It may naturally be expected that this revolutionary delirium will, on more than one occasion, impede the flight of his imagination; but we may feel equally certain that the fetters will be broken. "I am wild,” writes he; "daring hopes are rising within me, like a tree bearing golden fruit, whose branches shoot forth in every direction, and reach even to the clouds. Adieu, projects of rest! I know now what I wish to do, what I can do, and what I ought to do. I am the son of the revolution, and I will wear the arms my mother has blessed. Give me some flowers, I want to crown my head for a mortal combat! my lyre, also; give me my lyre, that I may sing a battle-song! I know words that resemble flaming stars, words that would burn castles and illumine cottages. I know words that are like poisoned arrows; they will reach the seventh heaven, and transfix the hypocrites who conceal themselves under the holiest of

holies......

How singular a medley of words! This confusion, which is already a characteristic feature of H. Heine's writing, will be found daily to increase. Generous hopes and impious expressions, enthusiasm and blasphemy will be curiously interwoven in all his productions, and the thoughtless will be fascinated. Let us henceforth be mistrustful, and beware lest we be deceived: hitherto the most lively sallies of the poet have borne their corrective within them; now, the artless charm seems to have disappeared, his irony is no longer the sudden flight of a careless idea, sent forth by chance, and returning again to the point from which it started; there is something constrained and premeditated in it; the poet whets it in anger. Let us exercise patience nevertheless, this delirium will last but for a time; when the stormy period is passed, the demagogue will again become a poet, and once more enjoy his former tranquillity of mind.

THE PLAGUE SHIP.

"True, I talk of dreams,

Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,
Which is as thin of substance as the air."
SHAKESPEARE.

HAVING arrived at Alexandria, and brought the mountain Chieftains of Lebanon thus far towards their native land, I now considered all further difficulties at an end; in anticipation, therefore, of shortly embarking with my charges, and making a speedy and pleasant voyage to Beyrout, I now quietly "smoked the chibouque of satisfaction on the carpet of repose." It so happened, however, that I had reckoned without my host.

Commodore Napier-whom I informed of the shameful treatment experienced by the captive Sheikhs and Emirs, on their way from Sennaar had taken precautions to insure them every comfort on their arrival at Alexandria, where they were-through his provident intercession-lodged and fed, in a manner more suitable to their rank and misfortunes than had

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previously been the case, during their late resi dence at Cairo; whilst, through the medium of the same channel, they were liberally supplied with clothes and other requisites, and had even a considerable sum of money placed at their command.

It has been justly remarked, that there is no diplomatist equal to a British man-of-war; and whilst some of these eloquent and persuasive negotiators were at hand, everything had a promising appearance, and the preparations for our departure went on, as the sailors say, "with a will."

One of the Pasha's steamers was to be placed at my disposal, and the Commodore having seen, as he imagined, everything made square, departed with his squadron for Marmorice Bay. No sooner, however, was the British "negotiator" out of sight, than all preparation for our departure appeared at once to come to a stand-still. The engines of the Egyptian steamer were suddenly found to be quite out of order, and it was stated it would require several days to effect the requisite repairs. I patiently waited the specified time, when it was next discovered that the vessel had sprung a

leak; and I discovered, when too late, that French intrigue had been at work to thwart my proposed undertaking, and delay, or endeavour entirely to prevent, my conveying back the mountain Chieftains to their respective homes.

It may be asked: what could possibly have been the object of this unlooked-for interference with the Commodore's design? a design in itself, which-although partly dictated by policy-was, undoubtedly most charitable and humane.

The reason of the opposition I then met with, although perhaps a mystery to the uninitiated, was palpable to all such as happened to be versed in the politics of the East; and its cause may be traced back as far as Bonaparte's expedition to Syria, in 1799.

Napoleon, whose prescient and eagle glance had, from the moment he turned his arms in this direction, embraced at once the Caucasus, the southern frontier of Russia, and even our remotest possessions in the East: that glance had at once fixed the Taurus and the Lebanon to be-the one a natural barrier against the encroachments of the Czar, the other the gateway opening, through Persia, a pathway to the golden regions of Hindostan. Alexander the Great had, with a handful of Macedonians, conquered all the intervening countries, crossed the Indus, and next defeated the most powerful monarch of the East. Why, therefore, should Napoleon Bonaparte, with— as was then supposed-the finest troops in the world, not be able to carry a smilar project into effect? The conqueror of Italy pronounced his "Open sesame" before the gates of Acre; but our gallant countryman, Sir Sidney Smith, was there, told him there was no “thoroughfare" that way, and Napoleon was thus unexpectedly checked in his first great stride towards the East.

The successful defence of Acre, and the consequent retreat of the French army, arrested Napoleon's ambitious projects in the East; but the French have, nevertheless, from that period, been unceasing in their endeavours to establish and maintain their influence amongst the mountain tribes of the Lebanon-a design which has been greatly facilitated from the circumstance of the greater part of the population being Christians, and acknowledging the sway of Rome; a circumstance which the pious Bourbon successors of Bonaparte had never failed likewise to turn to good account.

Such was the state of the "Mountain"-as the Lebanon is called par excellence-when the conquests of Ibrahim Pasha turned the

eyes of the European powers towards the East, and caused the presence of those powerful French and English fleets, which, during the summer of 1839, were anchored in Busseekah Bay, at the entrance of the Dardanelles.

Meanwhile the victorious Ibrahim continued. to advance on the capital of the Turks; the "integrity" of the Ottoman empire was considered to be in danger, and those decisive steps. were then taken by the united powers, which led to hostilities against Egypt; in which the French not only declined to take a part, but, for a moment, appeared irresolute whether or no they would side with Mehemet Ali, and desolate the world with all the horrors of a European war. The whole of Syria had, after the capture of Acre by the Egyptians, in 1832, fallen under the sway of Ibrahim Pasha, and his administration of the regions of the Lebanon, had in particular, been cruel and tyrannical in the extreme. The mountain tribes of every sect-Maronites and Druses, Christians and idolators were, one and all, most eager to be rid of their oppressors; and when Commodore Napier landed at Djouni Bay, and advanced with an Anglo-Turkish force into their country, the hardy mountaineers eagerly flocked around his standard, and followed him to the heights of Boharsef, where he defeated the Egyptians, drove Ibrahim Pasha from what was considered an impregnable position, obliged him to retreat on Damascus, and thus added tenfold, to the great popularity he had already acquired. The name of the "Komodor-el-Kibir" * was enthusiastically re-echoed amidst the rocks and craigs of the Lebanon; and that of England became "exalted" in the "Mountain," to the serious detriment of the previous influence of France, which had hitherto passively contemplated the oppression to which the mountaineers had so long been helplessly exposed.

The events then in occurrence were, of themselves, sufficient to show the precarious nature of our overland communication with India, whilst the channel of that communication was confined to Egypt, and liable at every moment to be occupied by the French. Commodore Napier, spite of the charge of "want of discretion," which has subsequently been laid to his door, was quite "discreet" enough to be fully aware of the importance of taking advantage of this opportunity to supplant French influence in these rocky strongholds-- destined, perhaps, to be at some future period the keystone of our power in the East; nor did he leave any expedient untried in order to effect

*The Arabic for "Great."

this object; and so successful was he in his efforts to establish a popular feeling in favour of England, that he was not only adored by both Druses and Maronites, but had, strange to say, likewise managed to turn to account some of those Roman Catholic religious establishments which swarm in the Lebanon, and whose inmates possess great influence over the rude and ignorant mountaineers. *

It were perhaps well, and might perchance be turned to the future advantage of England, if our "discreet" rulers would, in their relations with Syria, adopt some of the precepts of the Commodore, and only bear in mind that the Turkish empire may one of these days be dismembered, Constantinople and the Caucasus in the power of Russia, Egypt occupied by the French and that Syria, the Lebanon, and the Euphrates may then possibly become the stepping-stones to our possessions in the East.

Be this, however, as it may, such were the reasons combined with the real interest he felt in behalf of his late gallant companions in arms-which gave rise to my mission to Egypt in quest of the captive mountain Chiefs: hence the cause of French intrigue, and their endcavour to throw every difficulty in my way, in order that England might, if possible, be prevented from having the credit of performing an act which would still further enhance her latelyacquired popularity in the Lebanon ; and hence the unexpected prolongation of my stay at Alexandria after the departure of the Commodore.

This delay, sufficiently vexatious in itself, was rendered still more annoying by other concomitant circumstances, peculiar to the locality where I was so provokingly detained.

Hitherto, from my first arrival in Egypt, at the commencement of the year, the climate

Amongst these may be mentioned the Jesuit establishment at Bhekfaia, whose superior, Padre Ryllo, was so successful in stirring up the "Mountain" in our favour, incurring thereby to such a degree the displeasure of France, that Louis Philippe obtained from the court of Rome his deposition as superior of the Jesuits on Mount Lebanon; and he was consequently banished to Malta. Ryllo was by birth a Pole: he had fought gallantly against Russian oppression in his country's cause; and when that cause was lost, he retired in disgust from the world, and became a disciple of Ignatius Loyola. The author of these pages again, subsequently, met Padre Ryllo, at the Propaganda in Rome: his spirit was, however, of too ardent a nature to submit to the ordinary routine of a priestly life he volunteered to carry the precepts of Christianity into the far interior of Africa, where he ended his career, being murdered by the barbarous natives of those distant and unknown regions bordering the "White Nile."

From its hot wing a deadlier blast,
More mortal far, than ever came
From the red desert's sands of flame,
So quick, that every living thing
Of human shape, touched by his wing,
Like plants, where the Khamseen' hath past,
At once falls black and withering."

The "Hot Winds" of India, the "Levanter" of Gibraltar, the "Sirocco" at Naples and Malta, are all sufficiently unpleasant, but none of these are to be compared, in their disagreeable and deleterious effects, to the much-dreaded Khamseen," which periodically sweeps over the land of the Pharaohs, and derives its name from the circumstance of being supposed to last for the period of fifty days.

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When the "Khamseen" blows, body and mind appear to be equally prostrated in the dust-or, more correctly speaking in the fine and almost invisible particles of sand-which, wafted from the interminable desert, on the "wings of the Simoon," pervade every object, however carefully secured. Shut doors and windows, close up every crevice you can see, notwithstanding all the precaution you may take, furniture, tables, and flooring, in short, every tangible object, will nevertheless, be completely covered with a fine, impalpable sand, which penetrates into your boxes and wardrobes, and will even find its way into the works of your chronometer or your watch.

This-as may well be imagined—is disagreeable; but the "Khamseen' is a minor evil, and one unthought of, when—as is often the case-it is the forerunner of, and ushers in the mysterious and dreaded visitation of the PLAGUE.

I shall say nothing on the origin and supposed causes of this fearful scourge-suffice it to observe, that on the occasion to which I now allude, its presence was first discovered shortly after my return to Alexandria with the exiled mountain Chiefs; nor shall I ever forget the sensation I experienced of stupefaction, of horror, and of awe, when the fearful tidings were confirmed, announcing that the destroying demon actually soared above us and around,

with the knowledge that a miserable death unavoidably awaited those on whom might fall the mysterious shadow of his poisonous wing!

So much are we, in most instances, the children of custom and habit, that this rule will apply even to our relations with that grim visitant called Death, to whom all must-in whatever form he may appear-sooner or later be introduced. The soldier and the sailor will sometimes view respectively, with comparative indifference, his approach, when borne towards them on the field of battle, or in the whirlwind of the storm; the Turk and the Egyptian, accustomed to the periodical appearance of the plague, armed, moreover, with their belief in a predestined fate-a firm reliance on their “Khismut”—can witness its approach with much more philosophy and resignation than most Europeans-I speak for myself as onenor will I attempt to conceal that I heard of the actual presence of this fearful scourge with mingled feelings of horror, fear, and mental depression, which I cannot well describe, and could not then controul.

Nor were the surrounding objects calculated to dissipate the unpleasant sensations, suggested by the announcement of the actual appearance of the plague.

The lower class of the inhabitants of Alexandria are all crowded together in confined, loathsome, and filthy hovels, amongst which the pestilence soon raged with a fearful violence, which no precautionary measures could restrain; and from amidst these Golgothas, accounts of horrors were sometimes wafted, which were far from agreeable to "cars polite," and ill-calculated to reconcile us (the small European portion of the community) to the unpleasant position in which we were then placed.

I must, in justice to the officials of Alexandria, say, that notwithstanding the passive reliance which all good Mahometans are supposed to place in their "Nusseeb," or predestined fate, no precautions were left untried to arrest the destroying evil in its fatal course. The Arab huts I have alluded to, were periodically examined, and cleared of the infected, the dying, and the dead; for it will scarcely be credited, that, to conceal the latter, (in order not to be themselves subject to the stringent rules enacted in such cases,) the survivors would often bury them around, even in their hovels, and under their very beds; whilst from these shallow graves, human remains, in every state of decomposition and decay, would not unfrequently be torn out, and exposed to sight,

by those lean, gaunt, and hungry troops of dogs, which act as scavengers, and infest the streets and purlieus of every eastern city.

I had taken up my residence in a large French hotel, situated in a fine, airy, open square, in the eastern, or European quarter of the town; the windows of the apartment I occupied commanded an unlimited view of the bright blue expanse of the Mediterranean Sea; and here when the official business of the day was at an end, did I generally seclude myself, in order to escape the unpleasant sights and sounds of death, which, even in this "Belgravia" of Alexandria, would occasionally offend the ear and eye. Nor was it possible, with every precaution I could adopt, to exclude unmistakeable evidence of the fearful pestilence which raged around; sounds of lamentation and of woe would often, even in this seclusion, obtrude themselves upon the ear, as the "wilwah," or piercing cries of grief, shrilly uttered by the closely-veiled and phantom-like-looking figures of the female mourners following every successive corpse, but too plainly announced that "Azraeel," the grim angel of death, continued still busily to ply his trade!

Anxious in every way to divert my thoughts from such constantly-recurring and painful scenes, I asked mine host, if he had, or could procure me any books, wherewith to while away the dull and dreary hours, I then found to hang so heavily on hand.

My worthy Boniface was not himself a reading man, but, having successfully applied in my behalf to an Italian adventurer, who happened at the time to be his guest, he brought me for perusal a copy of Boccaccio's Decameron, which, by a strange coincidence, I opened at the very passage descriptive of the Florence plague. With a morbid feeling, for which it is difficult to assign a cause, I continued to pore over this vividly horrible account, and which appeared to me so applicable to what I then myself beheld, that I may perhaps be forgiven, if I here transcribe a few appropriate passages from this celebrated work.

"In the year 1348, a deadly pestilence-whether brought on by any particular revolution of the celestial bodies, or in consequence of the anger of the Almighty, aroused by the iniquities of men-which had appeared some years previously in the East, and, after causing unheard-of ravages in those parts, had gradually progressed towards the West, and at last showed itself in Florence, that most beautiful and perfect of all the cities of the Italian

states.

"In spite of every precaution-such as cleansing the city from all filth and impurity, preventing the admission therein of any diseased person, with many other precautionary measures of health— notwithstanding also the numerous religious pro

cessions, and humble supplications offered up to the Almighty by revered and holy persons-notwithstanding all this, from the commencement of the spring in the aforesaid year, did this fearful infliction exercise its influence in the most fearful and miraculous way.

"In the East, one of the mortal symptoms of this plague was a rush of blood from the nose of the person who was attacked; but, here, the evidence of the disease first manifested itself by certain swellings, which appeared both in the male and female sex, about the groin, and under the arm-pits, of the persons so attacked.

"These swellings assumed in some the size and shape of a common apple, in others that of an egg; some were larger, and others smaller; and the swellings were generally known by the name of 'gavoccioli.' The disease would next assume the character of black or livid spots, showing themselves sometimes on the arms, thighs, and other parts of the body; in some cases large, and small in number, in others quite the reverse; but always, like the 'gavoccioli,' prognosticating certain death. "No precautions or medical treatment appeared to be of the least avail, for, whether it be that the nature of the disease admitted of no cure, or that the doctors (of whom, besides regular practitioners, the number had become very great, by many quacks, both men and women, having then undertaken the healing art) were ignorant of what that cure should be, few patients ever recovered; generally speaking, about three days after the abovementioned signs, falling victims to the disease, without fever or any other accident."

The Florentine author continues most largely to descant on the horrors he then witnessed himself-details which it would be here unpleasant to repeat, but the account of which corresponds most exactly with the appearance and symptoms of the plague at the present day.

One circumstance which he mentions is worthy of remark-namely, the liability to which even animals were exposed of being infected by the deadly contagion which then raged abroad. Boccaccio gives examples, in point, which he states to have himself beheld, and his assertions are corroborated by what other authors have advanced to the same effect; in short, the pestilence which prevailed in Florence in the year 1348 appears-save in being more intense-to vary in no respect from that which I witnessed at Alexandria a very few years ago.

It may well be imagined that my anxiety to quit so unenviable a residence, to bid adieu to the "land of the Pharaohs," and to fulfil without further delay the object of my mission, was not a little increased by the existing state of affairs. I had no idea if I could possibly avoid it-of becoming a martyr to what I considered far worse than all the united "plagues" which desolated this land of bondage in the

this medium my departure from the world—a medium which I considered to be at once quite out of both the regular military and diplomatic line; nor will I attempt to deny, that, whilst thus provokingly delayed in the midst of this city of the dying and the dead, I felt all the time in a most confounded stew. All my most strenuous efforts to accelerate our departure appeared, however, to be of no avail: the steamers of which the viceroy had two or three-were still reported to be unfit for sea; one was leaky, and the engines of the other had suddenly got out of repair. I had seen Mehemet Ali on the subject, and had had endless audiences with his prime minister, Boghos Bey, whose kind regard for my welfare would not suffer me on any account to expose my valuable life in an unscaworthy craft.

The Pasha listened to my representations with coolness, and replied to them, as I thought, with some little want of civility: Boghos Bey -a plausible, oily, old Armenian, who spoke French like a Parisian, and appeared to follow Macchiavelli's precept, that language was meant only to conceal our thoughts-old Boghos Bey was always affable in the extreme; he granted me daily interviews; sent his carriage to convey me to his residence; always placed me in the seat of honour, on an ottoman, by his side; his sherbet was delicious; his coffee, pure Mocha; from a splendid amber-mouthed chibouque I inhaled the aroma of undeniable "Latakia;"* but, amidst all this hospitality, he ever managed, with some fresh excuse, to delay the period when we should embark ;-till, at last, losing all patience, I plainly told him I would stand no more humbug, and that if a vessel of some sort were not immediately got ready for the conveyance of my party to Beyrout, I would start for Malta, by the steamer, which was to carry thither the expected Indian mail; and thence report the whole transaction to my government, and likewise "tell the Commodore."

Next day I received a communication from "Monsieur le Ministre"-as old Boghos was always styled-stating, that as it was found the repairs required by the steamers would take a considerable time to effect, his Highness the Pasha had placed one of the corvettes of his fleet at my disposal, for the purpose of conveying back the Syrian chieftains to Beyrout; and that this vessel would be ready to depart whenever I might please. As may readily be

*The best tobacco of the Levant comes from Latakia, in the north of Syria.