by means of the pulsations of the wings on the air, the propinquity of solid bodies becomes perceptible by the manner in which the air reacts upon this highly-sensitive surface.

With such perfect organs of flight, it is scarcely to be expected that bats should possess even ordinary powers of locomotion. On the ground their motions are awkward and slow. In walking, the wings are closed, and, the long fingers being folded against the arm, the animal rests upon its wrists. The foot of one side is then extended forwards, and the thumb-nail hooked into the ground; the body is next raised by means of the hinder-foot, which has been partly placed under the body, and is thus thrown forward; the other side is next propelled in the same manner. It is by a succession of these plunges that their progression on the ground is effected, a movement sometimes so rapid as to deserve the name of running. This action, it must be acknowledged, is but a ludicrous attempt when compared with the progression of other quadrupeds; but it is sufficient for their wants; and it cannot be too strongly urged that the apparently abortive means of motion given to the bat and the sloth, are as indicative of infinite wisdom, as the power of the lion or the fleetness of the antelope, because they are equally fitted to their requirements.

The commonest English bat is the plecotus auritus of Geoffroy. Its ears are very large, much longer than the head, and united at the base. In sleep they are folded up under the arm; and whilst flying, the animal throws them into various curves, as if listening for the hum or the buzzing flight of its prey. Like all other English bats, it is insectivorous, but in confinement will readily eat small fragments of raw beef.* The eyes are placed laterally, and project considerably. The soft silky fur is of a light brown above, and grey beneath; and, being rather long and thick

The dentition of this bat may be expressed as follows:-Incisors, canine, ; false molars, ; molars, ;= 1. The length of the head and body is one inch and five-sixths, and the extent of the wings about ten inches.

over the shoulders, gives an appearance of breadth and compactness to the upper portion of the body. Mr. Bell, the talented biographer of our British fauna, speaking of this bat, remarks, "The extraordinary development of the ears, their beautiful transparency, and the elegant curves into which they are thrown at the will of the animal, render it by far the most pleasing of the British bats: it is also more readily tamed than any other, and may soon be brought to exhibit a considerable degree of familiarity with those who feed and caress it. They may be readily brought to feed from the hand; and my friend Mr. James Sowerby had one during last summer, which, when at liberty in the parlour, would fly to the hand of any of the young people who held up a fly towards it, and, pitching on the hand, would take the fly without hesitation."

Another common bat is the vespertilio pipistrellus of Jenyns. It is only of late years that this little creature has been accurately known to our naturalists. Pennant, who was deeply read in the works of the Continental naturalists, finding that vespertilio murinus was their "common bat," concluded, without examination, that ours was the same. Succeeding naturalists, drawing their descriptions from books rather than from nature, copied and perpetuated the blunder; and, rather than contradict "the acute Pennant," took it for granted that V. murinus, the rarest of our English bats, is the commonest.

The pipistrelle is active and amusing in its motions; and, as it is less affected by the severity of the weather, and therefore appears earlier and retires later than other bats, it is very well known. On the wing, its flight is quick, capricious, and flitting; and it often hovers over the surface of pools in chase of the gnats which there abound. According to Geoffroy, the pipistrelle cannot rise from the ground, but requires a somewhat elevated place whence to begin its flight. We have, however, seen it crawl actively along the roof of a house where the inclination of the tiles was very slight, and rise on the wing without taking advantage of the opportunity afforded of launching itself into the air from the edge of the eaves. In climbing up and down

walls and church-towers, it makes great use of its hooked tail; a fact we have not observed of any other bat.

In confinement the pipistrelle does not become very tame, and sometimes attempts to bite. Mr. Daniell kept several in confinement, feeding them on flies and bits of raw meat. He writes: "On the approach of a fly within the range of the bat's wings, it was struck down by their action, the animal itself falling at the same moment with all its membranes expanded, and cowering over the prostrate fly with its head thrust under to secure its prey.' "This bat may be distinguished from the plecotus by its head being much more depressed in front, and very convex and large behind.

There are other bats which inhabit this country; but as they are rare, and only known to the professed naturalist, they are not so suitable for our brief memoir as the common species. All, however, are insectivorous; the large carnivorous species, the kalong and vampire, being confined to tropical countries. Perhaps these huge bats may be the origin of the myth of the Harpies, those strange foul birds of old Greek story. What more likely than that some grey old Phoenician, voyaging adventurously beyond Taprobane and farthest Ind, should have been plundered of his dinner on shore by some hungry bat, just as Eneas by the Harpies. We may be sure the tale would not lose by importation, and greater marvels have sprung from far more insignificant realities.

Woodhouse-Grove.

WORTH AT THE FORGE.

THE following inscription is from a tablet recently put up in Letheringsett churchyard, to the memory of Johnson

* The dentition of the pipistrelle differs from that of the plecotus: Incisors, canine,; false molars, 4; molars, 16. The length of the

=

body and head together is one inch and seven twelfthe, and the extent of wing eight inches and a quarter.

Jex, village blacksmith, whose career has been very remarkable:

Born in obscurity,

He passed his days at Letheringsett as

a Village Blacksmith.

By the force of an original and inventive genius,
Combined with indomitable perseverance,
He mastered some of the greatest difficulties of Science:
Advancing from the forge to the crucible,
And from the horseshoe to the chronometer;
Acquiring, by mental labour
And philosophic research,

A vast and varied amount of
Mechanical skill

And general knowledge.

He was a man of scrupulous integrity and moral worth;
But, regardless of wealth,

And insensible to the voice of fame,

He lived and died a scientific anchorite.

"There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the
Almighty giveth him understanding."

-Builder.

A SCENE IN THE LIFE OF POPE CLEMENT VII.

On the 6th of May, 1527, the imperial city of the west was destined to fall once more before the fierce assault of a northern foe. The soldiers of Bourbon were impatient for battle; and before the sun had dispersed the mists which veiled the illustrious capital, the scaling-ladders were planted, and the attack commenced. Bourbon himself was the first to mount the ladder, clothed in a white vesture, which made his tall, commanding figure a conspicuous mark. He quickly paid the penalty of his bravery or rashness. One of the first bullets fired by the citizens who guarded the walls pierced his side, and he was carried off lifeless to the camp. But his followers were only infuriated by the fall of their leader, and, rushing forward in crowds, soon captured the devoted city. A scene of carnage and robbery ensued which baffles description. The Pope, in an

agony of despair, shut himself up in the castle of St. Angelo, and helplessly waited the result.

The picture given us of the Pontiff during this contest is not very creditable either to his humanity or his profession of religion. He employed his favourite artist, Benvenuto Cellini, as engineer, in defending the castle against its assailants. Cellini himself expresses the disgust which he felt at his new occupation. Describing the deadly skill with which he succeeded in marking and slaughtering the enemy, he says, "My drawing, my elegant studies, and my taste for music, all vanished before this butchering business; and if I were to give a particular account of all the exploits I performed in this infernal employment, I should astonish the world." Yet Clement, the Vicar of Christ, the holy Father of the Church, would daily walk on the ramparts, and when he saw his cannon doing most execution, would give utterance to his delight in terms that it makes the mind shudder to reflect on. A wellaimed ball had cut a Spanish Colonel into two pieces; and on the Pope's expressing his admiration of the exploit, Cellini says, "Falling upon my knees, I entreated His Holiness to absolve me from the guilt of homicide, and likewise from other crimes which I had committed in the service of the Church." The Pope, lifting up his hands, and making the sign of the Cross over me, said, that he blessed me, and gave me his absolution for all the homicides that I had ever committed, or ever should commit, in the service of the Apostolic Church.-The Bulwark.

"LIBERTY AND POPERY."

IN the "Civiltà Cattolica," a journal written in true Jesuit spirit, and published in Rome, a challenge was lately given to Piemonte, to produce a journal which should be at the same time constitutional and Catholic (Roman). This is to say, that Catholicism and constitutionalism are two opposite extremes, which can never meet to form one element. Confirmation, if ever needed, has been quickly accorded to this sublime sentence, uttered by Jesuit wisdom in Rome; the Popish "Univers" of Paris solemnly de