musical as any European tongue.[1] Those who spoke it might for loyalty to their laws and mutual kindness to one
another put to the blush the best of their detractors.
It has been objected that ignorance of the meaning of
some songs they sang proved a low order of intelligence.
Yet in Europe thousands flock to operatic performances of
which, if they could distinguish, they would not understand
the words. New songs amongst the Australians with appropriate dances, were to them like the last composition of
Mozart or Rossini to Europeans. The perfection of acting
was aimed at by each man in the tribe. Woe betide the
unlucky wight who committed a mistake in the public performance, or missed the proper turn in the air while singing
by his camp-fire. Humiliation followed him for weeks from
the good-humoured taunts of the tribe. The words of the
songs or chants were few, but were often repeated as the
harmony ran its round. The performance of the dances
(or, as they were called in Sydney "corobborrees," whence
the name became general amongst whites and blacks) was
invested with traditionary interest amounting to a cult.
The composer who could minister to it was an especial
favourite with his tribe, and of great repute abroad. The
usual pictorial representation of a corrobboree shows the
natives with legs extended, with white lines painted on them. But no painting can portray the intensity and rapidity of the movement communicated to these lines, while, without letting the sole of his foot leave the ground, the dancer by the same motion gradually passed laterally over the ground, and caused the muscles on his thigh to quiver. Mr. Eyre remarks that this is "a peculiarity probably confined to the natives of Australia." Some of them excelled others in its performance. The women beat
- ↑ The Rev. Mr. Ridley, who spoke it well, wrote:-"The inflections of verbs and nouns, the derivation and composition of words, the arrangement of sentences, and the method of imparting emphasis, indicate an accuracy of thought and a force of expression surpassing all that is commonly supposed to be obtainable by a savage race. It need hardly be said that a very common statement that the Australians had no abstract terms-no adjectives such as hard," "soft," "cruel," "kind," "cold," hot," "warm," "severe," "gentle," &c.—has no foundation. Dr. Milligan, indeed, while making the statement with regard to Tasmanians,admits that his ignorance of their language impeded his inquiries.
