those of purely a geological and geographical character aside for his other work, which is to be confined to strictly scientific matters; and secondly, that even when it might be necessary to present a distinct idea of his route, he should have avoided such details as did not throw any particular light on the more popularly interesting subjects of these volumes; these subjects, as we shall show, having sufficient variety and importance for one homogeneous publication; while, as we have already intimated, the geographical harvest was abundant enough to supply a work in that department. Had Mr. Ainsworth observed the rules we have suggested, instead of publishing his notes with needless particularity of every day's journey and occurrences, we should have had a more attractive work, and one volume instead of two. The attractive subjects to which we allude, besides notices of a religious nature, are such as are descriptive of scenery, of towns, and of national characteristics. But there are others, and which indeed furnish the most stirring themes of the work, although they were accidental. We mean the author's good or bad fortune, call it which you please, in joining the Turkish army on the Syrian frontier, and his witnessing the battle of Nizib, as well as his being involved in the disastrous route which followed; all which he describes with the truthfulness and the graphic spirit of an eye-witness, who could not but deeply partake of the feelings which danger and novelty produce.

It will be our business now to present some passages from the more attractive parts of the work, and to which we have just now been referring. Begin with a survey of one of the Cappadocian cave-villages.

Our route lay over plains and uplands, till we approached the Sevri Hisar hills, when we turned to the right, and entered deep and rocky ravines, at the foot of an outlaying spur of the Hasan Tagh. The first we entered contained a few grottoes and caves, which kept increasing in number as we progressed, till we came to what had evidently been a very populous site, and where, superadded to the caves, were ruins of dwelling-houses, arches of stone-work, &c., still standing in the valley. This place is called by the Greeks of the present day, Belisterneh. Ravines of the same character, almost without interuption to the succession of grottoes, many of which were rudely ornamented in front, led us to Gelvedery, where we were equally surprised and delighted to find a large colony of Greeks living in these caves, mostly built up in front, and occupying not only the acclivities of the hills, but also the face of the precipice to its very top, and stretching up a narrow ravine, which, towards its upper part became chocked with these semi-subterranean dwellings. We had now the pleasure of contemplating what one of these cave-villages or towns was when inhabited; and were all anxiety to get into one of the houses, but this anxiety on our part was not at all met by the natives, who were disinclined to receive us, or to hold communication with us. At length we got into a house, where was a caverned odah, but it was full of khawasses; so Mr. Rassam repaired to the house of a priest, who acted kindly, and allowed us a

room for the night. These Greeks, although thus secluded from the world, were not poor, and had a goodly stone church in the vale. From what conversation we had with the priests, it appears that they claim a high antiquity to the site of Gelvedery, which there is every reason to believe corresponds to Garsabora. What interested us greatly, was to endeavour to trace the origin of Greek colonies, in such remote and sequestered spots, but upon this subject they could offer us no information; their fathers' fathers had lived in the same spot, but why it was chosen by them, and what advantages it had ever offered to them, appeared scarcely to have been ever a subject of a moment's thought. It is not many years since the Osmanli government, by a rather enlightened policy, dragged the Christians from the caves of Osiana, Tatlar, &c., and made them reside in the New City, and the troglodites of Gelvedery appear to have much horror of the same fate hanging over them; and thus our questions excited their suspicions, and awakened fears which all our expressions of kindly and brotherly feeling towards them scarcely sufficed to allay.

Mr. Ainsworth speaks favourably of the Cappadocian Greeks, and says that those of them who have congregated in towns exhibit a flourishing aspect, one "of ease, freedom, and prosperity, which never belongs to Mahomedan towns." He goes on to particularize.

Children are playing about, flowers are trained up the house walls, females sit at their verandahs, and trade is bustling in the market; add to this, that the Cappadocian Greeks are, generally speaking, pleasing and unreserved in their manners, and their conversation indicated a very high degree of intelligence and civilization, where there are so few books, and so little education, and consequently, little learning. In the villages, the men, marrying early, repair to Constantinople and Smyrna to trade, while to the women is left the care of the house, the flock, and the vineyard; an evil follows from this, that the females become masculine and full of violent passions, and when the men return to their homes, they are often very far from finding an echo to the subdued tones and more polished manners which they had learnt to appreciate in the civilized world. The priests who remain at home might be supposed to have some counteracting influence, but they are often old, have rarely above moderate capacities, and are frequently disregarded and disrespected. But apart from these minor considerations, these Cappadocian Greeks certainly constitute a tribe themselves, distinguished by their manners, their habits, and their independent prosperity and civilization, and not so much surpassing other Greeks in Asia Minor by their progressive civilization, as excelling them in having become less changed, and less humbled and prostrated, than other Greek communities are by four centuries of Osmanli tyranny.

The Kurds present in many respects a different figure, several of their characteristic features resembling those which distinguish the Scotch Highlanders.

We were now rendered aware that we were in a district of Kurds who were in the vassal, but not the subject state. The ragged garb of the rustic was supplanted by a handsome highland and military costume, a waistcoat of brown cloth, surmounted by a braided jacket of the same material, open, with

loose sleeves. The wide trowsers of blue stuff, open to the knee but tight to the legs, were upheld by a narrow waistband, so as not to impede active or prolonged exercise, and the feet were protected by good laced boots. Every man carried his gun on his back, and his pouch by his side. The latter was made of the same coloured cloth as his jacket, and adorned by two or three black tassels. The features of the men (who as usual with Kurds, were strong, muscular, and sinewy, any one equal to two such Osmanlis as constituted the army of Hafiz Pasha,) were regular and handsome, and more expressive of reckless daring, than of that low deceitful cupidity which so often 'characterizes the Arab. The women were also very good looking, and had generally fine heads of glossy black hair. They did not cover their faces. We had an excellent opportunity of contemplating these villagers, for we rested ourselves half an hour by a fountain side, in the middle of the village, and under the shade of a great plane-tree, where we were soon surrounded by almost all the inhabitants.

We have hinted above that Mr. Ainsworth and his companions got involved in the adventures of the army of Hafiz Pasha, which was dispersed and all but annihilated by Ibrahim Pasha, at Nizib; our travellers having decided on proceeding to the Turkish camp, in the hopes of facilitating their progress, and of attaining a safer position than the expedition could otherwise secure. They little thought how easily their presumed protectors would be scattered and destroyed. As the party made for the camp of Hafiz Pasha, they obtained significant proofs of the miserable commissariat arrangements of an eastern army.

"The carcasses of camels and horses, some newly dead, but others emitting most noxious effluvia, were encountered in numbers, and fully showed how severe were the tasks to which the animals were put in order to supply the wants of an army. Nor was the loss on the part of the Egyptians less in this department; for on a subsequent journey, made some time after the battle, from Aleppo to Birehjik, I saw the skeletons of nearly a hundred camels on various parts of the road. When soldiers, occupied in the commissariat, had a horse drop upon the road, they ripped up the skin, and cutting a bit, carried it to the camp, as a proof that the aninal was really dead. We saw a party engaged in this operation; the animal was panting with thirst, heat, and exhaustion, unable to proceed or to die, and writhing under the knife. Parties driving their loads to the camp, others hastening with unladen horses for further supplies, a few craven laggards slowly progressing to join the martial band khawasses on their way to hurry tardy peasants or construct rafts up the river, tatars bound to the mute-sellims of distant towns, and the aghas of districts, and officers upon various duties, gleamed through the sun's misty glare, and lent life to the great open furnace in which we all moved.

Having joined the camp of the Turkish army, they found that the generalissimo thought himself too fortunate in having Englishmen with him, to be willing to part with the accession, till disaster swept both him and them away. They were therefore exposed to grea danger from the Egyptians, and who knew what interpretation th

Turkish mass would put upon the presence of infidels, when combined with discomfiture. But however unlucky it might be for our travellers and the objects of the expedition, that they had repaired to the camp of Hafiz Pasha, the scenes and incidents which were consequently witnessed, furnish highly interesting subjects for our author's picturesque description. The camp, the half-civilized army, the scenes in the Pasha's tent, his vacillating conduct, his oriental fatalism, the events and the movements on the eve of battle, and the battle itself, afford, each and all, subjects for sketches that must be new to most Europeans; while the sketches themselves are dramatically given. Take a sample characteristic of the military tactics observed by the skirmishers.

A horseman gallops, as if towards the foe, an opponent advances to the rencounter; when sufficiently near they discharge their pistols at one another; Kurd followed Kurd, and Anazeh, Anazeh; and the second pistol of the first Kurd was fired with the first pistol of the second Anazeh, while the second pistol of the first Anazeh was fired at the first pistol of the second Kurd, and so on in succession; horsemen continually relieving one another, and each cavalier sweeping round, so that by the time his pistols were unloaded he was in the rear to load again. Success in these manoeuvres depends considerably upon the horse, which must be very quick in turning round, or else the cavalier would come unarmed upon a third opponent; and also upon the horseman in the rear, who must be quick enough to take new opponents off the hands of an old antagonist. The horses were, indeed, so well trained, that they often performed their part of the service after they had lost their rider, who had been shot on the first or second rencounter, but the relief from behind was frequently uncertain and ill regulated.

The dervishes, a worthless, stupid, hypocritical class, but who are regarded with superstitious respect, are martial in their own way.

There was a martial dervish in the camp who wore a sword, and being tolerated for his many oddities used to take great liberties with the Pasha; to-day he afforded us no small merriment by his prowess. Drawing his sabre, he rushed forward, as if to the enemy, but took care to turn round before reaching the scene of action; he then came galloping up to the Serasker, brandishing his weapon, and proclaiming that he had challenged Ibrahim Pasha, as the enemy of God, the prophet Mohammed, and his vicegerent the Sultan, but that no one had dared to fight him. He performed a variety of other equally ridiculous antics. There was also another more harmless idiot in the camp, who was deformed, and subject to hallucinations; this mau had followed the soldiers from Malatiyeh, he was a great favourite with them, and had received a good Nizam dress. He was admitted into the Serasker's tent, where one of his frequent amusements was to come and stroke me behind when engaged in conversation, on which occasions I could scarcely preserve my gravity, but the Mohammedans considered this as a token of favour and success. I never saw either of these camp oddities after the battle, and almost doubt if they effected their escape.

The picture given of the retreat of the Turks after their speedy discomfiture, is vivid and stirring in an unusual degree.

All around was one great expanse of flying men and horses; some drivers, no longer able to take their guns and cars along the unequal ground and through the wood, were cutting the traces and effecting their escape upon the horses; the hill of Nezib and the heights beyond were covered with large bodies of mounted Kurds, who had long ago provided for the safety of themselves and steeds; but on the battle-field the strife still continued between the Turkish Guards and the Egyptians, and a last effort still remained to be made. It was a most painful thing to see the brave Guards left without support to battle against a whole army. My friend felt as keenly as myself, but was more excited several times he attempted to rally the fugitives; but I saw an expression in their countenances such as only dastardly cowardice can give birth to, and there was no possibility of mistaking its meaning. It was evident that all interference was fraught with imminent danger, and I persuaded him to be quiet. Poor Hafiz had seized upon the standard of the Guards, and endeavoured to urge this small remnant of fighting men to a decisive charge; but, abandoned on all sides, and nearly surrounded by the enemy, they could do no good, and stirred not. The cavalry under Sheriff Pasha had withdrawn itself in the most shameful manner, at the time that it ought to have supported the left wing. A determined and well-sustained fire of musketry was kept up a short time longer on both sides, and then all was swept away as if a hurricane had been in movement across the plain. The Pasha was carried away by the mass of fugitives who fled along the valley of the Kesrin towards Niksar. It was a quarter past ten o'clock in the morning when firing first began, and it was half-past twelve when we turned, with heavy hearts and an uncertain future before us, up the side of the hill and away from the plains of Syria.

As we proceeded on our melancholy way, we found knapsacks, cartoucheboxes, accoutrements, muskets, and portions of dress, strewed plentifully along the road-side: some had taken the precaution to arm themselves with bayonets, but others had thrown down the whole machinery of war as uncongenial weapons, and especially troublesome on a long foot-journey. Luckily, a few held by their firelocks; and others took advantage of a stray horse or donkey, or of a steed whose owner lay low, to make it carry the arms of a multitude. The number of muskets that fell into the hands of the enemy was very considerable; we saw at Aleppo, some months after the battle, a pile at least containing six thousand, most of which had been taken out of the rivulet of Nezib for the Kurds got the greater part of what were left on the road. One of the peculiarities of the battle of Nezib was that there was no pursuit.

One poor creature had died with his chin resting upon his hands, and his elbows upon his knees, and he sat in this position by the road-side: another fine young man turned pale and fell from his horse; he was carelessly put off the road into a bush; his trousers were bathed with blood, and it was evident that he had been mortally wounded in the thigh. He recovered for a moment, opened his eyes, and gasped for breath, but soon fainted for the last time.

The chalky soil reflected the powerful beams of the sun, and lent further intensity to the heat. The fine dust rose in clouds, sometimes veiling the crowd from sight, then leaving banners of white and red, and the tassels of