plantain-tree of Guinea and Brazil, than the New Year's Islands. On the top of this tree, reside monkeys, continually at war with each other; in the middle are snakes; on the extreme branches hang nests of woodpeckers. A picture, far more melancholy to the heart, than even a view of a rich, beautiful, and romantic country, not only without a man to pluck its fruits, but without an animal to graze its meadows, or a bird to animate its woods. It is thus wherever man places his foot! In vain are the landscapes beautiful, and the soil productive. The meanness of some, the arrogance of others, and the rapacious appetites of all, will, as long as the present system of engendering dishonourable association lasts, prevent any material accession to public, or to private happiness.

To suppose, that happiness can exist with the present system of education, is as absurd, as the idea, that a comet, because its course is eccentric, and its period of revolution unknown, wanders without a plan, and without a fixed and pre-ordained orbit. What kind of exhibition does society present? Little better than the interior of a wasp's nest! Among the rich, an almost general conspiracy against the poor; a general ingratitude among the poor themselves; an universal desire to pull every one down; fevered with a never-sleeping appetite to elevate ourselves. Why will not governors believe, that the best instrument for human happiness is a manual for the direction of early association?

Life is a fair, nay, charming form

Of nameless grace and tempting sweets;
But Disappointment is the worm,

That cankers every bud she meets a.

Confucius tells a melancholy truth in the moral of the following tale:-A shepherd having lost all his sheep, except fifty, gave himself up to despair, having a large family of children. His neighbours, who respected and loved him (as well as worldly-minded men are capable of loving and respect

a Neele.

ing), came to his cottage, and condoled with him, after the manner of the country. Soon after the loss of his sheep, his wife was seized with a fever and died. Upon this, his neighbours came to him again; and, to console him, one offered him his sister, another his daughter, a third his niece, and a fourth his ward. "Gracious Heaven!" exclaimed the shepherd," in what a country do I live! Now I have lost my wife, the best of all my possessions, you tell me, I can repair my loss by marrying either your nieces, your wards, your sisters, or your daughters. But when I lost my sheep, one after the other, to the number of two hundred, not one of you offered me so much as a single lamb ;-though you all declared to me, that you loved me better than all your neighbours beside !"

But though we might as well suppose, that water will, for a constancy, turn crimson; the blue sky purple; iron become silver, and zinc gold; as to imagine, that men will be, essentially, any other than their natures prompt them; yet, in the wide sphere of history and geography, some few instances are on record, where the human mind appears to have enjoyed, at least an appearance of, repose and content. Italy, in 1490, exhibited such an imposing picture. For the space of a thousand years preceding, Italy had, at no time, enjoyed such peace, prosperity, and ease. And the people, taking advantage of this halcyon state of public and private affairs, cultivated not only their valleys, but their mountains; and, being under no foreign influence, the cities grew into splendour and magnificence. The country was the seat of majesty and of religion; military glory was not wanting to their pride; and there were men distinguished in almost every department of science, learning, and the liberal arts. Nature, however, has not granted a long state of happiness, either to individuals or communities. That of Italy was blighted by the expedition of Charles VIII. For, from that event proceeded a long train of mis

fortunes and calamities: changes of countries and masters; desolation of provinces and states; and the destruction of many cities. "The most cruel murders," says Guiccardinia, "paved the way to new diseases, new modes of governing, new customs, and more cruel methods of making war."

In many districts of Java, particularly in those of Sundha; manners and customs prevail, which bear no very distant resemblance to patriarchal ages. The villages constitute detached societies under a priest or chief, and harmony prevails entire in these communities; though one village occasionally disputes with another. Great deference is paid to age; the commands of parents and superiors are strictly obeyed; they hold each other in great esteem; pride themselves upon any good or great deed, performed by their kindred or neighbours; and have a great veneration for the tombs, ashes, and memories of their ancestors. They are honest, ingenuous, and kind-hearted; faithful in their engagements; and extremely cleanly in their persons. Hospitality is not only enjoined by many striking precepts, but zealously practised: and they indicate their fear of acting unjustly or dishonourably, in the possession of a lively sensibility to shame. They rise before the sun; they go soon after into the rice field with their buffaloes; return home about ten; bathe and take their morning's meal. During the heat of the day, they occupy themselves under the shades of trees, or in their cottages, with making or mending their implements of husbandry, or in forming baskets. About four they again go to the fields with their buffaloes; at six they return and take their supper: then they form themselves into small parties, and the whole village exhibits a picture of quiet enjoyment.

Hist. of Italy, vol. i. pp. 4, 132.

b Raffles, vol. i. pp. 247. 251, 4to.

VOL. II.

PINDARREES OF INDIA.

THERE are three species of uncultivated life particularly striking. These are expressly marked by Faria, Tacitus, and one of the Hebrew writers. "The outrages committed in Ceylon," says Faria a, "obliged the natives to seek refuge among the wild beasts of the mountains, to shun the more brutal outrages of man." "The Chauci," says Tacitus", "are the noblest among the German nations: and they maintain their greatness more by justice, than by violence. Without any illegitimate desires or wishes, and confident of their strength, they live quietly and in security; neither provoked, nor provoking to war. But when roused by oppression, they never fail to conquer." "The five spies of Dan," says a Hebrew writer, "went to Laish, and saw the people that were there, how they dwelt, careless after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate to put them to shame in any thing." That is, they lived in such a state of security and innocence, that even a magistrate was not required for their safety. A state of honourable poverty, in which every father was a patriarch in the midst of his family.

Now let us contrast these pictures with the state of society, in which the Pindarrees of India disgrace the form and figure of men. These outlaws have an origin much earlier, than has been generally supposed; for their ancestors fought against the army of Aurungzebe. When at peace, they live in societies of one hundred, one hundred and fifty, and two hundred, governed by local chiefs. In times of excursion, they are assembled by the trumpet of their great chief, whom they style Labbrea. When this chief has resolved upon an excursion, he mounts his horse, and proceeds to a distance, a Mickle's Dissertation, Portugal, Asia, c. ii. b De Moribus Germ., cap. xxxv.

preceded by his standard-bearer, and attended by trumpeters. At the sound of the trumpets the clans quit their occupations like magic, and join his standard. He then marches forward, waiting for no one; and his followers join him as fast as they can, taking with them provisions only for a few days. Wherever they go, they carry want, destruction, death, torture, and consternation. When attacked, they fly in all directions, and trust to chance and their own individual skill to unite again. By a large fire made at night the scattered forces know the post of their chief, and all endeavour to join him as soon as possible. They have little order, no guards at night, and no scouts by day; they are, therefore, frequently surprised.

Their pride and chief care consist in their horses, which they feed in the best manner; giving them maize, bread, and whatever they can get sometimes even cheering them with opium and balls of flour, stimulated by ginger. They sleep with their bridles in their hands; and are, at all times, prepared for plunder, for battle, or for flight: but fighting only for the first, they never engage but when they are superior in numbers. Flight with them is no disgrace; and he, who flies the fastest, prides himself the most; and his joy at escape is signified by the manner in which he caresses his horse. Such being the case, his greatest solicitude in the choice of a horse is swiftness; because, when surprised, he can spring upon his saddle, and be out of sight in an instant. If he loses him, however, the disgrace is indelible. His arms consist of a sword, a spear, and a lance; for his use of fire-arms is but partial. To a life of depredation the Pindarrees attach neither crime nor disgrace; personal interest and grandeur being the only laws they esteem; and to secure either, cruelty, stratagem, and every species of oppression, are esteemed honourable. When one of their chiefs, taken prisoner in the last of their battles with the British forces, first beheld Calcutta, the only sentiment he expressed to Sir John Malcolm,