who soon increased to 45, of whom, two were Catholics, three Greeks, and three Jews. The progress of the school is thus described in a joint letter, dated in June 1823. "On the 8th; inst. we distributed premiums among our scholars in the sabbath school. It was encouraging to us to find, that the Greeks had committed to memory more than six thousand verses in the New Testament. One, a lad about 12 years of age, had committed the entire Gospel of St. Matthew; and two or three others of the Greeks had committed about half of the same Gospel, within about 12 weeks. This is a new and unheard of thing among the people of these countries."

Mr. Fisk likewise assiduously cultivated an acquaintance with different classes of persons, Catholics, Greeks, Jews, Mahommedans, as well as with intelligent Englishmen and others. And his time was also considerably occupied in maintaining a correspondence with agents of Bible Societies and friends of missions around the Levant, and in superintending the operations of the press. In November, 1822, he was joined, in consequence of his own application to that gentleman, by Mr. King, the first missionary of the Paris Foreign Missionary Society, by whom he was placed under the direction of the American Board; and a few days afterwards, Mr. Wolff arriving at Malta, these three associates immediately began preparations for a journey to Egypt and the Holy Land. All their arrangements being completed, they sailed' for Alexandria on the 3d of January 1823, and arrived there on the 10th. In that city they were continually occupied, for ten days or more, in preaching, conversing, reasoning, and exhorting, sometimes in a more private way, and sometimes to a congregation of 130 persons. They sold 100 copies of the Bible, or parts of the Bible, in ten languages, and gave away 50 copies. One Schoolmaster bought 15 Testaments for his pupils. At Cairo they continued these labours; and, after some deliberation, concluded to visit Upper Egypt. Early in February they began to ascend the Nile; proceeded as far as the ruins of ancient Thebes; distributed the Scriptures to dif

ferent classes of persons, but principally to Coptic Christians, who were in the most pressing need of them; and returned to Cairo about the 10th of March, when they made immediate preparations to cross the desert on camels, in order to be at Jerusalem toward the close of April. fore their return to Cairo, they distributed 800 copies of the Scriptures, in whole or in part, and more than 2000 tracts. They preached and conversed in six or seven languages, and were incessantly occupied in various labours.

While in Egypt, and be

Messrs. Bird and Goodell, with their wives, embarked from New York, for the reinforcement of the mission on the 9th December, 1822. The visit of the missionaries to New York was attended with the most pleasing results. The kindest attention was paid to them by the friends of religion, and so deep an interest was excited in their undertaking, that a number of individuals formed themselves into an association, and pledged themselves to furnish the means of supporting them, by paying into the Treasury of the Board the annual salary of two married missionaries. Touching at Gibraltar, they were encouraged by the cordial reception which they met with, from pious and intelligent persons of different denominations. On the 22d of January, they arrived at Malta, and entered with all practicable speed and diligence upon the necessary preparations for future labour. In these Mr. and Mrs. Temple have been much engaged, so that they have already translated several tracts into Italian. "For the present," says the Report, "preaching and conversation in English, the translation and publication of tracts, the distribution of Bibles and tracts, the conducting of a correspondence with intelligent persons around the Mediterranean, the care of Sabbath Schools and the acquisition of languages, added to such journies as may promise to forward the cause of Christ, will occupy the labours of the three missionaries now at Malta."

Such labours could prove but very inefficient without the aid of a printing press. Permission therefore, was obtained from the government at Malta, to establish one, and it has already

proved its usefulness. On the 17th of June, 1823, this department of missionary service, stood as follows:

"We have printed eleven tracts in Greek, and four in Italian ; and have three more in the press, two in Italian, and one in Greek, that is, a second edition of the Dairyman's Daughter, the first being exhausted. Our tracts have been sent to Egypt, Syria, the Morea, and the Ionian Islands. A physician at St. Maura, one of the Ionian Islands, who is Mr. Temple's friend and correspondent, wrote him a letter recently, from which we send you the following extract: I have sold all my Italian Bibles and Testaments, and wait for more from Corfu. Your tracts were received with amazing avidity, particularly the Dairyman's Daughter. Many applications were made for a copy, which I was forced to refuse ; but promised I would write for more. The Greeks say it is remarkably well translated. I gave one to the Regent, to two of the Judges, to a Physician, to a Master in the Normal School, and to the Inspector of police. I met one of the Judges carrying his copy in his pocket, talking of it, and showing it to his friends in the street. He told me he had never read such a book; and that it made him weep plentifully. Send me more if you have them, they are excellent adjuvants to the Bible. It would be a great advantage if you could print the Poor Cottager, by the same author. The Greeks are a quick ingenious people; but they stand much in need of instruction. They ask me for the Old Testament in Greek, and are much rejoiced to hear that it is printing.' There are, at the present time, many thousand Greek refugees in the Ionian Islands; and thus we find an excellent opportunity to distribute our tracts among them."

Two Greek youths arrived in America, in February last, who had been confided to Mr. Fisk for the purpose of being educated there: and it is expected that the missionaries will select other youths hereafter, as circumstances may favour the design, to enjoy the same means of intellectual and moral improvement. The good which might result to Greece from the execution of such a plan is beyond calculation.

Scientific Department.

NEW ZEALAND.

FOR the following article we are indebted to the North American Review, a publication which affords favourable specimens of American literature, and which we generally peruse with pleasure. The original article is principally drawn from Missionary documents, and is far too long for us to copy entire. We shall make it our endeavour, however, to allow nothing of importance to escape us.

In some points of view, the New Zealanders are among the most extraordinary people of whom we have any knowledge. No authentic record can be found of a people more thoroughly and shockingly savage; more fierce in their passions, more insatiate in their revenge, more blood-thirsty in their wars, or more inhuman in the treatment of enemies; at the same time, they are not less distinguished for the strength of their affections, their unshaken attachment to their relations, and their reverence for the memory of the dead. In their character, they resemble the other South Sea Islanders; but they exhibit stronger contrasts, and have customs peculiar to themselves.

The climate of New Zealand is temperate, and adapted to almost every production of European growth; but the natives cultivate scarcely any thing except sweet potatoes. These are produced in great abundance, and deposited for common use in public storehouses. Fern roots, wild celery, cresses, and a few other indigenous vegetables are used for food. Fish in great variety, and of good quality, is abundant. The only quadru

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peds which Captain Cook saw, were dogs and rats; but he left hogs on the island, which have since become numerous. Marsden carried over horned cattle and horses, some of which were shot by the natives, because tirey trespassed on tabbooed ground. The missionaries successfully cultivate wheat, other

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grain, and many kinds of garden vegetables introduced from England.

The New Zealand men are tall, well formed and athletic, with a dark brown complexion, and black hair, which though commonly straight, is sometimes curled. The features of both sexes are regular, and some of the women are accounted beautiful. The dress of men and women is the same, consisting of two mats fashioned into garments, and worn one over the other. The under garment is made of the strong silky fibres of a spe.. cies of grass, intermixed with dog's hair, and closely woven or matted together, and is thrown over the body like a mantle. The outer garment is much coarser and thicker; it is confined around the neck, and descends scarcely below the middle of the body, and is chiefly intended as a defence against the inclemency of the weather. The ears of the women, and fre◄ quently of the men, are perforated with large holes, having been pierced in infancy, and so distended as to receive bits of wood, feathers, bones, and the teeth of fishes, as ornaments. They also wear suspended from the neck pieces of green talc, carved into grotesque shapes somewhat resembling the human figure. The men gather their hair into a bunch at the top of the head, and confine it there with combs of wood or of bone and adorn it with feathers; but the hair of the women either flows loosely over their shoulders, or is cut short. men nor women use any covering for the head.

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The houses or huts of the natives are small, built with rough frame work of wood, covered and lined with grass firmly compacted, and sometimes with the bark of trees; they are seldom sufficiently elevated to admit a person to stand erect within them; and they have but one opening, which serves both as door and window, and is just large enough to allow a man to creep through it on his hands and knees. The houses of the chiefs have commonly, a veranda or porch, which is fantastically ornamented with paintings, and carved work. Notwithstanding the rudeness of their dwellings, the want of better is scarcely