country, through the medium of the merchants of Singapore, may now be considered as having altogether failed, as it might indeed have been anticipated they would do, from the jealous and impracticable character of the government, and the burdensome nature of the restrictions to which foreign trade remains exposed at every port in the kingdom. Mr. Crawfurd gives it as his opinion, that if any mercantile intercourse is to be in future attempted, either with Siam or Cochin China, it ought to be conducted only through means of the Chinese junks. The inhabitants of China are, in truth, the only foreigners whom these semi-barbarians do not regard either with aversion or contempt. To the Emperor of China, the monarchs of both countries look up in some degree as their superior ;-all other kings they consider as their inferiors, if not their vassals. The establishment, by the Indian government, of a resident agent at the court of Siam, Mr. Crawfurd thinks would, in any circumstances, only tend to produce jealousy and irritation. The revolution in France, combined with other causes, sent at one time a number of the natives of that country to Cochin China, where they soon acquired a formidable influence at court. But the circumstances both of their native land, and of that of their adoption, have now changed; and they have by this time nearly all returned from their distant exile. The connexion that has thus been formed, however, between the French and Cochin Chinese nations, might possibly be renewed in the event of a war between France and England; and as Mr. Crawfurd remarks, "the numerous and fine harbours of Cochin China, might in such a case prove safe and convenient retreats, from which a French army might harass or destroy our commerce with China." "But this evil," he adds, "might be readily averted, and the Cochin Chinese government reduced to almost any terms, by the easy and practicable blockade of two or three of the principal ports, from which the capital and other portions of the kingdom derive their food and other resources." The idea of any formidable danger to our Indian empire from so poor and unwarlike a country as Cochin China, he treats as altogether visionary. Should it be considered desirable, however, to make any farther attempt to cultivate an amicable intercourse with its rulers, he advises that they should be flattered and conciliated by a mission, on however small a scale, proceeding directly from the crown. The mere delivery of a letter, and a trifling present from the King of England, would probably tend far more to gratify the va nity of the Cochin Chinese monarch, than the most splendid embassy from the delegated government of India.

We cannot attempt, in the scanty space we have now left ourselves, to do justice to the remaining portion of Mr. Crawfurd's valuable publication, which is devoted to a very learned and elaborate account of the history, geography, and statistics of the two countries he was deputed to visit, and of the manners, arts, languages, and general character and civilization of their inhabitants. The information he has collected upon all these points, must be considered as quite extraordinary in respect of its

amount and minuteness, when we recollect the short period of his residence in either country, and the multiplied difficulties arising from the extreme jealousy of both governments, under which he had to prosecute his inquiries. It is only by a perusal of the volume itself, that our readers can acquire any adequate notion of all that the author has accomplished in this part of his task; all that we can attempt to do, is to glean for them a very few of the interesting details with which the work abounds.

The Siamese empire is at present composed of Siam, a large portion of Lao, a portion of Kamboja, and certain tributary Malay states. It may be considered as comprehended between the 5th and 21st degrees of north latitude, and the 97th and 105th degrees of east longitude. Its area may be estimated at 190,000 geographical miles. The exact amount of its population it is of course impossible to ascertain, but Mr. Crawfurd thinks it may be taken at about 2,800,000, of which only about 1,260,000, are Siamese. The remainder of the number is made up of the people of Lao, Peguans, Cambojans, Malays, Chinese (of whom there may be about 440,000), natives of Western India, and 2000 persons Portuguese descent.

The complexion of the Siamese is a light brown, many shades darker than that of the Chinese, but never approaching to the black of the African negro or Hindoo. In stature they are shorter than the Hindoos, the Chinese, or the Europeans, but taller than the Malays. Although a handsomer people than either the Chinese or the Indian islanders, they possess but little of what we should denominate beauty. Their physiognomy conveys upon the whole rather a gloomy and sullen air. "This, how. ever," says Mr. Crawfurd, "is the judgment of a European and probably would be so of a native of Western Asia; but it is necessary te add, that the Siamese, vain in every thing, have a standard of beauty of their own, and are by no means disposed to bow to our opinions on this subject. I one day pointed out to some Siamese at Calcutta, a young and beautiful English woman, and wished to know their opinion of her. They answered, that I should see many handsomer when I visited Siam! La Loubere, by his own account, exhibited to the Siamese the portraits of some celebrated beauties of the court of Louis XIV., and was compelled to acknowledge that they excited no admiration whatever. A large doll which he exhibited was more to their taste; and a young nobleman, according to the Siamese method of estimating the fair sex, said, with admiration, that a woman of such an ap pearance would be worth at Yuthia, five thou sand crowns!" The dress of the Siamese con sists merely of a piece of silk, or cotton cloth, of from five to seven cubits long, passed round the loins and thighs, the rest of the body being left entirely bare. Sometimes another narrow scarf is worn round the waist, or thrown carelessly over the shoulders. Their favourite colours are dark and sombre, white being used only for mourning. Jewellery and trinkets are not much used, except by children. The Siamese, like the Chinese, allow the nails of their fingers to grow to an unnatural length, and having the common eastern prejudice against

white teeth, are in the habit of staining them at an early age with an indelible black. They chew tobacco in moderate quantities, but smoke it perpetually. In the consumption of areca and betel root, they exceed even the Malays themselves. The marriage ceremony, among the Siamese, is the simplest possible-but their funerals are conducted with a great deal of form and pomp. They burn their dead, but never immolate living victims along with them.

In neither the useful nor the ornamental arts have they made almost any progress. The only tolerable mechanics among them, are natives of China, or Cochin China. They receive all their utensils of zinc and brass, from the former country. Their fire-arms they obtain from Europe. The manufacture of silk and cotton fabricks is entirely in the hands of the women, and managed with very little skill. They manufacture coarse pottery themselves, but all their porcelain is imported from China. Their houses are, in general merely built of bamboos, and covered with the leaf of the Nipa palm. A few, in the capital only, are constructed with brick and mortar, and roofed with tile. Their bridges, even in the capital, consist only of a single plank. The construction of an arch seems to be unknown to them. Almost their only roads are aquatic-but these are numerous and extensive. Their temples, which are by far their most important edifices, are built of brick and mortar, and very elaborately ornamented. Their statuary is confined to the fabrication of images of Buddha, which they make of a composition of plaster, rosin, oil, and hair, and cover with varnish and a thick coat of gilding to conceal all defects. Their advantages of soil and climate enable them, even without much skill in agriculture, to raise large quantities of grain, sugar, and pepper; but the two last are cultivated entirely by the settlers from China. A great deal of oil and salt is also produced in the country.

There is but little learning among the Siamese, even the studies of their priesthood being confined to subjects connected with their own profession. All the medical practitioners are Chinese, or Cochin Chinese: and divination and astronomy are in the hands of the few Brahmins settled in the country. The Siainese year is solar, and consists of twelve months, to which an intercalary month of thirty days is added every third year. Their week consists of seven days, each of which, commencing at sunset, is divided into sixteen watches. Their common time-keeper is the same contrivance which is in use among the Hindoos, viz.: a cup, with an aperture in the bottom, placed in a bowl of water. They divide time, also, into cycles of twelve and of sixtv years. They have two epochs; a sacred, dating from the death of Gautama, and a popular, from the introduction of the Buddha worship into Siam. The year commencing with the 11th of April, 1822, was, according to the first mode of reckoning, the year 2365; and according to the second, the year 1184, of Siamese chronology. The Siamese possess little knowledge of arithmetic-relying principally upon the Chinese Sanpan. They are acquainted with the decimal system of notation. Their currency consists only of cowry shells and silver.

Of foreign parts the Siamese know but little the only names they have for nations or countries, not in their own quarter of the globe, being Hua-prek, African, that is to say, "pepper heads;" Farang, Europe; Frangsit, French; Wilande, Dutch; Angkrit, English; and Markan, Anglo-American. They hate sea voyages, and the whole spirit of their institutions is adverse to intercourse with foreigners.

Their music is more agreeable to a European ear, than that of any other eastern people, with the exception, perhaps, of the Turks and the Persians. Their melodies are said to be commonly of a brisk and lively description, and to resemble those of the Scotch and Irish. They are in possession of a considerable variety of instruments, both wind and stringed. The Siamese alphabet consists of thirty-nine consonants, besides a great many vowels. The characters are written from left to right, and the language is characterized by great simplicity of grammatical structure. Their literature is described as being meagre and uninteresting. All their compositions, with the exception of their epistolary writings, are metrical, but the style is simple, and destitute of those strong metaphors and hyperbolical forms of expression which are commonly ascribed to the Eastern languages. The vernacular tongue, however, is only employed in the composition of songs, romances, and national chronicles. All their religious books are written in the Bali language, as in the other countries of the East where the Buddhist faith prevails. The people, in general, are taught to read and write, but awkwardly and imperfectly.

Of the Siamese character in general, our author gives no very favourable account. "Judg. ing," says he, "from those with whom we held intercourse, I make no hesitation in confirming what has been often asserted of the Siamese, by European writers, that they are servile, rapacious, slothful, disingenuous, pusillanimous, and extravagantly vain." They are admitted, however, on the other hand, to be generally temperate and abstemious; placable, peacea ble, and obedient. Parental affection is found among them in great force, and filial duty is regarded as a religious obligation. Their women are not immured as in other Eastern countries-but do not seem to be treated with much respect, nor is female virtue held in very high estimation.

We transcribe the following from many other remarks of our author, in this part of his volume :

"Servility is of course to be expected as a necessary consequence of the rigid despotisin by which the Siamese are weighed down. Subordination of rank is so rigorously marked in Siam, as to destroy all appearance of equality, and therefore all true politeness. Towards their superiors, the conduct of the Siamese is abject in the extreme, and towards inferiors, it is insolent or disdainful. This character seems, indeed, impressed even upon their external deportment. Their gait is not only never graceful, erect, or manly, like that of the military tribes of Western Asia, but, on the contrary, always sluggish, ignoble, and crouching. Perhaps the very attitudes in which submission to superiors is expressed, contribute to banish

even the graces of external deportment; and it seems, indeed, impossible to associate any elegance of external manners, however superficial, with the habitual practice of crawling upon knees and elbows, knocking the forehead against the earth, and other similar observances. We had occasion to observe on the knees and elbows of some of our acquaintances, the effect of this practice, in the black indelible scars with which they were marked. The effects of these repeated prostrations were particularly obvious on the limbs of the Prah-klang, whose duty led him, at least twice a day, to perform them at the palace."

We must refer our readers to Mr. Crawfurd's own pages for an account of the Siamese religion, government, political institutions, national revenue, laws, history, trade, climate, and natural productions. We can only now afford to add a very few of his observations on the country and people of Cochin China.

The empire of Cochin China consists of Cochin China itself, of Tonquin, and of a part of the ancient kingdom of Kamboja. It extends almost from the 8th to the 23d degree of north latitude, and its breadth from east to west varies from sixty to one hundred and eighty miles. Its area may be taken at about 95,000 square miles, and the population probably does not much exceed five millions.

The Christian religion was introduced into the country about the year 1624, by the Portuguese Jesuits, from Macao-but has not of late made any sensible progress. The prohibition against the plurality of wives, is said to be what is most repulsive in it to the habits and manners of the Cochin Chinese.

The Annam race is described as being in their persons a short, squat, and ill-favoured people. Their countenances, however, exhibit an air of cheerfulness and good humour. The women appeared to our author in a remarkable degree fairer and handsomer than the men.

The progress they have made in the useful arts, is represented as decidedly beyond that attained by the Siamese. Cotton is raised by them in considerable quantities, and of good quality. They have also carried to a considerable extent the art of rearing the silk-worm, and weaving silk. The manufacture of lacquered ware, too, for which Tonquin has long been celebrated, is still carried on there. All their efforts in art, however, are rather in the way of simple imitation, than of invention or improvement.

The Annam language, is a monosyllabic tongue, in structure and general character resembling the provincial dialects of China. The people have no literature of their own, but receive all their books from the Chinese.

Both sexes dress nearly in the same way, wearing on the lower part of the body a pair of loose trowsers, secured at the waist by a sash, and over all two or more loose frocks, reaching half way down the thigh. Both males and females wear turbans, which are put on with much neatness.

In character, the Cochin Chinese are described as mild and docile. The lower orders are even remarkable for their liveliness and gaiety. Although however much given to the performance of ablutions, they are, upon

the whole, decidedly a dirty people. Their linen, in particular, seems never to be washed. Their diet, too, is very impure and indiscriminate. Hatched eggs, as we have seen, are their favorite delicacy; they eat vermin; and their favorite sauce is a composition of the juices of putrid fish, as bad as can be, of course, both in taste and odour. Like their neighbours, the Siamese, they consider themselves the first people in the world. No people are kept in a state of more abject slavery by their rulers. They have little or no religious feeling, and although there are a few priests among them, they seem to be looked upon as little better than a kind of fortune-tellers.

The concluding chapter of the volume is dedicated to the new Settlement of Singapore, of which it contains by far the best account that has yet been given to the public. Upon the examination of this portion of the work, however, we regret that we cannot now enter. We have been able, we fear, to convey to our readers but a very imperfect idea of the store of information and entertainment to be found even in that part of it to which our remarks have been confined. We are glad to perceive, however, that we are to have another opportunity, ere long, of meeting with the very able author. We shall long for the appearance of the Journal of his Embassy to the Court of Ava, which is announced as preparing for publication.

From the Winter's Wreath.

SWISS HOME-SICKNESS. Translated from the last of the Melodies sung by the Tyrolese Family.

BY MRS. HEMANS.

"Herz mein Herz, warum so traurig," &c. WHEREFORE So sad and faint, my heart?The stranger's land is fair; Yet weary, weary still thou art

What find'st thou wanting there? What wanting?-all, oh! all I love! Am I not lonely here?

Through a fair land in sooth I rove,

Yet what like home is dear?
My home! oh! thither would 1 fly,
Where the free air is sweet,
My father's voice, my mother's eye,
My own wild hills to greet.
My hills, with all their soaring steeps,
With all their glaciers bright,
Where in his joy the chamois leaps,
Mocking the hunter's might.
Oh! but to hear the herd-bell sound,
When shepherds lead the way
Up the high Alps, and children bound,
And not a lamb will stay!

Oh! but to climb the uplands free,

And, where the pure streams foam,
By the blue shining lake, to see,
Once more, my hamlet-home!
Here, no familiar look I trace;
I touch no friendly hand;
No child laughs kindly in my face-
As in my own bright land-

From Friendship's Offering.

THE PUBLICAN'S DREAM.
AN IRISH TALE, FOUNDED ON FACT.

By the O'Hara Family.

THE fair-day had passed over in a little straggling town in the south-east of Ireland, and was succeeded by a languor proportioned to the excitement it never failed to create. But of all in the village, its publicans suffered most under the reaction of fatigue and inanity. Few of their houses appeared open at broad noon; and some-the envy of their competitors-continued closed even after that late hour. Of these latter, many were of the very humblest kind; little cabins, in fact, skirting the outlets of the village, or standing alone on the road-side, a good distance beyond it.

About two o'clock upon the day in question, a house of "Entertainment for Man and Horse," the very last of the description noticed, to be found between the village and the wild tract of mountain country adjacent to it, was opened by the proprietress, who had that moment arisen from bed.

The cabin consisted of only two apartments, and scarce more than nominally even of two; for the half plastered wicker and straw partition, which professed to cut off a sleeping nook from the whole area enclosed by the clay walls, was little higher than a tall man, and, moreover, chinky and porous in many places. Let the assumed distinction be here allowed to stand, however, while the reader casts his eye around what was sometimes called the kitchen, sometimes the tap-room, sometimes the "dancing flure." Forms which had run by the walls, and planks, by way of tables, which had been propped before them, were turned topsy-turvey, and, in some instances, broken. Pewter-pots and pints, battered and bruised, or squeezed together and flattened, and fragments of twisted glass tumblers, lay beside them. The clay floor was scraped with brogue-nails, and indented with the heal of that primitive footgear, in token of the energetic dancing which had lately been performed upon it. In a com ner still appeared (capsized, however) an empty eight-gallon beer barrel, recently the piper's throne, whence his bag had blown forth the inspiring storm of jigs and reels, which prompted to more antics than ever did a bag of the laughing-gas. Among the yellow-turf ashes of the hearth lay, on its side, an old blackened tin kettle, without a spout-a principal agent in brewing scalding water for the manufacture of whiskey-punch; and its soft and yet warm bed was shared by a red cat, who had stolen in from his own orgies, through some cranny, since daybreak. The single, four-paned window of the apartment remained veiled by its rough shutter, that turned on leather hinges; but down the wide-yawning chimney came sufficient light to reveal the objects here described.

The proprietress opened her back door. She was a woman of about forty; of a robust, largeboned figure; with broad, rosy visage, dark, handsome eyes, and well-cut nose; but inheriting a mouth so wide, as to proclaim her pure aboriginal Irish pedigree. After a look abroad, to inhale the fresh air, and then a re

monstrance (ending in a kick) with the hungry pig, who ran, squeaking and grunting, to demand his long-deferred breakfast, she settled her cap, rubbed down her prauskeen (coarse apron), tucked and pinned up her skirts behind, and saying, in a loud, commanding voice, as she spoke into the sleeping chamber-" Get up, now, at once, Jer, I bid you"-vigorous!,, if not tidily, set about putting her tavern to rights.

During her bustle, the dame would stop an instant, and bend her ear to listen for a stir inside the partition; but at last losing patience, she resumed

"Why, then, my heavy hatred on you, Jer Mulcahy, is it gone into a sauraun (pleasant drowsiness) you are, over again? or may be you stole out of bed, an' put your hand on one o' them ould, good-for-nothing books, that makes you the laziest man that a poor woman ever had under one roof wid her? ay, an' that sent you out of our dacent shop an' house, in the heart o' the tawn, below, an' banished us here, Jer Mulcahy, to sell drams o' whiskey an pots o' beer to all the riff-raff o' the counthryside, instead o' the nate boots an' shoes you sarved your honest time to?"-She entered his, or her chamber, rather, hoping that she might detect him luxuriantly perusing in bed one of the mutilated books, a love of which (or, more truly, a love of indolence, thus manifesting itself) had indeed chiefly caused his downfall in the world: her husband, however, really tired after his unusual bodily efforts of the previous day, only slumbered, as Mrs. Mulcahy had at first anticipated; and when she had shaken and aroused him, for the twentieth time that morning, and scolded him until the spiritbroken blockhead whimpered, nay, wept, or pretended to weep, the dame returned to her household duties.

She did not neglect, however, to keep calling to him, every half-minute, until at last, Mr. Jeremiah Mulcahy strode into the kitchen; a tall, ill-contrived figure, that had once been well filled out, but that now wore its old skin, like its old clothes, very loosely; and those old clothes were a discoloured, threadbare, halfpolished kerseymere pair of trowsers, and an aged superfine black coat, the last relics of his former Sunday finery: to which had recently and incongruously been added a calf-skin vest, a pair of coarse sky-blue, peasant's stockings, and a pair of brogues. His hanging cheeks and lips told, together, his present bad living, and domestic subjection; and an eye that had been blinded by the small-pox, wore neither patch nor band; although in better days, it used to be genteelly hidden from remark-an assumption of consequence now deemed incompatible with his altered condition in society.

64

Oh, Cauth! oh, I had such a dhrame,” he said, as he made his appearance.

"An' I'll go bail you had," answered Cauth, "an' when do you ever go asleep without having one dhrame or another, that pesters me off o' my legs, the livelong day, 'till the night falls again to let you have another? Musha. Jer, don't be ever an' always such a fool; an never mind the dhrame now, but lend a hand to help me in the work o' the house; see the pew