perhaps it is no evil at all, or only so for the moment. the drones, it is true, seem to have no fancy for being massacred; but we have no reason to suppose, that they, or any of the rest concerned in this extraordinary instinct, are aware of the matter beforehand; and the same is to be said of the combats between the queen-bees; they appear to be the result of an irresistible impulse, brought about, by the sudden pressure of a necessity. bees appear to be very happy, during far the greater portion of their existence. a modern writer, of whom it is to be lamented that a certain want of refinement stopped short his perceptions, and degraded his philosophy from the finally expedient into what was fugitively so, has a passage on this point, as agreeable as what he is speaking of. a bee among the flowers in spring, says dr. paley, is one of the cheerfullest objects that can be looked upon. its life appears to be all enjoyment, _so busy and so pleased_._abridged from the new monthly magazine_. the gatherer. _toast of a scotch peer_.lord k, dining at provost ss, and being the only peer present, one of the company gave a toast, the duke of buccleugh. so the peerage went round till it came to lord k, who said he would give them a peer, which, although not toasted, was of more use than the whole. his lordship gave the pier of leith._chamberss edin. jour._ caroline, queen of george ii. amused herself by reading butlers _analogy of religion to human nature_; a book which hoadley, bishop of winchester, said always gave him the head-ache, if he only looked into it. after george ii. had ceased to visit the theatres, macklins farce of _love a-la-mode_ having been acted with much applause, he sent for the manuscript, and had it read over to him by a sedate old hanoverian gentleman, who being but little acquainted with english, spent eleven weeks in puzzling out the authors meaning! _ships_.during the early part of the last century, as has been remarked, almost all the towns of england were on the water (in the navy.) of the few persons who have been so highly esteemed as to have their names given to men of war, are dr. franklin and joan of arc, who were thus honoured by the french. in the english navy, the ships the royal george have been singularly unfortunate. the great harry also was burnt in the reign of queen mary. _personal ornament_.the city of kano, the great emporium of the kingdom of houssa, in africa, is celebrated for the art of dyeing cotton cloth, which is afterwards beaten with wooden mallets until it acquires a japan gloss. the women dye their hair with indigo, and also their hands, feet, legs, and eyebrows. their legs and arms thus painted, look as if covered with dark blue gloves and boots. both men and women colour their teeth a blood-red, which is esteemed a great ornament. t. gill. _a manager._colley cibber gives the following spirited description of a famous theatrical manager in his day; that he was as sly a tyrant as ever was at the head of a theatre, for he gave the actors more liberty, and fewer days pay than any of his predecessors; he would laugh with them over a bottle, and trick them in their bargains; he kept them poor, that they might not be able to rebel; and sometimes merry, that they might not think of it _newtons weather wisdom_.sir isaac newton was once riding over salisbury plain, when a boy, keeping sheep, called to himsir, you had better make haste on, or you will get a wet jacket. newton looking round and observing neither clouds nor speck on the horizon, jogged on, taking very little notice of the rustics information. he had made but a few miles, when a storm suddenly arising, wetted him to the skin. surprised at the circumstance, and determined, if possible, to ascertain how an ignorant boy had attained a precision and knowledge in the weather, of which the wisest philosophers would be proud, he rode back, wet as he was. my lad, said newton, ill give thee a guinea if thou wilt tell me how thou canst foretell the weather so truly. will ye, sir? i will then, said the boy, scratching his head, and holding out his hand for the guinea. now, sir, having received the money, and pointing to his sheep, when you see that black ram turn his tail towards the wind, tis a sure sign of rain within an hour. what, exclaimed the philosopher, must i, in order to foretell the weather, stay here, and watch which way that black ram turns his tail? yes, sir, replied the boy. off rode newton, quite satisfied with his discovery, but not much inclined to avail himself of it, or to recommend it to others. w.g.c. _primitive lamp_.the inhabitants of the landes, in the south of france, being cut off from the rest of the world, have it not in their power, except when once or twice a year they travel to the nearest towns with their wool, to purchase candles; and as they have no notion how these can be made, they substitute in their place a lamp fed with the turpentine extracted from the fir-trees. the whole process is simple and primitive. to obtain the turpentine, they cut a hole in the tree, and fasten a dish in it to catch the sap as it oozes through, and as soon as the dish is filled, they put a wick of cotton into the midst of the liquor, and burn it as we do a lamp. w