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Oct. 25, 1851.] Mlfrt &**&**? 1019
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KiUx&tnn.
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rviticaare not the legislators, tut the ...
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It is pleasant to communicate pleasant n...
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Charles Lamb, in one of his exquisite es...
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THE BLUE AND WHITE NILES. Khartoum and i...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Oct. 25, 1851.] Mlfrt &**&**? 1019
Oct . , 1851 . ] Mlfrt &**&**? 1019
Kiux&Tnn.
KiUx & tnn .
Rviticaare Not The Legislators, Tut The ...
rviticaare not the legislators , tut the judges and pohc « of ivteramre . They do not make laws—they interpret and try to enforce them -Edinburgh Review .
It Is Pleasant To Communicate Pleasant N...
It is pleasant to communicate pleasant news , and our pen glides over the paper with unusual animation as it hastens to announce that Chablks Dickens is about to issue a new work . Upon what delighted ears that sound will fall ! To how many thousands it will make the first of every month a day of expectation ! Thackeray , as we told you long ago , is to present us with his new work all at once ; three volumes , not twenty numbers . To a smaller class of readers , and yet a class not small , it will also be pleasant news , that a Life of Niebuhr , under the direction of Chevalier Buns en , is on the eve of publication .
No lack of winter reading 1 Besides the works just named , and those already on our table , there is Herman Melville ' s Whale tempting all lovers of amusement ; there is Kaye ' s War in Aff ~ ffhanistan , likely to be an extremely important book ; there is Broderip ' s Leaves from the Note Book of a Naturalist to seduce all readers—rand many other books we cannot stop to name .
Charles Lamb, In One Of His Exquisite Es...
Charles Lamb , in one of his exquisite essays , speculates on the effect of some other organ chosen in lieu of the heart as the source of emotional feeling . He pictures a gentleman addressing a lady thus : — " Allow me , Madam , to make you a tender of my hand—and liver ! Imagine the destruction of sentiment ! Imagine Julia passionately offered Henry ' s fortune and diaphragm ! Yet if Julia were a Greek instead
of a Saxon , she would accept the diaphragm and liver , avec empressement . For in those regions did the Greeks locate intelligence and tenderness . Do we not read in Anacreon Low the poet sleeping quietly is aroused by a furious knocking at the door : getting up , he sees a little damp Boy , who has been " wandering through the moonless night , " upon whom he takes pity , admitting him to his fireside ; the Boy , dried and warmed , takes up his bow ( for the Boy is Cupid ) , bends it , aims at Anacreon , and shoots him in the centre of the —heart ? no—the liver ! \ ocyvet < $ e koci fAt rv-nrei Meaov yjirxp . Henceforth Anacreon is Liver-sick , Liver-weary , broken-livered ! As to the diaphragm , we learn from Dr . Scott ' s Lectures on the History of Medicine , publishing in the British Journal of Homeopathy , that the " membrane separating the chest from the abdomen , now called diaphragm , was formerly called > p <; ye $ , being supposed to be the seat of the understanding or prudence , a doctrine controverted as early as " the time of Hippocrates , or at least of the author of the work De Morho Sacro ascribed to him . " The reason for locating intelligence in the diaphragm seems to have been that in sudden joy or grief , " it starts and manifests uneasiness . " As to the Brain , no suspicion of its preeminence existed ) not only was its capital function unsuspected , - but even by Aiustotlk it was regarded as a sort of superfluous mass of earth and water , without blood or sensation , and quite different from the spinal marrow . It is sometimes said to refresh or temper the heat of the heart—an expression , us Dr . Scott remarks , which , if understood metaphorically , is not far from the truth .
What curious reflections arc suggested by such revelations of the early guesses of science ! The Nerves , properly so called , were unknown to Aiu . sToTi . ic ; the Brain was to him an unimportant inasH ; yet Modern Science haa learned , not only to t-onsidur the Nervous System as the highest development of organic matter , but has made it the haniH of all classification in Zoology . Yet while < he earl y reeordn of Science startle us with what ueema inconceivable ignorance on familiar points ,
they also startle us with what look like the anticipations of our latest discoveries . Thus , amidst much that is preposterously wrong , Dr . Scott mentions that Plato " conceived the formation of the human body began with the spinal marrow , which then became covered with bones , and the bones with flesh ; that the bonds which unite the soul and body are in the spinal marrow , and that the seat of the reasonable soul is in the brain , which is a continuation of the spinal marrow , and
is as a chamber prepared for the divine seed . " With very slight modifications modern embryology would endorse that passage ; yet we know that it was mere guess work with Plato . We have only to continue the passage to see how little scientific knowledge there was as a basis for his views . " That part of the soul on which depend generosity , anger , and courage , he placed near the head , between the diaphragm and the neck , i . e ., in the
chest or heart , agreeably to Pythagoras , and he taught that the lungs were made to surround the heart , in order to refresh it and calm the violent movements of that department of the soul which therein had its residence , by the freshness derived partly from the air respired , and partly from a portion of the drink which descended to the lungs . Another department of the soul , the seat of the appetite and desires , is placed between the diaphragm and navel . "
The Blue And White Niles. Khartoum And I...
THE BLUE AND WHITE NILES . Khartoum and ihe Blue and White JViles . By George Melly . 3 vols . Colburn and Co . One is never tired of reading books about the East . The very names of the cities , rivers , and monuments have a magic in them , calling up , as they do , the charming associations of The Arabian Nights , recalling the delightful visions and romances of childhood : — " When the breeze of a joyful dawn blew free In the silken sail of infancy . The tide of time flowed back with me , The forward-flowing tide of time ; And many a sheeny summer mom AdoAvn the Tigris I was borne By Bagflat ' s shrines of fretted gold High-wall'dgardens green and old ; True Mussulman was Ijand sworn , For it was in the golden prime Of good Haroun Alraschid . " To heat afeout Cairo , Thebes , the Nile , Ipsamboul , the Pyramids , harems , Nubians , dancing girls , dervishes , and mysterious magnificent Pachas , we would willingly listen to the dullest speaker that ever had anything to say on that subject . Mr . George Melly is a very pleasant speaker , and his work is , therefore , perfectly welcome . He writes in a plain , straightforward way , of what he actually saw , paints unambitious pictures with agreea-ble ease , indulges very little in rhetoric and rhapsody , is meritoriously abstinent in sham historicarieaming and in political or philosophical speculation , and is altogether an unaffected , gentlemanly companion , who , without impressing you as a profound thinker or brilliant writer , tries to make you see some faint picture of what he himself saw . We found it light , agreeable reading , and recommend you to try it . Mr . George Melly set off from Trieste in September , 1850 , with his father and mother , brother and sister . Having two ladies with them , made their expedition a more serious matter , no ladies having previously ventured so far into Nubia us Khartoum , where the Blue and White Niles branch off . Their success will encourage followers . Mr . Melly cannot resist lingering by the way , and recording his experiences in Alexandria and Cairo ; and , trodden us these cities have been by touri . stN , they still present u sort of freshness to the reader . We shall cull from these pages a few illustrative extracts , having the render ' s amusement in our eye : —• Till ! HHIi : l . I > OI OKNTI . KN-1 'HH .
" The Nubian outrunners exert : jho their vocation in u very merciluuH way , auul I once , with equal surpi ise and pleanure , nuw one thwarted in his vindictive purpoHoa in •» manner that 1 cannot hut record . An Arab hoy , with the mischievous propensities of hi » age , had scrambled up behind the carriage- of AH Hey , a son of Ibrahim Pasha ' s , when proceeding through one of the Htrecta of Cairo ; hat b «* ing perceived by the Nubian , Hprnng down again , and miulo oil . Huh , however , did not satisf y the outrunner , who instantly dashed after him , las face contorted
with rage , and leaving no doubt that he intended to inflict a most severe chastisement . The poor littl « urchin ran for his life , and w ell he might ; for one blow of the Nubian s whip , wielded by such a muscular arm , must certainly have crippled him . So desperate were the boy ' s efforts to escape , now darting up the street , and then wheeling round and round * that the chase became quite excitiiyg . cauaing everyone-, to stop and look on , though only one dared to interpose . This amiable exception was a Turkish lady , -who .
just as the boy was sinking from exhaustion , drew him towards her , and threw her robe over him . Thia was like casting down the king ' s gage , in the day * of jousts and tournaments ; and Oriental chivalry forbade the Nubian to advance . After a few moments' hesitation , he turned sullenly away , like a baffled tiger , and the boy was set at liberty . Thu » even here , the ministering gentleness of woman makes itself apparent , and her influence is felt and acknowledged . ''
A I . ITTLE SHOPPING . " Strangers attract little attention , and I walked about here alone without exciting any observation ; but when accompanied by an English lady , she became the centre of all eyes , and I have no doubt the old Turks were much shocked at such a public exhibition of an unveiled lady , though I overheard them likening her to a beautiful full moon , and making other flattering remarks on her charms . " But though not stared at , the moment I accosted any of the merchants , they replied to me in the kindest manner , and I was invited to sit on the divan , and smoke the best pipe , whilst gold filigree
coffeecups were despatched for the thickest coffee , whieh made its appearance in the most complimentary quantities . My hosts did not talk much , and were very laconic in their replies to my questions as to the state of the nation . They inquired after our ladies , but had I made any such inquiry of them , they would have deemed it an unpardonable liberty . They were , however , very communicative about their children , and , from what I could learn , they all had a beautiful daughter at home . I went sometimes with the dragoman , and sometimes alone , when , indeed , I was best received , though I could only converse by signs , and this amused them much . But I
soon picked up a few words , and at once the word taib , ' good , on which I told an old Turk it was the only word wanted there , as all was taib . ' He immediately set to work unlocking case after case for my amusement , displaying among other preeioun things , the most rare slippers , which I was afterwards told were worn by lad . es in bed . They were one mass of pearls , and cost about £ 40 a pair . I was shown handkerchiefs of the Parisian open work , in every stitch of which was a pearl , rendering the article entirely useless ; and mouth-pieces of amber were produced , varying in price from £ 100 to £ 150 , the value being thus raised by diamonds , mounted in the gold rings between the joints .
" I was never tired of this old man , and I saw him very often . He always addressed me as the * Cavaghi , ' a word which I had at first suspected to mean ' dog of a Christian , ' but was subsequently persuaded , meant 1 Illustrious stranger . ' He never seemed to expect me to buy anything , which , indeed , I never did , but was content to see others do . A lady , very richly dressed , came to him one day , and negotiated for a pair of pearl slippers . She began by talking of all sorts of things , and then offered ; ib ut one third of
the price named . The Turk turned to me , and a long smoke ensued , when he came down a fourth , and she came up after another interval , to within , about £ 6 of his last offer , and then she went off with the slippers , having stood the beat part of an hour . While the negotiation was in progress , I offered her my sent , but she did not seem to have the least idea of what I meant , and stared at me with her beautiful but expressionless eyes , as if she thought me extremely restless . "
VISIT TO THE IHtltVIHHKH . " I witnessed a curious religious ceremony at the college of Dervishes . Filtering a large courtyard I found between twenty and thirty persons scaled on cane divans , tmiokiug pipes , and apparently wailing the tune appointed lor commencing the service . A young boy off . it .-d me a seat , and invited me to take a pipe and some eolfi e , so unlimited and m > « pontaiii'oiis are Knsteru hospitality and courtesy , displayed even to utter strangers , in the most put 1 « places . After 11 considerable interval we all took off our shoes , and entered a spacious hall , rising to n dome of great height , and hung round with knivew ,
bucklers , and bows . Five Dervishes were seated in a circle in the centre , on sheep . skinn ; ami round the sides of the hall , bear and tiger wkiiiH were spread for visitora . The Dervishes wcro now joined by other .-, and by a crowd of devotees , 011 which they all began a low and rather monotonous chant , though the effect , from the union of ho many voices , wan not inharmonious . The I ) ervinhea now numbered thirteen , but the devotees , who Hcemed equally / . calou » , amounted to twenty-four , and were composed of « cnpuM in the army , u janissary , three or four Holdiers , wevcral men in rich drcaacn , mid a residue of beggurs ! Gradually their tones rose higher , and
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 25, 1851, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_25101851/page/15/
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