I observed in all the huts a basket, containing two large pieces of quartz, a large piece of native sulphur, and some dry grass, or moss. This serves them in kindling fires: for which purpose they rub the sulphur on the stones over the dry grass, strewed lightly with a few feathers in the top where the sulphur falls. Then they strike two stones one against the other; and the fine particles of sulphur immediately blaze like a flash of lightning, and, communicating with the straw, set the whole in a flame.

They pay respect to the memory of the dead; for they embalm the bodies of the men with dried moss and grass; bury them in their best attire, in a sitting posture, in a strong box, with their darts and instruments; and decorate the tomb with various coloured mats, embroidery, and paintings. With women they use less ceremony. A mother will keep her dead child thus embalmed in her hut for some months, constantly wiping it dry. They bury it only when it begins to smell, or when they get reconciled to parting with it.

I observed, when crossing the mountains, piles of stones. These are not burying-places, as has been supposed; but serve as beacons to guide them in foggy and snowy weather, from one dwelling to another; and every person passing adds one to each heap.

CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY.

Q. WHAT is the first and most important of all facts? A. The necessary existence of God, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the universe.

Q. As the Divine Being has been pleased to give man both a desire and a capacity for truth and knowledge, to what end should these be principally directed?

A. To the knowledge of Himself; that he may be glorified by us; and to the better discharge of those duties, which our respective stations, relations to others, ages, and circumstances require.

Q. By what means may this knowledge of God be ac

A. Chiefly by that revelation which he has been pleased to give us of himself, and which the Bible contains; and also by attention to his works. (Rom. i. 20.)

Q. What does this revelation teach us of God?

A. That he is a Spirit, and distinct from the universe which he has created; that his existence is necessary and eternal; that he is infinite in power and in wisdom; that he filleth all space; is a God of holiness, justice, and truth; and that he is abundant in goodness, mercy, and love.

Q. Have we any special exhibition of the divine perfections in the Scriptures?

A. We have; and it is eminently found in this declaration, and the facts which it supposes: "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John iii. 16.)

Q. What does he require from us in return?

A. The entire consecration of ourselves to h's service through Jesus Christ; that through repentance and faith we may become reconciled to God by the blood of the cross; honour the Son even as we honour the Father; and at his bidding, be saved by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.

Q. Is this the first and most important concern of life? A. Without doubt it is: " for what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" To this all inquiries and all pursuits should be made subservient.

Q. Is there any direct connexion between the possession of religion, and the proper discharge of the duties of life?

A. There is; as the same authority that requires from us the one, enjoins on us the other; and true religion, wherever it is known and obeyed, will be attended by the manifestation of "whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report." (Phil. iv. 8.)

Q. By what means may this religion be so known and felt, as thus to lead to the discharge of these duties ?

and obedient hearts; by attending regularly to the duties of private and public worship; by seeking information from well-recommended books; and by conversation with pious and intelligent persons on this important subject.

Q. But as the power, wisdom, and presence of God may be perceived in the creation; in the occasional examination of this, that the Creator may be seen and glorified, may not the mind be lawfully employed?

A. The direct means for knowing God are found in his word; but subordinately to this, and when it can be done without neglecting the proper duties of our station, he who seeks in what is commonly termed nature, the evidences of the perfections and presence of that Being who is not far from every one of us, and to devotional purposes, very laudably employs his time.

Q. What lessons will pursuits of this kind teach the humble and the wise inquirer?

4. That the power and wisdom of God are great; that the mind of man is weak and contracted. In the examination of every object, facts, astonishingly uniform operations and changes, will appear; facts, the existence of which we must believe, while their nature and reasons are past finding out: and it may be always observed, that in the little which the human mind can discover, he whose knowledge is the most profound will always be the most modest, unpretending, and humble, from the deep conviction of his own comparative ignorance.

PAPERS ON ANCIENT GREECE. No. I.

FUNERALS OF THOSE WHO DIED IN DEFENCE OF THEIR COUNTRY.

FEW nations have honoured patriotism and bravery in a more distinguished manner than the ancient Greeks. However the capricious humours of democratical licentiousness, or the equally dangerous prejudices of a jealous nobility, might occasionally involve the warriors of that celebrated people in obloquy and disrespect, those worthy of honour

Crowns and garlands, with the other more substantial pledges of public gratitude and admiration, were heaped upon them. They entered their native city amid the universal acclamations of the spectators. The fascinations of music and impassioned poetry were introduced to excite the minds of all in their favour; while thousands assembled in the temples to thank the immortal gods for their existence, implore the future protection of providence on their behalf, and unite in their honour all the splendour of war with the pomp of superstition. But should they have perished on the field of battle in the gallant defence of their native land, their renown was ensured. Solemn obsequies were performed on their ashes; and they were interred in the sepulchre of their ancestors amid all the honours with which a mortal can be invested. Statues by the most eminent sculptors were erected to their memory, and regarded with almost idolatrous respect; while on their tombs was inscribed some striking and memorable distich, which addressed itself with irresistible force to the feelings of the reader. That of the illustrious Spartans who fell at Thermopyla will be remembered for ever: "Go, stranger, and declare to the Lacedæmonians that we died here in obedience to their divine laws."

One of the finest passages in Thucydides is that which gives a description of the national funeral ceremony performed at Athens upon the close of the first campaign of the Peloponnesian war. This was in honour of those who had fallen during the year. Thucydides lived at the period when the facts which he so energetically describes took place; and he was probably present at the funeral ceremony in honour of his brave countrymen. He is universally allowed to have been one of the most judicious and profound historians that ever lived; and his writings have been read in all ages with equal delight by the statesman and the scholar. Habits of patient inquiry and deep reflection were familiar to him. He was not likely to be led aside by credulity, nor his judgment warped by passion or prejudice. Though he had been banished from Athens on

command, his ideas of the character of an historian were too dignified, to suffer him to mingle any observations of a personal nature with the majesty of his details. When obliged to mention his particular enemies, he never makes any severe reflections on their unkind and persecuting conduct towards him; and it is said that in order to arrive at truth, he obtained much of the information in his history from the natural enemies of Athens, who were not likely to exaggerate the facts connected with that city.

The custom of pronouncing funeral harangues over such as had fallen in battle is said to have originated with the Greeks, in consequence of the memorable defeat of the Persian invaders. Such harangues were thought not only highly useful to the living, but peculiarly acceptable and gratifying to the dead. They were accordingly repeated, in the same public manner, once a year. And how very essentially a ceremony of this kind must have contributed to keep alive a martial spirit, and that patriotic feeling, so necessary to the support of a popular government, must be evident.

These remarks may serve as an introduction to the account of the interesting ceremony described by Thucydides; which will be translated word for word from that great author, and only interrupted by such passages as may be necessary to explain and complete the sense.

"The same

winter, the Athenians, according to national custom, celebrated a public funeral of those who had first fallen in the present war, after the following manner. Having erected a tent three days before, they exhibited the bones of the deceased; when every one brought what offering he pleased to his own relation."

It is well known to have been the custom of the Greeks to burn the bodies of the dead, with certain rites of superstition and respect. The ashes were afterwards collected and preserved; as we learn from the manner in which the bones of Hector were preserved at Troy. The Greeks also decked the bodies of their deceased friends, or the urn which contained their ashes, with boughs, ribbons, flowers, &c.