nity being very poor and stoney, many were induced to go to greater distances to search out spots fitter for cultivation; and many places were fixed upon where the appearance of the soil and situation were much more favourable; some of these were two, three, and four miles from the homestead. The loss of time was not regarded in the moment of enthusiasm: some thought of pitching a tent upon the land, others of erecting a temporary habitation, and all hoped that 100 acres round these spots would be assigned them, that they might go on with their cultivation. As every one wished to be certain of the possession of his land before he began to improve it, applications were made to the provisional magistrate, to have the spots measured and assigned to the different people; the only answer received, was, they might cultivate any spot which was not before occupied, that the crop should be guaranteed, but not the land! This had a paralyzing effect upon the exertions of most; for the first year's crop could not be expected to be much, and the first year's tillage must be the most expensive and difficult: the ground is harder to be broke up; enclosing, paring, burning and all other improvements, are much more difficult on wild, uncultivated land; add to which, nothing can be raised in this country without manure; the operations being once performed, the land acquires a greater value, greater crops may be expected; but no man is willing to bestow his time, his labour, and his money, in ameliorating the land which in a year or two may be taken from him. We were assured from time to time, that the land should be measured and allotted; we waited patiently,—a twelvemontli has elapsed, and we are no nearer than at the day of our landing. We have felt this the more, as many other parties have had their lands measured and divided to them by authority: this, operating with other causes, has occasioned many to apply for permission to quit the district, and seek employment elsewhere; this party, which on our arrival consisted of eightyfour heads of families, is now reduced to about 30, and is constantly experiencing more reductions. The blight was universal for more than 500 miles round. I had about three acres ploughed up, and sown with wheat, it did not return the seed, the whole produced three bushels, but so poor, so shrivelled,

and so small, that the grain was not one third the size of English wheat, and only fit for poultry.

But to return to our location.

The

valley runs south east, and north west, for about half a mile; it then turns to the southward and runs nearly north and south, still with the same general features; there is a little more wood to the southward; the country to the east and north is one of the elevated plains described by Barrow in his travels,where the blast howls over the long grass of the desert, and the eye wanders unsatisfied without an object to rest upon, till it catches the dark blue sea, where it mingles with the horizon. On the south are lofty, rugged hills, aud between them and us runs a stream about five feet wide, dignified with the name of river; near its mouth, where the sea flows into it at high tides, it displays a greater breadth, but the place of communication between it and the sea, is dry except at high water, and at spring tides. At the mouth of the river there is a kind of bar of sand, 4 or 500 yards wide, which is always dry, except at high spring tides, and then it is the sea which flows over it, and it is soon dry again. The river finds its way through the fine sea sand which composes this bar, below its surface.

Along the banks of this stream there are some very pretty spots, but the valley is so narrow, the banks are so steep, and the bed of the stream so low, that with the slender means possessed by the settlers, it is not possible to raise the water sufficiently to irrigate even the little cultivateable land that lies along its banks. To the westward of us, lies a tract of apparently good land, near to which Mr. Baillie has fixed his farm; the land around it is covered with thorny mimosa or camel thorn. The size and quantity of this shrub, is said to be a certain criterion by which to judge the goodness of the land, in this part of the world.

The general view around, a little way from the hill, is a wild, unsheltered plain, bounded inland by sterile, bleak and rugged hills, intersected by deep and precipitous glens, and on the other side by the boundless ocean, and a complete iron-bound coast, without indent or winding, on which a tremendous surf is eternally beating. The ravines, or bloofs, which are the only reservoirs of wood and water, are the sheltered haunts of a variety of wild

animals,

animals, tygers, panthers, leopards, hyænas, wolves, and wild dogs, all of which lie close during the day, and carry on their depredations at night. They are in general timid and cautious, and will seldom, if ever, venture to attack men, unless driven to great extremities of hunger, or in defence of their own lives; then they are furious and determined. They seldom attack the horned cattle, the smaller animals are principally their prey; among the domestic animals, goats and sheep are the greatest sufferers. The larger and more dangerous kinds of animals, as the lion, the elephant, and the rhinoceros, are seldom seen in these parts, though we are not quite without them, their tracks being sometimes seen.

The banks of the larger streams are covered with a great quantity of shrub bery called bush, which is its most appropriate term: it does not deserve the name of forest, not producing any timber of growth or size; this bush affords shelter to a number of buffaloes, which are sometimes shot by the Hottentots: their skin being very tough, is in great request for making draught ropes, or track tows for the oxen to draw by. The hippopotamus, here called the sea-cow, is the most extraordinary of all the animals this country produces; although its body is equal in size to the largest ox, its legs are not more than 18 inches long, very thick and strong, the foot is much larger than that of the ox, and of the same shape, the skin is very thick, about an inch and a half, in some places two inches, it is not covered with hair, but rough and uneven, like the skins of those fish that are without scales, there is a little hair scattered over it, but not perceptible till you have the skin in your hand: the skin is used to make a kind of whip, called a shamboc, its toughness and hardness is such that it fetches blood at every stripe. The head is immensely large, its length from the top of the head to the nose, was three feet, its breadth across the eyes was two feet two inches, it does not taper always towards the mouth, but continues nearly the same breadth down to the nose, its mouth is rounded something like the representation of a dolphin's head on country signs. The tusks were four or five inches long, its ears were very small. Just above the mouth are two holes through which it spouts up the water. It generally keeps in the fresh water, but at night comes

There are

out to feed on the weeds and long grass on the banks of the river; of all the ugly monsters nature ever formed, this is surely the most ugly. several kinds of smaller beasts, dreadful enemies to the poultry, foxes, wild cats, otters, and the mansehunt of which there are great numbers; they resemble the pole cat of England, but larger, stronger, and more destructive. The plains are peopled with a variety of antelopes, but by no means in such numbers as described by Vaillant and Barrow; you may travel many miles and often a whole day, without seeing one; they are extremely wild, wonderfully swift and watchful, which makes it very difficult to get within shot of them. There are hares, partridges and phea sants, the latter rather scarce; the wild turkey and the Guinea fowl are also very scarce; birds of prey are in great abundance, from the rock eagle to the kite, and several species of vulture. On the plains too we have ostriches, zebras, and the quacha, the latter more plentiful than the two former; they appear more social, usually going in herds; their motion and appearance is more like the mule than the horse, the manner of carrying the head shews abundance of spirit and fire. The ostriches are seldom killed, their speed is so great, and their vigilance equal to it.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR,

HE taste for music, which now

THER

seems greatly on the increase, has induced me to trouble you with the subjoined account of the meeting at Chester, should you deem it worthy your acceptation. The celebration of the grand musical festival of Chester, commenced on Tuesday, Sept. 25th, in the Cathedral. This building has less to boast of, in point of architectural beauty, than any episcopal edifice we have ever seen; but upon this occasion the mode of fitting it up was admirably calculated for the purpose intended, and, with the exception of the fine and ringing choir of Gloucester, displayed the voices and instruments to as much advantage as we ever heard. The orchestra was erected at the western extremity of the broad aisle, usually called the nave, and the audience had forms placed for them between the rows of pillars, the gallery for the grandees being at the back of the screen. this occasion it was splendidly filled; we observed, in particular, the Countess

On

of

of Derby, once the Thalia of English comedy, to whom the stage has produced no equal, after a lapse of nearly thirty years.

The attention and judicious arrangement of Col. Barnston and the committee, left nothing to be desired on the score of management. The directors acted wisely in the principal point, by making an early engagement with Mrs. SALMON, who is, we believe, universally acknowledged by professional judgment and the higher order of amateurs, "Queen of the Quire," and the only vocalist who can set off the sterling gold of Handel, and the diamond glitter of Rosini with equal brilliancy and effect. In this they afforded a striking contrast to the bad taste or illiberality of the Worcester managers at the triennial meeting, at which place she had no engagement, to the great regret of every genuine lover of highly cultivated ta lent; since, without adverting to the patronage bestowed on a foreigner, which we hold to be an invidious topic, this lady is absolutely unrivalled in scientific accomplishments, and the extent and variety of her powers: we would by no means except the far-famed Catalani. Upon whose shoulders the blame of this omission falls, we have no wish to enquire, more especially as the triennial meetings at Worcester, Hereford, and Gloucester, which have now subsisted for nearly a century, afford a display of liberal spirit and musical taste well worthy the imitation of some Baotian choral cities that we could name.

The festival was opened on Tuesday morning with the performance of the Messiah, the only one of Handel's oratorios that, from the change that has taken place in national taste, is now performed entire; and with respect even to this his masterpiece, selections from his works are generally more attractive; and though the church was this day well filled, the assemblage of company was the thinnest of the four days of meeting. We have only to remark between the admirers of the old and the new school, that we would never wish to hear the Messiah without Mozart's accompaniments, any more than see Macbeth without the addition of the music of Locke. Mr. BRAHAM opened with the fine recitative of "Comfort ye," which, it is said, has never been adequately given since the days of Norris. He sung with his usual exquisite feeling, and throughout the whole of his

performances, with more chasteness than usual.

Mr. SWIFT, a gentleman from Edinburgh, took the counter tenor part, who, though gifted with a fine voice, has much to learn, both in deportment and professional study. The Italian proverb, that there are a hundred requisites to a good singer, and that a fine voice has ninety-nine, will by no means hold good in these days of refined science and brilliant embellishment. To prove the truth of this, let any one but Mrs. Salmon attempt the song of "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion," and see how abortive will be their efforts when compared with her's-the finished result of laborious cultivation and exquisite taste. In truth, Italy has now put forth the most striking illustration of the futility of the remark, in the person of Madame Catalani, whose monotonous style never fails to tire in a festival of this length after the close of the first day, spite of her almost preternatural voice.

Miss STEPHENS gave "I know that my Redeemer liveth" with her usual pathos; but as to musical attainments in general, she is just where she was four years ago, and her songs and ballads now begin to pall by constant repetition.

We were here first made acquainted with two voices of great promise,Messrs. KELLNER and ROLLE; their pretensions are perhaps about equal, but, as successors to Bartleman, they fail most woefully. It is invidious to try them by this criterion, but the impulse is irresistible: Bartleman was a great actor as well as a great musician, which no one now seems sensible of, as expression is hardly attempted at all.

In the evening of the second day (Wednesday) there was a concert, that presented little variety, every piece having been performed at least thirty times during last winter and spring in London; with singers so excellent, however, it is impossible not to be pleased, aided by such artists as LindĨey and Mori, each of whom played a concerto. Surely Madame Camporesa might sometimes give us that fine scene of Tomelli," Berenice ove sei," which places her in the first rank of her profession, instead of the eternal repetition of "Di piacer;" it is absolutely "crambe repetita." Travers's beautiful colloquial duet, “ Haste, my Nannette," was sung by Mrs. Salmon and Mr. Kellner, and was heard for a first

time

these gases; these I should employ for its destruction, and the lime to prevent its reproduction. I would strenuously recommend such an unlimited application of these principles, as that every building in the suffering district should be impregnated with the antiseptic effluvia. The materials are at hand in great abundance, and a few thousand pounds, if necessary, might do as much for the preservation of human life, as is too often expended on its voluntary destruction. This would indeed be an attempt worthy of the improvements in modern chemistry, and make some reparation to humanity for the miseries it has inflicted by supplying additional means to the evils of war.

If the common wheel carriages of the town were employed, and the fumigating process used in each of them, and at the same time quantities of limé carried to distribute where most want ed; let these vehicles have awnings to confine the gas when first produced to the lower parts of the atmosphere, and the whole employed in the windward direction; and the danger of the operators I should hope and believe, would be inconsiderable, and I cannot think it a wild or visionary expectation that the effects of the attempt should be instantaneous and powerful. Some of our public papers state the intention of bombarding one of the wretched towns, and reducing it to a heap of rubbish. What an unphilosophic idea? As if smothering the infection could destroy its future effects, or as if the baneful cause would be destroyed by removing it from the eye.

The heroism of the French physicians is deserving of the most gratifying reward in the power of man to bestow, even should their labours be ineffective: what then would be due from the united world to him who could demonstrate that he had arrested the terrific Scourge in its mid-career, and not only succeeded in the present instance, but relieved posterity from the agonizing and perpetual alarm of its fatal recurrence? This is a subject which comes home (or should do) to every man's bosom. We know not how soon the case may be our own. A single act of desperation from the miserable crew of a diseased vessel, or numberless instances which the most vigilant precautions cannot always avoid, may bring the distress into the bosom of our own families, and this considera

BE

of the Monthly Magazine, and an occasional contributor" to its pages, I have had repeated opportunities of perceiving its great utility, and of experiencing kind attention from you towards one or two letters with which I have thought it expedient to trouble you; and I beg of you to-day the favour of an insertion, if the theme, on examination, shall appear worthy of a place in your columns. It is a description of an improvement in the present mode of extinguishing the lights of common chamber candlesticks and lamps, by the application and use of which, sufficient time and light may be afforded to get into bed with comfort and safety.

Those candlesticks or lamps must be selected for the purpose, which enclose the flame in a glass "chimney” or tube ; and which, by the bye, are certainly preferable for general purposes on account of the steadiness of the flame, and their peculiar safety. To the upper opening of the glass, let a top or cover of either tin or brass be fitted,and when the light is to be put out, you have merely to cover up the aperture with it, when the flame will gradually sink, till it is extinguished by the rarefaction of the air enclosed. Upon the length and diameter of the tube, will of course depend the time occupied in the extinction, a circumstance which should be considered by any one about to order the apparatus. It is scarcely necessary to add, that where a candle is used, the cover should be at least three or four inches above the flame, or the extinction will be too sudden. If the cover be provided with a hook, similar to those now fixed on the common extinguishers, it may, like them be conveniently secured when out of use.

B.

For