From the Hebrew Bedouins, this custom passed to all the nations of Asia, Medes, Persians, Lydians, Arabs, &c. and is dwelt on with peculiar delight by the elder Arabic poets. That it had spread to the westernmost parts of Africa, early in the Christian times, we learn from Tertullian, who cannot suppress his astonishment, that the foolish women of his time should bear to inflict such compression upon their tender feet. Even as early as the times of Herodotus, we find from his account of a Lybian nation, that the women and girls universally wore copper rings about their ankles. And at an after period, these ornaments were so much cherished by the Egyptian ladies, that, sooner than appear in public without their tinkling ankle-chimes, they preferred to bury themselves in the loneliest apartments of the Harem. Finally, the fashion spread partially into Europe, to Greece even, and to polished Rome, in so far as regarded the ankle-belts, and the other ornamental appendages, with the single exception of the silver bells; these were too entirely in the barbaresque taste, to support themselves under the frown of European culture.-Blackwood's Mag. HARVEST OF THE SAVAGES. Ir has been asserted and believed that the Savages derive no benefit from the soil; this is an error. They are principally hunters, it is true, but all of them apply themselves so some kind of culture, and all know how to employ plants and trees for the purposes of life. Those who occupied the fine country now forming the states of Georgia, Tenessee, Alabama, and Mississipi, were in this respect more civilized than the natives of Canada. Among the Savages all public labours are festivals. When the last frosts were past, the Siminole, Chickasaw, and Natches women, provided with spades of walnut-tree wood, lifted upon their heads baskets containing compartments filled with the seeds of maize. water-melons, beans, and sunflowers. They repaired to the common field, for which was usually chosen a situation easy to be defended, such as a neck of land between two rivers, or a spot surrounded by hills. At one end of the field the women ranged themselves in a line, and began to break up the earth with their spades moving backwards. While they thus freshened the old soil without forming any trench, other women followed them, sowing the space prepared by their companions. The beans and the maize were thrown together on the ground; the stalks of the maize being intended to serve for sticks to support the climbing vegetable. Young girls were employed in making beds of fine black mould: on these beds they spread the seeds of gourds and sunflowers, and kindled around them fires of green wood, for the purpose of accelerating germination by means of the smoke. The sachems and sorcerers presided over these operations, while the young men roved round about the common field, and drove away the birds by their shouts. Science and Art. MAGNETISM. Eaton's Proposed Improvement on PROFESSOR AMOS EATON proposes that compass needles should be tipped with silver, brass, &c. This not only preserves the points from rust, but withdraws the poles from any attractive power in the brass, whether it arises from hammering, or from any particle of steel or iron, which may have been accidently left in the brass. -Edinburgh Journal. METALLIC ALLOY FOR PLATING IRON AND PROTECTING IT FROM RUST. THIS invention is the discovery of a gentleman at Leghorn, the friend of T. Appleton, Esq. the American consul there. It is easily and cheaply applied, forms an amalgam with the iron, penetrates to some depth, and effectually protects it from rust. It derives this property from its refusing to unite with oxygen at common temperatures, or even when artificially heated. It is formed out of many metals. It does not increase the hardness of the article to which it is applied, nor does it efface the finest lines on the surface. It does not injure the temper of knives. Four ources of this composition is sufficient to cover an iron bedstead, and twelve ounces are valued at a dollar and a half. A company is already formed at Bologna, with a capital of 100,000 dollars for coating iron-work, and they are now drawing out plates which can be united to one another by heat, without any injury to the coating.-Edinburgh Journal. Anecdotiana. RICHARD CŒUR DE LION. UPON being told by Fulco, a French Priest, that he kept three evil daughters with him, viz. " Pride, Covetousness and Lechery, which would be sure to procure LANDING OF WILLIAM III, AT BRIXHAM QUAY, TORBAY, On the landing of King William, he was met by the Magistrates, headed by the LINES WRITTEN TO LASH THE PROFLI- Mayor, whom the gods had made GACY OF THE STUDENTS OF ST. ALBAN'S ABBEY, BY JOHN HANVILLE A POET AND MONK OF ST. ALBAN'S, IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. ⚫ Each comes a blockhead, each departs a fool, Lads of the Nysan, not the Delian school, Deep draughts they quaff, Lyceus, from thy ton, Nor snatch one draught from helicon.' POPE SIXTUS V. RAISED his sister, a washerwoman, to the rank of a Princess. The next day, Pasquino appeared in a dirty shirt. Why this?" he is asked. "Don't you know my washerwoman has become a Princess?" was the cutting answer. The Pope was so incensed that he promised one thousand crowns to the person who would detect the author: none appeared. He repeated the offer, with the promise that no bodily harm should be done if the author offered himself. This stratagem succeeded. The author claimed the thousand crowns; they were given to himhis life spared, but his tongue cut out. HANS HOLBEIN. A Nobleman, on some provocation, or other, having threatened the celebrated Hans Holbein (painter to King Henry VIII.) with death, the painter immediately went and complained of him to the King, who, sent for the Nobleman, and charged him at the peril of his life not to meddle with Holbein. On this the Nobleman desired his Majesty to consider the difference between a peer and a painter. The difference, my lord, replied the King, is this-I can easily of seven ploughmen make seven nobles, but out of seven times seven noblemen, I cannot make one Holbein.' poetical." It had been settled that the address to his Majesty should be delivered by him in verse of his own composition, and it was as follows: EPITAPH P. ON PALMER OF OLFORD ESQ. IN STROTHLAND CHURCH, KENT. 1a Palmer liv'd here, Palmers all our fathers were, And travell'd still, 'till worn with age, On the blest Ascension day, In the cheerful month of May, A lady walking in the company of And took my journey, hence, to heaven. Diary and Chronology. DATE. DAYS. DIARY. DATE. CORRESPONDING CHRONOLOGY. March16 SUN. Midlent Sunday Mar. 16 St. Finian was descended from Alild, King of Mun◄ LESSONS for the DAY. 43 c. Gen, morn 45 c. Gen, even.] Sun ris 5m af, 6 -17 Mond. St. Patrick. 5m af. 3 morn 18 Tues St. Edward 19 Wed. St. Joseph. 12m af. 4 morn 20 Thur. St. Wulfren. 21 Frid. St. Benedict. 29m af. 5 morn 22 Satur. St. Basil. ster. He was the founder of the Abbey of Innisfallen, situate on an island in the lake of Loughlane, County of Kerry. He also founded two other monasteries, one at Ardfinnan, in Tipperary; and the other at Cluinmore, in Leinster. The miracles he performed were of such an astonishing nature, that he was pronounced to have out miracled his contemporary, St. Ruadanus. 1792. On this day, Gustavus III. King of Sweden, was assassinated at Stockholm, by a discontented officer of the name of Ankerstrom. 17 St. Patrick, the tutelar saint of Ireland, was born 1745. On this day died Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Oxford. He held conspicuous situations in the administration during the reigns of Anne, George I. and II. 19 St. Joseph was the husband of the Virgin Mary. The church of Rome canonized him, and appointed honours with offices of various forms to be observed. 720. B. C. The first eclipse of the moon on record happened on this day. 1668. Died, Sir John Denham, author of Cooper's Hill, a descriptive poem, which gave rise to a new species of composition. Pope has bestowed on him the compliment of the majestic Denham. 1796. On this day died the distinguished Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, T. 75. At the time of his death he was Governor of Greenwich Hospital. 1812, Expired at Wimbledon, the celebrated John Horne Tooke, the politician, T. 76. 20 St. Wulfren was Archbishop of Sens, died A. D.720. 1413. Henry IV. died in the Jerusalem Chamber, at Westminster, 1727. Expired the great luminary, Sir Isaac Newton, eminent as an Astronomer, Mathematician, and Chronologer. 1778. The Duchess of Cumberland born. 1815. Bonaparte returns to Paris from Elba, and re-assumes the throne, 21 St. Benedict was an Italian devotee, of rigid manners. He was born at Spoletto, in the year 480, and died in 542. 1656. Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, burnt at Oxford, for heresy, жT. 67. 1801. The battle of Alexandria, in which the English obtained a decisive victory over the French, but with the loss of the gallant Abercrombie. 22 St. Basil was born in 326. He was ordained bishop of Ceaserea, by Eusebius, in 870. He was persecuted by Valens, for refusing to embrace Arianism. He died in 370. 1789. Portio Bello taken by Admiral Vernon, who entered the harbour with six ships, and demo.. lished the forts. Taken also by Sir F. Drake 1596. ON THE MANNERS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE RE-PUBLIC OF MEXICO. In our present number we lay before our readers, the following amusing extracts, from the recent published volumes of the unfortunate Captain Lyon, which detail his residence and tour in the republic of Mexico, while officiating as one of the Commissioners for the Real del Monte, and Bolanos Mining Companies. The volumes are pregnant with valuable and highly interesting information, illustrative of the habits of the Mexicans, their ceremonies and pastimes as well as the general appearance and productions of this, but yet imperfectly known, part of the habitable globe. We commence our extracts with the captain's account of the festival of Easter, as observed in the neighbourhood of Tampico, a village seven miles to the southward of Pueblo Viejo. THE FESTIVAL OF EASTER. of those days especially set apart for gaming and idleness; and at about nine O'Clock I went to the Plaza (an open space near the church), were I found many hundred people already assembled to amuse themselves. A large circle surrounded by spectators and dancers is expressly set apart for fandangos, which, whatever they may be in Spain, are in the New World much inferior in grace and activity to the common African Negro dances; though the latter, it must be confessed, are usually to the sound of tin pots and empty gourds. Here the music is somewhat better, though not less monotonous; and consists of a guitar, a rude kind of harp, and a screaming woman with a falsetto voice. Beyond the fandango stood a range of booths, beneath which, men and women of all descriptions, old and young, rich and poor, officers in full uniform and beggars in rags, were gambling with the most intense interest; and individuals who from their appearance might be considered objects of charity, were fearlessly staking dollars, some even adventuring THIS being Easter-eve, was the first a handful at a time. The favourite game VOL. I. M 11-SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 1828. was that called "Chusa," which is played on a deep saucer shaped table, and resembles the E. O. of England. All round the Plaza small groups of Indian and other women were seated on the ground with little charcoal fires, at which they occupied themselves in preparing coffee, chocolate, fish, and other eatables; while under the Chusa tents, spirits of all kinds were sold in profusion. A FUNERAL OF THE MEXICANS. her child, and walked off, accompanied by her friends, to the burying-place. The father followed with another man, who assisted him with a lighted piece of wood in throwing up hand-rockets, of which he bore a large bundle under his arm. The whole ceremony was one of cheerfulness and gaiety, since all children who die young are supposed to escape purgatory, and to become "Angelitos" at once. I was informed that the burial would be followed by a fandango, in token of rejoicing that the babe had been taken from this world.OUR lodging was opposite the church It is doubtless the duty of Christians to be of Tula, at which, hearing music in the resigned to their afflictions; but I am sure evening, I found a crowd of people with that few English women could carry their a young woman who was bearing on her first and only infant to its grave, with head a little dead child, dressed in colour- smiling countenances; and I equally can ed papers so arranged as to represent a answer for the inability of the men to robe, and tied to a board by a white throw up rejoicing rockets when their handkerchief. Round the body were first-born is taken from them, I entered stuck a profusion of artificial flowers; the church, which was neat, and, accorthe face was uncovered, and the little ding to custom, crowded with images; hands tied together as if in prayer. A before one of these a sallow wretched fiddler and a man playing on a guitar man was kneeling, with his arms extenaccompanied the crowd to the church- ded for so long a time that it became poor; and the mother having entered for a few minutes again appeared with Little angels. |