On this page

• Text (2)

  Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

• Transcript

  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

    Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

    Untitled Article

    less in comparison with a venomous epigram ; but when a writer cannot be epigrammatic , how much we owe to him for not trying to be venomous A remarkable characteristic of Mr . O'Brien ' s speculations is their tendency to optimism . Though a free Heformer , his maxim , in general , is " for the best ; " which , in essence , is Mr . Macaulay ' s . Mr . Macaulay habitually brings his reasoning to this point—that tbe right thing was done , at tble right time , by the right men ; and that , had it been done before , or by other persons , it would have been wrong , could not hare lasted , and would have prevented many good tilings from coming to perfection - Mr . O'Brien , though he does not say so , regards the future with a placid eye , and believes that , when happy changes come , they never come an hour too late . Premature

    innovations , he says , are always futile and often disastrous . Witness the establishment of a Commonwealth , which led to the adoration of a restored dynasty , with its bad passions exasperated ; the adoption of universal suffrage in France , which resulted in an act of national prostitution . True , but the attempt to found a perfect republic in England came after , and resulted from , the attempt to establish aa irresponsible tyranny . The successive convulsions in France were caused by the successive encroachments and perpetual perfidy of her rulers . Universal suffrage was the folly of the French republic , but it was the last resource of a nation that had seen a Monarchy crushed , and a Constitution rotted away . " The many ' commit crimes and errors , but " the many " never received the impulse or obtained the power , unless " the few" had done worse ., and broken down at the end of the game .

    To illustrate the opinions enforced by Mr . O'Brien , we will quote a passage on the value of a national , as contrasted with a royal army . " Social order itself , " he remarks , " maybe purchased at too dear a rate . " He continues : — The right to beararms is one of those fundamental rights , upon which the liberties of a free people rest . In a well-ordered community , the occasions may be rare in which , an individual has occasion to protect his person from violence ; but such cases may occur , and when they occur , the tardy interference of the authorities of ten comes too late to repel- the menaced wrong . For personal protection , therefore , every man . should be allowed to possess arms . If lie make an improper use of these arms , let him be severely punished ; but the apprehension of an occasional outrage is no sufficient reason for disarming a whole community .

    The use of anns Inr f . Tio nnrnilgfirvn « t lonvaid 4-i »<» K ^ . « 4- ~ .-a . ~_ : x .. 11 .. 1 i . ; . _ 1 he use of arms by the population at large is the > best security that a nation can possess , against subjugation by a foreign foe . "When a people rely exclusively upon a standing army for protection , then if that arary be vanquished in a battle , orin a succession of defeats , no alternative remains except submission . ; but a people accustomed to tie use of » nna £ and courageous in spirit , may rally after a hundred defeats and recover its freedom . j ^ ° ^ P it alone against foreign foes that a nation , ought to be prepared to cletend its liberty . The minister or sovereign , who desires to enslave a people , naturally wishes to deprive them of the means of resistance . Insurrection is an alternative to which a nation should- 'be slow to resort ; but the fear of such a contingency ought to be ever present to the minds of those who design to enslave a country . A patriotic legislator , therefore , will encouraee rather than

    repressa exposition on the part of the people to possess arms , and to learn their use . lne . liberties of England are due to the maintenance of this right , which is soured , as a part of the constitutional system of England , by ° the Bill of Rights , lhe uberfa . es of America were acquired by the use of the rifle , handled by brave men . lne liberties of Switzerland were acquired , and have heen maintained , bv the possession of arms , and by a manly determination to use them in the hour of need . Such popular rights as are to be found among the nations of the Continent are secured by the practice of training to the use of arms , as a national guard ox muitia , a large proportion of the population . On the other hand , England strives to deprive the Irish of the use of arms , because she desires to keep that nation in * v V ? 1 aub 3 ectlon J aud because she remembers that when Ireland possessed , in the Volunteers of 1782 , a military organisation , of a national character , the interests of Ireland ceased to be sacrificed to those of England

    This is spirited , logical , and not common place . Mr . O ' Brien ' s volumes , though composed , in a large proportion , of elementary generalisations , contain many other passages equally sound and vigorous .

    Untitled Article

    remind ins readers that this is the plural form of Badawi , an adjective derived from Badu , " a desert , " and that consequently it is ungrammatical to speak of " a Bedouin . " The Arab races of Ismaelitish origin occupy onlv the Sinaitic Peninsula . They exhibit an admixture of Egyptian bl ood and are mentioned in Eastern records as balf-caste Arabs . Another foreign * race are the Noachians , a Chaldean family , described as purely Caucasian and of a highly nervous temperament . The original stock was sub-Caucasian and may still be traced in the province of Mali rah and along the coast bet-ween Muscat and Hadramaut , by their inferior development— " low brows and illformed noses , irregular lines , black skins , and frames for the most part frail and slender . " The national type , however , is of a high standard . A loftv broad , and retreating forehead ; long , bushy , crooked eyebrows ; a small restless , fiery , deep-set eye ; the nose generally aquiline , but not uafrequently straight as the Grecian ; the lips either too thick , or forming a mere lin and

    e ; a wen strongly-made chm ; short , white , regular teeth ; a pensive expression of countenance , often combined with much dignity ; middlta * stature ; a spare frame , but square and sinewy ; hands and feet coarser than a Hindoo ' s , but more delicate than a European's ; the thumb sufficiently long to be prehensile ; and a light , springy gait . Such is the Hejazi of the present day , such were his ancestors when the world was still young , as men reckon time . Strange as it may appear , this type has been preserved notwithstanding a system of intermarriages . Not only is the union of first cousins permitted , but " every Bedouin has a ri ^ ht to marry his father ' s brother's hter before sh

    daug e is given to a stranger . " The women of El Hejaz are inferior to the men in personal appearance . Their " eyes are fierce , their features harsh , and their face haggard , " and they soon shrivel up into withered crones . Their social position , however , is quite as favourable as among the ancient Germans , and thus a certain degree of gentleness is infused into the character of the men . Indeed , the Arab has much of the true chivalrous feeling . Though an hereditary robber , he is ready to defend th e honour and to respect the person of his female prisoner , lie loves to hear of deeds of mercy , generosity , and manly virtue . He even knows something

    ot platonic affection , which he denotes by a phrase signifying " pardonable love . " Nor does he renounce his allegiance to beauty while engaged in plundering the wayfarer . " Strip off that coat , O certain person ! and that turban , " exclaims the highwayman , " they are wanted by my lady-cousin . " Nevertheless , matrimony is a commercial transaction . The love-sick swain must wait until his father or himself can pay in advance one-half of the dower of his bride—for the other half he is allowed a reasonable credit by the lady ' s nearest kinsmen . The marriage festivities are simple , though noisy . There is dancing and singing and eatinjr of mutton , with a dropping fire of guns by way of accompaniment . A divorce is a matter of much easier accomplishment , provided that the ' settlement " lias not been dissipated , for that must be punctually refunded .

    _ A PILGRIMAGE TO MECCAH . / ersonal Narrative of a Pilyrimags . to El-Medinak and Meccali . By Richard F . Burton . Lieutenant Bombay Army . Vol . III . ' Longman and Co The third volume of Lieutenant Burton ' s Pilgrimage to the holy cities of the Moslem faith has at length appeared . Thougfi containing much interesting matter , it is inferior in many points to the preceding portion of the narrative . J . he most important chapter , —that containing the description of the Bait - 1 1 V House ojf God—is copied textually from Burehardt , illustrated , indeed , by copious and very valuable notes . It would have been as well , however , if the Latin notes had been omitted in a work intended for tbe general reader . We do not deny that the subjects thus noticed are held in high esteem by physiologists , but they are certainly ouf of place in a book likely to find its way to the drawing-rooms of delicate-minded women ; and , at the present day , the Latin language is no barrier to female curiosity . Our fair readers

    are , tnereioae , cautioned against attempting to decipher any notes not written in the vernacular . Our author is , moreover , addicted to the weakness of displaying lua polyglot attainments , at times when his native tongue would ^ "TF . I - ce to , cotivey his meaning . He ought not to have laid himself open to JU . buntrae a sarcasm , that " one may be a fool in several languages ¦ " a remark founded oa a sounder knowledge of mankind than Charles-Quint ' s dictum , that a man who knew five languages was five times a man . But Lieutenant Burton ' s error may be traced , not to folly , but to a bad habit very prevalent among Anglo-Indians , of interlarding their conversation with Unentai words and expressions . Were it possible that men sliould ever gatner together with a view to construct one common tongue , no doubt they w 0 H P ! ocee < l on s-ome such plan as dovetailing the choice idioms and nhrases tne

    or amerent peoples . But , as that event is not very probuble , at least in these our days , it is much to be desired that writers should abstain from all 33 C ? -1 ^ W * P c < lftntry « nd affectation . Language never fails a definite idea If the jdeaa be clear , the words will readily follow . ™ £ Sl 2 y \ « 8 enwinc w » rt" of Mr . Burton ' s narrative in a great men--urcnrccleema thiB Wr fault . Hia description of the character nnu manners 2 n £ E ! tnbea of the Desert is particularly interesting ; and he has the good sense to accept the vulgar name of Bedouin , though ho does not omit to

    The Bedouin is strictly abstemious as a rule , though equally prone to the opposite excess in eating when unwonted abundance is before him . Habitually , he is content with ten ounces a day , and that consisting of dry dates , a little milk , and some clarified butter . His favourite repast is a < 3 ish of locusts , which are dried four or five days in the sun after being boiled in salt water . " The head is plucked off , the stomach drawn , the wings and the prielily part of the legs are plucked , and the insect is ready for the table . " They are usually eaten hot , with salt and pepper , or onions fried in clarified butter , when they are said to be almost as good as stale shrimps . On journeys , however , the Bedouin indulges in niaat cut into strips and sun-dried , together with a bag of milk-balls and a little coffee ; but fermented liquors are unknown except by name . Smoking , however , is very general , though the weed used for that purpose is strong , and unpleasantly flavoured .

    The religious ceremonies practised at Meccah prove that the Mahomniedaiis are by no means free from idolatry . And the Hindoos expressly throw this taunt in their teeth ,

    O Moslem , if thou worship the Kaabah , Why reproach the worshippers of idols ? Of the rites practised at the sacred shrine it is impossible to give an abridged account which could convey any adequate idea of their real character . To the book itself we must refer the curious reader for a full description of all that appertains to this sacred duty of a true Moslem . The only fault we can find , if indeed it be one , is that Lieut . Burton is sometimes too minute and elaborate , and thus wearies any but the most determined inquirer after truth . Our waning space , too , bids us to forbear , though we look for an easy pardon for the following extract relative to one of those strange beings who are oftentimes encountered under peculiar circumstances . The scerie took place on the road from Meccah to Jetldah : — Before nightfall I was accosted , in Turkiah , by a one < eyed old fellow / who , — " With faded brow , Entronch'd with many a frown , anil comic beard . "—

    and hnbitod in unclean garments , was bestriding a doukoy fadod aa himself . When I shook my head , he addressed mo in Persian . Tbo same mancouvro made him try Arabic : still ho obtained no nnawor . He then grumbled out good Hiudostani . That also failing , he tried HuccessiVely Pushtu , Armenian , Engli s h , French , and Italinn . At last I could " keep a stiff Hp" no longor ;—at ovojry ohangu of dialect his emphasis beginning with " Then who the d aro you ?" becarao moro emphatic I turned upon him in Persian , <» ud found that ho had boon a pilot , a courier , and a servant to oiwteru tourists , and that ho bad visited England , France , and Italy , the Capo , India , Control Asia , and China . Wo then olmttod iu English , which Haji Akif spoke well , but with all m ^ unor of courier ' s |> hrnsen ; Jtlaji Abdullah so badly , that he wan counselled a oourao of utudy . It was not a little ourious to hear such phrase * ns " Co mo ' p , Noddy , " and " nom d ' wn baudtt , " almost within earshot of tbo tomb of Ishmael , tho birthplace of Mabommod , and the sauotuary of El Islam .

    Equally extraordinary is the gibberish s | < okcn as good English at the seaports of our distant settlements . Every traveller who has touched at Ceylon will remember the very unusual expressions—to use a mild phrase—there common in the mouths of the Cingalese Nor can any one rec . ll to mind without n smile the ingenious impetuosity of tho rionkcy ' boys nt Aden , for ever crying in alternate strophes , " Ya , Snhib ! ya moke 1 bloody moke , sahib I " It is acarcdy , however , a fitting subject for mirth , that the earliest foundation of

    Untitled Article

    SB TflELEADER . [ No . 305 , Saturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 26, 1856, page 88, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2125/page/16/