Vic] AND SYMBOLS. 387 



and whilst the other is fruitlessly expending its poison by biting 

 the callous feathers, the bird is inflicting vigorous blows with 

 his other wing. At last the reptile, stunned and wavering, rolls 

 at full length in the dust ; the bird then cleverly catches hold 

 of it and throws it several times up into the air, until the victim, 

 becoming exhausted and powerless, the bird crushes its skull 

 with his sharp-pointed bill. The serpent is then swallowed 

 whole by its conqueror, unless it is too big, in which case it is 

 first torn in pieces. RE. 



The Insidious Victory of Vicious Ideas. 



How surprised sometimes is the naturalist, who, after care- 

 fully preserving a chrysalis, and awaiting day by day the 

 appearance of the beautiful butterfly, of which it is the coarse 

 and mysterious envelope, sees a crowd of flies emerge in place 

 of it ! This is through the work of the echinomyia, a genus 

 of insects which derive their nourishment from flowers. They 

 deposit their eggs on caterpillars, and the young larvae on 

 hatching penetrate their bodies and feed on their viscera. 

 How surprised sometimes is the kind father of a family, who, 

 after carefully watching the growth of a child, and antici- 

 pating the development of a noble character, sees to his 

 dismay an exhibition of all the gross and common vices 

 instead of it. This is the work of various bad associates, 

 such as servants, tutors, or others who, whilst deriving their 

 livelihood from tending children, have deposited in their minds 

 perhaps unintentionally, but nevertheless effectually vicious 

 ideas which have only waited the opportunity for a horrible 

 unfolding. The victory of these vicious ideas is so insidious 

 that forethought is disarmed. The embryo is placed where 

 even ingenuity might search in vain. When those ideas de- 

 velop they are as certain to destroy a beautiful character as 

 the echinomyia are to destroy the most lovely butterfly. i. 



The Vicissitudes of Human Life. 



The Asiatic steppes alternately assume the most discordant 

 aspects. Periodical transformations are especially remarkable 



