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THE figure we have given above of this singular bird, has been copied, by permission of the author, from the last part of Mr. Gould's splendid work on the birds of Australia. The scientific world were indebted, in the first instance, for their knowledge of the Apteryx, to the late Dr. Shaw, by whom it was figured and described in the Naturalist's Miscellany. This specimen was presented to the doctor by Captain Barclay, of the ship Providence, who brought it from New Zealand in the year 1812. At the death of Dr. Shaw, this, at that time unique, example passed into the possession of the present Earl of Derby. In consequence of no public collection containing a specimen, the naturalists of the Continent were slow in believing in its very existence. M. Temminck considered that, like the dodo, it was an extinct species; while others, among them M. Lesson, believed it was altogether fabulous, and that its description was founded on the remains of the dodo preserved in the British Museum.

Within these few years, the existence of the Apteryx has been well established; its native place is New Zealand, where it is known by the name of kiwikiwi. It is hunted at night by the natives, who employ VOL. XII.

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lights to deceive the birds, and dogs to destroy them, the feathers, which are extremely soft, being in high estimation in the manufacture of cloaks of ceremony; "a mat ornamented with them is the most costly dress a chief can wear." So highly prized is a garment of this description, that a European, who had resided in New Zealand for six years, had an opportunity of seeing but one cloak made of these feathers, and no consideration could induce the owner to part with it. Several specimens of the skins of this singular bird have been lately presented to the Zoological Society of London by the New Zealand Association, and its peculiar characters have been better ascertained, although as yet little is known of its habits. It has been stated, that the natives decoy the Apteryx from its lurking place by breaking the dead branch of a tree, the sudden snapping sound produced causing it to start from its concealment.

The peculiar structure of the Apteryx, the length of its bill, the strength of its feet, and the almost entire absence of wings, caused it to be a difficult task to assign it to its proper place in the system. The bill of the Apteryx, being long and slender, at

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first sight bears a great resemblance to that of the curlew, but on closer examination a great distinction is observable; the nostrils in the bill of the last bird are always placed at the base, and this is necessary on account of the mode of seeking its food, consisting of worms and other small animals which are found imbedded in mud, into which the bird plunges its bill. If the nostrils were at the tip, they would be filled with earth, and the creature be at least incommoded. The Apteryx, on the other hand, obtains its food from the surface, and, therefore, the placing the nostrils at the extremity is a useful arrangement, by which the organs of smell are brought nearer to the object in view; and this is more necessary on account of its being a nocturnal bird, the darkness causing the eyes to be of little service.

The bird itself is about the size of a three months' old turkey, and of a dark brown colour; the flesh is black, sinewy, tough, and tasteless. Mr. Gould gives his opinion on the subject in the following words:

A mature consideration of the form and structure of this remarkable bird, lead me to assign it with little hesitation to the family of the Struthionide, (birds allied to the ostrich) and my reasons for so doing, will, I think, be obvious to every one who will examine and compare the species with the members of that group. The essential characters in which it differs, consist in the elongated form of the bill, the shortness of the tarsi, and in the possession of a sharp spur, terminating a posterior, rudimentary toe. Regarding the ostrich as the species to which it is least nearly related, we find in the emu and the rhea a much nearer approach, not only in the more lengthened form of the bill of the latter, but also in the situation of the nostrils, which, in the rhea, are placed nearer the tip than in any other species of the group, the Apteryx excepted; in fact, when we compare the bills of the two birds, it is evident they are both formed on one plan, that of the Apteryx being an elongated representative of the rhea, with the nostrils placed at the extreme tip.

In both these birds there is the same peculiar elevated horny cere or fold. The tarsi are much shorter, and the nails of the toes much more curved than in the rhea, but the scaly covering of these parts, in both birds, is precisely the same; and it may be further observed, that the number of toes increase as we pass on from the ostrich, there being only two in that bird, three in the rhea, emu, &c., and three, with the rudiment of a fourth, in the Apteryx. The wing of the Apteryx, though scarcely more than rudimentary, agrees with that of the rhea in having a strongly. hooked claw at its extremity, while in the structure of its feathers it approaches the nearest to the cassowary, but unlike what attains in that bird, the feathers are entirely destitute of the accessory plume, in which latter respect it

again agrees with the rhea.

The members of this group, although few in number, are remarkable for their structural peculiarities, each being modified for its own peculiar habits and economy, and in none is this circumstance more remarkable than in the Apteryx, which, at the same time that it departs the farthest in form from the type of the group (the ostrich,) also departs the farthest in its mode of life and general economy; being, in fact, adapted to the peculiarities of its own country, and fitted for the particular kind of food there to be obtained.

Although the Apteryx approaches nearer to the rhea than any other known bird, I am inclined to think that several intervening links will yet be discovered between them; indeed, a native of New Zealand who was present at one of the late meetings of the Zoological Society, stated that there is another Apteryx in New Zealand, with a shorter and thicker bill, but which he considered to be the male of the present species. Without doubting that he has spoken to the best of his knowledge, I suspect that it will prove to be distinct, and that the two birds in my plate are representatives of both sexes.

The favourite localities of this bird are low marshy situations, and those covered with extensive and dense beds of fern, among which it conceals itself; and when hard pressed by dogs, the usual method of chasing it, it takes refuge in crevices of rocks, hollow trees, and the deep holes which it excavates in the

ground in the form of a chamber; in these latter situations it is said to construct its nest of dried fern and grasses.

While undisturbed, (says Mr. Short, in a letter to Mr. Yarrell,) the head is carried far back in the shoulders, with the bill pointed to the ground; but when pursued, says the native of New Zealand, it runs with great swiftness, carrying the head elevated like the ostrich.

When attacked it defends itself very vigorously, striking rapid and dangerous blows with its powerful feet and sharp spurs, with which it is also said to beat the ground in order to disturb the worms on which it feeds, seizing them with its bill the instant they make their appearance; it also, probably, feeds upon snails and insects. Very recently a perfect specimen of this bird, preserved in spirits, has been received by the Zoological Society of London, and we may shortly expect a full and accurate account of its anatomical structure.

SCRIPTURE PICTURES. THE absurdities of Chinese paintings have been familiar to us from our earliest days, and we have often laughed at the grotesque effects which their ignorance of the art of perspective produces, at their houses apparently hanging in mid-air, and trees growing out of their windows, streams running upwards instead of downwards, and steeples which seem to rival Baron Munchhaussen's.

The art of painting has elsewhere been brought to perfection, yet (in one class of pictures at least) absurdities, less glaring indeed, but not less real, are to be found, in artists too whose names have attained a deservedly high place in the ranks of fame.

In Scripture paintings we shall see representations as untrue to recorded facts as Chinese pictures can be with respect to natural objects; and as objects of sight make a greater impression on us than what we read, the false ideas conveyed in this way have, as might have been expected, taken pretty deep root.

The liberties in which painters have indulged themselves in their representations of the great enemy of man, are most gross, and we might say ridiculous, were it not for the fatal consequences which have attended these absurd representations, and were it not that they have been instrumental in making the doctrine of Satanic influence a matter of scoffing and jest instead of a powerful motive to watchfulness and fear. The Christian painters have pillaged the profane poets for a personification of Satan, and we see on canvass, not the fallen archangel, dreadful in his moral influence over the souls of men, powerless now latter, with goats' horns, distorted countenance, cloven over their bodies, but the heathen fiction Pan. This feet, and long tail, was well suited for the character he was intended to represent for producing panic fears, rustic merriment, and frolic mischief, to those in whose sports and interests he was fabled to take produce a more grotesque representation, and better an especial concern. Nor, perhaps, could imagination adapted for suggesting and keeping alive the associations which led mankind to fable the divinity of Pan, and make him preside over rural affairs and sports. But is there the slightest community between this mixture of frolic, fun, and benevolent care, and that fearful being whom inspired authority represents as a roaring lion, going about seeking whom he may devour; whom the same authority exhorts us to resist steadfastly, and from whose wily attacks even our Lord himself, in his human character, was not exempt? An imperfect knowledge of the manners and customs which prevailed at the time of the

Scripture narrative, has given rise to another class of | a dove," to mean, that the appearance which indicated errors in our Scripture paintings; as an illustration of this, one will readily occur. Those who are acquainted with ancient history, know that it was the custom among the eastern nations, and among the Romans, to recline at meals, instead of sitting as we do. In the pictures of the Last Supper, however, our Lord and his Apostles are represented as sitting round the table; and yet the words of the Evangelist evidently imply a reclining posture; "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved:" this is intelligible only under the supposition that they were in a recumbent posture, and that consequently the head of one person approached the shoulder of the person that was above him.

There are other mistakes in Scripture representations which appear to arise from an inattention to the Scripture narrative. The Evangelists, and before them the prophets, all describe the Immanuel as having nothing to distinguish Him in outward garb and appearance; "He hath no form nor comeliness," says Isaiah: the people looking upon Him, asked, "Is not this the carpenter's son?" and the very complaint against Him was, that He gave no sign by which they might know Him. Yet in defiance of all this, almost all painters have represented our Lord with that distinguishing mark of a glory round His head, which, had it really existed, would have been a sign unto the people. This mistake may appear unimportant, since not even a child probably can really imagine that this is a true representation. Still the fact is thus far kept out of sight, that there was nothing external by which Jesus could be recognised; that they were to judge Him by His works, and that when He did appear under a form that could show His divine original, (as at the transfiguration,) it was only to a chosen few; to Peter, and James, and John, and as a reward, doubtless, for their having believed on Him without a sign.

To an inattention to the Scripture narrative, another very common mistake in Scripture pictures may be traced. It has often been observed how little of our Lord's early history is unfolded to us. But it is remarkable that almost the only fact that is recorded respecting it, and which is given, doubtless, with a view to our imitation and for the sake of the example, is so altered by painters as to be useless to us in this respect. We are told in the Sacred Writings that Jesus at twelve years old went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast, and that He was found "in the temple sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions," setting an example (that is) to children, of the humility and desire for instruction which peculiarly becomes their age. Many painters, on the contrary, represent Christ as sitting and teaching, not hearing, in an attitude and place which plainly indicates that He was giving, not receiving, instruction, and the whole force of His example in this respect, as a practical lesson to young people, is consequently lost.

In the representations of our Lord's baptism, there is another very common error committed by painters, which is the more worthy of notice, because it both tends to degrade the subject, and also to keep out of sight what throws light on other passages of Scripture. To illustrate these words of Scripture: "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him;" a dove is represented as hovering over Jesus. Many commentators of great merit have understood these words, "descending like

the descent of the Holy Spirit, had a hovering motion like a dove *; that this appearance was, in fact, a flame of fire which hovered around and descended on Christ, as a bird hovers and lights upon any object. In confirmation of this opinion it has been observed by the Rev. Dr. Hinds, (see his Three Temples of the one true God,) that fire, a light from heaven, appears to have been the established sign of God's presence; it was in fire that God appeared to Moses in Midian; it was the Sheckinah which signified Jehovah's abode in the tabernacle; by a pillar of fire God conducted His people through the wilderness, and at the delivery of the law the Most High appeared amidst lightning on Mount Sinai. In later times, at the dedication of the temple at Jerusalem, it was miraculously filled with a glory and a mysterious light; and after our Lord's ascension, it is recorded that, on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended on the apostles, that "there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.” To represent, then, a bird as descending upon our Lord, seems quite inconsistent with every other account of the appearance of the Divine Spirit which is recorded, and seems an unworthy symbol of Him who, under the more awful imagery of "a consuming fire," is so often mentioned by the inspired writers.

There are many other instances of misrepresentations in Scripture paintings which might be noticed, and which, when once the attention is called to the subject, will be easily detected.

The words in the original imply that it was a hovering motion, like a dove.

APRIL DAY.

ALL day the low-hung clouds have dropt
Their garnered fulness down ;

All day that soft, gray mist hath wrapt
Hill, valley, grove, and town.
There has not been a sound to-day
To break the calm of nature;
Nor motion, I might almost say,

Of life, or living creature ;-
Of waving bough, or warbling bird,
Or cattle faintly lowing ;-

I could have half believed I heard
The leaves and blossoms growing.
I stood to hear,-I love it well,-
The rain's continuous sound;
Small drops, but thick and fast they fell,
Down straight into the ground.

For leafy thickness is not yet

Earth's naked breast to screen,
Though every dripping branch is set
With shoots of tender green.

Sure since I looked at early morn,
Those honeysuckle buds

Have swelled to double growth; that thorn
Hath put forth larger studs.

That lilac's cleaving cones have burst,

The milk-white flowers revealing;
Even now, upon my senses first
Methinks their sweets are stealing.
The very earth, the streamy air,
Is all with fragrance rife!

And grace and beauty everywhere
Are flushing into life.

Down, down they come-those fruitful stores,
Those earth-rejoicing drops!
A momentary deluge pours,

Then thins, decreases, stops.
And here the dimples on the stream
Have circled out of sight;

Lo! from the west, a parting gleam
Breaks forth of amber light.

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ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BIBLE FROM THE MONUMENTS OF ANTIQUITY. No. XI.

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the fish of the river.

We are informed that the ancient Egyptians had a religious scruple against using any of the produce of the sea; hence the fisheries of the Nile were peculiarly valuable. The Egyptians indeed were the first people who practised the art of curing and preserving fish: they both dried them in the sun and salted them. For the latter purpose fossil salt was largely imported from the African deserts. It must also be observed that the destruction of the fish was a punishment operating directly on Pharaoh himself, for the principal fisheries belonged to the crown; and we are informed by Diodorus Siculus that a portion of the revenue derived from them was assigned to the queens as pin-money. There were several varieties of fish, so as to gratify every palate; and hence, when the Israelites began to murmur against Moses in the wilderness, one of their chief complaints was, "We remember the fish that we did eat in Egypt freely."

Some writers have rashly asserted that fresh-water fish do not abound in Egypt, but their error has arisen from their having visited the country when the waters of the Nile were at the lowest. As, however, advantage has been taken of their authority to impugn the Scripture narrative, we shall extract from M. Michaud an account of the present state of the fisheries on the

lake Menzaleh.

The waters of Menzaleh are very productive: the Arabs assert that it contains as many kinds of fish as there are days in the year. Whatever may be the number of species, they multiply with amazing rapidity. The fisheries of Menzaleh have been always farmed out by the government of Egypt: they formed an important item in the revenues of the Circassian sultans and the Mamelukes, and at present they yield eight hundred purses annually to Mohammed Ali, which is rather more than 80007. The lake contains alone inhabited. Their population, however, is so nume several clusters of islets, but those called the Matharian are rous that there is scarce room on the ground to plant a shrub, and huts are mixed confusedly with tombs. The en tire population is engaged in catching or curing fish: the best fishing grounds are portioned into divisions by reeds and rushes, forming as it were the farms of the fishermen, and these private properties are far more respected than the tharian islets have all the jealousies of insular people: woe fields of the unhappy fellahs. The inhabitants of the Mabetide the strange fisherman who would venture his boat into their petty archipelago or who would be caught let

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ANIMAL WORSHIP AND SACRIFICES OF THE EGYPTIANS.

ting down his nets near their islands. We went into the village of Kafi-al-Nossarah, situated at the western extremity of the lake near the village is a kind of harbour for the fishing boats: some of these have sails, others are impelled by oars or a long pole. The village is built of mud and reeds; the inhabitants are huddled together in wretched huts; the children are naked. The men wear coarse caps, fitting tight to the head, and either loose drawers or a cincture like the Scottish kilt. Their physiognomy has something of a sorrowful and savage cast. There are about seventeen villages round the lake Menzaleh, the sole employment of whose inhabitants is fishing: it is also their only resource. With the salt fish which they send to Cairo, Syria, and the interior of Africa, they purchase dates, rice, coarse cloth, wood to build their boats, hemp for their lines and nets, and fire-arms for fowling or defence. Not less barbarous than the Bedouin Arabs, they have only a vague notion of the Koran; they scarcely can count the days of the year, and the only means they have of determining the hour of the day is by the projection of their shadows.

From the prophet Isaiah we learn that the Egyptian fisheries were in his day reckoned among the most valuable possessions of the nation, and that they knew the art of catching fish, not only with the line but the net. This is fully confirmed by the monuments, on which we find both modes of fishing delineated. Isaiah's severe denunciation of divine wrath includes little more than a portion of the first plague, actually inflicted by Moses.-"And they shall turn the rivers far away, and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and everything sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. . . . . And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish." (Isaiah xix. 6-10.)

The circumstances we have mentioned are fully sufficient to show how severe was this first plague, and they also prove that the Scripture narrative is supported by all that we know of the natural condition of Egypt, and all that we can learn from its historic records.

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Among the tricks mentioned by the Emperor Jehangueir in his account of the performances of the Indian jugglers, to which we have already referred, there are several performed with vessels of water: one of them deserves to be quoted.

They filled a large vessel with water perfectly transparent, and placed it on the floor before me. One of them had in his hand a red rose, which he said, by giving it a dip into the water, he could bring it out of any colour I chose to mention. Accordingly he gave the rose a plunge, and out it came of a bright yellow; and thus at every dip he brought it out of a different kind and colour. They then plunged a skein of white thread into the vessel, and brought it out first of a red then of a yellow colour, and so of a different colour a hundred times repeated, if they were required so to do.

The distinction between the miracle and its spurious imitation is sufficiently explained in the Scripture narrative: Moses smote the river; the magicians practised their art only on some limited quantity of water, and in such a case deception was not only practicable but easy.

The second plague of frogs is remarkable, because the beloved river the Nile is again made the instrument of punishment, and because it was imitated by the magicians. The third plague of lice, (or, as the word kinnim may perhaps be translated, musquitoes,) was beyond the power of the jugglers, for they at once acknowledged the supernatural character of the miracles wrought by Moses and Aaron, exclaiming, "This is the finger of God!" Such an exclamation fully proves that their former attempts to rival Moses and Aaron were juggling delusions. The Jewish and Arabian traditions concur in asserting that some of the magicians were on this occasion converted to the worship of the true God, and were in consequence persecuted by the Egyptian tyrant.

After the fourth plague of flies an important incident is recorded, which throws considerable light on the preceding part of the narrative. "And Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?

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It is said further by the sacred historians, "the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments:" to this two objections have been made; first, that there The proposal of Pharaoh is one which could never are no means by which jugglers could imitate such a have been made by a native Egyptian, for it is clear miracle, and secondly, that all the waters were already from what follows that the Hebrews were notoriously changed. Now it seems pretty clear that in the se- about to sacrifice some of the animals deemed sacred cond objection we can find an answer to the first. by the Egyptians. The cow, reverenced as the emThe magicians could easily procure fresh water by dig-blem of Isis, and the ram, which typified Ammon, ging, and an illusion similar to the change effected by the miracle is possible with small quantities of water.

were held objects of religious worship among the Egyptians, and we find their votaries on the monu

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