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coast, extended to 5,500 miles, are obviously of the greatest importance to geography. As the coast running northward was followed to Cape Turnagain, in latitude 68 degrees, it is evident that, if a north-west passage exist, it must be found beyond that limit.' The narratives of Captain Franklin, Dr. Richardson, and Mr. Back form a fitting and not less interesting sequel to those of Captain Parry. The same intrepid parties undertook, in 1823, a second expedition to explore the shores of the Polar Seas. The coast between the Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers, 902 miles, was examined. Subsequent expeditions were undertaken by CAPTAIN LYON and CAPTAIN BEECHEY. The former failed through continued bad weather; but Captain Beechey having sent his master, Mr. Elson, in a barge to prosecute the voyage to the east, that individual penetrated to a sandy point, on which the ice had grounded, the most northern part of the continent then known. Captain Franklin had, only four days previous, been within 160 miles of this point, when he commenced his return to the Mackenzie River, and it is conjectured with much probability, that had he been aware that by persevering in his exertions for a few days he might have reached his friends, it is possible that a knowledge of the circumstance might have induced him, through all hazards, to continue his journey. The intermediate 160 miles still remained unexplored. In 1829, Captain, afterwards Sir John Ross, disappointed at being outstripped by Captain Parry in the discovery of the strait leading into the Polar Sea, equipped a steam-vessel, solely from private resources, and proceeded to Baffin's Bay. was a bold but inconsiderate undertaking, and every soul who embarked on it must have perished, but for the ample supplies they received from the Fury, or rather from the provisions and stores which, by the providence of Captain Parry, had been carefully stored up on the beach; for the ship herself had entirely disappeared. He proceeded down Regent's Inlet as far as he could in his little ship the Victory; placed her among ice clinging to the shore, and after two winters, left her there; and in returning to the northward, by great good-luck fell in with a whaling-ship, which took them all on board and brought them home.' Captain James Ross, nephew of the commander, collected some geographical information in the course of this unfortunate enterprise.

'It

Valuable information connected with the Arctic regions was afforded by MR. WILLIAM SCORESBY (1760-1829), a gentleman who, while practising the whale-fishing, had become the most learned observer and describer of the regions of ice. His Account of the Northern Whale Fishery,' 1822, is a standard work of great value; and he is author also of an Account of the Arctic Regions' (1820), His son, the REV. DR. WILLIAM SCORESBY (1789-1857), was distinguished as a naval writer, author of Arctic Voyages,' Discourses to Seamen,' and other works.

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EASTERN TRAVELLERS.

The scenes and countries mentioned in Scripture have been fre. quently described since the publications of Dr. Clarke. BURCKHARDT traversed Petræa (the Edom of the prophecies); MR. WILLIAM RAE WILSON, in 1823, published Travels in Egypt and the Holy Land:' MR. CLAUDIUS JAMES RICH-the accomplished British resident at Bagdad, who died in 1821, at the early age of thirty-five-wrote an excellent Memoir on the Ruins of Babylon;' the HoN. GEORGE KEPPEL performed the overland journey to India in 1824, and gave a narrative of his observations in Bassorah, Bagdad, the ruins of Babylon, &c. MR. J. S. BUCKINGHAM also travelled by the overland route-taking, however, the way of the Mediterranean and the Turkish provinces in Asia Minor-and the result of his journey was given to the world in three separate works-the latest published in 1827-entitled 'Travels in Palestine;' 'Travels among the Arab Tribes; and Travels in Mesopotamia.' DR. R. R. MADDEN, a medical gentleman, who resided several years in India, in 1829 published Travels in Egypt, Turkey, Nubia, and Palestine.' 'Letters from the East,' and Recollections of Travel in the East' (1830), by JOHN CARNE, Esq., of Queen's College, Cambridge, extend, the first over Syria and Egypt, and the second over Palestine and Cairo. Mr. Carne is a judicious observer and picturesque describer, yet he sometimes ventures on doubtful biblical criticism. The miracle of the passage of the Red Sea, for example, he thinks should be limited to a specific change in the direction of the winds. The idea of representing the waves standing like a wall on each side must consequently be abandoned. "This,' he says, 'is giving a literal interprctation to the evidently figurative language of Scripture, where it is said that "the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night;' and when the morning dawned, there was probably a wide and waste expanse; from which the waters had retired to some distance; and that the "sea returning to his strength in the morning," was the rushing back of an impetuous and resistless tide, inevitable, but not instantaneous, for it is evident the Egyptians turned and fled at its approach.' In either case a miracle must have been performed, and it seems unnecessary and hypercritical to attempt reducing it to the lowest point. Mr. Milman, in his History of the Jews, has fallen into this error, and explained away the miracles of the Old Testament till all that is supernatural, grand, and impressive disappears.

Travels along the Mediterranean and Parts Adjacent' (1822), by DR. ROBERT RICHARDSON, is an interesting work, particularly as re lates to antiquities. The doctor travelled by way of Alexandria, Cairo, &c., to the Second Cataract of the Nile, returning by Jerusalem, Damascus, Baalbek, and Tripoli. He surveyed the Temple of Solomon, and was the first acknowledged Christian received within its holy walls since it has been appropriated to the religion of Mo. hammed. The Journal to some Parts of Ethiopia' (1822), by

MESSRS. WADDINGTON and HANBURY, gives an account of the antiquities of Ethiopia and the extirpation of the Mamalukes.

SIR JOHN MALCOLM (1769–1850) was author of a History of Persia' and 'Sketches of Persia.' MR. MORIER'S 'Journeys through Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor,' abound in interesting descriptions of the country, people, and government. SIR WILLIAM OUSELEY (1771-1839) -who had been private secretary to the British Embassy in Persiahas published three large volumes of Travels in various countries of the East, particularly Persia, in 1810, 1811, and 1812. This work illustrates subjects of antiquarian research, history, geography, philology, &c., and is valuable to the scholar for its citations from rare oriental manuscripts. Another valuable work on this country is by SIR ROBERT KER PORTER (1780-1742), and is entitled Travels in Georgia, Persia, Babylonia,' &c., published in 1822.

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Society in Bagdad.-From Sir R. K. Porter's Travels.'

The wives of the higher classes in Bagdad are usually selected from the most beautiful girls that can be obtained from Georgia and Circassia; and, to their natural charms, in like manner with their captive sisters all over the East, they add the fancied embellishments of painted complexions, hands and f et dyed with henna, and their hair and eyebrows stain d with the rang, or prepared indigo leaf. Chains of gold, and collars of pearls, with various ornaments of precious stones, decorate the upper part of their persons, while solid bracelets of gold, in shapes resembling serpents, clasp their wrists and ankles. Silver and golden tissued muslins not only form their turbans, but frequently their under-garments. in summer the ample pelisse is made of the most costly shawl, and in cold weather lined and bordered with the choisest furs. The dress is altogether very becoming; by its easy flis and glittering transparency, shewing a fine shape to advantage, without the im nodest exposure of the open vest of the Persian ladies. The humbler females generally move abroad with faces totally unveiled, having a handkerchief rolled ro ́ind their heads, from beneath which their hair hangs down over their shoulders, while another piece of linen passes under their chin, in the fashion of th: Georgians. Their garment is a gown of a shift form, reaching to their ankles open before, and of a gray colour. Their feet are completely naked. Many of the very inferior classes stain their bosoms with the figures of circles, half-moons, stars, &c., in a bluish stamp. In this barbaric embellishment the poor damsel of Irak-Arabi has one point of vanity resembling that of the ladies of Irak-Ajemi. The former frequently adds this frightful cadaverous hue to her lips; and to complete their savage appearance, thrusts a ring through their right nostril, pendent with a flat, button-like ornament set round with blue or red stones.

But to return to the ladies of the higher circles, whom we left in some gay saloon of Bagdad. When all are assembled, the evening meal or dinner is soon served. The party, seated in rows, then prepare themselves for the entrance of the show, which, consisting of music and dancing, continues in noisy exhibition through the whole night. At twelve o'clock, supper is produced, when pilaus, kabobs, preserves, fruits, cried sweetmeats, and sherbets of every fabric and flavour, engage the fair convives for some time. Between this second banquet and the preceding, the perfumed narquilly is never absent from their rosy lips, excepting when they sip coffee, or indulge in a general shout of approbation, or a hearty peal of laughter at the freaks of the dancers or the subject of the singers' madrigals. But no respite is given to the entertainers; and, during so long a stretch of merriment, should any of the happy guests feel a sudden desire for temporary repose, without the least apology she lies down to sleep on the luxurious carpet that is her seat; and thus she remains, sunk in as deep an oblivion as if the nummud were spread in her own chamber Others speedily follow her example, sleeping as sound; notwithstanding the bawling of the singers, the horrid jangling of the guitars, the thumping on the jar-like double-drum, the ringing and loud clangour of the metal bills aud castanets of the dancers, with an eternal talking in all keys, abrupt laughter, and vociferous expressions of gratifiE. L. v. 7-2

cation, making in all a full concert of distracting sounds, sufficient, one might suppose, to awaken the dead. But the merry tumult and gastul strains of this conviviality gradually become fainter and famt r; first one an 1. Bother of the visito.s -wine even the performers are not spared by the oporr god-sink down under the drowsy influence, till at length the whole carpet is covered with the sleeping beauties. anixed indiscriminately with handmaids, dancers, and musicians, as fai as.e.p as themselves. The business, however, is not tans quiety ended. As boo as the sun begins to call forth the blushes of the morn, by lifting the veil that sides her Plumbering eyelids,' the faithinl slaves rub their own clear of any lurking drowsiness, and then tug their respective mistresses by the toe or the shoulder, to rouse them up to perform the devotional ablutions usual at the dawn of day. All start mechanically, as if touched by a spell; and then commences the splashing of water and the muttering of p.ayers, presenting a singular contrast to the vivacious : cene of a few hours before. This duty over, the fair devotees shake their fathers like birds from a refreshing shower, and tripping lightly forward with garments, and perhaps looks, a little the worse for the wear of the pr. ceding evening, punge at once again into all the depths of it amusements. Coffee, sweetmeats, kalionus, as before, accompany every obstreperous repetition of the midnight song and dance; and all being followed up by a plentiful breakfast of rice, meats, fruits, &c, towards noon the party separate, after having sp、nt between fifteen and sixteen hours in this riotous festivity.

The French authors Chateaubriand, Laborde, and Lamartine have minutely described the Holy Land; and in the Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia, and the Holy Land,' by J. L. STEPHENS, information respecting these interesting countries will be found.

Various works on India appeared, including a general Political History of the empire by Sir JOHN MALCOLM (1826), and a Memoir of Central India' (1823), by the same author. Travels in the IIimmalayan Provinces of Hindostan and the Punjaub, in Ladakh and Cashmere, in Peshawar, Cabul, &c., from 1819 to 1825,' by W. MOORCROFT and GEORGE TREBECK, relate many new and important particulars. Mr. Moorcroft crossed the great chain of the Himalaya Mountains near its highest part, and first drew attention to those stupendous heights, rising in some parts to above 27,000 feet. 'A Tour through the Snowy Range of the Himmala Mountains' was made by MR. JAMES BAILLIE FRASER (1820), who gives an interesting account of his perilous journey. He visited Gangotri, an almost inaccesible haunt of superstition, the Mecca of Hindu pilgrims, and also the spot at where the Ganges issues from its covering of perpetual snow. In 1825 Mr. Fraser published a Narrative of a Journey into Khorasan, in the years 1821 and 1822, including an Account of the Countries to the north-east of Persia.' The following is a brief sketch of a Persian town:

Viewed from a commanding situation, the appearance of a Persian town is most uninteresting; the houses, all of mud differ in no respect from the earth in colour, and from the irregularity of their construction, resemble inequalities on its surface rather than human dwellings. The houses, even of the great, seldom exceed one story; and the lofty walls which shroud them from view, without a window to enliven them, have a most monotonous effect. There are few domes or minarets, and still fewer of those that exist are either splendid or elegant. There are no public buildings but the mosques and medressas; and these are often as mean as the rest, or perfectly excluded from view by ruins. The general coup-d'œil presents a succession of flat roofs and long walls of mud. thickly interspersed with ruins; and the only relief to its monotony is found in the gardens, adorned with chinar. poplars, and cypress, with which the towns and villages are often surrounded and intermingled.

The same author published Travels and Adventures in the Persian Provinces, 1826;' A Winter Journey from Constantinople to Tehran, with Travels through Various Parts of Persia, 1858;' &c. Among other Indian works may be mentioned, 'The Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan,' 1850, by LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JAMES TOD (1782-1835); and Travels into Bokhara,' by LIEUTENANT, afterwards SIR ALEXANDER BURNES. The latter is a narrative of a journey from India to Cabul, Tartary, and Persia, and is a valuable work. The accomplished author was cut off in his career of usefulness and honour in 1841, being treacherously murdered at Cabul, in his thirty-sixth year.

Of China we have the history of the two embassies-the first in 1792-94, under Lord Macartney, of which a copious account was given by SIR GEORGE STAUNTON, one of the commissioners. Further information was afforded by SIR JOHN BARROW'S 'Travels in China, published in 1804, and long our most valuable work on that country. The second embassy, headed by Lord Amherst, in 1816, was recorded by HENRY ELLIS, Esq., third commissioner, in a work in two volumes (1818), and by DR. ÁBEL, a gentleman attached to the embassy. One circumstance connected with this embassy occasioned some speculation and amusement. The ambassador was required to perform the ko-tou, or act of prostration, nine times re peated, with the head knocked against the ground. Lord Amherst and Mr. Ellis were inclined to have yielded this point of ceremony; but Sir George Staunton and the other members of the canton mission took the most decided part on the other side. The result of their deliberations was a determination against the performance of the ko-tou; and the emperor at last consented to admit them upon their own terms, which consisted in kneeling upon a single knee. The embassy went to Pekin, and were ushered into an ante-chamber of the imperial palace.

Scene at Pekin, described by Mr. Elis.

Mandarins of all buttons were in waiting; several princes of the blood, distinguished by clear ruby buttons and round flowered badges, were among them; the silence, and a certain air of regularity, marked the immediate presence of the sovereign. The small apartment, much out of repair, into which we were huddled, now witnessed a scene I believe unparalleled in the history of even oriental diplomacy. Lord Amherst had scarcely taken his seat, when Chang delivered a message from Ho (Koong-yay), stating that the emperor wished to see the ambassador, his son, and the commissioners Immediately. Much surprise was naturally expressed; the previous arrangement for the eighth of the Chin se mouth, a period certainly much too early for comfort, was adverted to, and the utter impossibility of His Excellency appearing in his present state of fatigue, inan tion, and deficiency of every necessary equipment was strongly urged. Chang was very unwilling to be the bearer of this answer, but was finally obliged to consent. During this time the room had filled with spectators of all ages and ranks, who rudely pressed upon us to gratify their brutal curiosity, for such it may be called, as they seemed to regard us rather as wild beasts than mere strangers of the same species with themselves. Some other mes sages were interchanged between the Koong-yay and Lord Amherst, who, in addi

The buttons, in the order of their rank, are as follows: ruby red, worked coral. smooth coral, pale blue, dark blue, crystal, ivory, and gold.

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