The last part of the Doctor's letter is of great importance. The complaint * which he makes I have. heard long ago, and did not know but it was redressed. It is unhappy that a practice so erroneous has not yet been altered; for altered it must be, or our press will be useless, with all its privileges. The booksellers, who, like all other men, have strong prejudices in their own favour, are enough inclined to think the practice of printing and selling books by any but themselves, an encroachment on the rights of their fraternity, and have need of stronger inducements to circulate academical publications than those of one another; for, of that * Mr Boswell, the elaborate biographer of Dr Johnson, supposes, that the complaint here alluded to was, that the trustees of the Oxford press did not allow the London Booksellers a sufficient profit upon vending their publications. mutual co-operation by which the general trade is carried on, the University can bear no part. Of those whom he neither loves nor fears, and from whom he expects no reciprocation of good offices, why should any man promote the interests but for profit? I suppose, with all our scholastic ignorance of mankind, we are still too knowing to expect that the booksellers will erect themselves into patrons, and buy and sell under the influence of a disinterested zeal for the promotion of learning. our To the booksellers, if we look for either honour or profit from press, not only their common profit, but something more must be allowed; and if books printed at Oxford are expected to be rated at a high price, that price must be levied on the publick, and paid by the ultimate purchaser, not by the intermediate agents. What price shall be set upon the book, is, to the booksellers, wholly indifferent, provided that they gain a proportional profit by negociating the sale. Why books printed at Oxford should be particularly dear, I am, however, unable to find. We pay no rent; we inherit many of our instruments and materials; lodging and victuals are cheaper than at London, and, therefore, workmanship ought, at least, not to be dearer. Our expences are naturally less than those of booksellers; and, in most cases, communities are content with less profit than individuals. It is, perhaps, not considered through how many hands a book often passes, before it comes into those of the reader; or what part of the profit each hand must retain, as a motive for transmitting it to the next. We will call our primary agent in London, Mr Cadell, who receives our books for us, gives them room in his warehouse, and issues them on demand; by him they are sold to Mr Dilly, a wholesale bookseller, who who sends them into the country; and the last seller is the country bookseller. Here are three profits to be paid between the printer and the reader, or, in the style of commerce, between the manufacturer and the consumer; and if any of these profits is too penuriously distributed, the process of commerce is interrupted. We are now come to the practical question, What is to be done? You will tell me, with reason, that I have said nothing, till I declare how much, according to my opinion, of the ultimate price ought to be distributed through the whole succession of sale. The deduction, I am afraid, will appear very great: but let it be considered before it is refused. We must allow, for profit, between thirty and. thirty-five per cent. between six and seven shillings in the pound; that is, for every book which costs the last buyer twenty shillings, we must charge Mr Cadell with something less than fourteen. We must set the copies at fourteen shillings each, and superadd what is called the quarterly book, or for every hundred books so charged we must deliver one hundred and four. The profits will then stand thus: trusts a year, not much more than two and sixpence; otherwise than, as he may, perhaps, take as long credit as he gives. With less profit than this, and more you see he cannot have, the country bookseller cannot live; for his receipts are small, and his debts sometimes bad. Thus, Dear Sir, I have been in. cited by Dr's letters to give you a detail of the circulation of books, which, perhaps, every man has not had an opportunity of knowing; and which those who know it do not perhaps always distinctly consider. I am, &c. Mr Cadell, who runs no hazard, Journal of a Tour over-land from and gives no credit, will be paid for warehouse-room and attendance by a shilling profit on each book, and his chance of the quarterly book. Mr Dilly, who buys the book for fifteen shillings, and who will expect the quarterly book, if he takes five and twenty, will send it to his coun try customer at sixteen and sixpence, by which, at the hazard of loss, and the certainty of long credit, he gains the regular profit of ten per cent. which is expected in the wholesale trade. INDIA in 1785. (Continued from page 516.) THE time agreed upon with the Shiek for our departure being elapsed, we set out for Zebeer, where we arrived after a march of two hours and an half. This town lies S. W. by W. from Bussorah, distant about nine miles. The Desart betwixt the two places is almost entirely bare of vegetation; near Bussorah the soil a light clay, and covered The country bookseller, buying at with salt; towards Zebeer it becomes sixteen and sixpence, and commonly a little gravelly, and some spots protrusting a considerable time, gains duce barley, now fit to be cut down. bu three and sixpence; and it heThe town is about a mile and an half half in circumference, tolerably well built, the houses in the same stile as those of Bussorah: it has no rampart, but the inclosures round the houses joining together, form a kind of wall, sufficient defence against any sudden attack. This place has formerly been much larger, the ground for near two miles round being covered with broken bricks and ruins. We were very well lodged at the house of an Arab Sheik. In the morning of the 21st, we saw our baggage loaded on camels, and after long disputes with our Sheik, at last agreed to allow twentyeight camels for it (including six for the mahoffés, and eight for water,) which was more than sufficient, by at least six or seven. There are two ways to avoid this imposition, viz. to have all the baggage weighed, (which, however, is a mode very dis. pleasing to the Arabs) or, to have it packed up in such chests, that two will make a proper load, which, with a light caravan, ought not to exceed four hundred weight. 1 The mahoffé is a kind of trough, about two feet wide, and three and an half long; the ends and one side are about four and an half feet high, stuffed with cotton and lined with chintz, and having a kind of canopy or top. Two of these are fixed on one camel, the low side next the animal, and a kind of tent thrown over the whole, so as perfectly to shade you from the sun. They have also a kind of box added to the end of the mahoffé into which you thrust your legs at pleasure, by which means you may lye at length, or sit up occasionally; the motion is not so great as to prevent you from either reading or sleeping during the journey. Burkseer is composed of two small walled villages, within about 300 yards of each other; they stand in a kind of bottom, and are surrounded with a small quantity of ground producing good barley, (now nearly ripe) onions, musk, melon, bringauls, (the egg plant,) and some clover. Here are plenty of wells, but the water rather salt. About one half of the desart we passed over seems to be capable of cultivation, and of producing a great variety of both trees and grain, if pains were taken to preserve and procure water, which might easily be done, by opening the creeks which communicate with the Euphrates, making tanks, or ponds, as in India, to collect the water that falls during the periodical rains, by digging wells, &c. But the nature of the people is so averse to constraint or regular rules of society, that I imagine it will ever remain in its present situation, particularly as the stream of commerce is now almost entirely diverted into other channels. The soil produces spontaneously in many places the following trees, &c. exclusive of many others which I did not know the name of; but the trees are only to be found in the beds of rivers or water courses, and are of a very dwarf kind, viz. The poplar, willow, a species of the cypres tree, liquorish root, thyme, fennel, poppy, onions, capers, sorrel, endive, oats, and barley. Great part of the desart is rocky, and it is in some parts covered with sand. The inhabitants are in general below the middle size, and dark complexioned, but well made, (particularly about the legs) strong and robust, and seem equally capable of enduring the extremes of heat and cold. They are lively, and in general obliging in their manners, but have little idea of subordination, and of course treat you with great familiarity, which it is best to permit in some degree. They are all a little too fond of money (of which we had several instances) and are far from thinking it any great disgrace to be detected in a falsehood or even in theft; several of them have sto len len things out of our tent and mahof fés, and then had the assurance to tell us they knew where they were, but would not return them without a present. The breach of their word has been too often obvious in the course of this journal to require instances. I believe them to be in general brave, and faithful, and indeed there have been several instances of their behaving with great gallantry in defence of those under their protection. We were marching-3134 hours from Bussorah to Aleppo, or about 704 miles. N. B. I imagine that the camels travelled at the rate of 24 miles per hour on an average. Spent our time very pleasantly among our friends at Aleppo; although the frequency of the burials, which we saw almost constantly passing under our windows, gave us (particularly at first) many disagreeable sensations. It is computed that upwards of sixty thousand people of the city and suburbs have died of the plague since its commencement this year, to the present time; and yet the town has by no means the ap. pearance of being depopulated, nor do the people in general appear to be the least apprehensive, or to use any precautions against the surrounding contagion, being almost all, (particularly the lower class of people) real predestinarians; the better sort of Turks, however, are by no means blind to advantages, which the Franks derive from sequestrating themselves from society and most of them whose business will permit them, now retire to their country houses, or shut themselves up in town under various pretences, not being allowed to assign the real cause, which would infallibly draw upon them the resentment of the populace, as breakers of the law of Mahomet. It is remarkable, that this dreadful disorder generally attacks the same place three years suc cessively; the first and third not violently, perhaps not one fifth of the numbers dying as during the second year. It was our fortune to see it in its greatest vigour. It is also no less remarkable, that although the plague be raging with the utmost violence at Constantinople, and on the road betwixt that city and Aleppo, they are never under the least apprehension of its reaching Aleppo; but, on the contrary, when they hear of its breaking out in Egypt or Damascus, they are sure of its visiting them that or next year, for it always holds its course from South to North, and never from N. to S. The same observation holds good at Cyprus, where at this time there are vessels constantly arriving from the coast of Syria with the plague on board, without ever spreading the infection, although there they use no precaution against it, The city of Aleppo stands upon several hills, on the highest of which stands the castle, which has a very fine appearance, but being built during the crusades, and entirely neglec. ted for many years by the Turks, is now falling in ruins very fast, as are also the walls of the town. The city, including the suburbs, is about seven miles in circumference, and is said to contain between three and four hundred thousand inhabitants. It is built of a kind of stone resembling that found near Bath: the houses are but one story high, and all vaulted, on account of the scarcity of timber; however having a number of small domes, as well as windows towards the side turned from the street, they are sufficiently lighted. The streets are paved, but are all exceedingly narrow; and there being no windows to the houses, and latticed, they have a very mean appearThe Bazars * are all covered ance. * Market place. on !! on the top, and most of them arched, which serves at present to facilitate the communication between the houses, the terraces being flat. There are a number of very handsome mosques in the city, which having in general large cupolas, and very high minarets, give a very grand appearance to the city from a distance. A little rivulet runs near the town which serves to supply it in part with water, and for the use of a few gardens, which furnish the inhabitants with vegetables, and fruits of nearly the same sorts as in Europe, but of inferior quality; beyond these gardens is the Desart, which surrounds the city on all sides. Particular account of the ASSASSINATION of the late EMPEROR PAUL. From Carr's Northern Summer. A Short time before her demise, Catherine committed to P Z-, her last favourite, whom she highly esteemed, a declaration of her will, addressed to the senate, pur porting that Paul should be passed over in the succession, and that the Grand Duke Alexander should mount the vacant throne. As soon as the favourite was acquainted with the sudden death of the Empress, he flew to Pavlovsk, about thirty-five versts from the capital, where Paul occasionally resided, whom he met on the road; and, after a short ex. planation, delivered up to him this important document. Paul, charmed with his zeal and loyalty, preserved him in all his honours and fortunes, whilst a general and rapid dispersion, to all points of the compass, instan. taneously succeeded amongst the members of the male seraglio of the Hermitage. The emperor ascended the throne without difficulty, but a total stranger to his subjects. One of the first measures of his reign dis played, in a very singular manner, the native goodness of his heart, un der the clouds that rapidly began to overshadow it, in an act of piety towards his murdered father, whose remains he removed from the church of St. Alexander Nevski, called the monastery, and having exhibited them in great funeral state, he consigned them to the sepulchre of Catherine II. in the cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. The latter part of this extraordinary transaction has often induced me to think that Paul did not believe that his mother issued the order for the assassination of his father. At this eccentric solemnity, he compelled Count Alexey Orloff, and prince Baratynski, under whose hands the unhappy monarch is said to have perished, to stand on each side of the body as it lay in state, and afterwards to follow it to the tomb as the principal mourners. Not long after this event, his mind began occasionally to display the most fearful symptoms of distraction; but when his reason was restored, the hapless emperor never failed to endeavour, with the most affecting sensibility, to repair the ruin and havoc which his delirium had occasioned. The deposed Stanislaus, the broken-hearted king of Poland, partook alternately of his beneficence and severity; but with what demonstration of respect and genuine grief did the emperor attend the obsequies of this last of the Sarmates. On that gloomy occasion, he commanded in person the guards who assisted at the funeral: and uncovering himself, with the most affecting emotions saluted the coffin as it passed. To the memory of the hoary and heroic Suvaroff, who fell a broken-hearted victim to the distraction of his imperial master, in periods of agonized and compunctious reflection, he raised a colossal statue of bronze, in the vast area behind Benskoi's palace, opposit to Romanzoff's monument: and on the days when he reviewed his troops there, he used to order them 1 |