da, is a question which is much mooted. The etymon of this name, which, under all the circumstances, appears most deserving of credit, is thus traced. One of the French pioneers, who preeeded Champlain, desirous of learning the aboriginal name of the country, inquired of an Indian, (who must have been of the Eroquah [Iroquois] stock, to fortify the story,) what he called the country. This inquiry was made pantomimically, as the parties understood not each other's language. Hence, it was not to be wondered at, that there should have been a mutual misunderstanding. The Indian supposed that he was asked to give the Indian name for an Indian settlement or village, of which there was one where the inquiry was made; and accordingly answered, Kahna-tah, which signifies, a settlement or village-and the Frenchman understood the name as applying to the whole country.

Champlain appears to have been a man eminently calculated for the work he had undertaken. Of conciliating and amiable manners and disposition, he was well qualified to gain the friendship of the native tribes, and to relieve the hardships and privations of the colonies. United to these, he possessed a penetration and firmness which alone discovered to him future difficulties and dangers, and prepared him to surmount or avoid them. In addition to this, he seems to have been stimulated by an ardent ambition of becoming the founder of a new state. His constancy and perseverance, his unwearied exertions to promote the interests and advance the prosperity of the infant colony, are evidences of the boldness of his conceptions, and the ambition which occupied and possessed his mind.

With such views he laid the foundation of the settlement of Quebec. The first step which prudence dictated, in his situation, was to ascertain the character and disposition of the native inhab itants. The Hurons inhabited the north side of Lake Erie; the Algonquins frequented and owned the country near Mont Real and Quebec; and the Montagnes possessed the territory bordering on the settlement of the Saguenay. These tribes were in close alliance and strict intercourse with each other, and the settlement of Tadonssac.f The French formed alliances with these tribes, who were moved theret by an assurance that they would derive assistance from the French, against their common enemy, the Eroquah. This was readily afforded them by Samuel De Champlain, as governor of Canada. But the aid he rendered them did not prove, in the end, to be of much advantage to either party of the alliance. During his administration, which, with a few intermissions, ended with his death, in 1635, he undertook three expeditions against the Eroquah, in two of which he was successful, but in the last

• Gen. Washington, previous to the American revolution, was called by the Eroquah, Kah-na-tah kau lis, i. e., taker of towns.

† Tadonssac was not a permanent settlement, but merely a post for carry. ing on trade with the natives.

was repulsed, and himself wounded. This interference was but the commencement of a continual state of war, which was carried on between the French and confederated Eroquah.

Colden the historian of the Eroquah (or Five Nations) states that the cause or origin of these wars was in this wise. The Canada Indians above named had murdered the young men of the Eroquah, and had refused to give satisfaction. The Eroquah deter mined to be revenged-and after warring for several years, at length forced their enemies to leave their country and fly to where Quebec now stands.

The events here narrated are important in their bearings and effects upon the Eroquah, as well as upon the French colony. Hostilities were not terminated until the treaty of Utrecht, which confirmed the surrender of Canada to Great Britain,

CHRISTMAS HYMN.

BY EMMA WILLARD.

Beneath the deep blue starry sky,

Beside their flocks, the shepherds prayed,

With mournful voice, and tearful eye,

For Israel's hope, alas! delayed.

But see! a light above them streams,
With floating robe, and waving wings;
A face, where heaven's own beauty beams,
And-listen! for an angel sings!

"Fear not ye sons of pious trust,
With joyful tidings I appear;

Rise poor humanity from dust,

And the glad news delighted hear!

THE BABE IS BORN!-This morning mild,
From David's line-of holy maid;
And ye shall find the Saviour child,

In Bethlehem's manger, lowly laid.”

Then through Heaven's host, this anthem ran;
Hear, sorrow's child, where'er thou sighest,

Peace and good will to suffering man,

And glory to God in the highest!

WATER DROPS,

By Mrs. L. H. TIGOURNEY, New York, Robert Carter, 12 mo, pp. 276, 1848. Whatever comes from the pen of Lydia Sigourney must be interesting not to Americans only, but to the civilized world. Her name is nearly as well, known and highly respected in Europe as at home; and all she has written is so marked by the purity of a virtuous female mind, and so entirely on the side of truth and righteousness, that any cause which she espouses must have reason to rejoice in a powerful auxiliary. One such cause is Temperance-total abstinence from intoxicating substances, whether drinks or drugs. The beautiful volume before us is her contribution-we hope not the last-to the noble object of curing and preventing inebriety.

There may be among sound thinking men various sentiments. with respect to the mode and the motive of propagating teetotalism, but on the benefit of its prevalence there can be only one opinion. It is now a known fact-a fact established by an induction almost, if not altogether, as conclusive as that by which a law of nature is demonstrated that the only way of reclaiming a drunkard, and confirming his sanity, is to induce him, by some means or other, to abandon utterly the use of inebriating substances. How this should be the law of a drunkard's nature we may not be able to tell-and herein it differs not from other natural laws-but that it actually is the law of his nature, does not now admit of dispute. In his case, therefore, teetotalism is a duty enforced by the strong sanctions of terrible retribution here, and still more terrible hereafter. But farther, it is an extremely difficult thing to persuade the tippler to abstain entirely from his beverage, and especially to persevere in abstinence after it may have been begun. The convictions of fearful experience, may lead him to the commencement of total abstinence, and it is possible that a determined resolution may perpetuate the reformation. But such cases are so very rare that we regard them as approaching to the miraculous; and are forced to conclude, that if any method of reclaiming drunkards generally can be found, it must comprise something more than the mere convictions of individual experience, and the mere resolution of the individual will. We may be told that all this is true, and that the effectual means of reformation is a help which heaven alone can bestow, and in certain circumstances, confers. Now we frankly subscribe to the doctrine of providential grace in the ef fectual reform of the human heart and life; but we avow with equal frankness and equal fearlessness that multitudes of men, being either pharisees or fanatics, interested or deluded, talk of divine power without regard to the use of means, and pour forth their pious drivelling, without so much as stirring one of their fingers to remove the yoke of intemperance from the neck of its

miserable bondmen. They shake their heads and uplift their hands in sanctimonious horror of drunkenness, and denounce it as a damning, devouring evil; but no sooner is an organization proposed or set up for its destruction, than they conjure up such a band of objections against the project as makes it hard for us to believe, that they wish an end put to intemperance, or, at all events, that they do not look upon it as an unpardonable sin for any one to have moved in the matter before themselves. One man maintains that to enjoin total abstinence from strong drink is to be righteous overmuch. With this man we agree in believing that to use a little wine as an article of diet is not, per se, a transgression of the law, but we tell him, and that most solemnly, that there are states of society wherein it is a sin, by no means of the least grievous kind, to use wine as a beverage; and we tell him too that even supposing he sins in ignorance of the truth on this matter, his ignorance is culpable, the result of carelessness or prejudice or pride, Am I he argues, bound to relinquish my comforts because others abuse theirs? Am I to abandon my moderate glass out of deference to an outery against strong drink? Must I, by my example, identify myself with, or give countenance to, the supererogatory duty of shunning that which Jesus Christ partook of, and even created for the enjoyment of a marriage party? No, we answer; we do not call on you to abstain for any or all of these reasons. We can conceive a condition of things in which your moderation would not merely be harmless but useful. But we ask you if such be the condition of things among us? We ask you if, in consideration of what has been proved to be the drunkard's only safety, if in consideration of the prevalence of drunkenness in our commonwealth, if in consideration of the drunkard's soul, as precious as your own, and finally if in consideration of the well-being of society, you do not feel bound, as an honest, unselfish and Christian man, to refrain from countenancing, in any the least degree, the use of substances which have proved so dangerous, in cases whose number and whose sadness would appall the heart of enlightened benevolence, and constrain the hand of genuine self-denial to put away utterly and resolutely the cup which had been the occasion of luring multitudes to present and eternal ruin. Out upon you if you do not!

Another man maintains that if the cause of temperance is des tined to prevail, it must be promoted exclusively by the church. Now we should like such persons to state precisely what they mean by their favorite dogma. We have never had the pleasure to hear them explain their views. Often have we listened indeed to their accusation and condemnation of all existing schemes for the reclaiming of tipplers and the extinction of drunkenness; but on no occasion, nor on all occasions put together, has it been our privilege to receive a statement of their plan in any thing like detail. In this absence of positive information on the subject, we will venture to imagine what they would be at. They may

mean, in the first place, that they disapprove of all temperance associations which do not consist exclusively of church members, which are not constituted in a Christian manner, as for example, Bible and Missionary Societies are constituted, and which are in any way connected with societies that do not constitutionally recognize the orthodox element. Or in the second place they may mean that the diffusion of religion is the only remedy for intemperance, but that the entire reformation must be affected by praying and preaching, without any specific combination for the suppression of the particular vice of drunkenness. Or finally, they may mean that total abstinence from intoxicating substances ought to be made a condition of church-fellowship, so that every religious denomination should assume, as one of its corporate forms, that of a great Christian Temperance Society. These three suppositions, or something very like them, appear to present the opinion of the second class of speculators on teetotalism, in every shape which it can intelligibly hear. Let us bestow upon each of them a few words of examination.

First, then, there can be no possible objection to a temperance society formed and conducted on an evangelical basis. On the contrary, we earnestly wish that such was the constitution of them all. We think they would be far more efficient, because far more blessed in their operation than anyassociation which does not, as one of its peculiar features, acknowledge the authority and power of divine revelation. But then, we do most cordially condemn the spirit of shirking and excuse-making displayed by men who do nothing, or next to nothing, themselves, because others cannot be brought to think on religious matters as they happily do. The chief question on the present occasion is, ought the temperance movement to be encouraged? Ought it to be strenuously supported and pushed forward? If this question is answered in the affirmative, then we would like to know why they do not unite with others of similar sentiments, in a determined, organized, and continuous effort to advance the cause. We do not ask them to fraternize with infidels and heretics in the same association, although we can see no more sin in joining a temperance league, consisting of persons of all religious opinions, than in sitting as a member of congress; but we certainly do summon them, in the name of consistency, to combine with each other into a band of active temperance reformers. We hope they believe that total abstinence, in the present state of our community, is a good thing, and that society would be vastly the better for its establishment, by whomsoever that might be brought about. Yet we cannot help fearing that many of them act on the principle of not doing good, because the devil bids them. They may dismiss their suspicions, and lay aside their questionable caution. However faithfully infidels and universalists may serve the Prince of Darkness, we are firmly of opinion that he does not thank them for their opposition to drunkenness.

Secondly, if it be alleged that a specific combination, having for