two brothers separated no more; and, thanks to the _receipt for
preparing_ _Sherbet_, they lived long together amidst the pleasures
that wealth commands, and the still more true and solid happiness
procured by peace and friendship.

* * * * *

THE NATURALIST.

BOTANY OF SHAKSPEARE.

At a recent meeting of the Medico-Botanical Society, a very interesting
dissertation on the medicinal plants which occur in the plays of
Shakspeare, from the pen of Mr. Rootsay, of Bristol, was read, and
excited considerable attention. The hebenon henbane alluded to in
_Hamlet_, the mandragora, the various plants so beautifully alluded to
in _Romeo and Juliet_, and in other dramas, were the subject of the
inquiry, and much classical information was displayed by the ingenious
author in the illustration of the subject. We hope to report more
respecting this very interesting paper to our readers.

* * * * *

THE CUTTLE-FISH.

The following account of the _sepia media_, a small species of
cuttle-fish, is given by Mr. Donovan, in his "Excursion through South
Wales:"--"When first caught, the eyes, which are large and prominent,
glistened with the lustre of the pearl, or rather of the emerald, whose
luminous transparency they seemed to emulate. The pupil is a fine black,
and above each eye is a semilunar mark of the richest garnet. The body,
nearly transparent, or of a pellucid green, is glossed with all the
variety of prismatic tints, and thickly dotted with brown. At almost
every effort of respiration, the little creature tossed its arms in
apparent agony, and clung more firmly to the finger; while the
dark-brown spots upon the body alternately faded and revived,
diminishing in size till they were scarcely perceptible, and then
appearing again as large as peas, crowding, and becoming confluent
nearly all over the body. At length, the animal being detained too long
from its native element, became enfeebled, the colours faded, the spots
decreased in size, and all its pristine beauty vanished with the last
gasp of life."

W.G.C.

* * * * *

THE OSTRICH.

The Ostriches in the Gardens of the Zoological Society would be truly a
noble pair, were it not for an unnatural curve in the neck of the male,
in consequence, it is said, of its having formerly swallowed something
more than usually bulky and hard of digestion.