MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS.

No. IX.

LAPLANDERS AND REIN-DEER. MANY of our readers will doubtless remember the engraving of the Laplanders and their rein-deer which we gave in No. 9 of the MIRROR, and many who were at that time unacquainted with our work, but who are now our readers, will remember that a family of Laplanders with a herd of living reindeer were imported by Mr. Bullock, and exhibited at the Egyptian Hall, and elsewhere, in the year 1822. From Captain Brooke's recently published Winter Sketches in Lapland, we learn, that in 1823, the Laplanders were on the Roraas Mountains, endeavouring to raise a herd of deer; that they had acquired great licentiousness in consequence of their visit to this country; and that they had wasted much of the wealth which they had taken away with them. The same writer further informs us, that out of two hundred deer brought by Mr. Bullock, only twelve throve, and are now near Dublin. Others were placed in Scotland, but they died; still Capt. Brooke is of opinion, that if the experiment were tried, these fine animals might be naturalized in this country. The rein-deer, however, increases in bulk and power as it approaches the extreme north, and is a far finer animal in Spitzbergen than in Finmark. The speed of these animals is well-known, and Capt. B. mentions the following instance of one deer going one hundred and fifty miles, at the rate of eight miles an hour:- In consequence of the Norwegians making a sudden and unexpected irruption into the Swedish territories, an officer was despatched with a sledge and rein-deer to Stockholm, to convey the intelligence; which he did with such speed, that he performed one hundred and twenty-four Swedish miles (about eight hundred English) in fortyeight hours; but his faithful animal dropped down lifeless on the Riddarhustorget, just after his arrival in the capital. The bearer of the news, as it is said, was in consequence ennobled, and assumed the name of Rehnstjerna (Reindeer Star.)

The Laplander can hardly be prevailed upon to sell his deer; but Capt. Brookes succeeded in purchasing one from a native, who brought it down to Fuglenæs to kill; an operation which the Laplanders will never allow a stranger to perform. We shall conclude this brief notice of

the manners and customs of the Lap landers with a relation of the singular and cruel operation of their

SLAYING A REIN-DEER.

Having fettered the animal, and thrown it upon the ground, he plunged his knife into it exactly between the fore legs, and left it there, sticking up to the hilt. The animal was then loosed; but, instead of life being extinct, after a little struggle it got upon its legs and walked a short distance, the knife still remaining in the wound. In this manner it continued for some time, appearing to be little affected, and the Laplanders were preparing to repeat the cruel operation, when the deer suddenly dropped, and immediately expired This barbarous method of slaughtering their deer is general among the Laplanders of Finmark, and I have even seen the pour animal, after the knife was struck into it, appear so little conscious of the blow, as to begin feeding, and to survive several minutes before its effects

proved fatal. The reason for leaving the knife in the wound is that the blood may be preserved, which would gush forth if the knife were taken out. When the animal is opened, the blood is found coagulated, and is carefully preserved by the Laplanders, who consider it a great delicacy.

SPIRIT OF THE

Public Journals.

THE WRECK.

HAVING arranged my affairs in Port Louis, bade adieu to the few acquaintances I had on that island, and settled myself comfortably in my spacious cabin of seven feet by five, in the good ship Albatross, my thoughts naturally reverted to home and my kindred-home! from which I had for eight years been an exile; kindred with whom (from the wandering, desultory life I led,) I had held little, or in fact, no communion. Shall I, said I to myself, find in the land of my nativity those congenial spirits, from whom, in the hey-day of youthful blood parting seemed so bitter, even amid the greedy cravings after novelty, so natural to the ardent and youthful mind? I thought of the changes time or death might have wrought, and could not repress my tears. The voice of the captain of the vessel aroused me from my reverie: "We shall have a greasy night, I doubt," said he, anxiously looking towards the receding land. I turned to gaze upon it; "masses of dense and marble-like clouds enveloped it; the evening was lowering, and al though there was scarcely enough of wind

W

to fill the sails, there was that uneasy motion of the waves, termed by seamen "6 a short sea ;" and occasionally fitful squalls of wind swept past us, hurrying the vessel for an instant with the swiftness of a meteor, and then, leaving her to plough her sluggish course, rolling and pitching as the short abrupt seas struck her now forward and then aft. Every thing, as the captain observed, seemed ominous of at least a squally night; nor was he deceived. I had continued on deck, listlessly watching the crew, as they bustled about the ship and rigging, making all snug, in anticipation of the gale, till at length the perfect stillness about me, broken only by the booming of the sea against the ship's sides, and the creaking of the masts and rigging, warning me of the lateness of the hour, I descended to my birth. It was then blowing a fresh breeze from the N. E.

I suspect I had slept about three hours, when I awoke, and found the ship lying down nearly on her beam ends, and by the rapid rush of waters past her sides, I knew that a heavy squall must have caught her. There was a great stir above, and the boatswain was turning up all hands. I rushed immediately on deck→→→ the night was pitchy dark, and the wind had freshened to a hard gale: all the following day it increased; by night it blew a furious tempest, and the sea increasing with it, rose literally mountains high. We had hitherto laid our course, but the wind now hauled round to the eastward; to ease her, we sent down topgallant-masts, mizen-top-masts, and jib. boom, and kept as close to the wind as the violence of the weather would allow us; but the sea canted her head off, so that she made more lee than head-way, and the rigging was terribly strained with the work:about day-break, a tremendous storm tore the foresail in ribbons; we had now but a close-reefed main-topsail and fore-try-sail set (every hand flatly refusing to go aloft to bend another sail to the fore-yard,) so that we had little hope of keeping off the Mozambique shore, near to which we imagined we must have driven; unless, indeed, the wind shifted, and of this there was little likelihood. The gale too, if possible, seemed to increase; the sky was one vast black cloud; and the rain fell so thick, that we could scarce distinguish an ob ject from the wheel to the main-mast. One pump had been incessantly at work for the last six-and-thirty hours, but the water gained so fast upon her, that we were obliged to rig the weather one and even then we could scarcely keep it under.

About noon, however, the rain ceased, the atmosphere cleared, and the wind lulled; and then our spirits and energies revived. The captain now determined, if possible, to wear ship. After a hard struggle, we succeeded; and found, to our great joy, that she made better weather on this tack, as the sea now headed her, and she had time to rise to one sea before another struck her. By four P.M. we had gained considerably on her. She had still some water between decks, but nothing to be alarmed at; and though we had battened down the hatches, there was such a weight of water on deck, from the continual seas she shipped, it was impossible to keep them perfectly tight. Our anxiety was now in a great measure dispelled, and we sat down to the first comfortable meal we had enjoyed since leaving harbour; indeed we had not as yet been able to cook at all.

There was on board the Albatross, the young widow of an English merchant of Port Louis, returning with her infant to Europe. This lady strangely interested me. Settled melancholy was stamped on her pale and care-worn features: she would sit for hours. gazing on the innocent face of her child, till the tears trembled in her eyes; and then she would start, and affect to smile, and to wonder at her own abstraction; but it was evidently the effort of a heart desolate and stricken. Her story was an affecting one. She had loved, and her passion was returned-but her lover was poor! They married and her sordid, implacable pa rent, drove her from his roof, with bitterness and cursing. An offer was made to her husband to join a young but flourishing concern in the Mauritius; and he departed, leaving his Maria to follow him, should his hopes succeed. They did! Joyfully did she obey his summons: and her heart throbbed with delight, as she anticipated the moment when she should place in his father's arms, the son born to him in his exile. Alas! it was ordained that he should but see her and die! She found him stretched on the bed of death! The rest of the story is soon told. The unhappy widow, with her infant, sailed for England-every hope and happiness buried in her hus band's untimely grave!

The weather continued moderate for the whole of the two following days; and with a fair and leading breeze, we rapidly sped on our way towards the Cape of Good Hope. It was now the fifth evening since our departure: the day had been sultry, and the captain and myself stood upon the poop, conversing in high spirits: Mrs. C. sat between us, and she

appeared less dejected than usual. Suddenly it became very dark; the low distant thunder was audible from the S. W. Dark clouds gathered in that quarter; and they waxed more and more dense, till they almost covered the horizon, and seemed but just suspended above us; and the wind, which had hitherto been N. E., was now perfectly lulled. The captain started up, in evident alarm, and hastily summoned the crew. In a moment the decks swarmed with men ; and bustle and activity succeeded the perfect stillness, which had prevailed but an instant before. The sailors shouted as they clung aloft to the yards; and those on deck responded. Blocks and slackened cordage clattered; and the sails flapped, and dashed heavily, as they hung in the brails. Something serious was evidently anticipated. The captain had his eyes steadily fixed on the quarter whence the ominous appearances gathered, and every gaze seemed to strengthen his apprehension. He beckoned to the mate, and muttered something to him in a low tone. The man turned pale as ashes, and exclaimed, "Good God! should it be so !" "Hush!" said the captain; 66 say nothing, but bear a hand, and make all snug, before it reaches us." I asked him if he apprehended very bad wea ther? His abrupt and morose answer in creased my uneasiness, and I descended to the quarter-deck. The boatswain was here, seeing to the battening down of the hatchways, and to him I repeated my question. This fellow, a Swede, I believe the most phlegmatic in the world, just raised his huge body from his stooping position, and turning a plug of tobacco in his cheek, growled out, "I believe it was a ta'am'd hurricane a brewing," went coolly on with his work. I had seen the terrible effects of these convulsions of nature on shore, and was aware they were not less fatal on the ocean; my heart sickened, and I gave up all on board as lost. 1 leant over the starboard-quarter, my eyes fixed on the terrible S. W. Presently a cloud, of a most extraordinary nature, arose above the horizon: its colour was a dull gloomy red, and it seemed palpable to the touch; it appeared almost to reach the surface of the ocean, and to approach towards us. I looked at the captain: he had seen it; and the expression of his face was hopeless. "Captain Brown!" I exclaimed earnestly, "do you anticipate danger ?" He made no reply, but mournfully shook his head, and continued his hurried walk athwart the break of the poop. The terrible phenomenon approached nearer and nearer; and we could

now hear the shrill howlings of the wind, and the breaking and boiling of the sea. A few men yet lingered in the rigging. Brown shouted to them to make haste down; and the sound of his voice too plainly evinced the state of his mind-it was broken and mournful. The crew were fully aware of their dangerous situation; and they had clustered together on the main deck, in silent and stupid bewilderment! At last it reached us; and the maddened elements, lightning and rain, tempest and sea, seemed to have poured forth all their fury, for our annihilation! The ship whirled round and round-every timber and plank trembled

and the masts and yards creaked and bent like twigs. One huge sea struck her fore and aft for a space, ingulfing her beneath it. Then she rose, straining and quivering, to the summit of a mountainous wave; and again, with the swiftness of an arrow, plunged into the fearful hollow beneath. Thus, for a space, did she drive, totally ungovernable, at the mercy of the tempest. Meanwhile I had clung to the mizen-mast: my heart beat convulsively, and perfect consciousness forsook me. At length I felt the ship shooting, as it were, to the sky, and again hurled back. There was a fearful pause, followed by the mighty rushing of waters, by the crash of timber and a wild shriek of agony and despair, arose even above the howlings of the tempest. The fore-mast and bowsprit both were gone, and had carried with them three unhappy wretches in their fall. i

Poor Mrs. C. rushed up out of the cabin, with her child in her arms; and wildly clinging to the captain, entreated him to save her. With difficulty we suc ceeded in soothing her; and at length placed her on the sofa, in the cuddy, al. most insensible to every thing about her.

At last day beamed; and the hopeless state of our ship was but too visible. The hurricane indeed had broken, but the wind, though it continued to one point, blew with the most fearful vio lence: we had no sail set, and she rolled, gunnel under, in the trough of the sea. At length, several waves successively struck her, and dashed over every part; the hatches were driven in, and the decks below were deluged in torrents; till at last the water burst upwards again, car rying every thing before it, from the waist to the forecastle. The ship now seemed rapidly settling down; the decks were knee deep in water-horror was in every face, despair in every · bosom ! Vainly did we stretch our eyes, to catch, if possible, an approaching sail; but no thing could we see but water-water—