y believe that were it not for murderers, or the
malignity of sorcerers, they might live for ever."--GREY'S _Travels in
Western Australia_, vol. ii. p. 238.

"'The _Boyl-yas_,' said the trembling Kaiber, 'are natives who have the
power of _boyl-ya_; they sit down to the northward, the eastward, and
southward; the _Boyl-yas_ are very bad, they walk away there' (pointing
to the east). 'I shall be very ill presently. The _Boyl-yas_ eat up a
great many natives,--they eat them up as fire would; you and I will be
very ill directly. The _Boyl-yas_ have ears: by and by they will be
greatly enraged. I'll tell you no more.'

"'The _Boyl-yas_ move stealthily,--you sleep and they steal on
you,--very stealthily the _Boyl-yas_ move. These _Boyl-yas_ are
dreadfully revengeful; by and by we shall be very ill. I'll not talk
about them. They come moving along in the sky,--cannot you let them
alone? I've already a terrible headache; by and by you and I will be two
dead men.'

"'The natives cannot see them. The _Boyl-yas_ do not bite, they feed
stealthily; they do not eat the bones, but consume the flesh. Just give
me what you intend to give, and I'll walk off.'

What secrets can the human breast contain,
When tempted by thy charms, curst love of gain!

"'The _Boyl-yas_ sit at the graves of natives in great numbers. If
natives are ill, the _Boyl-yas_ charm, charm, charm, charm, and charm,
and, by and by, the natives recover.'"

Nothing further could be learned from this terrified and unwilling
witness. The custom spoken of in the last part of his evidence, that of
sitting at the graves of the dead, is found in nearly all the known
portions of Australia, and the object of this practice is to discover by
what person the death of the deceased individual has been caused, which
is supposed to be declared by dreams or visions. A similar custom among
the Jews is reproved by the prophet Isaiah, chap. lxv. 4, 5.

Once, when Major Mitchell had been harassed, and two of his party killed
by the hostile natives, he reached a spot of security, where, while
admiring the calm repose of the wild landscape, and the beauteous beams
of the setting sun, he was anticipating a night free from disturbance.
He was alone, waiting the arrival of his party, but his reveries were
dissipated in the most soothing manner, by the soft sounds of a female
voice, singing in a very different tone from that generally prevailing
among the Australians. It sou