(a present) for their convent. They seemed fully contented with a few five-para pieces (about equal to a farthing each). One of these naked monks declared that he had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and asked for more "baksheesh" on the strength of it. When they had obtained all the money they could get, they put it in their mouths and swam back to the rocks on which their monastery is situated, and then, by some mysterious means, after disappearing for a certain interval, re-appeared on the summit of the Gebel-el-Teir in front of the convent, and were scarcely discernible except through our telescope. Whatever may be their Monophysite heresies, these are people who "call themselves Christians," and they really hold quite as sound, perhaps sounder doctrines, than a vast proportion of our Christian countrymen. They are descendants of the members of that Alexandrian Church, founded by St. Mark, which suffered such terrible persecutions for the name of Christ. And this being so, I could not help feeling pained when I saw them degraded in the eyes of Europeans, and despised by our Mahometan Dragoman and sailors. And yet, after all, is it so unchristian to be degraded and despised?

We soon lost sight of the towering rocks of Gebel-el-Teir, and the same day, the 23rd of December, at about two o'clock, reached the town of Minieh, where we landed for the purchase of provisions. The Dragoman accompanied us through the bazaars and then took us to some orange gardens beyond the town. From these we made a circuit round the walls passing a very picturesque ruined tomb, on our return to the boat. The aspect of Minieh from the river is highly picturesque. This effect is partly owing to its

dilapidation, but more especially to the greater abundance of vegetation than most of the mud-coloured towns of Egypt can boast.

We sailed from Minieh at four o'clock with a good wind, and the following day, which was Christmas-Eve, passed the caves of BeneeHassan, the inspection of which we reserved till our return. I felt this to be a great risk. The Tombs of Benee-Hassan are, next to the Pyramids, about the oldest monuments in Egypt, and inferior to none in interest. On the morning of Christmas-Day we found ourselves by the Pasha's Sugar manufactory at Rauda, the Superintendant of which was a Lancashire man, from whom we derived much information about the condition of the Egyptian peasants or fellahs. The unscrupulous manner in which the government cheat them of their wages exceeds all belief.

It was a sad Christmas-Day, deprived, as we were, of Services and celebration of the Holy Eucharist. As I sat on deck late on Christmas-Eve, looking at the myriads of stars which spangle that southern sky, and thinking how near I was to the very land where the Hosts of Heaven heralded the marvellous Nativity, I, even then, sighed for the Christmas-Eves' as I knew them in the cold, fire-burning land of my home. And why not so? True, that I was nearer to Bethlehem, but what availed that proximity, when I was deprived of that Blessed Presence of Bethlehem's Babe and Sion's King, which is granted as truly at Holy Communion, whether in New Zealand, England, or elsewhere, as in the Chapel of Calvary itself. On the 26th we made but little progress, and on the 27th reached the Christian village of El Kosseir near to which are some ancient Egyptian caves. One of these caves had been fenced in

with a mud wall and is used by the natives as a Church. I made a vain attempt to see the interior. The Coptic priest was absent and the door locked. Achmet (our Dragoman) told me that it is only used on Sundays (and, I suppose, festivals). A little beyond El Kosseir I went to see the remains of an old Egyptian city and some tombs containing rude sculptures and hieroglyphics. On the 27th and 28th, we made little advance, but on the morning of the 29th a strong north wind sprang up, and brought us to El Hamra, the port of Ossioot, by half-past two o'clock. A little before reaching this place, we met four steamers, conveying Abbas Pasha and his suite, on their return from Aswan to Cairo. We saluted him by thrice lowering our ensign, and by the most ludicrous irregular fire conceivable from our fowling pieces. To this, however, the Pasha, who was seated on the deck of the last steamer, replied by bowing, in eastern fashion, with the utmost courtesy. His steamer was richly ornamented with gilding and paint. This trip into Upper Egypt had been made, I was told, for the purpose of collecting tribute from his unwilling subjects. The taxes are, however, much lighter than in Mohammed Ali's time, and the people proportionately happier.

town in Upper Egypt. Instead of remaining in the bazaars, we rode through the town, and, crossing the plain for about a mile, came to the mountain of the Stabl' Antar, where are to be seen several very ancient Egyptian caves and sculptures, as well as a view of the whole plain of Ossioot, of 50 or 60 miles long, the most fertile plain in Egypt. There are three plains in the course of the Nile Valley, which struck me more especially for their beauty and fertility, namely, the Plain of Memphis, in which Cairo and the Pyramids are situated; the Plain of Ossioot, on which I was gazing; and the Plain of Thebes, the wonder and beauty of Egypt-the unrivalled plain. I had not yet seen Thebes, but in point of fertility and beauty, I preferred the Plain of Ossioot to that of Memphis. Its green cornfields extending far as the eye could reach, divided by the broad waters of the winding Nile, and bounded by the mountains of the desert, were pleasingly enlivened by the appearance of the thriving looking city and its lofty white minarets in the foreground. When I saw the sculptures and hieroglyphics of the Stabl' Antar, I was unaccustomed to Egyptian antiquities and was particularly struck with some remains of painting on the ceilings and walls of the caves, which, after Thebes or El Kab, would appear extremely coarse and rude. In the caves are several mummey-pits, which are kept closed by order of the Pasha, who is very strict in his endeavours to prevent the exportation of mummies. These tombs of the Stabl' Antar are of great antiquity, and were the buryingplaces of the inhabitants of Lycopolis, the city to which Ossioot has succeeded.

"On either side,

The white sand sparkles to the sun; in front,

Great Ocean, with its everlasting voice,
As in perpetual jubilee, proclaims
The wonders of the Almighty."

Southey.

One of the first objects of attraction to young people who visit the sea-side, is the pleasure of hunting for shells, sea-weeds, and brightlymarked pebbles,-an amusement enjoyed alike by rich and poor. Even the royal children, during their excursion to the west of England, took great delight in collecting specimens of shells and marine curiosities, many of which are still carefully preserved amongst the more costly treasures of their nursery. The shells collected by the Princess Royal during a ramble in the picturesque cove of Penzance, in Cornwall, with her royal father, and the little Duke of that county, were, by the kind attention of a relative, set in a box of gold, and presented to the young lady, who is said to attach great value to a gift obtained by her own exertions. As these young people advance in life, the tastes thus early acquired and fostered by the good sense of their royal parents, will contribute to open their minds more fully to the wonders of creation, and lead them to mark with due reverence the vastness of that Power, which is as equally to be admired in the microscopic shell as in the mighty monster of the deep.

Our beloved Queen, from her infancy, manifested those tastes for the beauties of Nature which she still enjoys, and so admirably inculcates in her children, fully agreeing in the opinion of the great and wise Boyle" that nothing can be

unworthy of being investigated by man, which was thought worthy of being created by God."

Of the importance of tastes and pursuits connected with natural history, Mrs. Howard was equally aware, when she engaged as a governess for her children a young lady who had not only known better days, as far as rank and money were concerned, but who had also been gifted with that more valuable endowment, a cultivation of the heart and understanding, of which the reverses of fortune could not deprive her.

Mrs. Howard had been accustomed for many years to resort every summer to the sea-side, and disliking the gaiety too generally an attendant on fashionable watering places, chose the most retired spots she could find, and for two summers had selected a village near the coast in the west of England, where a fine bay stretched for some miles, affording a delightful means of exercise for the young people, as well as many objects of interest, to which she hoped their governess, Miss Sidney, would draw their attention. The children had always taken great delight in gathering shells, or in watching the gently swelling waves as they reached the sand, and there broke in silvery whiteness, and great was the interest when, ruffled by the wind, they came bounding in with a violence that made the children shrink in fear that they were about to forget the boundary allotted to them. But, "wind and storm fulfiling His word," the crested tops only melted on the surface of the sparkling flood with that peculiar sound, which nothing else in nature resem

bles, and then retreated to return with fresh beauty.

It happened that a few days before Miss Sidney and her little friends took their first walk, that a gale from the S.W. had strewed the shore with many more curious objects than usual. Sea-weeds had been torn from their roots on the rocks, pieces of wood, cork, cuttlefish, star-fish, crab shells, and remnants of shells abounded, for the waves had been lashed into fury by the violence of the storm, and had washed in such relics, and then left them high and dry on the pebbly sand. At the request of their governess, the children soon filled a basket, and then sat down on the rocks to examine the treasures.

Several pieces of cuttle-shells were claimed by Alfred, "as a capital thing to rub out the blots in his copy-book;" indeed, as Miss Sidney told them, it is used for the purpose of making pounce. "This shell of the cuttle," she continued, "is in the inside of the fish instead of on the outside, and the animal itself is disagreeable in appearance, looking like a dirty bag of white jelly, spotted with red, of an oval shape, and about a foot long. The light, white, internal shell enables the animal to float in the water. The cuttle-fish belongs to a tribe of animals called cephalapods, from the feet being placed round the head, and some of the species are large enough to be very formidable, seizing on their prey with these monstrous limbs, so that it has been sometimes necessary to cut them off, in order to release any crab, lobster, or other animal on which they feed. In the Indian seas, they have been known to attack man himself. The animal possesses, in addition to his formidable feet and mouth, a singular means of defence, by being enabled to discharge from a bladdershaped sack a fluid of an inky colour, which darkens the water

around it, and thus conceais it from enemies. The common sepia used in drawing is made from the ink bag of an oriental species of cuttlefish.

The long, highly-polished shell which Rose found, is the Solen, or Razor shell, so called, as you will guess, from its shape. It once held an animal, that is perhaps one of the most clever of burrowing creatures. By means of its great muscular foot, which is about half the length of the shell, it digs a hole in the sand to the depth of some feet, and here it remains concealed within a few inches of the surface. The fisherman, who uses the Solen both for food and bait, takes it by means of a slender iron rod, like a harpoon. With this in his hand he carefully treads backwards over the sand left bare by the retreating tide, and finds the holes in which the Solen lodges, by watching the little jets of water thrown out by the animal, who being alarmed by the shaking of the sand, contracts its body. Guided by these, he plunges his rod into the sand, and generally succeeds in piercing the animal and dragging it from its retreat. But should he fail, he does not try again as he knows that the fish instantly works its way far down out of his reach. Another shell-fish, the Mussel, is also used both as bait and food; the shell you hold in your hand, has a portion of the beard remaining, and very curious it is, though of no utility to man. That of the Pinna, one of the Mussel family, is frequently of sufficient length and strength to be spun; the threads are extremely fine and make very strong fishing lines. In the British Muscum may be seen two pairs of gloves made from the silky beard of the Pinna. But the monster Clam, has so tough a beard, that it fastens itself to the rocks, and defies the wildest storm.

"You

SHE was quite startled. There she lay quietly, thinking of nothing less than a compliment. And yet it was not such an unlikely thing either, for she was a pretty little doll, with such rosy cheeks, and blue eyes, and flaxen hair. No wonder that any one should say to her, " 'you are certainly very pretty." Yet she was quite startled, and looked round to see who was speaking. It was a soldier, who looked so fierce with his tall black cap, and thick beard and military red coat, that little Miss Doll felt quite frightened. are certainly very pretty," said he again, "I am just come here on duty, and I shall be glad to know you better. Tell me how you live here?" The timid little thing blushed violently at having to speak to such a fine gentleman, but she did not want for sense, so she began to tell him all about her past adventures. Presently she prattled on without fear, for she saw that the outside of the soldier was his fiercest part. "Yes, indeed, I am very happy," she said, "it is true that I get a fall or a rough knock now and then, but I am still in good health, notwithstanding I have been here nearly three weeks, which I am told is a great age for a doll. I have heard of many who have died in the first week of their life. But the best of it all is, that I belong to the most lovely little baby in the world, and that when we are alone together, he tells me so many wonderful and beautiful things, which he always is thinking about, but no one but me can understand him, for he cannot talk like the rest yet. But you should certainly see his mother, she is so wonderfully lovely; she has such blue eyes, and such a fair white skin, and fine hair, like the moon

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on a summer night,-oh," said the little doll, "you can never imagine anything so charming." "Yes, for I see you," said the soldier. Ah, you do not know what she is like,' said the good simple little doll. love so much to be with the little baby, he is different from every thing else in the world, and only to be near him always puts such good beautiful thoughts into my head." "That is nonsense," said the rude soldier, for he was vexed that she did not admire him, or seem pleased at his flatteries, "how can a wooden doll think?" "It is certain that I am nothing more than a wooden doll," said she humbly, "and that I cannot think by myself, but when good thoughts come to me, I am so glad that I try to keep them with me." "I see that this life will never do for me," said the vain soldier, "I long to join the army and fight. Ah! you should see how bravely I would kill the enemy." Just then a drum was heard, and the soldier shouted out, "that is what I like, now the army is surely coming to fetch me." Just then, the little boy, to whom the soldier belonged, snatched up his new soldier, and ran off drumming loudly.

The very next day, the little doll heard some one groaning miserably by her side. It was the soldier. One of his arms was gone, his leg was broken, and he had no longer his high cap and thick black beard. "Poor soldier," said the kind little doll, "you are very much injured. I too had my right foot broken off yesterday after you left me, but I never was a great walker, so it is not of great importance; and then, the little baby kissed me so afterwards, and his mother said, 'poor little doll,' so kindly, that I was quite comforted. However, you surely know, that we dolls are made