BARBETS. 165 



some very deep purpose — that necessitates each colour ; its depth, brilliancy, and tone, 

 and regulates the position of every hue ? 



There is, doubtlessly, some gi'and and simple law that governs all these apparently 

 capricious variations of colour, tint, and intensity ; and ■which, if it should ever be 

 discovered, will be found to rule with the most rigid and undeviating precision every 

 shade of colour and depth of tone throughout the three kingdoms of material nature, 

 painting the plumage of the bird, the leaves and corolla of the llowers, and the tianslucent 

 glories of the gem, in obedience to one and the same universal principle. Even in the 

 human race the rule of the colour-producing principle is most powerfiil, and exercises a 

 potent influence upon the individual being and those with whom it comes in contact. 



The various shades of black that tinge the skins of many African and even more 

 northern tribes, the coppery hue of the North American savage, the yellow tint of the 

 Mongol, and the pure white and red of the Caucasian, are not to be considered as mere 

 casual differences, or as the results of food, climate, and habit only, but as the external 

 indications of some vast but hidden principle that can only exhibit itself by its effects. 

 Even in a single race, such as that of our own island, the effect of this chromic law as 

 manifested in the colour of the eyes and hair is strongly marked, and to a certain degree 

 tells its own story. By a kind of natural instinct, teaching us to read intuitively the 

 liieroglyphs of nature, we deduce the character of an individual as much from the tone 

 and clearness of the colour of his eyes, as from the shape of the features, or that subtle 

 and almost spell-like power which is known by the term " expression." 



There are some ej'es dull and emotionless, behind which a curtain seems to be drawn, 

 leaving them as devoid of meaning as the glass optics of a waxen image ; while others 

 gleam with gem-like translucency, beaming from the spirit-light of the ingenuous human 

 soul. Other eyes there are whicli resemble in their profound mystery the unfathomable 

 depths of ocean, rich with pearls and hidden treasures, and ever disclosing greater and 

 still greater stores of intellectual wealth. We are quite wrong whenever we undervalue 

 the importance of any variety of external form or colour, for we may rest assured that 

 whatever God found reason to make, we may find reason to observe with reverence and 

 read with awe. It is only when we remain satisfied with a mere knowledge of external 

 form, without inquiring into its cause or its influence, that our eftbrts are wasted, or our 

 time expended in vain. 



These questions are not insignificant, for even our modern discoveries have shown that 

 the apparently merest trifle may be the key to hidden treasures of knowledge ; neither 

 ought they to be heedlessly disregarded so long as we are told that we may learn deep 

 lessons from the lilies of the field and the bird.s of the air. 



BARBETS. 



The Baebets evidently form a connecting Imk between the trogons and the kingfishers, 

 possessing several of the peculiarities of the former birds, together with some characteristics 

 of the latter. 



In shape they bear a close resemblance to the kingfishers, and none of them are of any 

 great size. Their food consists chiefly of insects, which they chase much after the manner 

 of the woodpeckers, prying into the hollows of trees, and striking away the bark in their 

 endeavours to secure the concealed prey. They can cling to the perpendicular trunk of a 

 tree, and support themselves by the jiressure of their short stitf tails against the bark. 

 They also possess some of the habits which belong to the flycatchers, and taking their 

 pereli upon a twig, will wait patiently until an unfortunate insect passes within a short 

 distance, when they will launch themselves on the devoted creature, and return to the 

 identical twig from which they started. 



