water, when my feet were most carefully washed, this being an essential observance in the forms of Circassian politeness.

Sleeping, I soon found, in Circassia, to be by no means a necessary consequence of going to bed; and, assuredly, if Young had been a native of the East. the world would never have been favored with his "Night Thoughts;" for, amidst such a din and clatter as now greeted my ears, the author, instead of thinking, must be content to listen; and, should they ever be translated into the Circassian language, the natives will certainly deem the poet crazy. Indeed, nothing but being accustomed to the nocturnal choristers will permit even the most weary to slumber.

Besides the chirping of innumerable insects, the croaking of myriads of frogs, whose united din rung far and wide through the forest, there was another species of this noisy reptile that I never met with, except in the mountains of the Caucasus, and whose note, deeptoned, sonorous, and even musical, was so pitched in alto, as ever to render them the principal performers in the concert.

All this was bad enough; still it might have been borne, had it not been that I was favored with a visit from the jackal, whose cry was so melancholy, shrill, and fearfully wild, that, when numbers howl in concert, which was, unfortunately for my slumbers, the case, it is sufficient to shake the nerves, even of the most stout-hearted, who hears them for the first time.

It is singular that the war-cry of the Circassians is an exact imitation of the howl of this animal; and, when screamed at the same moment by thousands, is the most fearful, unnatural, and intimidating yell, ever uttered by a people in presence of an enemy. The Russian officers assured me, that so paralysing is its effect upon troops who hear it for the first time, that they are rendered incapable of defending themselves.

The following morning, owing to my character for generosity in presenting the women with presents, and my profession of hakkim, the young prince introduced me to his mother and sister; for these people, as I before remarked, unlike other Orientals, do not rigidly seclude their women in the harem; probably they have followed, in this respect, the example of their neighbors, the Tchernemorsky Cossacks; however, from whatever cause it has resulted, I have frequently seen the women at the public assemblies of the men, particularly those who were unmarried. Still, a married man does not appear in public with his wife; neither does he see her during the day when it can be avoided.

But, to return to my visit; having been received most courteously, by the princess and her daughters, I made them, in compliance with universal custom, a few trifling presents, which they acknowledged by giving me an embroidered belt to hold my pistols, and a pair of red morocco patron pockets,-the work of their own fair hands.

The mother of my young companion, probably between forty and fifty years of age, was sumptuously attired in a blue silk robe, open in the front, confined with silver clasps, and a girdle ornamented

with silver; her trousers were very beautiful Turkish muslin, of varigated colors, and red slippers; on her head she wore a light shawl, partly arranged as a turban, and partly falling, in graceful folds, over her neck and shoulders, completely concealing her hair; over this was thrown a large, thin muslin veil, that nearly enveloped her figure; her dress being completed by an abundant display of gold trinkets, evidently extremely ancient, and, from the workmanship, I should think, Venetian. Her person still retained traces of great beauty.

The attire of her daughters was even more splendid; but, in lieu of the turban, each wore a tiara of red morocco leather, ornamented with a profusion of small Turkish and Persian gold coins. In other respects their dress was similar, except that the hair of the young dames, instead of falling on the neck in curls, like that of the married women, was arranged in a thick plait, confined at the end by a silver cord, which descending below the waist: their features were as beautifully regular and expressive as those of their mother; yet, it must be confessed that their sallow complexions by no means improved their personal appearance. They were, however, young, still incased in the light leather corset worn by all Circassian girls, of whatever age, which was, no doubt, the principal cause of their unhealthy appearance.

On a signal being made, the young prince, agreeably to custom, left the room, when one of his wives entered, a princess of the Demirghoi tribe, one of the handsomest women I think I ever beheld. She might be about eighteen: with the most regular features of the Grecian cast; eyes, large and dark; complexion, a clear brown; hands and feet delicately small; and her whole figure admirably moulded. She was dressed in a similar style to that of the elder princess, except that it was more tasteful, and studied with no small degree of coquetry: her fine dark hair hung in tresses on her shoulders.

Indeed, the finest women I saw in Circassia, were the young and married; for, being divested of the leather confinement, their forms had expanded into all the luxuriance of womanhood. At first sight, we might be inclined to think there was an undue share of embonpoint in the figure; but this is caused more from the custom of wearing wide Oriental trousers, than any defect of nature. In short, beauty of figure, and symmetry of form, for which this people are celebrated, is no chimera (and some of the finest statutes of the ancients do not display, in their proportions, a greater perfection;) but, it is the singular degree of animation in the eye, so generally observable, that most arrests attention; when this is exhibited in a high degree in the men, it gives an expression of great ferocity to the countenance; and, when we see a warrior, mounted on his fiery steed; armed and equipped for battle, brandishing his scimitar in the air, bending, turning, and stopping at full gallop, with unequalled agility and grace of action, he realized every idea of Homer's Hec

tor.

The complexion of both sexes is far more ruddy and fresh than might be expected in such a latitude. In that of the women, delicately so; who, aware, like their sex in Europe, of the advantage of a pretty person, use every artificial means, by cosmetics, &c., to improve their beauty. Still, the traveller who may read my ac-. counts, and expects to find the whole population such as I have described, will be wofully disappointed, should he find himself, on arriving in Circassia, surrounded by a tribe of Nogay Tartars, Calmucks, Turcomans, or even the Lesghi. The latter, however, a fine warlike race, are nearly equal, in personal appearance, to the Circassians, but more ferocious in character, and less refined in manners. The Caucasian valleys having been, in all ages, the asylum of those who fled from oppression in the neighboring countries, we every where find tribes differing from each other in appearance, customs, and manners. Still, as the Circassian men never intermarry with any other race than their own, they preserve their lineage uncontaminated, a father paying more attention to the beauty of features and form in a wife for his son, than any other consideration; and, if I have been rightly informed, a prince, or usden, never sells his daughter, except to one of his own nation and rank.

My first impression at Pitzounda, on seeing a number of Caucasians together was, that they were decidedly of Grecian origin. This, however, I found, did not correspond with the general physical character of the people, as I advanced into the interior of the country, there being a greater proportion with the small aquiline nose, and fine arched eyebrow, than any other. This remark may be more particularly applied to that powerful tribe, called the Nottakhaitzii, celebrated as being the bravest, handsomest, and purest race among the Circassians; and who still preserve the tradition that their ancestors came from beyond the seas. Were it not that we are ascending into the regions of fable, we might almost suppose them to be descended from a remnant of the Trojans.

I found the princess and her daughters employed at embroidery. This refined accomplishment does not, however, occupy a large portion of the time of the women of the Caucasus; and those of my host, like the princesses of old, occasionally employed themselves in spinning wool and flax: their fair hands not only made the clothes for their families, down to the very shoes, but plaited camels' and goats' hair into mantles, made cushions for the saddles, housings for the horses, and sheaths for swords and poniards. Nor was they loss expert in the art of cookery or the management of the dairy; and sometimes even displayed their agricultural skill in the field, the whole wardrobe of finery being reserved for visits of ceremony.

My host was equally industrious; for, besides building, with his own princely hands, the little cottages he occupied, he was his own carpenter, tanner, and weaver, mounted his own pistols and guns, manufactured his inimitable bows and arrows; and, like old King Priam, in conjunction with his princely boys, tilled the land, and

tended his flocks and herds in the mountains; and, when the wintry snow rendered his occupations in the open air no longer agreeable, he made mats of great beauty, which find a ready sale in Turkey and Persia. Nor was this his only employment: he cast bullets, made gun-powder; and, if these were not sufficient to fill up his time, he smoked his tchibouque.

There is no regular body of artificers and mechanics in Circassia, except the cutlers, armorers, and goldsmiths, who fabricate and mount the weapons with gold, silver, and precious stones; in which they exhibit much elegance and taste. I often admired the beauty of the designs traced on their swords and poniards; while the excellence of the temper they gave them cannot be surpassed; nor yet their ingenious method of inlaying their guns and little tables with mother-of-pearl. Their brass chain armour, and some of their weapons, are obtained from Persia and Turkey.

(To be continued.)

(COMMUNICATED FOR THE REGISTER.)

FEW HAPPY MATCHES.

Written eighty years since.

Say, mighty Love, and teach my song
To whom the sweetest joys belong,
And who the happy pairs;

Whose yielding hearts and joining hands,
Kind blessings twisted with their bands,
To soften all their cares.

Not the wild herd of nymphs and swains
That thoughtless fly into the chains,
As custom leads the way;

If there be bliss without design,
Ivies and oaks may grow and twine,
And be as bless'd as they.

Not sordid souls of earthly mould,
Who drawn by kindred charms of gold,
To dull embraces move;
So two rich mountains of Peru,
May rush to wealthy marriage too,
And make a world of Love.

Not the dull pairs, whose marble forms
None of the softer passions warms,

Can mingle hearts and hands:

Logs of green wood, that quench the coals,
Are married just like stoic souls

With osiers for their bands:

Not minds of melancholy strain,
Still silent or that still complain,
Can the dear bondage bless;
As well may heavenly concerts spring
From two old lutes with ne'er a string,
Or none beside the bass.

Nor can the soft enchantment hold
Two jarring souls of angry mould,
The rugged and the keen;
Sampson's young foxes might as well.
In bands of cheerful wedlock dwell,
With fire-brands tied between.

Nor let the cruel fetters bind
A gentle, to a savage mind,
For Love abhors the sight;
Loose the fierce tiger from the deer,
For native rage and native fear,
Rise and forbid delight.

Two kindred souls alone must meet:
"Tis Friendship makes the bondage sweet,
And feeds the mutual Loves.
Bright Venus on her rolling throne,
Is drawn by gentlest birds alone,
And Cupids yoke the Doves.

ANECDOTE

OF GUSTAVUS VASA, KING OF SWEDEN.

After the death of Steno, the administrator, and the bosom friend of Gustavus, and the consequent murder of the senate, and a price being set on his own head, the future deliverer of Sweden retired to the mountains of Dalecarlia, hoping he might hide himself in the woods with which that country is covered, and imagining that it would not be difficult to stimulate the inhabitants to revolt against the tyrant Christiern, as they had always shown themselves averse to the Danish yoke. At that time there was not one good town in the whole province, and hardly any thing but small villages situated on the borders of the forests, or on the banks of lakes and rivers. Some of these villages depended on the noblemen of the country, but most belonged to the crown, and were governed by the peasants themselves; the elders supplying the places of judges and captains. The national government durst not send either troops or garrisons into this province; nor did the kings themselves ever enter it in a legal manner till they had given pledge to the mountain