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Elizabeth Barrett Browning

An Affectionate Goose.

N intelligent gentleman, residing in Mobile, relates this curious incident: A short time since I had occasion to visit Montgomery, and on my return by the steamer, and when opposite Selma, a boat came off to us with pas. sengers. At this moment my attention was drawn to a goose, which was braving the swell, and following the boat; and I was told that this bird was picked up on the shore by the owner of the boat, some years shire, a most observant naturalist. Few things escaped his eye; and at his death he left a very interesting collection of objects of natural history, which are now in the possession of his widow, and which, it is to be hoped, will some day find their way into a museum worthy of them. He had also several living pets, for which he always evinced much regard. Amongst these were two geese, a mother and daughter, and their little history is worth recording.

The mother, it is well ascertained, is now thirty-five years old, and her daughter thirty-two. By some accident, the daughter, when very young, lost her foot, so that she is obliged to hobble about on a stump. The mother's care of her daughter, under this circumstance, is not only extraordinary, but interesting. They roost close together, side by side; if the latter strays into a lane, or any place where she is likely to be harassed, the old goose utters a cry which is well understood, and her offspring immediately joins her. They are both of them still alive, and as some geese have been known to attain the age of one hundred years (like the raven), we trust that the loving geese we have referred to may continue for many years to enjoy each other's company, and the youngest the protection of her affectionate mother.

The Great Earthquake in South America.

T ILL the earthquake of August, 1868, that of Lisbon, more than a century ago, had been the most fatal event of the kind recorded in the annals of mankind.

By this great and unexpected disaster several cities were totally destroyed. The total loss of life was enormous, some accounts rating it as over 80,000; this, however, can never be correctly ascertained.