ALGERIA.*
• Algeria as C is. 1 vol. By George ()oaken. London : Smith. Elder, and Co. MR. GASKELL dedicates this book to his wife, and in doing so calls it recollections of one of the pleasantest episodes of their life together. We should have imagined that with such an object as the reproduction of delightful scenes for the permanent enjoyment of the beloved sharer in them, and with such a subject as the wealth of natural scenery lying within a radius of two hundred miles from Algiers to inspire him, an artist-author of sonic experience, might surely have produced something less terribly dull than this formally-written volume, which is neither guide-book nor narrative, but a very unsatisfactory sort of cross between the two. Until we come, towards the middle of the book, to the excursions, it is guide-book, pure and simple, to the history, religion, language, habitat, physique, character, and customs of the various Arab tribes. Afterwards we get more of a personal narrative, and a little more description of scenery ; but there is an entire want of simplicity and of power to paint through words ; so that the pictures of that kind offered by Mr. Gaskell are formal, conventional, and commonplace, and are delivered from the conscientious showman's point of view, and with his limited and hack- neyed vocabulary. They leave the impression that while there is no reason to doubt Mr. Gaskell's personal enjoyment of scenery, he has none of that rare talent that can reproduce it so as to charm without tiring the reader who depends for his im- pressions on the author alone. Mr. Gaskell takes an early opportunity of dilating on the elevating tendencies of a study of nature, and suggests that preachers should recommend it; but
unless they Could move their hearers to much more purpose than their mentor does his readers, we should not strongly second the recommendation :-
" We cannot help noticing the fact that comparatively few persons appreciate and find great pleasure in the charms of nature. We have remarked that peasants born amidst grand mountain scenery, and artists who copy and study it, love and delight in its attractions more than people in general. Natural or acquired, a taste which enables us to enjoy God's beautiful creation is a pure and unfailing source of happiness, one which elevates the mind and addresses itself to the heart ; no pleasure is more innocent, none so durable. It has often occurred to us that ministers of religion, who never, or very rarely, allude to the subject, would do well—instead of expatiating on particular points of faith or dogma—sometimes to exhort their hearers to contem- plate the works of the Almighty as they are displayed in the grandeur and loveliness of nature. Thus called upon to observe, they might in time learn to admire what they at first looked at with indifference, and the result would often be more edifying than a homily from the pulpit."
Nothing, as a rule, is more tedious or provocative of yawns than the average narrator's attempts to describe the scenery and effects that have delighted him. Avery unimaginative traveller may indeed give great pleasure in recalling places that are already familiar; but it takes a very delicate hand, as well as a vivid memory and livelyen- thusiasm, to draw pictures for a stranger, with any certainty of creating something like a true image of the scene within his mind. Mr. Gaskell, though an artist, has nothing of this power. The ability to wield effectively both the brush and the pen is not necessarily given to the same hand. Our author has, however, a very orderly mind, and would have written an excellent manual for the sojourner in Algeria, if his ambition had not, unfortu- nately, soared higher. And it is only in this character that we can recommend his book at all. It is, indeed, a guide-book spoiled ; for the introduction of historical episodes, and of a novelette that occupies seven chapters, are not desiderata to the tourist in search of concise information in a compact form. Nevertheless, it will be more easy for him to put up with these drawbacks—which may, indeed, serve to wile away a tedious hour, at the cost of occupying too much room in his knapsack—than for the general reader to pardon the vast amount of detail, in- teresting only to the resident in or to the student of this portion of the globe. Regarded, indeed, as a book proper—as a narrative of personal travel, for which its opportunities would seem to have been so great—it is a lamentable failure, due principally to a want of vivid fancy, partly to the arbitrary division of his subject into departments—a plan better fitted for the student's lecture-room—and partly also to the didactic and prosaic style of the composition ; as, for instance --
" Few objects in nature are more striking than a great forest ; a forest of cedars in particular is solemn and imposing. The traveller on entering that of which we are speaking will observe with astonish- ment a tree which has raised an enormous stone entwined in its branches, and carried it up in its growth ; thus it is held suspended two yards above the ground."
We do not feel much drawn to a chapter which begins thus :— " Those who find no pleasure in the contemplation of nature may not care to have such scenes set before them, but to the man— and especially to the traveller—of taste we shall be doing una coca grata in pointing them out. Notwithstanding the height at which it is situated, Medeah is a famous wine district, although there is not so much produced here as on the Sahel," &c. Mr. Gaskell in this instance, and in many another, finding himself in for fine- writing, and discovering that he has said all he can think of, rushes, with evident relief, away from scenery and nature, to tell us some fact, or quote some history, or relate some anecdote, in doing which he extracts copiously from the writings of others. Nor are the conclusions of his short chapters much more animated than their commencements. He is not too much carried away, for instance, by his interest in the "native inhabitants" to forget his readers' feelings, so at the end of only three pages about Arabs, Kabyles, Turks, and Arab-Turks, he tells us that " more might be said of the Arabs, but we wish to avoid too much detail." In another place, he announces in the same formal style that " we shall conclude this chapter "—eight pages concerning the " country about Algiers "—" on the envi- rons of Algiers, by taking the reader to the Jardin d'Acclimatation, a short drive from town." And again, "We shall close this chapter on the religion of the native inhabitants, and give a new turn to the thoughts into which it has led us," &c. Our author's English, moreover, is not too faultless. He speaks of peasants " dedicating themselves to agriculture ;" uses the word ' model' when he means type ;' tells us of an eagle whose " distended " wings measured two yards from point to point, &c.
But Mr. Gaskell, in " note 15," gives his readers a very hospitable and comprehensive invitation to "Villa Gaskell," near Salzburg ; and in the hope, however shadowy, of some day being in a position to accept it, we must requite it beforehand by saying what we can in favour of his book, that we may, without an overpowering sense of conscious treachery, stand on " the tower of Mr. Gaskell's villa," to gaze thence at the panorama of the Norio Alps. There is no doubt, then, that to the proposing visitor to—and especially sojourner in—Algeria the volume before us will be really interest- ing and useful, particularly if he have a fancy for the study of the history, religion, character, occupation, and habits of the various tribes of Arabs and Moors that are to be found in the neighbour- hood. And to such a one the orderly arrangement, so destructive of liveliness in a narrative, will facilitate reference to the special in- formation desired at the moment. We have little doubt, too, that the taste and eye of an artist have guided Mr. Gaskell in the selection of the excursions he recommends, and that he may safely be followed by the traveller, who will often, however, we suspect, be able, when he has made them, to improve upon his cicerone's not too picturesque descriptions of their beauties. The only one which has at all struck us as having any graphic power is that of the city of Constantine, and even here we have to beware how far we carry our quotation, for fear of spoiling the impression it may make by rushing unintentionally upon the usual trite moralising'', and the inevitable termination, "We shall conclude our descrip- tion of the situation of Constantine by remarking," &c.
" Soon after we had passed the Hamma station some Cheiks, who were in the carriage with us, called our attention to a city which stood on a lofty rock commanding every side from the finest position in the world. That,' said the Arabs, as we caught sight of it, between the hills, is Constantine—this is Africa—those who have seen only Algiers and the littoral have not been in Africa!' Grand and impressive is indeed the first view of Constantine, placed as by enchantment on its mighty pedes- tal of stone, in the midst of a vast mountain-bound panorama, where a treeless vegetation gives a wild appearance to the country in singular harmony with the Arab town. Queen of picturesque cities! on her rocky height, towering in pride of place, she overlooks all around. The rock on a nearer approach seems to have been rent asunder by some convulsion of nature, leaving a fearful chasm between the parts detached. Looking down into this abyss, the head swims on the giddy height. Below rolls a torrent, now seen in the depths beneath, now hidden by shelving rocks, again it appears, then losing itself for a moment in a cavernous opening, shows itself once more before it dashes down the precipice and forms the falls of the Roumel. A fall of water is beautiful when, amidst mountain scenery, in the stillness and solitude of nature, it rushes from under the dark foliage of trees and, leaping over perpendicular rocks, is thrown foaming from crag to crag till, with one last bound, all veiled in spray, it reaches the ground with a crash of thunder! The Roumel rolls its restless stream in a yet grander scene. High above its water—suspended in mid-air—a natural bridge,. which crosses the gorge, spans the abyss from aide to side, whilst higher up still rises the steep wall of rock, on whose summit stands an unseen city. Wild birds soar above, and below smiles a lovely valley, which owes its rich vegetation to the impetuous torrent, now a gentle river calmly flowing between its banks. But we have been carried away with the current, for we were speaking of the great cleft round Constantine. In this terrible opening eagles and vultures fly and scream, whilst on the roofs of the old houses which overhang its pre- cipitous edge a colony of storks build their enormous nests. As they stand motionless on their long legs on the tops of the buildings, they look like sculptured figures on the superstructure."
We will conclude our remarks on Mr. Gaskell's book—as he him- self would say—by quoting a few words at the end of the chapter- on climate, for the benefit of those invalids who are already planning for next winter, and whose eyes will have caught the title of this notice with a feeling of personal interest :—
"Man without sun is only half alive, he droops and saddens like everything in nature. In winter commend us to the land where the glorious orb of day brightly shines, where the trees and grass preserve their green, and the earth yields its fruits. As climate is a subject of interest to all, and is a serious question to many, we hope this notice on that of Algiers may be acceptable to our readers."
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