rub "The Indians write upon the leaf of a tree, which is called Latanier, and is a kind of a palm-tree, but whose leaves are not so long as those of an ordinary palm tree. They are strong and thick, and they write upon them with a pencil. When their letters are drawn, some over all the leaf with black, and so fill up the characters that are written; but the greater part do only draw the letters with an iron pencil. These leaves require no great labour to prepare them, it being sufficient to dry them, and then lay them by the side of one another, for they are shaped like a fan. When they are dried sufficiently, they have the colour of straw, but by length of time they grow very bright. "The Malabarians do not know how to handie pen and ink, but they take the palm-leaf in the left, and an iron style or pencil in the right hard, and write with it as fast as we do with pen and paper. Yet it re sidered as no less indispensable an atonement than the penauce.-Pity that such tractable sheep should not be better worth shearing. T. quires a great deal of patience and exercise to write with so heavy a pencil every day, and from morning to night, and to hold the palmleaf in the left-hand. without laying or resting the same on any thing av all, "On their left thumb, they have a pretty long nail, with a nook cut in it. To this they fasten the sharp end of the pencil, whilst the upper end is held by the fingers of the right hand. The olie or palm leaf they hold with the four fingers of the left hand, and putting the thumb which supports the pencil on the top of the leaf, they move it forwards till a line is finished, after which they take back the leaf, and begin another. "In the Malabarick school. the children sit on the ground, writing with their fingers in sand, spread on the floor for that purpo-e, (the com mon way of teaching young children to read and write in the East Indies), the lessons which every child has been taught in the morning; chanting, with an audible voice, the names of the letters or words as they write them. * "They have in all their cities, market-towns and villages, settled schools, wherein their youth are taught to read and write, thongh there are very few that attain to any perfection. The reason seems to be, because no less than six years study is required to make a man perfect in both.-Their women are not kept at school at all, and consequently remain ignorant except a few of them singled out to attend the service of the idols in their pagodas. These are called, for that reason, the servants of the Gods.” Harris's Collection of Voyages. * Some of the scholars however, learn to write a good hand; they also learn geography and the use of the globes; they transcribe on the leaves of a tree, with a steel pencil, such books as they have occasion to use at school CHRISTMAS. THE Nativity of Christ is of uncer tain date. According to the computation of some, it happened in September, and of others, in May. It was observed for the three first ages in the Eastern Church on the 6th of January, but was transferred in the Western Church to the 25th of December, to co-incide with the civil term of the winter solstice, an universal festival among the northern nations. There is a pleasing and affecting coincidence, between that period of the year which terminates the increase of darkness, and commences the prolongation of the day, and that period of a greater circle of time, when He appeared who brought life and immortal ty to light, aud shone upon the nations who lay in darkness, and the shadow of death. And no time of the year appears better suited for the comme "oration of Christ, than that which most urgently calls for the practical display of his characteristic excellence, CHARITY. Christ is love. Then welcome Christmas, from on high With Summer sun in Wintry sky, While the gay and sparkling earth, Rejoicing in the holy birth, Seems to cry-" the Child is come “Of human-kind the hope and home, "Their hope, of other hope bereft, "THEIR HOME WHO HAVE NO OTHER LEFT." 25th December. Or love hold wedded beauty's pall, Can we then weep no more? If brothers of our youthful glee, Can we then weep no more? If scenes of former joys appear, To start at view of home so dear, Why bid us weep no more? In the drear evening of our day, Who then can weep no more? Howe'er to each 'tis doom'd to know Then say not, weep no more! If from these mournful views appears When thou shalt weep no more! ON SENSIBILITY. A Fragment, by Thomas Russell. SHOULD we a joy anticipate, Too soon the seft illusion flies; While sorrow on our steps await, As evils in each prospect rise. Thrice happy they who never felt, The sweetly pleasing gloom, Which sensibility bestows, And fear no evils 'till they come. and the oil will bind, either grind, bruise, granulate or reduce it to a powder, in the usual way, but as quick as possible. Then by a press, or other engine or machine, of sufficient force, and whilst the coffee is hot or warm, I so compress it into a solid body as to expel and exclude the air as much as possible: it should, and more especially if intended for carriage, be pressed into tin boxes, earthenware, or other proper vessels of a close firm texture; as it is of a friable nature; and then to be covered close down till wanted. In witness whereof, &c. Observations by the Patentee. Government having thought it an object of importance to encourage a more general consumption of coffee in this country, the legislature, about three years since, made a considerable reduction in the duty, with a view of promoting this object. Hitherto the consumption has not increased in the proportion that might have been expected from this measure; and, considering it as a subject of the highest interest, not only to the West India merchants and planters, but to the public at large, in the present state of Europe, I have given the fullest attention to it. I have observed that foreigners, and gentlemen who had been on the continent, spoke very highly of the coffee they had tasted there, and complained of the state in which they usually met with it in England. Satisfied that this apparent defect in quality could only proceed from the manner of preparing it for use, since we have the best of every kind in its original state, I thought it necessary to obtain the best possible information of the management of it on the continent, which I found to be nothing more than taking great care in the roasting to use it fresh and make it clear, hot, and much stronger than is usually the case in England, and which, from its having become a universal repast on the continent, like tea with us, every servant is expert at making it in perfection. But the great difficulty of establishing the general use of it in England, in the middle classes of society, where the great consump tion must be made, appeared to me to be the removal of the trouble of grinding it, for which few such families are prepared. I accordingly employed myself in making experi ments on a small scale, and am happy to say I have succeeded beyond my expectation: the utmost I hoped for was, to have rendered it as good as fresh-ground coffee; but find it not only equal, but superior both in strength and flavour, and is for a considerable time as good as freshroasted coffee, and is the most economical way in which it can be prepared; Intle or none of its flavour or strength being lost by evaporation, but in the common way a great portion of both are dissipated in grinding and cooling. Two ounces of my preparation will generally go as far as three in the usual way. The Patentee flatters himself that afforded a facility to the use of cofhe has by his mode of preparation fee generally that must greatly augment its consumption, and thereby colonial commerce of this 'country. render a permanent benefit to the Specification of the patent granted to Thomas Willes Cooper, of Old-street, in the parish of St. Luke, in the county of Middlesex, Millwright; for certain apparatus to be fixed on the naves of wheels and beds of axletrees of carriages, so as to prevent accidents from the axletrees breaking, or if either of the axletrees of such carriages should happen to break, the carriage dropping only about a quarter of an inch, the sume carriage will proceed on to the end of its journey without danger, or any accident happening from the same; or if by any means the linch-pins get ou, or cap-screws get off, the wheels will keep in their former situation. Dated March 14, 1811. TO all to whom these presents shall come, &c. Now know ye, that in compliance with the said proviso, I the said Thomas Willes Cooper do hereby declare that the nature of my said invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is described and ascertained in the manner following; that is to say: I fix to the carriage or beds of axletrees, straps of iron, brass, or any other proper metal, secured by screwed bolts and clips, projecting forward over the naves of the wheels, in what shape such carriage or beds of axletrees may require. I fix to the axletrees, or to the beds of axletrees, straps of iron, brass, or any other proper metal, projecting forward underthe naves of the wheels, which are secured by screwed bolts and clips. I also fix to the naves of the wheels grooved flanched hoops, made of iron, brass, or any other proper metal, or instead of the grooved flanched hoops being secured on the naves of the wheels, I have the boxes of the wheels made longer than the naves, projecting out at the back with two flanches on each of them, to form the grooves. I have also joint hoops, made of iron, brass, or any other proper metal, with the joints at the bottom, and fixed fast to the lower straps under the naves of the wheels, to remain loose in between the flanches of the grooved flanched hoops, or be tween the flanches on the boxes of the wheels, and secured to the top straps by either screwed keyed bolts or keyed keys. And I secure covers to my jointed hoops by rivets or screws, to keep the dirt from the grooved flanched hoops. Or I fix to the naves of the wheels hoops made of iron, brass, or any other proper metal, with three or more necked stubs, at equal distance on each hoop. I also fix to the tops and bottoms or sides of axletrees, or beds of axletrees, by means of screwed bolts and clips, straps of iron, brass, or any other proper metal, formed at the ends next the naves as hoops round the axletrees, or beds of axletrees. And I also fix to the hoops on the naves of the wheels internal flanch hoops, with mortices in them to receive the necked stubs, and secured in by a bolt or key to each hoop Which internal flanch hoops, by projecting backwards from the naves of the wheels, the flanches will cover the hoops of straps on the axletrees, or beds of axletrees, and work round them, and when an accident occurs it takes its bearing inside the flanch hoops. When an axletree breaks, the carriage dropping only about a quarter of an inch, and the weight which was in the boxes takes its bearing from the top straps and joint hoops on the grooved flanched boops, the joint hoops being secured to the top and bottom straps working in the grooved flanched hoops, or if made with the internal flanched hoops, it takes its bearings at the bottom of the flanched hoops, and when an accident occurs it keeps the wheels in its former situation, and prevents the carriage falling down, and enabies it to go forward on its journey without any danger. Or if the linch pins get out, or nuts get off, the wheels will slide forward to get off till stopped by the joint hoops against the back flanch of the groov ed flanched hoops and prevent the wheels getting off, and can proceed on its journey without any danger, and may be fixed to any carriage, and by taking out either the top bolts |