whence he says it is necessary to give the Moors an example, not to try to resist the hand of fate." p. 85. Notwithstanding this notion of irresistible fate, the false prophet inculcated a belief in the efficacy of charms, which is equally mischievous, and in some degree at variance with the other. The Christians were invited to be present yesterday at the launching of one of the Bey's cruisers; when there was little to notice except one or two singular circumstances. Just at the moment of its quitting the stocks, a black slave of the Bey's was led forward and fastened at the prow of the vessel to influence a happy reception of it in the ocean. Some embarrassment happened at the time of its going off, and Mustaphar (the first minister) not having seen the black attached, said it was no wonder the vessel did not go easily off the stocks, for they had neglected to bind a black on board and send off with it. A beautiful lamb fitted for the purpose, washed white as snow, and decorated with flowers and ribands, stood on the deck, and at the instant the vessel plunged into the water received the fatal knife, being devoutly offered as a sacrifice to Mahomet for the future prosperity of the cruiser."` pp. 74, 75. "The evening before they went away, they performed for Uducia (Hadgi Abderrahman's eldest daughter) one of their extraordinary ceremonies, to protect her, in her removal to her father's house, from the effect of any ill-disposed persons looking on her with an unfriendly eye, which they call being taken with bad eyes,' and which might cause a disorder to prove fatal, that would otherwise not be so. This charm consisted in having a writing from one of their Imans, which being burnt was mixed in wine and drank by Uducia, who was perfumed with musk and incense by her friends, they walking round her, repeating prayers for her while she drank it. When we heard how ill she was at the time she was obliged to go through this ceremony, we could not but consider her exertions, and her swallowing the sooty draught, in such a state, a dangerous expedient." pp. 119, 120. "The period fixed for a widow's mourning is four months and ten days. At the expiration of that time, Lilla Amnani goes again to the seaside. The same gold comb she had used before is carried with her, and four fresh eggs; the eggs she gives to the first person she meets, who is obliged to receive them were it even the Bashaw himself. With the eggs, it is imagined, Ishe gives away all her misfortunes, consequently, no person likes to receive them; but this custom is so established, that not any one thinks of refusing them." p. 313. The mischief, which the marabuts or pretended prophets are able to effect through the sacred, ness attached to their character, is another evil consequence of their creed. "We met one of the noted Moorish I have already saints, or holy men. described these people to you; but this man, contrary to the general appearance of these marabuts, was tolerably covered, with a long wide blue shirt reaching to the ground, and white trowsers underneath. He wore nothing on his head, which was shaved close, except a long lock of hair descending from the back part of it. The whole dress of many of these marabuts consists of a bit of crimson cloth, about four inches square, dexterously placed on the crown of their head. The marabut we met in the castle was returning from the Bashaw, with whom he had a long private audience. His appearance, from the furious and strange gestures he made, with an immense large living snake round his shoulders, was truly terrific, though we were all aware of the unfortunate reptile having been rendered harmless by the wearer's extracting its teeth, before he attempted to impose on the credulous, in making them believe he alone was exempt from death by the reptile's touch. The Moors regarded him with great reverence." p. 140. "Before Sidy Useph appeared in sight, his famous Marabut Fataisi came into town with some of his holy followers. They were admitted to the sovereign, and Fataisi told the Bashaw that Sidy Useph was on his way to town with twenty people only, and without arms, and implored him by the prophet to send the Bey out to meet him, and make terms with him for the peace of his family and of his people. The Bashaw instantly agreed to it; and had the prince gone he would certainly have been murdered. But the Bey having received certain information, that Sidy Useph was near the town with several hundred people, he seized the Marabut, though in the Bashaw's presence, and, holding his sabre over him, he told him, that had he not been a Marabut he would have laid him dead at the Bashaw's feet for his treachery; and then informed the Bashaw, that his brother had with him upwards of four hundred men under arms. The Bey turned the Marabut out of his presence, and the officers presented their arms at him, but the Bey ordered them not to fire. He desired they would see the Marabut out of the gates of the town, and gave orders that, on pain of death, no one should suffer him on any account to enter it again." pp. 270, 271. The long fasts, unaccompanied by any religious service of a spiritual kind, and the distant pilgrimages, imposed evidently as a meritorious duty, may fitly be regarded as inventions of the great enemy of mankind to obstruct the avenues to repentance, and supersede all those emotions which, under Divine influence and illumination, might lead to contrition and humility. "With one of these caravans the ambassador (Hadgi Abderrahman) and his family went hence to Mecca. They set out for Grand Cairo, where they joined the caravan of Egypt; but were detained for three or four weeks, notwithstanding the finest weather imaginable, on account of unlucky days and frightful omens, which were said to have happened from time to time. These delays are sometimes very serious to those pilgrims who go expressly to visit the holy places, as the Beit-Alla, at Mecca, which is the principal object of their worship, is only open two days in every six weeks, one for the women and another for the men; consequently, such delays often occasion the Mahomedans to be three months longer on their pilgrimage. The road from Cairo to Suez,though not sixty miles, is among the worst parts of the journey from ripoli to Mecca, not excepting the deserts to Alexandria. Many of the pilgrims are then obliged to continue their route by the Red Sea, not being able to carry with them the provisions wanted for the rest of their pilgrimage to Mecca; for Suez, surrounded with sands and destitute of a drop of water for its own consumption, can furnish nothing to travellers. The inhabitants of Suez are obliged to travel six or seven hours for all the water they use; they go for it to the Arabian shores, and get it from Nuba, on the borders of the Red Sea; and this, which is the nearest water they can procure, is so bitter that no European can drink it, without being mixed with spirit. It was, therefore, indispensably necessary for Hadgi Abderrahman to provide himself with pulse, meat, wood, and water, for the rest of his long journey, near seven hundred miles, the greatest part through the deserts of Arabia; and this circumstance, while it increased the numerous animals of burden in the caravan, obliged the poorer pilgrims, who had no beasts of burden, to proceed by sea. "A pilgrimage by a man of distinction is made at a very heavy expense, as those persons he permits to join his suite almost wholly depend on him for their subsistence." pp. 191, 192. "It is known that from ancient times the curiosity of visiting holy places brought Christians from all parts of the world to Jerusalem. For a long time the Popes made it an act necessary to salvation, and the fervoar with which this agitated all Europe produced the crusades. Since that epoch, which occasioned so much bloodshed, the number of pilgrims has considerably diminished. They are reduced now to some monks from Italy, Spain, and Germany. But it is different with the Orientals: they continue to regard the voyage to Jerusalem as one of the most meritorious acts. They even consider themselves scandalized by those Franks or Christians who come to the East, and do not follow their example, and stigmatize them with the name of heretics or infidels, for not fulfilling this part of their religion. To those who do, the Turks will not give the insulting epithet of Kielb, or dog, so commonly applied to Christians by them. "The Greeks more than other nations believe this pilgrimage to be productive of the greatest indulgences; they suppose it absolves, them not only for the past, but for the future, for not observing feasts or fasts, and, indeed, for every crime. From these ideas, a prodigious number of pilgrims of both sexes, and of all ages, go from the Morea, from the Archipelago, from Constantinople, Anatolia, Armenia, Egypt, and Syria, every year. In 1784, the number of pilgrims amounted to five thousand. The most simple pilgrimage costs four thousand livres, or near two hundred pounds, and they often amount to fifty or sixty thousand livres, or from three to four thousand pounds sterling. Jaffa, which is about forty-six miles from Jerusalem, is the place where the pilgrims disembark. They arrive there in November, and go thence directly to Jerusalem, where they remain till after Easter. The pilgrims are lodged altogether in the cells of their different communities. They are told their lodging is free; but it would not be safe if they went away without presenting a much larger sum than it would cost at an inn; besides which, they must pay for masses, services, exhortations, &c. and for crucifixes, chaplets, and Agnus Dei's. When the Jour de Rameau arrives, they must go to purify themselves in the river Jordan, which costs a very consider able sum. There is an account given in the history of that pilgrimage, of the tumultuous and confused march of this devout crowd in the plains of Jericho, with their astonishment on viewing the rocks of that country. Having completed this ablution, the pilgrims return to the Holy Land. When Easter is passed they all return to their own countries, proud of having vied with the Mussulmans in the title of pilgrims." pp. 195– 197. But the degradation of the female character, which cuts off the best hope of improvement from the rising generation, with the continual employment of the minds of the women on objects unworthy of them, and their total want of information on all important subjects, contribute, more perhaps than any other cause, to the evils which we have mentioned. Some of the leading men in the place, who, from having been employed as ambassadors in Europe, had acquired new ideas on these as well as other subjects, seem to have lamented the defect, which it was beyond their power to remedy; and occasional instances arise of women superior to their circumstances, and who increase our regret at their degradation by showing how sensible they are of it themselves. We cannot here withhold from our readers the character of Lilla Halluma, queen of Tripoli. "On visiting this sovereign, the consuls' wives are permitted to kiss her head; other ladies in their company, or their daughters, her right hand; her left she offers only to dependants. If any of her blacks, or any of the attendants of the castle are near her, they frequently seize the opportunity of kneeling down to kiss the end of her baracan, or upper garment. She is adored by her subjects, which is natural, as she is extremely benevolent; her greatest fault is, not in spending, but in giving away, more than her revenues afford. Halluma is the name given her by her parents, and Lilla means, in Moorish, Lady. She is called in her family Lilla Halluma, but by her subjects she is styled Lilla Kebbiera, the great, or greatest lady. The Bey, her eldest son, has been married several years. He married at seven years old. The Moors, indeed, marry so extremely young, that the mother and her first born are often seen together as playmates, equally anxious and angry in an infantine game. The women here are often grandmothers at twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age; and it is therefore no wonder they live frequently to see the children of many of their generation. From the melancholy turn of Lilla Halluma's mind at present, she has always some article of her dress in a state to denote deep mourning. "The Moorish habit for mourning consists only in the clothes being entirely deprived of their new appearance, and the deeper the mourning is meant to be, the more indifferent and even shabby the clothes: therefore, when she orders a new cap, which is so richly embroidered that it is like a solid plate of gold, she never puts it on till it has been passed through water before her, and all the beauty of it destroyed. She weeps over the operation, and her tirewomen make extempore verses on the cause of her distress." p. 31. "A collation was served in the cover ed gallery before Lilla Halluma's apartment. As the party to-day consisted only of Lilla Halluma, three of the princesses, and our family, we had the pleasure of seeing them all sit down with us, instead of Lilla Halluma walking round the table, attended by the princesses, and conversing alternately with the guests; which she does if there are any Moorish nobility at dinner, as it is considered too great a condescension in her to sit down and eat with her subjects. Lilla Halluma's urbanity, and the dignity of her manners, were as usual equally engaging and fascinating: nor could those of the most polished sovereign in Europe have been more striking; with this infinite advantage, that court duplicity forms no part of her character." p. 306. One of the most striking singularities, however, in the Moorish character is, that with a profusion of wealth in the higher orders, they not only fail to construct such permanent works as would contribute most essentially to their security and comfort, but suffer those which they inherit from their predecessors in the territory to go into decay: nor can any more decisive proof be given than this of the barbarizing tendency of Mohammedan superstition. "To supply the dreadful want of water, and save the traveller from expiring through thirst, there are in a part of the Deserts of Arabia, about four days' journey to the north of Suez, several ancient aqueducts, and many subterranean canals which have been formed at immense expense by the Assyrians, Persians, and Medes, who made it a part of their religion to conduct the water into the deserts; but these canals and aqueducts are nearly rendered useless through neglect." p. 194. Amidst these peculiarities, which distinguish the Moors, it is curious to observe, that there are two races of people, who are every where and always the same. The Jews are as distinct and as persecuted a race at Tripoli as throughout the rest of the world; and the Arabians are the same in history and in prophecy, at one place or time as another. "The Jews are at present loading vessels with the clothes of those who died of the plague, and are exporting them to Europe and Egypt; extraor dinary precautions are, therefore, necessary in Europe, to prevent the effects of importing such cargoes." p. 107. "The rich Jews would all have embarked for Europe, but the Turk was too much on his guard not to provide in time against any one of them leaving the place; at least, before he has ascertained what they are worth, and appropriated to himself as much of their property as he thinks right. "The shops are still almost all shut, and there is not yet any re-appearance of commerce. Scarcely any person is seen walking in the streets; and the gates are kept securely closed and guarded by bodies of Turks, the service of all Moorish guards being dispensed with for the present. The guard of the town gates, the Sandanner, and the night guards, are entirely composed of have no compassion on the Jews, and Turks, whe are riotous and noisy. They ill use the Moors when they meet with any they dare annoy." p. 354. "The steep mountains of Gouriana are the only ones seen on a clear day from the city of Tripoli, and seem to be a long ridge of high black hills. These and the sands, are inhabited by numerous tribes of Arabs, among which are those of the Tahownees, Aças, Benoleeds, Nowalles, Wargammas, and others. These Arabs form three classes; the first, those who came from Arabia; the second, the Arabs of Africa; and the third, the wandering Bedouins. The first two are equally warlike, handsome in their persons, generous in their temper, honourable in their dealings, grand and ambitious in all their proceedings when in power, and abstemious in their food. They possess great genius, and enjoy a settled cheerfulness, not in the least bordering on buffoonery. Each of these tribes are governed by a chief, whose title is Sheik, by whose laws all those under him are directed, judged, and punished. Each family has a chief of its own kindred, whose authority in the same manner extends to life and death. Their trade is war. They serve as auxiliary troops to whoever pays them. best: most of them are at present considered as being in the interest of the Bashaw of Tripoli. The Bedouins are trading with what they carry from place hordes of petty wandering merchants, to place. They manufacture a dark cloth for baracans, and thick webs of goats' hair used to cover tents, which they sell to the Moors. These Bedouins, in the spring of the year, approach Tripoli from the Pianura, adjoining the town. Here they sow their corn, wait till they can reap it, and then disappear till the year following. During the stay of these people in the Pianura, the women weave, and sell their work to the Tripolitans. They pitch their tents under the walls of the city, but cannot enter the town gate without leave; and for any misdemeanour the Bedouins may commit, their chief is answerable to the Bashaw. Besides being divided into hordes, each family is governed by its own chief, in the same manner as those of the Arabs. Both the Arabs and Bedouins still retain many customs, described in sacred and profane history, and are in almost every thing the same people as we find mentioned in the earliest accounts." pp. 14, 15. The African chief, Shaik Alieff, before he left the town paid us a visit. This Gentulian, or Numidian, perfectly resembled in his habits and manners the description given of the first inhabitants of those countries. His dress was that of the Jibeleen, or mountain Arab, whose habit is precisely the same as it is described in the time of our Saviour. The fineness of the Arab's dress is proportioned to his fortune, Shaik Alieff's upper covering, or baracan, made of Barbary wool famous for its beauty and whiteness, appeared at first sight to be of the finest muslin, many yards in length, which he had rolled in ample folds around his head and body. He wore a curious wrought belt, (of a manufacture peculiar to this country and to the hand of an Arab,) ingeniously woven in a variety of figures resembling Arabic characters: it was wound several times tight and even round his body, and one end being doubled back and sewed up served him for his purse. In this belt he wore his arms, and he prided himself much on them, not on account of their richness, but from the proof he had had of their execution. After the manner of the Arabs, he wore sandals, which he took off on entering the apartment, and thus paid a compliment to those who received him; for among the Arabs no one can approach his superior with his slippers on. His air was noble, his gait haughty, and his figure about the middle size. The Arabs are in general tall. Shaik Alieff's features were perfectly regular and strongly marked; his complexion nearly black; his countenance very cheerful, though he was not a young man ; and a settled vivacity seemed to be his characteristic; yet he retains all the ferocity of the ancient Arabs, and considers himself one of the masters of the desert of Tripoli; for the Wargummas and the Noilles, the two most powerful tribes known in these parts, hold the sovereignty of the deserts. Both the latter have acted, and are still considered as auxiliary troops to the Bashaw. Shaik Alieff's tribe is of those who were scattered throughout the provinces of Barbary, as descended from those Mahometan Arabians who, pursued by the Turks, fled to the mountainous parts to save themselves with their cattle and effects, where they still continue to enjoy their liberty. They are divided into a multiplicity of little governments under their respective chiefs, and value themselves highly on having preserved their blood unstained by a mixture with other nations." pp. 176, 177. "The sovereignty of the Arabs is most formidable. They may be truly said, not only to extend their sceptre over one of the four principal parts of the world, but to extend with success their dominion from Africa far into Asia; remaining every where in powerful hordes sufficiently numerous to prevent the intercourse of nations, without their special leave. Inured to the hardships of the deserts, they easily undergo there such as none but themselves can resist ; priding themselves on the purity of their blood, untainted, as they say, by a mixture with that of any other race, and boasting of their ancestry as Arabians. The Arab Shaiks support and keep up an alliance with each other, from the extremity of Africa on the farthest shores of the Atlantic Ocean, through nearly the extent of Asia. "In the deep recesses of the moun tains the Arabs have their dwellings and retreats, which are defended by fortresses of craggy rocks and frightful precipices, rendered inaccessible by nature. The whole of the extensive mountains of Atlas are occupied by them; and in the same manner they inhabit the different chains of mountains in almost every direction throughout two quarters of the globe. While they are dispersed in such powerful |