-changing to white in the winter of northern regions:-tip of the tail, which is bushy, invariably black. Length of body ten inches, of tail, five or six. Number of young not exactly known. Much more common than the preceding species.

Remarks.-The stoat subsists principally upon eggs, poultry and other descriptions of bird, rats, and putrid animal substances. It has been known to track a young hare by the scent with all the accuracy of the harrier.* The extent of its depredations in the rabbit-warren will be shewn by the following fact. One morning, in the early spring of 1832, while sitting at breakfast, at Packwood House, the residence of the late Col. Fetherston, I observed a large and apparently female stoat, rapidly vaulting, with arched back and bushy tail, through the tall herbage at the head of the pool which terminates the lawn. She carried something in her mouth, which I soon discovered to be a young rabbit. After having disappeared for a few minutes and deposited her burthen, the stoat retraced her steps with increased agility across the lawn; descended a steep bank into the neighbouring meadow, and plunged into a rabbit-burrow at the foot of an old oak which grew there. From this, she soon returned with another of the defenceless inmates in her mouth. Four times did the little animal renew her visit to the meadow with the same result. Thinking it high time, for the sake of his rabbits, to stop these predatory incursions, one of the members of the family now took up his gun, and stationed himself behind the oak, but the prey was gone; and the sagacious creature returned no more to the scene of her depredations. All our endeavours to discover the hiding-place of the stoat, with a view of obtaining possession, or at least ascertaining the number, of the young, for which she had, doubtless, been thus adventurously and actively catering, were unsuccessful.

3. Vulgaris, Common Weasel,-la Belette, F.,-Donnola, It.,-Comadreja, Sp.,-das gemeine Wiesel, G. Spec. Char. Colour yellowish or tawny-brown, above; white or yellowishwhite, beneath. A brown spot near the angle of the mouth. Length of body six or seven inches;-of the tail, which is neither bushy nor tipt with black, two inches. Number of young,

five or six. Its skin and excrements exhale an intolerable odour.

Remarks.-This animal, by far the smallest of the British weasels, and frequently named by ignorant observers, the stoat, subsists on the same food as the preceding species. It is very active, and uncommonly courageous for its size. I have frequently experienced great difficulty in driving the little creature from any article of prey, of which it has been my object to obtain possession. A few weeks ago, a professional gentleman, of Tamworth, in the vicinity of which the weasel is very common, observed an animal, of this species, crossing the road before him,

* See Fleming's History of British Animals, vol. i. p. 14.

and dragging along, with incredible rapidity, a remarkably fine specimen of the water-rat, Arvicola aquatica, which the weasel had apparently just destroyed. My friend dismounted from his horse to secure the prize. But so reluctant was the weasel to abandon its prey, that it repeatedly turned round on the successful competitor; shewed its teeth and chattered; and was only, at last, put to flight by repeated blows with his hand-whip. It is said sometimes to assume a white colour in winter; and, in this state, probably constitutes the M. nivalis, of Linnæus.

The Martes, or Marten genus, exhibits the same internal organization as the Mustela; but is distinguished from it, principally, by the following external characters: three false grinders in the upper and four in the lower jaw carnivorous tooth, below, furnished with an internal tubercle. Muzzle more elongated and slender than in the weasel. Tongue smooth. Odour musky. Of this genus, there are two British species; the distinguishing characters of which, however, are very obscure and ill-defined.

1. Fagorum (M. martes, of Linnæus, and M. foina, of Blumenbach),-Common Marten,-la Fouine, F.,-Faina, It.,—Fuina, Sp., der Hausmarder, Steinmarder, G. Spec. Char. Colour dark-brown, with a reddish tinge on the head: breast and throat white. Length of body eighteen inches;-tail, from ten to twelve. Number of young from four to six.

Remarks.-This, the most elegant and beautiful of all the British Mammifera; preys upon poultry, game, and the smaller quadrupeds. It inhabits woods; forms its lodge in the hollow of trees; frequents the vicinity of the habitations of man; and is readily tamed. Formerly of common occurrence, it is now rarely seen in the midland districts of the island. About four years since, a fine specimen was killed in Hopwas-wood, near Tamworth; and is preserved in the collection of the Right Hon. Sir Robert Peel, at Drayton Manor, to whom a portion of that beautiful wood belongs.

2. Abietum (M. martes, of Blumenbach),-Pine Marten,-la Martre, F.,-Martora, It.,-Marta, Sp.,-der Baummarder, Edelmarder, Feldmarder, G. Spec. Char. Throat and breast yellow. Size less, and fur finer, than that of the preceding species. Number of young, seven or eight.

Remarks. By many naturalists, this species is considered as a mere variety of the common marten. In such opinion, I do not concur. The pine-marten is distinguished from its congener, by its smaller size; by the finer texture, and deeper hue, of its fur; and, more especially, by the yellow colour of the throat and breast. It is, also, a much more shy animal, and in England, at least, far less frequently seen, than the common marten. It very rarely approaches the dwellings of man; and brings forth its young in the tops, not in the hollow, of trees. A fine specimen, said to have been killed in Gloucestershire, was, about four years ago, brought to me for inspection. It closely corresponded, in

all its characters, with the description given above. The whole appearance, and especially the condition of the teeth, bespoke that it was a young animal. Consequently, the yellow colour of the throat, in this instance, could not have been,—as the advocates for the identity of the two species confidently assert that it is, the effect of advancedage. Still, it must be acknowledged, the distinctive characters of these two of the most interesting of British digitigrade animals, are, by no means, at present clearly or satisfactorily established. I feel great anxiety to acquire some more correct and precise information than we hitherto possess, on this subject.

Birmingham, December, 1834.

I have omitted to cite, among other valuable works for reference on the present subject, the first volume of Dr. Turton's General System of Nature. The following is a nearly literary translation from the second volume (page 340) of the Elémens des Sciences Naturelles, by Duméril,-a publication very little known in this country, but containing much information, of great utility to the student in Natural History :-"Species of the Mustela genus are found on both continents. They subsist principally upon eggs, and the blood and brains of small animals strangled by them. They are divided into three sub-genera: the Otters (les Loutres) which have the posterior toes palmated; the legs short; the tail broad at the base; the muzzle rounded; and the head flat. They swim and dive with great facility; feed upon fishes; and their fur is very valuable. The Weasels (les Belettes) have separate toes; short claws; the body and neck elongated; and back arched. There are many species of this genus, as the common weasel, ferret, pole-cat, marten, pine-marten, sable, and stoat. The skins of the (three) latter are principally in request. The Skunks (les Mouffettes) have long claws; the body much broader posteriorly than anteriorly; the tail very hairy. They give out a most unplesant odour. They inhabit America."

SONNET ON THE NORTH HILL, MALVERN.

LET him a murmurer at this "world of woe,"

Thy rugged steep, majestic hill, ascend;

And let him gaze on those fair vales below,

Where Nature's charms in boundless space extend;

Where all in countless numbers ranged around,

Heaven's noblest blessings open to the view;

A world of beauties wherein nought is found

But shows a Maker's care how watchful and profound !—
And let him now, but for an instant, gaze,

On that fair scene that greets his dazzled eye;

The gorgeous picture that the sky displays,

As clouds float o'er clouds in heaven's bright arch of blue

And this is all for him!-oh if his heart swell not to ecstacy,
Bitter must be the hour that sees that murmurer die !

F. H. W.

QUIZZING.

In the present very refined state of society, many accomplishments are sedulously practised, about which our great-grandmammas-good souls! -never dreamt in their afternoon nap; and which (could they but hear of them) would, I verily believe, cause them to lift up their hands and eyes in mute and marvellous astonishment. Among these novel acquirements-these offspring of the nineteenth century-quizzing stands paramount, a gem of the first water, a star of the first magnitude. It is, indeed, as necessary to the exclusive as a moustache to a cavalry officer, or a billet-doux to the belle of the boarding-school, and as such must be considered " part and parcel" of the legitimate accomplishments of one fitted to go forth into the paths of the beau-monde and mingle with those illustrious individuals who shine, planet-like, in the brilliant hemisphere of ton. To be incapable of quizzing-to be either too diffident or obtuse, too compassionate or abstracted to seize certain points of the ridiculous in the mien, manner, garb, or garniture of your friends or intimate, the modest stranger seen for the first time, or the shrinking novice trembling under the agonies of a debût, argues a want of spirit, tact, and discrimination sufficient to sink you into utter insignificance, and consign you, for the term of your natural life, to the supercilious pity of your associates as a very well-meaning sort of personage somewhat maudlin, and indeed destitute of esprit." To avoid this disastrous conclusion, to escape the shrugs and sneers and commiserating looks of your friends, it is necessary to cultivate the talent of ridicule, in fact to become, by due training, a quizzer—a free, genuine, downright quizzer-and that your studies may be, in some measure, facilitated by the suggestions of experience, I venture to throw together a few desultory hints, to which you can, occasionally, refer for assistance in your career.

My brief reflections are principally intended for the benefit of country gentlemen, and Tyros from Oxford, emulous of becoming skilful and dexterous quizzers, but I must avow that I would fain comprehend among my pupils, the young and beautiful of the fairer and better part of creation, those bright and sylphid creatures who, catching the reflection of their loveliness in the mirror, turn, half-blushing, from the bewitching vision, and feel, for the first time, the desire of conquest.

It is true-too true, that I am a bachelor-and I confess, with a sigh, an elderly one—but Time has not yet frozen my heart, although the inexorable despot has, long since, forced upon me the assumption of wig, spectacles, and gouty pantouffles. I can, still, gaze with emotion upon a brilliant eye, lucid with tenderness, or gemmed with the pearls of compassion; still view with delight a cheek suffused with a bright damask blush, and welcome a lip vivid as the ruby, illumined with the exquisite spells of a smile.

"Who can curiously behold

The smoothness and the sheen of beauty's cheek,
Nor feel the heart can never grow all old."

Childe Harold; Canto III.

Since, then, I am neither so juvenile as to incur the risk of being set down as a presumptuous greenhorn, nor so aged as to be Burked as a

crabbed, crusty, old cross-sticks, whose costume and opinions are as venerable as the hills, I may enter upon my voluntary duty with an anxious and encouraging expectation that my advice will be hearkened to with deference, if not with eagerness.

To become a superlative quizzer requires the unceasing exercise of your faculty of observation, of your memory, your imagination, and judgment; the first is as necessary as a telescope to an Admiral, or turtle and venison to a Lord Mayor's festival; the second will be wanted to assist you in recognising your victims; the third in inventing new weapons and modes of attack, and the fourth in arranging your battery and carrying on the war. Presuming that you have been at the University (I address myself, here, to the ruder half of mankind), it is natural for me to infer that you have succeeded in divesting yourself of that awkward and positively rustic attribute, entitled modesty; that you seldom look down but to admire your extremities, and that you never change colour but with the juice of the grape, or the influence of a midsummer sun. I, furthermore, take it for granted that you have acquired a certain position in the circles of fashion, a station preparatory to one still more enviably distinguished, the ascent to which will be wonderfully aided by a successful practice of the very act upon which I am about to deliver some hints.

Well-you thirst and hunger to be considered a quizzer, an unflinching, inveterate, and immoveable quizzer-one who shall throw a whole dinner-party into a fever, and fill with alarms indescribable the ball-room or card-table; bend an ear then and listen, for as Nature, lavish though she be, has not given unto all an intuitive perception of what is fit and becoming in the character, the whisperings of experience cannot be thrown away.

In the first place devote yourself duly and unremittingly to the practice of staring: commence by degrees, lengthening the duration of the stare until from the furtive and momentary glance, it swells into the calm, cold, open-eyed, and deliberate gaze of some five minutes by your repeater. You may exercise before the glass, or with a brother student: the latter mode is to be preferred, as the advantage is reciprocal, and you become mutually hardened. All agitation of the eye-brow, lid, or lash, and all tendency to aqueous effusion will, in time, utterly subside; but, of course, until you can, despotically, command the organ of sight, perfection is not attained. If you possess eyes large, dark and lustrous, black or hazel, you are, very certainly, felicitous in the admirable opportunity for display afforded by your quizzing operations; and these eyes, be it known, are wondrously adapted to excel in the profession. The one-minute stare of a deep hazel eye is an absolute dead-shot, and effects on the spot, all that the piercing grey or blue orb, though keen as the falcon's, can accomplish in five times the period. Still much may be-indeed is-wrought by a well-sustained stare from a small, round, light, or twinkling eye, and, with due discipline, the ferret's-eye, owl's-eye, cat's-eye, and mouse-eye may be rendered killingly impressive. Blue eyes-those which the song-makers designate as "celestial" or 66 sapphire" blue, are, however, difficult of management; and it is a question whether or not it is possible to dispense with a quizzing-glass of the most approved fashion and brilliant design. *

Having accomplished yourself in the first step, and found staring "made easy," you may proceed to the next, and after trying the effect of a laugh of sardonic character, run through a scale of sneers from the slight and almost imperceptible, to the marked, withering, and con