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. HUGH 3IcaUEEX, Editor. .
' ', J ' ? ; .... CHAPEL HILL, THURSDAY,.; SEPTEMBER 15 1S3G f -Hj -i.:' ; Iji m : P l; I1 ' .' V". ' -: Vol. LNo. . - . I . -1;': .!.
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f TERMS. ; -
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JLitcraru
From 'Random Recollections of the II.: of Hords.'
! DUKE OP WEtLINGTOX.
' I now come tt-speak of the nlost dis-
tinguishe;! man of the present day, eith
er in this or any other country. I al'ude
to the Duke of Wellington. It will at
once beunderstood, that in character-
ising hts Grace as the most distinguish-
fcd man of-the present day, I. speak of
.1 Inm in his capacity of a general, and notl
t in, that of . statesman. In this latter res
I pectitowevert.I am disposed to assign
hm a much higher rank than he is gen-
i tertain political principles opposite to
i his. 1 If on some preat occasions he has
i erallv aliuwril iu xi 1 1 w t iiiuso u nu vn-
"failed in his calculation of the probable
j effects of circums ances, and the proba-
j We course of events, it is not to oe uis-
r puled, by his most implacable foes that
; he has been, in cases of unusual diflicul-
' ';tv. successful in others. The mere fact
( of his carrvinsr on the government of
i the country during the eventful period
' .'which intervened between the resigna-
tion of . Lord Goderich and the dissolu -
lion of his own administration, is of itr
self unanswerable proof,- known as it is,
by every one that that government was
almost entirely under his , own individu
al guidance, that his mental resources
must be very far from those ol a com-mon-place!
character. It must not only
be recollected, that r the period duriBg
.which his admuiistration existed was
one unusually critical as regarded the
posture both of home and foreign poli
tics : but that he had to undertake the
helm of govej-nment in the face. of per
haps the strongest prejudice that ever
i i . j :...!: i
ussaiieu any minister; prejuuicc uaust-u
partly by the unpopularity of his avow
d high Tory principles and partly by
his memorable declaration,
mauc out u
11.
short time before his accession
to the
Premiership that he would be mad e
ven to dream of filling that office. .,
And ret. not only did the frofcle Duke
1 conduct his government safely through
the storms and tempests of; the period
referred to, but at1 the" very" moment he
made his ill-judged declaration against
all reform, it seeitied to be resting more
searely "than ever. 'That declaration
raj not only the mosT f4oIish-tiat he
"ever made it was infinitely more so
than his -previous ve!I-knoivn statement,
' that lie regarded county meetings as far
ces but it was decidedly the most im
prudent that -e,vr proceeded from the
lias of a minister of the Crowni It could
, J .. . .1
!not fail to prove, in. me men exiting
f the country, the des-
trtirtinn nf hi: Government. It had hartL-
ly escaped his lips,
:i w t!i2t such would
whe!ihe hiinsflf
be its inevitable
consequence. " ;
Cut that the Duke of Wellington, nol
wilhsland defects in his character which
prevent his being a stateman of the rirst
class-is more' than respectable in. that
capacity, must be aluudantly clear to
every mind not blinded by prejudice.
HiV conduct, first in the case of the
claims of the Dissenters, and afterwards
r in
the case of the claims ol tne iwman
Catholics; was such as no mind but that
of. a statesman could ever have sUggest-ed.-
Though mistaking the signs of the
VY I - times, and ignorant of the stat and force
of puV.ic opinion in other instances, ne
ciearfy saw those'signs.'and C(o:rectly es-
' timated the force of that opinion, as re
garded theTest and Corporation Acts,
. and the disabilities under which the Ro
man Catholics then labored. I need not
; ra.narb; ihnt this conviction was
IICIC -
not Iwroug'it on his mind, by the ar
guments r ieprcscntatiorra of "hi3c'ol
leagues.irvie Cahinet ; for they were to
a man, obstinntely adverse to concession
i in either case : it was wholly tne result
of his own reflections on the matter, and
1 his clear perception of what the exigen-
j cy of each individual case demanded at
1 hi? hands. Nor was the fact of his de-
termination to attempt the repeal of the
". Test and Corporation Act, and to re-
I dress the grievances of the Roman Ca-
1 iholics, under , the peculiar and difficult
circumstances in which he was placed
4 by his own? previous opinions and con-
ductand the existing state of sentiment
i on these topics among his colleagues
and friends, less a proof of his pos-
. sessing some of the leading attributes of
a statesman, than was thelact of his per-
: N Jr ceiving the then state of public opinion
V ' as to the expediency of such. measures.
I That he succeeded "in carrying them in
J; the face of obstacles which would not
'only have appalled ordinary1 minds, but
' '' which seemed altogether insuperable, is
a still further evidence of his5 possession
of those attributes. There was hardly,
I believe, a man in the country but him
self, when he first declared his intention
of bringing forward those measures,who,
with the House of. Lords and the preju
dices of George the Fourth in his eye,
ever dreamed that the noble Duke, would
succeed in the objects he had in view.
The Duke of ellington has general?
ly evinced an intimate knowledge of the
resources n;f hi-i own party, and of the
amount of fierce which would be neces
sary t. carry their point, and defeat their
pYonents. Hence," as must often liave
been observed, he has not'only on' many
4ccaiions pursued a more moderate
course th'ati those of the more bigoted
and less calculating of his Tory friends,
but in various cases he had refused to
ct)-operate with them at all. In several
instances tlas k-efusal to co-operate with
his
own.nariv ajrainst narucuiar meas-
ures of a liberal Government has arisen
as much fmm a conviction of theimpru-
Mehce of defeating Ministers had those
on his side. of the house possessed the
power as from a consciousness of the
futility of the attempt. In fact, his whole
conduct shows that he is a mart of great
shrewdness and prudence.
- L Perlraps no man of the present day
possesses greater moral courage than the
Duke of .Wellington. It is that pe-
i cuuar ic?ci niuuii wi inuiai tuuiogci iuut
which teacrres him to disregard alike the
opinions both of friends and foes. Let
him be bu( convinced that a certain
measure has: become indispensable to the
peace or welfare ot the country, and to
the carrying of that niaasure he vvill tend
all his energies in utter disregard alike
of the smiles 'and frowns of others. I
do not believe that he is either to be
smiled into Sor frowned out of a particu
lar measurej however seductive the smile
I in the one ase, or ominous the frown
in the bther. He appears as indifferent to
popularity as any public man I know of
the present day.
Indeed, my impression is,- that' his
moral courage is so extreme as to degen-
erate into a, blemish in his character. It
was his utter indifference to popularity
that prompted his ill-judged and, to his
own uovernmeni, iaiai ueciaration 01
. t - r . l I 1 ;
November JS20, against all reform.
And the same disregard of public opin
ion contributed, there can be no doubt,
to his resolution to centre the entire go
vernment of the country in his own per
on during the space
which intervened
of the Melbourne
Ministry in faovembclr 1831, and the re
between the; election
turn ol Sir uobert reel trom iiaij'.
.That was ah experiment which no one,
not even his own greatest iriend, ever
undertook to justify, i It was an experi-
men:, iiKJeeu, wnicn aoinmco oi no jus-
I tificatioii ; hiit was considered by las own
party, as well as by those ol opposite po
. . .
litics, to be as unconstitutional as it was
bold and daring. j
One of the! greatest defects in the char
acter of ihe puke ad u statesman is, fil
neither anticinatinir public opinion, nor
keening abreast Willi it. He generally
resists il till it has' acquired an .over
whelming power. Had he, when in of
fice, jjnly granted a motlerate measure
of r f'Tinj tjie nation would have been
satisfied, at least for a lime, and he might
still have, been Prime 'Minister .of the
country. But by his refusal to yield one
iora to the public demand, ;that demand
became work extensive in its scope, and
louder in its; tone, until it could nd lon
ger be resisted with safety to the public
peace, lie remd the littlrwhich would
le irratefully received las an act of grace,
and then finlls himself! in the end com
pelled to mjlip a much larger concess
ion, for which.he does not even receive
the thanks f his countrymen.
His general information is neither var
ied nor profound; but he. very seldom
comiuitr blunders in his speeches. He
always pay.- particular attention to any
question ofitnporlancebefore the House,
before he vrjntures to open his mouth on
it." And thirre are few men who can so
speedify master 'the' leading details of a
ny. qoestion His mind is acute, and his
understanding- vigorous; so that, in as
far as the. m!ere matter of his, speeches is
concerned, lie generally appears to some
advantage. He often strikes out" new
courses of thought, but' seldom pursues
them far. ti is nothing-"uncommon to
hear him urge a . series of ingenious argu
ments in favor ui his view of the subject,
without what is called dwelling on them.
He is always clear; you can never mis
take the position he labors to establish,
nor can you ever fail to perceive the im
mediate bearing of his observation on
that position. ! "
Were , his diction and manner good,
the noble t)uke would rank high as a
speaker, but both are bad. His style is
rough and disjointed sometimes posi
tively incorrect : it is always, however,
nervous and expressive. His manner
of speaking is much worse than his dic
tion. He has a bad screeching sort of
? i
voice, aggravated by an awkward moae
of mouthing the j. words. His enuncia
tion is so bad, owning in sbme measure
to the loss, of several of his teeth, that
often, wherj at the full stretch of his voice,
you do not know what particular words
he is using. At other times, and; this
loo while his gesture is vehement, he
speaks in so low and peculiar a sort of
tone, that you lose, perhaps, wnoie sen
tences together.
The Duke feels strongly on political
question,and has always great energy in
his manner when expressing nis sentf
ments. He generally makes a liberal
use of his jarms,' especially his right one,
when on his legs, and moves his body
about forthe purpose of enabling him to
lcoki his oivn friends, in different parts
of the house, in the face. In his more
vehement moods, he frequently falls in
to tvhat.in parliamentary Janguageviscall
ed the habit of expectoration. Ilis whole
soul is thrown into his subject. You
see at oncethat he has no ambition to
play the oraior. He never uses a word
more than necessary," nor does he at-
tempt rhetorical flourishes. His speeches
are full of -feeling and sentiment. You
are only surprised when 'ou see, the in
tensity of the former,! if in opposition to
any measure before their' Lordships,-
that herdoes not divide the house on the
subject, j ..' . ' j ; !..'
Notwithstanding his having attained
the advanced age of! sixty-seven, he is
full of spirits, and! apparently in
excellent; health. (The Hedn forma
tion of. his face, by portraits, or other
wise, so familiar to every one, that it is
unnecessary to describe it. I may sim-
l., , ,i ... ,. . .. . ,
ply mention that his har is of a; grayish
colour i and that his corrrplexionis nale
L i - ; it- i , t. . i
i , 1 . 1 , - . . , ! , , ;
aou wuu. nisi eve is uuiCK anu niercinor.
aim in: wnoie cuunienance isn gniy in-
dicative of energy and determination.J
t t ll- ,1 ..it
1 . - wt e e i' ..,. r . ---
" - - - - - mvuj 111 i- 111101111.
1 1 1 , 1 . , r T
slenoer. and rpmartah v eYont In hla
i.c. ins luiiii. iur une ui us vearF. is
" r V v .vw., j -
JUT "C--V ,1. l"r - PW
u a uiuc t-uai.aiiu nK.ii esianu trousers,
i I hPV r QrMnm tircll moo hf hn
rather loosely on him.
- w.w... urnui, ut ouK
1 1 f - - fi i
1 y .
From Russell's. Palestine 6r the Holy Ltnd."
THE DEAD SEA. V j
rarige oa which the observer stands as
ine mountains 01 junea tnrm the
ne looks down on the Lake Asphaltites
for Dead Sea.l i Less Infn n,I moro ,,n.
queal than the eastern chain; it differs Josephus, who employs a poetical ex- This dream, propagated by certain vis
from the other in its nature also : exhi- pression, says.f that he perceived ionary travellers, is now corpp'etely
oiling neaps ot chalk and sand, whose
form, it is said, bears some resemblance
Xo piles of armsl waving standards orthe
tents ot a camp pitched on the border of
a plain. The'Arabiah side, on the con-
traryt presents inotliihg but black preci-
pilous rocks, which throw their length-1
ened shadow over the waters of the Dead
Sea. The smallest bird of heaven would
hot find amnno-thPiA a Brnrl hla.1o
of grass for its suslainance ; every thing
announces the, country of a reprabale nistonans and geographers. Sould the i vvl,! o.ue uiau sevejuy tooys oyKuuiu
neople, and well fitted to perpetuate the Turks ever give permission, and should teen. A ,recjenl traVeller'lo ;vvliose un-
punishment denounced against Amraon
-. . . . I .. : - 1 i
and xMoaot 1
The valley confined bv these two
chains of mountains (displays a soil re-
semhlmo- tho KAttnm Af .Wk k0
lon.rretfred from its heil. n bearh rovrr-
ed with salt, dry mud, and moving sands.
rUrrn.r.l...iiP. b--iTi wm If r I
and there stunted shrubs vegetate with
dirJicuIir unon this inanimate tract: their
leaves are covered with salt, and thir
bark has a smoky smell and teste. In
stead of villages you perceive the ruins
of a few-towers. . In. the middle of this
valley flows a discoloured river, which
reluctantly, throws -itself into the pesti
lential lake by which it is ingulfed. ; Its
course amid the sands can be distinguish
ed only by the willows and the reed lhat
jborder'it ; among which the Arab lies in
ambush to attack the j Iravellcrj and to
murder the pilgrim. '! . J
ISI. Chateaubriand remarks that when
you travel in Judea the heart is at first
filled with profound 'melancholy. ' But
when, passing from solitude to solitude,
boundless space opens before you, this
feeling wears offby degrees, and you ex
perience a secret awe, which,) so w far
from depressing the soul, imparts life
" 1 ' . 1
and elevates the genius. Extraordinary
appearances everywhere proclaim a land
with miracles. The-bnrnhrg4
teeming
sun, the towering eaglc,thebarren lig
tree, all the poetry, all the pictures of
Scripture are,here. very name C(m
memorates a mystery,- every grotto an
nounces a 'prediction,- -every hill re
echoes the accents of a prophet. God
himself has spoken in these regions, dri
ed up rivers, rent the rocks, and opened
the grave. 'The desert still appears
mute with terror ; and you would ima
gine that it had never presumed to in
terrupt the silence since it heard the aw
ful voice of the Eternal.
The celebrated lake which occupies
the site of Sodom and Gomorrah is call
ed in the i Scripture "the Dead Sea., !A
mong the Greeks and Latins it is known
by the name o Asphaltities; the Arabs
denominate it Bahar Loth, or Sea of Lot.
M. de Chateaubriand does not agree with
those wh6 conclude it to be prater of a
volcano; for, having seen Vesuvius, Sol
fartara, the Peak of the Azores, and the
extinguished volcanoes of Auvergne, he
remarked in all of them the same char
acters ; that is to
say,
mountains exca
vated in the form of a tunnel. lava, and
ashes, which exhibited incontestable
proof of the agency of fire. The Salt
Sea, on thecontrary, is a lake of great
length, curved like a bow, placed be
tween two ranges of mountains, which
have no mutual coherence of form, no
similarity of composition. They do not
meet at the two extremities of the lake :
but while the one continues to bound the
valley of Jordan, and to run northward
as far as Tiberias,; the other stretches a
way to the soufh till it looses itself in the
sands ofi Yemen. There are. it is true,
hot springs, quantities of bitumen, sul
phur, and asphaltos ; but these of them
selves are not sufficient to attest the pre
vious existence of volcano, AYith res-
pect, indeed, to the ingulfed cities, if we
adopt tho idea of Michaelis and of Bus
chingi physics may be admitted, to' ex
y.au, me cmasiropne witnout onence to
religion.: According tor their views, So-
dom was built upon a mine of bitumen,
-a fact which is ascertained by the tes-
timony of jMoses snd 1 Josephus,-whib
speak of wells of naphtha in the IValJeV
of Siddim.. Liahfnmnr HfidlAfl llio nnml
bustiblema5s, and the guilty cities sank
in tne suDterraneous eonfla(rratinn
Malte liruh ingeniously suggests that
r . - - a .:
Sodom and Gomorrah themselves may
have been built of bituminous stones,
and thus have been set in flames bv the
ure irom heaven. J
According to btrabo, there were thir-
teen towns swallowed up in the Lake
Asphaltities; Stephen of Byzantium
reckons eight; the book of Genesis.while
I . . ... miv . uiv vi
Siddon relates the destruction of t vo on':
I tv TAnf M tankA ; r.,JJ.
II llHinPX 11VP A Cllll!)lpn in lha Vain nl
i v ?-"'""ijcvj , icuiciwiiuuijf,
i onri n4nnf .,i'r-t -
" V u'v "u""u ur "JC aui"" ji f
c es last cits. Several trirMlpr. nrt n.
I mn-nnr inKo rTr.;irt n":i, J.
i,s ,s aiiu u juiicu A, aa-
s 1 1 r - w lit rm r tii ott rvL'nuff ni m n rw r 9 1-
-.va iuc icu logujcuw
n mo o n. ..a. .n k ri..4 qx. :
I " "" r,ai-c:5 aw.
I nr....i 1; i: ir . : - . i ;
luaunurea inmseii was not so iortunaie,
owing; he supposes to the heightof the
water ; hut hfl rplafpq that Ihb Fnf hr
I n ,. ' i t -r - t
uuaraian ana rror.urator ot jerusa em.
l : , T
both men of sense snd probity,! declared
1 "lQ me; iwu uiicc onuonjf seen wuc ui
these ruins; that it was so nearthe,shpre;,
and the lake so shallow.that they,togeth-
er with some frenchmen, went to it, and
I un4 there several; pillars and j other
ira&nieni3l u u.VM" ' A1,e aiicieuts
speak more positively on this subject,
uu luC BUOrcs ui fi ie ueau cea 41c
shades of the overwhelmed cities. ; fetra-
bo gives a circumference of sixty; stadia
I l"!ulus u oowouj, wmcu a.c.aisu 1
mentioned by lacitus. i . f
It is surprising that no pains- hare
been taken by recent travellers lokKrow
I Jight upon this interesting point, or even
to learn whether the periodical rise and
fall of ihp."lakv nfTnrHa .nv mpana fnfe
determining the accuracy of the ancieht
I ... - . V J i i . . I
it be found practicable, to convey a; vesi
set lrotn Jatla to this inland sea, some
curi.ous discoveries would certaiply be
madr: 11 13 not amazing that, notwith-
standing; the enlerpnze ot modern sci-
encr the ancients were better acquaint
!d with; the properUes. and erer, thedi-
tensions 01 me iase Aspjiamues, uan
ine mo?1 yarned nations ot Europe ip
our own times t It Is described by
ristoue, otraoo, uiouorus icuius. i 11
m . r 1
ny, lacitus, ooiinus, Joseptjus, uaien,
and Diocondes.
The Abbot of Santa
Saba is the; only person for many; centu
ries who has made . the tour of the Dead
Sea. From his account we . learn.lh rough
the medium of Father Nau, that at ilis
extrertiity, it is separated, as it were, into
two parts, anil that there is a way by
which you miay walk across it, being prj-
Iv mid-leg deep at least in summer;
that there the land rises, and bpdnds an
other small lake of a circular dr j rather
an ova) figur1, surrounded with plains
and hiils of salt; arid that the neighbor
ing country is people by innumerable Al-
rabs. ' ; : '- "j , . ,;. . " . !'
It is knowh that seven considerable
streams fall into this basin, and hence it
was long supposed that it must discharge
its 'superfluous, stores by subterranean
channels into the 'Mediterranean or the
Red Sea- s opinion is now every-
where relinquished, in -consequence of
the learned remarks on the effect of eva
poration in a hot climate, published by
Dr. Ilalley many years ago ; the just
ness of : which were, admitted by Dr..
Shaw, though he calculated that the Jor
dan alone threw iti the lake every day
more than six million Inns of water. It
is deserving of notice, that the Arabian
philosophers, if we! may believe Mariti,
liad anticipated Ilalley in his Conclu
sions in: regard to jthe absorbent! power
of a dry: atmosphere. ' j
The rnarvelous proprieties ussually as
signed to the Dead Sea by the earlier tra
vellers have vanished upon a more rigid
investigation. It is now known that bo
dies sink or. float upon it, in proportion
to their specific gravity ; and that, al
though the water 'is so dense as to be
favorable to swimmers,; no security is
found against the 'common accident of
drowning. Josephus indeed asserts that
Vespasian, in order to ascertain the fact
now mentioned, commanded a number
of .his- slaves to be hound hand and foot
and thrown into thje deepest part of the
lake; and that, so far from any of them
sinking, they all maintained their place
on the surface untjl it pleased the em
peror, to have them taken out. But this
anecdote, although perfectly consistent
with truth, does not justify all the infer
ences which have jbeen drawn from it.
" Being' willing to make an experiment"
'says MavJndrell, "jl went into jit,, arpd
found that it bore up my body in swim
ming with an uncommon force ; but as
for that relation of some authors th'at
men wading into t were buoyed up to
the top as soon as they got as deep as
the middle, I found it, upon trial, not
ture." r:J'' .r'i ;;.;; j '. . "v,-, . ,.;'' .
The water of this sea has been fre-
I quently analyzed both
- England. . The specific gravity:; of it, ac
- J fcording to Malte Brun, is 1,211, that of
iresij; water neing i,uuu. it is penecuy
transparent hrThe application j of tests,
or reagents; j prove that j it coniairtsj the
muriatic andi sulphuric acids, (There is
no alumina in it, nor does it appear that
it is sattired I with marine salt or-muri-
I ntp nf nr!a. Tt hnlda'in Bnliitinn the fnl
lowing siibstances, and in the proportions
f here stated :
I -J--
Muriate of lime,
3,920
Magnesia,
Soda,
10,246
10,$60
Sulphate ojflimei
054
Vef need "not add that such
a liquid
a.
must 'be equally salt and bit
er. , -As
miffht be exrtected. too. it is found to de
posile its sails in copious. incrustations,
and to prove! a ready agent in all pro-
f r l 1
cesses ui ,uei naujiuw. viuuies,, yuuis,
and hats, jf dipped in the! lake, j oaccu
i . n . ..j .i . l , .. j
i uentaiiy wetceu witn its. water,-are lounu
i. 1 i i i-. i v; . . - .1 .. ,
wnen xinwi, to De covjb rea! wun a inicK
h..f lii ti L ,
I .u. J "i iJt-
cannot ae sura)riseu,to near tuai iiie'ia
m . 1 w a 1 a i . r a -
Aspnaitues upes not present any vane
, . n-. .- , .1 ... : t-..-
iy 01 nsn. luarm asserts tnai 11 prouu-
I J ; - . . . f .
pes noiie, ana even that those which are
carried into i by the rapidity of the Jor
K1.n - nA.iT. Ik.A.t' 4mm.i:nin k
I . . ' , . i . . . . J . J .
mmonre - n ito Q.i-.t - nVoT-oo a rtw,
shell-snails constitute thes sole tenants of
I 1..V-'I1V. r.1 - UUJ 1U HUt UO j, 4 JL i V VV
ns nreary snoresj unmixea euner witn
the helix or the muscle. A I
It wa3,fornnerly believed that the ap-
pr.oach to Asphaltites was fataljto birds,
and that, likej another lake bf antiquity,
11 nau tne pover 01 arawmg mem own
from the wing into its poisonous! waters.
uiscreuueu. urios; 01 svvauos may
be seen skimming along its; surface with
the utmost impunity, while thelabsence
giau otaer species ts easnycxpiaineu oy
a g'ance at the naked hills, and barren
plainsfwjiicri supply no egelablefood.
ll The historian Josephs,who;mcasur-
ed the Dead ea, found that in length it
exienueu aooui uve nunureu anu eignty
stadia Und' in! breadth one hundred ant!
fifl.accor4l,Tg
1 1?
published jouji nal we have' repeatedh' al
luded, j remarks that the, lake, tvhen he
visLted it, was sunk or hpljow, 'land"' that
the banks had been, recently under wa
ter, being still, very miryjdnd difficult to
pass. fThe shores were; eoyered with
E
dry vvood, some of it goodjtiniber, Which
.1 J T ?, & J " r Jim,
they say is brougnt by tne joraan irom
the country of the Druses? "The water
is purjgenily -sail, like oxvmuriale of so
da.. It; b incredibly buoyant. G-
bathed in it, and when he'lay still on his
uauu t oyjiy, oe uua teu who ouc-iourui
of his whole jbody above the water. He
desicribedfme!.sensation as extraordinary,
and more like lying on aV feather-bed
than floating j on water. - On the other
hand, he fouBd the greatest resistance
in jattenipting' to move through it : it
smarted his eyes excessively. I put a
piece -oflsticK in; it required a good deal
of presshre tp. make it sink, and ; when
let go ifcboundcd put again likeja blown
bladder" Tle water was clear, and of a
yellowish tirge, which might Sbe! from
the colour bf
the stones, at bottom, or
from the hazy atmosphere.
There were
green slirubs
down in the water's edge
in one place,
andnothing to give an idea
of any thing blasting in the neighbour-
hobd of the sea; the desert character of
the Soil exterding far beyond tlie possi
bility of being affected by its influence."
The bitumen jsupglied by this'singular
basin affords the means of a comfdrtable
livelihood 6 a considerable number of
Arabs who jTrejquent '' its.''.shores.'--'.'The.
Pasha of Damascus who finds it a val
uable article bf commerce, purphases at
a small price tlie fruit of theiq labours,
or supplies the rri with food, clothing,
anil a few oranents in return for it. In
anchient timis it found a ready market in"
jgypi, ywnere 11 was usea in large quan
lilies foV embalming the! dead: it, was al
so occasionally employed as a substitute
for stone, and appeared in the: Walls of
houses and even of temples. .
Associated w ith the Dead Sea,! every
reaxler has heard of the apples of Sodom,
a species of fruit which, extremly beau
tiful to the eye, is bitter to the taste,, and
full of dust, j Talcitus, in the fifth! book
of his history, alludes to this singular
fact, but, as usual, in language so brief
and ambiguous, that rip light can be de
rived from hiis description, aird kt inania
velut in cinefezi vanescunt.. Some tra
vellers, unable to discover this- singular
production, have considered it merely as
a figure of speech, ; depicting the deceit-1
ful nature of i all vicious enjoyments.-
Hasselquist regards itfas the pj'odrction
of a small plant called Solan urn melon
gena a species of nightshade,' which is
toi be found abundanllv in the neighbor
hood of Jericho; j He admits, that ' the
apples are sometiqies full of tfust; but
this, he maijnts ins, appears only when
the fruit is altackeld j by a certainf insect,
which converts the vhole of inside
into a kind bf powder. leaving the rind
wholly entire, and in 'possession;. of its
beautiful colou v ;''""
' M. Seetzen, again, holds the novel o-
pinion, that this mysterious apple con
tains a sort
andt having
o
cottpn resembling silkt
no
pulp, or flesh ih J the in-
sife,mighf naturally enough.whn sought
for as food, be denounced by the hnnyry
Bedouin as pleasing to I the eve" and de
ceitftil to the palate. Chateaubriand has
fixed on a shrub different from 1 any i f
the others. It grows two or ihrcelenguM
from the mouth of the Jordan," and is f
a thorny appearance, with fmall taper--;
ing leaves, It fruit is exactly, like that
of the Egyptian lemon,, both in sizeao4'
colour. Before ii is ripeifis fille dAvith
a corrosive aid saline juics; whon dried,- .
it vielks a blackish-seed that may he
Icompared to ashes7 and. which in tasla
resembles bitter pepper. ; There can le .
llitile doubt that this is the true apple i.f
Sodom, which flatters the sight while it
mocks the appetite. j ; '.; . i f
SCOTTISH HUSBANDMEN OF ,
. THE LAST CENlTRY. .r
The patriarchal simplicity of manners '
which about the middle! of last century'
bo especially characterised the Scottish
husLandmen of the Lowlands, was cal-
ulated, in a high tlegreej to foster deep
flections; and a sober but manly car- .
estness both of principles and deport- ;
rent : arid it mav be.fairly stated at ore
f the happy privileges! of the Scottish .
church, that so large a number of its
ministers have sprung from tills virtu- 4
pus and valuable order of men; The fol
lowing , brief descriptiop of the mode of ;
life and household discipline of a Scot-
tish farmer of former days, is a fkotch
by an eye-witness, fro ni early recollec-
nons 01 scenes long gone oy
"When olil simplicttjr was Jet in jrimf
'or now among our glont thd faithful fail,
Forgetful of their sires in olden time ;
That grey-haired race is gonel of look Bub'im'
Calm in demeanor, courteous, and sincere,
let stern when duty called them, as thvir cfln)t '
When it flings off the autumial foliage sere, j
And shakes tie shuddering wood with .solum
Toice 'severe." .' j v 1'. !''
The. habitation. of a Scottish husband
man in the southern countries, aixly or .
seventy years ag'o, was genefally'a plain,
substantial stone building, holding a mid-1
lie rank between the residences of the
inferior gentry and tlie humble cottages; 1
of the laboring peasantry. 'i The farm-
house, with the small, windows ofitsse-.. T
cond story often projecting through the;
thatched, roof, occupied for the rno.t .
part, the oiie side of at quadrangle in
which the ypung cattle were folded ; the
other, three' sides beinjg enclosed and
sheltered by the barns, stables, and other-farm
offices. A kitchen-garden stock-',
ed. with the common pothctlii then n
luse. and sometimes wUh, a few fruU-trecB, .
f extended on one side, ahelteTed perhaj s
by a hedge of boortreejor elder, and of- s
ten skirted by a few. aged forest treei ,
while ihe low, thatched dwellirigs of the
hinds land cotters stooid ai a jittle ttis
tance,each whh its small cabbage-garden
or kail-yard, behind, and jls : stack of
peat, or turf fuel in front. 1' .
Ah upland farm, of tlie common arer-.
age size, extending to tliree, four or five
hundred acres, partly arable and partly,
pastoral, ussually ero ployed three; r :'
four ploughs; and the master's houses
hold, exclusive of his own: family, con
sisted of sir or severi unmarried ser
vants, male and female. The married
servants namely, a head shepherd, and
a liindor two (as therinatried ploughmen
were termed)- occupied cattages apart ;
las UKewise aia me coders, hiio witc
.l-l. J-J .1 . - 1 L
ratner a son 01 larm-rei
vants, being bound only!
ainers than ser-
. .,---r.
lo give the mas
ter, in lieu of rent, their services in hay
time and harvest, and tat other stand'
periods.' : The whole, however, especi
ally in remote situations, formed a sort
of little independent community in them
selves,fdeiiving their subsistence almost -exclusively
from the produce of tlie'farm.
The master's household, alone usually r
amounted to fifteen or twenty souls;'
and the whole population of the farm, or
onstead, to double br treblefthat number,
-r-a number considerably 'greater, per
haps, thai) will now he commonly found
on a lairm 01 tne same eXrter.i.-DUt main
tained with much frugality, and. always.
industriously occupied though hot' oy-
pressed! WUhr labor. ' ;.
Little of the jealous distinction of ranks
which know subsists between the farm
ing class and their hired "servants,!, was
hen known. The connexion between
blaster and servant had less of a conuner-
teial, arid more of a patriarchal character.
Every household formed but'one society.
The masters (at that tirrie generally a so
ber, virtuous, and religious class) exten- ; .
ided a (parental care over their servants, v
iand the servants cherished a filial affec
tion, fiir their ma'sie'ts. They sat togeth
er, thev ate together, thev often wrovght
iogetlier; and after the labors of the .
jday were finished, they assembled loge-
tner arouna ine mazing ure in tne -, jarr,
01688," conversing over the occur- ;
rences of the day, the flpating rumors of- j .
Ithe cpuntry, or t auld; warld btories , '
and not1 unfreauently religious. subjects
'were introduced, or the memory of god
ly men, and of those who, in evil tut9 ,
had battled or suffered for the rrgh . wag
affectionately tcommemprated. This
familiar intercouse was equally decorous y
as it was kiridly,-f6r decent order snd .
Sdue slubordihation were strictly maiii.
tained. It wasthe great concern of mas-,
ters ahd mistresses, when new servants
were required, Xo obtsiri such as were of
sabcrland reigioui habits if oue pf t ,
7
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