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faults of the lefs powerful. Thus it remains at this day, and none need be afraid to travel this tract who have the inclination, and, at the fame time, the ability, to fubmit to the high pecuniary demands of the tyrant lords of the Defert, whom liberal offers will bribe, in any numbers, to protect that property, which they would otherwife inevitably plunder. These remarks are made introductory to fome very pertinent general obfervations, in regard to the strength and number of the respective tribes of that ancient people under their diftinct claffes, as belonging to the Defert or to the happy Arabia; and thefe, he afferts, will be ever ready with their whole force to oppose fuch intruders upon their country as Bonaparte and his adventurous bands; who, under the fhallow pretence of organizing Asia and Africa according to chimerical fyftems, utterly irre concileable to the rooted prejudices of the inhabitants of either of thofe continents, aim to rend from the Turcoman, and the Arab, the commerce which he has fo long enjoyed on the fhores of Syria and Egypt, and in the ports of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulph. The Ottoman governors, and the felf-conftituted fovereigns of Egypt, the Beys, will long and vigorously contend for the duties and cuftoms which bring them in such vast revenues; and the Bedouin, and other Arabs of the Defert, will rather perith themselves than give up their ancient hereditary right, which the French have fo recently attempted to ufurp, of plundering the caravans.

Leaving our readers to accompany the author in the more known parts of his route, and in those minuter obfervations which rather intereft the traveller than the philofopher, we shall select one or two paffages from his first volume, relative to people and places lefs generally vifited, but defcribed in his journey. The first that appears to deferve this notice, is his account of the ferocious nation of the Montenegrines, inhabitants of a mountain adjoining to Cattara, a town fituated on the Gulf of Venice, and subject to that state.

"The favage nature of the Montenegrines occafions great alarm to the Venetians, who are fo apprehenfive of a furprife from this quarter, hat the public markets are held outfide of the walls. Their little territory is fituated on the confines of Scutari and Albania, from whence they carry on a continual predatory war against the Turks, to whom they are implacable enemies: this enmity is cultivated from the tendereft years; and it is cuftomary for the mother to preferve a rag dipped in the father's blood, provided he had fallen by the hands of the Turks, and which is daily fhown to the children from the first dawn of reason to the years of manhood. Abbé Fortis, in his Travels in Dalmatia, relates the fame circumftance of the Morlachi. He obferves, that as their friendships are ftrong and facred, fo their quarrels are com monly unextinguishable; they pafs from father to fon, and the mothers

fail not to put their children in mind of their duty, to revenge the fa ther if he has the misfortune to be killed, and to fhow them often the bloody fhirt and arms of the dead.' The ideas of barbarians must ever be the fame; but we remember a similar sentiment in more polished and civilifed fociety. Anthony, King of Navarre, when asked by Francis the Second of France into the apartment where he was pofitively told he would be put to death, "If they kill me," faid he to one of his gentlemen, " carry my fhirt all bloody to my wife and fon; they will read in my blood what they ought to do to revenge it.' P. 89.

The horrid enormities of the Mainottes, the defcendants of the ancient Lacedæmonians, who feem to remain faithful to their ancient character for valour, as robbers and pirates, are drawn with a masterly pencil; and there is a curious story, at p. 128, illuftrative of that character, which, though it will make the quotation rather long, we cannot deny our readers the pleasure of perufing, fince it fo ftrikingly pourtrays the features of a race, who are the degenerate remnants of the most renowned of the Grecian ftates.

"The Mainottes poffefs a character different from any people in modern Europe. Of the Greek church, they are alike the enemy of the Chriftians and the Turks. Pirates by fea, robbers by land; oppofed to corfairs of all denominations, they feem to regard themfelves as privileged plunderers on the deep. Reftrained by no laws, human or divine, they are neither juft to themselves, to their neighbours, or their friends. Cuftom, which becomes fecond nature, fanctions, and even the religion of the Mainottes approves the worst of crimes. The dexterity of the Spartans is here refined into fyftem and maturity. In most countries religion is at least a feeble check to irregularities, and has a tendency to guard the property of others in this the Calogers, or monks, from their cells and caves, are the fpies and fentinels to give warning of the approach of veffels. On their appearance they piously turn out to encourage the banditti, and to partake of their plunder. They demand the tenths of the church, and by this means religion becomes a cloak to their infamy and knavery. The vices of the Mainottes are many, their virtues few: Were they deprived of courage, and the independence of their nature, there could no where be met fo defpicable a race. Unworthy to affociate with any nation, they form no alliances, but depend on themfelves, the ftrength of their country, and their own infignificance.

"They are dextrous in handling the oar, and in ufing the fail; their veffels being alike adapted for both purposes. The beft-failing Turkish or Venetian galley's fall very fhort, either of the fkill of their feamen, or the fwiftnefs of their cruizers; and the circumftance of their drawing little water, and being able, when pursued, to run into fhallow creeks, gives them a decided advantage.

"The Brazzo de Maina, as their country is termed, contains about 40,000 fouls-the tops of its mountains are frequently covered with fnow, whilft the bottom affords good pafturage for their numerous herds of cattle and goats their grapes are delicious, and make wine

not

not inferior to that of Lepanthe, esteemed the best in Greece. Game they have in abundance, particularly quails: thefe, when falted, af ford them an agreeable and wholesome food, but the plenty of wild hogs, bears, and deer, is altogether incredible.

46 The finest water in the world is diftilled from their mountains, and running ftreams interfect the country more than any other of the fame extent. What luxury is here for the gratification of fo abandoned a people! It is faid, that the mountain of Tenara yields rock crystal, minerals of various kinds, and even fome precious ftones.-In the midst of this mountain is an extraordinary crater, very wide, and of an immenfe depth. This opening was by the ancient Greeks confecrated to Neptune, and is now fuppofed by the ignorant Mainottes to be the gateway of the Devil, by which he vifits the earth. By the Lacedemonians it was efteemed one of the gates of Hell, in the fame manner as the lake Peneus was fuppofed to be another, and the fource of the Styx. Hercules was reputed to have entered the Fenarean crater, when he conquered and carried off the triple-headed Cerberus, when defending the infernal manfion of his mafter Pluto.

"The Mainottes ftill remain in a confiderable degree independent of the Turks, and are divided into two races:—the inhabitants of the fouthern diftrict are denominated by the Turks Cacovouguis, or "the Rafcals of the Mountain," while thofe who poffefs the low country to the northward, are less savage and ferocious. They maintain a republican government, at the head of which are their Papas or Priests of the higher order, to whom are joined one or two of their moft opulent families. There is no doubt but their entire fubjugation could be easily effected, were it seriously undertaken; but as I have already obferved, they are too infignificant; and betides, they are now bridled with citadels and garrifoned with Janizaries, which makes them cautious of plundering the lurks as they formerly ufed to do.

"In former times, and indeed not much above a century ago, the piracies of the Mainottes were fhocking to humanity. When a Turkish veffel was captured by them, they repaired to Malta and fold the crew when a fimilar misfortune happened to-a Chriftian, the Turks became the purchafers; and it was no uncommon matter for a Mahometan to bargain with a Mainotte to feize and carry into flavery fome particular Chriftian whofe fortune or fituation might excite his envy-fo little fcrupulous were they in this refpect, that the wife or child of their neighbour was equally obnoxious to their arts. So much terror and dread did this unnatural traffic occafion amongit themselves, that when any of their famous corfairs were preparing for fea, the handfome women and children were carefully fecured, left they should be ftolen and fold into other countries. On this fubject a pleafant ftory is related of two famous corfairs of the year 1669 Theodora and Anapliottis, friends and neighbours, connected by fimilarity of profeffion and difpofition, were married to handfome women. It happened, in the division of a Venetian prize, that a quarrel enfued between thefe venders of their fellow creatures-each in his turn vowed revenge. Theodora fucceeded in feizing on the wife of

* Can this termination be right? Rev.

Anapliottis,

Anapliottis, and carried her for fale on board a Maltese cruifer, then at anchor in the road of Maina. The commander of the Maltese refufed to give the price demanded; urged his having on the fame day purchafed a more beautiful woman for a lefs fum: and, to convince him of the truth, he ordered her to be produced. Theodora was aftonished to behold his wife, who in like manner had been carried away by the ftratagem of Anapliottis. The mind of Theodora was enraged, and the idea of extricating his own was, for the moment, loft in the favage gratification and revenge of difpofing of the wife of the other, at the inferior price offered by the purchafer. The bargain being finished, and both wives in the poffeffion of the Maltefe, Theodora repaired to the houfe of Anapliottis-the meeting was of a different nature from what might be expected: he found Anapliottis bufily employed in fitting out a veffel to attack the Maltese, and regain the fair captive. In place of anger and reproach, they prudently agreed to join their forces, and to recover their wives by any means that might beft fuit their purpofe; but the purchafer was too judicious to oppofe, and quietly gave up what with fafety to himself he could not retain. The hufbands returned in triumph to their respective houses; all parties were reconciled; and mutual forgiveness closed this extraordinary transaction." P. 123.

There are other descriptions, as thofe of the city and people of Antioch and Buffora, which deferve attention; and the route through the Great Defert is illuftrated by a coloured chart, which diftinctly exhibits the pofition of celebrated cities, and ancient ruins, in that dreary folitude. A confiderable portion of useful information to travellers, by either of the landroutes to India, may be collected from the fecond volume of thefe Travels; but as there is a great deal of extraneous matter interfperfed throughout it, we fhall forbear going into any detail concerning its contents; and the attempt is rendered unneceffary, by our having recently gone over this ground of enquiry in various preceding Reviews.

ART. III. Gleanings in England, defcriptive of the Countexance, Mind, and Character of the Country. By Mr. Pratt. 8vo. 591 pp. 8s. Longman and Rees. 1799.

R. PRATT continues to merit the character which he has MR. long and defervedly obtained, of a sprightly and agreeable writer, and an intelligent, and often a fagacious obferver, of human life and manners. The prefent volume may be confidered as a continuation of the work noticed in vol. vii, p. 487, of the British Critic. Here, however, the writer confines his

obfer

obfervations to his native country, and a large portion of this publication is given to Norfolk. We are juftified in affirming, that his defeription of places generally, as well as of particular individuals, are juft and faithful. The work is in the form of letters. The first three of thefe are employed to give the reader an idea of the author's object and intentions; for he purposes to continue and extend thefe Gleanings throughout the country.

At p. 57, the writer commences his journey to Lynn, and thence to Hillington, Houghton, Fakenham, Wallingham, Holt, and finally refts at Cromer. He is entertaining throughout, though fometimes flimfy and affected. The following most extraordinary character is perhaps a little tob highly drawn, but not much; and for its fingularity well deferves infertion The gentleman here delineated refides at Walfingham.

"My mind had been filling as well with the ftrange things I had heard from Jacobs, as with the confirming report of others I had encountered on the way, and I literally went forth into the fields at even-tide to meditate." But what did thofe fields prefent, as I wandered about them, without any fettled direction? I followed a ruthless guide-even the exterminating axe! Unexpectedly the fun broke out intenfely hot, and I abfolutely panted for the fhade. I obferved fome cattle in the fame purfuit. A clump of trees would have been a real comfort to man and beaft. Even the patient cows, with their tails twifted, mouths open, and at their full unwieldy run, were hunting over the mead for a green covert; while a bull, labouring with the heat, and tortured by the flies, was tearing up the earth for what none of us could find. I bent my way again towards Walfingham, and took refuge in the first cottage I found at the outskirts of the village. The peafants were at their tea, the rofy children, equally defying the powers of fun or fhade, were laden with their brown-bread fuppera huge, health-looking flice. Perhaps I envied; I certainly bleffed both them and their meal: I bleffed their hut, and, as ufual, was foon a part of the humble houfhold. The parents of the family ratified every former account refpecting the defolation of the woods, and the indifference of the proprietor as to what became of them. The mother of the family allowed, "it was very ftrange the 'Squire fhould fuffer fuch doings," and the father loudly reprobated the wickednefs of those who could take advantage of fuch an eafy gentleman's temper." I muft remark, nevertheless, I have fince heard that both mother and father, and also a married fon, at a place called Snoring, were three of the most active and determined loppers and choppers the poor woodlands had to complain of.

"On leaving the cot, I fell into fome profound ruminations refpecting the vegetable ruins I had been furveying. The very fight of them was to me a ferious affliction. You know, Baron, how much I luxuriate in verdure, and that I may be faid, without any ftrain on the metaphor, to fe feelingly the charms of nature; that my heart rejoices to obferve a flourishing plantation, with as fincere, and perhaps a more

pure

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