314 



KTDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



dismounting'to geologise. The latter part of the 

 journey I performed on elephants during the heat 

 of the day, and a more uncomfortable mode of con- 

 veyance surely never was adopted ; the camel's 

 pace is more fatiguing, but that of the elephant 

 is extremely trying after a few miles, and is so in- 

 jurious to the human frame that the mahouts 

 (drivers) never reach an advanced age, and often 

 succumb young to spine diseases, brought on by 

 the incessant motion of the vertebral column. The 

 broiling heat of the elephant's black back, and the 

 odor of its oily driver, are disagreeable accom- 

 paniments ; so are its habits of snorting water from 

 its trunk over its parched skin, and the conse- 

 quences of the great bulk of green food which it 

 consumes. — Dr. Hooker. 



Harrison's Cabinet of British Entomology. — 

 The two first numbers of this very deserving little 

 publication have lately come into my hands. It 

 is scarcely fair to disparage a work brought out at 

 such a very cheap price ; but the passing remarks 

 of an old entomologist cannot be taken unkindly. 

 I can only wish Mr. Harrison had made his work 

 two shillings a number. He probably then would 

 have produced a more charming work. As it is, 

 there is so much more to praise than to find fault 

 with, that I think I may be excused, as a practical 

 man, for giving a friendly hint. The coloring is 

 in general of too light a shade ; and in the figures 

 some fail considerably. Others, again, are really 

 excellent. In plate No. 1, the Cicindela, all are 

 fair. Drypta emarginata, the Elytra are too 

 broad; and the thorax ought to be much more 

 elongated. The color is also a great deal too light. 

 Brachinus crepitans is also badly formed. In plate 

 No. 2, figures 1, 2, and 3 are good, 4 is very bad, 

 5 is good, 6 excellent, 7 bad, 8 excellent. The 

 Carabes, generally speaking, are extremely good. 

 Perhaps Clathratus is too much overdone; but 

 my friend Calosoma Sycophanta is a decided 

 failure. Inquisitor is much better. Upon the 

 whole, the wonder is how Mr. Harrison can afford 

 to bring out such a work at one shilling a number. 

 I would gladly subscribe, at two shillings or 

 half-a-crown, for a periodical brought out as it is 

 evident Mr. Harrison has the talent for bringing 

 it out. He is not now doing justice to his own 

 abilities. The descriptive part is, generally 

 speaking, clear, good, and from a practical hand. 

 It is, moreover, fairly correct. A work like this 

 deserves encouragement; but we ought all to 

 request Mr. C. W. Harrison to double the price, 

 and to let it be finished and brought out worthily. 

 I, for one, very sincerely wish it success. — Boh- 

 byx Atlas. 



More about Friendship. — The sincere grasp of 

 friendship is often heard of, yet is it very little 

 known. Too frequently it is superseded by a so- 

 called shake of the hand, which might be more 

 properly described as an almost ineffectual attempt 

 to bring two or three of the digits of each party 

 into contact ; compressing them with a force barely 

 sufficient to crush the smallest atom that can boast 

 of an existence. We would not, nevertheless, 

 have our arms pulled out of their sockets. No. 

 We dislike both extremes. There are some people 

 who evidence an entire want of heart and feeling. 

 We never attempt to shake hands with them £ut 



a chill shudder runs through our frame. Such we 

 should never think of asking to sign their names 

 for any charitable purpose. Never could we trust 

 them as bosom friends, nor confide to them a 

 secret. Those who shake you violently by the 

 hand, have no discriminating powers. They 

 burden you with kindness, and make you un- 

 comfortable by their overpowering congratulations. 

 Theirs is the heart (and plenty of it too !) ; but with 

 all this, we feel a want of something more genial, 

 and would gladly exchange theirs for the society 

 of those who possess souls and spirits more akin 

 to our own. There is no way in which a man's 

 character can be more accurately defined than by 

 his manner of shaking hands. By it, we can dis- 

 tinguish the true gentleman from the scoundrel 

 who usurps the title — the miser from the profli- 

 gate — the one who would openly hate us (if there 

 be any such) from those who would be fair to our 

 faces, but who, when they are turned from us, 

 would, in their malice, blast our reputation. Who 

 can give the hearty warm-hearted shake of a 

 gentleman, the gentle and feeling touch of a 

 friend, save one who really is such ? We know 

 the freemasonry of their touch. Their very pre- 

 sence seems to make our eyes sparkle with 

 delight, and circulate the vital stream of plea- 

 sure through the whole frame, till we feel so 

 full of it that it seems ready to ooze out of 

 every pore in our body ; aye, and our countenance 

 o'erflows with it, till we fancy it imparts addi- 

 tional beauty to all around us. If we keep a 

 dog, he catches the inspiration, and wags his 

 tail with an admirable sagacity — looking im- 

 measurably happy. Again, should we happen 

 to gaze on the face of Nature, the same delight 

 awaits us. Everything seems to sprout up, 

 shoot forth, and look surprisingly green; whether 

 it be the deservedly-loved ivy, the sturdy elm, or 

 even the lowly cabbage. Depend upon it, those 

 who fail to M create a sensation," and have no 

 heart, no soul, no thought, no feeling in common 

 with ourselves — are to be shunned. We dare not 

 confide in them. We have " one " corner of our 

 heart set aside to cherish the remembrance and 

 the existence of those whom we have selected ; 

 but with regret we observe (numberless as are the 

 acquaintanceships formed in society) that com- 

 paratively few return the warm, hearty grasp of 

 " Friendship ! " — Alfred H. Hetherington, 

 Plymouth. 



The Increase of Crime. — You perhaps have 

 observed, my dear Sir, like myself, how very much 

 crime seems to be on the increase. One can 

 scarcely take up a newspaper without noticing 

 some sad detail in its columns. Not long since, I 

 read an account of a man who had skinned more 

 than twenty cats alive, and of a dog being allowed 

 gradually to waste away, because the wretched 

 man owed the poor beast's master a grudge. Now 

 what, my dear Sir, can be the cause of this de- 

 moniacal cruelty ? This horrid feeling is by no 

 means a new thing. For my part, I can scarcely 

 name one person amongst my acquaintance 

 who is really " kind " to dumb animals. The 

 fact is, people are afraid of being laughed at! 

 more especially my own sex ; and so they permit 

 cruelty to be practised upon those patient creatures 

 which have it not in their power to avenge their 



