stiff and disproportioned forms of the grotesque Egyptian female figures. "A party of school boys were amusing themselves by discovering likenesses to each other in the monstrous deities displayed on the wall; and a governess was answering the inquiries of her young pupils, If there ever existed men with lion's, apes', and foxes' heads?' by sententiously reading extracts from Belzoni's Description, not a word of which the little innocents could understand. One old lady remarked, that The Tomb was not at all alarming, when people got used to it ;' and another said it made her melancholy, by reminding her of the death of her dear first husband, the worthy Alderman, to whose memory sne had erected a very genteel one.' Two vulgar-looking old men, declared their conviction that it was all a hum, for had there been such a place, Lord Nelson would have said summut about it in his despatches;' and another person of the same class said, that 'For his part he did not like foreigners; and why did no Englishman ever find out this here place? he should not wonder if, in the end, Mr. Belzoni, or whatever his name is, was found out to be like that Baron who wrote so many fibs.' The first speaker observed, that Any man, who would go for to say, as how men had apes' faces (though his own bore a striking likeness to one) would say any thing.' "A gentleman who appeared to be a tutor, and two young lads, were attentively examining the model, and comparing it with Belzoni's Narrative; and the questions they asked, and the observations which they made, shewed a spirit of inquiry and intelligence pleasing to witness; while his answers full of good sense and information, marked how well qualified he was to convey instruction. "The tomb levels all distinctions,' though a trite observation, is one the truth of which has never been doubted; and, if it were, a visit to that of Psammis would convince the most incredulous; for here persons of all ranks meet, and jostle each other with impunity. The fine lady, who holds her vinaigrette to her nostrils, and remarks to her attending beau, 'What a dreadfully shocking place it is!' and that there is not a single person of fashion there,' is elbowed by a fat red-faced woman, who looks like the mistress of a ginshop, and who declares to her spouse that 'She would give a shilling for a glass of aniseed; for looking at them there mummies made her feel so queerish.' "An old lady, and her two granddaughters, are examining the Pyramid; the old lady has got on a pair of spectacles, and is, with evident labour, endeavouring to decypher a page of the Description; but unfortunately she has got a wrong page, and having puzzled herself for some time, at last gives up the task in despair; and in answer to one of the children's questions of 'Grand-mamma, what is a Pyramid ?' the good old lady replies, Why, a Pyramid, my dear, is a pretty ornament for the centre of a table, such as papa sometimes has instead of an epergne.” "A simple-looking country girl is remarking to her companion, that This is not a bit like a tomb;' for that she had seen many, but they were all quite different, being small and much of the shape of a large trunk, and all has Here lies the body,' or some such thing on them, with cross bones, death's heads, and hour glasses.' "Two ladies of fashion now enter, attended by two Exquisites or Dandies of the first class, and their exclamations of What an odd place! O dear, how disagreeable the smell is!' attract the notice of the fine lady before mentioned, who has been engaged in a flirtation with her beau for the last half hour; they now recognise each other, and the languid How d'ye do? I'm delighted to see you; how very funny that we should meet in the tomb!' are uttered at once by all three and one of the Exquisites, who appears to be of the sentimental cast, takes this optunity of lisping out, that The presence of such divinities converts the tomb into a heaven." A vulgar-looking man, who has been listening to their chit-chat, and eyeing them with derision, whispers, but in audible accents,to his wife,a pretty modest looking woman, My eye! did you hear what that there young pale-faced chap said to them there painted women, about going to heaven ?-They don't seem to have any more chance of that sort of place than they have thoughts of it just now.' The wife gives him an imploring look to be quiet, and whispers, that she believes the ladies are no better than they should be, by their bold looks, and loud speaking, and urges him to go to the other side." "The party of fashionables now approached, and one of the ladies exclaimed, 'Do pray let us leave this tiresome stupid place, where there is not a single thing to be seen worth looking at, and where the company is so intolerably vulgar. I really fancied it was a fashionable morning lounge, where one would meet every soul worth meeting in town, for, as to looking at a set of Egyptian frights, it never entered into my head; I have not heard of Egypt since my governess used to bore me about it when I was learning geography; and as to tombs and pyramids, I have a perfect horror of them.' Another of the ladies observed, that she hated every thing Egyptian ever since she had heard of the plagues.' And the third begged, that in decrying Egypt and its productions, they would except Egyptian pebbles, which were beautiful, and took an exquisite polish.' 6 Oh! pray do look at the female ornaments, exclaimed one of the ladies; did you ever see such horrid things? Only fancy any woman of taste wearing them: well, I declare those same Egyptians must have been dreadfully vulgar, and the women must have looked hideously when adorned in such finery. How surprised they would have been at seeing Wirgman's beautiful trinkets, or the sweet tasteful jewellery at Howel and James'!' I have always thought,' replied one of the Exquisites, these lines in Shakspeare very absurd where he saysLoveliness Needs not the foreign aid of ornament, For no fine woman ever looks half so well, as when she wears diamonds and other valuable ornaments." " "Some young people, attended by their mother, a very showy dressed woman, with many indications of vulbefore the ruins of the Temple of Ergarity in her appearance, now stopped ments;' and one of the children asked her, what place the water before them was meant to represent.'-The mamma replied, she, 'believed it was the Red Sea, or some such place,' but recommended them not to ask questions, as it would lead people to think them ignorant. This sapient answer seemed very unsatisfactory to the children, who, having expressed their annoyance, were promised a copy of the Description, provided they did not look at it until they got home, as mamma was in a hurry. was even more so. "A lady next us, enquired 'if Egypt was near Switzerland?' and was informed by her friend that it was near Venice.'-The ignorance displayed by the greater part of the visitors of the Tomb, on historical, geographical, and chronological points, was truly surprising, and the perfect apathy evinced, It was plain that they came to the Tomb merely to pass away an hour, or in the expectation of meeting their acquaintances; but as to feeling any interest in the scene before them, or drawing any moral inference from it, they seemed as little inclined, as if they had been in the round room of the Opera House on a crowded night. Wrapt up in their own self-satisfied ignorance, the works or monuments of antiquity boast no attractions for them; and, strange to say, the metropolis of a country that professes to surpass all others in civilization and morals, presents, in some of its inhabitants, examples of ignorance and want of reflection, scarcely equalled in any other part of the civilized world." [A neat volume has just issued from the press, entitled "Sketches and Fragments," by the Author of "The Magic Lantern," which pleasing little work, we mentioned at the period of its publication, was from the pen of Lady Blessington. The present elegant companion to it is consequently the production of the same accomplished lady, whose taste and good feeling are perhaps still more delightfully exhibited in its pages than in those of its precursor. As an example of both, we have for this part of our work selected one of the Sketches. Voyages and Travels. TRAVELS IN BABYLONIA, &c. BY SIR ROBERT KER PORTER. * Jo VOL. II. OURNEYING through Media from Ecbatana, now Hamadan, its ancient capital, our countryman took a westerly course, and examined the sculpture at Be-Sitoon, which, from his description, seems to bear a strong resemblance to the string of captives in one of Belzoni's chambers. It is conjectured that the conquest of Israel by Salmenezer, King of Assyria and the Medes, may be celebrated by these figures, &c. From Dermanshah Sir Robert took the direct road to Bagdad, passing from Persia into the ancient Assyria. Just before entering Irak Arabi, the escort and the pilgrim-host which had joined company were attacked by Arabs; but these banditti did not press their hostilities to any real injury. Not so fortunate were the travellers when assailed by the pestilential winds which prevail in this quarter. Many of the party were seized with illness, and the author thus relates its cause : life it is so far from being prejudicial to the vegetable creation, that a continuance of the Samiell tends to ripen the fruits. I enquired what became of the cattle during such a plague, and was told they seldom were touched by it. It seems strange that their lungs should be so perfectly insensible to what seems instant destruction to the breath of man, but so it is, and they are regularly driven down to water at the customary times of day, even when the blasts are at the severest. The people who attend them, are obliged to plaster their own faces, and other parts of the body usually exposed to the air, with a sort of muddy clay, which in general protects them from its most malignant effects. The periods of the winds blowing are generally from noon till sunset; they cease almost entirely during the night; and the direction of the gust is always from the north-east. When it has passed over, a sulphuric and indeed loathsome smell like putridity, remains for a long time. The poison which occasions this smell, must be deadly; for if any unfortunate traveller, too far from shelter, meet the blast, he falls immediately; and, in a few minutes his flesh becomes almost black, while both it and his bones at once arrive at so extreme a state of corruption, that the smallest movement of the body would separate the one from the other. When we listen to these accounts, we can easily understand how the Almighty, in whose hands are all the instruments of nature, to work even the most miraculous effects, might, by this natural agent of the Samiell brought from afar, make it the brand of death by which the destroying angel wrought the destruction of the army of Sennacherib." --"In order to while away my anxiety in this untoward detention, I sent for the master of the khaun, to make some enquiries respecting the country and its inhabitants. He told me that they consider October the first month of their autumn, and feel it delightfully cool in comparison with July, August, and September; for that during forty days of the two first named summer months, the hot wind blows from the desert, and its effects are often destructive. Its title is very appropriate, being called the Samiell or Baude Semoon, the pestilential wind. It does not come in continued long currents, but in gusts at different intervals, each blast lasting several minutes, and passing along with the rapidity of lightning. No one dare stir from their houses while this invisible flame is sweeping over the At the place of which we are now face of the country. Previous to its treating, Sir Robert was about eightyapproach, the atmosphere becomes five miles from Bagdad; the route lythick and suffocating, and appearing ing through a howling wilderness of particularly dense near the horizon, lions, wolves, hyenas, and jackals, gives sufficient warning of the threaten- which he passed in safety, and entered ed mischief. Though hostile to human that famous city on the 17th of OctoTravels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia, &c. in 1817 and 1820. By Sir Robert Ker Porter. Vol. II. London, 1822. ber, or in twenty-six days from Hamadan. The difference of habits, &c. is well marked: "A stranger arriving from Irak Ajem, into this renowned capital of Irak Arabi, cannot fail being instantly struck with the marked difference between the people before him, and those he left north of the mountains. There, the vesture was simple and close, though long, with a plain-hilted knife stuck in the girdle, and the head of the wearer covered with a dark cap of sheep skin. Here, the outer garment is ample and flowing, the turban high and superbly folded, and the costly shawl round the waist additionally ornamented with a richly embossed dagger. With personages in every variety of this gorgeous costume, I saw the streets of Bagdad filled on my entrance. Monstrous turbans of all hues, pelisses, and vests, of silk, satins, and cloths, in red, blue, green, yellow, of every shade and fabric, clothed the motley groupes who appeared every where; some slowly moving along the streets, others seated cross-legged on the ground, or mounted on benches by the way-side, sipping their coffee, and occasionally inhaling a more soporific vapour from their gilded pipes, with an air of solemnity not to be an anticipated by such a tulip-garbed fraternity. The contrasted appearance of the gaily coloured, and gloomily pompous Turk, when compared with the parsimoniously clad Persian, sombre in appearance even to the black dye of his beard, yet accompanied with the most lively and loquacious activity of body and mind, amused me much; and in traversing these characteristic paths, I could not but recollect I was now in the far-famed city of the caliphs, the capital of Harounal-Raschid, through whose remote avenues he and his faithful vizier used to wander by night, in disguise, to study the characters of his subjects, and to reign with justice. But history was not alone, in busying the memory with recollections; the delightful tales of childhood started up along with her, and remembrances of the Arabian Nights seemed to render the whole a sort of eastern classic ground, consecrating its bazaars, mosques, palaces, and even cobler's stalls, to a kind of romantic celebrity." At the capital of Assyria and Babylonia, Sir Robert was most cordially entertained by Mr. Rich of whom he speaks in the highest terms. The Pasha of Bagdad, Dowd or David, can raise no force much exceeding 10,000 men and the Arabs around him are in a state of complete insubordination. Respecting the seat of his government, the following extract gives information :— "The latitude of Bagdad, from the mean observations taken by Mr. Rich and others,is 33°19′40," and the longitude east of Greenwich, 44° 44′ 45′′. The climate in general has the advantage of parts of Persia, in not being variable in such violent extremes; but then its warmest months are certainly insufferable from the abiding effects of the 40 days' prevalence of the consuming samiell. At that season, the thermometer frequently mounts in the shade from 120 to 140 degrees of heat, according to Fahrenheit. When the heat reaches 100 degrees, the inhabitants betake themselves to the refuge of certain arched apartments, called the Zardaub; constructed deep in the foundations of the house, for this very purpose. From their situation they can have no windows; therefore catch their glimpse of daylight as it may glimmer through the doors from the chambers above. Thin matting supplies the place of carpets, and every precaution and method is pursued, that can bring coolness to these gloomy abodes; where the chief part of the natives of Bagdad pass the whole of the sultry day, while the atmosphere without retains its more scorching fires. At sun-set each family issues from their subterranean shelters, and ascending to the top of the house, take their evening repast beneath the arch of heaven. And under the same free canopy, "fanned by tepid airs," they spread their bedding along the variously disposed divisions of the roof; whose irregular forms are so contrived, to catch at every zephyr's breath that passes. In these elevated apartments, the natives repose, until the close of October; at which time the days become comparatively cool; and sudden blasts blowing up during the night, from the north, and southeast, render sleeping in the open air dangerous." "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 feet dyed with henna, and their hair and eyebrows stained 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 ancles. 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 border ed with the choicest furs. The dress is altogether very becoming; by its easy folds, and glittering transparency, shewing a fine shape to advantage, without the immodest exposure of the open vest of the Persian ladies. The humbler females generally move abroad with faces totally unveiled, having a handkerchief rolled round 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 the Georgians. Their garment is a gown of a shift form, reaching to their ancles, open before, and of a grey 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 Ajem. The former frequently adds this frightful cadaverous hue to her lips; and, to complete her savage appearance, thrusts a ring through the 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, fruit, dried 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 that the bawling of the singers, the horrid jangling of the guitars, the thumping on the jar-like doubledrum, the ringing and loud clangor of the metal bells and castanets of the dancers, with an eternal talking in all keys, abrupt laughter, and vociferous expressions of gratification, making, in all, a full concert of distracting sounds, sufficient, one might suppose, to awaken the dead. But the merry tumult, and joyful strains of this conviviality, gradually become fainter and fainter: first one, and then another of the visitors, (while even the performers are not spared by the soporific god) sink down under the drowsy influence; till, at length, the whole carpet is covered with these sleeping beauties, mixed indiscriminately with hand-maids, dancers, and musicians, as fast asleep as themselves. The business, however, "As soon is not thus quietly ended. as the sun begins to call forth the blushes of the morn, by lifting the veil that shades her slumbering eyelids," the |