her of the reality of her adventures. The diamonds and pearls, which she brought from Lucknow, were carried away, unknown to herself, by her Indian friend, who had concealed them with the greatest care until the arrival of her mistress in England. They recalled painful circumstances, but they were also memorials of a successful struggle against cruelty and oppression.

Ellen, while lifting up her heart in fervent thankfulness for present security, was fond of dwelling on the past. As the moonlight slept upon the rustic landscape in front of her window, memory recalled the gorgeous illumination of an eastern night; the garden, which she had contemplated under so many changes of feeling, arose before her in all its stately beauty; fancy would again lend its magic aid, conjuring up the tall dark majesty of the cypresses, the warbling music of the glittering fountain, the golden glories of the babool trees, and the rich wreaths of the corinda, with the fantastic, yet splendid, architecture of the back-ground, turret, cupola, and minaret, shining like silver in the chastened light. This illusion, bright and vivid as the reality, was only chased away by some startling sound, the hooting of an owl, or the harsh croak of the raven, bringing with it the old accustomed haunts, the soft green sward, the scattered elms, and the village church, with its ivy-mantled

tower.

ILLUSTRATION OF XENOPHON.

TO THE EDITOR.

1

SIR: I am surprised that an error, into which all the translators of Xenophon have fallen, has not been pointed out by Persian scholars, especially as the passage proves an identity between the ancient and modern languages of Persia.

In the first book of the Cyropædia, Xenophon introduces Cyrus as distributing the dishes at table amongst his grandfather's servants; upon which Astyages says: Σάκα δὲ, τῷ οινοχόῳ, ὃν ἐγὼ μάλιστα τιμῶ, ουδὲν δίδως. You give nothing to the Sacas, the cup-bearer, whom I very much honour.' And then ensues a dialogue, in which "the Sacas" is frequently named as cupbearer. This term, "Sacas," is by the translators of Xenophon supposed to be a proper name: some rendering it "the Sacian," as if the person had been a Scythian so called; others, Rollin amongst the number,* consider Sacas as the name of the individual himself.

Now, every tyro in Persian knows that, sakee, signifies ‘cup-bearer;' that it is the name of the office. It occurs constantly in Hafez, a class of whose odes is called the Sakee-Nameh.

JOURNAL OF A TOUR FROM INDIA TO EUROPE,

THROUGH EGYPT.

THE establishment of steam-vessels from Bombay to Kossier, in the Red Sea, having obviated the chief difficulty of, and objection to, the route from India to Europe, by way of Egypt, I determined upon proceeding to England by this way, instead of condemning myself to the monotonous tedium of a long voyage round the Cape of Good Hope.

Having had every reason to be satisfied with the result of my expedition, I purpose throwing together, from my note-book, such information as may be. useful to the future traveller, and tend still further to lessen the inconveniences and expense to which he may be exposed. Much novelty cannot be expected upon a subject about which so many have already written, but as, in the course of my travelling, I diverged considerably from the accustomed track and visited part of a country rarely trodden by Europeans, I may perhaps without vanity hope to communicate something new, or at least not unacceptable. Besides, most books of tours are far too general in their remarks to be of any great use to the actual traveller, who stands in need of information as to time, place, and expenses, more than dissertations on the character of the inhabitants and the nature of their government. This defect I shall endeavour to supply, giving him such practical knowledge as may smooth his path and enable him to get over the ground with ease and pleasure. The season of the year should, in the first place, be particularly attended to; few people would choose to be in Egypt during the summer months: any time after the commencement of October, however, will be found agreeable. If the traveller should not wish to make a very long stay in Egypt, or prosecute researches into antiquities, the most favourable time for his arrival is during the month of December. At that period, and until the end of February, no inconvenience is experienced from exposure to the mid-day sun. The time for arriving in Europe, whether he should proceed through Italy, or go direct to England, is also the most propitious. It is certainly one very great advantage of the Egyptian route, that the traveller has the benefit of renovating his shattered constitution by the cold of the Red Sea and Egypt before he arrives in Europe to enjoy the beauties of the succeeding spring. The time occupied in returning to England by this route exceeds, even under the most favourable circumstances, that taken up by the ordinary voyage round the Cape. In most cases, the traveller does not reach England under six months, especially if he proceed from Egypt to Italy, as quarantine is inevitable in all Italian posts. The expense also is greater: but in return the world is seen, and a person has the satisfaction of having some pleasure and profit for his money, instead of laying it out to vegetate like an animal cooped in a winged sea-girt citadel." Besides, most persons during the period of their furlough, if furlough it be upon which the traveller is returning to England, are desirous of visiting the continent. Now all this may be done en route; and thus, on the whole, no more time be expended than if he had gone direct to England and set out to make a tour on the continent afterwards. I think it incumbent to mention this, as many objections have been raised to this route on account of the loss of time and consequent shortness of residence at home. The passage-money from Bombay to Kosseir, by the steamer, is 1,200 rupees: a large sum, considering the shortness of the dis

66

tance.*

* The writer then gives some details of the stores, &c. requisite for the Egyptian journey, which it is superfluous to repeat after those stated in our last No., p. 200.

Having despatched these few preliminaries, I proceed to my personal narrative, and beg to inform my worthy readers that I left Bombay, on board the Company's steamer, early in the month of November, and, after a few days of fair wind and weather, arrived at Mocha, to which place only I had engaged my passage. The temperature, during this short voyage, was delightful, and had manifestly the happiest effects upon such of our passengers as had been long suffering from the tremendous heat of Bombay. Invigorated frames, renovated spirits, and hearty appetites, showed the advantage of proceeding at once into a colder climate. It was gratifying to behold, in so short a time, the change from the cadaverous, Calcutta-looking complexion (as the most worthy and witty Tiger has it) to the ruddy glow of health. The first appearance of Mocha is most prepossessing: the houses are all white, and seem as if built of stone. An air of cleanliness and neatness, not common in oriental towns, pervades it, and holds out inducements to the traveller to hasten on shore. This, however, is no such easy matter, as half a gale of wind blows almost always at this place, and renders landing dangerous. The morning is the only time a person can land without danger of a good ducking; and it very frequently happens that the communication between the ships and the town is cut off for several days together.

On landing, my expectations were woefully disappointed. The handsome stone houses turned out to be whitewashed mud, and the shady groves proved no more than a few miserable palm-trees. The town abounded with filth and pariah dogs, and the inhabitants were squalid, diseased, and insolent. Nor were my hopes alone damped, for I was completely drenched on landing, and then had to walk about a mile through the heavy sand to the fort. Upon reaching the principal gate, three guns were fired as a salute, which, in a measure, reassured me, as I immediately looked upon myself as a greater man than before, and added a cubit to my stature. I gave myself up to the guidance of some people, who came out to meet me, and was forthwith conducted to the presence of the governor, or doulah. After groping about some narrow passages, I was pushed up a dirty staircase, and ushered into a small low room, at the extremity of which sat his excellency smoking. An ugly, stupid looking, jet black Abyssinian eunuch, with eyes half-shut and lips of vast expanse, then held the important office of chief of Mocha. He had but lately arrived there, having been sent down to replace his predecessor, who had gone up to Senna to lose his head, himself ere long to follow in the same path! Round the room were hung various warlike weapons, chains, and instruments of punishment. He was attended by a dirty set of fellows, armed with pistols and swords. After making my salaam, I was invited to sit down by his side, and was served with coffee and a pipe, both the most detestable of their kind I ever had in an eastern country. I found the creature of a most imperturbable stupidity: I could get nothing out of him. To every question I asked, the only answer was tyeh, tyeh, 'good, good;' and then, on his part, an inquiry as to the state of my health. He asked me at least a dozen times how I was, I as often replying that I was quite well, and hoped he was the same. But not a whit of information could I drain from him; nor did he seem to regard in the least the explanation of my object in visiting Mocha and the interior of the country. I was obliged to give him up as a bad job, and take my leave, reserving for another time my application to go up the country to Senna. I established myself with my servant in the caravansery, which I took good care to see well cleaned out first, and found myself not uncomfortably lodged. Here the doulah sent me a very welcome present of fowls, fruit, vegetables, and

coffee, which at once convinced me he was not so stupid a fellow as I had thought him. Having arranged for that most indispensable of things, the dinner, I strolled out to view the place and astonish the natives. How egregiously had I mistaken the town when I saw it from the roads! It and its inhabitants are worthy of each other. Situated in a desert, without a blade of vegetation except a few palm-trees, and with nothing but brackish water to drink, what at first appeared to me so pretty, now seemed the most miserable of towns. The market is ill-supplied with bad vegetables and lean fowls; and the better sort of the population send several miles into the interior for their daily supply of water. The people are in the most abject state of wretchedness, and are marvellously afflicted with cutaneous disorders. Diseases of the eye seem nearly universal among the lower class. This, no doubt, arises, in a great degree, from the sand of the desert: but want of water and insufficient or unwholesome food must, I conceive, greatly contribute to them. Their miserable plight, however, does not render them abject, if I may judge from my own experience; for I never met with a more insolent race of creatures. In my wanderings beyond the walls of the town, I was so insulted by men and dogs, that I was glad to make the best of my way back to my quarters. In the town itself there is nothing whatever worthy of notice, in the way of public buildings. The staple trade of the place, as is well known, is coffee and gums, both of which are brought a long distance from the interior. But it is a curious fact, that in no place in the East shall a traveller drink such bad coffee as at Mocha, a town so celebrated for the best. The people here drink the husk of the coffee roasted, and not the berry itself; and poor beverage indeed it is. The trade in it, however, is large, and the arrival of a fresh caravan from the interior, or the touching of a ship to take in cargo, creates a great bustle in the town, and gives almost the only signs of life to be witnessed in this habitation of dreariness and misery. By far the greater part of the Mocha coffee finds its way into Egypt and Turkey, a considerable quantity into Persia, some to Bombay, and a very little indeed into England or any of the western countries of Europe. As to the stuff sold in London under the denomination of Mocha coffee, people may judge of its genuineness when I inform them that it is offered for sale at little more than the prime cost of the coffee at Mocha; thus putting aside all duties, freight, profit, and an infinity of other expenses. Good Mocha coffee, like Constantia wine, fine teas, and some other productions, must always be dear, because the supply is limited. Mocha carries on a considerable trade with the other parts of the Red Sea in grain, gums, drugs, and fruits, by means of native vessels called dhows. These are constructed very narrow at the bow, and broad in the stern, and rigged with two immense latteen sails. Some of them are very large, running to 500 and 600 tons burden. They never venture very far out to sea, and they come to an anchor every night in-shore. A passage in one of them may be conceived, therefore, a rather tedious affair. The pilgrims to Mecca, from various parts of India and from the shores of the Red Sea, sail in these vessels. To Europeans, the filth and habits of these religious knights-errant are disgusting in the extreme, and cause more disquietude than the unseaworthiness of the craft and the tediousness of the voyage. To a person desirous, however, of visiting the different places on the borders of the Red Sea, they offer the only means of conveyance, as European ships seldom if ever navigate that sea. Of these vessels, the roadstead of Mocha was full during the time I was there, and I afterwards, as shall be seen, took a passage in one of them for Judda.

Asiat. Jour. N.S.VOL. 14. No. 55.

2 L

From the description I have given, it may easily be supposed that I was soon tired of Mocha. I found no society, and little amusement. My sole occupation, during the few days I remained there, was sauntering through the market, and inquiring the prices of articles I had no intention of buying, watching the arrival and departure of dhows, and sipping bad coffee. I therefore sent my servant to urge on my application to the governor for leave to proceed to Senna the first opportunity. Having obtained from him assurances of a safe conduct, and an order for any assistance of which I might stand in need, I waited upon him to return thanks and take leave. I found him, as before, imperturbably stupid, despite his presents and his assurances of protection; so I made him an offering of some Europe gunpowder and a pair of pocket pistols, and bade God bless him. The following morning I started, with my servant and a small party of Arab merchants, for Senna.

I purchased a mule for myself, and my servant hired a camel of one of the merchants with whom we travelled. I engaged two more camels for the transport of my small tent, bed, and the few necessaries I took with me, determined, as much as possible, to fare as the others did.

During the first day's march, the country was desert and uninteresting, but gradually improved as we proceeded farther inward. The road is very bad all the way, so much so, that I was often obliged to dismount and perform a great part of the day's journey on foot. The whole of the country between Mocha and Senna is very hilly and irregular. Between the disjointed hills lie fertile and agreeable vallies, in which the coffee and gum trees grow. Cornelian and other precious stones are also found in these mountains; some specimens of which were brought to me at places where we stopped. We set off early every morning, and halted at night-fall, either at a caravansery or at some convenient place where I could pitch my tent. During the day, we stopped to eat and refresh for about an hour. Barring the fatigue and some small privation, I found the journey by no means unpleasant. The people with me were kind and obliging, and we had no want of all necessary provisions. This part of the country is inhabited by Bedouins, who, however, are not a wandering tribe, but live in the hill-forts scattered over these mountains, and resembling the droogs of the ceded districts of India. Some of them are very strong; they have but one winding road up to them, and are proof against any force the Imam (the title of the king of Senna) can bring against them. He has repeatedly sent out his troops to attack these tribes, who do him a great injury by intercepting his caravans; but, on their approach, the Bedouins retire from the vallies to the hill-forts and laugh them to scorn. They are constantly employed in predatory excursions: their arms are a broad-sword and a small round shield of about a foot in diameter. They do not carry a matchlock. Their dress is a cloth wrapped round the loins, reaching to the knees, and a short cloak over one shoulder. Altogether, their appearance puts one strongly in mind of the Highlanders. They are meagre and squalid in their form, and not fine men, like the Arabs in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf; though, at the same time, superior to the wretched beings seen at Mocha. They consist of numerous independent tribes, each under the command of a sheik or elder, to whose will they yield implicit obedience. Feuds are frequent between the different tribes; and when a man belonging to one tribe has been killed by one of another-or, as they term it, blood is between them,-they sometimes continue to wage war against each other until one be extinct. This is, however, rare, and is only resorted to on very particular occasions. They are generally unwilling to commence such a war of extermination, and prefer settling their