the garden at the back of it was a true labyrinth of sweets; and an orchard on one side of it, and a wood of firtrees beyond the wall, shielded the shrubs which grew therein from the wild seablasts.milicent was delighted for to show me every part of this her home.the bettering of her fortunes had not wrought any change in the gentle humility of this young lady.the attractive sweetness of her manner was the same, albeit mistress of a house of her own.she set no greater store on herself than she had done at the charterhouse, and paid her husband as much respect and timid obedience as she had ever done her mistress.verily, in his presence i soon perceived she scarce held her soul to be her own; but studied his looks with so much diligence, and framed each word she uttered to his liking with so much {56} ingenuity, that i marvelled at the wit she showed therein, which was not very apparent in other ways.he was a tall man, of haughty carriage and wellproportioned features.his eyes were large and gray; his nose of a hawkish shape; his lips very thin.i never in any face did notice the signs of so set a purpose or such unyielding lineaments as in this gentleman.milicent told me he was pious, liberal, an active magistrate, and an exceeding obliging and indulgent husband; but methought her testimony on this score carried no great weight with it, for that her meekness would read the most ordinary kindnesses as rare instances of goodness.she seemed very contented with her lot; and i heard from lady surreys waitingmaid (which she had sent with me from kenninghall) that all the servants in her house esteemed her to be a most virtuous and patient lady; and so charitable, that all who knew her experience her bounty.on the next day she showed me her garden, her dairy, poultryyard, and storeroom; and also the closet where she kept the salves and ointments for the dressing of wounds, which she said she was every morning employed in for several hours.i said, if she would permit me, i would try to learn this art under her direction, for that nothing could be thought of more useful for such as lived in the country, where such assistance was often needed.then she asked me if i was like to live in the country, which, from my words, she hoped should be the case; and i told her, if it pleased god, in one year i would be married to mr.rookwood, of euston hall; which she was greatly rejoiced to learn.then, as we walked under the trees, talk ensued between us touching former days at the charterhouse; and when the sun was setting amidst gold and purple clouds, and the wind blew freshly from the sea, whilst the barking of sir hammonds dogs, and the report of his gun as he discharged it behind the house, minded me more than ever of old country scenes in past time, my thoughts drew also future pictures of what mine own home should be, and the joy with which i should meet basil, when he returned from the fieldsports in which he did so much delight.and a year seemed a long time to wait for so much happiness as i foresaw should be ours when we were once married.if lady lestrange is so contented, i thought, whose husband is somewhat churlish and stem, if his countenance and the reports of his neighbors are to be credited, how much enjoyment in her home shall be the portion of my dear basils wife! than which a more sweettempered gentleman cannot be seen, nor one endued with more admirable qualities of all sorts, not to speak of youth and beauty, which are perishable advantages, but not without attractiveness.mrs.lestrange, an unmarried sister of sir hammond, lived in the house, and some neighbors which had been shooting with him came to supper.the table was set with an abundance of good cheer; and milicent sat at the head of it, and used a sweet cordiality toward all her guests, so that every one should seem welcome to her hospitality; but i detected looks of apprehension in her face, coupled with hasty glances toward her husband, if any one did bring forward subjects of discourse which sir hammond had not first broached, or did appear in any way to differ with him in what he himself advanced.once when lord burleigh was mentioned, one of the gentleman said somewhat in disparagement of this nobleman, as if he should have been to blame in some of his dealings with the parliament, which brought a dark cloud on sir hammonds brow.upon which milicent, the color coming into her cheeks, and her voice trembling a little, as she seemed to cast about her for some subject which should turn the current of this talk, began to tell what a store of patients she had {57} seen that day, and to describe them, as if seeking to stop the mouths of the disputants.one, quoth she, hath been three times to me this week to have his hands dressed, and i be verily in doubt what his station should be.he hath a notable appearance of good breeding, albeit but poorly apparelled, and his behavior and discourse should show him to be a gentleman.the wounds of his hands were so grievously galled for want of proper dressing, when he first came, i feared they should mortify, and the curing of them to exceed my poor skill.the skin was rubbed off the whole palms, as if scraped off by handling of ropes.a more courageous patient could not be met with.methought the dressing should have been very painful, but he never so much as once did wince under it.he is somewhat reserved in giving an account of the manner in which he came by those wounds, and answered jestingly when i inquired thereof.but tomorrow i will hear more on it, for i charged him to come for one more dressing of his poor hands.where doth this fellow lodge? sir hammond asked across the table in a quick eager manner.at master rugeleys house, i have heard, quoth his wife.then his fist fell on the table so that it shook.a lewd recusant, by god! he cried.ill be sworn this is the popish priest escaped out of wisbeach, for whom i have this day received orders to make diligent search.ah, ah! my lady hath trapped the jesuit fox.i looked at milicent, and she at me.o my god, what looks those were! [to be continued.] from the popular science review.migrations of european birds.the migrations of animalsespecially those of the feathered tribeconstitute one of the most interesting and improving studies that the admirer of nature can pursue.when naturalists were less conversant with the movements of birds of passage, and knew little of their habits and haunts, it used to be a favorite mode of accounting for the regular disappearance of many species by attributing to them what is the case with certain animals, namely, a torpid condition during winter.it was affirmed that certain birds spent the cold months at the bottom of lakes, and gravely asserted by an authority of the last century that swallows sometimes assemble in numbers, clinging to a reed till it breaks and sinks with them to the bottom; that their immersion is preceded by a song or dirge, which lasts more than a quarter of an hour; that sometimes they lay hold of a straw with their bills, and plunge down in society; and that others form a large mass by clinging together by the feet, and in this manner commit themselves to the deep.irrespective of the ridiculous absurdity of such assertions, and their want of corroborative evidence, we have the recorded opinions of john hunter and professor owen as to the incompatibility of a birds organism for such a mode of existence.in all probability, the statement may have in part arisen from the wellknown circumstance that many birds of passage tarry in their summer retreats until caught by the cold of winter, when individuals may be found benumbed and senseless; {58} this is a common occurrence, even with the swallows and other birds of northern india, where in the cold months the temperature during night falls often to freezing, whilst at midday it may range as high as 80° fahr.in the shade.i have also seen the green beeeater and small warblers so mach affected by a temperature of 40° on the banks of the nile in nubia as to be scarcely able to fly from twig to twig.the effects of severe winters on many of our indigenous as well as migratory birds have been frequently exemplified by the numbers found dead in sheltered situations, and especially if the cold sets in early, when comparatively few birds of passage escape; for instance, the corncrake has been found in britain during the winter months; we know of one individual that was picked up on christmasday, crouching among furze bushes, almost insensible from cold.the winter homes of european birds of passage comprehend southern europe, lower egypt, and the countries that lie between the desert and southern shores of the mediterranean, including the elevated lands of tunis, algeria, and morocco, which, although differing in physical features and, in some respects, in climate, are, strictly speaking, but an extension of europe, for their flora and fauna are european