various paces of walking, trotting and galloping. The smallest circumstances were attended to. The ear was beguiled with the patting of the horses' hoofs upon the pavements, and some of the little animals reared, and ran before the others.

There were also some charming little sea-pieces, in which the vessels sailed with their heads towards the spectators, and manœuvred in a surprising manner. The whole concluded with a storm, and shipwrecked sailors were seen floating in the water, and then buried in the surge. One of them rose again and reached a rock. Boats put off to his relief, and perished in the attempt. The little figure was seen displaying the greatest agonies.

The storm subsided. Tiny persons appeared upon the top of a projecting cliff, near a watch tower, and lowered a rope to the little sufferer, which he caught, and after ascending to some height by it, overwhelmed by fatigue, lost his hold. After recovering from the fall, he renewed his efforts, and at length reached the top in safety, amidst the shouts of the spectators.

CURIOUS CLYPSEDRA OR WATER CLOCK.

The clock presented by the Kalif Haroun-al-Rashid to the French emperor Charlemagne deserves to be mentioned, as a remarkable piece of ingenuity. It was a clock moved by water. In the dial were twelve small doors, forming the divisions of the hours. Each of these doors opened in succession at the hour marked, and let out little balls, which, falling on a brazen bell, struck the

hour. The doors continued open till twelve o'clock, when twelve little knights, mounted on horseback, came out together, paraded round the dial and shut all the doors.

REMARKABLE QUADRUPEDS.

The horse, of all animals has the most complete proportion and elegance in every part of his body. The regularity of the proportions of his head gives him an air of sprightliness, which is well supported by the beauty of his chest. His eyes are large and lively, and his ears well made; his mane suits well his head, ornaments his neck, and gives him an air of strength and haughtiness.

The duration of the life of the horse is about twenty-five or thirty years.

The Arabian horses are the handsomest known in Europe. They are said to be descended from the wild horses in the deserts of Arabia, which have multiplied so much, that all Asia and Africa are full of them; they are so swift that some will outstrip even the ostriches in their course. The Arabians of the desert, and the people of Libya breed a great number of these horses for hunting, but neither use them in travelling nor in their wars. They send them to pasture while there is grass for them, and when that fails, they feed them only with dates and camel's milk, which makes them nervous, nimble and lean. They lay snares for the wild horses, and eat the flesh of the young ones, which they consider very delicate food. These wild horses are smaller than the tame ones, and are commonly ash-coloured.

Let an Arabian be ever so poor, he has horses. As he has only a tent for his house, this tent serves him also for a stable. The mare, colt, husband, wife and children lie promiscuously together; and the little ones will lie on the body and neck of the mare and colt, without receiving the slightest ill treatment. The mares are so accustomed to live in this familiarity, that they will suffer any kind of play.

The Arabians treat them kindly, talk and reason with them, take great care of them, and never use the spur without necessity. As soon, therefore, as they feel their flank tickled with the stirrup-iron, they set out im

mediately with incredible swiftness, and leap hedges and ditches with the utmost agility; and if their rider happens to fall, they are so well broken, that they will stop short even in the most rapid gallop. All Arabian horses are of a middling size, very easy in their manner, and rather thin than fat.

An affecting story is told of the attachment which the Arabians feel for their horses. A poor Arabian of the desert was owner of a single mare, which the French consul at Said was desirous of purchasing, that he might send her as a present to Louis XIV.

The Arab hesitated long, but want drove him to consent, on condition of receiving a large sum, which he himself named. The Arab, clothed in his rags, brought his courser to the consul, dismounted, looked first at the tempting gold, and then steadfastly at his mare. But here his heart failed him. He heaved a deep sigh, and fondly exclaimed, "To whom am I going to give thee up? To Europeans! who will tie thee close, who will beat thee, who will render thee miserable! Return with me, my beauty my jewel! and rejoice the hearts of my children." Then, springing on the back of the animal, he was out of sight in a moment.

The Tartars live with their horses nearly in the same manner as the Arabians do. When they are about seven or eight months old, the young children mount them, and make them walk and gallop a little way by turns. They thus break them by degrees, and oblige them to undergo long fastings. For racing or hunting, however, they

never mount them till they are six or seven years old. At this time they make them endure the severest fatigue; such as travelling two or three days together without any other food than a handful of grass every eight hours, and without drinking but once in twenty-four hours.

The swiftness and strength of the horse are wonderful. Childers, the famous racer, has been known to pass over eighty-two feet and a half in a second. Others have trotted more than twenty-one miles in an hour. There have been mill-horses, which at one load, have carried thirteen measures, or nine hundred pounds of corn.

The American Indians are abundantly supplied with horses, many of which are very fleet, and capable of great endurance. A savage warrior mounted upon one of these with his long spear, makes a formidable appear

ance.

The Indians take no pains to breed horses, but supply themselves by catching and taming as many as they want. A method sometimes adopted by hunters for taking the wild horse is to shoot the animal through the neck, using the requisite care not to injure the spine. A horse may receive a rifle ball through a particular part of the neck, without sustaining any permanent injury. The blow, however, is sufficient to occasion a temporary suspension of the powers of life, during which the animal is easily taken. This is called creasing, and requires great skill in the use of the rifle.

Major Long remarks that, in the habits of the wild horse, we find little unlike what is seen in the domestic