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KIDD'S JOURNAL. 



THE ENDING OF THE LATE DROUGHT. 



BY H. G. ADAMS. 



Oh, the thirsty earth! 



How she waits and wishes 

 For the kind refreshing shower, 



Coming down in gushes ; 

 How she opes her pores, 



How she spreads her bosom, 

 Pleading for the withered grass, 



And the sealed-up blossom ! 



Long the keen east wind 



O'er her daily sweeping, 

 Parched her breast and killed 



Plying things and creeping; 

 Prom the arid soil, 



Green shoots peeped and faded ; 

 And all things around appear' d 



Withered, worn, and jaded. 



Now and then a cloud 



In the west appearing, 

 Gave a short-liv'd hope 



That the vane was veering ; 

 But soon back it flew 



To the eastern quarter, 

 And the cry became more loud — - 



" Water ! give us water ! 



" Water is our want ! 



See, we pine and languish ! 

 Sky, hast thou no pity 



For our drought and anguish?" 

 Living myriads thus, 



Thus all vegetation, 

 Seemed to raise the voice of prayer, 



And of lamentation. 



There was heard a sound, 



Like a far-off answer; 

 Every blade a flutterer grew, 



Every leaf a dancer. 

 Softer blew the wind 



Prom the southern regions ; 

 And o'er all the azure sky 



Spread the cloudy legions. 



First it fell like dew, 



Scarcely one perceiv'd it; 

 But how joyfully the earth 



On her breast received it ! 

 Flower and grassy blade, 



And all living creatures, 

 Hailed the boon as suited best 



With their different natures. 



Paster now it came, 



Faster yet, — down -pouring, 

 'Mid the grateful trees 



Like a torrent roaring; 

 With a sweep and swirl, 



With a gust and eddy ; 

 Sudden it grew calm again, — 



Palling soft, and steady. 



Oh, the gladsome sound 



Sets all nature singing; 

 On earth's bosom now, 



Thick the grass is springing ; 

 Man will now have grain, 



Cattle juicy clover. 

 Shout, ye valleys, and ye hills, — 



For the drought is over ! 



NATURE AND ART. 



First follow Nature, and your judgment frame 

 By her just standard ; which is still the same. 

 Unerring Nature, still divinely bright, 

 One clear, unchang'd, and universal light, 

 Life, force, and beauty, must to all impart, — 

 At once the source, and end, and test of Art. 

 Art from that fund each just supply provides ; 

 Works without show, and without pomp presides. 

 In some fair body thus th' informing soul 

 With spirits feeds, with vigor fills the whole; 

 Each motion guides, and every nerve sustains — 

 Itself unseen, but in th' effects remains. 



Use of a Cat's Whiskers. 



We have no doubt that every one has 

 observed a cat's whiskers; but few perhaps 

 dream that they serve any valuable end. The 

 following passage will prove the contrary : — Every 

 one must have observed what are usually 

 called the whiskers of a cat's upper lip. The 

 use of these, in a state of nature, is very im- 

 portant. They are organs of touch. They are 

 attached to a bed of close glands under the skin, 

 and each of these long and stiff hairs is connected 

 Avith the nerves of the lip. The slightest contact 

 of these whiskers with any surrounding object is 

 thus felt most distinctly by the animal, although 

 the hairs are themselves insensible. They stand 

 out on each side in the lion, as well as in the 

 common cat; so that, from point to point, they 

 are equal to the width of the animal's body. If 

 we imagine, therefore, a lion stealing through a 

 covert of wood, in an imperfect light, we shall 

 at once see the use of these long hairs. They 

 indicate to him, through the nicest feeling, any 

 obstacle which may present itself to the passage 

 of his body; they prevent the rustle of boughs 

 and leaves, which would give a warning to his 

 prey, if he were to attempt to pass through too 

 close a bush; and thus, in conjunction with the 

 soft cushions of his feet, and the fur upon which 

 he treads (the retractile claws never coining in 

 contact with the ground), they enable him to 

 move towards his victim with a stillness greater 

 even than that of the snake, who creeps along 

 the grass, and is not perceived till he is coiled 

 round his prey. 



A Perfectly- White Crow. 



The " Kelso Mail" says that a white crow was 

 recently shot at Hirsel. There was not a black 

 feather in its whole plumage, it being of a pure 

 and shining white, with a beak of bright yellow. 



NOTICE. 



OUR FIRST QUARTERLY VOLUME 

 (With Index, Title Page and Preface), 



Price 2s.;6d. cloth lettered, post-free 3s., 

 IS NOW READY. Also Part V., price 7d. 



London : Published for William Kidd, by William 

 Spooner, 379, Strand, (to -whom all Letters, Parcels, 

 and Communications, Addressed to "the Editor," 

 and Books for Review, are to be forwarded) ; and 

 Procurable, by order, of every Bookseller and News- 

 vendor in the Kingdom. Agents. Dublin, Edward Mil- 

 liken ; Edinburgh, JohnMenzies; Glasgow, Murray 

 and Son. 



London : M. S. Myers, Primer, 22, Tavistock Street, Coveut Carder.. 



