ward, and following the example of his entertainers, he throws his horse's bridle to an attendant, dismounts, and then strolls with the whole party up to the immense sheds scattered about the place to see oxen dragged out of the corrals beside them, with a lazo, and knives stuck into their brains and throats by half naked men, up to their very knees in gore and entrails; the crimson liquid flowing about in one continuous stream, the fumes of reeking palpitating flesh hovering about in fetid stifling exhalations; and our traveller looks with perfect bewilderment upon the faces of his fair companions, which are one and all animated by the amusement they experience in the contemplation of what is considered one of the favourite diversions of the country-the slaying of cattle. It is true, the delicately-formed young creature upon our traveller's arm does once utter an audible scream, but it is not one of horror, but of affright. The blood of the poor bullock, floundering about in its dying agonies within two yards of her, has spirted out, and well nigh bespattered her muslin gown.

Besides the hideous spectacle of the slaughtering sheds, numerous men, called peons (for the Gaucho disdains catching or killing any animal except on the open plain), are to be seen galloping about the ground in every direction, amidst the bones and pigs, in pursuit of refractory heifers, which, fresh from their native pastures, are too wild and active to be driven into the fatal corral, and are cut down with knives by their pursuers, who generally contrive to throw themselves half out of the saddle and hamstring their victim, which crawls along upon its hind stumps until a favourable moment presents itself for sticking the knife into its brain, which is often accomplished by springing upon its back.

Completely aghast is our traveller, however, when, on approaching a small house in the very centre of this second golgotha, and belonging to the head of the establishment, he finds that it is there he is to banquet, there his rustic, rural, romantic dreams are to be fulfilled! Previous to the signal being given for the attack upon the eatables, however, the saladero's gate again groans on its hinges, and gives admittance to the most singular cavalcade possible to conceive, which threads its way amidst the dead and dying, up to the door of the festive hall. It consists of a huge vehicle, about the size of an omnibus, and of very similar construction, painted panels, wheels and all of the brightest crimson, with four skinny horses, and a soldier, also entirely in crimson, upon each; the harness, consisting of a single trace, fastened to the saddle girths. A number of soldiers and mounted attendants accompany this strange equipage, which belongs to the governor, and contains a party of fashionables from the town, which is to join forces with that of our traveller, and mingle in the festivities.

And now glasses jingle, and plates ring, and knives and forks ply merrily, and our traveller strives to forget the horrible scene without, and resolutely averts his gaze from the window, and the ladies are, as ever, all affability to him, and he comes in for many a tit bit from their plates, popped into his extended jaws with their own fork by the fair divinities themselves, an ancient and time-honoured Castilian custom; and then music is proposed, and guitars are produced from out of the red carriage, and the sweet national airs of Andalusia mingle their plaintive strains with the agonized bellowing of the wretched mangled beasts before the door, and some of the party mount up upon the azotea of the house, to enjoy an uninterrupted view of the doings

beneath, or to "trip it upon the light fantastic toe," and execute a literal "Dance of death," whilst others take another peep into the sheds, a stroll among the carcases, or a little promenade in an adjoining enclosure, nearly covered with hides stretched out to dry, and surrounded by immense buildings appropriated to the burning of bones and melting of fat. But "time and tide wait for no man ;" the most delectable day must have an end, and the crimson coach is at length repacked, and steeds are again led forth and mounted. Previous to re-entering the city, however, our party makes a circuit, in order to visit the spot where a small river flows into the Plate, and which is denominated the Boca. It is here the hide and tallow boats take in their cargoes for conveyance to the coasting or foreign vessels in the roads.

The appearance of the governor's equipage, with the distinguished party of equestrians around it, brings out whole multitudes of sailors and country people from the houses and pulperias (drinking shops) around, who evince their satisfaction at the gallant show, by letting off numerous rockets, although it is still broad daylight.

A good opportunity of witnessing the mode of warfare of the country, as well as of obtaining an insight into much that is curious connected with the rude inhabitants of the Pampas, is afforded to our traveller during a visit he makes to a camp situated at a place called Santos Lugares, a few miles from Buenos Ayres. The huts of the soldiers are very similar in size and construction to those of the Banda Oriental troops at the Cerrito ; but those of the officers are in general more comfortable, are many of them neatly furnished, and in the centre of them stands a small house, built expressly for the use of the governor when he comes to inspect the troops.

As usual, our traveller finds himself, as a foreigner, the object of marked attention upon his arrival, and is at once invited into the messroom, to partake of a regular English luncheon, consisting of bottled porter, Cheshire cheese, and the choicest luxury of the land, bread, with a cup of mate and a cigar as a digestive after the meal; the general in command afterwards mounts him upon a fresh horse, and accompanies him, at the head of a number of his officers, all round the camp and its vicinity.

The appearance of the troops in their crimson vests, peaked caps and chiripars, forms a charming contrast with the vivid green of the wide Pampa around; one regiment, consisting of the tallest men that can be selected, is equipped in breastplates of black metal; this, although it serves to heighten the martial appearance of the men, somewhat mars the general picturesque effect of their uniform, imparting to it a semi-European stamp. The same remark would apply to a company of grenadiers within the city, which is paraded upon grand occasions, and which betokens a determination on the part of the governor to embody the description of the republican guards of Dumouriez, and a leaning towards the rigid, starched-up notions of the martinets of the last century, for he has had it rigged out in long cutaway coats, threecornered hats, tight breeches, and closely buttoned up gaiters, reaching considerably over the knee, the men wanting but the powder and pigtail to be regular gardes Françaises.

Perhaps the most interesting object which meets our traveller's eye at Santos Lugares is a regiment composed of the aborigines of the country, the Pampa Indians, a large portion of whom have been

allured or frightened into subjection since the successful campaigns against them of the present Governor of Buenos Ayres, some years ago, and who have been enrolled into the service of the Argentine Republic.

These men occupy a part of the camp somewhat removed from the rest of the troops, and the moment they descry the approach of the general and his party, rush out of their huts and spring upon their horses, uttering the most discordant cries, whilst the two sheiks, or chiefs, who command them gallop forward to meet him, and are presented to our traveller, whose hand they grasp with great eagerness. They are of small stature, like most of their men, but symmetrically proportioned; their complexion is very swarthy, their hair and eyes are very black, and their features somewhat of the Calmuck cast. They are clothed much in the Gaucho fashion, but are ragged and rather dirty.

The manoeuvres this corps go through for the diversion of our party betoken great agility and extraordinary horsemanship. Besides being armed with the lazo, bolas, and long knife of the Gaucho, each horseman carries a lance, at least eighteen feet long, made of a thick reed tipped with an iron point, around which is fastened a large bunch of different coloured feathers, for the purpose of frightening an enemy's horse in the charge; and woe be to him if he does swerve or turn tail, for then the bolas are hurled round his hind-legs with unerring aim, and both his throat and that of his rider are cut in an instant as they lie sprawling on the ground. During several of the sham retreats our traveller witnesses, the greatest dexterity is evinced by the performers in turning round in the saddle, when at full gallop, and warding off the fatal missile from their horse's legs with their lances, or trailing their ponchos after them for the same purpose.

Upon quitting the Indian encampment, very pretty entertainment is offered to our traveller by the common Gaucho feat of catching a wild colt with the lazo or bolas, and of saddling, bridling, and mounting him at once, which operations are performed with incredible quickness, although, in sooth, no easy matter.

Upon returning into the interior of the camp, our traveller finds a very handsome dinner prepared in the governor's house, to which he sits down, with the general and a large assemblage of officers; the band of the cuirassier regiment playing before the door, and multitudes of Gauchos and soldiers grouped around to assist at the merry-making. On one side is an enormous fire, composed entirely-strange to say-of the carcases of different animals, which constitute the common fuel of the Pampas, and which, when dried in the air, burn and crackle away like ordinary fagots.

Various are the savoury roasts and boils which are cooked at the glowing heap, on this occasion, by savage-looking, bare-armed troopers, with stakes in their hands to stir up the embers; the hottest corner, the stomach of a dead horse, around which the ribs and head "flare up" right merrily, being occupied by a highly esteemed national dish, called carne con cuero (meat with the skin on). It consists of the fleshiest part of the bullock, cut out, roasted, and served up in the skin, so that most of the juices of the meat are prevented from oozing out. Whilst the exports from La Plata of skins and tallow constitute so considerable a branch of British trade, the imports are of no mean importance; for strange as it may appear, when one reflects on the rude

primitive make of the articles, nearly all the spurs, bits, stirrups, and other iron implements and accoutrements in use in the country, are supplied by Great Britain; an attempt on the part of Germany to undersell the great emporiums of Birmingham and Sheffield having beeen attended with little success. The Sheffield knife will ring upon the nail, the Tserlohn one, although as bright to the eye, and cheaper! will not such are the simple tests practised by the Gaucho, such the data which guide his choice.

The ponchos of the poorer classes also, are very commonly of Manchester cotton, the patterns being copied from those of the Indians, and all sorts of small articles of hardware and cutlery, of British manufacture, find their way to Buenos Ayres in large quantities.

SERMONS IN TREES.*

(From the German of Anastasius Grün.)

AT the midnight hour, when silence reigns

Through the leafy forest deep, Begins a whispering, rustling sound, For then each bush and tree around

Finds tongues when mortals sleep.

The WILD ROSE breathed soft odours round

And gaily spoke though low,—— "Short is the Rose's utmost prime,E'en so!-the shorter is the time

The brighter will I blow!"

The ASPEN said, "Me gaudy day
Allured not with its glare
The sunbeam oft a death stroke gives-
'Tis in the shade that wisdom lives

Safe, though I tremble, there!"
And next the slender POPLAR spoke,
And pointed to the sky :

Thence streams so sweet so pure a
light

Of moonlight beauty, calm and bright,
I fain would wave on high!"

The WILLOW glanced to Earth, and
said,

In accents fond and mild,
"My floating locks o'er thee I bend,
Thy fragile flowers be mine to tend,
As mothers tend a child!"

And next the laden PLUM-TREE sighed
"Relieve me of my hoard!

I bear it not for self alone,

My treasures when you make your own
My vigour is restored."

Then spake the FIR, "What tho' on me,
Nor flowers nor fruit ye view,
From constancy my honours grow—
Alike, in sunshine, storm, and snow,
I never change my hue."

The lofty OAK exclaimed," Alone

Heaven's lightnings me can rend; No storm hath power to bend me down

Let my strong stem and leafy crown
The weaker tribes defend !"

The Ivy heard him offer thus

His staunch support to lend : And round him soon her arms were thrown,

For they who cannot stand alone

May lean upon a friend.

And now so many voices rose
That memory fades away;
Each whispering leaf had found a
tongue,

Only the mournful CYPRESS hung
Mute o'er a mound of clay!

Oh, that their whispered morals all,
In human hearts sank deep!
But all unheard and all untold
The Trees their nightly converse hold
While mortals are asleep!

✦ Baumpredigt.

ETA.

STRAY LEAVES FROM THE LEVANT.

"Thence over Egypt's palmy groves,
Her grots, and sepulchres of kings,
The exil'd spirit sighing roves;

And now hangs listening to the doves

In warm Rosetta's vale."-Lalla Rookh.

It was "written "to use an Oriental phrase-that I should be a wanderer along the shores of the Levant during a portion of that interesting period, following Ibrahim Pasha's successful invasion of Syria, when a crisis ensued, which had well nigh involved both the Eastern and Western world, in the red flames of an universal war.

It is during this interval of time, extending from 1839 to 1841, and rife with events of such momentous import, that I propose to jot down unconnectedly, and as they occur to memory, such passages of my Eastern wanderings and adventures, as may perchance find a momentary interest with, or afford a little amusement to the general reader.

Thanks to the convention of Alexandria, concluded between Commodore Napier and Mehemet Ali, the war had been at last brought to a close, of which I received the first notification at "El Khalil"—the ancient Hebron-that last resting place of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-where, with a strong column of troops, we had halted on the evening of the 19th January, 1841.

Here, whilst concocting with the Osmanli chiefs, the plan of our future movements, for intercepting Ibrahim Pasha's retreat to Egypt, across the Desert, two British officers-Major Wilbraham of the staff, and Lieutenant Loring of the Navy-were unexpectedly announced.

The intelligence of which they were bearers, put an end, for the time, to all further warlike resolves. The Turks appeared nothing loth to desist from the pursuit of their dreaded adversary; and Hassan Pasha, our gallant chief, forgetting, in the exultation of the moment, the strict injunctions of the Prophet, retired that evening to his couch considerably excited with the forbidden juice of the grape.

Pursuant to their instructions, the British officers started off next morning in quest of the Egyptian army-supposed then to be wandering somewhere to the southward of the Dead Sea-and "my occupation being gone," I mounted at break of dawn, the gallant old grey Arab charger, who had carried me so well throughout the recent campaign, and pushed rapidly on for Jaffa-some fifty or sixty miles distantthen the head quarters of General Michell, and of the British staff.

Poor Michell! brave, kind-hearted old veteran! I only arrived in time to shake him once more by the hand; for he very shortly after fell a victim to the combined effects of annoyance, fatigue, and climate, to which he had been so much exposed during the concluding operations of the war.

Disease, more than the enemy's sword, had, since landing in Syria, sadly diminished our little band. Sir Charles Felix Smith had been obliged to leave in a most debilitated state of health-his gallant successor had just departed for his last narrow home-and Colonel Bridgman, who was doomed to be soon likewise stricken down by the same myste