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shall ever be made arenas for declamation; they cannot often require oratory, in the true sense of that term; and it would be a vicious taste alone, that would attempt to force studied or elaborate harangues upon such a tribunal. But the simplification of the pleadings, as prescribed by the Bill, must have the effect of permitting the barristers, who frequent the new courts, to retain infinitely more of their classical education, than they can possibly do at present; and the habit of speaking, thus likely to be acquired at an early stage of their profession, must enable them to turn that education to much greater profit, as far as accurate and idiomatic phraseology is concerned, than they have any hope of doing under the pressure of a system, that substitutes a conventional jargon, of which we ought to be ashamed, for a copious, graceful, and energetic tongue, of which any man might be proud.

As to the respectability of the profession, Mr. Raines may soothe his alarm upon that subject. The quarter sessions in the country, which are constantly attended by barristers, are calculated, infinitely more than the new courts can possibly be, to contaminate the character of those who much frequent those tribunals. Nevertheless, no such evil is observable. It is true, that the barristers who attend the sessions either reside in London, or if fixed in a country town, always mingle with the members of their circuit at the assizes. A check is thus established, which necessarily prevents what Mr. Raines fears as the degradation and degeneracy' of any part of the profession; and no one who does not belong to a circuit, can understand all the force, and we may say terror, with which the unwritten but intelligible law of such a body is armed, against an individual, who should be known even to have contemplated the commission of an act, unworthy of the character of an advocate and a gentleman. He would soon receive from their lips, or read in their eyes, a sentence of excommunication, which it would be the labour of Sisyphus for him to attempt to remove. But this same identical check will still remain; though local courts be established, the barristers who practise in them will also attend at the assizes, will also mingle with the other members of their circuit, and be subject to the same salutary despotism, the true law of honour, which has, more than any other cause perhaps, so long contributed to the irreproachable character of the profession.

It is asserted, that the reduction of expence, contemplated by the Bill, will not be so great as its author expects; and, further, that if it be, the consequences will be injurious to the respectability of the great body of solicitors throughout the country. This, undoubtedly, would be an effect greatly to be lamented, if it were likely to happen. It seems a truism, that no profession can be reputable if it be not fairly remunerated. We cannot, however, imagine, that there are many solicitors, certainly not among the higher orders of the profession, who derive their income from the classes of cases which are to be assigned to the new courts. Those

who have much business in the courts of Chancery and common law, would not be very willing, we apprehend, to undertake the trifling causes which are alluded to in the Chancellor's speech; causes in which the expence is so grossly disproportionate to the amount sought to be recovered. It is well known, that causes of this description are generally conducted, both in London and the country, by attornies of the lowest rank- —a set of men, whose extinction, if that were possible, would be a signal benefit to the profession. Their fangs are completely taken out of them by the new Bill, which interposes an impenetrable shield between their insatiable rapacity and the means of the suitor. Under the new system they will be, comparatively speaking, an innoxious tribe. There will still, however, be a very large share of profitable business for those who deserve it; indeed, quite enough to maintain, in a respectable station of society, an adequate number of properly-educated individuals, capable of executing the arduous, and confidential functions, which must always be entrusted to solicitors. We have little doubt, that when the odium attached to the expensiveness of the law is removed from the minds of the people, it will not be difficult for the higher order of attornies to establish for themselves a position in public esteem, second only, if not equal, to that which is enjoyed by the bar itself.

Upon the whole, therefore, the Lord Chancellor's Bill appears to us, if carried into a law, in the main calculated to accomplish the great objects at which it aims, and to produce no material part of the mischief which its opponents apprehend. At all events, the public will require that it shall be subjected to the test of experiment. There can be no danger in giving it a fair trial in the counties of Kent, Northumberland and Durham, for a year or two; it will then be seen, whether the present plan ought to receive any modifications, with the view of rendering it more completely effective. We are much mistaken, if, after undergoing such improvements as experience may point out, it shall not eventually be considered as one of the most valuable reforms of these reforming times, and worthy of the master-spirit from whom it has emanated.

ART. II.-Calmuc Tartary; or, a Journey from Sarepta to several Calmuc Hordes of the Astracan Government; from May 26 to August 21, 1823. By Henry Augustus Zwick. 12mo. pp. 262.

London: Holdsworth and Ball, 1831.

WE have been much pleased with this little volume, which, in a very clear and unpretending style, increases our acquaintance with the hordes that inhabit the vast plains extending northward from the Black Sea and Mount Caucasus, on both sides of the Volga. These hordes are best known under the name of Calmucs,

and belong to the great stock of the Moguls, who occupy the highlands of Middle Asia, lying within the 40th and 50th degrees of latitude between the dominions of Russia and China. Great numbers of the Calmucs accompanied, in the campaigns of 1813 and 1814, the armies of Alexander, whom they acknowledged as the head of at least all those of their tribes that range over the steppes of Astracan.

These steppes, over which the Tartars also wander for pasture, as well as the Calmucs, are among the most desert parts of the Russian empire. It is the opinion of some geologists that they were formerly the bottom of a sea, which, in some convulsion of nature, forced its way into the Mediterranean, through the straits of Marmora; the Caspian, the Euxine, the sea of Asoph, and the lakes in their neighbourhood, having still remained, as being the deepest part of that primitive ocean. This opinion is strengthened by the fact, that pits and salt ponds, and a great quantity of shells are still to be seen upon the surface of the country, and that the soil, which consists almost entirely of yellow clay, without stones, is impregnated with various salts in abundance. There is no mountain upon these steppes, except Bogdo, which is of a majestic height; and although they are sometimes called plains, they seldom exhibit, for any considerable extent, a level surface. They are, for the most part, undulating into hill and vale, and the prospect is consequently limited, generally, to a few miles. Tufts of grass and wormwood form the principal vegetation, and these grow in scattered solitary bunches, the yellow soil being visible between them. The vallies are more fertile, and produce salt herbs, which, however, the camel only can consume. In the spring, the iris and the tulip, and other bulbous-rooted plants, adorn some favoured portions of these deserts, but they are soon withered, in the summer, by the raging beams of the sun, which there is no tree to intercept, and no rain to mitigate. In winter, the cold is equally intolerable, in consequence of the east wind which rushes over the steppes, in an irresistible current, from the ice-covered heights of Mongolia. Something in the nature of the mirage, more properly called a looming, one of the most beautiful delusions of nature, may be occasionally observed in these wild regions. It is caused by the reflection of the rays of the sun from the heated surface of the earth, and by their refraction through the medium of the dew which is drawn from the vegetation. Hence it happens, that objects which are not within the actual range of vision, are pictured in the air, at the edge of the mist, as if reared in a stream of water. The images sink, by degrees, lower and lower as the spectator approaches, till at last the stream vanishes, and the real landscape is seen, at a greater distance, and smaller than it appeared on the mist.

It is in the steppes that the locusts, those destructive armies which lay waste whole provinces, are supposed to have their birth. Serpents, lizards, scorpions, and particularly the scorpion spider,

which is much dreaded, are every where to be met with. Foxes, wolves, and antelopes also abound. Bees never trust themselves to these desolate wilds, and form no part of the wealth of the Calmucs, which consists chiefly of camels, horses, oxen, sheep and goats, auimals calculated to supply almost all their wants. Some of the tribes are supplied with guns, and subsist, in summer, by the chase of antelopes; some feed for a season upon wormwood and other dry herbs. The Calmucs who are within the jurisdiction of the Astracan government, are estimated at about twenty thousand tents, or families. The different tribes, of which they are composed, are generally at war one with another. The imperial authority seldom interferes in their disputes, unless by way of mediation.

Wells of excellent water are found in many parts of the steppes, and are justly supposed to be the work of some ancient pastoral nation. The Calmucs, a lazy race, take no trouble to keep them in order. The dung found near the wells serves the traveller for fuel; by a slight application of heat it burns like turf. It is obtained in greater quantities than one would expect, the wells being the rendezvous of all the animals that inhabit the desert. Many tumuli are seen upon these steppes, belonging to different ages and races, but chiefly, it is supposed, to the Tartars of the ancient Kamschatkan empire. Those on which stone pillars are found, are of still greater antiquity. They were in existence before the time of Ruisbroek, in the year 1260, and were then considered as the graves of a nation which had long past away-most probably of the Huns, who, in the fourth century, swarmed from the borders of China, and, by driving before them the Goths and other Teutonic nations, caused that extensive migration which, in the fifth century, inundated the most fertile regions of Europe.

The tents of the Calmucs are usually pitched in a valley in which good wells are to be found: those of the Princes and Lama (High Priest), and those which serve as temples and as the halls of justice, are distinguished by their cominanding situation, their size, and the whiteness of their covering. Round the temples, and the hut of the Lama, in a semicircle, are the tents of the inferior priests, and these again are enclosed by those of the Prince's ministers and servants. The doors of all the tents open towards the principal temple. Mr. Zwick describes the residence of Prince Erdeni with laudable minuteness.

'Having learnt from the Calmucs that the day of our arrival (the 2nd of June) was marked as fortunate, in their astrological kalendar, we hastened to make our first visit to the Prince the same evening. When we approached the tent a servant came out to meet us, and inquired what we wanted; we desired to be announced as people who had brought letters from the capital to the Prince, upon which we were readily admitted. We drew near to the tent from the right side, according to the Calmuc custom, for it is considered unmannerly to advance directly to the door, or

to approach from the left side. We also took care not to tread on the threshold, an old Mogul ceremonial, which Ruisbroek observed in the camp of Monketummer. We made the usual salutation to the PrinceMende ssun tabe tiniger buis ta? "Are you quite hale and well?" to which he replied, "Munde;" (well ;) after which we were obliged to sit cross-legged upon a carpet, in the Asiatic fashion. The Prince sat in the same position on his cushion, in the interior of the tent, by his wife Dellek; on their left was the little Prince Raschi Sangdschai Dordsche, attended by his nurse. Erdeni is in his forty-second year, of a short squat figure, and good countenance. He is intelligent, good-natured, lively and agreeable. When we entered he was playing on the Domber, or Calmuc guitar. His wife, Dellek, is six and twenty, of a robust figure, and truly Čalmuc face, with prominent cheek bones. The Prince was dressed in a short Calmuc coat of blue cloth, white trowsers, a mottled silk waistcoat, and a thick velvet cap, trimmed with sable, and ornamented with a red tassel and gold loop.

The Princess wore a blue and white dress, over a red silk petticoat, ornamented with gold flowers; she had on her head a high square Calmuc cap of Persian gold muslin, trimmed (like her husband's) with sable, and with a large silk tassel. The tent was about ten yards in diameter, and as many in height, and furnished all around, in the inside, with carpets, for the accommodation of visitors. Opposite to the door was the Prince's throne or cushion, about an ell high, and covered with green cotton, and over it a kind of canopy of the same material. On each side was suspended an image: the left represented one of their dreadful idols, Bansarakza; the right was a collection of astrological circles, and many figures of different colours. Both were designed for the protection of the young prince, and to shield him from evil. To the left of the Prince's couch was the altar, with a bench in front of it, and on the altar were silver vessels, with rice and other offerings; behind it a number of chests piled upon one another, and covered with a Persian cloth. Above, was a wooden shrine, with a well-formed gilt image of one of their principal idol-deities, Schagdschamuni, the founder of their religion. On the right of the Prince, there was also a heap of chests, covered with Persian cloth, on which stood a few trinket-boxes belonging to the Princess. These chests probably contained the valuables of the royal family, and those on the left of the throne, the sacred writings, the idols, and other things pertaining to the altar. In the middle of the tent there was a hearth with a cresset and a common tea-kettle; on the left of the door stood a few pails and cans, ornamented with brass hoops, containing sour mare's milk, or tschigan; the chief subsistence of the Calmucs at this time of the year!—pp. 58 -61.

The strangers having been favourably received by the Prince, were afterwards paid every mark of attention by the whole tribe, who had previously taken little notice of them. Thus are they as courtly in their character as the household lords of more civilized nations! They are wholly governed, in their demeanor towards foreigners, by that of their rulers. Not only were Mr. Zwick and his companion invited to a Calmuc tea-party, but to remain with the tribe during the remainder of their lives!