A raft

bank of Arguin, near the western coast of Africa. was hastily constructed, which was but scantily supplied with provisions. There were five boats, which contained in all about 240 persons; and, upon the raft, there embarked about 150 individuals. The boats pushed off in a line, towing the raft, and assuring the people on board that they would conduct them safely to land. They had not proceeded, however, above two leagues from the wreck, when they, one by one, cast off the tow-lines, and abandoned the raft to its fate. By this time the raft had sunk below the surface of the water to the depth of three feet and a half, and the people were so squeezed one against another, that it was found impossible to move; fore and aft they were up to the middle in water. Night at length came on; the wind freshened; the sea began to swell; about midnight the weather became very stormy, and the waves broke over them in every direction. Tossed by the waves from one end to the other, and sometimes precipitated into the sea; floating between life and death: mourning over their own misfortunes; certain of perishing, yet contending for the remains of existence with that cruel element which menaced to swallow them up-such was their situation till break of day, when a dreadful spectacle presented itself. Ten or twelve unhappy men, having their extremities jammed between the spars of the raft, had perished in that situation, and others had been swept away by the violence of the waves.-All this, however, was nothing to the dreadful scene which took place the following night. "Already," says the narrator, the moral character of the people greatly changed. A spirit of sedition spread from man to man, and manifested itself by the most furious shouts." Night came on; the heavens were obscured with thick clouds; the wind rose, and with it the sea; the waves broke over them every moment; numbers were swept away, and several poor wretches were smothered by the pressure of their comrades. Both soldiers and sailors resolved to soothe their last moments by drinking to excess; they became deaf to the voice of reason; boldly declared their intention of murdering their officers; and, cutting the ropes which held the rafts together, one of them seizing an axe, actually began the dreadful work. The officers rushed forward to

was

quell the tumult, and the man with the hatchet was the first that fell-the stroke of a sabre terminated his existence. One fellow was detected secretly cutting the ropes, and was immediately thrown overboard; others destroyed the shrouds and halyards; and the mast, destitute of support, immediately fell on a captain of infantry, and broke his thigh; he was instantly seized by the soldiers and thrown into the sea, but was saved by the opposite party. About an hour after midnight the insurrection burst forth anew. They rushed upon the officers like desperate men, each having a knife or a sabre in his hand; and such was the fury of the assailants, that they tore their flesh, and even their clothes with their teeth. There was no time for hesitation; a general slaughter took place, and the raft was strewed with dead bodies. On the return of day, it was found that, in the course of the preceding night of horror, sixty-five of the mutineers had perished, and two of the small party attached to the officers. A third night of horror approached, distinguished by the piercing cries of those whom bunger and thirst devoured; and the morning's sun showed them a dozen unfortunate creatures stretched lifeless on the raft. The fourth night was marked by another massacre. Some Spaniards and Italians conspired to throw the rest into the sea. A Spaniard was the first to advance with a drawn knife; the sailors seized him and threw him into the sea. The Italian, seeing this, jumped overboard; the rest were mastered, and order was restored. But, before the ship Argus came to their relief, of the 150 that embarked on the raft, 15 unhappy creatures only remained, covered with wounds and bruises, almost naked, stripped of their skin, shrivelled with the rays of the sun, their eyes hollow, and their countenances savage. Such are the dreadful effects of malignity, which produces more sufferings and fatal effects than the most tremendous elements of nature!

A certain portion of the same spirit was lately displayed, by several individuals, on board the Kent East Indiaman. In the midst of a most violent gale, in the Bay of Biscay, when the sea was running mountains high, this vessel, containing about 600 persons, took fire, in consequence of the spirits from a stoved cask having communicated with a lamp; and all hopes of safety became extinguished, till

the ship Cambria, Captain Cooke, hove in sight. But the danger of passing from the one ship to the other, in boats, in such a tempestuous sea, rendered the preservation of the passengers and crew in a great degree doubtful. Yet, in the midst of the danger, the alarm and the anguish which accompanied this tremendous scene, we are told by the narrator, page 24, that "it was suspected that one or two of those who perished, must have sunk under the weight of their spoils; the same individuals having been seen eagerly plundering the cuddy cabins." And, a little afterwards, page 31, he adds: "Some time after the shades of night had enveloped us, I descended to the cuddy in quest of a blanket to shelter me from the increasing cold, and the scene of desolation that there presented itself was melancholy in the extreme. The place, which only a few short hours before had been the seat of kindly intercourse, and of social gaiety, was now entirely deserted, save by a few miserable wretches, who were either stretched in irrecoverable intoxication on the floor, or prowling about, like beasts of prey, in search of plunder."*

The following is a short description of the moral character of the inhabitants of Carolina, and of one of the amusements of a people who boast of their liberty and their civilization, as it is found in "Morse's American Geography." "The citizens of North Carolina who are not

* See a "Narrative of the Loss of the Kent East Indiaman, by Fire, in the Bay of Biscay, on the 1st of March, 1825, by a Passenger," supposed to be Major Macgregor...-The humanity and intiepidity displayed, amidst the heart-rending scene which this narrative describes...by Captain Cobb of the Kent; by Messrs. Thomson, Fearon, Macgregor, and the other officers, and many of the soldiers; by Captain Cooke of the Cambria, his crew, and the Cornish miners--is above all praise. Their benevolent and heroic conduct at that alarming crisis, is far more deserving of a public monument being raised for its commemoration, than that of many of our military heroes, in honour of whom so many trophies have been erected. If men, who have been instrumental in destroying the lives and the happiness of hundreds and of thousands, have pensions bestowed on them, and are exalted to posts of honour, surely those who have exerted their energies in preserving the lives of hundreds, and in preventing the anguish of thousands, ought not to be suffered to sink into oblivion, or to pass unrewarded. It is, I presume, one reason among others, why virtue is so little practised, that it is seldom rewarded according to its merit.

better employed, spend their time in drinking, or gaming at cards or dice, in cock-fighting, or horse-racing. Many of the interludes are filled up with a boxing match; and these matches frequently become memorable by feats of gouging. This delicate and entertaining diversion is thus performed: When two boxers are worried with fighting and bruising each other, they come, as it is called, to close quarters; and each endeavours to twist his fore-fingers in the ear-locks of his antagonist. When these are fast clenched, the thumbs are extended each way to the nose, and the eyes gently twined out of their sockets. The victor, for his expertness, receives shouts of applause from the sporting throng, while his poor eyeless antagonist is laughed at *for his misfortune. In a country that pretends to any degree of civilization, one would hardly expect to find a prevailing custom of putting out the eyes of each other. Yet this more than barbarous custom is prevalent in both the Carolinas, and in Georgia among the lower class of people.""Lord, what is man !" In a savage and civilized state-in infancy and in manhood-in his games and diversions in the instructions by which he is trainedin the remarks he makes upon his neighbours-in the sports and amusements in which he indulges-in his literary pursuits and lucubrations-in his system of rewards and punishments-in his intercourses and contests with communities and nations-in his commercial transactions -in his judicial administrations-in the height of prosperity-and in scenes of danger, and of the deepest distress, a principle of malignity is for ever operating to destroy his comforts, and to undermine the foundation of his happiness!

The above sketches may suffice, in the mean time, as specimens of some of the prominent dispositions of that portion of the human race who have assumed to themselves the character of civilized nations. It will readily be admitted, by most of my readers, that the dispositions displayed in the instances I have selected, are all directly repugnant to the principle of benevolence recognised in the divine law, and tend to undermine the happiness of intelligent beings. I shall now conclude with a very brief sketch of the conduct of Christians, and of Christian soci

eties towards each other, and of the leading traits of character which appear in the religious world.

SECTION IV.

Moral state of the professing Christian world.

I have already endeavoured to show, that Christianity is a religion of love; that its facts, its doctrines, and its moral precepts, are all calculated to promote

peace on earth," and to form mankind into one affectionate and harmonious society. This glorious and happy effect, in the first instance, it actually produced. We are told, in the history of the Apostles, that the multitudes who were converted to the Christian faith, by the powerful sermon delivered by Peter on the day of Pentecost, had their malignant propensities subdued, and their minds animated with an ardent affection for each other: and, as a practical proof of the operation of this noble principle," they had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, as every man had need." During the early ages of Christianity, a goodly portion of the same spirit was manifested by the greater part of those who had enrolled themselves as the disciples of Christ. Even in the midst of the reproaches, and the severe persecutions to which they were subjected during the two first centuries of the Christian era, a meek and forgiving disposition, and a spirit of benevolence towards one another, and towards all men, distinguished them from the heathen around, and constrained even their enemies to exclaim, "Behold how these Christians love one another!"-But no sooner was the Christian church amalgamated with the kingdoms of this world, in the reign of Constantine, than its native purity began to be tainted, and Pagan maxims, and worldly ambition, began to be blended with the pure precepts and the sublime doctrines of the Gospel. Many of its professed adherents, overlooking the grand practical bearings of the Christian sys-.' tem, began to indulge in vain speculations on its mysterious doctrines ; to substitute a number of unmeaning rites and ceremonies in the room of love to God and to