his son Abbas Mirza took the greatest pains to discover the assassins.

Mr. B. was in appearance, and indeed in fact, one of the most reserved men in the world-cold, cautious, and wary; and yet, in this last journey, he was so impatient to proceed, that he not only refused to wait for the escort, which the ambassador undertook to provide for him, but he made a display of the gold which was to enable him to accomplish his purpose.

"This last fact, though strongly asserted, is so incompatible with bis general habits and character, that it may well excite a suspicion of its accuracy. True it certainly is, that the same morning brought to England the news of his safe arrival at Tabriz, on his way to Kurdistan, and of his being murdered by the very band, who undertook to be his guides and protectors.

The intelligence of his death came to England through Somnerat, the celebrated French traveller. It is, however, to be hoped, that as some of his papers remain in private hands, the public will have, sooner or later, the benefit of his observations, as far as he was actually able to proceed.

"The annotations relating to Browne, in our manuscript, conclude with a paragraph, in which serious regret is expressed at his scepticism with respect to religious subjects. Indeed he appears to have been an avowed disciple of the school of Volney, and the other miscreant writers of that stamp.

He has deformed and defaced

his otherwise valuable publications, with some passages so bad as not to be transcribed; and some remarks which he has inserted on education, prove that he had adopted many of

The following particulars concerning the latter part of the life of Browne, are added by him who revised and has superintended the publication of these volumes.

66

His intention, as above stated, was to proceed from Tebriz to Khorasan, to the governor of which place he had the strongest recom mendations from the English ambassador, then resident at Tebriz with the Persian monarch. This of itself being a distance of nearly a thousand miles, through a barbarous country, was an adventure suffi. ciently arduous to have deterred any other individual, of a less persevering and determined character. From Khorasan he purposed nevertheless to make his way to Samarcand, and thence to Turkistan, an undertaking which even to the best informed among the natives, appeared to be full of difficulty, as well as danger.

"Sir Gore Ouseley, with the greatest kindness and promptitude, undertook to procure him the protection of a Mahmendar, an officer of the king, under whose escort, as far as Chorasan, he not only would have had personal security, but horses and provisions every where at his command, at the expense of the Persian government.

"There was, however, some little delay in the equipment of this officer appointed to attend him, ocçasioned partly by the tardiness of the man himself, and partly by the negociation then near a conclusion between the courts of Russia and Persia, which necessarily occupied a considerable portion of the ambassador's time.

"Browne accordingly became impatient,

patient, and left Tebriz with two attendants only, directing the Mahmendar to follow him. This officer having received his instructions, and apprehensive of the English ambassador's resentment, lost no time in his endeavour to overtake the traveller. Most unfortunately he found him within forty miles of the Persian monarch's camp, barbarously murdered. Plunder does not appear to have been the object, as Mr. Browne's papers, pistols, and effects, were recovered, and placed in the hands of Sir Gore Ouseley. His money, of which he had not a great deal, was certainly seized by his servant. But in all probability, he owed his death not so much to any improper display of his property, as to his invincible obstinacy with which he resisted all expostulation and remonstrance, in always wearing the Turkish dress. Now it happens that the hordes, by some of whom Browne was murdered, entertain the most deadly hatred and animosity against the Turks, for one of whom in all probability he was mistaken.

"Strict search was, however, made after his assassins, and a great number of the inhabitants of the district, where he died, were apprehended, upon whom the king of Persia, without any judicial proceeding, expressed to the ambassador his determination of inflicting the summary punishment of death. This, however, Sir Gore Ouseley would not perinit.

"The surmise that he owed his death to the circumstance of his appearing as a Turk, is somewhat confirmed by the fact, that within a few months preceding this melancholy event, Sir William Ouseley, brother to the ambassador, and who

accompanied him in his mission, passed this very spot without molestation.

"It is a subject of the deepest regret, and a most serious loss to literature, that Browne did not live to fulfil the object of his expedition. How well qualified he was to increase our stores of geographical information, his work on Africa sufficiently attested. Of the countries which he meditated to visit, with the view of describing, our information is very scanty as well as unsatisfactory. These were more particularly the regions of Chorasan, Boccara, Samarcand, &c. concerning which regions, our best books of geography communicate very little."

(Further particulars from another hand.)

"Notwithstanding all that has been said above, and the seeming attention and assistance paid to the English ambassador's endeavours to discover and punish Browne's assassins, there is too much reason to apprehend that he fell a victim to the jealousy of the Persian government. People in those remote countries, and the Mahometans more particularly, have no conception whatever of a person's undertaking the perils and fatigues of a long and distant journey, for the sake of intellectual or scientific improvement only. They invariably attach jealousy and suspicion to such a character wherever he appears, and impute to him, either political motives, or the desire of gain. The regions to which Browne directed his attention, were at the time in a very unquiet and unsettled state. The Persian sovereign considered his authority over them as precarious and insecure. The peace with Russia was not definitively concludĮ 2

ed,

ed, and the government might, not improbably, entertain a suspicion, that Browne's motive was political, and not the avowed one of curiosity alone. Several subsequent incidents, circumstantially considered, very much tend to corroborate the idea, that the Persian ininisters were not entirely innocent of the death of this unfortunate traveller. "In the first place his arms were not touched; his gun, double-barrelled pistols, and weapons, were all preserved and carefully returned to the English ambassador. So also were his papers of every kind, and indeed each article of his property, except his money, which it was generally understood was seized by his servant and secretary.

"In the next place, one of our artillery-men, who was stationed at Ispahan, on some provocation he had received, neglect of pay, personal affront, or some other cause of offence, abruptly left the place, and undismayed by the danger and the distance, endeavoured to make his way to Tebriz, where the ambassador was then resident, in the court of the Persian monarch. He then proceeded, in spite of every obstacle, nearly to the spot where Browne was murdered, when he was stopped, as it should seem, by some of the miscreants, who had imbrued their hands in the blood of his countryman. They insisted upon his immediate return, which for a long time he refused to do, till at length they told him that if he did not, they would treat him as they did the Euglishman the other day.

"Browne, when at Tebriz, had lived at the house of Colonel D**, who commanded the artillery sent to Persia from this country. This gentleman was greatly affected at

the news of Browne's death, and determined, if possible, to obtain his remains for burial. He accordingly availed himself of the influence he possessed, and obtained from the Persian ministers the necessary mandate, that Browne's remains should be delivered to the Colonel's messengers.

"He employed for this purpose a trusty serjeant, who proceeded to the spot. On producing the minister's orders to the principal person of the place, he was informed that the mandate was so peremptory, that it could not be resisted, but at the risk of his head, and he would immediately give the necessary directions for the bones to be collected. Much evasion was nevertheless practised, and so much time lost, that the honest serjeant became impatient, and declared that if what he came for was not immediately produced, he would return without them. At this moment, two men, with each a small burden, were seen approaching, who were declared to have with them what was wanted.

They were delivered to the serjeant, who, as directed, rewarded the parties, and hastened to return. The English gentlemen had intended to come out in a body to meet the relics, had ordered a coffin covered with black velvet to receive them, and intended to inter them with the usual ceremonies of the church. But the serjeant bad already returned, and deposited the charge in the officer's house. The surgeon of the British establishment undertook to examine the bones, and arrange them, but on closer inspection it appeared that a gross imposition had been practised. There was indeed a part of a skull, but

the

gether with pens and red and black ink, he seized them with agitation, and endeavoured to delineate a portrait: although at this period he had never seen an engraving or a picture, and was only in the seventh year of his age.

"Hearing the approach of his mother and sister, he endeavoured to conceal what he had been doing ; but the old lady observing his confusion, inquired what he was about, and requested him to show her the paper. He obeyed, entreating her not to be angry. Mrs. West, after looking some time at the drawing with evident pleasure, said to her daughter, "I declare he has made a likeness of little Sally," and kissed him with much fondness and satisfaction. This encouraged him to say, that if it would give her any pleasure, he would make pictures of the flowers which she held in her hand; for the instinct of his genius was now awakened, and he felt that he could imitate the forms of those things which pleased his sight.

"This curious incident deserves consideration in two points of view. The sketch must have had some merit, since the likeness was so obvious, indicating how early the hand of the young artist possessed the power of representing the observations of his eye. But it is still more remarkable as the birth of the fine arts in the New World, and as one of the few instances in the history of art, in which the first inspiration of genius can be distinctly traced to a particular circumstance. The drawing was shown by Mrs. West to her husband, who remembering the prediction of Peckover, was delighted with this early indication of talent in his son. But the fact, though in itself very curious,

will appear still more remarkable, when the state of the country at that period, and the peculiar manuers of the Quakers, are taken into consideration.

"The institutions of William Penn had been sacredly preserved by the descendants of the first settlers, with whom the remembrance of the causes which had led their ancestors to forsake their native country, was cherished like the traditions of religion, and became a motive to themselves, for indulging in the exercise of those blameless principles, which had been so ob'noxious to the arrogant spirit of the Old World. The associates of the Wests and the Pearsons, considered the patriarchs of Pennsylvania as having been driven from England, because their endeavours to regulate their conduct by the example of Jesus Christ, mortified the temporal pretensions of those who satisfied themselves with attempting to repeat his doctrines; and they thought that the asylum in America was chosen, to facilitate the enjoyment of that affectionate intercourse which their tenets enjoined, free from the military predilections and political jealousies of Europe. The effect of this opinion tended to produce a state of society more peaceful and pleasing than the world had ever before exhibited. When the American poets shall in future times celebrate the golden age of their country, they will draw their descriptions from the authentic history of Pennsylvania in the reign of King George the Second.

"From the first emigration in 1681, the colony had continued to thrive with a rapidity unknown to the other European settlements. It was blessed in the maxims upon which it had been founded, and richly ex

hibited