to take the boy, because she knew his mother and wished to oblige her. Edward was accustomed to bring many of his "beasts" with him to school. The scholars were delighted with his butterflies, but few of them cared to be bitten or stung by his other animals, and to have horseleeches crawling about them was unendurable. Thus Edward became a source of dread and annoyance to the whole school. He was declared to be a " perfect mischief." When Bell Hill was informed of the beasts he brought with him, she used to say to the boy, "Now, do not bring any more of these nasty and dangerous things here again.” Perhaps he promised, but generally he forgot.

10. At last he brought with him an animal of a much larger sort than usual. It was a kae, or jackdaw. He used to keep it at home, but it made such a noise that he was sent out with it one morning with strict injunctions not to bring it back again. He must let it go, or give it to somebody else. But he was fond of his kae, and his kae was fond of him. It would follow him about like a dog. He could not part with the kae; so he took it to school with him. But how could he hide it? Little boys' trousers were in those days buttoned over their vest; and as Tom's trousers were pretty wide, he thought he could get the kae in there. He got it safely into his pants before he entered the school.

11. So far, so good. But when the school-mistress gave the word "Pray," all the little boys and girls knelt down, turning their backs to Bell. At this movement the kae became fractious. He could not accommodate himself to the altered position. But seeing a little light overhead, he made for it. He projected his beak through the opening between the trousers and the vest. He pushed his way

upward; Tom squeezed him downward to where he was before. But this only made the kae furious. He struggled, forced his way upward, got his bill through the opening, and then his head.

12. The kae immediately began to cre-waw! cre-waw! "The Lord preserve us! What's this, noo?" cried Bell, starting to her feet. "It's Tam Edward again," shouted the scholars," with a craw stickin' oot o' his trousers!" Bell went up to him, pulled him up by his collar, dragged him to the door, thrust him out, and locked the door after him. Edward never saw Bell Hill again.

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13. The next school to which he was sent, consisted wholly of boys. The master was one of the old school, who had great faith in the taws" as an instrument of instruction. One day Thomas had gone to school earlier than usual. The door was not open, and to while away his time. he went down to the Denburn. He found plenty of horseleeches, and a number of the grubs of water-flies. He had put them into the bottom of a broken bottle, when one of the scholars came running up, crying, "Tam, Tam, the school's in!" Knowing the penalty of being behind time, Tom flew after the boy, without thinking of the bottle he had in his hand. He contrived, however, to get it into the school, and deposited it in a corner beside him, without being observed.

14. All passed on smoothly for about half an hour, when one of the scholars gave a loud scream and started from his seat. The master's attention was instantly attracted, and he came down from the desk, taws in hand. "What's this?" he cried. "It's a horse-leech crawlin' up my leg!" "A horse-leech?" "Yes, sir, and see," pointing to the corner in which Tom kept his treasure, "there's a bottle

fu' o' them!" "Give me the bottle!" said the master; and, looking at the culprit, he said, "You come this way, Master Edward!" Edward followed him, quaking. On reaching the desk, he stopped, and, holding out the bottle, said, "That's yours, is it not?" "Yes." "Take it, then; that is the way out," pointing to the door; "go as fast as you can, and never come back; and take that too," bringing the taws down heavily upon his back.

1. Of this curious form of the lacertine race there are several species, and every year many arrive in this country to linger out an unnatural existence of a few weeks. In a state of freedom, and in its natural haunts, the chameleon would seem to be a very different being from the torpid invalid seen here in confinement.

2. When Hasselquist made all the inquiry he could concerning the nature of the animal in a place where it was frequently found, the inhabitants told him that it would assume the color of a piece of cloth, or other painted or colored substance, which might be put before it. Some assured him that it lived only on air, but others told him that they had seen it catching a sort of very small flies.

3. These qualities, of changing color and living on air, have been attributed to it from the earliest times. The first is well-founded, the last fabulous; but the fable has

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been fortified by the power possessed by the reptile of living in apparently good health for a long time — many weeks without visibly taking any sustenance.

4. Hasselquist kept one alive for a considerable time, and applied himself to observation on its habits. He could never see that it assumed the color of any painted object presented to its view, though he made many experiments with all kinds of colors. Its natural color was iron-gray. This it sometimes changed, and became entirely of a brimstone yellow. That was the color which he saw it most frequently assume.

5. He had seen it change to a darker yellow, approaching somewhat to a green, at which time it was more inclined to a white than a yellow. He did not observe that it assumed any other colors, such as red, blue, purple, etc., and for that reason was inclined to believe that all which has been said concerning the changing and shifting of colors in this animal consisted only in this, that on certain occasions it changes the dark color, which seems to be natural to it, into yellow of various shades.

6. He observed that his reptile more particularly did it on two occasions: one was when he exposed it to the hot beams of the sun, and the other when he made it angry by pointing at it with his finger. When it was changing from black to yellow, the soles of its feet, its head, and the bag under its throat, began first to alter, an alteration which was afterwards continued over the whole body.

7. He saw it several times speckled, or marked with large spots of both colors over the whole body, which gave it an elegant appearance. When it was of an iron-gray color, it extended its sides or ribs, which made the skin sit close to the body, and it appeared plump and handsome ;

but as soon as it turned yellow it contracted those parts, appearing thin, empty, lean, and ugly, and the nearer it approached in color to white, the emptier and uglier it seemed. But it appeared worst, in regard to shape, when it was speckled.

8. A friend gave me a living chameleon, which remained with me nearly two months. It was winter, and every precaution was adopted to make the poor reptile as comfortable as possible. It lived in a wicker cage, to the bars of which it clung with feet and tail; but, after it had been with me a few days, it would leave the cage and establish itself on the ornamental work of the iron fender before the fire. Soon it began to recognize me, surveying me with a knowing roll of its singular optics, opened in the center of the shagreen-like globes of the eyes. It then would leave the bars of the cage for my hand, the warmth of which seemed to comfort it, and would remain in it till I transferred it to the warm fender, which was its favorite post. Clinging with its feet and tail, with one eye directed backwards towards me, and with the other forward, scanning the fire as if it were looking for the faces of other chameleons in it, the creature would remain motionless for hours, enjoying the genial temperature.

9. During the whole time it was with me, it never took any nourishment, though meal-worms and other insects were procured for it. When they were presented, it would roll its eye and bring it to bear upon them; but neither the good old housekeeper nor myself ever saw it take one, nor was one ever missed from among those presented to it. The housekeeper was at her wits' end what to do for it, till at last she became pacified, fully believing that it fed upon air; for, notwithstanding its abstinence, it did not apparently fall away.