the ancient poet:

"Wonder at nought:--the only rule I know
To make man happy, and to keep him so."

"They are never awkward," says Major Mitchell, who was well qualified
to speak from experience; "on the contrary, in manners, and general
intelligence, they appear superior to any class of white rustics that
I have seen. Their powers of mimicry seem extraordinary, and their
shrewdness shines even through the medium of imperfect language, and
renders them, in general, very agreeable companions." We may, therefore,
if our inquiry be accompanied by humility and justice, be able to form a
fair and impartial opinion respecting these people; and the result of an
inquiry of this sort must be, in every well-regulated soul, not merely a
feeling of thankfulness (still less of self-sufficiency,) that we are
far removed from the savage state, but, likewise, a sense of shame,
that, with many of our fellow-countrymen, their superior advantages
have been productive of little or no fruit.

One very remarkable distinction of the natives of the Bush is, the
entire absence of clothing, unless the cloak, made of opossum-skin, worn
by some tribes, can deserve to be thought an exception. Their climate
being, generally speaking, a dry one, and exposure to the air, even at
night, being much less hurtful than in most other countries, this habit
of going without clothing, after the fashion of a brute beast, is by no
means so dangerous in Australia as it would be elsewhere. But, while
they can dispense with _clothes_, like most other savages, they are
extremely fond of _ornaments_,--at least, of what they esteem to be
such: these are teeth of kangaroos, or men, jaw-bones of a fish,
feathers, tails of dogs, pieces of wood, &c., fastened on different
parts of the head, by a sort of gum; while scars, and marks of various
kinds, are made upon the breast, arms, and back; or, upon certain
occasions, as going to war, or mourning for a friend, the body is
streaked over with white and yellow paint, according to the taste of the
party concerned. In two very distant parts of Australia, namely, the
gulf of Carpentaria, and the eastern coast of St. Vincent's Gulf, the
natives practise the rite of circumcision--a remarkable agreement, when
we consider that they are about 1200 miles apart, and have no means of
communication with each other. It is no uncommon custom, either, for the
natives to pierce their noses, and to place a bone or reed through th