a brisk fire until the feathers are burnt off, when it is ready for eating in their tafte. They never drink water; only cocoa-nut milk, and a liquor calfed foura, which oozes from the cocoa-nut tree after cutting off the young fprouts or flowers. This they fuffer to ferment before it is ufed, and then it is intoxicating, to which quality they add much by their method of drinking it, by fucking it flowly through a fmall ftraw. After eating, the young men and women who are fancifully dreffed with leaves, go to dancing, and the old people furround them fmoaking tobacco and drinking foura. The dancers, while perform ing, fing fome of their tunes, which are far from wanting harmony, and to which they keep exact time. Of mufical inftruments they have only one kind, and that the fimpleft. It is a hollow bamboo, about two feet and a half long, and three inches in,diameter, along the outside of which there is ftretched from end to end a fingle ftring made of the threads of a split cane, and the place under the ftring is hollowed a little to prevent it from touching. This inftrument is played upon in the fame manner as a guitar. It is capable of producing but few notes; the performer, however, makes it fpeak harmoniously, and generally accompanies it with the voice. What they know of phyfic is small and fimple. I had once occafion to fee an operation in furgery performed on the toe of a young girl who had been ftung by a fcorpion or centipes. The wound was attended with a confiderable fwelling, and the little patient feemed in great pain. One of the natives produced the under jaw of a fmall fith, which was long, and planted with two rows of teeth as fharp as needles taking this in one hand, and a fmall ftick by way of hammer in the other, he ftruck the teeth three or four times into the fwelling, and made it bleed freely; the toe was then bound up with certain leaves, and next day the child was running about perfectly well. Their houfes are generally built upon the beach, in villages of fifteen or twenty houfes each; and each houfe contains a family of twenty perfons and upwards. Thefe habitations are raifed upon wooden pillars about ten feet from the ground; they are round, and, having no windows, look like bee-hives covered with thatch. The entry is through a trap door below, where the family mount by a ladder, which is drawn up at night. This manner of building is intended to fecure the houfes from being infefted with fnakes and rats, and for that purpose the pillars are bound round with a fmooth kind of leaf, which prevents animals from being able to mount; befides which, each pillar has a broad round flat piece of wood near the top of it, the projecting of which effectually prevents the further progrefs of fuch vermin as may have paffed the leaf. The flooringis made with thin Itrips of bamboos, laid at fuch diftances from one another, as to leave free admiflion for light and air, and the infide is neatly finifhed, and decorated with fishing lances, nets, &c. The art of making cloth of any kind is quite unknown to the inhabitants of this ifland; what they have is got from the fhips that come to trade in cocoa-nuts. In exchange for their nuts (which are reckoned the fineft in this part of India) they will accept of but few articles; what they chiefly wish for is cloth of different colours,hatchets and hanger blades, which they ufe in cutting down the nuts. Tobacco and arak they are very fond of, but expect thefe in prefents. They have no money of their own, nor will they allow any value to the coin of other countries, further than as they happen to fancy them for ornaments; the young women fometimes hanging ftrings of dollars about their necks. However, they are good judges of gold gold and filver, and it is no eafy matter to impose bafer metals upon them as fuch. They purchase a much larger quan tity of cloth than is confumed upon their own land. This is intended for the Choury market. Choury is a fmall island to the fouthward of theirs, to which a large fleet of their boats fails every year about the month of November, to exchange cloth for canoes, for they cannot make thefe themselves. This voyage they perform by the help of the fun and ftars, for they know nothing of the compaís. In their difpofition there are two remarkable qualities. One is, their entire neglect of compliment and ceremony; and the other, their averfion to difhonefty. A Carnicobarian travelling to a diftant village upon bufinefs or amufement, paffes through many towns in his way without perhaps fpeaking to any one; if he is hungry or tired, he goes up into the nearest houfe, and helps himself to what he wants, and fits till he is refted, without taking the fmalleft notice of any of the family, unless he has business or news to communicate, Theft or robbery is fo rare amongst them, that a man going out of his houfe never takes away his ladder, or fhuts his door, but leaves it open for any body to enter that pleafes, without the leaft apprehenfion of having any thing ftolen from him. Their intercourfe with strangers is fo frequent, that they have acquired in general the barbarous Portuguese fo common over India. Their own language has a found quite different from most others, their words being pronounced with a kind of stop, or catch in the throat at every fyllable. The few following words will ferve to fhew those who are acquainted with other Indian languages, whether there is any fimilitude between them. They have no notion of a God, but they believe firmly in the Devil, and worship him from fear. In every village there is a high pole erected, with long ftrings of ground-rattans hanging from it, which, it is faid, has the virtue to keep him at a diltance. When they fee any figns of an approaching ftorm, they imagine that the Devil intends them a visit, upon which many fuperftitious ceremonies are performed. The people of every village march round their own boundaries, and fix up at different distances small sticks fplit at the top, into which split they put a piece of cocoa-uut, a wifp of tobacco, and the leaf of a certain plant: whether this is meant as a peace offering to the Devil, or a fcarecrow to frighten him away, does not appear. When a man dies, all his liveftock, cloth, hatchets, fifhing-lances, and in fhort every moveable thing he poffeffed, is buried with him, and his death is mourned by the whole village. In one view: this is an excellent custom, feeing it prevents all difputes about the property of the deceafed among ft his relations. His wife muft conform to custom by having a joint cut off from one of her Zz2 fingers fingers; and, if the refufes this, fhe muft fubmit to have a deep notch cut in one of the pillars of her house. Polygamy is not known among them; and their punishment of adul tery is not lefs fevere than effectual. They cut from the man's offending member a piece of the forefkin propor tioned to the frequent commiffion or enormity of the crine. There feems to fubfift among them a perfect equality. A few perfons, from their age, have a little more refpect paid to them; but there is no appearance of authority one over another. Their fociety feems bound rather by mutual obligations continually conferred and received; the fimpleft and beft of all ties. I was once prefent at the funeral of an old woman. When we went into the houfe, which had belonged to the deceafed, we found it full of her female relations; fome of them were employed in wrapping up the corpfe in leaves and cloth which had belonged to her. In another houfe hard by, the men of the village, with a great many others from the neigh bouring towns, were fitting drinking foura and fmoaking tobacco. In the mean time two ftout young fellows were bufy digging a grave in the fand The inhabitants of the Andamans near the houfe. When the women are faid to be Cannibals. The peo-. had done with the corpfe, they fet up ple of Carnicobar have a tradition aa moft hideous howl, upon which the mong them, that several canoes came people began to affemble round the from Andaman many years ago, and grave, and four men went up into the that the crews were all armed, and houfe to bring down the body; in do- committed great depredations, and ing this, they were much interrupted killed feveral of the Nicobarians. It by a young man, fon to the deceased, appears at first remarkable, that there who endeavoured with all his might thould be fuch a wide difference be to prevent them, but finding it in vain, tween the manners of the inhabitants he clung round the body, and was car of iflands fo near to one another; the ried to the grave along with it: there, Andamans being favage Cannibals, and after a violent struggle, he was turned the others the moft harmlets inoffenaway and conducted back to the five people poffible. But it is accounthoufe. The corpfe being now put in-ed for by the following hiftorical anecto the grave, and the lafhings which dote, which, I have been affured, is Lound the legs and arms cut, all the matter of fact. Shortly after the Porlive flock which had been the proper- tuguefe had difcovered the paffage to ty of the deceafed, confifting of about India round the Cape of Good Hope, half-a-dozen hogs, and as many fowls, one of their fhips, on board of which was killed, and flung in above it: a was a number of Mozambique negroes, man then approached with a bunch of was loft on the Andaman iflands, leaves fuck upon the end of a pole, which were till then uninhabited. The which he fwept two or three times blacks remained in the ifland and settlgently along the corpfe, and then the ed it: the Europeans made a small grave was filled up. During the ce- fhallop, in which they failed to Pegu. remony, the women continued to make On the other hand, the Nicobar islands the moft horrible vocal concert ima- were peopled from the oppofite main ginable the men faid nothing. A few and the coaft of Pegu; in proof of days afterwards, a kind of morument which the Nicobar and Pegu languawas erected over, the grave, with a poleges are faid, by thofe acquainted with upon it, to which long ftrips of cloth the latter, to have much refemblance. f different colours were hung. Account Account of the Officers and Government of New-Foreft in Hampshire *. WITH regard to the fituation and boundaries of this extenfive foreft, it occupies the southwest extre mity of Hampshire; and in its earlier form was a kind of peninfula, bounded by the bay of Southampton on the caft by the river Avon on the weft and on the fouth, by the channel of the Ifle of Wight, as far as the Needles; and to the well of those rocks by the ocean. Thus the boun daries of New-forest were determined by the natural lines of the country. This tract of wood-land was originally made a foreft by William I. in the year 1979, about thirteen years after the battle of Haftings; and is indeed the only foreft in England, whofe origin can be traced. It took the denomination of New-foreft from its being an addition to the many forefts, which the crown already poffeffed; and which had formerly been appropriated in feudal times. The original pame of this tract of country was Ytene. The government of New-foreft is, at this time, nearly what it originally was, excepting only that the abolition of foreft-law hath reftrained the power of its officers. The chief officer belonging to it is the Lord-warden, who is generally fome perfon of great diftinction. The prefent Lord warden is the Duke of Glocefter. -Under him are two diftinct appointments of officers; the one to preferve the venifon of the foreft; and the other to preferve its vert. The former term, in the language of foreft-law, includes all fpecies of game: the latter refpects the woods, and lawns, which harbour, and feed them. Of thofe officers who fuperintend the game, are, first, the two rangers. But the office of ranger, as 365 well as that of bow-bearer, and a few at others, have been long in disuse: leaft they feem to be delegated to the keepers of thefe there are fifteeen; who prefide over as many walks, into which the foreft is divided. In each walk is erected a lodge. A few of thefe lodges are elegant manfions; and are the habitations of the keepers, who are generally men of fashion, or fortune. Prince William of Glocefter has one; the Duke of Bolton another; and Lord Delawar a third; but in general, the lodges are but mo derate buildings; and are inhabited by the under keepers, or groom-keepers, as they are called; on whom the executive part of the keeper's office devalves. The under-keeper feeds the deer in winter-browzes them in fummerknows where to find a fat buck-ex-` ecutes the king's warrants for venifon prefents offences in the foreft-courts and prevents the deftruction of game. In this laft article his virtue is chiefly fhown; and to this purpose the memory of every found keeper: fhould be furnished with this cabaliltic verse, Stable-stand; It implies the feveral circumftances, in which offenders may be taken with the manner, as it is phrafed. If a man be found armed, and stationed in fome fufpicious part of the foreft-or if he be found with a dog purfuing a ftricken deer-or if he be found carrying a dead deer on his backor, laftly, if he be found bloody in the foreit; he is, in all thefe cafes, feizable; though the fact of killing a deer cannot be proved upon him. The under-keeper From Gilpin's Remarks on Foreft Scenery. 1 under-keeper alfo drives the foreft; that is he annually impounds all the cattle that pafture in his walk; and fees them examined, and properly marked. With regard to the woods of the foreft, which were orginally confidered only as they refpected game, the first officer, under the lord-warden, is the woodward. It is his bufinefs, as his title denotes, to infpect the woods. He prevents wafte-he fees that young trees are properly fenced -and he affigns timber for the payment of foreft-officers. This timber is fold by auction at the court at Lyndhurft; and annually amounts to about feven hundred pounds, which is the fum required. Under the woodward are twelve regarders; and to thefe indeed chiefly is delegated the executive part of his office. The regarders feize the hedgebills, and axes of trefpaffers; prefent offences in the foreft courts; and aflign fuch timber as is claimed by the inhabitants, and borderers of the fo. reft, for feuel, and repairs. Of this inferior wood, there are great quantities affigned, on every fide of the foreft. I can only fpeak of my own affignment, as vicar of Boldre, which is annually twelve load. Befides thefe officers, who are in effect the officers of the crown, as they are appointed by the lord-warden, there are four others, called verderors, who are commonly gentlemen of property and intereft in the neighbourhood, and are elected, like the knights of the fhire, by the freeholders of the county. Thefe officers, fince the jufticiary-in-eyre has been a finecure, are the only judges of the foreftcourts. The Verderor is an ancient foreft officer. His name occurs in the earliest account of foreft-law, But though his appointment has at prefent a democratical cait, it is probable that he was formerly a royal off. cer, and that his election by the freeholders of the county was extort ed from the crown in fome period fa vourable to liberty. As New-foreft was always confidered as the great magazine of navy timber, the verde rors were impowered by an Act of Par, liament in King William's time, toọ fine delinquents to the amount of five pounds in their attachment-courts; whereas in all the other forefts of England, the fine does not amount to more than a few pence, which was the original amerfement. The ver deror is an officer without falary: but by ancient cuftom he was entitled to courfe, and take what deer he pleafed, in his way to the foreft-court: but this privilege is now compounded by an annual fee of a buck and a doc. Befides thefe ancient officers of the foreft, there is one of later inftitution, fince timber became valuable as a material. He is called the purveyor, and is appointed by the commiffioner of the dock at Portsmouth. His bufifinefs is to affign timber for the use of the navy. The origin of the purveyor is not earlier than the reign of Charles II. in whofe time five hundred oaks, and fifty beeches were annually affigned for the king's yards; and this officer was appointed to affign them, But it being found, that the foreft could ill fupply fo large a quantity of oak, instead of five hundred, the number was afterwards reduced to fixty; which, together with fifty beeches, are ftill annually affigned. The puryeyor has a fallary of fifty pounds a year; and fix and eightpence a day, when on duty. I fhall conclude this account of the officers of the foreft with the fingular. character of one of them, who lived in the times of James and Charles I. It is preferved in Hutchin's Hiftory of Dorfetfhire, The name of this memorable sportsman, for in that character alone he was confpicuous, was Henry Haftings. He was fecond fon to the Earl o Huntingdon, and inherited a good eftate in Dorfetfhire from his mother Ha |