much alarmed the Sultan, and caused him to fall sick and take to his bed. He began, for the first time in his life, to pray at the regular hour ordered by the law; he ceased to swear, talked much of Paradise, and of the superiority of the other world to this. Mr. Ritchie was at this time very weak, and began again to be indisposed, but he constantly visited Mukni, and at last succeeded in restoring him to health; thus returning by kindness the ill treatment we had received from him. We both went frequently to the Castle, and learnt by degrees that some expressions of Mukni's had come to the ears of the Bashaw, whose emissaries he expected would be sent to strangle him, and take all his wealth. Never was a haughty tyrant so completely humbled by his fears as this man: he sat constantly in a dark room, would receive only one or two visitors, and was nursed by negresses day and night; always speaking in a low voice, and, in his terror, betraying all his secrets.'-p. 164. He determined however to try what bribes and promises would do; and with this view dispatched his principal man of business to Tripoli with presents of civet and other articles, ten fine slave girls for the Bashaw, and handsome negresses for the bey his son, for his brothers, and for the principal people about the court; making at the same time secret preparations for flight, such as getting all his horses shod by night, and all his women employed in grinding corn. For this time, however, his agent succeeded in diverting the storm. The general appearance of the men of Fezzan is plain, and their complexion black; the women are ugly in the extreme; neither sex is remarkable for figure, height, strength, vigour or activity. They have high cheek bones, noses rather prominent, small eyes, wide mouths, and woolly hair, but not so much frizzled as that of the negroes. Captain Lyon represents them as a cheerful people, fond of music and dancing, and civil to each other; at the same time he tells us they are dull and indifferent, and their affections cold and interested; that they have none of that hospitality which so eminently distinguishes the Arab tribes, but on the contrary, that they always shut their doors at meals, in order that the stranger may not partake, as their religion enjoins. This character is at variance with that given by Lucas, whose communications in general are very accurate. After stating that the shreef and the plebeian, the master and the man eat and drink together, Lucas adds, generous and eminently hospitable, the Fezzanner, let his fare be scanty or abundant, is ever desirous that others should partake of his meal; and if twenty people should unexpectedly visit his dwelling, they must all participate as far as it will go.' And this, it appears from Captain Lyon, is still the case with the people of Zuela, who are removed from the immediate influence of Mukni; so that the change of character has been effected by the jealous and and rapacious conduct of this tyrant. Such are the different effects produced on a people, by a legitimate and hereditary government, and the precarious rule of an usurper. The lower classes and the slaves are generally employed in drawing water for household use, and for irrigation; in labouring in the fields and gardens, making mats and baskets, weaving coarse barracans, and working in leather, metal and in wood, which they do with considerable skill, and with very indifferent tools. Most of them can read and write a little, and some of them exercise their invention in composing songs, which the women sing very prettily, while employed in grinding corn, and other household labours. All classes are, as may be supposed, extremely superstitious; and a belief in the evil eye, devils, gholes, genii and spirits, is universal: the general preventive of mischief is the wearing of charms, and the fasting till sunset. As rain and dews are equally unknown, grain and esculent vegetables are raised with great labour, especially in watering the grounds, which are rarely of greater extent than an acre in one spot, and frequently not above fifty or sixty feet square. The chief produce is wheat, barley, Indian corn, two or three species of the dhoura of Egypt, and beans. The principal fruits are dates, grapes, figs and pomegranates; the vegetables, pumpkins of two or three kinds, onions, garlic, radishes, tomatas and capsicum. There is not a river or even a rill in all Fezzan; and the water from the wells and stagnant pools is, universally, more or less salt or bitter. Asses for labour, camels for travelling, sheep and goats for subsistence, are the principal animals of Fezzan: of the latter few are bred in the country; they are brought across the deserts from Benioleed and the neighbourhood of the Syrtes. Almost all their animals are fed on dates; horses and asses eat the fruit; camels, sheep and goats, the stones, the crushing of which is the employment of the women. The revenues of the sultan of Fezzan are derived from slaves, merchandize and dates. For every slave brought into his kingdom he exacts two Spanish dollars; this produces him on an average about 4000 dollars; on the sale of each a dollar and a half, which gives 3000 more. Every 200 date trees pay one dollar; this gives him about 10,000 dollars. Each load of dates sold to the Arabs pays one dollar; the number sold in Mourzouk alone is about 3000 loads. Every camel load of merchandize imported or exported pays a certain number of dollars, according to its value. Besides these, 'Every garden pays a tenth of the corn produced; presents of slaves are frequently made, and fines levied; each town pays a certain sum, which is small, but as the towns are numerous, may be averaged to produce VOL. XXY. NO. XLIX. C produce 4000 dollars. Add to this, his annual excursions for slaves, sometimes bringing 1000 or 1500, of which one-fourth are his, as well as the same proportion of camels. He alone can sell horses; which he buys for five or six dollars, when half starved, from the Arabs, who come to trade and cannot maintain them; and makes a great profit by obtaining slaves in exchange for them. All his people are fed by the public, and he has no money to pay but to the Bashaw, which, until the recent quarrel, was 15,000 dollars per annum. I have enumerated his general income, but there are various other ways in which he extorts money. If a man dies childless, the Sultan inherits great part of his property; and if he thinks it necessary to kill a man, he becomes his entire heir! All his people are on an allowance from him, out of what he takes from others, at about the rate of two Kail, or above two gallons, of corn, and four of dates, per month. His negresses are also allowanced in corn, dates, oil, &c. according to their size and age.'-p. 188. In the government of the province of Fezzan, Mukni is completely absolute; his opinion is the only law, and the infraction or contravention of that opinion is punished with the utmost severity. Capital offences, which are what the sultan is pleased to deem so, are generally punished by strangulation. The military force, besides his own immediate guards, consists chiefly of Arabs, and may on an emergency be extended to 5000 men. The Fezzanners, either from their pusillanimity or the sultan's policy, are never sent on military excursions; but they are made to support those who are. We are told by Horneman, that Fezzan contains one hundred and one towns and villages, of which Mourzouk is the capital. Its latitude is 25° 54 'N., longitude 15° 52 'E. It is surrounded by walls of mud, about fifteen feet in height, having round buttresses, with loop-holes for musketry, rudely constructed. There are seven gates, four of which are built up in order to prevent the people from escaping when required to pay their taxes; and the other three are guarded. The houses are mostly of one story; and those of the poorer classes have no other light than they receive from the doors, which are so low as to require stooping nearly double to enter them. The streets are narrow; but there are many open spaces. The castle, compared with the other buildings, may be called immense, rising to the height of eighty or ninety feet, with battlements on the walls, which at the foundation are fifty or sixty feet in thickness. The rooms are small and mean; the best of them are occupied by the women, of whom the number may be from fifty to sixty, half a dozen of which are considered superior to the rest. They are watched by five eunuchs, who have the privilege of beating them, if necessary, to support their authority. The burying-places are without the walls; but many of the graves are so little below the surface that in a strong wind the sand sand is dispersed, and the bodies exposed; such, however, is the dryness of the air, that no bad smell or putridity ensues. Within the town are sixteen mosques; some of them, however, are very small. The Cadi is the head of the whole, but each has its own imaum; he is supposed also to preside over the judicial department; but in this he is kindly relieved by Mukni! The men dress as in Tripoli; the costume of the ladies Captain Lyon shall describe.. The dress of the women here differs materially from that of the Moorish females, and their appearance and smell are far from being agreeable: they plait their hair in thick bobbins, which hang over their foreheads, nearly as low down as the eyebrows, and are there joined at the bottom, as far round to each side as the temples. 'The hair is so profusely oiled, that it drops down over the face and clothes; this is dried up by sprinkling it with plenty of a preparation made of a plant resembling wild lavender, cloves, and one or two more species, pounded into powder and called Atrïa; it forms a brown, dirty looking paste, and, combined with perspiration and the flying. sand, becomes in a few days far from savoury in appearance or odour. The back hair is less disgusting, as it is plaited into a long tress on each side, and is brought to hang over the shoulders; from these tresses ornaments of silver or coral are suspended. Black wool is frequently worked in with these back locks, to make them appear longer. In the centre of the forehead, an ornament of coral or beads is placed, hanging down to the depth of an inch or two. A woollen handkerchief is fastened on the back of the head; it falls over behind, and is tied by a leather strap under the chin. Each ear is perforated for as many rings as the woman possesses, some wear even six on one side; the largest, which is about five inches in diameter, hanging lowest, supported by a string from the head. Round the neck, a tight flat collar of beads, arranged in fancy patterns, is worn with coral necklaces, and sometimes a broad gold plate immediately in front. A large blue shirt is generally worn, the collar and breast ornamented with needle-work: the women also wear white shirts, and striped silk ones called Shāmi, which are brought from Egypt;-a Jereed and red slippers complete their dress. p. 170, 171. The people of Mourzouk have their booza-houses similar to those of Nubia, at which singing and dancing-women constantly attend; their songs,' Captain Lyon says, are pretty and plaintive, and generally in the Soudan language, which is very musical.' He heard the song mentioned by Horneman; and,' what was singular enough,' he adds, I discovered that it was sung by the same woman who performed it before him at the Castle.' 'Some of these songs abound with poetical images;-for example, a lover will compare his mistress to a young date just ripened; the jetty hue of her skin, to the wing of a raven; her teeth to pearls; her eyes to the sun; and her breath to the attar of roses; her words to C 2 musk: musk; her voice to the erbab; and her kisses to honey, or the sugar brought from Egypt. The Arab songs are also very pretty, and generally in the same style. A young man once took much pains to teach me one; composed, as he said, by a relation of his own. He sang it, as is the Arab custom, in a voice low and monotonous, though far from disagreeable. The hero of the piece is one of the Waled Suliman; he is riding to see a girl whom he admires, but who belongs to another tribe.-As nearly as I can recollect, the words ran thus: "Here I am, well mounted, on a horse whose ears are like pens, who runs like an antelope, and knows none but his master. My new red cap becomes me well; my sword is sharp, my pistols well cleaned, and my belt shines in the sun. As the heart of a pigeon beats when she finds she is robbed of her young, so will my love's heart beat when she sees me. She will not allow the dog to bark, and she will leave the tent as if in search of wood. Should her kinsmen see her with me, she shall not fall under their displeasure. I will lift her on my horse, and fly with her; for my steed has ears like pens, he runs like an antelope, and knows none but his master. My new tagaïa becomes me well; my sword is sharp, my pistols clean, and my belt shines in the sun."-p. 173, 174. Of this song we have been favoured with the following beautiful versification, we need scarcely say by whom. SONG. "Behold me," sung Hassan the fearless and free, From specimens of rock collected by Captain Lyon in various parts of his journey, Professor Buckland has been able to determine the geological structure of Tripoli and Fezzan; all of which may be referred to the three formations, 1. Basalt; 2. Tertiary limestone, |