them with the originals? If he had not, his criticism is that of a man who is no artist, making a remark from memory. Whether Mr. Bruce could draw or not, is of little importance in deciding on the truth of these representations; for he had in his company an excellent draughtsman, whose works remain to speak for his pretensions." M. Denon, who gives us a more per fect view of Egyptian antiquities than any work as yet in existence, confirms what Mr. Bruce has said on the subject of Egyp tian music. That accomplished artist sketched seven figures, playing on instruments, from the walls of the royal sepulchres, west of Thebes, and from the temple of Tentyra. The most important of these sculptures is that of a musician playing on a harp, having, according to M. Denon, twentyone strings. The sketch which he gives nearly inclines us, at first, to believe, that it is one of those given by Mr. Bruce; yet, on examination, it differs in so many particulars as to leave no doubt that it is none of them. M. Denon's sketch is evidently hasty, but probably a good resemblance. Denon has now confirmed the veracity of Bruce, who seems to have made no other alteration than that of improving the figures, a liberty to which a zealous artist might easily be seduced. To the second book the editor has added a summary view of the Egyptian theology, as collected from the Hebrew and Greek writers, with the names of the gods in the antient native language, intended to illustrate the remains of Egyptian antiquity mentioned in the two preceding books. A dissertation, containing additional proofs in support of Bruce's hypothesis, that Egypt was peopled from the south, and the confines of Ethiopia; and a vocabulary of the Amharic, Falashan, Gafat, Agow, and Tcheretch Agow languages. To the third, he has prefixed a geographical account of the Abyssinian provinces, and a preface to the history of Abyssinia, containing a short view of the Abyssinian constitution, such as it appears to have been in the better days of the empire; an account of the ceremonies used at the coronation of the king, or neguz, as he should more properly be called; of the principal officers of state, and those peculiar customs of the court and camp, which should be understood before the history is perused. These very learned dissertations are compiled from Bruce's Ethiopic MSS. To this same book he has appended miscellaneous notes and remarks on the MS. Abyssinian history, brought by Bruce from Gondar; and a vocabulary of the Galla language, The fourth book has neither preliminary matter nor appendix; but, in the course of this book, Mr. Murray has exercised a very unwarrantable exertion of editorial authority, having omitted the whole life of Bacuffa, as it stands in the former edi tion, and inserted one written by himself in a note. He says, indeed, that the life, as written by Bruce, may be found in a succeeding volume: we have not found it there. This total omission must be imputed to oversight; but the chapter ought not to have been displaced; it is highly curious, and the most curious anecdotes rest upon the authority of the wife of Bacuffa, the Iteghe, who herself communicated them to Bruce. Mr. Murray's additional matter might have appeared, as it now does, in a smaller type, and this have been retained. The work is imperfect without it, and indeed contains some allusions which are left absolutely unintelligible by the omission. The fifth book also is without additions; but, after the sixth, we find additional accounts of the transactions at Gondar, and journey to the sources, containing a sketch of Michael Sukul's life, till the time when Bruce entered Abyssinia; extracts from Bruce's common-place book concerning his first introduction to the Ras, and from Balugani's journal; part of these last we have previously extracted. Here also he has inserted the descriptions of the sources by Pedro Paez and Jeronymo Lobo; the first as it stands in Kircher, part Latin, part unintelligible Portugueze; the latter in Le Grande's French, with translations of both, and remarks upon them. It is his opinion that Paez had visited the springs, but that Lobo only copied his account. After the last book, detached articles are added from the several journals and common-place books, containing additional information respecting Abyssinia, and extracts from the journals of the route homeward. The appendix is increased with eleven additional articles of natural history; an account of the antidotes used by the Nuba against serpents. Observations of latitude and longitude made by Bruce in Africa; dissertation on the progressive geography of the Bahar el Abiad, and the other branches of the Nile; account of the Ethiopic MSS. from which Bruce composed the history of Abyssinia; ac 'count of the price of writing-books at Gondar, and a description of some of the most valuable works in Bruce's collection of Arabic MSS. The volume of prints contains all the additional articles of natural history, and portraits of Ozoro Esther, Tecla Mariam, Kefla Yasous, and Woodage Asahel. It would be poor and inadequate praise to say, that it has seldom or never fallen to our lot to notice a book so ably edited. We believe no editor ever before so laboriously qualified himself for his undertaking. It is to be hoped that Mr. Murray will make farther and greater use of the very rare, and very difficult erudition which he has acquired. We wish for the book of Enoch, however extravagant it may be; and for a literal version of the Abyssinian chronicles, however opposite to our notions of historical composition. Bruce says that he has made his narration from these, more conformable to the manner of writing English history; this is precisely the very thing which he should not have done. If I am to feed upon lion's flesh, do'nt let it be drest like roast mutton; I would have it in the genuine cookery of the Welled Sidi Boogannim. ART. II. A Voyage round the World in the Years 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 and 1804: in which the Author visited the principal Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and the English Settlements of Port Jackson, and Norfolk Island. By JOHN TURNBULL. foolscap Svo. IF every man whose business or amusement leads him into Wales or Scotland flatters himself that he is qualified to impart some interesting information to the public, to present some novel view of human society, some unnoticed trait of character, it can excite no surprise that he whose enterprising spirit has led him to circumnavigate the globe, should, on his return, feel so fully fraught with matter of high import and curiosity as to seize with avidity on the press, as the only sufficient conductor for discharging the contents of his o'erburdened brain. Repeated experience, indeed, has evinced, that it is not absolutely necessary to freight a vessel with savans in order to have such an account of a voyage as may repay the time and task of perusal: the plain and unassuming journal of a man of sense and observation, faithfully kept, will hardly fail to interest and inform. For many of our best books in this department of literature we are indebted to merchants and missionaries. Among the number of our best books, indeed, the present narrative has no chance or claim to be ranked; such as it is, we owe it to an adventurer whose voyage was undertaken for the advancement of trade, not of science, and, like most others, for purposes of private emolument rather than of public advantage. Whilst second officer in the Barwell, in her last voyage to China, in the year 1799, Mr. Turnbull and the first officer of that ship had reason to believe that the Americans carried on a very lucrative trade to the north-west of that continent. 3 Vols. On their return to England they communicated the result of their observation to some merchants of an enterprising spirit, who approved of the proposed speculation, and immediately prepared for its execu tion. Tho command of the vessel was given to the captain of the Barwell, and the cargo and trading part were entrusted to Mr. Turnbull; both these gentlemen were interested in the success of the veyage, as they held shares of considerable value. Prom Portsmouth we sail to St. Salvador in about six pages. It is perhaps a memorandum worth preserving, that whilst the Spaniards in the harbour were lading and unlading as deliberately, and as much at their ease, according to Mr. Turnbull, as if they had been in Cadiz itself, the most minute and jealous examination of the English vessel was insisted on by the viceroy; various circumstances indicated that the Spaniards were on very favoured terms with the Portugueze, and indeed that a clandestine intercourse between the two powers existed at that time, prejudicial to the interests of Great Britain, and consequently unsanctioned by the terms of a fair neutrality. Mr. T., however, gives the Portugueze a Rowland for their Oliver; he suggests the impossibility that a nation fallen so low in the scale of European powers should long possess the Brazils, and monopolize an extent of country which she is as little able to use as to defend; of course, if it falls into any hands, it had better be enjoyed by us than the French, who would be likely enough to seize upon them if an opportunity occurred, and console themselves in South America for the loss of Malta. Mr. Turnbull on the wisdom and benevolence of the government! The markets at Port Jackson having, unfortunately for Mr. Turnbull, been just supplied, and the little money of the colony exhausted, he proceeded to the settlement of Norfolk Island, where he had again the misfortune to have been recently anticipated. Here he remained ten months, and as an excuse for saying little or nothing about it, pleads that he visited the island as a trader, and not as a natural philosopher! The ge neral statement which many of our readers will remember to have seen in governor Phillip's Voyage to Botany Bay, &c. concerning the beauty of the country, and the exhaustless fertility of the soil, is confirm→ ed by Mr. Turnbull. The productions which, according to the governor, were of the greatest importance to Norfolk Island, are the flax plant and the pine: the former, though luxuriant in its growth, and estimable for the purpose of making cordage, sail-cloth, &c. does not appear to be a native of the island. Pines grow to an enormous size; they often rise to eighty feet without a branch; governor Phillip says they are sometimes nine or ten feet in diameter at the bottom of the trunk, and frequently measure one hundred and sixty or one hundred and eighty feet in height. The fern tree (according to the same author, for we obtain marvellous little from Mr. Turnbull) measures from seventy to eighty feet, and affords excellent food for sheep and, other small cattle. The turpentine obtained from the pine is remarkable for purity and whiteness, and governor Phillip, understanding that the wood was of excellent quality, and light as the Norway timber, thought that it promised a valuable supply of masts and spars for our navy in the East Indies. He seems, however, to have been mistaken; Mr Turnbull says that the pine of Norfolk Island is very brittle, and only fit for purposes of building, household furni ture, &c. The pine of the South Sea, and indeed of all warmer climates, he says, is of a very different nature from those of Europe. We have no doubt of this: nature is uniform in her operations: throughout the vegetable kingdom rapidity of growth seems to be incompatible with solidity of substance. From the Brasils our adventurers steered their course to the Cape of Good Hope, where they stayed a fortnight, and thence proceeded to Port Jackson in New South Wales, where Mr. Turnbull remained, in order to dispose of his cargo, whilst the captain proceeded on his north-west speculation. The admirable account of New South Wales, by captain Collins, has anticipated, in all its particulars, the information concerning it in this meagre narrative. Mr. Turnbull paid two visits to the colony, and laments, not without reason, the disunion which at both times he found prevailing among the officers of government. Numerous indeed are the obstacles which seem to oppose themselves against the improvement of the colony; nor, perhaps, is it a matter of much consequence, so far as the interests of the mother country are concerned. The vast expence with which the establishment of it has been attended, ought, no doubt, to ensure a compensation at some distant period: a parent never expends his money with less reluctance than in the education of his son: he hopes to qualify him for earning his own subsistence, and for adding to the wealth or honour of his family. But a colony-a colony too of convicts! is it likely to thrive? And if it should, is the thrift of the offspring connected with the interests of the sire? where is the bond of unity and concord? Whenever the colony is able to support itself it will, in all probability, assert its independence: the aid of other countries in support of its exertions will be called for without scruple, and granted without reluctance. This, no doubt, is a remote period to contemplate: the climate, indeed, notwithstanding its severe heat, is salubrious, and when the country is cleared of its woods there will be a large extent of fertile soil. The character, however, of the persons who are transplanted thither leaves but little hope that they will advance the interests of the colony by their industry, their morals, or their understanding; and some of the regulations which, with the best intentions, the government has adopted, appear to be in the highest degree impolitic and prejudicial. We allude to the limi- Norfolk island was colonized by gotation of the price of labour, of pro- vernor Phillip, who sent thither the most fits upon the sale of imported articles, profligate part of his profligate people: and to the regulation concerning the price it has henceforth been adopted as the of provisions. These absurd restrictions, ordinary practice, that the more abandonhowever, call forth warm eulogiums fromed of the convicts, and such as have fallen ANN. REV. VOL. IV. C under the sentence of the law a second time, should be transported to this island." Among the most respectable of the settlers are some part of the crew of the Sirius, who, being shipwrecked on the island, preferred the cultivation of so fertile a country to a return home; several marines who went out upon the first establishment had the same indulgence, as also have some of the more industrious convicts. We are glad to learn that the culture of the sugar cane is highly encouraged; many of the smaller plantations are fenced round with it. Norfolk Island, however, as a place of establishment for a colony, has the insuperable objection against it of being almost wholly surrounded by a reef, and barricaded, as it were, against all approach, by a heavy mountainous sea; of being destitute of a harbour; and having a bad shore, the bottom being covered with pointed fragments of sharp coral rock, which renders anchorage impracticable. Government has attempted in vain to remove these obstacles. The following anecdote will not be read without interest, or without exciting feelings of compassion towards the unfortunate outcast: it occurred in the island about eight years since: "One of the prisoners belonging to the outgangs, being sent into camp on Saturday, to draw the weekly allowance of provision for his mess, fell unfortunately into the company of a party of convicts, who were playing cards for their allowance, a thing very frequent amongst them. With as little resolution as his superiors in similar situations, after being a while a looker-on, he at length suffered himself to be persuaded to take a hand; and in the event, lost not only his own portion, but that of the whole mess. Being a man of a timid nature, his misfortune overcame his reason, and conceiving his situation amongst his messmates insupportable, he formed and executed the extravagant resolution of absconding into the glens. "Every possible enquiry was now made after him; it was known that he had drawn the allowance of his mess, and almost in the same moment discovered that he had lost it at play; search upon search however was made to no purpose. However, as it was impossible that he could subsist without occasionally marauding, it was believed that he must shortly be taken in his predatory excursions. These expectations, however, were in vain, for the fellow managed his business with such dexterity, keeping closely within his retreat during the day, and marauding for his subsistence only by night, that in despite of the narrow compass of the island, he eluded all search. His nocturnal depredations were solely confined to the supply of his necessities; Indian com, potatoes, pumpkins, and melons. He seldom visited the same place a second time; but shifting from place to place, always contrived to make his escape almost before the theft was discovered, or the depredator suspected. In vain was a reward offered for his apprehension, and year after year every possiblę search instituted; at times it was considered that he was dead, till the revival of the old trade proved that the dextrous and invisible thief still existed. In the pursuit of him, his pursuers have often been so near him, that he has not unfre quently heard their wishes that they might be so fortunate as to fall in with him. The reward being promised in spirits, a temptation to which many would have sacrificed their brother, excited almost the whole island to join in the pursuit; and even those whose respectability set them above any pecuniary compensation, were animated with a desire of hunting in so extraordinary a chase. These circumstances concurred to aggravate the ter ror of the unhappy fugitive, as from his repeated depredations he indulged no hope of pardon. Nothing of this kind, however, was intended; it was humanely thought that he had already sustained sufficient punishment for his original crime, and that his subsequent depredations, being solely confined to necessary food, were venial, and rendered him a subject rather of pity than of criminal infliction. Of these resolutions, however, he knew nothing, and therefore his terror continued. "Chance, however, at length accomplished what had baffled every fixed design. One morning about break of day, a man going to his labour observed a fellow hastily crossing. the road; he was instantly struck with the idea that this must be the man, the object of such general pursuit. Animated with this belief,' he exerted his utmost efforts to seize him, and, after a vigorous opposition on the part of the poor fugitive, finally succeeded in his design. It was to no purpose to assure the affrighted wretch that his life was safe, and that his apprehension was only sought to relieve him from a life more suited to a beast than a hu man creature. "The news of this apprehension flew through the island, and every one was more curious than another to gain a sight of this phenomenon, who for upwards of five years. had so effectually secluded himself from all human society. Upon being brought into the camp, and the presence of the governor, never did condemned malefactor feel more acutely; he appeared to imagine that the moment of his execution approached, and, trembling in every joint, seemed to turn his eyes in search of the executioner. His person was such as may well be conceived from his long seclusion from human society; his beard had never been shaved from the moment of his first disappearance; he was clothed in some rags he had picked up by the way in some of his nocturnal peregrinations, and even his own language was at first unutterable and unintelligible by hum 44 After some previous questions, as to what had induced him to form such a resolution, and by what means he had so long subsisted, the governor gave him his pardon, and restored him to society, of which he afterwards became a a very useful member." a While Mr. Turnbull was at Norfolk Ísland he received a letter from his captain, announcing the total failure of the north-western speculation, and his return to Port Jackson: it was resolved to try Bass's Straits, and endeavour to make up cargo of skins there, as the licence from the East India Company compelled the vessel to visit China. The captain, in order to expedite this business, engaged some supernumerary hands, whom, together with an officer "well versed in the sealing business," he landed on King's Island in those straits, whilst he proceeded with the ship to the Society Islands, in order to supply her with provisions, which could not be purchased at Port Jackson at any price! On their arrival at Otaheite, however, they learned from some missionaries who are settled there, that the ravages of a destructive war, which was just terminated, had created a dearth in the island. After remaining there about a month, however, they obtained a small supply of hogs, &c. and proceeded to Ulietea, fouching at Huaheine, where they were greeted by an old shipmate who had for some time resided on the island, and seemed perfectly satisfied with his situation! In this island the natives entertained them with a dance. "The performers and their attendants came off in procession, in a large double canoe, having a platform or stage erected across the forepart, on which the dancers and musicians sat. This canoe was accompanied by a great number of small canoes, filled with natives to behold the entertainment prepared for the strangers. The women were dressed in a sort of long bell hooped petticoat of their own cloth, onamented with a purple border. What answered the purpose of a hoop was a couple of stuffed pads bound round the w.ist to support and distend the petticoat; round the body was wrapped a large quantity of cloth, fastened with bandages; and opposite to each breast was placed a bunch of black feathers. They wore also a kind of turban adorned with a variety of flowers. A master of the ceremonies presided in the dance, and directed all the movements, which were not always of the most delicate nature. The music consisted of two drums made from a log of wood hollowed out in a cylindrical shape, and covered at the end with a piece of shark kin, tightly braced down the side. The musicians make no use of drum-sticks, but employ their fingers, and sometimes their hands, so as to be heard at a considerable distance. They beat slowly at first, as a signal to prepare for the dance; and as the music becomes more rapid, the dancers quicken their motions. Flutes also were used on the occasion, having only three holes or stops, the performer's applying his nostrils to fill it. one of which is of such a size as to admit of The dance required very great exertion in the women to keep time to the music by expiring and inspiring their breaths, drawing their mouths in contrary directions, and twirling their arms and fingers with some order and great regularity. Those who excelled in these contortions and gestures were the most applauded. So eager were the performers to violent were their exertions, overloaded with gain the approbation of the spectators, and so clothing and straitened with bandages, that many of them seemed at length ready to sink under the violence of their efforts. The director of the dance exerted himself to encou rage them to a further continuance of their labour, which to us appeared a kind of fere, apparently much to the satisfaction of the cruelty; and induced us at length to interperformers. Our people were so much pleased with this entertainment, that they applied to me for some articles to bestow on the ladies who had worked so severely for their amusement. Goods of different sorts, to the value of three pounds, were accordingly furnished, and instantly distributed amongst the actresses; and thus an acquaintance was mutually form ed, which in some instances grew into a close intimacy. "During this exhibition, some of the men were amusing themselves by a sport of their own; three of them getting into a vessel formed like a wooden dish made use of at great feastings, their weight sinking it in the water to within an inch of the brim. In this situation they whirled it round and round, by means of their paddles, with incredible velocity, till they fell into the water, when they again renewed the sport, to the no small amusement of the by-standers." A savage who is brought from his native woods into a civilized country, there cloathed and fed, and anticipated in all his wants, feels, after a time, his restlessness revive, and impatient of restraint, to which he has been unaccustomed, sighs for the society of his sable brethren; he is anxious to participate in the dangers of the chase, the vicissitudes of war, and the barbarities of victory. An additional motive too, for returning among his countryhe has obtained, and of enjoying the rank men, is the pride of shewing the trinkets and estimation he is likely to derive from them. But it is hardly credible that a man who has once tasted the sweets of civilized life should voluntarily degrade hima |