courage he had so often displayed. He prayed for his country; and the last sounds which, at the close of his glorious career, elevated his spirit, sinking beneath the grasp of death, were the cheers of his men for victory-a victory great even by comparison with any of his own. His death was a calamity which no advantages could lessen; he was stricken down when equally the object of our affection and admiration; men grieved, not only for his loss as their greatest naval hero, but for their inability now to repay those services by which fame, wealth, and national safety were secured. Posthumous honours were, indeed, all they could bestow, but his memory has been cherished with a spirit and a feeling before scarcely known, and it lives among us, the pride and glory of Britons.

Nelson combined the qualities which chiefly raise and distinguish men he was quick in perception, resolute in decision, and executed his projects with the coolest valour. Amid the ardour of victory he remembered mercy, and seemed as much to enjoy conquest as the means to save, as for the purpose of securing any other benefit it could bestow. He had one great object his country's good; one worthy ambition-her rewards. These were his theme, his motive, his pursuit. Who has more contributed to secure the former ?-who more merited the latter? He has left an example, the standard of all future excellence in his profession, and the guide and inducement to laborious and honourable exertion.

BRUTUS AND CASSIUS.

66

SHAKSPERE. JULIUS CÆSAR."

Brutus. What means this shouting? I do fear the people Choose Cæsar for their king.

Cassius. Ay, do you fear it?

Then must I think you would not have it so ?

Brutus. I would not, Cassius ;-yet I love him well.

But wherefore do you hold me here so long?

What is it that you would impart to me?

If it be aught toward the general good,

Set Honour in one eye, and Death i' the other,
And I will look on Death indifferently:

For let the gods so speed me, as I love

The name of Honour more than I fear Death.
Cassius. I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus,
As well as I do know your outward favour.
Well, honour is the subject of my story.-

I cannot tell you what you and other men
Think of this life; but, for my single self,
I had as lief not be, as live to be

In awe of such a thing as I myself.
I was born free as Cæsar-so were you:
We both have fed as well; and we can both
Endure the winter's cold as well as he :
For once, upon a raw and gusty day,

The troubled Tiber chafing with his shores,
Cæsar said to me, "Dar'st thou, Cassius, now
Leap in with me into this angry flood,
And swim to yonder point?"-Upon the word,
Accoutred as I was, I plunged in,

And bade him follow. So, indeed, he did.
The torrent roar'd, and we did buffet it
With lusty sinews; throwing it aside,
And stemming it with hearts of controversy.
But ere we could arrive the point proposed,
Cæsar cried, "Help me, Cassius, or I sink!"
I, as Æneas, our great ancestor,

Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder
The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber
Did I the tired Cæsar; and this man

Is now become a god, and Cassius is

A wretched creature, and must bend his body,
If Cæsar carelessly but nod on him.
He had a fever when he was in Spain,

And, when the fit was on him, I did mark

How he did shake: 'tis true, this god did shake:
His coward lips did from their colour fly;

And that same eye, whose bend doth awe the world,
Did lose its lustre: I did hear him groan:

Aye, and that tongue of his, that bade the Romans
Mark him, and write his speeches in their books,
"Alas!" it cried, "Give me some drink, Titinius!-
As a sick girl. Ye gods! it doth amaze me
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world,
And bear the palm alone!

Brutus. Another general shout!

I do believe that these applauses are

For some new honours that are heaped on Cæsar.
Cassius. Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus; and we petty men

Walk under his huge legs, and peep about

To find ourselves dishonourable graves.

Men at some times are masters of their fates:

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,

But in ourselves, that we are underlings.

Brutus, and Cæsar; what should be in that Cæsar?

Why should that name be sounded more than yours?
Write them together, yours is as fair a name:
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;
Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with them,
Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Cæsar.
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,

Upon what meat does this our Cæsar feed,

That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed!
Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!
When went there by an age, since the great flood,
But it was famed with more than with one man?
When could they say, till now, that talked of Rome,
That her wide walls encompassed but one man ?
Now, is it Rome, indeed, and room enough,

When there is in it but one only man!

Oh! you and I have heard our fathers say

There was a Brutus once that would have brooked
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome,
As easily as a king.

Brutus. That you do love me, I am nothing jealous ;
What would you work me to, I have some aim;
How I have thought of this, and of these times,
I shall recount hereafter; for this present,

I would not (so with love I might entreat you)
Be
any further mov'd. What you have said

I will consider; what you have to say

I will with patience hear, and find a time
Both meet to hear and answer such high things.
Till then, my noble friend, chew upon this:
Brutus had rather be a villager,

Than to repute himself a son of Rome
Under such hard conditions as this time

Is like to lay upon us.

Cassius. I am glad that my weak words

Have struck but thus much show of fire from Brutus.

CLIMBING TREES IN AUSTRALIA.

The method of climbing trees which is practised by the natives, is very singular, and the facility, fearlessness, and dexterity with which they do so are well worthy of being noticed. There are two ways of ascending, the one with the tomahawk, and the other by the assistance of the vine, which is used as a rope or hoop. The former method is most generally practised, and appears to be attended with danger. The black, having eyed well the inclination of the tree, commences by cutting a notch just large enough to admit his great toe. The height of this notch from the ground is about two feet and a half, although it generally depends upon the individual; for it is

a remarkable fact that two blacks will not ascend by each other's notches or steps, even though the tree has been climbed by several of them. He then cuts another notch from two to three feet higher for his left foot; and when this is done, he fixes his tomahawk as high as he can reach into the tree, and, holding by it, ascends the two first notches. His left great toe being in the second cut, he stands supporting his whole weight upon it, with his left arm round the tree, and then makes two more notches as before. In this manner I have seen them get up trees of immense bulk, and rise from forty to fifty feet without a branch, with as much confidence and celerity as a European mounts a ladder.

The other mode, with the vine, is also extraordinary, and can, of course, only be practised by the natives of the country where the vine is prevalent. This method, as described to me, is as follows: The black, having cut a rope of vine of proper length and strength, according to the magnitude of the tree, first encircles the trunk with it, and fastens the two ends in a knot. He then places himself within the hoop of the vine, and raising it with both his hands, leans back with all his power, as if to prove the strength of the vine, as well as the certainty of the knot. These precautions being taken, he makes a spring, raising, at the same time, the hoop higher than himself. In this inclined posture the body is wholly supported by the vine, and as he springs again, he raises himself with his feet and hands, and making similar jumps, he ascends with surprising velocity.

I had an opportunity of witnessing the actions and manœuvres of a black in ascending a tree after an opossum by the former method, which was highly amusing. Having, by the assistance of his tomahawk, reached the hole where the animal was supposed to be, he made signs to those below, as he thrust the handle of the tomahawk into the hollow of the tree, that he was not deceived, and began cutting away with great earnestness; then, feeling again, he exclaimed, "Look out, massa; me pi him directly." So, indeed, it