activity and presence of mind of the experienced an odour peculiarly of captain, along with the exertions offensive, and at first we could not disthe officers and men, the ship was tinguish the objects around us, from got through the ice, and was safe in the cloud of smoke. open water by half past ten, P. M. According to the method of salutation in Iceland, the captain was received by a kiss on the back of the hand, and afterwards on the cheek. The family was composed of a very cheerful middle-aged woman, an elder "Before leaving the ice, we laid in a supply of excellent fresh water, collected from different pools of water,|| formed on the flows, the purity and coolness of which were surprising; it afforded to the thirsty sailor a mostly, active, cheerful man, a middle-aged refreshing beverage. On the morning of the 3d of August, agreeably to the captain's reckoning, the island of Iceland came into view. The mountains reared their lofty heads far above the clouds. By 12noon, the fog having partly cleared away, the land was seen distinctly, and by the assistance of the telescope, men, cottages, and cattle were distinguished; as we were not acquainted with our situation, the sounding line was used to ascertain the depth of the water, which was from 30 to 18 fathoms within a mile of the shore; latitude by observation 66 deg. 29 min. north. At 6 P. M. after tea, preparations were made for going on shore; accordingly, at 20 minutes before 7, a boat was manned, and we rowed towards the land; as we approached the coast, the inhabitants of the place stood gazing with astonishment, but upon a signal being made to them with our hats, they ran down to the sea edge and received us; we went to their cottage, or rather hut, and were showed every attention. The hut was composed, outwardly, of several houses in the shape of a cross, which, inwardly, all communicated, forming a variety of apartments. On the left wing the fire was placed in the middle of the floor; around it were stationed sheepskins in the form of a couch; the fuel was composed of wood, and the smoke escaped by a hole in the roof; many sea-fowls' were suspended in the smoke, and a number seemed ready cooked in a wooden vessel near the fire; there were likewise a quantity of cods' livers, from which they extracted oil. On entering, we man of rather a gloomy countenance, a sturdy boy and girl, with two or three children. The hostess on our arrival was churning, and we had a copious draught of milk. The hut was surrounded by a green fertile space of ground, on which were several small wharehouses, containing implements, wool, sea-birds, and dried fish, &c.; and lambs, sheep, a horse and cow, were feeding in the neighbourhood; they did not appear to differ much in appearnce from those of Great Britian. The sheep were of the small breed, and were very tame and docile. The captain bartered with them for a sheep and lamb. It was surprizing that a number of the words of their language resembled our's in sound, on which account, and by the use of signs, we understood one another wonder fully well. We were an hour on shore. The coast was very bold, and the land assumed a hilly and rugged form immediately above the huts, which were situated a short way above the water edge. On the face of the hill were discovered quantities of the vesicular lava, specimens of which the captain took on board. Soon after our arrival on board the ship, a boat came alongside with the sheep and lamb : the woman, two men, and boy, composed the crew; they supped with us in the cabin, where a bartering took place for stockings, mittens, &c. The hostess got a pint-bottle filled with rum, which she hugged and pushed into her bosom. The gratitude they showed can scarcely be expressed. From the above account, a proper idea cannot be formed of the Iceland ers in general, as the family we visited were far removed from society, living on a neck or promontory of land, jutting into the ocean; on this account they had a wild, uncultivated appearance; but uncultivated as they were, with few or no opportunities of improvement, they would have put many of the inhabitants of Britian to the blush, by their being capable of writing their own names, which they did before leaving the ship. The part of Iceland on which we landed, is named Langaness; its relative situation is delineated in a map in Dr. Henderson's interesting work on Iceland. On our passage home, we experienced many gales of wind, accompanied with a heavy sea; the cabin was inundated by the waves breaking through the stern windows, which made it necessary, for security, to put in dead lights. On the 11th of August, we sailed within two miles of one of the Faroe Islands; (lat. by account, 62 deg. 10 m. N;) the coast was bold, very rugged and rocky, and was elevated at least 1000 feet above the level of the sea. Thomas Harrison, a most exemplary man, and excellent artist: he fell overboard into the wide Atlantic, when the rate of sailing was seven knots an hour. The ship was immediately hove to, and a boat despatched; but before the crew had pulled to the spot, he had sunk to rise no more. A subscription was made for his widow on board the ship. By inserting the above remarks, you will much oblige your obedient humble servant. N. MISCELLANEOUS. FOR THE MASONIC REGISTER. MEMORY. There is, perhaps, no stronger proof of the immortality of the soul, than its capacity to retrace its steps through all the various periods of its existence. In this respect the mind must be astonished at her own powers; she finds her capacity enlarged, and views herself no longer as the creature of a day, but measures her duration by eternity. The "years that have gone" roll before her, and the future bursts upon her view, the fetters of clay are bro On the 15th the gale was violent, and the surrounding ocean, during midnight, presented to the eye a most sublime spectacle, although accompanied with feelings of dread; the billows roll-ken by the hand of imagination, whilst ed mountains high; their tops curled into foam, which glittered through the darkness of the scene. "Before leaving the ice, Thomas Page, harpooner, secured four young bears, and brought them on board, after laming the mothers in their defence their attachment to their offspring is very strong. Two of the cubs died on the passage, the remaining two arrived safe in Queen's Dock, Liverpool, on the 23d of August, and next day were led from the ship to the oil-yard, along the streets, amidst hundreds of spectators. They were very savage, and before their removal from the deck two sailors felt the effects of their fury. "We had the misfortune, on the passage out, to lose our carpenter, memory bespeaks the soul of "subtler essence than the trodden clod." That sensibility also, which warns us of error, and inclines us to fly its approach, springs up from the luxuriant soil of memory; a soil in which every weed that poisons the cup of mortal felicity, grows almost spontaneous it is here we must look for those "roots of bitterness," hatred, envy, jealousy, revenge, which like the far-fam'd Upas, spread their withering influence around, and render our hearts a barren and flinty desert. And here too are to be found, if found at all, those ever-blooming flowers of virtue, whose fragrance cheers the bed of death, the couch of him "Whose yesterdays look backward with a smile." With what delight the soul springs forward for the prize of bliss, when urged by the recollection of those we loved, who have gone before us, but whom we expect so soon to meet never to part again. Here indeed, our eyes are often blinded by prejudice, and though the fire of love and friendship may be kindled in our bosoms, the cold rains of adversity in some measure quench the spark which Heaven designed should burn forever. The idea of our importance in the scale of existence, because we are rich, like the difference of CASTS in India, bursts through the barriers that Christianity presents, and bears us in imagination above those of our fellow travellers on the great journey of life, but who move "along its cool sequestered vale." But how sweet it must be to him who has borne "the rich man's scorn," to think of meeting even those who from erroneous views have treated him with contempt, in a world where they shall acknowledge him their equal. How then will memory enhance the pleasures of those peaceful shores! With what emotions will the good man look back upon the ocean of time through which he so lately passed, but whose storms are hushed forever! EUGENIUS. FOR THE MASONIC REGISTER. It is a litigated point among some sectarians, whether we ought or ought not to give way to mirthful emotions. The one contending with philosophical gravity that Heaven designed we should laugh, or it would not have given the power. Nay, proving from history too, that many a great man was born laughing. (Though by the by I think it no laughing matter to be born into such a world as this.) However, after all that has been said by Democritus, or Heraclitus, and ten thousand others, I confess I am no nearer being convinced on the subject; but if there is any thing that can ex cite mirth it must be the folly of such disputes. And this brings to mind a circumstance with which I became acquainted while in Connecticut. A gentleman of some respectability had separated from his wife, and the cause of it was as follows: his wife one morning had stuffed a pig with an in-. tention of baking it, and was proceeding to put it into the oven "head foremost;" but he taking a whim to be contrary, insisted that the pig should enter in reversed order: and the wife, seeing the injustice of the case, determined on carrying her point; I need not say that the pig escaped" a roasting." And from that time till they parted, which was not long after, this became the order, or rather the disorder of the day, the wife in all cases taking the pig by the head and he by the tail! ORIGIN OF THE SAADIS. A. The people anciently called Psylli, who supposed themselves possessed of the power of fascinating, commanding, and eating serpents, and of curing their bites, are still existing in Egypt. They are called Saadis, from the name of their founder, a saint highly venerated by the Egyptian mussulmen. Saint Saadie was the nephew of a wealthy man in Syria, who sent him one day into the wilderness to procure a bundle of sticks; when the young man had collected sufficient fuel to form a faggot, he was at a loss for a band to tie it up, but after some consideration, he came to a resolution of knotting several serpents together to form a band, and with this living cord he carefully bound up his sticks. The uncle, charmed with the ingenuity of his nephew, said to him, "Go about your business, for you know more than I do, and are adequate to the task of making your way in the world." Taking the hint, the ingenious youth travelled over several countries, charming serpents by his supernatural skill, till he acquired a great number of disciples, to many of whom he communicated his art. His tomb, in the neighbourhood of Damascus, is full of serpents and other venomous creatures, among which any person may lie down and repose in perfect safety. Such is the superstitions origin ascribed to this extraordinary sect, each individual of which ventures boldly to affirm, that he inherits the skill and properties of the founder. His festival is annually celebrated; each of the sect, during the procession, walking with a live serpent in his hand, which he gnaws, bites, and swallows as he passes, accompanied with the most horrid grimaces and contortions. M. Sonnini, however, could not see this festival, it being only celebrated in the summer, and it was winter when that gentleman was at Rosetta; but his curiosity being excited by the subject, gently on his back, raised him from the ground, and recited some prayers, when his agitations gradually subsided, and he sunk into a state of complete lassitude. FROM THE HAVERHILL GAZETTE. AN INTERESTING ANECDOTE. The following interesting incident, extracted from the correspondence of the British and Foreign Bible Society, will serve, in some measure, to show the extreme solicitude frequently manifested by the Russian peasantry, for procuring the Holy Scriptures, and the unfeigned gratitude with which they receive them. "It is customary, on the eves of the great feasts in the Greek Church, to read the Acts of the Apostles to the people who are assembled in the churches. A young woman had re he prevailed on one of the sect to in-cently gone as usual, and walking up dulge him with the exhibition of his art in his own apartment. The priest brought in his bosom a large serpent, of a dusky green and copper colour, which he was continually handling; and, after having recited a prayer, presented it to the Saadi, who seized it with an anxious hand; the teeth of the reptile had been extracted, but it was very lively; and on its entwining itself round his arm, his countenance changed, his eyes rolled, and he uttered the most piercing cries; he then bit the serpent in the head, and tore off a morsel, which he instantly chewed and swallowed. On this his agitation became convulsive, his mouth foamed, and his countenance assumed the features of insanity, while he occasionally devoured fresh pieces of the animal. Three men endeavoured to hold him, but in vain; he dragged them round the room with violence. At length the priest took the serpent from him; but his convulsions and insanity did not immediately forsake him, he bit his hands, and his fury continued. The priest then clasped him in his arms, put his hand and down, happened, as she passed the reader, to hear something that arrested her attention. She listened, and the more she heard, the more did she feel interested, and was chained to the spot till the reading of the Scriptures was finished. "The following day, she went to the priest, and expressed her earnest desire to be permitted to read the book which she had beard read the preceding evening in Church. He immediately took down one of the Society's New Testaments, and beginning to read the portion of Scripture she had heard in the public service; "Yes," she exclaimed, "these are the very words." She was now almost in an ecstacy, and taking the New Testament home with her she sat up two whole nights, in order to read through the Acts of the Apostles. On returning the New Testament, she could not sufficiently extol it, but delivered it into the hands of the priest, with downcast looks, and a strong degree of reluctance, which plainly intimated that she would have kept the volume if she durst. You may conceive what was her joy when she was presented || with the treasure she so highly prized." RARE BOOK. Dr. Sims, late of Bath, bequeathed the celebrated volume of Servetus, entitled, Christianismi Restitutis, to Dr. Sigmond. "The fate of this book," says our informant, " has been not a little singular. All the other copies were burned, together with the author, by the implacable Calvin. This copy was secreted and saved by D. Celadon, one of the Judges. After passing through the library of the Landgrave to Hesse Cassel, it came into the hands of Dr. Mead, who endeavoured to give a quarto edition; but, on the 17th of May 1723, at the instance of Dr. Gibson, bishop of London, the copies, not half completed, were seized by John Kent, messenger of the press, and William Squire, messenger in ordinary, and were burnt with the exception of a few. The late Duke de Valiere gave near 400 guineas for this volume. At his sale it was purchased for 2810 livres. It contains the first account of the circulation of the blood, above 70 years before the immortal Harvey published his discovery, and the theory of John will tell you therefore what you must do: at the beginning of the night bring a chair adorned as usual, with good strong porters, make as little noise as you can, and be ready at the door; she that will appear with a mourning head-dress is my sister; say never a word to her, nor hearken to what she says, but take her about the middle, force her into the chair, and conduct her to your bark as soon as you can. This expedient pleased the merchant, and the execution of the project seemed easy. In the mean time Liu-Pao returned home, and that his sister-in-law might have no suspicion of his design, he took no notice of any thing while she was by; but as soon as she was withdrawn he made his wife a confident in the project, and told her of the trick he was going to play; it is necessary, said he, that this two-legged merchandise should be taken away this night, of which I have not the least reason to doubt however, I am not willing to be present at the transaction, so that I will be absent for some time; but it is necessary that you should know that as soon as night appears there will come a considerable crowd to our door, and 'will take her away in a chair. He was going to proceed, when he was suddenly stopped by the noise that Hunter, at this day a subject of philo-he heard: it was his sister-in-law that sophic inquiry. The life is in the blood is distinctly advanced and defended, upon the very grounds it is at present supported. The Latin in which it is written is pure and elegant, and was published in the year 1553." passed near the window of the room; at which Liu-Pao went hastily out at another door, insomuch that he had not time to add the circumstance of the mourning head-dress: it was doubtless by the particular direction of Heaven that this circumstance was omitted. Quang readily perceived that the noise she made at the window had obliged Liu-Pao to break off his discourse abruptly: the tone of his voice plain AN INTERESTING ORIENTAL TALE (Concluded from page 152.) When Liu-Pao had received the sum, I ought to acquaint you, said hely showed that he had still something to the merchant, that my sister-in-law is proud, haughty, and a great lover of formality; she will make a great many difficulties when she is to leave the house, and you will have some trouble to bring her to a resolution; I more to say, but she had heard enough: for finding by his air when he entered the room that he had some secret to communicate to his wife, she pretended to withdraw, and listening secretly at the window heard these words dis |