body, and it burst. Incense and perfumes were burned in abundance, but without avail: the people dispersed in disgust; and the priests themselves, hurrying through the ceremony, soon deserted the church." The death of William Rufus, or the red king, is equally remarkable in its nature; but, for that and for many other pictures not less striking, we must refer the reader to the work itself. It may not be amiss, however, to remark, that, in consequence of the increased severity of the laws respecting the chase, many tales of murder and superstition were current in the vicinity of the New Forest. Our author thus proceeds : volumes expressly refer, is not within the At the Abbaye, including the Swiss, and At the Grand Chatelet At the Cloisters of the Bernardins ...... At the Salpetrière 2,214 1,760 1,258 82 1,168 1,386 1,145 2,198 52 Total 12,847 It was said that the devil, in horrible shapes, appeared to the Normans, and spoke aloud to them of the dreadful fate which he had in reserve for the King, for his counsellors, and for themselves. This popular superstition was strengthened by the singular chance which made hunting in the forests of England-in the It is truly observed by the editor of New Forest, too-fatal to the race of the Con- these volumes, that "the generation of queror. In the year 1081, Richard, eldest son future times will not believe that these of William the Bastard, had there received a execrable crimes could take place amongst a mortal wound. In May, 1100, Richard, son of Duke Robert, and nephew to the red king,lative body, under the eyes and by the civilized people, in the presence of a legiswas killed there by an arrow discharged inadvertently; and, singular as it appears, the King himself perished there by the same kind of death, in July of the same year. The case of Thomas à Beckett and Henry II. is treated of in these volumes with much perspicuity. M. Thierry, indeed, has thrown quite a new light upon the subject. Unable, however, to touch upon the discussion, we close this unusually extended notice with earnestly recommending the work to general perusal. Two thick octavo volumes, entitled The Reign of Terror, a Collection of Authentic Narratives of the Horrors committed by the Revolutionary Government of France, under Marat and Robespierre," purporting to have been "written by eyewitnesses," have recently appeared. That a full and faithful history of the horrors of the French revolution, can ever be written, is utterly impossible. Myriads of volumes may be produced upon the subject, all containing more or less of truth; but, to exhibit a complete history of the blood and crime, the infamy and the misery of even that brief period, to which these Supplement to Vol. II. will of the depositaries of the laws, in a city peopled by 800,000 inhabitants, who remained motionless and frozen with terror at the sight of a band of wretches hired for the commission of crime." Far from the wish of conjuring up the from its propriety the gentle feeling of ghosts of these sanguinary horrors, to scare those who delight not in the contemplation of all that is deplorable, and all that is infamous in human nature, we shall not for a moment dwell upon them. One brief excerpt, however, will be found to sketch, with the pencil of truth, the levity of the French character, in moments the most serious, when surrounded by danger and by death. The passage professes to describe several remarkable circumstances which occurred in one of the cells: Several remarkable circumstances occurred far as to turn the tribunal itself into mockery. in this number 13 [the cell]; we even went so Eighteen beds, touching each other, were séparated by high boards, between which each individual lay as buried. Upon each of these beds sate a Judge. The accused was mounted on a table, in front of the beds, and the floor was oc 2 X theu Capital of Cochin China, in the Years 1821-2; from the Journal of the late George Finlayson, Esq., Surgeon and Naturalist to the Mission; with a Memoir of the Author! by Sir T. S. Raffles, F.R.S."The adven titious interest which this modest octavo subsisting between Britain and the Burmese empire; the disposition, habits, and manners of the Siamese, so closely resembling those of the Burmese, that whatsoever reflects light upon the former may be considered to illustrate the latter. cupied by the Registrar and public accuser. Our sittings usually commenced at midnight,|| when confined within our strong doors and gloomy vaults: we were almost certain of not being disturbed. The accused was always found guilty; could he be otherwise, when tried by the revolutionary tribunal? The moment he was sentenced, the dreadful apparatus was dispossesses, is derived from the war now played, his hands were tied, and the sufferer advanced to the rail of a bed to receive the stroke which was ready to fall upon his neck. By one of those events which frequently occur in revolutions, the public accuser became in bis turn the accused, and was consequently condemned. He underwent his sentence; but suddenly returned covered with a white sheet, and terrified us by a picture of the tortures which he had suffer I suffered in hell; enumerated to us all his crimes, and predicted to the Judges the fate that awaited them-that they would be carried about in carts filled with blood, that they would be shut up in cages, that the world would be dismayed at the horror of their punishments, as it had been terrified by their unheard-of cruelties. We had in our room a man named Lepagne; he had been Major of Ingouville, a suburb of Hayre, to which place he had been sent by the jacobins; and at that time he was worthy of serving under them, of robbers, and condemned on the wheel for murder, under e ancient regime regime. Our ghost seized this man by by the collar, a and reproaching him for all his crimes, with the most dreadful imprecations, he dragged him away to hell. "Lepagne! Lepagne!”” cried he, in a hollow voice. Le pagne,terrified and confused, followed his guide and his terror gave additional solemnity to this scene, which was lighted by a single lamp, which left two-thirds of the dungeon in absolute darkness. This ghost was myself. It was thus that we amused ourselves in the midst of death, and that in our prophetic invitations we spoke the truth in the midst of spies a havi er of to be the and executioners. 02 2012in geampie odi to 19797,6 VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. Not only is man, but every thing connected with man, affected by contingencies. Thus, in literature, a work which might at one period fall still-born from the press, may, at another, from circumstances, exliveliest interest. This remark, however, though excited by the work before us, is not applicable to its character, for its intrinsic merit is such, that it would at all times be read with pleasure and advantage. The production to which we allude is "The Mission to Siam and Hué, The history of Mr. Finlayson is a melancholy one. He and his brother Donald were placed as assistant surgeons in the 33d Infantry and 8th Light Dragoons. After the victory of Waterloo, in the march of the English army towards Paris, Donald mysteriously disappeared; and it is supposed that he fell a victim to marauders then abounding in the country from the disorganized state of the retreating army." George, the survivor, obtained leave of absence to search for his brother; but all his efforts proved unavailing; his mind was deeply affected, and it became an act of humanity to remove him from the scene of his sorrows. Through the interest of Dr. Somerville, Sir James Macmedical staff in the mission which was gregor gave him an appointment on the about to proceed to Siam and Cochin China. In this mission, in which he sustained the post of medical officer and naturalist, "his health was sacrificed at an early period, by the active and severe exertions which his zeal in the pursuit of natural history induced him to make, and he lived but to reach Bengal, and embark for Europe, with little or no hope covery: be died on the passage of re home." Our limits permit us not to analyze this volume, or to sketch the history of the mission, which, however, will be found to possess information upon various subjects of more than usual value. All that we ca do, is to offer some brief ef passages illustra tive of the national character, customs, and superstitions of the Siamese. That the Siamese are one of the numerous tribes which constitute that great and singular. family of the human race, known generally by the appellation of Mongols, will appear to most persons sufficiently obvious. If they do not possess, in the most acute degree, the peculiar selves have not killed the animals. They do features of the original, they are at least stamp-|| not hesitate to purchase fish, fowls, &c., alive ed with traits sufficiently just to entitle them to in the market, desiring the seller to slay them be considered as copies. There is, however, before he delivers them over, well contented one general and well-marked form, common to that the crime must remain attached to the latall the tribes lying between China, and Hindos. ter. Their devotion, at times, goes the length tan Under this head are comprehended the of inducing them to purchase numbers of living inhabitants of Ava, Pegu, Siam, Cambodia, fish for the purpose of turning them loose and even of Cochin China, though those of the again; and the king has often ind this manner latter country more resemble the Chinese than given liberty to all the fish caught on a particular the others. This distinctive character is so day. Yet the privilege of fishing is sold by the strongly blended with the Mongol features, king to the highest bidder, and from this source that we have no hesitation in considering these he derives a very considerable annual revenue. nations as deriving their origin from that source. The Siamese, however, are more choice in To this source also we ought to refer the Ma- their food, and less indulgent of their appetites lays, who cannot be said to possess national than the Chinese. puter vinebbra characters, at least of physiognomy and physical arrot bur form, sufficiently distinet and obvious to entitle them to be considered as a distinct race. Where there is a difference between the Malays and the tribes mentioned, it is more to be referred to the condition of the mental faculty, than to that of bodily form, to the state of manners, habits of life, language; in short, to circumstances altogether, or in great part, produced by mind. In other respects, they would appear to differ but little from the tribes mentioned above. Traces of a much ruder people are to be met with in the mountainous districts of these kingdoms, particularly in the peninsula of Malacca. Our knowledge of these is much too scanty to enable us to trace their filiation. Though generally asserted, there are no records to prove that they are the aboriginal inhabitants of the country, at least of any other part of it than the wilds and impenetrable forests which they continue to occupy. The woolly-headed race, and another resembling the Indian, are not uncommon. Their origin will probably ever remain uncertain. tious, and universally believe in the agency These people are exceedingly superstiof evil spirits; the worship of which, although disclaimed by the religion of Buddha, is very prevalent amongst them. All the white elephants, for which the utmost possible regard is entertained, are considered as the property of the king, who has five of these rare and beautiful animals in his possession." He who discovers one, is regarded as the most fortunate of mortals." He is rewarded with a crown of silver, and with a grant of land, equal in extent to the space of country at which the elephant's Cry may be heard. He and his family, to the third generation, are exempted from all sorts of servitude, and their land from taxation." The Siamese have white monkeys as well as white elephants," pefect albinos in every respect. They are about the size of a small dog, furnished with a tail about as long as the body. They are thickly cos At Bankok, the chief city of the king-vered with fur, which is as white as snow, dom, the Chinese, who mostly live upon or that of the whitest rabbit." These little revent evil spirits the water in floating houses, are the prin- creatures are kept to prevent cipal merchants, and the only artificers. from killing the elephants. noua They are industrious, wealthy, and luxuri- Several of the Siamese customs strongly ous in their style of living: the Siamese, resemble those of the Hindoos. on the contrary, are indolent, poor, and coarse in their diet. The of the Siamese consists chiefly of rice, is eaten with a substance called a strange compound of things savoury and loathsome; but in such general use, that no one thinks of eating without some por tion of it. Religion offers but a feeble barrier against the desire to eat animal food, and the Siamese easily satisfy their conscience on this score. They conceive that they have obeyed the injunction of the law, when they them The Siamese year commences with the first moon in December. At the close of the year there is a grand festival, called the feast of the souls of the dead. At this period also the Sia19RJOUS JA the elements the fire, the air, mese propitiate the earth, and water. Water is the favo favourite element. Rivers claim the greatest share in this festival. Rice and fruits are thrown into the stream} a thousand fantastic toys are act afloat on the water; thousands of floatings lamps cast a flickering light upon the scene, and the approach of evening is hailed as the. season of innocent amusement, as well as of religious duty wit vd the pil z ubi majaeb Again: to samo z tego All the people go into mourning. All ranks and both sexes shave the head, and this ceremony is repeated a third time. An immense concourse is assembled to witness the combus balming, a an art with which the Siamese appear to be very imperfectly acquainted The process is for the most part left' to the relations of the deceased, who call in the assistance of the more experienced. After washing the body with water, the first step is to pour a large quantity of crude mercury into the mouth. Persons of the highest rank alone, however, can have recourse to a material so expensive. The others substitute honey in its stead, but, it is said, with a less favourable result. The body is now placed in a kneeling posture, and the hands are brought together before the face, in the attitude of deNarrow strips of cloth are then bound The Siamese cultivate a lock of hair on the forehead, which lock they preserve from birth to the age of twelve, fourteen, or sixteen, untouched. At the expiration of this period, they institute a great feast; presents are made by all the relations and friends of the family, and the occasion is rendered one of great joy, the Brahman, then, sprinkling a little water on the head, and repeating certain prayers, cuts the lock. When the children of the king undergo this ceremony, an artificial hill is constructed, on which the Brahman performs the ceremony.votion. The funeral ceremonies observed on the tightly round the extremities, and the body is death of a king are very striking. compressed in a similar manner. · The object of the ligatures is to squeeze the moisture out of the body. They act also in preserving the required posture, and with this object the more flexible tendons of the extremities are divided. In this posture the body is next placed in an air-tight vessel of wood, brass, silver, or gold, according to the rank of the deceased. A tube, or hollow bamboo, inserted into the mouth of the deceased, passes through the upper part of the box, and is conducted through the roof of the house to a considerable height. A similar bamboo is placed in the bottom, and terminates in a vessel placed under it to receive the drain ing off from the body. If the deceased is of the rank of a prince, the sordes thus collected is conveyed with great formality and state, in a royal barge, highly ornamented, to be deposited in a particular part of the river below the city. That collected from the body of the king is put into a vessel, and boiled until an oil separates, which oil is carefully collected, and with this they, on certain occasions (as when his descendants and those of his family go to pay their devotions to his departed spirit) anoint the singular image called Sema, usually placed in the temple after his death. tion of the body. The ceremony is said to constitute the most imposing spectacle which the country at any time can boast. 1 Within the first enclosure a line of priests are seated, reciting prayers from the sacred books, in a loud voice. Behind them the new king has taken his station. In the succeeding enclosures the princes of the royal family and other persons of distinction have taken their places. It will be seen by the manner in which the funeral-pile is lighted, how much attention has been bestowed upon the arrangement even of the most trivial matters. A train is laid from the pile to the place where the king stands, others to those occupied by the princes of the family, with this distinction in their distribution, but the train laid to the king's station is the only one that directly reaches the pile. That of the next person in rank joins this at a little distance, and so of the others, in the order of rank. These trains are fired all at the same moment. The outer circle of all is allotted to the performance of plays, gymnastic exercises, and feats of dexterity and sleight of hand. The plays are divided into Siamese, Barman, Pegu, Laos, and Chinese; and they are so called more from the performers being of these several countries, than from any essential difference in the drama. The external forms of reverence for the deceased king are impressive and unbounded; and the image formed from his ashes, being placed upon the altar, claims scarce less devotion than that of Buddha himself. One more extract is all that we can find room ford-It relates to the practice of em The body, thus prepared by this rude process, is, at the proper period, brought forth to be burnt, the relations having, in the mean time, made every necessary arrangement for the solemn occasion. Early in the morning, a number of priests are assembled at the house of the deceased; having received robes of yellow cloth, and being feasted, they repeat prayers in the Pali language, after which the body is carried forth to be burned. The priests receive the body as it approaches the templey and, con ducting it towards the pile, repeat a verse in Eheu! mortale corpus, (5) Ut fumus hic nune ascendit, sie et Animus hius ascendit in cœlum.* After the body has been destroyed, the ashes, or rather the small fragments of bone which remain, are carefully collected, and the use that is made of them is somewhat singular. The priests are again called; prayers are again repeated in the Pali language, and various requisite ceremonies are performed, after which the ashes which had been collected after combustion, are reduced to a paste with water, and formed into a small figure of Buddha, which being gilded, and finished by the priests, is either placed in the temple, or preserved by the friends of the deceased. The last ceremony is attended with considerable expense, and, therefore, the poorer orders, when unable to engage priests for its performance, keep the ashes of their relations by them until they are in a condition to have it carried into effect in a more becoming manner. gentleman, who, it will be recollected, has distinguished himself by his literary, and other efforts, in favour of the Greek cause. A small volume, named "Sketches of Corsica, &c., by Robert Benson, M. A. F. L. S.," contains much pleasing and attractive matter. The island of Corsica, at this time forms, as is well known, one of the departments of the French empire. To maintain the island, France pays annually about 3,000,000 of francs, of which the pay of the military absorbs 1,700,000 francs, A very correct survey of the island has been made, but no good map of it has been published. Its circumference is about 503 English miles, and its area 2,163,110 English acres; of which 648,590 are cultivated'; 601,644 capable of cultivation; and 912,876 neither cultivated nor capable of being so. In the year 1821, the population of the island amounted to 180,348 individuals. The direct contributions, or taxes, amount to 400,000 francs; so that, dividing, the amount of direct taxation by the number Greece, the ancient land of liberty and of the population, every inhabitant pays, song, continues to attract the notice of our upon an average, 2 francs 23 centimes, tourists and politicians. We have now be annually towards the support of the gol fore us two productions containing much vernment. The rent of land is generally information, both amusing and important, paid, by a certain quantity of the produce. and of very recent date. Most of their Money, as a medium of traffic, is seldom contents is indeed of a superior order; but, employed in the interior. The internal so numerous have been the publications on commerce of the natives is little more than this subject within the last two or three barter. The Corsican language is a coryears, that, upon the present occasion, we rupt Italian; considered by the best authorishall not trespass upon our readers' time ties to be a mixture of Tuscan, Sicilian, with extracts. The first of the works to Sardinian, Genoese, and French. The Italian which we allude, is entitled, A Picture scholar, by substituting the letter o for a in of Greece in 1825, being the Journals of Corsican words, will find the greater part James Emerson, Esq., Count Pecchio, and of them to be good Italian. A taste for W. H. Humphreys, Esq., written during poetry is common throughout the island, their recent Visits to that Country." This even amongst the peasantry. The mounperformance, which is in two post octavo tain songs in the interior are peculiarly involumes, with a portrait of the Greek ad- || teresting. The Corsicans are great Impromiral, Miaulis, is very ably executed. The visatori; and the verses recited by women second, of a lighter character, and written at the funerals of their husbands, although in a style somewhat too free and easy, is a produced without premeditation, are fresmall volume, entitled, "An Autumn in quently so expressive of sorrow, as powerGreece, comprizing Sketches of the Charac-fully to affect the bystanders. Society is in ter, Customs, &c. of the Country; by H. L. Bulwer, Esq." It is addressed in the epistolary form, to C. B. Sheridan, Esq., a a very rude state in this island; and many remarkable customs, reminding us of the patriarchal age, prevail. We subjoin some |
