1826.] Despatched to civilize Ihe Walvcorlliians. '481 



sketch, we shall add a few particulars respecting the literature and lan- 

 .guage of the savages. Many of their words — originally derived, no 

 doubt, from the colony above-mentioned — bear a strong resemblance to 

 our own, so that by a little judicious attention we may almost contrive 

 to understand them. For our " after" they substitute the dissyllable 

 " a'ter" with a broad inflection on the letter A. Where we say " as," 

 they use the poetical pleonasm " as how," and our word " such" they 

 pronounce " sich." The preterperfect tense of tlie verb " to fight," which 

 we have always been Tn the habit of calling " fought," they convert into 

 " fit," so that in speaking of two boxers wlio fought for an liour they 

 would say " a kipple on 'em fit for an hour." With respect to similes and 

 metaphors, it is curious to observe how such verbal peculiarities are 

 always derived from, and modelled on, tlie peculiar habits of a nation. 

 The Walworthians, being to a man skilled in the more mechanical arts 

 of savage life, draw all their proverbs and expressions from that 

 familiar source. Thus in speaking of an affectionate husband and wife, 

 they will appropriately observe, that they " stick like pitch to each 

 other ;" and in stamping any thing as a certainty, remark that it is as sure 

 " as eggs is eggs." The letters most in use among them are H, N and 

 R : an apple, for instance, they call " a happle," a liorse " a norse," an 

 idea " a hidear," which we take to be manifest improvements on our 

 own vernacular dialect. Their favourite books seem to be " Cocker's 

 Arithmetic" — which they consider as the finest poem in*the language, 

 and " Euclid's Elements" — a sort of fairy tale, we believe. They have 

 also some indistinct idea of one Shakspeare (the more enlightened par- 

 ticularly), but what gave us a still higher idea of their intellects was our 

 observing a number of the Monthly Magazine lying upon the table of 

 one of the chiefs — a striking proof of the wide circulation of that 

 respected periodical. 



With regard to their females they are wondrously prolific, and much 

 given to loving their husbands. It is, however, illiberal in us to charge 

 them at present with this amiable weakness, for since our attempts at con- 

 version they have done wonders in thcM-ay of eradicating it. Their chil- 

 dren are prodigiously fat and red-faced, but exceedingly good-natured ; 

 particularly the females, one of whom, I am grieved to state, conceived 

 such a strong partiality for me as almost to be persuaded to accompany 

 me to the lands of civilization. At first I thought of bringing her with 

 me to Exeter 'Change and exhibiting her at a shilling a head ; but soon 

 my heart (formed only for the gentler affections) relented, and wiping 

 a tear from my left eye, " amiable young savage," I exclaimed, " I 

 go, and for ever, from your country, but oh ! let not the remembrance 

 of the M'hite man (meaning me, for the Walworthians, you must know, 

 are all red-faced) be banished from that susceptible but barbarous bosom ; 

 morning and night let thine orisons be offered up to the Great Spirit in 

 this" — at this precise moment my voice was so choked with emotion 

 that I was forced to hide my agony in the cabriolet which stood 

 for me at the door of my host's habitation ; the whip then cracked, the 

 horse took to his heels, the street-door closed on my susceptible she- 

 savage, jamming her youthful digits in the process, and away I was 

 bowled, ever and for ever, from the interesting barbarians of Walworth. 



NOCAED. 



M. M. New Series. — Vol. I. No. J. 3 Q 



