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Parental Affection.

HE white bear of Greenland and Spitzbergen is confiderably larger than the brown bear of Europe, or the black bear of North America. This animal lives upon fish and seals, and is not only feen upon land in the countries bordering upon the North-Pole, but often on floats of ice, feveral leagues at fea. The following relation is extracted from the " Journal of a Voyage, for making Difcoveries towards the North-Pole."

Early in the morning, the man at the maft-head gave notice that three bears were making their way very faft over the ice, and that they were directing their course towards the fhip. They had, without question, been invited by the scent of the blubber of a fea-horse, killed a few days before, which the men had set on fire, and which was burning on the ice at the time of their approach. They proved to be a fhe-bear and her two cubs; but the cubs were nearly as large as the dam. They ran eagerly to the fire, and drew out from the flames. part of the flesh of the fea-horse that remained unconfumed, and ate it voraciously. The crew from the fhip threw great lumps of the flesh of the fea-horse, which they had ftill left, upon the ice, which the old bear fetched away fingly, laid every lump before her cubs as the brought it, and, dividing it, gave each a fhare, referving but a fmall portion to herself. As fhe was fetching away the laft piece, they levelled their muskets at the cubs, and shot them both dead; and in her retreat they wounded the dam, but not mortally. It would have drawn tears of pity from any but unfeeling minds, to have marked the affectionate concern expreffed by this poor beaft, in the laft moments of her expiring young. Though the was forely wounded, and could but just crawl to the place where they lay, the carried the lump of flefh fhe had taken away, as the

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had done others before, tore it in pieces, and laid it down before them; and when she saw that they refused to eat, fhe laid her paws firft upon one, and then upon the other, and endeavoured to raise them up: all this while it was pitiful to hear her moan. When the

found she could not stir them, fhe went off, and when fhe had gotten at some distance, looked back and moan→ ed; and that not availing her to entice them away, fhe returned, and smelling round them, began to lick their wounds. She went off a second time, as before; and having crawled a few paces, looked again behind her, and for fome time ftood moaning. But ftill her cubs not rifing to follow her, fhe returned to them again, and, with figns of inexpreffible fondness, went round one, and round the other, pawing them and moaning. Finding at last that they were cold and lifelefs, the raised her head towards the fhip, and groaned a curfe upon the murderers; which they returned with a volley of musket balls. She fell between her cubs, and died, licking their wounds.

Can you admire the maternal affection of the bear, and not feel in your heart the warmest emotions of gratitude for the stronger and more permanent tenderness you have fo long experienced from your parents?

The

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The Mountain of Calamity.

BOUT a month ago, in returning from a fox-chace on Nimrod, a rolling ftone threw him down, and falling with my right leg under him, fo bruised my knee, that I have never fince been able to fet my foot to the ground; when the accident first happened, I was dejected beyond measure, not fo much from the actual pain I fuffered, as from the horrors of being confined many weeks during the beft feafon for hunting. I am now almost free from pain; but the limb is fo weak, that I am ftill confined, and have had, for the last fortnight past, full leisure to reflect on my various fenfations during my imprisonment.

You can hardly conceive, Sir, the prodigious revolution which has taken place in my mind. Many things now delight which formerly afforded no fatisfaction, and I look with indifference on pursuits, which before appeared to me the moft engaging.

I have lately had recourfe to reading, which had previously afforded me little amufement, and was confequently little purfued. Yefterday evening, after reading the Spectator, where he compares "the evils of "this life to rocks and precipices, which appear rugged ❝ and barren at a distance, but, at our nearer approach, "we find little fruitful' fpots and refreshing springs, "mixed with the harshness and deformities of nature.'

With my mind engaged in this contemplation, I went to reft, when the following dream produced fuch vivid imagery to my fancy, that I almost doubt whether I was afleep, or only mufing and commenting on the metaphor. I conceived myfelf transported to a delightful country, beautifully variegated with gentle hills and vales, with woods and plains and cultivated fields, which were for ever changing as I paffed on; for Time, who was my conductor, never would give me leave to stop a minute in a place, except when sleep made me infenexceps 2

fible

fible of his progreffive motion: For then he would gently carry me in his arms to fome fpot which commanded nearly the fame profpect with that where wearinefs had overtaken me; but I would not have you fancy my conductor was an old man with a scythe and an hour-glafs, as he is generally represented; no, he was continually changing fhapes; when I first met him, he was a healthy, playful boy; he taught me many a puerile game, and cheered my firft fteps with paftimes and delights; we danced rather than walked the beginning of our journey, for all was fport and feftive innocence; at length he led me by the hand through Academic Groves, where every ftep we took enlarged my profpects, and increased my fatisfaction in his company. I had only one caufe of discontent, and that was, as I before hinted, that he never would permit me to ftop a minute in a place, or go back to view the scenes which had given me the greatest pleasure; indeed he would fometimes give a reason for his non-compliance, by telling me, "that the delight of every fcene confifted "chiefly in its novelty;" and he would sometimes fhew me the picture of the places I had vifited, reflected in the Mirror of Experience, which confirmed the truth of what he said. On my departure from the Academic Grove, I was ftruck with the appearance of a vast extensive plain, a fort of heath or common, interfected by many roads, but which all feemed to tend towards an object I had never before beheld; it was a distant mountain, whofe bleak and barren afpect at once convinced me that it was the Mountain of Calamity; I fhrunk from the fight, and would have gladly turned back into the Grove, or at least wifhed to ftop, and refolve which of the roads it were most adviseable to take; but my conductor hurried me on, bidding me not direct my eyes to painful objects at a distance, but look about me; I did fo, and was again delighted with the profpect near at hand; the ground was enamelled with a thousand flowers, that fhed their fweets as we paffed by; I faw before me at a little diftance the moft de

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lightful objects, through which the feveral roads feemed to take their refpective courses; one led thro' a city, whofe palaces glittered with riches, the effect of trade; another led to a fplendid Fane, dedicated to Naval and Military Honours; another to a facred Grove, where Holy Contemplation feemed to enfure peace and happinefs; and others ftill thro' various and interesting fcenes; each was furrounded with enchanting profpects, but each was more or less exposed to a view of the diftant Mountain; and I observed, that, in proportion as the inhabitants of these several places ftruggled to afcend to the highest spots of their fituation, they had a more diftinct view of the Mountain which all wished to fhun: Struck with this reflection, I chose a road different from any I have mentioned, and paffed through villages and pleafant farms, where unexpected scenery on every fide delighted me; I could often view detached parts of all the other roads, and fometimes travelled a few miles in each; but though my prospects on each fide were ever varying, and always pleafant, yet I could not avoid a fight of the fearful Mountain, and this, as I approached it nearer, feemed to rob the furrounding landscapes of their charms, and, by degrees, I found my fpirits finking, and became difgufted with my journey. Sometimes my conductor would bid me take courage, and enjoy with him the nearer profpects, or look back on the country we had paffed; there I faw fome hills which I had climbed with ease, and some which I had avoided without knowing how: I was often pleased to fee torrents which I had paffed without danger, and fometimes vexed to perceive objects that I had miffed, and to which now there was no going back; by thus looking round occafionally, I infenfibly preffed forward till I was fo near the Mountain, that it seemed impossible to remove it from my eyes; but how was I overwhelmed with despair at the horrors of my way, when, on a fudden, a few steps farther prefented the full profpect of the River of Death, which swept away thoufands in their paffage to the Mountain! Nay, I faw some

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