THE PEACOCK.

THIS magnificent bird is not a native of England, though it has been domesticated among us for many years. It is uncertain at what time it was introduced into Europe; but some say Alexander brought it from India at the time he made an incursion into that country, three hundred years before Christ. This is disputed, and we think properly, too, as the name is mentioned familiarly in the Greek classics, before Alexander was born. The large and gorgeous years feathers that adorn the peacock are not its tail, but the tail-coverts. The tail-feathers are short and rigid, and serve to keep the beautiful train expanded, as may be seen when the bird puts on its majestic airs, and struts about the gentleman's lawn as if the world were its own.

Young persons, who generally like pretty things, when they meet with a feather of the peacock, bear it home in triumph, as if they had met with a treasure, and they show it to their fellows with a great deal of glee.

When this bird was first introduced into Europe, it excited much attention. At Athens, a price was put upon people for the privilege of seeing it; and the Greeks so much admired it that it was thought they would never be tired of looking at it. It is very common in parts of India. Colonel Williamson, in his account of peacock shooting, says that he had seen surprising quantities in the passes, in the Jungletery district. Whole woods were covered with their beautiful plumage, to which the rising sun imparted additional brilliancy. "I speak within bounds," says the Colonel, "when I assert that on one occasion I saw from twelve to fifteen hundred peacocks, of various sizes, within sight of the spot where I stood for near an hour."

It is said that their temper differs as much as that of human beings. Some hens have attacked the brood of

others and killed them; and some cocks have assisted the hen in the rearing of young ones, and others have treated them cruelly and have beaten them.

Its utility to man is not very great. It is true the beauty of its appearance is much admired by all who have gazed on it, but it has no beautiful song like the lark and some other feathered songsters. Indeed, its voice is harsh and disagreeable. The Italians say the peacock has the plumage of an angel, the voice of the devil, and the appetite of a thief. The flesh of the old ones is dry and leathery, but that of the young is juicy and sapid. In the times of chivalry, a roasted peacock, still clothed in its plumage, and with its train expanded, formed one of the chief ornaments of the regal board.

The peacock seeks its food upon the ground, but it generally roosts on something elevated, such as a high branch, the top of a barn, or a rick.

It is mentioned three times in the Scriptures, that is, 1 Kings x. 22; 2 Chron. ix. 21; Job xxxix. 13. In Kings and Chronicles, peacocks are mentioned among the commodities imported by Solomon from Tharshish. Some, however, think that the original word would be better rendered parrots; and in Job storks. P. P.

THOUGHTS FOR LITTLE MINDS.

ON SEALS.

A SEAL is a small well-knɔwn instrument, wherewith letters or other writings are sealed or ratified, made of metal or stone, with a device engraved on it. These devices are very varied, according to the taste of the owner, or the use to which the seal is to be applied. The onyx is a favourite gem for seals, but the most in repute at the present time is the cairn-gorum, a stone obtained from a

mountain of that name, in the county of Aberdeen, Scotland. If of a good colour the cairn-gorum commands a great price. The seal-manual of a king or queen is generally called a signet; also the private seals of those moving in the higher circles of society. In our day, the seal is frequently set in a ring for the finger, or attached to the watch-guard; but the ancient Hebrews wore them either on their fingers as rings, or on their arms as bracelets. Many specimens are to be seen in the British Museum. The seal has been in use for many thousands of years, even in Patriarchal times. This is unquestioned, as well as their high antiquity. They are dug up very frequently in Persia, Babylonia, Syria, Phonecia, and Egypt. Some seals have even been found on the plain of Marathon, in Greece, bearing Persian inscriptions. Sir W. Ousely conjectures from this fact that these seals belonged to the Persians who invaded Greece, and who were slain at that memorable battle, and he considers it a fact of considerable importance in establishing the antiquity of the seal.

The first mention of the seal in Holy Writ is recorded in Gen. xxxviii.; but the first use of it was on the occasion of the investiture of Joseph to the high office of Prime Minister to the King of Egypt (Gen. xli. 42), 1715 years B.C. A similar manner of proceeding was not unknown even in Europe, during the middle ages. Doubtless this was the signet or seal-manual of King Pharoah, and gave validity to the authority with which Joseph was delegated at that time. In a similar manner Ahasuerus, King of Persia, gave his seal, or signet, to his two successive ministers, Haman and Mordecai. How different the men?

Reference is frequently made to seals throughout the Pentateuch, particularly in regard to the engraved stones used in the paraphernalia, or robes of the High Priest. (Exodus xxviii. 29.) From that time until the reign of Ahab no mention is made of them. Jezebel used Ahab's seal when she wrote letters to the elders of Israel to condemn Naboth, because he would not sell his vineyard to

the king, it being an inheritance derived from his father. Read 1 Kings, xxi. 8. How cruel!

In ancient days, in the making of civil contracts, they generally made two originals; one continued open, and was kept by him for whom the contract was made. The other, or duplicate, was sealed up and deposited in some public place. This fact is illustrated by the account in Jer. xxxii. Jeremiah purchased a field from Hazaneel, son of Shallum, in the country of Anathoth in Benjamin. Jeremiah wrote out the contract, called the witnesses, and sealed it up. He then put it into the hands of Baruch, his friend and disciple, saying unto him from the Lord, "Take these evidences, the evidence of the purchase, both of which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days." Baruch was to preserve these evidences as tokens of the people's return from captivity.

Seals are mentioned also in the Song of Solomon, by the prophets Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Haggai, and by Nehemiah. These frequent allusions to seals, and expressions of sealing, must be explained in reference to the customs of those days and countries. The process of sealing is also spoken of throughout the New Testament; by Paul through many of his Epistles, and by John in the Book of Revelation. But the actual employment of a seal is only once recorded. This is in connection with the stone which closed the sepulchre of our Lord, and was sealed to make the grave more secure. How ineffectual the means employed! At the appointed moment the seal was broken, the stone removed, and our Saviour burst all the shackles of death. Jesus burst every chain fallen depraved humanity and devilish cunning could devise to keep him entombed, and if we trust him he will for us

"Break every chain,

And give us the victory again and again."

John, in his gospel, says, that he who receives the testi