Among the remains of Aztec pottery, preserved in the Museum at Mexico, there are vessels in imitation of fruits. Others, however, are in the form of shells, a natural device for people living between two oceans.
There is a design of art very common among us to-day, which carries one far back into the forests of primeval ages, when hunters were heroes. Look at the tea-table beside you: if it be one of neat workmanship, you will probably find that the legs are carved in imitation of the claw of a lion, a device so common for such purposes, that a village workman will offer to cut it for you in the black walnut, or bird's-eye maple, or mahogany, of a continent where no lion has ever been found! When first carved, in Egypt, or Asia, or Greece, it probably recalled some signal contest within the bounds of the primeval forest, between the fiercest of savage animals and some local Hercules. From the dignity of the animal, and the renown of the hunter, the device was preserved; and it has been handed down by the most polished artists of successive ages, until it has reached our own Western World. It is very often found carved in marble, or moulded in bronze, and generally, the acanthus leaf makes part of the design.
Saturday, 17th.—Bright, clear sunshine. Thermometer 4° below zero at sunrise.
Sunday, 18th.—Cold and bright day. Thermometer 2° below zero at sunrise.
Monday, 19th.—Very cold; bright weather; thermometer 12° below zero at seven o'clock. We have had a week of severe weather; generally, the extreme cold does not last longer than three days at one time. There is a white frost, however, this morning on the trees: the forerunner of a thaw. Walked, as usual, though not far; in such weather one dues not care to be
