GLEANINGS.
One of the most promising series of papers that we have met with in any magazine is that in Blackwood's this month, the "Travels of Kerim Khan.' The Khan is a Mnssulman gentleman of consideration, a native of Hindustan, who recently visited England, apparently through curiosity. A genuine Hindustani and a firm 711ahometan, he is nevertheless candid, acute, observing, with much fortitude under the hardships and annoyances which he encountered in wandering so far from home ; and be made his way in all places and with all people. He wrote a narrative of his travels in Oordu the polished dialect of Hindustani; and of that Unpublished manuscript the writer in Blackwood gives something between a review and an account. It is exceedingly interesting. Sometimes the interest lies in the very oldness of ideas to us and in the oddness of their novelty to the traveller ; as where he remarks that the polestar was no longer visible when the ship passed the Equator—" a proof of the earth's sphericity, which I was glad to have an opportunity of seeing." . That single proof was no doubt the seed of many another conviction in the intelligent Mussulman's mind. He visits St. Helena, which gives occasion to a capital condensed sketch of Napoleon's career—" This celebrated personage was a native of Corsica ; and enjoying a fortunate horoscope, he entered the French army, and speedily rose to the rank of General ; and afterwards, with the consent of the people and the soldiery, made himself Emperor. After this he conquered several kingdoms, and the fame of his prowess and his victories filled all the European world. When he invaded Russia, be defeated the Muscovites ix several great battles, and took their capital; but, in consequence of the intensity of the cold, several thousands of his army, both men and horses, perished miserably. The catastrophe obliged him to return to France, where hi undertook the conquest of another country. At this time George the Third reigned in England ; and having collected all the disposable forces of his kingdom, appointed Lord Wellington (the same General who was employed in the war against Tippoo Sultan in Mysore) to command them, and sent him to combat the French Emperor. He entered Spain, and forced the Emperor's brother Yusuf, (Joseph,) who was King of that country, to fly—till after a variety of battles and incidents, too numerous to particularize, the two hostile armies met at a place called by the English Waterloo, where a bloody battle was fought, as famous as that of Pashan between &dash and the hero Masten, and Napoleon was overthrown and made prisoner. He was then sent, though in a manner suitable to his rank, to this island of St. Helena ; where, after a few years, he finished his earthly career. His tomb is much visited by all who touch at the island, and has become a durgah (shrine) for innumerable visiters from Europe. There are persons appointed to take care of it, who give to strangers, in consideration of a small present, the leaves and flowers of the trees which grow round the tomb. No other Emperor of the Europeans was ever so honoured as to have had his tomb made a shrine and place of pilgrimage : nor was ever one so great a conqueror, or so renowned for his valour and victories."
The Khan's ignorance of English brought him into some ludicrous difficulties on his first residence in London. By some accident, he was left, with a single companion in the person of a countryman, but without interpreter, in lodgings near Cornhill. " As I could neither ask for any thing nor answer any question put to me, I passed the whole night without a morsel of food or a drop of water: till in the morning, feeling hungry, I requested my companion to go to saute bazar and buy some fruit. He replied, that it would be impossible for him either to find his way to a bazar through the crowds of people or to find his way back again, as all the houses were so much alike. I then told him to go straight on in the street we were in, turning neither to the right nor the left, till he met with some shop where we might get what we wanted : and, in order to direct him to the place on his return, I agreed to lean half out of the window, so that he could not fail to see me. No sooner, however, did he sally forth, than the people, men, women, and children, began to stare at him on all sides, as if he had dropped from the moon ; some stopped and gazed, and numbers followed him as if he had been a criminal about being led to execution. Nor weal in a more enviable position : the people soon caught sight of me with my bead and shoulders out of the window ; and in a few minutes a mob bad collected opposite the door. What was I to do? If I withdrew myself, my friend on returning would have no mark to find the house, while if I remained where I was, the curiosity of the crowd would certainly increase. I kept my post, however, while every one that passed stopped and gazed like the rest, till there was actually no room for vehicles to pass; and in this unpleasant situation I remained fully an hour, when, seeing my friend returning, I went down and opened the door for him. He told me he had gone straight on, till he came to a fruit-shop, at the corner of another street, when he went in, and laying two shillings on the counter, said in Oordu, Give me some fruit.' The shopman, not understanding him, spoke to him in English ; to which he replied again in Oordu' I want some fruit ! ' pointing at the same time to the money, to signify that he wanted two shillings' worth of fruit. The man, however' continued confounded ; and my friend at last, not knowing of what sort the fruits were, whether sour or sweet, bitter or otherwise, ventured, after much hesitation and fruitless attempts to communicate with the shopman by signs and gestures, to take up four apples, and then made his retreat in the best manner he could, followed, as before, by the rabble. I at last caught a glimpse of him, as I have mentioned, and let him in ; and we sat down together, and breakfasted on these four apples, my friend taking two of them and I the others."
"The difficulties of the Khan from his ignoranie of the language, and Moslem scruples at partaking of food not dressed by his own people, were not yet, however, at an end. For though, on returning to his lodging in the evening, he found that his friend had succeeded in procuring from the ship a dish of kichiri, (an Indian mess, composed of rice and ghee, or clarified butter,) his inability to communicate with his landlady still occasioned him considerable perplexity. ' Having ventured to take some pickles, which I saw on the sideboard, and finding them palatable, I sent for the landlady, and tried to explain to her by signs, pointing to the bottles, that I wanted something like what they contained. Alas for my ignorance ! she thought I wished them taken out of the room, and so walked off with them, leaving me in the utmost astonishment. How was I to get it back again ? it was the only thing I had to relish my kichiri. I had, therefore, recourse to this expedient—I got an apple and pared it, putting the parings in a bottle with water; and showing this to the landlady, intimated, by signs, that I wanted something like it to eat with my rice. She asked many questions in English, and talked a great deal, from which I inferred that she had at last discovered my meaning: but five minutes had hardly elapsed when she reappeared, bearing in her hand a bottle of water, filled with apple-parings cut in the nicest manner imaginable! This she placed on the table in the most respectful manner, and then retired !' " "One who has a good Memory" continues, in Fraser's Magazine, his Reminiscences of Louis Philippe; the period of the paper for October being that in which the Prince bore the title of Duke of Orleans. The late host of Queen Victoria was once the guest of her father—" Little did he think when proscribed by France and Spain, and nearly the whole of Europe, and after having repaired to the Bahama Islands, and passed over to Halifax, [in Nova Scotia,] where he was received by the Duke of Kent, the father of our beloved Victoria, that forty-three years afterwards he should receive at the old Normandy family château of his race the daughter of that same Duke, who is now the Queen of England. And little did he imagine, when her father showed to him so much of honest politeness and unaffected sympathy in the North American Provinces, that he should have it in his power at a future period to return all the kindness and attention displayed to himself and his brothers, by greeting, in his best, most hospitable, and regal manner, the Queen of England and the eldest daughter of that Duke of Kent. Such are the chances and changes of this varied world !"
During his travels in America, also, the Duke encountered a gentleman whose name has recently been '' up " in the world. "That was an event of a striking character in the life of Louis Philippe, when, whilst traversing the untamed domains of nature from Buffalo to Canandaigua, he met that persevering and admirable man Mr. A. Baring, who recently, as Lord Ashburton has effected the treaty between Great Britain and America which bears his name. Little did the exiled Duke then think, whilst listening to the relation of the endurances he had had to submit to during his long and most wearisome Journey, that at some future period he, the young exile, would be King of the French; and that during his reign Lord Ashburton would be selected by the British Government to terminate differences with America which should have existed more than a quarter of a century. Unintimidated by Mr. Baring's descriptions, faithful and correct as they were, the Duke and his companions ascended the Seneca Lake, proceeded to Tioga Point ; and daring the last twentyfive miles of their journey each carried on his back his own baggage."
In his European wanderings, the Duke of Orleans found himself at Christiana, a place with which is connected one of the most agreeable anecdotes of Lis life. "The late M. Monod senior, an enlightened French Protestant pastor, whose urbanity and Christian gentleness his successors and descendants would do well to imitate, was residing at that period in the Norwegian capital. Educated by Madame de Geniis to respect and honour the characters of all truly good men, the young Duke soon learned to estimate the merits of M. Mooed; and although he did not make himself known to that good man, he
discovered in him exalted rank, perfect manners, and a virtuous mind. Their conversation often turned to the subject of France, and the progress of Democracy in that country ; and on one occasion Mr. Mooed introduced the character and conduct of the Duke of Orleans on the tapis. With that Christian moderation which distinguished the conduct and life of M. Monod senior, he observed= I have been accustomed to hear much that is disgusting and revolting of the late Duke of Orleans; but I cannot help thinking that he must have had some virtues mixed up with his evil propensities, for no reckless or worthless man could have taken so much pains with the education of his children. His eldest son, I have been assured, is the model of filial affection as well as of all the virtues.' The Duke felt his cheeks suffused with blushes, and M. Monpd perceived it. 'Do you know him, then ?' asked M. Monod, Yes, I do, a little,' replied the Duke ; and I think you have somewhat exaggerated his praises.'
"'The next time the venerable Protestant pastor saw the Duke of Orleans was in his own palace at the Palais Royal ! M. Moiled was at the head of the Protestant Consistory of Paris, and was visiting the illustrious Prince to congratulate him on his return to his native country. When the ceremony WU over, the Duke called M. Monad aside, and asked, how long it was since he had quitted Christiana ? " Oh ! many years,' replied the excellent man : "it is very kind of your Royal Highness to remember that I was ever an inhabitant
of that city." It is more, then, M. 31oned than you remember of ine Was your Royal Highness, then, ever an inhabitant of Christiana ? ' asked the astonished pastor." Do you remember M. Corby—the young Corby ?' inquired the Duke. 'Most certainly I do ; and .1 have frequently sought for some intelligence with regard to him, but could procure none." Then I was M. Corby,' replied the Duke : and the rest of the conversation can be easily imagined. To the hour of his death, the Duke was much attached to the admirable M. Monod ; and some of Louis Philippe's affection for Protestant families, Protestant communities, and the Protestant clergy, can unquestionably be traced to the influence exercised by that gentleman over the mind of his Christian young friend."
At an agricultural meeting in France lately, the Bishop of Bordeaux told an original anecdoteof Bonaparte; who must henceforth be classed among the ecclesiastical authorities. Indeed, the Corsican had a fancy for being reckoned among divine authorities with all persuasions. " Napoleon one day, being surrounded by his staff and all his most devoted companions in arms, was asked what had been the finest day of his life ; and, as he was silent, some said it was the day of Austerlitz, others that of the Pyramids. At last, pressed by questions, he answered, 'It was the day of my first communion.' This answer was received with a smile. One of the Generals only remained silent and grave. Napoleon struck him on the shoulder, and said, " I am happy to see you have understood me.' This anecdote was told me by General Drouault, the General in question."
There is much that is German in our Court of Windsor, which might gain by the influence of the refined liberality of that of the Tuileries. On a recent occasion, for instance, Gudin, a Master and Commander in the French Navy, as well as one of the first painters in the world, was refused access to the fetes of Buckingham Palace, after enjoying, as an honoured guest, those of Louis Philippe and Nicholas the First, on the ground that he was an artist; while iuterhalter, the Lawrence of France, when despatched to Windsor by the King of the French to paint the portraits of the Queen and Prince Albert, was never honoured by a royal invitation. It must have afforded some consolation to those enlightened and distinguished men, to know that Landseer, who has enriched the royal gallery with some of his choicest pictures, and is courted as a guest in half the aristocratic mansions in the kingdom, passes weeks together at Windsor Castle without further notice vouchsafed him than to a corporal of Life Guards. But, in affording a balm for their wounded feelings, the fact also supplies to Europe a curious standard whereby to admeasure the refinement and liberality of the British Court. It was not thus that Holbein, Rubens, and Vandyke, were welcomed by Henry and the Stuarts. It was not thus that the great schools of art were created by the illustrious patrons of Italy. It is not thus that the glorious improvements of Paris, and the regeneration of its galleries, have been effected by the King of the French. For though the luileries may have their Dr. Prietorius and their Sir James Clarke, the renal hospitality is not the less extended to the Scheffers and Vernets ; nay, one of the first distinctions conceded to the boy-author of the fine new tragedy of Lucrice, was an invitation to the table of his Sovereign.—Tait's Magazine.
Hard by the town of Athunree is a holy well, sacred to the Virgin Mary, the water of which, according to the most true legends, no fire can warm, and which is consequently endued with powers and virtues of an extraordinary kind. On the 15th August, being the day of the Assumption, pilgrims resort to this Bethesda from various parts of the country, to perform penances and other religions exercises around it, and to fasten votive rags upon a bush that overhangs it. The cures performed at these holy wells have been well described by a wag of a French tourist—" L'aveugle s en retourne en merchant, In boiteux en parlant, et le sourd en voyant. Si vous aver quelques infirmites, faites seulement sept fois le tour, et vons verrez ce qui en arrivera." As for the anticaloric properties of the water, they have been tested, meo periculo ; and a bowl of punch screeching hot, was the result.—Excursions in the lVest of Ireland: Tait's Magazine.
Jean Renaud Sieur de Sigraie, who was in the service of Mademoiselle the daughter of Gaston Duke of Orleans, brother to Louis the Thirteenth, left a sort of miscellaneous " ana " of the celebrated people of Louis the Fourteenth's time. It is a pleasant scrap-book for an idle hour. Among the persons who come upon the scene is Rochefoncault ; one trait of whose manners might well be imitated by more than will accept his philosophy. "Monsieur de la Rochefoucault never disputed : when any one expressed a sentiment different from his own which he believed right, ' Sir,' he would say, you are of that opinion ; I am of another '; and there he stopped, neither party being made angry." Sound common sense. Those who would do the like, but fear the silly taunt that silence is a confession of defeat, may fortify themselves with the precedent of a Rochefoucault.
Sister arts have been successfully cultivated by many illustrious persons, and especially has the study of music been joined to others. Milton and Petrareh were practical musicians; Giorgione was originally a lute-player ; Salvator Rosa composed some striking vocal music. Some paintett have not abstained from verse ; as Raphael and Lionardo da Vinci who both used the pen. The study of the fine arts by poets is less common ; but among amateurs may be reckoned the great name of Dante : "Di sue mane egregiamente disegnava," says the author of the Amon e Rime di Dante Alighien, published at Mantua in 1823. "That Dante delighted in design, we learn from himself, where he relates—' In that day that completed the year since this lady had been made a citizen of life eternal, I sat apart, and remembering her, I drew an angel on certain tablets. And while I drew, I turned my eyes, and I saw far from me certain men, to whom it behoved to do honour ; and they looked on that which I had done. And from what was said to me afterwards, they had stood there some time, before I was aware.' Some relate that Giotto himself, who was called the disciple of nature, and on whose tomb Angelo Paz iano wrote Ille ego sum per quem picture extincta revixit,' painted in Naples some things from the design of Dante." Hence Dante's graphic manner. It is justly remarked, that reading many of the descriptions in his Divine Comedy is like visiting a gallery.
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