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The Sultana Valide.

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good purposes;" and with him he | it is said, in no little credit with the would exclaim, when speaking of it as a modish accomplishment, "I know no evil in it!"

Φιλορχησις.

whites, had predicted to the charming creole, prior to her departure from Martinique, that she would one day become one of the greatest princesses in the world. Aline recollecting this flattering prophecy, which her looking

THE SULTANA VALIDE, MOTHER OF THE glass further confirmed, resolved to

PRESENT SULTAN.

follow all the chances which destiny seemed to prepare for her. It was in vain that solicitations were employed, that remonstrances were lavished, to make her renounce a resolution which could not but appear extravagant and romantic. The hope of a crown triumphed over all the considerations that were suggested to her, and Aline remained in slavery, which was to be, for her, the way to a throne.

EVERY reader who is acquainted with Turkish manners, knows, that nothing is more difficult than to penetrate the mysteries of the seraglio of the Grand Signor. Some remarkable particulars have, however, lately transpired respecting the Sultana Valide, who | died not long since.-She was of a French family, born at Martinique. Her parents sent her to France at the The event soon justified her brilliage of 14, on board of a merchantman, ant hopes. A rich and ambitious bound to Marseilles. After passing Turk, struck with her grace and the straits of Gibraltar, the vessel beauty, determined to purchase her, was attacked and captured by a and present her to the Sultan, who pirate, which took the crew and pas- very soon noticed the young Adalissengers, and sent them as slaves to que. From the favour of the handkerAlgiers. The beautiful creole was chief, to the honours of the favourite purchased by a merchant, who carried Sultana, the interval was not long; his valuable acquisition to Smyrna. and the birth of a prince whom she Meantime, news was received in gave to the Ottoman empire, in 1784, France of the loss of this interesting raised to the highest pitch the power young lady, and no methods were left of the Sultana Valide. From that untried to restore her to liberty and time she enjoyed in the seraglio an her friends. Among those who inte- ascendency which she retained till her rested themselves in her welfare, was death, and the influence of which has a relation, who filled one of the high-gloriously extended beyond the tomb, est posts in the department of the in the person of her son, the reigning marine, and, who was in high favour Sultan. with the prime minister, the Duc de Choiseul. This gentleman, after many inquiries, discovered the place where Aline, for that was her name, was held in slavery. The minister then commissioned the French Consul to offer a considerable sum to ransom the handsome slave, and to restore her to the hands of a mother, who was inconsolable for her loss. The Armenian, satisfied with the ransom, was ready to accept the sum, and the Consul already announced the happy result of his zeal and his negociation, when Aline, from a caprice which her friends were far from expecting, rendered all the measures useless which her friends had taken to procure her liberty.

It is well known that the negroes, like all ignorant and superstitious people, have great faith in divination and fortune-telling. An old negress, a sibyl, respected by the blacks, and,

Several Frenchmen attached to the embassy of Count Choiseul Goriffier, were acquainted with the origin and power of Aline; her relations were apprised of her exalted destiny; but the suspicious etiquette of the seraglio always prevented any communication. The grandeur of the Sultana Valide, however, did not change the affection of her family for this interesting branch of it; the memory of Aline has been perpetuated in it; a young person, beautiful as the first Aline, and mo dest as herself, bears this romantic name, but without aspiring to the honours of the Seraglio.

[From another source we have gathered the following particulars, which may be considered as a continuation of the preceding account. The statements have no immediate connection with each other, but they mutually receive and confer confirmation, and in their combined effect render the

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The Sultana Valide.

history of Valide particularly interesting. The biography of this lady would be an important acquisition; but with such a memoir, the public can never hope to be gratified. The seraglio, like the grave, suffers nothing to transpire.]

A foreign writer who has addressed a letter to the editor of the Journal des Debats, under the signature of St. Raymond, lays claim to all the interesting information circulated in the Regulateur, and other works published on the Continent, respecting the secret history of Sultana Valide, a French woman, and mother of the present Grand Seigneur. In answer to doubts which have been expressed on the correctness of his information, he asserts, that he was permitted, as the countryman of the Sultana, to hold conversation with the Sultan, from whom he acquired the information that Valide was a French woman, of American origin, born at Nantes. He adds in his letter further details respecting the extraordinary fortune of the Sultana.

One of the most curious episodes is connected with the travels of the late unfortunate Queen of England, in the Levant. The following is the passage. "Every one knows that the Princess of Wales landed at Constantinople, on the 6th of June, 1816. She remained there twelve days, during which she employed all the means in her power to obtain an interview with the Sultana Valide. The wish of the Princess was granted by Mahmoud II. This interview took place not in the palace, near Bechik-Tash, where the Sultana had been in the habit of satisfying European curiosity, but in one of the apartments of the Seraglio, under a disguise, which the Princess, notwithstanding her rank, was obliged to wear, in order to comply with the religious and political feeling of the Mussulmans. If she had entered as a Christian woman the Seraglio of the Sublime Porte, she might have been compelled by the laws to remain there. The conversation was long and interesting. The Sultana, without regarding the supreme rank to which fortune had raised her, regretted deeply the charms of European and American society, and manifested sincerely the pain she every moment experienced,

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separated for ever from her parents, whose care and kindness were strongly impressed upon her mind and heart, that tears were ready every moment to display her sensibility.

The Sultana saw nothing in her sovereign and son, but his love and extreme deference for her. His tenderness for his children, and his power and glory, which made the Ottoman arms flourish in all parts of the empire of the crescent. The Princess of Wales said little of the Duke of Brunswick, her illustrious father. The power of England, and the Prince of Wales, were not mentioned; but she could not suppress a sigh at the thought of the death of the unfortunate Princess Charlotte, her daughter.

The Sultana incessantly alluded to her family at Martinique, the habitation of her parents, and particularly an old negress, who had clearly predicted her destiny. She also begged to introduce to the Princess, her companions in adventures, the good Zeze and the handsome Ara, from whom she had never been separated. Ara was a paroquet, which appeared beautiful, and spoke well. Zeze, who was advancing in years, still possessed eyes full of penetration and finesse. She asked the Princess for news of Martinique, and her old masters. The Princess took a note of the in| quiry, and promised the Sultana to procure correct intelligence from the West-Indies, and send it privately to the Seraglio. The Sultana, on the other hand, assured the Princess that she would recommend her to all persons in authority on her way to Jerusalem, and particularly to Mahomet Ali Pacha, Viceroy of Egypt, her brother. The two Princesses separated with marks of friendship. They were animated by the highest regard for each other, and their farewell was most expressive.

The Princess of Wales re-embarked on the 17th of June, and the next day she received on board, from the hands of the Sultana's officer, India shawls, cachemire, silks, perfumes, hair-pins, pearls, and diamonds, of the value of 45,000 piastres. The Princess only accepted the articles, on condition that she should be at liberty to send them to Martinique, for the parents of the Sultana, whose names had been confided to her.

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ON SOUNDNESS OF MIND.'

On Thought or Reflection.

(Concluded from col. 992.)

MR. EDITOR. SIR, Those recollected objects which have been transmitted by the senses, are the subjects of our thoughts or reflections. Thought may be defined, the shadow of perception. Animals have no power of thinking. Language is the vehicle of our thoughts. Thought or reflection can only consist of the terms which represent our reflections. Whoever will watch the operations of his own mind, will find that he makes use of language to conduct the process of thought. The exertion of voluntary control over the thoughts has been denied. Confusion ensues, when thought is racked. The mind which can cultivate and discipline the energies of thought, may be ranked among the highest order of intellects. That which the recollection retains, becomes with them the subject of mental examination. An event is not registered from having merely occur red; but the causes which produced it are investigated. Words are subjected to analysis. Their senses are little awake to external impressions; their curiosity is not attracted from without, but excited from within; they are more consulted as oracles, than selected as companions. They are strangers to dissipation. This constant occupation of thought produces the philosophical historian, profound linguist and critic, physiologist, mathematician, general grammarian, etymologist, and metaphysician. However great the pains may be, which we may take to fix our thoughts on any particular subject, we shall find that other thoughts, unconnected with that subject, will frequently intrude themselves. This wandering of thought may be termed morbid, and it is a symptom of indolence. Thoughts necessarily involve reason, but these are only recollection without reason.

On Reason.

The signification of this term is in fact unknown. Some entertain an opinion, that this power is exclusively in the possession of man. Those who are of this opinion, in general misunderstand the nature of this faculty. We very often meet with the expressions

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of right reasoning, false or inconclusive reasoning, absurd reasoning.These epithets are perfectly correct. Here language is the vehicle by which reasoning is performed. The term reason implies ratio, estimate, proportion. Arithmetic is the purest and most certain system of reasoning, and liable, when properly conducted, to no difference of opinion, because the meaning of number is definite, and universally agreed on; and although in different languages they are called by different names, yet they have an identical meaning, and denominate the same thing. It seems that reason is not peculiar, inherent, and an independent faculty of the human mind, because it cannot be voluntarily exerted on things of discussion, but requires the basis of knowledge, which means the result of observation and experiment; for the mere employment of language on a subject with which we are unacquainted, is but idle prating, and a lavishment of words. To reason, is to adapt our knowledge for the attainment of the object proposed; this is pure reasoning. The materials by which reasoning is conducted, are language and numeration. Reasoning may be defined thus, the means we employ for the attainment of the end proposed; the employment of knowledge for the discovery of truth; or the process of demonstration. Part of the process of reasoning consists in comparison either of things or of general terms. Dr. Johnson defines the term reason, "the power by which man deduces one proposition from another, or proceeds from premises to consequences." There is great ambiguity in the statement.

On Instinct.

The mental phenomena which animals display, is a subject of great curiosity and interest. There is a li beral portion of inherent wisdom sufficient for the individual protection of the animal world, and for the continu ation of their race. The perceptive organs of animals are very often more acute than those of man. The memory is also more perfect in animals than in men; but the recollection can only be refreshed by the appearance of the object which originally excited perception; whereas in man the name of the object is quite sufficient. Animals are incapable of thinking, though they

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Answers to Queries.

sometimes dream. By instinct is meant the display of contrivance and wisdom in animals, which tends to preserve them as animals, and to maintain their succession; an intellectual exercise so perfect as cannot be improved by philosophy, so unvaried, that the excellence of its performance cannot be exceeded, and it is never diminished. It does, however, appear, that animals are not conscious of their achievements. During the exercise of instinct, volition is suspended. Animals form an estimate of that which they can accomplish. It does not appear that instinct is acquired by experience, or that it can be improved, but it is an endowment of the supreme Being.

Conclusion.

The subjects which have been discussed, fully establish the pre-eminence of man over all other terrestrial beings. Infinite wisdom is discovered in the construction of the mind; and although it may be covered with a dense veil which cannot be penetrated, enough may be learned to satisfy a reasonable curiosity. Man bears in his intellectual construction, the badge of moral responsibility, and consequently, the germ of future existence; and the only incentive which can urge him to the practice of religion, and the advancement of science, is the reward which revelation unfolds.

I am, Sir, your's, respectfully,
LEONARD LEDBROOK.

November 15th, 1821.

ANSWER TO A QUERY ON THE DRY
ROT.

MR. EDITOR. SIR,-On reading the Imperial Magazine for July, 1821, I observed an inquiry by Juvenis, requesting information on the best way of preventing the dry rot from committing ravages on buildings and shipping, and of arresting its progress where it had begun its depredations.

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ones, where it has already made ravages.

The cheapness of this antiseptic preparation is obvious, as the old materials may be worked in again, (unless actually rotten,) and the dry rot never more returns, with this advantage, that the wood so worked in is made more durable than before.

I have several attestations of gentlemen of respectability of the merit of the discovery, by certificates from under their hands, that I have succeeded in their houses, where I have been employed; and I now offer my services on the most reasonable terms. Your obedient humble servant,

BENJAMIN CHELEW,

Builder, &c. Falmouth.

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1. I consider Jones's pronouncing school Dictionary the most suitable for a learner, of all the school books I have seen. Carpenter's spelling-book has some merit, and is fitted for children; but for grown-up children, Jones's is far preferable; therefore I advise him to obtain one, and to write out on a slate ten or twenty words each day, according to his leisure, to regularly divide and accent them according to the rules there given, and commit them to memory.

2. When any words that he may recollect, and not know how to spell, occur, let him refer immediately to Jones, and observe them well, how they are divided, accented, &c. and I beg leave to inform Juvenis and fix them in his memory by frequent reothers, that having studied the causes petition. If he does this every time of dry rot in wood for many years past, any word occurs to his mind which he and likewise its cure, I have found a knows not how to spell, he will soon remedy for the same: either to pre- acquire a just habit of spelling properly vent it from taking place in new build-on all occasions, without the help of a ings or shipping, or to cure it in old lexicon.

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3. To habituate himself for a time to write letters in his own way of spelling first, then correct them with the help of a dictionary; and remember if possible the words he has corrected, and he will acquire by a little practice a just method of writing letters, as it regards the spelling.

4. To distinctly mark the way in which every word is divided into syllables, the number of letters in each, and repeat them over by way of exercise; then to put them together, and attain a just habit of pronouncing every syllable distinctly, without minding the right pronunciation of the word. After he has gained an accurate knowledge of the word, then attend to its proper pronunciation.

5. I should have premised, that it is proper to gain some knowledge of grammar, and observe its various parts, such as the different parts of speech, tenses, moods, &c. with all the other parts; not that this will assist him in spelling, but it will materially assist him in his views of language in general.

ANSWER, BY WILLIAM OAKES, TO
QUERY 2, COL. 863.

On Hydrophobia, or Dread of Water. It is probable this dismal symptom, which follows the bite of a mad dog, is caused by the great pain which any liquor taken at this stage of the disease induces, by hurting the inflamed membrane of the jaws, and fermenting with the active particles discharged by the blood upon the stomachic glands, so that the memory of it gives pain and abhorrence, and is the cause of the aversion mentioned.

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Crispinus and Crispanus, two brothers, were born at Rome, whence they travelled to Soisons, in France, about the year 300, to propagate the Christian religion. Being desirous, however, of rendering themselves independent, they gained a subsistence by shoe-making. It having been discovered that they privately embraced the Christian faith, and endeavoured to make proselytes of the inhabitants, the governor of the town immediately ordered them to be beheaded, about the year 308. From this time the shoemakers chose them to be their tutelar saints."-Montrose Chronicle. I am, &c.

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M. M.

ANSWER TO QUERIES BY W. F.

MR. EDITOR.

SIR,-I take the liberty of sending you the following answers to the queries of W. F. in page 962 of your Magazine for this month.

I am, your's, respectfully,
DONALD FRASER.

Perth, October 25th.

Query 1.-"Is the Assent of the Mind," &c.

ANSWER,-It depends upon the nature of the proposition. If the proposition be one on which our affections are interested, they influence our assent, and influence it in proportion to the degree of vigour which they possess. "Men love darkness, i.e. error, rather than light, i. e. the truth, because their deeds are evil;" John iii, 19. The love of darkness and the choosing it are here connected, and on their choice is suspended their condemnation. It is in consequence of the affections that the mind is prepossess

ANSWER TO A QUERY ON CORDWAINERS. ed either for or against any propo

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sition, and the power of prepossession in finally determining the judgment or the assent of the mind is already well known.

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