Of course, what a writer thus circumstanced, alleges respecting the character of the inhabitants, must be received with caution and allowance. A French soldier ought not to have been quite so pathetic on the subject of brigandage. The scene of the battle of Maida, or, as the French call it, of St. Eufemia, calls forth the following remarks.

I have contemplated, with a good deal of interest, the memorable scene of the battle of St. Euphemia: I say memorable, for it is much talked of in this country; and judging from the localities, I should consider it would have been much better to have trusted to the malign influence of the climate in the month of July, which could not fail to destroy the English army.

At a distance of five miles from Nicastro, stands the miserable village of St. Euphemia, built on the ruins of an old city, which has given its name to the bay. It was once considerable, and was destroyed in 1638 by a frightful earthquake, which converted the fine country round it into one vast and fetid lake.

Never am I destined to have done with that eternal plague of Calabria-brigandage. The forest of St. Euphemia is generally known as the haunt of one of the most active of the bandit chiefs. It was from this point chiefly that intelligence was received of the English being in correspondence with the numerous bands spread over the surface of the two provinces. The facility of debarkation has doubtless induced them to give a preference to this spot, bordering, as it does, on a high and woody mountain, the passes through which can secure them access to those of the interior of the country. This forest, extremely thick, and with a swampy soil, is a mysterious labyrinth, of which none but the brigands can discover the clue. So complex and intricate are its numberless avenues, and so obstructed with underwood, which is absolutely impenetrable when defended by an armed force, that our troops have never been able to open a way through. An old villain named Benincasa, the most noted of all the Calabrian brigands, is the great leader of the several hordes that infest this dangerous quarter. Covered with murders and atrocities long before the arrival of the French, he could only escape justice by flying to the woods, and rallying around him a numerous band of assassins. Last autumn an attempt was made to destroy this frightful haunt; and to ensure success, it was determined to treat with Benincasa, and offer him and his associates very advantageous terms; but the business has proceeded so slowly, and with so little address, that nothing effectual has yet been accomplished; while these brigands, fearing to be routed from their den, have again taken to the open country, after having committed all sorts of horrible atrocities.

The habits of a lawless mode of life, and of an independence equally savage and ferocious, in which the Calabrian peasants are bred up from their infancy, have constantly rendered useless all those amnesties which have so often been tried. They regard as a stratagem all means of lenity and persuasion to which we seek to have recourse, or as a proof of our weakness; hence nothing but the utmost rigour can be employed against them with effect.' pp. 75-78. 3 N

VOL. VII.-N.S.

Near the ruins of the ancient Locri, our Officer fell in with a band of that ubiquitous race called gipsies, who are found even in this remote peninsula of Europe, speaking the language of the country, with a foreign accent, but preserving here, as every where else, their own dialect. Their ostensible pursuit in Calabria, is to work at old iron; but they more frequently support themselves by fortune-telling, horse-dealing, and other ‘juggling' expedients. Upon the whole, the Volume is entertaining enough; but we cannot refrain from remarking, that the high price put upon it, is not justified even by the showy lithograph print which forms the frontispiece.

Art. VII. Art in Nature, and Science anticipated. By Charles Williams. 18mo. London, 1832.

THE first of these conversations, The Paper-makers,' appeared

in the Juvenile Forget-me-not for 1832; and a very pleasing and well designed paper, we imagine, every reader must have thought it. The subjects of the remainder of the series are not less attractive; and to young students of nature, the titles of the chapters present so many curious enigmas. We have an account of the Confectioners, the Silk-manufacturers, the Musicians, the Carpenters, the Masons, the Constitutionalists, the Aeronauts, the Boat-builders, the Illuminators, the Miners, the Soldiers, the Upholsterers, the Tailors, the Architects, and the Geometricians of the Insect or feathered world. The volume is excellently adapted to interest young persons in the phenomena of natural history, and to make them Nature's playmates; while the religious sentiment blended with this entertaining knowledge, will tend to keep alive the impression on their minds, that

-Nature is but a name for an effect
Whose cause is God.'

The volume is altogether a very pretty book," and one which we can cordially recommend. We will make room for a single

specimen.

E. And so, papa, these are some of the little carpenters. But, though I did not know till now there were any, yet, I should think, they are not all.

Mr. E. No, my dear; nor shall I be able to mention all; there are several kinds; and I and mamma will tell you of a few of each. Perhaps, my dear, you will give them an account of the carpenter

ants.

Mrs. E. With pleasure. The emmet, or jet-ant, so called from its shining black colour, may sometimes be met with in hedges, and in the trunks of decayed oak, or willow-trees. The labourers always

On

work in the inside of trees, and are desirous of doing so in secret. one side of their buildings, Huber found horizontal galleries, hidden in great part by their walls; and on another parallel galleries, separated by very thin partitions; having no communication, except by a few oval openings. In other fragments of their edifices, (for he could never get them to work under his inspection,) he found avenues, which opened sideways, including parts of walls and partitions, erected here and there within the galleries, so as to form separate chambers. When the work is further advanced, pillars are cut out in the same wall, and are worked into regular columns. In some cases, these same partitions, pierced in every part and hewn skilfully, are made into colonnades, which support the upper stairs, and leave a free communication throughout the whole. To the building they give an extreme degree of lightness. "I have seen," says Huber, fragments from eight to ten inches in length, and of equal height, formed of wood as thin as paper, containing a number of apartments, and presenting the most singular appearance. At the entrance of them, worked out with so much care, are very considerable openings; but in place of chambers and extensive galleries, the layers of the wood are hewn in arcades, allowing the ants a free passage in every direction. These may be considered the gates, or vestibules, conducting to the several lodges."

F. How clever that is! Are there any other ants that are so skilful?

'Mrs. E. Yes; and some have the ingenuity to mix up the chips, which they chisel out, with spider's web, and thus to make a material of which to form entire chambers.

E. Mamma, what tools can they have for all this? A man cannot work without them. When Sam Turner was here the other day, and I told him Edward's barrow was broke, he said he could not mend it, for he hadn't his tools.

Mrs. E. Their only tools, like those of bees and wasps, are their mandibles; and thus they have two advantages over Sam Turner: they are never troubled by their weight; and they cannot regret, when out, that they have left them at home. Besides, what would he say, could you give him one tool which could do every thing? And yet this is their case.

F. Papa, are any bees famous in this way?

'Mr. E. There is one, almost as large as the humble bee, not so downy, but more deeply coloured, which, when spring comes, shuns the sappy and green wood, which is probably too tough for its purpose, and seeks for some old post or withered part of a tree, to begin its house. It will not, however, select any wood placed in a spot where the sun rarely shines. As soon as a piece of that which is dry and rotten is found, it begins to bore it; and, having gone to a certain depth, changes the direction of the cavity;-a work which occupies it for some weeks. For days together, the carpenter-bee may be seen going in and out of its hole, and shovelling out the saw-dust which it has produced. The cavity is from twelve to fifteen inches long, and often broad enough to admit a man's forefinger. A single bee will make two or three of these holes in a season.

E. And what is all this labour for, papa?

‹ Mr. E. The cavity is divided into about twelve parts, each intended to receive an egg. The lowest part forms the basis of the first recess, where the insect piles up bee-bread about an inch in height; on the top of this one egg is laid, and over the whole a roof is formed, which serves as a cover to the bottom chamber, and a floor for the second which is above. Each partition is about as thick as a crownpiece; and the making of it is very curious. The bee begins by glueing the particles of saw-dust round the outside of the cavity, so as to make a ring; inside this, she glues more; and thus she gradually works from the outside to the centre; and at last, a covering of circles of saw-dust, one within the other, is formed.

6 F. Does she make more cells than one?

‹ Mrs. E. Yes; she proceeds as she did at first, until the whole space is filled up with cells. The shape and size of each she knows well, and even the exact quantity of food which the grub will eat, from the moment of its birth to its maturity; and hence she places this in its abode.' pp. 116-119.

Art. VIII. Narrative of certain Events connected with the late Disturbances in Jamaica, and the Charges preferred against the Baptist Missionaries in that Island: being the Substance of a Letter to the Secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society, dated March 13, 1832. Published by Order of the Committee of the Society. 8vo, pp. 40. London, 1832.

IN

N our March Number, before we had received any other account of the disturbances in Jamaica, than the official statements printed in the Newspapers, we expressed the conviction, derived from a perusal of those documents, that the insurrection would prove to have been wholly unconnected with religion, but that attempts would be made by the Whites of Jamaica to raise a persecution against the Missionaries. The information since received, has fully borne out our former inference, and more than justified our worst suspicions. With regard to the causes of the rebellion, Mr. Abbott writes:

The true cause will appear to be this. The slaves have become enlightened; they have learned to read; they have read the daily papers, and have, in consequence, read the reports of speeches made at the "meetings of Delegates" held in this island last year, in which their masters declare, that they will not be dictated to by the Mother Government, and that they would spill the last drop of their blood, before the slaves should be free. Such sentiments as these (we have reason to believe from the confessions of many slaves) induced them to think that freedom was sent out to them by the King, but their masters kept it from them; and though we must all deplore the means adopted by them for obtaining it, there is not a doubt but a desire to be free, and that desire alone, was the cause of their adopting it.'

And is that a desire which Englishmen can regard as criminal?

Lord Byron expressed a wish that the Irish had been born black, for then they would have become objects of interest to Mr. Wilberforce and the philanthropists. We may as justly say, if the slaves in the West India Colonies had not been born black, their success in delivering themselves from bondage, and asserting their rights as men, might have won applause and congratulation from our liberals. And if the West India planters were but Ottomans, instead of Christians, who would not rejoice at hearing of their extermination ?

With regard to the conspiracy of the Jamaica Whites against the Missionaries, it may justly be characterized as thoroughly Turkish; for the suborning of false witnesses has not hitherto been deemed consistent with even the nominal profession of a Christian creed. That magistrates, rectors of parishes, and officers of militia should be found aiding and abetting a savage mob in pulling down chapels dedicated to the worship of God, and in plundering the houses of unoffending British subjects, is not a very usual occurrence; although such things have occurred in former times. But the facts detailed in the following statement could scarcely have taken place any where except in the West Indies.

you

I may here give you, my dear Sir, a few specimens of the base means resorted to by the great men, in eliciting evidence from slaves and others, for the purpose of criminating your Missionaries; we are not authorized to use the names of those persons who have furnished us with the following statements, though, if necessary, we can get them substantiated on oath! A free member of Mr. B.'s church was charged with having received letters from Mr. B. She was taken up. and examined, when the following threats were made use of to induce her to implicate Mr. B. by a Magistrale. "Now we have good proof that you did receive them (letters); now tell us the truth; if you don't there is a boat ready to ship you off." She replied, "I cannot tell a lie upon myself or Mr. B. I never did receive any letters." Magistrate, Now, my good woman, I won't send for a Constable to take to the Court-House, but I will carry you myself, so you had better tell the truth." He then took her to the Court-House, and put her on handcuffs, among 100 or more Negroes, where she remained from 2 P.M. until the next day, when a Lieut.-Colonel (Militia) came and said, "Have you not letters from Mr. B.?" Woman, "No." Col. "Are you not a Baptist?" Woman, "Yes!" Col. " You see the gallows out there! (pointing to it,) if they were to hang up Mr. B. and yourself, how you would holloa! they must let down Mr. B. and hang yourself." Much more followed of the same nature, when Mr. M. examined her, and finding nothing against her she was discharged. Again, Mr. was present when one of the Militia officers held his sword over a negro's head, and pointing to the gallows said, If you do not tell me something about the Baptist parsons, you shall be hung up there." Mr. L. told us that after the committal of Mr. B. a gen tleman said to him, that he feared the evidence against Mr. B. would

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