«The burning heat of the sun was reflected with double violence from the hot sand, and the distant ridges of the hills, seen through the ascending vapour, seemed to wave and fluctuate like the unsettled sea.»>Mungo Park. «I shake the lash over my Camel, and she quickens her pace, while the sultry vapour rolls in waves over the burning cliffs.»-Moallakat. Poem of Tarafa. Note 15, page 108, col. 1. His tongue was dry and rough. face and arms, and I was obliged to mount my horse and stop under a bush, to prevent being suffocated. The sand continued to fly in amazing quantities for near an hour, after which I again set forward, and travelled with difficulty, until ten o'clock. About this time I was agreeably surprised by some very vivid flashes of lightning, followed by a few heavy drops of rain. In a little time the sand ceased to fly, and I alighted, and spread out all my clean clothes to collect the rain, which at length I saw would certainly fall.— For more than an hour it rained plentifully, and I Perhaps no traveller but Mr Park ever survived to quenched my thirst by wringing and sucking my relate similar sufferings. << I pushed on as fast as possible, in hopes of reaching some watering-place in the course of the night. My thirst was by this time become insufferable; my mouth was parched and inflamed; a sudden dimness would frequently come over my eyes, with other symptoms of fainting; and my horse being very much fatigued, I began seriously to apprehend that I should perish of thirst. To relieve the burning pain in my mouth and throat, I chewed the leaves of different shrubs, but found them all bitter, and of no service to me. « A little before sun-set, having reached the top of a gentle rising, I climbed a high tree, from the topmost branches of which I cast a melancholy look over the barren wilderness, but without discovering the most distant trace of a human dwelling. The same dismal uniformity of shrubs and sand every where presented itself, and the horizon was as level and uninterrupted as that of the sea. «Descending from the tree, I found my horse devouring the stubble and brushwood with great avidity; and as I was now too faint to attempt walking, and my horse too much fatigued to carry me, I thought it but an act of humanity, and perhaps the last I should ever have it in my power to perform, to take off his bridle and let him shift for himself; in doing which I was suddenly affected with sickness and giddiness, and falling upon the sand, felt as if the hour of death was fast approaching. Here then, thought I, after a short but ineffectual struggle, terminate all my hopes of being useful in my day and generation; here must the short span of my life come to an end.-I cast (as I believed) a last look on the surrounding scene, and whilst I reflected on the awful change that was about to take place, this world, with its enjoyments, seemed to vanish from my recollection. Nature, however, at length, resumed its functions; and on recovering my senses, I found myself stretched upon the sand with the bridle still in my hand, and the sun just sinking behind the I now summoned all my resolution, and determined to make another effort to prolong my existence. And as the evening was somewhat cool, I resolved to travel as far as my limbs would carry me, in hopes of reaching (my only resource) a watering-place. With this view I put the bridle on my horse, and driving him before me, went slowly along for about an hour, when I perceived some lightning from the north-east, a most delightful sight, for it promised rain. The darkness and lightning increased very rapidly; and in less than an hour I heard the wind roaring among the bushes. I had already opened my mouth to receive the refreshing drops which I expected, but I was instantly covered with a cloud of sand, driven with such force by the wind as to give a very disagreeable sensation to my trees. clothes.» Park's Travels in the Interior of Africa. Note 16, page 108, col. 2. ould they have back'd the Dromedary, etc. All the time I was in Barbary I could never get sight of above three or four Dromedaries. These the Arabs call Mehera, the singular is Meheri. They are of several sorts and degrees of value, some worth many common Camels, others scarce worth two or three. To look on, they seem little different from the rest of that species, only I think the excrescence on a Dromedary's back is somewhat less than that of a Camel. What is reported of their sleeping or rather seeming scarce alive, for some time after coming into this world, is no fable. The longer they lie so, the more excellent they prove in their kind, and consequently of higher price and esteem. ten days and nights. These that do, are pretty rare, and are called Aashari, from Aashara, which signifies ten, in Arabic. I saw one such, perfectly white all over, belonging to Lella Oumane, Princess of that noble Arab Neja, named Heyl ben Ali, I spoke of, and upon which she put a very great value, never sending it abroad but upon some extraordinary occasion, when the greatest expedition was required; having others, inferior in swiftness, for more ordinary messages. They say that one of these Aasharies will, in one night, and through a level country, traverse as much ground as any single horse can perform in ten, which is no exaggeration of the matter, since many have affirmed to me, that it makes nothing of holding its rapid pace, which is a most violent hard trot, for four-and-twenty hours upon a stretch, without shewing the least sign of weariness, or inclination to bait, and that having then swallowed a ball or two of a sort of paste, made up barley-meal, and may be a little powder of dates among it, with a bowl of water, or Camel's milk, if to be had, and which the courier seldom forgets to be provided with, in skins, as well for the sustenance of himself as of his Pegasus, the indefatigable animal will seem as fresh as at first setting out, and ready to continue running at the same scarce credible rate, for as many hours longer, and so on from one extremity of the African Deserts to the other, provided its rider could hold out without sleep, and other refreshment. This has been averred to me, by, I believe, more than a thousand Arabs and Moors, all agreeing in every particular. None lie in that trance more than of I happened to be, once in particular, at the tent of that Princess, with Ali ben Mahamoud the Bey, or Vice-Roy of the Algerine Eastern Province, when he went thither to celebrate his nuptials with Ambarca, her only daughter, if I mistake not. Among other entertainments she gave her guests, the favourite white Dromedary was brought forth, ready saddled and bridled. I say bridled, because the thong, which serves instead of a bridle, was put through the hole purposely made in the gristle of the creature's nose. The Arab appointed to mount, was straitly laced, from the very loins quite to his throat, in a strong leathern jacket; they never riding these animals any otherwise accoutred; so impetuously violent are the concussions the rider undergoes, during that rapid motion, that were he to be loose, I much question whether a few hours' such unintermitting agitation would not endanger the bursting of some of his entrails; and this the Arabs scruple not to acknowledge. We were to be diverted with seeing this fine Aashari run against some of the swiftest barbs in the whole Neja, which is famed for having good ones, of the true Libyan breed, shaped like greyhounds, and which will sometimes ran down an ostrich; which few of the very best can pretend to do, especially upon a hard ground, perfectly level. We all started like racers, and for the first spurt, most of the best mounted among us kept up pretty well, but our grass-fed horses soon flagged several of the Libyian and Numidian runners held pace till we, who still followed upon a good round hand-gallop, could no longer discern them, and then gave out; as we were told after their return. When the Dromedary had been out of our sight about half an hour, we again espied it flying towards us with an amaz. ing velocity, and in a very few moments was among us, and seemingly nothing concerned; while the horses and mares were all in a foam, and scarce able to breathe, as was, likewise, a fleet, tall greyhound bitch, of the young Prince's, who had followed and kept pace the whole time, and was no sooner got back to us, but lay down panting as if ready to expire. I cannot tell how many miles we went; but we were near three hours in coming leisurely back to the tents, yet made no stop in the way. The young Prince Hamet ben al Guydom ben Sakhari, and his younger brother Messoud, told their new brother in-law, that they defied all the potentates of Africa to show him such an Aashari; and the Arab who rode it, challenged the Bey to lay his lady a wager of 1000 ducats, that he did not bring him an answer to a letter from the Prince of Wargalla, in less than four days, though Leo Africanus, Marmol, and several others, assure us, that it is no less than forty Spanish leagues, of four miles each, south of Tuggurt, to which place, upon another occasion, as I shall observe, we made six tedious days march from the neighbourhood of Biscara, north of which we were then, at least thirty hours riding, if I remember rightly. However, the Bey, who was a native of Biscara, and consequently well acquainted with the Sahara, durst not take him up. By all circumstances, and the description given us, besides what I know of the matter myself, it could not be much less than 400 miles, and as many back again, the fellow of fered to ride, in so short a time; nay, many other Arabs boldly proffered to venture all they were worth in the world, that he would perform it with all the ease imaginable.- Morgan's History of Algiers. Chenier says the Dromedary can travel 60 leagues in a day; his motion is so rapid, that the rider is obliged to be girthed to the saddle, and to have a handkerchief before his mouth to break the current of the wind.»> These accounts are probably much exaggerated. their bodies, by which means they are enabled to ride for many days without great fatigue.»-Hanway. Note 17, page 108, col. 2. The dreadful sand-spouts mov'd. We were here at once surprised and terrified by a sight surely the most magnificent in the world. In that vast expanse of desert, from W. and to N. W. of us, we saw a number of prodigious pillars of sand at different distances, at times moving with great celerity, at others stalking with a majestic slowness: at intervals, we thought they were coming in a very few moments to overwhelm us, and small quantities of sand did actually, more than once, reach us. Again they would retreat so as to be almost out of sight, their tops reaching to the very clouds. There the tops often separated from the bodies, and these, once disjoined, dispersed in the air, and did not Sometimes they were broken near the appear more. About middle, as if struck with a large cannon-shot. noon, they began to advance with considerable swiftness upon us, the wind being very strong at north. Eleven of them ranged along side of us about the distance of three miles. The greatest diameter of the largest appeared to me at that distance, as if it would measure ten feet. They retired from us with a wind at S. E. leaving an impression upon my mind to which I can give no name; though surely one ingredient in it was fear, with a considerable deal of wonder and astonishment. It was in vain to think of flying, the swiftest horse, or fastest sailing ship, could be of no use to carry us out of this danger, and the full persuasion of this rivetted me as if to the spot where I stood. On the 15th, the same appearance of moving pillars of sand presented themselves to us, only they seemed to be more in number, and less in size. They came several times in a direction close upon us; that is, I believe, within less than two miles. They began immediately after sun-rise, like a thick wood, and almost darkened the sun. His rays shining through them for near an hour, gave them an appearance of pillars of fire. Our people now became desperate the Greeks shrieked out, and said it was the day of judgment. Ismael pronounced it to be hell, and the Tucorories that the world was on fire.—Bruce. BOOK V. Note 1, page 109, col. 2. Laps the cool wave, etc. The Pelican makes choice of dry and desert places to lay her eggs; when her young are hatched, she is obliged to bring water to them from great distances. To enable her to perform this necessary office, Nature has provided her with a large sack, which extends from the tip of the under mandible of her bill to the throat, and holds as much water as will supply her brood for several days. This water she pours into the nest, to cool her young, to allay their thirst, and to teach them to swim. Lions, Tigers, and other rapacious animals, resort to these nests, and drink the water, and are said not to injure the young.-Smellie's Philosophy of Natural History. It is perhaps from this power of carrying a supply of The royal couriers in Persia wear a white sash gird-water that the pelican is called Jimmel el Bahar, the Caed from the shoulders to their waist many times around mel of the River. Bruce notices a curious blunder upon this subject in the translation of Norden's Travels. On looking into Mr Norden's Voyage, says he, I was struck at first sight with this paragraph: « We saw, this day, abundance of camels; but they did not come near enough for us to shoot them.» I thought with myself, to shoot camels in Egypt, would be very little better than to shoot men, and that it was very lucky for him the camels did not come near, if that was the only thing that prevented him. Upon looking at the note, I see it is a small mistake of the translator, who says, that in the original it is Chameaux d'eau, Water Camels; but whether they are a particular species of camels, or a different kind of animal, he does not know. Note 2, page 109, col. 2. Every where scatter'd, etc. These prominent features of an Oriental city will be found in all the views of Sir John Chardin. The mosques, the minarets, and numerous cupolas, form a splendid spectacle; and the flat roofs of the houses, which are situated on the hills, rising one behind another, present a succession of hanging terraces, interspersed with cypress and poplar tres. Russel's Nat. Hist. of Aleppo. The circuit of Ispahan, taking in the suburbs, is not less than that of Paris; but Paris contains ten times the number of its inhabitants. It is not, however, astonishing that this city is so extensive and so thinly peopled, because every family has its own house, and almost every house its garden; so that there is much void ground. From whatever side you arrive, you first discover the towers of the mosques, and then the trees which surround the houses; at a distance, Ispahan re sembles a forest more than a town. Tavernier. Of Alexandria, Volney says, << the spreading palm trees, the terraced houses, which seem to have no roof, the lofty slender minarets, all announce to the traveller that he is in another world.» Note 3, page 109, col. 2. Thou too art fallen, Bagdad! City of Peace. Almanzor riding one day with his courtiers along the banks of the Tigris, where Seleucia formerly stood, was so delighted with the beauty of the country, that he resolved there to build his new capital. Whilst he was conversing with his attendants upon this project, one of them, separating from the rest, met a hermit, whose cell was near, and entered into talk with him, and communicated the design of the Caliph. The Hermit replied he well knew, by a tradition of the country, that a city would one day be built in that plain, but that its founder would be a man called Moclas, a name very different from both those of the Caliph, Giafar and Almanzor The Officer rejoined Almanzor, and repeated his conversation with the Hermit. As soon as the Caliph heard the name of Moclas, he descended from his horse, prostrated himself, and returned thanks to God, for that he was chosen to execute his orders, His courtiers waited for an explanation of this conduct with eagerness, and the Caliph told them thus: During the Caliphate of the Ommiades, my brothers and myself being very young, and possessing very little, were obliged to live in the country, where each in rotation was to provide sustenance for the whole. On one of my days, as I was with out money, and had no means of procuring food, I took a bracelet belonging to my nurse, and pawned it. This woman made a great outery, and after much search, discovered that I had been the thief. In her anger she abused me plentifully, and, among other terms of reproach, she called me Moclas, the name of a famous robber in those days; and, during the rest of her life, she never called me by any other name. Therefore I know that God has destined me to perform this work. Marigny. Almanzor named his new city Dar-al-Salam, the City of Peace; but it obtained the name of Bagdad, from that of this Hermit, who dwelt upon its site. Note 4, page 110, col. 1. Thy founder the Victorious, etc. Almanzor signifies the Victorious. Bagdad was founded in consequence of a singular superstition. A sect called Ravendiens conceived, that they ought to render those honours to the Caliphs which the Moslem hold should only be paid to the Deity. They therefore came in great numbers to Haschemia, where the Caliph Almanzor usually resided, and made around his palace the same processions and ceremonies which the Moslem make around the temple at Mecca. The Caliph prohibited this, commanding them not to profane a religious ceremony which ought to be reserved solely to the Temple at Mecca. The Ravendiens did not regard the prohibition, and continued to act as before. Almanzor, seeing their obstinacy, resolved to conquer it, and began by arresting a hundred of these fanatics. This astonished them; but they soon recovered their courage, took arms, marched to the prison, forced the doors, delivered their friends, and then returned to make their procession round the palace in reverence of the Caliph. Enraged at this insolence, the Caliph put himself at the head of his guards, and advanced against the Ravendiens, expecting that his appearance would immediately disperse them. Instead of this, they resisted and repulsed him so vigorously, that he had nearly fallen a victim. But timely succours arrived, and after a great slaughter, these fanatics were expelled the town. This singular rebellion, arising from excess of loyalty, so disgusted Almanzor, that he determined to forsake the town which had witnessed it, and accordingly laid the foundation of Bagdad. —Marigny. Note 5, page 110, col. 1. Met in her arch'd Bazars. The houses in Persia are not in the same place with their shops, which stand, for the most part, in long and large arched streets, forty or fifty feet high; which streets are called Basar, or the Market, and make the heart of the city, the houses being in the out-parts, and having almost all gardens belonging to them.-Chardin. At Tauris, he says, « there are the fairest Basars that are in any place of Asia; and it is a lovely sight to see their vast extent, their largeness, their beautiful Duomos, and the arches over them, » At Bagdad the Bazars are all vaulted, otherwise the merchants could not remain in them on account of the heat. They are also watered two or three times a-day, and a number of the poor are paid for rendering this service to the public.-Tavernier. Exeter Change is a Bazar. Note 6, page 110, col. 1. And Tigris on his tameless current bore. Note 9, page 110, col. 1. The Bittern's boom came far. On the other side of the river, towards Arabia, over I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of Hosts, against the city, there is a faire place or towne, and in and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, and I will also make it a it a fair Bazarro for merchants, with very many lodgson and nephew, saith the Lord. ings, where the greatest part of the merchants strangers possession for the Bittern and pools of water.--Isaiah, xiv, which come to Babylon do lie with their merchandize. 22, 23. The passing over Tygris from Babylon to this Borough is by a long bridge, made of boates, chained together with great chaines: provided, that when the river waxeth great with the abundance of raine that falleth, then they open the bridge in the middle, where the one-halfe of the bridge falleth to the walles of Babylon, and the other to the brinks of this Borough, on the other side of the river; and as long as the bridge is open, they passe the river in small boats, with great danger, because of the smallness of the boats, and the overlading of them, that with the fiercenesse of the stream they be overthrowen, or els the streame doth carry them away; so that by this meanes many people are lost and drowned. Cæsar Frederick in Hakluyt. Here are great store of victuals, which come from Armenia down the river of Tygris. They are brought upon raftes made of goate's skinnes blown full of wind, and bordes layde upon them; which being discharged, they open their skinnes, and carry them backe by Camels.-Ralph Fitch in Hakluyt. Note 7, page 110, col. 1. The many-colour'd domes. In Tavernier's time there were five Mosques at Bagdad, two of them fine, their large domes covered with varnished tiles of different colours. Note 8, page 110, col. 1. Kept their night-clatter still. At Bagdad are many cranes, who build their nests upon the tops of the minarets, and the loftiest houses. At Adanaqui, cranes are so abundant, that there is scarcely a house which has not several nests upon it. They are very tame, and the inhabitants never molest them. When any thing disturbs these birds, they make a violent clatter with their long beaks, which is some time repeated by the others all over the town; and this noise will sometimes continue for several minutes. It is as loud as a watchman's rattle, and not much unlike it in sound.-Jackson. The cranes were now arrived at their respective quarters, and a couple had made their nest, which is bigger in circumference than a bushel, on a dome close by our chamber. This pair stood, side by side, with great gravity, showing no concern at what was transacting beneath them, but at intervals twisting about their long necks, and clattering with their beaks, turned behind them upon their backs, as it were in concert. This was continued the whole night. An Owl, a bird also unmolested, was perched hard by, and as frequently hooted. The crane is tall, like a heron, but much larger: the body white, with black pinions, the neck and legs very long, the head small, and the bill thick. The Turks call it friend and brother, believing it has an affection for their nation, and will accompany them into the countries they shall conquer. In the course of our journey we saw one hopping on a wall with a single leg, the maimed stump wrapped in linen.-Chandler's Travels in Asia Minor. Note 10, page 110, col. 1. Branch'd from the current of his roaring flood. Note 11, page 110, col. 1. Hath been the aërial Gardens, etc. Of Babylon was rais'd a lofty mound, Forthwith two hundred thousand slaves uprear'd ROBERTS's Judah Restored. Note 12, page 110, col. 2. Of Belus? etc. Our early Travellers have given us strange and circumstantial accounts of what they conceive to have been the Temple of Belus. The tower of Nimrod, or Babel, is situate on that side of Tygris that Arabia is, and in a very great plaine distant from Babylon seven or eight miles: which tower is ruinated on every side; and with the falling of it there is made a great mountaine, so that it hath no forme at all; yet there is a great part of it standing, which is compassed, and almost covered, with the afore. sayd fallings. This Tower was builded and made of foure-square brickes; which brickes were made of earth, and dried in the Sunne in maner and forme following: First they layed a lay of brickes, then a mat made of canes, square as the brickes, and, instead of lime they daubed it with earth. These mats of canes are at this time so strong, that it is a thing wonderfull to beholde, being of such great antiquity. I have gone round about it, and have not found any place where there hath bene any door or entrance. It may be, in my judgment, in circuit about a mile, and rather lesse than more. This Tower, in effect, is contrary to all other things which are seene afar off; for they seeme small, and the more neere a man commeth to them, the bigger they afar off, seemeth a very great thing, be: but this tower, and the nerer you come to it the lesser. My judgment and reason of this is, that because the Tower is set in a very great plaine, and hath nothing more about to make any shew saving the ruines of it, which it hath made round about; and for this respect, descrying it afarre off, that piece of the Tower which yet standeth with the mountaine that is made of the substance that hath fallen from it, maketh a greater shew than you shall finde coming neere to it.-Cæsar Frederick. John Eldred mentions the same deception: «Being upon a plaine grounde, it seemeth afarre off very great; but the nerer you come to it, the lesser and lesser it appeareth. Sundry times I have gone thither to see it, and found the remnants yet standing, about a quarter of a mile in compasse, and almost as high as the stoneworke of St Paul's steeple in London, but it sheweth much bigger.»-Hakluyt. were appointed by God as places of punishment for Harut and Marut, two angels, who they suppose were sent from heaven to judge the crimes of men, but did not execute their commissions as they ought. It is evident from these ruins, that the tower of Nimrod was built with great and thick bricks, as I carefully observed, causing holes to be dug in several places for the purpose; but they do not appear to have been burnt, but dried in the sun, which is extreme hot in those parts. In laying these bricks, neither lime nor sand was employed, but only earth tempered and petrified; and in those parts which made the floors, there had been mingled with that earth, which served instead of lime, bruised reeds, or hard straw, such as large mats are made of, to strengthen the work. Afterwards one perceives at certain distances, in diverse places, especially where the strongest buttresses were to be, several other bricks of the same size, but more solid, and burnt in a kiln, and set in good lime, or bitumen; nevertheless, the greatest number consists of those which are only dried in the sun. I make no doubt but this ruin was the ancient Babel, and the tower of Nimrod; for, besides the evidence of its situation, it is acknowledged to be such by the people of the country, being vulgarly called Babil by the Arabs. Universal Hist. Eight towers arise, A monument, at once, of Eastern pride ROBERTS'S Judah Restored. Note 13, page 110, col. 2. The wandering Arab never sets his tent And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorralı. In the middle of a vast and level plain, about a quarter of a league from Euphrates, which in that place runs westward, appears a heap of ruined buildings, like a huge mountain, the materials of which are so confounded together, that one knows not what to make of it. Its figure is square, and rises in form of a tower, or pyramid, with four fronts, which answer to the four quarters of the compass; but it seems longer from north to south than from east to west, and is, as far as I could-Pietro delle Valle. judge by my pacing it, a large quarter of a league. Its situation and form correspond with that pyramid which Strabo calls the tower of Belus; and is, in all likelihood, the tower of Nimrod in Babylon, or Babel, as that place is still called. In that author's time it had nothing remaining of the stairs, and other ornaments mentioned by Herodotus, the greatest part of it having been ruined by Xerxes; and Alexander, who designed to have restored it to its former lustre, but was prevented by death. There appear no marks of ruins without the compass of that huge mass, to convince one that so great a city as Babylon had ever stood there; all one discovers within fifty or sixty paces of it, being only the remains, here and there, of some foundations of buildings; and the country round about it is so flat and level, that one can hardly believe it should be chosen for the situation of so great and noble a city as Babylon, or that there were ever any remarkable buildings on it: But, for my part, I am astonished there appears so much as there does, considering it is at least 4000 years since that city was built; and that Diodorus Siculus tells us, it was reduced almost to nothing in his time. The height of this mountain of ruins is not in every part equal, but exceeds the highest palace in Naples: it is a misshapen mass, wherein there is no appearance of regularity; in some places it rises in points, is craggy and inaccessible; in others it is smoother, and is of easier ascent; there are also tracks of torrents from the top to the bottom, caused by the rains; and both withinside, and upon it, one sees parts some higher and some lower. It is not to be discovered whether ever there were any steps to ascend it, or any doors to enter into it; whence one may easily judge that the stairs ran winding about on the outside; and that being the less solid parts, they were soonest demolished, so that not the least sign of any appears at present. Withinside one finds some grottos, but so ruined that one can make nothing of them, whether they were built at the same time with that work, or made since by the peasants for shelter: which last seems to be the most likely. The Mahommedans believe that these eaverns It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there, neither shall the Shepherds make their fold there.-Isaiah, xiii, 19, 20. Note 14, page 110, col. 2. Disclose their secret wealth. The stupid superstition of the Turks, with regard to hidden treasures, is well known : it is difficult, or even dangerous, for a traveller to copy an inscription in sight of those barbarians. «On a rising ground, at a league's distance from the river Shelliff, is Memoun-turroy, as they call an old square tower, formerly a sepulchral monument of the Romans. This, like many more ancient edifices, is supposed by the Arabs to have been built over a treasure; agreeably to which account, they tell us, these mystical lines were inscribed upon it. Prince Maimoun Tizai wrote this upon his tower: My Treasure is in my Shade, Shaw. So of the ruins of the ancient Tubuna. The Treasure of Tubnah lyeth under the shade of what is shaded. Dig for it: alas! it is not there.—Shaw, |