| CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE. HIS celebrated granite pillar is called an obelisk, which is the Greek name for a needle or skewer. It is covered with a peculiar kind of writing, and is of hoary age. It was presented to King George IV. in 1820, by the then ruler of Egypt, Mehemet Ali. Many English statesmen have endeavoured to bring it to our country, but, until now, all such attempts have been without success. It is a single block of red, granite with four faces, and on all those faces are many figures, such as birds and serpents, cut very deep into the stone. Some of the figures are enclosed in oblong rings. These are supposed to be the names and titles of kings. All you see is a portion of Egyptian history, written with an iron pen upon a tablet of granite. Obelisks were generally set up in pairs, one on the yight hand and the other on the left hand of grand gateways into temples or palaces. They were cut out of the quarries of Syene, and then carried many hundreds of miles, generally by having canals dug from the river to the place where they were lying. It was stated in the House of Commons, as far back as 1832, that Cleopatra’s Needle, one of two at Alexandria, is 64 feet long, or, including the pedestal, 79 feet, and weighs 284 tons. This obelisk is not quite so large as the Luxor obelisk, which was set up at Paris, under the direction of Lebas, an able French enginee?, in October 1836. The Cleopatra, an iron vessel, shaped like a huge boiler, 92 feet long and 16 across, was specially built for carrying the Needle over the sea. Mr. John Dixon constructed this vessel. Professor Erasmus Wilson, the eminent surgeon, with most noble liber- ality, has defrayed the expenses of the voyage. After navigating the Mediterranean in safety, the Cleopatra came to grief in the Bay of Biscay, last October. She parted company from her tug, and was abandoned. The Jitzmaurice found the Cleopatra, and towed her into the port of Ferrol, belonging to Spain. There she lay for three months, ' undergoing repairs, &c. In January, the Anglia, a powerful iron paddle- tug, was sent to Ferrol, to bring the Cleopatra. to England. This she happily did, in -five or six days. It was a somewhat anxious voyage, for January is a stormy month, and the needle-ship did not steer very well, and rolled about a good deal. Her anxious crew never went to bed between Ferrol and Gravesend. When the Queen heard of the Cleopatra’s safe arrival she sent a telegram ex- pressing her satisfaction at the good news. The Needle-will be erected on the Victoria Em- bankment in London ; but the cut shows the position recommended by Professor Wilson—an open place near Westminster Hall and the Houses of Parliament. G. S$. O. THE CAT O’ NINE TALES (TAILS). TO SISSIE ON HER NINTH BIRTHDAY. Tae I. ASKED a cat, grey, old, and sage, & If she could tell me Sissie’s age ; The cat replied evasively, ‘Greet her to-day with three times three.’ - Tae II. Not quite content, I asked the cat If she could tell me more than that; She said, ‘Three rows of pins at play, That is the secret of the day.’ Tae III. “You trifle, wise old cat,’ I said; But Pussy merely shook her head, And calmly mewed, ‘ Her age, be sure, is Just thrice the number of the Furies.’ TaLe IV. ‘Furies and cats are friends, I trow,’ Said I, and made a graceful bow. ‘You grow unpleasant, sir,’ said she ; ‘Then multiply the Fates by three.’ TALE V. ‘Madam,’ I said, ‘ you have referred To folk who don’t exist.’ She purred. ‘I thought,’ said she, ‘ you’d find excuses : Then count the number of the Muses.’ Tate VI. ‘Why, who could count your mews?’ said I, ‘ You dunce !’ cried she, with kindling eye, ‘Your dulness sends me into fidgets ; Then take the last of all the digits.’ TaLE VII. I said, ‘My summing powers are weak.’ She snarled—her voice assumed a shriek. ‘He never wins who never strives: Then count the number of my lives.’ Tate VIII. ‘T can’t,’ I cried, in sheer despair. The cat was screaming in the air, ‘Then see my tails,’-—she rose in state— ‘And you deserve to feel their weight.’ Tate IX. Just then, within an opening door, Behold a blaze of splendour pour! The cat is gone, the tapers shine, Try, ‘Dear little Siss benign!’ (Be nine.) W. THE ERNE, OR SEA EAGLE. HALIBUT, a large flat fish like a turbot, re- posing near the surface of the water, was seen by an erne, which pounced down and struck his talons into the fish with all his force. Should the halibut be too strong, the eagle, it is said, is sometimes, but rarely, drowned in the struggle. In this case, however, as more frequently happens, the bird overcame the fish; he remained upon it when dead as if he were floating on a raft, and then spreading out his wide wings, he made use of them as sails, and was driven by the wind towards the shore.