other hand, and then point out the seat of the disease, and the nature of the pain. "Having neither satisfied my curiosity by exhibiting her face, nor made me acquainted with the nature of the complaint, I was under the necessity of informing her, in positive terms, that to understand the disease, it was absolutely necessary to see the tongue as well as feel the pulse; without which I could do nothing for her. My eloquence, or rather that of my Jewish interpreter, was, however, for a long time ex erted in vain and I am persuaded, she would have dismissed me without any farther enquiry, had not her invention supplied her with a happy expedient to remove her embarrasment. She contrived at last to cut a hole through the curtain, through which she extruded her tongue, and thus complied with my injunction, as far as was necessary in a medical point of view; but most effectually disappointed my curiosity. I was afterwards ordered to look at another of the Prince's wives, who was affected with a scrophu lous swelling in her neck. This lady was in the same manner as the other excluded from my sight; but she was obliged to show me her complaint, by which means I had an opportunity of seeing her face, which I observed to be very handsome." It is curious to observe the simple and childish notions of persons excluded from the world. All the ladies of the harem expected that our author should instantly discover their complaints upon feeling their pulse, and that he could cure every one instantly. He found them proud and vain of their persons, and extremely ignorant. Among other ridiculous questions, they asked M. Lempriere's interpreter, if M. Lempriere could read and write; being answered in the affirmative, they were extremely surprised at the learning of the Christians. It is melancholy to reflect on the condition of these unfortunate women. Being considered as the mere instruments of pleasure, no attention is paid to the improvement of their minds. They have no employment to occupy their time. Their needlework is chiefly done by Jewesses; their food is dressed, and their chamber taken care of by slaves and domestics. They have no amusement but a rude and melancholy kind of music, without melody, variety, or taste; and conversation with one another, which must indeed be very confined, uniform, and inanimate, as they never see a new object. Excluded from the enjoyment of fresh air and exercise, so necessary for the support of health and life; deprived of all society but that of their fellow-sufferers, a society to which most of them would prefer even solitude itself; they can only be considered as the most abject of slaves;-slaves to the vices and caprice of a most licentious tyrant, who exacts, even from his wives themselves, a degree of submission and respect which borders upon idolatry, and which God and nature never meant should be paid to a mortal. ALGIERS.-Among the Algerines, when a young man is inclined to marry, he drives a number of cattle to the tent where the lady resides, The girl and her parents generally consent on viewing the stock. All the young women of the horde are then invited to the feast, The bride is placed on a horse belonging to the bridegrooom, and led home amidst the acclamations of all present. On arriving at the bridegroom's door, a stick is given her, which she thrusts into the ground, and repeats the following lines: As this stick is fasten'd in the ground, So nought but death shall force me from his love, She then alights, and to show her willingness to do any duty her husband may assign her, she drives his flocks to water and back again. These previous ceremonies being settled, all the com-pany enter the hut, and conclude the evening as festively as they can afford. After the marriage the wife is obliged to wear. a veil, never stirs from the hut a whole month, and ever after is excluded from all knowledge and participation in public affairs. Among the higher orders, polygamy is allowed, and marriage contracts are left to the interférence of friends. When the union is agreed upon, the bridegroom sends a present to the bride, and invites her relations to a feast and musical entertainment, and the marriage cere mony is concluded with another feast and enter tainment. There is a law enacted here which is strictly put in execution. When a woman is guilty of fornication with a Christian, her head is tied in a sack, and she is thrown into the sea, unless the man agrees to turn Mahometan. Such examples are frequently seen; and yet both married women and single are continually intriguing with the Christians. The little affection they bear their husbands, and the restraint they labour under, are great inducements to their breaking the marriage vow. Being confined to their houses, those who are married to Corsairs are continually inventing methods of injuring their husbands, which is put in practice during the long voyages he often makes. When the Corsair is at sea his wife is kept in the city, but, on his return, she is taken by him to his country house, where he unbends after his toils at sea. Artifice and love have invented a method of intrigue unknown in any other country. A slave who is in love with, and beloved by his mistress, explains the several impulses of his passion by the manner in which he disposes a parterre. A nosegay, made in a certain manner, contains as many tender and passionate ideas as a letter of several pages. The flower-gentle, placed by a violet, shews that the lover hopes, when the husband is gone to sea, to meet such a return to his passion as will fully compensate for the evils his presence occasions. The orange-flower denotes hope; the marigold, despair; the amaranth, constancy; the tulip reproaches with being unfaithful; the rose is an encomium of |