MR. WILDE'S NARRATIVE OF A YACHTING It
Ma. MEIKLAM iS a member of a yacht club, and possessor of the " Crusader" of 130 tons : in the autumn of 1837 he was ordered to make a voyage for time benefit of his health ; and Mr. WILDE was recommended to accompany Min as a medical attendant. So off they went,—first to Lisbon ; then to Madeira, and on to Tenc- riffe ; next to Gibraltar ; thence to Algiers, Egypt, Rhodes, and Syria ; calling at Athens on thick return home. This was a pleasant and independent mode of travel; for if, as seemed to be the case at Lisbon, they disliked the people, or their accommoda- tions, they could both sleep and eat on board, defying bad inns and other things not mentionable to ears polite. It; on the con- trary, the land was promising, they had only to order the yacht to wait, and they could exhaust the attractions of the place, depart- ing as soon as the novelty faded. Nor were their excursions always very limited. At Algiers, indeed, a tender regard to their own safety confined them to the city and its immediate environs ; but at Teneriffe, they ascended tile far-famed peak ; at Egypt they visited Cairo and the Pyramids ; and in Palestine they made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The spots, especially in the Eastern countries, visited by Mr. Wmos:, have been traversed and described often enough of late ; the feature of his tour is the number of places it embraced. It is rare to get a view of so many countries, all curious, and some of them deeply so, from one traveller ; nor indeed is it probable that any person could visit them in quick succession, unless under circumstances like our author. Mr. WILDE, moreover, is a good describer ; somewhat wordy and fine, but pleasant, un- affected, clear, and rather picturesque when tile subjects admit of it.' A good deal of what he tells is not of course essentially new, but a novel effect is produced by occasional new traits in the objects described, or the manner of the author; and at all events he is readable, even to those who have read a good deal about Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Greece. Ile is also a quick ob- server; and be had pursuits. As a medical man, the eliminate, its diseases, and the public institutions for health, attracted his atten- tion; as a botanist, he had the plants of the country as a physio- logist, the birds of time air, the beasts of the earth, and tile fishes of the sea. Ile is also a man of some reading, with a mind given to the observation of political institutions, and the physical and intel- lectual characteristics of man. Iknce his volumes are of greater value than might be inferred froln the beaten nature of the fields he passed over, and his touch-and-go passage,—possessing great variety of subjects, pleasantly spoken of. Of the different climates visited, Mr. WILDE much prefers Ma- deira, provided the invalid is moved in time. Lisbon disappointed him, on account of its variability, (he was there in October,) being hot in the sunshine and cold in the shade ; but even in time sum- mer, the thermometer on board some of our ships has one day stood at 92 degrees in the shade, and time next day sunk to 73 degrees. The " intense glare and dazzling whiteness of the houses" are also very annoying, and apt to produce headache ; in addition to all
which, there is the filth of the town and the dirt of the people. Gibraltar he rates very low : while he was there, (in December,) it rained every day, and the cold was very trying ; but a stronger proof than such limited experience is, that pulmonary complaints are the principal cause of deaths amongst the soldiery—of course excepting epidemics. Algiers is very good in comparison with England, 'out far inferior to Madeira: or the Canaries ; and is attended with the usual drawback of so many places in time tem- perate zone—cold mornings and nights. 'file same objection ap-
plies to Egypt, but in a much greater degree; and he seems to differ tot° veto from Dr. Cummems, who recomniended it fin con-
sumption. The climate of Teneriffe he considers equal to Madeira, but dryer, and therefine snore suitable for smite affections ; but in the Canary Islands, as at Algiers, Egypt, and perhaps Gibraltar and Lisbon, there is no suitable accommodation for invalids, which at Madeira can be had in every shapc,—lodgings, medical attendance, and fiteilitieg for little excursions ; coupled, we suppose, with the drawback of' numerous low-spirited patients, and occasional deaths amongst them.
At Algiers he found the French in bad plight ; worse, indeed, than we may gather from the Paris papers. The " colony" is dependent upon the Mother-country for supplies : there is a large army to maintain, without raising any revenue from the conquered territory—which, indeed, is only conquered within the range of their guns. This is a picture of an attempt at " colonization" near Algiers- " This small colony of Del-Abreem is not in a very flourishing condition ; the few wooden houses are in the most wretched state, the roofs decayed, and the surrounding palings broken down. It is under the protection of a strong garrison of fifteen hundred mauves and splices, and two forts, on each of which are three field-pieces. With all this, a band of Arab cavalry bel ' ong ing to Abd-el-Kadir, Prince of Maskara, made a descent not twelve months ago from the mountains rushed in during the broad daylight, and carried of the greater part of the colonists ; and this within five miles of Algiers! "Within view of this is the range of block-houses formino. the French lines, These are supported on large posts of wood ; and as the Alms are frequently lying in wait to have a chance shot, the fifteen men they each contain mai often a week without stirring out, and are obliged to be supplied with water and provisions once a fortnight."
Of the Paella of Egypt, and his power, Mr. TILDE entertains favourable opinions, especially if regard be paid to the difficulties he has had to eneounter on all sides. On entering the port sf. Alexandria, this was the scene which met his eyes- " The Egyptian fleet was moored at the entrance of the harbour ; and is number and appearance fur surpassed what we had heard of it. They area magnificent set of vessels, all in commission, in the most pm lixt order ; the majority of them two-deekers, but mounting many more guns than ours of a similar class ; with rotund sterns, and all the other modern improvements in naval architecture. The yacht of the Basba is a roost beautilul craft, meg. nificently fitted up, and fully equal to any of the COlYe8 squadron. out bring- ing up we were visited by a health officer ; and seeing the yellow flag ilymg from some Swedish men-of-war, were rather frightened-lest we should be arasill in quarantine, but we were admitted sans cere»mnie ; and immediately litter time Egypi an Admiral sent his boat with two officers to know if be amid be of any service to us. They were exceedingly polite, and spoke very tolerable Ertnch. They use more men in their boats than is usual in vessels of war, and direct every thing by the boatswain's whistle, even to the stroke of the oars. Altogether the harbour of Alexandria presented a picture the most ha- posing; and the stir and bustle, both warlike and commercial, one we could have had no idea of. The flags of the different nations of Europe were here displayed beside the red banner of Mohammad Alec, to which he has added a star within the crescent. Were this port to he taken as an index of the floe- rishing state of' the country, great indeed would be its wealth."
Most of the public institutions created by the Paella were equally promising.
TIIE DOCK-YARD OF ALEXANDRIA.
WC must pay a visit to those fine vessels now upon the stocks ; and here is one just ready to be lamirhed, which I will tell yon something about, with- out having your ears assailed by the most stunning of ell noises, the caulking and coppermg. This is a two-decker, but corresponding in number of our three-deckers, than any of which. it is larger, being :3,000 tons. It is not guns to so long as some of ours, being but 189 feet by -10 feet in beam, and will 100 guns. The timber of these vessels is conksseilly very inferior, and much smaller than would be 'Ned in any English vessel of war ; but as there are no forest trees its this land, most of it is imported from Trieste. They endeavour to make up in quantity flur deficiency- in quality, so that the bottom of those vessels are perfect beds of timber. This is the tenth of' this class' and there are eight in commission. The ninth was brought out of the docks yesterday to be rigged and got ready for sea. The complement of men on board each of these is Lours, including officers, who in rank and number correspond to those of the English navy. Besides the ten linesof-batale ships, there are seven frigates, an armed steamer, ibur corvettes, eight brigs, and other small craft in commission. So far as time vessels go, they are, I suspect, rather more than a match for the Porte. In our walk round the yard we were surprised at tire number and extent of the works, all divided into their several departments, and at tire order and regularity that prevailed. Brass-finitelries, carvers black- smiths, carpenters, sail-makers, and all the different requisites in shilimilding, upon a most extensive scale, all worked by native hands, who amount to abbut 800. The stores and arsenal were as neat, as clean, and as orderly as could possibly be. Originally the heads of the ditIerent departments were Euro- peans, but at present the situations are nearly all tilled by natives, who rose under their instruction, or were educated in Prance or England; among threat was the principal mathematical instrument-maker, a very intelligent young man. How very fluently, and with what a good accent, many of these speak our language! There is an extensive rope-walk, and we saw some at the cables beim, worked by a patent machine; the head of this department is a Spaniard, Cut there is also a native fully capable of conducting the work. I was much struck with the skill and neatness of several of the workmen, par- ticularly in brass-turning, carving klaic. We were shown a handsome room for the drawing,s, plans, envie-work:8:c., and several models of the crack English vessels.
There is a mosque in the yard, whither time men go five tins it day to pray for about five or ten minutes. It is a small, but pretty building. covered v6th clematis and other creepers now in blow, and has a pretty thuni-itin attached to it, where the men perform their ablutions each time they go to worship. All the workmen are inuisted in the Basha's service, as sailors or soldiers, and are drilled occasionally. They are fed, clothed, and get from fifteen to thirty piastres a month pay, which they and all the men in the service of Mohammad Alec receive into their OWII hmninds, to prevent any sort of peculation. The wages of these artisans are raised according to their merit, and are never in the same arrear as those of the army or navy. The greater number are married, their wives inhabiting wretched hovels outside the town ; if they have sons, each receives fifteen piastres a month from the government, and the child must be brought to receive it in his own hand. Their wives are all in some sort of traffic or huxtering, and tend much to the support of their husbands; so that the more wives a soldier or tradesmen in A lexandria has, the better he lives! The majority have a plurality, and if sons are the result, it is rather a good speculation. The men work from sunrise to sunset, with the exception of an hour at breakfast and dinner : they get three meals a day, and d irrinm our visit the drum heat to the mid-day meal, which consists of a plentifill 4tpply of' coarse brown bread and bean porridge ; and for break Ihst th••■• are allowed, in addition, olives with some vinegar and oil. All the artisans arum given meat once no week, and the troops once a month. They are divided into messes of three and five each. The greatest order and quiet prevailed, and if time con:mien:Ince be an index of the inner man, contentment seemed to reign amongst them. The anchors, and most of the fbreign goods in the di irk -yard were English, and there was also a vast number of fine brass and metal gums, in most perfect pre- servation, lately fished up in Aboukir nty.
ECONOMY OF AN EGYPTIAN MAN-OF-WAlt.
I found this vessel and others that I visited particularly clean and orderly; and this is the more marked, as there is a greater quantity of brass inlaying and ornamental work in them than is usual in any of our men-of-war. This is a 100 gun-ship, but equal in tonnage to ours earryins: 120. The uniform is a dark brewn ; and the officers are principally distingliished from the men by time fineness of the regimentals, and having an anchor, star, or crescent, em- blematic of their rank, and composed of silver, gold, or jewels, on the left breast. In time MISy as well as the army neither beard nor whiskers are al- lowed; except the moustache, all must be close shaven daily :tins at first was considered a very great innovation, and was loudly complained of as quite too Christian and uncircumcised a form. The men are trained to military tactics as well IN to go aloft; and in this latter they are often very clumsy, to
the no small amusement of any English tars who may be lowering topgallants or reefs f topsails at the same time. But much cannot be expected from a
navy cal ea into existence since the battle of Navarino, and whose service has heretofore consisted in a visit to Claudia during the summer. There is a morlah or priest on board each ship. The men are now allowed to smoke in watches; and a certain number each night arc permitted to go to their fami- lies, who live near the town. There was an air of great simplicity in the offl- cers' rths,
even in that of the Captain's ; a plain deewan surrounded two be sides of the cabin, a table with writing materials, and a couple of chairs; and on the side of each was hung a plain glazed frame, in which was written the name of God, and sometimes a verse of the Koordu underneath. From a de- sire to avoid even the appearance of any " graven image," there are no figure- heads to any of the Egyptian vessels.
Passing over mere descriptions of natural objects, or incidents of travel, with which the book abounds, we will, as attention is just now attracted to Egypt, close our extracts with an account of THE PACHA'S COLLEGE AND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE.
I was next transfluTed to the care of Dr. Sieber, who conducted me through the college and school of medicine, which, as I before stated, forms a part of the Wading of the io,pital, so that the student has but to cross the court from his dormitory to the ward, and can proceed from thence in a few minutes to the dis,zeting theatre or lecture-room, become acquainted with inateria medica under the same roof in which he sleeps, and enjoy his morning's walk in the botanic garden beneath his window. Besides this, they are all required to 1:ecome acquainted with practical operative chemistry ; and for that pur- pose a • sent re for a certain time to work at the chloride of lime and saltpetre . sent m r‘anufactories. his system, added to that of the general medical education here ,riven, is one well worthy of imitation in Great Britain, and reflects no small erolit on its founder, Clot Bey. At the date of my visit there were three hundred students in the college, who were fed, clothed, educated, and paid by the Basha. The dormitories and other apartments of these young men were clean and airy, and they themselves appeared orderly and attentive. They all wear a uniform, are regularly drilled as soldiers, and rise in rank and pay according to their proficiency. The pay varies front twenty to tiny piasters a month ; and they are allowed out of the college once a week, on the Sabbath. The nominal duration of study is five years; but the greater number are drafted off into the army or navy after three years: sunk few remain as long as seven. The school of medicine consists of seven professorships, viz, anatomy and physiology.. surgery, pathology and internal clinique, pathology and external elinique, medicine and chemistry, botany and materia medica, and pharmacy. Instruction is given by means ot an Arab interpreter or dragoman ; the pro- fessor writes his lecture, and it is translated to the class by the interpreter. The majority of the professors are French, and their salary is somewhat more thati 2od/. a year. They :ire all obliged to wear the Egyptian uniform and shave the head, but no sacrifice of religion or principle is demanded; and I need hardly remark that all Europeans, or Christians, are under the protection of their respective flag-, and, should they be convicted of any misdemeanour, mast be handed Over to thin Consul.
The laboratory cotnaincd a good chemical apparatus, and the dissecting- room several subjects. This latter indispensable requisite to medical educa• lion it would be searedy worth mentioning, but that it occurred among a people whose strong religious prejudices prohibited even the touching of a dcad body hi some cases; and the introduction of this novel science was one of the must difficult things Mohammad Alee hail to enforce for a long time. Be in the first place refi•rred it to the priesthood, who obstinately set their faces against it, decdari:os it utterly incompatible with the religion of the Prophet of Mekka. The llasim'eNnswer, that it was his royal wish and plea- sure that they should lig:dice the act, and that, if they did not speedily do so, it was more than probable they themselves should form material for the first experiment in this branch um the practical sciences, soon brought them to re- concile their prejudices with his unbending, will.