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turning up the snow with his nose and feet, and cropping the withered grass beneath. I always thought it a deed of mercy to slay such an old fellow, he looks so miserable and discontented with himself. As to the individual in 5 question, I determined to put an end to his long, turbulent, and evil life.

To this effect, I approached him, as a Chinese malefactor approaches a mandarin,-that is to say, prone, like a serpent. But the parity only exists with respect to the 10 posture; for the aforesaid malefactor expects to receive pain, whereas I intended to inflict it. He was a grimlooking barbarian, and, if a beard be a mark of wisdom, Peter, the Hermit, was a fool to him. So, when I had attained a suitable proximity, I appealed to his feelings with 15 a bullet. He ran,—and I ran; and I had the best reason to run, for he ran after me, and I thought that a pair of horns might destroy my usual equanimity and equilibrium. In truth, I did not fly any too fast, for the old bashaw was close behind me, and I could hear him 20 breathe. I threw away my gun;-and, as there was no tree at hand, I gained the centre of a pond of a few yards area, such as are found all over the prairies in February.

Here I stood secure, as though in a magic circle, well 25 knowing that neither pigs nor buffaloes can walk upon ice. My pursuer was advised of this fact also, and did not venture to trust himself on so slippery a footing. Yet it seemed that he was no gentleman; at least he did not practise forgiveness of injuries. He perambulated the 30 periphery of the pond, till I was nearly as cold as the ice under me. It was worse than the stone jug, or the blackhole at Calcutta. Ah! thought I, if I only had my gun, I would soon relieve you from your post.

But discontent was all in vain. Thus I remained, and 35 thus he remained, for at least four hours. In the mean while, I thought of the land of steady habits; of baked beans, and pumpkins, and codfish on Saturdays. There, said I, to myself, my neighbor's proceeding would be reckoned unlawful, I guess; for no one can be held in 40 custody without a warrant and sufficient reason. If ever

I get back, I won't be caught in such a scrape again. Grief does not last forever; neither does anger;—and my janitor, either forgetting his resentment, which, to say the truth, was not altogether groundless, or thinking it

was useless, or tired of his self-imposed duty, or for some reason or other, bid me farewell with a loud bellow, and walked away to a little oasis that was just in sight, and left me to my meditations. I picked up my gun, and fol5 lowed. He entered the wood,—and so did I, just in time to see him fall and expire.

The sun was setting; and the weather was getting colder and colder. I could hear the ground crack, and the trees split, with its intensity. I was at least twenty miles 10 from home; and it behoved me, if I did not wish to "wake in the morning and find myself dead," to make a fire as speedily as possible. I now first perceived that, in my very natural hurry to escape from my shaggy foe, I had lost the martin-skin, wherein I carried my flint, steel, and 15 tinder. This was of little consequence; I had often made a fire by the aid of my gun before, and I drew my knife and began to pick the flint. Death to my hopes,-at the very first blow, I struck it ten yards from the lock, and it was lost forever in the snow.

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"Well," said I to myself, "I have cooked a pretty kettle of fish, and brought my calf's head to a fine market. Shall I furnish those dissectors, the wolves, with a subject, or shall cold work the same effect on me that grief did upon Niobe? Would that I had a skin like a buf25 falo!"

Necessity is the spur, as well as the mother, of invention; and, at these last words, a new idea flashed through my brain like lightning. I verily believe that I took off the skin of my victim, in fewer than ten strokes of my knife. 30 Such a hide entire is no trifle; it takes a strong man to lift it; but I rolled the one in question about me, with the hair inward, and lay down to sleep, tolerably sure that neither Jack Frost, nor the wolves, could get at me, through an armor thicker and tougher, than the sevenfold shield 35 of Ajax.

Darkness closed in; and a raven began to sound his note of evil omen, from a neighboring branch. "Croak on, black angel," said I; "I have heard croaking before now, and am not to be frightened by any of your color." Sud40 denly a herd of wolves struck up at a distance, probably excited by the scent of the slain buffalo. "Howl on," said I; "and, being among wolves, I will howl too, for I like to be in the fashion: but that shall be the extent of our intimacy." Accordingly, I uplifted my voice, like a peli

can in the wilderness, and gave them back their noise, with interest. Then I lay down again, and moralized. This, thought I, is life. What would my poor mother say, if she were alive now? I have read books of adven5 tures, but never read anything like this. I fell asleep, without farther ado.

LESSON LX.-THOUGHTS ON POLITENESS.-GEO. S. HILLARD.

The common notion about politeness is, that it is a thing of the body, and not of the mind; and that he is a polite man who makes certain motions in a graceful manner, and at proper times and places. We expect the dancing mas5 ter to teach our children "manners," as well as the art of cutting awkward capers to music. But the truth is, that we degrade politeness by making it anything less than a cardinal virtue.

The happiness of life is made up of an infinite number 10 of little things, and not of startling events and great emotions; and he who daily and hourly diffuses pleasure around him by kind offices, frank salutations and cheerful looks, deserves as well of his species, as he, who, neglecting or despising all these, makes up for it by occasional 15 acts of generosity, justice, or benevolence. Besides, the opportunity of doing great things but rarely occurs, while a man has some dozens of chances, every day of his life, to show whether he be polite or not.

A truly polite man must, in the first place, have the gift 20 of good sense, for without that foundation, it is idle to think of rearing any, even the smallest superstructure. He must know when to violate that code of conventional forms, which common consent has established, and when not; for it is equally a mark of weakness, to be a slave 25 to these forms, or to despise them. He must have penetration and tact enough, to adapt his conversation and manner to circumstances and individuals; for that which is politeness in the drawing-room, may be downright rudeness in the bar-room or the stage-coach, as well as the 30 converse.

Above all, he must have that enlarged and catholic pirit of humility, which is the child of self-knowledge, and the parent of benevolence, (indeed, politeness itself is merely benevolence, seen through the little end of a spy35 glass,) which, not content with bowing low to this rich

man or that fine lady, respects the rights, and does justice to the claims, of every member of the great human family.

As for the fastidious and exclusive persons, who look down upon a man created and upheld by the same power 5 as themselves, and heir to the same immortal destinies, because he does not dress in a particular style, or visit in certain houses, they are out of the question. If they are too weak to perceive the grotesque absurdity of their own conduct, they have not capacity enough to master the al10 phabet of good manners. If angelic natures be susceptible of ludicrous emotions, we know of nothing more likely to call them forth, than the sight of an insect inhabitant of this great ant-hill, assuming airs of superiority over his brother emmet, because he has a few more grains of bar. 15 ley in his granary, or some other equally cogent reason.

LESSON LXI.-SAME SUBJECT CONCLUDED.ID.

Of the gentlemen, young and old, whiskered and unwhiskered, that may be seen in Washington street any sunshiny day, there is not one who does not think himself a polite man, and who would not very much resent any 5 insinuation to the contrary. Their opinion is grounded on reasons something like the following. When they go to a party, they make a low bow to the mistress of the house, and then look round after somebody that is young and pretty to make themselves agreeable to.

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At a ball, they will do their utmost to entertain their partner, unless the fates have given them to some one who is ugly and awkward; and they will listen to her remarks with their most bland expression. If they are invited to a dinner party, they go in their best coats, praise their 15 entertainer's wine, and tell the lady they hope her children are all well. If they tread on the toes of a welldressed person, they will beg his pardon. They never spit on a carpet; and, in walking with a lady, they always give her the inside; and, if the practice be allowable, they 20 offer her their arm.

So far, very good; but I must always see a man in certain situations, before I decide whether he be polite or not. I should like to see how he would act, if placed at dinner between an ancient maiden lady, and a country 25 clergyman with a small salary and a rusty coat, and with

some distinguished person opposite to him. I want to see him on a hot and dusty day, sitting on the back seat of a stage-coach, when the driver takes in some poor lone woman, with may be a child in her arms, and tells the gen5 tlemen, that one of them must ride outside and make room for her.

I want to be near him, when his washer-woman makes some very good excuse to him for not bringing home his clothes at the usual time, or not doing up an article in 10 exactly the style he wished. I want to hear the tone and emphasis with which he gives orders to servants in steamboats and taverns. I mark his conduct, when he is walking with an umbrella, on a rainy day, and overtakes an old man, or an invalid, or a decent looking woman, who 15 are exposed, without protection, to the violence of the storm. If he be in company with those whom he thinks his inferiors, I listen to hear, if his conversation be entirely about himself. If some of the number be very distinguished, and some quite unknown, I observe whether he 20 acts, as if he were utterly unconscious of the presence of these last.

These are a few, and but a few, of the tests by which I try a man; and I am sorry to say, there are very few, who can stand them all. There is many a one who passes in 25 the world for a well-bred man, because he knows when to bow and smile, that is down in my tablets for a selfish, vulgar, unpolite monster, that loves the parings of his own nails better than his neighbor's whole body. Put any man in a situation, where he is called upon to make a sa30 crifice of his own comfort and ease, without any equivalent in return, and you will learn the difference between true politeness, that sterling ore of the heart, and the counterfeit imitation of it, which passes current in drawing-rooms. Any man must be an idiot, not to be polite in 35 society, so called; for how else would he get his oysters and Champagne ?

LESSON LXII.-COTTAGE ON THE SWISS ALPS.-BUCKMINSTER

In one of the highest regions of the Swiss Alps, after a day of excessive labor, in reaching the summit of our journey, near those thrones erected ages ago for the majesty of Nature, we stopped, fatigued and dispirited, on a spot 5 destined to eternal barrenness, where we found one of

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