with the nerves which coat the surface of the mouth and palate. It is by means of these nerves that the qualities of substances are perceived and the sensation which we call taste is excited.

It will be perceived that the saliva of the mouth is one great cause of all taste. When the tongue is rendered dry by disease, or any other circumstance, the sense of taste is either imperfect or lost. The pressure of the tongue against the surface of the mouth seems also to be important in producing the sense of taste; for if you put anything into your mouth, and hold it open, the sensation is hardly produced. It is from the effect of this pressure that the act of chewing and swallowing gives us so much pleasure. There is a great difference in people, as to the degree of perfection in which they possess this sense; for in some, it is very blunt, while in others, it is very acute. There is a difference also as to the things that people like. Some are 'fond of cheese, and others cannot endure it. The Esquimaux are delighted with the flavor of blubber oil; the Indians of Guiana feast upon monkeys; the negroes of south-western Africa are fond of baked dogs; the Chinese eat rats, lizards and puppies; the French rank snails and frogs among their nicest tit-bits; yet all these things are revolting to us. This diversity arises chiefly from custom and habit; for originally our perceptions are, no doubt, nearly the same. It is certainly so with animals; for every horse and every ox, in a natural state, eats or rejects the same species of food. The word taste is frequently used in what is called a metaphorical sense, for the purpose of expressing the feelings of the mind. A person who loves poetry is said to have a taste for poetry; by which is meant that he has a mind which feels and appreciates the qualities of poetry, just as the tongue feels or appreciates the qualities of food.

It is in the same sense that we say, a person has a taste for painting, or music, or any other art. When we say a person has fine taste, we mean that his mental perceptions are very acute.

The Siberian Sable-Hunter.

CHAPTER IX.

AGREEABLY to their plan, the sablehunters continued at the hut, following the game, day after day, with the greatest ardor. The forest proved to be very extensive, stretching out for miles upon both sides of a little river that flowed into the Lena. It was the depth of winter, and snow fell almost every day; yet they were seldom prevented from going forth by the weather. They were very successful in their hunting, and a day seldom passed in which they did not bring home some game. They killed several bears and wolves, and a great number of sables, ermines, martens, squirrels and lynxes.

In all their expeditions, Alexis was among the most active, persevering, and skilful of the party. It was a great object in obtaining the finer furs, to kill the animals without breaking the skin of the body. In this art, Alexis excelled; for he could shoot with such precision, as to bring down his game, by putting only a single shot through the head. But he was of an ardent temper, and sometimes his zeal led him into danger. One day, being at a distance from his party, he saw a silver fox, and he pursued him for several hours, entirely forgetting that he was separated from his friends, and wandering to a great distance, amid the mazes of the woods.

At last, in pursuing the fox, he entered a wild and rocky dell, where perpendic