the head under a woman's coif, and worn inside a man's blue bonnet, is supposed to relieve the headache and prevent baldness, while gentle friction along the affected part with the furry side of a bit of otter skin is esteemed of sovereign efficacy in erysipelas or "rose." The following is a somewhat free rendering from the Gaelic of a fable occurring in an old Sgeulachd, with which many of our west coast readers at least must be acquainted. The moral is obvious. The Otter and Fox. The otter had caught in the pool below A silvery salmon so full of roe, And clambering bore it over the rocks, When who should he meet but his cousin the fox. "Friend," quoth the wily fox, "pray go And bring me a fish from the pool below-- I've not tasted fish for a year or mo'. Leave here thy salmon; go, haste thee back, We'll dine together and have our crack; Believe me, dear otter, that over one's food The face of a friend is always good." The otter tumbled into the stream Where the floating foam was white as cream; He sought and searched in each cranny and hole, But not a fish could he find in the pool. "Well," quoth the otter, "I'll hasten back To my cousin the fox, and we'll have our crack Over the salmon I left above; One fish will go far that is eaten in love; 'Tis large, and fat, and full of roe, And, fairly divided, will serve for two." Clambering over the rocks in haste The otter returned to join his guest; But guess his surprise when he reached the spot; Where the fox had been--the fox was not, And nought of the salmon that could be seen But some silvery scales where the salmon had been! The otter but said, "'Tis my belief My cousin the fox should be hanged for a thief; He'll never again make me his tool, For myself alone I'll haunt the pool." CHAPTER XXI. Storms--An "inch" of Rain--Atherina Presbyter--Lophius Piscatorius--Mr. Mortimer Collins' misquotation from the Times.