Mr. Pattison's land warrants will not even
have the satisfaction of finding themselves
owners of graves in forest, jungle, and
swamp.

But it was not only through the sale of
land warrants that the company's coffers
were replenished. Luggage passes were sold
to the emigrants, and were represented as
being absolutely necessary to enable the
baggage, on landing at Bolivar, to enter the
country duty free. It must have made the
more reflective of the sixty-five a little
uncomfortable as to the prospects of the future
"Pattisonville," as the visionary "township"
was to be called, to find that these
luggage-passes were received with no
respect whatever by the Venezuelan
custom-house officers. In fact, but for the
consistent kindness of President Dalla Costa,
the unfortunate victims would have been
compelled to pay the custom dues, against
which they had fondly hoped their
payments to the company had insured them.

Even this was not all. A dexterous appeal
was made especially to the pockets of
the clerical portions of the British
community, and was crowned (it would appear
from pages 31 to 34 of the Vade Mecum)
with success. A circular was sent round by
Mrs. Pattison, "the wife of James Frederick
Pattison, Esq., Managing Director of the
American, English, and Venezuelan Trading
and Commercial Company," pointing
out a heartrending result of the ravages of
Sheridan and Sherman in the Southern
States. The miserable Northerners had
made away with all the books; what
they could not steal, they burnt; and the
Southern States were left without the
comfort and solace of literature. There
being no books in the land, it follows that
the hundred thousand sturdy planters who
were expected to flock to Caroni, could take
no books with them. And to what a
condition would this "reading Christian people"
be reduced! Would not a generous and
clerical British public subscribe books to
form the nucleus of a library for the new
colony, where the native productions were to
be cultivated by the settlers for the benefit
of themselves and (an adroit touch this)
of the European markets? Of course the
generous, and clerical British public would.
And it did. It rained books on Mrs.
Pattison. The Society for the Promotion
of Christian Knowledge heads the list of
donors, and Mrs. Pattison appears to have
been recommended to that body by the
Bishop of Llandaff and the Reverend Canon
Dale. Bibles, prayer-books, tracts, are the
principal items in the catalogue of gifts;
but there are one or two entries, possibly
more in Mr. Pattison's immediate line. Thus,
one present of books is accompanied by a
sovereign. In another instance, five pounds
are sent by M.F.H. (More Fool He?) to buy
books "for the poor afflicted Southerners
going to Caroni." A lady sends books,
and thirty shillings "for special purposes."
A sovereign, likewise, comes flying in for
special purposes; and, to crown the list, a
lady sends a quantity of books, a church
service, an altar piece, ten pounds for
scientific works, and ten pounds towards a
"harmonium for St. Paul's church at Caroni!"
For this same un-built and utterly
non-existent ecclesiastical edifice, the
last-mentioned lady's sister sends "many illuminated
texts." Mr. Gordon remarks of
these voluntary contributions: "Mr. and
Mrs. Pattison having omitted to supply
the emigrants with tools, medicines, or
other necessaries, I need hardly add that
the Free Library has not reached its
intended destination."

ARAB POLITENESS.

A POLITE people the Arabs—the politest,
at least in fine phrases—among the
nations of the earth; for about three or four
thousand years or so they have gone on
twisting anew their guttural language into
all varieties of complimentary and stately
forms of speech, into all kinds of sugared
expressions for benediction, for flattery,
and for solicitation, till the quantity of
small coin which they possess in way of
compliment is unparalleled in any other
tongue.

Those who have spent much time among
the Arabs can recite a hundred ways of
giving benediction, from the "Allah
increase thy substance," down to the lower
form of "May thy stomach never know
hunger." It is true, indeed, that these
forms of benediction are generally used
to precede a request; for the crafty Arab
is a great solicitor, and well knows how to
flatter and cajole the possible benefactor:
"to him who is mounted on an ass," says
an Arab proverb, say, "my Lord,
may thy horse fare well," and "kiss the
dog on the mouth," enjoins another, "till
you have got all from him that you
require." To comprehend the pleasant energy
of which latter saying we must remember
that the dog is an unclean beast for
an Arab, and that he cannot even touch