America, with the following extract from They were grossly superstitious. Superstithe same letter: tion is the relying upon any rite or observance for an effect, which it is not calculated by its own nature to produce; or which has not in the supernatural order been attached or promised to its performance by God, who can, if he will, certainly bestow the effect on such an occasion by his own power, without using the natural cause. Neither the nature of the act, nor the revelation of the Godhead led the Indian to this expectation; he blindly observed the rites, and foolishly expected, without any rational grounds, a result for which no sufficient cause existed. And the superstition varied with the caprice of those who had the power to regulate; this power was established sometimes by force, often upon accident, not unusually by the observance of some custom that might, in its origin, have been rational, but obscured, perverted, misunderstood, and misapplied, degenerated into a sort of mysterious tradition of a forgotten date, and an unexplained import; the blind and obstinate adherence to which is, indeed, the very essence of this criminal folly. "In leaving the territory of Pisco, I entered upon the province of Chinca, whose capital is at present a small Indian village of the same name. Formerly it was a powerful city which contained nearly two hundred thousand inhabitants; they used to count their population by millions in this province, but to-day it is nearly a desert; there is a remnant of something over two hundred families. I found on my road some monuments which had been erected to preserve the recollection of those giants who are mentioned in Peruvian history, and who were struck by thunder for crimes similar to what formerly brought down fire from heaven upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Indians furnish the following tradition:-They state that during a deluge, by which their country was inundated, they retired to the tops of the hills until the waters flowed off into the sea; that when they descended to the plains, they found there men of an extraordinary stature, who waged a cruel war upon them; those who escaped from its desolation, were obliged to take refuge in the caves of the mountains; where having remained for some years, they perceived in the sky a young man, who launched thunder against the giants, and upon the destruction of those usurpers, the refugees were enabled to repossess their ancient domains. One cannot learn when this deluge We are of opinion that amongst various occurred; perhaps, it was partial, like that of Deucalion and Pyrrha, in Thessaly, in the actribes, similarity of religious observances count of which, ancient authors have left us a goes far to prove a common origin; and immingling of truth and fable. As regards the ex- pressed as we are, with a belief in the proistence and the crimes of the giants, I shall give bability of the occupation of our soil, in the no opinion, especially as the monuments which first instance, by an Asiatic race, whether fell under my view, have no characteristic of an- Persian, Hindoo or Chinese, whether the tiquity. The traces of the famous wars which colonists were Chinese of a Hindoo dehave devastated this province, have something more of reality. Once a charming country, it scent, or were the children of the various is now a vast desert, which saddens you by the southern and eastern portions of that contirecollection of the unhappy lot of its ancient in- nent, who, in their canoes, were borne from habitants; one cannot pursue his journey through spot to spot, as resting-places in the Pacific, it without feelings of awe; and the tranquil metill they reached our shores; whilst the more lancholy of the few Indians whom he meets, appears to remind him incessantly of the misfor hardy sons of Northern Asia, having penetunes and death of their ancestors. These In-trated through the Scandinavian woods, dedians most fondly preserve the recollection of the last of their Incas. They assemble occasionally to celebrate his memory. They sing verses in his praise, and perform upon their flutes such melodiously mournful and pathetic airs, as to create sympathy in all who hear them. Persons have seen striking effects of this music. Two Indians, melted by its strains, some days since cast themselves from the summit of a craggy mountain to rejoin their prince, and render to him in another world those services which they would have gladly paid to him here. This tragic scene is frequently renewed, and thus eternizes in the Indian mind, the affecting recollection of their progenitors' calamities." We have thus taken a pretty extensive view of the materials which these volumes furnish respecting the religion of our aborigines. They were idolatrous polytheists, having a variety of rude, barbarous, and too often demoralizing rites in their ceremonial. luged the older Europe, we cannot well determine. But when we recollected the sun-worship of Persia, and the Gheber's fire; when we knew of the fidelity of the widow of the East, and found also among several of the Asiatic tribes, customs similar to those which we observe at this side of the globe; we were anxious to discover some authentic account of the Mexican and Peruvian worship, as those nations appeared to us to rank foremost in civilization amongst our red brethren. Our readers have seen how little we have been able to learn as regards the latter, and we have nothing of the former. In looking through the four volumes which lie before us, we have found the most copious and detailed account of the worship of the sun, and some other religious observances to be that which Father Petit furnishes us respecting the Natchez, and with which we shall conclude this ar- takes the title of Brother of the Sun. The creticle. "Their religion, in many points, comes very near that of the ancient Romans; they have a temple filled with idols; these idols are the different figures of men and animals, to which they pay the most profound veneration. Their temple, in its form, resembles an oven of earth, about one hundred feet in circumference; it is entered by a little door four feet high, and not more than three in breadth: in it there is no window to be seen. The circular roof of the edifice is covered with three layers of mats placed one upon the other, to prevent the rains from wearing away the masonry. Above these, and outside of the building, are three figures of eagles in wood, painted red, yellow, and white. Before the door is a kind of shed, with a double door, where the guardian of the temple is lodged; all around extends an enclosure of palisades, upon which are fixed the skulls of all the heads which their warriors have brought back from the battles which they have fought with the enemies of their nation. "In the interior of the temple are shelves disposed at regular distances, one above the other. Upon these are placed baskets of cane of an oval figure, in which are enclosed the bones of their ancient chiefs, and by the side of them, those of the victims who are strangled to follow their masters to the other world; one other shelf, separated from the rest, supports many wide, wellpainted baskets, in which their idols are preserved; these are figures of men and women made of stone and baked earth; heads and tails of uncommon serpents; stuffed owls; pieces of crystal and jaw-bones of large fish. They had there, in the year 1699, a bottle and the foot of a glass, of which they took peculiar care. "They take great pains to keep in this temple a perpetual fire, and their attention is required to hinder it from blazing; for that purpose, they use nothing but the dry wood of the walnut tree or the oak. The old men are obliged to carry, each in his turn, a large billet into the enclosure of the palisade. The number of the guardians of the temple is fixed, and they serve by the quarter. He that is upon duty, stands, like a sentinel, under the shed, whence he examines if the fire is in danger of being extinguished; he supplies it with two or three large billets, which are kept burning only at the extremity, and which in order to avoid a blaze, are never placed one upon the other. "Of all the women, none but the sisters of the Great Chief have the privilege of entering into the temple: to all others, admittance is prohibited, as also to the common people, even when they bring food to the manes of their relations, whose bones are reposing in the temple. These meat-offerings are given to the guardian, who carries them to the side of the basket where are the bones of the deceased: this ceremony continues only during one moon. The eatables are then cast over the palisades of the enclosure, and are abandoned to wild beasts. "The sun is the principal object of worship among these people. As they conceive nothing superior to this luminary, nothing, therefore, appears to them more worthy of their homage; and for the same reason, their Grand Chief, who knows nothing upon earth superior to himself, dulity of the people preserves for him the despotic authority which he assumes. To maintain for him a stricter obedience, a mound is raised with earth brought for the purpose, whereon is built his hut, which is of the same construction as the temple, with its door towards the rising sun. Every morning the Great Chief honours with his presence the rising of his elder brother, and hails with many howlings his appearance above the horizon. Next he orders his calumet to be lighted, and makes him an offering of the first three mouthfuls of smoke which he inhales ; then elevating his hands above his head, and turning himself from the east to the west, he points out to him the course which he must pursue in his journey. "When the Grand Chief dies, his hut is demolished, and a new mound is raised, whereon is built the hut of the successor to his dignity, who never dwells in the lodging of his predecessor. There are old men who teach the laws to the rest of the people; one of the principal of these is to have a sovereign respect for the Grand Chief, as being brother of the sun and master of the temple. They believe in the immortality of the soul. When they leave this world, they go, say they, to inhabit another, there to be rewarded or punished. The rewards which they promise themselves, consist principally in good cheer, and the punishment in a privation of all pleasure. Thus they believe that those who have been faithful observers of their laws, will be conducted to a region of delight, where all sorts of the most exquisite viands will be furnished them in abundance; that their days will glide away pleasantly and calmly in the midst of festivities, of dances and women; in fine, that they will taste of all imaginable pleasures: that, on the contrary, the violators of their laws will be cast upon lands sterile, and covered with water; that they will have no kind of grain; that they will be exposed entirely naked to the piercing bites of mosquitoes; that all nations will make war against them; that they will never eat meat; and that they will be fed with nothing but the flesh of alligators, of bad fish, and shell-fish. * One of the principal articles of their religion, especially as concerns the domestics of the Grand Chief, is to honour his funeral ceremonies by dying with him, for the purpose of serving him in the other world; these blinded creatures submit themselves willingly to this law, in the foolish persuasion, that, in the suite of their chief, they are going to enjoy very great happiness. To form some idea of this bloody ceremony, it must be known that whenever a presumptive heir to the Grand Chief is born, each family that has a child at the breast must do homage to him on its account. From all these infants a certain number is chosen, who are destined to his service, and when they arrive at a competent age, are given some employment conformable to their talents; some pass their lives either in hunting or fishing, for the supply of his table; others are engaged in agriculture; others are employed for no other purpose but to swell his train. If he chances to die, all his domestics sacrifice themselves with pleasure to follow their dear master. They immediately put on their most splendid attire, and go to the place of execution, which is opposite the temple, where all the people are assembled. After having sung and danced for a time sufficiently long, they pass around their neck a cord of ox-hide, with a slipknot, and immediately the ministers appointed for this kind of execution set about strangling them, at the same time charging them to go and rejoin their master, and to resume in the other world stations still more honourable than those which they have filled in this. The principal domestics having been strangled after this manner, their bones, especially those of the arms and the thighs, are cleaned of the flesh; they are left to dry up for two months in a kind of tomb, after which they are taken out to be inclosed in baskets, and placed in the temple by the side of those of their master. As to the other domestics, their kindred carry them to their huts, and bury them with their arms and their attire. This same ceremony is observed in like manner at the death of the brothers and sisters of the Great Chief. The women are always strangled, to follow their mistresses, except those who have infants at the breast,-for, in that case, they continue to live in order to suckle them. Many, however, seek nurses for their children, or they themselves strangle their infants, that they may not lose the right of sacrificing themselves in the public place, according to the ordinary ceremonies, and as the law ordains. "Formerly the nation of the Natchez was very considerable-it counted sixty villages, and eight hundred suns or princes; now it is reduced to six small villages, and eleven suns. In each of these villages there is a temple, where the fire is always kept up, as in that of the Great Chief, to whom all the other chiefs are subordinate. It is the Great Chief who appoints to all the most considerable offices of the state, such as the two commanders in war, the two masters of ceremony in the worship of the temple, &c. * Every year the people assemble to sow a great field of Indian corn, of beans, of gourds, and of melons. They assemble in the same manner to gather in the harvest. A great hut, situated in a beautiful prairie, is intended to preserve the fruits of this harvest. Every summer, towards the end of July, the people collect together by order of the Great Chief, to partake of a grand feast which is given. This festival lasts three days and three nights. Every one contributes whatever he can furnish,-some bring game, others fish, &c. There are dances almost continually. The Great Chief and his sister are lodged in a hut elevated and covered with foliage, whence they observe the amusements of their subjects. The princes, the princesses, and those who, by their offices, hold a distinguished rank, keep very near the Chief, to whom they show their respect and their submission by an infinity of ceremonies. "The Great Chief and his sister make their entry to the place of assemblage upon a sedan carried by eight of the largest men. The Chief holds in his hand a large sceptre, adorned with painted feathers; all the people dance and sing round about him, in token of the public joy. On the last day of this festival, he collects all his subjects, and makes them a long harangue, in which he exhorts them to fulfil all the duties of religion; he advises them, above all things, to have a great veneration for the spirits who dwell in the temple, and to instruct their children well. If any one has signalized himself by any action of zeal, he publicly eulogizes him. This happened in the year 1702. The lightning having struck the temple, and reduced it to ashes, seven or eight women cast their infants into the midst of the flames to appease the wrath of heaven. The Great Chief summoned out these women, and bestowed upon them great praise for the resolution with which they had sacrificed that which was most dear to them, and finished his panegyric by exhorting the other females to imitate so noble an example in a similar conjuncture. "The fathers of families never fail to carry to the temple the earliest productions of their fruit, their grain, and their vegetables-they are, indeed, presents made to the nation; they are immediately offered at the door of the temple, where the guardian, after having displayed them and presented them to the spirits, carries them to the Great Chief, who makes such a distribution of them as he thinks proper, without exciting the least sign of discontent. 66 They never sow any land of which the grain has not been presented to the temple with the usual ceremonies. Whenever these people approach the temple, they lift up their arms, through respect, and give three howls. After which they strike their hands upon the earth, and rise up three times with as many reiterated howls. When they only pass before the temple, they stop simply to salute it, with their eyes cast down, and their arms elevated. If a father or a mother perceives that their child omits this ceremony, he will be immediately punished by some strokes of the baton." collect the facts respecting a race of men who must be viewed by every American with deep interest. The nature of the publication which we have thus partially reviewed, has greatly confined the view which we should like to see taken by our literary associations. It is too much the fashion to be satisfied with noticing what falls under our own observation; and, speculating upon possible causes, we waste that time which might be employed in the investigation of what has actually occur We trust that exertions will be made to red. ORATION DELIVERED BEFORE THE WASHINGTON LIGHT INFANTRY, AT THEIR REQUEST, IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. FINBAR, IN THE CITY OF CHARLESTON, ON THE 22D OF FEBRUARY, 1838; BEING THE THIRTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE COMPANY, BY THE RIGHT REVEREND JOHN ENGLAND, D. D., BISHOP OF CHARLESTON, AN HONORARY MEMBER OF THE COMPANY. Charleston, March 5, 1838. RIGHT REVEREND SIR:-We have been appointed a committee of the Washington Light Infantry, to return you the thanks of the company for your very interesting and eloquent oration, delivered before them on the 22d February last, and to request of you a copy of the same for publication. You will permit us, Right Reverend Sir, to express the hope, that you will consent to put in a more permanent and accessible shape, a discourse, which, independently of all its other excellencies, is particularly calculated to exercise a happy influence over the minds of our young men, by directing their attention to the principles and influences which tended to form the early character of Washington, and to train him up for the distinguished part he was afterwards to perform in the great drama of human affairs. We have the honour to be, Your obedient servants, Right Reverend Bishop England. Charleston, March 6, 1838. GENTLEMEN-I have just received your note of yesterday's date, expressing the thanks of the Washington Light Infantry, for the discourse which I had the honour of delivering before them on the occasion of their anniversary; and requesting a copy for publication. I feel highly gratified, that the topics have met the approbation of young gentlemen, for whom I have such high esteem. It is now a good number of years since I have written and delivered a discourse. I almost always, for the last twenty years, have spoken without committing what I speak to writing. I have, however, on the present occasion, substantially embodied what I intended to say, and what I have written expresses sufficiently what I have delivered. Such as it is, gentlemen, that writing is at your disposition. Should you think it worth expression of my regret, that I could not publication, I shall consent, but with the make a nearer approach to exhibiting the excellence of the father of our country. I am, gentlemen, With great esteem and high respect, † JOHN, Bishop of Charleston. Messrs. Porter, Walker, Horsey, Committee. ORATION. FRIENDS AND FELLOW-CITIZENS:-That it is useful to lay aside particular days for the celebration of great events, is sustained not only by the usage of all nations, but by the advantages resulting from that usage. Each succeeding week is, by divine institution, marked by a day made holy; man is thus reminded of his duties to his Creator; he thereon withdraws from the bustle of worldly occupation, he devotes himself to the contemplation of his eternal destiny, he seeks to discover the means whereby he may secure his lasting happiness; for this purpose he revises his conduct, endeavours to correct his faults, to make progress in virtue, to partake of the benefits of religious observance. He also, by the observance of the day, gives encouragement to his companions, and trains up those who depend upon him, and who are to succeed him, in an acquaintance with the great principles which are to direct their practice, so as to perpetuate the service of God, and to secure the salvation of himself and of others. That great Being from whom the precept for this observance emanated, was well acquainted with our nature; because he formed us, and was able to regulate and to direct the work of his own hands. The law was enacted to preserve in our memory a recollection of our duty, to enforce its obligation on the understanding, to excite the will to resolve upon its performance, and to interweave an attachment for it with our dearest affections. But though the religious homage of God, be our first duty, it is not our only obligation. Not only is man destined to be an inhabitant of heaven, but he is also doomed to sojourn for a while upon the earth; during that period assigned for his pilgrimage here, he is surrounded by many cares, and subject to several wants, for which he not only is bound to provide, but in exerting himself for which purpose, he may lawfully seek, especially for those who depend upon him, or with whom he is connected, such a measure of enjoyment and happiness, as will gratify him and them, without endangering that more glorious inheritance, to which we all aspire. In his relation to transitory things, man is liable to more immediate, more vivid, and more lasting impressions from those things which affect him directly and personally, than from those which regard him but generally as a member of society, and indirectly through that circumstance; just as he is more wrought upon by sensible objects and present enjoyments, than by the invisible things of a future world, and by the remote prospects of happiness or of misery. Yet it frequently happens in society, as in religion, that our true welfare depends infinitely more upon what is least calculated to attract our immediate attention, or to excite our first or our warmest interest. And upon the same principle that the Lord instituted his holy day, to correct this evil as regards religion: so is it useful to have certain days set apart, to correct the mistakes of human selfishness, and to convince individuals that their own respective advantages will be better secured by labouring together as members of society to promote the general welfare. Hence, civil and political festivals, judiciously regulated, are of great advantage to the state at large, and consequently to the individuals who compose the body politic. That same character of our nation, to which I have alluded, also shows, that the bulk of mankind are necessarily more affected by those objects that strike their senses, than by any abstract meditations. Man is not a merely spiritual being; he sees through the eye, he hears through the ear, he tastes by the palate, and so of the other organs of sense. They are the usual channels through which his soul is informed, impressed or excited, and therefore, by a common usage of our race, on those festive occasions, there are exhibitions to the eye, information by addresses or excitement by music for the ear, the indulgence of the feast, and other devices of enjoyment; and all are calculated by a proper and judicious distribution to produce the happiest effect upon the mind, though like every other good, they may be abused, and may thereby occasion the most deplorable results. The mind also, is much more easily and securely instructed by the contemplation of striking events properly displayed before it, than by any abstruse reasoning or speculative disquisition. In this contemplation, objects are easily grasped by the senses or apprehended by the imagination, and retained by the memory. Hence, festivals are not, whether in religious or civil society, the mere contemplation of abstract principles, but the commemoration of events, in which principles are practically and beneficially exhibited. Man is easily and powerfully wrought upon by the example of his fellows. We would derive little, if any benefit from attempting a philosophical inquiry into the cause; it is enough that we know the fact; and hence the public good is greatly promoted, by holding forth to the world the bright examples of the benefactors of mankind; not only are salutary emulation and a virtuous ambition thereby created, but the vain excuses of timidity or sloth, when they plead the existence of insuperable difficulties and the impossibility of success, are at once triumphantly answered, by showing what men like ourselves have achieved; and the noblest human motives to exertion are furnished, by showing the benefits which one man may procure for millions; and whilst the deeds of our honoured brother are recounted, we feel an energy for whose origin we cannot indeed account, but whose effects are powerful and may be highly beneficial. Thus has the roll of Fame been inscribed in every age and in every nation, with the names of the wise, of the good, of the learned, of the brave, of the holy, of the devoted, of the laborious, of the benevolent, and of the just. Temples have been erected, cities have been named, monuments have been raised, games have been instituted, festivals celebrated, and a variety of other modes devised, to hold forth their example, and to perpetuate their renown. But in the whole multitude, I find few, who in respect to the peculiar end for which he appears to have been fitted by Providence, stands so honourably conspicuous; not one whose example can be so beneficially held forth as a lesson and a model to the citizens of our republics, as OUR OWN WASHINGTON. And I undertake the task, which you have so kindly assigned |