This singular and interesting bird comes to us along the northern shores of the Atlantic, in May, and retires to the south in autumn, where he spends the winter. His favorite haunts are low sand-bars, raised above the reach of the tides. He builds his nest on dry flats, near the ocean. His body is nineteen inches long, and his wings, when expanded, are forty-four inches from tip to tip. Thus the sheerwater, instead of being shabbily treated, is a striking instance of the adaptation of nature’s work, to the purposes of its great Author.
The Squirrel.
The more we examine the works of nature, the more we shall be made to feel that there is infinite variety in them—that almost every part of the universe is filled with inhabitants appropriate to it; and that each individual thing is fitted to the place it occupies. Among plants, for instance, there are nearly a hundred thousand kinds already recorded in the books of the botanists; among animated beings, there are, perhaps, even a greater number of species. And what a countless number of each individual kind, whether in the vegetable or animal world! Every part of the earth is occupied. The earth, the air, the sea—each and all are inhabited by myriads of living things. And how wonderfully are they all adapted to their several designs! How well is the fish fitted to his element; how admirably is the bird adapted to the life he is to lead!
Among quadrupeds, the lively little fellow, whose name we have placed at the head of this article, is a pleasing illustration of the success with which nature accomplishes her designs. The squirrel is made to enliven the forest, to live among woods, to gather his food and make his nest, and spend a great part of his life amid the branches of the trees. And how perfectly is he at home in his domain! He springs from limb to limb—from tree to tree; he ascends or descends the trunks at pleasure, and seems to be as safe, in his airy evolutions, as the ox, or the horse, upon the solid ground—or the bird in the air, or the fishes in the river.
How perfect an instance of adaptation is this! How nice must be a piece of machinery, that could be made to operate with such celerity, in such a variety of ways, and with such certain success! And how pleasing, as an object of mere beauty, is the squirrel! How graceful his form—how cheerful his aspect—how seemingly happy his existence!
Gothic Architecture.
The modes of building in different countries, and in different ages of the world, have resulted in several distinct styles of architecture.
Among the ancient Egyptians, it would seem, from the low and massy forms of their edifices, that they were fashioned in imitation of caves—the first habitations of savage man. The temples, of which many ruins remain along the borders of the Nile, seem almost like structures hewn out of the rock; so heavy are the columns, and so low the arches.
Among the Greeks, the style of architecture seemed to be suggested by the wooden cabin, supported upon the trunks of trees. Thus the lighter and loftier columns supporting their edifices, seem to be a leading feature of their buildings.