mies of his kingdom." The Latinity of the placard might not be above reproach; but it is certain that its sentiments received the cordial approval of the assembled prelates. Set forth in golden characters, and decorated with festive leaves and ribbons, it proclaimed that the hierarchy of the Roman Church had no qualms of conscience in indorsing the traitorous deed of Charles and Catharine. But still more unequivocal proofs were not wanting. A well-known medal was struck in honor of the event, bearing on one side the head of the Pope, and the words, "Gregorius XIII. Pont. Max. An. I.," and on the other an angel with cross and sword pursuing the heretics, and the superscription, "Ugonottorum strages, 1572." By the order of the Pope, the famous Vasari painted in the Sala Regia of the Vatican Palace several pictures representing different scenes in the Parisian massacres. Upon one an inscription was placed which tersely expressed the true state of the case: "Pontifex Colinii necem probat." The paintings may still be seen in the magnificent room which serves as an ante-chamber to the Sistine Chapel.-History of the Rise of the Huguenots, Vol. II., Chap. XIX. BAIRD, SPENCER FULLERTON, a famous American naturalist and author, born at Reading, Pa., February 3, 1823; died at Wood's Holl, Mass., 1887. He was educated at Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, where he became Professor of Natural Science in 1846. In 1855 he received the appointment of Assistant Secretary to the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, and upon the death of Professor Joseph Henry, in 1878, Mr. Baird succeeded him as Secretary. In 1871 he was appointed United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, for the purpose of making inquiries into "the causes of the decrease of the food-fishes of the United States, and the methods of restoring them." The value of his work in this special department is beyond question. His more strictly literary labor runs through his whole career. As early as 1851 he translated from the German, and edited, the Iconographic Encyclopedia. In 1860 he put forth, in conjunction with Mr. John Cassin, a work in two volumes, entitled The Birds of North America; and in 1861, in conjunction with Mr. Charles Girard, a Catalogue of the Serpents in North America. In 1864 he began a work upon the birds of the New World, under the title of Review of the American Birds in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. He also, in conjunction with Dr. T. M. Brewer, of Boston, Mass., undertook a new and comprehensive account of The Birds of North America. Mr. Baird, moreover, prepared many papers relating to the collections in natural history made by various Government expeditions. He put forth in various scientific periodicals, and notably in the Reports of the Smithsonian Institution, many papers relating to the mammals, birds, and fishes of North America. Besides the labor already indicated, Mr. Baird prepared for eight years (1871-78) an annual volume of Records of Science and Industry, which was characterized as "a digested abstract of such of the most important discoveries of each year as are of general interest, or likely to prove of lasting importance to science, pure or applied. The author has weighed fact against fact, appreciated their relative value, and made his selections with praiseworthy care and skill.” THE HUMMING BIRD. There is no group of birds so interesting to the ornithologist or to the casual observer as the Humming Birds, at once the smallest in size, the most gorgeously beautiful in color, and almost the most abundant in species of any single family of birds. They are strictly confined to the continent and islands of America, and are most abundant in the Central American States, though single species range almost to the Arctic regions. on the north, and to Patagonia on the south, as well as from the sea-coast to the frozen summits of the Andes. The number of known species considerably exceeds 300, and new ones are being constantly brought to light; so that an estimate of 400 species is, perhaps, not too large. Many are very limited in their range; some confined to particular islands, even though of small dimensions. |