my own reflections, I lost myself in those vast mountains, the ramparts of Old Castile, on the brow of which the cruel Philip seated his monastery; as if he wished that this barren and precipitous situation should announce to the traveller the entrance of the temple of death. Nothing less than a storm which now arose would, I believe, have drawn me from my reverie. The noise of the tempest tore me from my reflections, and I found myself alone in nature. The thunder, which rolled majestically over my head, the night which spread its veil around me, the desert in which I wandered, the tone of my mind, all tended to make this an awful scene. Unmoved by fear, but filled with reverence for Him who commands the storm, I raised my suppliant hands to my Creator, and from the bottom of heart addressed to him a fervent prayer. Ardently do I hope that that prayer mingled with the bursts of thunder, and poured forth on the summit of a mountain, was graciously heard. For temple, a desert rock; for torches, the lightning; for witness, the protecting angel of my steps; for offering, a contrite and submissive heart! Had the Eternal then thought fit to recal me to his bosom, I dared to cherish the belief that in his eyes I should have found grace.

THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE,
Who fell at the Battle of Corunna, in 1808.

NOT a drum was heard, nor a funeral note,
As his corse to the rampart we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
O'er the grave where our hero we buried.

We buried him darkly at dead of night,
The sods with our bayonets turning,
By the struggling moon-beam's misty light,
And the lantern dimly burning.

No useless coffin enclosed his breast,

Nor in sheet nor in shroud we bound him, But he lay like a warrior taking his rest, With his martial cloak around him.

Few and short were the prayers we said,

And we spoke not a word of sorrow,
But we stedfastly gazed on the face of the dead,
And we bitterly thought of the morrow.

We thought, as we hollowed his narrow bed,
And smoothed down his lonely pillow,

That the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head,
And we far away on the billow.

Lightly they'll talk of the spirit that's gone,
And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him,

But nothing he'll reck, if they let him sleep on
In the grave where a Briton has laid him.

But half of our heavy task was done,

When the clock tolled the hour for retiring; And we heard by the distant and random gun, That the foe was suddenly firing.

Slowly and sadly we laid him down,

From the field of his fame fresh and gory: We carved not a line, we raised not a stone, But we left him alone with his glory.

MARRIAGE CEREMONIES OF VARIOUS NATIONS.
(Resumed from page 112.)

THE ceremonies of marriage at Thibet are neither tedious nor intricate. Their courtships are carried on with little art, and quickly brought to a conclusion. The elder brother of a family, to whom the choice belongs, when enamoured of a damsel, makes his proposals to the parents, and if his suit is approved, the parents, with their daughter, repair to the suiter's house, where the male and female acquaintance of both parties meet, and enjoy every kind of festivity for three days, at the expiration of which the marriage is complete. The priests of Thibet, who shun the society of women, have no share in these ceremonies, or in ratifying the obligation between the parties. Mutual consent is their only bond of

union, and the parties present are witnesses to the contract, which it seems is formed indissolubly for life. By mutual consent, however, they may part, but then they can never marry again. It is a remarkable characteristic in this country, that polygamy assumes a different form from that of other eastern countries: the women being indulged in a plurality of husbands.

The Siamese, previous to any nuptial contract, are obliged to consult an astrologer, who calculates the nativity of the parties, and determines whether their union is likely to prove fortunate or otherwise. If his decision be favourable, the lover is permitted to visit his mistress three times, at the last of which the marriage portion is paid, and without the performance of any religious ceremony the nuptials are reckoned complete, and soon after they live together. In a few days the priest visits the married couple, sprinkles them with water, and offers a prayer for their prosperity.

In Tonquin a plurality of wives is allowable, and the husband may claim a divorce on the most trifling occasion; but he must restore the effects which the wife possessed at the time of her marriage. The same indulgence is not allowed to the woman. A woman convicted of adultery is thrown to an elephant, bred for the purpose, who taking her up with his trunk, tosses her in the air, and when she falls, tramples her under his feet, and crushes her to pieces. A man may sell his wives and children, which, in times of scarcity, the poor make no scruple in doing.

Among the Hindoos, between the age of seven and ten, the children are given away in marriage, and are suffered to contract an intimacy with one another, but they do not live together till some years after, from which time the woman is never permitted to see her parents. Polygamy is allowed, but seldom practised.

The marriage ceremony as performed at Ceylon is thus described :-A whole family goes in a body to ask a young woman in marriage; the more numerous the family, the greater title it has to her. It is of course the whole family that marries, consequently the children belong to the family, in the same way as the lands which are never divided. The ceremony is performed by uniting the right thumbs of the man and woman, over which the priest throws a little water, and pronounces the words necessary for the occasion. As

soon as the consent of the parties is obtained, a magician is consulted to fix the day and hour. The two families then meet at the house of the young woman, where a grand feast is prepared for the occasion, and the house ornamented according to the custom of the east. The magician consults his books, and holds a clepsyara or water-clock in his hand. The instant the lucky moment arrives, the married couple are covered with a piece of cloth, their right hands are joined, filtered water is thrown over them, a cup containing cocoamilk is passed several times over their heads, and thus the ceremony ends.

In Persia, when a marriage is agreed upon between the friends of the parties, the woman's person is strictly examined by the female relations of the intended bridegroom, and the man undergoes the same scrutiny by the friends of the future bride. If the report on both sides be favourable, the parents of the woman demand a price for their daughter, and the parties are married either by the priest or civil magistrate. The day before the bridegroom intends to conduct his lady home, he sends her a present of clothes, jewels, &c. and on the next evening he proceeds on horseback towards the house of the bride's father, attended by his friends, all making their best appearance, and accompanied with a band of music. The wife meets him on the road, mounted on a horse or camel, but completely veiled from head to foot, attended by her friends in their utmost splendour. Both cavalcades join and return in triumph to the house of the bridegroom, when the married couple seperate from their friends, who are left to spend the evening in mirth and revelry; and if the circumstances of the parties admit of it, the festivity continues several days. As regard and affection cannot have any share in Persian matches, which are made wholly by the rents, without admitting the parties to see each other, so divorces are easily obtained at the instance of either party.

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In Arabia many superstitious observances respecting marriage still prevail. The Arabs believe in the virtue of enchantment, and in the art of tying and untying the knots of fate. Marriage is reckoned very honourable in the East; a woman will marry a poor man, or become a second wife to a man already married, rather than remain in a state of celibacy: the men are equally disposed to marry, because their

wives, instead of being expensive, are rather profitable to them. Nothing is more uncommon with them than an unmarried person after a certain time of life.

The inhabitants of Manilla, one of the Philippine islands, purchase their wives, and the marriage is performed by a priestess, who sacrifices some animal on the occasion; after which, the bride is conducted home, and the ceremony concludes with an entertainment. They generally marry with their own tribe, and with near relations. Some of the tribes are restricted to one wife, while others admit a plurality of wives, and divorces for reasonable causes.

The Americans marry young: the occasion which the young men have for a wife to assist them in their labours, conduces to early marriages, and great purity of manners. But the wife who dies is readily replaced by another

She

is a necessary friend, and the very soul of the family: she is an indispensable resource for domestic affairs-an assiduous companion, and renders home pleasant in those parts of the country where neighbours are scarce, and where the children soon quit their paternal abode.

When a young Knistenaux Indian marries, he immediately goes to live with the mother and father of the wife, who treat him as a perfect stranger till after the birth of his first child: he then attaches himself more to them than his own parents, and his wife no longer gives him any other denomination than that of the father of her child.

When a Mexican arrives at an age capable of bearing the charges of the marriage state, a suitable wife is singled out for him; but before the union can be concluded on, the diviners are consulted, and according to their predictions, the match is abandoned or pursued. If they predict happiness to the couple, the young girl is demanded of her parents by certain women styled solicitors, who are among the most respectable of the youth's kindred. The first time that these women go to the house of the damsel is at midnight, carrying with them presents, and demanding her in the most humble and respectful terms. The first demand is always refused. The second is made with various arguments as to the rank and fortune of the youth to which the parents of the young woman give a more favourable answer. The female solicitors return no more. A favourable answer being at last obtained, and a day appointed for the nuptials, the young woman,