"charged itself into the sea, and which had been "taken no notice of by us before, as it was so "shallow that the Indians were obliged to take 66 every thing out of their canoes, and carry them over land. We rowed up the river four or five 66 66 66 leagues, and then took into a branch of it that ran first to the eastward, and then to the north"ward: here it became much narrower, and the "stream excessively rapid, so that we gained but "little way, though we wrought very hard. At night we landed upon its banks, and had a most "uncomfortable lodging, it being a perfect swamp, "and we had nothing to cover us, though it rained excessively. The Indians were little better off "than we, as there was no wood here to make "their wigwams; so that all they could do was to prop up the bark, which they carry in the bottom "of their canoes, and shelter themselves as well "as they could to the leeward of it. Knowing "the difficulties they had to encounter here, they "had provided themselves with some seal; but 66 we had not a morsel to eat, after the heavy fa 66 tigues of the day, excepting a sort of root we saw "the Indians make use of, which was very disa 66 66 66 greeable to the taste. We laboured all next day against the stream, and fared as we had done the day before. The next day brought us to the car rying place. Here was plenty of wood, but no66 thing to be got for sustenance. We passed this night, as we had frequently done, under a tree; “but what we suffered at this time is not easy to "be expressed. I had been three days at the oar "without any kind of nourishment except the "wretched root above mentioned. I had no shirt, "for it had rotted off by bits. All my clothes "consisted of a short grieko (something like a "bear-skin), a piece of red cloth which had once "been a waistcoat, and a ragged pair of trowsers, "without shoes or stockings." NOTE, p. 12. a Briton and a friend. Don Patricio Gedd, a Scotch physician in one of the Spanish settlements, hospitably relieved Byron and his wretched associates, of which the commodore speaks in the warmest terms of gratitude. NOTE, p. 12. Or yield the lyre of Heaven another string. The seven strings of Apollo's harp were the symbolical representation of the seven planets. Herschell, by discovering an eighth, might be said to add another string to the instrument. d The Swedish sage. Linnæus. NOTE, p. 14. Deep from his vaults, the Loxian murmurs flow. Loxias is the name frequently given to Apollo by Greek writers; it is met with more than once in the Chophora of Eschylus. NOTE, p. 15. Unlocks a generous store at thy command, Like Horeb's rocks beneath the prophet's hand. See Exodus, chap. xvii. 3, 5, 6. NOTE, p. 24. Wild Obi flies. Among the negroes of the West Indies, Obi, or Obiah, is the name of a magical power, which is believed by them to affect the object of its malignity with dismal calamities. Such a belief must undoubtedly have been deduced from the superstitious mythology of their kinsmen on the coast of Africa. I have, therefore, personified Obi as the evil spirit of the African, although the history of the African tribes mentions the evil spirits of their religious creed by a different appellation. Mr. Bell of Antermony, in his Travels through Siberia, informs us that the name of the country is universally pronounced Sibir by the Russians. NOTE 1, p. 25. Presaging wrath to Poland-and to man! The history of the partition of Poland, of the massacre in the suburbs of Warsaw, and on the bridge of Prague, the triumphant entry of Suwarrow into the Polish capital, and the insult offered to human nature, by the blasphemous thanks offered up to Heaven, for victories obtained over men fighting in the sacred cause of liberty, by murderers and oppressors, are events generally known. NOTE, p. 34. The shrill horn blew. The negroes in the West Indies are summoned to their morning work by a shell or horn. NOTE, p. 35. How long was Timour's iron sceptre sway'd? To elucidate this passage, I shall subjoin a quotation from the preface to Letters from a Hindoo Rajah, a work of elegance and celebrity. "The impostor of Mecca had established, as one "of the principles of his doctrine, the merit of "extending it either by persuasion, or the sword, "to all parts of the earth. How steadily this in 46 'junction was adhered to by his followers, and "with what success it was pursued, is well known "to all who are in the least conversant in history. "The same overwhelming torrent which had "inundated the greater part of Africa, burst its way into the very heart of Europe, and covering "many kingdoms of Asia, with unbounded desola tion, directed its baneful course to the flourish"ing provinces of Hindostan. Here these fierce "and hardy adventurers, whose only improvement |