FROM BOMBAY TO THE BOSPHORUS.* WE have not often read

a much more interesting book of travels than this unpretentious work; and appearing at the present time, Mr. Geary's intelligent experiences, and equally intelligent reflections, will be of great value to those who know how to

apply them properly to a consideration of the actual position and f-ature prospects of the English as regards Asiatic Turkey.

We are far from sharing all the author's views, or approving of all his sentiments, but that does not prevent us from seeing the merits of his book, nor from doing justice to the soundness of many of his judgments. Mr. Geary took ship at Bombay on the 14th of March, 1878, and after touching at Karachi and Muscat—of both of which seaports he gives a most interesting account—he steamed up the Persian Gulf to Bassorah. A short stay at Bushire, on his way up, con- vinced him that the Persian officials far exceed in the cruelty of their punishments and the open and shameless venality of their administration, anything that is to be found under ordinary eir- camstances in Turkey ; and the blind jealousy and obstructive- ness of the Persian Government, who will not allow steamers to navigate their rivers, nor even permit roads to traverse their country, appeared to him more than sufficient to explain the back- ward and almost hopeless condition of the territory of the Shah. The Persians regard the British Residency at Bushire with great jealousy. For a long time they refused to allow the Resident even to build a house :—

"When the British Government pressed the matter, permission was reluctantly accorded, but it was stipulated that the house should be only of the dimensions of the Resident's tent. The medical efficer in charge of the Residency venturing to build a house for himself, it was pulled down by order of the Persian authorities, in spite of all remonstrance. Things are not quite so bad now, but our presence at Bashire and our undefined position in the Gulf trouble the repose of the politicians of Teheran."

Mr. Geary, like so many other people, but apparently without any special ground, is afraid of Russian influence at Teheran,

• Through Asiatic Turkey. By Grattan Geary. 2 yob. London : Sampson Low. l818.

and seems to think that the establishment of a "British free port near Cape Mussendom " would be both politically and commercially desirable. From Bassorah Mr. Geary steamed up the Tigris to Baghdad, and spent some time in and near the city of the Caliphs. The fertility of the soil in the neighbourhood appears to be little short of marvellous ; cotton, indigo, poppies, and sugar-cane grow luxuriantly, almost without trouble ; yet the Arabs, as may be supposed, do nothing, and the country, in spite of all its natural advantages, is little better than a desert.

Mr. Geary seems to have been most hospitably received by the European residents at Baghdad ; and he paid his respects to the ex-King of Oudh, Nawab Ikhbal-ud-Dowlah, who lives in that city ; as well as to the newly arrived Turkish governor of the province, Kiulree Pasha, a man in the prime of life, and having very much the appearance, according to Mr. Geary, of a. French homme d'afaires. He speaks English and French, as well as Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, takes in the Times, sets

his face against corruption and peculation, is "desirous of obtaining information, pays unexpected visits to public offices and public works," and seems in every way a model, or perhaps rather an exceptional, Turk. Few people are aware that the Queen of England has troops quartered at Baghdad ; but it is so, and part of the 21st Bombay Native Infantry serves as a guard of honour to the British Resident. Mr. Geary gives an interesting account of his visit to Hillah, and the site of Babel

or Babylon, the latter word being but a Greek improvement upon Bab-El, "the Gate of God."

But one of the most remarkable things in Baghdad is not nearly as ancient as Babylon, and is indeed but the work of the other day. It is a tramway, which was constructed by Nubar Pasha, and which is now worked by a company, at a profit of cent. per cent. This is

not bad, for a Turkish security ! But Mr. Geary is careful to tell us that the shares of this remarkable Baghdad tramway " are not in the market" But another peculiarity of this tramway, in addition to its solvency, is the nature of its operations. The passengers appear to be exclusively or almost exclusively pilgrims, and the cars run from the centre of Baghdad to the great Shish shrine of Kazimain, some four or five miles to the smith of the city. But it is not only live pilgrims who contribute so largely to the profits of the carrying trade of Baghdad. Dead Mussulmans come in vast numbers even from the farthest part of Persia to had a last resting-place in the holy ground at Kerbella, the burial-place of Ali; but since the Russian war these poor bodies —faithful after death—have been so heavily taxed on their entrance into the dominion of the Sultan, that there has been a terrible falling-off in the number of these defunct travellers, and the " tariff " is about to be reduced.

At Baghdad, Mr. Geary left the Tigris, and followed the post.

road some miles to the east of the river, as far as Mosul. Half- way between the two cities, in the neighbourhood of Kerkook, there are petroleum springs, which the traveller thinks need only European science and European capital to become of very great commercial importance. The principal spring is over a hundred feet in circumference, of unknown depth in the middle, but shallow enough near the edges to permit of men standing in it up to their knees, and rolling the tenacious substance into great lumps, which are carried away and dried in the sun. "As it rises from the earth, it is of a brownish-green colour and trans- parent ; it quickly becomes opaque and hard, in which state it is easily broken, with a shining, resinous fracture." When refined it is sent to Baghdad, which city is lighted with petroleum; and the crude bitumen has been used as fuel on board the Turkish steamers plying on the Tigris, but of late its place has been supplied by English coal. How very characteristic this is of the Turks! There is splendid fuel in the midst of their own country. on the very spot where it is wanted, and yet they prefer to have what they want sent them from England, thousands of miles distant. But apart from its petroleum springs, Kerkook afforded the traveller some very remarkable experiences :—

"Besides its petroleum springs, Kerkook is blessed with an abund- ance of manna, which descends with the dew at certain seasons, and covers the fields and trees. It is somewhat granular in substance, and in colour is of a yellowish white. When collected in the early morning, it is hard to the touch ; it is put in jars, and exposed to the rays of the sun, when it melts, and forms a substance not unlike cheese in appearance and consistency. In taste it is sweet like honey. Manna also falls at times in the neighbourhood of Baghdad, and I tasted it there. I cannot say that I should like to have to live on it alone, as the children of Israel had to do; but it seemed to be nutritious, and was by no means unpalatable. The manna which falls still farther to the south, in the great Arabian desert, is said to be better than that which is found near Baghdad and at Kerkook. I

was told that manna sometimes descends upon the country around Mosul, but not in any great quantities. Great flights of quails come to Kerkook in the beginning of the winter, and the birds, being for the most part young and unable to fly well, are easily caught, and they form a valuable addition to the food-supply."

Now we confess that this puzzles us. In addition to the laxative manna of the Apothecary and the Biblical manna of the Book of Exodus, we knew that there was a saccha- rine substance, produced by or on a species of tamarisk

(Tamaxix manmifera), and which falls to the ground from the branches of that shrub ; but we can scarcely imagine

this to have anything in common, beyond the growth of this manniferous tamarisk in Mesopotamia, with Mr. Geary's "sweet cheese," which "descends with the dew at certain seasons, and covers the fields and trees." Whence ? we ask ; and how ?

Mr. Geary's stay at Mosul enables him to give us some most interesting details concerning the different types of Asiatic Christianity to be met with in that part of the world. Not only are there Protestants, much respected and 'known as "Americans ;" French Roman Catholics, more numerous, and to whom it is due that French is by far the best known European tongue in the cities of the East ; but some ten thousand Nestorians Chal- deans, 'Jacobites, and to Syro-Catholics, who assert their com- mon Christianity by perpetual squabbles, and who are only restrained from cutting each other's throats by guards of Turkish soldiers. The chief of the Dominican mission told Mr. Geary that the religious toleration accorded by the Turkish Government was complete, both as regards what was done or taught in the schools and churches, and that "it was

impossible to desire more absolute liberty of worship or teaching." Of the theological and ritualistic differences between the various sects of Asiatic Christians, Mr. Geary gives a full and very interesting account. At the present moment, the rival Churches seem more embroiled than usual, owing to the

promulgation of a Papal "Bull," regulating the election of Bishop, and interfering with other matters of discipline in a way distasteful to many of the native Christians, who are further, and for the nonce, _divided into two new parties—all other points of difference remaining open—of Bullists and anti-Bullists. It is really very sad ; but what an account Voltaire

would have written of the status quo ! On. leaving Mosul, Mr. Geary found himself on clear ground, riding along the post-

road or track, which follows for some stages the line of the Retreat of the Ten Thousand. At Mardin, he again found a great stronghold of native Christians, and a number of Bishops and Patriarchs. Here, again, he was assured of the complete tolera- tion extended by the Government, not only to the Christians themselves and the Western Missionaries who were working in their midst, but also to those Mussulmans who chose to aposta- tise, or become Christians.

On the importance of Diarbekir as a fortress, now that Kars no longer bars the road between St. Petersburg and Baghdad, Mr. Geary strongly insists ; and his remarks upon the ease with which an invading army could drop down the Tigris from

Armenia to the Persian Gulf, and Bombay or Karachi, are of the greatest interest, even to those who, like ourselves, have no fear

of an invasion of India from the north. Of the rival schemes for connecting the Mediterranean with the Persian Gulf, the traveller has naturally a good deal to say ; and as he has travelled over the ground and kept his eyes open on his journey, he is entitled to speak with authority. Our space does not per- mit of our following him, and we have only to say that his position and arguments appear to us to be characterised by that fairness and moderation which generally accompany what we may call a "thoughtful knowledge" of any subject.

We have only one further point to allude to. Mr. Geary's seventeenth chapter contains an account of an interview between himself and an ex-vizier, at Constantinople. After a good deal of conversation about the needs of Turkey, and the mistakes made by European diplomatists in their endeavours to get some-

thing for themselves under the guise of ameliorating the condi-

tion of the Sultan's subjects, the conversation turned upon Afghanistan :—

"I do not think," said the ex-Vizier, "that the English way of managing Persia and Afghanistan is wise. At Teheran you find that the Russian influence is greater than your own, and your di- plomacy renders the matter worse, by making it evident to the Persians that England is dissatisfied with them; that she is sullen and even perhaps hostile. It seems to be much the same with Afghanistan. You are displeased with the Prince who rules that country, and perhaps he has given grounds for displeasure; you do not crush him, as you might easily do, but you give him to under- stand that you are in a very ill-humour with him. He is, conse- quently, fall of uneasiness and apprehensions, for he is not sure when your ill-humour may explode. This is the very way to play the game of the Russians, who are much more adroit. They, of course, represent themselves as the friends of the people who have reason to apprehend some hostile movement at your hands. So far as I can understand the matter, there is no necessity whatever for keeping Persia and Afghanistan in this state of uneasiness, which naturally works very well for Russia."

The last pages of the volume are devoted to an account of the Embassy sent by the Sultan in 1877 to the Ameer of Afghanistan, to urge upon him the duty and sound policy of a closer alliance with England; the arguments of the Envoy on the one side, and of the Ameer on the other, are quite admirable in their way, and are well worth reading. If our own rulers had as much diplomatic skill, to say nothing of as much political sagacity, we might not be where we now are, in the mountains of Afghanistan.