221 POSTSCRIPT. Dr. Wolff's Mission to Bokhara. We cannot but say that we feel happy in being enabled to an nounce to the readers of this Review the fact that Government, at the special intervention of Sir Robert Peel, have repaid to Captain Grover the sum of £400, which that gallant officer had advanced to Dr. Wolff to enable him to reach England. We look upon this as an earnest of the growing affection of the late Government to the truly noble object of the mission to Bokhara. Were the noble captain requited as his generous philanthropy entitled him to be, we feel that some of our largest capitalists might have their coffers exhausted and the deed not done, for gold cannot repay some exertions. At present that gallant officer is, we fear, large sums out of pocket for his chivalric exertions to save the friend for whom he would have gone to the antipodes. The country at large has deep reason to be proud of the Divine and the Soldier. We yet expect to see some recognition by the country of the respective services of each of them; we are sure such a step on the part of the present administration would be looked on as a graceful acknowledgment of the courage that planned, the determination that executed, and the prudence that distinguished the mission of the Stoddart and Conolly Committee. Assuredly Asia rings with it, and it would shame England that an act which commanded the respect of the thievish Turkomaun, the wandering Bedouin, the oppressed Hazārah, the proud Usbeck, and the polished Persian,-an act that every foreign state, whether Russia, Austria, Italy, or France, has extolled without end, should remain in the country that originated it unappreciated and unrewarded. Shall we never have any sense of the value of peaceful graces, of holy piety, of disinterested friendship? and will scenes of blood always command the admiration of the Englishman, while the higher points of moral organization are neglected? It is written, "They that take the sword shall perish by the sword;" unless holier and purer acts had followed, such would have been an apostle's doom, and such is that nation's that loves blood and neglects mercy. 000 CRITICAL SKETCHES. ART, XIII.-Adventures in the Pacific. By John Coulter, M.D. Dublin: W. Curry, Jun., and Co. 1845. THE first remarkable feature that strikes us in the work before us is, the vast number of islands in the Pacific that appear to be tenanted by solitaries, from choice; and, really the usage that these Robinson Crusoes encounter from their kind, is certainly not likely to convert misanthropy into philanthropy. To plunder the lone solitary of an island appears to us the acmé of cruelty, and yet not only is it constantly done, but ill usage also added to robbery. The following whaling story is told with much spirit: it is our author's first whaling exploit: "On we went to the nearest whale, and pulled up to it boldly, yet carefully, until the nose of the boat nearly touched it, when in I darted both irons with all my force. Stern, all!' and stern they did quick enough; the fish breached high out of the water, causing such a tremendous splash that the boat was nearly half filled, and required instant baling out; this was quickly effected with the boat's bucket. The whale did not, as usual, sound, but after the breach made off, so we peaked our oars. I took a turn of the line round the loggerhead to hold on, and off we flew through the bay, towed away at a rapid rate. There were no more than thirty fathoms of the line out. At last, after coursing over a few miles, it eased its way; we hauled up alongside, and I lanced it boldly for a few minutes, then off again. Sometimes, when hauling up and close to the fish, it would raise the flukes, shake them threateningly at us; then we were obliged to pay out more line, to get out of the way. This game was playing for upwards of four hours, and we were all greatly fatigued, having no interval of rest, and were beginning to think we would be compelled to cut the line and let all go, when the whale eased its way again. We hauled up with desperation on it, and I got two fortunate darts of the lance into it; it died, and turned over in a few minutes without a struggle, being tired out. They were nearly all green hands in the boat, but acted very well. Discipline was now again relaxed, and all hands stood up and gave three hearty cheers. We took the double of the line and passed it round the flukes, and took the whale in tow. We were about three miles to windward of the ship when the whale died; so we 'up stick,' that is, shipped our mast, made sail, and, with the aid of a stiff breeze, brought our great trophy and first whale alongside the ship, when we received three tremendous cheers from the lads on board, which we of course politely answered. This made now the sixth whale alongside,—a regular raft of them; and I have pleasure in recording that ours was pronounced the largest. In talking over the matter shortly after, the captain told me he kept his eye on us, and that he expected every moment to see the boat, crew, and all sent to Davy's locker, as we were often in range of its flukes, and went on too wildly." (p. 88.) The adventures of the author at Chatam Island, among the seals, and in various solitary spots of it, give us an idea of a bold reckless traveller, fit to provide, not only himself with the needful, but to cater for a host. We extract his discovery of the remains of some solitary who once inhabited the island: "I knew, from the indications about, that it was long since the place had been attended to. The net-work of vines around it was so thick and close, that I had to make an opening through it with my axe. On entering this wild barrier, I came at once to the house, which was built against the rock with a shed-roof, thatched, the sides and front merely posts of wood, interlaced by vine-branches, and covered over with mud. The whole was in a falling state; there was only a door-way into it, but no door. I now with strange feelings entered the door; there was ample light throughout this ruin to see all. It was a melancholy sight and discovery to me. In the centre of the floor, near a rude table, lay the skeleton of a man, only partially concealed by what had once been a covering of skins; on my touching it, it fell in powder; the bones, though in apposition, were separated by the slightest touch. On one side were an old boiling pot and frying-pan, wood, axe, &c., all in rust, a tobacco-box with a rudely manufactured pipe on the table, an old worn-out and rust-eaten carbine and cutlass in the corner; there was a shelf, which had once served for a bed, with seal-skins on it. I searched minutely, but could not find either paper or any other thing that could give the least information as to the name, or who this unfortunate was." (p. 132.) The easy character of our narrator may be further gathered from the following incident. On entering the encampment one day from one of his rambles, he found neither man, nor boy, nor ship,-all gone. The ship had parted from her chain cable, of which a note in a bottle gave him information, and for fourteen days he remained the solitary inhabitant. With equal coolness does he proceed to battle with Toomova, the chief of the island of Santa Dominica, one of the Marquesas. Before, however, arriving at extremities, being a valuable ally, an excellent shot, and with a double-barrelled rifle, he demands the cause of their belligerent operations. We give the tale in his own words:: "The chief lost all his levity instantly, and stood up with every muscle in his body apparently twisting. You ask nie why we go to war? I say, cause enough. Six moons ago I had an old woman, mother, and laughing young child; they were there (pointing to a house further down). Plenty of fish came into our bay, and nearly all the men went out into the canoes after them: shortly after, landing to get home, we heard all the women scream up the valley; we made a rush up, but we were too late; the house was empty, the old woman and child carried off with six others. We crossed the defence, and chased them a long way, but too late,-they were too far away; we went to war then, and every day since killed many and lost many, but not yet done. Our enemy numbers three times us; they often tear in on us to eat up our food, and eat us. Is that not cause for war ? His voice and appearance were at this time terrific; and he shouted to a man near him for a bundle with a knot round it, which lay in a corner: he tore it open, and tossed on the ground before him five human skulls, with other bones. He then continued, frantically,- Enemies I killed myself; but not enough for child yet." (p. 183.) He is immediately elected a chief, receives the pleasant intelligence that his own ship is blown off the coast, and his advice is taken, however reluctant, on the fighting arrangements. His first military preparations are to strip and adopt the Marquesas' costume, which seems to be rather slight. The force with which he was enlisted amounted to nine hundred fighting men, armed with two hundred and fifty-six muskets. Not a man present, he learnt, who had not eaten human flesh; a satisfactory position to be heading an army of cannibals against, probably, a similarly affected tribe of gastronomes. But his troubles were not to end here; the death of one of their scouts, from either cold or lightning, produces a rather unhappy result to our traveller, for the council-of-war determines that this unwonted occurrence, combined with the non-appearance of the enemy, when they were fully prepared to meet them, must arise from the action of an evil spirit, and determines to propitiate him by tattooing the new chief, our unfortunate traveller. To this he is obliged to consent, stipulating only that his face and hands should not be touched. The operation proceeds accordingly, occupying four hours the first day, and three the second. It is one accompanied with much pain. After this propitiation of the evil powers, a real battle does ensue, with the pleasant intelligence to our traveller, that "by and by eat, eat plenty of men," and they keep their words: each has a feast on the dead, to which he has a special invitation. Peace is proposed, after great slaughter on both sides, by the rival tribe, and his mother and child, whom he thought dead, are restored to Toomova. Our traveller contrives, after this affair, to rejoin his ship, and his appearance in the Marquesas' costume convulses with laughter the entire ship's company. His reception by the captain is highly comical. "Well, I'm glad to see you on board once more, out of the hands of these man-eaters. What! all your clothes gone,-gun and all: come off to the ship, naked and tattooed as a Marquesan? Well, if this is not the fag-end of a cruise among savages, I don't know what is." His clothes and arms had been carefully kept on shore, as the Marquesans wished him, from his agreeable character, to remain with them. He however recovers them, together with his chief head-dress, given him by Mate, one of the warriors, who had worn it in fifteen battles. We extract the description: "It fitted me exactly, and was a splendid thing. There was a hoop of brown bark, about three inches deep, to fit on the head; this was encircled with pearlshells of various shapes, and red berries glued fast on: from the entire circumference of the top, drooped gracefully over the shoulders the long, shining feathers of the cock's tail; the inside was lined, and the lower edge fringed, with the varied-coloured bright feathers of the ground-parrot. As soon as he put it on my head and adjusted it, he took me to a Marquesan looking-glass (a deep pond of clear water) to look at myself, and from what I beheld there, I certainly thought my friends at home would scarcely know me." (p. 215.) Here we terminate our notice. Another work is hinted at as forthcoming from our pleasant friend, whose bonhommie must be excessive. We assure him, when he does again write, we will take a more extensive notice of his labours. 225 ART. XIV.-Glendearg Cottage: a Tale concerning Church Principles. By Miss Christmas. With a Preface, by the Rev. Henry Christmas, M.A., F.R.S., F.S.A. London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1846. A TALE as pleasing in its unstudied simplicity as in the correct views which it displays of the principles of the Church. It opens with an introduction to an amiable and pious family of Dissenters, shows how they are such from prejudice and education, and how by the gradual attainment of better information, more than one became united to the true Church. The first chapter commences thus: "Mamma, I should very much like to see the Confirmation which is to be held next Tuesday week at St. Peter's church,' said Catherine Howard to her mother, who was busily engaged in reading some new dissenting work. "I am surprised, my dear, to hear you express such a wish, as you so well know what objections your papa and I entertain to the idle pomps and ceremonial observances of the Church of England, which differ, alas! but so little from the corrupt Church of Rome. It is your privilege, and should be your boast, my dear Catherine, that you were born and educated a dissenter, possessing the spirit of Christ without being bound by the letter; and as such, you are authorized to profess a creed wholly free from the errors of either church.' "I should feel much obliged to you, mamma, if you would explain to me a few of those errors: for, although I have frequently heard both papa and yourself speak in general terms of the superior advantages which dissenters enjoy, and also how much more devoted and pious our ministers are than the clergymen of the Establishment, yet I am still ignorant of the nature of those doctrines which papa says are enough to lull a soul into carnal security, and to be its everlasting ruin.' "I will do so, my love, with much pleasure, and trust it will remove your desire of witnessing such an idle pageant. I will begin now by informing you that the Church teaches that baptism is regeneration; that consequently, when a child is baptized he becomes a Christian indeed, in spite of an after vicious life: the sponsors, or godfathers and godmothers, take upon themselves to promise most arrogantly for the child's belief, over which they have no control. Contrast this, Catherine, with our simple and holy act of infant dedication to God, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, accompanied with fervent prayers that the infant may be preserved in the right way, not by our own powers, but by God's goodness. Church people rest in the outward sign, we have respect solely to the spiritual benefit: the child, in neither case, can be benefited by the rite so far as the rite only is concerned.' "What a pity, mamma, that they should hold such unscriptural doctrines. Do you not think it is the duty of dissenters, instead of avoiding the society of Church people to seek it, that they may show them in their frequent intercourse the danger of such notions? Many, some at least, might be led to embrace the truth.' "No, my dear; our best plan is to attend to the Apostle's injunction, Come ye out from among them; touch not the unclean thing.' "Now, mamina, I see your reasons for objecting to our visiting with young persons, whose parents are of different sentiments.' “You have judged rightly, Catherine: still God has in all ages his chosen ones, who in spite of every obstacle, will be brought into the fold of God; but, VOL. VIII.-NO. I. |