THE WISCONSIN FARMER.



large enough for our purpose. As soon as he
found there was no esd to the other end of the
bacon he had swallowed, his sharkship began
to dash about and flounder, until the sea was
all in a foam on that side of the ship.



  Haul away! my brave tars. and all ye ex-
cited, half-frightened passengers! Pull away,
for there's a load with a will at the other end.
Be ready, too, with the axes and long-handled
knives, or we are all gone in a minute! There
he comes   rolling his terrible goggle eyes,
gnashing the chain, and looking like a demon
of vengeance!  But why de the crew at the
rope all suddenly fall backward?  The rope
has broken, and that's the matter! Sharkie
is again in the deep, pork, hook, chain and all!
A general exclamation of -Oh psbaw! * and
the sport is over.  Henceforth that shark will
undoubtedly plow the brine on hid own kook!

  TItE lDAYS OF TIHE WEEK.-The division of
time into periods of seven days each was in use
among the ancient Egyptians and Hebrews,
and is borrowed by the latter from the Mosaic
account of creation. If according to some
modern philosophers, that account is of uncer-
tain origin, a mere oriental myth. then every
successive week as it comes is an unexplained
phenomenon. Both Christians and Mohamme-
dans adopted this division from the Hebrews;
the Greeks and Romans received it with the
introduction of Christianity after the reign of
Theodosits. The names of the successive
days were those of the seven heavenly bodies
with which the old Egyptian astronomers were
most familiar; the sun, the moon, and five
planets, which, however, they did not name as
we do in order of their nearness to the sun,
but successively as Mars, Mercury, Jupiter,
Venus and Saturn. This institution of the
week, though originating in the Old Testa-
ment and propagated in the New, spread much
further and faster than the truths on which it
was built; the Roman names of the planets
and of the days over which they presided were
those of their own divinities. and the Tenton-
ic nations from which we descend, while they
retained the sun and the moon, substituted,
for the other five days. the corresponding
names of their own mythology. Hence, our
English week is an early Jewish institution
with Pagan names; the sun's day, the moon's
day, Taisee's day, Woden's day, Thor's day,
Friga's day, Seater's day. It is remarkable
that the week is recognized by the Brahminic
astronomers, the days being named from the
same planets and in the same order as that of
the Egyptians, but beginning with Friday. or
the daty of Venus. The Egyptian week began
on Saturday. The people of ChinaandThibet



have a week of five days, named from what
they consider the five elements, iron, wood,
water, feathers and earth.

            The Spider's Industry.
  A room in a house of one of the principal
ecclesiastics in Oporto was set apart for the re-
ception of a quantity of maize, or Indian
corn, which had been threshed out. It is well
known that each of these grains of wheat
must be, at least, as heavy as three or four
grains of our common wheat. On visiting
this room one day, its owner perceived a grain
of the maize suspended from the ceiling of the
room by a single thread thrown out by a spi-
der, and which was, from time to time, gradu-
ally but slowly drawn upwards. Surprised at
this very unusual sight, be invited several per-
sons to witness it, and amongst o hersimy three
informants. What the m1.tives of the spider
were, in endeavoring to secure this heavy
grain of wheat, and draw it up to its nest on
the ceiling, I will not attempt to account for,
as it is so contrary to the usual habits of these
interesting insects; but it is a curious fact,
that a single thread thrown out from the body
of a spider should be able to bear the weight
it did.-E. Jesse, in Once a Wreek.



WAR MISCELLANY.

       The Charge of Kurat at Eylau.
  It is at Eylau, says the historian, that Mu-
rat always appeat s in his most terrible aspect.
This battle, fought in mid-winter, in 1807, was
the most important and bloody one that had
then occurred. France and Russia had never
before opposed such strength to each other,
and a complete victory on either side would
have settled the fate of Europe; Bonaparte
remained in possession of the field, and that
was all; no victory was ever so like a defeat.
  The field of Eylau was covered with snow.



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