veffel and hired another, which on hearing that a dreadful famine prevailed on the Coaft of Malabar, he freighted with rice, and proceeded to that place. In paffing oppofite the Coaft of Travancore, he fent his boat on fhore, the crew of which wanting a tiller, ftole what feemed to them an idol, which they converted to this purpofe. It turned out to be a Phallus. Having arrived at Cochin, he met a captain, who told him, that the famine no longer prevailed on the Coaft, but that it made dreadful ravages in Arabia. On no better grounds than this verbal communication, which proved in the fequel a lie, invented for felfith purposes, M. Grandpré failed up the Arabian Gulf to Mocha, and the remainder of his work is employed in defcribing Mocha, its government, trade, manners, &c. &c. One more fhort extract fhall fuffice. "The houses of the Arabs are much less convenient than ours. The most useful articles of their furniture are in the highest degree aukward: their locks in particular are mafter-pieces of ignorance; the box, fprings, bolt, key, are all made of wood, and fo unwieldy as to weigh at least twenty pounds: nor do they answer the purpofe for which they are intended; any key will open them as well as that which was made for the purpofe, and which will often indeed not do fo. The houses are almoft all built on the fame plan. The flair-cafe leads to a large anti-chamber, common to the whole floor, having the apartments round it. Inftead of pavement or flooring, they have flight beams of palm-wood covered with straw, and over this lime. This fort of floor has very little folidity, and is never level, fo that a table with four legs will feldom ftand firm. The hall in which visitors are received is covered with a carpeting of ftraw, and has a mattress laid round the fides, on which are a great quantity of cushions to fit or lie upon at pleasure, with fmall perfian carpets at the feet, when the intention is to be sumptuous. Above, all round the room, is one or more fhelves loaded with porcelain, which is the luxury of the country. They have no locking-glaffes, nor any coftly articles of furniture: porcelain conftitutes the whole of their decora tions. In the middle of the room a kind of garden is erected in the form of an amphitheatre, the centre of which is occupied by a large hooka, furnished with pipes for the ufe of the company, and the circumference with pots of flowers, and particularly bafil, which is highly elteemed. "The great felicity of an Arab is to be in a current of air, lolling upon a pile of cushions, imbibing the vapour of perfumes which are burnt at his fide, and fmoking fupinely his hooka, with no thought, no care to moleft him, perfuaded that the next day will bring with it a return of the fame indolence, and the fame enjoyments. The first itory of a houfe is ufually occupied by the women, who are feldom to be feen, and who have a fmall court appropriated to them in the inner part of the building, towards which their balconies look. "One of our friends, not very rich, of the race of the inhabitants of the mountains, and of course extremely black, gave us one day an invitation to his houfe, which we readily accepted. He introduced us into an apartment fimilar to the one I have described. I was defirous of feeing his feraglio, and I requested the favour of him, but to ho purpofe; he would not confent. Finding me earnest in this point, he alledged at laft motives of religion, which filenced me; but, in confequence of my importunity, he fuffered his women to drink their fherbet with us. They were three in number, and were veiled; one of them was his fifter. We were talking Portuguese, and were jovial and merry; but as foon as they entered, he begged us to affume a graver deportment. The therbet was brought, and I waited expecting the women to unveil: but no; they received their cups with a falam, and drank under their veils. The extreme blackness of their hands in fome degree moderated my defire of feeing their faces, and there was befides nothing very alluring in their figure; yet, like a true Frenchman, I conceived it a mark of politenefs to exprefs the with, that, by feeing, I might have an opportunity of admiring them. Our friend however would by no means confent to this, except as to his fifter; and here he previoufiy enjoined on us the greatest circumfpection; which we promised to obferve. She was then ordered to unveil. At first she made an appearance of hefitating; but a repetition of the demand determined her, and the let down an ourgandi that was fastened to her head, and difcovered a hand fome negro perfon, with fine eyes, prominent bofom, and a delicate skin. From being expofed in this manner to the gaze of two Chriftians, the appeared to fuffer pain, and fat in a state of embarraffment difficult to be expreffed, cafting down her eyes, without daring to look at us. Her brother meanwhile was watching all her motions. At laft, propofing to me a cup of fherbet, I faid, that I would take one with pleasure, if his fifter would do me This feemingly difpleafed him, for the honour to prefent it to me. he made her a fign. upon which the veil was refumed, and the three women withdrew inftantly. After this, he would never admit his filter into my prefence. I was piqued at his continued refufal, and endeavoured in every way I could devife to obtain without his knowTedge a fight of her. He however heard of my proceedings, and reproached me in terms expreffive not only of the danger I was incurring, but of the ingratitude with which I requited his friendship. is remonstrances made me ashamed of my conduct; and I gave up a purfuit which honour forbade, and a temporary dereliction of duty had tempted me to carry too far." Vol. ii. p. 166. The objections to this publication are, that it communicates but little that is new, that there is a great deal of perfonal vanity and conceit, and that what is divided into two volumes, would only have made one of a moderate fize. The plates are of no great value, and feem to be introduced with a view principally to increase the price, a custom too frequent, but which we fhall never fail to reprobate. M. Grandpré calls himself an officer of the French army, and does not tell us how all at G g BRIT. CRIT. VOL. XXI. APRIL, 1803. once once he became an expert navigator and merchant. It is no very ufual thing for a French officer to become a speculator in rice and coffee. The book is nevertheless entertaining, and may ferve as a very good fubftitute for Sonnerat, Niehbuhr, and other books of greater rarity and price. BRITISH CATALOGUE. POETRY. ART. 14. Poems, infcribed to the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Dudley and Ward; having a Reference to his Lordship's beautiful Seat of Himley. By Luke Booker, LL. D. 4to. 28 pp. 25. Hurst. 1803. The chief object of thefe Poems is to celebrate the beneficence and other virtues of an amiable nobleman, whom the author calls Macenas; and who, we truft, has from him deserved that name. We have, on former occafions, fpoken of Poems by this writer, in terms of approbation. Thofe which are before us are not likely to add to his reputa tion as a poet, though they redound to his credit as a man; breathing throughout the fentiments of benevolence and virtue. They confift of an Eclogue (called Mecenas) on a dangerous illnefs of Lord Dudley; two Poems, on a Scathed Oak, and a Young Oak, in Himley Park; Lines on hearing Part of Handel's Meffiah; an Infcription for a Deli in Himley Park; and a Poem called Himley, defcribing the beauties of that place, and the virtues of its noble owners. All these Poems, excepting one, are in rhyme; in which mode of compofition, Dr. B. appears to us lefs fuccefsful than in blank verfe. The Poem on hearing the Meffiah (which is in that meafure) pleafes us more than any other in the collection. As it is fhort, we will infert it here. After citing the well-known paffage from Cowper's Tafk, which begins with the line, "There is in fouls a fympathy with founds," the author proceeds thus: "Moft true, fweet Bard! and thy own tuneful lay Its various paufe, its full melodious tone Rolling along, enkindle in the breast Senfations in foft unifon with thine. Mufick's mellifluous founds tranfport my foul; Or to the fofter ftrain of Philomel, When When evening closes, and the yellow moon Yet-Oh exalting thought!-for ranfom'd man In heaven are gifted-blefs'd, fupremely blefs'd, The charmers and the charm'd!—that Blifs be ours!" P. 19. Upon the whole, this collection, though not very interesting to the public at large, will doubtlefs afford pleafure to the neighbours and friends of the author, and to his patron. ART. 15. Poems. By J. Bidlake, A. B. Chaplain to his Royal Highnefs the Duke of Clarence, and Mofter of the Grammar School, Ply15. Murray and Highley. 1803. mouth. No. 3. Crown 8vo. As we have taken up this author's Pems in the form of Numbers, we shall occafionally notice them in their progrefs. We are happy to commend a Poem in this Number, as of a higher train than the relt. The fubject is the Crucifixion, and it contains fome ftrong and spirited lines. The best are those which form the conclufion. "Thy reign, O Great Meffiah! shall be peace! The The other Poems in this Number are nine; which are all of 2 lighter kind. The prevailing fault is want of originality. Thus the Kofe is Prior's Garland, hafhed up with Only the virtues of the juft Live ftill and bloffom in the duft. Similar remarks might be made on most of the others, and the Sonnets are, fuch as we quoted onte before. ART. 16. The frantic Conduct of John Bull, for a Century past; or, a Review of his Wars and Debts. A Poemt, in Tri Cantos. Dedi› cated to the Right Hon. Henry Addington, Chancellor of the Exchequer. 1200. 89 pp. 29. Ridgway. 1803. No private gentleman has more advifers than Mr. John Bull, though they are not always very civil in their admonitions. This worthy friend addreffes him in doggerel, becaufe ferious advice, he fays, has always been disregarded. What wonders may be effected by an Hudibr flic Poem on the funding-fyftem and on wars, remains to be tried. It begins thus: Pluto for Plutus is rather unfortunate; but the fcience of moderti politics requires no learning, as its Lud.ft profeffors exemplify! This eminent teacher of that fchool goes on, in the fame ftrain, to give the history of John's debts, from the time when he began to fund to the prefent; but not without conftant reproaches for his folly and madnefs. He concludes thus: "Sixteen thousand pounds a day And upward, John, thou'ft thrown away, What think it thou of this long fretch'd tether? 'Twould make the very welkin ring, Whirling with fuch a rapid bound So ends this verfified remonftrance! The minifter will not be hich flattered with the Dedication, efpecially as it is nearly counterbalanced by the Pofticript at the other end. |