KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



77 



young, when grown up, or anything else, to 

 take possession of their bush. The nest 

 they carefully fortified afresh every Spring, 

 with rough, strong, prickly sticks, which 

 they sometimes drew in with their united 

 forces, if unable to effect the object alone. 



To this lameness and familiarity the 

 Magpie will sometimes add a considerable 

 degree of courage ; and not satisfied with 

 driving away intruders from its premises, 

 has been known to attack animals much its 

 superior in size. One of them was seen 

 pursuing a full-grown hare, making frequent 

 and furious pounces upon it ; from which the 

 animal at last escaped only by making for a 

 thick hedge, at the other side of which it ran 

 off to some distance from the place where it 

 had entered, without being observed by its 

 pursuer. No cause could be assigned for this 

 assault. 

 A favorable trait in their character occurred 

 in Essex, where some boys, having taken 

 four young ones from a Raven's nest, placed 

 them in a wagon in a cart-shed. About the 

 same time, they happened to destroy the 

 young of a Magpie, which had built its nest 

 near the cart-shed ; when the old Magpie, 

 hearing the young Ravens cry for food, 

 brought some, and constantly fed them till 

 they were given away by the boys. 



Generally speaking, says Dr. Stanley, these 

 birds prefer our northern climates, though 

 they are plentifully spread over the world. 

 In some spots they are, however, very scarce, 

 without any apparent reason. Thus, a 

 traveller, who had been through Turkey, 

 remarked that he never saw a single bird of 

 this species, and had seen very few indeed in 

 the*adjoiriing countries. 



PITY, BEAE MAID,— PITY ! 



TEE PATCHWO&K QUILT. 

 A TRUE TALK OF GRATITUDE. 



Take hack, dear maid ! the blushing flowers 



Thy gentle fingers placed in mine, 

 Ere they recall the vanished hours 



When I was cheered by smiles of thine. 

 Take hack — take back thy only gift 



From which my memory ne'er shall part, 

 For, oh ! behave me, it hath left 



A lasting impress on my heart. 



Take back, dear maid ! the fatal prize 



That still reminds my heart of thee, 

 And bids me love those searching eyes, 



Mine own, perhaps, no more may see. 

 Still, let no other fingers press 



The gift, thine pi'essing, made their own, 

 And I in after years will bless 



The love that leaves me now alone. 



Take back thy gift, and if, dear maid ! 



Thou wouldst one rapture still bestow, — 

 Then let that rapture be conveyed 



In bidding Hope's sweet waters flow. 

 Whate'er my fate in after years, 



Though scathed by stern Misfortune's blast, 

 My heart, enbalmed in hidden tears, 



Shall he thv monument at last. 



" Why do you take so much care of that 

 old patchwork quilt, mamma ? " said Julia 



Y to her mother, as they sat at work 



together one afternoon. 



'* Because, my dear, I value it highly. It 

 proves that there is still some gratitude left 



in the world," replied Mrs. Y ; "and if 



you will listen to me, I will tell you the 

 history of it. 



" In the town of S , in the county of 



Devon (where you know we resided for many 

 years), lived an old woman, who had once 

 seen better days ; but her husband had 

 dropped down dead on board the small 

 vessel he was master of, and she was left 

 entirely dependant on her own exertions for 

 support. Her two children were both 

 fortunately grown up. The son was a sailor ; 

 and the daughter had married a carpenter, 

 who lived in town, and had a young and 

 rapidly increasing family to provide for. 



"Poor Sally S (for that was her 



name) had been post-woman for some 

 years; and regularly carried the letters 

 between the town of S - ■■ and the post town 



of K , daily ; but for a few years she had 



used a boat. She managed this so skilfully, 

 and was such an excellent sailor, that she not 

 only conveyed the letters, but also passengers 

 and parcels daily between the two towns; and 

 so great was their confidence in her integrity 

 and skill, that she used to take large sums 

 of money to and from the banks in the 

 market town, for many of the inhabitants of 



S ; and many persons preferred going in 



her boat to any of the others that daily plied 

 between S and K — — . 



"It happened that a very old acquaintance 

 of Sally's, who had shared her small cottage 

 for some years, died, and left her the little 

 trifle she possessed. To obtain this, advice 

 and assistance were of course necessary ; and 

 in all her difficulties your papa was the 

 person she applied to. As clergyman of the 

 parish he was happy and ready to give his 

 assistance to all who solicited it. The pre- 

 sent case was attended with a good deal of 

 trouble. Documents were to be procured, 

 copied, and forwarded to various parties ; and 

 ultimately the will had to be " proved." All 

 this was satisfactorily managed. The little 

 money was obtained, and put into Sally's 

 possession ; your papa of course positively 

 refusing to accept any fee or remuneration 

 for what had been to him a pleasure. This 

 made poor Sally feel very uncomfortable. 

 She could not reconcile to herself the idea 

 of not paying for what had been done for 

 her. 



" One evening, a short time after this 

 event, I was informed by one of the servants 



