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Mr. St. John's pictures of Alexandrian life fully bear out our views on this subject. He observes, that

'Among the most characteristic sights to be seen in Alexandria, is what is called a fantasia, or procession for a marriage or circumcision, often united in one. The poor children about to be admitted within the pale of Islamism are handsomely drest, generally as girls, and are carried on horseback; each is bound to hold a white handkerchief over its mouth; women with cakes strung on sticks walk beside them, and give them when they ask. In very hot weather an umbrella is held over their heads. The horses are borrowed, of course, and are often richly caparisoned. Two huge drums and a few fifes precede, and at the head of all there is generally sham-fighting with staves; some of the combatants indulge in a sort of symbolical dance, now kneeling, now stooping, and making all sorts of gestures and grimaces. Any one who chooses takes the stick in turn. A man carrying a flag, or else a long reed, is generally near the head of the procession, and sometimes a buffoon with a long thin beard rides about on a donkey.

I went in the afternoon to see a splendid affair of the kind. An immense crowd accompanied the buffoons and the stickmen, who, on this occasion, were followed by a band of singers. After them came four or five camels with brilliant housings, and bearing the children devoted to circumcision; then some led horses; and then an awning of handsome striped muslin supported on four poles, and carried by whoever chose to offer his services. Under this, the poor little bride, completely enveloped, head, face, and all, in a piece of yellow crape, slowly shuffled along; whenever those who were amusing themselves ahead thought proper to make a move, she could not see her way, and two or three portly dames, who half enveloped her in their black silk mantles, acted as guides. A wild kind of merriment formed the chief characteristic of the scene. The women uttered the zugharit, or shrill cry of joy; boys were fighting who should carry the awning; others were cuffing each other, biting, kicking, and pinching; a few men employed to keep order enhanced the confusion by rushing here and there, and striking at random. Some attendants, with handsome cups and zorfs, or platters, offered coffee to all who chose to partake; others scattered perfume; others burned incense in little censers. The lookers-on seemed highly amused, and it was difficult to pass in the streets. Such a procession often lasts the whole day.'-P. 19.

As might be expected, the Arabs, like all other Orientals, are fond of the night, which, in the East, is inexpressibly beautiful. When they have to traverse the desert they select the night, the caravans, extending in long files, stretch themselves out, and appear interminable in the moonlight. The night also is a favourite time for little family feasts for parties of dancing girls, for visits to tombs, for a stroll in the palm groves, or for witnessing the humours of a fair. Mr. Bayle St. John falling naturally into the ways of the people, soon contracted their taste

for the night, and often describes, with singular felicity, the beauties of Oriental scenery at that still season.

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Among the institutions of the East, there is one, unfortunately, too well known all the world over-we mean that of slavery, which even Christianity itself, hostile as it is to it, has not yet been able totally to eradicate. Public opinion, more powerful in the East than religion, prolongs the date of the detestable system, in spite of the letter and spirit of the gospel. Many travellers have apologized, more or less formally, for domestic slavery among the Muslims. They say it is mild, and so in some respects it is compared with the slavery of other countries; but still it is a bitter draught.' Nothing can reconcile the mind to the reducing of one human being to be the property of another, which, in fact, is sinning against the first principle of humanity-equality. We are all equal before God; and whoever aims at establishing the contrary, is, in spirit and feeling, a tyrant. No doubt it is possible to mitigate the horrors even of slavery, but it is disgraceful to the possessors of intellect to palliate its infamies, or to seek, by sophistry and cunning, to ward off the detestation of mankind. Mr. Bayle St. John points out, with great acuteness, the mischievous nature of the institution, even under its most favourable aspect, in the following very touching passage:

During the early time of my residence with Sitt Madoula, before I was considered part of the family, I went to see her one morning, and found her in conversation with a tall, handsome black girl, wrapped in a white melagah, or mantle. The Sitt reclined in the corner of her divan, smoking a shosheh, whilst the girl stood at a little distance, with her hands meekly crossed. After the usual compliments, I was told that this was a slave belonging to a Turkish lady just arrived with her suite from Algiers, to meet her husband, who, however, had gone on to Stamboul, leaving word that she was to follow. As, however, he had forgotten likewise to leave money enough to defray the expenses of the journey, it seemed quite natural to the lady to dispose of one of her handmaidens, and accordingly this one had been selected. Zarifeh herself was telling the story as I entered, and although it did not seem to occur to her that she was the victim of a most unjust system, she could not help expressing her regret at being thus suddenly thrown out of the bosom of one family to seek for a place in another, or rather to take the place which chance might assign her. I elicited the fact that although her mistress sometimes beat her even for talking in her sleep, and for being frightened on board the vessel in which they had coasted the whole north of Africa, yet, considering all things, she had been happy with her. Here, then, was one instance in which the muchvaunted kindness with which the Orientals treat their slaves was turned into a weapon of torture to them. The stronger they are bound by ties of affection to their owners, the more cruelly are their feelings

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and substituted a money grant from the Treasury, varying in amount-the highest being that granted to Glasgow of £707; to St. Andrew's, £630; to Edinburgh, £575; to the King's Inn Library, Dublin, £433; to Sion College, London, £363; and to the University of Aberdeen, £320; so that much inequality now exists. The total amount received by those libraries is £3,028. The Act was not extended to Oxford and Cambridge University libraries, in consequence of their refusal to accept compensation, and the strong indisposition they evinced to submit to any change in the ancient arrangements. In reference to the ineffective and vexatious working of the present law of copyright in England, Mr. Edwards's remarks are worthy of attention. Even with regard to its express intention,' he says, 'I think it is framed in a very bungling manner; for example, the booksellers of Dublin, instead of delivering a book to Trinity College, may send it up to London, and force Trinity College to get it back at its own expense. I have known that to be done. Booksellers are often very much annoyed by the exaction, and obey the act with great unwillingness.... It would be very desirable to retain the power of exacting copies, but I would grant the power of payment for them at the trade price; at least in all instances where payment shall be requested. By this method we should secure the desideratum of having certain great repositories in the country, containing all the books that are published, without inflicting injustice on authors.'

An idea may be formed of the large number of works thus annually exacted, from the fact that during the last ten years there have been published in the United Kindom, 31,395 books; the estimated value of one copy of each of which, taken at publication price, is £13,420. This calculation embraces new works, and new editions and reprints of old books, but it excludes pamphlets and periodical publications. In Germany the total number of separate works, inclusive of pamphlets, published in 1846, was 11,600; in 1847, about 11,400; and in 1848, about 10,500. In France there appeared, in 1842, 6,445 separate works, pamphlets included; and in 1847, 5,530.

An investigation into the date of the foundation of some of the European libraries, and into the causes of their comparative progressive augmentation, is suggestive of many important considerations that may be turned to practical account by those who are labouring to build up the intellectual greatness of our country. The most ancient of the great libraries of printed books is thought to be that at Vienna, which dates from 1440, and is said to have been opened to the public as early as 1575. The Town Library at Ratisbon, dates from 1430; St. Mark's Library, at

Venice, from 1468; the Town Library of Frankfort, from 1484; that of Hamburgh, from 1529; of Strasburg, from 1531; of Augsburg, from 1537; those of Berne and Geneva, from 1550; that of Basel, from 1564. The Royal Library of Copenhagen. was founded about 1550. In 1671, it possessed 10,000 vols. ; in 1748, about 65,000; in 1778, 100,000; in 1820, 300,000; and it is now supposed to contain 412,000 vols. The National Library, in Paris, was founded in 1595, but was not made public until 1737. In 1640, it contained about 17,000 vols. ; in 1684, 50,000; in 1775, 150,000; in 1790, 200,000; and it now possesses at least 824,000 vols. The Library of the British Museum was established in 1753, and opened to the public in 1757, with about 40,000 vols. In 1800, it contained about 65,000 vols.; in 1823, 125,000; in 1836, nearly 240,000; and it now comprehends 435,000 vols. But it is not to be inferred that the whole of the difference between 1836 and 1848 arises from the actual increase of the collection; but is to be accounted for by the circumstance that many thousands of tracts, formerly in volumes or cases, have been separately bound, and are now enumerated as distinct volumes.

The steady growth of the Copenhagen Library has been mainly owing to judicious purchases at favourable opportunities. The rapid increase of the noble National Library at Paris, since 1790, is in a great measure to be ascribed to the Revolution: the suppression of the monasteries and convents, and the confiscation of the property of rebels and emigrants, having placed many fine libraries at the disposal of the ruling powers of the day. And although, in some cases, large numbers of books and manuscripts appear to have been summarily disposed of for the service of the arsenal,' more usually special instructions were given, that the officers at the head of the National Library should have an unlimited power of selection, and of this they made extensive use. The increase of the British Museum, on the other hand, is mainly indebted to donations. Of its 435,000 books, at least 200,000 have been presented or bequeathed.

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Many of the chief libraries of Continental cities are sustained by their respective governments in a spirit of great liberality. The average annual sum allotted to the support of the National Library, at Paris, is £16,575; to that of the Royal Library, at Brussels, £2,700; to that of Munich, about £2,000; to that of Vienna, £1,900; to that of Berlin, £3,745; to that of Copenhagen, £1,250; to that of Dresden, £500; and to that of the Grand Ducal Library of Darmstadt, £2,000.

The average annual sum expended in the purchase of printed books for the library of the British Museum, previous to 1836,

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quitting his look-out upon the minaret, and the owl showed his great capacious head on some old fragment of wall-when the gaudy moths were hicing gaily to consume themselves in the first flickering taper that gleamed, like dashing young lovers in the flame of an early passion-when hungry dogs yelled angrily at the heels of some solitary passer-by- when the notes of distant musical instruments were sprinkled into the drowsy ear of night," or the sound of boisterous merriment swept up from the river-side-when measured voices from tottering minarets impressed the necessity of prayer upon congregations that had vanished from the earth-when the rising moon formed a silver background to the dusky lace-work of palm-groves that adorned the outline of the Delta-when the stars stooped into sight, like fair damsels from their mysterious balconies in the sky-above all, when, at the hour of midnight, Nature seemed to faint into silence, to swoon with amazement at her own beauty and solitude-then it was that Herman, from the terraced roof of his house, would take flight on the wings of his imagination, and search round the depths of the heavens for his ideal!'-P. 279.

We have omitted to allude to very many topics touched upon in Mr. St. John's volume, but must not forget to observe that there are several stories introduced, which, for fidelity of description, and simplicity and force of narrative, resemble, and in many respects equal, the tales of the Arabian Nights.' This is more particularly the case with Mohammed the ill-favoured, and Fatmeh the well-favoured,' which discloses much of the interior economy of a Muslim family. No ground is described but that which the writer himself has travelled over-the Delta, the banks of the Nile, and the environs of Cairo. Fouah, where the story commences, is a place of irregular appearance, the aspect of which has not been greatly modified by the establishment of factories within its walls. Nowhere, perhaps, in Lower Egypt, can you enjoy from the roof of your house more delicious prospects at morning or evening. On one side you behold the boundless desert, stretching away towards the setting sun; while close at your feet flows the mighty Nile, with blue or ruddy waters, according to the season of the year. On the other side you have long ranges of palm-forests, interspersed with lakes and ponds, and bright green rice-fields, and villages, and minarets, and light and graceful Sheikhs' tombs, bathed in the soft glow of evening. On the mimosas, or sycamores, near at hand, you behold flocks of the white ibis resting on branches like huge flower petals, or incrustations of snow; while the roofs of the town (flat and parapeted) swarm with evening parties, smoking or sipping sherbet in the open air. Here and there, perhaps, a sweet female voice rises through the twilight, accompanied by the sounds of musical instruments, interrupted at times by the wild howl of the jackal; such is Fouah, where few Europeans have ever

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