ErabrI4.

IT is.a long time before a false opinion is thoroughly eradicated, if it was originally founded on truth. When more difficulties, shills,

and dangers, bad to be encountered in a journey from London to than are now undergone in a voyage round the world, or in atour through Europe and North America, a traveller in foreign

countries was naturally looked upon as a sort of rare (iris. All

that he had to tell was new and strange, apart from his manner of telling it. If his story related to parts out of Europe, it had a further interest in the information it might affitrd to adventurers in search of El Dorados. But the causes which rendered an old traveller famous exist no longer. Of Europe. of India, and of the greater portion of settled Attlee and America, we know quite as much as commonplace obervets can tell us : set they still persist in saying their say. "Men," we conclude they argue, " by no means so accomplished and enlightened as ourselves, w ho neither travelled so far as we, nor, thanks to Lord Btrouanast's schoolmaster, wrote such English, acquired celebrity in their own day, and are even known tl ours ; and why should not we become famous tour— Because you are not. originals. The men you speak of added to our stock of knowledge ; their struggles and their sufferings excite our ss mpathy or admiration; even their coarse and quaint sitn- plwity give the interest of individual character to their works, whilst they indicate the opinions of the age. But little of these qualities appertain to the herd of travelers; and, for our own parts, we would restrict all such from yicl.l ug to the promptings of vanity, or the request of friends, unless they had travelled into the interior of Africa, crossed North America from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, or wandered in thg Steppes of Tartary.

These thoughts have risen in our mind from a glance at the books of Travels on our table; which, whatever may be their respective merits, the world at least could have done without. Such as they are, however, we must take them ; and commence with

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Mr. STEEDMAN has resided for ten years at the Cape ; and having a taste for natural history, he made frequent excursions into the interior of the colony " principally for amusement and information." -During these tours, he took rough notes of "their incidents and adventures ;" and the late invasion of the Eastern frontier of the colony by the Caffers having excited the public mind, he deter- mined to prepare his journal for publication. The original me- moranda, however, having been chiefly of a personal nature, con- tained little that related to the character of the barbarian tribes, or to the social state or public condition of the colonists. Hence, in order to impart that kind of' information which he rightly sup- posed would be the most interesting, he has had recourse to other sources than his own note-book ; all of which, we believe, are of an accessible and many of an obvious kind, consisting of extracts from former travellers, and articles in the English or Colonial periodicals.

Yet the volumes are readable—nay, pleasant ; to those who have no acquaintance with other South African travellers, they will even be found interesting. But readers who have perused or devoured the narratives of former wanderers, will find little or no- thing of novelty. Mr. STEEDMAN did not penetrate much beyond the frontier, nor advance so far as several of his predecessors; he has therefore no new discoveries to tell of. He does not appear to

be.a very close observer, or a very striking describer; su that he cannot make old things look new. Even his personal adventures

in.the hind of lions seem to have been rather tame; for the tales

of hairbreadth escapes which enrich his volumes never concern himself; and the hardships of travel in South Africa, though bad enough to bear, are in themselves somewhat trite on paper. The vast and cumbrous waggon — the Hottentot driver, with his tre- mendous whip—the numerous teams of oxen, and the difficulties and anxieties of the drawing up mountains, down precipices, and

through rivers, where the load may push forward the oxen, or, the traces giving way, the waggon may return "with impetuous

recoil and jarring sound "—are known. Known, too, are the

Crusoe-like charm of the nightly bivouac, the dreariness of the sandy Karroo, and, at least to the reader of VAI L L ANT, the terrible sufferings of the animals from drought, and the sufferings and anxieties of their master. Mr. STEEDMAN, however, has picked up some new facts relative to zoology, and thrown some new light on the Caffer character.

Thus much as to the text ; but very considerably more than half of the second volume is occupied by an appendix, containing papers extracted from Colonial 19urnals, with one exception, and about the originality of that one we ec not positive. These articles are the most solid portions of the work 4 and give, moreover, a favourable idea of South African literature. The resume of African discovery to the northward and eastward of Cape Colony, drawn up by Mr. CHASE, is a very clear and useful p.qper: the connected extracts from the Graham's Town Journal relative to the Cafl'rarian inva- sion, give a good notion of the fury of that border war, and of the alarm into which it threw the colony ; and the adventures of Mr. BAIN are interesting in themselves, and told with a hearty off-hand manner. The extracts from the letters and journals of Mr. Bovca the Missionary, though homely, convey a good picture of savage life, to which their very homeliness adds force. The station of the mission was amongst the Amapontla Carers; and the remarks and observations were jotted dowii day by day. We take a few extracts, illustrative of that social state which ROUSSEAU considered the hist.

SAVAGE LIFE.

()wing to the late unsettled state of the country, the present is a time of great' distress. Many hundreds of people are living in the bushes on roots, without any fixed habitation, and almost driven to desperation from extreme distress. In'

riding a few miles, Mr. Painton counted above three hundred people seeking roots for food : there are a great many eatable roots which will support life, but

they are not very nutritious ; they cause the people's bodies swell to an enor- mous size, and the striking contrast between their emaciated limbs and swollen bodies is very painful to behold. In consequence of this scarcity of food, many men are driving from their kraals their least-valued wives, and the old and in- firm who cannot go far to seek roots are left to starve. A great many people, especially women, come every day, hoping " to be picked up." We do what we can for the moat distressed objects, but our stock of food will require very good management, and some self-denial on the part of ourselves and people, Co order to make it hold out until the harvest-time, which is yet six weeks or two months off. • Three weeks ago, Faku's sister-in-law died ; four persons were immediately tortured, and then beaten to death by sticks, for haviog caused her death by witchcraft. The charge was substantiated by the following evidence—" The poor creatures had been seen to wave their hands as they passed by the sick woman's kraal." Six weeks after a great captain died nearsthe Unigazi, six persons were tortured and then burnt to death, on the same charge, on similar evidence : the witch-doctors pretended to find a 'Acre of wood called chaka buried in their kraal, which as it rotted would cause the deceased to rot away : they were accused also of having burnt a lizard in their garden, in order that the deceased might have no corn to eat, and so die of hunger. In addition. John Burton, toy interpreter, informed me, "that on his return from Butter- worth (to which place he accompanied me when I went to the District Meet- ing) he arrived in the evening at a kraal near the Basbee, and found the place in great confusion. On inquiring the cause, be learned, that food being scarce, the people had buried a child of seven years old alive, because they did not like to see it starve before their eyes: the grave being not very deep, and the soil light, the child snuggled hard, and its crying was heard by the mother, whose feelings prompted her to dig the child up again : the people were holding a con- sultation as to the propriety of burying the child again. John Burton reasoned with them, gave tip the little food he bad, and the people promised-to let the child live."

A CAFFER POTENTATE.

This morning early, Faku and about five hundred of his people were upon the Station, to see the waggon, and leaf ia if there was any thing to he given away. I gave Faku an as.ortment of beads and buttons, two liatalkerchiefs, a looking- glass, two tins to hold milk, and a blanket. To his brother I was obliged to give a good present in return for his row ; Faku's wives and great men expected something. Faku will not hear when the subject of his children's learning to read is introduced. He is pained at knowing it is possible to express the sound of his name upon paper ; being probably influenced by a superstitious dread of our having it in our power, by this means, to bewitch him.

GAFFER REASONS FOR GOING TO WAR.

For some time past, Faku, who is now very strong, but very poor, has been seeking an opportunity to int,rfere with the petty Chiefs near Morley, who, from their mutual jealousies, and consequent disunion, are quite unable to cope with him in war. Pretending that Cetani (one of the Chiefs in Morley) bad a dog named No.Faku, that is, Mother of Faku, and that the same Chief had as- sumed a great mune, which Faku had appropriated to himself since the defeat of the Quabees (the name of Jerilli, nearly synonymous with our word con- queror, though not exactly so), he sent out three commandoes, himself accom- panying the last.

THE WISDOM OF OUR ANCESTORS.

The whole country is alarmed, and the petty Chief, So Barilli, has sent his cattle to feed upon the Station for safety, owing to the following occurrence. A male child has been born to Faku lately, which, from the rank of its mother, is the great son or heir of its father. According to a custom which has prevailed from time immemorial among the Amapundas and Amatembu, it was deemed necessary for a great Chief, of a particular family, in which the honour is here- ditary, to be put to death, so that his head might be used as a vessel to holds decoction of roots, with which the new-burn child was to be washed : this charm, they imagine, will prevent Faku's family from becoming extinct. Umcwengi, the Chief who was to have been put to death, fled with his cattle to the mountains; and being supported by several powerful clans, refused to sub- mit, and contends that the doctors are mistaken in supposing him to be the per- son who ought to suffer. Every petty chief is now alarmed, as they say some one must be put to death. While this affair was in agitation, I made many at- tempts to see. Faku, but he kept out of any way. I delivered my testimony against this crying abomination to his great men, who pretended to know no- thing thing about it. • Faku came with a large party to tell the news : I expostulated with him on his debauchery: he replied, " It is our custom, and your laws are too hard for us."

Observing that the volumes are enriched by some very spirited wood-engravings of African animals, and by a map of South Africa, we pass on to

JAMAICA AS IT WAS, AS IT IS, AND AS IT MAY BE.

The author of this work, we are told, is a Retired Military Officer, who has resided in the island for twenty years; his tnotto advises us, with legal solemnity, that we are to expect from him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; and if a general and detailed titlepage were to be believed, the history, society, laws, productions, and climate of Jamaica, would have been exhausted in about 300 duodecimo pages. This achieve- ment, however, is beyond our Retired Officer, had he taken the space of an enrycloptedia ; for his views are narrow, and his mind is biassed by Colonial prejudices. But these circumstances have given a character to his volume, though they have prevented it from reaching a high degree of merit. He sees much of an every- day kind, that other writers have overlooked as trivial ; and gives us many details, especially upon matters relating to creature com- forts or small points of business, which it is useful to know. Altogether, our author approaches nearer to the quaint style and limited common sense of the elder voyagers than any of his bre- thren. Had he enjoyed the luck to be cast away upon a terra incognita, and subjected to a good many hardships, he would have made a curious and laughable volume.

When we stated that this author is prejudiced, we implied that he had a good deal to say upon that hackneyed subject slavery ; and whatever weight his opinions may be entitled to as regards the justice of the systematic attacks upon the Planters by the Abolitionists, his facts clearly show that the twenty millions was a handsome bonus, — since, for the last five or ten years, slaves have been such a drug that purchasers could hardly be found to offer an upset price. The most stirring section of his book, more- over, is connected with slavery ; for the Retired Officer was con- cerned in putting down the insurrection of 1831. Of this servile war we have a bare and disjointed account, yet not devoid of in- terest; although the writer rather indicates its capabilities than brings them out himself. In the hands of a graphic and pictu- resque narrator, the incendiary signal-fires, especially, on the amphitheatre of Montego Bay — the terror and confusion of the planters on the sudden outbreak — their exasperation against the Missionaries—the adventurous nature of the war—the tropical wildness and grandeur of the scenery amongst which it was waged —and the half-savage, half-heroic characters of some of the Negro chiefs—would make a capital story.

Our readers may remember the assertion of Sir JOHN MOORE, that the mortality amongst English troops serving in the West Indies arises from their idleness, which induces lassitude, and renders more fatal the excesses in which they indulge, if it is not a main cause of them ; and that an army subjected to the disci- pline of the Roman legion would preserve its health in the Tropics. The opinion of the philosopher-soldier is strengthened by the fol- lowing extracts from the Retired Officer. There is a mixture of matters in it, but the essential is worth having.

Under the firm conviction that, unless these depredations were speedily sup- pressed, all chance of bringing the rebellious Negroes to a proper sense of their duty would be for ever lost,—and all classes being fully aware that, although for a while stifled, the same spirit was ready to burst forth on every property in the island,—each free inhabitant endured his share of toil, fatigue, heat, hunger, and thirst, with the utmost willingness; and it was really surprising to see individuals, who had, perhaps, never lain before out of a bed, and who certainly enjoyed every comfort at home, making so light of a little plantain trash (dry leaven of the plantain tree) on the ground, or hard bar- blue, for a bed, with probably no other covering from the noxious night-dews than some branches of underwood piled against each other; also making a hearty meal on musty coarse ship-biscuit, some Jamaica corned beef, and a scanty supply of rum-grog. Occasionally, however, the foragers thought it no hirm to bring in a stray sheep or calf, in imitation of their rebellious adver- saries. Many who had been previously living under loss of appetite, debility, and a variety of other disorders, found them vanish during the campaign of temporary hardships.

Such is the extraordinary material of which man is composed, and such the whimsical and capricious power of the imagination. Indeed, there is no instance recorded where ill-health followed this short sylvan domicile; fur the mind was actively employed, as well as the body. No excesses were permitted ; and, although a large portion of the militia is composed of a motley group, such was the steady and correct conduct of the officers, that an act of insubor- dination but rarely occurred.

IRWIN ON WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

The avowed object of this book is to give to the public, especially to that part of it which may contemplate emigration, an account of the capabilities and prospects of New Swan River. Its real effect, if not its purpose, is to recommend the colony with which Captain IRWIN is connected, in preference to the one about to be founded in South Australia. To the principle which is to govern the settling of the new colony, Captain IRwI N does not object : on the contrary, he tells us that his own experience at the Cape and elsewhere has convinced him, that land, capital, and labour, in due propor- tions, are necessary elements of colonial prosperity, and that to disperse the people is to brutify them. He maintains, however, that the principle of dispersion never prevailed in theory at New Swart River, and is now quite checked in practice; though he omits to add, that the maximum price of land is very low, and that there is no self-supplying principle for the introduction of labour. He also observes, that the Swan River settlement has passed through its infancy and surmounted its difficulties, whereas those of South Australia are all to be endured. To which it may be replied, that the object of the founders of the latter is at once to establish a settled community quite as advanced as that at the Swan, if not more so. The gallant Captain, too, supports Colonel NAPIER S opinion as to the necessity of having soldiers at the new settle- ment; and his arguments on this point are at least worth con- sideration. Here are some of them— The daily employment of settlers in a new colony demands and engrosses their attention to a degree that people at home, who have always been used to a long. established and completely organized state of society, are but little prepared to conceive. The occupations of such persons being pastoral as well as agricul- tural, lead to their distribution over a considerable extent of country. A colony also, like the one proposed, though happily not intended as a penal settlement, Will have its ports open to all who have the means and inclination to find their way thither; and granting that it could commence with a greater proportion of settlers of character and intelligence than ever yet found their way to the shores of a colony, still the stream of emigration will bear along with it aisoy who have not the qualities that render them desirable to a new settlement, and who will soon evince they need the restraint of a strong and efficient executive. Again, many who are good and well-conducted members of an old commu- nity, in which they have been brought up, are greatly indebted, for the character they possess, to those restraints which tt has wisely and from long experience provided. The entire change of habits and the wider range which a new settle- ment involves, not to mention the contact and neighbourhood of tribes in the lowest state of barbarism, have more or less a relaxing tendency as regards the moral texture of such minds ; and, if the laws of the colony into-which they are transplanted are not strictly maintained, but, on the contrary, impose little or no restraint, society must of course deteriorate, and the entire commu- nity ultimately suffer. It is indeed a truism, but one involving grave consider- ations, that it is much easier to prevent the disorganization of a community, than to reunite and restore it when once it has been suffered to lapse into dui. order and demoralization.

It is also of the utmost importance to bear in mind, that a colonial govern- ment that cannot secure, in ordinary cases, protection to the settlers and their property, must operate most injuriously and cruelly upon the aborigines them- selves. These encompass them on every side—they cannot help doing so. Each tribe has its recognized boundaries and landmarks. If but one is disturbed, it experiences a difficulty in falling] back and retiring upon the tribes in its rear, who are similarly situated in their turn. They continue, therefore, to hover about their ancient grounds, and depend for their subsistence upon them. The more incompetent the colonial establishments to keep order in the colony and prevent depredation, the more liable will be the dispersed settlers to take the law into their own hands; or rather. to make law for themselves, and unre- servedly to execute such law as they think fit, or as passion or caprice may dic- tate in every case in which the natives may be involved. The mere feeling of insecurity has this tendency; and the result of such a state of things would be the gradual extermination of the natives, while the sanguinary and lawless spirit engendered and encouraged, would react, and be productive of frightful consequences to the settlers themselves, continuing to pervade the community long after the aborigines had ceased to be objects of terror.

Besides the recommendatory and-controversial points, the volume contains a pretty full description of the different located districts, a view of the general state of society in the colony, and an account of the aborigines, with some humane and sensible suggestions for their treatment ; together with detailed information for settlers, upon such matters as the purchase of land, the productions of the country, &c. The man who is thinking of emigrating, or doubt- ing whither he shall go, may learn something from Captain Imre. To the general reader he offers little. Either a notion of military etiquette, a sense of official responsibility, or a want of natural talent or acquired skill, have prevented him from profiting by his opportunities. As commander of the troops from the first foundation of the settlement, and as acting governor during the absence of Sir JAMES STIRLING, he had the materials at band to have given a very curious history, or a series of odd, wild, and interesting scenes. Let future colonists in a large way profit by the hint, and consider an historian as a sine qua non amongst their imports of " non-productive" labourers.

THOMSON'S JOURNIES THROUGH ITALY AND SWITZERLAND.

Mr. THOMSON'S Journies were made in 1823 and 1826, when the mania for visiting the Continent was at its height : and although it is saying a good deal in favour of the author, that his remarks are not lessened in value and but little in interest by the lapse of ten years, we cannot help wishing they had been pub- lished at the time, both on his account and for the sake of the tourists—to whom they would then have been still more acceptable.

Mr. THOMSON travelled over the beaten track through Switzer- land and Italy, with the especial object of seeing the flue works of art, in painting, sculpture, and architecture; and his duties as Assistant Commissary-General calling him to Malta, lie visited also the Lipari and Ionian Islands; and thus got his first sight of Venice from the sea,—from which all who desire to receive a due impression of the glory and loveliness of the Ocean City should approach it.

Our tourist does not scruple to avow that the first sight of St. Peter's disappointed him, as it has done many others : lie does not, however, express that unmitigated disgust which inspired one- of our dear fellow countrymen, who made a journey to Rome fbr the purpose of seeing St. Peter's, and on beholding it, with his hands in his pockets, turned round on his heel and walked away, exclaiming " What a humbug !" Mr. THOMSON'S reverence for great names in art sometimes blinds hint to the defects in their works, especially in sculpture. But this is an error on the right side. In viewing pictures, his judgment is more independent and his scrutiny more severe. But for one that will forgive him for seeing no fault in the Apollo and the Venus, and in the statue of Moses and the picture of the Last Judgment by MICHAEL ANGELO, hundreds will agree with him and applaud his judg- ment. It is only for such critics as the late JOHN BELL to pass strictures on the antique sculptures; and for minds like the poet SHELLEY'S to be awe-struck by the Medusa of LEONARDO DA VINCI, and disgusted by the Last Judgment of MICHAEL ANGELO. Mr. Ttromsosis book is a capital guide for such of the Bull family who desire to see all the sights that are necessary to be talked about by those who have performed the grand tour, and especially for those members of it to whom

Some daemon whispers, "Johnny, have a taste."

There are classical quotations and associations to give the tone to the youth fresh from school, but to whom the learned pages of EUSTACE would be burdensome ; and there are criticisms on the works of art, for such as might deem Marrnaws fastidious, and FORSYTH enthusiastic. This simple, unpretending transcript of the impressions made upon the mind of a plain, intelligent man,

who has a real admiration for the beauties of art and nature, will benefit the ordinary tourist, by its healthful, unaffected tone, and generally sound judgment ; while the pleasant bonhommie of the writer, and his hearty enjoyment of the scenes and adventures on the road, make him an acceptable fellow traveller, and not an un- amusing entertainer. There is no affectation of connoisseurship, no affected raptures; all is honest and faithful. The author has, in this ease rightly, preserved the original form of letters to his friends, in which his tours were written ; as it preserves the fresh. ness and bona fide character of his observations. The recommen- dation of friends, and among them the venerable STOTI1ARD (a great authority in matters relating to art) induced the publication of them.

We give specimens of the author's descriptions and criticism, from his second tour; which is written with the most animation.

FIRST SIGHT OF VENICE.

All that my fancy imagined of Venice far short of the reality. Its build • ings of Grecian and Roman architectural splendour, which are mingled with in- fusions of the Saracenic and Gothic styles, its churches and palaces, apparently Boating on the bosom of the ocean, are indescribably striking, when viewed fur the first time, tinged with the sparkling colours of the setting sun. Imagine to yourself one of Claude's cities at sunset, with the sun's rays kissing the waves and throwing vistas of palaces into a glowing light and shade, and you may form some distant idea of my first near view of Venice. When the sun sank below the horizon, the blue masses of building rising from the sea, and gradually merging into bhosk, with a galaxy of sparkling stars in the serene sky, formed a striking contrast to the past glories of the day. The midnight hour tolled from all the church-clocks as we reached the canal which leads to the Post-office. A dead silence reigned throughout the watery windings leading to our destination, save the occasional stir of a passing gondola on the canal. Glimmering tering lights were distinguishable from the windows of some of the palaces, and from the gondolas lashed to poles under their marble terraces. We looked in vain for a lover serenading his mistress; not even the

tinkling of a guitar was to be heard on land or sea. * • •

Every stranger, during. his first perambulations, must be forcibly impressed with many features of a singular and novel desniption. The sheets have a re- markable air of quietude, in consequence of the absence of horses and carriages. No rattling of wheels or heavy waggons, no trampling of spirited horses, Mlles any annoyance to the pedestrian as he threads his way through the narrow streets. Ile finds himself constantly moving over bridges ; sometimes obliged to step into a gondola to gain some square, church, or street, or fur the sake of cutting off angles, to save time. Venice presents a number of crowded buildings, erected on no less than seventy-two islets, or raised on piles; and some of these might pass for separate towns, were it not for the connecting bridges or ferries. Most of the palaces, and many of the churches, are built from the water's edge ; and one must be.• come a sort of amphibious animal to be enabled to examine the architecture with any.satisfaction. A façade or terrace seems frequently floating upon the sea, and it must be viewed from the cushioned gondola. If you wish to see it from other points, a landing will perhaps be necessary for a short time. At other times you may repose for hours in your water-ea:nage, in the enjoyment of that extraordinary variety of architectural beauties and strange combinations which no other city can boast of. Churches, palaces, and shops, are jumbled together ; and here and there some tires are planted. Whole streets are going rapidly to decay ; and some of the deserted palaces are converted into workshops on the basement stories, while those above are used by laundresses fur drying linen, who are accustomed to hang shirts, petticoats, &c. over balconies, or on the shoulders of marble statues. In the still higher stories, pigeons and wal- lows are seen fly ing to and fro in undisturbed security.

TINTORETTO.

I now come to the works of Tintoretto; whose cognomen was " Fohnine di pennello; " an extraordinary genius and impetuous enthusiast. His best pies• tures evince a boundless range of thought, skilful contrasts, and freedom of pencil. Their colouring is of surpassing richness and htilliancy. His great work of the Miracle of St. Mark. which is placed opposite to Titian's Assump- tion, is an extraordinary effort of genius, and quite sufficient to itnnun talize the name of Tintoretto. This is a large picture, representing the iniractil sus deliver • mice from death of a slave—one of the early Christians—by the interposition of St. Mark. The saint is hovering in the air amidst a stream of light over the naked slave lyingon the ground. Several executioners are endeavouring by all human means to destroy the slave ; but every deadly instrument aimed at his body has been shivered by divine interposition, and the victim remains uninjured. The fury of the executioners is lost in wonder, and the bystanders behold their baffled endeavours in amazement, not unmixed with awe. The story of the picture is finely told. The expression of Countenance on the part of the Turk, who, turning to the judge, and exhibiting, the broken instruments of torture, appears to remonstrate on the inutility of persevering in an attempt which has been rendered so hopeless by the unseen agency of the Christian's God, is ad- mirable; and the whole figure of a young woman, holding a child in her arms, is exceedingly beautiful.

It would he difficult to say whether the skilful composition or the colouring of this work best deserves admiration. Few painters would have dared to place such a dark mass as is distributed, more or less. over the whole picture, in .opposition to a light so intense as is thrown boldly around the saint. This, however, only heightens the grandeur of the effect. The shade which is cast upon the body of the slave appears to be caused from the position of the protect- ing saint ; and the chiaroscuro throughout is managed with extraordinary skill. The architecture of the buildings introduced is extremely fine, and worthy of the -subject. Either as a composition or a piece of colouring, it might be placed in juxtaposition with the best specimens of all the schools, without any fear of

disparagement.