HATCHING CHICKENS.

The following singular, though effectual mode of hatching chickens, prevails in the interior of Sumatra; and is vouched for by Major Clayton of the Bencoolen council:—­

The hens, whether from being frightened off their nests by the rats, which are very numerous and destructive, or from some other cause hitherto prevalent in Sumatra, do not hatch their chickens in the ordinary way, as is seen in almost all other climates.  The natives have for this purpose, in each village, several square rooms, the walls of which are made of a kind of brick, dried in the sun.  In the middle of these rooms they make a large fire, round which they place their eggs at regular distances.  In this manner they let them lie for fourteen days, now and then turning them, that the warmth may be equal in all parts; and on the fifteenth day, the chicken makes its appearance, and proves in every respect as strong as those hatched according to the course of nature.—­From a Correspondent.

AFRICAN COOKERY.

The legs and feet of the rhinoceros are cooked in the following curious method by the wild tribes of Southern Africa:—­The ants nests are composed of hard clay, shaped like a baker’s oven, and are from two to four feet in height.  Some of these are excavated by the people, and their innumerable population destroyed.  The space thus obtained is filled with lighted fuel, till the bottom and sides become red hot within.  The embers of the wood are then removed, the leg or foot of the rhinoceros introduced, and the door closed up with heated clay and embers.  Fire is also made on the outside over the nests, and the flesh is allowed to remain in it several hours.  Food cooked in this way is highly relished by all the tribes.

EASTERN DIVORCES.

If a man pronounce three divorces against a free woman, or two against a slave, he can lawfully wed neither of them again, unless they have been espoused by another, and this second husband dies, or shall divorce them.  When it happens that a husband wishes to recover his wife, whom he had divorced in a passion, a convenient husband is sought; but the law forbids a mockery being made of such marriages.  They may be short in duration, but the parties must live, during the period they are united, as man and wife.

ARAB CHARACTER.

The Arabs have always been commended by the ancients for the fidelity of their attachments, and they are still scrupulously exact to their words, and respectful to their kindred; they have been universally celebrated for their quickness of apprehension and penetration, and the vivacity of their wit.  Their language is certainly one of the most ancient in the world; but it has many dialects.  The Arabs, however, have their vices and defects.  They are naturally addicted to war; and so vindictive as scarcely ever to forget an injury.  Select Biography.