Of the genus Ornithorynchus only one species—the Paradoxus—has yet been discovered in the whole world, and it is, therefore, one of the great curiosities of animal life. It appears to be a union of a quadruped and a bird, and is only to be found in New Holland, where it inhabits the reeds by the side of rivers. Our engraving represents it very accurately. It is about twenty inches long, having a flattened body, somewhat like the otter, and is clothed with a dark soft fur. The elongated nose very much resembles the beak of a duck, like which these animals feed upon water insects, shell-fish, and aquatic plants. The feet are five-toed and webbed, and in the fore-feet this membrane extends beyond the nails: the male is armed with a spur on each hind leg. This curious animal, in which a duck's beak is united to the body of a quadruped, rolls itself up like a hedgehog, when it sleeps in its burrows on the banks of the streams whence its food is derived.
ORIGIN OF BOLTON ABBEY.
About midway up the Vale of Bolton, amidst the gloomy recesses of the woods, the Wharfe, which is otherwise a wide and shallow river, is suddenly contracted by two huge rocks, which approach each other so nearly, that the country folk, or rather the villagers, call it the Strid, because adventurous people stride or leap from one rock to the other. In ancient days, the whole of this valley belonged to Baron Romillie, whose eldest son having died, left a younger brother, of the name of Egremont, sole heir of the domains and inheritance of this family. One day, however, when this young man, familiarly called the "Boy of Egremont," was returning from hunting with the hounds in the leash, he, as he had done many times before, was going to leap the Strid, when, just as he had attempted it, the hounds held back, and precipitated him headlong into the deep and awful chasm, which the impetuous fall of water (thus produced by the sudden contraction of the river) had worn in the base of the two rude rocks, and he was never seen afterwards. The Baron, being now left childless, built the Abbey, and endowed it with the domains of Bolton.
LENGTH OF LIFE WITHOUT BODILY EXERCISE.
The Rev. William Davies, Rector of Staunton-upon-Wye, and Vicar of All Saints, Hereford, died 1790, aged 105. The life of this gentleman displays one of the most extraordinary instances of departure from all those rules of temperance and exercise, which so much influence the lives of the mass of mankind, that is, probably to be found in the whole records of longevity. During the last thirty-five years of his life, he never used any other exercise than that of just slipping his feet, one before the other, from room to room; and they never after that time were raised, but to go down or up stairs, a task, however, to which he seldom subjected himself. His breakfast was hearty; consisting of hot rolls well buttered, with a plentiful supply of tea or coffee. His dinner was substantial, and frequently consisted of a variety of dishes. At supper he generally eat hot roast meat, and always drank wine, though never to excess. Though nearly blind for a number of years, he was always cheerful in his manners, and entertaining in his conversation, and was much beloved by all who knew him. He had neither gout, stone, paralysis, rheumatism, nor any of those disagreeable infirmities which mostly attend old age; but died peaceably in the full possession of all his faculties, mental and corporeal, save his eyesight. Like most long livers he was very short of stature.
EXTRAORDINARY FASHION IN CIGARS.
A taste for tobacco in some form or other seems to extend over the whole inhabitable globe. In this respect it matters not whether nations are civilized or uncivilized; and however completely they may differ from each other in everything else, they all agree in a fondness for "the weed." In the mode, however, of indulging in the luxury, there is the greatest diversity, and no where is this more strikingly manifested than in the Philippine Islands.
"It is not till evening that the inhabitants of the higher class begin to stir; till that time they are occupied in eating, sleeping, and smoking tobacco, which is no where more general than on the island of Luzon; for children, before they can walk, begin to smoke segars. The women carry their fondness for it to a greater height than the men; for, not content with the usual small segars, they have others made for them, which are a foot long and proportionably thick. These are here called the women's segars, and it is a most ludicrous sight to see elegant ladies taking their evening walk, with these burning brands in their mouths."
How widely does the fashion in Luzon differ from the fashion at Paris!
NOVEL WAY OF PURCHASING A HUSBAND.