220 
THE CAROLINA DUCK. 
conjugal fidelity ; in wedding processions he invariably figures, and, 
enclosed in a richly ornamented cage, is ofibred to the newly married 
as a present of the highest value. Who knows but the sweet phrase 
THE MANDARIN DUCK. 
of endearment, " My duck," may have spread from the Celestial Empire 
into Europe, and thence into our own island, passing through many 
languages, but always referring to its original cause, the mandarin ? 
ISLES OF THE EASTERN SEAS. 
But we journey now to a fairer region than was ever visited by 
wild swan or celebrated by Greek poet — the rich islands of the Eastern 
Archipelago. If, says Mr. Wallace, we look at a globe or a map of the 
Eastern Hemisphere, we shall perceive between Asia and Australia a 
number of large and small islands, which fonn a group having little 
connection with either of these great masses of land. Situated upon 
the Equator, and bathed by the tepid water of the gi'eat tropical oceans, 
they enjoy a climate more uniformly hot and moist than that of almost 
