verging to its decay. The houses, in general, are built of brick, seldom above two stories high, and with no windows towards the streets, which are extremely narrow, (as in Mahomedan cities in general,) though tolerably clean. There are no public buildings we can enumerate, as remarkable for their architecture, though its vaulted bazars, numerous domes, inlaid with Mosaic of painted tiles, and lofty minarets, certainly present a novel, and, as I must think, a very pleasing appearance to the eye of the traveller. It is divided into several quarters, of which the limits however cannot be exactly described; the Shaik is the principal; the palace and the citadel occupy two others on the eastern shore: the buildings on the western side of the Tigris being inferior in respect to construction, materials, and extent, so as to appear, on the whole, a suburb only to the town.'

Some military remarks are made on the possibility of occupying this district, and on the utility of possessing a tract of land contiguous to the friendly territory of Persia; in concert with the sovereign of which country an orderly police, and a facility of conveyance, might be established, conducive to the easy passage of travellers from the East Indies to Europe. May it be allowed us to hope that, ere long, steam-boats may ply in the Euphrates and the Tigris, and lay open to European curiosity the numberless monuments of early civilization which have adorned their banks in vain ?

The following anecdote may perhaps be judged to illustrate a part of the history of the prophet Daniel:

• Little incidents are often illustrative of the general feeling; and some notion may be formed of the character we have obtained in the East from the following. I was one morning sauntering in front of the Pasha's Seroy, when a fellow accosted me civilly and offered to show me a great wonder. A bunch of keys was produced, and a small wicket opened leading into a dark narrow passage between two walls. In such a place, it was not a very inviting adventure; but having my sabre on I led the way at the desire of my guide; the passage being incapable of admitting two abreast.

We proceeded in the dark about twenty paces, when coming to a sudden turn made visible by a ray of light that burst in from above, I found myself alone in a den with two lions, who were devouring the remains of an animal that had been thrown in. This, said the fellow, is the sight! such a sight, I must confess, as Í could have dispensed with; the animals being loose, of an immense size, and absolutely wallowing in the blood of their victim.

I was not long in effecting my retreat, blessing my stars that they were so well employed; when the door being closed, the fellow with a grin of satisfaction asked me for his buksheesh. A present! said I; you may esteem yourself fortunate if I don't get you punished for your imprudence. What could you have said to Mr. Rich or the Pasha if I had been killed? He was at no loss, however, for a reply. "Sir, (said he, with perfect simplicity,) Í I

had

had really understood an English Faringee was not afraid of any thing." The appeal was irresistible, so I was obliged to comply; assuring him I was only angry because he had not previously desired me to draw my sword, to strike off both their heads in case of necessity!'

In the ninth chapter, Koordistan is described; of which country several Persian travellers have already given accounts. Many French officers were to be met in these parts, who were in general of the school of Bonaparte, and were supposed to have found employment under the Russian government which, instead of seeking to assemble its population in the more productive districts of its territory, seems vaguely bent on expansion in every direction. No policy can be more unfavourable to speedy civilization, to applicable strength, and to permanent refinement, which is always proportioned to the density, and not to the multitude, of the people. The burning of Moscow would have been fortunate for Russia, if the Emperor had been wise enough to transfer his metropolis southward, into some situation accessible for commercial shipping, on one of the great rivers which flow into the Black Sea.-Several engravings illustrate this part of the journey, from sketches made on the spot.

Chapter X. brings the author to Mosul. About a mile from this town, and on the opposite bank of the river, are mounds similar to those of Babylon, which Lieutenant Heude considers as the remains of antient Nineveh. This great city was destroyed by order of Darius Hystaspes in order to crush the rebellion of Sardanapalus, or, as the Jewish Scriptures call him, Nebu Zaradan, who took Jerusalem, and who endeavoured to preserve Nineveh for the descendants of Cyrus. The prophet Nahum has described its overthrow with striking sublimity; and he incidentally observes (c. ii. v. 2.) that both the Jewish kingdoms were already extinct, and the princesses married by the conquering sovereigns. Diodorus Siculus relates that the ashes of the palace were granted to Belesis, a chief priest of the Chaldees, (perhaps the Belteshazzar, or Daniel, of Scripture, sce Daniel, v. 12.; and vi. 1-3.) and that they proved a mine of wealth. In times of such anarchy, however, the search may have been very imperfect; and many golden treasures of Sardanapalus, inscribed with the praise of Cyrus, may yet come to light. The authors of the Universal History have dated this memorable siege eighty-four years too

soon.

Lieutenant Heude thus describes the spot:

Mosul, it is generally believed, stands very nearly opposite the ancient site of the celebrated Nineveh. It is situated on the

western

western bank of the Tigris, about four hundred miles from Bagdad; and is approached by a stone bridge of fifteen arches, but of which five in the centre have fallen in, so that a ferry must be employed in crossing the stream. I will not take upon myself to assert, that those elevations of earth and broken materials which may be observed on the eastern bank, have ever formed a part of the extensive city that is supposed to have occupied this spot. The illustration and proof of this opinion would require more extended lights; it is certain, however, that very extensive mounds of earth, apparently artificial, and very nearly similar to the barrows or tumuli of Babylon, may be distinguished a little above the town. The first about a mile from Mosul, and on the eastern bank of the river, is nearly a mile in circumference. The second, considerably higher, but less extensive, is crowned by a building with a cupola, (said to be the prophet Jonah's tomb, where the Jews go on a pilgrimage,) and is surrounded by a small village that still bears the ancient name of the lost city it is supposed to represent. Further on, the man I had with me asserted, the like inequalities might be traced in the surface of the plain for many miles; and he pointed to a few distant huts on elevated ground higher up the river, as being in the direction of other remains of the same nature with these, which he attributed in part to Nadir Shah.

The learned are, I believe, at a loss to determine the exact ground whereon this city stood; being divided in their opinions between the spot opposite Mosul, distinguished as Jonah's tomb, and the vicinity of the small village on the higher ground we have already noticed. If it be considered, however, that considerable towns built on the banks of a river generally follow its course in the direction of the streets; and if it be recollected also, that Nineveh has always been described as a city of very great magnitude; it will readily appear by no means improbable, that both opinions are equally correct; this great city having once extended full eighteen miles along the banks. mounds of earth, that may be supposed to be the remains of the palaces, walls, and chief buildings of the town, may principally be distinguished above Mosul: on these grounds we might therefore perhaps assert, that Mosul was originally the southern boundary of its extent.'

The

The eleventh and concluding chapter continues the journey from Merdin to Constantinople: but this route is tolerably well known. An enigmatic anecdote is hinted at p. 249., so very obscurely that the allusion can be of no use to the future traveller. The work contains many particulars of Oriental places and manners not hitherto recorded; in general, the writer is more at home among men than among monuments, and has added rather to our knowlege of living nature than of antient remains: but his tour supplies various information, and will gratify a liberal curiosity.

ART.

ART. VIII. Letters of a Prussian Traveller; descriptive of a Tour through Sweden, Prussia, Austria, Hungary, Istria, the Ionian Islands, Egypt, Syria, Cyprus, Rhodes, the Morea, Greece, Calabria, Italy, the Tyrol, the Banks of the Rhine, Hanover, Holstein, Denmark, Westphalia, and Holland. Interspersed with Anecdotes of distinguished Characters, and Illustrations of Political Occurrences. By John Bramsen. 2 Vols. 8vo. pp. 342. and 397. 11. 18. Boards. Colburn.

THE

HE length of Mr. Bramsen's title-page, and the more than respectful tone of his dedication to a noble lord, excited in us somewhat of an unpleasant prepossession as to the merit of his book: but from these notions we were agreeably relieved by an actual perusal, and became satisfied that, had some additional time been taken for describing his very extensive circuit, he would have been allowed to rank among our most entertaining travellers. His peregrinations were performed in company with the eldest son of Sir John Maxwell, and commenced in July, 1813, by the route of Sweden; which was taken not from choice but necessity, in consequence of the occupancy of the north of Germany by the French. The early part of the journey was performed with so much celerity, that we need scarcely notice the passage of the travellers through Gottenburg, Stockholm, and Stralsund; and we should be equally silent as to Berlin, did not the author's reserve with regard to it afford a proof of the sincerity of the assurance in the preface that he has confined himself strictly to what he saw, and has not, in any part of his book, drawn on the fertility of his invention. Berlin, at the time of his visit, (Sept. 1813,) was in a state of daily alarm from the vicinity of the French army: war absorbed the universal attention; pleasure and even society being suspended to afford relief to the wounded, or to form voluntary subscriptions for the campaign. Under these circumstances, Mr. B., though a native of Berlin and therefore competent to delineate the manners of his fellow-citizens, chose to abstain from a theme for which he had not recent and satisfactory materials, and is contented to confine his description to the locality of his metropolis.

Vienna, the next great city visited, was found in a much more tranquil state, and here Mr. B. expatiates at some length on the manners of the higher ranks; particularly of the Prince de Ligne, who, though approaching the age of fourscore, was still one of the chief ornaments of the society of the Austrian capital. From Vienna, Mr. B. and his companion made an excursion into Hungary; after which, holding a southward course by the way of Gratz and Clagenfurth,

they

they reached Trieste, and embarked for Corfu. Postponing their survey of Greece until their homeward journey, they sailed to Egypt, landed at Alexandria, and, notwithstanding the danger of the plague, visited Cairo and Damietta: repairing from the latter to Jaffa on their way to Jerusalem.

From Jaffa the travellers proceeded to the neighbouring town of Rama, which was formerly considerable, but is now falling fast to decay: here they were nearly thirty miles distant from Jerusalem; and they performed the journey chiefly by night, that they might avoid the heat of the sun and also be less exposed to wandering Arabs. The country is very mountainous, and the roads are bad. They travelled on mules, which, though accustomed to the path, were frequently unable to keep a secure footing. In the morning, the heat became oppressive; and, as they could not obtain either shade on the road or a breath of air in the atmosphere, they were forcibly reminded of the lively impression that must have been produced on the Jews by the frequent allusions to fountains and streams in the Sacred Writings.

We could catch no glimpse of Jerusalem till our guide told us we were only a quarter of a mile from it: our expectation was raised to the highest pitch. So many grand and interesting recollections, so many tender and affecting associations, are connected with the name of Jerusalem, that we looked eagerly at every turning of the road to catch the first glimpse of its turrets. It was on the 14th of August, 1814, at three-quarters past ten, that we had the happiness of first beholding the walls of the sacred city. The first glance at this much desired object of our pilgrimage acted as an electrical shock upon us all; we forgot our fatigues, and hastened forward with new alacrity.

At a short distance from the gate called the gate of Jaffa, we passed several ruins of magnificent buildings, which forcibly attested the truth of that solemn denunciation, that "not one stone should be left upon another."

Early the next morning we repaired to the terrace of the convent of St. Salvador, from whence we had a fine view of Jerusalem and its environs. Below us lay the church of the Holy Sepulchre, and at the south-eastern extremity of the farther walls towered the dome of the Temple of Solomon, with all its display of Saracenic pomp. The various stations of the Redeemer's passion were carefully pointed out to our notice; nor were the house of Pilate and the spot where our Saviour was presented to the people with the "Ecce homo," forgotten. The magnificent assemblage of domes, palaces, churches, and monasteries which this ancient town presented to the view, were bounded by the bold declivities and towering heights of the Mount of Olives to the east, and the aspiring summits of Mount Sion to the south: between these the eye occasioally caught a glimpse of the sparkling streams of the brook

of