MR. BARRAUD. "They are a most interesting people; and, to prove to you how they have advanced in civilization, I will give you two instances of their mode of living and taking their meals. Forty years ago, the Rev. Mr. Stewart, being then on a mission, visited a chief, and, when he entered the apartment, one of his queens was seated on the ground _à la Turc_, with a large wooden tray in her lap. Upon this a monstrous cuttle-fish had just been placed, fresh from the sea, and in all its life and vigor. The queen had taken it up with both hands, and brought its body to her mouth, and, by a single application of her teeth, the black blood with which it was filled gushed over her face and neck, while the long sucking arms of the fish, in the convulsive paroxysm of the operation, were twisting and writhing about her head, like the snaky hairs of a Medusa. Occupied as both hands were, she could only give her visitor a nod. Mr. Stewart remarks, 'It was the first time I had seen her Majesty, and I soon took my departure, leaving her, as I found her, in the full enjoyment of her luxurious luncheon.' Now,--observe the contrast. In 1841, Sir George Simpson and friends visited a chief. They were received in an immense apartment: several white persons were there to meet them: all the rules of etiquette were observed on going to table. The chiefs were all handsomely attired, their clothes fitting to a hair's breadth, for they had imported a tailor from England to make them. The dining-room was handsomely furnished, and lighted with elegant lamps. The dinner was excellent, with fine pastry and preserves from every country, and the glass and plate on the table would have been admired even in a London mansion. The chiefs, especially the host, were men of excellent address, and, adds Sir George Simpson, 'we soon forgot that we were sipping our coffee in a country which is deemed uncivilized, and among individuals who are classed with savages. There were but few incongruities in the course of the evening's entertainment, such as could at all mar the effect, excepting that one of the chiefs frequently inquired, with much solicitude, whether or not we thought his whiskers handsome.' In conclusion, he says, 'After chatting a good deal, and smoking a few cigars, we took our leave, highly gratified with the hospitality and courtesy of the governor and his friends'." DORA. "It must have been a work of time to convert these people; for their belief in the power of their idols was so strong, and had been preserved through so many generations."