many thousands in America, have signed his celebrated Peace Pledge, and joined the League of Universal Brotherhood. We give here a copy of the PLEDGE.-Believing all war to be inconsistent with the spirit of christianity, and destructive of the best interests of mankind, I do hereby pledge myself never to enlist or enter into any army or navy, or to yield any voluntary support or sanction to the preparation for, or prosecution of, any war, by whomsoever, or for whatsoever proposed, declared, or waged. And I do hereby associate myself with all persons, of whatever country, condition, or colour, who have signed, or shall hereafter sign this pledge, in a "LEAGUE OF UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD;" whose object shall be to employ all legitimate and moral means for the abolition of all war, and all the spirit and all the manifestations of war, throughout the world; for the abolition of all restrictions upon international correspondence and friendly intercourse, and of whatever else tends to make enemies of nations, or prevents their fusion into one peaceful brotherhood; for the abolition of all institutions and customs which do not recognize and respect the image of God and a human brother in every man, of whatever clime, colour, or condition of humanity. All persons, of all countries, male or female, above twelve years of age, may sign this pledge. We have signed it, and we shall be happy to hear that many young people in our families and schools have signed it also. We must have done with all war. It has cursed the world too long. The way to put an end to it is, under the blessing of God, for parents, mothers especially, to teach their children to hate and avoid it as a great sin. Woman's tone is breathing sweetly, Manhood's heart is beating high,— In the good cause earnestly. THE RHINOCEROS, found in India, Java, Africa, and Sumatra, in point of size and muscular power, ranges with the elephant and hippopotamus. They are heavy and clumsy in appearance, not unlike a monstrous hog, except that the Indian has one horn, and the African species two, in a line projecting from the nose, a large and a smaller, the longest crooked backward behind, adhering solely to the skin, without any bony socket, and composed of a fibrous and horny substance resembling agglutinated hair, but hard as iron. The eyes are small; the ears erect and pointed; the limbs short and thick, and the skin capable of resisting the stroke of a scimetar or turning a musket ball, and deeply folded across the shoulders and thighs in the Indian, but smooth in the African animal. The senses of smelling and hearing in both are keen, and the appetite gluttonous; herbs, and the succulent roots of herbs, are their food; swamps and marshy plains their favourite haunts, in which they wander solitary, seldom in pairs. They are quiet if undisturbed, but when roused, furious and formidable, the elephant himself being hardly an equal antagonist. A species of recent discovery by Burchell in the interior of South Africa, is of enormous size, with its first horn nearly twelve feet in length, and whose head, when severed from the body, required eight men to raise it into the waggon. It is supposed to be the unicorn of Scripture, and possesses all the rage, untameableness, swiftness, and strength, ascribed to that animal. Bishop Heber, however, mentions having seen some of the Indian breed, who were quiet and gentle, and one who submitted to be ridden as tractably as an elephant. ΑΙΚΜΑΝ, THE EYE OF A FLY. THE wonders that the microscope discloses to our view, are not greater in showing us millions of animals, invisible to our naked eye, in places we never could have supposed any thing living ever existed, than the hidden beauties it discovers to us in many things, which, in the whole, may be seen by the naked eye; yet, in their several parts, are no way discernible but by means of a glass. On examining a fly through a glass the eyes are very remarkable; the great Creator, foreseeing he should create a fly a weak defenceless insect, as it has no defensive weapons, allotted it wings to fly from danger with, and in order to see danger from any side before its approach, the small round substances on each side the head-which, to common observers, appear as only two eyes-are, in reality, an immense collection of them: no less than ten thousand on each side. In what manner these organs operate for the service of this insect is past our weak judgment to decide; but in any way it must be beneficial to its preservation; perhaps it sees every enemy magnified into twice ten thousand by its two eyes, and so is alarmed sufficiently to be aware of it. Or, on the contrary, as we -though we know not how-see objects single through two eyes, only far more distinct through one; how extremely clear and lively must its sight be pro TIMIDITY OF A TIGER.-MONKEYS. portionably, if it see them only single through twenty TIMIDITY OF A TIGER. A SETTLER in Africa was one morning out with his gun shooting few birds, when he suddenly beheld a large tiger coming to meet him. He had no time to lose, so, as would naturally be supposed, he discharged his gun at the creature and hit it, but the small shot in his gun instead of injuring the tiger only rendered him the more furious. The man perceived that the animal was going to spring upon him, and as his only way of defending himself, he seized the muzzle of his gun with one hand and the butt end with the other, and held the gun before him as a bar. The tiger sprang at him and seized the middle of the gun firmly in his mouth; he kept his hold, and the settler struggled to maintain his; in one of their struggles they suddenly rolled over together and fell down a steep declivity which was close by. The man lost his hold and rolled down to the bottom; he then jumped up and looked round for the tiger, and to his amazement and surprise he saw him making for the woods at full speed, so much was he startled by his sudden roll down the hill. K. K. L. MONKEYS. BANGALORE itself lies about two miles from the military centre, and is, on that side, completely hidden by a dense tope, (grove,) which stretches round it, and is penetrated at different points by roads leading to the gates. This grove is a perfect metropolis of monkeys. They swarm in thousands, chasing each other on the roads, capering on the hedges, chattering on the boughs, and grinning hungrily at every one who passes with any eatable. They are a constant pest to every housewife in the town, discovering unsuspected passages to their stores, forestalling the meal, and making hasty retreat. A native fable, in illustrating the danger of mischievous companions, tells of a man who took a journey, accompanied by his monkey and his goat, taking with him rice and curds for a refreshment by the way. Arrived at a tank, he resolved to bathe and dine. Laying down the bundle with the provisions, he tied the two animals to a bush, and went down to the tank. No sooner had he disappeared than the monkey took the bundle, untied it, disposed of the good things, and then wiping his hands on the beard of the goat, so as to leave plenty of marks, sat down solemnly at the other side of the tree. The poor goat suffered the beating due to her arch companion. The endless gambols of the monkeys would afford amusement, but that idolatry invests them with an unnatural and repulsive importance. They are the representatives of a delusion that darkens countless souls. Their impunity in mischief is not granted by the indifference of those they infest; but is guaranteed by their own sacredness, a sacredness that would entail on one who killed them all the odium of murder, and which often brings to their ridiculous presence a man performing his namaskara, (sign of religious veneration,) or presenting his offering. All over the country you find temples to Hanamunta, a monkey; and before those wretched images you see the child and the grandfather bowing. Arthur's Mission. |