me not unsheathed), and another with a short stick, made many blows at me; which parrying in the best manner I was able, although not so successfully as I could have wished, I dashed through these bearded heroes, and was assailed in my flight by many large stones, of which, for many days, I bore the marks.' Notwithstanding this risk, and the kind reproaches of his friend, the Dr. felt a secret satisfaction at having accomplished what, most probably, no European had ever before attempted. We regret that our limits do not allow us to pursue the remainder of this interesting volume in detail. A serious want of water, and the recurrence of suffocating winds, began to manifest their direful effects, particularly on Mr. H. At length, they approached the long expected wells: Willing to communicate the glad tidings to my friend, I rode to him, and expressed my hope that he would be soon refreshed by a supply of water. He replied, "Thank God! but I am almost dead." I endeavoured to cheer his spirits; and then urging my horse, advanced to the spot where I observed the camels were collecting together. In about half an hour I found myself amongst a circle of animals greedily contending for a draught of muddy water, confined in a small superficial well about five feet in diameter. Pressing to the edge, I laid myself upon my belly, and by means of my hand sup plied myself with a fluid, which, however filthy in itself, and contaminated by the disgusting mouths of as many camels and men as could reach it, was a source of indescribable gratification. It is wholly out of the power of language to convey any idea of the blissful enjoyment of obtaining water after an almost total want of it during eight and forty hours, in the scorching regions of an Arabian desert in the month of July! But this moment of gratification was soon succeeded by one of peculiar horror and anxiety. Scarcely had I quenched my thirst before Mr. H.'s camel arrived. I flew with a bowl full of water to my friend; who drank but little of it, and in great haste. Alas! it was his last draught! His lovely child too, eagerly moistened her mouth of roses, blistered by the noxious blast! With difficulty Joannes and myself supported my feeble friend to where the tent had been thrown down from the camel's back. He stammered out a question respecting the time of the day; to which I answered it was near four: and requesting the Arabs to hold over him part of the tent (to pitch it required too much time), I unpacked as speedily as possible our liquor chest, and hastened to offer him some Visnce (a kind of cherry brandy): but Nature was too much exhausted! I sat down, and receiving him in my arms, repeated my endeavours to engage him to swallow a small portion of the liqueur. All human efforts were vain! Gust after gust of pestilential air dried up the springs of life, and he breathed his laat upon my bosom ! Let the reader of sensibility reflect upon the concomitant circumstances which attended this afflicting scene, and then refer to the aensations which will be created in his own breast, to form some idea of those which must have lacerated mine! Let him paint to himself a traveller, of an age alive to every feeling, in the midst of the Desart of Arabia, with the corpse of his respected friend, burnt to the appearance of a cinder, black yet warm, on one side of him; and on the other the daughter of that friend, the most angelic child that Nature ever formed, unconscious of her loss, and with the prattle of innocence inquiring" where her dear papa was gone to?" It was a scene as little to be supported as decribed; and the honest tears I shed bore ample testimony to the wounded sensibility of my heart.' Other painful circumstances we must repress. Although the Euphrates removed all apprehension of distressing thirst, the heat in one instance amounted to 132 of Fahrenheit's thermometer, under the tent, and to 156, in the sun's rays. The interesting Marianne supported the severe trials of this exhausting pilgrimage with a patience and cheerfulness which astonished her fellow sufferers. On the noon of the forty-eighth day from their leaving Aleppo, the caravan halted at Bussorah. Towards the conclusion of his narrative, Dr. G. bears ample testimony to the hospitality and dignified deportment of the Arabs of the Desart. As the duties exacted by Shaiks on the transit of goods have been recognized from time immemorial by public avowal, or tacit acquiescence, any attempt to evade the tribute is presumed to imply the right of seizure, or confiscation; and, in these circumstances, the plundering of a caravan is not supposed to derogate from a reputation for honesty. A state of war between two tribes is likewise reckoned sufficient to authorize depredation but this, it is justly observed, is the general effect produced by war. From Bussorah, Dr. G. proceeded to Bombay, where he forgot his fatigues in the society of the most affectionate of brothers. If this volume of travels, of which we have thus rapidly sketched the outline, contains little information that is new, it is at least composed with spirit, and breathes the language of candid, humane, and honourable sentiments. In so far as it attests the uniform baseness of the Turkish character, it is a valuable record; because it confirms, by a conspicuous example, the melancholy but important truth, that ignorance, prejudice, and fanaticism reduce mankind to the lowest state of degradation. Lest the picture should be reckoned overcharged, the author reminds us, in his preface, that he traversed a great part of the Ottoman dominions in the humble disguise of a poor Greek; not under the protection of Janissaries, the influence of ambassadors, or the authority of a Firmaun, Passport, or order, sealed by the Grand Signior, to which great respect is paid in most parts of the Turkish dominions." < I have I have seen Turks,' continues he, of all ranks and of all manners, undisguised by the etiquette of high life, divested of fear from superior power, and uninfluenced by the caution of self-interest; I have associated with officers in eminent stations at the Porte, and joined a pedestrian party of menial servants; and I have found the Turk every where a Turk. Their civilities are offered with the insult of superiority; their protection granted under an injunction of their law, not on account of any one principle of humanity or kindness to the Keupeg they succour; and their own comfort or convenience was never sacrificed, on the score of hospitality, in favour of an infidel t.' We are ignorant of the motives which have induced the writer to double the term of the Horatian precept-nonum prematur in annum : but we learn, with satisfaction, that these travels are intended only as a prelude to a more extensive and elaborate work on various regions of India, in which the author resided during some years, and enjoyed opportunities peculiarly favourable for investigation.-The present publication is illustrated by a map of his route, and views of Constantinople, of the mosques of Sta. Sophia and Sultan Ahmed, and of the death of the author's travelling companion in the desart.-An Index is wanting. By ART. II. The Triumph of Music; a Poem, in Six Cantos. William Hayley, Esq. 4to. pp. 148. 10s. 6d. Boards. Payne, 1804. SOLVE senescentem, maturè sanus, equum, has been the advice of Critics to Poets, ever since the time of Horace. If Homer shone with less fire in his Odyssey, and Milton in his Paradise Regained, what wonder can there be that Mr. Hayley's Pegasus should break down after repeated heats? In the present work, he not only halts, but seems completely foundered; and we doubt whether he will ever again be able to canter through a Sonnet, or the dedication of a Fable-book. Our readers must remember the question put to Ariosto by the Cardinal d'Este, on receiving his Orlando: a similar inquiry arose in our minds, after having perused the pious ditties contained in "Venusia's book;" and we verily imagined that Mr. Hayley had recovered the Common-place book of P. P. "Clerk *Keupeg signifies dog, and is a term very generally bestowed upon Christians." † Ghour or infidel, equally reproachful with Keupeg, is the appellation by which they do not hesitate to distinguish a Christian even in conversation with him.' of of this Parish," or the infantine excercises of some SundaySchool. Withers, Prynne, and Vickers, may now lift up their heads in triumph, and exclaim, These holy songs shall live for evermore, Written, Anno Domini 1804; for they display exactly an equal degree of inspiration with the verses of those bards of "ale, or viler liquors." Had such an assemblage of rhymes been placed before us as a roguish imitation of Mr. Hayley's style, we should have said, "No! this will never do!-The caricature is too strong.". Let our readers judge, from the opening of the poem,-by no means an unfavourable specimen : In pleasure's palace, her Venetian dome! She much excell'd in all; but most in vocal charms. He destin'd her to be a brother's bride; A brother of the state; in rank his peer; One, whose wealth made him to ambition dear; How is the second foot of the eighth line to be pronounced? It must be read modèstly, to make out the rhime.-In the tenth line we have a very strange figure-Her eyes had the power of a girdle !-This reminds us of the Shepherd, who praised his Mistress by saying that she had as much wit as a giant. It is still worse when we arrive at the impassioned part (or what ought to be such) of the Courtship of Lucilio:-- -- That sound exalted him to feverish bliss, He touch'd, in blind temerity, her lip ;' Never was there a more unfortunate botch than in the last line but one; excepting, perhaps, some weeping lines in Quarles's Argalus and Parthenia.-Here is a sketch of Venusia's Confession : "When first alarm'd, by what thy friendship told, And much I fear'd in night's first lonely hour, At morning's dawn she stood beside my bed, To every impassioned expression, Lucilio replies with a Song: a mode of wooing not very persuasive, we should imagine, even in Italy! The meagre story of assassins charmed from their purpose by a song, though twice introduced in these pages, being insufficient to fill up the volume, the author has had recourse to an expedient which possesses at least some claim to novelty. He has introduced, in a variety of measures, detached pieces of Poetry, under the signature of his favourite personages. These compositions are much fuller of morality than of poetry, as the reader will perceive from the following specimens: • SONNET. Enliv'ning truth, most luminously sweet! In its dark bosom yield a mansion meet For Heaven's blest lord?-When evil powers retreat, Pure, as the starry path by angels trod, Make my clear mind, howe'er my lot may lower, THEODORE.' • SONNET. |