The Africans have no aftronomical knowledge; and the little which they pretend to know of geography is falle: they imagine that the earth is an extended plain, beyond which is the fea; or river of falt water; and on the farther fhores of which are fituated two countries called Tobaudo-doo and Jong-fang-doo, ⚫ the land of the white people,' and the land where flaves are fold.' In a chapter on the ftate and fources of flavery in Africa, Mr. Park declines the difcuffion of the queftion how far the fyftem of flavery is promoted by the flave traffic carried on by the nations of Europe, and merely exprefles his belief that, in the prefent unenlightened state of the minds of the Africans, a difcontinuance of the flave-trade would not be attended with fuch beneficial effects as many wife and worthy perfons expect.' On the 19th of April, Mr. Park with Kafra, four flatees, and the caravan of 27 flaves, left Kamalia, and on the 23d they entered the Jallonka wildernefs; which was traversed on foot, and with great expedition, in five days: the diltance across the wilderness is a hundred miles. After having crofled the black river, a principal branch of the Senegal, the caravan arrived on May 3d at Malacotta; where Mr. Park obtained information of a war which had happened between the kings of Foota Torra and of Jaloff. Without experiencing any extraordinary hardships, or remarkable accidents, the caravan, after a journey of 500 miles, on the 4th of June 1797, arrived at Medina, the capital of the king of Woolli's dominions, which Mr. Park had left in December, 1795. He proceeded 3 hence to Pilania, and there met with his friend Dr. Laidley, who received him with great joy and fatisfaction as one rilen from the dead. He had now an opportunity of recom penfing his benefactor Kafra, the kind flave-merchant, who parted from him with great regret. On the 17th of June, Mr. Park took his paffage on board an American fhip which had entered the river Gambia in order to purchase slaves, and in 35 days arrived at Antiga; which port they were obliged to make on account of the leakine1s of the vessel. On the 24th of November Mr. Park took his paffage in the Chesterfield packet, and arri ved in England on the 22d of December, 1797, after an abfence of two years and seven months. The volume concludes with the infertion, entire, of geographical illuftrations and maps by ma Rennell. A portrait of Mr. Park, and feveral other plates are af introduced. Africa: yet what he has difcovered and obferved is not inconfiderable, nor of little value. He has given a full and (we prefume) an accurate account of the government and people of Dar-Fur; and to have failed in doing this would have merited cenfure, fince he had time and opportunity to make his obfervations, and the inhabitants of the country of Dar-Fûr do not exceed two hundred thousand. Of Egypt and Syria, the public poffefs many accounts; yet Mr. Browne's remarks and defcriptions generally produce entertainment, and not unfrequently communicate inftruction. We fhall briefly mark his route, and occafionally give extracts. Mr. B. arrived at Alexandria in 1792, and his firft chapter contains One of a defcription of this city. his primary undertakings was to feek for the ruins of the temple of Jupiter Ammon, in which he In his next was unsuccessful. journey from Alexandria to Rahid, the flightly defcribes the village of Abukir; now elevated and dignified in the confideration of the world by two memorable events; the late deftruction of the fleet of France, and the murderous defeat of fifteen thousand Turks. In the chapter concerning Kahira, the author defcribes the Beys, the Mamluks, the government of Egypt, and the state of politics while he was there. We do not feel ourselves inclined to give any other extract from this chapter, than a remark concerning Mr. Gray's poetical defcription of Egypt Mr. Gray's well-known defcription of Egypt, as immerfed under the influx of the Nile, is exquifitely poetical, but far from juft. In Upper Egypt the river is confined by high banks, which prevent any inundation into the adjacent country. This is also the cafe in Lower Egypt, except at the extremities of the Delta, where the Nile is never more than a few feet below the furface of the ground, and where inundation of courfe takes place. But the country, as may be expected, is without habitations. The fertility of Egypt arifes from human art. The lands near the river are watered by machines; and if they extend to any width, canals have been cut. The foil in general is fo It is rich as to require no manure. a pure black mould, free from. ftones, and of a very tenacious and When left ununctuous nature. cultivated, I have observed fiffures, arifing from the extreme heat, of which a fpear of fix feet could not reach the bottom.' In chap. 6. Mr. Browne thus briefly defcribes the charmer of ferpents: 6 Romeili is an open place, of an irregular form, where feats of The juggling are performed. charmers of ferpents allo feem worthy of remark, their powers appearThe ferpent ing extraordinary. most common at Kahira is of the viper clafs, and undoubtedly poifonIf one of them enter a house, the charmer is fent for, who ufes a certain form of words. I have ous. *Inftead of the words Cairo, Damietta, and Rofetta, the author ufes what he fays are the proper names, Kahira, Damiatt, and Rashid. For an extract from which fee our department of Characters. K k fecn feen three ferpents enticed out of the cabin of a ship, lying near the fhore. The operator handled them, and then put them into a bag. At other times I have feen the ferpents twist round the bodies of these Pfylli in all directions, without having had their fangs extracted or broken, and without doing them any injury.' At Cobbé, a town in Dar-Fur, fituated lat. 14° 11'. long. E. G. 28° g′ the author was detained for a long time, by an order from the fultan Abd-el-rachman-el-rashid; and here he fuffered a dangerous illness, and was robbed by the villainy of his agent who attended him from Kahira. The route of Mr. Browne on his return from Dar-Fùr was through Kahira, and thenee to Damiatt. On the occasion of mentioning this latter place, he relates an anecdote defcriptive of the character of the people under the Mamluk govern ment : A circumftance had recently occurred, tending to paint the character of the people under the Mamluk government. A cafhef, but not of the highest order, under Murad Bey, who had been difgraced a fhort time before, retired to Damiatt to avoid his mafter's anger. He had not long refided there, when, having heard more favourable tidings, he made an inquiry for fome perfon, capable of exchanging for him a fum in Turkif money, for the like in that of Europe current in the country. Accordingly three Jews were found, who promifed to fupply him according to his defire. They went round the city, and borrowed much in addition to what they already poffeffed, and at length carried to the cafhief to the amount of between five and fix thoufand patackes. He was no fooner furnished with the money, than he directed the Jews to be murdered, and his boats being ready, caufed their bodies to be packed in baskets, and put into a fmall boat of his train. He then fet off for Kahira. On arriving at a village a little way up the river, the baskets were difembarked, and he ordered them to be fafely lodged till further directions should be given. It was fome time before the villagers took notice of the packages, or dared to open them in the abfence of the owner. But at length having observed a quan tity of blood near one of them, and entertaining fufpicions, they opened the three, and news was immed ately carried to Damiatt that the three Jews had been found in this condition. Thofe under whole cognizance fach accidents are, made a memorial of the whole affair to Murad Bey. He replied only by loud laughter, faying, "Are ther not three dogs? There is an end of them." At Damiatt, the author embarked for Yaffé, at which place he arrived after a paffage of five days; he vifited Jerufalem, Beruth, Naplola, Nazareth, Acré, * Tyre, Tripoli, Antioch, Aleppo, Damafcus; and from Antioch he proceeded to Conftantinople. At Damalcus, the author faw the entrance of the grand carava from Mecca : 'On the day after my arrival, I was entertained with the entrance We have given under our head of Characters, in this volume, an account of the eelebrated Pasha Jezzar of Acré.. 1 1 f the grand caravan from Mecca. The ftreet was lined for fome miles, For fuch is its length, with innumerable fpectators, all impreffed with curiofity, fome with anxiety to fee their friends and relations, many with reverence for the facred proceffion. Some of the more opuent Hajais, or pilgrims, were carried in litters, (tattarawan), but the greater number in a kind of panniers, two and two, placed on the back of camels. They did not appear much fatigued, though it was faid they had fuffered from the want of water. On the Saturday following, was the entrance of the Pafha of Damafcus, who is commonly the Bmirel-Hadje, or chief of the caravan by office. First appeared three hundred dellis, or cavalry, mounted on Arabian horfes, varioufly armed and clothed, but on the whole forming no mean display. These were fucceeded by fifteen men on dromedaries, with mufquetoons, or large carbines, placed before them, and turning on a swivel, in every direction. This deftructive inftrument of war is faid to have paffed from the Perfians to the Syrians. Some of the great officers of the city followed, well mounted, and de cently attired. Then came part of the Pasha of Tripoli's Janizaries, well clothed and armed; that Pasha himself, with his officers, and the remainder of his guard. Next was the tattarawan belonging to the Pash of Damafcus, another body of four hundred dellis, a company of thirty mufquetoons, a hundred and fifty Albanians, in uniform, and marching two and two, like our troops. Before the latter was borne the standard of the prophet, Senjiak Sherifi, of green filk, with fentences of the korân embroidered More Refpecting all works of the nature of that before us, in order to determine the writer's claim to public regard and gratitude, the fum and novelty of the information communicated are principally to be confidered. We have already faid that Mr. Browne relates many new and important facts: but they might have been told in a narrower compafs, and would have been more useful if more methodically difpofed. The want of arrangement is indeed a material evil; and if the author confeffes this want, Kk 2 he writer, we have to with that, to a mind fraught with knowledge, had been added a better judgement; and that he had formed his ftyle a chafter models. If his language be fometimes nervous, it is feldon pure; when he attempts grandeur, he is only gorgeous; and he is cocife and abrupt, without being inpreffive and energetic. he only fhifts, but does not entirely remove, the cenfure which is to be attached to him. Mental entertainment is an object, we hesitate to fay a fubordinate one, at which books of travels aim; and although we are not able, perhaps, to exhibit paffages which claim the praife of elegance of narration or grandeur of defcription, till we frequently, during the perufal of the book, found our attention engaged and our curiosity gratified. Yet, if mental entertainment was intended, mental difguft must be the fure confequence of feveral parts of the work, which are obnoxious to the feelings and opinions of the generality of readers. Some paffages, a regard to delicacy fhould have expunged; and fome fhould have been fuppreffed from a becoming The Works of Sir William Jona, in refpect for the prejudices of mankind. The pomp of language but imperfectly conceals the obfcenity of ideas; and images of corrupt enjoyment may be feen through the veil of a writer's allufions. Religion, of whatever kind, or denomination, is invaded fometimes by infinuation, and fometimes by direct and open attack. The follower of Mohammed and the difciple of Chrift feem to be alike objectionable to Mr. Browne; and he fpeaks of an infernal hatred which two divinely inspired religions could alone infpire. His ftyle, comprehending under that term images and their figus, is open to great reprehenfion. Yet, after all abatements have been made from the praife of the author, much muft remain to him. As a traveller, he appears to poffefs many excellent qualities; patience, courage, addrefs, vigilance of oblervation, and acuteness of difcernment. Elinating him as a In a word, had he been lefs de firous of fwelling his volume, be might have made greater additions to the flock of knowledge; atd. with a more moderate ambition of faying things fplendidly and forc bly, he might have deferved the praife of having adorned and en forced the dictates of truth. 6 Vols. 4to. 1799. Hined in thefe volumes. have been in the poffeffion of the To the firft volume, the edite has prefixed the difcourfe delivere by lord Teignmouth to the Afals Society, on the death of their ille trious prefident. This volume contains the who of fir William's Difcourfes to 1 Afiatic Society that are publie |