The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-29 00:00:00

A
Ifil:r O
Majesty's
brit;
sip T R y
arrivedC Io N S
if
this
islandS' Lk
oNn D.
the
26th of February. about ten o'clock in the morning, and
was boarded by George Adams and some morein()rni natives
shortly atter she hove to. George Adams is the son of
the celebrated John Adams, the father of the colony,
Vent ashore in cutter, piloted by George Adams.
Landing-place a very small sandy- beach with many
rocks, and in the least breeze impracticable. We were
met on the beach by some of the natives, who cordially
welcomed us to Pitcairn's Island, and showed us the
way to the market-place up a steep and rugged path,
winding along the cliff, and through a beautiful variety
of all kinds of tropical flowers and shrubs. The scene
when we arrived at the summit was picturesque in the
extreme. The whole of the natives, men, women, and
children, headed by Mr. Nopps, the schoolmaster, had
assembled iu a space of about half an acre square,
carpeted with thick soft grass, and canopied overhead by
the spreading branches of cocoa-nut trees, to meet the
strangers, all of them being dressed in their gayest. Their
welcome was warm, all of them advancing and shaking
us by the hand, and addressing us in perfectly good
English. We were extremely pleased by their quiet and
decorous behaviour. As soon as we had made acquaint-
ance with them all, we were led through gently vi inding
p- the to the principal village, where the court house and
church stands, as there were one or two slight disagree-
rot nts about lend, which they wished to be brought
before Lieutenant Wooldridge, commander of the Spy,
and who very speedily disposed of them without their
having evinced, either during the investigation or after -
wards, the least feeling of discontent or displeasure.
The church is a neat building, well arranged, with a
pulpit and benches, and is used as well for a court,
house as a church. Mr. Nopps, the schoolmaster, per-
forms the various offices. We were shown the old gun
belonging to the Bounty, that had been under water for
56 years, and which was now lying near the coart-house.
, We visited old Adams's house and grave, the last of
which is situated in a beautiful spot next to his wife's
grave, and kept in trim order. After rambling about,
and visiting one or two of the inhabitants who were not
well (one of whom had wounded himself with his gun
while out shooting goats a short time before we arrived,
but was doing well), we returned to dinner, which had
been prepared for us at M`Coy's house, and consisted of
pork, yam, and sweet potatoes. Each family on the
island take it in turn to entertain strangers when they
arrive, and never accept any reward. Their food is
principally vegetables, of which they have almost every
kind, and twice a week either meat or fish; but there is
difficulty in getting the latter, as the fishing ground is
bad and water very deep. The animals on the island
are goats, which are wild, pigs, and fowls. Their houses
are the perfection of cleanliness and good order, and
each person has his plot of ground to cultivate. Their
form of government is simple. They elect a magistrate
every twelve months, upon which occasion every man
and woman above eighteen is entitled to a vote; and, if
married before that age, they are allowed a vote in con-
sequence.he magistratepeo p teh
ce
hn choosesa
iann
aans
os itsht
earn, t ,
wan hn do
actstheraesmaa
snodTrethreootfcheck, which is, indeed, little wanted—
for there is no place in the world where such perfect
unanimity and good feeling exist as in this happy island.
The number of inhabitants is 134, but the island can
support many more, and they increase but slowly. The
island itself is only four miles and a half in circum-
ference. We heard with pleasure that, though several
whalers touch there, yet, in no instance, had any impro-
priety been committed ; 46 whalers, mostly American,
had called during the year 1846. They all appeared to
talk of Adams with the greatest respect, and seemed to
have a strong feeling of the crime that their ancestors
committed in mutinyißg. They talked in the most affec-
tionate loyal way of " our queen," and appeared exceed-
' ingly proud of being English—but complained that they
were so neglected, the Spy having been the first man-of-
war which had visited them for more than three years.
They, however, were quite satisfied when told that the
exigencies of the service had lately prevented their being
visited so often. They begged earnestly for a visit by a
man-of-war as often as she could be spared from other
duties ; but, as George Adams remarked, they " could
not complain, as the Government had already beep
kinder to them than they deserved." Before our leaving,
the women came after us with little presents and keep•
sakes, such as locks of hair, whale's teeth, and other
little curiosities, refusing to be rewarded in any way.
We took some of their names down, as they struck us as
being as pretty as the fair owners themselves—Marian,
Louisa, Emily, were among the prettiest. Marian
Christian was a beautiful girl, with quite a Grecian cast
of countenance, and very kindly allowed her likeness to
Fbe taken by one of our party. Their way of dressing
the hair is odd, it being rolled up in a conical fashion at
the back of the head. Their dress, when they do not
wear the European one, is simple, consisting of only a
sort of skirt of some dark colour, with an upper short
petticoat of white stuff, and a handkerchief tied loosely
round the neck. At last, having loaded the cutter with
eatables, which was obliged to lie off on account of the
increasing surf, and it being nearly sunset, we were ,
obliged to bear ourselves very unwillingly from this
enchanted island, though all came round to beg us not
to go, but to stop one night—only one—with them; and,
finding they could not succeed, accompanied us down to
the beach, where we embarked in canoes to take us off
through the rollers to the cutter. They embraced us all
most affectionately, asking us to write and remember
them to their friends in England, particularly to Capt.
Hunt, formerly of the Basilisk, whom they seemed to
have a vivid recollection of. The embarkation in the
cutter was accomplished safely, and we gave them three
hearty cheers, and, accompanied by George Adams and
Christian, we got on board the Spy; and after their re-
maining a short time with us, and being very much de-
lighted with a couple of rockets that were tired, they
bade us good-bye, when we filled and made sail for Val-
paraiso.—Naval and Military Gazette.

UNPUBLISHED POEM by ROBERT

BURNS.

The Aberdeen Herald has received from a correspon-
dent the following poem—one of Burns' earliest compo-
sitions—which has never, to his knowledge, been printed.
It bears strong marks of his powerful style, and was
obtained from one of the belles of Mauchline, " Miss
Smith she has wit," the mother of Dr. Candlish:—
In Tarbolton, ye ken, there are proper young men,
And proper young lasses and a', man;
But ken ye the lionalds, that live in the Birrels,
They carry the grie to them a', man?
Their father's a laird, and weel he can spare't,
Braid money to tocher them a', man—
To proper young men he'll clink in the han',
Gowd guineas a hundred or twa, man.

There's ane they ca' Jean, I'll warrant ye've seen
Few bonnier lasses or braw, man—
But sense an' guid taste, she'll brag wi' the best,
And a conduct that beautifies a', man.

The charms o' the min', the langer they shine,
The mair admiration they draw, man;
While peaches and cherries, and roses and lilies,
They fade and they wither awa', man.
If ye be for Miss Jean, tak' this frae a frien',
A hint o' a rival or twa, man—
The laird o' Blackbyre wad gang thro' the fire,
If that wad entice her awa', man.
The laird o' Braehead has been on his speed,
For mair than a towmond or twa, man—
The laird o' the Ford will straught on a board,
If he canna get her at a', man.

Then Annie comes in, the pride o' her kin',
The boast of our bad', lors a', man;
Sae sonsy and sweet, sae fully complete,
She steals our affections awe', mar.
If I should detail the pick and the wale
0' lasses that live hereawa', man,
The fault wad be mine, if she didna shine
The sweetest and best of them a', man.
I lee her mysel', but daurna weel tell—
My poverty keeps me in awe, man—
For making o' rhymes, and working at times,
Does little or naething at a', man.
Yet I would not choose to let her refuse,
Nor hae't in her power to say— na, man;
For though I be po9r, unnoticed, obscure,
My stomach's as proud as them a', man.
Tho' I canna ride in weel-booted pride,
Or flee o'er the hills like a craw, man,
I can haud up my head, wi' the best o' the breed,
Tho' fluttering ever sae braw, man.
My coat and my vest they are Scotch o' the best;
0' pairs o' guid breeks, I hae twa, man;
And stockings and pumps. to put on my stumps,
And ne'er a wrang steek in them a', man.
My sarks they are few, but five they are new,
Twal hundred as white as the snaw, man:
A ten-shilling hat, a Holland cravat—
There are no mony poets sae braw, man.
I never had frien's, weel stockit in means,
To leave me a hundred or twa, man;
Nae weel-tochered aunts to wait on their drunte,
And wish them in h—l for it a', man.
I never was canny at hoarding o' money,
Or claughtint thegither at a', man;
I've little to spend, and naething to lend,
But deevil a shilling I aw, man.

EXTRAORDINARY AND FATAL ACCIDENT TO A
YOUNG WOMAN.—Last evening Mr. Bedford held an
inquest at the White Hart, Little Windmill-street,
Haymarket, on the body of Jane Yeo, aged 20, who met
with an accident of almost an unprecedented nature. Mr.
Henry Harding, surgeon, said that on Monday night he
was called in great baste to the residenc there the de
ceased, No. 15, Little Windmill street, Sind found
her supported by her sister, and both of them covered
with blood. The deceased was bleeding from a wound
in the throat, about five inches in length, and which
reached to the vertebrm. She died in a few seconds.
He was shown the broken pieces of a basin upon which
it is said she had fallen, and he had no doubt that the
wound was caused in that way. From further evidence
it appeared that the deceased returned home at half-
past ten o'clock, and was dancing across the room,
amusing her sister, when, falling over a box she had not
seen, her throat came in contact with a washhand basin
on the floor, and broke it. One of the pieces entered
her throat, and inflicted the wound described. Verdict,
"Accidental death."
BARE PLANT.—There is now in bloom in
seatin ofthe
shrubbery at Horswell, near Kingsbridge
W. R. Ilbert, Esq., a plant of the lhormium tenax, or
New Zealand flax, which is believed to be a rare occur-
rence in England.
Tan OUTCAST.—Poor Shakspeare 1 He has long
been driven off' the English stage, and
to be turned out of hque sad home ! p
....__IIOVV uith.a amply