Waugh's preaching had produced wondrous awakening, and crowded the altar with penitents, who had in haste fled to it while he preached, he continued preaching from the pulpit down into the altar, where, lifting up holy hands over one after another of them, as though he possessed the keys of the kingdom, he cried out, 'Lord, bless this soul;" and one after another arose, as if the life of God had entered into their souls, giving thanks for the unspeakable gift! 66 In the discharge of the episcopal duties Bishop Waugh was perhaps as fully acceptable to the Church, in all its length and breadth, as any of our bishops have been. None doubted his devotion to the cause of Christ, his loyalty to the Church, or the impartiality and integrity which he brought to the administration of his high functions. His noble and commanding frame, the firmness, tempered with benignity, indicated, in the strongly-marked, yet fine features of his countenance, the depth and fulness of his voice—all these physical elements combined to add dignity to his calm demeanor in the chair. Of late years, after his hair had been whitened by time and suffering, there was a grandeur in his presence rarely seen; combined with a simplicity so unaffected, it was rarer still. While he was generally strict in enforcing the rules of order, he carried forbearance as far as was consistent with duty. His self-control was rarely ruffled. At the memorable General Conference held in New-York in 1844, the debates, as is well known, were earnest, heated, and sometimes almost stormy. In the height of the excitement, two members rose at almost the same moment-a Northern and a Southern man. Bishop Waugh gave the floor to the Southern member; the other, with some warmth, said that "the eye of the chair seemed always directed toward the South." The bishop said nothing till the speaker on the floor had finished, and then quietly remarked that "the brother was mistaken; the member from the South had first caught his eye." This simple explanation satisfied the whole body, and doubtless even the member who thought himself aggrieved needed no further apology. | At the General Conference of 1836, held in Cincinnati, Mr. Waugh was elected one of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In this capacity he is so widely known in all parts of the land that no general eulogium of ours is necessary; while as to the details of his service, neither our limits nor the materials within our reach will allow us to dilate. His episcopal labors will find a more fitting chronicler hereafter. A brief but comprehensive memoir of him by Bishop Morris, published in the Western Christian Advocate, states that He shared with his colleagues the toil and responsibility of the general oversight, and of presiding over five sessions of the General Conference, some of which were the most laborious and stormy ever known in the history of our Church. He presided, on an average, over about seven conferences a year, or say one hundred and fifty in all; and so tenacious was he of performing his whole duty, that, sick or well, he seldom called an elder to relieve him from the chair a moment. The number of days he spent in presiding and carefully watching over and directing the proceedings of ecclesiastical bodies must have been over a thousand. The rule requiring the bishops to appoint the preachers annually, under certain limitations and exceptions, was carefully and faithfully executed by Bishop Waugh for nearly twenty-two years. The average number of preachers appointed by him per annum, was, probably, five hundred and fifty, or say twelve thousand in all. What a fearful responsibility was involved! How many hard cases were decided! How severely were his sympathies taxed! How many disappointed expectants, both among preachers and people, to worry him with complaints, or petitions for relief not in his power to afford! But his principle of action under the rule was the good of the work first, and the accommodation of parties second. To this principle he adhered under all circumstances to the best of his judgment, and in doing so maintained at once the integrity of the Episcopal administration and the confidence of his brethren generally, both in the ministry and laity. The number of deacons and elders ordained by Bishop Waugh during his entire superintendence was, probably, from two thousand five hundred to three thousand. In the discharge of his official duties, prudence was one of Bishop Waugh's most marked characteristics. He took no important step in haste, or without weighing, as far as possible, all its bearings upon the interests and feelings of others, and of the Church. This quality, cultivated by long habit, gave him, in his latter years, great weight in the counsels of the Church; and all who went to him for advice knew that if he gave it at all he would give it with wisdom and with judgment. His cares and solicitudes were more and more centered in the Church as he grew older; and of late his anxieties for her welfare, in view of the elements of distraction at work, became sometimes nouncing his words distinctly. The hand excessive. of death was on him. Still, on the night before his departure from Carlisle, he gathered the young converts about the altar and gave them a parting address, full of wisdom and of love. What a privilege! How will those Christian converts treasure up these last utterances of the aged Christian bishop, who blessed them in the name of his Master, and then went home to die! On his arrival at home he was taken with violent erysipelas, but through the skill of his attending physician, Dr. Dulin, the disorder had fully yielded, so much so, indeed, thut he was able to sit up and For many years before his death Bishop Waugh suffered greatly in his physical health. The symptoms were alarming; difficulty of breathing, pain in the chest, and occasional syncope, all indicating that the heart, the center of life, had been invaded by disease. These indications would have been sufficient to justify, in the eyes of the Church, his retirement from active duty; and it is possible that rest and quiet might have prolonged his life for many years. But it was not in his nature, nor within his sense of duty, to cease from toil while toil was possible. And so he went on, suffering, yet uncomplain-converse a little with his friends on the ing, from conference to conference, brav- day before his death. On the morning ing pain with calm endurance, and working of that day he led the family devotions, up, amid his weakness, almost to the his now widowed consort reading the standard of other men's strength. During Scriptures, and he in his bed offering up the last year (1857) he presided over six to God the daily orison of a devout and conferences, from Vermont in the east to trusting heart. On the evening of the Indiana in the west, besides assisting his same day a brother clergyman being colleagues at several others. Those who present, he desired him to perform the attended these last conferences with him, family service, in which he was joined speak of an unusual tenderness and Chris- by our deceased brother in exclamations tian gentleness in his deportment, as well of thanksgivings. On the night of his as of marked fervor and unction in his demise those in his room heard him conpreaching and in his prayers. He was stantly engaged in a low and feeble voice evidently ripening for heaven. It was in prayer. He first prayed for the his habit, generally, to dismiss the con- Church, asking a heavenly blessing on ferences-sometimes leading the singing the labors of the ministers of Christ; himself with the lines: and then he pleaded fervently and earnestly for the prosperity of the missionary work; and then, with the heart of a Christian parent, interceded with his heavenly Father for his family. ""Tis Jesus, the first and the last, Whose spirit shall guide us safe home; We'll praise him for all that is past, And trust him for all that's to come;" and the trustful spirit of this beautiful stanza grew in him more and more to the end. He shortly after retired for sleep, and in a brief interval sounds of distress were heard, and even before his family could be summoned, or medical relief be procured, he ceased to breathe, and rendered During the early part of the winter he was able to preach and to attend the services of public worship regularly in Bal-up his spirit to the God that gave it, his last words indicating that calmness and resignation that had been one of the most beautiful features of his life. 66 In a conversation with a brother shortly preceding his demise, the subject of "death was introduced, the brother remarking that "dying" was not the proper expression, but that falling asleep" was the most suitable one. The bishop replied, "Yes! that is the proper expression-falling asleep." A few moments after, so calmly, so relying on the promises and mercies of God, he fell asleep—" fell asleep in Jesus.” timore. About a fortnight before his death he was invited to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where a great revival of religion was in progress. He was always deeply interested in the prosperity of Dickinson College, of which he was a trustee; and he always rejoiced to hear of the spread of religion among the students. This invitation, therefore, touched special sympathies of his, and he accepted it. He preached several sermons with apostolic zeal, in the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ; but in preaching the two last he had great difficulty in pro OPOSSUMS AND KANGAROOS. THE marsupial animals are distinguished from all others by the sack or pouch in which they carry and nourish their young. This pouch is, in fact, but a folding of the skin below the stomach, but is supported by two bones attached to the pelvis, and these mark the scientific classification, in spite of all other points of difference. The greater part of the marsupials are peculiar to New Holland; consequently at the discovery of America very little was known of them, and the opossum was the first to introduce them to the notice of the civilized world. Audubon's description of first impressions on seeing this singular creature is too good to be omitted: "Here was a strange animal, with the head and tail of a pig, sometimes hanging on the limb of a tree, and occasionally swinging, like the monkey, by the tail. Around that prehensile appendage a dozen sharp-nosed, sleekheaded young had entwined their own tails, and were sitting on their mother's back. The astonished traveler approaches this extraordinary compound of an animal, and touches it cautiously with a stick. Instantly it seems struck with some mortal disease: its eyes close, it falls to the ground, ceases to move, and appears to be dead. He turns it on its back, and perceives a strange, apparently artificial opening. He puts his finger into the extraordinary pocket, and lo! another brood of a dozen or more young, scarcely larger than a pea, are hanging in clusters to the teats. In pulling the creature about, in great amazement, he suddenly receives a gripe on the hand. The twinkling of the half-closed eye, and the breathing of the creature, evince that it is not dead, and he adds a new term to the vocabulary of his language, that of playing 'possum.' • "" A full-grown opossum is some seventeen inches long, exclusive of the tail, which measures eleven inches. Its height is seven or eight inches, or about that of the ordinary cat. Its principal color is a dirty white; the back and limbs are black; the tail is scaly, and the ears naked and black. The hands and nose are naked; the latter glandulous; its eye is small. black, and lively. The opossum is disagreeable in appearance, partly because its hair, neither smooth nor curly, is of a dirty, dead color, as if the animal were sick. It exhales a fetid odor, which, however, does not hinder the negroes from eating its flesh and finding it delicious. This fetidness, which is much stronger when the creature is provoked, is its only means of defense, as it does not seem to know how to bite, though armed with teeth; nor can it flee, as its gait is not much swifter than that of a hedgehog. In a savage state the opossum inhabits all North America as far up as Pennsylvania. During the day it retires to its burrow, which is dug in a thicket at some distance from the abodes of men, where it sleeps curled up dog-fashion. At night it is out hunting for its food. It easily climbs trees, where it catches birds on the nests. It seems to have an epicurean taste for birds' flesh and birds' eggs, and spends much of its time in hunting them. The berries of the persimmon tree are great favorites in their season, and other | another species, Dasyurus Maugei, which is somewhat smaller than the preceding. He says: berries, nuts, reptiles, and insects are not refused. Sometimes it commits depredations in the poultry yard, sucking the blood of its victims, and leaving their dead bodies behind. Nearly allied to the opossum is the Spotted Martin, or long-tailed Dasyurus, of New Holland. The body of this animal is a foot and a half in length, and the tail about as much longer. The hair is a beautiful maroon marked with white. It has a little of the physiognomy of the genet, and many of the habits of the martins. The structure of the feet does not allow it to climb trees; but after passing the day in sleep in some hole of the rock, it comes out at night and goes in quest of birds, little animals, and insects, on which it feeds. As it preys mostly upon the young of the ornithorhynchus and kangaroo, it sometimes falls short of game and fares quite poorly. At such times it descends to the seashore, and voraciously attacks the halfputrid carcasses of dead fish thrown up by the waves. Sometimes it crawls into the yards of the colonists, and kills off all their poultry. All the other species of dasyurus have the same habits as this. Gaimard gives us a few observations upon "We kept one alive five months on board the Urania. This elegant animal tried to bite only when tricks were played upon it. Fleeing from too bright a light, it seemed best pleased with a little niche that had been provided for it. Though not vicious, we could not perceive that it was susceptible of any attachment to the person who fed and caressed it. The hours for its meals were always times of much interest to us. It seized the strips of flesh, raw or cooked, with great eagerness, and while eating it would occasionally toss them into the air, and then catch them with much dexterity, apparently for the purpose of giving them a more convenient direction. It also used its fore paws in eating, and when it had finished a meal it would sit upon its haunches and rub its fore paws together precisely as we do our hands, passing them occasionally over its smooth, humid nose, its ears, and the top of its head, as if to remove any particles of aliment that might have lodged there. These indications of excessive neatness always followed every meal." The Koala, or Womrat, is classed among frugivorous marsupials. Its toes have the peculiarity of being divided into two groups, of the thumb and index on one side, and the remaining three fingers on the other. Its tail is but a mere rudiment. It frequents the neighborhood of the Wa of a large cat. dia Islands. sex, but it It is found in the East InIts coat varies with age and is usually whitish, spotted with brown. The couscous is a nocturnal animal, slow, lazy, and stupid, as are also all its congeners. Its large, prominent eyes wear the expression of imbecility, while its movements indicate more of laziness than of inability to act, and even anger will hardly produce animation. In the latter case, however, it growls like a cat, and tries to bite, but is not otherwise pugnacious. In captivity it shows a mournful, gentle disposition; hiding itself in the most obscure corners during the day, because the excessive light pains its eyes. By night it comes out and feeds paum River in New Holland. It is about as large as a medium sized dog, and its thick body, short head, small ears, and stout limbs, all of nearly the same length, give it very much the appearance of a small bear. Its hair is long, thick, and coarse, of a clear chocolate brown above, and white beneath. This almost unknown animal passes a part of its life on trees, probably in pursuit of insects. It is partial to fruits, but we are doubtful whether it can subsist on them alone, in a country where they are so very rare; though it may eat leaves, as do the kangaroo and the potorou. In a neighboring genus we find the spotted Couscous, an animal about the size on bread and flesh. It laps in drinking, and rubs its paws and face incessantly to clean them. It seems to be fond of unrolling its tail and sitting upright on its haunches. While the traveler is passing through the immense forests of New Guinea and the Moluccas, the olfactories are sometimes struck with a strong and excessively disagreeable odor, announcing the presence of this animal concealed in the foliage. This odor proceeds from a glandular apparatus situated around the anus. In spite of this detestable odor the natives feed on its flesh with great gusto, and hunt the animals incessantly. The natives of Pras lin, in New Ireland, have a singular preference for the flesh of the couscous, roasting it upon the coals, and rejecting only the intestines. They make girdles and other ornaments of its teeth, and so great is their abundance that strings of them have been seen many yards in length, showing the great destruction made of the animals. It is said that an unarmed native can bring down one of these climbers by a glance of the eye, and, if we may credit Buffon and Cuvier, the thing is thus explained. The couscous, which spends most of the time in the trees in the pursuit of fruits and insects, is so surprised at the sight of a man |