One day, when I was wandering, Something met my eye, It was my little rabbit, Hung on a tree close by. But oh! I can’t relate it-- That pretty one was dead; And sadly did I bury it, In a lonely, narrow bed! “FAR AWAY”--THE BLUEBIRD’S SONG. THE WORDS AND MUSIC COMPOSED FOR MERRY’S MUSEUM. [Illustration: Music] I dwelt in climes where flowers bloom, And know no chill, no wintry tomb; A joyous land, where one might stay; But home, sweet home was far away-- But home, sweet home, was far a-way. I sat upon the topmost bough At peep of dawn, as I do now, And tried to sing a cheerful lay-- But no--’twas ever “far away!” I loved that land of fruits and flowers, Where spring and summer twine their bowers, And gentle zephyrs round them play-- But my birth-tree was far away! Far north, where I was born and bred, My winged thoughts were ever fled; And, spurning joys that round me lay, I sighed for pleasures far away! Gay birds around sang many a song, And cheerful notes rang loud and long-- But oh, my heart tuned every lay To plaintive airs of “far away!” The brook came laughing down the dell, Yet sad to me its joyous swell; And though its chime made others gay, I only thought of “far away!” And now, returned, how dear the hours, Though chill the wind and bare the bowers; Yet this is home; and that sad lay I sing no more of--“far away!” MERRY’S MUSEUM. VOLUME III.--No. 6. [Illustration: _A lady listening to the notes of a harp._] The sense of Hearing. The sense of hearing lies in the ear, the organs of which are contrived with admirable skill and ingenuity. The air is capable of being moved so as to produce a rapid shaking or vibration. Such a movement of the air is made by the explosion of a gun, by the human voice, &c. Thus vibration of the air with the perception of it, is what we call sound. Now at the bottom of a winding cavity in the ear is a delicate organ called the drum, which is affected by every motion of the air, however slight; and which, by means of nerves, conveys to the brain the perception of such motion. It is by this means that we hear distant as well as near sounds, and often know what is going on even beyond the reach of sight. Hearing, then, is only perceiving vibrations or quick motions of the air, and sound is only such vibration, with the perception of it.