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beautiful hair, and generally fine teeth; but more than that cannot be said by those who are content to give an honest and candid opinion. I have rarely seen one whose features could be called strictly beautiful; and that bewitching grace and fascination about their figure and walk which they formerly possessed, have disappeared with the high comb which supported the mantilla and the narrow basquina-which gave a peculiar character to their walk.

With the change in their costume, those distinctive charms have vanished. The gaudy colors which now prevail have destroyed the elegance that always accompanies black, in which alone, some years since, a lady could appear in public. No further proof of this is required than to see the same people at church-where black is still considered indispensable, and on the Alameda, with red dresses and yellow shawls, or some colors equally gaudy, and combined with as little regard to taste. Although I have not yet discovered the beauty of the Spanish women, I must say that the Malaguenians are fairly entitled, in all that does exist, to dispute the palm with the inhabitants of any other town we have visited. There are some very pretty faces, and very characteristic of the Spanish countenance. They are generally very dark, and almost all have that peculiar projecting brow which gives to the face quite a character of

its own.

This involuntary admission argues still more forcibly that her ladyship's prejudice blinds her better judgment.

The women have a universal custom of putting fresh flowers in their hair. It strikes one much

upon first arriving, to see those of every class (even the poorest) with some flower or other most gracefully placed in their rich black hair; the beauty of which is not little enhanced by the bright red rose or snowy jessamine, contrasting so well with their raven tresses. The hair is generally worn plain,-curls being seldom seen, for they do not suit the mantilla; and if flowers cannot be procured, some bright ribbon is invariably worn as a substitute. The love of brilliant and showy colors appearing to form a ruling passion in the present day, offers a singular contrast to the fashion twenty years ago, when a lady who would have ventured into the street dressed in anything but black, would have been mobbed and insulted by the people. Our first visit to the theatre at Malaga confirmed my impressions of the exaggerated accounts generally given of Spanish beauty.

This final fling settles the point. The animus of the writer is seen bright as the sun at noon-day. We therefore take it for granted that the Spanish women have very good taste, and that their beauty is unde

niable.

OUR OLD ENGLISH WRITERS.

THE fault of the old English writers was, that they were too prone to unlock the secrets of nature with the key of learning, and often to substitute authority in the place of argument.

NATURE'S OWN CHARADE.

OH! WHO would linger when gay Summer calls
From every flowery mead and bosky dell?
Oh! who would linger 'neath the city's walls
When waves upon the wind the heather-bell?
When the green corn-fields' promise 'gins to
swell

The filling ear? When silence at high noon

Doth of the songsters' callow younglings tell? Who can resist the merry voice of June, When Nature in reply doth every heart attune? Now venture forth my first, with buoyant grace And light step, wandering thro' the grassy

lane;

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art,

The breeze will chide, and turn her head away, And rest upon some jutting rock, apart, To smooth her truant curls, and still her beating heart.

Sure 'tis a pleasant picture thus to see

That fair young creature cast her eyes around Half closed, yet sparkling with a covert glee, Scanning the summer treasures which abound On the o'er-arching rock-its summit crowned By plume of waving fern! whilst hanging there, My whole in verdant clusters be found, Scattering all moisture to thirsty air, And flinging from its leaf each dew-drop glittering

fair.

may

INTOXICATION IN INDIA.

BY DR. GIBSON.

and

THE EXTENSIVE USE OF OPIUM AND RICE ARRACK among the Chinese Malays, is pretty generally known. It is also tolerably well known that the Burmese and Mughs are extensive consumers of spirits. On this side the Ganges, the use of alcohol made from Rice sugar, Palm-juice in its various states, from the flower of the Bassia, from the bark of Acacia Sundra, is, if not equally common, at least widely spread. The Rajpoots, too, and the Kolies of Western India, are great Opium-eaters; and the employment of this drug in rearing children of the most tender age is universal among all classes of Indian society. From what can be observed, however, there seems

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In the more southern parts of Western India, the spirits used are distilled from Palm-juice, from sugar in its various forms; and less frequently from the cereal grains; whereas north of Bombay and throughout Guzerat and Rajpootana the distillation from the flower of the Bassia latifolia, Roxb., is greatly the most common. This flower is collected in the hot season by Bheels and others, from the forests; also from the planted trees, which are most abundant in the more open parts of Guzerat and Rajwarra. The ripe flower has a sickly sweet taste, resembling manna. Being very deciduous, it is found in large quantities under the trees every morning during the season. A single tree will afford from 200 to 400 lbs. of the flowers. The seed affords a great quantity of concrete oil, used in the manufacture of soap. The Forest of Bheel population also store great quantities of the dried flowers as a staple article of food. Hence, in ex peditions undertaken for the punishment or subjection of those tribes when unruly, the Bassia trees are threatened to be cut down by the invading force; and this threat most commonly ensures the submission of the tribes.

In Guzerat and Rajpootana every village has its spirit-shop for the sale of the distilled liquor from the flowers. In the island of Caranja, opposite to Bombay, the government duty on the spirits distilled (chiefly from this flower) amounts to at least £60,000 per annum. I rather think that £80,000 is most generally the sum. The Parsis are the great distillers and sellers of it in all the country between Surat and Bombay, and they usually push their distilleries and shops into the heart of the forest which lines the eastern border and hills of those countries. The spirit produced from the Bassia is, when carefully distilled, much like good Irish whiskey, having a strong smoky and rather fetid flavor. This latter disappears with

age.

The fresh spirit is, owing to the quantity of aromatic or empyreumatic oil which it contains, very deleterious, and to the European troops (her Majesty's 4th and 17th Dragoons) stationed in Guzerat some 30 years ago, appeared to be quite as poisonous as the worst new rum of the West Indies has generally proved to our soldiers. It excited, immediately, gastric irritation; and on this supervened the malarious fever so common in those countries. The regimental artificers, musicians, &c., and all whose extra means enabled them to obtain a larger supply of

this liquor, were the first people to be cut off; but finally, the fever spared few or none, and the only effective remedial measure was found to be the removal of the European force to the more sterile semi-desert plains at Deesa, in the north-west corner of the province.

To show how little is known even in India regarding the spirituous drinks of the country, I may state that the question has ere now been gravely entertained by persons high in authority, as to the practicability of rendering the people compulsorily sober, by cutting down the wild Date-trees-as if these were the only source of alcoholic stimulus! I have before alluded to the Cannabis as affording a stimulating material. The use of the plant in its various formsstalk, juice, and resin-is very widely diffused, and in many provinces (as in Scinde) a draught of the infusion forms a prelude to the daily dinner among the better classes. The stimulus has a champagne-like transience, and is said to whet the appetite and improve the digestive powers.

I should here mention that with East Indians, liquor, when taken, is most com monly taken before food; and not after eating, as with us. The continued use of the Cannabis, as practised by many at all periods of the day, speedily breaks down the system; the lungs, generative power, &c., all yielding to its influence. The use debauchees, by whom it is had recourse to as of Nux vomica is confined to desperate It is taken to the extent of even two seeds a bracer-up of decayed corporeal faculties. per diem-these being softened and afterwards fried in ghee or butter!

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world who live by finesse, and whose existence THERE ARE, NO DOUBT, many people in the is maintained at the cost of others. With these we have nothing to do. The law, when it catches them, (too seldom, we admit,) pays them off.

But there are also a class in society who live, thoughtlessly, at the cost of their tradespeople. We wish to whisper a little secret in the ear of such. If we argue in a tone of gentleness, what we say can give no offence. At this season people who enjoy the blessing of independence bid adieu to care. Their country friends and acquaintance have open arms to receive them. They turn their backs upon London, and forget, for a time, all that is left behind. It were well just to cast one glance, before leaving, at the unsettled accounts of the London tradesman. It may be con

sidered "vulgar" to do this, we grant; but why not show yourself an oddity in the matter? WE have done so; and have never regretted it.

It is a positive fact-and we speak on the very best authority-that the long credit taken by families for articles bearing very little profit indeed to the seller, keeps him and his sick family prisoners in town, while his customers, at his expense, are revelling in all the glories of sun and fresh air.

We need not go into detail on this matter. We merely state the broad fact. Chance has recently thrown us in the way of hearing some very piteous complaints connected with this subject; and we at once resolved to make certain comments, leaving those whom it may concern to "chew the cud of meditation."

The withholding of what is "due" to a tradesman who deals fairly, and sells at the lowest ready-money prices, is a cruelty daily practised, and perhaps rarely reflected on. It is, moreover, a high moral offence; for it cripples his means, and compels him to make sacrifices which materially affect the interests both of himself and his family.

It is a sad subject for reflection, that whilst we are enjoying under the canopy of Heaven all that is lovely, a warm-hearted innocent man and his amiable family are, by our wanton cruelty, immured in a dungeon of filth and smoke.

If this be not a "sin of omission," then is our judgment not worth a straw. Good people! read

and reform.

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Should on thy pathway ever shine!
Wouldst thou be mine,-I'd be
As father, mother, friend, to thee;
Thou never shouldst in thy new bliss,
Their old, their dear affection miss;
For I would love thee better still,
Soothe thee in sorrow, guard from ill,
Would cherish thee each passing hour,
As the sun cherishes the flower,
Whose ceaseless, gladdening sunbeams play
Around it through the livelong day.

All this should be wouldst thou
But be mine own, mine only love,
And every changing day should prove
How faithful my first vow.

Wert thou but mine-Oh, could
My voice some tone persuasive take,
And in thy breast some answering passion wake,
Then it were well-were good-

All life were light; but now
My life is dark; and thou, and thou-
Is there no darkness in thy life?
No loneliness, when pain and grief
Oppress thy tender, gentle heart?
Couldst thou be mine, no sorrow's dart
Should deeply wound, for I'd be there;
And Love the darkening clouds should clear,
Or make the very darkness shine

By Love's dear power,-wert thou but mine!

THE FASHION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.
No council from our CRUEL wills can win us;
But ills once done, we bear our guilt within!
JOHN FORD.

MY DEAR SIR,-- Your old friend FINO has called my attention to an article entitled Passages in the Life of a Dog," by Charlie, in the last number of OUR JOURNAL. The weather is very warm; too warm for my old dog to ransack his brains to find words to express his horror and indignation at this most painful recital: and seeing the old fellow not very cheery, I inquired what was the matter? He then requested me to notice this article, in the precise way in which he would have done it himself. This I agreed to do, on the understanding that all which related to the canine species should be suggested by himself, and that I should let their masters and mistresses (be they peers or chimney-sweepers) know what "Old Bombyx" thinks of them.

I will commence, then, by offering our joint thanks to Mr. W. H. KENT for having brought this subject forward. I can only say that, if "Fino" or myself knew the name of the ignoble lady who exchanged poor "Charlie's " mother for the fashionable Scotch terrier, it should appear in red letters three inches deep. Certain I am that her royal mistress never set her such an example; and were I Queen of England, she should never come into my royal presence again

This is a queer fancy, Mr. Editor; and I really think I could give a shrewd guess as to who this "leader of the ton" is. Oh, if I were but certain ! Is it not horrible to think, how "Fashion" sways everything and everybody that is encompassed by the atmosphere of the West End? It deforms the human body; it debases the human mind; it metamorphoses the fair creatures of the Almighty into nondescript imps of Satan's handiwork. We read in the Sacred Volume, that all that God made was very good; perfect-yet do we (so-called) Christians dare to try and make it better. I ask emphatically, what right has man to clip the ears or cut the tail of any harmless animal, formed originally by the Great Creator, and pronounced by Him to be very good? It is because, whilst pretending to be worshippers of God, we are in truth worshippers of Fashion.

66

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I well recollect, when Fino was not as many months old as he is now years, a certain worthy Baronet,-who at that time occupied the very house at Cour, belonging to Mr. G. (mentioned by Fino in the number of his autobiography for the present month, and which was the scene of the I was serio-comic adventure alluded to). strongly urged by this gentleman to take off three inches of Fino's tail; and by his lady to

give a fashionable appearance to his ears by a proper application of professional shears. The sapient Baronet declared that if I did so, he would become a vun-derful dog. The gentleman, who had a peculiar nasal twang, gave this observation all due effect! I need scarcely tell you, Mr. Editor, how I treated the proposal; nor need I tell you that Fino's caudal appendage and fine ears remain just as they were at the moment of his birth. No fashion for me. I am a lover of Nature; and I firmly believe that what the Almighty has pronounced 'very good," none but a simpleton would venture to alter.

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I very rarely visit your West End; but I do sometimes. On such occasions, what do I see? Why, one or more very elegant equipages stopping before the shops-or, to speak fashionably, "Magasins des Modes;" and two grinning footmen in gaudy livery, with silver-topped "Batons d'Office," opening the coronetted doors. Out step two or three thin, pale, cadaverous, wan, half-living ladies (wives or daughters of Peers); so pinched up that they are actually wriggling with agony. A dear little pet dog have they too. lle remains behind "pour monter la garde "over my lady's reticule!

We pretend to admire the human form divine, and yet do all we can to deform it. A quarter of a century ago, my excellent friend, Dr. Neil Arnott, endeavored to convince the mothers of England of the horrible absurdity of running headlong after the tyrant Fashion, instead of following the path of simple nature (see Arnott's Elements of Physics, Medical Mechanics,-1827, pages 195 to 214, and various other parts, had I time to quote them). Still, the warning and

advice of this modern Bacon remain unheeded; and we persist in mutilating the human form till it is scarcely distinguishable from that of some of the (mis-called) inferior animals. We are not content with mutilating every species of dog. We cannot even let a tree grow to its own natural size and shape. Its goodly branches are hacked and hewn until the lordly oak is transformed into a maypole.

O Tempora! O Mores! The fashion of the present day, Mr. Editor, is not only mischievous, it is downright wicked. Moreover, it pervades every class. Look, on a Sunday morning, at this pair going (not to church, but) for a day's amusement. The man is equipped in an elegant pair of dove-colored pantaloons, strapped tightly down; also a pair of thin patent shining leather boots, elegantly fastened with buttons; a charming flowered-silk waistcoat, and a broad sky-blue satin cravat; a fashionably-cut coat of dark blue; an elegant Bond Street hat; and a neat little cane in his delicate hand, which is covered with nice white kid gloves-and,

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resting on his arm, his better half, in a lovely silk of violet "changeant." Neat little shoes has she on; a pretty watered silk mantilla; a "chapeau," sweetly ornamented with flowers; and a delicately-colored parasol, to protect her pretty face from the burning sun. Now who do you think it is, Mr. Editor? Why it might be the twopenny-postman and his wife. And truly we must not be surprised, when the leaders of the "haut ton employ, or rather waste, so much of their valuable time in endeavoring to discover the most absurd way of distorting that noble human form which the Almighty has pronounced "very good." When will our noble matrons and their beauteous offspring vie with each other in trying to look becoming? When will they learn that "least adorned is most adorned?" When will they try and discover that simplicity, gentility, and nobility go hand in hand?

Again let us put the question: why is not treated as a dog ought to be treated? Why a dog (that faithful companion of man) is his tail cut? Why are his poor ears leaders of the "haut ton" do thus, what can If our clipped-his silky coat sheared? you expect from the lower orders? Our fiue fashionables purchase a dog, because it is "the fashion to have a dog. They sell it, or exchange it, because Lady so-and-so has an animal of a different breed. This is perhaps discarded in a short time for a parrot: and "poor Poll" perhaps is shifted on one side to make way for a Cochin China hen. As to expecting any attachment from these poor animals to their masters or mistresses, it is quite monstrous to think of such a thing.

How different is a really faithful dog! I awake to see what I want. I only look at a only move my foot, and Fino's eye is all tree, three or four hundred yards off, and in all around. I only look at the old dog, and half a moment Fino is on the wall surveying he understands the meaning of every wrinkle on his master's forehead. Every thought is as quickly understood by him as though it were instantly conveyed to his own brain. This is not Fashion, Mr. Editor; this is Nature.

I and my dog are friends. We perfectly comprehend one another. From my heart I pity poor Charlie, and so does Fino; and if he knew the cold-hearted mistress that discarded his unfortunate mother, he would have her pretty locks cut so short that she should (as a punishment) be obliged to wear a wig the remainder of her days.

When will our modern ladies understand that charming simplicity which is above all price? When will they learn to "look through Nature up to Nature's God," and leave the tyrant Fashion to the contempt and scorn which it merits? When will they

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[Some people may think that a little excision should have been practised with an article of this description, with a view to modify the sentiments of the writer, and so render them more palateable. There is however such a heartiness, such a freshness about it and the worthy veteran writes in so wholesome a strain, that he shall be heard in his manly appeal to common sense and common humanity. He has lived long in the world, and can afford to speak his honest sentiments. We are proud to echo them.]

THE RAINBOW.

IRIS! what art thou? Break Creation's silence,
Send forth a voice, thou "million-colored bow"
Let fiction be no longer man's reliance;

More of thy nature he desires to know.
Art thou a goddess, dwelling in Elysium,
Whose power, so vast, no mortal dare deny
The soul consigning to some unknown region,
Sole arbitress of human destiny?

Art thou a mirror in the sun's pavilion,

Tenfold reflecting all his glories bright, Glittering with purple, orange, and vermillion,Or shinest thou with thy unaided light? "Twas eventide! The majestic bow was gilding The cloudy temple of the weeping sky; Arch of Creation's wide palatial building,

Most wondrous work of God's geometry! Whilst thus I mused, methought the breeze came, bringing

A whisper soft from Iris' golden throne; Like to the strains of seraph minstrel's singing, Or Heavenly harpings of Eolian tone. "Dost thou inquire why my illumined crescent Gleameth so brightly in the Heavens o'erhead? Mortal, to cheer thine oft-beclouded present,

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And paint thy future, is my radiance shed

Upon thy path. Art thou a stricken spirit, With many cares and many woes oppressed? A struggling genius, born but to inherit,

Like all thy fellows, mischance and unrest? "Art thou a mourner, weeping and heart-broken,

Because thy best-loved treasures are no more?To each, to all, I am the faithful token,

There yet is hope and happiness in store. "I am the mystic over-arching portalResplendent entrance to a better land; Where peace is perfect, happiness immortal, And faith to full fruition doth expand." Fainter and fainter, like the distant pealing

Of silver chimes, th' Eolian whisper grew. It softly ceased; no cloud was then concealing Heaven's firmament of clear ethereal blue. R. W. CARPEnter.

DISTINCTIONS AND DIFFERENCES,

INSTINCT AND REASON.

THE EXTREME difficulty of coming to any settled decision, as to where "instinct " terminates and 66 reason "begins, sets all the world upon speculation. But after all, there is nothing like careful, pains-taking investigation. Those who narrowly watch the habits of the so-called "lower creation," and compare them with the habits of mankind, will find that there is not only a distinction, but a very great difference. We shall venture on this delicate inquiry more at large in due season, as promised. Meantime, we shall bring into view all that strikes us as being worthy of note, in connection with the general question.

Who is there, says a contemporary,* that has not admired the wonderful precocity of chickens, ducks, partridges, and other little creatures whose wisdom on the very first day of their existence appears to equal, if it does not surpass, many of the finest efforts of elaborate reason? The knowledge which they seem to possess of the world into which they have just been introduced, of the food which is agreeable to their palates and suitable to their digestive organs, their fear of danger, and their confidence of security in circumstances of which they can have no experience, the facility with which they use their legs and their beaks, walk and run, eat and drink-a facility which reason itself could not equal-are quite unintelligible to man, who gains all his knowledge by labor and experience, and is but little indebted to instinct for anything.

It has been observed by philosophers who have made comparative anatomy their study, that the more instinctive an animal is, the more ganglionic its nerves are. That is, its nerves, instead of arising from, and centering in a brain, as the principal nerves of the human body do, have their centres distributed in different parts of the body; in fact, such animals may be said, properly speaking, not to be possessed of a brain at all, but merely of a series of ganglions, or nervous centres, arranged along the line of the spine, if they have one; or the abdomen, if the spine be wanting. But animals possessed of a spine or backbone, being always of a higher order than those which are not so organised, have the brain more fully developed, and the nervous system more concentrated therein. This concentration of the nervous system in a brain increases their intelligence, but it diminishes their instinct. From this, it appears that reason is the result of the centralisation of the nervous system; and instinct, of its distribution and division. In

*The "Family Herald.”

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