6

ently to enable them to subsist and maintain their families without having recourse to practices degrading to that respectability they are careful to preserve. I cannot omit recording a fact which impressed my mind with a high idea of the liberality characteristic of the officers of government towards strangers. I was about to enter a small library of books I had with me, and rated them of course as low as possible in order to save, as I thought, duty, after the rate of fifteen per cent. I gave in two hundred and fifty dollars as my estimate, and remarked, that as I was shortly to quit the country I should hope to be entitled to drawback or a restoration of the money paid for duties, on my exporting the same." What," said the collector, "five cases of books, and valued at only two hundred and fifty dollars, did not these London books cost you more?" I replied that many of them had been used and damaged, and that, as the valuation had passed at the London custom-house, I conceived it would be satisfactory to the officers of customs in Boston. "Well" replied the other, "go to the friend, to whom you came recommended, and consult him. If the duty amounts to a less sum than fifty dollars, it is, in that case, not allowed by law on exportation-come to me to morrow." I thanked him-said I should examine my bookseller's bills, and wait on him as desired. I could not help remarking the kind, manly, and generous feeling of this gentleman, (whose name I understand is Tracey) as illustrative of the prevailing disposition to befriend foreigners in the United States when suitable opportunity offers.

Taking leave of my Boston friends I proceeded, 20th November, for Newburyport, a very thriving, busy little seaport, about forty miles from Boston. I passed through Salem, a flourishing mari time town, sending more ships to the East Indies than any other port in America, but as it was late at night, did not stop to examine it. Newburyport is seated on a fine river, the Merrimack, which flows into the interior upwards of two hundred miles, and thereby gains to this town a brisk inland trade. Vessels passing up and down with merchandize, &c. and all vessels entering the port should be moderately taxed for the purpose of constructing a breakwater, outside of the harbour, which is rendered extremely insecure by a bar of sands continually shifting. The inhabitants of Newburyport are a clever, intelligent race of people, partaking of the usual reserve towards strangers, but friendly to those well introduced. On subjects relating to the interests of the town, navigation, and commerce in general they are extremely well informed. I was introduced to a Mr. Nelson, member of congress, who seemed to me to possess considerable talents and information on a variety of subjects. The English traveller will be agreeably surprised to find no charge made at any of the inns or hotels in America for extràs beyond his fare or accommodation. No waiter, or chamber `maid, or cleaner of boots, solicits his charity as in England-they are all paid by their employers, as well as the coachmen who drive the stages. This is very creditable to the regulations of the country. Travelling is expeditious; the Eastern mail stage runs at

the rate of eight miles an hour. The horses are hardy, possess a good deal of mettle, and are capable of doing much work.-Every civility and attention is experienced on the road.

My design of penetrating farther northward, and a projected visit to the Falls of Niagara were now to be cut short by the receipt of despatches, in a quick arrival from Liverpool requiring my speedy presence in the West Indies. Availing myself of the opportunity of a schooner bound to the island of my destination, I embarked and bade farewell to this far famed land of freedom and happiness.

ART. IV.--Analytical Notice of the Quarterly Review, No. XXXII. for April, 1817

TH

HE Quarterly Review, contains the following articles: 1. An Authentic Narrative of the loss of the American brig Commerce, &c.-By James Riley, late Master and Supercargo. 8vo. NewYork, 1816.' Captain Riley's Narrative, which the Reviewers speak highly of, as a very interesting and authentic account, having been noticed at length, in our Number for April last, and being so well known in this country, it will be needless for us to dwell upon it now. Our readers, however, will feel interested in the following intelligence copied from the Review.

'Sidi Hamet, who makes so conspicuous a figure in this volume, is no fictitous personage, like his namesake Cid Hamet Benangeli; he is mentioned by Adams and by Dupuis; and, since Riley's release, has to a certain extent redeemed the pledge which he made at parting: Your friend (Mr. Willshire) has fed me with milk and honey, and I will always in future do what is in my power to redeem Christians from slavery.' Scarcely two months after this, the brig Surprize, of Glasgow, with a crew of seventeen persons and three passengers, was cast away close to Cape Bojador, on the 28th of December, 1815, when the whole, with the exception of two that were drowned, fell into the hands of the Arabs, who marched them, as usual, into the interior, till they met a Moor on horseback, to whom they were delivered, and who took them to Wed-noon. This was no other than Sidi Hamet, who advised them to write to Mr. Willshire, English consul at Suara, who having heard of the wreck, had already entered into engagements for their ransom with Sidi Ishem, the chief of Wed-noon, and principal owner of the caravan which perished, as we have related, in the Desert. They were ransomed, and sent to England, as was also, at the same time, a lad of the name of Alexander Scott, who was wrecked in the Montezuma, of Liverpool, in 1810, as mentioned by Adams, and who had remained in slavery ever since. His appearance is said to 'have been most deplorable; though not twenty, he wore the marks of advanced age. Thus, in a very remarkable manner, have all the statements of Robert Adams been confirmed. We think it is by no means improbable, that Sidi Hamet was on his way to fulfil the oath which he swore to Riley by his right hand'-that he would bring up the remainder of his crew if they were to be found alive, and God spared his life!

'It appears, indeed, from letters which Riley has received in America from Mr. Willshire, that Porter and Burns have been ransomed by him; that two others had been released from further suffering in this

world; and that Sidi Ishem had heard some vague rumours of the rest in the southern part of the Desert.

'It is to be hoped, indeed, that since the Arabs of the Desert know that all Christians wrecked on the coast will be purchased immediately at Wed-noon, for the purpose of obtaining a certain profit by their ransom at Mogadore, the lives of the captives will not only be preserved, but that the certainty of the reward will operate on the avarice of the robbers, and secure to the shipwrecked mariners a treatment less rigorous than that experienced by Mr. Riley and his unfortunate companions.'

The following letter from the English edition, in 4to, of Riley's narrative, confers additional credit on his story.

24 Broad Street Buildings, 25th March, 1817. 'SIR-If my opinion respecting Mr. Riley and his Narrative can be of any importance, it is much at your service: and in compliance with your request I shall now state for your information, such circumstances as have come to my knowledge.

The first intelligence I received relating to Mr. Riley was from Mr. Willshire, (who conducts my commercial establishment at Mogadore) who, as a matter of course, informed me of the shipwreck and subsequent ransom from slavery of Mr. Riley and his fellow sufferers.

'About three months ago I received a letter from Mr. Riley dated from New-York, informing me of his intention to publish his Narrative, and on my mentioning the circumstance to my friend Mr. Green, his majesty's consul-general at Tangier, then lately arrived in England, he spoke of Mr. Riley, with whom he became acquainted at Tangier, in the highest terms, and assured me he considered him as a very intelligent and well informed man, and very capable of giving an accurate account of his observations.

'Soon after this I received letters from the American consul-generat at Tangier, James Simpson, Esq. whose account of Mr. Riley was equally favourable with Mr. Green's, and from the well known judgment and experience of both these gentlemen, and their personal knowledge of the author, I think great weight will be attached to such very respectable testimony in his favour.

I also received a short time ago a letter from Mr. Willshire, of Mogadore, of which the following is an extract:" I shall always reflect with pleasure on that day that made me acquainted with Mr. Riley; and it gives me great satisfaction to learn that he intends to publish an edition of his work in England, for which he not only possesses ability, but has also very considerable influence with his own government, and in consequence of it Mr. Simpson has been empowered (by the government of the United States) with very extensive limits to redeem American shipwrecked citizens in this country."

With respect to the narrative itself, it is with great deference that I submit any opinion of mine on its merits; but having resided several years at Mogadore, and having travelled several times over a considerable part of the country he describes, it is but a common act of justice to say, that I think he has given a very accurate description of what he has seen. Judging, therefore, from that part of his travels which accords with my own personal observations, it is I think fair in me to conclude that the remainder is described with equal veracity. His description of

the country from Santa Cruz to Mogadore, and from thence to Tangier, his account of the Arabs, and observations of their manners and customs are, I think, very correct.

I am not able to form a judgment of his friend Sidi Hamet's account of Tombuctoo, but I must confess that in the principal points, it agrees with the descriptions I have heard related by several Moorish merchants that have been there.

'I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,

'JAMES RENSHAW.

John Murray, Esq. Albemarle Street. #Art. 2. 1. M. Tullii Ciceronis Sex Orationum Fragmenta inedita, cum Commentariis antiquis etiam ineditis. Invenit, recensuit, notis illustravit Angelus Maius, Bibliothecæ Ambrosianæ à Linguis Orientalibus. Mediolani. 1814. 2 tom. 8vo

2. Q. Aurelii Symmachiocto Orationum ineditarum partes. Invenit, notisque declaravit A. Maius. Mediol. 1815. 8vo.

3. M. Cornelii Frontonis Opera inedita, cum Epistulis item ineditis Antonini Pii, M. Aurelii, L. Veri, et Appiani. Invenit A: Maius. Mcdiol. 1815. 2 tom. 8vo.

4. M. Acci Plauti Fragmenta inedita: item ad P. Tarentium Commentationes et Picturæ ineditæ. Inventore A. Maio. Mediol,

1815. 8vo.

5. Themistii Philosophi Oratio de Præfectura suscepta. Inventore et interprete A. Maio. Mediol. 1816. 8vo.

6. Dionysii Halicarnassei Romanarum Antiquitatum pars hactenus desiaerata Nunc denique ope Codicum Ambrosianorum ab Angelo Maio, quantum licuit, restituta. Opus Francisco I. Augusto sacrums Mediol. 1816. 4to.'

These are fragments of ancient authors discovered by M. Angelo Mai among the manuscripts of the Ambrosian library. During the middle ages, materials for MSS. became scarce, and the monks were in the habit of obliterating the ancient MSS. in the libraries, by washing or by erasure, to make them serve for the pious legends of the day. This has probably caused the destruction of many an ancient author, now irrecoverably lost to us. Ancient MSS. so treated were called Codices palimpsesti, or rescripti. We have thus lost many works of ancient writers; but are not those that remain enough for all useful purposes?

The history of these MSS. is somewhat curious. The following account is extracted from a Dissertation of Mr. Mai. In the year 612, Columbanus founded a convent of Bendictines at Bobbio, anciently Bobium, a town situated amongst the northernmost Appennines. This religious society, as Tiraboschi informs us, was remarkable not only for the sanctity of its manners, but for the cultivation of literature,-of course it possessed a considerable collection of manuscripts; and Muratori has published a catalogue of that collection, written in the tenth century, in which are the names of several grammarians, historians, orators, and poets. The Ambrosian Library, being founded at the beginning of the seventeenth century by the cardinal Federigo Borromeo, was enriched by him with a great number of manuscripts, collected at

a vast expense from various quarters, especially from Thessaly, Chios, Corcyra, and Magna Græcia. In addition to these, he gained possession, by means of large presents, of the most valuable books of the Bobian collection, which are still distinguished in the Ambrosian Library by the title of Codices Bobiani. It is obvious, that amongst these, all of which are mentioned in the catalogue published by Muratori, some must be of very considerable antiquity; and those which are palimpsesti must be of great antiquity; because they were obsolete and disused at the time of their being re-written; which must have been before the tenth century.'

Art. 3. Narrative of a Residence in Ireland during the Summer of 1814, and that of 1815. By Anne Plumptre, Author of Narrative of a Three Years' Residence in France, &c. illustrated with numerous Engravings of Remarkable Scenery. London. 4to. pp. 398.' This is a very abusive review of Miss Plumptre's book, in the modern stile of sarcastic criticism; though it must be confessed the lady has afforded some room for critical severity. It must not be taken, however, for a fair account of the book, as we are presented with no extract or specimen unless such as are fit for the dissecting knife of the Reviewer. Miss Plumptre it seems, like so many other "fashionables" in England, is a mineralogist.

Art. 4.- Travels in Brazil, by Henry Koster, 4to. 501 pages. London. 1816.' This appears to be a sensible, plain-written book, concerning a part of Brazil little known to travellers. It is not a scientific work, but well calculated to give a fair view of the morals and manners of the country. The reviewers commend it highly..

Art. 5. The Veils, or the Triumph of Constancy. A Poem, in Six Books. By Miss Porden. 8vo. London, 1816.' This is a 'kind of mineralogical poem, wherein as in Pope's Rape of the Lock, and Darwin's Loves of the Plants, the Rosicrucian Sylphs and Gnomes are enlisted by Miss Porden to form the machinery of the poem. It appears to contain many fine passages, not merely of smooth rhyme, but of imagery and description in the spirit of true poetry. The extracts given by the reviewers seem to justify this character.

Art. 6. Laou-sing-urh, or An Heir in his Old Age, a Chinese Drama. Translated from the Original Chinese. By J. F. Davis, Esq. of Canton. To which is prefixed a Brief View of the Chinese Drama, and of their Theatrical Exhibitions. Small 8vo. pp. 164. London. 1318.' The Chinese it appears have a collection of a hundred dramas, of which two have now been translated; one into French by Father Premare; viz. The Orphan of China (or of Tchao) and from French into English; the other is called Laousing-urh, or An Heir in his Old Age, the present drama, translated directly from the Chinese into English, by Mr. Davis, of the Canton factory; beside which, we have also in English the Hau-hion-tchuan, a novel, translated by Mr. Wilkinson, and published by Dr. Percy: this, with the emperor Kien Long's famous

* Montfaucon, Diarium Ital.-p. 11.