ecution of several periodical works which have iffued from the Perth Prefs, were by no means inferior to their cotemporaries, and if local attachments are fo general in every thing else, why despise a work, intrinfically useful, becaufe it comes not from London. I remember, during the publication of the Caledonian Magazines, to have heard the com pilation ridiculed, and among other inftances of its trifling puerility an Effay on the Fisheries of Scotland was mention. ed; on enquiry I found, that this very Effay had been communicated by the celebrated Knox, and was afterwards reecived in a London Magazine with great approbation.... If prejudices then, are to decide the fate of your work, let me endeavour to lay in the scale against this partiality for exotics, a prejudice which is no lefs general, and is moft ufeful, and congenial to the human mind; that principle which Ovid fo beautifully delineates in the quotation I have chofen from him. : The Ancients were never afhamed of avowing their partiality for their own. The wife Ulyffes preferred his own Ithaca, barren as it was, to Calypfo's far-famed ifle; and he was applauded for the virtuous predilection. Atticus writes to Tully, that he preferred the Toga of domestic manufacture, to the fine spun produce of Athens. Nay, that breaft is devoid of one of the moft pleafing feelings which we are capable of enjoying, which does not acknowledge this fource of genuine patriotifm. Periodical publications of this kind, may become exceedingly ufeful; and I know no place where a literary jpur (pardon the expreffion) is more wanted, than in Perth. The bufle of bufinefs, and the jingling of tavern bells; political debates, and the chit chat of the card table, threaten totally to drown the voice of Learning, and the fong of the Mufes. But whatever may be in this, my end will be attained, if I find my Townfmen led to think of your Magazine, as their own bantling; which will be a thriving or a fickly child, as they nurse it well. A SPECIMEN OF TURKISH JUSTICE, OR, RATHER OF THAT OF THE MAMELUCKS IN EGYPT. From Antes's Obfervations on Egypt, just published. DURING my refidence at Grand Cairo, I lived in rather a close and confined part of the city, not far from the canal which a B 5 which paffes through the whole length of it, and which, from the middle of October to the June following, is very of fenfive, owing to a number of drains from privies which go into it, and the filth thrown in from the adjacent houses. And as my occupation there was chiefly of a fedentary nature, I foon found that frequent exercife in the open air was effentially neceffary for the prefervation of my health; for this purpose I often went into the fields in the neighbourhood of the city but the heat of the climate being very enervating, I perceived, that when I had no object to exercife my activity upon, I was always inclined to fit down under the shade of a tree, by which my aim was fruftrated. In order to remedy this, I fometimes took a fowling piece with me, particularly in the winter and spring seasons, when there was commonly plenty of game, fuch as fnipes, wildducks, and geefe, curlicus, quails, &c. but especially water-fowl, which the inhabitants of every denomination are at liberty to fhoot for their diverfion, the Turks themselves being much too indolent to fatigue themselves with shooting. As the Beys, and other men in power, have commonly a numerous train with them when they go out of town, they may on that account, and from the flatness of the country, be perceived at a confiderable diftance. Whenever, there, fore, I obferved any of them, I generally avoided coming too near them, knowing how ready they are to find some pretext or other for extorting money, from Europeans efpecially, whom they always fufpect of being rich. In this way I had avoided falling into their fnare for above nine years, when at last it happened on the 15th of November, 1779, that being out on the above-mentioned diverfion, in company with the fecretary to the Venetian conful, we were juft amufing ourselves with fhooting fnipes on the road fide while returning home: it wanted a full half-hour to fun fet when we came near the city gate. Here we were obferved by some Mamelucks belonging to one Ofman Bey, who, with his train, had been near us, though hid from our fight by fome hills compofed of rubbish, of which there are many lying all round Cairo, fome of them fo high as to overlook almoft the whole city. Two of these Mamelucks came on full gallop toward us, with drawn fwords in their hands, and followed by fome footmen. They immediately stripped * * There is a certain fum of money allowed by the Sultan for carrying this rubbish, arifing from old houses that have been pulled down, to the fea; but the Beys find it more for their intereft to put the money into their own coffers, and to carry the rubbish no farther than is abfolutely neceffary. fripped us of our fur-coats, fhawls, and whatever elfe of any value we had about us, demanding one hundred machbul or Turkish Schechines, each in value about seven shillings and fix-pence, threatening to bring us before their mafter, unless we gave them the money immediately, and then we fhould fee what would become of us. I told them we had no fuch fum about us, and taking out my purse, offered it them. They at first received it, but finding that it contained only about twenty five fhillings in fmall filver pieces, they threw it back with disdain, crying, dahkab, i. e. gold. Knowing that I muft expect nothing but ill treatment, I told them that I had no gold with me, but if they would come with me to my houfe I would give them fome. At this they only curfed and fwore, not being at liberty to leav. their mafter. Meanwhile ten more of these disagreeable guests joined them on horfeback, and repeated the fame demand of gold, enforced with the fame threat of being brought before the Bey if I refused to comply with it. I again answered as before, that I had none about me, but that I would give them fome if they would go with me to my house. At last the leading man among them faid to me, (for the poor Venetian could not speak one word of Arabic) go you home and fetch your gold; but we will keep your companion here, and if you do not foon return we will cut off his head. When I faw the poor man crying, and trembling all over, I could not think of leaving him in the hands of thefe tigers, and efcaping myfelf: I therefore told him he might go and fetch the money, and I would stay with them. He had fcarce advanced a few fteps, when the fervants fell upon him, and ftripped him of the few remains of cloathing he had left, fo that he was obliged to go naked into the town. By this time the fun had fet, and it began to grow dufk; and as the Mamelucks durft not stay away from their mafter till my companion fhould return, one of them rode up to the Bey, and told him they had seized an European, from whom something might be got. He foon returned with an order that I fhould be brought before the Bey; fo taking me between their horfes, they dragged me to the place where he was fitting, with his train about him. When I came near him, I addreffed him with the words "I am under your protection;" which phrafe, if they are not maliciously inclined, they anfwer with "You are welcome." But instead of answering at all, he ftared furiously at me, and then faid, "Who are you?" I answered, an Englishman. 2. What are you doing here in the night? You must be a thief! Yes, yes, probably the one who did fuch fuch and fuch a thing the other day. To this I replied: I was entering the town-gate, half an hour before fun-fet, when I was taken by your Mamelucks and detained till now, when indeed it is dark, but ftill not an hour after sun set, the time for fhutting the gates. Without faying any thing farther, he pointed to one of his officers, and ordered him to take me to the caftle, a building at fome diftance out of town, at a place where moft of the Beys have houfes. It is an extensive sandy plain, where they exercise their Mamelucks. Every month one of the Beys in rotation takes his station here, in order to guard the town again?t wandering Arabs ia the night. This time it was the turn of the above-mentioned O'm in Bey, to ferve this office. Having given the the order of my removal, I wanted to fly a few words more, but was prevented by a horde of fervants, who are always glad to infuit an European. One gave me a kick on this fide, and another on that; one fpat in my face, while another put about my neck a rope made of the filaments of the date tree, which is much rougher than one made of horfe hair. A fellow in rags was ordered to drag me along, and another on horfeback, armed with fwords and pistols to guard me. As we proceeded towards the place, there was a gentle flope, with a large garden, furrounded with a mud wall on the left. As the gardens heré conlift moftly of irregular plantations of orange, lemon, and other prickly trees, though which no horfes can pafs, it occurred to me that I might cut the rope by which I was held, and make my efcape over the wall, the place being well known to me; but when I looked for my knife, I found it was gone. Soon after the fellow who dragged me faid to mie, give the guard money and he will let you go. The word money operated like an electrical fhock. The guard came galloping up to me, and afked me whether I had any money left; I told him I would give him what I had if he would let me go. Accordingly I gave him the purfe, which the Mamelucks had refufed. Having looked at it, he put it into his pocket without faying a word, dragging me on till we came to the place. Here I was put into a room half under ground; a large iron chain, with links like a waggon chain, was fattened to my neck with a padlock, and the other end wrapped round a piece of timber. I was much heated with walking, and very thirsty, yet the fervants;, hoping to be rewarded, freely furnished me with water. But no offers could prevail upon them either to let me have pen and ink, or to take a letter for me to my friends in town, to inform them of my fituation; nor indeed could they have gratified gratified me without danger to themfelves. Juft then being, cold, and ftripped of my clothes, I was more afraid of taking cold than any thing elfe. In about half an hour the Bey arrived with all his men, and lighted flambeaus before him; he alighted, went up ftairs into a room, fat down in a corner, and all his people placed themselves in a circle round him. This done, I was fent for, my chain was taken off, and I led up by two fellows. On my way up, I heard the inftrument ufed for the baftinado rattle, and knew from that what I had to expect. Upon entering, I found a fmall neat Perfian carpet spread for me, which was in fact a piece of civility, for the common people, when about to receive the baftinado, are thrown on the ground. The Bey again asked me, who I was? Anfa. An Englishman. 2. What is your bufinefs? Anfw. I live by what God fends (an ufual Arabian phrafe). He then faid, throw him down : when I asked what I had done. How, you dog, anfwered he, dare you afk what you have done? Throw him down. The fervant then threw me down upon my belly, the ufual pofition upon fuch occafions, that when the legs are raised up, the foles of the feet may be horizontal. They then brought a strong ftaff about fix feet long, with a piece of an iron chain fixed to it with both ends: this chain they throw round both feet above the ancles, and then twift them together, and two fellows on each fide, provided with what they call a corbage, hold up the foles of the feet by means of the ftick, and fo wait for their mafter's orders. When they had placed me in this pofition, an officer came and whispered into my ear, do not fuffer yourself to be beaten, give him a thousand dollars and he will let you go. 1 reflected, that fhould I now offer any thing, he would probably fend one of his men with me to receive it; that then I fhould be obliged to open my ftrong cheft, in which I kept not only my own, but a great deal of money belonging to others, which I had in truft, having received it in payment for goods fold for other merchants. The whole of this would in all probability have been taken away at the fame time: and as I could not think of involving others in my misfortunes, I faid, mafifh! that is, no money! upon which he immediately ordered them to begin, which they did, at firft however moderately. But I at once gave my felf up for loft, well knowing that my life only depended upon the caprice of a brute in a human fhape; and having heard and feen fo many examples of unrelenting cruelty, I could not expect to fare better than others had done before me. I had, therefore, nothing left but to caft myself upon the mercy of God, |