A pair of wagtails had built a nest near the town of Soleure, and a clock-maker who had to pass along a road near the nest noticed something peculiar in its construction. He stopped one day and examined it, and, much to his astonishment, found it made entirely of steel. It was more than four inches across. As Soleure contains several clock-making shops, and the windows of these shops are frequently left open, the natural supposition is that the birds gathered up the thin spiral shavings of steel, and built their nest. The ingenious way in which these strands of steel are made to fit into one another and woven so compactly, is marvellous when the bird's trifling bit of strength is considered. A bird's nest is often an indication of its surroundings, as in the case of a city sparrow's nest, which is usually made of strings, bits of cotton, wisps of straw and hay, tooth-picks, cloth, the hair of horses, and such miscellany. THE CHINAMAN'S SLED. [Illustration: CHARLEY LEU'S BOB-SLED WENT ALMOST AS FAST AS MELICAN MAN'S--] [Illustration: BUT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF IT HE BADLY LACKED THE SKILL ACQUIRED BY EXPERIENCE AND INHERITANCE.] End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Round Table, December 31, 1895, by Various