MR. HOLMES'S SKETCHES ON THE SHORES OF THE CASPIAN.

MR. HOLMES appears to hold some official situation under his relative Mr. Brant, our Consul at Erzeroum ; and, finding himself at Tabreez in November 1843, with means and opportunity to make an excursion along the shores of the Caspian, he devoted six months to a tour, in com- pany with a friend attached to the British mission. So little is generally known of the region in question, that to mention the places the travellers passed through, would be a mere string of names without associations, many of which would not be found on the map. Let it suffice to say that the explorations of Mr. Holmes embraced the Persian territory on the banks of the Caspian, from the river Astara, the boundary of the Russian frontier, to the city of Resta, and thence to Astrabad, the last Persian town towards the Toorkmans. From Astrabad Mr. Holmes accompanied his friend to Teheran, the capital ; whence lie himself rode " tartar " back to Tebreez, and finally returned to Erzerouni.

The country through which Mr. Holmes principally travelled is not of a striking character either by nature or association. Shut in by the Elburz range, the shores of the Caspian are marshy, thickly intersected by streams, too shallow for navigation, if there were commerce to require it, but offering impediments to the traveller from the general absence of bridges, and contributing by their overflow to render the country muddy in rain, and unwholesome in sunshine. As soon as the shores are quitted, however, the prospects begin to improve, the mountains offering magni- ficent scenery, with every variation of climate from the sugar-cane to snow. But the social system is everywhere backward : at least to the backwardness, or as some would say the simplicity of the Oriental mode of living, is added the discomfort of a marshy soil, and the uncertainty which has arisen from a society continually disturbed by clannish disputes and the forays of the Toorkmans. Plague has in some places still further diminished population. So that, what with indifferent weather, execrable roads, bad accommodation, and a profusion of vermin, nothing but the love of locomotion which distinguishes the Anglo-Saxon race would have induced a man to undertake the excursion, unless he had scientific or commercial objects in view; neither of which was the case with Mr. Holmes.

As a literary work, Sketches on the Shores of the Caspian falls into the usual error of travellers ridiculed by Goldsmith in his Jour- ney to Kentish Town. Mr. Holmes is too detailed in his narrative, and dwells too much upon the commonplaces of his journey. A very bad road, very remarkable scenery, a very dilapidated house—these are proper to be noted, because they are striking in themselves, and suggest some information or excite some kind of sympathy, if it is merely in a dislike to bad quarters. A particular account of the country and its appearances day by day becomes tedious, because the general result is the only thing the reader cares about ; and the author forces him to strike the average, instead of doing it for him. Nothing but artistical skill can render mere description interesting for long; and in this quality Mr. Holmes is deficient. His style is literal ; so that unless a thing has stirring life or animation its sentiment escapes him. The ruins of princely palaces, public monuments, fortifications, or useful buildings, scattered over the country, and which must suggest melancholy reflections on its former prosperity and present decay, excite little or nothing of this feeling in the reader. They are too much in the inventorial style.

Such passages do not, indeed, predominate in this volume, though they are numerous enough to injure its effect. A great part of the Sketches of Mr. Holmes consists of pictures of Persian life, shown in characters, incidents, or the social economy from which the travellers often suffered. These are so new and striking in themselves, that they combine the interest of fiction with the solidity of fact ; and, though not, perhaps, throwing any absolutely new light upon the Asiatic character, possess much freshness from the remoteness of the region and the rareness of visiters ; Fraser, some two-and-twenty years ago, having been the only traveller there since the time of Hanway. Mr. Holmes is also a goodhumoured traveller, cheerfully bearing the hardships of the way ; and an unaffected, unpretending writer. He had also a knowledge of the langsuage; and the Consul's office has given him a turn for collecting commercial and statistical information ; his reports upon which will have a special value, though native authorities are not very trustworthy.

PERSIAN STATISTS.

Whenever I have noted the amount of population in a place, it has not been a mere guess of my own, buta conclusion formed from the various estimates of those of whom I have inquired on the subject- It is seldom, however, that they know any- thing of the matter; though they always make a point of not confessing ignorance, and usually give such a reply as they think will please or coincide most with the ideas of the inquirer. Thus, you ask a Persian what is the population of a place: very often he answers, " Busseeor est," (it is many); showing pretty clearly that he knows nothing about it. On pressing him more closely, he will perhaps reply, " It is three thousand." " Oh!" you say, " that is very little for a place like this; there must surely be more." " Belli, belli," (certainly,) is the answer; " there must be altogether six thousand": and turning to any one who may be standing near, "See how the Sahib knows everything better than even we oar-

Mane,. Marshallah " Thea, at yours uggestion immediately doubling the amount, withr as little hesitation as hewould have halved it had you. observed that you thanghtit. too large.

PERSIAN IDEA OF FREEMASONRY-

IX the morning we- received a visit from the Governor ;.who seemed rather a dull person, though very polite and civil. He asked a great many questions regarding the Feramoosh Khoneh, as they call the Freemasons Hall in London.; which is a complete mystery to all the Persians who have heard of it: Very often the first question we have been asked is, " What do they do at the Feramoosh Khoneh? What is it?"" They g.enerally believe it to be a most wonderful place, where a man may acquire in one day the wisdom of a thonsand years of study; but every one has his own pebuliar conjectures concerning it.: Some of the Persians who went to England became freemasons; and their friends complain that they will not tell what_ they saw at the hall, and cannot conceive why they should all be SO• un- commusucative.

PICESIAN APPETITES AND RATING.

After tea,. the Beg left us to ourselves for about an hour; when he returned, accompanied by his two brothers, NooroollahBeg.and ShookrOollah Beg, a brother of! lieet Khan,- chief of the. Shah-sevens,,and some other friends; and dinner immediately followed. A tray containing a chMo and pine, -radishes, fried eggs, a stew of meat, and a bowl of sherbet, was allotted to each two persons; aud, at the word " Bismillah,"" (in the name of God,) the company fell to -in- Silence, un- broken during the whole time save by the sound of the various jaws in-process-of mastication. Hands were throat deep into the greasy dishes, rice squeezed into bells and swallowed with astonishing rapidity; and in less than a quarter of an hour little remained of the immense piles which' had been set before them. Water was then brought in, and each guest slightly wetted hie fingers; afterwards Wiping than on his pocket-handkerchief or his coat, as-the case might be ; which ceremony hadscarcely been performed, when our Shah-seven frieridand one ortwo others, loosening their belts, immediately lapsed into a state of torpidity. My companion and self had made a plenteous meal, but our dishes. appeared comparatively

unto. ed. The Persians are v large eaters, particularly those of the lower

ed to er,-devouredevery day about twenty meat' and fruit; and one evening three of the grooms ate among ern ten pounds of rie4 andweregrumbling because they redid not get any more. The Persians say that the English do not eat they only

play with their food- . * s * *. •

.About twelve o'clock, the usual Persian time,-we were aummoned to breakfast; and all returned to the house exeeedingIrsharp-set. The meal was a repetition of dinner, and the same feeding-seen took pike as'on the previous evening. I have often heard it remarked with respect to the Eastern custom of eating- with the-fingers; that it.was a mistake to regard it as' unpleasant; and that the hands, which were thoroughly washed, were cleaner implements than our knives-and forks. In Persia, I can only say,, that I found, the washing -a, very inefficient ceremony: no soap is used a little tepid water being merely poured over the hands before and after dinner; and they are oftentimes wiped with -a pocket- handkerchief which has not been washed for perhaps six months. The vom, ohms manner in which they swallow their food is disgostirig. In general, Per- areas admire the European custom of using the knife and fork, and confess that it is- more decent in appearance, and cleanlier in reality, than their own; but ajoollah Beg,. while admitting this, observed, that after all he preferred eating wale the.liand, as it imparted a flavour to the food: jedging from the edam. mid appearance of his own liand; I should think the observation correct.

A PERSIAN PRINCE:. •

Ardeshir Meerut- is a man of middling size, inclining . to corpulency,. with a jai tlooking round visage, bearing a strong resemblance to the rest of the royal family; He was dressed in atiilain, single-breasted drab-coloured coat, buttoned to the throat by about forty t buttons, placed as close together as possible; round his waist he wore a be t of gold face; and over all a dark,. plum-coloured cloak He was very polite and affable; hoped"that we had been well-treated- in his territory, and asked many questions regarding our journey. He inquired after all the English lte had knoWn in-Persia; and the conversation tinning on India.and the East India Company, he begged to know whether the report he had heard that they had killed the " Coompanee " was the fact-or not. We presently ascertained that he alluded to the death, of Sir William Macnangliteti. We had heard- that the Shahzadeh was a great drinker; and his weak and blnadehot eyes seemed confirmatory of the report: but I could not suppress a smale, when tea was brought in, to see his servant draw forth from the recesses

his pocket a black bottle of rum: we of course accepted a little in oar tea, • the Prince held out his already half-empty cup, winch the servant filled. to Jahn, •

- PRINCELY TURN-017T.

111` the- evening vre went to' dine with the Prince. We were shown into the same room arson our that visit, and found his Royal Highness seated on a small rickety chair, at the head of the Russian table-before mentioned. -It.was. covered with various nondescript little dishes, and saucers of pickles, chiefly garlic; there were also water-bottles of sherbet, two black bottles, conspicuously marked "London Stout," one of which, however, contained rum, and several' square de- mikbers- of Persian wine. Four glass candlesticks. of Rus.sian or German inann- feature occupied the corners: they wereticketed just as they came from the shop; Ihoillaliew ran in streams upon the table from the candles, which, were all of dif- ferent lengths; and there. benign° each convenience as a pair of snuffers, Abbas. Kool7 Meerza 4 who sat at the Shahzadeh's rig„ht, occasionally snuffed them with his fingers, which he wiped on the skirts ()this dress.

The retain journey of our author took him -to the capital, and intro- dneed.hint to the Shah • 'Of whom he'and'the Persians think but lightly. The 'Prime lIfinister, hOWever, -is well esteemed; seemingly from his . proficienq in the alt of pleasiog or hurl:lugging.

.A.. PATTERN. VL7.11,0, .Reery one in.Pemia1anglis at the:Vizier+ but he is perhaps as much liked-as itia. possible for a man in his situation-to be. He is humane, and often interferes behalf' of those whom he, thinks • stiffer harsh treatment at the bands of the King One-groat secret of his popularity is' that he makes a point of never re- fusing anything.. Amen, for instaace, asks for &pension: the Hadgee-grants it in' the most gracious and fiatterin&maaner;.; anti perhaps immediately gives a. Government order for the sum on Bahama Meerza at Tahreez. The applicant goes away delighted, while the Hadgee secretly writes to the-Prince not to pay the cater.- Subsequently, the man finds his beraut useless; but thisdoe.s not altopthel• efface the impression vigil:tally given. of the- Hadgeds-kinduess ; and the applicant feels much comforted by the ides that the pension has positively been granted to histlind that, though he does not get it, he has aright to it. Minister has done some good on a small scale in the vicinity of Tehrania. Iffi has. built several villages, and his been lately cutting a canal from the river Keredge to Tehraun, where the water is scarce and bad. He lately went there to inspect the works; and, onarriving, was accosted by an Isphahannee donkey:driver, who had long been employed in the workt but received no pay. " Aga," said he, throwing himselt before. the Hadjees horse "I have been long working here,, but I get no wages:' I and my asses are stairing: do not allow me to be thus treated ! " " Dog of an Isphabannee " said the .,r " who are you? Mat dirt are you, eating? Go and die—what mere is an Isphahaunee fit for ?— go,. go !" The attendants seized the man, forced him aside, and the party pro- ceeded.. The donkey-driver, however piqued at hisabuse as an Isphahaunee, was

classes: five of our servants, who pounds of bread, besides a soodallowance

not thus to be intimidated; and again throwing himself before the Hadgee, cried out, "Aga, Aga, listen to me: it is true I am an Isphahaunee, and only fit to die: I am content; but my donkeys, Aga, my donkeys- areahl Toorks, must they starve toe?" The Hadgee is of a Toork tribe; and the laugh which this witticism raised was the means of obtaining for the donkey-driver his just demand.