MERV.*

THESE volumes give us the brilliant description of a journey re- markable both for its exceptional character, and for the singularly realistic manner in which the author has succeeded in bringing strange places and uncouth names home as living actualities to the reader. Mr. O'Donovan has rendered solid service in the interests of public knowledge, and has furnished additional testimony to the value of a special correspondent. It does not seem unreasonable, after what he has done, for us to expect from this new ally of knowledge a vast addition to our stores of informa- tion about the little-known peoples and countries of Asia. Mr. O'Donovan is the latest of that band of explorers and travellers who, commencing with Wunb6ry and Schuyler, have added so much to our acquaintance with the Khanates of Turkestan during the last twenty years. In one respect, certainly, he is not the least remarkable of them, for whereas they one and all entertained the idea of visiting Merv, he was the only one to realise it. But although he calm ot be placed °nth° same footing as Viirnb6ry or Schuyler for the historical and political information he affords, nor as Prjevalsky or Richthofen for the geographical, he has a distinction of his own, in being quite the most interesting traveller we have read within the period stated, although the late Mr. Macgahan's book, Campaigning On the Oxus, might run him close. Mr. O'Donovan was commissioned to watch a distinct movement in Russian operations, and his travels of three years were ' employed in the arduous task of following, under disadvantageous circumstances, its varying phases., At first, Mr. O'Donovan expected to be allowed to accompany the Russian expedition against the Akhal Turcomans ; but the defeat of General Lomakine at Gook Tepeh induced the Russian War Office to issue orders, prohibiting the presence of any newspaper correspondents at the front. It was then that Mr. O'Donovan formed the resolve that if he could not see the campaign from the side of the Russian army, he would do so from that of the Turcoman forces. If he was disappointed in this expectation, it was fortunately compensated for by his success in reaching the Turcoman capital in the oasis of Merv.

Mery has been for many years an object of interest to many Englishmen. Over it, like many another Asiatic city of which nothing save the name survives, the past has flung a halo of reputation that stands in the stead of some more practical claim to fame. That Mery was once a celebrated and flourish- ing city there does not appear any reason to doubt. The Chinese traveller, Ewen Thsartg, testified to its magnificence twelve

* The Mery Oasis: Travels and Adventures Bast of the °mien during the Years 1870.80-81, including Five Months' Residence among the TelckVs of Merv. By

Edmond O'Donovan. raps, &A 2 vols. London Smith, Elder, and 0. 18b2.

centuries ago, and the ruins of three, or even of four, cities de- monstrate that Milton apostrophised something more than an empty name. Mr. O'Donovan gives a very graphic description of his visit to those ruins which lie at the distance of some- thirty miles from the present head-quarters of the Teke con- federacy. The concluding reflections made after his inspection of these monuments of departed greatness offer themselves appropriately for quotation :-

" As on our homeward journey we reached the belt of dilapidated gardens and tumble.down houses which intervenes at a short distance between the cities of the plain and the Vekil settlements, I could per- ceive the vast extent of the ground formerly built upon, for the suburbs of the walled towns cover a much greater space than the towns themselves. I climbed to the summit of a ruined building, half dwelling-house, half fortalice, whence a commanding view was obtained over the crumbling expanse of cities. A feeling of oppres.. sire loneliness comes over the spirit, as the eye ranges across that voiceless wilderness, so deserted, so desolate, yet teeming with elo- quent testimonies of what it had been of old, The heart of Zinghis Khan himself would feel exultant at the absolute hopeless lifelessness of these sites, where great cities had stood and a myriad population swarmed. Even vegetable life is absent; and the sun, elsewhere the source of life and plenty, here looks down hut to scorch and wither ; its light, which discloses the thousand beauties of lesw stricken lands, hero shines only to emphasise the hideous barrenness. of the wasted solitude. It was strange to think that a few yards of dam upon the Murgab, some trenches clug by illiterate toilers, had once made these present deserts vernal, and had entitled this Golgotha of cities to the proud name of Queen of the World. Who knows but that again, when the hand of the raider has been stayed, and the merchant is once more permitted to follow his- avocations in peace and security along these formerly frequented tracks, history will repeat itself, and Mery once more take its place among the nations of the earth ?"

The most striking point in Mr. O'Donovan's work is the clear- ness with which he brings the Tarcomans and their irregular.

mode of living before the reader. Even numerous quotations cannot bring all the charm of the narrative before the reader of a review, The following extracts from different parts of the second volume may serve as specimens of the author's quality,. and. induce the reader to turn to the work itself for the fuller details, With regard to the public service among the Turco- mans, Mr. O'Donovan writes :—

"Taxes and a public treasury were institutions unknown in Mery at the period. of my visit. The traders in the bazaar used to assess themselves to pay for the needful repairs of the market-place, and the roads and bridges adjoining the oasis. These bridges are merely tree-trunks thrown across the streams, and covered with earth and reeds. A small tax was levied on the Jews who used the stalls, and applied to the same purposes. The police expenses were paid by a tax of twenty-five kraus on each camel-load and ten on each horse or mule load of merchandise passing through tho territory of Merv. Otherwise, there were no public burthens at the time of my visit,. beyond the compulsory service in time of war, and the corvees for their fortifications,"

Mr. O'Donovan gives a very graphic description of the Jew Matthi, the principal merchant and banker of Merv. The pie. tare of the quarter occupied by this small Jewish colony is very effective :—

"The Jewish village was about a mile and a half distant from the centre of Kouchid Khan Kale, and situated at the north-western extremity of the fortress. It was the abode of by far the most thriving community of Mery; and one constantly saw, lying around the hut, bales of merchandise from Meshed and Bokhara. Vine- yards and rose-gardens were very numerous. Matthi had constructed for himself a more permanent and substantial residence than the ordinary Turcoman ev. It was a square mud castle, similar to Makclum Kuli Khan's guest-chamber, and adjoining it was a row of one-storey buildings, in which he conducted his commercial pursuits. While waiting for him to prepare the upper storey of, his castle for our reception, we sat within one of his magazines, in which was stored a most heterogeneous collection of articles of merchandise. There wore fur-bound caps from Bokhara, cotton and silk from Samarcand, china tea-bowls, copper utensils, and a very extensive assortment of drugs of different kinds, for Matthi was a professed physician, as well as a general dealer."

A great deal has been written about the Turcoman horses, which have for speed been compared to those of the Arabs, while for endurance they have been placed above them. It is evident that Mr. O'Donovan is inclined to qualify the undiluted praise- which has hitherto been bestowed. upon these animals. He was. also the impartial critic of the riding of their masters, and, as the following hicident will show, arrived at a conclusion adverse to their claims to be considered. good across country :— "Here an amusing incident occurred. A Turcoman dismounted from his horse, a white one. Animals of this colour are rarely seen in the district, an evil repute attaching to them. The horseman wanted a drink of water, and incautiously let go the bridle. The steed forthwith started incontinently to gallop across the plain. A runaway horse is a serious nuisance in a country like this, and every one feels it to be his duty to aid the master of the fugitive boast in

recovering his property. The whale of us, sixty in number, strove to head off the truant. Fur a couple of miles we rode in a straight line, but the runaway unencumbered by weight, and

having a good lead, gave us a long chase I was com- pletely tired of the matter; and, besides knowing that we had a long joarney before us, I did not care to blow my horse any further, so I drew up on a slightly-rising ground, and watched the hunt. From what I saw of the remainder of it, I am of opinion that Turcoman horsemen would scarcely do well across country,' for though they will hang alongside their horses, atand in one stirrup, and sling themselves under the belly at full gallop, they do not care for leaping. I saw many a one come to grief at the broad irrigation trenches. The country is so fiat that the horses are never taught to jump."

Some of Mr. O'Donovan's most characteristic stories are those telling of the natural voracity and covetousness of the Turcomans, from which be, in his double capacity of a foreigner with money and of an elected chief of the tribe, suffered both in person and in pocket. He says that the principal occupation of the male Take while in camp seems to be roving from one ev, or hut, to another, in the hope of surprising somebody in the enjoyment of a good meal, which he would, by the laws of hospitality, be compelled to share with the interloper. Mr. O'Donovan was, of course, greatly victim- ised in this respect, and by one Beg Murad in particular. This individual, although a notable, made it a regular point to dine and sup with Mr. O'Donovan every day. A potent inducement to do so was afforded in the copious supplies of a new delicacy eumea, which the author used to obtain from the Jew, Matthi ; but Beg Murad consumed this food with such little Tegard for Mr. O'Donovan's own wants, that at length the latter, driven to desperation, forbade him to visit his hut again. Mr. O'Donovan furnishes many instances of the cupidity and selfishness of the Tekes, who seem to have a very shrewd idea of advancing their own interests, and of attaching themselves to the side from which they may expect to de- rive most advantage. Like many Eastern races, the Tekes are enormous eaters, whenever they get the chance of obtaining a substantial meal. Although gluttons, their con- stitutions appear to be so sound that their teeth are preserved from decay in a manner that attracted the surprise of Mr. O'Donovan

After the corn pilaff, a wooden dish filled with bread and mutton broth, and on the surface of which wore some half-picked bones, was served. These bones, ribs of a young lamb, the Turcomans scarcely -deign to pick. They crunch them up bodily, together with what. ,ever meat may be attached to them, for, as a rule, their teeth are wonderfully fine, and seem to continue uncleteriorated by age, From the very first my attention had been attracted by the beauty of the teeth of the Tekk6s, and I had also noticed a peculiarity which I at first set down as a natural abnormality. Almost without exception, the two upper middle incisors of a full-grown Tekke exhibit, each in its midst, a deep, angular notch, reaching to a depth of fully a quarter the length of the exposed portion of the tooth, and rendering it bicuspid. I had taken note of this fact, and with a view to ascer- tain whether it was a general peculiarity of the race, I lost no opportunity of observing, and subsequently discovered its origin. The melon and water-melon form a largo portion of the diet of the Meryl Their numerous seeds are laid by and dried in the sun. partly for sowing purposes and partly to be eaten in leisure moments. In most of the towns on the border one sees, in the grocers' booths, large sacks of these dried melon seeds. One side of the flat seed- case is more or less rounded, but the other side presents a sharp, hard edge. In eating the seed, the rounded edge is placed upon one of the lower incisors, and the sharp edge pressed with one or other of the upper ones. As the Turcomans, even when on horseback, are continually eating these melon seeds, in the end their sharp edges produce the serration of the teeth of which I have

spoken The Tekk6s wero at some trouble to explain to me its cause."

We have said enough, perhaps, to recommend these volumes to the reading public. They contain a pleasantly-written de- scription of one of the least-known spots and races in Asia, and they show just the due proportion between solid information and relieving anecdote and adventure. Of the Turcomans, Mr. O'Donovan gives, on the whole, a more favourable opinion than could have been expected. They have their vices and bad qualities, but they seem to have perceived be- fore his departure that in their reclamation from their marauding habits remained their sole chance of continued in- dependence. How far they will fulfil these new expectations remains to be seen, but Mr. O'Donovan evidently inclines to the view that their permanent reclamation will be a matter of slight difficulty, whenever it is undertaken ly a powerful Government. Mr. O'Donovan is very careful to avoid committing himself to any definite statement on the political situation, and, therefore, he will be quoted as an authority by opposite parties. But there will be a unanimous opinion not merely as to the intrinsic value and, interest of his book, but also upon the important service he has rendered towards the better understanding of Central-Asian topics.