sufficiently tame. During this period an Arab constantly holds it at the end of a long cord. By degrees it gets accustomed to the presence of man, and takes a little nourishment. To furnish milk for it, I had brought with me female camels. It became gradually reconciled to its condition, and was soon willing to follow, in short stages, the route of our caravan.

"The first giraffe, captured at four days' journey to the south-west of Kordofan, will enable us to form some judgment as to its probable age at present; as I have observed its growth and its mode of life. When it first came into my hands, it was necessary to insert a finger into its mouth in order to deceive it into a belief that the nipple of the dam was there; then it sucked freely. According to the opinion of the Arabs, and the length of time I have had it, this first giraffe cannot, at the utmost, be more than nineteen months old. Since I have had it, its size has fully doubled."

In the days of my youth I read of the wanderings of Mungo Park, and of the feat of Monsieur Vaillant chasing the giraffe, with delight; and suddenly to be in company with those who had passed through the same scenes, was a treat to The figure, dress, beard, and mustachios of Monsieur Thibauld, rendered him an object of much attraction; in conversation he was very animated. I told him that I had seen a giraffe

me.

years before in Paris, but that I had never seen a giraffe hunter; and in parting I obtained one of his best bows, by the remark that he had outdone other African travellers; for that Monsieur Vaillant only knew how to kill giraffes, but Monsieur Thi bauld knew how to take them alive.

How rapidly has time flown! but there will be time yet for a hasty peep at the Surrey Gardens. I must escape by the turnstile gate.

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And these are the Gardens of Surrey! I have wandered through the varied avenues of this agreeable place; given a bun to the bears, and a handful of nuts to the monkey. I have stroked the antelopes, patted the trunk of the elephants, placed my hands on the scaly backs of the boa and the python, and am now standing near the eagle-rock: it is a pleasant spot.

This running stream, with the tall green flags growing on each side, and the ponds almost covered over with the broad leaves and the fair flowers of the water-lily, remind me of quiet, retired nooks and corners in country places, where the wild duck dives in the secluded, reedy pool, and the moorhen hides herself under the over-hanging branches of the trees.

The lake and the drooping willows form a lovely scene, and recall everything that we have witnessed of silvery streams and luxuriant foliage.

Would you gaze with emotions far purer than mirth
On one of the fairest creations of earth,

Come at even and breathe the pure breath of the breeze
From the seat by the lake, 'neath these wild willow-trees!

ness.

I could loiter on this spot long without weariHere grows a scarlet-flowered geranium, just such a one as I have seen in a window of an alms-house; where might be discerned the aged inmate, with her spectacles, bending over the book of life, the Holy Scriptures of eternal truth. I love the gilly-flower, because it will bloom even on a mouldering wall, and smile in desolate places; and I love the geranium, because it gives cheerfulness to the abodes of poverty.

The principal points of these Surrey Gardens are, the beautiful lake, the eagle-rock, the choice collection of forest trees, and the great superiority of the wild animals; but I must not omit the glass conservatory.

of

many

A dome in the centre, deservedly praised,
Transparent as crystal, is artfully raised,
Where African lions, and tigers untamed,
And sloths and hyenas, for savageness famed,
And leopards and ladies, and monsters and men,
Securely may meet in the very same pen.

Come with me, and gaze on the beasts; the hyenas, the leopards, and the tigers; but especially the lions. The keeper is now feeding them. Is there anything that you have ever conceived of the monarch of the woods, that is

not realized in that noble Nero? flowing mane, his giant limbs.

What a majesty in his mien!

Regard his

What an untameable glare in his lordly eye! His jaws are opening; what a deep, unearthly, scream-like roar! Even here it is terrible. What must it be when resounding through the forest? I should like to see Nero in the desert, and I doubt not Nero would like to see me there too.

The serious spectator at such a scene as this traverses the wilds of Africa with the missionary Campbell; or, familiar with Bible associations, goes back to the days of Daniel, when the Eternal laid his hand on the mouth of the lions, and the prophet of the Lord remained in safety among them.

Many of the different exhibitions which take place here are of an attractive character, but they are sad trespasses on the quietude and repose of the place, and prevent that neatness and order which might otherwise more universally prevail.

The Regent's Park and the Surrey Gardens afford much gratification, and should not be visited without some profitable reflection. The beasts and birds of all parts of the earth are here assembled, bearing witness, by their captivity, to the preeminence with which man has been endowed by his Creator. The swiftness of the giraffe and the ostrich, the soaring flight of the falcon and the eagle, the matchless strength of the rhinoceros and

the elephant, and the rapacity of the tiger and the lion, have not been able to protect their possessors from becoming the captives of man. If, then, God has thus given to man dominion over the "beasts of the field, and the fowls of the air," how grateful ought he to be for the gift of his preeminence! and how anxious to use it to the glory of the Almighty Giver! If the Lord is "good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works," how mindful ought man to be, to exercise forbearance, and kindness, and mercy, to every creature committed to his care!