not suited to thoughts and toils which are alone sufficient to sear your mind and exhaust your strength. Come, my own love, to bed: and yet, first, come and look upon our child, how sound she sleeps! I have leaned over her for the last hour, and tried to fancy it was you whom I watched, for she has learned already your smile, and has it even when she sleeps. She has cause to smile,' said the husband, bitterly. She has, for she is yours! and even in poverty and humble hopes, that is an inheritance which may well teach her pride and joy. Come, love, the air is keen, and the damp rises to your forehead: yet stay, till I have kissed it away.'-' Mine own love,' said the student, as he rose and wound his arm round the slender waist of his wife: 'wrap your shawl closer over your bosom, and let us look for one instant upon the night. I cannot sleep till I have slaked the fever of my blood: the air hath nothing of coldness in its breath to me.'

"And they walked to the window and looked forth. All was hushed and still in the narrow street; the cold grey clouds were hurrying fast along the sky, and the stars, weak and waning in their light, gleamed forth at rare intervals upon the mute city, like the expiring watch-lamps of the dead. They leaned out, and spoke not; but, when they looked above upon the melancholy heavens, they drew nearer to each other, as if it were their natural instinct to do so, whenever the world without seemed discouraging and sad. At length the student broke the silence; but his thoughts, which were wandering and disjointed, were breathed less to her than vaguely and unconsciously to himself. Morn breaks-another and another!-day upon day !-while we drag on our load like the blind beast which knows not when the burthen shall be cast off, and the hour of rest be come.'

TALES OF A VOYAGER TO THE ARCTIC OCEAN.-Second Series. 3 vols. 1829. WHEN the first series of these tales appeared, there was a novelty in the idea which had a considerable attraction, and the execution of the work did not disappoint those whom the title allured. The continuation is more than equal to the former part, and two of the tales are more particularly interesting: but, for the pre

sent, we shall attend rather to the amusing diary of the voyager.

An intelligent Phoca." A young seal became my guest, after receiving, or fancying itself to have received, the contents of a fowling-piece in its body. This animal, by a little attention and coaxing, grew placid enough to eat and grunt,-a degree of good humour not frequently exhibited by a captive phoca. It fed with a good appetite upon raw flesh and fat, upon boiled oatmeal, and bergoo, or oatmeal stirred with hot water to the consistence of hasty pudding; and it took great delight in swallowing lumps of ice and pellets of snow, by way of dessert. When brought out of its kennel to be washed, it shewed all possible inclination to return to its former state of freedom, and snapped at any one who offered to interrupt its hasty career toward the sea. But, when the deck was covered with snow, it exhibited the joy of a horse let loose into a field; it snorted and pranced about to the best of its ability, and rolled upon its back, and extended its limbs, to increase the genial impressions of its couch, with that serene gratification of look expressed by a fat sow made happy by a bed of mud. At other times, scratching its head and back was a sure way to win its approbation; and it demonstrated its pleasure at the attention, by accommodating its position to the hand, and expanding its hide to facilitate the operation, while its flippers moved mechanically, as if to assist in the performance. All persons, however, were not equally well received, even as flatterers and back-scratchers a fact which seemed to shew that poor Bonze possessed some powers of discrimination; for, although the most harmless and interesting of seals, he had a great number of enemies among the crew."

Spells of Seamen.-One spell consisted in thrusting pins into the heart of a small animal, such as a gull or a mallemuck, and afterwards throwing it, thus transfixed, into the fire, there to remain till it was consumed. The reader will be disposed to doubt my sincerity, when I tell him that this ridiculous mummery was actually performed betwixt decks' by part of our crew. Another of these magic agencies in the capture of whales, ought to have been mentioned when the spanning of harpoons was described, as it formed part of the ceremonies used during that preparation for the fishery. This is

the insertion of various pieces of riband between the strands of the foreganger, or rope immediately connected with the harpoon, which are supposed to confer luck on the instrument thus adorned. Small silver coins are sometimes appended to the ribands to increase their power; but, when the garters of the fair, presented by their own hands to the amorous whale fisher, can be affixed by the favoured lover to his line, the hopes attached to his boat are still more auspicious, and he wields his weapon with confidence proportioned to its augmented merits."

Icebergs and Arctic Colors.-The water was like glass, clear and smooth, and reflected the heavens, and the images of a thousand elevations and grotesque variations of the marble shore. Not a breeze played over its brilliant surface, nor did a wave ripple beneath the hollow margin of the floe. We could perceive medusa trailing their scarlet fibrils deep within the transparent element, while the tongues or jutting bases of the ice were seen extending out from the main body in mag. nificent expansions, five fathoms below the spectator. The awful depth to which the sight can penetrate by the assistance of these irregular projections, is a source of the sublime to be found only in these regions of grandeur and peculiar beauty. Under a bright clear sky, the alabaster whiteness of the tongues reflects the light, though buried far beneath the surface of the water, and the visual faculty seems to acquire power as it descends from shelf to shelf, and from point to point, into the profound abyss of the ocean. When the sea is faintly coloured, its tints are most evident while flowing over the projections of the floe; and the beauty of a sapphirine liquid, foiled by a sheet of snowy ice, is transcendent. Green-tinted water affords a sight less pleasing; but a splendid medusa, sailing slowly above the marble rock, glitters like a brilliant jewel composed of a thousand gems. As we continued our progress along the floe, the heat of the sun, reflected from its surface, became oppressive. I felt as thirsty as if I were toiling along a dusty road, copious perspiration bedewed my limbs, my back seemed to burn in the noon-tide rays; and I looked around on the wild realm of ice, and the wide expanse of water, half doubting that I was in the latitude of Spitzbergen.

Zetland Improvisatori." Our visitors were particularly animated in their ex

temporaneous effusions, and ran round the capstan rapidly, to words signifying their hope of soon sharing an allowance of spirits; a luxury of which our prudential regime had deprived them whilst we remained beset, occasionally varying their exclamations with anticipations of the other benefits which they expected to obtain by the deliverance of the vessel from her icy fetters. The limit of the choral expression is always marked by the velocity with which the leader of the band, that is, the individual who first gives out the stave, completes a circle on the deck as he heaves round his bar, and he recommences his chant at the same spot at which it was begun. Hence, when the circumvolutions of the performers are quickened by the yielding of the obstruction to the winding-in of the warp, and the velocity of the turns will not allow the repetition of the canticle first set up, the choir break into a more brief outcry, suited to their movements; and at times, especially when reinforced by an accession of hands, they whirl round the capstan with the utmost swiftness, shrieking, laughing, dancing, and flinging out their heels, like a company of savage revelers capering about some object of convivial worship with extravagant demonstrations of mental and bodily excitement. was the glee of our Hialtlandmen, when they found the Leviathan, so long immovable, and consequently unprofitable, now gliding onward with increasing speed toward freedom and the possibility of exercising her whale-capturing functions. No sooner had they got the ship under weigh, and felt her yield to the impulse of their warp, as if she gradually awoke from a deep lethargy, and slowly resumed her suspended faculty of motion, than they began their song, one of them striking up, seemingly with the first idea that entered his imagination, while the others caught at his words, and repeated them to a kind of Chinese melody; the whole at length uniting their voices into one chant, which, though evidently the outpouring of a jovial spirit, had, from its unvaried tone and constant echo of the same expression, a half-wild, half-melancholy effect upon the ear. The foreign accent of the singers contributed not a little to invest their music with a strange imposing character, while the strong contrast between the import of their exclamation and its somewhat dirge-like accompaniment of voice, gave their stave a serio

Such

comic air, well illustrated by the ludicrous display of joyous feelings depicted on the habitually grave and simple countenances of the performers. As the vessel advanced, the momentum she had received from the previous exertions of the capstan-heavers, and the strain upon the warp, yielding readily to the increasing resolution of the men, allowed them to run round with their bars at a more soulstirring pace, and the song grew fast and furious. It had begun with "Yah! yah! here's a full ship for the captain, and a full pannikin for Peytie Peyterson, lala-lalla-la-leh; but this sentence, after many repetitions, was changed for others of briefer duration and more expressive import, as they coursed after each other with intoxicating rapidity; their steps grew frolicsome, and their voices were elevated till they cracked with energy; they shouted, shrieked, and capered; and at length they wanted nothing requisite to make them true representatives of a troop of roaring baccha nalians but old Silenus perched upon the drumhead of the capstan, and some of that good liquor whose very expectation had thus inspired them with frantic

mirth."

An Arctic Winter." We chiefly had a continuation of thick weather, with repeated showers of rain, and alternate calms and gales. Every substance that could imbibe moisture became literally soaked with fluid, either poured down upon it from the clouds, or condensed upon it from the mists that penetrated into the recesses of our vessel, while whatever delights I had experienced amongst these regions of splendid beauty were equaled by the miseries which accumulated round me now. It would, indeed, be beyond the powers of imagination to conceive the dismal aspect that presents itself on all sides, and in all situations, to the Arctic voyager, during this portion of his wanderings. On deck, he sees his ship moored almost constantly to a sheet of ice, whose dull white margin is just perceptible beneath the skirts of a murky cloud, which hangs like a cumbrous curtain over the floe. Above him, the slackened cordage, half hidden in mist, gathers a heavy load of moisture, which it lets fall in sudden showers upon his head, as the vessel rolls and heaves lazily upon the sullen tide. Close around him, the damp fog spreads its chilling wreaths, as if wrapping him in a wet embrace. He feels his warmth abstracted, while the

VOL, X.

drizzly atmosphere clings coldly to his frame, seeming to penetrate his garments, and apply itself immediately to his skin. He hears nothing but the dreary echoes of the sea, swelling up beneath the hollowed edges of the ice, and breaking in monotonous and regularly repeated murmurs amongst its labyrinths; or if, occasionally, sounds of animation strike his ear, they are but the sudden dropping of a mallemuck unseen into the water, and its succeeding noisy paddling toward him, to discover what food may be obtained in his vicinity. Below, all is dullness, gloominess, and want of cheer. He still finds the cold dank air around him, even at the fire-side; he sees its heavy charge deposited on the walls or bulkheads of his retreat, and trickling down in countless streams towards the deck or floor; he hears nothing but the endless and sad forebodings of the discontented whalefishers, and, unless he can inspire them with hope and liveliness, or engage them in some interesting recital, he must retire to his bed-cabin, to read in peace and warmth, or sit by the stove and keep chime with the forlorn knell of disappointment tolled out by his associates."

LETTERS FROM THE WEST, by the hon. Judge Hall.

IN these letters we find sketches of North-American scenery, manners, and customs, and also historical anecdotes. Such a work may be expected to afford entertainment, mingled with instruction; and, although we are sorry to observe, that the honorable author has not sufficient talent or learning to write well, or that judgement which would studiously avoid absurdity of remark, yet we meet with some communications in the volume not altogether contemptible.

Some vulgar American superstitions are thus noticed. We may smile at the folly of those who yield to such delusions; but there are many instances of similar weakness among more civilised communities. The author says, "Perhaps, as there is no professorship in any of our medical colleges for the instruction of faith-doctors, you may be unacquainted with this branch of the healing art. Yet there are those among your countrymen who prefer faith to physic, and would sooner risk their lives upon the virtue of a spell, than trust them to the skill of a Wistar or a Rush. Your faith-doctor is

L

duction of the Italian schools. But it seems that the man is not really in the moon, but the moon in the man, and that, like the gout, she flies from limb to limb, and from one part of his body to another, observing, however, the most punctilious regularity in her migrations. By these changes all farming operations are regulated; seed is sown, fences are made, and children weaned, when the moon is propitious; and, by the same rule, I presume that a maiden who should be courted when the sign is in the heart, would melt sooner than at any other period. A dancing-master, I suppose, makes his harvest when the "chaste cold" luminary is in the heels, the lawyer when she mounts to the head, and the merchant when she settles in the neighbourhood of the pocket; for my part, I am convinced that at this very moment she is snugly nestled in the brain, for mine will yield nothing but mere moon-shine." The judge sometimes gives a tolerable description of scenery and natural products. "Near the mouth of the Green River, below the Falls of the Ohio, we find a country essentially different from that above the Falls. Changes have been gradually presented to the eye as we advanced, which are now sufficiently developed to indicate an essential difference of country, soil, and climate. The country is flat, the soil deep, black, and rich. Small ranges of hills are seen at intervals. The river-bottoms become more extensive, exhibit decided appearances of annual inundation, and are intersected by bayour, or deep inlets, which are channels for the water in time of flood, and remain empty during the rest of the year. Cane-brakes are occasionally seen along the banks. The cane is an evergreen, from twelve to twenty feet in height, which grows only in rich wet flats. It stands so thick upon the ground as to form an almost impenetrable thicket; and, as it is usually found among ponds and bayour, the cane-brake is always a secure retreat for bears, which feed upon the buds, and for deer and other gregarious animals. The first settlers find them very valuable, as affording food for their cattle during the winter; and, even after the country has been many years settled, the inhabitants drive their cattle to the cane in the autumn, and suffer them to remain without any farther attention until the ensuing spring. The cane, however, is generally destroyed in a few years, by the large number of cattle which are thus wintered upon it. Cattle

and horses eat it greedily, and will stray several miles in search of this favourite food, which is said to be very nourishing.

"Cotton-wood, peccans, catalpas, and gigantic sycamores, are now seen in the rich bottoms. Extensive groves of cottonwood are sometimes seen. The tree is large and extremely tall; the foliage of a rich deep green, resembling that of the Lombardy poplar, to which tree this also assimilates in shape. Nothing can exceed the beauty of these groves: at a distance, a stranger might imagine them forests of Lombardy poplar; and, as that tree is devoted to ornamental purposes, it is scarcely possible to refrain from fancying, that some splendid mansion is concealed in the impervious shade, while the deep gloom with which they envelop the soil, gives a wild, pensive, and solemn character to the cotton-tree grove.

"The catalpa is a small graceful tree, remarkable for the beauty of its flowers. The peccan is a tall tree, resembling the hickory, to which, if naturalists speak truly, it is nearly related; it yields a rich, fine nut, of which large quantities are annually exported. Grape-vines are numerous and very large, the stems being sometimes nearly a foot in thickness, though seldom exceeding six or eight inches, and the branches extending to the tops of the tallest trees.

"The misletoe begins to be seen among the branches of the large trees. This little plant never grows upon the ground, but, with a very poetic taste, takes up its attic residence upon the highest limbs. The berry which contains the seed is so viscous as to adhere to the feet of birds, who carry it from tree to tree, and thus contribute to its propagation.

"When a violent wind had forced us to seek shelter under the shore, we landed at the mouth of a small creek in Indiania. Here we found a fine rich bottom so high as scarcely to be overflowed. The forest was thick and tangled, and so choked with the trunks of fallen trees, weeds, and bushes, as to be almost inaccessible. So fertile is the soil that every spot produces something. We penetrated a short distance into the brake, and saw several deer, and a number of turkeys. At the foot of a large tree we discovered a quantity of the hair of a wild cat; we found many places where fires had been kindled, probably by hunters, who no doubt frequently visit this solitary spot, which appears to abound in game. Immediately