A covey of patridges, A nide of pheasants, A wisp of snipe, A flight of doves or swallows, A muster of peacocks, A siege of herons, A building of rooks, A brood of grouse, A plump of wild fowl, A stand of plovers, A watch of nightingales, A clattering of choughs, A flock of geese, A herd or bunch of cattle, A bevy of quails, A cast of hawks, A trip of dottrell, A swarm of bees, A school of whales, A shoal of herrings, A herd of swine, A skulk of foxes, A pack of wolves, A drove of oxen, A sounder of hogs, A troop of monkeys, A pride of lions, A sleuth of bears, A gang of elk.

THE BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.—­The monument is a square shaft, built of Quincy granite, 221 feet high, 31 feet square at the base and 15 at the top.  Its foundations are inclosed 12 feet under ground.  Inside the shaft is a round, hollow cone, 7 feet wide at the bottom and 4 feet 2 inches at the top, encircled by a winding staircase of 224 stone steps, which leads to a chamber immediately under the apex, 11 feet in diameter.  The chamber has four windows, which afford a wide view of the surrounding country, and contains two cannons, named respectively Hancock and Adams, which were used in many engagements during the war.  The corner-stone of the monument was laid on the fiftieth anniversary of the battle, June 17, 1825, by Lafayette, who was then visiting America, when Webster pronounced the oration.  The monument was completed, and June 17, 1843, was dedicated, Webster again delivering the oration.

THE SEVEN WISE MEN OF GREECE.—­The names generally given are Solon, Chilo, Pittacus, Bias, Periander (in place of whom some give Epimenides), Cleobulus, and Thales.  They were the authors of the celebrated mottoes inscribed in later days in the Delphian Temple.  These mottoes were as follows: 

“Know thyself.”—­Solon.

“Consider the end.”—­Chilo.

“Know thy opportunity.”—­Pittacus.

“Most men are bad.”—­Bias.

“Nothing is impossible to industry.”—­Periander.

“Avoid excesses.”—­Cleobulus.

“Suretyship is the precursor of ruin.”—­Thales.

FIRST STEAMBOAT ON THE MISSISSIPPI.—­Nicholas J. Roosevelt was the first to take a steamboat down the great river.  His boat was built at Pittsburgh, in the year 1811, under an arrangement with Fulton and Livingston, from Fulton’s plans.  It was called the “New Orleans,” was about 200 tons burden, and was propelled by a stern-wheel, assisted, when the wind was favorable, by sails carried on two masts.  The hull was 138 feet long, 30 feet beam, and the cost of the whole, including engines, was about $40,000.  The builder, with his family, an engineer, a pilot, and six “deck hands,” left Pittsburgh in October, 1811, reaching Louisville in about seventy hours (steaming about ten miles an hour), and New Orleans in fourteen days, steaming from Natchez.