CAPTAIN SCOTT'S RAMBLES IN EGYPT AND C AN DI A.

ALTHOUGH for the most part describing a country which ever since the days of HERODOTUS has attracted no small share of at- tention from authors, and in our time has been written about till the name of Egypt was synonymous with "bore, Captain SCOTT Rambles in Egypt and Candia possess much both of novelty and interest, from the character of the writer's mind, the nature of his pursuits, and the subjects he handles. In the first place, without being very profound, Captain SCOTT is

a quick observer, who catches the obvious characteristics of things, and presents them to his reader with liveliness and truth ; so that

his narrative of incidents and sketches of persons are humorous, and his descriptions of nature distinct. He has also an indepen- dent judgment, which enables him to see things as they really strike him, and not as others have described them. In addition to the professional knowledge of a soldier, he seems to have a general acquaintance with several other arts, as well scientific as mechanical, which of necessity give him variety and choice of subjects for observation. What is more than all, Captain SCOTT, in despite of professional biases, displays a large share of com- mon sense with a good deal of worldly experience, and possesses the health, strength, and capacity of endurance, necessary in a traveller amongst an imperfectly civilized people.

Moreover, the Egyptian route was rather new in itself, or de- rived novelty or interest from circumstances ; and Candia is almost untrodden ground. Instead of the usual tourist's route

from Alexandria to Cairo, and from Cairo up the Nile and down again, Captain SCOTT visited Rosetta and Damietta, threading the

Delta of the Nile (the lower part of Egypt) on land and water, and reaching the capital by making a wide semicircle round it. It is true that he also, like the Coeknies, traversed the valley of the Nile, and examined its curiosities ; but then, at Kheneh.he struck

off across the Desert, for Kosseir, on the Red Sea; trying by ex- periment the relative superiority of that route, instead of Suez, for

the talked-of steam navigation to India. To leave nothing on this subject unseen, he made, on his return to Cairo, a tour to Suez ; and discusses at the same time the feasibility of the Red Sea passage to India, and that by Moses and the Israelites. There are other subjects of interest too, which Captain Seim considers at length. For instance, the career and character of the present Pasha ; the tendency and policy of his measures; the nature and extent of the benefits which Egypt has derived from them ; the account to which England may turn his power, and the best mode of proceeding for that purpose. Upon all these points our author's views are broad, and succinctly presented; but dis- tinguished by that military morality which measures the justice of acts by their uses and success, whilst they are sometimes de- void of that philosophic spirit which, penetrating to the roots of a subject, prevents a person from building a parcel of" practical" theories, that are overthrown by the exposition of a single prin-

ciple. According to Captain SCOTT, the great end of MOHAMMED ALi's policy is to consolidate his own power by elevating the

character of the native Egyptians, or Fellatio; and he took the best mode of accomplishing this—C' nothing like leather ")— when he raised a native army. The Fellahs, argues our military philosopher, ground to the earth by the tyranny of the Turks, were content if their merest animal wants were supplied, and could not by any moral stimulus be induced to try and better their condi- tion. The physical force of the prescription, they, in their igno- rance, resist with all their might ; but then the drudgery of the drill-sergeant is over, a change comes o'er the spirit of the man. The excitement of service, the various objects met with in a campaign, and probably the indescribable charm attendant upon the exercise of the natural rule,

,g That they should take, who have the power, And they should keep, who can,"

expand their mind, enlarge their ideas, and turn the once despi- cable Arab Fellah into a man of the world, and a soldier fit to cope with any troops of the East,—as the Wahabees, the Greeks, and the Turkish soldiers of the Sublime Porte, have found to their cost. Still there are two difficulties that affect the plan,—one readily surmountable, the other dependent upon time and events. The native village serf cannot be stimulated even by the return of a brother

a martial in his air, His form, and movement,'

but remains as doltish as ever. It would therefore be well to draft new soldiers, not for mere recruiting purposes, but in order to scatter teachers in the shape of veterans over the land, just as we plant parsons to humanize parishes. The second obstacle is the deficiency of good oflicers with national feelings. The Turks, who fill up the higher ranks, are, according to our author, exe- crable; the majority of the Europeans arc mere adventurers, who have "left their country for their country 's good ; " and, from the absence of any distinction of ranks amongst the Fellahs, a familiarity injurious to discipline prevails between officers and privates. This, however, may eventually be removed, by means of the military colleges, the pupils of which will turn out with a due ider rf their own dignity. Of the Egyptian navy Captain Scorr has little good to say. The ships are badly officered; and the Oriental slippers and big trousers are not favourable to the monkey-like agility necessary in a sailor. The Pasha, too, has fallen into an error (natural enough in his case) of confounding effects with causes : seeing that the ships of war of the European nations are numerous in proportion to the power and commerce of the state, he has con- cluded that a large fleet would create those elements, of which it is in reality the creature. Nor are the kind of ships well chosen; consisting of large men-of-war, instead of frigates, which alone would be of use in his seas, and against the enemies he is likely to encounter.

Many of l■lollAsemen's schemes, our author admits, are wild and foolish enough; though they are not chargeable upon any want of prudence or sagacity in the Pasha, but arise from the necessity which an uneducated Oriental is under of relying upon his European advisers for all that relates to imitations of Euro- pean civilization. And as many of these men are totally devoid of principle, and have no other object than to make a rapid fortune, their recommendations are all dictated by self-interest. The manufacturing undertakings of the Pasha, so far as relates to arms, or any thing which concerns war, Captain SCOTT defends upon the principle of General JACKSON, that a nation should never be dependent upon foreigners for articles necessary to self- defence. The establishment of other factories he upholds, on the plea of their furnishing employment to many, who formerly de- pended for subsistence upon an agriculture precarious through the uncertainty of artificial irrigation in lands remote from the Nile. But as the whole annual means of a country are finally resolva- ble into the quantity of food it can raise or import, (and Egypt is not generally an importing country,) we do not see the logic of this; or how the manufacturers can be maintained except on the surplus food raised by the peasantry, and extorted from them by direct taxes, or by taxes in the shape of high prices for home-made goods : but perhaps this, like the army, is a stimulus. The home monopolies, it appears, are now abolished, or greatly modified ; and those relating to the foreign trade are necessary, it is conceived, from the want of "capitalists and landed proprietors," who could carry on an extensive commerce. The uses to which England may turn the dynasty of MOHAM- men are commercial and political ; the last being by far the most important, as we might make the family serve as a barrier to our Eastern possessions against the power of Russia. An invasion of India, at present, Captain SCOTT deems chimerical ; nor does he think that it will ever be practicable through the deserts of Tarte ry and across the Himalayan Mountains. Like the author of the Progress and Present Position of Russia in the East, he considers our chief danger will arise if Russia ever becomes a " protector " of Persia after CLIVE'S fashion, as:she will then have advanced her frontier so far towards India as to be able to pour in troops by land quicker than we can send them by sea, will encounter no obstacles on her march, and will have the resources of Persia at her disposal. The establishment of a frimilly military empire, possessing Egypt and Syria and extending from the Great Desert to the Euphrates, would not only raise up an enemy to Russia, more especially to her aggrandizement at the expense of Persia, but would render the invasion of India rash in the extreme, with such a power threatening the flank of the invading army. The plan suggested by our politico-militaire to secure these asivantages, is at once to acknowledge the independence of the .Pasha, thus making him our friend, and securing the succession to IBRAHIM; which, whilst his father only holds his power as a Viceroy of the Porte, the Sultan might dispute, and backed by Russia, success- fully.

The subject of Candle, or Crete, is fresher than that of Egypt. Its associations—Mount Ida, the education-place of Jove—the Cretan labyrinth—the remains of the Venetian rule, an the me- mory of their glorious defence against the Turks—are not incon- siderable. Its scenery, embracing every variety of character, from the rugged mountain to the myrtle-studded vale, whose growth is so luxuriant as to furnish a shade to the traveller, offers far more charms to the tourist than the sand and mud of Egypt. This part of Captiiii SCOTT'S book, however, though agreeable and picture,,que, and telling as much as a rambler could be expected to tell, is less important than his Egyptian Rambles ; though even here he is on the look-out for his country's interest. Candia, it may be remembered, was torn for some years by a worse than civil war between the Turkish and Greek inhabitants, during the time the Greeks of the main-land were contending for inde- pendence. In the course of' this contention, the island was devas- tated, and the popu'ation diminished fi OM 250,000 to 100,000 8)111F. At the close of the war, Candle was made over to the Pasha of Egypt, to prevent disputes as to who should have it ; and, though naturally fertile, such was the state to which it was reduced, that it does not pay its expenses ; and as, in case of a war, it would surely be taken from him, MOHAMMED does not think it worth while to be at the charges of a "thorough repair." Captain SCOTT therefore suggests, that England should get hold of it, both as a valuable yossession for its natural riches, and as a strong military post for keeping Russia and Turkey in check, and strengthening Egypt. The means of getting it are twofold-

"From what I have here etated, it may, I think, be infet red that Alohavutned Ali would gladly dispose of this, to him, worse than useless possession, to any power that would give him any thing for it hot if,, contrary to Lis own in- terest, he should demur, the alternative is to take it."

Leaving the Mere descriptive parts, or personal cceurrenceS Of these volurnes, for Matter which derives some interest ,from its political or commercial character, we will commence our extracts w ph a description of the DOCK-YARDS AT ALEXANDI;IA.

Of the modern sights of Alexarall la, the Naval Arsenal is the meat worthy of Potice, not alone on account of the magnificent scale of the establishment, but fir-an the deaf ee of perfection to whieh, in the short ti re it lila bean in existence, its different deft:nth:eats h.tve been la/walla Sarne him; ranges of landscape strum buildings, standing z.t. a voilet nienr iliemeae Irmo the if-licks,

contain the storehouses inal weak-Imes at: tie via depei 0.1 the ground. flaer are thnse of the carpentme, shipwrights. coopers, pump and %h e!: &c• and ah, the sttne-rootDs for heavy articles, such ea iron mill timber. Aliove, are cearelieusi for 1ider steres--einvas. bunt.

ing, clothing, matheinasieal n lathed iristrammtw and taller attieleaof

equipment ; also workshops for s tiltn diets, tailor, lat.. sela obroems,

and printiaga presses. A rape cv ilk occupies the eat:: e length of one of these buildings, alai is a timmand le•:t long.

The stores contain every thiag necesaary for a ship's eptuttit, even in. chiding furniture for the officers' cailar.s, cehieh are liar al tip, to the most trivial artieles, at the expense of the Viceroy. I was taw a Etch! sarprised to find that his Higlim ss'a munificence extel.d..1 even to the supply of and h:.;ir. &yokes far the 4.111.-ers' i'tbat of ilie small at tic!, a that are if fortigu manufacture are prt.eur. l from France ; and their supp'y 11:1. NT7'y 1111.1C11 thl2 appear ariao ef jea—noterioutly that of latir.brushe•s t. w a pee lila will keep their bead: chisel slamal — but ties ciaton sail.elath, for the

earairs' clothing, the hunting, Fer., *. are of Eayesien manufacture. Very

few things me Englieh, and of tla ar- i ou was the only article that 1ured conspicuusithy.

In the sta.:them-es, I naticed a.- • 1 swivel aims, of ahem. a peanal cali- bre: a few were Etiglish, but tl.- eti ,ter part were of native workinanaiiip. They were all fitted with pelcuasien aieas.

The windier of men empire. esi in the ski-se:ail umattats to thre s thousand. wts rather startled on receiving this ialormation ; but, c , upcvatils

r,f fifty men at work in the puatp-reena, a'. I. cielity tailors plying the needle in a: lather apartment, I became ea avian:A of its cerrect „ The werkaten, wi:11 very few exceptieas, are na-iv is of tb.• 'ry. and their work, considering the age at %chief, they eonia•eoetal lenniee thi•a• re. speetive tr ides, and the shirt time they have been empleyed at them, is fair • pri.ingly weal. The lot elm rt are meetly foreigners-an:ache:en. I: d

Malteae. The director of the est ablitianent and naval architect a isy Bey) is a rative of Frinee.

The pay of it fireman is abont t wo lttling nd the a.. pence per :iiieen ; that of a workman varies leo-Tits:1,s to the clegt ee it. prelieieney which he has ai- tained—froin one penny firthiay to lama peace. Semi, as are an the !invest rate of pay receive, however, en aline...nee of f ,,,1 io These are Scanty pittarwea, lelain compered witit th. t trtihts, in ocher cauntriss,

but by no tneanc to in a land where time is but seiden: eaten, am! :r ieli ail the articles eansidewil by the natives as the stecrsat it., of lip aro ta he ebtained for a mere wide.

AvAC.r.s AND pnli ES IN lair. DELTA.

The price of labour vat los in the Delta from t wenty pleas to a piastre a ri.ty the higher late being usually given neer the se i.claist, th It is to say, ia the vicinity of the rice grounds, where the woz k is ha: haw mal the priea I,f pro. visions g-ater. Sonic idea in ay he of th :r means of keeping life and soul together ort this slender pittatice, by the following awe arand ant of be stuas

paid by us in the Delta in our claim-ter of English travellers fowls, 11 piastre e ich ; ducks, 11 four laige Frezich tolls, I piastre ; twenty-four e,r,gs, I piastre ; two okes of dates, (about six pounds Engiisli) 1 piastre.

EGYPTIAN ARM :s.

The Egyptian muskets are longer in the barrel than those used in the British Army ; and their stocks being, at the sante time, lighter, they cannot hut have a tendency to drop at the muzzle. which n.ttst realer their tire very ineffective. The bayoneta, likewise, have hitherto been made somewhat longer time these used in our sets-ice, and were made to fix 0:1 in the French way ; bat our method of fixiag them has latterly laeelt add ided. and they have hem, reduce ii mu length ; the opinion begivaing to pi 05:111 that Eaglish bayonos Mal be quite long enough for any purpose that the F.yptiaii troops are likely to require them.

The musket.; for the Light Ittfantry are somewhat shorter and lighter than those with which the Line Regiments are armed. The heck •springs are, }-ee- haps, the best part of the work. The wood mieil in in tkitig the stoelis coarse-grained and not elalliciently se:tanned, t he workmanship I tale. Notwith- standing all these defects, a very respectable weapon would he ptuduced but for the French nindel, which is decidedly bad.

The sabres fur the cavalry are extientely had ; French models rayedr, oecia• slotting the fault. They are both ill.shimed and badly poised, possessing neither the cutting virtue of the seimitar, nor the straightness and solidity requisite for thrusting. 'chat worse than useless weapon, the short sword for infantry, is that of all ethers upon which the greatest paha( appear to be bestowed, whilst the lances are a. lat,1 as the weapon tolniita in beitig nu tile.

The vaages of the different artificers vary, au-cording to tlic ir abilitie a from one to three pi/sr:as a day ; but in the small-ariti manufactory they are paid by piecework, ml it is perfectly incredible for what a small sum the muskets are produced ; the expense of making a stock (the wood being furnished) amount- ing only to seventy paraa, or fourpence•halipenny.

SOVIETY AT ALEXANDRIA.

The society of Alexandria consists almost callus/rag of the Consular circle. It contains, ot course, many agreeable and well-iiihani:f1 persons; tel tra- vellers, provided with letters of introduction, easily obtain the entrc'e ; but the mercantile class, which, at the present day is, with few exceptions, composed of a very second•rate order of the profession, is by nu means nntill for hospitality.

Amongst the public amusements of the place may be reckoned frequent am r-

teur concerts; a theatre, where French plays are perforated; and subscription balls, to which all persona appear to be admitted, without distinction of caste, religion, or politic', the maze of the waltz mixing moat beterodoxically to- gether Papist., Protestants, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and afahattinieditris ; and it is by no means unusual to see even a hliiii Ilashee of Mohammed All's navy galloping (matigte the impedimenta of eapacilma nether garinenta anti slippers.) with the bright-eyed daughter of her Most Catholic :Majesty's Consul.

At one of the Kuniuns at which I " assisted," such was the variety of character and costuine, that it was with difficulty I could persuade myself I was not at a real fancy dress ball. Indeed, the delusion was reudered petfect by the truly ludicrous attempts of the Franks to make themselves at home in the Turkirh costume, and of the Greeks to appear at their ease in that of the Franks. Seine of the chaperons bad all the appearance, in complexion as well as-dress, of having been just released from a mummy state, and arrived from the catacombs in their ancient Egyptian costume. There were, however, many

vet y pretty girls in the room, though, with hut one or two exeeptions, all were badly (bossed, and I should say that a Parisian moitre•de danse (I helieve, by the way, that they are called professeurs now) and a couturiere would find it to their advantage to undertake a voyage to Alexandtia. A gaming-table was the centre of attractimi for many of the male kind, amongst whom. judging from agitated countemmees :ind nervous wrists, I con- cluded there was some high play.

MILITARY COLLEGE.

The village of Tourah is situated on the right bank of the Nile, about eight miles above Old Cdro. The College stands upon the margiu of the river, and its various buildings are disposed so as to enclose a large open spaCe, .which serves the double purpose of a play. ground and place of instruction. A brig of war, fully equipped, is moored abreast of the College, to afford. the students practieal means of learning naval exercises and gunnery. students are three hundred and forty in number, anti are divided into eight companies. By far the greater proportion lire Aral's, the rest Turks and Candiute Greeks. During tny visit, two of the Viceroy's nephews were reedy- tog their education at the Co lege. They were treated—excepting that they got :1 somewhat better dinner—in every respect like the other lads.

The age of admissiOn is from eleven to fifteen ; but Molenatned All has broken through the rule, in some instances, by sending young men of nineteen or twenty. Several have even came to school with an eatablishment of wives.

The students on first johling ahe College are merely required to be able to read and write Arabic: their course of studies itft mwards comprises arithmetic., geometry, alai:lira, military and 1 tialseane ul awing fortilmation, and foreign languages. In the last-named, they receive inatruction :wet-wiling to the par- tiettlar servive for which they are dear: tied ; those late:ailed fir the navy being tatight English, those for the army Feeneli, and such as have either taste or capacity far more tongues; learn Italian also. The Turkish language forms a per t of the education of all.

I remarked that the Arab youths aequired the prantinciation of French with rn ch greater fatuity than th..t of either English or Italian, which was ex. idailled to me as arising front ta grentar similarity to the Tiirliisli. They are occupied ten hours is illy at their vat inns studies, mid an hour :tail a half at out-door instruction, in artillery-practice or sinall arm and swim! exercise ; leavine them by far too small a proportion of the 'lay for recreation ; its fact, they ail looked ineatally ratigAted. The canduet of the lads, appeared very correct and oil:icily, itoh strait attention Is 1 vidensly paid to the elamiliness of their want of the eq.,hlishnient is that of proortly qualified prefessors_ mil ticulinly of lananages and drawing. 1haala.11 ito I Italien were taught hy a yomig eipaniard; French by a German, who, after a vain nut tempt to persuade 711a:hammed All that High Dote?' was the twat useful of naalern dialects, seceeedeil at length in cenvine. in him that a wide ayon mouth gives a peculiarly salt tarn to the final ants :.nd or n's if the French langeage.

'the It ills of study are small, bat lofty and airy, and otwupy the whole i font'

side of till' square. .itiether divisien lif the building romains the •hirmitories- eight large apirtmeots, each eapahle of accoinumdatitat an entire company of stash: a S They are set tipulonsly (-lea:), and to elidi is atbud.ed a washing. room. Every cadet has a separate hal imide rip on hoards and iron tretties, and is fur- mu-mini with a garde-role! for his clothes; Sat.

The reertary mutil kitchea tweimy another side of the square, and do equal

rtedit to the estildishment. The students are thramil in 1110:'1...1 of ten, and sipiat down round circular tables, the ploa: nj eaelt being markei by a piece of an I w,„„kr, spoon. They are fitruisi ed with but two meals a 1 iy-- for it crust of bread issued at daybreak, thonali al•rea.,:!hst, can haellly he called a meal ; the first at midday, the other at 'ii net. Fee!: vensista i.f ieup,

a stew of meat vegetahlra, end macearoni. The habit of eating tout of the same dish. helping themselves generally with their fingers; still obtains ; ren- dering a plentiful supply of tamper ketcles mid hot water necessary, to remove oastinately adhesive partieles of piste or grease, which cannot be displaeed frmii the fingers hy the usual Atab The feature of most immediate practical interest in the Rtteddes irt _Meiji)/ Lend Can hit, is that which relates to the proposed plans for a Steam Navigatioa between England and India ; the natttral or geo,,,phical points of which Captain Scorr pretty well exhausts in a veay short space. 'Ilse length of this nolice, however, and the importance of the subject, induce us to postpone a considera. tion of the question till next week; when we Shall take up the pamphlets of C HANDL AY mid BARBER as Weil as the work of SCOTT, and weigh the merits of this leash of Captains.