ample covering for the body, when its owner a member of the same singular and eccentric is disposed to coil himself up for a nap. A order-the edentata of zoologists. A word or glance is sufficient to discover that it is the two about this remarkable section of the anifore-limbs or arms that are chiefly employed, mal world will be of use here, in fixing the whether for work or war. They are extremely position and connections in the animal scale thick and muscular, and are armed with large of the subject proper of the paper. claws, which turn in upon the soles of the feet, so as to give the animal the appearance, when in motion, of walking on its knuckles.

In the first place, be it understood that the scientific designation of the order is by no means applicable, in its literal rendering, to At home, in America, the ant bear has the all the animals composing it; only one small repute of being somewhat dull and stupid, section being strictly toothless, while all the and few people that see it here will be likely, rest of the order are deficient merely of the we imagine, to question the truth of the im- teeth in the fore part of the jaw. At no very putation. On rising from its ordinary noon- distant period, speaking geologically, the day slumbers, it looks round upon the array edentata made a far more important figure in of eager faces in front of its cage with a mar- the world than they do at present. The vellously bewildered and vacant stare, and gigantic mastodon and megatherium, which seems, as it stands motionless, with its head uprooted trees to browse upon the foliage, and poked forward, to be endeavoring, in a creamy the unwieldy glyptodon, a fossil armadillo, sort of way, to recollect the whereabouts of all belonged to the present order, and inhabitits situation. Like all strictly nocturnal ani-ed precisely the same districts where their mals, it spends the greater part of the day in sleep; a circumstance which young ladies who go to the gardens purposely to see it pronounce a shame." It certainly is very provoking, and it is to be hoped that, in the course of time, the creature will be taught to comport itself in a more befitting manner. As it is, one may esteem himself fortunate if he happen to find the animal awake. The probability is, it will be coiled up upon its bed of straw, in the corner of its cage, with a roomful of excited visitors waiting its awaking. Every one puts great faith, of course, in the label on the front of the cage, and has no manner of doubt, therefore, that the shaggy mound in the corner is truly "Myrmicophaga Jubata, the great ant-eater from South America;" though, for all that any one can discern himself, it might be a goat, or a dog, or simply a heap of hair.

Our patience was at length rewarded. A keeper entered the cage, and, tapping an egg against a tin dish, caused the mound upon the straw to move; a huge tail was then flung back, a long pointed head was next drawn from under the body, then a pair of small round eyes opened wide, and the strange, ungainly creature stood upright. Pausing for a moment, it then followed the keeper to the front of its cage, where it displayed its skill in sucking up the egg, which was broken for it into the dish. Having finished its snack, it allowed its paw to be shaken by the keeper, and then sleepily walked back to its bed in the corner. Deliberately adjusting the straw, it concealed its head between its fore legs, then went down upon its knees, and suddenly dropping upon the straw, and at the same moment bringing its tail forward, so as entirely to cover its body, it became again an indistinguishable heap.

The reference to the sloth above will remind the scientific reader that the great ant eater is a distant relativę of his, being, in fact,

now pigmy descendants cling to the forest branches, or burrow in the ground. At present there are two principal groups of edentate animals-the first of which comprises the arboreal leaf-cating sloths; the second, the armadilloes and their allies, and the true edentata, or animals destitute of all dental apparatus whatsoever. The sloths and armadillos are confined exclusively to South America, but the aard vark, or earth hog, an animal allied to the latter, is a native of South Africa, where it represents the ant eaters of America. Of the strictly toothless mammals, there are two small groups, the pangolins of Africa and India-strange, reptile-like animals, which, like the armadilloes and our own hedgehog, roll themselves up into a ball when attacked, and present to the assailant nothing but the sharp-pointed edge of their overlapping scales -and the true ant eaters. Of these there are three distinct species, all of them confined to the continent of South America. There is the little ant eater, an engaging little animal, with a rabbit-shaped head, but about the size of a squirrel, and, like it, exclusively arboreal in its habits; the tamandua, also inhabiting trees, but of a larger size, and pos sessing a more elongated snout; and the great ant eater, the hero of the day, the largest, and in many respects the most remarkable, of existing edentate animals.

Brazil, the country whence the stranger which has lately arrived amongst us was brought, may be regarded as the proper home of the great ant eater, although it is also found in all the neighboring countries, ranging as far south as Paraguay, where, according to Azara it is occasionally reared as a domestic pet. But though thus spread over a large area, it is nowhere of frequent occurrence, and in most places is considered rare. A writer in the Literary Gazette, alluding to this point, says, "There is not a city in Brazil where it would not be considered almost as much a

curiosity as here. In the extensive forests of race-dens were highly indignant, indeed, at the Amazon, the great ant eater is, perhaps. their desertion, and paced to and fro, mutteras abundant as in any part of South America; ing wrathful to themselves, hardly deigning yet, during a residence of more than four years, I never had an opportunity of seeing one. Its favorite haunts are humid forests, and low swampy grounds bordering on rivers and stagnant pools. There is no reason to believe that it ever climbs trees, as stated by Buffon and others, and the stories that have been told of its springing upon the backs of horses, and tearing open their shoulders to suck the blood, are equally improbable. Like all the edentate animals, the great ant eater is naturally shy and timid, and endeavors to escape from its assailants by flight. Its pace, however, is slow and awkward, so that it is easily overtaken. If compelled to defend itself, it does so with great vigor, sitting upon its hind-quarters, and striking with its powerful claws, using one arm to support itself, while the other is kept ready for a blow. In extreme cases, it throws itself upon its back, and endeavors to hug its assailant in a close embrace; when its immense muscular power enables it to overcome even the most active of its foes. It is said that even the jaguar has been found dead, locked in its arms.

to recognise our solitary attentions by a single glance. The eagles stared down upon us from their rocky pinnacles, and the seal looked round from his pool, utterly neglected. Again, there was that grandiloquently named beast, the choiropotamus, himself but a short time before the hero of the gardens, but for the time forgotten, like a fallen favourite, and left to whisk his ears, or grunt to his kinsmen and neighbours, the Wart Hogs, as little cared for as a common pig. Chuney, the perambulating elephant, shuffled along with a half-filled howdah; while the proboscidian mother and daughter turned their backs upon the world, in disgust apparently at the sudden falling off of buns and fruit. The Hippopotamus took up his own cause, and through the mediun of our ever-to-be-respected contemporary 'Punch,' howled at the public for their neglect of him in most lugubrious verse. We hope that, like afflicted mortals, he may have found his heart eased by the exercise; but, if he would regain his popularity, he must do something more to the purpose. Let him follow the example of his cousin across the channel, and make a mouthful of the first lapdog that comes in his way, and he will assuredly rise to his former eminence again at once. The fish house alone, of all the attractions in the gardens, maintained its position against the new-comer. The unique and beautiful collection of living forms there displayed will constitute one of the chief sources of amusement and instruction the Gardens contain, and is little likely to lose its interest, whatever other additions the place may receive.

In a state of nature, the great ant eater, so far as is known, lives exclusively on insects. As its name implies, its favorite and principal food consists of ants; for the procuring of which its entire organization is beautifully adapted. Standing on its broad hind feet, it breaks through the crust of the ant-hills with its powerful hooked claws, and the moment the insects appear at the breach, it darts out its long flexible tongue, covered with a glutinous saliva, into the thickest of the throng, and again draws it into the mouth. By this means a considerable number of ants are speedily obtained, the tongue being protruded and again drawn in upwards of a hundred times in a minute, and each time, of course, covered with the insects. The ant eater now in the Zoological Gardens, having left his native country, has lost, of course, his natural food. Nor will he put up with the nearest substitute that can be given him. He DECIPHERING CYPHERS.-Some little boys have has been supplied with our common English been amusing themselves in deciphering the cyants, as well as with other insects, but he phers that appear occasionally in the Times. We turns up his nose at them all. He seems dis- wish they would exercise their ingenuity in transposed at present to confine himself almost ex-lating LORD ABERDEEN-anywhere, so long as he clusively to eggs and milk, of the former of was translated out of the Ministry-for we look which he contrives to make away with the upon him as being the greatest Cypher of the respectable number of between twenty and present day. thirty every day.

For a considerable time after its arrival, it was amusing to observe to what an extent the stranger in the Gardens monopolized the attention of visitors. Excepting at "feeding time," almost everything else was forsaken, and left to ruminate in solitude upon the strange vicissitudes of those who live on popular favor. Their feline majesties in the ter

Since its removal to the Zoological Gardens the Great Ant-Eater has thriven amazingly, and strong hopes are now entertained of its surviving the winter. The matter, however, is still extremely doubtful; and all who are desirous of seeing this extraordinary animal alive should lose no time in doing so.

"TO PERSONS ABOUT TO MARRY."-Considering the rubbish that is mostly sold at the cheap Fur niture Marts, the poor deluded individuals, who buy their chairs and tables and four-post bedsteads there, generally turn out Furniture Mart-yrs.

A COCKNEY'S QUESTION ON THE NAVY.-Does a Port Admiral mean an Admiral who is laid down for a long series of years, and not decanted for service till he is very old?

with the persons of the embassy, whom he
knew very well, or to tease a young Manilla
negrito, who had been given to M. de La-
grene. This negrito was his dearest friend.
Some people pretended that the sympathetic
ties which united these two beings were based
on consanguinity. However that may be,
Juan had a profound contempt for monkeys;
he never condescended to notice one, and pre-
ferred the society of a dog or sheep to that
of one of these quadrumana. Juan acquired
the habits of a gourmet whilst on board: he
drank wine, and had even become deeply
learned in the art of appreciating that liquor.cutta, exceeded seven feet.
One day two glasses were offered him, one
half full of champagne, the other half full of
claret. When he had a glass in each hand,
some one tried to deprive him of that contain-
ing the champagne. To defend himself, he
hastily brought his disengaged hand up to
the one which had been scized, and, having,
by a dexterous effort, succeeded in freeing it,
he poured the sparkling liquid into his mouth
and having made sure of the flavour, has-
tened down to share the beverage with me.

Archipelago. This animal is a native of the
islands of Borneo and Sumatra, and the pen-
insula of Malacca, dwelling in the deepest re-
cesses of forests of gigantic growth, and sel-
dom venturing into the more thinly-wooded
districts. Very little is known of the habits
of the creature in its wild state, and many
fabulous accounts respecting it have in conse-
quence been received as true. Its usual height
is supposed to be about four feet, although
there is a description of one by the late Dr.
Abel, the stature of which, according to the
details laid before the Asiatic Society at Cal-

When I arrived at Manilla, Juan and I took up our abode in a Tagal house, and we lived in common with the family inhabiting it— consisting of the father, mother, two girls of fourteen and sixteen, and of some little children. Juan was charmed with our residence. He spent his days in play with the little Tagal girls, and robbing the mango-women who were imprudent enough to put their merchandise within his reach.

Juan had nothing of those social virtues called abnegation and devotion; he was selfish, and would not have found communistic principles to his taste. He was perfectly conservative in this respect; and only liked communism with regard to the property of others. If an animal invaded his cage, he drove him away unmercifully; one day he even picked the feathers out of a pigeon which had been struck with the unfortunate idea of taking refuge there.

Whenever we put into harbour, I brought him clusters of bananas; the fruits were placed with those belonging to the officers of the staff. Juan had leave to enter this sanctuary at his pleasure. Provided he had been once shown which clusters belonged to him, he respected the others, until such time as he had exhausted his own provision; after that he no longer went ostensibly and boldly in search of fruit, but by stealth, crawling like a serpent; the larceny committed, he came up again faster than he had gone down.

It is untrue that orang-outangs have been taught to smoke: Juan, and all those I have seen, were unable to acquire that habit.

Such is the account of an orang-outang given by Dr. Yvar, who was physician to the scientific mission sent by France to China, and who resided six months in the Eastern

The orang-outang is grave and gentle in its manners, and more docile than any of the monkey tribe, easily imitating some of our actions, learning to use a spoon, and even a fork; and acquiring a relish for sweetmeats, coffee, and spirits. It is fond of being noticed, and capable of great attachment. During youth, the forehead and skull appear well developed, and carry something of a human character, but as the animal advances in age, the resemblance quickly disappears.

CONFESSIONS OF A JUNIOR
BARRISTER.

My father was an agent to an extensive absentee property in the south of Ireland. He was a Protestant, and respectably connected. It was even understood in the country that a kind of Irish relationship existed between him and the distant proprietor whose rents he collected. Of this, however, I have some doubts; for, generally speaking, our aristocracy are extremely averse to trusting their money in the hands of a poor relation. Besides this, I was more than once invited to dine with a leading member of the family when I was a student at the Temple, which would hardly have been the case, had he suspected on my part any dormant claim of kindred. Being an eldest son, I was destined from my birth for the Bar. This about thirty years ago, was almost a matter of course with our secondary gentry. Among such persons it was, at that time, an object of great ambition to have a "young counsellor "in the family. In itself it was a respectable thing-for, who could tell what the "young counsellor" might not one day be? Then it kept off vexatious claims, and produced a general interested civility in the neighbourhood, under the expectation that, whenever any little point of law might arise, the young counsellor's opinion might be had for nothing. Times have somewhat changed in this respect. Yet, to this day, the young counsellor who passes the law-vacations among his country friends finds (at least I have found it so) that the old feeling of reverence for the name is not yet extinct, and that his dicta upon the law of

trespasses and distress for rent are generally imagination in prose and verse. Oratory deferred to in his own country, unless when it happens to be the assizes'-time.

was, of course, not neglected. I plied at Cicero and Demosthenes. I devoured every I passed through my school and college treatise on the art of rhetoric that fell in my studies with great eclat. At the latter place, way. When alone in my lodgings, I declaimed particularly toward the close of the course, to myself so often and so loudly, that my I dedicated myself to all sorts of composition. landlady and her daughters, who sometimes I was also a constant speaker in the Historical listened through the keyhole, suspected, as I Society, where I discovered, with no slight afterward discovered, that I had lost my wits; satisfaction, that popular eloquence was de- but, as I paid my bills regularly and appeared cidedly my forte. In the cultivation of this tolerably rational in other matters, they noble art, I adhered to no settled plan. Some- thought it most prudent to connive at my times, in imitation of the ancients, I composed extravagances. During the last winter of my my address with great care, and delivered it stay at the Temple, I took an active part, as from memory: at others, I trusted for words Gale Jones, to his cost, sometimes found, in (for I am naturally fluent) to the occasion; the debates of the British Forum, which had but, whether my speech was extemporaneous just been opened for the final settlement of or prepared, I always spoke on the side of all disputed points in politics and morals. freedom. At this period, and for the two or three years that followed, my mind was filled with almost inconceivable enthusiasm for my future profession. I was about to enter it (I can call my own conscience to witness) from no sordid motives. As to money matters, I was independent; for my father, who was now no more, had left me a profit-rent of three hundred pounds a-year.

Such were the views and qualifications with which I came to the Irish Bar. It may appear somewhat singular, bnt so it was, that previous to the day of my call, I was never inside an Irish Court of Justice. When at the Temple, I had occasionally attended the proceedings at Westminster Hall, where a common topic of remark among my fellowstudents was the vast superiority of our Bar No; but I had formed to my youthful fancy in grace of manner and classical propriety of an idea of the honors and duties of an advo- diction. I had, therefore, no sooner received cate's career, founded upon the purest models the congratulations of my friends on my of ancient and modern times. I pictured to admission, than I turned into one of the courts myself the glorious occasions it would present to enjoy a first specimen of the forensic of redressing private wrongs, of exposing and oratory of which I had heard so much. A confounding the artful machinations of in- young barrister of about twelve year's standjustice; and should the political condition of ing was on his legs, and vehemently appealing my country require it, as in all probability it to the court in the following words: "Your would, of emulating the illustrious men whose Lordships perceive that we stand here as our eloquence and courage had so often shielded grandmother's administratrix de bonis non; the intended victim against the unconstitu- and really, my lords, it does humbly strike me tional aggressions of the state. It was with that it would be a monstrous thing to say that a these views, and not from a love of "paltry party can now come in, in the very teeth of gold," that I was ambitious to assume the an Act of Parliament, and actually turn us robe. With the confidence of youth, and of round under color of hanging us up on the a temperament not prone to despair, I felt an foot of a contract made behind our backs." instinctive conviction that I was not assuming The court admitted that the force of the a task above my strength; but, notwithstanding observation was unanswerable, and granted my reliance upon my natural powers, I was his motion with costs. On enquiry I found indefatigable in aiding them, by exercise and that the counsel was among the most rising study, against the occasions that were to men of the Junior Bar. For the first three render me famous in my generation. Defer- or four years, little worth recording occurred. ring for the present (I was now at the Tem- I continued my former studies, read, but ple) a regular course of legal reading, I without much care, a few elementary law applied myself with great ardor to the acquire-books, picked up a stray scrap of technical ment of general knowledge. To enlarge my learning in the courts and the hall, and was views, I went through the standard works on the theory of government and legislation. To familiarize my understanding with subtle disquisitions, I plunged into metaphysics; for, as Ben Johnson somewhere says, "he that cannot contract the sight of his mind, as well as dilate and disperse it, wanteth a great faculty ;" and, lest an exclusive adherence to such pursuits should have the effect of damping my popular sympathies, I duly relieved them by the most celebrated productions of

now and then employed by the young attorneys from my county as conducting counsel in a motion of course. At the outset I was rather mortified at the scantiness of my business, for I had calculated upon starting into immediate notice; but being easy in my circumstances, and finding so many others equally unemployed, I ceased to be impatient. With regard to my fame, however, it was otherwise. I had brought a fair stock of general reputation for ability and acquirement to