68 O where is he that won My youthful heart, Who oft’ used to bless And call me loved one ; You Weerang tore apart From his fond caress Her whom you now desert and shun ; Out upon thee, faithless one ; O may the Boyl-yas bite and tear Her, whom you take your bed to share. Yang, yang, yang, yoh ! Wherefore does she slumber Upon thy breast Once again to-night, Whilst I must number Hours of sad unrest and broken plight ? Is it for this that I rebuke Young men, who dare at me to look ? While she, replete with arts and wiles Dishonours you, and still beguiles. THE HUSBAND RETORTS. Oh 1 you lying artful one 1 Wag away your dirty tongue; I have watched your tell tale eyes Beaming love without disguise; I’ve seen young Imbat nod and wink Oftener perhaps than you may think. Blows with the waddy, followed by a shrill cry, close this dialogue. INFANTICIDE AND CANNIBALISM. The destruction of children arises not from a want of maternal affection, but from the will of the tribe, the difficulty of following roving husbands with infants, and the want of natural food for such offspring. The last reason is a strong one. The character of native food is unsuitable to very young children. These depend upon their mother for a period of twice or thrice tbe time of Europeans. Mr. Wedge wrote of our Blacks in 1835, “ They have another custom, namely, that of destroying their new born children, if born before the former child has reached the age of three or four years, until which time they are not weaned.” Buckley is made to say, ‘ ‘ So soon as they have as many as they can conveniently carry about and provide for them, they kill the rest immediately after birth ; not to eat them, but with the idea, that, for the sake of both parties, and under such circumstances,
