line, as in the second figure, col. 304, at one extremity of which he places "First beginning; eternity ab ante; efficient cause:" and at the other, "Last end; elernity to come; final cause." And as beyond the second circle of the visible universe, excepting from the light of revelation, all is dark and inscrutable to the human intellect, so it is presumed to be marked with shades in the sensible representation. But since it is known from revelation, that | an effulgence of light and glory fills the throne of the Eternal, although we know not specifically in what this light and glory consist; so these shades are covered over with a sacred radiance. The different subjects which fill up the respective steps of the scale, the reader may find in cols. 303 to 306, published in our number for April.

(To be continued.)

NATIVES OF NEW SOUTH WALES.,

THE following particulars are extracted from letters written in that colony, and dated October, 1822.

"The natives of New South Wales are far from being a stout race of people, they are very slender, and of the middle stature; their limbs are very small, and their arms and legs are remarkably slender. The cause of this deficiency in muscular strength is the great want of food. It is true that those who live on the coast by fishing, are much better, in their appearance, than the natives who live in the interior by hunting. The food of the former is more to be depended upon than the latter, which is always casual and uncertain.

"An observer, however, will soon perceive, that the arms and legs of the men, though slender, are very long; this arises from their custom of climbing trees, in pursuit of the flying squirrel and opossum, and likewise to gather wild honey. They ascend the loftiest trees and branches with the greatest speed and ease. They cut with their stone hatchets notches in the bark of the tree, large and deep enough to receive their great toe. The toe is placed in the first notch, and the tree embraced by the left arm, then a second notch is cut, at a proper distance from the other, on which is placed the right toe. In this manner

they will ascend a lofty tree in a few minutes.

"Both men and women rub their bodies all over with oil; this they say is a preventive against the bites of the mosquitoe and the fly; but this produces such unpleasantness as to prevent their near approach. It is not an uncommon thing to see entrails of fish frying upon their heads by the heat of the sun, till the oil runs down their faces and bodies: this is considered to be of so much importance that their children are taught the lesson before they are three years old. The natives frequently ornament their bodies and necks with fish bones, birds' feathers, slips of wood, and the teeth of the Kangaroo.

"At the time of battle, they mark their bodies with white and red clay, drawing a line round each eye, down each rib, and in different parts of the body; but the greatest ornament they have, is the scars upon their breasts, arms, and legs. They produce these scars by cutting the flesh with sharp shells; and by keeping the incision open, the flesh grows up on each side, and after some time, skins over and becomes a large seam, which seam is considered as a badge of honour.

"The women undergo, when children, the operation of losing two joints of the little finger on the left hand. This is performed by tying a hair round the joint, which stops the circulation, when the part falls off in consequence of mortification; all those who do not suffer this loss, are treated with contempt.

"The colour of the natives is quite black: when first born the skin is red, but in a few days' time it turns to the colour of the adults; but this may be the effect of oil and charcoal, with which the child is rubbed all over. The new-born infant is carried about for some days, by the mother, in a piece of bark; but as soon as it has acquired strength enough, it is set upon the shoulders of its mother, with its legs round her neck, and it lays hold of the hair of her head to keep itself up. The children are named after some bird, fish, or beast. At an early age they are taught the customs of their own tribe.

"The native men have a custom among them of extracting the right front tooth. The person who performs this work comes from a distance.

They approach the appointed place, being armed with shields, clubs, and throwing-sticks; and painted according to the custom of their own tribes. The spot of ground being fixed upon, and made known to all concerned, the performers having arrived, take their stand at one part of the cleared spot, and from twenty to thirty boys are placed on the opposite side. The ceremony then begins. The persons bearing arms approach with singing and beating their shields and spears, and with their feet kicking up the dust to such a degree, as to hide the boys completely from their sight. One of the armed men steps forward, takes one of the lads upon his back, and conveys him to the party, who hail him with a great shout. In this way the whole of the lads are taken, and placed on one side of the ring, which had been cleared for them; every one being placed upon the ground, with his legs crossed under him.

"The natives well know that the operation of taking out the tooth will cause much pain: they therefore endeavour to impress upon the minds of the lads, who are to undergo the ceremony, the great honour which they will acquire, when they are admitted among themselves as equal in rank.

to the depth required. At the end of the spear, they have from one to four barbed prongs, with a hook made of bone. In the summer time, a man will lie across his canoe, with his face near the water, with his spear in readiness to dart; and in this manner they watch for their prey, and seldom miss their object."

As a natural concomitant of their condition, the natives are remarkably superstitious. But even their fallacious hopes and fears, furnish evidence that they believe in spiritual agency. "They describe the approach and appearance of a spirit or apparition, as coming to them with a great noise, and say that it will seize hold of the first person it comes near by the throat. In its approach it comes slowly along, with the body bent, and the hands clenched together on a level with its face; in this manner it moves on till it secures the party or person which it has in view.

"The remedy against the power or influence of the object they dread, is, according to their relation, as follows: They believe that by sleeping at the grave of a deceased friend or person, they shall, from what takes place at that grave, be freed from all future apprehensions respecting spirits; for during the time of sleep, the soul of the deceased comes to them, takes hold of their throat, and opens the body, takes out their bowels, which are afterwards replaced, and the body closed up.

"In the time of darkness, they are much afraid to move, and on this account few have courage enough to lie by the grave a whole night; but all who do go through the form, are placed among the brave and honour

"If a star shoots, something of great moment is expected to come to pass; they are much terrified by thunder and lightning, but they believe that by repeating some few words, and breathing with all their power, they can prevent it from doing them any damage, and that both the thunder and lightning will soon cease.

"They think it dangerous to dress fish, or any kind of food, after daylight has disappeared; they believe if they should broil fish in the dark, that the wind will blow a contrary way to what they desire, or what will

"The natives have a notion, that if any of them whistle while they remain under the rock where they have retired to sleep, the rock will fall upon them; this they say was the case with a number of natives at a certain place, one of whom, contrary to custom, whistling, the rock fell and crushed them all to death.

"The natives of New South Wales are capable of forming friendship, and of feeling sorrow. It is true, their grief does not continue long; at the funeral of a child, the father will weep much, and appear to be much affected with deep sorrow of heart, but as soon as he has retired from the grave, all symptoms of grief are fled away, and he resumes his former appearance.

"There is no doubt that this race may, with kindness and humanity, be made a useful people; they have the talent of imitation. Several have already been very serviceable to the settlers, in acting as stock-keepers and rowers. In these departments they have been equal, if not superior, to many Europeans. The natives never think of providing for to-morrow; all the food they procure at one time they eat before they remove from the place; after they have eaten their fill, they lay themselves down upon the grass and sleep, and in this situation they remain until hunger urges them to activity."

Among these ignorant barbarians, a mission, by Mr. Walker, has lately been opened, under the most encouraging auspices, from those whose patronage can at once sanction and promote the arduous undertaking. This mission is much approved by the colonists, who have promised to render it their support. But times and seasons are in the hand of Omnipotence, and to him alone the friends of missions must look for success.

Reply to a Letter on the Conduct of Junius Brutus, inserted in col. 242.

MR. EDITOR.

SIR,- After the brief but striking view in which the value of history is placed by your correspondent T. Wm, previous to his remarks on the conduct of Junius Brutus, I feel it unnecessary to enlarge much on this de

tirely pass over this idea, without attempting, at least, to throw in my mite on its importance. The advan→ tages found in history seem to be of three kinds; as it amuses the fancy, as it improves the understanding, and as it strengthens virtue. "The writers of history as well as the readers," observes an author somewhere," are sufficiently interested in the characters and events, to have a lively sentiment of blame or praise, and at the same time have no particular interest or concern, to pervert their judgment." But these advantages are strengthened, whenever we find that “the relation of historical facts" is not "involved in mystery and doubt;" and as T. W-m acknowledges that "the present subject presents no such obstacles to impede our progress from coming to a conclusion, founded upon a strict accordance of testimony, at once reasonable and satisfactory," we are fortunately placed on the same footing in the discussion of this interesting question.

Perhaps, Sir, in the discharge of our respective duties towards our children, there cannot be a more critical juncture, than in the exercise of parental authority, in similar cases to that of Junius Brutus with his two sons. But when to his parental, he has to unite his public duties, we cannot conceive a subject more afflicting, and yet interesting. It is a subject which requires the fullest and most impartial knowledge of the events, rightly to determine the doubtful question. A correct knowledge is indispensably necessary to a correct conclusion.

-m.

If, Sir, your correspondent had made the present a general, and not a particular question, I should feel no hesitation in coinciding with the sentiments expressed by T. WFor it must readily be confessed, that we are all called to "administer" equal and indiscriminate justice to all parties, regardless of "private worth, domestic affection, or kindred alliances." However, there are instances which justly call for a relaxation of these strict and salutary enactments of the law, and at the same time not yield the general principle. If, then, there is one case which claims this relaxation of the full penalty more than another, the affair of Brutus must be