of the world. Lady Stanhope, although she looked beyond this world, yet could not stand the latter characteristics of it; so in Syria she died, unattended by a single European, to cheer her in the midst of her voluntary isolation. But the reader must pardon this short digression. After visiting Malta, Gibraltar, Greece, Constantiople, &c. and residing some time in the great capital of the Turkish dominions, Lady Hester resolves to winter in Egypt. After various adventures, of which a shipwreck near the island of Rhodes is the most interesting, and in which the lady displays that fortitude so characteristic of Englishwomen, she arrives, with the doctor and two travelling companions, in Alexandria. The reader is probably aware of the historical fact, that in the same year in which Syria was conquered, the conquest of Egypt commenced. (A. D. 638.) the religion of the Prophet, and the bigotry and cruelty of the Arabs, spread about the same time over the plains of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Alexandria upwards of twelve hundred years ago, yielded to the conqueror, Amroo; and the Moslems became the masters of the capital. It would ap pear, from the exertions of the present indefatigable Pasha, Mahommed Ali, that Alexander's fame will not only rest on that of the Ptolemies; and, but for the few quips and cranks in the old gentleman's temper. Egypt might have a fair chance of becoming itself again. But we hope the time is near when Egypt shall even be greater than "itself;" or far greater than it can ever be without Christian subjects and a Christian government. Mahommed Ali, the reader may not know, like Bernadotte of Sweden, rose from the rank of a common soldier. His sitting so long firmly on a throne of his own making, has caused him to be more tolerated, perhaps, than anything else. Men who raise themselves by the force of their own exertions, command a sort of respect. A recent traveller says of the Pasha, comparing his cruelties (which comparison is rather too severe) with these of the wanton Djezzar of Acre: "The extermination of the Mamelukes, the former lords of Egypt, as regards the number killed, is perhaps nothing in comparison with the thousands whose blood cries out from the earth against him, but the manner in which it was affected brands the Pasha as the prince of traitors and murderers.* It is said that the name of Ibrahim, his son, is a word of fear throughout Syria. The invasions of that country have certainly given good cause for this alarm. But, with all their faults, we believe that no eastern rulers, have endeavoured to do so much for the lands they govern, in the shape of improvement, as Mahommed Ali and his warlike son. Ibrahim Pasha, it is to be hoped, has been greatly benefitted by his recent visit to England. Never was political sagacity displayed to a more pleasing extent than when, during the last war in Syria, (the chief subject of Colonel Napier's "Reminiscences,") Mehemet Ali and his illustrious son, granted England her usual privileges in Egypt, in the way of letters, * "Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petrea, &c. By J. L. Stephens, Esq." passengers, and traffic, at a time when England was assisting in wresting Syria from the Viceroy," and transferring it to the sceptre of the Sultan." An excellent London Journal has alluded to this in a very concise sketch of the career of Ibrahim Pasha,-and says truly that the act was "wise as well as magnanimous. To return to Lady Hester, After various adventures in Egypt, the most interesting of which is Lady Hester Stanhope's purchasing, for an extravagant sum, a magnificent Turkish dress-her sabre £20; her saddle £35; waistcoat and pelisse £50, &c.-and making some stay at Damietta—“ a large town on an elbow of the Nile"-the travellers leave Egypt for Syria. The voyage lasted five days; and at length they found themselves anchored close to the Port of Jaffa, the ancient Joppa, so celebrated in holy writ. Lady Hester now fairly in the Holy Land, the departure for Jerusalem was next projected. The Mameluke travelling dress of the travelling "Queen" is described by Dr. M., as very becoming. He says: "She was generally mistaken for some young boy with his mustachios not yet grown; and this assumption of the male dress was a subject of severe criticism among the English who came to the Levant. Strangers, however, would frequently pass her without any notice at all; a strong proof that she felt no awkwardness; in wearing a dress which would otherwise have attracted, general attention. The fairness of her complexion was sometimes mistaken for the effect of paint."-Vol. 1, p. 193. 66 The district in which Jaffa is situated comprehends three other towns of importance to the traveller in Syria-Ramlah, Lydd, and Gaza. These towns are described by Irby and Mangles. Ramlah and Lydd (or Loudd) as the ancient Arimathea and Lydda, and Gaza as the frontier town of the land of Canaan." Ramlah is in the favourite road to Jerusalem. The reader is of course aware that the whole of the ancient land of Canaan is termed Palestine-situated in the south west of Syria;-and that it comprised the countries of Judæa, Samaria, and Galilee. These are generally understood to define the " Holy Land:" but the word "Syria" is now frequently mentioned as including Syria Proper, Palestina, and Phenicia (of which the present chief remnant is Saide or Sidon, the port of Damascus). Dr. M. gives a pleasant description of Jaffa, Ramlah, the trip to Jerusalem, &c. But we have only space to give a curious passage exhibiting, in no small degree, the state of Lady Hester's mind, and the eccentricity of her character: "At some period of her life, when such an event appeared very improbable, Lady Hester Stanhope had been told by Brothers, the fortune-teller, that she was to make the pilgrimage of Jerusalem, to pass seven years in the Desert, to become the queen of the Jews, and to lead forth a chosen people. She now saw the first part of the prophecy verified; and she often openly, but laughingly, avowed that she had so much faith in the prediction as to expect to see its final accomplishment." -Pp. 207-8. 46 The travellers enter Jerusalem-lately so brilliantly described in Tancred"-by the gate of Bethlehem. • “ Illustrated London News,” June, 1846. After their visiting Acre-" the Accho of the old Testament”— and making an excursion to Nazareth and other interesting spotsand meeting Sheikh Ibrahim (Burckhardt), the celebrated traveller* -we shall look for the party about Tyre and Sidon. The ancient city of Tyre-now a village-the once great commercial capital, with which we associate Hiram, the king, the Lebanon cedars, and Solomon's temple-the cedars having been conveyed by sea to Joppa, and from thence removed by land to Jerusalem"-(Irby and ManglesChap. 4. p. 55.)-this former scene of regal splendour comes in view. The distant view of Tyre is well described by Dr. M. He says: "Its peculiar situation on a tongue of land, with the ruins of some towers, which, afar off, have still a picturesque appearance, has much to interest the traveller, exelasive of the sacred and pagan recollections which its name excites. In a climate almost always pure, a tree or a bush seen through the haze of noonday, along a coast in some places presenting nothing but an even strand, becomes an object of attention. Much more beautiful was the sight of the town which now burst upon us; and of the plain, which, bounded by hills at first retreating and again at a distance of several miles bending towards the sea-shore; showed on its varied surface the ripened con the maize, the water-melon fields, and other grains and fruits which the inhabitant of the western world never sees growing.”—Travels, &c., pp. 303-4. In the "Travels" of Irby and Mangles-a pleasing, plain, wellwritten book, valuable for Scriptural reference, and mentioned with approbation by Dr. Keith, in his celebrated work on the Prophecieswe are informed that, "the prophecies of the fall of Tyre in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, seem to be fulfilled in the present appearance of Tsour (Tyre), there being no vestige remaining, but mere rubbish of the ancient city (so called from Tiras the son of Japheth)."-Chop. 4, p. 61. On the journey to Sayda (the ancient Sidon) Lady Hester Stanhope and her party pass through a beautiful piece of country, which draws from Dr. M. a small but pleasant description of the scenery of Palestine :- Palestine presents all the different varieties of plain and mountain, hill and valley, river and lake; and has likewise an exceedingly fine climate. The luxuriance of vegetation is not to be described. Fruits of all sorts, from the banana down to the blackberry, are abundant. The banks of the rivers are clothed naturally with oleander, myrtle, arbitus, and other flowering shrubs.” -Vol. 1, p. 319. Sayda, like Tyre, possesses but few remnants of its ancient magnificence. Keeping Mount Lebanon in sight, the travellers gradually approach Lady Hester's" own land"-the Drûze country. "This territory lies chiefly on Mount Lebanon, and is comprehended between 33° 20′ and 30° 10' north latitude, including a breadth of not more than twenty-five or thirty miles." The Drûze villages lie chiefly to the south and south-west of Damascus." 66 Lady Hester visited, on her way hither, the village of Dhoon (Jûn) In 1811, Burckhardt, under the above name, disguised as a poor Arab, discovered the city of Petra, the Edom of the Prophecies; this excavated city is cited by most travellers as a remarkable fulfilment of the Prophecies. It was visited by Irby and Mangles in 1818; and they conclude their "Travels" by a description of Petra and the Dead Sea. afterwards for many years her residence, "where she also died." At this period (1812) Lady Stanhope paid her first visit to the celebrated Emir Beshyr, at Bledyn, in Mount Lebanon. Different opinions have been entertained by nearly every writer as to the merits of this Drûze chief. Considerable talents, combined with great hypocrisy, appear to form the secret of the success of one who governed a people whose religion has ever been a mystery. Before proceeding to the second volume of the Travels of Lady Hester Stanhope”—and it is not our intention to proceed any further, Dr. M. gives some interesting information regarding tobacco in Syria, the most famous country for it of all Turkey : 66 "Tobacco, when exported to Egypt, is always carried in open boats, for fear of heating. May not this be one of the reasons why the tobacco brought to England resembles so little the same plant when smoked in Syria? Tobacco must be gathered in the decline of the moon, say the Syrian planters."-P. 330. Lady Hester Stanhope, the "beardless youth," has entered Damascus; and, with her entry, the first volume ends. Could Bonaparte behold our Eastern Empire now, what would he think of his speech, forty-eight years ago, uttered before the walls of St. Jean d'Acre ? 66 The fate of the East depends upon yonder petty town. Its conquest will insure the main object of my expedition, and Damascus will be the first fruit of it."* So said Napoleon to Murat. Strange turn of fortune that such boundless and hitherto successful ambition should have eventually been compelled to content itself with the little island of St. Helena. A fortunate thing it is, for millions of human beings, that Napoleon never reached India-the country he had set his whole heart upon-from which he resolved to change the face of the world. How beautifully expressive of the workings and endings of this great military genius are those admirable lines in which Byron sings Napoleon's Farewell to the "Land of his Glory"-his beloved France! "I have warr'd with a world which vanquish'd me only I have coped with the nations which dread me thus lonely, Damascus is a pleasant city; and is dwelt upon at considerable length by Dr. M.; and is also graphically described by that clever child of melancholy, Maria Theresa Asmar, in the "Memoirs of a Babylonian Princess." Irby and Mangles state, that" the Turkish name for Damascus is Shum, or Shem, and the friars of the convent think it was originally founded by Shem, the son of Noah." Demeshk, the word from which we derive Damascus," and the signification of which is unknown to Dr. M., we think, can easily be accounted for. We talk of the " plain of Damascus." Did it never occur to Dr. M. that there was an Arabic word-damasir-signifying + Scott's Life of Napoleon, Chap. 31. level ground?-of this the Turkish word-if such it be-is doubt less a corruption. The triumph of Lady Hester Stanhope in this very ancient and important city, among a people celebrated for their fanaticism, is remarkably striking. It must have been 66 chiefly brought about here, as in every place she visited, by her aris tocratical bearing, and the strange fact of an English lady's having adopted an Eastern male costume of a peculiar magnificence, also by the calm resignation to what ever might befal her which continually lurked about her countenance. On no occasion was she insulted: and, although a crowd constantly assembled at her door at the time she was expected to appear, and awaited her return home, she was always received by an applauding buzz of the populace; and the women, more especially, would call out, "Long life to her! may she live to return to her country!" with many other exclamations in use among them."-Travels, &c., vol. 2, 17. In this manner did the good Damascenes treat Lady Hester: let us now pass on to the "Queen of Tadmor," "who sought the remains of Zenobia's greatness," at Palmyra. After nearly six very long chapters-in which we have some interesting information concerning the Bedouin Arabs—but which, generally speaking, are nearly as dry as the Desert they inhabit-we are highly refreshed by Dr. M.'s excellent description of Lady Hester Stanhope's entry into Palmyra:— "The inhabitants had resolved on welcoming Lady Hester in the best manner they could, and had gone out in a body to meet her. There might be altogether fifty men on foot, who, naked down to the waist, without shoes or stockings, and covered with a sort of antique petticoat, ran by the side of as many horsemen, galloping in all direc tions, with rude kettle-drums beating and colours flying. The tanned skins of the men on foot formed a curious contrast with the cowry shells, or blackamoor's teeth, studded on the two belts which crossed their shoulders, and to which were suspended their powder-flasks and cartouch-boxes. These Palmyrenes carry matchlocks, slung across their backs, and are very skilful in the use of them. They are huntsmen by profession, and they are often engaged in petty warfare with the Bedouins, for the protection of their caravans. For the amusement of Lady Hester and Mr. B., they displayed before them a mock attack and defence of a caravan. Each party, anxious to distinguish itself in the eyes of an English lady, fought with a pretended fury that once or twice might almost have been thought real. The men on foot exhibited on the person of a horseman the mode of stripping for plunder, and no valet de chambre could undress his master more expeditiously. On entering the Valley of the Tombs, Lady Hester's attention was absorbed in viewing the wonders around her, and the combatants desisted. But another sight, prepared by the Palmyrenes, here awaited her. In order to increase the effect which ruins cause on those who enter them for the first time, the guides led us up through the long colonnade, which extends four thousand feet in length from north-west to south-east, in a line with the gate of the temple. This colonnade is terminated by a triumphal arch. The shaft of each pillar, to the right and left, at about the height of six feet from the ground, has a projecting pedestal, called in architecture a console, under several of which is a Greek or Palmyrene inscription; and upon each there once stood a statue, of which at present no vestige remains excepting the marks of the cramp-iron for the feet. What was our surprise to see, as we rode up the avenue, and just as the triumphal arch came in sight, that several beautiful girls (selected, as we afterwards learned, from the age of twelve to sixteen) had been placed on these very pedestals, in the most graceful postures, and with garlands in their hands; their elegant shapes being but slightly concealed by a single loose robe, girded at the waist with a zone, and a white crape veil covering their heads. On each side of the arch other girls, no less lovely, stood by threes, whilst a row of six was ranged across the gate of the arch, with thyrsi in their hands. Whilst Lady Hester advanced, these living statues remained immoveable on their pedestals; but when she had passed |