tion to Stromness, that it affords such good entertainment to the captains and skippers of the vessels, that they are loath to go to sea. The Long Hope affords no accommodation whatever, but a small public-house. The want of a dry dock, in the harbour of Stromness, is much felt by vessels entering for the purpose of refitting. Some of those which the gale brought in during or before my stay, were in a leaky and injured state, having been exposed to much rough weather, and needed much more repair than they could well receive in this harbour. The expense of this work might be defrayed by small dues. The harbour of Kirkwall is good, though exposed to north winds. On the same coast, to eastward, are two other havens. To the northward of Pomona, and opening towards the northern sea, is the noble harbour of Calf-Sound: eastward of this lies the long island of Sanda, notorious for wrecks, and in the same line, and the most north-eastern of the Orkneys, is North Ronaldsha, whose coasts are also dangerous. A light-house is erected on it. This, and the light-house on the Pentland Skerries, or Sunken Roads, at the eastern entrance of the Firth, are the only structures of this kind on these islands.

The manufacture of straw bonnets has been introduced with success into Orkney: the long and thin stalk of the rye being found well adapted to the purpose.

The illicit distillation of spirits has been nearly suppressed in these islands by the introduction of legal distilleries, aided by the vigilance of the excise. There are two of these establishments in Stromness; and three in Kirk

wall.

A great improvement has taken place in the religious habits of the people, which were formerly much neglected. Amongst the customs of the Orcadians is that which prevails in other parts of Scotland, of celebrating the national game on Christmas and New-year's day. The fishermen observe the curious practice of turning their boat in the direction of the sun, when they launch it;-avoiding whistling, and the mention of the minister's name, as unlucky omens, and instantly desisting from their intention of fishing, if questioned as to the direction in which they are going; customs originating as much from indolence as from ignorance. The incitement of a spirit of enterprise and exertion among them, by the application of well-directed capital, the incentive to emulation, and the reward of adequate profits, would probably burst these meshes of fear and superstition.

The belief of witchcraft still prevails here, as in other parts of the kingdom. The character of Norna, in the Pirate, was drawn from a living original in Orkney. The old sibyl is indebted, for the fame which she has acquired, to a visit from the great Novelist, when he arrived at Stromness, where she then dwelt. She has since removed her residence to one of the smaller Isles. It has been her custom to sell to the whalers charms of various kinds, as preservatives from the winds, during their arduous voyages. And like those of other prophets in their own country, her pretensions have been always regarded according to the prevailing degree of superstition or scepticism, with more or less of awe or ridicule. She has given, it is said, at various times, indubitable proofs of supernatural power: on one occasion, having discovered that she had just been robbed of some geese by the crew of a brig, she anticipated its exit from the Sound by speedily crossing the hill, and taking up her position on the brow of a beetling cliff, denounced, by all her gods, the ill-fated bark to destruction. The sea instantly opened and swallowed up its victim. On another occasion, she had received some offence from a young fisherman, and predicted that ere a year had passed away his body should lie lifeless on the beach; the prognostication was fully verified. The publication of the Pirate satisfied the natives of Orkney as to the real authorship of the Waverley Novels. It was remarked by those who accompanied Sir Walter Scott, in his excursions in these islands, that the vivid descriptions which the work contains, were confined to those scenes which he visited. In Norway, these Novels have been regularly published in the language of that country, under the name of the real author.

Some traces of the Norse poetry still remain, and are carefully preserved in the Orkneys. Nor has the Muse, which inspired the northern minstrel, entirely forsaken her ancient abode on these islands; but lingers still around their shores, once signalized by warlike achievements, or piratical adventure; and haunts the ruins of ecclesiastical pomp, or baronial splendour, which still attest the feudal

grandeur of their former temporal and spiritual princes. Among inferior specimens of Orcadian minstrelsy, is a poem on the Orkneys, worthy of the land which gave it birth, though somewhat uniform in its style, composed by a gentleman named Malcolm, formerly an officer in the 42nd regiment.

A bag-piper perambulates the streets both of Thurso and Stromness, morning and evening. He passed, as usual, on the 20th, between the hours of six and seven. wind had veered round to the eastward, and the harbour

The

exhibited a scene of busy preparation for sailing, a spectacle which had not been witnessed for some weeks. We got under weigh about nine o'clock; and, assisted by a faint breeze, reached the Sound of Hoy. On turning the point, we perceived twenty-three vessels, one a large three-masted merchantman, the rest brigs, ahead of us, floating, for the wind failed entirely, in regular procession down the central channel of the Sound. The ebb was moving at the rate of six miles in the hour, and produced a heavy sea, by its encounter with the swell of the ocean. The vessels had spread every rag of canvass, studding-sails included, rolling and pitching onward in close succession, head, side, or stern foremost, at the mercy of the rapid tide. Our little cutter was whirled completely round again and again.

Bound for Thurso, on reaching the open sea, we quitted the line of vessels, thirty-four in number, which now extended twelve miles, from the harbour of Stromness in the direction of Cape Wrath; passing under the majestic precipices of the Wart-Hill and Old-Man, on which the waves burst heavily and hoarsely. Another fleet, which had remained wind-bound in the Long Hope, now appeared issuing from the Pentland Firth. No part of the coast of Great Britain is, perhaps, grander than that of Hoy; though, from its uniformity, little picturesque. We lay becalmed under it for several hours, and beheld its red cliffs glow in the brilliant lustre of the setting sun; darkened only in a single spot by the deep shadow caused by the tall column of the Old-Man. About dusk, a fine breeze sprung up, and bore us directly to the coast, a little to the westward of Holbourn-Head, a remarkable headland of Thurso-Bay, and we returned to our former anchorage. CAITHNESS-SHIRE; CASTLE-HILL; BAROGILL CASTLE; JOHNNY GROAT'S HOUSE; DUNCANSBY HEAD; STIRCOCH; CASTLES SINCLAIR AND GIRNEGO.

THE western part of Caithness is extensively and profitably
cultivated. A good system of farming has been introduced
and encouraged by prizes offered by the gentry for
improvement. Passing the residence of Sir John Sinclair,
(whose long life has been devoted to useful and patriotic
exertions in behalf of his country,) I proceeded to Castle-
Hill, at the head of Dunnet Bay, the seat of Mr. Trail.
This gentleman was busily engaged in erecting a pier. A
farm under his own excellent management; a village built
by himself, a model of neatness; and plantations con-
tending, under his fostering care, with the blasts which
sweep this corner of the island, mark the constant and
beneficial residence of an aged, but active landlord: and
the increase of his rents derived from the legitimate source
of augmented produce, has indemnified him for the cost of
Near this remote spot,
the improvement of his estate.
appeared the royal mail-coach, reaching its farthest northe
destination: a spectacle strange to the eye, after roving for
weeks over untravelled regions.

On the northern coast of Caithness is the seat of Lord Caithness, Barogill Castle. He has enlarged it and planted about it, and resides much here. The neighbouring coast of the Pentland Firth is celebrated for the lobster-fishery, and not less for the multiplicity of the currents formed by

its own sinuosities and the Isle of Stroma. Off Cannis Bay, are the formidable breakers called the Merry Men of Mey, so designated, from the perpetual exultation of the dancing waves, which might excite sympathetic glee in the breast of a disciple of Wordsworth,

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company.-Wordsworth. The appellation Men, however, is derived from the corNear this point, the ruption of the word main or sea. mail, which is brought on foot from Wick, is conveyed to Orkney in a boat. It passes three times in the week. when the weather permits;-a boat of thirty-feet keel is used in rough weather.

LONDON: Published by JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, WEST STRAND; and sold by all Booksellers.

VOL. VII.

THE

PRICE ONE PENNY.

UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE TURKS. | imposing a spectacle as was exhibited by the immense

No. I. A TURKISH FESTIVAL.

THE indolence of the Turks is proverbial; with them the fondness for a sedentary life is stronger, perhaps, than with any other people of whom we read. It is difficult to describe the gravity and phlegmatic apathy which constitute the distinguishing features of their character: everything in their manners tends to foster in them, especially in the higher classes, an almost invincible love of ease, and luxurious leisure, The general rule which they seem to lay down for their guidance, is that of never taking the trouble themselves to do anything, which they can possibly get others to do for them; and the precision with which they observe it in some of the minutest trifles of domestic life is amusing. A Turkish gentleman who has once composed his body upon the corner of a sofa, appears to attach a certain notion of grandeur to the keeping of it there, until he rises for good; it would be only something of the gravest importance that could induce him to disturb his position. If he wishes to procure anything that is within a few steps of him, he summons his slaves by clapping his hands, (the Eastern mode of "ringing the bell,") and bids them bring it to him; his feelings of dignity would be hurt by getting up to reach it himself. Of course, this habit of inaction prevails equally with the female sex: a Turkish lady would not think of picking up a fallen handkerchief, so long as she had an attendant to do so for her.

The Turk who is fortunate enough-perhaps we should say unfortunate enough—to possess the means of living without labour, passes his existence in one continued round of listless idleness; his chief occupation is smoking a long pipe, or chibouque, as it is called, and this he pursues unceasingly for hours together, wrapped in happy unconsciousness. At times he stirs out of doors-most probably to pay a visit to some coffee-house, where he may resume his pipe, and drink a cup of coffee;-he walks with becoming dignity, his look is grave, his pace slow, and his carriage haughty,-he looks neither to the right nor to the left, and scarcely deigns to bestow a glance upon any object which crosses his path. "Perhaps," says a modern traveller, "a Merry-Andrew, playing off his buffooneries, catches his eye, he looks, but his spirit smiles not, neither do his lips, -his gravity is immovable, and he waddles onward like a porpoise cast on shore: it is evident that nature intended him not for a pedestrian animal, and that he looks with contempt on his locomotive organs." It is strange, however, that with these habits of life, the Turks are not at all deficient in bodily vigour, and in the capability of enduring fatigue; when called upon to undertake a long journey,-as for instance, on the occasion of being appointed to the government of some distant province, they will ride on horseback for hundreds of leagues without complaining of weariness.

assemblage of people then collected. Upwards of
sixty thousand persons of both sexes, in all the varie-
ties of Eastern costume, were seated on the sloping
sides of a natural amphitheatre; while above, sat the
Sultan, magnificently apparelled, surrounded by his
black and white slaves in glittering attire. Hun-
dreds of horsemen galloped to and fro on the plain
below, hurling the djerid (a short stick) at random;
now assailing the nearest to them, now in pursuit of
the disarmed. The dexterity of the combatants in
avoiding these weapons, is very great; and had it not
been so on the occasion spoken of by Dr. Madden,
he says that many lives must have been lost, and as
it was, he saw one horseman led off with his eye
severely injured, and another crushed under a horse.
These accidents, however, never interfered for a mo-
ment with the sports, which followed in the regular
succession. After the djerid, came the wrestlers,
naked to the waist, and smeared with oil. They
prostrated themselves several times before the Sultan,
performed a number of very clumsy feats, and then
proceeded to exhibit their skill. Their address lay in
seizing one another by the hips; and he who had the
most strength, lifted his adversary off his legs, and
then flinging him to the earth, fell with all his force
upon him. Music relieved the tedium between the
rounds, several of which occurred before any serious
mischief was sustained. At last, one poor fellow was
dreadfully maimed-for life indeed,—and was carried
off the field with great applause. Bear-fighting was
next attempted; but the animal produced was not in
a fighting mood, and the dogs growled at him in.
vain. During all these pastimes, the slaves were
running backwards and forwards from the multitude
to the Sultan, carrying him innumerable petitions
from the former, which he cannot refuse to receive,
and seldom can find leisure to read. "The departure
of the pacific bear," says our authority, “terminated
these brutal sports, and every one, except the friends
of the dead man, and the two wounded, appeared to
go away delighted beyond measure. All the amuse-
ments of this people are of the same cruel character."

Their social recreations are few. "It is difficult," says a writer of the last century, "to give a just account of the manner in which Turks, men or women, spend their time when at home. Some of the former are undoubtedly studious, though most of them seem ever busied about money affairs, and their personal interest. When they are disposed to enjoy some relaxation or amusement among themselves, the diversions are story-telling, quaint jokes, chess, or draughts, and not unfrequently dancers and musicians, who play in the different parts of the town for employment." The Turk himself seldom takes an active share in anything but a game of draughts or chess; and then he never plays but for mere amusement. The practice of gaming is one which this people highly detest; in their eyes there is no being more odious than the gamester who plays for money,

he is worse than a common thief, and his crime is held as one which will be visited with the severest punishment hereafter.

The amusements of this people are adapted to their character, and are of a very limited nature. They have no public games or spectacles,-none of those means of diversion which are to be found amongst The diversions of "story-telling, or quaint jokes," other nations; dramatic representations are quite are not of a very intellectual description; the chief unknown to them. Occasionally, indeed, the Sultan source of delight is a species of low ribaldry, and if regales his subjects with the exhibition of the Djerid, none of the company is sufficiently facetious to enteror Turkish tournament, and some other entertain-tain the rest with the required share, the task is left ments in the open air; and large crowds of the people usually assemble to avail themselves of his bounty. Dr. Madden witnessed one of these displays, which was made in honour of the birth of an imperial infant; and he says that he never before beheld so

to some dependent Greek, Armenian, or Jew. The performer takes his place in the middle of the room, upon his knees, and there tells his story, or repeats his joke; while the grave Turk smokes his pipe in the corner of the sofa, and comes out now and then

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