tremely warm and passionate temperament, ill-suited to the tedious progress of travelling in that country, he was involved in perpetual quarrels with almost every person with whom he came in contact, and was frequently reduced to circumstances of great embarrassment. At Damascus, for instance, having refused to pay the muleteers who had conducted him thither, they summoned him before the Cadi; and on his refusing also to obey the summons, some janissaries were sent to apprehend him. As the convent of the Terra Santa, however, where he lodged, possesses the privilege of asylum, the friars shut their gates, and the officers were obliged to attempt an entry through the window of his apartment. There they found him barricadoed in, and ready to receive them; and he defended himself for some time with great vigour, till the friars knowing that he had fire-arms, and fearing that some serious mischief might ensue, broke open the door of his room, and conveyed him by force to the judgment-seat. At Balbec he was robbed and left in confinement by his own servant; and on his way to Aleppo, having quarrelled with his guide, he quitted his horses and baggage, and travelled for several days on foot and alone. Our agent at that city, who had been informed that an English clergyman was on the road thither, described to me his astonishment, when instead of the comely person which he had been used to associate with his idea of that respectable character, Mr. S. presented himself at the Consulate, with scarcely any dress but a Mashlakh of the coarsest materials, a large straw hat on his head, and a bag containing his provisions slung between his legs. He afterwards left Syria, and made a voyage up the Nile; during which, disdaining the assistance of an interpreter, he had no way of explaining himself to the boat's crew but by signs, which if they were at all slow in comprehending, he sometimes enforced by firing a pistol over their heads. A mutiny was very soon the consequence; which was only repressed by the strong arm of Belzoni, whom good fortune sent to his assistance. In spite of every difficulty and opposition, however, he reached the second cataract in safety, and there hired a guide to conduct him across the desert to Dongola; his earnest wish being to penetrate further into the country than any other traveller had then done. It is almost needless to say that the scheme completely failed; the guide kept him wandering about till his money was exhausted, and then brought him back to Wadi Elfi. He had now returned to Syria for the express purpose of seeing Palmyra, which he had been prevented from visiting on a former occasion; but was for the present detained in this convent by an attack of ophthalmia.'-pp. 371----373.

A great deal of very interesting information is supplied by Mr. Fuller, relative to the celebrated mountain of Lebanon, and the adjacent villages. He visited, on one of the highest peaks, the clump of cedars, supposed to be the remains of the ancient forest of that wood, which is so often alluded to in Holy Writ. There are about a hundred of these trees altogether; but though a few possess an extraordinary bulk, yet they are inferior in height and in that spiral regularity which distinguishes the cedars even that ornament our English gardens. Mr. Fuller acknowledges that he was rather disappointed with the celebrated city of Damascus, and this, probably, arose from having too credulously adopted the flowery

descriptions of some eastern travellers. Being the place from which the pilgrims to Mecca set out to cross the desart, Damascus is called the "gate of Mecca;" and, as Mr. Fuller was in time to witness the return of some of the pilgrims in November, he took care to avail himself of the opportunity.

We left the city by a gate very near the convent; and after riding for some distance under the walls, fell into a road which leads to the village of Medoua, and the "Birket el Hadgi," or "lake of the pilgrims," where they assemble at their return, as well as at their departure. The road was covered with camels loaded with baggage, and carrying large tartarouans or litters filled with men, women, and children, whose sallow looks and dilapidated equipments bore testimony to the fatigue and privation of a six weeks' journey through the desert. It may give some idea of the numbers of the pilgrims, and of the vast train of baggage which accompanied them, to say, that though they had begun to enter the city soon after sunset on the preceding day, and had continued to come in almost uninterruptedly during the night, yet at noon they had not all arrived. The Pasha still remained at Medoua; and the motsellim, the mollah, the cadi, and all the principal officers and inhabitants were gone out to meet him there, and to conduct him back to the city. The plain where we halted was covered with horsemen, who exhibited every variety of costume, from the ragged Bedouin on his half-starved mare, to the portly Osmanli moving solemnly along on his well fed and richly caparisoned steed; while numerous groups of pedestrians were strolling about, or sitting cross-legged, smoking their nargillays in the shade. The weather was finer than it had been of late, and the sun shone out in all the splendour of a southern winter's day.'-pp. 388, 289.

At Malloula, a singular species of religious warfare prevails between two opposite sects, which will, no doubt, appear very unintelligible to those who derive their notions of controversial proprieties from what they observe in England.

The people are all of the Greek church, but are nearly equally divided into the contending sects of Catholics and Schismatics, each of which has its church and convent. The two parties live on tolerably good terms with one another, neither possessing any exclusive privileges; but once or twice a-year there is a sort of amicable contest between them. Men, women, and children, assemble on the opposite hills, on each side of the valley in which the village is situated, one or both parties being sometimes reinforced by detachments of their friends from Damascus. As soon as they are thus placed in array against each other the conflict begins. Fireworks of all kinds, which the rude pyrotechny of the country can supply, are discharged; large branches of trees are sent flaming from the opposite crags into the valley below, and an incessant firing of guns and pistols is kept up for several hours, amid the shouts of the multitude. That party which makes the greatest display comes off victorious; and according to the number of squibs, crackers, and fire-brands collected by their respective adherents, the pope or the patriarch is held to be triumphant. The mode of controversy practised by these rustic theologians may perhaps excite a smile; but it is at least as humane, if not as rational, for them to

burn wood and gunpowder in honour of their respective creeds, as to burn one another.' -p. 411.

One of the most interesting portions of this book is the account which our author gives of his excursion to Palmyra. He went to that ancient spot with a caravan, which was protected by Bedouins; and the history of the journey to and from Palmyra, involving many agreeable perplexities, and some interesting traits of Arab character and manners, is highly spirited and captivating. The following would be worthy of the pencil of Moreland.

A caravan presents in the evening a very active and cheerful scene. The camels which had been turned out to graze as soon as they had halted and been unloaded, now return in separate groups, each of which, following the bell of its leader, proceeds directly to the spot where its master's tents are pitched. When arrived there, the docile animals lie down of their own accord in a row, and their heads are attached by halters to a rope which is fastened to a range of stakes about four feet high, extending along the front of the camp. They are then fed with large balls composed of barley meal and lentils, mixed up with water, which they swallow whole, and are left to ruminate till morning. As soon as the night closes in, fires begin to blaze in every direction. They are made with dry thorns and stunted shrubs collected round the camp, and their flames throw a bright light on the different groups of travellers who are seen squatted on the ground in front of their tents, or beside their piles of merchandize, some occupied with their pipes and coffee, and others enjoying their frugal evening's meal. In an Oriental company, of whatever class it is composed, the harsh sounds of vulgar merriment are never to be heard; a low hum of conversation spreads through the camp, and as the evening advances, this gradually sinks into a silence, disturbed only by the occasional lowing of the camels. All those persons who have once tried it, and who understand the Eastern languages, speak of a caravan as a very agreeable mode of travelling. The wild and solitary scenery through which it generally passes, the order and tranquillity with which it is conducted, the facility of conveying baggage, and the feeling of security which prevails, amply compensate for the slowness of its movements; and among hundreds of persons collected from the most distant parts of the Turkish empire and the neighbouring states, many of whom have spent their lives in travelling, there is to be found a never-failing variety of associates and of anecdotes. pp. 442-444.

He con

Wood's account of Palmyra is, we believe, the best we have; but Mr. Fuller thinks that the engravings are too flattering. jectures that the buildings are later than those of Balbec. In the course of his interesting circuit in Syria and Palestine, Mr. Fuller came in contact with religionists of the most various kinds. The Ensyrians, who occupy the mountains about Latakia, have made for themselves a strange olio of a creed, composed of Judaism, Christianity, and Paganism. They carry on their rites in secresy, and their is no instance, even in the youngest, of a breach of this religious confidence. The practice of hawking is much used in some parts of Syria. At Latakia, during the great flights of the

quails at Easter, the inhabitants are principally occupied with this sport, every ten yards a person carrying his hawk, being to be met with in the street. These hawks are about the size of an English sparrow-hawk. They do not use their beaks in the chace: the quarry being always struck down, and held by the talons of the hawk.

Notwithstanding we have already given an account of a wedding at Nazareth, there is a description of a similar ceremony at Antioch, which is much too curious to be omitted.

'About three o'clock the young friends of the bride having collected together in the house of Yussuff Saba, (which on this occasion was supposed to belong to the bridegroom,) the latter was obliged to relinquish it to them, and seek refuge at that where I was lodged. He made but a forlorn appearance, as custom required that for several days preceding the wedding he should let his beard grow and wear his oldest and shabbiest clothes. As soon as the bridegroom's house was thus clear for her reception, the women sallied forth to fetch the bride from the abode of her parents. There were about fifty of them, all dressed in white veils which covered their faces and almost their whole figures; they carried garlands of flowers in their hands, and walked in procession with a hurried and irregular pace. There was not any crowd collected in the streets to see them pass, as the Mahometans, either from disdain or from courtesy, make it a rule to keep aloof from all Christian festivals. About an hour after sunset, a party of friends came to fetch the bridegroom, whose chin had been polished in the meantime, but who was still dressed in his old clothes, and he was conducted by torchlight to Yussuff's house. I accompanied the procession, and on our arrival we found the court crowded with friends and spectators. A mat was spread out in one corner, on which the bridegroom's new clothes were placed; and by the assistance of four priests, who acted the part of valets on this occasion, he was speedily disencumbered of his old ones, and re-equipped from top to toe. Like the Bourgeois Gentilhomme, he was dressed to the sound of music; for the priests during the whole of the operation kept droning out a most melancholy and nasal psalm tune, in which the spectators who stood round, each with a lighted taper in his hand, occasionally joined.

'As soon as the dressing was completed, we adjourned into a large room which opened on the court, and in the middle of which stood the bride and the bridesmaid: the bride was covered with a long white veil, which flowed down to the ground and concealed her whole figure; in addition to which, a rose-coloured gauze handkerchief was thrown over her head and face, and fell down to her waist. Her companion wore the same dress with the exception of the handkerchief; and as they stood alone and motionless in the middle of a large room, no one would have taken them for animated beings. At their feet were crouched two of the most miserable squalid-looking objects that I ever beheld, whose dirty rags seemed ill-suited to the place and the occasion. On my asking "how they came there without a wedding garment?" I was told that they were poor sick women, who were admitted, because to hear the marriage benediction was considered a certain remedy for their disorders..

6

• As soon as the immediate friends had been introduced the doors were

closed, so that the room was not at all crowded, the party consisting perhaps of about thirty persons, The bride and bridegroom were placed side by side, the chief priest stood facing them and repeated certain prayers or lessons, to which the others responded; he then crossed the ring three times on the forehead of the bridegroom, and as often on that of the bride, and gently drawing her delicate little hand from under the rose-coloured veil, placed it on her finger. A coronet ornamented with flowers and gilding was set on each of their heads, and each took a sip of wine from a silver cup, the priest drinking the remainder. They then joined hands, and with their attendants walked at a measured pace, keeping time to a chaunt sung by the priests, three times round the altar, which on this occasion was typified by a small joint-stool placed in the middle of the room. After this the benediction was pronounced, and the ceremony concluded. The bridesmaids now led back the bride to join her companions in the women's apartment, from whence during the ceremony the joyful cry of Lillah, lillah, lillah had frequently reached our ears, and the house was again left to their sole possession.

'All the men immediately retired to my lodgings, and the evening and great part of the night was spent in the same revelry as the preceding one had been; singing, dancing, and drinking being kept up till near day-break. The bridegroom, accompanied by a young friend who acted as his bridesman, remained in one corner of the room aloof from the rest of the company, with a large candle burning before him, and exhibiting him as a clearer mark for the jests, neither few nor delicate, with which he was assailed on all sides. I was told that according to strict etiquette he ought to have been kept standing on one leg: but this inconvenient formality was dispensed with; he was allowed to use both, and even to sit down, except when any person of consequence was singing or dancing. With all this, however, to quote the words of another traveller on a similar occasion," for a man in so enviable a situation as that of a bridegroom, he made but a sorry figure;" and being moreover a very grave and staid looking person of about fifty years of age, the effect was the more ludicrous. pp. 479–482.

We have by no means selected the whole of the best parts of Mr. Fuller's work. Our object was to choose such passages, as in our opinion most fairly represented the merit of the whole; and we fear, after all, that those who will be induced to peruse it for themselves, will be inclined to think that we have not succeeded in conveying to the reader, any adequate idea of the excellent manner in which a book of travels may be composed by an unprejudiced and enlightened gentleman.

ART. II.-The Life of a Lawyer. Written by Himself. 8vo. pp. 421. London. Saunders and Benning. 1830.

THOSE Who can make up their minds to afford a liberal allowance for absurdities and mistakes without number, to accept as the history of the past, the anticipations of the future, and not to be very nice in enquiring into facts, or weighing probabilities, will be amused