country. The iguana attains a large size in Jamaica, whence the
present specimen was obtained, not unfrequently approaching four feet
in length. In colour it is a greenish grey. It is entirely herbivorous,
as are all its congeners. Its principal haunt in Jamaica is the low
limestone chain of hills, along the shore from Kingston Harbour and Goat
Island, on to its continuation in Vere.

[Illustration: THE IGUANA.]

The iguanas which are occasionally taken in the savannahs adjacent to
this district are considered by Mr. Hill (an energetic correspondent of
the Zoological Society who resides in Spanish Town, and who has paid
great attention to the natural history of the island) to be only stray
visitants which have wandered from the hills. The allied species of
_Cyclura_, which are found on the American continent, occur in
situations of a very different character, for they affect forests on the
bank of rivers, and woods around springs, where they pass their time in
trees and in the water, living on fruits and leaves. This habit is
preserved by the specimen in the Zoological Society's Gardens, which we
have seen lying lazily along an elevated branch. Its serrated tail is a
formidable weapon of defence, with which, when alarmed or attacked, it
deals rapid blows from side to side. When unmolested it is harmless and
inoffensive, and appears to live in perfect harmony with the smaller
species of lizards which inhabit the same division of the house.

* * * * *

HENRY IV.'S SOLILOQUY ON SLEEP.

How many thousands of my poorest subjects
Are at this hour asleep! O gentle Sleep,
Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,
That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down,
And steep my senses in forgetfulness;
Why rather, Sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs,
Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee,
And hush'd with buzzing night-flies to thy slumber,
Than in the perfumed chambers of the great,
Under the canopies of costly state,
And lull'd with sounds of sweetest melody?
O thou dull God! why liest thou with the vile
In loathsome beds, and leav'st the kingly couch,
A watch-case to a common larum-bell?
Wilt thou, upon the high and giddy mast,
Seal up the shipboy's eyes, and rock his brains
In cradle of the rude imperious surge;
And in the visitation of the winds,
Who take the ruffian billows by the top,
Curling their m