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been even wounded. After detecting and counteracting an intrigue of the Tatar's, they proceeded under the charge of the Kia's standard-bearer, whom they dismissed at Kian Khoi. The Aga of this place was a 'boisterous ruffian,' and it was with great difficulty that they succeeded in making him tractable. On the 17th of July they reached Merdin, and in comfortable quarters congratulated themselves on having passed through the most dangerous portion of their journey. From the moment of their departure from Trebisond, to their arrival at their present resting-place, they had indeed been in a state of constant anxiety and hazard; and the danger to which they were exposed from their own guards, was scarcely less than that which they risked by travelling in a country overrun by banditti. Little, however, did they anticipate that the worst was yet to come, and that their present ease and enjoyment were but to enhance the misery of the condition into which they were shortly to be cast. On making inquiry respecting the journey to Mosul, they were advised to wait for a caravan, as the road was exposed to the predatory excursions of the Zezidees, the sect before described as paying a species of worship to the devil, and who, it is here said, assemble every year at a deep cavern supposed to communicate with the infernal regions, and to throw into it jewels and pieces of gold, as deprecatory offerings. After visiting the ruins and catacombs of Dara, the travellers reached Nisibin, a village built on the ruins of the ancient Nisibis. Here Mr. Chavasse became most alarmingly ill, having caught a severe cold at Merdin, by exposure to a strong draught of air, immediately after using the warm bath. For several days he had laboured under severe head-achs, and his disorder now increased so rapidly, that he grew delirious; but calomel and a night's rest so far restored him, that he rejected Mr. Kinneir's plan for returning to Merdin until his entire recovery, and expressed his anxiety to proceed. Unhappily for Messrs. K. and C., a considerable number of travellers, merchants and Tatars, had assembled at Nisibin, with the intention of forming a caffila or small caravan; and though the Europeans were anxious to proceed alone, for both greater safety and speed, they were ultimately compelled, by the intrigues of Mahomed Aga, to journey in company with the others. After a few days rest, they quitted Nisibin; but on the very first day's journey, Mr. Chavasse's delirium returned. They halted at a camp of Tye Arabs, whose Sheck at first promised compliance with Mr. K.'s wish for a separate escort, but afterwards suffered himself to be influenced by the dastardly Mahomed Aga, and withdrew his promise, stating to Mr. Kinneir that men were not to be spared for a separate guard, and that there was no alternative but accompanying the caravan to Jezira ul Omar, the

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very place which the Aga of Sert had pointed out as a mere den of banditti. The treacherous Tatar had a double motive for desiring this route; it was at least a hundred miles longer than that by the desert, and was also, as he supposed, much safer; and he thus not only secured his person, but by adding to the length of the journey, also lengthened the period for which he was to receive pay. No intreaty could persuade this villain to alter his conduct, and my friend,' indignantly exclaims Mr. Kinneir, became a sacrifice to the cowardice and treachery of ' a villain.' In addition to his intrigues with the various chiefs, he worked upon the fears of the merchants, until they joined with him in clamouring for the circuit by Jezira; and on one occasion, when Mr. K. was expostulating with the leader of the escort, he came up in the most impudent manner, and told 'the Arab' not to pay any attention to Mr. Kinneir's intreaties.

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Enraged,' says Mr. K. at the ingratitude and insolence of this rascal, I put an end to his harangue by thrusting, with great force, down his throat, a stick which I fortunately had in my hand. I observed the blood gush from his mouth, and recoiling a few paces, he drew his dagger, but at the same time allowed himself to be led quietly away.'

In this agitating situation, compelled to travel in the very heat of the day, with his friend in a state of the greatest debility, but still bearing up against disease with astonishing fortitude, while the ruffian Mahomed was evidently desirous that they might both perish, in the hope that he might share in the plunder of their property, Mr. Kinneir at length reached the justly dreaded Jezira.

A short time before we approached the town, the Arabs and our guard, consisting of twelve Koordish boors, made up, and seizing the reins of my bridle, demanded buck shish in a loud and imperious manner. I told them that I had come this road against my inclination, and therefore I would give them nothing: upon which they put their spears to my breast, and threatened to kill me, but I held their threats at defiance, and persisted in my refusal, telling them they ought to apply to the Tatars and other travellers, at whose request they had accompanied us. They then turned towards them, and, to my infinite satisfaction, extorted an hundred piastres from them.'

At Jezira Mr. Kinneir found his apprehensions verified. It should seem, from the early part of his narrative, that the whole caravan was immediately confined in a room, only eight feet square, without window or opening, and over the hot fumes of a stable; though, as he afterwards speaks of sending for his companions, it is not improbable that the Europeans and Easterns were separately shut up: in either case our readers will readily conceive of Mr. Chavasse's sufferings, though his intellect bad quite failed, and of, the keen sensation, both per

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sonal and sympathetic, which must have agitated Mr. K. In the evening he received a message from the Beg, demanding, on pain of pillage and death, two thousand piastres.

'Satisfied that there was nothing to be done but to pay the money with a good grace, and get out of the clutches of this fiend as soon as possible, I sent for my companions, and submitted to them the resolution of the Beg, who was a robber by profession, and not to be turned from his purpose. I told them I was ready to pay the half, on condition they would subscribe among themselves to make up the remainder, and added that I thought them fortunate in escaping at so cheap a rate. They protested that they had no money, and entreated me to defray the whole expence, promising to repay me on their arrival at Mosul : but aware of the characters of the gentlemen I had to deal with, I refused to listen to their request, and told them to make up their mind, and inform me of their determination in the course, of an hour. They appeared to be in a dreadful alarm, some of them shed tears, whilst others, wringing their hands in despair, cursed the Arabs for having deceived them. Mahomed Aga was so much ashamed of his conduct, and, at the same time, so much alarmed for the saftety of his person, that he did not even venture to open his mouth. The dread of being entirely despoiled of their merchandize, and perhaps massacred, overcame their avarice, and after many heart-breaking sighs, they produced the money, which was paid to the Beg, who seemed satisfied, and sent a message that he wished to see me in the morning. We were permitted to sleep on the top of the caravanserai; and my servant having made some broth and boiled a chicken for Mr. Chavasse, he recovered his reason in some degree, and felt better than he had been for some days before.'

The next day, after an interview with the robber-chief, a gigantic and ferocious looking person, Mr. Kinneir was permitted to proceed. At Zaku, they were kindly received, but permission to remain was refused, and thus Mr. Chavasse was successively deprived of every means of recovery. At the village of Ameer, Aga, the Zabit, made a demand of two hundred piastres, half of which the merchants of the caravan were compelled to pay, cursing their own obstinacy, and declaring that the profits of their merchandize would not defray their expenses 'to Bagdad.' From a Zezidee village, called Namur, where they were not permitted to stop, though in other respects treated with hospitality, they were accompanied by a guard commanded by the chief's brother, who was anxious to know how many families of Zezidees there were in England. At Telischoff, Mr. K. dismissed the Zezidee escort, who demanded no buckshish, but were perfectly satisfied with his voluntary present. At length they reached Mosul; but even here the disastrous fatality which had hung over the journey, continued to pursue them. Mr. K. had reckoned on the medical aid of a Capuchin friar, a man of worth, and possessed of considerable skill in thera

peuties; but he was absent, and the only treatment which Mr. Kinneir had it in his power to adopt, was altogether ineffectual, as Mr. Chavasse's brain was affected, and in the course of five days no amendment took place. Mr. K.'s last resource was in the skill of Dr. Hine, physician to the presidency at Bagdad, and he procured a raft with a pavilion' to be constructed, for the purpose of conveying his friend down the stream of the Tigris to that place. The float was conveniently constructed, and every method was devised to secure a current of fresh air; but it was all in vain nature had been exerted beyond her strength, and her powers of reaction were exhausted. On the 10th of August, Mr. Kinneir thus writes :

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Mr. Chavasse seemed better this evening; he got up and swallowed some bread and wine, and talked sensibly, though despondingly, saying, he felt conscious that his end was approaching, and that he only feared death on account of some relations to whom he was much attached. I endeavoured to comfort him, but he soon afterwards sunk exhausted on his couch, and at midnight breathed his last, without pain and without a struggle. He was a young gentleman of the most amiable and engaging manners, of great natural and cultivated talents; an excellent classical scholar and mathematician, and the inventor of many ingenious instruments for the promotion of science. On the morning of the 11th of August, I paid the last duties to his remains, which I buried in a retired spot on the banks of the Tigris, and the remembrance of his amiable qualities and untimely fate has made an impression on my mind which neither time nor situation can

ever remove.'

On the 13th, Mr. Kinneir entered Bagdad after a journey in which he had displayed the utmost self possession in most trying circumstances, and during which he had sustained privation and suffering with the greatest fortitude. With respect to Mahomed Aga, he was overtaken by justice, and in a way somewhat poetical. During the latter portion of the journey, he had endeavoured, by servile and obsequious behaviour, to efface the recollection of his insolent and treacherous conduct; but on their arrival at Bagdad, Mr. Kinneir got him dismissed with disgrace, and rendered incapable of ever serving the English in 'future.' But his career was short, for on his return to Constantinople, he was killed by a coup de soleil.

The country round Bagdad possesses few attractions, and the Pashalik is nearly confined to the walls of the city. Bassorah, to which Mr. K. subsequently journeyed, has of late years become a considerable mart for horses, on the characters and various breeds of which Mr. Kinneir furnishes some interesting information. We think, however, that he is altogether wrong, as a military reasoner, when he considers velocity of charge as equivalent to weight. In our Indian army the large native

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3 horse is used; Mr. K. prefers the lighter and more enduring Arab. In this he may on some accounts be right; but he forgets that too great velocity is not only injurious to the closeness of a charge, but renders the after formation of cavalry always difficult and almost impracticable. It is altogether absurd to endeavour to enforce his argument by referring to the irregular horse of Nadir Shab.

The noted date plantations in the vicinity of Bassorah, have recently suffered much by inundations in consequence of neglecting to repair the embankments of the Euphrates. The branches and fruit of the date tree are liable to the destructive attacks of a worm, which in some parts of Arabia, is destroyed by a very simple process. The proprietor places near the tree -a nest of black ants, which never fail to discover and devour the depredator. From Bussorah, Mr. Kinneir embarked for Bombay, in the Honourable Company's cruizer the Vestal; but his baggage, stores, and collections, were shipped in a smaller vessel, which was captured by an Arab pirate, occasioning a loss to Mr. K. of nearly 1500l. A few brief but important remarks are inserted in this part of the volume, respecting the impolicy of fostering the naval power of our selfish and dishonourable ally, the Imam of Muscat. Mr. Kinneir reached Bombay on the 13th of October.

We shall not attempt to analyze the chapter on the invasion of India, as without a great sacrifice of space, the subject could not be made intelligible. It would be necessary also to comment somewhat at large on its contents, and which we fear would be but very partially interesting. It may be sufficient to remark, that it would seem that Russia alone could undertake this enterprise with any chance of success, and even that power, we feel persuaded, would fail in carrying an efficient army through all the obstacles which lie in the way of its adFor reasons previously assigned, we shall also pass over at present those parts of the volume which contain geographical illustrations of ancient history.

vance.

The Appendix contains many valuable papers of inscriptions, itineraries, calculations, bearings, and other useful materials.

We are by no means satisfied with the map. The execution is not good; the chart-like outline of the coasts, without shade to relieve them, renders the whole map a scene of confusion, and makes it peculiarly inconvenient when we wish to take in, at a slight and hasty glance, the relativè situation and bearing of any particular region. The errors of orthography are innumerable and without excuse. Not to dwell on a number of minor imperfections which we had noted for animadversion, the map might have been made much more complete and interesting, from the valuable indications afforded by the Journal

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