teelly in a drawing-room, are ftudying new capes, collars, queus, cum multis aliis, and practising the more graceful profeffion of acoachman. But let us leave these to the fublime arts of fmacking whips, breaking in horfes, and commanding phaetons, and advert to thofe who, confcious of their natural imperfection, will liften to the voice of reafon, and repay my endeavours with a fmall degree of attention. A certain confcioufnefs of one's own merit (but carefully avoiding pride and impudence), fo far from being culpable, is abfolutely neceffary to every one who would wish to avoid the mauvaife honte. A calmnefs of temper and countenance fhould be preferved; and remember, that where you

have not offended, there is nothing to fear. An embarrafled beha viour, however it may be hid under the name of innocence, will always be conftrued into a want of breeding and good company. A moderate fecurity is the basis on which to build a temple to the graces, and without this ground-work, the fuperftructure will be ufelefs.-Speak little when you first go into company; but diftinct and flow; being careful to pronounce the laft letter in each word, which adds greatly to the removal of this aukward, dilagreeable habit; and a little attention would foon relieve my countrymen from the oppro brious farcafms of the more polite foreigner. Your's fincerely,

PHILOSOPHUS.

E faw but two villages,

but thofe which run in the direc

habitants might be computed at 2000. That, at the entrance of the Sound, ftands on the fide of a riling ground, which has a pretty steep afcent from the beach to the verge of the wood, in which space it is fituated. The houfes are difpofed

three ranges or rows, rifing gradually behind each other; the largest being that in front, and the others lels: befides a few ftraggling, or fingle ones, at each end. Thete ranges are interrupted or disjoined at irregular dilances, by narrow paths, or ianes, tha pafs upward;

rows, are much broader. Though there be fome appearance of regularity in this difpofition, there is none in the fingle houfes; for each of the divifions, made by the paths, may be confidered either as one houfe, or as many; there being no regular or complete feparation, either without or within, to diftinguish them by. They are built of very long and broad planks, refting upon the edges of each other, faftened by withes of pine bark, here and there; and have only flender pofts, r rather poles,

at confiderable diftances, on the outfide to which they also are tied; but within are fome larger poles placed aflant. The height of the fides and ends of these habitations, is feven or eight feet; but the back part is a little higher, by which means the planks, that compofe the roof, flant forward, and are laid on loose, so as to be moved about; either to be put close, to exclude the rain; or, in fair weather, to be feparated, to let in the light, and carry out the fmoke. They are, upon the whole, miferable dwellings, and conftructed with little care or ingenuity. For, though the fide-planks be made to fit pretty clofely in fome places, in others they are quite open; and there are no regular doors into them; the only way of entrance being either by a hole, where the unequal length of the planks has accidentally left an opening; or, in some cases, the planks are made to pass a little beyond each other, or overlap, about two feet afunder; and the entrance is in this space. There are alfo holes, or windows, in the fides of the houses to look out at ; but without any regularity of fhape or difpofition; and these have bits of mat hung before them, to prevent the rain getting in.

"On the infide, one may frequently fee from one end to the other of these ranges of building without interruption. For though, in general, there be the rudiments, or rather veftiges, of feparations on each fide, for the accommodation of different families, they are fuch as do not intercept the fight; and often confit of no more than pieces of plank, running from the fide toward the middle of the houfe; fo that, if they were complete, the whole might be compared to a long ftable, with a double range of ftalls, and a broad paffage in the middle. Clofe to the fides, in cach of thefe parts, is a little bench

of boards, raifed five or fix inches higher than the reft of the floor, and covered with mats, on which the family fit and fleep. Thefe benches are commonly feven of eight feet long, and four or five broad. In the middle of the floor, between them, is the fire-place, which has neither hearth nor chimney. In one house, which was in the end of a middle range, almoft quite feparated from the reft by a high clole partition, and the moft regular, as to defign, of any that I faw, there were four of thefe benches; each of which held a fingle family, at a corner, but without any feparation by boards; and the middle part of the house appeared common to them all.

"Their furniture confifts chiefly of a great number of chefts and boxes of all fizes, which are generally piled upon each other, clofe to the fides or ends of the houfe, and contain their spare garments, fkins, masks, and other things which they fet a value upon. Some of these are double, or one covers the other as a lid; others have a lid faftened with thongs; and fome of the very large ones have a fquare hole, or fcuttle, cut in the upper part, by which the things are put in and taken out. They are often painted black, ftudded with the teeth of different animals, or carved with a kind of freeze work, and figures of birds or animals, as decorations. Their other domeftic utenfils are mostly fquare and oblong pails or buckets to hold water and other things; round wooden cups and bowls; and fmall fhallow wooden troughs, about two feet long, out of which they eat their food; bafkets of twigs, bags of matting, &c. Their fifhing implements, and other things alfo, lie or hang up in different parts of the house, but without the leaft order; fo that the whole is a complete scene of con.

fufion;

fufion; and the only places that do not partake of this confufion are the fleeping-benches, that have nothing on them but the mats; which are alfo cleaner, or of a firier fort, than those they commonly have to fit on in their boats.

"The naftinefs and ftench of their houses, are, however, at leaft equal to the confufion. For, as they dry their fifh within doors, they alfo gut them there, which, with their bones and fragments thrown down at meals, and the addition of other forts of filth, lie every where in heaps, and are, I believe, never carried away, till it becomes troublesome, from their fize, to walk over them. In a word, their houses are as filthy as hog-fties; every thing in and about them ftinking of fifh, trainoil, and smoke.

"But, amidst all the filth and confufion that are found in the houfes, many of them are decorated with images. These are nothing more than the trunks of very large trees, four or five feet high, fet up fingly, or by pairs, at the upper end of the apartment, with the front carved into a human face; the arms and hands cut out upon the fides, and varioufly paint cd; fo that the whole is a truly monftrous figure. A mat, by way of curtain, for the most part hung before them, which the natives were not willing at all times to remove; and when they did unveil them, they' feemed to fpeak of them in a very mysterious manner. It should feem that they are," at times, accustomed to make offerings to them; if we can draw this inference from their defiring us, as we interpreted their figns, to give fomething to thefe images, when they drew afide the mats that covered them. It was natural, from thefe circumftances, for us to think that they were reprefentatives of their gods or fymbols of

fome religious or fuperftitious ob ject; and yet we had proofs of the little real eftimation they were in; for with a fmall quantity of iron or brafs, I could have purchased all the gods (if their images were fuch) in the place. I did not fee one that was not offered to me; and I actually got two or three of the very smallest fort.

"The chief employment of the men seems to be that of fishing, and killing land or fea animals, for the fuftenance of their families; for we faw few of them doing any thing in the houses; whereas the women were occupied in manufaturing their flaxen or woollen garments, and in preparing the fifh called Sardine, for drying; which they also carry up from the beach in twig-bafkets, after the men have brought them in their canoes. The women are alfo fent in the fmall canoes to gather muscles, and other fhell-fifh; and perhaps on fome other occafions; for they manage these with as much dexterity as the men; who, when in the canoes with them, feem to pay little attention to their fex, by offering to relieve them from the labour of the paddle; nor, indeed, do they treat them with any particular refpect or tenderness in other fituations. The young men appeared to be the most indolent cr idle fet in this community; for they were either fitting about, in fcattered companies, to bask themfelves in the fun; or lay wallowing in the fand upon the beach, like a number of hogs, for the fame purpofe, without any covering. But this difregard of decency was confined to the men. The women were always properly clothed, and behaved with the utmost propriety, juftly deferving all commendation, for a bafhfulness and modefty becoming their fex; but more meritorious in them, as the men feem to have no sense of shame. It is impoflible,