the shifting and wasting of these sandy shores. The spot on which the outer light-house stood early in the seventeenth century was found to be in 1816 two or three fathoms under water, and at least three-quarters of a mile within flood-mark. If the waves can effect such important changes even when rolling into more or less sheltered estuaries, we may expect that their power will be found still greater where, without any bounding land to curb their fury, they can roll in from open sea, and fall with unbroken violence upon an exposed coast-line. That this is the case with the German Ocean is shown both by the form of the coast-line, the known effects of storms, and by actual experiment of the power of the breakers. The force with which the waves of this ocean fall on objects opposed to their fury has been measured with great care at the Bell Rock Lighthouse. This massive structure, rising one hundred and twelve feet above the sea-level, is literally buried in foam and spray to the very top during ground swells when there is no wind. Experiments were made there from the middle of September, 1844, to the end of March, 1845, and the greatest recorded pressure of the waves was three thousand and thirteen pounds on the square foot. Mr. Stevenson, however, under whose direction the observations were conducted, informs us that, on the twenty-seventh of November, 1824, the spray rose one hundred and seventeen feet above the foundations, being equivalent to a pressure of nearly three tons on the square foot. Such enormous force can not but produce marked effects on all rocks exposed to its fury. In May, 1807, during the building of the light-house, six large blocks of granite which had been landed on the reef were removed by the force of the sea, and thrown over a rising ledge to the distance of twelve or fifteen paces, and an anchor weighing about twenty-two hundredweight was thrown up upon the rock. This power of transport affecting parts of the surrounding sea-bed during severe gales, has been frequently observed here. Stones measuring upward of thirty cubic feet, or more than two tons, have often been cast upon the reef from the deep water. These large boulders are so familiar to the lightkeepers at this station, as to be by them termed travelers. With breakers of such prodigious force beating winter after winter on its sands and rocks, the eastern coast of Scotland suffers sorely as the years roll on. Nowhere does it exhibit more striking proofs of the unavailing resistance which it offers to the ocean than along the borders of Forfarshire. There we see some of the wildest scenery on this side of the island: huge beetling cliffs, wasted and worn; crags that seem ready to topple into the deep; creeks in which the gurgling tides are for ever rolling to and fro; caves sometimes out of reach of the waves, and then coated with mosses and ferns, sometimes at a lower level, and filled well-nigh to the brim when the tide runs at its full, while the space between tide-marks is a chaos of craggy rocks and skerries, and huge boulders torn from the cliffs overhead. And what has caused this wild ruin? Not any cataclysm or convulsion of nature, no earthquake, no outbreak of volcanic fire. It has been done by yonder waves that seem to curl so peacefully along the distant strip of sandy shore, and break into little eddies. of foam around the nearer rocks; but which, when the north-east gales sweep across the sea, batter against the cliff's with the noise of thunder, and cover them with spray even to the summit. The Forfarshire coast-line is, for the most part, formed by such wall-like cliffs of red sandstone. But here and there in creeks and bays there are sandy flats--records of that older sea-margin to which allusion has already been made. It is upon these softer parts that the breakers have made most rapid inroads. Thus, in the thirty years that preceded 1816, the Road Trustees were under the necessity of twice removing inland the roadway that skirts the shore westward from Arbroath, and in that year it had again become imperative to make another removal. The loss of land at one point a short way south-west from the town has been thirty yards since 1805, while at another spot still nearer the town it has reached as much as sixty yards within the same period-that is, more than a yard every year. About the year 1780 a house existed at the latter locality, of which there are now no remains, its place being covered by the tides. At Arbroath itself a house which stood next to the sea was a few years ago washed down, and strong bulwarks are necessary to prevent the further encroachments of the restless ocean. [TO BE CONCLUDED.] From Chambers's Journal. FRANKINCENSE AND COFFEE MOUNTAINS. THE finest productions of nature are | ped of vegetation. As, however, you asfrequently found in parts of the world cend from the sea, the slopes of the mounwhich, in an artistic point of view, are re-tains are observed to be covered with markably uninteresting; but in the cases stunted trees, thick in the trunk, and of coffee and frankincense, beauty of situ- throwing forth their numerous branches ation is united to the excellence of the in the direction of the prevailing winds. commodities. Coffee, as our readers are The whole region is inhabited by the doubtless aware, is entirely a modern lux- Somali Arabs, whose corkscrew curls and ury, which Solomon and the Queen of dusky complexions suggest a large admixSheba would have been too happy to sip ture of negro blood. Like the Ababde together in their famous interview at Je of the Upper Nile, their heads, when the rusalem. But frankincense was among hair is worn, bear a strong resemblance the earliest discoveries of mankind, and to bee-hives; but they occasionally shave no sooner had the properties of the gum off their curls, and plaster their crania and been noticed, than it was appropriated to foreheads with lime, which gives them a the service of religion. At first sight, the ludicrous appearance. practice may appear to have been a mere wasteful expenditure; but when we carefully consider the temperature of most Eastern countries, and the disagreeable odors which are invariably emitted from crowds shut up together in a close building, especially in Southern latitudes, we shall understand the reason which led to the burning of incense. In the Levantine churches it would be extremely disagreeable, especially in summer, to remain a quarter of an hour, were the atmosphere not impregnated by the pungent odor of incense, which overpowers the effluvia exhaling from the heated bodies of people not celebrated for wearing clean linen; and the absence of this perfume renders Protestant churches in Syria and Egypt less attractive than those of the Catholics, though persons who notice the effect are seldom aware of the cause. Travelers proceeding toward Europe from India and the islands of the Eastern Ocean, rarely sail sufficiently near the coast of Oman and Hadramaut to observe its characteristics; but when they prepare to enter the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, and have already passed Cape Guardafui, it is practicable with glasses to discern distinctly the features of the frankincense mountains of Africa. The cape presents a desolate and forbidding aspect, beaten incessantly by winds, and entirely strip The mountains of Oman and Hadramaut, celebrated from remote antiquity for their medicinal and odoriferous productions, were said by the early travelers to have their summits covered in winter with snow, but modern observers have not confirmed this account. Still, the elevation of the ridges which run along the southern edge of the Arabian peninsula, and protect it from the ocean gales, is very considerable; they collect the moisture of the clouds, which, after saturating the high lands, trickles into the hollows, and forms. rills and brooks, that flowing down to the plain occasionally form cascades, or spread into broad sheets of water, which impart a highly picturesque aspect to the country. Strangely enough, Hadramaut has been visited by comparatively few modern travelers, though its shores are passed every day by steamers going to and from India by way of the Red Sea. In old times, it formed the grand entrepôt between the East and West; and its merchants, distinguished for their opulence and enterprise, augmented the fame and power of Arabia; covered the land with noble cities, castles, palaces, and gardens; constructed commodious harbors; drew strangers from all parts of the world to their marts and emporiums; and carried Oriental civilization to the highest pitch it has ever perhaps reached. Here most of the fruits known to tropical regions flourished luxuriantly-the peach, the almond, the pomegranate, the apricot, the banana, the date, purple and golden, and grapes of the largest size and richest flavor. In addition to these, the bazaars and markets of the Sabæans displayed all the productions of India and the Farther Asia-spikenard, amomum, diamonds, rubies, pearls, opal and gold mingled with ostrich feathers; superb horses and camels from the Nejed; and frankincense, myrrh, and aloes from their own mountains and the dependent island of Soco tra. to the fane, were piled up in large heaps on the floor, with a tablet declaring their weight and value at the top. The merchants from Syria, Greece, and Egypt, on arriving in the ports of Hadramaut, quitted their ships, and repaired to the temple. No bargaining took place. They inspected the goods, consulted the tablet, and, if satisfied with the price, never called in question the honesty of the fire-worshipers, but took the medicine and the perfume, paid their money, and departed. The transaction was effected under the surveillance of the temple-wardens, who were permitted to appropriate one tenth of the money to their own use. The The soil of Hadramaut is still as sweet and prolific as ever, the people are as act- Stimulated by curiosity, several Greeks ive, and in disposition well qualified for would appear to have visited the country the transaction of business. But com- as travelers, and to have proceeded eastmerce, like a capricious river, has alter- ward as far as the confines of Oman, sured its course, the seats of civilization veying the frankincense mountains, and have changed, the mighty states of the drawing up that report, which, colored Old World have crumbled to nothing, by their imagination, assumed by degrees and nations, whose very names were un- something like the air of fable. Snow, known in those days, have monopolized as we have said, capped the summits the trade of the world, subverted the cele- of the_ridge, the higher acclivities were brated empires of Asia, and swept away clothed with forest, while the lower slopes, their wealth, to be accumulated in new completely sheltered from the hot winds cities built on distant shores. In conse- of the desert, gave birth to the myrrh and quence of these and other vicissitudes, frankincense trees, which were pruned and the power of Southern Arabia has dwin- cultivated with the utmost care. dled into insignificance, its ancient cities turf throughout the plantations appears have become ruins, its richest fields have to have been removed, and was probably, in many instances been converted into as now, used as fuel. Then the ground deserts, and its most famous productions was carefully swept, and delicate mats, ranked as inferior to those of many neigh- woven of palm-leaves, were everywhere boring lands. When the civilization of spread beneath the trees. Incisions havthe Old World was at its hight, and ing been made in the upper part of the Egypt, as it is now again becoming, the trunk and larger branches, the odorifergreat highway of Oriental commerce, ous gum oozed forth, and trickling into ships were constantly setting sail from drops, fell like a perfumed shower upon Suez for the ports of Yemen, Hadramaut, the mats. Some reckless proprietors aland Oman, where they took in ladings lowed the frankincense to drop upon the of every kind of merchandise known to earth, or scraped it with a knife from the those times. The people of the country trees, by which means it became mingled professed that ancient religion which ap- with particles of dust, or chips of bark, pears to have flourished from the banks which deteriorated its value. The methof the Nile to those of the Ganges, but is od of collecting at present in use seems now only kept alive by a handful of Bri- to be far more rough and ready than that tish subjects, who build excellent ships, which prevailed of old, and the article in and worship fire in the city of Bom- consequence is held in considerably less bay. These sectaries in the ages to which esteem. Still, large quantities are annualwe refer had erected in Hadramaut a vastly shipped from the ports of Hadramaut, temple to the sun, which, guarded per- to be burned, on the one hand, in the tempetually by bodies of armed men, served ples of India, and on the other, in the likewise as a mighty emporium for the churches of Catholic Christendom. more precious commodities of the country. What Hadramaut was in antiquity, YeThese-aloes, frankincense, and myrrh-men has become in modern times, by a having by the cultivators been conveyed production far more generally diffused and more loudly celebrated. This is the cof fee which receives commonly the name of Mocha, because it is chiefly shipped at that Red Sea port, though the neighboring cities of Loheia and Hodeida share in the trade. Whoever desires to visit the mountains where this modern nectar is produced, must disembark on the margin of the burning Tehama, and on donkey or dromedary direct his course inward across the arid waste. Here and there as he journeys along, with the scorching sun and a cloudless sky above him, a clump of mimosas or date-palms indicates the spot where he may quench his thirst, at one of those deep and inexhaustible wells which everywhere stud the fiery desert. Presently, patience brings him in sight of Beit-el-Fakih, or the House of the Learned, the name given to the small city which forms the capital of the coffee district. The mountains, as you approach, rise behind each other in ridges or terraces till they attain a great hight; and if your visit be made in spring, the whole looks like a sea of white blossoms, waving gently in the breeze, and throwing forth every moment the most exquisite and delicate perfume. The scene is rendered more charmingly picturesque by lofty forest-trees which traverse the plantations in vast avenues, affording shade to the coffee-shrubs, whose delicate foliage would otherwise be withered and blighted by the too ardent sun. Far and near, the whole landscape is dotted with towns, villages, and hamlets, belonging to the proprietors and laborers engaged in the cultivation of the coffee. Winding roads and paths, immersed for the most part in dense shade, enable you to ascend the steep acclivities with comparatively little fatigue, till, having reached the summit, you are fanned by delicious cool breezes from the high lands of the interior. Here prospects are enjoyed, to be surpassed for beauty neither in Europe or Asia. All around, beneath your feet, a succession of terraces of mingled bloom and verdure conducts your eye down to the level Tehama, whose glowing surface extends to the cerulean edge of the Red Sea, backed in the distance by the lofty mountains of Africa. As no cultivation can be carried on in the tropics without an abundance of water, numerous contrivances are resorted to for making the most of what is found in the Beit-el-Fakih Mountains: tanks are constructed on various platforms, whence, by small winding channels, the moisture is conducted in every direction, and let loose upon the terraces, to find its way to the roots of the coffee-trees. The agriculturists of Yemen-though no one has hitherto given them credit for so much conscientiousness and prudence - would appear to be guided both by wisdom and integrity in their dealings with the earth's productions. In spite of the sweetness of the soil, which imparts to the coffeeberries the flavor which renders them unrivaled, a more profuse application of water to the trees would augment their size at the expense of their quality. This is known to the cultivators of coffee in the West-Indies, in Bourbon, Java, and Ceylon, who are restrained by no such considerations of morality, but, with an eye to profit, give the berries all the development which the united force of soil and water can produce, and hence in part, at least, the striking inferiority of all other kinds of coffee to that of Beit-elFakih. We say in part, because there can be no doubt that there is a virtue in the Arabian soil, which, like that of Attica, displays itself in all the fruits of the earth. A date from Yemen or the Hejaz, and still more from the Nejed, is far more delicious than one grown in Egypt, or Morocco, or Fez, though in the European markets, where more regard is had to size than flavor, the Barbary dates are preferred. Extremely slight causes will increase or destroy the delicacy of coffee. In nearly all parts of Europe, it has long ceased to be that delicious beverage which it once was, through the numerous adulterations effected by trading dishonesty. But some deterioration is occasioned by causes against which it is impossible to guard. Tea, it is well known, in spite of all the precautions taken by merchants, is much injured by passing over the sea, for saline particles penetrate through every covering, set at naught every defense, and to some expense spoil the Chinese luxury. Accordingly, to drink tea at St. Petersburg, whither the article is brought overland, is almost worth a journey to the banks of the Neva. So, again, as to coffee even the short passage from Jiddah to Suez is sufficient to spoil the berries from Beit-el-Fakih, to enjoy which in perfection those only must be used which are brought overland by the Pilgrim Caravan. To drink coffee is then to taste the most fragrant and refreshing | bring you water, and, to soothe your imliquid in the world. Hermitage, Cham- patience while waiting, fill and light your pagne, nay, even imperial Tokay is no- pipe of gebeli, then putting the amber to thing to it. When, after a long ride in your lips, proceed calmly with their culinthe desert, you reach toward evening a ary operations. In some cases, the place clump of palms, kindle a fire, roast and of the dervishes is supplied by the ghapound your coffee to an almost impalpa- wazi, who are more rapid, though not ble powder in a mortar, and then boil it less careful, in their movements. Once, for a few minutes, you may be said, while after having ridden fifty miles in the sun, you sip it, to have reached the summit we arrived dead beat at a caravansary, of all mere material enjoyments. Here which had been taken possession of by you recline, watching the sun descend one single ghawazie. The building was behind the sand-hills, while your camels, immense, lofty as a fortress, with crenelatfolded on all-fours, form a circle around ed battlements and turrets at the coryou; and your attendants, at a little dis- ners. It contained many hundred rooms, tance, sit smoking in groups. Softly the all built of hewn stone, with galleries, air of the desert fans your cheek, and rus- verandahs, and magnificent stair-cases. tles the palm-leaves over your head, while Yet, as we have said, a lone young wothe discovery of the sheik of Beit-el-Fakih man was its sole occupant. She sat besoothes your whole nervous system, and side the fountain before a lamp, not readbegets delicious visions in your brain. ing, which would probably have been beIn the mountains of Yemen, where cof-yond her power, but meditating on no fee first came into use, innumerable myths are in circulation respecting the means by which its qualities were discovered. Some say that the goats, when they had browsed on the leaves of the young trees, were observed to become more frisky and lively; but this is absurd, because it is not the leaves but the berries that enliven those who taste them. According to another legend, a pious and learned sheik, sitting up all night for the purpose of pursuing his studies and his prayers, happened to possess in his garden a coffee-tree, the berries of which, having been shriveled and dried by the sun, emitted a pleasant and refreshing odor. The idea enter ed his mind that the taste might be still more reviving than the smell, so he plucked and ate of them, and found himself delivered from sleep, as well as inwardly comforted in a very wonderful manner. He then bethought himself, as the berries rather augmented than allayed his thirst, that it might be advantageous to steep them in water, first cold, then tepid, at last boiling hot, by which his discovery was brought to perfection, and he became one of the great unknown benefactors of mankind. The dervishes in some Eastern caravansaries, who give up their nights to devotion, are for that reason extremely useful to travelers, since, at whatever hour you reach the grand resting-place, they are always ready, and, to do them justice, seldom unwilling, to assist you in preparing coffee. From the great fountain in the quadrangle they one knows what. As soon as she perceived us, she came forward, took charge of our baggage, locked the gates of the building, which had till then been left open, and while we lay half-dead on the camel-furniture, got ready the coffee in an extraordinary short space of time, and then brought it, and held it to our lips. It was overland coffee, sweetened with sugar-candy, and frothing with rich buffalo-milk. Never did the fragrant steam appear so reviving; it put our weariness to flight like magic, so that we were soon enabled to ascend the topmost terrace of the building, where, leaning on the parapet, we enjoyed the delicious night-breeze, and beheld in the far distance the watch-fires of the Bedouins. It may possibly be owing to some perversion of taste, but we certainly prefer drinking coffee in a night-halt in the desert to sipping it in the most brilliant drawing-room. Even the terraced roofs of Beit-el-Fakih, spread with soft mats, and surrounded with odoriferous blossoms, are in our estimation less delightful than the quiet sand-hills, far away from human habitations, where, pipe in hand, you recline drowsily beneath the stars, listening to the rustling sound made by the loose particles of sand as they are swept along by the breeze. All men have a taste, more or less developed, for luxury. To many, it will doubtless appear ridiculous that, in the lonely waste, a man should take pleasure in articles which would seem to be fabricated for mere show; yet we plead guilty |