Notes and Sketches of New South Wales. During a Residence in that Colony, from 1839 to 1844. By Mrs. CHARLES MEREDITH.-No. XIII. Murray's Colonial and Home Library. This is not, like the works of Dr. Lang, Mr. Hood, and others of more pretension, a book to be consulted for information and guidance by those intending to become settlers in Australia; but it forms very pleasant reading to those who take an interest in the social condition and external aspects of that colony. Mrs Meredith describes whatever fell under her personal observation, and relates her experiences in a sensible and lively style, her vivacity having the rare merit of never bordering on flippancy. Far too much space, when the size of the work is considered, is devoted to the outward voyage, all voyages, whether prosperous or merely tedious, and without some touch of danger to enliven them, being alike tiresome and monotonous to readers anxious to push forward. We pass the events of the voyage, and come to Mrs. Meredith's description of Sydney, which may, we think, be compared with advantage, with any of the accounts we have had of that gay capital. When we remember that Sydney has risen within little more than fifty years from the first settlement of the colony, its size, appearance, and population are truly wonderful. It is a large busy town, reminding me of portions of Liverpool or Bristol, with many good buildings, though few have any pretension to architectural beauty. The newer portions of the town are laid out with regularity and advantage. One long street traverses its whole length, about a mile and a half, full of good shops exhibiting every variety of merchandise; and in the afternoon, when the ladies of the place drive out, whole strings of carriages may be seen rolling about or waiting near the more "fashionable emporiums," that being the term in which Australian shopkeepers especially delight. The vehicles are sometimes motley enough in their equipment. Here and there appears a real London-built chariot, brilliant in paint and varnish, and complete in every luxury; with a coachman, attired something like worthy Sam Weller, "as a compo of footman, gardener, and groom," sitting on a box innocent of hammercloth, and driving a pair of mean-looking, under-sized horses, terribly out of proportion with the handsome, aristocratic-looking carriage behind them. Sometimes, but very rarely, you see a consistent, wellappointed equipage; I think the tandem is more frequently turned out in good style than any other kind: and as no “ lady" in Sydney (your grocers' and butchers' wives included) believes in the possibility of walking, the various machines upon wheels, of all descriptions, are very numerous ; from the close carriage and showy barouche or britzka, to the more humble four-wheeled chaise and useful gig. Few ladies venture to risk their complexions to the exposure of an equestrian costume, and accordingly few appear on horseback. George Street seems to be by common consent considered as the Pall-Mall, or rather as the "Park" of Sydney; and up and down its hot, dusty, glaring, weary length go the fair wives and daughters of the "citizens," enjoying their daily airing; whilst close to the town is the beautiful Domain, a most picturesque rocky promontory, thickly wooded and laid out in fine smooth drives and walks, all commanding most exquisite views of Sydney and its environs, the opposite shore, and the untiring, ever-beautiful estuary of Port Jackson. It was our favourite spot; even after driving elsewhere out of town, (for, alas! the splendour of George Street had no charms for me) we generally made one circuit round the Domain, and as generally found ourselves the only visitors. It was unfashionable, in fact, not the proper thing at all, either to walk or drive in the Domain. It was a notorious fact, that maid-servants and their sweethearts resorted thither on Sundays, and of course that shocking circumstance ruined its character VOL. XI.-NO. CXXXII, | as a place for their mistresses to visit ; the public streets being so much more select. Lady Macquarie had this Domain laid out after her own plans; walks and drives were cut through the rocks; and shrubs, but no other trees destroyed; seats placed at intervals, and lodges built at the entrances. On the high point of the promontory some large horizontal rocks have been slightly assisted by art into the form of a great seat or throne, called Lady Macquarie's Chair, above which an inscription informs the visitor to whose excellent taste and benevolent feeling he is indebted for the improvement of this lovely spot. It but is far more beautiful, inasmuch as, instead of the always reminded me of Piercefield in Monmouthshire, black-banked Wye, here the bright blue waves of the bay wash the lower crags; and in place of looking only at one opposite bank, here is a noble estuary with dainty little islands, all bright, and clear, and sunny, countless bays and inlets, pretty villas and cottages, and with a cloudless sky above them. The trees are chiefly different species of Eucalyptus, or gum-tree," some of which bear large and handsome flowers, having a remarkably sweet and luscious scent, like honey, with which they abound. This unpretending volume offers' nothing more attractive to readers, whether interested in the colony from having connexions there, or in pursuit of mere amusement, than our author's description of her own residence. In January, 1840, we removed to "Homebush," an estate within eleven miles of Sydney, on the Parramatta river, where we proposed residing for a year or two; and rendered the ill-arranged and dilapidated old house a tolerably comfortable home. It contained two good rooms and five smaller ones; the veranda in front was one hundred feet long, by twelve in width, and was carried round the ends of the house in the same proportion, the whole neatly flagged; at the back, the line was broken by the two wings, leaving a shorter veranda in the centre, with the garden (or rather wilderness) before it, commanding a beautiful view of the river (a creek of which ran up towards the house,) the opposite shores, and several wooded jutting points on our own side. Homebush was a fair specimen of a New South Wales settler's residence, possessing many of the Colonial peculiarities. The house stood on the highest ground in the estate, and for some hundreds of acres all around not a native tree nor even a stump was visible, so completely had the land been cleared, although not worth cultivation. This desert bareness was a little relieved close to the house, by three magnificent Norfolk Island pines, which towered far above the roof; and by the then broken and ruined fruit-trees of what had been two very large orchards, which were formerly well stocked with mulberry, plum, cherry, pear, apple, peach, orange, and loquat trees: but at the time of our taking the place, after its being vacant some years, (or only occupied by a drunken overseer,) the cattle had free ingress through the broken fences, and the fine orchards were utterly destroyed. A curving road, nearly half a mile long, and some twenty yards wide, with a good four rail fence on either side, led from the entrance gate, on the public road, to the house; and this, being unadorned by a single tree, was, according to a Colonial stretch of courtesy, termed the “ Avenue ;" much to my mystification, when, on inquiring for Mr. Meredith one day, a servant told me, "Master had just gone down the 'aveny.'" I pondered this announcement some moments, and not being able to recollect any thing of the kind near the place, (for I confess my thoughts were wandering in search of some gum-tree likeness of the stately aisles of elms and limes that I loved so well at home,) I was compelled to inquire where this "terra incognita” lay ; and having once discovered that we had an avenue," I never failed to remember its style and title. 66 Proceeding, then, along the avenue towards the house, a stranger might be apt to fancy he had entered at a 3T wrong gate, for he would find himself led into the midst of all the farm buildings; stock-yards, cow-sheds, barn, stable, and piggeries ranging on his left hand, whilst huts for the farm-servants lay on his right; and in front, commanding a full view of all these ornamental edifices, the hall-door of the house! Such being the almost universal arrangement in the Colony; and, as compared with many other settlers' houses, this was rather aristocratic. Why the approach to a farm-house here should be so much more dirty, unpleasant, and intrusive than in England, I know not; but certain it is that in visiting a colonist you are generally obliged to inspect every other portion of the establishment before you can reach the apartments of the family. Another universal inconvenience is, that you never see a gate, or so rarely as only to be the exception to the rule. 66 Slip-rails" are the substitute; five or six heavy long poles loosely inserted in sockets made in two upright posts. They may be stepped over by a horse if only lowered at one end, but to allow any vehicle to enter, each one has to be lifted out and put aside; and it often happens that four or five of these troublesome and slovenly contrivances occur in the approach to one house, with the invariable additional charm (in winter) of a deep squashy pool of mud around each one; yet, most probably, when you do gain your destination, if a dinner-party be the occasion, you find a table spread with abundance of plate, glass, damask, and costly viands, and a profusion of expensive wines. Such inconsistencies perpetually struck me, showing the general preference for glitter and show, rather than sterling English comfort. A settler will perhaps keep two or three carriages, and furnish his house in a costly style, yet grudge the labour of a carpenter to convert some of the useless wood around him into gates for his farm and grounds. Homebush did possess a gate, but, as was requisite, to be in proper Colonial "keeping," one half was off its hinges, and the companion-moiety never consented to open unless it was lifted; therefore, on the whole, it was remarkably convenient. During nearly the whole time of our residence here, the public road near us was infested by a gang of bushrangers, or rather footpads, who committed many robberies on persons travelling past; but although we and our servants constantly traversed the dreaded road, we were never molested. Possibly the shelter and concealment they very probably found in some of the dense scrubs and thickets which skirted part of our ground near the scene of their exploits, induced them to adopt the fox's policy, who rarely "robs near his own den;" but the constant depredations we heard of rendered our drives far less pleasant to me, although a double-barrelled gun usually accompanied us. One day we met the clergyman of Cook's River, who, on his way to dine with the Governor at Parramatta, had been stopped by three of the party, who took his money and a very valuable watch. He had directly ridden to the nearest public-house, not a quarter of a mile off, and, with some of the inmates and an old musket, had diligently scoured the bush in pursuit, but without again seeing the gang, who within an hour robbed some persons in another road. They one day took from a poor woman even her wedding-ring, and for several months continued the same practices on this, the most frequented public road near Sydney, almost without an attempt being made for their capture; for so constantly were they "at work," that had the police been desirous of taking them, they could not have failed. In the case of the more formidable gangs of bush-rangers, who by their outrages often be come the terror of a wide rural district, the "mounted police" is an excellent and efficient force. It consists of picked and well-paid volunteers from the regiments in the Colony, and the officers are generally brave and intelligent young men, who, when they look for a bushranger, generally find him; two terms by no means synonymous among the constabulary. Hilliard, (of the 86th or 28th, I forget which,) divided his force, taking one route himself, accompanied by a single trooper, and sent the rest in an opposite direction. He had not gone far before he found the gang of seven desperadoes comfortably bivouacking, with eleven stand of arms, loaded, beside them; and by a sudden and gallant attack, secured them all, and brought them into Bathurst; his prowess being duly appreciated by the settlers, who presented him with a valuable token of their gratitude. This exploit of Lieut. Hilliard does savour a little of the marvellous; but probably the seven "misbegotten knaves," surrounded by him and his single trooper, were asleep when thus surprised, and, at all events, the fact, which reflects little honour on the military talents of the bush-rangers, seems to have been credited in the colony. A class of neighbours as annoying and mischievous to the settlers as these depredators, were the dingoes, or native dogs of the colony, whose daring attacks are thus described: tive dogs, or dingoes, evidently a species of wolf, or perAnother unpleasant class of neighbours were the nahaps the connecting link between the wolf and dog. their howling or yelling at night in the neighbouring These creatures were very numerous around us, and forests had a most dismal, unearthly kind of tone. They any other I can think of as a comparison, but considerare more the figure of a Scotch colly, or sheep-dog, than ably larger, taller, and more gaunt-looking, with shaggy wiry hair, and most often of a sandy colour. Their appearance is altogether wolfish, and the expression of the head especially so, nor do their ferocious habits by any means weaken the likeness. We had a number of calves, which, for greater safety of the old orchards adjoining the house; but several of from these savage animals, were folded at night in one the poor little ones fell victims to the dingoes. Shortly after our arrival at our new residence, we were one night alarmed by a fearful outcry among the calves, and Mr. Meredith, who instantly divined the cause, got up, and found several dingoes dragging along one of the Youngest of the herd. As they ran away he fired ; but the night being thickly dark, the brutes escaped. The cries of terror among the poor calves had brought all the bellowing they continued until morning showed their incows to the spot, and the indescribable moaning and stinctive knowledge of the danger. The poor wounded calf was so much injured that it died the following day, it as long as life remained, never ceased her cries and and its unhappy mother, after watching and comforting I have rarely seen any thing more distressing than the moans till she entirely lost her voice from hoarseness. poor animal's misery; and, to prevent such an occur rence again, the youngest calves were always locked in the stable at night. The dingoes rarely kill their victim at once, but coolly have first laid hold of; three or four often gnawing at commence eating it, at whatever part they chance to the unfortunate animal together, whilst its agonized cries do not seem to disturb their horrible feast in the slightest degree; and, unless by chance a vital part is destroyed, the maimed creature probably lingers during hours of protracted and unimaginable torture. Their audacity, too, is quite equal to their other engaging qualities. Finding that our veal was not to be obtained, a party of them made an onslaught on our pork, and very early one morning carried off a nice fat Pig, nearly full grown. Luckily pigs are not often disposed to be silent martyrs, and the one in question made so resolute a protest against the abduction, that the noise reached Mr. Meredith, who immediately gave chase, and soon met the main body of porkers trotting home at a most unwonted speed, whilst the voice of woe continued its wail in the distance. On coming to the spot, he found two dingoes dragging off the pig by the Lind "legs towards a thick scrub; he fired, wounding one, when both released their victim and made off, the poor During our stay at Bathurst, a party of the mounted police went in search of a very daring gang of bushrangers, or, as they are sometimes called, "bolters." After some search, the officer in command, Lieut. pig trotting home, telling a long and emphatic story of its wrongs and sufferings, from which it eventually recovered. In about two hours after this, a lame white dingo, the same which had been so lately shot at, boldly chased my two pet goats into the veranda! Although we have given as much of this work as its character and dimensions warrant, we cannot resist one of the many charming little sketches in Natural History drawn by our authoress,-The Australian Robin. Very few birds came near our house, but among those few was the robin, (Petroica phoenicea?) as much more beautiful in plumage as he is inferior in note to our winter darling in England, but with exactly the same jaunty air, and brisk, quick manner. His attire is, I really think, the most exquisite of all the feathered creatures here the breast is the most vivid geranium colour, softening to a paler shade towards the wings, which are glossy black, with clear white markings across them; the back is also black, with a white spot on the crown of the head, and the tail-feathers are also barred with white. The colours are so clear and distinct as almost He to convey the idea of different garments put on and fitted After remaining some years at Homebush, Mrs. Meredith and her husband went to Van Diemen's Land, of which colony we may anticipate an account from her agreeable pen. The Settlers in Canada; Written for Young People. We ought perhaps to have classed this story among leaves a magnificent Canadian property to his younger sons; and the young ladies are as well married as if they had never fallen from their original condition. As what is adapted to the young is in reality the best part of the book, we select our specimens from that portion of it. What follows relates to the emigrant family leaving a fort, where they had been hospitably entertained by the officers, to pitch their tents in the wilderness. During the day, Henry and Alfred, assisted by Cap tain Sinclair and Martin Super, were very busy in loading the two bateaux with the stores, tents, and various trunks of linen and other necessaries which they had brought with them. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, with the girls, were equally busy in selecting and putting on one side articles for immediate use on their arrival at the allotment. As they were very tired, they went to bed early, that they might be ready for the next day's reembarkation; and, after breakfast, having taken leave of the kind commandant and the other officers, they went down to the shore of the lake, and embarked with Captain Sinclair in the commandant's boat, which had been prepared for them. Martin Super, Alfred, and Henry, with the five dogs, went on board of the two bateaux, which were manned by the corporal and twelve soldiers, lent by the commandant to Mr. Campbell. The weather was beautifully fine, and they set off in high spirits. The distance by water was not more than three miles, although by land it was nearly five, and in half an hour they entered the cove adjoining to which the allotment lay. "There is the spot, Mrs. Campbell, which is to be your future residence," said Captain Sinclair, pointing with his hand; "you observe where that brook runs down into the lake; that is your eastern boundary; the land on the other side is the property of the old hunter we have spoken of. You see his little log-hut, not much bigger than an Indian lodge, and the patch of Indian the fence. This portion appears not to be of any use to corn now sprung out of the ground which is enclosed by him, as he has no cattle of any kind, unless indeed they have gone into the bush; but I think some of our men said that he lived entirely by the chase, and that he has an Indian wife." "Well," said Emma Percival, laughing, "female society is what we never calculated upon. What is the man's name?" "Malachi Bone," replied Captain Sinclair. "I presume you expect Mrs. Bone to call first ?" "She ought to do so, if she knows the usage of society," replied Emma; "but, if she does not, I think I shall wave ceremony and go and see her. I have great curiosity to make acquaintance with an Indian squaw." "You may be surprised to hear me say so, Miss Emma; but I assure you, without having ever seen her, that you will find her perfectly well bred. All the Indian women are-their characters are a compound of simplicity and reserve. Keep the boat's head more to the right, Selby; we will land close to that little knoll." The commandant's boat had pulled much faster, and was a long way ahead of the bateaux. In a few minutes afterwards they had all disembarked, and were standing on the knoll, surveying their new property. A portion of about thirty acres, running along the shore of the lake, was what is termed natural prairie, or meadow of short fine grass; the land immediately behind the meadow was covered with brushwood for about three hundred yards, and then rose a dark and impervious front of high timber, which completely confined the landscape. The allotment, belonging to the old hunter on the opposite side of the brook, contained about the same portion of natural meadow, and was, in other respects, but a continuation of the portion belonging to Mr. Campbell. In a quarter of an hour all were in motion. Henry and Alfred took their axes, and followed Martin Super and half of the soldiers; the others were busy landing the stores and pitching the tents, while Captain Sinclair and Mr. Campbell were surveying the ground, that they might choose a spot for the erection of the house. Mrs. Campbell remained sitting on the knoll, watching the debarkation of the packages; and Percival, by her directions, brought to her those articles which were for immediate use. Mary and Emma Percival, accompanied by John, as they had no task allotted for them, walked up by the side of the stream towards the wood. "I wish I had my box," said John, who had been watching the running water. Why do you want your box, John ?" said Mary. "For my hooks are in my box," replied John. Why, do you see any fish in this small stream?" said Emma. "Yes," replied John, walking on before them. Mary and Emma followed him, now and then stopping to pick a flower unknown to them; when they overtook John, he was standing immovable, pointing to a figure on the other side of the stream, as fixed and motionless as himself. The two girls started back as they beheld a tall, gaunt man, dressed in deer hides, who stood leaning upon a long gun with his eyes fixed upon them. His face was browned and weather-beaten-indeed, so dark, that it was difficult to say if he were of the Indian race or not. "It must be the hunter, Emma," said Mary Percival; "he is not dressed like the Indians we saw at Quebec." "It must be," replied Emma; "won't he speak?" "We will wait and see," replied Mary. They did wait for a minute or more, but the man neither spoke nor shifted his position. "I will speak to him, Mary," said Emma at last. "My good man, you are Malachi Bone, are you not?" "That's my name," replied the hunter in a deep voice; "and who on earth are you, and what are you doing here? Is it a frolic from the fort, or what is it, that causes all this disturbance ?" "Disturbance !-why, we don't make a great deal of noise; no, it's no frolic; we are come to settle here, and shall be your neighbours." "To settle here !-why, what on earth do you mean, young woman? Settle here !-not you, surely." "Yes, indeed, we are. Don't you know Martin Super, the trapper? He is with us, and now at work in the woods, getting ready for raising the house, as you call it. Do you know, Mary," said Emma in a low tone to her sister," I'm almost afraid of that man, although I do speak so boldly." "Martin Super-yes, I know him," replied the hunter, who, without any more ceremony, threw his gun into the hollow of his arm, turned round, and walked away in the direction of his own hut. Malachi Bone proves, of course, a most useful auxiliary, and The Strawberry, his gentle Indian wife, an interesting neighbour. That we may give one specimen possessing entireness of character, we select the making of maple sugar, still a common and pleasant occupation in the Canadian woods. you would put a spigot in a cask. The liquor runs out into one of these trays that we have been digging out." "Well, and then what do you do?" "We collect all the liquor every morning till we have enough to fill the coppers, and then we boil it down." "What coppers will you use, then?" "There are two large coppers in the store-room, not yet put up, which will answer our purpose very well, Ma'am: they hold about a hogshead each. We shall take them into the woods with us, and pour the liquor into them, and boil them down as soon as they are ready. You must come and see us on the boiling-day, and we can have a frolic in the woods." "With all my heart," replied Mrs. Campbell. "How much liquor do you get from one tree?" "A matter of two or three gallons," replied Malachi; "sometimes more, and sometimes less. After we have tapped the trees and set our trays, we shall have nothing more to do for a fortnight. The Strawberry can attend to them all, and will let us know when she is ready." "Do you tap the trees every year?" "Yes, Ma'am, and a good tree will bear it for fifteen or twenty years; but it kills them at last." "So I should suppose, for you take away so much of the sap of the tree." "Exactly, Ma'am ; but there's no want of sugar maples in these woods." "You promised us some honey, Malachi," said Emma, "but we have not seen it yet. Can you get us some!” "We had no time to get it last autumn, Miss, but we will try this autumn what we can do. When John and I are out in the woods, we shall very probably find a honey tree, without going very far. I did intend to have looked out for some, if you had not mentioned it." "I know one," said Martin: "I marked it a fortnight ago, but I quite forgot all about it. Since the mill has been in hand, I have had little time for any thing else. The fact is, we have all plenty to do just now." "That we certainly have," replied Henry, laughing. "I wish I could see the end of my work in the barn: I doubt if I shall be able to get out with my rifle this winter." "No, Sir, you must leave the woods to John and me," replied Malachi. "Never mind; you shan't want for venison. Do you require the sledge to-morrow, Mr. Alfred?" Malachi referred to a small sledge which they had made in the winter, and which was now very useful, as they could, with one horse, transport things from place to place. It was used by Alfred for bringing down to the store-house the sacks of flour as fast as they were ground in the mill. "I can do without it for a day. What do you want it for?" "To bring all the honey home," said Emma, laughing. "No, Miss; to take the coppers out into the woods," replied Malachi," that they may be ready for the liquor. As soon as we have tapped the trees, we will look for the honey." It was now April, and for some days Malachi and John had been very busy, assisted by the Straw-bateaux?" inquired Mr. Campbell. berry; for the time had come for tapping the maple trees, to make the maple sugar, and Mrs. Campbell had expressed a wish that she could be so supplied with an article of such general consumption, and which they could not obtain but by the bateaux which went to Montreal. In the evening, when Malachi and John were, as usual, employed in cutting small trays out of the soft wood of the balsam fir, and of which they had already prepared a large quantity, Mrs. Campbell asked Malachi how the sugar was procured. "Did you send your skins down to Montreal by the "Yes, father," replied Alfred; "Mr. Emmerson took charge of them, and promised to deliver them to the agent; but we have not so many this year as we had last. John has the largest package of all of us." "Very easily, Ma'am: we tap the trees." "Yes; so you said before. But how do you do it? Explain the whole affair to me." “Why, Ma'am, we pick out the maple trees which are about a foot wide at the bottom of the trunk, as they yield most sugar. We then bore a hole in the trunk of the tree, about two feet above the ground, and into that hole we put a hollow reed, just the same as 66 Yes, he beats me this year," said Malachi : "he always contrives to get the first shot. I knew that I should make a hunter of the boy. He might go out by himself now, and do just as well as I do." The next morning, Malachi went out into the woods, taking with him the coppers and all the trays on the sledge. During that day he was busy boring the trees, and fitting the reed pipes to the holes. Strawberry and John accompanied him, and by sunset their work was complete. The next morning when they went out, only Malachi and John took their axes with them, for John could use his very well for so young a lad. They first went to the tree which Martin had discovered: he had given a de scription where to find it. They cut it down, but did | not attempt to take the honey till the night, when they lighted a fire, and drove away the bees by throwing leaves on it, and making a great smoke; they then opened the tree, and gained about two pails full of hone, which they brought in just as the family were about to go to bed. When they went out the next morning, they found a bear very busy at the remains of the comb; but the animal made off before they could get a shot at him. Every morning the Strawberry collected all the sap which had run out of the trees, and poured it into the coppers which had been fixed up by Malachi, ready for a fire to be lighted under them. They continued their search, and found three more hives of bees, which they marked and allowed to remain till later in the season, when they could take them at their leisure. In a fortnight, they had collected sufficient liquor from the trees to fill both the coppers to the brim, besides several pails. The fires were therefore lighted under the coppers, and due notice given to Mrs. Campbell and the girls, that the next day they must go out into the woods and see the operation; as the liquor would, towards the afternoon, be turned into the coolers, which were some of the large washing-tubs then in use, and which had been thoroughly cleansed for the purpose. As this was to be a holiday in the woods, they prepared a cold dinner in a large basket, and gave it in charge of Henry. Mr. Campbell joined the party, and they all set off to the spot, which was about two miles distant. On their arrival, they examined the trees and the trays into which the juice first ran, the boilers in which the liquor was now simmering over the fire; and asked questions of Malachi, so that they might, if necessary, be able to make the sugar themselves; after which the first cooler was filled with the boiling liquor, that they might see how the sugar crystallized as the liquor became cold. They then sat down under a large tree and dined. The tree was at some distance from the boilers, as there was no shade in the open spot where Malachi had placed them, and the afternoon was passed very agreeably in listening to Malachi's and Martin's stories of their adventures in the woods. While they were still at dinner, Oscar and the other dogs which had accompanied them, had strayed to about a hundred yards distant, and were soon very busy scraping and barking at a large hole. "What are the dogs after?" said Alfred. "Just what the Strawberry wants, and told me to get for her," replied Malachi: "we will dig him out to "I don't know the English name," said she, softly. "A porcupine you mean," said Mary: "the animal those quills come from." "Yes," replied the Strawberry. "Is there a porcupine there, Malachi ?" said Mrs. Campbell. "Yes, Ma'am, that is certain: the dogs know that well enough, or they would not make such a noise. If you like, we will go for the shovels and dig him out." Had Captain Marryat limited himself to scenes of this kind, we should have liked his work none the worse; but then it must have been in only one volume, and an author's or publisher's reasons for preferring two volumes lie in most cases quite beyond the critic's province. THEOLOGY. Calvin's Necessity of Reforming the Church: Presented to the Imperial Diet at Spires, A.D. 1544. To which is added, a Paternal Admonition by Pope Paul III. to the Emperor Charles V. And Remarks on the Paternal Admonition. By John Calvin. London: Dalton. This work, after the lapse of three centuries, is now VOL. XI.-NO. CXXXII. first presented to the world in an English dress; though we are not sure that it would not as well have been kept in its original state, so far as regards the peace of the whole Catholic Church. It is translated by Mr. Henry Beveridge, advocate; who considers no apology necessary for presenting it to English readers at this particular crisis, when "weapons require to be drawn from the old armoury, both offensive and defensive, to fight anew the battle of Protestantism: assailed from without by its armed enemies of the Popish church; and betrayed from within" by, we presume, the Puseyites. The work appears to be well translated. The main idea which it suggests to those not deeply interested in the argument, is, How little has the world advanced in genuine Christianity during the last three centuries-of how few corruptions got rid In one place, Calvin complains, that the power of excommunication," the best nerve of discipline," is asleep in the Roman Catholic Church; that, though an innocuous anathema was sometimes, in a general way, employed, "excommunication was asleep;" and he vindicates the Reformers, at least, from the charge of having overthrown this formidable engine. As a small sample of the translation, we quote the following passage, which is not wholly inapplicable at the present time : With similar effrontery, they clamour that we have seized upon the wealth of the Church, and applied it to secular purposes. Were I to say that we have not sinned in this respect, I should lie. Indeed, changes of such magnitude are seldom made without bringing some inconveniences along with them. If, herein, aught has been done wrong, I excuse it not. But, with what face do our adversaries present this charge against us? They say, it is sacrilege to convert the wealth of the Church I admit it. They add, that we do so. to secular uses. I reply, that we have not the least objection to answer for ourselves, provided they, too, in their turn, come preWe will immediately atpared to plead their cause. tend to our own case; meanwhile, let us see what they do. Of bishops I say nothing, except what all see, that they not only rival princes in the splendour of their dress, the luxuries of their table, the number of their servants, the magnificence of their palaces, in short, every kind of luxury; but also that they dilapidate and squander ecclesiastical revenues, in expenditure of a much more shameful description. I say nothing of field-sports, nothing of gaming, nothing of the other pleasures which absorb the greater portion of their incomes. But, to take from the Church, in order to spend on pimps and harlots, this surely, is too bad. Then how absurd, not only to plume themselves on pomp and show, but to carry indulgence in them to the utmost excess. was, when poverty in priests was deemed glorious. On one occasion, too, it was in the Council of Aquila. Time So it was decreed that a bishop should reside within a short distance of his church in a humble dwelling, with a seanty table and mean furniture, (Conc. Carth. iv. cap. iv. Con. 14.) But, without going to that ancient rigour, after numerous corruptions had crept in with the progress of wealth, even then the ancient law was again confirmed which divided ecclesiastical revenues into four portions; one to go to the bishop for hospitality, and the relief of those in want, another to the clergy, a third to the poor, and a fourth to the repairing of churches. John Knox was a paragon of mildness and refinement when compared with the Reformer of Geneva, when he got a Fope to attack; and so indeed was Pope Paul in the paternal admonition which drew forth Calvin's fiery reply. Yet the Head of the Church told the Emperor pretty roundly to keep his own place; and also of the fearful retributive judgments that have fallen on those who have acted the part of Uzziah. 3 U |