bird as an evil omen; and the same notions respecting it may be found in the effusions of most of the ancient poets; indeed there is scarcely a poet ancient or modern who does not speak of the owl in this point of view. The superstitious opinion that this bird is the harbinger of death, still prevails among the ignorant of many parts of Europe. The striking, sapient, mysterious, and peculiar look of this bird, the strangeness of its habits, its occasional and uncertain appearance in towns, and its loud and dismal cry, uttered often when all other birds are quiet, as well as its being the bird of night, are the circumstances which, aided by an occasional coincidence of events, have caused the owl to be regarded as an evil omen. This and similar superstitions will appear less surprising, when it is considered that crafty and designing persons had a direct interest in their propagation.

The dread attached to the owl seems to have been extended to other birds of the night; a circumstance which rather corroberates the idea that they were dreaded, in a great measure, from being the companions of darkness and obscurity. Spencer has given us a most woful catalogue of harmful fowls, in the second book of the Fairie Queene.* The hollow booming of the bittern, from the pool, on a still evening, and the hoarse sound of the nycticorax and fern-owl, are equally striking; may be easily imagined plaintive, and seem capable when uttered in the stillness of the evening, of exciting ideas of melancholy, and of inducing in the minds of

• Book II. Canto XII. Stanza XXXVI.

Even all the nation of unfortunate
And fatall birdes about them flocked were,
Such as by nature men abhorre and hate;
The ill-faste owle, death's dreadful messengere;
The hoars night-raven, trump of doleful drere;
The lether winged batt, dayes enimy:
The ruefull strich, still waiting on the bere;
The whistler shrill, that whoso heares doth dy;
The hellish harpyes prophets of sad destiny:

XXXVII.

All those and all that else does horror breed
About them flew, and fil'd their souls with feare,

the vulgar and ignorant a notion of their being connected with misfortune.

It was long ago observed, that the frequent immersion of certain fowls in the water portended rain; and they were, consequently, considered unlucky; while others, who never dived, were regarded as good signs, a fact observed by Niphus in his book of augury, who quotes a verse to that effect from Amilius; and Virgil makes Venus predict the safety of the Trojan fleet to Eneas from the flight of swans. Another familiar instance of the effect of association of ideas is the following. Vultures, which prey on carcasses, naturally followed armies and inhabited the field of battle after the conflict: the ancients, therefore, associated their appearance with bloodshed and destruction, and they became evil omens, particularly when following in the track of armies.

There is a superstitious respect paid to the swallow and the martin in many parts of Europe at the present day. Their nests are protected, and it is considered unlucky to molest them even by accident. This is a very old opinion, mentioned by many writers; and the circumstance of their building so close to the habitations of man seems to indicate that they have long enjoyed freedom from molestation. For animals would appear to regulate their conduct according to circumstances; and it is not only that the individual learns to avoid danger, but the whole species seems by degrees to become apprized of the state of either enmity or amity existing between them and man, and to act in conformity with this knowledge. The religion of the Brahmins protects animals from injury, and hence, in parts of India, hawks and other birds of prey are so familiar and daring, as to snatch the food from out of dishes, as men are carrying them from the kitchen to the place of repast. The Turks have also a superstitious tenderness for birds, and Constantinople has been called the paradise of the feathered race. The respect paid to the swallow may have originated in its being the harbinger of spring, and from its inhabiting churches, temples, and other sacred places, and, perhaps, in some measure

also, from its usefulness of clearing the air of insects. The low flight of swallows predicts rain, and their settling on buildings is an autumnal custom previous to their departure, or the commencement of wintry weather; hence have they, perhaps, been considered by some, as portending evil. The crowing of the cock was reckoned ominous, particularly prophesying the event of wars. The crowing of the cock presaged the victory of Themistocles over the Persians. A victory of the Boetians over the Lacedemonians was, also, said to be told by the same bird.

It is an old observation, that the appearance of a certain species of beetle called Tenebrio mortisagus, was a presage of death; which may be founded on observation. For the appearance of the insect may, in reality, forebode the death of sick persons in a house where it is observed; since the same peculiarity of atmosphere which may force the beetle to leave its hiding place, may be such an one as would hasten the death of the patient. If it be any such association of ideas as those which we have described, that most of the superstitious devotions paid to particular birds and animals have originated, the worship of the Ibis, and of the Scarabeus in Egypt, and of many other animals in Asia and Africa, might, with some care, be shown to have sprung from a similar source.

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL HISTORY.
THE BELL-SHAPED SEA-NETTLE.

Medusa Campanulata.

WHOEVER has been in the habit of walking on the sea shore, must have observed, when the tide has retired, a number of substances, lying on the sand, in appearance like masses of jelly; in the summer season they are extremely abundant, and in warmer climates are found of a very large size. These substances notwithstanding their appearance will be found on examination to be living bodies, and as perfectly formed for

all the purposes of their nature, as any other part of the works of the great Creator.

Their bodies are nearly transparent, and the different organs they enclose are faintly visible to the eye; their form is that of a saucer upside down, and the mouth as may be seen by the engraving, is placed below. The outward edge of this body is furnished with numerous arms which gradually taper towards the ends, where they appear like so many threads: with these arms, the creature is able to convey its food to its mouth; small fish, or any other animal substance that comes within its reach, afford it the means of subsistence.

The indigestible parts of the food which are swallowed, are after a time, returned by means of the mouth. Many varieties of the Medusa are phosphorescent; that is they shine at night with a pale blue flame, like

that of phosphorus, and their appearance, when floating in large groups on the surface of the sea, on a dark night, is extremely beautiful. Some species have the power of benumbing the hand, when touched, and have had the name of Sea-nettles applied to them. The appearance of many is peculiarly graceful and elegant, when floating in their native element, from the delicate colours with which they are adorned. The bodies of some among them are of a light azure blue, the border surrounded with the appearance of golden beads like a coronet, from which stream in every direction, delicate threads of a bright carmine colour; in short, almost all those that are found in warmer climates have something pleasing either in form or colour. The annexed engraving is an enlarged view of the object represented, its natural size being about one inch in width. It is an inhabitant of the Greenland seas.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRISTIANITY.

From the French of L' Abbé Claude Fleury. THE christian religion has this advantage, that its origin is certain, and its history, without any interruption, consecutive to the present time. Its origin is certain; for infidels themselves allow that Christ came into the world more than seventeen centuries ago. We have in our hands his history, written by his disciples, who were eye-witnesses of what they relate; we have the writings of Prophets, who foretold his appearance so long before it occured; and are acquainted with their dates and authors, as far back as Moses, whose writings are the most ancient in existence. This was not the case with the fables upon which the religion of the Greeks and other Pagan nations was founded. Their poets, who were also their prophets and theologians, usually declared themselves to be instructed by the muses or other divinities; but of this they gave no proof; nor could they mention the circumstances attending the wonderful events which they relate, nor cite