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But even this did not kill him, although it is probable that it lessened his vigor, for he soon began to stagger, and the sailors, falling upon him with their swords, were able to put him to death, and to rescue the remains of their comrades.

After these stories, I think that we will all agree that when we meet a procession of bears, be they black, white, or grizzly, we will be very wise to give them the right of way, and to endeavor to drive from our minds, as far as possible, such ideas of the animals as we may have derived from those individuals which we have seen in rural menageries, nimbly climbing poles, or sedately drinking soda-water.

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AN OLD COUNTRY-HOUSE.

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Here is a picture of a handsome summer residence.  It apparently belongs to a rich man, and a man of taste.  The house is large and commodious; the grounds are well laid out; there is a garden, evidently a fine one, close at hand; there is shade, water, fruit, flowers, and apparently everything that a country-house ought to have.

But yet there is a certain something strange and unusual about it.

There are handsome porticos, but they are differently arranged from those to which we have been accustomed.  Such as those in front we have often seen; but the upper one, which appears to go nearly around the house, with short pillars on the sides, is different from anything that we see in our country neighborhoods.  Those long pillars at the rear of the house seem very peculiar.  We have never noticed anything like them in such positions.  There seems to be scarcely any portico at the back, and those slim pillars are certainly useless, and, to our eyes, not very ornamental.  The windows, too, are remarkable.  They are not only very small, but they are wider at the bottom than the top—­a strange idea of the architect to make them in that way.  The upper story of the house does not appear to have any windows at all, but we suppose that they must be in the back and front, or the artist may have accidentally left them out.  Even if that floor was used for lumber-rooms, there ought to be windows.

The garden has a very high wall for a private estate.  It is evident that there must be great fear of thieves in that neighborhood.

But it is no wonder that some things about this house and its grounds strike us as peculiar, for it was built more than three thousand years ago.

It was the country residence of an Egyptian gentleman, and was, no doubt, replete with all the modern conveniences of the period.  Even in the present day he might consider himself a very fortunate man who had so good a house and grounds as these.  If the windows were made a little larger, a few changes effected in the interior of the establishment, and some chimneys and fire-places built, none of our rich men need be ashamed of such a house.