The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-05 00:00:00

I side, while the dog would enter the covert and drive out the
`hares from their concealment, taking care to send them in
the direction of the watchful bird. On his part the raven
always posted himself close to one of the outlets, and as
soon as any living• creature passed within reach, he would
pounce upon it, and either destroy it at once or wait until the
) dog came to his assistance, when by their united efforts the
prey was soon killed. Rat• hunting was a favourite sport
of these strange allies, and it was said by those who wit-
nessed the proceedings, that the raven was even more useful
than a ferret wouli have been.
"Another and a very amusing anecdote of the Raven
and its cunning, is related by Capt. M'Clure, the well-
known Arctic voyager. Speaking of the behaviour of
various birds and beasts during the winter, he remarks that
the raven is the hardiest of the feathered tribe, and even in
the depths of winter, when wine freezes within a yard of
the fire, the raven may be seen winging his way through
the icy atmosphere and uttering his strange rough, croak-
ing cry, as unconcernedly as if the weather were soft and
warm as an English spring. ' Two ravens,' he observes,
' once established themselves as friends of the family in
Mercer Bay, living mainly by what little scraps the men
might have thrown away after meal times.
" The ship's dog, however, looked on them as his espe-
cial perquisites, and exhibited considerable energy in main'
taining his rights against the ravens, who nevertheless out-
witted him in a way which amused every one. Observing
that he appeared quite willing to make a mouthful of their
own sable persons, they used to throw themselves inten-
tionally in his way just as the mess tins were being cleared
out on the dust heap outside the ship. The dog would
immediately run at them, and they would jul4
fly a few yards; the dog then made another runt
and again they would appear to escape him but
by an inch, and so on until they had tempted and provoked
him to the shore a considerable distance off. Then the
ravens would make a direct flight for the ship, and had
generally done good execution before the mortified-looking
dog detected the imposition that had been practiced upon
him, and rushed back again."

Orley Farm. By Anthony Trollope.
Part No. 1 introduced us to the dramaftsperson*
Part No. 2, develops the working of the plot—how
through the ill-will of a country attorney, the great
Orley Farm case was revived, after smouldering
though not extinguished for more than twenty
years. Mr. Anthony Trollope is as clever as avid
in depicting characters, and in Mrs. Mason he has
depicted an individual existing, alas, in many
families, but seldom selected by writers of fiction
" I have already hinted that Mrs. Mason was not a de-
lightful woman. She had been a beauty, and still amagined
that she had not lost all pretension to be so considered.
She spent, therefore, a considerable portion of her day in,
her dressing• room, spent a great deal of money for clothes,
and gave herself sundry airs. She was a little woman with
large eyes, and regular eyelashes, with a straight nose, and
thin lips and regular teeth. Her face was oval, and her
hair was brown. It had at least once peen all trewn, and
that which was now seen was brown also. But, neverthe—
less, although she was possessed of all these charms, you
might look at her for ten days together, and on the
eleventh you would not know her if you met her in the
streets.

" But the appearance of Mrs. Mason was not her forte.
She had been a beauty; but if it had been her lot to be
known in history, it was not as a beauty that she would
have been famous. Parsimony was her great virtue, and
a power of saving her strong point. I have said that she
spent much money in dress, and some people will perhaps
think that the two points of character are not compatible.
Such people know nothing of a true spirit of parsimony-
It is from the backs and bellies of other people that savings
are made with the greatest constancy and the most satis-
factory results.
" The parsimony of a mistress of a household is best dis-
played on matters eatable—on matters eatable and drink-
able; for there is a fine scope for domestic savings in teat
beer, and milk. And in such matters chiefly did Mrs.
Mason operate, going as far as she dared towards starving
even her husband. But nevertheless she would feed her..
self in the middle of the day, having a roast fowl with
bread sauce in her room. The miser who starves himself
and dies without an ounce of flesh on his bones, while his
skinny head lies on a bag of gold, is, after all, respectable.
There has been a grand passion in his life, and that grandee
work of man, self denial. You cannot altogether despise
one who has clothed himself with rags and fed himself with
bone-scrapings, while broadcloth and ortolans were within
his easy reach. But there are women, wives and mothers;
of lawilies, who would give the bone-scrapings to their
husbands and the bones to their servants, while they hide
the ortolans for themselves ; and would dress their children.
in rags, while they cram chests, drawers, and boxes with
silks and satins for their own backs. Such a woman one
can thoroughly desp se, and even hate; and such a woman
was Mrs. Mason of Groby Park,"

At this early stage it would be unwise to venture a
surmise as to the plot of the story, but we have no
fear in saying that Mr. Anthony Trollope's neW
work will command a full share of public attention•