PEARCE . S Life and Adventures is a very extraordinary narra- tive

of the residence of the author in Abyssinia. PEARCE was a

runaway apprentice, who, after being some time a seaman in various situations and in many quarters of the world, deserted in India, and ultimately found his way to the Red Sea. Psaace

first proceeded to Abyssinia with Mr. SALT, Captain RUDLAND,

and others; and it was deemed advisable that he should remain in the country. This book is a narrative of his residence in that

very extraordinary land, partly written by himself, partly by Mr. COFFIN, who was with him a portion of the time, and partly made up from PEARCE'S correspondence with Mr. SALT.

PEARCE was a wild and adventurous fellow, whose chief fault was restlessness. He was brave to a fault; skilful in the use of arms ; generous, and faithful. During his stay in this tumultuous part of the world, all his qualities were tried to the utmost. His fidelity and his bravery raised and maintained him in the friend- ship of the great chiefs, in spite of his independence and the fearless assertion of his own importance.

. PEARCE is one of the travellers in Abyssinia who abundantly -confirms the veracity of BRUCE,—if, indeed, at the present day, confirmation were wanting. He does more than merely confirm particular statements : we feel we are reading the impressions of men familiar with the same country, the same nation, unchanged by the lapse of time, and who amidst all their turbulence retain precisely the same prejudices, opinions, and habits. Abyssinia is a country of great wretchedness, both moral and physical: the different chiefs are in perpetual revolt, and the trade of war and fighting is the general employment of the people. Nevertheless, as a Christian country, it possesses great interest for us.; as a country rich in the resources Of nature, and, we may say, only partially discovered, it deserves the attention of the scien- tific naturalist. The dangers and difficulties of a residence in it are, however, of the most formidable kind ; and he who values his life hesitate even before lit ventures to cross its frontiers. The diseases of Abyssinia are of a very virulent, and, in some in- stances, of a very singular kind : it fortunately happens, that the native medicinal herbs are of peculiar potency, and applicable to most of the diseases which occur. There is one disease, however, which, it would seem, like the bite of the tarantula, only yields-to music. The passage in which the disease called the tigretier is -described, may -be quoted as a specimen of the kind of infor- mation to be found in this extraordinary narrative. Thereisa. holy water at the .chutch Oun Arvel, -whith is greatly-es- teemed for the cure of persons afflicted with evil-spirits. This is e very wonderful disorder, which I cannot pass over in silence, though the reader may think it fabulous and ridiculous ; yet we have accountsef

something of the same kind in the New Testament, which the priests an

learned men of Abyssinia believe to be the same complaint. This com- plaint is called tigretier ; it is more common among the women than among the men. The tigretier seizes the body as if with a violent-fever,

and from that turns to a lingering sickness, which reduces the patients to skeletons and often kills them, if the relations cannot procure the pro•

per remedy. During this sickness their speech is changed to a kind of stuttering, which no one can understand but those afflicted with the same disorder. When the relations find the malady to be the real tigretier,, they join together to defray the expenses of curing it The first remedy they in general attempt, is to procure the assistance of a learned Dotter, who reads the Gospel of St. John, and drenches the patient with cold water daily, for the space of seven days—an application that very often proves fatal. The most effectual cure, though far more expensive than the former, is as follows. The relations hire for a certain sum of money a band of trumpeters, drummers, and fifers, and buy a quantity of 11. quor ; then all the young men and women of the place assemble at the patient's house to perform the following most extraordinary ceremony. . " I once was called in by a neighbour to see his wife, a very young woman, and of whom he was very fond, who had the misfortune to be afflicted with this disorder ; and the man being an old acquaintance of mine, and always a close comrade in the camp, I went every day, when at home, to see her ; but I could not be of any service to her, though she never refused my medicines. At this time I could not understand& word she said, although she talked very freely, nor could any of her re- lations understand her. She could not bear the sight of a book or a priest, for at the sight of either she struggled, and was apparently seized with acute agony •, and a flood of tears, like blood mingled with water, would pour down her face from her eyes. She had lain three months in thin lingering state, livinn.° upon so little that it seemed not enough to keep a human body alive ; at last her husband agreed to employ the usual re. medy, and, after preparing for the maintenance of the band, during the time it would take to effect the cure, he borrowed from all his neighbours their silver ornaments, and loaded her legs, arms, and neck with them. " The evening that the band began to play, I seated myself close by her side as she lay upon the couch ; and, about two minutes after the trumpets had begun to sound, I observed her shoulders begin to move, and soon afterwards her head and breast, and in less than a quarter of an hour she sat upon her couch. The wild look she had, though sometimes she smiled, made me draw off to a greater distance, being almost alarmed to see one nearly a skeleton move with such strength; her head, neck, shoulders, hands, and feet, all made a strong motion to the sound •of -the: music, and in this manner she went on by degrees until she-stood up on her legs upon the floor. Afterwards, she began to dance, and at times to jump about, and at last, as the music and noise of the singers increased. she often sprang three feet from the ground. When the music alackene4 she would appear quite out of temper, but when it became louder, she would smile and be delighted. During this exercise she never showed! the least symptom of being tired, though the musicians were thoroughly exhausted ; and, when they stopped to refresh themselves by drinking and resting a little, she would discover signs of discontent. " Next day, according to the custom in the cure of this disorder, she was taken into the market-place, where several jars of maize or beige were set in order by the relations, to give drink to the musicians and dancers. When the crowd had assembled, and the music was ready, she was brought forth and began to dance and throw herself into the maddest postures imaginable ; and in this manner she kept on the whole day. Towards evening, she began to let fall her silver ornaments from her neck, arms, and legs, one at a time, so that in the course of three hours she was stripped of every article. A relation continually kept going

after her as she danced, to pick up the ornaments, and afterwards deli vered them to the owners from whom they were borrowed. As the sun went down, she made a start with such swiftness, that the fastest runner

could not come up with her ; and when at the distance of about two hun- dred yards, she dropped on a sudden, as if shot. Soon afterwards, a

young man, on coming up with her, fired a matchlock over her body, and struck her upon the back with the broad side of his large knife, and asked her name : to which she answered, as when in her common senses—a sure proof of her being cured; for, during the time of this malady, those af- flicted with it never answer to their Christian name. She was now taken up in a very weak condition, and carried home; and a priest came and bap- tized her again in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; which ceremony concluded her cure. Some are taken in this manner to the market-place for many days before they can be cured, and it sometimes happens that they cannot be cured at all. I have seen them in these fits dance with a bruly, or bottle of maize, upon their heads, without spilling the liquor, or letting the bottle fall, although they have put themselves into the most extravagant postures."

PEARCE goes on to tell us that his wife was afflicted in this way, and that, thinking it was one of the disorders which arise out of a

bad temper, he proceeded to administer a dose of his whip, but with-

out success. The editor, Mr. HALLS, considers, that had he re- peated the dose sufficiently often, the remedy would have been successful ; and he further insinuates, much to the discredit of-the Abyssinian ladies, that the disease is an assumed one. This is more than ungallant: because no disorder which resembles the tigretier is known here, it is rather too hard to condemn -it as a fiction of the weaker sex in Abyssinia.