TURKISH REMEDY FOR INDIGESTION. beard as white as snow; he made me sit close to him, and asked a number of questions “Ibrahim, my Tatar, having been taken respecting Bonaparte, of whom he appeared ill, in consequence of eating too many green to be a great admirer. He afterwards de-melons, the Turkish physician of the place manded where I was going, and what I was summoned, and prescribed as follows:wanted in that part of the country. I told be called for a piece of cotton and an egg, and him I was travelling to amuse myself, and when they were brought, tied the former round that I intended to visit Cesarea and Tarsus. the latter, and in this manner ordered it to be He replied that, as the road was in many boiled quite hard. The Tatar was then diplaces infested by brigands, he would give me rected to eat the cotton and the yolk, which guard and letters to the governors of the our doctor affirmed would prevent any return different districts through which I should of fever. I will not vouch for the efficacy of pass; and on taking leave of him he enjoined this specific, but certain it is, that Ibrahim the Doctor to see that all my wants were suphad no immediate repetition of his disorder." plied during my stay at Ooscat."

a

TURKISH SCANDAL RELATIVE TO THE

EMPEROR ALEXANDER.

"I had a message from the prince requesting to see the pictures of Napoleon and the Emperor Alexander, which his physician had informed him were in my possession. I accordingly sent them to him, and he returned them with a message, stating that Napoleon had the countenance of a great man, but that the Emperor was, to his knowledge, the son of a Turkish Pasha, taken prisoner in the Russian wars, and with whom his mother became enamoured."*

CESAREA.

Nothing could exceed the filth and stench of the streets at this place, They were literally blocked up by dunghills, and no pains seemed to be taken to remove dead horses, dogs, and cats, the effals of animals butchered in the market, and stagnant pools of water, at the sight of which I was almost every instant sickened with disgust. The quantity of vegetables exposed for sale in the bazaar was quite extraordinary; and, on inquiry, I found that there was no part of Asia Minor which surpassed the neighbourhood of Cesarea for the quality and variety of its fruits. Its immediate vicinity is principally peopled by Greeks, who have a convent which contains the tomb of St. Basil, formerly Bishop of Cesarea. The Armenians have two churches in the town, and it is a curious circumstance that the numbers of the latter in the Asiatic cities of the Turkish empire greatly exceed those of the former."

THE DRUSES OF LATAKIA.

"It is impossible to imagine the extreme barrenness of the rugged territory which they inhabit. It is a lofty chain of desolate hills, hanging over the Mediterranean without a plain, a valley, or even a blade of grass or vegetation, excepting what has been industriously reared by the hand of man ; and as there ; is hardly a particle of soil upon these dried and sun-beaten rocks, the inhabitants almost

entirely subsist upon the produce of the silkworm, with which they purchase corn. They cultivate the mulberry trees on graduated terraces, to prevent the rain from washing away the small quantity of earth which they may have collected; they are continually obliged to dig round these trees, which are of the most diminutive size, and are even reduced to the necessity of pounding stones, in order to afford them sufficient nourishment. They reside in hamlets, consisting of four or five houses, and a fountain or rivulet is so seldom seen that it' is not uncommon for the Druses to drive their' goats six or seven miles to water. They are a quiet and orderly people, have little or no knowledge of the religion they profess, and place implicit faith in their okals, or priests. They will neither eat nor drink in the house of a person employed in any public situation, because they imagine that his revenues are unjustly derived from the labours of the poor; and are nominally governed by two chiefs, the Ameer Basher and Sheck Basher. The first of these stands appointed by the Grand Signor, and although nominally the head, possesses but little authority, the whole power being, in reality, vested in the latter, who is a Druse."

TEMPORARY ALARM EXCITED AT CHARS

HUMBA.

"The hakim, or overnor of the district, which is called Janikli, gave us a konak on a Greek house, the master of which was gone

"The person to whom I now allude, bad, from his own account, been a shawl merchant, and appeared to be acquainted with the most remote countries of the east. He was once in the service of Sir James Mackintosh, in the subject may be formed, I apprehend, from capacity of butler, and in passing through|| studying the wars of the Romans against the Erzeroom, on his retura from India, procured Persians, and those of the Russians since the the situation of physician to the Pasha, on a first attack of Peter the Great to the present salary of four hundred piastres a month. His day. The system invariably pursued by the dress was the first thing which excited our at- Romans, was, perhaps, better calculated than tention; and certainly his figure and appear, I any other, for the extension and security of

conquered states. The countries subdued were colonized by the soldiers intermarrying with the natives, who imperceptibly adopted the manners of the conquerors, and, in a short time, became equally interested in supporting the glory of Rome. Notwithstanding these

advantages, however, and that of a contiguous froutier, from which supplies and reinforce. ments could be drawn at pleasure, we find, that the Romans could never make any lasting impression on the Persian empire."

NARRATIVE OF AN EXPEDITION TO EXPLORE THE RIVER ZAIRE.

Narrative of an Expedition to Explore the River Zaire, usually called the Congo, in South Africa, in 1816, under the direction of Captain J. K. Tuckey, R. N. 4to. Murray.

In procuring vessels fit for the navi- || of adoration, never failing charms, and comgation of the Zaire, it was found requisite posed of strange kind of materials, such as to pay attention to two very important bits of shells, horus, stones, wood, and all points; these were, that they should draw kind of rags. Some had figures wrought as little water as possible, and, that they in sculpture, and the features, not resembling should, at the same time, be made commo- those of negroes, but of the inhabitants of dious for the officers and crew, the natural- ancient Egypt. ists, and whatever collections they might The transport was a very heavy sailing be enabled to make. Sir Joseph Banks vessel; the breezes from the sea were resuggested the idea of a steam vessel, and ex-markably light, so that the ships were de periments of this kind were, accordingly, || tained a long time off Shark Point, which made; but the engine was found too-cambersome, and likely to be more injurious than beneficial, in so long a voyage.

runs out, in a northerly direction, from the southern shore of the mouth of the river. While thus detained, Captain Tuckey had several interviews with the natives, who were dirty, swarming with vermin, and very far from their approaches to civilization. On the 12th of July, Captain Tuckey resolved to get rid of the transport: accordingly, he left the naturalists on board, and, in his double boats, which more than an

க The Congo was the name given to the vessel destined for the expedition: the greatest part of the persons engaged were left to the choice of the commander, and were volunteers; the scientific professors were professor Smith, of Norway, as botanist; Mr. Cranch, collector for natural history: Mr. Tudor, comparative anatomist; Mr. Gal-swered his expectations, with a light breeze, wey, a friend of Capt. Tuckey's; and Mr. and against the current, he doubled Shark Lockhart, gardener, from the royal gardens | Point., at Kew.

1.

These two boats were thirty-five feet long, and six broad, and were prepared at the suggestion of Captain Tuckey: they were capable of containing from twenty to thirty men, with three months provisions. These were stowed in the Dorothy transport, which was ordered to accompany the expedition.

The vessels sailed from the Thames in 1815, early in February, and on the 30th of June, arrived off Malemba Point, nearly three degrees north of the Zaire. On coming to an anchor, it was imagined by the natives that they came to traffick for slaves, The party which came on board were dressed in a motley way, comprising toge They found it very difficult to persuade ther, the European and African costume: the King of Embomma, that they should the man who acted as secretary, wore the come for any other purpose than to trade uniform of an English General over his, or make war. A black man, of the name otherwise, quite naked body: the native of Simmons, of royal extraction, was here dress consisted of chequered cotton folded restored to his country and friends. He had. round the waist; and those who laid claim served as cook's mate, during his passage, to gentility, wore an apron of the skin of but was now metamorphosed into a Prince : some animal; all of them were loaded with his father dressed him in a silk coat, emwhat they call fetiches; which are objects|broidered with silver, which he put on over

his dirty bannian and trowsers: on his head, to leave the boats, and proceed to Yellala he had a black glazed hat, with an enor- by land; Vellala had been described as a mous grenadier's feather, and round bis cataract, little inferior to the Niagara. waist a silk sash, with a ship's Cutlass. Thirteen men, and the gentlemen of the exSoon after his arrival home, he begged a pedition, composed the party. They were piece of cloth to envelope the body of his much disappointed at finding little more aunt, who had been dead seven years, and than a brook, bubbling over a stony bed. was then to be buried in two months, having arrived at a size to make a genteel funeral; the custom being to wrap the body in European cottons, perpetually adding more and more wrappers, and the bulk, among the rich, is limited to the power of -being carried to the grave."

The Captain now determined to chuse the North Bank for his future progress, and on the 21st, with fourteen men, he set out for the bauza of Inga, by laud, sending the boats down the river to rejoin the Congo sloop. Simmons had been engaged as an interpreter, but he deserted the first day; On the 5th of August, Captain Tuckey and it was with extreme difficulty that anoagain left the Congo, and, accompanied by ther could be procured. On the 23d they the Lieutenant, the master, one mate, the rejoined the river, which seemed to be so four scientific gentlemen, and his friend, || entirely filled with rocks, that there was Mr. Galwey, they proceeded up the river scarce room for a canoe to pass through. in the double boats, the transport's long- At noon, the same day, they reached Inga. boat, two gigs, and one of the punts. On The people had never before beheld au›Euthe 8th, as they advanced, they found the ropean. On the 24th, in the evening, they hills more barren; palm trees were no again reached the river at Mavoonda Boaya, longer to be seen, nor, indeed, any kind of and found it lined with rocks, but having a cultivation. On the 10th, the difficulties || free current in the middle. Some informaincreased so much, from the ledges of rocks, tion was here received, that, after a passage and the violence of the current, that the of ten days in a canoe, they would reach a gentlemen found they should not be able large sandy island, making two channels, to proceed further in boats. Hearing that one to the north-west, and the other to the some Madouza men were at Noki, the Cap-north-east; that in the latter was a fall, tain resolved to pay a visit to the King, and over which canoes could be taken; "and procure guides. They had a very fatiguing twenty days above this fall, the river issued march, before they reached the banza; in small streams from a muddy marsh. The often being obliged to scramble up hills Zaire, therefore, by these accounts, becomes almost perpendicular, descending, at times, || again navigable about twenty miles above into vallies covered with vegetation. They the cataracts of Yellala. **** found the chief living in a much greater style of savage magnificence than the King of Embomma. The ground was covered with the skins of lions and deopards, to tread on which was a crime, punished by slavery. One of the nobles squirted from his mouth a portion of brandy into that of another nobleman; perhaps this was a refinement of civility. The king was dressed in a red cloak, laced, and had on his head an enormous cap, made of the white feathers of the heron. After a difficult journey, Captain Tuckey and his friends regained their boats in the evening, having marked the peculiar scarcity of provisions in the parts they visited the value of goods given in exchange for meat, made it considerably above a shilling per pound,

On the 14th, Captain Tuckey determined

་་

With a reduced party; Captain Tuckey set out, by land, to Bamba Yanzg, where the river ceased to be obstructed; on the 1st of September it began to rise, and on the 4th it was seen to expand to the breadth of three miles. On the 6th, canoes were procured: but, instead of holding twenty men each, as had been agreed on, they would scarce contain eight, so that some of the party were obliged to march by land. On the 7th, the canoe, containing some of the most useful and requisite articles, was sunk, by the negligence of the natives. On the 8th, the canoe men deserted, so that the party were again compelled to proceed on foot. On the 9th, their marketable commodities being reduced to a very small compass, they found it impossible to go any farther.