MISCELLANEA, 
539 
A region of emptiness, howling and drear. 
Which man hath abandoned from famine and fear; 
Which the snake and the lizard inhabit alone. 
And the bat flitting forth from his old hollow stone: 
Where grass, nor herb, nor shrub takes root. 
Save poisonous thorns that pierce the foot; 
And the bitter melon for food and drink. 
Is the pilgrim’s fare by the salt lake’s brink ; 
A region of drought, where no river glides, 
Nor rippling brook with osiered sides; 
Nor reedy pool, nor massy fountain. 
Nor shady tree, nor cloud capped mountain. 
Are found to refresh the aching eye : 
But the barren earth, and the burning sky. 
And the blank horizon round and round. 
Without a living sight or sound. 
Tell to the heart in its pensive mood. 
That this is— Nature’s Solitude ! 
And here,—while the night winds round me sigh. 
And the stars burn bright in the midnight sky. 
As I sit apart by the cavern’d stone. 
Like Elijah at Horeb’s cave alone. 
And feel as the moth in the Mighty Hand 
That spread the heavens and heaved the land,— 
A ‘‘ still small voice” comes thro’ the wild 
(Like a father consoling his fretful child). 
Which banishes bitterness, wrath, and fear— 
Saying “ Man is distant but God is near I” Pringle. 
Love of Animals for their Young. 
The poor wren 
The most diminutive of birds, will fight— 
Her young ones in the nest—against the owl.” 
I HAVE always great pleasure in seeing the affection which 
animals have for their offspring, and which often shews itself 
in an extraordinary and incongruous manner. A hen who has 
hatched young ducks will follow them, at the hazard of her life, 
into the water,—and will even sacrifice herself to preserve her 
chickens. A fox, or rather a vixen, has been known to carry 
one of her cubs in her mouth when she has been pursued by 
the hounds; and whoever has seen a dog break into a covey of 
young partridges, will have one of the strongest proofs that I 
know of the force of natural affection. An instance of parental 
attachment in a bird was recently related to me, which gave me 
much pleasure. A gentleman in,my neighbourhood had directed 
one of his waggons to be packed with sundry hampers and boxes, 
intending to send it to Worthing, where he was going himself. 
For some reason his going was delayed ; and he therefore directed 
the waggon should be placed in a shed in his yard, packed as it 
was, until it should be convenient to him to send it ofl‘. While 
it was in the shed, a pair of robins built their nest among some 
