THE GORILLA,

HE GORILLA, as our readers will perceive from our engraving, is not remarkable for beauty; it possesses, however, great strength, and would be a dangerous enemy to the strongest man who, without either sword or gun, should engage with it in single combat. It is a native of Equatorial Africa, and feeds on plantains, fruit, &c. During the last few years, it has been brought into great note in this country by the published accounts of Mon. Du Chaillu, who has twice visited Africa, and personally observed its haunts and habits. In his second volume, recently published, he gives a somewhat affecting account of the death of a young Gorilla, whose mother had died, previously, of the wounds received from her captors. He says, "The wounded female died in the course of the next day; her moanings were more frequent in the morning, and they gradually became weaker as her life ebbed out. Her death was like that of a human being, and afflicted me more than I could have thought possible. Her child clung to her to the last, and tried to obtain milk from her breast after she was dead. I photographed them both when the young one was resting in its dead mother's lap. I kept the young one alive for three days after its mother's death. It moaned at night most piteously. I fed it on goat's milk; for it was too young to eat berries. It died on the fourth day, having taken an unconquerable dislike to the milk. It had, I think, begun to know me a little." M. Chaillu and his party, subsequently, surprised a party of ten Gorillas in the forest. He states, "It was a wild, desolate district, and I marched along in anything but a cheerful mood, thinking upon the hard task I had imposed upon myself in attempting to cross Africa. I was going

along, a little a-head of my party, when my reverie was suddenly disturbed by a loud crashing and rustling in the trees just before me. Thinking it might be a flock of monkeys feeding on some wild fruit-trees, I looked up, peered through the thick foliage, and was thoroughly roused by seeing on a large tree a whole group of Gorillas. I had nothing but a walking-stick in my hand, but was so struck with the sight that I was rivetted to the spot. Meantime the animals had seen me, and began to hurry down the tree, making the thinner boughs bend with their weight. An old male, apparently the guardian of the flock, alone made a bold stand, and stared at me through an opening in the foliage. I could see his hideous black face, ferocious eyes, and projecting eye-brows, as he glared defiance at me. In my unarmed condition I began to think of retracing my steps; but the rest of my party coming up at the moment, with clatter of voices, altered the state of things. The shaggy monster raised a cry of alarm, scrambled to the ground through the entangled lianas that were around the tree-trunk, and soon disappeared into the jungle in the same direction as his mates."

In the British Museum there are several stuffed specimens of the Gorilla.

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THE LITTLE SAND VENDOR; A MISSIONARY

STORY.

Na certain street in Berlin, there sat a boy who counted his twenty-six pence. He dropped them from one hand to the other, and they appeared to him as so much shining gold. Near by, his little sister stood; her head was bowed down and her hair was unkempt. Not far from where they were, there was a large house with high windows. Many people entered the

house, and it seemed as if there was to be a public meeting there. The ladies and gentlemen who entered were observed attentively by little Snell and his sister. He had made that day twenty-six pence by selling sand, and as he had a little still left in his bag, he thought he might be able to dispose of that in the large house where the people went. So he said to his little sister, "You stay here while I go with the sand to that house."

He went up the high marble steps and saw a man standing at the door, who had a good many slips of paper in his hand. They were tickets of admission to the meeting that afternoon. Snell was a frank boy, and said to the man, "I don't belong to the meeting, but I have some very beautiful white sand that I would like to sell you. There is no better sand to be found than mine."

The man replied, "It is no time for selling sand. The gentleman who lives here has a missionary-meeting this afternoon, which is to be addressed by missionaries just arrived from their distant fields of labour. Please leave very soon; we don't want any sand."

"Then if you won't buy sand, will you not allow me to stand a few minutes in here, and hear the missionaries talk ?"

"Yes, stay; but you will have to behave yourself while in."

Then Snell mustered a little more courage and said, "My sister is out of doors near by, and I know she would like very much to hear the missionaries too. Please, let me go and call her. We will sit anywhere in the room, and nobody shall see our rags but you."

The man had a kind heart and consented to his request. In a little while, Snell and his sister were seated on a low stool behind the parlour door. The little bag of sand was brought to the front gate, and put down just inside of it. The meeting was opened with singing and prayer, after which a missionary arose and spoke thus, "I have seen

with my own eyes that wicked mothers bury their living children in the earth, or burn them in the fire, or drown them in the water, or give them to crocodiles. In the large cities, I have seen little babies lying in the streets left there by their parents. The case is not much better with the old people, for when they get weak and old, and cannot work any more, their sons which takes away their life. of the blessed Lord." people in the heathen lands are as much in the power of the devil as a flock of lambs is in the power of the wolf." These words sank deeply into Snell's heart, and the longer the missionary spoke the more deeply he was affected. Byand-by, both he and his little sister began to weep at what that missionary said. They never believed it possible that there were any people in the world in such circumstances of sin and ignorance. One missionary said many times during his address," Ch, brothers, we should do something for the poor heathen-can we not contribute our mite in their behalf? Oh, what would we be to-day if others had not done something for us?" By-and-by, the meeting closed, and Snell and his little sister slipped out of the front door without being seen by any one except the porter. The little sand bag was caught up in a moment, and the two children went home as direct as they could. When they reached the house where their parents lived, Snell told his mother what he had heard at the missionary meeting, and then said to her,"Mother, we ought to do something for the poor heathen." She replied, "I am a poor woman, and you my child are poor too. Snell, you know that you have all that you can do now to sell a little sand and buy us a little bread; and what can we give for the heathen? See there, you have only twenty-six pence this day. This we shall need for bread and other necessities."

give them a blow on the head, The people have no knowledge "Yes," said the missionary, those

She then took the twenty-six pence he had brought home, gave him a kiss for them, and went into the kitchen.

Snell went away and threw himself upon his little straw bed, but not to sleep; he was soon lost in-reflecting upon the poor heathen and their blindness. He hit upon this plan, in order to help the heathen. He remembered that a certain gentleman, who was a banker, promised him one day that he would buy a little donkey and cart, provided he would be as industrious as ever. The gentleman said that it

would be a great deal more comfortable for him, and more profitable too, to take around his nice white sand in a cart than to lug it about on his shoulders. It was a kind man who said that; for nobody but a kind person would do such a favour. 66 Now," said Snell to himself "I will accept that gentleman's offer, and after I have paid him for the donkey and cart by selling sand, I will pay something every year for sending the Gospel to the heathen."

Snell kept his promise faithfully. He told the banker that he would accept his offer on condition that he might pay the expense of the donkey and cart, as soon as he had made enough money from them by selling sand. The gentleman accepted the proposition, more to please Snell than for any other purpose. By-and-by, a little white donkey, harnessed to a green cart, was driven up before the door of the house in the upper story of which the widow and her two children lived. That was Snell's donkey and cart. His business increased from that time forward. He made two rounds a day, and each time sold out his cart-load of sand. In just eight months and seven days from the time he made his first round he had saved money enough to pay for his donkey and cart. It amounted to ninety-dollars in all. It was a proud morning for him when he could go and pay for his donkey and cart. He requested his mother to dress his little sister up in her best clothes to go with him. He, also, put on his best suit, and they both got into the cart together, and drove round to the banker's place of business. Of course, the banker was very much pleased to find him so honourable in his business transactions, and he received the money not