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THE Puerperan

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limbs-$119M“! clippers, maltreatment, a’ briefs

': residence thyLéhpi‘ion mdu'r'r'ta'irisfpitblished‘ Madrid, ‘hy Don . Carlos, Creag, lately cha‘rgé d’afi'aires at the Court of Portugal, and gaunt-runoff the statesman who signed ,,t._he Seville cons vention with theiMarqiris'Wellésiley’iir 189$ cdntain ra- thorjmeresting details ,_ I, ,2 , . ..

‘I‘ The Lebanon is inhabited by Maronites and Drusei. Thc._m instill Christiitié,"mfistlyC‘ét’hollcs, except:

a

rag thevf‘fgwfu'ho" profess the Greek“ rite. 'l‘heifDrus'es belong .10;th out instituted by tlre'dissolute IIa-Kcns: bi-Arnr-Allah, Caliplr of Egypt, the'o'rigin of which was

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reorganize“ the re rugnant bacclranalianrcxcesses which he indulgedfin‘i "’"d’ftdi‘h’ii vioféii't‘ death 'the Druscs look

"4&9: ll! Malibu, duties their persecutions followed rheumthither, rthey ultimately sought an asylum in the m 1*‘I’thlrtorr‘s -'Their' creed is, that there is a Gun, Iri‘s'Pfalihét’tlIE, fouhder of the sect, and that Gon‘crea'f tdd‘thh wutlrldiand a certain number of privileged, souls that never perish, which are the Druses, who a one shall enjoy the delights of this earth, _when er the day of ge- mm extermination shall arrive, whfc ’is to be accom- plished by an angel mounth on can horse. They practice polygamy and incest, m their own sisters in preference. ‘ i“-

The greetest dnimosity exists between the Maronite and thenruse, but they unite cheerfully when it be- comes necessary to defend the soil. They, born in the midst of~precipices and rocks, get accustomed from their earliest age to the hardest fatigues, by the efforts they have to lavish in order to work an arid and ungrate- ful soil, which only yields its scanty produce to propor- tion to the immense labour bestowed on it. The sort oflife that the configuration ofthe ground compels them to lpad, renders them dexterous and agile. The diffi- cdlty which the avenues to penetratointo their country ofl'ers,,ltnd the asperity» of the ground hinders foreigners from frequenting , it,.and by means ofthis forced exclu- sion from intercourse with others they have preserved theirdriginal habits. “The inhabitant of the ‘Lebanob ifl‘a‘bmte all, remarkable for his love ofindependence.

With a warlike. character, and oppressed by misery, thiinhabitantS' of the Lebanon often resisted the pay- ment ofthe unjust taxes with which the Sublime Porte, of which they were tributaries, Weighed them down. This resistance brought on continual conflicts, and a year ‘did not pass without the Pnclras of Aleppo and St. Jean 'd’A‘cre coming to the frontier, destroying the erups eludi'ngiothe‘r' grave injuries. to the inhabitants, withoutrdtowever, ever succeeding in penetrating into the inte‘rim

But tovrards the middle of the last century, during the reign of the'Sultan Selim, a general rebellion sprung up ill the Lebanon, which compelled the Porte to send thi- ther upwards of 80,000 men under the orders of various paehas. The mountains thus attacked at different points were defended by the inhabitants with unheard of con- ,Theyx proved in a thousand figfrts, during the seven years of that cruel struggle, that the enemy would never; be‘ able to penetrate into the interior. Though the frontier had been irrigated with blood, the interior of the country continued unpolluted, but the necessity of uppealin to arms had deprived agriculture ofits la- bourers. The fields became a dreary waste, and the moat heart-breaking hunger was causing horrible and awful inroads—the people wore redirect! to a terri- ble strait: but the Turks had likewise lost all hopes of reducing such high spirited men by force of arms;

* An arrangement took place between the contending parties. The inhabitants of Lebanon agreed to select a mussulman family to be governed by, who would under- stand with the Sublime Porte as to the tribute that should be“ paid. The people and their new governors were to settle,'amon'g themselves, the manner of levying the taxes, the administration ofjustice, and other mea- dares, in order to constitute the interior organization of the country.

,JThe ‘Marouites selected the illustrious family of Schelb, established at Damascus, composed at that time .of two brothers, both married, whose nobility reached upitoMahomet, whose descendants they were. These 3 tries; acceded to the terms on which the people of Le-

nnon tendered the Government of the mountains, and they fixed their residence in the capital Dyr el Camar. It incitin happened for the mountaineers that this fami- ly'embraced the Christian religion a few years after, by which means it identified its own interests with those of the country.

It might seem probable that this event should have in- sured the felicity of the country, by establishing a gua- ranteerthltt would preserve it from the effects of the sus- picion with which the Porte ever looked on the Leban- on, unready‘to ,emancipate itself from its dominion, at the snare time 'tlrat the country saw itself ruled by a fa- mily which was deeply interested in its prosperity and welfare. ' _

But, unfortunately, either through inexperience, or that the mountaineers had only thought of repairing the evils that came from abroad, they, at the time of fixing the, line of succession, fell into a vast error, that has now become a permanent source of broils and discord, which, at every moment, cover that wretched country with blood, mourning, and grief.

It was only in the event of the total extinction of the family Scheab that it could he succeeded in the govern- ment of the Lebanon by that of Ruseillen, a Druse fa- mily converted to Christianity, and connected by mar- riagewith the former. Upon the death of the reigning prruce,the people assemble at the respective parishes, and pornt out, as successor, such of his relatives as they deem most entitled to it by virtue of his qualifications, wrrtues, and courage. And as the family Scheab has become very considerable in point of riches, and nume- rousitn, respect of numbers, they all nourish a wish to' command. such of the candidates as do not obtain the legal suffrages of the people, resort to battle in order to obtain, by force of arms, what was lawfully refused. Upon such unfortunate occasions the family divides it- self in proportion to the prestige of each of the two rivals, reinforcing their ranks, and a civil war commences, which only terminates in the burning of the eyes and cutting the tongues ef-tho vanquished, this being the pu- nishment imposed by the-bouqueror.

The most eru‘clof these civil wars,~and which had only terminated a very little while‘previotrs'to my arrival in the Lebanon, was the one brought‘abOUt by the Emir Suleiman against his cousin the Emir Beschi‘r. 'All'the 35”“ family, 88 well as the Whole of the mountaineers, hadgtglgengn activepartin j it, and headed by the ex- fitmmtios 0W"! Dune member was-until then he

l.

'gtmngést,,,and had declared in favour of Prince Sale the

inn, ,tho..preponderance ‘having’: been obtained by: tmir ‘Sglgiman.and his brother Faris were consequently con-

lflaronrtes‘, who supported the Emir Beschir. The quered, and undervfirent, in punishment of their bad luck,

déiiufrt ,

his usua-rtirfnriirpfluihérmhatisr ’béirlg“ depriggd, gt siglrtidhd‘having’ theirftongues‘cut: out. ' 1-,”; v. .' ,W'nh’ thejviewjbt‘becominb; acquaintedfifwith the de- tais or museums,- I,,detefminedrupon, removing .to Jitdet y.Baabiia,'tlre residence ofthe conquered princes. I wrote to; Mr. Laurelle, our consul at Beyruth, jrequeSt- ing he wouldjproc'u‘reme 'a'mhster' who might teachgm‘e the,Arabic, and taking leave ofthe kind nuns at Amway directed my steps to Beyruth, where I heard from the. consul. to my infinite satisfaction, that'rhejmaster he had procured for me. was Tann‘us el "Schidrak, who had been secretary and counsellor of thejEmir'Sulerman, and, of course, well acquainted with everchircumstauce I wished to know. On the’ following day Isiarted for my new residence, and inthree-quarters ofanhour, after having traversed the still and melancholy valley _of Pines, towards sunset, I enlered the Lebgtr‘ron‘, which seemed to my view, as imposing and majestic as the CaSrawan. My mas'ter awziited me at asm’all house that had been prepared for» me at Jadet, and shortly after my arrival various servants-ofthe Enrirs Suleiman and

hood, came to compliment ‘me nrr behalf of their mas- ters, inviting me to attend the sahr't (evening assembly) at the residence of Emir Faris, where the princes met that evening. The invitation was gladly accepted, and attended towards nine o’clock. . z ‘ ' It was a summerveveuing, and [found the princes sitting beneath an immense oak-tree, on the lawn rn front of Emir Faris’s castle; the Emirs Suleiman and Hussein were with him. The three were deprived of sight in consequence oftheir rebellion, and, notwith- standing their tongues were cutout, they were able to speak with considerable difficulty. The prince Sulei- man could just ‘see a little through the left eye, owing to a circumstance which I shall further on refer to. Their reception of me was must gracious, making me sit by them, and they appeared to vie'with each other as to who should show me most attention. Coffee. and pipes having been served, the conversation became more ani- mated, the principal topics being politics, religion,,wars, and the circumstances in which the country found itself. Besides the three princes already named, there were present their sons and nephews, to the number of seven oreight, and aboutthirty armed servants were around us, in the attitude of receiving orders, agreeable to; the custom of the country. _ During our conversation, the Emirs were very expan- sive, which enabled me to form a conception oftbeir character. ‘ ° The Emir Suleiman was about 60, but preserving the vigour of his green years. Turbulent and impetuous, he longed for the opportunity of avenging his affront and humiliation, and his uneasy spirit only derived enjoy- ment from the violent emotions offights: he was \vretch- ed during periods of quiet and peace. He had abjured the Christian faith, and professed, with fanaticism, that of“ Islam :" a circumstance he was indebted to for hav- ing preserved some faint sight, because the executioner of the terrible punishment dictated by the Emir Beschir was his coreligionist. As all his relatives were Chris-

path gave rise to very obstinate quarrels, owing to the violence of his character. .

'I‘lre Emir Faris, on the contrary, was very mild, and of a quiet and contented disp03ition, supporting the weight of his misfortunes with truly Christian resigna~ tron. «

As to the Emir Hussein, considering his want. of talent and evident signs of idiotism, it was a matter of admiration to me to hear that he had exposed himself to such an awful punishment, when he must have been sure that he would reap no advantage from the victory.

Our intimacy became great within the next few days. The Entire, who, though Christians, keep their wives secluded from the society of men, in order to give me a proofof confidence and peculiar esteem, invited me to dine at their lrarems, a favour that is only dispensed to the members oftheir families.

One of the members of the family Scheah, who used frequently to come and ‘see me, evincing a desire of rendering our friendship more intimate, was the Emir " ‘ ', ayoung man of 2-5 years of age, of an agreeable if not very intellectual countenance; he had often told me that, in order not to be behind his uncles in proofs of confidence, fre wanted to present me to his princess, whose beauty Ire greatly praised. I had often heard the beauty of the Emira Negem landed, and as whenever she had been spoken of within my hearinw it had been done with .a significant meaninv, I becamoe anxious to see her, in order to fathom the mystery yvhich evidently was some how or other connected with rer. r '

On the day following that ofmy telling the Emir “ i" ' that I should call and pay my respects to his wife,I bended my steps towards his castle, situated about ‘2,- 000 yards from my .residence, at the entrance of the town and on a small eminence. Having gone into the house, and being about retiring, upon finding that the Emir was from home, on a shooting excursion, a servant came up stating that his lady desired me to proceed through the apartments. I then wenton, guided by the said domestic, until we reached a vast saloon adorned with a low divan that went round the four walls, in an angle of which, reclining on a large cushion next to a window, the princess was sitting, holding in one hand the long tube of narquile (a sort of glass pipe through which the water cools the smoke previous to its reachine the mouth) that was placed in the middle of the saloons. When I presented myself before her, She rose, and with an arrgelical voice said ‘Ahlan y Sahlan,’ (you are welcome). Obeying her orders, I sat by her side and with enchanting gracefulness she put to me all the variety of questions with which women, with such little

trouble, knew how to entangle and captivate our thoughts. perceive that she was gifted

It did not, require long to

with a fertile and quick imagination, which meta singu-

lar contrast in the sterility of her husband‘s mind. She presented them to me, be‘ ‘ ' ".1115

sent for his sisters and

of 15 and 16 years of age, to whom my presence (I considerable bashfulness, a circumstance that gave seine meirrmednt to thfiir lsistier-in-law, who, feeling for their aw 'war ness, s on a te ave t I ’

from the saloon. ' t g hem leave to Withdraw _ 'Ilhe Emira Negem again "put more rng our European habits, wonderin our.women enjoy, insinuating, they would probably use it to the bahndi. lUpo‘n 'm'y replying that w rc t re oriental women live are r ' fallible protection to their hu‘s’bar’ids, 10th: [isrliiiireg rim- mfrrlred shat women. are worse than the dag} (has, re: nun eli'gllthrpt)’ The conversation continried‘ vie; If; on various objects, which enabled, me rediscover ingixff'D amiable. interlocutor a festive disposition a sa " e understanding, kind and la‘dylike ’ gamus

' g at the liberty that wrth some malice, that prejudice.,oftheir hus- tlre high walls within

V ' manner-s, that mioht \V ' D ell have stood, the test With one of our paragons of

' ferio'r‘

Faris, whose palaces were in the immediate neighbonr- '

tians, their endeavours to bring him again into the right ’

questions regard- C

rainwater high-gsocrsrj .' Ilet‘figld 310W; ' ‘a' ’"h‘ “ r ‘a

24. . ears of‘a'o'e an m;g t.p.ass or”, I ; My ii hervbeiufifuleorm‘was set offto very. great-advert " ersian slave which she Wore. rks upon thingslthat'she’heard life greatly "Su‘r‘pri,se'tfl'~ men and f' conveying whatever she

beauty of’thfiéfilsf

class tags by the; dress of it? Her very opportune}??? for thefirst tirr’r‘ei'rn'jlfetf _ she ha’d’a winning, manners :sle-limonigfiothér things theE'mira inquired ,whetjh'erdour \vbrnen‘to'ok an active-part an our wars. I replrel the affirmative, acquainting lies-that ‘cou-ntry,‘Sp;1_tlp, had givensbirth toigreatglfirémesv; "1 “3le ttho 1.36:6! i: questionfro’tn” me, she replied'that sucgwas 3% t; £3 her her country, and that but forhlrer', the mlr: it a“ f r husbind, vvould',not,‘,now be living. éI"res.srngr }er further particulars, the Emira FePhedr BMW!“ ‘6?" ed a brother of my kusIZIa’qd, whom the latter did not are t to be murders ~.7 ~ - " ' l. tagfgpbsing from the silence that the awful‘surprfrse caused by her declaration "compelled’me ObseIV? it)“ a while, thatI was‘curious' to‘ learn the details 0 t e bloody history she was gorng to-relate, the princess rose and told me to follow her. Garng to the opposrte wrn- dow, from which we could see the rests of an encamp: ment on a mountain at a quarter ofa mile distance. "I‘lrat mountain you belrold,’ Said. she, ‘ was the spot where the Emir Selim bad fixed hrs head quarters; be- sides having sided with our enemies, 'In- the recent war, be aimed at dispossessing my husband, his brother, 0 his patrimony. My husband», not having sufficient courage to do it himself, ir‘itr‘ti‘sted mewrth theVduty of fiuhtixinr him, and the ground that lies between the crislle iind the mountain'is irrigated with blood losttrn the fights that I have headed, sometimes to repulse hrs attacks, others to attack him. in llIS own posrtrons. ‘ “ After manv conflicts I became persuaded that our adversary was riot sufficiently powerful to overcome us, nor had we sufficient force to compel him to abandon a spot from whence be caused us grave inconvenience. In this cruel alternative I resolved to have him assassr- noted, for which purpose I caused proposalsof peace to be submitted to him, which he' admitted, because,'pur- posely, the terms proposed’ were most advantagebus to him. He came to our castle, for the purpose ‘of con- cluding the terms, and I determined to realise my project upon the very night of his supping with us.. My faithful Selim was the only one in the secret, and it was he that had to execute my design.” I then remembered that the favourite servant of thelhouse, a stout young man of 30, with black eyes and a ’feroci0us look, was called Selim. ‘In order that you may the better know the details of this scene,“ continued the princess, ‘1 shall conduct you to the spot Where, the murder took place.’ The Emira directed her course through several dark corridors, where I followed her, descending with her a very dark staircase, with art immediate inlet into a saloon, the windows of which opened on a precipice. Arriving into the apartment, the Emira ,told me that it was the one destined for the Emir Selim. ‘ It was here that 1 carried him to be assassinated. ' When the hour of’going to rest arrived, we allowed him to go, taking great care to dispel every possible suspicion from his nrirrd. \Vlrilst he undressed, I,’ continued the princess, with a faultering voice, ‘was giving my last orders._ 'Ac- cording to previous ones all arms within his reach had been removed to a room where we would have taken refuge if our object had failed, in order to defend our-_ selves from Selim and his followers. “ \Vhen the hour marked out by his destiny had ar— rived,” continued that singular woman, “ Selim, armed with pistols and sword, and I, descended by that very sanre staircase. We listened at the door, which was lralfopen, in order to ascertain if he was sleeping, trem- bling that he might detect our project, because, in such an event, we must have been the victims of his ferocity, because his courage and dexterity in the management of arms did not leave me the least hope that Selim could, successfully, grapple with him. At length his ores indicated that the traitor slept. Selim went in, and shortly after I heard the discharge of a pistol; I rushed into the room, and by means of the lighted lamp I be- held our enemy bathed in his own blood, and that Selim was finishing him with his sabre. I caused the corpse to be hurled down that window, and, immediately after, at the head of my armed servants, I made prisoners of the few who had accompanied the Emir, until his troops dispersed themselves.” I hurried out of that house of crime, cursing the destiny which gave such lovely forms to conceal so perv-

verse and cruel a heart as that oftbe princess must have been.”

Q

AN AGE on PAMPHLETS.—-Tl’le age of Charles the’ First may be characterised as the age of pamphlets. Of that remarkable period, we possess in the British Museum an extraordinary collection, which amounts to about thirty thousand pieces, uniformlyrbound in two thousand volumes of various sizes, accompanied b twelve folio volumes of the catalogue chronolonically arranged, exhibiting their full titles Even the date of the-day is noted when each pamphlet was published. Ituncludesa hundred in manuscript written on the King’s srde, which at the time were not allowed to be printed. 'The formation of this collection is a. romantic incident rn the annals of Bibliography. ‘ In that critical year 1640, a bookseller ofthe name of Thomason con- served the rdea of preServing, in that new we of con- tested prrnciples, an unbroken chain of mgn's argu- mentS, and ‘men's doings; We may suppose that this collector, cornmm'encing with the year ‘1640,and con- tinuing wrthout_omissi0n or interruption to the year— 1600, could not at first have imagined the vast career he had to run ; there was, perhaps, Sagacity in the first lhqugld, there was far more intrepidity in never IEllflthlShlng'tlris favouriteobject during these perilous twenty years, amid a conflict 'of costly expenditure, of pprsonal danger, and almOSt insurmountable difficulties. 'lhedesigu was carried on in secrecy throunh con- fidentral servantS, who at first buried the volumesaas. they collected them; but they soon became too numerous for such a mode of concealment. The owner, dreading that the ruling government Would seine on~ the collec- Wn, watched the _movements of the army of the itinerant library in Many' were its removals, he danger became so great,

. 0mmonwealth, and carried this a very opposite direct-ions

northward or eastward, but t and the collection so bulky, that he had at one ti Intention to pass them over into Holland, but feared to trust hrs treasure to the waves. ‘ He ‘at'len‘o‘th d’ete‘rmi’n- ed to place: them in . his warehouses,tinétlhe form of tables round a the. room, covered writh=:canvass. It is evident that the loyalty of the manvrendered him a sus- peeled person; for he was once dragged from his bed

and imprisoned for seven weeks, during which time:

however the collect' ’ . V ' , ron suffered no rnterru tron nor w s the secret.betrayed:.. p ’ ' ‘ a

esté‘ab wire in: . , -7 " ' ' ‘ ' hiat .famesihdtiréispecnliéx“? she “’2” aboli“

mean .

The secret was, however, evident- '