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Satin Bower-bird, formed the rendezvous of many individuals; for, after secreting myself for a short space of time near one of them, I killed two males, which I had previously seen running through the avenue."

DICKENS'S NOTES ON AMERICA.

SECOND ARTICLE.

MR DICKENS's second volume is, on the whole, more lively, and contains a few more sketches of character than the first, besides presenting the author's general remarks on the Americans and their institutions. At the opening of the volume, we find him in a nightsteamer on the Potomac, bound from Washington on an excursion towards the southern states. The scene on board the boat, a kind of Noah's ark, is described with the author's usual drollery.

satisfaction of passing his hand up the back, and rubbing it the wrong way."

But the inquisitive gentleman, it seems, was not more odd than another character on board. The boat getting unduly crammed with passengers, all the original inmates grumbled except our tourist, who, being a foreigner, held his peace. Not so a gentleman from the forests of the Mississippi, who, walking to and fro on deck, and without addressing anybody whomsoever, soliloquised as follows:-"This may suit you, this may, but it don't suit me. This may be all very well with Down Easters and men of Boston raising, but it won't suit my figure no how; and no two ways about that; and so I tell you. Now! I'm from the brown forests of the Mississippi, I am; and when the sun shines on me, it does shine-a little. It don't glimmer where I live; the sun don't. No. I'm a brown forester, The cabin-" to my horror and amazement, it is full I am. I an't a Johnny Cake. There are no smooth of sleepers in every stage, shape, attitude, and variety skins where I live. We're rough men there. Rather. of slumber in the berths, on the chairs, on the floors, If Down Easters and men of Boston raising like this, on the tables, and particularly round the stove, my I'm glad of it, but I'm none of that raising nor of that detested enemy. As the chairs are all occupied, and breed. No. This company wants a little fixing, it there is nothing else to put my clothes on, I deposit does. I'm the wrong sort of man for 'em, I am. They them upon the ground: not without soiling my hands, won't like me, they won't. This is piling of it up, a for it is in the same condition as the carpets in the little too mountainous, this is.' At the end of every Capitol, and from the same cause. Having but par- one of these short sentences he turned upon his heel, tially undressed, I clamber on my shelf, and hold the and walked the other way; checking himself abruptly curtain open for a few minutes, while I look round on when he had finished another short sentence, and turnall my fellow-travellers again. That done, I let it falling back again. It is impossible for me to say what on them, and on the world: turn round: and go to terrific meaning was hidden in the words of this brown sleep. I wake, of course, when we get under weigh, forester; but I know that the other passengers looked for there is a good deal of noise. The day is then just on in a sort of admiring horror, and that presently the breaking. Everybody wakes at the same time. Some boat was put back to the wharf, and as many of the are self-possessed directly, and some are much per- Pioneers as could be coaxed or bullied into going away, plexed to make out where they are, until they have were got rid of. When we started again, some of the rubbed their eyes, and leaning upon one elbow, looked boldest spirits on board made bold to say to the obabout them. Some yawn, some groan, nearly all spit, vious occasion of this improvement in our prospects, and a few get up. I am among the risers: for it is 'Much obliged to you, sir;' whereunto the brown easy to feel, without going into the fresh air, that the forester (waving his hand, and still walking up and atmosphere of the cabin is vile in the last degree. I down as before) replied, 'No you an't. You're none o' huddle on my clothes, go down into the fore-cabin, my raising. You may act for yourselves, you may. I get shaved by the barber, and wash myself. The have pinted out the way. Down Easters and Johnny washing and dressing apparatus for the passengers, Cakes can follow if they please. I an't a Johnny generally, consists of two jack-towels, three small Cake, I an't. I am from the brown forests of the wooden basins, a keg of water, and a ladle to serve it Mississippi, I am'-and so on, as before. He was out with, six square inches of looking-glass, two ditto unanimously voted one of the tables for his bed at ditto of yellow soap, a comb and brush for the head, night-there is a great contest for the tables-in conand nothing for the teeth. Everybody uses the comb sideration of his public services; and he had the and brush, except myself. Everybody stares to see warmest corner by the stove throughout the rest of me using my own; and two or three gentlemen are the journey. But I never could find out that he did anystrongly disposed to banter me on my prejudices, but thing except sit there; nor did I hear him speak again, don't. When I have made my toilet, I go upon the until, in the midst of the bustle and turmoil of getting hurricane-deck, and set in for two hours of hard walk- the luggage ashore in the dark at Pittsburg, I stumbled ing up and down. The sun is rising brilliantly; we over him as he sat smoking a cigar on the cabin steps, are passing Mount Vernon, where Washington lies and heard him muttering to himself, with a short buried; the river is wide and rapid; and its banks laugh of defiance, I an't a Johnny Cake, I an't. I'm are beautiful. All the glory and splendour of the day from the brown forests of the Mississippi, I am.' I are coming on, and growing brighter every minute." am inclined to argue from this, that he had never left Proceeding to Richmond, the author has there an off saying so; but I could not make affidavit of that opportunity of observing slavery in its naked defor- part of the story, if required to do so by my queen mity, with which he is heartily shocked, and then and country." proceeds on his intended journey to the western territories on the Ohio and Mississippi. The most amusing part of the trip was that performed in a canal boat on the route to Pittsburg, and which Boz hits off in the same graphic and good-humoured way as the scene on the Potomac. One of the passengers was an oddity.

From Pittsburg, Mr Dickens went down the Ohio to Cincinnati, which, like other tourists, he describes as a beautiful city; cheerful, thriving, and animated, and with society intelligent and courteous. Proceeding onward, he steams up the Mississippi as far as St Louis, to take a view of that noble but very muddy river, and have a peep at a prairie, neither of which are very satisfactory. Afterwards returning to Cincinnati, he stages it northward to Lake Erie. The Falls of Niagara, a main object in the journey, call forth exclamations of the deepest piety and enthusiasm. The front view of the torrent was stunning, and it was not till he reached Table Rock, and looked on the vast bright-green mass of water, that it came upon him in full majesty.

"There was a man on board this boat, with a light fresh-coloured face, and a pepper-and-salt suit of clothes, who was the most inquisitive fellow that can possibly be imagined. He never spoke otherwise than interrogatively. He was an embodied inquiry. Sitting down or standing up, still or moving, walking the deck or taking his meals, there he was, with a great note of interrogation in each eye, two in his cocked ears, two more in his turned-up nose and chin, at least half a dozen more about the corners of his mouth, and the largest one of all in his hair, which was brushed pertly off his forehead in a flaxen clump. Every but-peace. Peace of mind tranquillity-calm recollecton in his clothes said, 'Eh? What's that? Did you speak? Say that again, will you?' He was always wide awake, like the enchanted bride who drove her husband frantic; always restless; always thirsting for answers; perpetually seeking and never finding. There never was such a curious man. I wore a fur great-coat at that time, and before we were well clear of the wharf, he questioned me concerning it, and its price, and where I bought it, and when, and what fur it was, and what it weighed, and what it cost. Then he took notice of my watch, and asked what that cost, and whether it was a French watch, and where I got it, and how I got it, and whether I bought it or had it given me, and how it went, and where the keyhole was, and when I wound it, every night or every morning, and whether I ever forgot to wind it at all, and if I did, what then? Where had I been to last, and where was I going next, and where was I going after that, and had I seen the president, and what did he say, and what did I say, and what did he say when I had said that? Eh? Lor now! do tell! Finding that nothing would satisfy him, I evaded his questions after the first score or two, and in particular pleaded ignorance respecting the name of the fur whereof the coat was made. I am unable to say whether this was the reason, but that coat fascinated him ever after wards; he usually kept close behind me as I walked, and moved as I moved, that he might look at it the better; and he frequently dived into narrow places after me at the risk of his life, that he might have the

and eddied, and awoke the echoes, being troubled yet, far down beneath the surface, by its giant leap; to have Niagara before me, lighted by the sun and by the moon, red in the day's decline, and grey as evening slowly fell upon it; to look upon it every day, and wake up in the night, and hear its ceaseless voice: this was enough. I think in every quiet season now, still do those waters roll and leap, and roar and tumble, all day long; still are the rainbows spanning them, a hundred feet below. Still, when the sun is on them, do they shine and glow like molten gold. Still, when the day is gloomy, do they fall like snow, or seem to crumble away like the front of a great chalk cliff, or roll adown the rock like dense white smoke. But always does the mighty stream appear to die as it comes down, and always from its unfathomable grave arises that tremendous ghost of spray and mist which is never laid—which has haunted this place with the same dread solemnity since darkness brooded on the deep, and that first flood before the deluge—light— came rushing on creation at the word of God."

Travelling through Canada, he is pleased to find that noble country at length in the way of advancement. In a vessel from Quebec to Montreal, many English emigrants were on board, and "it was wonderful to see how clean the children had been kept, and how untiring in their love and self-denial all the poor parents were." The sentiments which such a spec tacle of enterprise struggling with poverty excites, come warm from the heart. How much harder, he observes, is it for the poor to be virtuous than the rich. Bring the wealthy man here," upon this crowded deck. Strip from his fair young wife her silken dress and jewels, unbind her braided hair, stamp early wrinkles on her brow, pinch her pale cheek with care and much privation, array her faded form in coarsely-patched attire, let there be nothing but his love to set her forth or deck her out, and you shall put it to the proof indeed. So change his station in the world, that he shall see in those young things who climb about his knee-not records of his wealth and name-but little wrestlers with him for his daily bread; so many poachers on his scanty meal; so many units to divide his every sum of comfort, and farther to reduce its small amount. In lieu of the endearments of childhood in its sweetest aspect, heap upon him all its pains and wants, its sicknesses and ills, its fretfulness, caprice, and querulous endurance ; let its prattle be, not of engaging infant fancies, but of cold, and thirst, and hunger; and if his fatherly affection outlive all this, and he be patient, watchful, tender-careful of his children's lives, and mindful always of their joys and sorrows-then send him back to parliament, and pulpit, and to quarter sessions, and when he hears fine talk of the depravity of those who live from hand to mouth, and labour hard to do it, let him speak up, as one who knows, and tell those holders forth that they, by parallel with such a class, should be high angels in their daily lives, and lay but humble siege to heaven at last."

We must hasten to shut this pleasing book, and leave the reader to peruse it entire, having now, we hope, given him a sufficiently copious specimen of its contents. We close with a few of the author's concluding observations on the American character. After denouncing that hideous social feature, slavery, prevalent in some of the states, he sums up the qualities of the people as follows:-"They are, by nature, frank, brave, cordial, hospitable, and affectionate. Cultivation and refinement seem but to enhance their warmth of heart and ardent enthusiasm ; and it is the possession of these latter qualities in a most remarkable degree, which renders an educated American one of the most endearing and most generous of friends. I never was so won upon as by this class; never yielded up my full confidence and esteem so readily and pleasurably as to them; never can rhake again, in half a year, so many friends for whom I seem to entertain the regard of half a life. These qualities are natural, I implicitly believe, to the whole people. That they are, however, sadly sapped and blighted in their growth among the mass, and that there are influences at work which endanger them still more, and give but little present promise of their healthy restoration, is a truth that ought to be told. It is an essential part of every national character to pique itself mightily upon its faults, and to deduce tokens of its virtue or its wisdom from their very exaggeration. One great blemish in the popular mind of America, and the prolific parent of an innumerable brood of evils, is universal distrust. Yet, the American citizen plumes himself upon this spirit, even when he is sufficiently dispassionate to perceive the ruin it works; and will often adduce it, in spite of his own reason, as an instance of the great sagacity and acuteness of the people, and their superior shrewdness and independence.

"Then, when I felt how near to my Creator I was standing, the first effect, and the enduring one-instant and lasting-of the tremendous spectacle, was tions of the dead-great thoughts of eternal rest and happiness-nothing of gloom or terror. Niagara was at once stamped upon my heart, an image of beauty; to remain there, changeless and indelible, until its pulses cease to beat, for ever. Oh, how the strife and trouble of our daily life receded from my view, and lessened in the distance, during the ten memorable days we passed on that enchanted ground! What voices spoke from out the thundering water! what faces, faded from the earth, looked out upon me from its gleaming depths! what heavenly promise glistened in those angels' tears, the drops of many hues, that showered around, and twined themselves about the gorgeous arches which the changing rainbows made! I never stirred in all that time from the Canadian side, whither I had gone at first. I never crossed the river again; for I knew there were people on the other shore, and in such a place it is natural to shun Another prominent feature is the love of 'smart' strange company. To wander to and fro all day, and dealing, which gilds over many a swindle and gross see the cataracts from all points of view; to stand breach of trust; many a defalcation, public and priupon the edge of the Great Horse-Shoe Fall, marking vate; and enables many a knave to hold his head up the hurried water gathering strength as it approached with the best, who well deserves a halter, though it the verge, yet seeming, too, to pause before it shot has not been without its retributive operation; for this into the gulf below; to gaze from the river's level up smartness has done more in a few years to impair the at the torrent as it came streaming down; to climb public credit, and to cripple the public resources, than the neighbouring heights, and watch it through the dull honesty, however rash, could have effected in a trees, and see the wreathing water in the rapids hurry- century. The merits of a broken speculation, or a ing on to take its fearful plunge; to linger in the bankruptcy, or of a successful scoundrel, are not shadow of the solemn rocks three miles below; watch-gauged by its or his observance of the golden rule, ing the river as, stirred by no visible cause, it heaved, Do as you would be done by,' but are considered with

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reference to their smartness. I recollect, on both occasions of our passing that ill-fated Cairo on the Mississippi, remarking on the bad effects such gross deceits must have when they exploded, in generating a want of confidence abroad, and discouraging foreign investment; but I was given to understand that this was a very smart scheme by which a deal of money had been made; and that its smartest feature was, that they forgot these things abroad in a very short time, and speculated again as freely as ever."

It would be well, he observes, if the Americans loved the "real less and the ideal more;" but all general efforts at social improvement will utterly fail education, temperance, churches, everything while one grand foul abuse is suffered to go on unchecked: this is the "newspaper press," a monster of depravity, which leads and rules public opinion, and before which intellect and character must bow down and worship, ere they can expect public distinction. "While that press has its evil eye in every house, and its black hand in every appointment in the state, from a president to a postman; while, with ribald slander for its only stock in trade, it is the standard literature of an enormous class, who must find their reading in a newspaper, or they will not read at all; so long must its odium be upon the country's head, and so long must the evil it works be plainly visible in the republic."

If only half of all this be true, we thank heaven that we live in a land in which, whatever may be its faults, the sanctuary of private life remains inviolate, and where the press is properly kept as the servant of, not the domineering tyrant over, public opinion.

PENEY GLENDINNING.

A CHARACTER IN REAL LIFE.

PENEY GLENDINNING was one of a large family left in their mother's hands by the death of their father, a village artisan in the north of Scotland, while the whole of them were mere children. Having no other resource, the widow retired to the house of her father, who was what is called a crofter, that is, tenant of a few acres. It is astonishing what this class of persons sometimes do with their small means. Upon the limited territory rented by her father, did this poor woman rear her three sons and five daughters till they were able to go into the world and do for themselves, which some of them did under creditable circumstances, considering their rank in life. The eldest son received such an education that he might have commenced study for the church, if he had so inclined; but he preferred a business career. The second took to husbandry: the third became a skilled mechanic. Several of the daughters, being handsome and neathanded, became nursery-governesses and ladies'-maids, as these offices are known in rural districts in Scotland. Peney had no turn for any of these occupations. Her disposition seemed always more to the use of the hands than that of the head. Besides, being the plainest of the family, she had always said herself that she was only fit for drudgery, and, consequently, that education would be thrown away upon her. She could read and write, however, and knew something of accounts; but beyond that she would not go. Her mother, who was a woman of singular clearness of head, as well as goodness of heart, and always encouraged her children to give their opinions, was amused by a trait of Peney-namely, that she always talked of the others as "the children," though she was herself nearly the youngest, and pressed for their being set out in life in utter disregard of her own interests. At last, her youngest sister having grown up, so as to be able to assist her mother, Peney, greatly to her parent's annoyance, went to be washer and dresser to a gentleman's family, there being, as she said, enow in the family besides to fill all the genteel places. Peney laboured in this humble vocation several years, equally happy and respected; and, though only eighteen, was considered so sedate and trustworthy, that her mistress, being about to leave home for a time, would have conferred on her the entire charge of her family and servants in her absence, with a handsome addition to her income. But Peney had other views: she had saved a little money, and had resolved on educating herself as a pastry-cook, with the view of either becoming a cook and housekeeper, or taking charge of a shop; and so she could only oblige her mistress by sleeping in the house, and taking charge of the expenditure, for which duty her salary was continued.

Meantime her mother, being now without a family of her own, had moved into the village of the parish, where there was a considerable school, with the view of taking charge of the children of others sent thither for education; in short, kept a boarding-house of a humble but most useful kind, namely, a boardinghouse for schoolboys; and Peney sometimes visited her. This village had neither a baker nor a butcher, nor, till that period, much use for them; for the inhabitants had not indulged much in either butcher-meat or wheaten-bread. But this last article, in particular, began now to be much in request, both in the village and neighbourhood, and of this Peney became aware. She remarked, also, that even her own mother required considerable supplies, and received them with difficulty, and not always of the best quality. Peney's resolution, therefore, was taken. She had herself educated as a common bread-baker, as well as confectioner; and at the age of nineteen, with fourteen pounds in

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her pocket, she set out for the village of her native parish to commence business as a baker.

It was considered a strange speculation for a female; but Peney thought nothing of this. She had previously fixed her mind upon a shop. It was a house that had once been good, but for many years deserted in consequence of the failure of heirs, and of which she had obtained a perpetual lease from the proprietor of the village, almost in the nature of a gift. Peney made good the roof, walls, and windows, in the meantime, and in the one end of the lower part established a bakery, in the other a flour-store and grocery, in case for a time the bakery should not entirely occupy her. Even this first touch astonished her neighbours; for here she had obtained one of the best houses in the village to begin with, almost for a song. The bread she furnished being excellent, and of honest weight, the bakery not only very soon occupied her own time, but she required assistance; and in this also Peney showed her judgment. She employed no man, to be rebelling against her, idling, and perhaps injuring her character; she entered into an agreement with a humble maiden, anxious, like herself, to escape ordinary servitude, and Peney and "her man Jane" (as the neighbours chose to have it) were patterns of quiet and successful industry.

For twelve years this state of things continued, if, with an every-day increasing business, continuance is a proper expression. The expenses of conducting the business were the least possible; for, as Peney's money was paid the moment anything purchased by her was delivered, flour, butter, eggs, barley, whatever she required for her business, were poured in upon her as she needed them, of the best description, and on the lowest terms; and, on the other hand, her bread was so excellent, that it was called for from all quarters, and the money paid down, and Peney's only difficulty was in meeting the demand. Meanwhile, in her domestic arrangements, she had equally shown her good sense. She waited till she saw how her business was likely to prosper, before expending anything on the house that could be avoided; and when she at last repaired it, she did so, not merely as her own circumstances seemed to suggest, but in the best style suitable to the house; that if she herself had left it on the morrow, the money might not be thrown away. In short, Peney had shown, that, though homely in her person, she was strongly rational; and her mother, instead of now laughing with her or at her, as in former times, as her plainest lass and a predestined old maid, had long respected her as the most sensible of her generally sensible and well-doing family, and never spoke of her or met her without feelings of respect and gratitude.

We have shown that Peney had not only felt no need of male assistance in her business, but steadily rejected it. She had also rejected all overtures of a matrimonial kind. Many young farmers, seeing her continually happy and prospering, now thought her exceedingly comely; and as they stepped up to her parlour occasionally to receive their money, and saw the quiet and comfort reigning there, were not slack in complimenting her; but she never gave any encouragement to pursuing the subject. She had seen, in her own family, that matrimony was not always another name for happiness; she reflected that she had always managed for herself with great ease and pleasure, and she did not know how long this might continue were she joined to another, and so she steadily resisted the idea of making a change. She would gladly, however, have had the society of some of her brothers for her mother and herself; and a farm in the neighbourhood becoming vacant, which she thought might suit her second brother, who was at the time steward to a gentleman in an adjoining county, she, with his consent, offered for it in his name, and her offer was accepted.

He took possession, and being in the immediate neighbourhood, Peney began to feel as if the family might yet be reunited under her auspices. But the hopes of mortals are vain; and especially liable to disappointment are the hopes of good-natured old maids. The farm was only about seventy acres, and her brother, as manager for another, had been accustomed to rule over seven hundred acres. His master, too, a considerable proprietor, who had tried to act as manager of his own property, found the charge too troublesome, and he persuaded Peney's brother to return to his employment, under the inducement of relieving him from his farm; in short, selling all off, and paying all damages.

family, for, of course, in Peney's idea, they must now become common servants. "Quite a mistake," said the other; "I have arranged about that also; they may do many things with my assistance which they could not do without it, and I only regret we had not thought of all this eighteen months ago; it would have saved me some hundred pounds direct, besides the risk of re-letting this unfortunate little place." Peney said, everything had been so well selected, and got on the best terms. "To be sure," it was answered, but who ever heard of a displenishing without loss?" "And what is it supposed must be the loss?" asked Peney. The inventory was laid on the table; and, after mutual consideration, it was agreed that, between the loss on the stock, and a year's rent to the landlord for cancelling the lease, the damage could not be under L.300.

Peney's colour came and went repeatedly; and the gentleman felt for her, for he thought she was regretting this loss as of her causing. But she was thinking of other things also. She had become attached to the farm. She was sure it might be made to yield wheat, and it could give such a deal of offal for fowls and pigs! At last she said, "Would you give me L.200 to free you of the farm?" "With all my heart," answered the gentleman, "but that I should not like to injure you." "I have considered everything," she said, "and think I may run the risk." Without further reasoning, the bargain was struck. Peney received an order for her money, and gave a missive, freeing the gentleman of the lease; and after dining with the family, returned home, tenant of the farm of Cauld-Shouthers!

Pope has said, that after contracting to translate the "Iliad," he felt, when lying in bed, as if a rope were about his neck! and the feelings of Peney Glendinning were precisely similar when she thought of being saddled with a farm for twenty years, and at a rent of nearly two hundred pounds. She endeavoured to think, however, that the loss could not be complete; next, that it might not be very considerable; and lastly, that, with good management, there might even be a profit; although this last was a view of the subject she hardly dared to take. It was with a very doubtful mind that she first broke the subject to her brother. His first look was very discouraging, for it seemed to say, as plainly as possible, that she had ruined herself. His next emotion was to laugh at the oddity of the thing, and Peney joined him, but with a tear in her eye. He thus saw the necessity of settling down into graver consideration of the subject; and when he saw what Peney had really done, he could not but applaud her sagacity and talent. The order she had received from his master more than paid his own claims upon the farm (for she had already made some advances for him), and he admitted, that if she could manage the farm as successfully as she had managed her other business, she was richer by the transaction by at least L.400. She entered not only to a farm, stocked to her hand in the best manner, and at a reduced price, but to a growing crop at the expense of seed and labour.

When at length the time came for her taking possession, she saw many things even more doubtfully than at first; yet, as the die was cast, she determined to go boldly on. Her very first operations showed an original mind, as well as a firm spirit. What had been done on the farm had been done well, but as usual, a good deal in the rough. Head and end ridges, spots for turnings, and for dung-heaps, had been disregarded; and from time immemorial, the dykes* had been approached no nearer than horses might conveniently go. Peney considered all this as waste. She saw that in many cases these spots were, from long rest and other circumstances, the most valuable parts of the farm, and that putting them together they made many acres. Peney resolved that they should lie waste no longer; and wherever the plough would not go, she determined to employ the spade. Her hind+ remonstrated, and said they should be laughed at; but Peney only thought of one thing, making the most of everything. She said every apronbreadth, nay, foot and inch, was paid for, and she saw no reason why it should not be made to pay. In the mean time, she kept an account of the expense of trenching, and had the produce valued; and as the new land produced by far the heaviest crops, the balance was greatly in her favour, and she had no more opposition upon this point. By cultivating these odds and ends, draining and filling up a pond or two, which had been open beyond memory, but without This was a sad blow to Peney. She had set her any visible object, and filling up and cropping several heart on the little farm, which would not only have open drains, Peney, during the first and second years been a home to her brother's family, but she was sure of her incumbency, added six or eight acres to the would have paid well, as, having been grievously mis-productive power of her holding, and these, it was managed by the previous tenant, it had been leased at admitted, the most valuable on the farm. Having a really moderate rent. But there was no help for it: once proved the benefit of such management, she caran inventory of everything had been made; and the ried her arms into every quarter. Every useless dyke beautiful ploughs and carts, and the pretty animals was thrown down and ploughed over; whins and of every description, selected with such care, and for stones that had stood untouched since the creation, which, as belonging to her brother, Peney had con- were now grubbed out and dislodged without mercy, tracted an affection (for the heart will love something), and the ground on which they stood subjected to the were about to be sold for very probably half their plough. Plashy meadows were drained and wholly value, and Peney was miserable. altered in their character, and, in short, rendered dry and fertile; and even a small wood, that, being planted in a swamp, had refused to grow, was now,

At last, one morning l'eney rose in more than usual bustle, and having arranged her own business for the day, set out nobody knew whither. It was for the residence of her brother's master. She could not but respect him for so respecting her brother; but she deplored the blow he was striking against his

* Dykes, in Scotland, are dry stone enclosures; in Ireland, and perhaps elsewhere, they are ditches.

t Farm-labourer.

with permission of the proprietor, rooted out, and its place being drained, turned into a level and fertile field. Everybody stood aghast at the untutored vigour of Peney, till her farm being like a garden, the proprietor placed at her disposal, and on her own terms, every acre in her neighbourhood that became vacant; and the only female tenant in the district shamed all the males! So sensible was the proprietor of the value of such services to him and to his successors, and of the benefit of such an example, every way considered, that, having breakfasted with her one day, on his own invitation, he left under his plate an order on his banker for a hundred pounds.

pound, she finding the materials; and in due time a
very passable gig, placed upon flexible poles, was
formed; and the pony attached to the bakery being
fitted with a neat bridle and reins, and some other
articles of ornament, for another pound, Peney was
mounted. When she first made her appearance in the
market, there was a great cheer; but Peney felt the
comfort and economy of her measure, and disregarded
it. Many came round to look at the phenomenon, and
among the rest, the surveyor of taxes, and Peney paid
more attention to him than to all the others, though she
affected it not. For one thing, she called her servant
to remove her pillion to the inn, in case of rain, and
to allow the surveyor to inspect the carriage. He did
so in all directions, but could see no spring, though,
from Peney's motion, he could almost have sworn
there was one, and so retired_discomfited. The
spring was in the cushion! and Peney not only rode
at her ease, but what was a great addition to her plea- Then Mr Graydon for Ireland:
sure, tax-free. She was the first in the district who
dared to make themselves comfortable without caring
about being talked of.

There is a remarkable uniformity in the fireside customs of the night all over the United Kingdom. Nuts and apples are everywhere in requisition, and consumed to a pretty considerable extent. Indeed the night takes its name in the north of England from the prevalence of the former fruit. Goldsmith tells of his Wakefield party, that they "religiously cracked nuts on All Hallow Eve." As to nuts, they were not only cracked and eaten, but made the means of vaticination in love affairs. And here we shall quote poetical reporters from all the three kingdoms, by way of showing the universal prevalence of the custom. Hear Gay first for England :—

Two hazel nuts I threw into the flame,

And to each nut I gave a sweetheart's name:
This with the loudest bounce me sore amazed,
That in a flame of brightest colour blazed.
As blazed the nut, so may thy passion grow,
For 'twas thy nut that did so brightly glow.

These glowing nuts are emblems true
Of what in human life we view;
The ill-matched couple fret and fume,
And thus in strife themselves consume;
Or from each other wildly start,
And with a noise for ever part.
But see the happy, happy pair,
Of genuine love and truth sincere ;
With mutual fondness while they burn,
Still to each other kindly turn;
And as the vital sparks decay,
Together gently sink away;
Till, life's fierce ordeal being past,
Their mingled ashes rest at last.

Of course, instead of loss, Peney was now realising considerable profits. As she herself required the flour, wheat was now raised by her in great quantity where it had never been raised before. To keep her ground in heart, she required large quantities of manure, and to make as much of that as possible, on her own premises, she took to feeding all her grown cattle in the stall. This was quite a new mode of keeping cattle in this part of the country; but Peney knew what she was about. A natural sagacity, without the aid of We must not omit to mention that Peney was not science, told her that when cattle roam about in the only an advocate for the principle of shelter, but her fields, they not only waste much pasture, but all their natural sagacity led her to adopt it. When removing manure disappears, and is as good as lost. By stall- the trees from the bog which we have commemorated, feeding, therefore, she saved provender, and did not she felt unwilling to destroy such as she thought useallow a particle of the valuable manuring material to ful, and so had them carefully removed and planted go to waste. Some people, she observed, from sheer in form of a belt, along the north and east sides of her heedlessness, permitted the liquid refuse of their farm, these being the most exposed. By care, they stables and cow-houses to escape in putrescent streams, survived, and have thriven better in their new than and were thus, as it might be said, instrumental in they did in their original situation. Without at all picking their own pockets. But Peney was most deducting from the extent of the farm (for the ground Lastly, Burns for Caledonia :rigorous in her arrangements in this department of being clean where they were planted, and fenced in affairs. All the liquid manures of her farm establish- by a wall, they afford a pasture superior to anything ment were led by conduits into tanks, and were that ever grew on the spot before), they form a shelter thence, at proper opportunities, carried away for the so valuable, that when other people's cattle are crouchpurpose of irrigating the fields in the neighbourhood. ing with their tails to the blast, and quite incapable Peney calculated that she saved twenty pounds a-year of feeding, Peney's (for she still pastures the young) by this very simple and rational kind of economy. are luxuriating in a nook so comfortable that they One thing leads to another in good farming. An are hardly sensible that the storm is abroad: they abundance of manure permitted Peney to raise fine only hear it roaring in the trees, and keep whisking crops of turnips and artificial grasses, with which she and feeding in the coldest day, as if under the influfed her cattle, and by growing which she was able ence of a mild and gracious one. In short, Peney's to meliorate and clean her land; for, as everybody farm, though it lies high (as its name imports), will knows, land cannot be properly improved or kept soon be so surrounded as to seem low. From being the clear of weeds without a regular system of green-cold shoulder of a hill, it will seem a rich and happy cropping. The old method of restoration and cleaning valley. was to give the land a rest, or let it be fallow, and keep ploughing it from time to time. Peney fed and pulverised her fields, but gave them no rest. No sooner was one crop off than another was on, the plentiful manure keeping the ground sufficiently in heart. The landlord gave no play days in his rent, and Peney gave none to his land.

The auld gudewife's weel-hoordit nits,
Are round and round divided,
And mony lads' and lasses' fates
Are there that night decided:
Some kindle couthie side by side,
And burn thegither trimly;
Some start awa wi' saucy pride,
And jump out owre the chimly,
Fu' high that night.

Jean slips in twa wî' tenty ee,

Wha 'twas she wadna tell;
But this is Jock, and this is me,
She says in to hersel':

He bleezed owre her and she owre him,
As they wad never mair part;
Till, fuff! he started up the lum,
And Jean had een a sair heart
To see't that night.

We need not pursue these details further. It is enough to say, that, from a humble girl, Peney Glen-Brand, in his Popular Antiquities, is more particular: dinning has raised herself to be a woman of substance" It is a custom in Ireland, when the young women and reputation. In a state of things that often defies would know if their lovers are faithful, to put three the exertions of men of strong minds and undoubted nuts upon the bars of the grate, naming the nuts after energy, a female and why not?-found the means of the lovers. If a nut cracks or jumps, the lover will raising herself in two separate professions. Nobody's prove unfaithful; if it begins to blaze or burn, he has opinions or proceedings are now looked up to with a regard for the person making the trial. If the nuts more respect where she is known; and when the sons named after the girl and her lover burn together, they and daughters of men of substance fear to make the will be married." plunge into life, they are told to think of PENEY GLEN

DINNING.

POPULAR ENGLISH FESTIVALS.

ALL HALLOW EVEN.

Nor did Peney thrive by cultivation only. Six or eight of her handsomest queys were sent early one morning, nobody knew where; but they soon returned, and people said, Peney had missed her market As to apples-there is an equally universal custom for once. It was not so. They had been visiting an on this merry night, of hanging up a stick hori-. estate at some distance, on which the proprietor had zontally by a string from the ceiling, and putting a introduced a very handsome breed of cattle (it is becandle on the one end and an apple on the other. This lieved the Teesdale), and in due time Peney was posbeing made to twirl rapidly, the merry-makers in sucsessed of some of the prettiest little calves that had cession leap up and snatch at the apple with their ever been seen. From humanity, she always gave her ALL HALLOW EVEN, called in Scotland Halloween, bility is, that the candle comes round before they are teeth (no use of the hands allowed), when the probacalves their milk as their mothers gave it, and she did and in the north of England Nutcrack Night, is the aware, and scorches them in the face, or anoints them not break off upon this occasion. Of course her calves last evening of October, being the vigil of All Saints' with grease. The disappointments and misadventures grew apace. Her nursery, as she called it, was be- Day (November 1), a festival of the Catholic church, occasion, of course, abundance of laughter. It is sieged! As we believe it is a law of nature, that where in commemoration of those of its saints to whom, on worthy of remark, that this amusement is precisely there is plenty of food, females are chiefly produced, account of their number, particular days could not be similar to that of the quintain, which prevailed extennature taking the hint, and sending the prolific ani- allotted in their individual honour. There is perhaps sively in the days of chivalry, consisting of a wooden mal only where there seems room, most of Peney's no night of the year which the popular imagination figure mounted on a pivot, with a flat piece of wood brood were young cows; and at the proper time she has stamped with a more peculiar character than this, crossing in the situation of the arms, at the one end sold them, so far as she chose to sell, at L.3 or L.4 or which is more widely and uniformly marked by of which a bag of sand was hung. The feat was to a-head more than the ordinary stock of the district certain ceremonies and customs. It is clearly a festi-ride full tilt with a blunted spear at the other end of would bring. Peney, therefore, prospered in every val of ante-christian times, for there is nothing in the the cross piece, and escape the thwack with which the way. She had no outlet for sheep, and therefore had church observance of All Saints' Day to have origi: revolving sand-bag was sure to visit the shoulders of few, except occasionally a score or two to help in con-nated such extraordinary notions as are connected all but dexterous players. Apples are also set afloat suming the turnips, or to furnish wool for blankets; with it, or such remarkable practices as those by which in a tub of water, which, being placed on the floor, for Peney was one of those who adhered to the old it is distinguished. idea, that anything that could be produced at home young people take their turn of attempting to catch was saved to home, and so raised both wool and flax which usually is not accomplished without a great one with their teeth-a task by no means easy, and for her own purposes, and had them spun as save-alls deal of ducking and bedabbling. This peculiar cereof time. But having plenty of bran and potatoes, and mony we suspect to be less general, for it is not meneven skim-milk, her pigs were innumerable; and she tioned by Burns, nor is there any notice of it amongst did not confine them to a miry den, as is the almost the many particulars respecting All Hallow Eve coluniversal custom of pig-keepers, but gave them lodglected in Ellis's edition of Brand's Antiquities. ings, clean, dry, and airy, and had pleasure in thinking them the happiest pigs in the kingdom, as they certainly were among the handsomest. Understanding that it made them fatten faster, to be washed and brushed, and her cows give more milk to be curried, she would cause her little fellow of all work to amuse himself in that duty every other day, and, for a few pence, had probably many pounds added to the value of her stock.

The leading idea respecting All Hallow Even, or Halloween, is, that it is the time, of all others, when supernatural influences prevail. It is the night set apart for a universal walking abroad and bustling about of spirits and all sorts of beings not of this world; the night of sure divination; a time when the ideal takes the upper hand of the real everywhere, and (to use the language of an early Scottish poet)

"Al is bot ghaists and elritch fantassis."

This general character of the night escapes the notice of writers on our popular antiquities; but we know it to be that which rests in the rustic mind in Scotland, and, indeed, this is partly acknowledged by Burns in thought to be a night when witches, devils, and other a note to his poem on Halloween, which, he says, "is There was yet another peculiarity. People in Scot-ful midnight errands; particularly those aerial people, mischief-making beings, are all abroad on their baneland cannot endure to do anything which will cause the fairies, are said on that night to hold a grand anthem to be talked of; and many, for this reason, or niversary." The very same notion conveyed by the rather prejudice, have avoided, doing many things Ayrshire bard is embodied in a poem of the sixteenth which it was much their wish and interest to do; and, century, of which he probably never heard-Monton the other hand, continued doing many things they gomery's Flyting against Polwart— heartily disliked. Peney despised all this. She had found riding to market on horseback uncomfortable, and a waste of clothes; and if her servant, who necessarily accompanied her, walked, he was fatigued for the day, and if he rode, he fatigued and occupied another animal. She therefore encouraged a young man, who had a turn for neatness in carpentry, to build her a carriage that would carry them both. The price was to be a

In the hinder end of harvest, on All-Halloween,
When our good neighbours does ride, if I read right,
Some buckled on a binweed, and some on a bean,
Aye trotting in troops from the twilight.
Many a merry cottage group, holding this evening,
has been arrested by terror when a storm arose, be-,
lieving that they heard the infernal troops rattling
along upon the blast.

In the rural districts of Scotland, the first ceremony garden. The young people go out hand in hand of Halloween is the pulling of cabbage stalks in the blindfolded, and each must pull the first stalk which he meets with. They then return to the fireside to inspect their prizes. According as the stalk is found big or little, straight or crooked, so is the future wife or husband of the party to be. The quantity of earth dowry; and the taste of the pith, or castock, indicates sticking to the root denotes the amount of fortune or the temper. Finally, the stalks are placed one after another over the door, and the Christian names of the persons who chance thereafter to enter are held in the same succession to indicate those of the individuals whom the parties are to marry. The latter part o this rite is like one celebrated by Gay regarding peascods :

As peascods once I plucked, I chanced to see
One that was closely filled with three times three;
Which, when I cropped, I safely home conveyed,
And o'er the door the spell in secret laid;

* Author of a volume of poems published in Dublin, 1801.

The latch moved up, when who should first come in,
But, in his proper person-Lubberkin!
Another ceremony much practised amongst rural
folk is that of the Three Dishes. Two of these are
respectively filled with pure and soiled water, and one
is empty. They are ranged on a table, when the
parties, blindfolded, advance in succession, and dip their
fingers into one. If they dip into the pure water,
they are to marry a maiden; if into the soiled water,
a widow; if into the empty dish, they are not to
marry at all. At the advance of each party, the
situations of the dishes are duly changed. Burns
tells us that-

Auld Uncle John wha wedlock's joys
Since Mar's year did desire,
Because he got the toom dish thrice,
He heaved them in the fire
In wrath that night.

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lected into the form of a circle. There is a stone put in near the circumference, for every person of the several families interested in the bonfire; and whatever stone is moved out of its place, or injured before the next morning, the person represented by that stone is devoted, or fey, and is supposed not to live twelve months from that day." Another, reported from the same district, says “On the evening of the 31st of October, o.s., heath broom, and dressings of flax, are tied upon a pole; this faggot is then kindled. One takes it upon his shoulders, and, running, bears it round the village. A crowd attend. When the first faggot is burnt out, a second is bound to the pole, and kindled in the same manner as before. Numbers of these blazing faggots are often carried about together, and when the night happens to be dark, they form a splendid illumination." Weever, speaking of the monks of St Edmundsbury, says, "They had cerThese ceremonies everywhere enter into the merry-tain wax candles, which ever and only they used to makings of this night, because there is no terror con- light in wheat-seeding these they likewise carried nected with them. Even amongst the middle classes about their wheat grounds, believing, verily, that hereby in our larger cities, young people meet on Halloween neither darnel, tares, nor any other noisome weeds, to duck for apples, burn nuts, and dip into the Three would grow that year among their new corn." The Dishes. There are other rites of augury peculiar to coincidence of these customs in parts of the island so the night, which are perhaps scarcely anywhere prac- remote from each other can only be accounted for by tised, on account of their dismal character, a super- supposing a common origin for the people themselves. natural vision being always expected from them. No The customs are obviously Pagan in character, and poet could dream of a more wild supernaturality than show that All Hallow Eve is only a Christian festival, that of eating an apple at a looking-glass, in the expec- by virtue of that policy of the early Christians which tation of seeing the image of a future husband come dictated the taking advantage, for their own system, and look over the shoulder. Not much less terrible of the inclination to keep holy a particular day, when is the exhibition of a wet shirt sleeve at a fire at mid- they could not altogether displace the rites connected night, expecting to see from bed the same image come with it. The four great festivals of the Celtic heathen in and turn it; or the winnowing of three wechts of appear to have been the 1st of February, the 1st of nothing in a barn, in expectation of beholding that May, the 1st of August, and the 1st of November; form pass through from one door to the other. A and all of these were distinguished by the kindling of fourth rite of this kind was to go into the farm-yard, fires. That celebrated on the 1st of November was and there sow a handful of hemp-seed (a bad subject converted by the Christians into All Saints' Day. of jesting), and afterwards go through the form of harrowing it over, saying

Hemp-seed, I saw thee,
Hemp-seed, I saw thee,

And he who is to be my true love,

Come after me and draw thee.

Then, according to Burns, "Look over your left shoul-
der, and you will see the appearance of the person
invoked, in the attitude of pulling hemp." Gay
alludes to this as a rite proper to St John's or Mid-
summer Eve :-

At eve last Midsummer no sleep I sought,
But to the field a bag of hemp-seed brought;
I scattered round the seed on every side,
And three times in a trembling accent cried,
This hemp seed with my virgin hand I sow,
Who shall my true love be, the crop shall mow.
Burns represents an old wife by the fire as indignant
at her grand-daughter for proposing to eat the apple
at the glass, saying-

Ye little, skelpy, limmer face,
I daur ye try sic sportin,
As seek the foul thief ony place,
For him to spae your fortune!
Nae doubt but ye may get a sight!
Great cause ye hae to fear it;
For mony a ane has gotten a fright,
And lived and died deleerit,
On sic a night.

An example of the bad effects of such adventures
occurred so lately as 1802, when a maid-servant of Mr
Mathewson, type-founder in Edinburgh, having sown
hemp-seed in her master's foundry, and having seen
what she thought a supernatural figure, fell ill in
consequence, and died on the second day of apoplexy,
the clear effect of the fright.

The delicacy called sowens always composed the Halloween supper of a Scottish cottage or farm-house. These may be considered as the modern and common ceremonies of the vigil of All Saints. There are, besides, a class of customs evidently of far earlier antiquity, but which had many years ago become confined to remote and primitive districts. For example, in North Wales, according to Pennant, "there is a custom upon All Saints' Eve of making a great fire called Coel Coeth, when every family, about hour in the night, makes a great bonfire in the fan conspicuous place near the house, and when the fire is almost extinguished, every one throws a white stone into the ashes, having first marked it; then, having said their prayers turning round the fire, they go to bed. In the morning, as soon as they are up, they come to search out the stones, and if any one of them is found wanting, they have a notion that the person who threw it in will die before he sees another All Saints' Eve." Another writer tells us-"The autumnal fire is still kindled in North Wales, being on the eve of the 1st day of November, and is attended by many ceremonies, such as running through the fire and smoke, each casting a stone into the fire, and all running off at the conclusion to escape from the black short-tailed sow; then supping, &c." Anciently, throughout England, the master of a family carried a bunch of straw, fired, about his corn, saying

Fire and red low,

Light on my teenlow.

Teen is fire in our aboriginal language-thus, Beltein, the fire of Bel. Now, see how surprisingly similar are certain customs in Scotland. The people of Lower Perthshire, on the border of the Highlands, "set up bonfires in every village on All Saints' Eve. When the bonfire is consumed, the ashes are carefully col

There are traces of a few other customs for this eve.
Henry VIII. directed the abolition of “the vigil and
ringing of bells all night long upon All-Hallow Day at
night." Martin, in his description of the Western
Islands, written at the end of the seventeenth century,
tells us that the inhabitants of St Kilda, on the fes-
tival of All Saints, baked "a large cake in the form of
a triangle, furrowed round, and which was to be all
eaten that night." The same, or a custom nearly
similar, seems to have prevailed in different parts of
England. Martin, speaking of the isle of Lewis, says,
"The inhabitants of this island had an ancient cus-
tom to sacrifice to a sea-god, called Shony, at Hallow-
tide, in the manner following: The inhabitants round
the island came to the church of St Mulvay, having
each man his provision along with him. Every family
furnished a peck of malt, and this was brewed into
ale. One of their number was picked out to wade
into the sea up to the middle, and carrying a cup of
ale in his hand, standing still in that posture, cried
out with a loud voice, saying, 'Shony, I give you this
cup of ale, hoping that you'll be so kind as send us
plenty of sea-ware for enriching our ground the ensu-
ing year; and so threw the cup of ale into the sea.
This was performed in the night-time. At his return
to land, they all went to church, where there was a
candle burning upon the altar and then standing
silent for a little time, one of them gave a signal, at
which the candle was put out, and immediately all of
them went to the fields, where they fell a drinking
their ale, and spent the remainder of the night in
dancing and singing." Brand states that there was,
in his time, a custom in Warwickshire, of having seed
the Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, the
cake at All-hallows: this seed-cake is alluded to in
edition of 1580:

Wife, some time this week, if the weather hold clear,
An end of wheat-sowing we make for this year.
Remember you, therefore, though I do it not,
The seed cake, the pasties, the furmety-pot..

In Brand's description of Orkney, the author, speaking
of the superstitions of the inhabitants, says, "When
sprinkle them with a water made up by them, which
the beasts, as oxen, sheep, horses, &c., are sick, they
they call forespoken water; wherewith likewise they
sprinkle their boats, when they succeed and prosper
not in their fishing; and especially on Halloween, they
use to saint or sign their boats, and put a cross of tar
Probably all of these customs are now totally extinct,
upon them, which my informer hath often seen."
even in the least civilised portions of our country.

PRESENT STATE OF THINGS IN NEW
ZEALAND.

A SMALL newly published volume, entitled "Narrative
of a Residence in Various Parts of New Zealand,"
must be taken with some small allowance for the fact,
that the author, Mr Heaphy, is a surveyor in the em-
ployment of the New Zealand Company. It contains,
however, some interesting intelligence respecting the
progress and present condition of the colonies in that
part of the world. He spent two years and a-haif in
the islands, during which, he assures us, he never
experienced a day's illness, though often obliged to
appears too humid to those who have been accus-
sleep in the open air. The climate, he says, only
tomed to the aridity of Australia; he considers New

* Reported by the minister of Callender, in the Statistical Ac

count of Scotland, 1791

† Sanctify.

Zealand as possessing a climate not more rainy or
tempestuous than that of England.
"The effect,"
he says, " of the equability of the climate is most con-
spicuous in the rapid development of vegetable life,
and its constant progress. I have seen on many of
the trees and shrubs indigenous to the country, every
stage of yearly vegetation appearing at one time; the
leaf, bud, flower, fruit, and decayed leaf were each,
seemingly, in their natural state, and without any ap-
pearance of defect. During the two winter months of
June and July, nature seems in more repose than at
other times; but even then there is no suspension of
vegetable life."

The cereal grains are all growing well in New Zealand, and it is expected that the Australian colonies will soon be chiefly supplied with wheat from this younger settlement. All the ordinary English vegetables and fruits are now reared with success at Wellington; potatoes, upon cleared forest land, already yielding 14 tons per acre. "To prove the extraordinary productiveness of the soil even in places where it should be least expected, I need only mention the circumstance, that on the day of my departure from Wellington, I saw in the garden of a poor man on the beach, strawberries, with ripe fruit, growing in the sand, within ten paces of the sea. I may also mention having seen pumpkins, maize, and melons, growing in the sandy soil of the beach of Thorndon, ere that place was chosen as the site of Wellington. English flax, or linseed, is also to be seen growing in a similar soil near the mouth of the Hutt." Farming is proceeding with spirit. "The gentlemen from the neighbouring colonies, who have settled in Wellington, have shown an excellent example of spirit and energy to those more recently arrived from England. They know the difficulties which are to be combated in all new settlements, and are not daunted by the sight of a government prohibition, or a hilly district; by a colonial secretary, or a forest."

The systematic settlement of the country has already had a marked effect upon the natives, who, as is well known, have ever been eager to see a white population amongst them. "The native now begins to see his own defects, and seeks to remedy them; and is anxious to place himself on an equal footing with the white people, by availing himself of the benefit of their improvements. As an instance of this, I may mention the circumstance of the fast disappearance of the native huts about Wellington, in consequence of their inhabitants discovering the superior comfort of more roomy houses built in the English mode. All the superior chiefs about Port Nicholson have now tolerably well-built cottages.

Great numbers of the inferior chiefs and common people are now domesticated in the houses of the settlers, for whom they work as servants. They will clear land, build, fence, fish, shoot, and cook for them, and but seldom, when treated with confidence, do they show themselves unworthy of it. It is not unfrequently that the settlers, on any temporary absence from the town, leave their houses in the charge of a native; and at such times, I have never heard of any act of dishonesty having been committed by one.

The Port Nicholson natives have a great liking for European clothing, and their personal vanity in no slight degree promotes their industry. One merchant in Wellington has on his books the names of nearly 200 natives, to whom he has given credit for various articles of clothing and ornament; and amongst that number are none who do not immediately cancel the account against them when able to do so, nor does the do not at all times display much refinement of taste vender find their custom unprofitable. The natives in their method of arranging their dress, but they are excellent judges of its quality, and are seldom deceived by a showy appearance of the article they are bargaining for.

sums of money. The amount of specie in circulation Many of them are in possession of considerable amongst them was estimated by Mr Smith, the mamyself seen as much as forty pounds tied up in the nager of the Wellington bank, at L.150,000. I have corner of a chief's blanket. Any native who chooses to work for a settler in Port Nicholson can obtain half-a-crown a day for any length of time, and on considering their few wants, it will be apparent that this is a fair rate of wages.

That trust and reliance can be put in them with safety, is sufficiently shown by the fact of the mail between the settlements of New Plymouth, Petre, and Wellington, being carried by a native weekly; and the circumstance of E'Wari, one of the young chiefs of Port Nicholson, having, with a native boat's crew, gone off to the Olympus emigrant ship, in the straits, during a gale, and piloted her with safety into the harbour and anchorage, and for which he received five pounds, proves the ability and confidence which some of them possess.

The Port Nicholson natives are fully aware of, and appreciate, the power of the law. Their dissensions between themselves and with the English they continually refer to the decision of the magistrate; and they at all times follow his opinion or advice, even in cases out of his legal judication.

Very few of the natives in the company's settlements repent having sold their land. Some difficulties have occurred when the settlers have chosen, for their sections, native plantations; this, however, cannot be wondered at, as they had then no knowledge of the situation of their reserved land, and naturally felt jea

lous and alarmed at being dispossessed of their potato grounds, which are of course their most important property. All are now aware of the sufficiency of the reserved land for their wants; and through the judicious selection of many of their clearings for such reserves, the recurrence of any inconveniences on this matter is prevented."

Mr Heaphy gives a description of the principal town, Wellington, as it was at a recent date, after less than three years existence. It is "chiefly built on what are called the Lambton Flats, which are two pieces of flat or gently sloping ground, extending from the hills at the back of the town to the beach. Each of these flats is about a mile square, and the two would have been sufficient in size for the site of the town, had it been laid out in half instead of whole acre sections. Had the town covered only 550 acres, nothing could have surpassed the excellence of the site; as for commercial purposes, the advantage of having a town nearly encircling a good harbour, and with so extended a water frontage as three miles, is of great importance, and but rarely to be obtained. The quantity of ground which Wellington actually covers, gives the built portion of it rather a straggling appearance. This, however, is its only fault.

At first, the town consisted of few but native-built houses, which, although roughly put together, and seldom perfectly weather-proof, in the mild New Zealand climate served well the wants of the settlers, until they found themselves in a sufficiently secure position to enable them safely to expend money in the erection of more substantial dwellings. The houses at present extend along three-fourths of the beachfrontage of the town; and all the land in the immediate vicinity of the water is consequently already of great value. The average rent of land on the beach is L.1 per lineal foot of admeasurement, and this is given freely as an adequate value. The price of the land removed from the beach is very variable, but any within half a mile of it may be let advantageously. In all parts of the town are now interspersed many handsome and substantially-built houses. These are in general the storehouses of the wholesale merchant, many of whom have been at considerable expense in rendering their establishments efficient and commodious. Three piers, or jetties, have been built by private persons, and one by a company; by their extending out a considerable distance into deep water, they much facilitate the landing of cargo and general communication with the shipping. The wharf latest built has sufficiently deep water alongside to enable ships of 150 tons burden to discharge cargo upon it. When I left Port Nicholson, the Kate brigantine was landing a cargo of oil on to it. The proprietor of one of the other piers intends extending its length yearly, until large vessels may approach it.

The number of substantially-built wooden or brick houses in Wellington was, in November last, 195, and their cost I estimate at L.23,600. In making this estimate, I have carefully calculated the cost of each house, and the result is certainly not far, either way, from being correct. The number of native-built houses was about 250, and their value may be estimated at L.3000. The total number of houses may, therefore, be calculated at 445, or thereabouts, at the date of the last intelligence from the colony, and their total value at L.26,600. The population of the town was principally engaged in commercial pursuits.

It is a circumstance much to be deplored, that the indecisive yet threatening conduct of the government towards the settlers, in the early days of the colony, should have so damped their spirit and enterprise as to cause them to turn their attention and capital almost exclusively to mercantile affairs, rather than to the clearing and cultivation of land, which was then deemed a hazardous and insecure investment of capital. Fortunately, however, this idea has now changed for a more rational one, in consequence of the Title' question being settled, and the proprietors being in possession of their land. They now seem to perceive that it is from the soil alone that they can ever expect to obtain wealth; and that the system of intertrading must in the end prove ruinous."

When Mr Heaphy left Wellington in November 1841, fifteen individuals were engaged in clearing land in the Hutt Valley, the cost being about ten or twelve pounds per acre. In Wellington, at that time, "I calculate," he says, "there were about 3000 white people; in Kaiwarawara, 200; in Petoni and Aglionby, 250; ganui, 250; making a total population of 3700 English in the first settlement. The number which had arrived in the company's immigrant ships was 3386 for the Wellington settlement; and somewhat more than 300 had arrived from the adjacent Australian colonies, or in private vessels from England. The number who have left the colony is very trifling; and in Port Nicholson far more have been born than have died. To the present population of Port Nicholson must be added a number of passengers who were on their way to the colony at the date of the latest intelligence. Allowing 200 to have arrived at Wellington from New South Wales (and considering the bad state of affairs in that colony, it will not appear that the estimate is extravagant), the population will now be about 4600. About Port Nicholson a great part of the native population ought to be included in the census, as they live in the families of the English, work for them, and are entirely domesticated. Out of about 500, which is their number around Port Nicholson, 200 might be

and in Porirua, on the coast, and at Petre and Wan

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HINTS TO OPERATIVES. AMONG Mr Knight's useful series of publications, forming "Guides to Trades," we perceive that one has lately the plain and concise manner in which it is written, and appeared under the title of "The Tailor," which, from the kindly advices with which it abounds, cannot fail to be serviceable to the numerous body of artisans for whose benefit it has been composed. We are not aware whether our pages are ever honoured with a place on the "shopboard," but if they are, the following hints as to meals and personal conduct and character, from the treatise in question, will be perused, we hope, with some degree of advantage. It may be added, that the hints will apply to many besides tailors :

"At supper time, the quantity of food taken should always be small, and it should consist of such articles as are most agreeable to the stomach rather than the palate. Many young men hurt themselves by taking at this meal other raw vegetables; or it may be that they eat shrimps, large quantities of radishes, onions, water-cresses, or crabs, oysters, periwinkles, or such like fish, that are equally indigestible. To these things they will sometimes add cheese, and their bread will be, as usual, new, or very nearly so. Upon this heterogeneous mass of solid food they will put perhaps two or three pints of porter, and probably some spirituous liquor; while, as if to make the mischief as complete as possible, they will smoke a considerable quantity of tobacco, and sit sometimes for several hours in company with a number of men who are similarly employed. It were a waste of words to describe at length how injurious all this must necessarily be to the health of a young man, perhaps just come from the country, where he has breathed a comparatively pure air, and has had many other means of preserving his health, such as he will not easily find, or even a substitute for them, in a large and crowded city. The sad conse quences of this imprudence are soon perceptible, not only by the subject of it, but also to all around him; and it is well for him when he escapes with no worse consequences than a greatly and constantly disordered stomach; for distressing as this is, it is not the worst, by far, of the effects that may and often do ensue upon such egregious folly as that of which he has been guilty. But enough has been now said upon this subject to warn such as are disposed to take the warning.

cards, bagatelle, and such like games, to the joint injury of his health, his morals, and his pocket.

He should also take care to avoid seeking amusement in company with what are called 'good fellows,' either in the streets, or at fairs, races, theatres, 'free and easy' clubs, odd-fellows' lodges, and the like; as hereby he will doubtless get no good, and the probability is that he will get much harm, by learning habits of idleness and dissipation, for the days as well as the evenings and the nights will be often required for one or other of these

amusements.

Moreover, let him be careful how he spends his Sundays, otherwise he will gradually be drawn into the very common, yet very injurious, habit of spending the first half of that day in a listless manner, being neither shaved, tippling at an ale-house, or revelling in a place yet more washed, nor dressed; and the remainder of it in either dangerous to his health and morals.

will ultimately find that, although he may not be able to If he attends to these admonitions and counsels, he command great wealth, or fame, or station, he will both acquire and enjoy what is far better than all these together, namely, good health, a peaceful and contented mind, a fair reputation, and in general as much money as will enable him to procure all the necessaries and many of the comforts of life. And should he at any subsequent time be enabled to become a master, he will be all the more likely to succeed well in that capacity, for having been an industrious, careful, and well-behaved journeyman. Such cases are by no means rare; and although all may be worthy and intelligent men, and, being such, may cannot be masters, much less wealthy masters, yet all reasonably look for a sufficient maintenance, and also for much real and lasting enjoyment."

DUTCH LAUNDRESSES.

The Dutch possessed the art of washing, bleaching, and doing up linens, long before it was understood in England. During the reigns of Charles I. and II., and as lately as that of Queen Anne, many English families used to send their household and family linen all the way to Holland to be washed and bleached. Frequent mention of this fashion is made in the comedies written about these periods. The Dutch used to pride themselves upon the beauty and costliness of their linen, and, we may add, their china, in which articles many families have been known to expend several thousand pounds. The labouring classes were wont, in those days of Dutch prosperity, to partake largely of this national pride; and few mechanics could be found who would sit down without having a damask napkin to hang before him. Perhaps it is not generally known that the names of some of our finer tissues are derived from places in or near Flanders. Diaper is a corruption of D'Ypres, and Cumbric is from Cambray.

A NORWAY DEAL.

The "Travels of a Norway Deal," before it reaches its upon it in a London floor. Felled, perhaps, in the primdestination, would astonish many that unthinkingly tread eval forests of central Norway, the trunk is dragged over stream, in readiness to be floated down as soon as returnthe hardened snow in the following winter to the nearest

As to exercise, there certainly are difficulties in the may to a great extent be obviated by a little prudent way of taking it regularly and at proper times, but these management. A good walk, both in the morning and the evening, may be secured by simply taking care to lodge at a considerable distance from the shop, which arrangement will make it necessary to rise in the morning earlier than otherwise it would be, and thus a seconding spring unbinds the waters from their frozen sleep. Then down many a foaming cataract, across many a torbenefit will be obtained. There will also probably be pid lake, along many a tributary river, must it be conthe advantage of breathing a somewhat purer atmosphere veyed into the Gotha or the Glommen, to be finally than that of the crowded city, as a convenient lodging floated into the timber yards of Christiana, or Drammen, for a single man may be readily found on the skirts of the or Gothenborg. It is usual for the principal merchants town, and it is thitherward that his attention should be of those towns to hire from the proprietors in the interior experiment, he will find himself none the worse, but most directed when he seeks for one. If he will but make the the privilege of cutting trees in the forests the best likely much the better, both in health and in personal for each dozen, besides paying for the labour. They are suited for their purpose, at the rate of about two shillings comfort, by having a walk of from two to three miles marked and sent down in the manner described; and at every day. In addition to this, he may often contrive to different stations of their route there are persons apget a short walk before dinner, and this will prepare him pointed by the respective merchants to assist them over to take that meal with far more advantage than if he sits the different obstacles they have to encounter. These in the tap-room of an ale-house, and gets to smoking or men may often be seen, when the rivers are in flood from drinking, as is often done before dinner as well as afterthe melting of the snows, with long hooked poles in their wards. The best way to avoid all temptation to this prac- hands, directing the timber over the fosses, and along the tice is to refrain altogether from taking his meals at a beertortuous channels. Their labour is severe, and they are house, or in any other way making such a place his home. The next thing that remains to be noticed is respecusually paid one mark (or tenpence) a-day, without victuals; or half a mark if provided with food.-Two tability of character;' and here it should be understood Summers in Norway. that a mechanic may be, if he pleases, as respectable as a nobleman in all that goes to make up true respectability. And it is very important that a young man should aim at preserving or attaining this, as hereby he will be sure in the long run to gain the respect of both his master and his fellow-workmen, and will also, on this account, be likely to secure constant employment, and that, too, perhaps, in preference to a superior workman who is of a disreputable character and appearance.

Masters in general have a decided predilection for decently-dressed and well-behaved workmen, and seldom times discharge a man that is dirty, ragged, and vulgar, fail to show their regard for such; while they will somesolely on account of these faults.

But highly important as is this respectability, it will not be likely to be duly valued, unless care be taken to avoid the following evils-for they are really evils, and great ones, too, whatever may be thought or said to the contrary. And, first, let every young man be careful to have a bedroom entirely to his own use, as the first step to his ruin may consist in having a fellow-lodger, especially if he be a dissolute man; and such men as this are usually very forward in getting an inexperienced youth to lodge with them, since hereby they can often manage to indulge their passion for intemperance or for gambling at the expense of another person.

house in the evening after he leaves work, as he will And then, let such a one beware of going to the beerthereby be in danger of being led on' by confirmed sots or by gamblers, until he will fall into their habits, perhaps almost imperceptibly to himself, and thus, without intending to do anything more than to drink a little beer in a social way, and to smoke what is called a friendly pipe,' he will gradually learn to spend, perhaps, several hours every evening in drinking, smoking, and playing

THE LAW OF WAGERS.

Until within the last ten years, all wagers, except those made at cards, were enforced in the courts of law. Lord Holt tried an action on a wager whether a player at backgammon, "who stirred one of his men, but did not play it, was bound to play it." And at a later period, Sir James Mansfield tried an action on a wager of a rump and dozen, whether the defendant was older than the plaintiff. The plaintiff recovered, and on a motion for a new trial, the court of Common Pleas decided that the action was maintainable; for though Sir James Mansfield

had some compunction, as he did not judicially know the

meaning of "a rump and dozen," Mr Justice Heath relieved him by observing, “that they knew well, privately, that a rump and dozen meant a good dinner and wine." Upon which the learned judge declared, in the most distinct manner, that he could discover “no illegality." Lord Loughborough was the first to object to try an action on a wager "whether there were more ways than six of nicking seven on the dice." And Lord Ellenborough refused to try another arising out of a beat of two guineas on the weight of a cock. The legality of wagers, and the duty of the courts of law in England to give them effect, has been often recognised; for instance, in the action before Lord Mansfield, on a wager on the sex of the Chevalier d'Eon, which ultimately failed, not because it was a wager, but on a different ground-the illegality of contracts by which parties gratuitously created to themselves an interest in the exposure or annoyance of a third person.-Newspaper paragraph.

LONDON: Published, with permission of the proprietors, by W. S. ORR, Paternoster Row.

Printed by Bradbury and Evans, Whitefriars.

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