my of the Sheikh. He had been with this view appointed to the pashalic in 1760, and to increase his influence, his two sons were nominated Pashas of Tripoli and Sidon. In 1763 Jerusalem and the greater part of Palestine were added to his dominions. Osman seconded all the views of the Porte, and only watched his opportunity of striking a decisive blow. He thought he had found it and the war began. The Pasha of Damascus, according to the custom which obtains in most of the great pashalics, used every year to make the tour of his territory, in order to levy the miri or land-tax. On these occasions he always takes a body of troops with him to support his demand. Osman thought to avail himself of this circumstance to take Dalier by surprize, and accordingly he set out on his ordinary route towards the district of Nablous. Daher at that time was before a castle in which he was beseiging two of his sons; and his danger was the more imminent, as he was then reposing faith in a truce entered into with the Pasha. But one evening when he was least expecting it, a Tartar courier arrived, bearing letters from Constantinople. Daher opens them, and immediately suspending all hostilities, dispatched an Officer to his sons with the message, that they would have to prepare supper for him and three of his followers, for that he had communication to make of the greatest importance, which concerned them all. Daher's character was well known; he was obeyed. He arrived at the hour appointed; supper is served and they eat together in good spirits; at the close of the repast, he takes the letters from his bosom, and gives them to his sons to read. They were from his spy at Constantinople, and were to the following purport. That the sultan had deceived him in the last pardon which he had transmitted to him, having at the same moment issued a Kat-cherif (or warrant) against both his head and his possessions; that every thing was arranged between the three Pashas; Osman and his sons, for surrounding and destroying him and his family, and that the Pasha of Damascus was marching upon Nablous with his forces, to seize him by surprize. The astonishment of the auditors may be conceived; a council is held, and some are for marching directly to attack the Pasha, but Ali represents, that a coup de main was the only measure likely to succeed, and he begs to be entrusted with the enterprize at the head of 500 horsemen. It is agreed upon, and he sets out instantly, travelling all night, and laying concealed during the day. The night following he came up with the enemy before day-break, and while the Turks were sleeping without order or sentinels, dashed in upon them sword in hand, cutting down all who presented themselves. The name of Al spread such a panic, that nothing was thought of but flight, Scarcely had the Pasha escaped from his tent, when Ali entered it, and found left behind in his hurry his caskets, his shawls, his burnoose, his poniard, his waterpipe (nerguil,) and to crown all, the Kat-cherif of the Sultan. From this moment the war was carried on openly, and the Turks had rarely the advantage in the Contest. The expense which it entailed, soon exhausted the Pasha's Coffers, and he had recourse to the usual Turkish expedient-levying avanias, or forced contributions. At Jaffa, in 1769, the Pasha in open violation of the laws of nations, had a respectable old man named Giovanni Damiani, the Venetian consul, put to the torture of the bastinado till he was almost murdered; and he was only allowed to escape with his life on the condition of paying down 60,000 livres. This sort of proceeding is not unusual in Turkey. but, pushed to so unbearable an extreme, it excited universal murmurs, and Palestine wanted only a foreign protector, to follow the example of Egypt, then in revolt against the Sultan. (TO BE CONTINUED.) At Truro, Mrs. C. Bate of a son At Camborne, Mrs. S. Rawlings of a son At Falmouth, Mrs. Capt. Church of a daughter At East Love, the lady of R. Grigg Esq. of a daughter At Truro, Mrs. Barratt, of a son At Lanner, Mrs. Philip Crago, of a daughter MARRIAGES IN FEBRUARY. At Launceston Mr. J. Mason to Miss Honey At Bodmin, Mr. T. Mudge to Miss M. Lyon At St. Anthony, Mr. F. Jobus to Miss Emmett DEATHS IN FEBRUARY. At Truro, Mr. H. Sim, aged 81 Mr. Bray, (youngest son) aged 16 At Falmouth, Mr. T. Nash, aged 90 At Herland, Gwinear, Miss E. Thomas At Shallow Pool, near Looe, Mr. D. Rundle At Tregawne, Mr. E. Secombe aged 38 At Molengey, near St Austle, Miss May aged 57 At Redruth, Capt. Teague At St. Colimb, Mr. Oral At Wheat Busy, Mr. James At Falmouth, Mrs. Oliver, aged 64 At Old Kea, Mrs. Hayward, aged 90 aged 59 Mr. G. Lavis, At Launceston, Mr. J. Bray, aged 66 A: Helston, Mr. J. Bortase, aged 69 At Falmouth, infant daughter of Lieut. Barron aged 64 At Newland, Mr. T. Bunt At Fowey, Mr J. Rowe, aged 97 Mr. W. Martin, Janr. At Porthpeau, Miss M. Lady, aged 25 At Baverstock, Rev. It. H. Huchins IN MARCH. At Trevine, J. Tickell Esq. At Nansloe Cottage, near ifelston, infant daughter of Capt. Gubert, R. N. At Germoe, near Helston, Mr. N. Tyacke, aget 50 At Traro, infant son of Capt. Perkin, R. N. At Tregony, Mrs. Allen At Porthpean, Mr. J. Luly A: Fowey, Mr. S. Pain, Senr. At Redruth, Mr. S. Davey At Marazion, Mrs. Ann Williams, aged 67 At Ludgvan, Mr. J. Johns Widow of the late Mr. S. Symonds At Helston, Mis. Hore, aged 80 Printed and Published by J. PHILP. Falmouth,and sold by most Booksellers in the County. The Selector. "WE CULL THE CHOICEST" No. 17 MAY, 1827. SKETCHES OF CORNWALL. To the Editor of the Selector. SIR, THE previous sketch of this our interesting County, concluded at the boundary called the Land's-End, and left us on the craggy cliff from whence "are seen the cloud-like Isles" in the W. S. W. horizon called THE SCILLY ISLANDS, which are in all respects so interesting in our National as well as Provincial history, that our knowledge would indeed be deficient without the main particulars being engrafted on our minds, therefore trust that the following will prove acceptable. The distance of this cluster of small Islands from the Land's-End is only nine leagues, in Latitude 49. 56. and Longitude 6. 41. but to proceed to them the Tourist must return to Penzance, from whence the distance is fourteen leagues, and going on board one of the excellent Packets which regularly sail every week, if with a fair wind, a delightful little voyage to them will be made in a few hours. In consulting the old historians, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo and Solinus, they are known by the name of Cassiterides or Tin-Isles; in the earliest days of navigation, that is to say, the venturing at a distance from any shore, commercial gain induced the Phonicians to trade there for Tin and Lead, bartering their useful articles, as pot VOL. 2 F [Price 3d. tery, salt, &c. for Ore, and for centuries they enjoyed the profitable voyages exclusively, but the Greeks and Romans with longing eyes at last found their way and shared the valuable traffic. By the Greeks they were called Hesperides, and by the Romans Sigdeles, Silures and Silling-Insul. By Strabo it is said there were then only 10 Islands!" inhabited by men wearing black garments, long coats girt round them, and walking with long staves like the furies of tragedians!" How changed is now the scene, by the ever-constant action and power of the sea and convulsions of nature, those ten have now become upwards of 1401 with many desolate rocks, and the waves are still preying upon those which are cultivated;-amongst them all, only Six may be called inhabited, having the modern names of-St. Mary's, St. Agnes, St. Martin's, Trescow, Bryher or Brehar, and Sampson. On reverting to their ancient history, there were certainly Tin mines 200 years before Christ, but at this present period not a mine is worked; Borlase exclaims,—“ What is become of these mines? for the remains of any mines at present to be found shew no marks of their being ancient; I must conclude therefore that they must have undergone some great catastrophe." When the Scilly-Isles were taken by the Romans is not clear, but they seem to have been, during their sway, a safe spot for the banishment of turbulent chiefs. We now proceed to the reign of Athelstan, (mentioned in the last No.) who taught by the wisdom of his grandfather Alfred the Great, saw that the safely and prosperity of his dominions lay in his NAVY, so resolved to put Scilly and its ports under his full control, and about the year 930 completed the permanent conquest to the crown of England. The Monks that the king established there held them till Henry I when the religious houses and lands were bestowed on the Abbot of Tavistock, and long since the ecclesiastical rule merged in the See of Exeter. At the Reformation the lands fell to the Crown,-and in the reign of James I. were granted on lease to Sir Francis Godolphin, and by many renewals have passed to the Duke of Leeds his descendant. Of the ancient relics in these Islands, of its more modern history, with a description of the Towns, &c. and interesting scenery, the details will be pursued in a following sketch. I remain, Yours, &c. Mount-Sion, 1st May, 1827. AN EPICURE. J. A complete Epicure is a disgrace to the human form; whilst others eat to live, he lives only to eat; his stomach is his God, his kitchen his temple, and his cook his high priest: so entirely is he devoted to his idol, that he ransacks earth, air, and ocean, for suitable sacrifices to the Moloch within him. The enjoyments of the Epicure being wholly engrossed by one of his senses, the other four contribute but little to his pleasures. His waking thoughts, and nightly visions, admit of no other contemplation than the various delights of the palate; and should he undergo transmigration that omnivorous brute, the hog, is the only animal to which his nature will assimilate. It is a maxim with persons of this description, that good eating requires good drinking, as a qualifier; that is, to enable the stomach to bear an unnatural load of discordant substances; so that one combustible begets the necessity of many more. But as most vices are their own punishment, the Epicure lays up with the greatest diligence a stock, not of health and vigor, but of mortal diseases, which will not only trouble his journey through life, but fix on him pain and sorrow to the end of it; and the last stage of that man must be bitterness of both mind and body, so true it is that luxury and indolence have destroyed more than the sword and famine! If sensuality be our happiness we may envy the brutes, as instinct is a safer guide to such happiness than reason. The gourmand and gamester are both dangerous associates, the one robs you of your money, and the other of what is infinitely more precious, your health. Charlemagne, great in every thing, was so great an eater, that he is said to have devoured at a single meal, a goose, two fowls, and a quarter of mutton! Marc Anthony provided eight boars for twelve persons! If the hecatombs slaughtered by our ancestors for their Herculean entertainments be a just criterion by which we may judge of their bulk, and consequently capabilities for gormandizing, we may justly exclaim, What great beasts they must have been! Happily for the present generation, the enormous advance in price of all the necessaries of life, must preclude us from a repetition of similar sacrifices. But the people of this country were mere children in comparison with the Romans. Had Vitellius lived, (says Josephus,) the resources of the whole Roman Empire would have been too little for the support of his table! Among other delicacies, stewed or fricaseed sucking puppies were in such high esteem among the curiosos of Rome, that Pliny says they were a feast for the Gods!!! P. P. Penzance, April, 1827. MAY MORNING. (Milton) "Now the bright Morning-Star, Day's harbinger, Comes dancing form the East, and leads with her Thus we salute thee with our early song, And welcome thee! and wish thee long! AN EASTERN FRAGMENT. (From the French.) It was on a still, calm evening, while travelling through Palestine, that I quitted for awhile the companions of my journey, and seeking to gratify my love of retirement, wandered towards a neighbouring mountain. That mountain stands detached from all others; its base rests on a beautiful plain of magnificent extent; its sides are covered with palm trees, or with an ever-verdant herbage; and its summit often lies concealed in the clouds. As I drew near, I beheld it with mixed feelings of awe and delight; for it was Tabor, the Mount of Beatitudes according to tradition, and stands on the celebrated plain of Esdraelon. On its Eastern side, a narrow path, winding and broken, leads from its base to its summit; on which, as I wandered in that direction, I beheld about mid-way up its side, the figure of a tall and interesting female. She was clothed in the garments of mourning; over her face was thrown a veil of net-work, beautifully embroidered; and her hair hung in ringlets over her shoulders. She stood there, erect and motionless as the statue of the dead, her hands extended, and her head lifted towards heaven. Her elegant form, her interesting attitude, her singular demeanour, arrested and fixed my attention. But while I continued gazing on her, on a sudden she began to descend; and on reaching a spot on the path less steep than the rest, she as suddenly stopped her course. Directing her face towards the Holy City, she fell on her knees, bowed her head, and gradually bending her body, she at length lay prostrate on the ground. I was still unobserved, and therefore drew nearer the spot; but as I approached in silence, I beheld her bosom heave as though suffering inexpressible anguish; I heard a long deep hollow sigh, burst from her soul, like the last effort of nature's collected strength, to unburden herself of the load that pressed her down; and then the tears poured forth in torrents, watering the ground where she lay, like the falling of rain after the thunder has burst. At this moment my attention was diverted from the interesting object before me, to the figure of an aged man, who was slowly and with broken steps, descending on that side of the mountain. He was clad in the habit of a neighbouring brotherhood; in his hand he held a branch of the Oleander, which he had plucked from the banks of the Jordan, when he last visited that holy river, to lave in its sacred streams; "His hoary locks proclaimed his lengthened years;" and his long flowing beard had been washed in the stream of time, till it had become white as the driven snow, and bright as silver. But his form was erect and his eye retained its brilliancy, and his heart was the habitation of humanity, benevolence and love. Soon he beheld the sorroul maiden, and instantly he directed his steps towards her; and as he drew near, he addressed her in a tone of the deepest sympathy, saying, "arise fair damsel, arise; and tell me what aileth thee!" But the salutation if not unheard, was unheeded; for she still lay prostrate and motionless, disregarding the call of the Father. As he continued to bend over her in sorrow, he gently seized her arm; and gradually raising her from the ground, he placed her on the grass by his side. I beheld all his movements with an interest for which I could not account, and when he drew aside the veil, that had hitherto concealed her countenance, I gazed with an intensity of feeling, which till that moment I had never known. Her fair form had previously awakened my admiration; and the grief under which she was labouring, had provoked my tenderest sympathies: but I now beheld a face lovely in the bloom of youth, beautiful as the silken cloud of Eastern sky, though darkened for a moment by the denser cloud, that was passing before it. Her lips were lips of ruby, her teeth white as the ivory of Ophir; and her countenance told of pity, friendship and love, which the agony she was now enduring, obscured but could not efface. But her dark eye was still brilliant; and as it fixed on the Father, who was again about to address her, it sparkled afresh, like |