The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-05 00:00:00

LITERA 2' URE.

Ten I ear's Wanderings among the Ethiopians.
By Thomas T. Hutchinson, F.R.G.S. Hurst
and Blackett.
It is an old saying that you cannot wash the
Ethiopian white, and Mr. Hutchinson's ten years
experiences among our sable brethren show that in
spite of Exeter Hall enthusiasm and negro worship,
the inhabitants of Western Africa may be consi-
dered almost as a connecting link between .the
human race and the Gorillas and Ourang Outang.
We do not deny that they are human or that they
arc capable of civilisation, but it will be a work of
time, and centuries must elapse before the man-
eating savage of fiery Africa can take his stand
as a respectable neighbour to the rest of
the world. The author of these pages does
not draw his conclusions front the accounts of
others, but states what he has himself seen, and
those who peruse his experiences among the savages
will be able to understand what are the trials to
which the missionaries are subjected among the
heathens in Africa. Cannibalism seems to be pre-
valent to an extent which it is impossible to con
eeive throughout the entire slave district. Mr.
Hutchinson states that he has seen dried human
flesh exposed for sale in the markets, and that it is
the custom to eat prisoners taken in battle ; likewise,
that when any individual is executed, whether for
crime committed or for any religious ceremony, the
head of the victim is the perquisite of the execu-
tioner, and the body is divided among the poor.
(This is at least economy.) The author was an
eye witness to the execution of a prisoner, being
concealed in a shed adjoining the place of exe-
cution. We give his own words to describe the
transaction :
As the juju butcher stepped back and measured his dis-
tance to make an effectual swoop at his victim's neck the
man moved not a muscle, but stood as if he were uncon-
scious—till—
Chop I the first blow felled him to the ground. The
noise of a chopper falling on meat is familiar to most people.
No other sound was here—none from the man, not a whis-
per nor a murmur from those who were seated about 1 I
was nearly crying out in mental agony, and the sound of
that first stroke will haunt my ears to my dying day. How
I wished some one to talk or scream, to destroy the impres-
sion of that fearful hough, and the still more awful silence
that followed it. Again the weapon was raised to continue
the decapitation—another blow as the man lay prostrate,
and then a sound broke the silence! But, oh, Father.of
Mercy lof what kind was that noise—a gurgle and gasp
accompanying the dying spasm of the struck-down man.
Once more the weapon was lifted—l saw the blood flow
in gory horror down the blade to the butcher's hands,
and there it was visible in God's bright sunshine to
the whole host of heaven. Not a word had yet been
uttered by the crowd. More chopping and cleav-
ing, and the head, severed from the body, was put,
by the ju-ju executioner, into a calabash, which was
carried off by one of his women to be cooked. He
then repeated another cabalistic word, or perhaps the same
as at first, and directly all who were seated rose up, whilst
he walked away. A yell, such as reminded me of a com-
pany of tigers, arose from the multitude—cutlasses were
flourished as they crowded round the body of the dead
man—sounds of cutting and chopping arose amidst the
clamour of the voices, and I began to question myself
whether if I were on the other side of the river Styx, I
should see what I was looking at here through the little
slit in the wall of my hiding-place ? A crowd of human
vultures gloating over the headless corse of a murdered
brother negro—boys and girls walking away from the
crowd, holding pieces of bleeding flesh in their hands,
while the dripping life fluid marked their road as they went
along ; and one woman snapping from the hands of another
—both of them raising their voices in clamour—a part of
the body of that poor man, in whom the breath of life was
vigorous not a quarter of an hour ago
The whole of the body was at last divided, and nothing
left behind but the blood. The intestines were taken away
to be given to an iguana—the Bonnyman's tutelary guar-
dian.

Throughout the entire work Mr. Hutchinson carries
the reader along with him, his writing is so earnest
and truthful that even in the most revolting reve-
lations of barbaric cruelty we feel that the thing
is • described as it happened, however how hor-
rible, and feel convinced that truth is stranger
than fiction. Mr. Hutchinson's wanderings took
him through various states, the peculiarities of the
inhabitants of which he describes, but on the whole
he considers the negro race, in spite of what is
maintained by the " Nigger Worshippers,"
as an inferior class of humanity ; and
strongly as we condemn slavery in all its forms
we cannot but admit that, of all classes of the
human species, the negroes are the only ones
who would submit to become marketable
articles. The Australian savage is set down by
ethnologists as the lowest caste of humanity, but
against his will work he will not. He may he
tortured to death, but, like the American Indian,
he maintains his right to conduct his own actions,
and to be ruled by no man. Not so the negro ;
and say what philosophers may, for the present at
least, the mark of Cain is indelibly imprinted on
the race. Mr. Hutchinson gives some amusing
pictures of African life, and throughout the narra-
tive the interest never flags.

Lectures. By William Longman. Bvo. pp. 248.
Longman and Company.
Already these remarkable contributions to our
national history have attained the magnitude of a
goodly volume—a volume evidencing considerable
research and persevering industry on the part of
their Author.. Lecturer. Mr. Longman has now
brought down his narrative of the earlier annals of
England to the close of the reign of the Third
Henry. His third lecture comprises within it, in
fact, a comprehensive epitome of the whole of the
long reign of Henry 111. from Anno Domini 1216
to Anno Domini 1272—fifty-six years altogether.
As with its predecessors the present lecture is an
expansion of what was originally delivered (26th
October 1860) before Chorleywood Association.
The letterpress is embellished with a map of
France, showing the possessions conquered to Eng-
land in that country, and is further interspersed
with a variety of curious woodcut illustrations.
As an admirable example of the lucidity of the
style in which Mr. Longman lectures to the Chor-
leywood Association, we give the following sum-
mary of Henry the Third's character :
SUMMARY OF THE CHARACTER OF HENRY THE. THIRD.
Thus ends the history of a king who left behind him no
hive for his virtues, nor hatred for his crimes. He was an
amiable, religious, man; of elegant tastes; but weak, va-
cillating, and indolent. In order to be left to the quiet en-
joyment of his favourite tastes and occupations, he was
only too willing to make promises, which were no sooner
made than he found reason to break them. He had not
sufficient strength of mind to remain firm to his plighted
word. His reign will, however, remain memorable, so lone. as our constitutional government stands, as having been
°
the time when its foundations were first securely laid.
In narrating the events of this reign, I have been eon s
straitly obliged to remark on the weak and blamable points
in the king's character ; but it would be unjust to his
memory, were I not also to point out his redeeming good
qualities. Unfortunately, however, these were more suited
to the adornment of a private station, than to shed lustre on
the character of a king. He was pure in his domestic life,
and of strong religious feelings ; and be had a great love
for, and was a great patron of, art. " Henry did more to
advance the progress of art than any English sovereign
anterior to Edward the Third." He rebuilt Westminster
Abbey from its foundation ; he decorated and ornamented
Windsor Castle, which was said, by a contemporary writer,
to be the most magnificent palace in Europe; and he "re-
paired, or rebuilt, most of the numerous manor-houses be-
longing to the crown ; besides contributing largely to the
improvement of parish churches in all parts of the king-
dom." He brought to England many Italian artists ; and
his taste for the fine arts must have been one of the sources
of that profuse expenditure, which often involved him in
diffi4ulties. His social qualities were also great; and he
displayed them, not only in his liberal entertainments to
his great men at home, but in his splendid festivities abroad
when he visited France,
Here also is Mr. Longman's mention of the more
remarkable persons whb were the counterpoises of
the same Sovereign
REMARKABLE PERSONS IN HENRY'S REIGN.
In Henry's reign, the English language was still con-
fined to the daily intercourse of life, and was not adopted
in written books. But there wore, several writers, who,
although they used the Latin tongue, have shed a lustre
on this reign. The name of Roger Bacon is the first that
presents itself. His learning extended over almost every
branch of human knowledge. He is called an astrologer
and an alchemist ; but he was really a deep student of mt.-
ture, whose mysteries he skilfully unravelled. He not
only understood the laws of light, but he conceived the idea
of a telescope, and made some advances towards an explana-
tion of the phenomenon of the rainbow. He knew the
effects and composition of gunpowder, and was well ac-
quainted with many branches of what is now called Natural Philosophy. The historians of the time next claim our
notice, and the chief of these were monks. There was
Matthew Paris, a Benedictine monk of the monastery of
St. Alban's, William l'tishanger, another monk of the same
abbey, and Roger of Wendover,ho was originally a monk
of St. Alban's,
These are the principal writers whose names deserve
mention; but there is another well known Englishman, to
whom I have already referred, and without an account of
whom the history this reign would be very imperfect. I
refer to Robin Hood.
The peroration of the lecture is a general tribute to,
we might almost venture
darling reto terrlmingitFarene earnest
panegyric panegyric upon, E
Mentioning Robin Hood, Mr. Longman does not
forget to mention also jolly Friar Tuck, stalwart
Little John, and little Much-the-Miller with his
Lincoln-clad " merry men all" of the greenwoods.

Routledge's Illustrated _Natural _History. Parts
25 and 26.
Part 25 not having come to hand until the middle
of last month we were unable to notice it with the
other periodicals, but as it treats of some of the
domestic favourites of many of our country readers,
we give the following extract, showing the extra-
ordinary sagacity of the raven. That dogs have
been known to hunt in company is familiar to all,
but the partnership of do.; and bird, and also of
oat, raven, and co., is something unusual. We have
not space to give all these anecdotes, but N*is♦ quote
one as a type of the retlt
"One of these
Merit:ois.llp
1n
birds struck trp a great fries dship cor a
tkis o rier dog belon,lng to the landlord of an inn. and pn,r e
so ?air as to stooompany his ally in little hunt-
,F espeditions. In these affairs the two comrades us 4
Kill an astonishing number of hares, rabbits, and other
gazle, each taking- his own sham of the work. As soon AS
they came tc a covert,. the raven would station himself out-

side, while the dog would enter the covert and drive out the
hares from their concealment, taking care to send them in
the direction of the watchful bird. On his part the raven
always posted himself close to one of the outlets, and as
soon as any living creature passed within reach, he would
pounce upon it, and either destroy it at once or wait until the
dog came to his assistance, when by their united efforts the
prey was soon killed. Rat. hunting was a favourite sport
of these strange allies, and it was said by those who wit-
nessed the proceedings, that the raven was even more useful
than a ferret would have been.
"Another and a very ampsing anecdote of the Raven
and its cunning, is relate by Capt. M'Clure, the well-
known Arctic voyager. Speaking of the behaviour of
various birds and beasts during the winter, he remarks that
the raven is the hardiest of the feathered tribe, and even in
the depths of winter, when wine freezes within a yard of
the fire, the raven may be seen winging his way through
the icy atmosphere and uttering his strange rough, croak-
ing cry, as unconcernedly as if the weather were soft and
warm as an English spring. ' Two ravens,' he observes,
' once established themselves as friends of the family in
Mercer Bay, living mainly by what little scraps the men
might have thrown away after meal times.
" The ship's dog, however, looked on them as his espe-
cial perquisites, and exhibited considerable energy in main-
taining his rights against the ravens, who nevertheless out-
witted him in a way which amused every one. Observing
that he appeared quite willing to make a mouthful of their
own sable persons, they used to throw themselves inten-
tionally in his way just as the mess tins were being cleared
out on the dust heap outside the ship. The dog would
immediately run at them, and they would just
fly a few yards; the dog then made another run,
and again they would appear to escape him but
by an inch, and so on until they had tempted and provoked
him to the shore a considerable distance off. Then the
ravens would make a direct flight for the ship, and had
generally done good execution before the mortified-looking
dog detected the imposition that had been practiced upon
him, and rushed back again."

Orley Farm. By Anthony Trollope.
Part No. 1 introduced us to the dranzattspersonee,
Part No. 2, develops the working of the plot—how
through the ill-will of a country attorney, the great
Orley Farm case was revived, after smouldering
though not extinguished for more than twenty
years. Mr. Anthony Trollope is as clever as usual,
in depicting characters, and in Mrs. Mason he has
depicted an individual existing, alas, in many
families, but seldom selected by writers of fiction—
,6 I have already hinted that Mrs. Mason was not a de-
lightful woman. She had been a beauty, and still amaginect
that she had not lost all pretension to be so considered.
She spent, therefore, a considerable portion of her day in
her dressing. room, spent a great deal of money for clothes,
and gave herself sundry airs. She was a little woman with
large eyes, and regular eyelashes, with a straight nose, and
thin lips and regular teeth. Her face was oval, and her
hair was brown. It had at least once been all l rown, and
that which was now seen was brown also. But, neverthe-
less, although she was possessed of all these charms, you
might look at her for ten days together, and on the
eleventh you would not know her if you met her in the
streets.

" But the appearance of Mrs. Mason was not her forte.
She had been a beauty; but if it had been her lot to be
known in history, it was not as a beauty that she would
have been famous. Parsimony was her great viri ue, and
a power of saving her strong point. I have said that she
spent much money in dress, and some people will perhaps
think that the two points of character are not compatible.
Such people know nothing of a true spirit of parsimony.
It is from the backs and bellies of other people that savings
are made with the greatest constancy and the most satis-
factory results.
" The parsimony of a mistress of a household is best dis-
played on matters eatable—on matters eatable and drink-
able; for there is a fine scope for domestic savings in tea,
beer, and milk. And in such matters chiefly did Mrs.
Mason operate, going as far as she dared towards starving
even her husband. But nevertheless she would feed her-
self in the middle of the day, having a roast fowl with
bread sauce in her room. The miser who starves himself
and dies without an ounce of flesh on his bones, while his
skinny head lies on a bag of gold, is, after all, respectable.
There has been a grand passion in his life, and that grandest
work of man, self-denial. /au cannot altogether despise
one who has clothed himself with rags and fed himself with
bone-scrapings, while broadcloth and ortolans were within
his easy reach. But there are women, wives and mothers
of families, who would give the bone-scrapings to their
husbands and the bones to their servants, while they hide
the ortolhns for themselves; and would dress their children
in rags, while they cram chests, drawers, and boxes with
silks and satins for their own backs. Such a woman one
can thoroughly despise, and even hate; and such a woman& was Mrs. Mason of Groby Park,"
At this early stage it would be unwise to venture a
surmise as to the plot of the story, but we have no
fear in saying that Mr. Anthony Trollope's new
work will command a full share of public attention.