we not waited, that some one better versed in Indian lore should do it. ABNAKI (vol. iv., pp. 30, 117, 180).-In an address at Halifax, by the Rev. S. T. Rand, a missionary to the Micmacs of Nova Scotia, there is the following passage in relation to the opinions of the Indians of Canada West, among whom he had been travelling, in regard to the origin of this word: "They call the Eastern tribes Wob'na-ering what might be called "a short speech or kie;' Wob'n, in both Micmac and Ojibway, meaning, 'the dawn.' 'Aurora,' 'l'aube,' in French; and hence the East." (Tenth Report Micmac Miss. Soc., p. 30.) This word, prefixed, in the usual Indian mode, to "auke," or "ohke" (as the sound is expressed by R. Williams and Eliot), meaning "land," appears to be the veritable origin of the word "Abnaki," and is readily interpreted, "The East Land." Your correspondent speaks of the ceremony as being witnessed near their place, in the year 1832 or '33; and in the account which he gives, alludes to "the grand sachem, old Red Jacket,” as delivinvocation." Either your correspondent is much mistaken in regard to the date at which this ceremony occurred, or else he was grievously imposed upon by his informant; Red Jacket died upon the 20th day of January, 1830, and therefore could not very well have delivered the "short speech or invocation." Your correspondent also speaks of the sacrificial festival lasting but a single day, or even night, when in fact, the ceremonies attendant upon it, occupy an entire week. The festival occurs in mid-winter; generally about the first of February, though no special time is appointed. A few days previous, the members of the tribe assemble at the councilhouse, and a general confession of sins is instituted, which of course occupies some time. After two or three days have elapsed, the medicine men, disguised in the skins of animals, with vari It is, perhaps, worth more than a passing notice, to point to the fact, that the leading consonants in the word "Japan" or "Jih-pun," as more strictly written,* are identical with the leading consonants in the word "Wob'n," elsewhere written "Waban." (Eliot.) The letters p and b, are commutable. The letterj, in "Japan," pronounced y, is not an integral part of the original word, and w in the Algonquin dialects has a whistled sound (Heckewelder), easily dropped when abo-ous and fantastical trimmings of corn-husks, bones, riginal words are pronounced by the vocal organs of Europeans. Thus "ja Pa N" or "ya Pa N," and "wa'BaN," or "wâ PaN," show a striking similarity. The meaning of Japan, when traced to its derivation is the "origin of the sun," . e., "Sun rising in the East," and so denotes its locality in regard to other nations; and this, too, indicates a marked similarity to Waban, if not an identity of origin in a common central point of departure. The Chinese add the word "koue," meaning "kingdom;" thus, "Jih-pun-koue"--"The Eastern Kingdom," which certainly calls to mind the terminal syllables of "Abn-aki." One word more-perhaps others may be found, which adds confirmation to the above conjecture. In the Algonquin, or Abnaki dialects, "nebe" or "nepe" means water. In the Japanese language "ko-nabe," means pan,† i. e.,' a vessel to contain water." These resemblances prove, perhaps, no more than a divergence of these languages from one original centre. BRUNOVICUS. 66 feathers, &c., proceed from house to house, and announce that the festival has commenced, chanting short hymns. This ceremony is twice performed, in the morning and in the afternoon, and with the strangling of the white dog, concludes the performance of the first day. The second day is occupied in visiting; small parties and families visiting the various houses in the village, and passing the time in conversation, games, and singing. The third and fourth days are passed much in the same manner, though dancing is introduced and is made the principal feature; the War, the Feather, or any of the numerous dances being performed, as the inclination of each party leads them. They are the merriest of the festal days, and the revelry is usually extended far into the night. Upon the fifth day the sacrifice takes place. Early in the morning the council is assembled, and the council-house filled to overflowing with an eager and expectant multitude. When every thing is prepared, the dog is taken down and placed upon the sacrificial altar, erected near the council-house, the "priests" chanting a song while the fire is kindling. Slowly at first the flames creep around the lower woodwork of the altar, the smoke curling upwards among the crevices, and the song is low and solemn; but as the flames roll higher, flashing over the altar, and licking the smooth white hair of the sacrificial offering, and blackening it, the chant swells to a wild chorus which rings out into the still night air with a startling clearness, Suddenly the song ceases, and a "priest," clothed in fanciful apparel, advances to the front of the altar and pours forth a flood of Indian eloquence, from time to time scattering upon the burnt-offering, tobacco leaves, that incense might continually ascend to the Great Spirit. After this oration is delivered, the assemblage, leaving the half-burned sacrifice upon the still smoking altar, disperse and conclude the ceremonies of the day with the Feather dance, at the council-house. "THE PSALTER | OR | PSALMS | OF | DAVID, | POINTED AS THEY ARE TO BE SUNG OR SAID IN CHURCHES. | With the ORDER for MORNING and EVENING | PRAYER DAILY throughout the YEAR. "NEW LONDON: | PRINTED BY THOMAS C. GREEN, ON THE PARADE. | 1795. 12mo." Signatures A to O. The Calendar and Rubrics are omitted, as well as the Latin title of the Psalms. The contents are, Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, the Creed of St. Athanasius, the Litany, Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings, the Catechism, the Psalter. In the Psalter, the pointing of the English Church is retained, as stated on the title-page, but the text conforms neither to that of the English nor American Book of Common Prayer; I have noted over fifty variations; particularly, such changes are made as the following: e. g., Ps. v. 11, “Destroy thou them, . . . let them perish, cast them out" &c., reads, "Thou wilt destroy them, they shall perish... thou wilt cast them out," &c. ... The sixth day is passed by singing and dancing, the Ga-na-o-uh, or Thanksgiving dance, forming a principal feature. This is interpersed with thanksgiving songs, and differs from the Feather dance only in this and a few other unimportant points. The seventh day commences with a thanksgiving concert, sometimes lasting the entire evening. It consists in returning thanks for every benefit received, both from on high and from an earthly hand; each person in council making an appropriate speech, closing with an original song, in the chorus of which all join. The after part of the day is passed in gambling-truly a pitiable conclusion for this, the most sacred of the festivals I have understood that this book was got up which they celebrate. The Gur-ga-ah, played for use in that church, by two influential memwith peach-stones and a bowl, upon the same bers of the parish of St. James, New London, principle with which dice are now thrown, the relatives of Bishop Seabury, who was rector stones being numbered and differently cut-a pre- there, and one of them a churchwarden. They scribed number of "points," usually fifty, or a thought the imprecations in certain Psalms not hundred, being pledged. This game was a favor-suited or proper to be used in the public service ite pastime, and introduced into the festival, be- of the church. The Athanasian Creed was incause it was thought it was permitted in the serted probably through the influence, or out of hunting grounds of the blessed. regard to the opinions of Bishop Seabury. Thus ended this celebrated festival. We have attempted to describe it as it was celebrated in the palmy days of the Iroquois-as tradition hands it down to us. Now, as a nation, they have sadly degenerated; though occasionally we see among them a form and bearing which reminds us of the olden time. This festival has not, however, changed in any material point. The dog may be decked with a few more ribbons than formerly, and the ceremony may have been less solemn; but in its main features, the festival was observed twenty, as it was fifty, and probably hundreds of years ago. C. D. N. HARTFORD, November 27, 1860. C. J. H. PORTRAITS OF LOUIS XVI. AND HIS QUEEN (vol. iv., p. 317).-Watson's "Annals of Philadelphia," vol. ii., p. 498, records thus, viz.: The Pictures of the King and Queen of France.-In March, 1784, these large and elegantly-framed pictures arrived at Philadelphia, in the ship Queen of France, being presents from the king. They were set up in the large committee room of the Senate, at the southeast corner of Sixth and Chestnut streets; thence went to Washington City, and were burned, I believe, by the British, under Gen. Ross. The portrait of the king was much like Governeur Morris, who was a very fine-looking inan." EARLY AMERICAN EDITIONS OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (vol. i., pp. 14, 88, 158, 219, 220, 281, 308, 312; vol. ii., 148, 211, 306).—The inquiry made on page 88, vol. i., of the Historical I may now say (in October, 1860), that these Magazine, has already received a number of re-portraits were often seen by me, while the Conplies, which have furnished us with descriptions of many American printed liturgical works. There is, however, one before me, which has hitherto remained unnoticed, and whose exist ence indeed has been known to but few: its title is : gress sat in Philadelphia. They were of full stat- BEAUHARNAIS (vol. iv., p. 347).—The query supposes that the Marquis Beauharnais was the illegitimate son of Louis XIV. It is an error that cannot be justified; the family documents exist which prove the contrary. At any rate, Napoleon III. is not descended from the governor of Canada. The Marquis of Beauharnais died childless, though married for twenty-eight years. H. V. MONTREAL. Obituary. DIED at Philadelphia, November 21, Major JOHN EATON LE CONTE. Major Le Conte was born in Georgia, in 1783. In his youth he devoted himself to science and engineering, and occupied, during a portion of his life, the position of major in the corps of Military Engineers. Some of our finest public works were designed or constructed under his direction. Among others, in his native city. His works are quite numerous, some of them being anonymous. Among them are "Facts, Feelings, and Fancies;" "The Poet's Quest;" "The Crowning Hour;" "Harry Layden;" "Mora Carmody," the most pleasing of his tales; "The Comedy of Life;" "Father Felix," a translation of which appeared in Germany; "Poems, Dramatic and Miscellaneous," "Ravellings from the Web of Life," "Bickerton, or the Immigrant's Daughter." A volume of “ Dramas," including his "Oath of Office," his best effort in that line, and "Tighe Lifford." He also compiled a Speller and a Series of Readers. Several of these were reprinted in England. A critical estimate of his writings will be found in Brownson's Quarterly for October, 1857. Some of his minor lyrics are extremely happy. Notes on Books. Fitz-Greene Halleck. First Complete Edition. New York: 1860. Royal 8vo, 192 pp. Fort Monroe, and other defences, at Old Point The Croakers. By Joseph Rodman Drake and Comfort; and several works in South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. At the time of his death, he was probably the oldest naturalist in the country. He was vice-president of the American Academy of Natural Sciences, and considered one of the most accurate of naturalists. November 20, near Burlington, New Jersey, WILLIAM S. STOCKTON, founder and editor (in 1821) of the Wesleyan Repository. In New York, Nov. 1860, PETER STUYVESANT, a descendant of the Dutch governors of the colony of New Netherlands, at the time of its conquest. He was an active member of the New York Historical Society, and besides selling the ground on which the library stands at a reduced rate, contributed largely to the building fund. He was a regular attendant at its meetings, and always manifested great interest in its success. Gov. Peter Stuyvesant had two sons, the elder, Balthazar, removed to the West Indies. His second son, Nicholas William, remained and had two sons; 1, Peter, who was drowned; and 2, Gerard, father of Nicholas William, who died unmarried; and Peter. The latter, by his son Nicholas William, was grandfather of the decensed. In New York, Nov. 9, 1860, CHARLES JAMES CANNON, a poet, dramatist, and novelist. He was born in New York, of an Irish family, Nov. 4, 1800, and, except some years in early life, always resided Ts privately-printed publication of the New York Bradford Club, possesses unusual interest, both on account of its literary merit and its historical value. A hitherto inaccessible collection of papers, by such authors as Drake and Halleck, would be sought for with avidity, be the subject what it might; but to this attraction is added the piquant charm of personal and political satire of various celebrities of a past day, who yet live in our recollections, or supply the material of our after-dinner gossip. The Croakers belong to the New York of forty years ago, in the good old days of the city when DeWitt Clinton was governor, Dr. Mitchill, surgeon-general, Richard Riker, recorder, John Lang, editor, John Minshull, playwright, Edmund Simpson, manager of the old Park Theatre. They recount in very sprightly numbers the humors of the day, opening just at the season of Gen. Jackson's visit to New York, in 1819, when that famous man discomfited his entertainers at Tammany Hall, by proposing at their banquet the health of DeWitt Clinton, an object of great dislike to them, but a personage, notwithstanding, for whom he had the greatest admiration. Clinton figures largely through these papers. The activity of his mind is well known, and how multifarious was the learning he introduced into his compositions. There is a fair hit at this in one of these compositions, which is now first published, though it was written at the time to which it refers. It is a travesty of the governor's speech of January, 1825. A stanza or two may show its quality: To Tallmadge of the upper house, It seems by general admission, Bargaining, building, and bee-hiving. (The dream of philosophic man), From New Orleans to the Bay of Fundy, I've climb'd my country's loftiest tree, Still mocks my eagle wing and eye, For though but second in command, An admiral's on the seas. And, if Ambition can ask more, A princely pride creates, Because it gives me kindred claims To greatness with those glorious names, Of the new pieces from the manuscripts of both authors, one published in the Evening Post as recently as 1830, strikes us as peculiarly happy in its satire. It is entitled " Epistle to Robert Hogbin, Esq., one of the Committee of WorkingMen, &c., at the Westchester Hotel, Bowery;" a person who would appear to have been something of an agrarian in his reforms. There is little danger of error in attributing this piece to the poet Halleck: Yes, there's much in a name, and a Hogbin so fit is Bids men leave their workshops to work in committees, For that great moral purpose, whose impulse divine And their own wedded wives to protect yours and mine. That we working-men prophets are sadly mistaken, Whom your ancestors housed, if we judge by his name. When the moment arrives that we've won the good fight, And broken the chains of laws, churches, and marriages, When no infants are born under six feet in height, And our chimney-sweeps mount up a flue in their carriages; That glorious time when our daughters and sons Yours, In addition to these and other new pieces, the work is enriched by a body of illustrative notes, which do great credit to the editor, Mr. John B. Moreau, to whose sympathies with the poems, as a New Yorker, the Bradford Club is indebted in the first instance for this choice publication. The Book of the Signers; Containing fac-simile Letters of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, illustrated with engravings of their Residences, Portraits, &c. Edited by Win. Brotherhead. Philadelphia: Wm. Brotherhead. 1861. 4to. THIS is a highly creditable volume, for the idea and execution of which great praise is due. The Signers will ever be objects of reverence to every American heart. A letter, with the portrait, or tomb, or residence of each of those who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, cannot fail to possess an abiding and elevating interest. American Historical and Literary Curiosities; consisting of Fac Similes of Original Documents Relating to the Events of the Revolution, &c., &c.; with a variety of Reliques, Antiquities, and Modern Autographs. Collected and edited by John Jay Smith and John F. Watson. Sixth edition. New York: G. P. Putnam. 1861. 4to. MR. PUTNAM has issued a new edition of the first series of "Sinith's American Historical and Liter BEAUHARNAIS (vol. iv., p. 347).-The query supposes that the Marquis Beauharnais was the illegitimate son of Louis XIV. It is an error that cannot be justified; the family documents exist which prove the contrary. At any rate, Napoleon III. is not descended from the governor of Canada. The Marquis of Beauharnais died childless, though married for twenty-eight years. H. V. MONTREAL. Obituary. DIED at Philadelphia, November 21, Major JOHN EATON LE CONTE. Major Le Conte was born in Georgia, in 1783. In his youth he devoted himself to science and engineering, and occupied, during a portion of his life, the position of major in the corps of Military Engineers. Some of our finest public works were designed or constructed under his direction. Among others, Fort Monroe, and other defences, at Old Point Comfort; and several works in South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. At the time of his death, he was probably the oldest naturalist in the country. He was vice-president of the American Academy of Natural Sciences, and considered one of the most accurate of naturalists. November 20, near Burlington, New Jersey, WILLIAM S. STOCKTON, founder and editor (in 1821) of the Wesleyan Repository. แ in his native city. His works are quite numer- Notes on Books. The Croakers. By Joseph Rodman Drake and THIS privately-printed publication of the New In New York, Nov. 1860, PETER STUYVESANT, a descendant of the Dutch governors of the colony of New Netherlands, at the time of its conquest. He was an active member of the New York Historical Society, and besides selling the ground on which the library stands at a reduced rate, contributed largely to the building fund.ker, recorder, John Lang, editor, John Minshull, He was a regular attendant at its meetings, and always manifested great interest in its success. Gov. Peter Stuyvesant had two sons, the elder, Balthazar, removed to the West Indies. His second son, Nicholas William, remained and had two sons; 1, Peter, who was drowned; and 2, Gerard, father of Nicholas William, who died unmarried; and Peter. The latter, by his son Nicholas William, was grandfather of the deceased. In New York, Nov. 9, 1860, CHARLES JAMES CANNON, a poet, dramatist, and novelist. He was born in New York, of an Irish family, Nov. 4, 1800, and, except some years in early life, always resided playwright, Edmund Simpson, manager of the old |