:

We are accustomed to account for this, in what, I think, an erroneous way we plaintively confess, that we have grown old in feeling, and that the source of our tears is dried up. It may be so with many, but I rather think feeling to be more lasting than we suppose; that it is the taste which outgrows it, and finds not the old feelings ridiculous, but the manner in which they are represented unnatural. In short, I am inclined to lay the blame of my apathy on the authors, not on myself. Those works grew insipid to me, long ere I grew ashamed of being sad; and were so even at the time, when I imagined a pensive brow to be the only true characteristic of the bard.

Although it has not quite arisen to a controversy, yet there have been passages on both sides, and much diversity of opinion on the question, "Whether melancholy or mirth be the true poetic temperament?" It would prove an interesting subject of discussion, more interesting, as it would be very unlikely ever to come to an issue. But the greatest blow, in my mind, ever given to the sublimity of sadness, comes from the doctrines of Gall and Spurzheim, which, whatever be their general merits, in this certainly have much reason. "The organ of melancholy," say they, "is but an enlargement of the organ of cowardice:-they are one and the same feeling, proceeding from the same defect in the constitution." This, without being any thing of a craniologist, appeared to me a very startling truth; and being very far gone at the time in a mental jaundice, it proved quite a restorative. The humiliating view, in which it represented all I was accustomed to look upon as sublime, was a complete overthrow to my received system of idealism. I was compelled to alter my whole plan, and both alone and in company determined "to be decked in smiles," lest I should have the ill luck to take myself, or be taken for—a coward.

Y.

TO ECHOО.

Echo! sole relic of the lovely fair,

Who for Cephisus' son in hopeless love
And wasting grief dissolved herself in air;
But that she might her constant passion prove,
Left her soft voice 'mid rocks and lonely hills,
Responsive to the passing traveller's call,
Where for Narcissus' slight she near the rills,
Mingling her tears with the soft water-fall,
Pined in slow grief away-thy friendly haunt
I often seek, and fly the busy crowd
Where virtue sickens and where vices flaunt,

Far from the great, the giddy, and the proud
Thy voice I love, and near thy lonely dell,
Would rear with simplest hand my rustic cell.

Ω.

PEARCE'S ACCOUNT OF ABYSSINIA.

(Concluded from page 258.)

OUR traveller mentions other interesting matter, which our limits do not permit us to detail; we must therefore refer the inquisitive reader to the Work itself. He says the Abyssinians are always feasting, excepting during their fasts.

66

They have great crying and howling for the dead, for many days, and appoint a particular day for a general cry, which ends their crying. If a great man dies, they make his effigy and cry and howl round it, firing their matchlocks, and tearing the skin off their temples and forehead, until the blood runs down their neck in such a horrible manner as would frighten any one unacquainted with these customs. They pretend to be so weak with sorrow that they cannot support themselves; one of them then begins to eulogize the actions, the beauty, and riches, of the deceased, and concluding in a sorrowful tone, they all together make This ceremony being over, they a loud bellow, and tear their temples. retire into a large house, where they eat and drink until they turn their sorrow into merriment and quarrelling."

The Abyssinians, says Pearce, have many children and relations on account of having so many women; he knew many great men who have had from 40 to 50 children, and all by different mothers: they do not know scarcely which child was born first, as they keep no record of time even the king or priest does not know his own age. "There are twelve lickcounts, or learned men, by whom all things are regulated; they keep the time. Their year begins from the day St. John was beheaded-1st of September with them, but 29th of August with us. Their year is divided into four parts-the first is called St. Matthew, the second St. Mark, the third St. Luke, the fourth St. John. They have other names also for those four quarters, viz. Zerry, Currunpt, Corvio, Aggie, i. e. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter."

The Abyssinians, like their Muhamedan neighbours, never keep a corpse in the house a moment after it is dead; but they immediately wash it, envelope it with cloth, and take it to the grave, without a coffin; none but the kings and the great men have coffins!

They have all a father confessor, and Pearce was obliged to have one to entitle him to the name of Christian. Here follows a long description of various religious ceremonies and tricks of priests to delude or terrify the ignorant and superstitious people.

The Abyssinians are great liars; no dependance can ever be put in them of whatever rank they may be. Their mode of evading an oath is curious if the king swears he will forgive an offender, and then wishes "Servants, to punish him, he will call his servants together, and say, you see the oath I have taken; I scrape it clean away from my tongue that made it." He then puts his tongue out and scrapes the oath off "When the rebel comes, you will do with his teeth, and spitting, says, your duty as I shall order you."

Their oaths are very solemn, but broken without hesitation. Pearce says he has known the following oath before the priests sworn to a falsity: "If what I now swear to, be not true, may God blow away my soul from me as I blow away the fire from this candle," which he immediately

blows out! When Pearce expostulated with them on the heinousness of breaking these oaths, they would reply that their (Neefs Abbart) father of their soul, or father confessor, would absolve them for half the value they got by the oath.

When a child is baptized, the godfather holds him in his arms, and says, "I being acquainted with the parents of this child, and knowing them to be good Christians, hold it before you to make it the same;" and while he holds it in his arms, the priests pray over a large vessel of water, with a blue twisted thread in it, and pronouncing the name of the child, set it in the water, and with a small cross begin at the forehead and touch every joint to the toes; then they give it to the mother, who waits and takes the sacrament, and then goes home. A boy is baptized at forty days old, a girl at eighty. Any one standing godfather for a converted Muselman, holds him in his arms, or bears him on his knees, and says, "I have been a long time acquainted with this Muselman, and I know it has been a long time in his heart to be of my religion, I now therefore hold him before you to make him the same."

It is a common thing in Abyssinia for Muselmen to become Christians, and also for Christians to become Muselmen; the Muselmentown and the Christian are separate, as are the Jews-town, from the Muselmen-town in the Muhamedan countries of Barbary and Sudan; in small towns, however, this separation or division doth not hold, for the habitations of these races are intermixed. Pearce amuses his readers with a variety of particulars respecting the distinctions observed among the Christians and the Muselmen, which our limits and the desire that the inquisitive reader should consult the original, prevent us from detailing, we cannot, however, refrain from mentioning a curious circumstance respecting the locust: our traveller says, "When the locusts come they stock their houses with them, after having pulled off their heads and dried them in the sun, so if they lose their crops, they live upon the destroyers." Pearce appears to anticipate that disposition in mankind, which leads them to believe only in such facts as their own practical experience has taught them may be true, and says, "There are snakes of so large a size in some parts of Ammescan, that if I were to mention what I have measured, it would perhaps be thought false."

Our traveller describes the disorders of the country, one of which is called tegretier. This is a very singular disorder, and resembles that which is denominated by the Muselmen of West Barbary mjenune, which literally signifies one possessed of an evil spirit. Strange stories are related in the West of those who labour under this disorder, and similar to what Pearce relates when his wife was attacked with the tegretier. For the particulars of this and other disorders we refer the inquisitive reader to the letter itself.

Although Abyssinia is a Christian country polygamy prevails, and the priests have nothing to do with marriage; the marriage ceremony, among the higher ranks of men, as described by Pearce, resembles, in some respects, that of the Jews in Barbary and Sudan. A man of 70 may marry a girl of 17, the inequalities of age are never thought of.

* See a full description of this devastating insect in Jackson's enlarged account of Morocco, p. 103, and of its being an article of food in famine and scarcity, p. 106.

The girls are married at the ages of 9, 10, 11, and 12; they have children at 13 and 14 years of age.

In describing the dress, Pearce says, "The dress of the higher ranks is a shirt of fine white India cloth, which comes from Marsaw by the Muselmen Coffler. The shirt is neatly sewed with silk, and ornamented with silk twist, of different colours, from the neck down to the bosom as far as the navel; the sleeves are tight, and ornamented in the same manner, from the elbow to the wrist: they have ornaments of silver for their necks, legs, and wrists. The dress over all is called a murrerguf drobe, with a wide silk border to it. This surplus dress resembles the hayk of the Muselmen, and like the women of that race, the Abyssinians of fair colour prick their skin with charcoal. Their feet are covered with red Egyptian shoes, and some wear black, manufactured in their own country. The women work like slaves, grind corn, carry water in large jars upon their loins, they also carry great loads of wood in the same manner." In this respect they also resemble their Muselmen neighbours of Nubia. Pearce says, "the women use scented oils, bought of the Muselmen traders; they use also butter mixed with pounded cloves in their hair, and they blacken their eyelids with a mineral called colet, which comes from Egypt." Our traveller gives a lamentable description of the want of chastity among the Abyssinians; but as the men are as bad, the injury becomes mutually liquidated. They have monthly clubs, consisting of twelve persons, whose turn comes once a year; a priest attends each club to preserve order: the women also have separate but similar clubs. One dollar's worth of honey, and a small quantity of a root called suddu ‡, are sufficient to make maize enough to intoxicate fifty men.

The laws of Abyssinia are relaxed and badly administered. If a man commit murder and a complaint is made to the constituted authorities, he is desired to produce the man that he may be punished, but no exertion is made to find him. Murders are sometimes compromised for money as among the Muhamedans.

Speaking of the revenue, Pearce says, "the king takes vocates § of gold; these are the proper payment, but he takes also dollars, cloths, carpets, &c. &c. that come by the Coffler; these are valued at so many vocates, and taken as such." The King or Ras has an elevated place in the front of the Ashwar || or court, where the review is. This stage is

Muselmen Coffler is evidently the caravan of Muhamedans, from the coast of the Red Sea. Coffler is apparently a corruption or derivation from the Arabie word Kaffila, i. e. a caravan.

This is undoubtedly the alkah'l mentioned in Jackson's enlarged account of Morocco, p. 145. The article is produced of the best quality at Tafilett, and from thence carried by the Caffilas or caravans to Egypt and Mekka from Tezza and Ujedda, where the Morocco pilgrims accumulate. See the map of West Barbary in Jackson's account of Morocco. Lat. N. 34. 30. Long. W. 3o. and 3o. 40'.

This suddu is probably the root of the hashiga plant, particularly described by Jackson in his enlarged account of Morocco, &c. p. 131.

§ The value of a vocate is not mentioned. We think it is a corruption of the Arabic word ukiat. A gold ukiat is worth about five or six shillings sterling; it is called in West Barbary a mitkul or ducket.

Ashwar is an Arabic word, signifying a place of audience, from shoar, to ask permission or give notice of any thing.

covered with Persian carpets, silk pillows, and other valuable articles. The king sits with all his household servants round him, on a cradle neatly covered in the centre of the Ashwar. The troops then run full gallop to the foot of the raised place where the king is seated, turning their horses round "like the Arabs," shaking their heads and spears, and boasting to the king of themselves and their deeds of arms. This review lasts three days, during which all the officers of the government are fixed upon, and every one then knows whether he is to remain governor of his district, or whether another is to be appointed. All who have killed an enemy during the year, have an indelicate trophy of his person hung to their right arm, which, after ending their speech to the king, they throw down at his feet. Although they pretend "to give preferment to the bravest and to the higher ranks," Pearce says, the most preferment is given to tatlers, who make mischief by sly conversations, and many are dismissed from their stations through false reports and false witnesses!"

In their military attacks they have neither system nor order; they have no notion of taking the vantage ground, but every one gallops to where he thinks he can kill an enemy; as soon as they kill they immediately cut off his foreskin. To shew this trophy "is all their glory, and all they look for in battle." In 1817 Pearce saw "1865 pudenda brought before the Ras or king, after a battle of seven hours."

They attend not to trade, but leave that to the Muselmen who inhabit their country. In all great families they have one or two Muselmen, weavers, whom they maintain for the purpose of weaving for them only. Cotton grown in the country is sold 20 pounds for a dollar, or a pound for threepence sterling. Corn is sold eight bushels for a dollar, but after the ravages of the locusts it cannot be purchased for any price. Ras Walder Serlassey, the greatest prince in Abyssinia, has 1300 and odd ploughmen.

Pearce says, the Abyssinians delight in killing without a cause, and proceeds to give a very interesting account of their strange manner of attacking the shepherds who attend the flocks. This account is too long for our limits; but it proves the Abyssinians to be inferior to none of the nations of Africa in barbarism: the Muhamedans are a refined people when compared to them!

Our traveller gives an interesting account of the salt which appears to be the circulating medium; it is cut into pieces, ten inches long and three wide, of a long square form, 35 pieces pass for a dollar, 55 pieces pass for a vocate of gold, and the gold is worth 8 dollars the vocate.* It is brought in small pieces, from the size of a small pin's head to a pea; it is pure gold. '

By this description of the gold, it appears to be precisely the same kind of dust or small particles with that which is brought from Timbuctoo, and other parts of Sudan, to Fas, by the Kaffilas, across the Sahara.

Vocate must be derived from the Arabic ukiat an ounce. Gold at Timbuctoo is about the same value, viz. eight Mexico dollars per okiat or ounce. It appears by this observation that there is a coin called a vocate okiat, or ducket, worth something more than a dollar, as well as a weight called a vocate.