Here he found a most lovely country, and the houses of the Indians, neatly built of the branches of palm trees, in the shape of pavilions, were scattered under the trees, like tents in a camp. But hearing of a province in the centre of the island, where, as he understood the Indians to say, a great prince ruled, Columbus determined to send a present to him, and one of his letters of recommendation from the king and queen of Spain. For this purpose he chose two Spaniards, one of whom was a converted Jew, and knew Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic. Columbus thought the prince must understand one or the other of these languages. Two Indians were sent with them as guides. They were furnished with strings of beads, and various trinkets, for their travelling expenses, and they were enjoined to ascertain the situation of the provinces and rivers of Asia, for Columbus thought the West Indies were a part of the Eastern Continent. The Jew found his Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic of no avail, and the Indian interpreter had to be the orator. He made a regular speech after the Indian manner, extolling the power, wealth, and generosity of the White men. When he had finished, the Indians crowded round the Spaniards, touched and examined their skin and raiment, and kissed their hands and feet in token of adoration. But they had no gold to give them. It was here that _tobacco_ was first discovered. When the envoys were on their return, they saw several of the natives going about with firebrands in their hands, and certain dried herbs which they rolled up in a leaf, and lighting one end, put the other in their mouths, and continued inhaling and puffing out the smoke. A roll of this kind they called a _tobacco_. The Spaniards were struck with astonishment at this smoking. [Illustration: _Indians smoking._] When Columbus became convinced that there was no gold of consequence to be found in Cuba, he sailed in quest of some richer lands, and soon discovered the island of Hispaniola, or Hayti. It was a beautiful island. The high mountains swept down into luxuriant plains and green savannas, while the appearance of cultivated fields, with the numerous fires at night, and the volumes of smoke which rose in various parts by day, all showed it to be populous. Columbus immediately stood in towards the land, to the great consternation of his Indian guides, who assured him by signs that the inhabitants had but one eye, and were fierce and cruel cannibals. (_To be continued._) * * * * * SHOCKING.--An Irish carman and his wife attended the wake, on Friday night, over the body of John Hand, whom Cliff killed. To do so, they left twin infants, fourteen months old, in the cradle at home; but, becoming intoxicated, they did not return until morning, when they found their infants dead! The decision of the coroners’ jury was, we understand, that they came to their death by cold and starvation.--_Detroit Adv._, 1840.