well described by a modern writer : The vapour rises visibly (from the face of a distant river, perhaps) like steam from a boiling caldron; and, climbing up into the blue air as it advances, rolls wreath over wreath till it reaches the spot on which you are standing; and then, seeming to hurry past you, its edges, which have hitherto been distinctly defined, become no longer visible; and the whole scene of beauty, which a few moments before surrounded you, is, as it were, rapt from your sight like an unreal vision of the air, and you seem (and in fact are) transferred into the bosom of a cloud. The poet Spenser makes some allusion to the labours connected with the vintage during this month. In our own country these are almost unknown, but it is the well-known employment of thousands of persons in more southern climates. The beautiful and prolific vine, principally valued among ourselves for the supply of our tables with delicious fruit, is there esteemed and cultivated for a more profitable use. At the commencement of October, the grapes are gathered, and pressed or trodden in a wine-press, or in the warm south are suspended when melting with ripeness, for the sake of their droppings, from which the richest Malaga wine is made. In those countries an economical use is made of the skins and footstalks of the grapes, after the best and the secondary sorts of wine have been obtained from the fruit. The must of the south is employed in making a rich confection with citrons and aromatic sweets. Potash, brandy of a secondary quality, and vinegar, are also obtained from the residue of the grapes. In a dried state it is given as fodder for cattle; fowls are remarkably fond of it, and it is excellent as manure. seasons it is laid up for fuel, in the same way that tan is laid up for winter use in many parts of England. Even the pips or seeds are applicable to useful purposes; pigeons delight in them; and the Italians extract from them an oil, much superior to that from nuts, either for eating or burning. In our own country the operations of cider and beer-making take the place of the labours of the vintage. This month is generally chosen for the brewing of such malt liquor as is designed for long keeping. The steady temperature which usually prevails is favourable for the process, and the results of such brewings are often celebrated under the name of the month itself, and are called "old" or "mild October." In scarce The herring fishery is now employing multitudes of persons either in the capture, or in the various processes of salting, drying, and packing the fish for sale. Pilchards likewise are caught in vast quantities as they visit our seas. An interchange has taken place between our birds and those of northern as well as southern countries. The swallow-tribe is gone, and the water-birds are flocking hither from other shores. Field-fares and red-wings come back to us; and wood-pigeons, snipes, and woodcocks make their appearance. Many animals, insects, and reptiles, seek protection from the cold nights, and retreat to their winter-quarters. It is very interesting to observe the beautiful provision made for the dispersion of seeds, which are now fully ripe, and if not disseminated by the active care of man, are yet provided, each according to its peculiar character and requirements, with the means of "sowing themselves." Such seeds as require protection from the variations of the weather during their progress to maturity are enveloped in husks, or shells, or stones, as, on account of their excessive hardness, we are accustomed to call them; others are enclosed within a case or pod of peculiar texture, fitted at once for protection and nourishment; some lie within scaly cones; others in husky sheaths; while numbers are provided with a delicate apparatus for transmitting them to other spots, and are called winged seeds. Whether contained in stone or pod, husk or shell, the kernel, or seed, is set free by the opening of its prison-doors, as soon as it has attained full maturity, and is ready to be deposited in its proper soil. Thus were the hand of man altogether inactive, the vegetable world would still luxuriate and flourish: the due proportions, however, would no longer be maintained; and the more productive plants would grow in rank abundance, and thrust aside many useful and necessary productions of our land. Toil and industry are indispensably required in our present state, and to their well-directed use we are indebted, under Providence, for a large amount of comfort and earthly happiness. The equinoctial gales of autumn are very favourable to the dispersion of seeds, while at the same time they hasten the fall of the "sere and yellow leaf," and make melancholy music in the groves : I love that moaning music which I hear The flower-gardens suffer from these chilling gales, and much of their beauty is swept away. A few dahlias perhaps remain, with French and African marigolds, China-asters, scabious, and the profuse and sweet-breathing mignonette. The scarlet foliage of the Virginian creeper enlivens the walls; the arbutus still hangs out its blossoms and fruit; and the ivy is richly covered with blossoms, insignificant, indeed, to the eye, but affording a rich repast for bees and other honey-sucking insects. The thickly-matted roots of daisies and other edging-plants are now separated; bulbs and choice anemonies are planted in beds prepared for the purpose; at the end of the month dahlia-roots are taken up, dried in an airy shed, and then removed to the store-room. Bulbs may now likewise be placed in water-glasses, and forced in the hot-bed, previously to being brought in doors, Geraniums and other green-house plants are returned to their place of shelter, and precautions are taken for the preservation of choice flowers which remain necessarily exposed to the weather. The wild flowers of this month are not many in number, but in moist situations, and beneath sheltering bushes, they are yet to be found. The whiteflowered, and the yellow-flowered gallium are still in blossom, the hedge bind-weed continues to display its large and elegant blossoms, and here and there we may still observe the pink blossoms of the lesser centaury. The shortening of the days is now introducing us to some of those pleasures which characterize the winter evening. The cheerful fire is again permitted to enliven our apartments; the assembled members of the family seek no other pleasures than those which are supplied in that best and dearest of places, home; they participate in the gratification derived from books, or music, or conversation, and while imparting and receiving information and delight, the bond of love and unity, which holds them together as one happy family, is unconsciously strengthened and confirmed, and a fund of after-recollections of the most pleasing character laid up. Thus whatever be the season, there are pleasures and employments peculiarly belonging to it, which by their successive arrival and departure are well fitted to charm the novelty-seeking mind of man. Provident concerning the future, he is able to make arrangements, and to take precautions, such as the coming season renders necessary for his health or comfort, and if he is charitably disposed towards those who have it not in their power to make similar preparations, he will find an unfailing source of pleasure in the relief of their wants. The description of a winter-evening's employments, as given by our poet Cowper, may well inspire one with pleasure at the thought of the approaching season. After introducing us to the cheerful apartment, when the closed shutters, the descending curtains, the bubbling and loud-hissing urn, the sofa wheeled towards the fire, and "the cup that cheers but not inebriates," all seem present to our view, he says, The poet's or historian's page by one Made vocal for the amusement of the rest; And in the charming strife triumphant still; * * Discourse ensues, not trivial, yet not dull, THE SQUIRREL. Drawn from his refuge in some lonely elm, And anger insignificantly fierce.-CowPER. motion, then starting, and stamping as if in sudden alarm;-all this is very interesting, and makes us willing to know more of the habits of so engaging a creature, and disposed to seek acquaintance with the different members of a family of which he forms so pleasing a specimen. THERE is something exceedingly pleasing in the appearance of a squirrel. The brilliancy of its eyes, the grace and swiftness of its motions, and the beauty of its "shadowing tail," excite our admiration even when the animal is confined within the narrow limits of a cage, and has therefore little opportunity of displaying the powers with which it has been gifted by nature; but to watch its motions (as our poet was wont to do) when, conscious of freedom and of its own resources, it ventures forth to frisk awhile, and to play its gamGASSENDI, who became celebrated as an astronomer about bols among the branches of the trees around us, the middle of the seventeenth century, exhibits a remark-climbing, or leaping, or running, with a light and gentle able instance of perseverance and progress in learning at an early age. When four years old he used to deliver little sermons; and at seven, he would steal away from his parents and spend great part of the night in observing the stars, which made his friends say that he was born to be an astronomer. At that age he had a dispute with the boys of the village, whether it was the moon or the clouds that moved. To convince them that the moon did not move, he took them behind a tree, and made them take notice that the moon kept its situation between the same leaves while the clouds passed on. This early disposition to observation caused his parents to cultivate his talents, and the clergyman of his village imparted to him the first elements of learning. His ardour for study now became extreme. The day was not long enough for him; and he often read a good part of the night by the light of the lamp that was burning in the church of his village, his parents being too poor to allow him candles for the purpose. He frequently took only four hours' sleep in the night. At the age of ten, when the bishop passed through the village on his visitation, young Gassendi addressed him a Latin speech with such ease and spirit, that the prelate exclaimed That boy will one day be the wonder of his age." Of all useless beings, the mere man of fashion is perhaps the most useless; and, of all modes of living, the most idle and unsatisfactory, is the life of those who spend their days in ambitious endeavours to maintain themselves in a higher position of society, than their station and their attainments warrant.-GRESLEY. THE person who during the twelve hours of every day that he passed in sleep, believed himself clothed with royal authority, shared a lot exactly similar to the king, who dreaming through the same number of hours, imagined that he suffered cold and hunger, and asked the pity of the peasants in the streets. The pleasures of imagination are as fugitive and as unreal as its sorrows. The word Squirrel is merely a corruption of ScruRUS, the name of the genus to which this animal belongs. This genus is one of the most widely dispersed among animals of the mammalia class. It is generally distributed throughout the world in places widely differing from each other. Squirrels of one species or another are to be found in Europe from Lapland to the extreme south, in all parts of Asia, Africa, and North America, indeed, everywhere that woods and forests exist to shelter them, with one remarkable exception, and that is the continent of Australia, on which no squirrel has yet been found. The characters by which this genus is known, are, generally speaking, as follows, though according to the variation of some of these, the division into subgenera and species is also settled. They are all possessed of clavicles, or neck-bones, by which they are enabled to use their fore-legs like arms, either in grasping, or in conveying food to the mouth; but in doing so they have to use both legs, the paws being, unlike those of the monkey-tribe, inadequate to supply the place of hands. The tail is very long, and is covered with long hair or fur, which diverges into two parts on the underside. The length of the tail is generally sufficient to overshadow the whole body, curving forwards as it does over the back; and from this character is derived the word Sciurus, formed from the Greek for "a shadow" and "tail." The gnawing teeth in the lower jaw of squirrels are very much compressed: these teeth are required for cutting through very hard substances, and in common with those of the beaver, rat, &c., are formed in a sort of chisel shape, as here represented. A small portion only of LOWER JAW OF THE SQUIRREL. the tooth appears through the gum, but the wood-cut represents the jaw laid open, to exhibit its whole length, forming as it does the segment of a circle, and having its posterior extremity behind the rest of the teeth. It has been remarked, that by a very beautiful arrangement of the enamel, forming as it does the front part of these teeth; and the bone (which is the softer of the two), the hind part; the inner part of the tooth wears away first, and thus leaves a sharp cutting edge for use. They have four tuberculous teeth on each side of both jaws, and a small one in advance of the rest in each side of the upper jaw, but it falls out at rather an early age. The hind-feet of squirrels have five toes, and the fore-feet four, but sometimes the inner toe also appears on the fore-feet as a simple tubercle. The claws upon their toes are crooked and sharp, so that they can take a firm hold on small inequalities in the bark of trees; the toes likewise have a lateral motion, by which they can grasp towards the centre of the foot. The spine is very elastic, and allows of a ready action of the joints of their limbs, so that whether on the ground or on the trees, they are almost equally nimble. Their members, however, are not of a walking character, and though they have a method of running along the small twigs of trees with surprising celerity, their motion when on the ground is rather leaping than running, and the elasticity of the spine comes into play at every step. Their hind-legs are a very little longer than the fore-legs, but they seem to have an equal command and use of all in the running motion we have spoken of. The eyes of squirrels are large and bright for the size of the animals, and owing to peculiarities in their conformation it is supposed that the sight is remarkably keen, and that very little light is required to enable them to discern objects clearly. It is also probable that squirrels hear very acutely, for the organ of hearing is remarkably well developed, and often terminates in tufts of hair which are supposed to assist the transmission of sound. The food of these animals consists chiefly in nuts and other small fruits, but they are also fond of the sweet juices of plants; and it is affirmed that they do very serious injury to the plantations of Indian corn in some parts of the United States of America, by gnawing the straw at the time when sweet juice is to be found in its nodes or joints. We have said that they are inhabitants of almost every part of the world it may be naturally inferred, therefore, that they are indifferent to the extremes of heat and cold. It is, however, supposed that they delight in rather a warm temperature, as they are generally found to exist in the greatest numbers in the forests of temperate regions. Their nests are spherical, formed of | twigs, and placed near the summit of the highest trees, so that they are rarely accessible, or even discoverable from below. The young are thus secured from the attack of their ordinary foes, but sometimes become the prey of ravenous birds, as they roam over the forest. Some species of squirrel form burrows at the roots of trees, instead of occupying their utmost height. From the difficulty of obtaining a view of a squirrel's nest, the number of the young is not accurately known. Squirrels are divided into three sections, founded on obvious characters,-the absence or presence of cheek-pouches, and the divergence or non-divergence of the fur from the line on the under-part of the tail. The first section consists of those without cheekpouches and with hair divergent along the whole length of the tail. These are regarded as the true squirrels; and the best known among their species is the Common Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), with which we are acquainted in this country. This animal seems to be a native of every country of Europe, and is called in different places by various original names. The colour of the common squirrel varies with the situation in which it is found. In France, and in the southern parts of Germany, it is of a lighter or darker shade of reddish colour, on the upper-part of the body, and white on the under-part; with us, it is somewhat similar, but not of so bright a hue. There is a considerable change in colour at different seasons of the year, but this change is less remarkable in the countries we have mentioned than in Siberia, where during the winter the animal becomes of a slate-gray colour, with small points of black, and the coat of fur is much thickened and improved. In the natural woods on the banks of the Obi and Jenessi, these animals are sought after at that season on account of their skins, which are much valued, and form the squirrel-fur so much in use amongst us. Although of the same species with the squirrel of this country, the Siberian squirrel is a considerably larger animal than ours. It The provident habits of the squirrel have often formed the subject of anecdote. The provisions they lay up in store against the winter consist principally of nuts, acorns, beech-mast, the seeds of pines, peas, beans, and some other large seeds. These they generally deposit in some hollow of a favourite tree. has been imagined that we owe to the hoarding propensities of this animal, the growth of what are called spontaneous oaks, and that the squirrel has therefore performed an essential service to the British navy. A narrative taken from an old scrap-book informs us that a gentleman who was walking in the woods of the Duke of Beaufort, near Terry House in the county of Monmouth, was led to observe the motions of a squirrel, which darted down from the branches of a tree with an acorn in his mouth. After digging a small hole in the ground, the animal stooped down and deposited the acorn; then covering it up, he darted up the tree again. In a moment he was down again with another, which he buried in a similar manThis he continued to do as long as the observer thought proper to watch him. From this and similar accounts, it is inferred that the squirrel, in thus planting acorns for his own future use, is not likely to remember each spot in which he has deposited one, and is therefore really planting for the benefit of man, and increasing the number of the trees he prizes so much. In answer to this it has been said, that when an animal is endued with instinct to lay by food for winter use, he is also endued, as a matter of course, with the power of finding it again; and again, that the place chosen by the squirrel for depositing his store is ner. always free from moisture, and therefore not a place where the acorn would be likely to germinate and prosper. It is very difficult to get a good view of a squirrel in its free state, for its eye and ear are so very sharp that it darts off almost as soon as we catch sight of it; and, if closely pursued, will take some astonishing leap, and be soon out of our reach. The gracefulness of its motions may be seen in some degree in a large cage, and we doubt not many of our young readers have lingered long in delighted admiration of the little creature as it sits with its beautiful tail recurved, and its fore-paws rapidly turning round the nut they have offered, or as it dances lightly backwards and forwards in its place of confinement. An author somewhere tells us that these agile creatures, formed as they are for climbing and leaping, do not feel at home in their cage unless they have a small mill, or tread wheel, upon which they can exercise themselves. On this subject we cannot forbear quoting the strong language of Sir George Head: There is not a more exquisite refinement in the art of tormenting, than to confine a poor squirrel in a revolving cage. If there be one method more efficacious than another to deprive it of liberty, it is this very contrivance, whereby he is constituted the centre of a system,-where, do what he will, he never can possibly be in a state of rest,-where, let him vary never so little, even for a moment, from his centrical position, everything begins tumbling about his ears. I have many times observed with pity the panting sides of an unfortunate little animal, its state of anxious tremor in its hall of torment-its breath exhausted by galloping, kicking, and straining-worried and alarmed, without enjoying a single inch of progressive motion, or one refreshing change of attitude, for minutes together, within his tantalizing treadmill. I know it will be said that the animal is happy; for that of exercise, the soul of nature, he has his fill. A man pelted with mud may believe he is hunting, or lying on the wet grass think it swimming, as reasonably as a poor squirrel in the midst of a whirling maze of wood and iron, can enjoy liberty and the delight of running; the dog, even confined by his chain, moves unmolested in a circle the prisoner changes position in his cell:-home is home, be it ever so homely, but when the house itself turns round, its homeliness surely is destroyed altogether. Our author then speaks of the comparative happiness and freedom of these creatures when a pair of them are kept in a large cage, suitably provided with perches, &c., and adds— Let anybody try the experiment, whether lord or master, or fair mistress of a squirrel,-let pity be taken upon the little shadow-tailed inhabitant of the woods,-let a new cage and suitable companion be provided, and both together in return will regale the spectator with the exhibition of feats to baffle the imagination of Ducrow; and a combination of quickness, strength, and agility, such as no earthly creatures possess in more infinite variety. Those persons who have been in the habit of watching the manners of the squirrel in a state of confinement, assure us that it is too sagacious to add to its winter hoard, or often to accept, when offered to it, a nut that is either decayed, or destitute of a kernel. In general it rejects faulty nuts at once, after smelling to the shells, and when it tries them by turning them about, and apparently weighing them in its paws, it throws each bad nut on the floor as useless, and does not take the trouble to crack the shell. We have before alluded to the surprising leaps taken by this animal: the tail is then of great use to it, serving as a sort of parachute, and presenting, with the extended limbs, a wide surface to the air. A pet-squirrel has been known to leap from the windows of a room on the second story of the house, and alight on the gravel-path, or on a flight of stone steps, without receiving any injury. When necessary, the squirrel can take to the water, and swim well; some have alleged that it makes use of its tail as a paddle, | or even as a rudder to guide its course, but this does not appear likely, from the character of the tail; and there is reason to believe that in swimming, the squirrel still keeps its tail in its graceful recurved form, and thus gives it more the office of a sail than of a rudder. These little creatures appear sometimes to make an extraordinary effort to conquer their own fears. At first sight of a dog or cat, a squirrel has been known to tremble and scream with alarm, yet within a few minutes, and after several ineffectual attempts, it has summoned resolution enough to march up and smell at the very nose of its gigantic enemy. These approaches the squirrel makes by short abrupt leaps, stamping the ground with his feet as loudly as he can; his whole mien and countenance ridiculously expressive of affected valour and intrepidity. Squirrels are interesting not only as it respects their appearance and gestures, but also on account of their neat and orderly habits, and their social dispositions. There is reason to believe that these animals associate in pairs, almost from the nest, and that their attachment lasts through life, even to the period of old age. As there is nothing in their habits to render them obnoxious, but on the contrary, much that excites interest and admiration, it would be desirable to see them in our wooded parks, enjoying freedom from every kind of persecution, and enlivening the groves with their graceful gambols. We are at a loss to account for the practice of squirrel-hunting, occasionally carried on in former times, except as we consider it as a mere amusement for such as are able to delight in the cruel persecution of a perfectly harmless creature. In an account of the parish of Easling in Kent we are told that there was a yearly diversion of this kind held on St. Andrew's Day, and a rabble of boys and men furnished with guns, poles, clubs, and other weapons, spent the greatest part of the day in hunting the squirrel in the woods. While this was their ostensible purpose, however, we find that they took the opportunity of destroying any hares, pheasants, and partridges, which might come in their way, and committed depredations of various kinds, in breaking down fences, gates, &c. Whether this custom is now continued we know not, but it is to be hoped it has long since passed away. The following account of a juvenile squirrel-hunt is from an old poet: Then as a nimble squirrel from the wood, Sits partly on a bough his browne nuts cracking, With sticks and stones, and many a sounding hollow, As the great Author of the universe created nothing in vain, surely he must be an unconscious observer of nature that does not discover in every walk, and everywhere, the goodness of an all-wise Providence, in clothing the fields with verdure, and the earth with beauties innumerable, for the support of animated nature, all tending to the advancement of our thoughts to that Being who created them.ASHFORD. KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD. A KNOWLEDGE of the world, (as it is called,) by which we would signify an intimate acquaintance with our fellow-men, is generally considered requisite to all who would act discreetly amidst the chances and changes of a busy life; and even for those who are not called upon to mix much in society, an entire ignorance upon this point is far from desirable. Many have been the opinions relative to the best method of gaining this knowledge, and some have supposed it necessary to acquire much experience, and that of a painful kind, before a due knowledge of the world can be attained, with any degree of accuracy. Thus it is said we must be betrayed by the world, before we can be aware of its treachery; wounded, before we can learn its ingratitude; and disgusted, ere we can believe in its hollow selfishness. Such an ordeal would remind one of the fabled punishments of old, supposed to be inflicted on the aspirants after forbidden knowledge, who were forced to surrender, in return for their unhallowed secrets, all those social and tender affections which unite mankind to one another. And if a knowledge of our fellow-creatures were indeed to cost us so much that its results rendered us reserved and uncharitable, it might well be doubted whether such knowledge were worth the purchase. There is, however, another method, though but little studied, by which we may learn to know mankind, its follies and its vices, and yet maintain a lively interest in its happiness and improvement; namely, by becoming thoroughly acquainted with ourselves. This is in the power of every one who will conscientiously and habitually pursue a strict system of self-examination; and of the benefit of the self-knowledge thus acquired we shall be aware, not only by the quick insight which it may give us into the motives and springs of action in others, but by the still more valuable privilege of compassion and sympathy for their failings and aberrations, and a generous emulation of their virtues. Those infirmities of the heart and temper, which our daily experience teaches us are kindred to our own, surely must awaken a kindred sympathy and indulgence. Others may possess our weaknesses to a much greater extent than ourselves, and these from circumstances may be made notorious to the eye of the world, while our own lie, as it were, in embryo in the recesses of our heart. But can any of us say that if the situation and the temptation were reversed, our own tendency to evil might not have been brought into action and exposure, and those, whom under other circumstances we have condemned, have stood forward in comparative innocence ? : The germ even of those follies and vices, which, when matured and expanded, are so well calculated to shock our feelings and imaginations, may generally be found lurking in every human heart. The sordidness of the miser, and the reckless prodigality of the spendthrift, spring alike from the same fountain of selfishness which rises in every heart. True, it may not display the covetousness of the one, nor the heedlessness of the other education may have taught us to restrain, and partly to subdue the evil principle, but let us beware of thinking it entirely eradicated. The self-indulgence which is always leading us to prefer our own pleasure to that of others, and against which we can never sufficiently guard, we see exerting a despotic sway over the profligate and intemperate. We think perhaps we have but small cause of sympathy with the misanthrope, but yet when we feel a secret pleasure in detracting from a prosperous neighbour, or scanning his failings as a source of diversion, we are not far from a similar temper of mind. The self-knowledge which leads to an acquaintance with others will never allow us to suppose all our fellow-creatures unworthy of trust and affection, so long as we make our own hearts the test, and one throb yet beats true to virtue. Ithuriel's spear would have disclosed the disguise of an angel of light as faithfully as it brought to view the form of the malignant fiend; and if we fairly expect from others no more than we find in ourselves, we shall neither become the dupes of a too credulous belief in human perfection, nor be rendered miserable and unjust by perpetual distrust and suspicion. You will sometimes see men at public places, whose profession is the seeking for mere amusement, and who give no sign of existence except by an occasional yawn. Čast your eyes on those spectators who are alive to the most vivid enthusiasm. They are young students or mechanics, who have economized ten days, to spend an hour of the eleventh in this amusement. It is in clean cottages-in small, but well directed establishments, that pleasures are vivid, because they are obtained at a price, and through industry and order. THE INDIAN FIRE-FLY. Yet mark! as fade the upper skies WHEN first bold Gama's venturous band implicit credulity.-DUGALD STEWART. UNLIMITED Scepticism is as much the child of imbecility as Is there a God to swear by, and is there none to believe in, none to trust to? LONDON: JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, WEST STRAND. PUBLISHED IN WEEKLY NUMBERS, PRICE ONE Penny, and in MONTHLY PARTS, PRICE SIXPENCE. |