the body at each stroke, not sitting steady and making a long pull, as English sailors do. They rested half a dozen times through the day, for about ten minutes or a quarter of an hour at a time. A little before sun-set a large stone, which served as an anchor, was let down with about twenty fathom of cable, and the boat remained stationary all night. They weighed anchor again at sun-rise, proceeded as before till sun-set, and then again cast anchor. Soon after day-break, on the third day, they again got under weigh, and proceeded until about two o'clock in the afternoon, when they arrived at the opposite shore. Their course was straight for two mountains, visible on the shore where they embarked; and they landed at their foot, in a country called El Hezsh." "The lake is named *Bahar Tieb. Judging by the position of the rising sun, Scott thinks that the greatest extent of this Bahar is from N.E. to S.W. When on it, he could not perceive any boundary in those directions, and he was told that it extended very far in both. breadth he could not state, except as far as an inference may be drawn from the time they took to cross it, at this, which seemed its narrowest part. The water, during their passage, was smooth." Its Scott says, there were many boats on the Bahar fishing, and capable of carrying 200 people: the ends of the boat were both alike, rising up like those of a canoe, very sharp decked for about three yards at each end, with several seats for the rowers across it. The boat was very flat-bottomed, was ceiled in the bottom and up the sides; had no mast, but there was a step for one in the keel, and a hole in the seat over it. The cable was formed of a rushy grass, which he was told is taken when green, is flattened by beating it when wet, and then twisted into ropes, which become afterwards yellow. The boat, in the language of the Arabs, is called Zourgos, but by the natives El Sharrag and El Hezsh Flook.S Scott gives further interesting particulars respecting this lake, the costume of the boatmen, which resembles that of the boatmen in West and South Barbary, (on the Atlantic.) This narrative appears to us to contain more valuable information, in a very limited space, than is contained in the ponderous quartos of other travel sea. * Scott calls it Bahar Tieb, which really signifies the smooth sea or lake, or the calm There can be no question as to this interpretation of these Arabic words. Scott, therefore, could not have understood Arabic if he understood Bahar to be a water on which boats go, and Tieb, fresh. It appears, indeed, immediately afterwards in this narrative, that the water actually was calm or smooth when he crossed it; a further proof of which is, that they made no use of the sail, but the oar only, rowing precisely as they do on the Barbary coast. +See the map of the track across the Sahara, in Shabeeny's Account of Timbuctoo : the lake is westward of Timbuctoo, and near Jinnie. This is an exact description of the form or fashion of the boats used on the coast of Barbary, on the Atlantic, for shipping and landing goods. § We doubt Zourgos being an Arabic word, the Arabic for a boat or vessel of this description is Karb sing, Kuarb plur. Flook is a Portuguese, or rather a Lingua franca word, used throughout Western Africa, to designate a boat-el Hezsh flook, a boat of Hezsh. lers in the Sahara, as Riley, Adams, &c.; and we shall conclude our observations with a few reflections on the language. Speaking of the boatmen, Scott says, these people spoke the Arab language, and also another called Schlech*; and speaking of the sea which washes the coast of Guinea, he says, they call it Bahar el Kabeer; and this is the name by which the Arabs of the present day designate the Atlantic ocean, formerly called by the Arabian geographers Bahar Addolem, i. e. the Sea of Darkness, or the Unknown Sea. Scott proceeding in this interesting narrative, and describing the sanctuary of Sidi Muhamed, a celebrated Murab't, who was interred on the borders of the lake, says, "The name of this place is El Tah Sidna Mahommed, signifying the place of a chief called Mahommed; and the name of the tribe is El Tahsi del Hezsh." In the interpretation of these terms Scott is incorrect. The words El Tah Sidna Mahommed signify, The obedience or subjection to our Lord Mahommed; and the words El Tahsi-delHezsh should be El-Tah-Sid-el Hezsh, The obedience to the Lord of Hezsh. The Lord of Hezsh is another term for Sidna Mahommed: the pilgrims from all quarters, on their entrance to Mekka, exclaim Tah Seedna Muhamed wa Allah, "Obedience to our Lord Muhamed and to God." When an imperial letter or order is announced to be read before all the people, as is the custom in North-western Africa, the bashaw, or governor, exclaims before all the people, Aji tsmáa Killem seodna, "Come and hear the words of our Lord," (i. e. our Emperor); to which the people all answer (as all loyal subjects in this realm exclaim, God save the King!) N'sma wa tah, "We will hear and obey." Scott informs us, that on his return to El Ghiblah, he was told that another great man, called Sidna Aly, was buried in the building or sanctuary above-described, besides others named Hamed, Mousa, &c. &c. This is the case at all Muhamedan mausoleums : the great are desirous of having their remains deposited at such holy places. There are several tombs of kings and princes at the sanctuary of Muley Edris Zerone above-mentioned. Europeans spell the name of the prophet Muhamed variously, thus, Maho This is without doubt the language spoken by the inhabitants of the mountains and shores of Suse, the Shelluh language, a specimen of which will be found in the chapter on African languages, inserted in Shabeeny's Account of Timbuctoo, &c. &c. by James G. Jackson. + With respect to this sanctuary, we learn from Mr. Jackson, the African traveller, that he has frequently heard of it, but never knew that it was situated on the borders of the lake Dehebbie, near Jinnie. It is as celebrated as the sanctuary of Muley Edris Zerone, on the Atlas mountains, where the father of the celebrated khalif and patron of learning, Aaron Errashid, was buried. met, Mohamed, Mohammed, &c. It should be observed, that Muhamed, Mahamd, M'hamd, are all Arabian names; but the Korannick orthography, for the (Innaby) i. e. the prophet, is Muhamed, not Mahomet, as Voltaire and the French sçavans have written it. When our traveller was told that his companions were going to Hez el Hezsh, to Sidna Mahomed, it signified, that they were going to perform the pilgrimage of pilgrimages, to the tomb of their Lord Muhamed! Scott saw many large rocks full of sand and clay, and chinneywood, called, in Arabic, Tomkilet. This is the Orchilla weed, so celebrated in commerce for dying: the name of it is Timkielt, which is a Shelluh word, not Arabic. Scott arrived at a valley between two high mountains, the sides of which produced large oil-trees. The branches of this tree "resemble an oak, and produce green plums," with a hard shell and a kernel in each, which, when boiled, afford oil. The process for obtaining this oil is as follows: "the nuts are broken, the kernels dried in the sun, then ground and boiled with water, in clay pots; the oil is skimmed off as it rises." The editor of this narrative thinks this is the Shea-tree described by Park; but this description agrees precisely with the Argan olive-tree, and the process for procuring the oil is precisely that which is practised by the Shelluhs of Suse* and Haha, in their preparation of the Argant oil, and the exact resemblance identifies both the tree and its fruit. The Argan olive-tree in form and size resembles the oak; the plums or olives are of green, brown, or red, according to the degree of maturity, being red when ripe. The Argan olive is broken and given to cattle: this part resembles an olive; it is dried and given to the camels as food, and is not unlike our oil-cakes: it is called by the Shelluhs of Haha and Suse, where the fruit abounds, Ausqwarualik, a Shelluh term. It has a stone inside, containing a kernel; the children are set to work to break these stones and to collect the kernels, from which they extract oil, as Scott describes. This oil is called Zeet Argan, or Argan oil, so that there is no doubt but this oil is the produce of the Argan olive, not the produce of the Shea-tree. Scott, speaking of the sanctuary of Seedna Muhamed, on the borders of the Bahar Dehebby, says, "There was a "There was a long pole projecting beyond the line of the wall, with forked ends, each of which was covered by an ostrich's egg. Immediately below was a bowl, placed on three large stones, supporting it two feet from the ground." This bowl was for charity, and the ostrich's eggs are relics or emblems of a Muhamedan sanctuary; they make a hole in one * Provinces in the Empire of Marocco.-See the Map of Marocco in Shabeeny's Account of Timbuctoo, &c. &c. The qualities of this oil are described in Shabeeny's Account of Timbuctoo, &c. page 91. end of the shell, and fix it on the pole. They told Scott that "this building was the grave of Seedna Muhamed*; but he observes that this does not mean the grave of the prophet, whose title, among them, is Uhrr soël." This last word is a corruption of a Rassule (Allah), i. e. the Messenger of God; Muhamed's title among the Arabs. Scott was told, that the personage here buried was laid on his side, with his head to the north, his feet to the south, and hist face to the east." Our traveller proceeds to describe the Muhamedan prayers, and says, when they arrived on the ground, all, in a standing position, cried aloud, Allah ackibar shedou il lahi el Allah. Shedowna Mahommed de rassoul Allah. This is a mixture of French and Arabic. The correct words are, Allah â kabeer, shedu, la ila Allah; Sheduna, Muhamed rassule Allah; i. e. God is great; bear witness that there is none but God; we bear witness that Muhamed is the messenger of God. These are the words that are daily and invariably sung from the minarets of the mosques, to call the people to prayers, in Muhamedan countries. The people here threatened to kill Scott, if he did not turn Muselman; but when they found him resolute in refusing, they no longer pressed him, but did not suffer him again to approach the sanctuary. Here, we should observe, that it is the incumbent duty of every true Muselman to invite infidels (in Muhamed) to silm, as they term it, that is, to be converted to the Muhamedan faith, but they never force a person to turn; they may threaten, but they do not put their threats in execution; this would be incompatible with the liberality which the Deen el Wasah, i. e. the latitudinal law, or law of Muhamed, professes to have. The offerings of sheep and goats at the sanctuary is common in Muhamedan countries. A man, however great the injury he has committed against any one, is able to efface it by a sacrifice at the door of the offended person. The people, who came from the south, with red caps, were unquestionably Muselmen; as were also those who came from the north. The dark blue linen shirt, short trowsers, red girdle, and yellow slippers, with a knife at their side, is the costume of the Bedoween or wandering Arab. The female dress, here described, is the White Haick: broad plates of silver, hanging in front of each shoulder, as brooches, &c. &c. is the dress of the female Arabs north of the desert; the Blue Millicha, red belt, &c. is the dress of the female Bedoween Arab. [To be concluded in our next.] • The Muhamedans bury their dead with the face towards Mekka, so that at the resurrection they will face the Kaaba, or tomb of Muhamed, at Medina; therefore, where Scott was, the face would be nearly east, the lake being in about the same latitude with Medina in Arabia; in South Africa the face of the dead is placed towards the north, or facing Medina, the feet nearly east. + Seedna Muhamed may apply to any Murab't or holy man, whose name was Muhamed; but Rassule Allah is applied to the prophet Muhamed only. The name of God is never signified by the pronoun: this is considered by the Arabs irreverent. ON COLLECTING. PERIWINKLE." A person of your curiosity must have collected many rarities. READER, do you want a pleasant and gentle recreation, that will break through the tedium of unoccupied time, that will blunt the sense of public misfortunes, and fortify the mind against the access of domestic cares?-TURN COLLECTOR. Are you in want of a short and easy cut, a truly royal road to science and learning, to taste and virtù? again I say—TURN COLLECTOR. Do you need an appui against the vexations of business, the tyranny of a vixen, the mawkishness of pamphlets, the depreciation of land, the fall of trade, the unsteadiness of stocks, the decadence of comedy, the burlesque of tragedy, the fatigue of a financial debate, the fecundity of imitators, the paucity of original genius, the brevity of epigrams, and the prolixity of epics; in short, would you take up a pursuit, that will "nourish your youth, amuse your old age, adorn prosperity and shelter adversity, delight you at home, leave you un-preoccupied abroad, watch with you, journey with you, and accompany you in town or country?" once more I say-TURN COLLECTOR. Among the thousand and one cants, that are daily canted in this age of characteristic falsehood and hypocrisy, there is none more contemptible than that which trumpets forth its disparagements of wealth; and affects to place riches, in the scale of the good things of this world, below learning. In my mind, money and knowledge stand to each other in the relation of cause and effect; and there are certainly much better arguments for giving precedence to causes, than grammarians can assign for making "the masculine more worthy than the feminine," which they continue to do, in despite of all gallantry and physiological truth. How many persons could I cite, if I chose to be personal, who were formerly of no account whatever in the world, and whom a "lucky hit" has qualified for sitting in committees on the most abstruse matters of political interest! How many poets could I name, who derive their title to that appellation exclusively from the means of paying their printer! Horace, indeed, has touched this point with his usual smartness and perspicuity of remark. "Ego," says he, "Ego nec studium sine divite vená, Nec rude quid prosit video ingenium." which, I conceive, to be thus literally translated :— ""Tis money gives a force to arguments, And your true genius lies in-three per cents." For the present, however, I shall confine myself exclusively to |