as been made acquainted with the sentence, who, when he acknowledges the justice of the intended punishment, sends a cloth to cover the head of the delinquent, together with a large dish of salt and lemons. The unhappy victim is then delivered into the hands of the injured party (if it be a private wrong, or, in the case of a prisoner, to the warriors) by whom he is tied to a stake, lances are thrown at him from a certain distance by this person, his relatives, and friends; and when mortally wounded, they run up to him, as if in a transport of passion, cut pieces from the body with their knives, dip them in the dish of salt, lemon juice, and red pepper, slightly broil them over a fire prepared for the purpose, and swallow the morsels with a degree of savage enthusiasm. Sometimes the whole is devoured by the bystanders; and instances have been known where, with barbarity still more aggravated, they tear the flesh from the carcase with their teeth. To such a depth of depravity may man be plunged, when neither religion nor philosophy enlighten his steps."

All that can be said in extenuation of the horror of this diabolical ceremony is, that no view appears to be entertained of torturing the sufferers, of increasing or lengthening out the pains of death; the whole fury is directed against the corpse, warm, indeed, with the remains of life, but past the sensation of pain.

A difference of opinion has existed with regard to the practice of eating the bodies of their enemies actually slain in war; but subsequent enquiry has proved the fact, especially in the case of distinguished persons, or those who have been accessories to the quarrel.

It should be mentioned that their campaigns often terminate with the loss of not more than half-a-dozen men on both sides. The skulls of the victims are hung up as trophies in the open buildings in front of their houses, and are occasionally ransomed by their surviving relations for a sum of money.-Phillip's Guide to the Crystal Palace.

THE WATERFALL AT PUPPANASSUM.

BEFORE We left Tinevelly, we took the opportunity of visiting the waterfall at Pup-pa-nas-sum, which is perhaps, upon the whole, the most stupendous object of its kind in the Car-na-tic. The approach to it lay through a long narrow valley, at the termination of which the fall deposits its waters in an unfathomable pool, whence a new river seems to issue, winding its placid course through a plain nearly level with the sea. Upon our approach to the fall through this valley, confined on either side by lofty hills, the view of it was frequently obstructed by the intersections of the mountain round which we occasionally had to wind. We followed the winding course of the stream, along the banks of which we saw a great number of devotees on their way to bathe in those sacred waters, and to offer their genuflexions and prostrations upon a spot consecrated at once by extreme antiquity and very awful local traditions. These slaves of the most besotted superstitions upon earth, did not appear to be at all pleased with the idea of seeing the place profaned by the unhallowed feet of Christians, whom they hold in absolute abhorrence.

They passed us in dogged silence, and there was an expression of malignant scorn upon the curl of those lips, which were about to offer up their devotions to gods more abominable than themselves, that satisfied us they wanted not the will, though they lacked the daring, to do us a mischief. Alas! that devotion should have such votaries!

No one, who has witnessed the stern ferocity of feeling encouraged by the deluded supporters of a most extravagant idolatry towards all of a different creed, can well shut out the reflection of his own moral advantages, and fail to bless his God, with most earnest sincerity of purpose, that he was born a member of a Christian community.

Upon turning the angle of a hill which rose abruptly from the valley, the fall burst suddenly upon our sight.

It was indeed a magnificent spectacle. The impression excited was so uncommon, that I was obliged to close my eyes for a moment, in order to recover from the sudden and almost astounding surprise. Though the roar of the cataract had been heard long before we reached it, so that we were not unprepared for something more than commonly imposing, the reality far surpassed our expectations.

It is precipitated from a height of 150 feet, pouring over the steep a prodigious body of water which, forcing its way among the intervening rocks, among which it boils and hisses with tremendous fury, falls into the deep, dark pool beneath, with a din and turbulence that are almost deafening.

The sound of the cataract may be heard at the distance of several miles, even in the dry season; but during the monsoons, when swelled by mountain torrents, the roar is augmented tenfold. There is a tremendous vortex just below the fall, caused by its sudden and violent pressure upon the surface below, so that no one can safely approach within reach of the spray. The waters of this spot are highly sacred. Puppanassum, the name which the place bears, signifies the "washing away of sins;" and a great number of devotees are to be seen at all times bathing in this consecrated river.Saturday Magazine.

TAKING OF TROY.

BURNING THE CITY.

Now peals of shouts come thundering from afar,
Cries, threats, and loud laments, and mingled war:
The noise approaches, though our palace stood
Aloof from streets, encompassed with a wood.
Louder, and yet more loud, I hear the alarms
Of human cries distinct, and clashing arms.
Fear broke my slumbers; I no longer stay,
But mount the terrace, thence the town survey,
And hearken what the frightful sounds convey.

Thus, when a flood of fire by wind is borne,
Crackling it rolls, and mows the standing corn;
Or deluges, descending on the plains,

Sweep o'er the yellow year, destroy the pains
Of labouring oxen and the peasant's gains;
Unroot the forest oaks, and bear away

Flocks, folds, and trees, an undistinguished prey:
The shepherd climbs the cliffs, and sees from far
The wasteful ravage of the watery war.
Then Hector's faith was manifestly cleared;
And Grecian frauds in open light appeared.
The palace of Deïphobus ascends

In smoky flames and catches on his friends.
Ucalegon burns next; the seas are bright

With splendour not their own, and shine with Trojan light.

New clamours and new clangors now arise,

The sound of trumpets mixed with fighting-cries.
With frenzy seized, I run to meet the alarms,
Resolved on death, resolved to die in arms,
But first to gather friends, with them t' oppose
(If fortune favoured) and repel the foes-
Spurred by my courage, by my country fired,
With sense of honour and revenge inspired.

THE SLAUGHTER.

"Brave souls," said I, "but brave, alas! in vain,
Come, finish what our cruel fates ordain.

You see the desperate state of our affairs:
And heaven's protecting powers are deaf to prayers.
The passive gods behold the Greeks defile
Their temples, and abandon to the spoil
Their own abodes; we, feeble few, conspire
To save a sinking town, involved in fire.
Then let us fall, but fall amidst our foes;
Despair of life the means of living shews."
So bold a speech encouraged their desire.
Of death, and added fuel to their fire.

As hungry wolves, with raging appetite,
Scour through the fields, nor fear the stormy night;
"Their whelps at home expect the promised food,
And long to temper their dry chaps in blood:
So rushed we forth at once, resolved to die,
Resolved in death the last extremes to try.
We leave the narrow lanes behind, and dare
"The unequal combat in the public square;
Night was our friend, our leader was despair.
What tongue can tell the slaughter of that night?
What eyes can weep the sorrows and affright?
An ancient and imperial city falls;

The streets are filled with frequent funerals;
Houses and holy temples float in blood;
And hostile nations make a common flood.
Not only Trojans fell, but in their turn

The vanquished triumph, and the victors mourn.
Ours take new courage from despair and night;
Confused the fortune is, confused the fight.
All parts resound with tumults, plaints, and fears,
And grisly death in sundry shapes appears.

STORMIMG THE PALACE OF PRIAM.

Pyrrhus, among the foremost, deals his blows,
And with his axe repeated strokes bestows
On the strong doors: then all their shoulders ply,
'Till from the posts the brazen hinges fly.
He hews apace: the double bars at length
Yield to his axe, and unresisted strength.
A mighty breach is made; the rooms concealed
Appear, and all the palace is revealed,
The halls of audience, and of public state,
And where the lonely queen in secret sate.
Armed soldiers now by trembling maids are seen,
With not a door, and scarce a space between.
The house is filled with loud laments and cries;
And shrieks of women rend the vaulted skies.
The fearful matrons run from place to place,