M. de Peyfonnel has corrected with perfect accuracy the blunders of this paffage. Georgia is divided into two parts; the one, which is bounded by the Black Sea, and includes the kingdom of Imirch and the principality of Mingrelia and Guriel, was ceded to the Turks; the other, which approaches to the Cafpian fea, and comprehends the kingdoms of Carduel and Caket, was under the dominion of Perfia. Saloman, who reigns over the one, and Heraclitus, who governs the other, have equally thrown off the yoke of their respective fovereigns. But Heraclitus is become the vassal of Ruffia. Saloman preserves his independence to this day.' The Baron confounds the death of Sultan Ofman with that of Sultan Mahmoud, and his account of their genealogy is equally erroneous. Sultan Mahmoud, who fat upon the Turkish throne for the fpace of twenty-four years, from 1730 to 1754, and Sultan Ofman his brother, were not the fons of Sultan Achmed, but of Muftapha III, the eldest brother and fucceffor of Achmed Muftapha the fourth, who fucceded Ofman, was the fon of Achmed, and coufin german only to Mahmoud and Ofman. Achmed had five fons; Mahmoud the eldeft, who was poisoned by Ofman; Muftapha IV. who fucceeded Ofman; Bajazet and Ourkman, who died in the feraglio; and the prefent reigning Sultan Abdulamid. Again, Racub Pacha,' fays the Baron de Tott, had formerly been Pacha of Cairo, the office of all others the leaft adapted to his character. The undifciplined ftate of the Bey-Mameluis, propped up by force, had left him no other resource but corruption for his fupport, without being the lefs expofed to acts of violence. He had juft efcaped from the ball of a pistol, fired at him in his own divan, when the grand fignior, Sultan Ofman, promoted him to the Vifi rate.' The contradictions and inconfiftencies of this paffage are too glaring to efcape the eyes of one fo well informed upon the fubject as M. de Peyfonnel. Mahmoud was the reigning fultan, when Racub Pacha was recalled from Cairo, which was prior to his escape from the danger of the piftol. He was afterward's conftituted by this prince Pacha of Aiden, and then of Aleppo; and he officiated in these respective capacities for many years, before he was called to the Vifirate by Sultan Ofman, the brother and fucceffor of Mahmoud. I have indifputable evidence to the truth of this account. When my father, who was fecretary, and the late M. de Laria, who was interpreter to the French ambaffador, were fent to the Ottoman army, to fettle the preliminaries of the peace of Belgrade, my father's tent was pitched near the tent of Racub, who was at this period fecretary for foreign affairs. The weight of the treaty fell to the lot of my father. And the daily intercourfe, that muft neceffarily take place between him and Racub, was the foundation of a friendship that feldom fubfifts between between a Turk and a Chriftian. When Racub fome time after was recalled from Cairo, to fo exalted a degree did his regard for my father extend, he made the tour of Smyrna, and pitched his camp in the plains of Hadjelaar, for the fole purpofe of paying a visit to my father, who was then at Smyrna in the capacity of conful general of France. To enhance the honour of his vifit, he invited my father to his camp, and gave a fuperb entertainment to all the nobility of Smyrna. I was prefent at this rout, and was a witnefs of the diftin. guished attachment of Racub. "Doftum Coadjeaduch," faid he, embracing my father tenderly; "we are both grown old my friend." And fee, continued he, pointing to his beard, that was prematurely grey, "how venerable are the beards of thofe who return from Cairo." The valuable hiftorical journal of the Tartars, containing their most ancient traditions and all the fucceffive facts down to the prefent time, undertaken by the ancestors of a family who have always preferved and carefully continued it, and for which the Baron afferts that he offered ten thousand crowns, is it feems a manufcript of his own invention. M. de Pyfonnel has never heard of fuch a manufcript; and it is hardly within the bounds of poffibility, that a performance fo notorious and celebrated (according to the baron) could have efcaped the inquifitive attention of M. de Peyfonnel, had it any existence but in the baron's imagination. The bounds which we allot to ourselves will not permit us to prefent the reader with any further extract from this work. These we have already made, are, we truft, fufficient to excite his curiofity, and to tempt every admirer of the Baron de Tott to be provided with this effectual antidote to his poifon. We fufpected the baron of a little attachment to the wonderful. M. de Peyfonnel has confirmed us in our conjecture, and has lopped off the exuberances of his author's fancy with a faithful and difcriminating hand. Had every traveller a commentator of equal fkill and veracity, it would perhaps cure this abandoned. fpirit, old and inveterate as it is; and, operating in terrorem, make them more cautious of palming upon the world their awn wild inventions for hiftorical truths. Commentators in general are, of all writers, the moft dull and infipid. M. de Peyfonnel has ingenioufly contrived that we should feel nothing of this, and his book is as full of entertainment, as if it were a continuous and unbroken performance. ART. ART.XIII. Tal om Japanska Nationen, &c. Speech concerning the Japanese; delivered before the Royal Academy Sciences, by C. P. Thunberg, when he refigned the office of Prefident. Stockholm. (Concluded.) THE religion throughout Japan is heathenish, but there are many different fects, which all however live in the greatest unanimity and concord, without difputes or quarrels. The fpiritual emperor, Dairi, is like the Pope, head of the church, and has the appointment of the chief priefts. Every fect has sepas rate churches and feparate idols, which are reprefented under fome determinate, and that often a monftrous fhape. They commonly invent a great number of idols, one for almoft every trade, like the old Ramans; and confequently they have inferior and fuperior gods. One eternal and almighty God, fuperior to all the reft, is not indeed unknown to the Japanese, but the knowledge of him is enveloped in much darkness. I have not however feen among any heathens fuch a large and majettic idol of this god, as in two Japanese temples. In the one there is an image of gilt wood, of fuch an enormous fize that fix men may fit, according to the Japanele fashion, in the palm of his hand, and the breadth between the fhoulders is five fathoms. In the other, his infinite power is reprelented by fmaller gods, which ftand around him on all fides, to the number of 33,333. They have many temples, which are built for the moft part without the cities on fome eminence, and in the finest fituations. There are a number of priests in every temple, although they have but little to do, their bufinefs being to keep the temple clean, to light the candles, &c. and offer flowers confecrated to the idol, and fuch as they believe to be moft acceptable to it. There is no preaching or finging in the temples, but they always ftand open for those who may come to pray, or make fome offering. Strangers are never excluded from the temples, even the Dutch are allowed to vifit them; and, when the inns are taken up, they are lodged in them, as actually happened once during. my journey to court. The arms of the Japanese confift of a bow and arrow, fabre, halbert, and mufket. The bows are very large, and the arrows long, as in China. When the bows are to be bent and difcharged, the troop always refts on one knee, which hinders them making a speedy discharge. In the fpring, the troops aflemble to practife hooting at a mark. Muskets are not gene ral ral, I only faw them in the hands of perfons of diftinction, in a separate and elevated part of the audience-room. The barrel is of the common length, but the stock is very fhort, and, as well as I could obferve at a diftance, there was a match in the lock. I never faw a gun fired, though I have often heard the report from the Dutch factory. The interpreters informed me, that the ftock, which, on account of its fhortnefs, cannot be placed against the shoulder, is fet against the cheek, an account that is not altogether credible. Cannons are not used in this country, but in Nagafaki, at the imperial guard, there are feveral, formerly taken from the Portuguese, though fhips are not faluted, and indeed scarce any ufe at all is made of them. The Japanese have very little skill in managing them, and when they fire them, which is commonly done once in feven years, in order to clean and prove them, the artillery man provides himself with a long pole having a match at the end, which he applies with averted eyes. The fabre is therefore their principal and beft weapon, which is univerfally worn, except by the peasants. They are commonly a yard long, a little crooked and thick in the back. The blades are of an incomparable goodness, and the old ones are in very high efteem. They are far fuperior to the Spanish blades, fo celebrated in Europe. A tolerably thick nail is eafily cut in two, without any damage to the edge; and a man, according to the account of the Japanese, may be cleft in two. No blade is fold under fix kobangs, but the fabres often coft 50, 60, nay, above 100 rix-dollars; they conftitute the dearest and moft beloved property of the Japanefe. The hilt is furnished with a round and firm plate, has no bow, and is sometimes fix inches in length. The hilt is flat, with obtufe edges; it is cut off tranfverfely at the end, and covered with the fkin of the fhark, which is uneven on its furface; it is imported by the Dutch, and fold very dear; fometimes at 50 or 60 kobangs, each kobang at fix rix-dollars. Befides, filk cord is wrapped round in fuch a manner that the fhagreen may be feen through it; the plates are thicker than a six-dollar; they either are adorned with figures in high relief, or pierced artificially with a number of holes. The fheath is thick and fomewhat flat; it is truncated at the end; it is fometimes covered with the finest fhagreen, which is varnished; it is fometimes of wood, and painted with a black varnish, or variegated with black and white; one fometimes obferves a filver ring or two on the fheath. On one of the fides there is a small elevation, perforated with a hole, through which a filk ftring paffes, and ferves to faften the fabre occafionally. Within the hilt there is alfo a cavity for receiving a knife of three inches length. A feparate fath is never uled, but the fword is ftuck in the belt, on the left fide, with the edge upwards, which to a European appears ridiculous. All perfons in office wear 3 wear two fuch fabres, one of their own, and the other the fword of office, as it is called; the latter is always the longer. Both are worn in the belt on the fame fide, and fo difpofed as to crofs each other. When they are fitting, they have their fword of office laid on one fide or before them. The Dutch and Chinese are the only nations allowed to traffic in Japan. The Dutch at prefent fend but two fhips annually, which are fitted out at Batavia, and fail in June, and return at the end of the year. The chief merchandife is Japanese copper, and raw camphor. Varnished wood, porcelain, filk, rice, facki, and foia, conftitute but an inconfiderable part, and thefe articles are in the hands of private perfons. The copper, which is finer, and contains more gold than any other, is caft in pieces of the length of fix inches and a finger's thickness. It is put on board in parcels of 120 pounds, 12 ounces to the pound; and every fhip's lading confifts of fix or seven thousand fuch parcels. The wares, which the Dutch company import, are coarse sugar, ivory, a great quantity of tin and lead, a little caft iron, various kinds of fine chintzes, Dutch cloth, of different colours and fineness, ferge, wood for dyeing, tortoife-fhell, and coftus Arabicus. The little merchandise brought by the officers on their own account, confifts of faffron, theriaca, fealing-wax, glafs beads, watches, &c. &c. About the time when the Dutch fhips are expected, feveral outpofts are ftationed on the highest hills by the government; thay are provided with telescopes, and long before their arrival give the governor of Nagafaki notice. As foon as they anchor in the harbour, the upper and under officers of the Japanese immediately betake them felves on board, together with interpreters, to whom is delivered a cheft, in which all the failors' books, the mufter-roll of the whole crew, fix fmall barrels of powder, fix barrels of balls, fix mufkets, fix bayonets, fix piftols, and fix fwords are depofited; this is fuppofed to be the whole remaining ammunition, after the imperial garrifon has been faluted. These things are conveyed on fhore, and preferved in a feparate warehoufe, nor are they returned before the day the hip quits the harbour. Duties are quite unknown as well in the inland parts as on the coaft, nor are there any cuftoms required, either for exported or imported goods; an advantage enjoyed by few nations. But, to prevent the importation of any forbidden wares, the utmost vigilance is obferved; then the men and things are examined with the eyes of Argus. When any European goes on fhore, he is examined before he leaves the fhip, and afterwards on his landing. This double search is exceedingly ftrict; to that not only the pockets and clothes are ftroaked with the hands, but the pudenda of the meaner fort are prefied, and the hair of the flaves. All the Japanese, who come on board, are fearched in like man ner, |