Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 64, No.394, August, 1848. Various

the greatest luxury he knows of – that of sleeping either in the sun or shade as his inclination may lead him, with the occasional variation of participating in the singing and praying exercises of the regular inhabitants of the place." If the zealous propagators of Christianity, who thus encourage the natural idleness of the natives, were successful in their attempts at conversion, it might be accepted as some compensation for the temporal evils and inconvenience they aid to inflict on a colony where servants are scarce and bad. But this is far from being the case. Mr Nicholson assures us (and we readily believe him) that it is very rare to find an individual whose moral conduct has been improved by a residence at a missionary station, and that for his part he prefers the downright heathen to the imperfect convert. Few of these coloured Christians have any distinct idea of the creed they profess; when able, which is seldom, to answer questions concerning its first principles, their replies are parrot-like and unintelligent. Against the general character of the missionaries nothing can be said; but they are throwing away time, and their employers are wasting money which might be employed to far greater advantage in England, or in other countries whose inhabitants, equally in want of religious instruction, are more capable of receiving and comprehending it than are the stolid aborigines of the Cape of Good Hope. Mr Nicholson does not dwell upon the subject of missionary labours in Africa, but compresses at the close of a chapter his opinions, which are sound and to the purpose. Mrs Ward says nothing on the matter, and we ourselves are not disposed to dilate upon it, having already often taken occasion to expose the folly of the system that sends preachers and biblemongers to the remotest corners of the earth when such scope for their labours exists at home. Let us return to George Nicholson, his trials and tribulations.

      1

      A substance obtained from a gland in the scrotum of the beaver, and used to attract that animal to the trap.

      2

      The Hudson's Bay Company is so called by the American trappers.

      3

      A small lake near the head waters of the Yellow Stone, near which are some curious thermal springs of ink-black water.

      4

      The Aztecs are supposed to have built this city during their migration to the south; there is little doubt, ho

1

A substance obtained from a gland in the scrotum of the beaver, and used to attract that animal to the trap.

2

The Hudson's Bay Company is so called by the American trappers.

3

A small lake near the head waters of the Yellow Stone, near which are some curious thermal springs of ink-black water.

4

The Aztecs are supposed to have built this city during their migration to the south; there is little doubt, however, but that the region extending from the Gila to the Great Salt Lake, and embracing the province of New Mexico, was the locality from which they emigrated.

5

Creoles of St Louis, and French Canadians.

6

"On the prairie," is the Indian term for a free gift.

7

Ancient and Modern Art, historical and critical. By George Cleghorn, Esq. 2 vols. Blackwoods. 1848.

8

Five Years in Kaffirland, with Sketches of the Late War in that Country. Written on the Spot. By Harriet Ward. Two vols. London, 1848.

The Cape and its Colonists, with Hints to Settlers, in 1848. By George Nicholson, Jun., Esq., a late Resident. London, 1848.

Three Years' Cruise in the Mozambique Channel, for the Suppression of the Slave Trade. By Lieut. Barnard, R.N. London, 1848.