of visiting his father; and we went on fhore before funtife, in full expectation of a pleafant excurfion to Domoni, but we were happily difappointed. The fervants at the Prince's door told us coolly, that their master was indifpofed, and, as they believed, afleep; that he had given them no orders concerning his palanquins, and that they duft not disturb him. Alwi foon came to pay us his compliments, and was followed by his eldest fon Ahmed, with whom we walked to the gardens of the two princes Salim and Hamdullah; the Situation was naturally good, but defolate; and in Salim's garden, which we entered through a miferable hovel, we faw a convenient bathing-place, well built with ftone, but then in great diforder; and a fhed by way of a fummer-house, like that under which we dined at the Governor's, but fmaller, and lefs neat. On the ground lay a kind of cradle, about fix feet long, and little more than one foot in breadth, made of cords twifted in a fort of clumfy net-work, with a long thick bamboo fixed to each fide of it; this we heard with furprife was a royal palanquin, and one of the vehicles in which we were to have been rocked on men's thoulders over the mountains. I had much converfation with Ahmed, whom I found intelligent and communicative. He told me, that feveral of his countrymen compofed fongs and tunes; that he was himfelf a paffionate lover of poetry and mufic, and that if we would dine at his house he would play and fing to us. We declined his invitation to dinner, as we had made a conditional promise if ever we paffed a day at Metfamuda to eat our curry with Bana Gibu, an honeft man, of whom we purchafed eggs and vegetables,and to whom fome Englishmen had given the title Lord, which made him extremely vain; we could therefore make Sayyad Ahmed only a morning vifit. He fung a hymn or two in Arabic, and accompanied his drawling though pathetic pfalmody with a kind of mando. 3 C VOL. XIV. No. 83. line, which he touched with an awkward quill: the inftrument was very imperfect, but feemed to give him delight. The names of the ftrings were written on it in Arabian or Indian figures, fimple and compound d; but I could not think them worth copying. He gave Captain Williamfon, who wifhed to prefent fome literary curiofities to the library at Dublin, a fmail roll, contain.ng an hymn in Arabic letters, but in the language of Mombaza, which was mixed with Arabic; but it hardly deferved examination, fince the study of languages has little intrinfic value, and is only uleful as the inftrument of real knowledge, which we can scarcely expect from the poets of Mozambique. Ahmed would, I believe, have heard our European airs (I always except French melody) with rapture; for his favourite tune was a common Irish jig, with which he feemed wonderfully affected. On our return to the beach I thought of vifiting old Alwi, according to my promife, and Prince Salim, whofe character I had not then difcovered. I refolved for that purpose to ftay on fore alone, our dinner with Gibu having been fixed at an early hour. Alwi fhewed me his manufcripts, which chiefly related to the ceremonies and ordinances of his own religion; and one of them, which I had formerly feen in Europe, was a collection of fublime and elegant hymns in praife of Mohammed, with explanatory notes in the margin. I requefted him to read one of them after the manner of the Arabs, and he chaunted it in a train by no means unpleafing; but I am persuaded that he underft od it very imperfectly. The room, which was open to the street, was prefently crowded with visitors, most of whom were Muftis, or expounders of the law; and Alwi, deurous, perhaps, to difplay his zeal before them at the expence of good breeding, directed my attention to a paffage in a Commentary on the Koran, which I for: found levelled at the Chriftians. The at words, when they cannot object to commentator having related with fome additions (but, on the whole, not inaccurately) the circumftances of the temptation, puts this fpeech into the mouth of the tempter: "Though I am unable to delude thee, yet I will miflead by thy means more human creatures than thou wilt fet right." "Nar was this menace vain," fays the Mohammedan writer," for the inhabitants of a region many thousand leagues in extent, are fill fo deluded by the devil, that they impiously call 'fa the fun of God. Heaven preferve us," he adds, " from blafpheming Chriftians, as well as blafpheming Jews!" Although a religious difpute with thefe obftinate zealots would have been unfeafonable and fruitless, yet they deferved, 1 thought, a flight reprehenfion, as the attack feemed to be concerted among them, "The commentator," faid I," was much to blame for paffing fo indifcriminate and hafty a cenfure; the title which gave your legiflator, and gives you fuch offence, was often applied in Judea by a bold figure, agreeable to the Hebrew idiom, though unufual in Arabic, of angels to holy men, and even to all mankind, who are commanded to call God their father; and ia this large fenfe the Apoftle to the Romans calls the elect the children of God, and the Meffiah the firft tornamong many brethren; but the words only beyetten, are applied tranfcendently and in comparably to him alone; and as for me, who believe the fcriptures, which you allo profefs to believe, though you alert without proof that we have altered them, I cannot refuse him on appellation, though far furpaffing our reafon, by which he is diftinguished in the Gofpel; and the be. lievers in Mohammed, who exprefsly name him the Alefiah, and pronounce him to have been born of a virgin, which alone might fully juftify the phrafe condemned by this author, are thomfelves curdemnable for cavilling the fubftance of our faith confiftently with their own." The Mufelmans had nothing to fay in reply, and the converfation was changed. I was aftonished at the questions which Alwi put to me concerning the late peace and the independence of America; the feveral powers and refources of Britain and France, Spain and Holland; the character and fuppofed views of the Emperor; the comparative strength of the Ruffian, Im. perial, and Othman armies, and their refpective mode; of bringing their for ces to action. I answered him without referve, except on the ftate of our poffeffions in India; nor were my anfwers loft; for I obferved that all the company were variously affected by them, generally with amazement, often with concern; especially when I described to them the great force and admirable difcipline of the Auf trian army, and the ftupid prejudices of the Turks, whom nothing can induce to abandon their old Tartarian habits; and exposed the weakness of their empire in Africa, and even in the most diftant provinces of Afia, In return, he gave me a clear but general information concerning the government and commerce of his island; "his country," he faid, was poor, and produced few articles of trade; but if they could get money, which they now preferred to play-things," thefe were his words, "they might eafily," he added, procure foreign commodities, and exchange them advantageoufly with their neighbours in the iliands and on the continent: thus with a little money," faid he, "we purchafe mufkets, powder, balls, cut. laffes, knives, clo.hs, raw cotton, and other articles brought from Bombay, and with thefe we trade to Madagaf car for the natural produce of the country, or for dollars, with which the French buy cattle, honey, botter, and fo forth, in that ifland. With gall, which we receive from your 66 Дзірв hips, we can procure elephants teeth from the natives of Mozambique, who barter them alfo for ammunition and bars of iron; and the Portuguese in that country give us cloths of various kinds in exchange for our commodi ties: thefe cloths we difpofe of lucratively in the three neighbouring iflands; whence we bring rice, cattle, a kind of bread-fruit which grows in Comara, and flaves, which we buy alfo at other places to which we trade; and we carry on this traffic in our own veffels." in which captives are always made, and keeps up that perpetual enmity which you pretend to be the cause of a practice in itself reprehenfible, while in truth it is its effect. The fame traf fic encourages lazinefs in fome parents, who might in general fupport their fa milies by proper industry, and feduces others to stifle their natural feelings. At moft, your redemption of thofe unhappy children can amount only to a perfonal contract, implied between you, for gratitude and reasonable fervice on their part-for kindness and humanity on your's; but can you think your part performed by difpofing of them against their wills, with as much indifference as if you were felling cattle; efpecially as they might become readers of the Koran, and pillars of your faith?" "The law,”faid he, " forbids our felling them, when "they are believers in the Prophet "and little children only are fold, 66 nor they often, or by all mafters." "You who believe in Mohammed," faid I," are bound by the spirit and Here I could not help expreffing my abhorrence of their Slave Trade, and asked him by what law they claimed a property in rational beings, fince our Creator had given our fpecies a dominion, to be moderately exercised, over the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, but none to man over man." By no law," anfwered he, "unless neceffity be a law. There are nations in Madagascar and in Africa who know neither God nor his Prophet, nor Mofes, nor David, nor the Meffiah: thefe nations are in per-letter of his laws to take pains that petual war, and take many captives, whom, if they could not fell, they Would certainly kill. Individuals among them are in extreme poverty, and have numbers of children, who, if they cannot be difpofed of, muft perifh through hunger, together with their miferable parents. By purchaf ing these wretches we preferve their lives, and, perhaps, thofe of many others, whom our money relieves. The fum of the argument is this: if we buy them, they will live-if they become valuable fervants, they will live comfortably; but if they are not fold, they must die miferably." "There may be," faid I, "fuch cafes, but you fallaciously draw a general conclufion from a few particular inftances; and this is the very fallacy which, on a thousand other occafions, deludes mankind. It is not to be doubted that a conftant and gainful traffic in human creatures foments war, 3 C2 "they alfo may believe in him; and "if you neglect fo important a duty "for fordid gain, I do not fee haw 66 you can hope for profperity in this "world, or for happiness in the next." My old friend and the Maftis aflented, and muttered a few prayers, but probably forgot my preaching before many minutes had paffed. So much time had flipped away in this converfation, that I could make but a short visit to Prince Salim: mý view in vifiting him was to fix the time of our journey to Domoni as early as poffible on the next morning. His appearance was more favage than ever, and I found him in a difofition to complain bitterly of the English. "No acknowledgment," he faid, had been made for the kind at "tentions of himself and the chief "men in his country to the officers and people of the Brilliant, tho3 a whole year had elapfed fince the "* wreek." 63 and took occasion to say, that there was more true dignity in their own native titles than in thofe of Prince, Duke, and Lord, which had been idly given them, but had no conformity to their manners or the conftitution of their government. "wreck " I really wondered at the 66 66 06 66 46 66 us have no defign to trade in any country, and none of us think of "trading in Hinzuan, where we ftop only for refrefliment. The clothes, arms, or inflruments which you may want, are commonly neceflary or convenient to us; but if Sayyed "Alwior his fonus were to be strangers "in our country, you should have no "reafon to boaft of fuperior hofpitali "ty." He then the wed me, a lec nd sime, a part of an old filk vel, with the far of the Order of the Thifle, and beeged me to explain the motto; expreffing a wish that the order might be conferred on him by the King of England in return for his good offices to the English. I reprefented to him the impoffibility of his being gratified, This converfation being agreeable to neither of us, I changed it, by defiring that the palanquins and bearers might be ready next morning as early as pollible: he answered, that his pas lanquins were at our fervice for cothing, but that we must pay him ten dollars for each fet of bearers; that it was the flated price, and that Mr Haftings had paid it when he went to vie fit the King. This, as I learned afterwards, was falfe, but in all events I knew that he would keep the dollars himfelf, and give nothing to the bearers, who deferved them better, and whom he would compel to leave their cottages and toil for his profit. "Can "you imagine," I replied, "that we "would employ four and twenty men 66 66 to bear us fo far on their fhoulders "without rewarding them amply ?— "But fince they are free men (fo he had affured me), and not your flaves, we will pay them in proportion to "their diligence and good behaviour; and it becomes neither your digni-. ty nor ours to make a previous bargain." I fhewed him an elegant Copy of the Koran, which I deftined for his father, and described the reft of my prefent; but he coldly asked, "it that was all." Had he been king, a purfe of dry dollars would have given him more ple-fure than the finest of hoeft manufcript. Finding him, in converfing on a variety of fubjects, utterly void of intel gence or principle, I took my leave, and faw him no more, but prom fed to let him know for certain whether we should make our intended excurfion. We dined in toler.ble comfort, and had occafion, in the courfe of the day, to oblerve the manners of the natives in the middle rank, who are called Pa nas, mas, and all of whom have flaves conftantly at work for them. We vifited the mother of Combomade, who seem-. ed in a station but little raised above indigence; and her husband, who was a mariner, bartered an Arabic Treatife on Aftronomy and Navigation, which he had read, for a fea-compafs, of which he well knew the ufe. In the morning I had converfed with two very old Arabs of Yemen, who had brought fome articles of trade to Hinzuan; and in the afternoon I met another who had come from Maskat (where at that time there was a civil war) to purchase, if he could, an hundred ftand of arms. I told them all, that I loved their nation, and they, returned my compliments with great warmth, efpecially the two old men, who were near fourfcore, and reminded me of Zohair and Hareth. (To be continued.) An Account of the Signals made ufe of at BAMBROUGH CASTLE, in the county of Northumberland in cafe fhips or velfels are perceived in diftrefs, and of the Charitable Inftitution eftablished there for their affiflance and relief. I. A Gun (a nine-pounder) placed at the bottom of the tower, to be fired as a fignal in cafe a fhip or veffel be obferved in diftrefs, viz. Once when any fhip or veffel is ftranded or wrecked upon the islands, or any adjacent rock. Twice when any fhip or veffel is Branded or wrecked behind the Caftle, or to the northward of it. Thrice, when any fhip or veffel is ftranded or wrecked to the fouthward of the Caftle; in order that the Custom-house officers, and the tenants, with their fervants, may haften to give all poffible afliftance, as well as to prevent the wreck from being plundered. 2. In every great ftorm, two men on horfeback are fent from the Castle to patrole along the coaft from fun-fet to fun-rife, that, in cafe of any accident, one may remain by the fhip, and the other return to alarm the Cafle. Whoever brings the first no tice of any fhip or veffel being in diftrefs, is entitled to a premium, in proportion to the distance from the Caftle; and if between twelve o'clock at night and three o'clock in the morning, the premium to be double. 3. A large flag is hoifted when there is any fhip or veffel feen in dif trefs upon the Fern Islands, or Staples, that the fufferers may have the fatisfaction of knowing their diftrefs is perceived from the fhore, and that relief will be fent them as foon as poffible.. In cafe of bad weather, the flag will be kept up, a gun fired morning and evening, and a rocket thrown up every night from the north turret, till fuch time as relief can be fent. Thefe are alfo fignals to the Holy Ifland fishermen, who, by the advantage of their fituation, can put off for the iflands at all times when no boat from the main land can get over the breakers. Premiums are given to the first boats that put off for the islands, to give their affiftance to fhips or veffels in diftrefs, and provifions and liquors are fent in the boats. 4. A heil on the fouth turret will be rung out in every thick fog, as a fignal to the fishing-boats; and a large fwivel fixed on the ealt turret, will be fired every 15 minutes, as a signal to the fhips without the iflands. 5. A large weather-cock is fixed on the top of the tag-staff, for the ufe of the pilots. 6. A large fpeaking-trumpet is provided, to be used when fhips are in diftrefs near the fhore, or are run aground. 7. An |