stock at New Zealand, but do not subsist alone on grass; they are extremely fond of the leaves of the Thepackidie tree, and fatten on them. On this tree there grows a bunch of fruit, not unlike the small black English grape, but of a still smaller size; the natives make a drink from it, by squeezing the berries through the leaves of the tree into a calabash; this is a very delightful beverage in the summer, but the seeds of the berries are rank poison. From the berries of this tree the Missionaries make a sort of wine.

(To be Continued.)

S.

THE STRANGER GUEST.

AN ENGLISH TALE.

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There was in my neighbourhood a farm-house, which was remarkable, as well for the peculiarity of its structure, as the very beautiful country by which it was surrounded. It was very ancient, and had the appearance of being of Saxon architecture. The farm attached to it was of considerable extent, and formed part of the estate of a nobleman, who had large possessions in the county, who rarely visited them. As a young man, he was conspicuous for the generosity of his disposition, a nice sense of honour, and the mildness and affability of his manners. His classical and intellectual attainments were of a high order; and his wit, like Yorick's, was wont to "set the table in a roar." He formed an attachment to a young lady, who, a month before the day fixed for their union, suddenly, and without assigning a reason for the alteration in her sentiments, married a nobleman of higher rank. He received the intelligence of her faithlessness without uttering a syllable, or betraying an indication of anger or sorrow; nor was he ever known to allude to the subject; but, from that hour, he was a changed man. He withdrew entirely from female society, and became a member of a fashionable club, where a great part of his time was passed. He engaged for a season in play; but, although his losses were insignificant, he soon grew disgusted with the pursuit, and his companions. He then plunged deeply into politics, and was constant In his attendance at the house; but the vacuum in his mind was too vast to be filled by such expedients. He then quitted England, and travelled rapidly through France, Italy, and Germany, but could not outstrip the phantom that pursued him. At length he took up his residence entirely on the Continent, and thus his talents

were lost to his country, whose senate he had so often charmed by his eloquence, and enlightened by his wisdom.

The management of his estates, in the meantime, was confided to his steward, Mr. Giles Jenkins; a man who, although he would have made a grenadier among Lilliputians, was but a Lilliputian among grenadiers, being in stature exactly five feet two inches, His sallow complexion and forbidding aspect, were by no means improved by an obliquity of vision, and a red nose, which latter decoration was obtained at the expense of his temperance. He had been originally bred to the law, to the tortuosities of which his mind was admirably adapted. Diminutive as was his person, there was room enough in his bosom for the operation of some of the fiercest passions that deform humanity. His indomitable arrogance, grasping avarice, and insatiable revenge, made him the terror of all who were subjected to his influence, particularly of the tenants, among whom he exercised the most tyrannical sway. He was, moreover, the most consummate hypocrite, and, as far as regarded his master, a successful one.

The farm, at the period of which I am writing, was tenanted by Andrew Hodson, whose ancestors had cultivated the same soil for more than a century.

Andrew had passed his fiftieth year; but the temperance of his habits, and the healthful nature of his employment, had protected him, in a great degree, from the inroads of time, and gave him the appearance of being much younger. His complexion exhibited the ruddy hue of health; and, although naturally fair, was imbrowned by the sun of many summers.

Andrew's wife, who had been pretty, and was then a very comely dame, was somewhat younger than himself. Her domestic virtues and acquirements were admirably adapted for a farmer's wife; and, although a shrewd, she was a very kind-hearted woman. They had two children, a son and daughter; the former about one and twenty, and the latter two years younger.

Frank Hodson, very like his father in person, was an industrious, good humoured lad; and, when dressed in a smart green riding frock, light corduroy breeches, and long leather gaiters, or leggings, as they are called, was a very likely object to draw a second look from the village maidens, or even from dames of higher degree, as, mounted on his rough-coated forester, he passed on his way to the market town.

Those who, in their estimate of a rustic belle, are unable to separate the idea of vulgarity from the character, would do gross injustice to Amy Hodson, both as regards the style of her beauty, and the gentleness of manner by which it was graced. Nature is no respector of persons; and, in the formation of our race, has little reference to the stations we are destined to fill; since she as often bestows the fair heritage of beauty on the child of a peasant as on the heiress of a peer Nor am I aware of any thing in the habits or occupation of a farmer's daughter, which has not a tendency

rather to improve than to impair the symmetry of the form. Amy rose with the lark, breathing as sweet a hymn on the portals of heaven, and returning the first glance of Aurora with an eye as bright, and a smile as rosy as her own. Nor is nature always aristocratic in dispensing understanding, and Amy's was an excellent one, on which the few advantages she had derived in point of education had not been thrown away.

The family, parents, and children, were bound together, not only by links of the strongest affection, but by the firmer bonds of religion, of which they had all a deep and an influential sense. voice of contention was never heard in their dwelling.

The

Andrew Hodson, for many years had prospered in the world, but on the expiration of the lease, which had descended to him from his father, a reluctance to quit a spot which so many recollections had endeared to him, induced him to take the farm at a rent above its value; so that, instead of saving money every year as he was wont to do, he began to find it a losing concern. At length, however, the failure of a provincial banker deprived him of the few hundreds he had laid by, and placed him in circumstances of much difficulty. Thus it happened, that, in lieu of having his homestead surrounded by wheat-stacks, the growth of former years, his sheaves were transferred directly from the harvest-field to the thrashing-floor, and the produce was sent to market under all the disadvantages of a forced sale, to meet his Michaelmas rent. Again, if a horse died, or was worn out, he was unable, for want of money, to supply its place; and thus the strength on his farm became gradually so much reduced, that many acres of his land, which might have been made productive, remained uncultivated.

Andrew and his family met his reverse of fortune as became them, by the sacrifice of very many comforts, in which, under more prosperous circumstances, they were warranted in indulging. The old man exchanged his favourite hackney for a cart-horse, and superintended the operations of his farm on foot. Frank gave up his forest galloway to the harrow and light plough; and poor Amy's pony was sold to a gentleman in the neighbourhood, who had taken a fancy to it for his daughter. The privation, however, which they most lamented was the necessity of contracting, not only the scale of their hospitality, but the sphere of their charity. It is true, the wayfaring man never passed the door unrefreshed, nor the houseless wanderer unrelieved; and their hearth still shed its genial warmth upon the poor dependent, whom they had not the heart to displace from his seat in the chimney corner; but there were many who were left bitterly to regret that the liberal hand should ever be closed by the pressure of calamity.

Under the influence of all these inauspicious events, they had sources of comfort of which the world could not deprive them. The sourd of the dance, and the voice of innocent hilarity, were no longer heard in their hall, but the still small voice of an approving conscience consoled them for the loss. Where a family are thus

united, their home, although it were a hovel, cannot be desolate. Instead of sitting down in despair under their misfortune, each strove to cheer and support the other beneath its weight. They had all been early taught to look up to their God, and to put their trust in His mercy and wisdom under every dispensation; nor, at the morning and evening sacrifice, were their hearts less fervent in their thanksgivings for the blessings which were left to them, than when they were showered down with a profuser hand. Another source of consolation was supplied to them in the uniform respect of those around them, who regarded their calamity with that silent sympathy which is worth all the condolence that proud prosperity ever dinged into the ears of the unfortunate. Often would the neighbouring farmers, aware of the difficulties he laboured under for want of strength upon his land, club together, each contributing a horse, and thus furnish him with the use of a team for several days, in the busy seasons of seed-time and harvest.

The whole of our Domestic Intelligence is extracted from the Journals of the Island with trifling alterations.

We learn that another ship-load of free females is on its way to this Colony; but under what auspices they are coming out, we do not know, Sincerely do we hope that Messrs. Fry and Co. have had no share in the collecting of this importation, but that a more judicious plan has been adopted than that in which they were concerned. We are sadly in want of female servants, and if the Commissioners for Emigration will send us some good, hard-working, respectful, and decent girls-and they may get many hundreds from England alone -they will confer a great benefit upon the Colony, and merit cur warmest thanks. We shall look with some anxiety for the expected cargo: knowing how these affairs are managed at home, we are not very sanguine as to its quality. However, nous verrons.

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We were gratified the other day, with the view of a fine display of butchers' meat at Mr. Oakes's store, at the top of Elizabeth-street. We say gratified, because, although there is nothing very delightful in gazing upon immoderately fat flesh," yet there is something very pleasant in contemplating the capability of the Colony, as evinced in this instance.

We consider Mr. Oakes one of our best practical patriots, and worthy of all praise in thus setting so good an example to his fellow-settlers. We must not, after this, send to Sydney for salt beef; we may now, surely, depend upon ourselves for this essential article of domestic use. By the way, there was a pet pig in the show," which only weighed about 600 lbs. ! We never saw a finer or larger in England. Its price, as now dressed, is 7d. per lb. ; beef 8d. ; and mutton 4d.

A bullock driver, charitably supposed to have been in a state of intoxication, was found dead on Clarence Plains, the wheel of his cart having gone over him.

We understand that a plan and drawing of a new church have been presented to the Archdeacon by Mr. Peter Scott, a talented artist and architect of this town, and that they will very probably be approved of, and accepted by the Civil Engineer. We have seen some of the architectural drawings of this gentleman, at Messrs. Darke and Whittaker's office: they exhibit a very classical and elegant taste, with a beauty of style and execution, indicative of very superior talent.