of the tavern, and was in the habit of leaving his window open during the night. Four assassins, soldiers, by the direction of the vanquished colonel, took advantage of this to enter his room and make a cowardly attack upon him whilst sleeping; he awoke bleeding from several wounds, yet undismayed, arose, and with determined heroism seized one of their weapons, and actually, in this exhausted state, beat them out of the room. But this was his last effort; he immediately sank upon the bed, and, from the injuries which he had received, died within an hour. All the inhabitants were much interested in this case, and tried to bring the offenders to justice; but the cowardly policy of the general would not sentence a soldier to death for any crime. Accordingly neither Don P― de Cnor any of the other assassins were punished beyond a short imprisonment and removal to distant posts.'-vol. i. pp. 259, 260, 261.

The demoralization and depravity among all classes were found to be pretty nearly the same in the French settlements, in Madagascar, and at the Seychelles, at the last of which the slave-population is about seven to one, as compared with the free persons. In fact, the laxity of the social code, as to certain subjects, is pretty nearly the same in all the slave colonies, the West India islands, we fear, not excepted.

Captain Owen mentions a curious phenomenon which they witnessed on their return to the Cape of Good Hope.

In the evening of the 6th of April, when off Port Danger, the Barracouta was seen about two miles to leeward: struck with the singularity of her being so soon after us, we at first concluded that it could not be she; but the peculiarity of her rigging and other circumstances, convinced us that we were not mistaken; nay, so distinctly was she seen, that many well-known faces could be observed on deck, looking towards our ship. After keeping thus for some time, we became surprised that she made no effort to join us, but, on the contrary, stood away. But being so near the port to which we were both destined, Captain Owen did not attach much importance to this proceeding, and we accordingly continued our

course.

'At sun-set it was observed that she hove-to, and sent a boat away, apparently for the purpose of picking up a man overboard. During the night we could not perceive any light or other indication of her locality. The next morning we anchored in Simon's Bay, where, for a whole week, we were in anxious expectation of her arrival; but it afterwards appeared that at this very period the Barracouta must have been above three hundred miles from us, and no other vessel of the same class was ever seen about the Cape.'vol. i. pp. 241, 242.

This phantom-ship, according to the writer, had no connexion with the Flying Dutchman, though the crew were probably not so easily satisfied of the contrary. A note tells us, 'such effects may be

produced

produced by refraction;' certainly they may, but not, we must suspect, to the extent here mentioned, where the distant object is looked at on the level surface of the sea, the intervening space amounting to three hundred miles! A very singular instance of this kind is considered, however, as a well-authenticated fact. The old signal-man at the Mauritius has been known to announce the approach of ships, which he would describe accurately, a day or two before their arrival, and long before they could by possibility be seen, on account of the curvature of the earth. This was undoubtedly the result of refraction, in a particular state of the atmosphere, and of looking through it from the lofty summit, out of which the celebrated Peter Botte rises, above Port Louis. His accuracy on one occasion was put to the test, by his having announced the appearance of a ship with four masts: three days after this, a ship actually having four masts arrived; when it appeared she must have been seen by the signal-man upwards of three hundred miles off.

The next and equally miserable settlement of the Portuguese, to the northward of Mozambique, is Quilimane, anciently an Arab colony, the natives of which the followers of Vasco de Gama destroyed, putting to the sword every Mahomedan resident; but as Captain Owen truly says, the sins of the early Portuguese have here been visited upon many generations; the climate, poison, and the dagger are constantly destroying the present race; and, although in possession of the finest country in the world, they are entirely dependent upon other nations, importing all their enjoyments, save the grossest sensuality.' This last species of enjoyment,' exclusively their own, and their wretched state of dependence, have equally, it is plain, their origin in the vile traffic in slaves. From their indolent sensuality they are starving in the midst of plenty, or rather where, with the smallest degree of labour, there could not but be plenty; for neither the soil nor the climate can be mainly to blame where cocoa-nuts, mangoes, oranges, limes, bananas, pine-apples, guavas, and plantains are spontaneously produced; where the ordinary vegetables of Europe-cabbage, lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, pumpkins, cucumbers-are found to flourish; and where the most useful kinds of grain, as rice, millet, maize, and even wheat, can be raised.

In our last Number we had occasion to notice that hitherto unexplained phenomenon called the 'ripples,' so commonly met with in the Indian ocean. At Quilimane one of the squadron had to encounter a tumultuous movement of the sea, fully as inexplicable, known by the name of rollers,'' a wave that moves like a precipitous hill of water, differing in magnitude, in particular situations, from ten to forty feet in height, and overwhelming every thing in its course.' It occurs frequently in a perfect calm; and is generally supposed

supposed to be first put in motion by a distant gale of wind. The short time these rollers continue, frequently not more than fifteen or twenty minutes, is unfavourable to such a supposition; some submarine lifting of the ground would seem to be more probable. The Julia sloop of war, when lying off Tristan d'Acunha, was driven from her anchors in a dead calm by these rollers: she was dashed on the beach with such fury as scarcely to leave a whole piece of her remaining, and her crew, with the exception of thirty men, perished. Captain Owen says,

'During the night the swell became much more considerable, but it was not until the ebb-tide that the waves commenced breaking in heavy rollers, two or three of which fell partially over us; still there was nothing that led us to apprehend danger, until, whilst at breakfast, one of vast magnitude burst with terrific fury on our decks, bearing every thing before it, almost swamping the vessel, and throwing her on her beam-ends. Two men who were on deck in an exposed situation were carried off their legs, and one washed overboard, who would inevitably have been drowned had not the other, by a spirited exertion, thrown him a rope, and succeeded in rescuing him from his perilous situation.'-vol. i. p. 238.

Another of the wretched establishments of a fallen and degraded nation, chiefly occupied as a slave mart, is at the bay of Inhamban, in 24° south latitude. From this place commences the tract of country known by the name of Sofala.

The port of Sofala, its castle, its town, in short every thing relating to it, had excited the strongest interest amongst us; in olden time, it was the Ophir of Solomon, whence his fleets returned laden with "gold, almug trees, and precious stones;" the spot whither the early but venturous Phoenician navigators steered their cumbrous barks, and where, in later years, Albuquerque and the last heroes of the Portuguese race had distinguished themselves.

With all these claims upon the recollection, it was with much curiosity that we looked forward to our arrival at Sofala, and with much disappointment at the total failure of our expectations. Instead of what the fancy pictured, remains of past grandeur and opulence, frowning in decay and falling gradually to dust, we found but a paltry fort and a few miserable mud-huts, the almost deserted abode of poverty and vice.

'But not only here, every place in Africa and India subject to the Portuguese has withered beneath the iron hand of oppression. Lust and avarice are their idols, and never gods had more devoted worshippers.'-vol. i. pp. 318, 319.

Captain Owen is quite sure that Sofala is Solomon's Ophir, because the Arabic name is Zofar, the great similarity of which must be considered a convincing proof.' We have no great opinion of being convinced by such etymological proofs. Doctor

Vincent,

Vincent, who did not rashly make up his mind, came to a very different conclusion, and places Ophir on the coast of Arabia.

At the Bazaruta Islands, the want of water is so severely felt, that the reptile race even suffer from it; a flock of lizards ran over the seamen while at dinner, to get at the water they had taken on shore with them; they absolutely drank of their grog, to the great amusement of our people, who, as they had proved themselves such convivial companions, were desirous of taking them on board for pets.'

On advancing to the northward, the last frontier post of the Portuguese is Ibo, after which comes the first Arab settlement of Quiloa. This was once the most considerable of the Arab possessions on the coast, holding sovereignty over Sofala, Mozambique, and the intervening ports; but now a miserable village, scarcely visited or known, occupies the site of ancient Quiloa; and the wretched Arab hovels of the present day are blended among the ruins of the fallen city. It is really melancholy,' says Captain Owen, to contemplate the devastation that the monopolizing spirit of mankind has produced on the east coast of Africa. Wherever we went, even in the most obscure harbours, we could trace the remains of former wealth and civilization, contrasted strongly with present poverty and barbarism.' From hence the whole line of coast to the northward, with the numerous bays, harbours, towns, and villages, are under the dominion of the Imaum of Muskat. The seat of his government is described as being nearly as wretched as its dependencies, and fatal to almost every Englishman who ventures to fix his abode there. No less than three of the East India Company's residents are said to have died within a few days after their arrival. The wonder vanishes after reading Captain Owen's description of it :

'Muskat must be the filthiest town in the world. It forms an entire bazaar, inhabited by every caste of Indian merchants, who dwell in narrow alleys, partly covered by open mats of palm-leaves, slightly interwoven; these serve to keep out the sun, but admit the rain freely, so that after a shower the whole bazaar is knee-deep in mud; and, as neither the sun nor the wind can find admission, it remains in that state until the moisture is evaporated by the animal heat arising from the numerous passengers constantly in motion, or the mud carried away upon their feet in cumbrous masses.'-vol. i. p. 336.

One of the most valuable of the Imaum's possessions on the coast of Africa, from its abundant produce of sugar and different kinds of grain, is Zanzibar, in 6 S. Between the island and the main are numerous safe and extensive harbours, formed by coral reefs and islands. The neighbouring island of Pemba is equally fertile, and between it and the main are numerous good harbours

and

and safe anchorage. At Melinda, where De Gama was received. with open arms, and which he describes as pleasantly situated on a plain near the sea-shore, surrounded with gardens, and containing houses neatly built of hewn stone, with handsome rooms and painted ceilings,' there can now scarcely be said to be a town at all; and its inland territories are wholly occupied by the Galla tribes, spreading terror and alarm among the Arab dows or small vessels that navigate the coast.

Farther north is Mombas, the most valuable possession of the Imaum upon the whole coast. Perhaps,' says Captain Owen, 'there is not a more perfect harbour in the world than Mombas.' The harbour is very extensive, completely sheltered by the island, and a coral reef on each side. In fact, here are no less than three extensive harbours, capable of holding the largest fleets, and two or three rivers of considerable size fall into them. A detailed account is given of the many advantages the possession of this place would give to Great Britain, not only as a commercial depôt, but as a military station. In our opinion, we have depôts and military stations more than enough already, and feel no desire of increasing them, even though our holding Mombas would be one of the most effectual steps towards the entire civilization of Eastern Africa and the suppression of the slave trade.' In fact, the British flag was at this very moment flying on the fort. The sheik, it seems, sent off a deputation to beg, in his own name and that of the people of Mombas, that they might be authorized to hoist the British flag, and place their town and territory in the hands of his Britannic Majesty. The offer of a country, possessing so many advantages, was irresistible. It is true, it was the legitimate possession of the Imaum of Muskat, with whom the East India Company were in strict friendship; but the people wished it, and as, in modern times, the sovereignty is held to be vested in the people, there could be no impropriety in acceding to their wishes the people of an oriental despot!-but let that pass. The British flag was accordingly displayed, and Lieutenant Reitz appointed governor; but his reign was of short duration; for wishing, naturally enough, to know something of the nature and extent of his new dominions, he set out for the interior in the rainy season, contrary to the advice of his subjects, caught the fever, and followed the fate of his comrades who had perished in the muddy swamps and creeks of Delagoa Bay. We are told that, under his government, many abuses were corrected, and that justice for a short period reigned at Mombas.' Public whipping, imprisonment, fines, and banishment kept these Mombasian people in order; and sentence was executed under Captain Owen's immediate inspection.' We need scarcely add that, the moment these unauthorized