party was singular; they examined the wristbands of the shirt, and if they were fine and white (which last they quickly ceased to be under their handling,) the point was settled. Kaama, the youngest of the brother chiefs, I had seen in the Colony, where he was a general favourite, and where, from his almost polished manners, he was sometimes to be met with at civilized tables; and it was with no slight surprise that I have, on such occasions, observed him conform himself to the small proprieties of society, which he appeared to catch up instinctively. I visited his kraal, entered his hut, and was introduced to Nomguiny, his only wife; and not a little proud are the missionaries of his example, though I fear he is a wavering proselyte to the system which they wish to introduce, as he frequently talks of taking another. Nomguiny was a very good specimen of a Kaffer woman; and Kaama owned that he had no excuse for increasing his number, as he believed she was perfectly correct. His mother made her appearance, and I thought that I had never seen so hag-like a picture of misery-blear-eyed, wrinkled, with shrivelled lips, and a skin that hung loose on her long form. This wretched decrepitude was in part owing to age, but more to suffering and to torture that she had undergone when young, on being accused by the rain-makers of witchcraft. When I looked upon the tall and graceful young chief, wrapped in a tiger-skin mantle,-for he had quickly thrown off his lancer uniform, and was greatly improved by the exchange, and at his wife, with her three sparkling-eyed children playing around her; and when I heard him say, in speaking of his hut," Kaama's house poor," I could trace that his thoughts were far away, in the house where we had last met; that he felt humbled that a stranger should compare them; and I doubted the reality of that kindness which could give to the savage a glimpse at refinement and luxuries, and then return him to his beehive hut and simple pleasures."— pp. 129-134. Mr. Rose visited the school attached to the missionary station, in which several native children were learning to spell and read in Dutch and their own language. He also dined with the missionary, where he met three others, and found every thing conducted with great propriety. The next morning he attended divine service, and was highly interested in hearing the natives sing hymns, set to the wild airs of the country. One of the hymns was composed by a Kaffer, of which the four first words of each verse were repeated by one bass voice, the whole congregation, both men and women, joining in the rest. There is a good deal of poetry in this specimen of Kaffer composition, and the simple but elevated language of devotion, is evidently known even in those wild regions. Translated, the hymn runs thus: "He who is our mantle of comfort, And the ever-burning stars. God is mighty in the heavens, And whirls the stars around the sky. We call on Him in His dwelling-place, That He may be our mighty leader; Who is the Creator of the heavens." -pp. 136, 137. The prayers were repeated partly in Dutch and partly in Kaffer, into which those in the former language were translated by a native, who acted as clerk. Mr. Rose speaks in a manner highly favourable to the missionaries, and considers that, though they have made little progress in diffusing a very enlarged idea of Christianity, they have done much towards softening or removing the most barbarous of the superstitions to which the Kaffers are addicted. One of the worst of these is the practice employed to discover and punish witches. The principal man among the natives is the rain-maker, a sort of priest, who unites to this character that of a prophet and doctor. When rain is wanted, which it often is in these sun-burnt districts, this important personage is applied to that he may petition for rain, and give tidings of its approach. Should he, however, fail in his predictions, after having received large presents from both the chief and the people, he declares that some man or woman has been at work to destroy his charms, and the unfortunate creature whom he names, immediately falls a sacrifice to the vengeance of the people. Whenever any one is accused of witchcraft, the rain-maker is applied to, whatever may be the subject of complaint. After certain ceremonies have been performed, which Mr. Rose was prevented seeing, from their jealousy of strangers on these occasions,-the individual accused, who is usually some one possessing a large quantity of cattle, is fixed to the earth by a thong, which being carried round the ankles and wrists, is fastened to stakes driven into the ground for the purpose. But these savages have invented the most refined species of torture to extort confession. The man being secured as abovementioned, burning stones are placed on different parts of his body, and when these are removed, nests of the large black venomous ants are broken on the burning wounds. Confession generally follows this frightful torture, and the poor wretch is then either put to death or driven from the tribe. It is a great praise to the missionaries, that wherever they are settled these terrible practices are daily becoming less frequent. Elephant hunting is a favourite theme with every African traveller. Almost every country,' says our author, writing to his brother, has some source of amusement and information peculiar to itself, and this remote frontier in Africa, is by no means without them; and they are much to my taste, for I seek excitement from situations that most would shun, which you, who know me to be no sportsman, will allow, when I tell you, that I have just returned from a week's elephant shooting.' Mr. Rose, and another friend, it appears, had agreed to accompany an elephant hunter, who assured them they would find sport in the dusky hills through which the Great Fish River flows-a country thickly covered with bush, and given up to the wild animals that infest it. The appearance of the hunter is well described. After wandering half the day amidst its lonely scenery, we heard a distant shot and saw the smoke rise, and shortly afterwards the hunter joined us, a thin, spare, bony man, formed for activity, whose sun-scorched countenance and eye of habitual watchfulness bore that expression so frequently to be traced among poachers. His manner was bold and open, as one who felt that in such situations the petty distinctions of society ceased. His quick grey eye glanced from beneath the broad rim of the boor's hat; his powder-horn hung from a black leathern buckled shoulder-belt, to which his pouch was attached: he was mounted on an active, well-formed, small horse, and followed by nine dogs of every variety of the cur and lurcher, that came limping after him, for they had suffered severely from an attack on a wild hog, a side of which hung at the hunter's saddle. From him we heard that he had neither seen elephants nor any trace of them; and after searching for some hours, and consulting with his two attendant Hottentots, we took up our bivouac on the banks of the Fish River, gave our horses to the servants, unpacked our provisions, spread our beds of sheepskin, and lighted our fires. We did full justice to a dinner of which the flesh of the wild hog formed a principal portion, and my hungry judgment pronounced it superior to any pork I had ever tasted. There were two fires:-round one sat the hunter, a little boy whom he was training to his dangerous trade, my companion, and myself; round the other, the two Hottentot shooters, and our two attendants. Dinner was at last over, and we reclined on our sheepskins, and listened to the adventures of the hunter, to which I must despair of imparting the interest which he gave to them-for you cannot hear them as I heard them, in a wild solitude, and in the calm beauty of an African night.'— pp. 209-211. He was The life of the hunter had been an adventurous one. originally an English settler and a smuggler among the Kaffers. When the trade was permitted, he carried it on at Fort William, but lost the property which he had gained while a smuggler, and became deeply involved. He then turned elephant hunter. The first day of the excursion passed away without the appearance of any elephant, and Mr. Rose has described the manner of their spending the night with his accustomed felicity of expression. The next morning they started with their guns, and traversed a country wild and lonely in the extreme, and the only roads of which, passing through the mighty wilderness, are said to be the work of the elephant. No sound was to be heard but the solemn note of the bell bird, which tolled at intervals "like an omen of evil," and they traversed the elephant paths swiftly and silently, their conductor occasionally encouraging them, with observing, "we shall soon be among the elephants, and then we can sit down and watch them." As they moved onward, the experience of this man was frequently manifested by his observations on the tracks which they were following. "This is three days old," said he at one time. "This is last night," at another, and so on, till their labour at length appeared to be crowned with success. The search was becoming hopeless, when the leader pointed to a distant hill; there was a consultation, in which it was decided that a troop of elephants was passing over it. I looked, and could see nothing. But now we went on with fresh vigour, and gained the hill opposite to that on which they were; we halted and watched; a few words passed between the hunter and Skipper, and we descended silently the ravine that divided us. Again they whispered,-marked from what point the light breeze came; and we commenced the steep ascent in a direction that the wind might come from the animals to us; for we were now so near them, that their quick scent would have discovered us. Skipper led, while we followed in Indian file, threading a narrow rocky path, which skirted one bank of a small hollow, while the huge beasts were feeding on the opposite one. The leader halted, the hunter gave my companion and myself lighted sticks, and whispered directions to fire the bush and grass, and to retreat, in the event of the animals charging. It was a strange feeling to find myself within twenty yards of creatures whose forward movement would have been destruction; but they stood browsing on the bushes, and flapping their large ears, pictures of indolent security. We were taking our stations when we heard a shot, and then another, and of the eight elephants, seven fled. We went forward to see the effect of the shots. Skipper's had carried death with it; the elephant had fallen, but rose again. I never heard any thing like its groans; he again fell, and we went up to him; the ball had entered behind the shoulder and reached the heart.'-pp. 218-220. After this Mr. Rose was so overcome with fatigue, that he was obliged to remain half an hour behind, while the rest of the party proceeded on the pursuit of more elephants. As soon, however, as he was a little refreshed, he followed his companions, a little boy who had been left with him, being his only guide. In half an hour I again took my gun, which had been changed for one that would scarcely fire, and began to ascend the hill by an elephant path; the valley we had just left, and the side of the hill, were thickly covered with high dark bush,-on my right so close, as to prevent our seeing any object in that direction. We were slowly rising the ascent, when I heard the heavy gallop of a large animal approaching: my little companion was at some distance from me, blowing a lighted stick: "Listen," I said the boys eyes looked wild, and he fled from the sound; while I ran up the hill, not doubting that it was a rhinoceros; the heavy tramp was close to me, and I scarcely saw a large dark animal burst through the bush within a few yards of me, in the spot I had just quitted, and in the very path I was following. I did not stop; for, from the glimpse I caught, I believed it to be a rhinoceros: my young companion fired the bush, which I heard crackling, and in a few minutes came up to me. "What a narrow escape!" he said. "What was it?-the rhinoceros ?" 66 Did you not see it close to you?-it turned from the lighted bush." It was certainly a situation of danger, for the boldest hunter dreads and shuns this savage animal, and troops of lions have been known to fly before him; yet without affecting any particular courage, I trusted rather to my heels than my gun, which, as the event turned out, was fortunate; for when I attempted afterwards to fire, it snapped three times; I do not remember that I felt much fear; nor do I believe that, under similar circumstances, fear is natural;-there is no time for it; every energy is employed in escape. In a gale at sea, on board a small coasting brig, amidst the wild winds and waves of the Cape, though there was probably not one-twentieth part of the real danger, I have felt much more, for there I was a useless being, and no exertions of my own would avail, and memory and thought had time to be busy. 'We at length gained the summit of the hill, and saw the elephants traversing the one before us, their huge backs showing high above the bush; we heard our companions fire, and saw the animals rush away; and one charging towards us: we fired the bush and grass around us, and stood in a circle of flame; we listened, but could hear nothing; and proceeded lighting the bush as we passed, and tracing the route of the elephant, and the point at which he had been checked by the fire. effect of the shots, we afterwards heard, was the death of a large female elephant, that fell with ten balls in her, each ball a death; but she stood heaving her back in agony, while her young calf went round and moved under her, covered with the blood of its mother. "Tis savage work !'-pp. 222-224. The We cannot follow Mr. Rose any farther in the interesting narrative of this excursion, except to say, that after a toilsome and perilous journey, he and his little companion found the rest of the party, to whom they recounted their adventures, which had brought them into greater dangers than they had been aware of. We must now take leave of this agreeable and eloquent traveller. We have seldom, if ever, read a book of travels more highly interesting, or fuller of details calculated to engage the imagination. Mr. Rose, indeed, has not taken much pains to describe any thing which did not affect him either by its romantic grandeur or its beauty, but he was wandering amid scenes more calculated to warm the fancy than set reason to work, and his Four Years in Southern Africa' will be read by every one fond of picturesque description with great delight. ART. VII.-Letters and Journals of Lord Byron, with Notices of his Life. By Thomas Moore. In 2 vols. Vol. 1. 4to. pp. 670. London: Murray. 1830. IT was made, if we rightly recollect, some time since, a matter of grave accusation against Mr. Moore, that yielding to the entreaties of interested parties, he consented to suppress, or rather to destroy, portions of a manuscript piece of auto-biography, which had been |