ety, should have sunk into
an early grave?--or if one among their children should have died?--or
if the three should all have been swept away? The approaching sail had
been seen; and the one who for years had clung to a forlorn-hope, was
again at the water's edge. Alexis stood on the deck. Affection is
quick-sighted; he was instantly seen and known by his wife! All was
forgotten--all but that he was there. The distance between them, the
waves that separated them, were unheeded! Uttering a wild cry of joy,
she rushed forward to clasp him in her arms. She sprang into the
water--a little time, and she was extricated. She was insensible when
taken up. When she came to herself, she was in her husband's
arms!--their children were about them! What tears of joy were
shed!--what prayers of thankfulness were offered up!

The foregoing narrative, true in every respect, is drawn up by us from
documents issued under the authority of the Russian government. It
shews, in a convincing manner, that subsistence is by no means
impossible for sailors wrecked and icebound within the polar regions.

WILD ANIMALS IN CONFINEMENT.

Were it not that custom reconciles us to everything, a Christian
community would surely be shocked by the report, and still more by the
sight, of the sacrifice of innocent and helpless creatures--pigeons
and rabbits, for instance--to the horrible instincts of snakes, who
will not eat anything but what is alive. An account was recently given
of a night-visit to the place of confinement of these disgusting
reptiles, in which the evident horror of their intended victims,
confined in the same cages, was distinctly mentioned. The
gratification of mere curiosity does not justify the infliction of
such torture on the lower animals. Surely the sight of a stuffed
boa-constrictor ought to content a reasonable curiosity. Imagine what
would be felt if a child were subjected to such a fate, or what could
be answered if the present victims could tell their agonies as well as
feel them! Byron speaks of the barbarians who, in the wantonness of
power, were 'butchered to make a Roman holiday;' and verily the
horrors exhibited in our public gardens and menageries are something
akin to the fights of gladiators; it is the infliction of misery for
mere sport. With reference also to lions, tigers, and other ferocious
animals kept in cages--if retained at all, the space allotted them
ought to be much larger than it is, so as to a