feveral of the Moluccas is a race of men, who are blacker than the reft, with woolly hair, flender and tall, speaking a peculiar language, and inhabiting the interior hilly parts of the countries; in feveral ifles these people are called Alfories. The fhores of these ifles are peopled by another nation, whose individuals are fwarthy, of a more agreeable form, with curled and long hair, and of a different language, which is chiefly a branch or dialect of the Malayan. In all the Philippines, the interior mountainous parts, are inhabited by a black fet of people, with frizzled hair, who are tall, lufty, and very warlike, and speak a peculiar language different from that of their neighbours. But the outskirts towards the fea are peopled with a race infinitely fairer, having long hair, and fpeaking different languages: they are of various denominations, but the Tagales, Pampangos, and Biffayas, are the most celebrated among them. The former are the more ancient inhabitants, and the latter are certainly related to the various tribes of Malays, who had over-run all the Eaft India islands before the arrival of the Europeans in those feas. Their language is likewife in many inftances related to that of the Malays, The ifle of Formofa or Tai-ovan has likewife in its interior hilly parts, a fet of brown, frizzly haired, broad-faced inhabitants; but the fhores, efpecially those to the North, are occupied by the Chinese, who differ even in language from the former. The isles of New Guinea, New Britain, and Nova Hibernia have certainly black complexioned inhabitants, whofe manners, customs, habit, form, and character, correfpond very much with the inhabitants of the South Sea islands belonging to the fecond race in Nova Caledonia, Tanna, and Mallicollo; and thefe blacks in New Gui nea, are probably related to thofe in the Moluccas and Philip. pines The Ladrones, and the new difcovered Caroline Islands, contain a fet of people very much related to our first race. Their fize, colour, habit, manners, and cuttoms, feem ftrongly to indicate this affinity; and they are according to, the account of fome writers, nearly related in every refpect to the Tagales in Luçon or Manilla, fo that we may now trace the line of migration by a continued line of ifles, the greater part of which are -not above 100 leagues diftant from each other.

• We likewife find a very remarkable fimilarity between several words of the fair tribe of islanders in the South Sea, and fome of the Malays. But it would be highly inconclufive from fimilarity of a few words, to infer that these islanders were defcended from the Malays: for as the Malay contains words found in the Perfian, Malabar, Braminic, Cingalefe, Javanese, and Malegafs, this should likewife imply, that the nations fpeaking the above mentioned languages were the offspring of the Malays, which certainly would be proving too much. I am therefore rather inclined to fuppofe, that all these dialects preserve several words of a more ancient language, which was more univerfal, and was gradually divided into many languages,

now

now remarkably different. The words therefore of the lan guage of the South Sea ifles, which are fimilar to others in the Malay tongue, prove clearly in my opinion, that the Eastern South Sea ifles were originally peopled from the Indian, or Afiatic Northern ifles; and that thofe lying more to the Weftward, received their first inhabitants from the neighbourhood of New Guinea.'

Dr. Forfter next relates the progrefs which the South Sea illanders have made towards civilization, with their method of procuring food; to which he fubjoins a concife view of the general principles of national happiness. From this fubject he makes a tranfition to the principles, moral ideas, manners, refinement, luxury, and the condition of women among the natives of the South Sea ifles; thence paffing to education, and the origin and progress of manufactures, arts, and Iciences; afterwards confidering religion, mythology, cofmogony, worship, origin of mankind, future ftate, rites genethliac, nuptial, and sepulchral. These subjects are followed by a recapitulation, in which the author takes a general view of the happiness of the islanders in the South Sea; and a fhort comparative view of various manners and customs usual in the South Sea ifles, with thofe of other nations.-The whole affords a comprehenfive, well digefted, fyftematical acCount of the new discovered islands in the South Sea; to which are added useful obfervations on the prefervation of health in long voyages.

The Works of the Caledonian Bards. Tranflated from the Galic. Vol. I. Small 80. 35. Jerved. Cadell.

THE

HE Poems of Offian, though perhaps the moft confiderable for beauty and extent, are not the only vernacular compofitions, of the metrical kind, to be found in the Highlands of Scotland. It appears that feveral others of the ancient Caledonian bards had left behind them productions, which continue to be admired by all who are converfant with the Galic language. The tranflation of the poems now publifhed confifts of the following: Morduth, an ancient heroic poem in three books, the Chief of Scarlaw, the Chief of Feyglen, the Cave of Creyla, Colmala and Orwi, the Old Bard's Wish, Duchoil's Elegy, Sulvina's Elegy, Oran-Molla, the Words of Woe, the Approach of Summer, the Ancient Chief.

That our readers may be furnished with a fpecimen, we fhall lay before them the poem of Colmala and Orwi, not for poffeffing any merit fuperior to the others, but as being the leaft incumbered with notes.

• Why

Why does the tear of woe trickle down the wrinkled cheek of Chrimor?-Often has the stranger feafted in his hall; when the hell of mirth went round, and bards fung the warriors of other days. His friends are many in other lands, but mournful is the chief. His mighty fon fleeps among the waves, and the foul of the aged is fad.

Colmala and Orwi, the maids of the hill of hinds, were clothed with loveliness: the locks of their beauty flew on the wings of the wind. White was the heaving of two fair bofoms behind their polifhed bows. Often had they led their father's hounds to the chace; for the old hero fat lonely in his hall, and mourned the fall of all his fons.

Many warriors followed the daughters of beauty to the chace, and poured forth their fighs in fecret. But warriors fighed in vain; for one was their love, and ftately was he! the mighty fon of Chrimor. The friendly beams of both their foft eyes were towards the hunter; but fixed was his love on Colmala, the maid of the raven locks.

Daughter of my father, faid Orwi, thou love of Fergus! death is at my heart. I feel it there, my friend.-Wilt thou raise a tomb o'er the unhappy? My father is old, and thou art the choice of my hunter. He will, perhaps, aid thee, and give a ftone. So fhall Orwi fleep in peace; nor fhall her pale ghoft wander among the clouds of ftormy night, when the north pours its frozen venom on the lifeless plains.

Alas! Orwi, thou fifter of my love, why fo pale ?—What fhall Colmala do, to draw death from thy bofom ?-Thou must not fall in the ftrength of thy beauty, thou graceful bearer of the bow!

• But foon fhall I ceafe to bear the bow.-My life is in the mountain-afh, that rears its lofty head on fea-furrounded Tonmore *. The crimson fruit of the red-haired tree is in bloom. One branch would fave the life of Orwi :--but no hunter is her's, and the fons of little men fhun the isle of death with horror :no brother of love to raise his white fails, and bring life to Orwi over the waves. I fall unheeded on the plain: raise the tomb of the unhappy, thou fifter of Orwi!

Tonn-inor, the isle of great waves, is faid to have been one of the Orcades, then in the poffeffion of the Norwegians. The inhabitants had been told by their bards, that, if strangers faw the beautiful berries of their mountain-afh, they would thereby be tempted to invade their country; and, with a pretenfion to foreknowledge peculiar to the times, affured them, that, if a branch of it was carried from their ifland, they fhould be no longer a peòple. The populace, always liable to be deceived, and ever ready to enlift under the banner of fuperftition, faw clearly the propriety of this prediction; and, in the heat of enthufiaftical zeal, took precautions against it in a more auftere manner, than perhaps the bards at first intended, by killing every stranger who came to the inland,'

• Yes,

Yes, Orwi! thy tomb fhall rife:-but the son of thy fon fhall raise it. A red haired branch of the mountain-afh fhall travel over many feas to the maid of the yellow locks. Fergus lifts the fpear of the mighty; and he will bring it from the inle of death.

Colmala bore the groans of Orwi to the youth of her love, He fighed for the fickly maid :-he called his warriors from his hundred glens. The fons of battle grafped their maffy fwords. He rushed in the ftrength of his dark fhips into the blue plains of ocean; and raised the fpreading wings of his fpeed before the wind. Many feas he paffed; and the joy of his foul was great when the ifle of Tonmore rofe on the top of the waves.

Whence is the fpeed of the ftrangers, faid Anver, the gloomy

chief of Tonmore?

From Innif-gaul*, the land of many ifles, we come.-A mountain-afh bends over thy rocks: the fame of the red haired plant has travelled over many feas. The life of a virgin is in the tafle of the crimfon fruit. Yield a branch to the maid of woe, thou chief of Tonmore; and the mighty fhall be thy friends in the woody ftraths of Albin,

In vain have ye paffed o'er many feas, the fons of Innif gaul! Did the ftrength of all your land appear, the ftrength of all your land were in vain. No branch of the facred tree fhaH ever travel to the land of ftrangers. Unhappy are they who afk it :-never more fhall they return to the hall of their fathers, Unhappy are ye, fons of the fea; for never more fhall ye raife your white wings of fpeed.-Bring my fword of the heavy wounds.

Gather my warriors with their fpears of ftrength.-Raise the fign of death on Luman. Let the fons of the trangers fall in their blood.

6

Fergus raised his terrible voice; nor filent flood the rocks of Tonmore. They forefaw the death of their people, and the figh of woe iffued from the hardest flint,-But pleasant are the words of the chief to the rifing wrath of his faithful warriors.

Ye have heard the words of the furly. My friends! we are in the land of death. Shall we fink like the harmless roe before the spear of the hunter? Shall we fall like the tender lily of the vale before the blaft of the north ?-Yes, my friends, we may fall but the aged chief of Strathmore fhall not blush for his people.

Then Fergus raised his boffy shield, and fhook his spear of death His warriors gathered around, like a rock that ga thers ftrength to meet the ftorm. The fons of Tonmore fell in blood. The fpear of Fergus was a meteor of death. The furly

• Innis ghaull, the islands of strangers. The western ifles are, at this day, known by that name in the Galic. The ftrangers here alluded to, are the Danes, who appear to have been in poffeffion of thefe ifles for fome centuries.*

T

king fhrunk from its wrath.-Fly to thy gloomy hall, thou leader of the feeble! Fergus fcorns thy death;-it would darken, his battles.

The chief of Tonmore is overcome, and bound: his people are difperfed. The mountain-afh falls on the plains of death. Ten warriors bear it to the dark fhips of Fergus. He raised his wings of fpeed. The wind came from the north but it came in wrath, and aroused the sable furges from their fullen deep.

The tear of the cloud flies on the blaft: waves rear their green heads to meet it. The fire of heaven darts over the waves. The battle of ghosts are in the sky. Liquid mountains raise their white locks before the wrath of the ftorm: brown rocks gather ftrength to meet them. Proud billows spend their rage on the cliffy fhore: their retiring groans are terrible. The peafant hears it, and rejoices in his fafety. The ftag starts by times from his heathy couch. The eagle dreams of his fluttering prey. The cropers of the flowery field are half awake. The droufy eye lids of the feathered flock are open. Half-extended, wings lean on the wind:-The dread of furrounding gloom prevents their flight.

The wearied ftorm now makes a pause. Clouds lean their empty breasts on the mountains. Winds ceafe to roar, and trees to bend beneath their fury. The breath of night is filent. The waving heath now fleeps in peace, or trembles before the intermitting breeze.

• The moon looks forth from the fkirts of a dark cloud: the tear of the lovely glitters in the beam. Colmala mourns on the fhore of the isle of oaks. Her long fhadow wanders from rock to rock. Her raven-hair fighs in the gale: her variegated garment flutters in the wind.-Two black eyes roll in forrow o'er the foaming deep; but the floating oak of her lover mounts not the rifing billows.

Blaft followed blaft. Cloud rolled on cloud. Star after star went to reft in the weft. But no bold prow came cleaving the face of the deep.-A hundred times fancy faw the bark; a hundred times it proved a furge of ocean.

A

A fail at last reared its nodding head before the moon. fhadow rolls from wave to wave. Stars are hid behind its folds. A freshning gale fwelled the fail, and added to its speed.-The tear of the virgin ceased. A beam of joy rushed on her foul.She bleffed the ftrength of the oak.

A threatening rock raifed its dark head: the furious waves are repelled. The wind is behind the bark: the rock meets it in wrath,-The fails nods no more.-A hundred fcreams are heard.-Colmala re-echoed the found. Her piercing cries rend the air her white bofom meets the flood. The lover can receive no aid; nor will the maid furvive him: Sea-wolves tear. her beauteous limbs :- her ghoft rushed through the flood. Two dim forms rofe from a wave; they mount a mifty cloud.

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Often