Page images
PDF
EPUB

divine, should their author ever venture on the British shores ;. or, perhaps, the punishment of Bajazet may be still more appropriate; and, when Holland, Italy, and Switzerland, have expressed their detestation in every mode they may be able to devise, the murderer should be conveyed to Asia. Common punishments should be reserved for common crimes. We need scarcely mention the lesser enormities of the civilised barbarian-the wanton and cruel plunder of Jaffa, and the devastation of the cultivated scenery around it. The Syrian expedition is said to have proved the destruction of 12,000 Frenchmen. This seems, however, to be impossible, from the strength of the French army on the landing of the English, compared with their original number on their first descent at Aboukir,

The disorderly arrangement of a Turkish camp, the little attention to cleanliness, and the disregard of infection, are well known. What our author seems, in prudence, to have suppressed, is the turbulence of the Janissaries, and the want of subordination in the different allied corps which form the motley groupe of a Turkish army-perhaps the tardiness and procrastination of the commander in chief. It is, we have been told by other authors, no uncommon mode among the soldiers of expressing their disapprobation of any measure, or even of the inactivity to which they are compelled, to discharge a few balls through the visier's tent; for their cartridges are always furnished with a bullet.-The anatomy of a chamæleon we do not remember to have seen in any other writer.

I had caught several camelions, one of which was found dead in its cage. Being desirous to know the cause of its death, I dissected it, and, on opening the intestine, found withinside a portion of a small twig, about an inch in length; and, a little further downwards, a delicate white round worm, nearly four inches in length, which was alive. I was much pleased with the singular conformation of this little animal, from the mouth of which I drew a' white tender substance, between five and six inches in length, and of the thickness of a goose quill. Having an increased width at its extremity, it had somewhat the appearance of an inverted cone, and was filled with an extremely viscid and tenacious whitish fluid. This description of tongue, or weapon, as it may be more properly termed, nature has supplied to the animal to enable it to seize on its prey. I had repeatedly observed my camelions dart it forth suddenly, to the distance of five or six inches, and in this manner catch flies with an equal promptitude and certainty. The viscid and tenacious quality of the fluid sufficiently explains its use. By apply ing the point of a probe dipped in it, to the bodies of flies, I'detained them for some time. The pulpy substance of which the durt, or tongue, is composed, is projected forwards by a triangular

cartilaginous ring, to which it is attached, and which is seated at the posterior part of the mouth. This cartilage is composed of rings, like the trachea in animals.

The capacious lungs are composed of a number of small and delicate cells, tinged of a fine crimson colour. On cutting into the heart, the blood issued, but of a darker colour than that contained in the delicate pulmonary cells. The liver, which was of a darkish hue, was somewhat large in proportion to the size of the animal; and the gall bladder was filled with bile of a dark green colour. Only one common straight gut was perceptible. Several small round substances, nearly of the size of a vetch, and of a deep yellow colour, lay connected together in the lower part of the ab domen; as did also two lobes, similar to the lungs of an animal. These were likewise of a deep yellow, or orange-colour, and were nearly of the size of a small Windsor bean. It is evident, from this account of the conformation of the animal, that those who cherished the old error of its existing upon air, must have been very inaccurate observers.' P. 144.

The account of the climate of Syria we shall also select.

A general idea of the climate of Syria may be formed from the following particulars:-During our stay there, the thermometer, in the months of July, August, and September, marked the highest, in the afternoons, from ninety-three to ninety-five degrees of Fah renheit. It is unnecessary to remark, that during this interval the heat was extremely oppressive to such of our party as had not been inured to the more sultry climes. The sky was, at the above season, beautifully clear, without a cloud to obscure the wide expanse ; and the atmosphere pure and benign. The greatest variation of temperature occurred in the months of October and November, when the rains came on suddenly with some degree of violence. This may properly be considered as the rainy season, since, generally speaking, during the other parts of the year a drought prevails. The very copious dews which fall in the dry months, when there is a total absence of rain, promote and forward the ve-' getation.

During the summer months the prevailing winds are from the north and north-west. In entering on October, they are more variable, blowing strongly from the south, south-east, and east. It is at this time that the sudden and heavy showers commence, and that the sky, which was before so uniformly clear, is overspread with dark and heavy clouds. At length, the month of November drawing towards its close, the rains cease to fall, and the weather becomes pleasant and salubrious. The result of my observations at this season was, that before sun-rise the thermometer ranged from 42 to 52 and 53, and that, consequently, the mornings were refreshing and cool. At noon the variations of the thermometer were from 66 to 76, with a degree of heat which was by no means oppressive.

On the coast of Syria the sea breeze prevails during the day time, and, falling in the evening, gives place to the gentle land breeze, which continues to blow until about nine the next morn❤ ing.

In the month of December, 1800, the January following, and a part of February, the weather was very tempestuous, with heavy rains, vivid lightnings, and thunders, the explosion of which was awful and tremendous. During this period the thermometer was low; and, on one occasion, the storm was accompanied by hail. The winds were usually from the south or south-west. A haziness from the southward was the sure precursor of each of the gales; and to this indication of foul weather was superadded a remarkably large circle, or disk, round the moon. This boisterous and comparatively cold weather was highly favourable to the health of the individuals belonging to the mission. It yielded, about the 10th of February, to a more warm and settled temperature of the air, which, bestowing on the arid hills some slight degree of verdure, rendered the aspect of the country more cheerful.

Syria may in general be considered as a mountainous country; but the part bordering on Jaffa has several very extensive plains, which are intersected, at certain distances, with moderate heights. In approaching Jerusalem, after having proceeded to the other side of Ramla, the mountains are very lofty, and, having but a slender superficies of earth to cover their rocky prominences, are exclusively adapted to the cultivation of olive-trees, which take root in their very clefts, and hide the naked appearance they would otherwise exhibit.

In general the country is but thinly covered with trees, and has few woods, or thickets. In the parts where there is no texture of soil, but merely a white loose sand, not a tree nor shrub is to be

seen.

To the north side of Jaffa, a small river, which empties itself into the sea, presents itself at the distance of two or three miles. It is the only one which I met with in Syria; it is probable, however, that others may have been formed, subsequently to the excursions I made into the interior, by the abundant falls of rain I have had oc casion to notice.

From the information I was able to collect, as well as from my own personal observation, I could not learn that either mines or eruptions of volcanic matter are to be met with in Syria.

The soil in many parts, in those more especially bordering on the deserts, consists almost exclusively of a fine white sand, the reflexion from which is extremely painful to the sight. This barren

territory extends, to the northward, beyond Jaffa. It contains, however, in common with the other parts of Syria, several fertile spots, covered with a rich black mould, which very copiously repay the labour bestowed on them. On the rocky grounds an inconsiderable portion of calcareous earth is found blended with marl,' P. 210.

The Syrians are, in general, of a moderate stature, but active and alert: their countenances are meagre; their complexions dark; their abstemiousness singular. Their principal disorder is ophthalmia; but they are subject also to cutaneous complaints, remittent fevers, and the plague. They are not disposed to pulmonary diseases, and are usually long-lived.

The Bedouins, and the other inhabitants of Egypt and the desert, have been sufficiently described.

The march through the desert offers nothing particularly interesting. Ascalon and Gaza, in this route, are distinguished as sacred ground, the scene of some singularly miraculous events recorded in the Old Testament.

What relates to Egypt we have repeatedly received, as already noticed, in a more satisfactory form, and in a more complete detail, from other authors. The following observations, however, we wish to preserve.

tence.

On the 25th I had a particular conversation with an Abyssinian priest, recently arrived from his own country, who was about to leave Cairo for Jerusalem, from religious motives, and whose details relative to his native territory were extremely interesting. He assured me that the indigenous inhabitants still persevered in their custom of eating raw flesh, a luxury in which, however, the priests were not allowed to participate, but were, in conformity to their religious tenets, obliged to cook the meats necessary to their subsisHe calculated that his return to Abyssinia would occupy a space of three months. In the course of our conversation it appeared that he was familiarly acquainted with many of the plants and animals, of which the celebrated Bruce has in his Travels given engravings and written descriptions. Mr. Bruce's book being at hand, the engravings, &c. were shown to him, and he gave to the animals and other productions the names which Bruce had annexed to them. I was thus enabled to satisfy myself of the accuracy of a part of what has been so strongly questioned in the accounts which the above traveller has published.' P. 332.

On his return homewards, we have observed that our author's voyage through the Grecian Archipelago furnishes some circumstances of interest. Rhodes and Scio are described at the greatest length; and the account of the school of Homer, as well as the description of the lepers, are interesting. The lepra of this country is evidently the elephantiasis of the more correct medical writers. The journey to England, through Asiatic Turkey and Germany, offers nothing of importance. Dr. Wittman should have known, that Dr. Gall's fanciful system had been published long before the printing of his own work; his account of it is both incomplete and inaccurate. Indeed we are sorry to observe, that the author's ideas on every part of philosophy, chemistry, and natural history, which he has had occasion to introduce, are vague or erroneous. We are promised many analyses; but not one appears; and we perceive some disgraceful errors, which, from their repetition, cannot be those of the printer.

The appendix relates to the weather and discases of the country through which Dr. Wittman passed. The ophthalmia he never found infectious, except in one instance; and he

attributes it, as usual, to light and dust; but does not fail to remark the injurious consequences of night air in producing the disease, where both the preceding causes are excluded. What he says of the plague is peculiarly vague and unsatisfactory. Chenot and Mertens would have afforded him better information. It appears to be a fever from specific infection, highly asthenic, and only occasionally putrid. The kampsin is evidently a dry wind, chiefly consisting of hydrogenous gas; and the dust, said to pervade the nicest fastenings, is evidently deposited from the atmosphere, in consequence of its being deprived of water.-In Turkey, we perceive the thermometer in the shade at 95° in August, and at 16° in January. In Syria, in July, it often exceeded 90° degrees in the shade; but we do not notice it to have been below 46° in the ensuing winter. In Egypt, the heat and cold were more moderate.

The ornaments of this work are splendid and numerous. The march of the grand visier's army through the desert, the subject of the frontispice, is by no means deficient in spirit and execution: the sultan, as well as the chief officers of the state and of the army, are delineated in coloured engravings with considerable fidelity. The views, however, are neither drawn nor engraved with ability. The map is too confined in its extent; and the coasts and islands are by no means laid down with geographic accuracy.

ART. VIII.-Life of Geoffrey Chaucer, the early English Poet: including Memoirs of his near Friend and Kinsman, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster: with Sketches of the Manners, Opinions, Arts and Literature of England in the fourteenth Century. By William Godwin. 2 Vols. 4to. 31. 13s. 6d. Bourds. Phillips. 1803.

[ocr errors]

THE literary raiment of Mr. Godwin is variegated. He wears a grotesque suit, checquered with patches, laboriously selected from political, moral, and philosophical romances, dramas, novels, and light memorials of the frail and fair.' Distinguished by this panoply, his characteristic energy enlivens the masquerade of modern learning, where he wanders' from prose to song; now serious,' as Antonine;' now 'raving,' as 'Rabelais. Veiled in the sable of our dominos, we can silently mark the operation of perfectibility on our active and erudite speculator, admire his musing gait,' and smile at his fantastic attitudes. His splendid re-appearance, with an im portant addition to his robe, once more attracts us. Its texture and its hues we shall attentively examine.

To the undertaking of two quarto volumes, which (includ

« PreviousContinue »