appearances of cultivation, but found none. As I approached, I perceived a number of lights in other places, and, leading my horse cautiously towards the light, I heard, by the lowing of the cattle, and the clamorous tongues of the herdsmen, that it was a watering place, and most likely belonged to the Moors. Delightful as the sound of the human voice was to me, I resolved once more to strike into the woods, and rather run the risk of perishing with hunger, than trust myself again into their hands."It is a most affecting consideration, and shows to what a degree of malignity human beings have arrived, when a hungry, houseless, and benighted traveller prefers to flee for protection to the haunts of the beasts of prey, rather than commit himself to the tender mercies of those who are partakers of the same common nature, and who have it in their power to alleviate his distresses.

Mr. Park, when among the Moors, was forced to pass many days, almost without drink, under a burning climate, where, to a European, the heat is almost insufferable. His raging thirst induced him to run every risk, and to burst through every restraint. He sent his boy to the wells to fill the skin which he had for holding water; but the Moors were exasperated that a Christian should presume to fill his vessel at wells consecrated to the use of the followers of Mahomet. Instead, therefore, of permitting the boy to carry away water, they gave him many severe blows; and this mode of treatment was repeated as often as an attempt was made.-On another occasion, when awaking from a dream, in which, during his broken slumbers, his fancy had transported him to his native country, and placed him on the verdant brink of a transparent rivulet, and perceiving that his raging thirst had exposed him to a kind of fever, he resolved to expose himself to the insults of the Moors at the wells, in hopes that he might procure a small supply. When he arrived at them he found the Moors drawing water. He desired permission to drink, but was driven from well to well with reiterated outrage. At length he found one well where only an old man and two boys drew for their cattle. He earnestly begged a small quantity. The old man drew the bucket from the well, and held it out, Park was about eagerly to seize it, when the Moor, recollecting that the

stranger was a Christian, instantly threw the water into the trough, where the cows were already drinking, and told Park to drink thence. He hesitated not for a moment. His sufferings made even this offer acceptable. He thrust his head between those of two cows, and, with feelings of pleasure which can be experienced only by those who have been reduced to a similar state of wretchedness, he continued to quench his thirst till the water was exhausted, and "till the cows began to contend with each other for the last mouthful."

In this instance, we can partly account for the barbarity of the action, from the inveterate prejudices which all Mahometans entertain against Christians; but it still remains to be accounted for, why any one should refuse to a suffering fellow-creature the common bounties of providence, which he has in his power to bestow, however different he may be in complexion, in national character, or in the religion he professes. A religion which encourages such prejudices, and which leads to such inhumanity, must be an abomination in the sight of Him who has a special regard to the wants of all his creatures, and who "sendeth rain to refresh the fields of the just and of the unjust." The prevalence of such characters and dispositions over so large a portion of the world, shows that the moral constitution of man has suffered a sad derangement since the period when he proceeded as a pure intelligence, from the hands of his Creator.

Such incidents as those to which I have now adverted, when properly considered, are calculated to inspire us with contentment, and to excite to gratitude for the common blessings which we enjoy without the least fear of danger or annoyance. How often do we enjoy the refreshment of a delicious beverage, without thinking of the parched tongues of the African pilgrims; and how often do we spurn at a wholesome dish, which would be hailed with transports of gratitude by the houseless and hungry wanderer of the desert! Yea, how many are there, even in our civilized country, who enjoy, in luxurious abundance, all the blessings which nature and art can furnish, who never once acknowledge, with heart-felt gratitude, the goodness of Him "who daily loads them with his benefits," nor reflect on the wants and the sufferings of their

fellow-men! Mr. Park, when oppressed with hunger and fatigue, applied, at the chief magistrate's house, in a village named Shrilla, for some relief, but was denied admittance. He passed slowly through the village till he came without the walls, where he saw an old motherlylooking woman at the door of a mean hut. She sat before him a dish of boiled corn, that had been left the preceding night, on which he made a tolerable meal. “Overcome with joy," says Park, "at so unexpected a deliverance, I lifted up my eyes to heaven, and, while my heart swelled with gratitude, I returned thanks to that gracious and bountiful Being, whose power had supported me under so many dangers, and had now spread for me a table in the wilderness."

When Mr. Park was returning from the interior of Africa, he was encountered by a party of armed negroes, who led him into a dark place of the forest through which he was passing, and stripped him entirely naked, taking from him every thing which he possessed, except an old shirt and a pair of trowsers. He begged them to return his pocket compass; but, instead of complying with his request, one of them assured him, that, if he attempted to touch that, or any other article, he would immediately shoot him dead on the spot. He was thus left in the midst of a vast wilderness, in the depth of the rainy season, naked and alone, without food, and without the means of procuring it; surrounded by savage animals, and by men still more savage, and 500 miles from the nearest European settlement. "All these circumstances," says this intrepid traveller, "crowded at once on my recollection, and, I confess, my sprits began to fail me. I considered that I had no other alternative, but to lie down and die. The influence of religion, however, aided and supported me. At this moment, painful as my reflections were, the extraordinary beauty of a small moss irresistibly caught my eye. Can that Being, thought I, who planted, watered, and brought to perfection, in this obscure part of the world, a thing which appears of so small importance, look with unconcern on the situation and sufferings of creatures formed after his own image? Surely not. Reflections like these would not allow me to despair. I started up, and, disregarding both hunger

and fatigue, travelled forwards, assured that relief was at hand, and I was not disappointed." Thus was this unfortunate adventurer delivered, by the care of providence, from those accumulated distresses which had been brought upon him by the malignity and inhumanity of man.

Such are a few specimens of the inhumanity displayed by uncivilized tribes towards strangers, and unfortunate voyagers and travellers. They exhibit dispositions and conduct directly repugnant to every principle of benevolence, and present to our view a gloomy prospect of the difficulties and dangers to be surmounted by philanthropic missionaries, before the habitable world can be thoroughly explored, and before the blessings of knowledge, cililization, and religion can be communicated to the benighted and depraved tribes of mankind.

MALEVOLENT DISPOSITIONS, AS DISPLAYED IN DISFIGURING THE HUMAN BODY.

The human frame, when preserved in its original state, is one of the finest pieces of mechanism which the mind can contemplate. In beauty, in symmetry, in the harmony and proportion of all its parts and functions, it is superior to the organical structures of all the other ranks of sensitive existence. There is no part imperfect or deformed, no part defective, and no part useless or redundant. All its members are so constructed and arranged as to contribute to the beauty and perfection of the whole, and to the happiness of the intelligent mind by which it is governed and directed. In combination with the power of thought and volition, and when unstained by malignant passions, it is a visible representative of the Creator, having been formed after his image; and it displays, in a most striking manner, the wisdom and the goodness of its Almighty Maker. But, notwithstanding the acknowledged excellence of the human frame, it has been the practice of the degraded tribes of mankind, in almost every country, and in every age, to disfigure its structure, and to deface its beauty; as if the Creator, when he formed it, had been deficient in intelligence and in benevolent

design. Such practices, I am disposed to think, imply a principle of malevolence directed towards the Creator, and a disposition to find fault with his wise eontrivances and arrangements. At any rate, they display a degree of ignorance and folly, a vitiated taste, and a degradation of mind, inconsistent with the dignity of a rational intelligence.The following facts will, perhaps, tend to illustrate these remarks:

Condamine, when describing the natives of South America, informs us, that the Omaguas, and some other savages, flatten the faces of their children, by lacing their heads between two boards; that others pierce the nostrils, lips, or cheeks, and place in them feathers, the bones of fishes, and similar ornaments;-and that the savages of Brazil pull the hair out of their beards, their eye-brows, and all parts of their bodies, which makes them have an uncommon, and a ferocious appearance. Their under-lip they pierce, and, as an ornament, insert into it a green stone, or a small polished bone. Immediately after birth the mothers flatten the noses of their children. The whole of them go absolutely naked, and paint their bodies of different colours.-Captain Cook informs us, that, in New Zealand, both sexes mark their faces and bodies with black stains, similar to the tattooing in Otaheite. The men, particularly, add new stains every year, so that, in an advanced period of life, they are almost covered from head to foot. Besides this, they have marks impressed, by a method unknown to us, of a very extraordinary kind. They are furrows of about a line deep, and a line broad, such as appears upon the bark of a tree which has been cut through after a year's growth. The edges of these furrows are afterwards indented by the same method, and, being perfectly black, they make a most frightful appearance. Both sexes bore their ears they gradually stretch the holes till they are so large as to admit a finger. Into these holes they put feathers, coloured cloth, bones of birds, twigs of wood, and frequently the nails which they received from the ships.-The same voyager, when describing the New Hollanders, tells us," Their chief ornaments is a bone, which is thrust through a hole bored in the cartilege which divides the nostrils. This bone is as thick as a man's finger, and six inches in length. It