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KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL 



towards the spot where Eeynard had concealed 

 his prey, and took possession of the lifeless bird; 

 carefully replacing the sand and leaves over 

 the cavity of the rock, so as almost to defy 

 detection from the external appearance of the 

 place. In a few minutes the fox returned, bear 

 ing in his mouth a second helpless victim. This 

 time he came accompanied by a brother fox, and 

 the two proceeded together to the spot where the 

 former wild-cluck had been buried/, when, to 

 their surprise, on scraping off the sand and leaves 

 from the cavity of the rock, they found that their 

 prey had been removed. This caused them to 

 deliberate for some time ; and after looking sus- 

 piciously at one another, they commenced a most 

 furious attack, which was only terminated by 

 the sportsman levelling his gun and shooting 

 one of the enraged combatants through the 

 heart. The other made its escape unharmed, 

 and left the sportsman in the full possession of 

 the two slaughtered birds and their unfortunate 

 seducer ! As I can safely vouch for the authen- 

 ticity of this anecdote, it cannot fail to interest 

 those who make it their pleasing occupation to 

 study the " habits and peculiarities of animals." 

 — K. V. Sankey. 



Intelligence in the Garden Spider. — Perhaps the 

 following curious instance of intelligence and 

 forethought in the common Garden Spider 

 (Epeira diaclema) may interest your readers; at 

 all events, you may rely on the following facts 

 being quite true. Before the spider makes 

 the meshes of his net, it is of course necessary 

 that the line which he throws out and commits 

 to a chance breeze, should attach itself to some 

 distant object, and, in the case to which I allude, 

 and which I and two of my family witnessed in 

 our own garden, the line attached itself to a tree on 

 the opposite side of the gravel walk, so that there 

 Avas nothing underneath but the ground to which 

 to fasten another thread to keep the whole of his 

 future structure at the proper tension. Now, as 

 the spider no doubt speculated on the danger of 

 such a proceeding, what do you think his alterna- 

 tive was, — why, to let himself down and fasten a 

 small pebble to the end of a thread; and climb- 

 ing up to within about a foot of the scene of his 

 future operations, he left the stone to hang, and 

 then finished the rest of his beautiful structure. 

 He then considered himself ready for the reception 

 of company. Now, the greatest advocates of 

 instinct will surely not deny that, in the present 

 case, the expedient of the stone is adapted to a 

 contingency which can arise but seldom; and, 

 consequently, that the spider reasoned about what 

 he should do in such an emergency, and did the 

 best that could be done under the circumstances. 

 I look upon a fact like the present, as a complete 

 refutation of the argument of those who deny any 

 portion of " intelligence " to the lower animals. 

 — B.W. 



Envy. — One of the worst things to fat on, is 

 envy. In our opinion, it is as difficult for a 

 grudging man to raise a double chin, as it is 

 for a bankrupt to raise a loan. Plumpness 

 comes not from roast beef, but from a good 

 heart and a cheerful disposition. — Albany 

 Dutchman. (Capital !) 



THE TWO COUSINS. 



A Pen-and-ink Sketch. 



I have two sweet cousins, very unlike, yet 

 very lovely — a snow-drop and a diamond. If 

 earth holds a beauty unconscious of her 

 charms, it is my cousin Eloise. How lovely 

 she appeared when last I beheld her! the mel- 

 lowed light of the shaded lamp by which she 

 was reading, resting on her sweet Madonna- 

 like face, and making golden lines in her rich 

 chestnut hair ! My gentle cousin ! I almost 

 worshipped her ; but Eloise, though in all 

 other respects gentle and considerate, has no 

 mercy upon love and lovers ; she has a 

 merry and good-natured, but thoroughly dis- 

 comfiting sarcasm, always ready to meet 

 sentiment, when it takes the form of words. 

 None have ever advanced beyond a single 

 sentence of all that love dictates, nor has 

 any living wight ever dared to make a second 

 trial of so dangerous an experiment, and all 

 Cupid's artillery of sighs, glances, &c, is 

 thrown away upon her. She never can see 

 love, and she never will hear it. 



And yet, though Eloise has never loved, 

 she is, albeit her arch denials, deeply imbued 

 with sentiment in every other form. Her 

 expressive face contradicts the only falsehood 

 to which her noble spirit ever stooped. 

 Why, incomprehensible girl, wilt thou deny 

 the existence of those feelings which so much 

 ennoble thee? How couldstthou so wickedly 

 assert that thou hadst been ' asleep ' during 

 the long half hour, in the moonlit parlor, 

 during which thou utteredst not a word, and 

 left me to entertain myself, by watching thy 

 deep dark eyes lit up with solemn enthusiasm, 

 while gazing upward at night's jewels ? 

 Thou wast communing with another world, 

 fair cousin, and that, not (as thou hadst the 

 hardihood to say when I taxed thee with it) 

 the ' Land of Nod.' 



Eloise is an enthusiastic admirer of nature's 

 charms. How often have I beheld her 

 countenance silently and unconsciously ex- 

 press the feelings which others, who possessed 

 them not, were eloquently pourtraying in 

 words ! And how astonished have I then been 

 to hear her satirical and laughter-provoking 

 reply to the rhapsodist, and how indignant, 

 at her called in retaliation, — 'the most unfeel- 

 ing and unsentimental girl on earth ! ' Dear, 

 noble Eloise, none deny her intellectual 

 superiority, but few comprehend her heart. 

 She is too proud, too sensitive, to display its 

 emotions to public admiration, and conse- 

 quently many deny that she possesses it. 

 This opinion is especially in vogue with 

 those who would, but dare not, offer incense 

 at her shrine. May thy fair face, my cousin, 

 ever remain unclouded by sorrow, and thy 

 heart (for a heart thou hast, and a warm one, 



