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    - 3^1^2, 1856^ ®^E ~^ i:BMr 665

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    : AN UNKNOWN KINGDOM. ' First Footsteps ...

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    -., - A Natubai.Ist At Tenby. Tertb^R A ...

    Rambles . Speaking of the Medusa named CAtysaora ^ he notices that a htUe shrimp-like creaturemakes these ( chambers his residence ; " m them he snugly ensconces himself , occasionally taking a swim in the water and returning . " That this is the natural habit of life followed by this crustacean I have no doubt . " Then why should he doubt that it is also the natural habit of There are passages in this book which will be excessively misleading to all persons not conversant with the animals spoken of ? we aUude particularly to those in which the lowly-organized animals are credited wjth the posstes-^ sion of tissues and organs not a trace of which can be found . ^ He ? e is a typical instance . Having described the vegetable appearance of the polypes , 3 n : BT 8 they are animals because " they have muscular , nervous , circulating , digestive systems , special organs of sense , special weapons of bffeiMe ~ -aome ofthese , it is true , not distinctly appreciable to our observation , but inferrible by legitimate deduction from observed phenomena . " It is almost in- ; credible that any one who had studied polypes could write , such , a sentence . Muscles and nerves are as purely hypothetical ( and as absurdly so , let us add ) as that green cheese of which the moon is said to be made : a fluctuation of globules is not to be sty led circulation ; and as for the special organs of sense , no one that we remember has ever pretended that such organs existed . ¦¦ '¦ ' ¦ ¦ : ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ' ¦ : ¦ ¦ ¦¦ ¦ ¦ ¦¦ - ¦ ¦ ¦ ' ' - " .. ¦ -- . ¦• • • ¦ . ; . '¦ . -. We must not close with an objection , so we will notice Mr . Gosse ' s very ingenious suggestion respecting the ' bird ' s-liead process' on the polyzoa . Rising from beneath the cell in which the polype lives , there is what under the microscope looks very like a vultureVhead stripped of its integument , and to make the resemblance mp ^ e complete , the formidable bill is incessantly snapping , and the whole organ swings to and fro , as on a joint . The function of this organ has been much disputed- Several observers having noticed that these snapping bills seized small animals roving that way , not ^ unnaturally concluded that in some way or other these bills were connected with the feeding of the poljpe . " But it seems to have been forgotten , " adds Mr . Gosse , " not only that these organs have no power of passing the prey thus seized to the mouth , but also that this latter is situated at the bottom of a funnel of ciliated tentacles , and is calculated to receive only such minute prey as is drawn within the ciliary vortex . I venture to suggest ^ a new explanation . The seizure of a passing animal and the holding of it in the tenacious grasp until it dies , may be a means of attracting the proper prey to the vicinity of the mouth . The presence of decomposing animal substance in water invariably attracts crowds of infusory animalcules , which then breed with amazing rapidity , so as to form a cloud of living atoms living around tKe decaying body . Now a tiny aunelid or other animal caught by the T ) ird's-hea < l of a Polyzoan and tightly held , wpuld presently die ; and though Sri its own substance it would not yield any nutriment to the capturer , yet by becoming tine centre of a crowd of busy Infyisoria , multitudes ot which would be constantly drawn into the . tentacular vortex and swallowed , it would be ancillary to its support , and the organ in question would thus plajt no unimportant part . in . the economy of the animal . " . In conclusion we beg Mr . Gosse to give , us as much zoology as he can , and as little of anything else . Pen and pencil will find ample scope in the delineation of animals , and the public will gratefully acknowledge all labour in inat direction . . , ;

    - 3^1^2, 1856^ ®^E ~^ I:Bmr 665

    - 3 ^ 1 ^ 2 , 1856 ^ ®^ E ~^ i : BMr 665

    : An Unknown Kingdom. ' First Footsteps ...

    : AN UNKNOWN KINGDOM . ' First Footsteps inEast Africa f or , An Exploration of Harar . By R F .. Burton , ?•• ' Authorof " Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Mcccah . ' ? , ¦ . .-,,..- ¦ ; ,. , .: ¦;• ¦ . ' . ¦ :, ¦¦ ¦ : ' '¦ ¦ ¦¦¦ ' ¦ •¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . Longman and . Co . Harar is a city ° f Eastern Africa , the capital of the ancient Hadiyah Empire . Its name has long - been famous . It is of great antiquity ; and'waa once the metropolis of a mighty race , ' itisstill a centre of Mohammedati learning s its vttxllB and houses are constructed of stone ; its king is independent ; The people speak an unknown dialect , hitve a peculiar coinage , ahd"form a distinct nationality . They carry on a great trade in coffee and in slaves ^ 'in cotton cloths , and in the celebrated drug called < Kat , which is sold , at Aden , to Arabian merchants . \ Rochet , travelling * among the Adels , heard many singular accounts of HaTar ; Harris * in Shoa , > was told of its curious history and manners ; voyagers along the East African coast have frequently been interested by rumours from that strange interior kingdom ; but the modern Somali ^ remained unexplored * and Harar—thre Eastern Timbuctoo- ^ Un-¦• iflited , until Lieutenant Burton , returning from'the- Arabian shrines , volunteered to 1 undertake a 1 geographical and commercial expedition tinder the Sttiiction of the East India Gompariy . ¦ i ; u ' OrosltAngthe Indian Occahv from Aden to Zaylah , he travelled , through tho Sotkiaii region across the'Marar . plains and the Galla frontier , to Harar , ii trailed city '" with , five gates , a " nd returned b j rf another route to Borberah , tht ) inost important point on ' that coast . < i Hradisgulse was that of an Arab mdr > dhant , ?' some riegro * Merlin' ? , having' predioted that the first visit ; of a European- ( would bring . ruin upon-Harai * . M Thus , though that' place is scarcely tlirea < hundred miles from-Aden * Salt and Stuart , Krapf and Isont * erg , Bwfcor arid Rochet , « ad theCatholiamissionaries attemptod in vain t » * roach it . < El Mamtnajl , the ForteiS al native agent of police , " with bright blue and yellow iturban andi variegated raiment , G-uled , a Bedouin youth , and Afbdy Abokr , Burnamod the End" of Time ^ were - thfe companions of Lieutenant Burton . At ^ Zaylali , a city on the coast , he stayed twenty-six hours , observing ' thfeZaylon coquettes , brightly ( tattooed , —« . dancing , ' singing , nnd slapping their fjlavc . girlsi ^ feasting in African fashion , p laying African games , tconversing with the oflioiuls , inspecting the public , buildings , making eXouTeiOnsJiandroadihg tho narrative oi" Ibu llatuta- ' < ., . . a TtoreW' dibtihetnracea inhabit tho territory of Eastern . Africtt<—* he < Aboriginesy '' Saw * ilsilv : inogroas , Unshinon iHotteutota , und < other etcatopygjo tJlibcB ; the hlnioBtMpubcliOimbrteianH , whose immigration i fa of uecent dftto , attd ^ he hnlf-cafi (^ 8 fWlAbysiim ( inns , itrnllaa ^ SoinjilB , and Kufjirsi -vyh-oflo origin leiburiedi in < bb !) ourity . << i iiiewt * iii « n < i Jfturtiotn's . opini on I is that tho l & allir ^ of < W Cape are the ( W « B « cndink * of r / Ndrtln African trifctea // pueihatli « oUtfiwaid by-. ufaknMvn <> c < dusebt i t'JOihe Bainal iioidatoiciniiaes toibe « . ( half-ootto nationvan dfehoot ^ of I th * jgrfca * GaJln , /! ra * i « f upp ' ropcwiatcUvl ^ ^^• ri fipaiUyiiNidigna *'

    -; : Egyptian , to the Caucasian type by a steady influx of pure Amatie blood . ; They pet ^ d Lieutenant Burton l ^ e a child , forced him to drink milk and eat- mut-toiij offered hijp younff girls in marriage , and begged him often to become a Somal chief , to lead their expeditions , kill their elephantsr and ' , free their ; country from , lions *! Once a man said . to . him ^ Jn a pitying tone , " V £ hat jhath brought thee , depqate as thoi ^ L art , to sit wi ^ h ^^ on a cowrhicle in this cold desert , under a tree ? " iFrom t ) ieir poverty , ajid their habifc ofbegging , ' the region of the Sonialihas been caflbd , by the Arabs , ifie hind of Give- ' me-SometKing . Theii * language abounds i * poetry , $ && , though it has no written character , contains a myriad of ? aongBr * itbJB works of the -po & t & , poetasters , poetestos , and poetaccios of Norw ^ Africa . Their / Wjosnestt re-: semble the sculptured models of Egypt—they are brown , solid ^ smooth , and 8 p Kallipygan in their style of beauty , that the Arab ^( X ) mpare , the Lips of the Somal jg irls to inflated skins . ^ The Somal girls , in t > - " , turn , deride the maidens of ^ Arabia , and affirm that they are thinker than tadpoleaf . ^ Tlie old Russian custom prevails among them by which the bride , on the first night after her marriage , is submitted to a private : whipping from her Husband's hand , to prove . he * : humility . Th ( e l whip , ^^ in fact , seems almost as powerful , an instrument of government in Eastern Africa as in Naples or Lombardy , even grown girls being liable for misbehaviour to sufier public discipline , aftet having two or three jars of water poured over their persons , in Avan fashion , to make them ready for the punishment . ^ Selecting a winding route from Zaylah to Harar , Lieutenant IWrton travelled among the various Somal tribes , crossed the maritime plains , and commenced the - ¦ ascent of the Ethiopian highlands , inhabited also by the Galla . nation . This gate of the interior , kingdprn was decorated with tropical tints , with trees , with growths of ^ the gigantic . 9 actus ,. wiihflpwering and berry-bearing plants , arid with birds such as Audubon would have ^ followed across a continent . We have hot yet seen the African or the Asiatic Audubon . Here the Bedouin held a council , seated in fings , with their round shields and bright-headed spears forming a perfect African picture ; Upon this plateau r 3350 feet above the sea , the climate reminded Lieutenant Burton of Southern Italy . In one place , by the way , he saw a ruined , eity —the remains of houses , with a mosque and a palace , extending , a mile and a half along the road ; farther on he examined the broken arches , the roofless houses , the dfnted battle-plain of Aububah . Still advancing , he entered the broad valleys and the prairie leading up to Etarar , the natives coming out of their camps arid fields to . gaze as the strangers passed . The white skin of the European had been detected , and finding that he was in danger of passing for a Turk , he avowed himself an Englishman . As an Englishman , though he might be hated , he was . certain to be feared . As a Turk , ne would be hated and scorned . / . " -. He crossed the Erar river—shallow , cool , and clear , and found himself among fields and gardens . The peasantiy were compg from the city market with empty gourds , in which they had , carried , their , milk and butter ; a noble of Ifarar was riding along upon a iianclsomeiy-rcapar . ispned mule , and attended by seven servants . He wore a . magnificent robe , with a white turban edged with , scarlet , and had an Abyssinian broad-sword hung over his left shoulder * Saluting this grandee of an unknown kingdom , Lieutenant Burton pressed on through a naxrow-feneed lane ^ jjassed a number df women holding a-fair under a treei reached the summit of a hill , and saw before him the object <) f his journey , Harar , a cluster of sombre buildings , with , two grey minarets--a reiriarkable contrast to the green fields and coloured sides of the mountains . "None had ever succeeded in entering that pile of stones , " he . thpughtf arid ,, though it Was nb Q ^ iirigai thaj : Jhe . saw ^ a , warder adm ^ fced the strange , cavweade , which proceeded ; ., up the , ^ ain , street ^ o , the palace-Vra range pf f low biuldings , plaqed round a pourt , in , which ^ hek < 3 ra ; l | a chiefs , with zinc arnilets , spears , arid , san 4 als , stalked to and fro , and were admitted into / the / audience chamber . There , in & vast- whitewashed hall , hung witlv matchlocks land polished fettera , sati upoit a raised Indian -cot , the Sultan Ahmad bin Sultan Abibakri ; i ' " ¦ ' ' : " His appearance'was that ; of a little Indian rajaUj an etiolated youth twenty-four or twenty-five years old , plain and thiii-bearded ; with a yellow , complexion , wHnkled bro \ v 4 , and protruding eyes . His dress was a flOwfrig robe of crimson 616 th , edged with sribwy fur , and a > an ow whit ^ turban tightly twisted round a talFcap of , redvelvet , like the old Turkish head-gear 6 t our painters . * ' . , . ' .. " .. '¦ .,.. ^ - -,. a $ Tow , Harar is a cityabput two hundred mjles from * he Indian Ocean , and five thousand five hundred feet , above the ^ ea-leveL It has an excellent ? climate , and the country is well cultivated- - It , has its history of wacs ,- mas *! saaresy . and dynasties— -to * dynasties beings of course ^ the-1 origin of the 1 massacres and wars—and is at present a mile long , half a mile wide , enclosed by a , w , alk and built qf . styne cemented with .. day . It has , not only its own dialect , Unintelligible to aliy ' save the citizens , but its ppp ^ atio ^ of . about 8000 persons forms a distinct race . Harar ,, say tbeSoiiials . is the ^ naradiso of feses . nrid . the men flays' XieUtenant "Biirtori . ajrd . certainty ugly . The w ' dmeri ; slender and delicate , axe gr ^ efiijlly ^ ^ re ^ ed ^ hd , at fcsti ^ ala ndorn fhemseiyes witji , wreaths ojT " ' % gj-a . nt Ipwils ^ Tt ^ ey . jia ^ fto i ^ heir bpsoms with stars , pairi . t their , eyehrowia , w s ^ kohl . , to u-irige th < j eyes , , uud lionna to s * am the hands , an 4 feet . ' Many , < of ,. t ] ho prettiest Uaye heen imported from other African countries * H * rarbeing a great station for th » . slave- oaravanff from Zangaroy Gurague , and the other GaU * . > region » . ' Harar * coffee * s well known in tl » o liuropenn market j ite ivory , tobaecov saff-ilowery nnd cloth are also famous among the traders of the cOasfc ; Three tertravtfns ' . lti * ve / the city ueiially for Borberah , on Hte India ** Ocean ^ sl ^ es b ^ lh |; 'ttie ^ principal merchandize . ¦ . . ' ' "" ' ¦ ' ' ¦ .-... -. ' '' ' J ' ' ki . f < . __ . .. ., i ( i ¦ Lieutenant Burton's description of Harar and of his AdVettturesm geaeral is ' r ^ ihnrkabld for its oVi tfnalityi arid fbr- 'ijiG . ni ^ m . )^ hiis colleeted on the modern conditioi > ,, of / l ^ aB ^< A ^' ripa ; , (; , ^ had . b pew ^ js mr ? t ' ^ tiop . / n if )» rroturM ^ . 4 ; Q , « ipjrWa > and jto pontjLr ^ tp , bjc , tawkp Mpknpw ^ . AflnEuwpB , tp ^ wxzibaiv Curouan-j stanqps , pr « vienl , efA tjho . MprASoqutiQnujOf / ithisk . ^ nter ^ ilBe , ) viuali 1 wouldj hftvc ; ttddonli ^ naUnally ' to . ( pu ^ knowledge < ofoAfeiwani gdbogwaphj , aAdiof ith » ro ^ aonroela whiclai liiayb */ eorpfiqtod ^ undoPii <' ortuBttt » "i »< Huohctf » » t *^« u ^ tei ^ rid & - tftetahvv ^ tra ^ «« d bubst » tilt ) eiyrM » t « tta « logitini » tto ooni m oitob' *! 1 eHe nati ^ e

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 12, 1856, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_12071856/page/17/