EAGLE HAWK NECK. A NARROW isthmus connecting Tasmania peninsula with Tasmania, called Eagle Hawk Neck, is perhaps one of the most curious and interesting spots in the world to our present readers. It is a narrow strip of land by which alone it is possible for the convicts, whose misdeeds have consigned them to the penal settlements of the peninsula, to rejoin the world. On this account it becomes necesThis is not so easily sary to guard it with peculiar care. accomplished as might be expected; for its length, and exposure to the waves when the winds are high, render it an unsuitable position for human sentinels. How, then, is the difficulty overcome? In this way :-Dogs of a fierce and savage nature have been selected as the most vigilant and hardy guardians of this peculiar territory. They are chained at regular intervals across the isthmus, and continually pace their allotted ground with the regularity, and much more than the vigilance and sagacity, of the human guardians whose places they occupy. The chains with which they are tied are of sufficient length to permit any two of the dogs to concentrate their fury upon the unfortunate runaway who, enticed by the hope of freedom, may try to elude their vigilance. They are regularly rationed by Government, and are subjected to a kind of military discipline by their keepers. They are believed to resemble the Irish bloodhound (now extinct) in their hatred of men, and more particularly of strangers. No coaxing, no art, has ever been able to mollify them. The following instance of their vigilance was related to me by an individual who had been resident on the peninsula at the time of its occur rence. One day the keepers were alarmed by the furious barking of the whole of their canine assistants. Imagining they were attacked by a band of desperadoes, the keepers, fully armed, hurried to their rescue. Think of the astonishment excited when nothing unusual was observed—not a living thing on their dreary domain but the savage custodiers of it, who continued convulsed with fury. Their heads being all directed one way, they tugged at their chains as if they would have torn them from their sockets in the rocks; their glaring eyeballs were fixed on one object, the bough of a tree that appeared to be drifting along shore at some distance seaward. There was something in all this that excited the curiosity of the keepers. Watching the bough intently, they discovered that it was strangely moving against wind and tide. This excited suspicion that led to a closer examination, when the head of a man was discovered among the leaves, belonging to a fugitive prisoner, who in this way was vainly attempting to escape from deserved punish ment. Such are the guardians of the rare beauty of Tasman's peninsula. Alas! that it should be so guarded, and for such a cause: that it should be polluted by being the receptacle of those whose hearts the holy influence of God's spirit has not begun to soften. There stand PortArthur and other penal establishments, where unhappy incorrigibles reap the fruits of continued misconduct in unremitting toil. Let us pray that God will be pleased yet to reclaim them, as he has been graciously pleased to do some of us, and that we may be guarded from any crime that can consign us to a system of punish ment, that in severity is only second to that of Norfolk Island. W. J. WEEKLY RECORD. FAVOURED by fair winds and genial weather, we are now gliding along prosperously under a glowing sun. The hearts of all are disposed to dream away the time in delicious languor; but the pedal extremities, irritated by their cumbrous covering, are impatient for relief. Their lamentable condition has attracted the attention of the governor of this realm, and his sympathetic heart longs to enlarge the imprisoned soles. Should he carry his design into execution, the unwonted luxury of roaming at liberty amid the balmy air and brilliant sunshine, will be without doubt tenderly appreciated; obviate the necessity of any getting their bristles up when their attention is directed to a defect in their understandings, and when we arrive in cold and wet southern latitudes, excite a thankfulness to the last. Seriously, however, as a measure of economy, we consider it necessary that we should save our shoes until we arrive in a colder climate. Constant wear will in a short time render them very defective; and when we require them most, we shall find that they afford us no protection from the wet decks. We should then, to our grief, discover what a foolish extravagance we had committed in wearing them out at the present time, when they are not at all necessary to our comfort. Away, then, with the foolish and useless repugnance which has been shown to this measure. Our progress continues most satisfactory, and every thing wears a smiling aspect. Yesterday we passed St Antonio, one of the Cape de Verdes. Its precipitous sides looked as if there was scarcely a shelf broad enough for a bird to build a nest on. While its base was hidden in clouds, the brassy summit in the clear sunshine glowed like a furnace. Although it was blowing fresh at the time, its immense height almost becalmed us in passing, at a distance of nearly ten miles. It forms one of a group of islands, all of which owe their elevation to volcanic agencies. They present the same general features,-rugged, barren, inhospitable shores, on which a miserable population drag out a life remarkable for nothing but ignorance and sloth. D. R. No. III.-MAY 12, 1852. Trust no future, howe'er pleasant! Let us then be up and doing, With a heart for any fate: EDUCATION. When by night the frogs are croaking, kindle but a torch's fire, EDUCATION is the great social problem of the present age. Never before, since the beginning of time, did it occupy so deeply the attention of mankind. Its paramount importance to the happiness and progress of society is fully recognised. Scholars, philanthropists, and statesmen are all zealously engaged in devising means to secure its universal diffusion. When we look around and behold the mass of ignorance which is still weighing heavily on our population, we cannot help regretting that any obstacles should exist to the practical application of these means. We have surely arrived at that point of civilization when prejudices and class interests ought to vanish before the public good. As it is not our intention, however, to consider the political bearings of this subject, we willingly leave them to those who have abler pens and wider opportunities than ourselves. Our object is con |