awkward gestures. Talking of singing -is the prevailing admiration of Italian music and performances counterfeit or real, or a little of both? Is it in imitation of the French in this respect, or is it a genuine indigenous feeling? The Italian is a noble school of music, and it would be gratifying to perceive a gradual relish for it; but it is apt to create mistrust to see the exuberance of admiration expressed for it all of a sudden by a large party of people, nineteen twentieths of whom are neither familiar with the music nor the language; and we are afraid there is some truth in the anecdote, now whispered round the city, of a musical cognoscenti having been thrown into a fit of enthusiasm by what was supposed to be an Italian gentleman's manner of giving a composition of Cimarosa's, but which words and air eventually turned out to be a genuine Welch ditty, howled out by one Taffy ap Shenkin, of Glamorganshire! Certain it is, that many things pass off with great éclat when sung in a foreign language by signors, signoras, or signorinas, which would sound vilely from the mouth of plain Mr. John Dobson, Mrs. Brown, or Miss Dobbs. The blunt tradesman had really some reason to be astonished when on inquiring if "signorina" did not literally mean in Italian "great singer," he was given to understand that it was merely equivalent to the simple English word "Miss." We recollect a gentleman of the name of Comer, formerly of this city, who used to sing an Italian air with English words to it" When the banners of freedom are waving "--without producing any marked effects; but no sooner did the same gentleman replace the Italian words, "Non piu andrai," than it was instantly recognised as something extremely fine, and vociferously encored. Now, without meaning to undervalue worthy foreigners who reach these shores, it is probable that there is no small quantity of affectation in the admiration expressed for them, and that the majo rity applaud without having any definite idea on the subject, in imitation of the few who are supposed to know. Such foreigners are, at the same time, both overrated and not sufficiently appreciated -overrated as a whole, and not appreciated in detail, for what is really meritorious. Our harsh northern dialect may not be so well adapted to musical composition as that of the "sweet south," but it does not follow that every Italian composition and singer must of necessity

be superlatively fine; and, allowing our general inferiority, a song in a language which a man understands will always, affectation aside, be more grateful to his ear than the mere tinkle of soft sounds. The one, indeed, goes no further than the ear, while the other, through the medium of the 'understanding, reaches the heart, and any song that does so is worth twenty others that do not. If people would take the trouble to consult their own judgments, feelings, and common sense on such subjects, instead of being carried away by vague ideas and learned-looking words, they would find it to their interest; as it is, they let others inoculate them with opinions which in time they come to believe their own. WILLIAM Cox.

NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENTS.

I behold on this broad sheet a glorious combination of fraud, falsehood, and folly.. Look at this array of advertisements. One offers to lend fifty thousand pounds on good security, who scarcely possesses fifty pence; another desires to sell a horse, warranted without blemish, and only to be disposed of because the owner has no farther use of it. The last part of the sentence alone bears any relation to truth, as the animal can be of no use to the owner, or to any one else. A third is eloquent upon the virtues of a vegetable pill, which cures all diseases-to which it should have been added, by destroying both the disease and the patient. A fourth, acknowledging the most disinterested intentions, delicately confesses his wants of a wife in possession of moderate property, while stating himself to be a gentleman of a middle age with a small income; but, in truth, his income is so small that it might have been named without the use of figures, and the middle of his age is as near the end of life as it need be. Here, a worthy citizen offers some pipes of foreign wines of the most approved vintage; and he is the most likely person to know their genuineness, having manufactured them in his own warehouse. There an honest tradesman announces that he is selling off his goods, much under prime cost, for the benefit of his creditors, which benefit will prove to be a great loss, he having most successfully swindled every person who would give him credit. Wherever the eye glances it finds evidence that one set of people prey upon another, as one species of insect is devoured by a more powerful race.-Mephistophiles in England.

KINAU AND TUANOA; A TALE OF THE SOUTH SEAS. BY THE AUTHOR OF "NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SPERM WHALE."

A heavy gloom was upon the minds of the people of Oahu, in consequence of the recent death of their king Hoapili. Melancholy filled their hearts, wailings and lamentations of various kinds were heard over all parts of the island. Every grade mourned for the legal victim of death; and men, women, and children, might have been seen tearing their hair, wounding themselves with sharp-pointed weapons, and breaking their front teeth with stones, to convince each other of the acuteness of their sorrows; and, above all, they prepared, as was their usual custom on such occasions, to offer up to the Great Spirit five human beings as a sacrifice! Many a loving maiden, when she heard of the king's death, felt a pang rush through her heart, and a whirling through her brain, as she thought of the youth who had won her affections. On such occasións, it was usual for the erie, or chief of each district, to select a young

man from that part of the country over which he had control, and to send him to the proper place, as one of the victims for immolation; thus the minds of the whole people were kept in dreadful suspense until the unfortunate had been chosen. There was no appeal against the will of the chief; so that when the summons was delivered, there remained no hope of escape for the unhappy chosen one.

In the village of Waikukii, of which Nahi was the chieftain, or erie, lived Tuanoa, a young man, and Kinau, his betrothed bride. They had resided near each other from their infancy; and even in that early dawning of the mind and the affections, they were observed constantly together; and no doubt, at that time, there was interwoven with their young heart-strings the tender passion of love, that grew with their growth and strengthened with their strength. Tuanoa was a fine young man, much be loved by his neighbours. He was active and brave in the extreme, and had performed many acts of prowess, which gave him a standing place within the circle of the conquerors at a feast, or houri houri; and he was withal of a

most kind and affectionate disposition, of which all his neighbours were well aware. Kinau, his beloved maiden, was the most beautiful girl in the village, and of good family and estate; besides which, she was the most esteemed taipa maker in the whole island: none of her competitors could approach her genius, which was so frequently displayed in designing figures and ornaments for her productions, so that her taipas (native clothes) were worn by the king and queen. Her disposition was of that rare and delightful description which finds pleasure in searching after the sorrows of others, and relieving them; and blessing itself that it possesses the power so to do. With such a person, disposition, and possessions, we cannot wonder that Kinau was much beloved, and that Tuanoa was much envied by the spirited young men of the place; but they possessed no hope of gaining the object of their admiration; for she took every opportunity of expressing to every one her undying love for Tuanoa, and he to her. But there had been an eye fixed long and ardently upon Kinau, much to her sorrow, for she was well aware of the fact; and many a burning tear, as it rolled down her beautiful cheek, awakened in Tuanoa's breast a powerful feeling of regret, mingled with surprise, at the unhappy change which had come over the mind of his beloved. How often did he entreat, in tenderest words, for an explanation of the cause, which never was fully given. Kinau knew full well that had Tuanoa been made aware of the cause, he would have committed some rash act which would, most probably, have hurled them both to destruction; and therefore she left the whole to chance, hoping that some day or other the dark cloud of anticipated misfortune would be dissipated by some bright and fortunate rays, that would pierce its blackness, and scatter it abroad. It was the eye of the powerful chief, Nahi, which had fallen upon Kinau, and he had even sought a private interview with her, and declared his passion; but she resolutely refused to listen to his advances for a moment. "What," said the haughty erie, "do you refuse to listen to the voice of Nahi, your chief? -daughter of my neighbour, tremble! Let tears, as salt as the waters of the ocean, fall quick and fast from thy earthbound eye!-refuse to listen to the voice of Nahi, and the volcano of Waikukii shall consume the blood of Tuanoa as the shark of the ocean devours the newly

hatched turtle!" "O great Nahi," answered Kinau, "suffer your neighbour's daughter to return the love of Tuanoa, whose love, like mine, burns as the fire of the volcano, which the waters of the ocean cannot quench." "Tremble," exclaimed the erie, ❝ daughter of Kuakini, and the beloved of Tuanoa; go from the presence of Nahi, and let there be no more said." Kinau went from his presence with trembling limbs and palpitating heart ;-she knew the disposition of Nahi, cruel and vindictive-he spared nothing to obtain the object of his wishes. He had committed many crimes, for which he had often been reprimanded by the late king, and several of the chiefs; the people also were disgusted with his tyrannical behaviour; and these three things combined, caused him to be more careful of his conduct than he had been in the earlier part of his government. Kinau was also aware of these things, and she therefore trusted that he would cease his importunities; but she dreaded his revengeful disposition, as she knew that, if any opportunity should ever occur whereby he could injure her, or Tuanoa, and escape the observations of the people, from the apparent justice of the acts, he would seize it with avidity; and this was the cause of her dejection.

The king, Hoapili, had been dangerously ill for some days, and the active mind of Kinau saw the dreadful chasm that might be opened to receive her, in the event of the king's death. She knew that Nahi, the chief, had the power of naming one of the victims for the sacrifice; and the thought almost bereft her of her senses. She well knew that poor Tuanoa, the brave and beloved Tuanoa, would be sacrificed to his revenge. Under these trying circumstances, the constitution of Kinau began evidently to decline, much to the grief of her lover, who perceived the worm in the germ, without the power of destroying it :-she still kept the secret within her own breast.

One evening as, to their minds, the sun was once more going to rest in the bosom of the ocean, the lovers reclined, near the site of her house, in the beautiful valley of Menoa, and as the pelé of Nuanu cast its deep shadow across the valley of their fathers, a deep cry of sorrow fell upon the ears of the unhappy pair. To Kinau's mind the cause was revealed in an instant ;-" the king is gone," shrieked the unhappy maid: "Oh, Tuanoa, let us fly, let us bury

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ourselves in the depths of the ocean, for death is for us also." The extreme agitation of her mind robbed her of her senses; and, as she lay apparently lifeless in the arms of her beloved and thunder-stricken Tuanoa, a number of their neighbours quickly approached the scene, to render assistance, and to inquire into the cause of the outery. Neighbours," exclaimed the bewildered Tuanoa, "my peace is broken; my beloved Kinau is no longer herself!-the spirit of darkness has been, and has stolen the light of her soul.” While they were endeavouring to recover Kinau, and relieve the mental anguish of Tuanoa, a band of persons approached, and proclaimed, amidst loud wailings, that Hoapili the Good, had given his breath to the winds; and, from out of this mass rushed three men, with their dress disordered, and their hair dishevelled, with blood gushing from wounds which they had inflicted upon themselves, and approached Tuanoa. In a moment they produced, from under their torn taipas, the fatal summons from the chief Nahi; they were merely three poisonous dark-coloured nuts, carved with a few figures to denote their use; and their appearance quickly explained to Tuanoa, and the shuddering crowd, the purport of their visit. They presented them to Tuanoa with particular forms, which was enough! In an instant he was bound, and carried away by the multitude; but his neighbours stood around Kinau, with their hearts ready to burst with grief, and their minds filled with astonishment at the choice of Nahi, which had fallen upon the best person in the village, in place of the worst, as was the usual custom; for there was even a bye-word among them, which was used to persons of bad repute, "Ah, you will serve for the fire, you will serve for the fire," which meant they would serve for the purpose for which Tuanoa had been taken.

When the wild sounds of the frenzied multitude had passed away, and there was only heard at intervals, from out of the group which surrounded the bereft and senseless maid, the low murmur, or the sorrowful exclamation for the departed king, and the sorrows of the divided lovers, Kinau opened her discoloured eyes, and shot them round the group, but saw not Tuanoa. "Ah!" she exclaimed, "half of my soul has expired; friends and neighbours, go: stay not with Kinau;-the sun no longer

shines upon her tarro patches, the water of the mountain has also turned from their roots, and has fallen into the lands of Nahi!" Her kind neighbours did all they could to comfort her in her great affliction, and then left her under the care of her aged parents. Nature soon overcame the infirm pair with sleep, and Kinau left her home, never more to return, except with her beloved Tuanoa. She was quite a different being now to what she had been a few months before; her features were shrunk and distorted, her hair torn and loose; her dark eyes rolling and flashing, betokened the storm within; but her step was firm, and she stood erect, as if, with the last effort of a shattered frame, she had determined to use all her remaining strength for one great purpose. She was convinced that there remained no hope, from human means, for the restoration of her beloved Tuanoa, and therefore determined to visit the enchanter, Kelkuehewa, a thing seldom, or indeed scarcely ever attempted before, even by the bravest of their chiefs; but Kinau, feeling strong in her virtue, feared not, and dared destruction in its wildest forms. Kelkuehewa, the enchanter, resided in a glen at the bottom of the pelé of Nuanu, and near the entrance of which the enchanted water-fall, of two thousand feet in descent, finished its perpendicular career. Here was the supposed habitation of a lizard, as large as a man, which tradition held out as having resided there ever since the deluge.

Kinau, with firm determination, commenced her task. Passing alone away from her friends and neighbours over the dark plains in the valley of Menoa, she soon began to ascend the steep and rugged mountain of Nuanu; and, after excessive exertion, reached its summit. She cast her wild eyes around, and saw the dark ocean which encompasses Oahu; behind her was the valley of Menoa, in which she saw the last of her lover; before her was the deep valley of Nuanu, four thousand feet in depth; midway dashing its white foam, she could just observe the enchanted stream gushing out of a small division in the rocks, and falling two thousand feet into the enchanted glen; at the bottom of which Kelkuehewa resided. Still determined to visit him, or die in the attempt, she began to descend the dangerous pelé of Nuanu, which required the greatest experience to perform it with safety; and, after much difficulty, now clinging to the branches of some friendly