or eight inches from the body. Though a palankeen be thus large, it is generally made of light materials, so that, when empty, it may easily be raised by four men to the shoulders.

Early after noon, on the day appointed for commencing the journey, half a dozen or more coolies (baggagebearers) call for their burdens. Each man has a cloth, answering for a pack, swinging over his shoulders, in which are his luncheon, knife, tobacco, &c. On his head is a small parcel of straw, in a circular form, adapted to his head, on which he carries his load. Each man, also, has a staff, for his support in rugged paths, or when fording rivers; to the head of this staff are attached a number of flat pieces of steel, which by their jingling frighten away serpents, and even wild beasts, at night. The burden for one cooly is generally about sixty pounds, and this he carries thirty miles a day. Being accustomed to the business, they travel many miles without stopping, and without even supporting the burden with the hand; and their daily wages are about 40 cents.

A few hours after the baggage leaves, another set of men, thirteen in number, present themselves before the door; these are the palankeen and torch-bearers. Their dress consists of a large white cloth bound round the head for a turban ; and instead of the single cloth round their waists, as is common to all low castes, they wear a long white frock, so that their bodies are completely covered. This dress gives them a much better appearance than many of the higher caste; and was probably adopted that their personal appearance might be more acceptable to English gentlemen and ladies. The torch-bearer has a long roll of old cloths, closely bound together in a cylindrical form, four feet long, and four or five inches in diameter: this is a lamp. In his other hand is a leather or brass vessel, containing two quarts of oil (see Matt. xxv. 4). Having girded up their loins, they place the palankeen before the door. When the traveller is seated, the three men at each pole raise their clasped hands to their faces, in the attitude of prayer; and then, bowing a little with their faces towards the palankeen, they invoke the protection and blessing of their gods. How much instruction and reproof from the example of the heathen!

While moving on at a slow gait, the first few minutes are occupied in "getting the step," by which they move on with more ease to themselves and the person whom they carry; commencing, at the same time, their song, "Ha Hum, Ha Hum," by which the step is regulated. The monotony of this song is sometimes broken by some one more merry than the rest; who, with the apparent design of driving away melancholy or of pleasing their employer, raises his voice and sings, "Good gentleman good pay will give." When tired of this, some still more animating thought is thrown out, such as, "We'll take our pay, go home, and buy a fine cloth." Thus they run on, six only bearing the palankeen at a time. At a signal given from some one whose shoulder is weary of its burden, they stop, and in a moment pass the pole to the other shoulder. When one set becomes weary, they are relieved by the other, who run by their side. Having run one and a half or two hours, they rest a few moments, and spend this time in adjusting their clothes, girding up their loins, eating tobacco, &c.; or, if much fatigued, by lying down. The torch-bearer runs by the side of the palankeen, and, when his torch becomes dim, he pours in oil from the vessel which he carries in the other hand. On arriving at the bungalow or rest house, perhaps fifteen miles from the place of setting out, the bearers lie down and sleep till they are roused at three or four in the morning; at seven or eight they arrive at the second bungalow. The rest

MYTHOLOGY.

THE MINOTAUR IN THE LABYRINTH.

"Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, the king of Crete, loved an officer named Taurus; hence the fable of her attachment to a bull, and of her giving birth to a monster, half beast, called Mino-Taurus, or Minotaur.

"The Minotaur was shut up in a labyrinth, which Dædulus made by the order of king Minos. This labyrinth was a place diversified with very many windings, and turnings, and cross paths, running into one another. Daedalus was an excellent artificer of Athens, and, as it is said, invented the axe, the saw, the plummet, the auger, and glue; he also first contrived masts and yards for ships; besides, he carved statues so admirably that they not only seemed alive, but would never stand still in one place; nay, would fly away inless they were chained. This Dædalus, together with Ica rus his son, was shut up by Minos in the labyrinth which he had made, because he had assisted Pasiphae in her intrigues, and finding no way of escape, he made wings for himself and his son, with wax and the feathers of birds; fastening those wings to their shoulders, Daedalus flew out of Crete into Sicily, but Icarus in his flight, neglecting his father's advice, observed not

his due course, and out of juvenile wantonness flew higher than he ought; upon which the wax was melted by the sun, the wings broke in pieces, and he fell into the sea, which is since according to Ovid, named the Icarian sea from him.

Icarian seas from Icarus were called.

CIRCE, "The most skillful of all sorceresses, poisoned her husband, a king of the Samaratians; for which she was banished by her subjects, and flying into Italy, fixed her seat on the promontory Circæum, where she fell in love with Glaucus, a sea god, who at the same time loved Scylla: Circe turned her into a sea monster, by poisoning the water where she used to wash. She entertained Ulysses, who was driven hither by the violence of storms, with great civility; and restored his companions, whom, according to her usual custom, she had changed into hogs, bears, wolves, and the like beasts, unto their former shapes."

HERMAPHRODITUS.

CC Hermaphroditus was the son of Mercury. In one of his excursions through the forests, he was observed by a wood nymph called Salmacis, who, struck with his manly form and noble visage, both new to her, anxiously followed him wherever he went. But Hermaphroditus, inured to solitude by the nature of his pursuits, and unaccustomed to the soft attractions of female society, as anxiously avoided her, until she had recourse to stratagem, and to hide in ambush to behold him. At length, however, they met at a favourite fountain in the midst of the forest, where he usually came to bathe at the heat of the day. Here the infatuated nymph imprudently disclosed her sentiments. Such frankness merited a generous return, but the ungrateful and sturdy huntsman, unmoved by her advances, rejected her with disgust; upon which the indignant Salmacis prayed the gods to avenge the insult by wedding him for ever to a female form. Her prayer was granted, and the wretched Hermaphroditus, equally amazed and shocked at the change, prayed them in turn to alleviate the poignancy of his misfortune by sending him companions of similar form. The gods always merciful, listened to his entreaties, and decreed that whoever thereafter should bathe in the fountain, should resemble Hermaphroditus, and partake alike of the form and qualities of either sex."

HEBE AND GANYMEDE.

"Hebe was the daughter of Jupiter and Juno. She was the goddess of youth, and had the power of imparting to others her own perpetual healthfulness and vigour. She is in fact the personification of youthful beauty. She is always represented as a beautiful virgin, crowned with flowers, and attired in a variegated garment. Jupiter, on account of her beauty, chose her for his cup-bearer.

"The food of the gods was not supposed to be formed of the gross aliments of earth:

and of course are the proper subjects or school education.

In the United States, more than four millions of children ought to be under the influence of schools. In Maine, the law requires that the inhabitants of every town pay annually for the support of schools a sum equal, at least, to 40 cents for every person living in it. That amounts to about $120,000. Their expenditures are more than 140,000.

In New Hampshire, a separate tax of $90,000 is raised for schools, besides an annual appropriation from a tax on Bank stock of $9,000 or $10,000.

In Vermont, more than $50,000 are raised for schools from a third per cent tax on the grand list, and as much more from district taxes, besides an income of nearly $1,000 from banks.

In Massachusetts are nearly 3000 schools, supported by public taxes and private subscriptions. In Boston, the schools contain more than 12,000 children, at an expense of about $200,000.

In Rhode Island are about 700 schools, supported by a legislative appropriation of $10,000 annually, by taxes, and by private subscriptions.

The Connecticut school fund is about two millions, but fails of its desired object. Children in the state, 85,000; schools about 1,500.

In New York are more than 9,000 schools, and over 500,000 children taught in them. School fund, $1, 700.000: distributed annually, $100,000, but on the condition that each town raise by tax, or otherwise, as much as they receive from the fund. A wise provis

ion.

New Jersey has a fund of $245,000, and an annual income of $22,000.

In Pennsylvania, during the last year, more than 250,000 children, out of 400,000, were destitute of school instruction.

Delaware has a school fund of $70,000.

Maryland has a school fund of $75,000, and an income for schools from the banks, which is divided be tween the several counties.

Virginia has a fund of $1,533,000, the income divided among the counties according to the white population, and appropriated to paying the tuition of poor children, generally attending private schools.

North Carolina has a fund of $70,000 designed for common schools.

South Carolina appropriates $40,000 annually to free schools.

Georgia has a fund of $500,000, and more than 700 common schools.

Alabama, and most of all the western and southwestern states, are divided into townships, six miles square, and each township into sections one mile square, with one section, the sixteenth, appropriated to education.

Mississippi has a fund of $280,000, but it is not available until it amounts to nearly $500,000.

The Legislature of Louisiana grants to each parish, or county, in that state, $2 62 for each voter, the amount for any other parish not to exceed $1350, nor to fall short of $800.-$40,000 are applied to educating the poor.

Tennessee has a school fund of about half a million, but complaints are made that it is not well applied.

Kentucky has a fund of $140,000, but a portion of it has been lost. A report to the Legislature, from Rev. B. O. Peers, says, that no more than one third of the children between the ages of four and fifteen attend school.

In Ohio, a system of free schools, similar to that of New England, is established by law.

In Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, no Legislative measures for the support of schools have been adopted. All the schools are supported by private tuition. Family Lyceum.

[From the Western Monthly Magazine.]

WESTERN SCENERY.

The traveller who visits our Valley for the first time, advancing from the east to the Ohio river, and thence proceeding westward, is struck with the magnificence of the vegetation which clothes the whole surface. The vast extent and gloomy grandeur of the forest, the gigantic size and venerable antiquity of the trees, the rankness of the weeds, the luxuriance and variety of the underbrush, the long vines that climb to the tops of the tallest branches, the parasites that hang in clusters from the boughs, the brilliancy of the foliage, and the exuberance of the fruit, all show a land teeming with vegetable life. The forest is seen in its majesty ; the pomp and pride of the wilderness is here. Here is nature unspoiled, and silence undisturbed. A few years ago, this impression was more striking than at present; for now, farms, villages, and even a few large towns, are scattered over this region, diversifying its landscapes, and breaking in upon the characteristic wildness of its scenery. Still there are wide tracts remaining in a state of nature, and displaying all the savage luxuriance which first attracted the pioneer; and upon a general survey, its features present at this day, to one accustomed only to thickly peopled countries, the same freshness of beauty, and the immensity, though rudeness of outline, which we have been accustomed to associate with the landscape of the West. I know of nothing more splendid than a western forest. There is a grandeur in the immense size of the trees-a richness in the colouring of the foliage, superior to any thing that is known in corresponding latitudes-a wildness and an unbroken stillness that attest the absence of man-above all there is a vastness, a boundless extent, an uninterrupted continuity of shade, which prevents the attention from being distracted, and allows the mind to itself, and the imagination to realize the actual presence and true character of that which had burst upon it like a vivid dream. But when the traveller forsakes the Ohio, and advancing westward ascends to the level of that great plain, which constitutes the surface of this region, he finds himself in an open champaign country-in a wilderness of meadows clad in grass, and destitute of trees. The transition is as sudden as complete. Behind him are the most gigantic productions of the forest-before him are the lowly, the verdant, the delicate inhabitants of the lawn; behind him are gloom and chill, before him are sunlight and graceful beauty. He has passed the rocky cliff, where the den of the rattlesnake is concealed, the marshes that send up fœtid stems of desolating miasma, and the canebrake where the bear and the panther lurk; and has reached the pasture where the deer is feeding, and the prairie flower displays its diversified hues. He has seen the wilderness in all its savage pomp and gloomy grandeur, arrayed in the terrors of barbarian state; but now beholds it in its festal garb, reposing in peace, and surrounded by light gaiety and beauty.

This distinction is not imaginary; no one can pass from one part of this region to another, without observing the natural antithesis of which we are speaking; and that mind would be defective in its perceptions of the sublime and beautiful, which did not feel, as well as see, the effect of this singular contrast. VOL. II.

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There is in the appearance of one of our primitive forests a gloomy wildness, that throws a cast of solemnity over the feelings; a something in the wide-spread solitude which suggests to the traveller that he is far from the habitations of man-alone, in the companionship of his own thoughts, and the presence of his God. But the prairie landscape awakens a different train of thought. Here light predominates instead of shade, and a variety of hue instead of a wearisome exuberance and monotony of verdure; while the extent of the landscape allows the eye to roam abroad, and the imagination to expand, over an endless diversity of agreeable objects.

The remarkable contrast is equally striking in the contour of the surface-in the difference between the broken and the level districts. If the traveller looks down from the western pinnacles of the Alleghany, he beholds a region beautifully diversified with hill and dale, and intersected with rapid streams. In western Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, he finds every variety of scenic beauty-the hill, the plain, the valley, the rocky cliff, the secluded dell, the clear fountain, and the rivulet dashing headlong over its bed of rock. The rivers have each their characteristic scenery. The Monongahela winding through a mountainous country, overhung with precipices, and shaded by heavy forests, with a current sufficiently gentle to be easily navigable to steamboats, has its peculiar features, which are instantly lost when the traveller has passed on the bosom of the Ohio. The winding course and picturesque scenery of the Ohio, between Pittsburgh and Wheeling, impress the beholders as strictly wild and beautiful; below the latter place, the features of the landscape become softened, the hills recede farther from the river, are lofty, and more rounded; and again, after passing Louisville, these elevations are seen less frequently, and gradually melt away, until the river becomes margined by low shores, and one continuous line of unbroken forest. But if we leave the gentle current of the Ohio, and ascend the Kentucky or the Cumberland, we again find rapid streams, overhung with precipices, and a country abounding in the diversities of a wild and picturesque scenery. Here may be seen the rapid current foaming and eddying over beds of rock, and the tall peak towering above in solitary grandeur. Here the curious traveller may penetrate the gloom of the cavern, may clamber over precipices, or refresh himself from the crystal fountain bursting from the bosom of the rock. But he will find every hill clad with timber, every valley teeming with vegetation; even the crevices of the limestone parapets giving sustenances to trees and bushes.

The scenery presented on the western shore of the Ohio is altogether different. The mountain, the rock, the precipice, and limpid torrent, are seen no more; and the traveller, as he wanders successively over Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and the vast wilderness lying beyond, is astonished at the immensity of the great plain, the regularity of its surface, and the richness, the verdure, the beauty, of its wide-spread meadows.

It is perhaps not easy to account for the intense curiosity and surprise which have been universally excited by the existence of these plains; for they have been found in various parts of the world. The steppes