DR. HOGG'S VISIT TO DAMASCUS AND JERUSALEM. WITHIN the memory

of the present generation a journey to the Holy Land was in reality a pilgrimage to be accomplished with nearly as much difficulty and privation as during the middle ages, so far as regarded Palestine itself. The " march of intellect" in Turkey and in Egypt, the reforms effected both by Sultan and Pasha, and the influence upon Mahn metan opinion which has heels produced by the spread of European commerce, by the great events of the Napoleonic wars, and more lately by the successes the Russian im asions, have considerably lessened the risks of travel- ling. For some years past, Syria, Palestine, and Asia Minor, with the exception of Damascus, have been accessible to any tourist who could submit to the exertions and inconveniences of travelling in a semi-barbarous country ; and many movement-loving persons, both English and foreign, have extended their grand tour from Rome to Jerusalem and the Seven Churches. This was all very well in itself, but, unluckily, they were determined to narrate their adventures to the world without discriminating between the different positions of themselves and their predecessors. A person who tells us some- thing new is certain of attention ; and, if his information be incom- plete or superficial, his readers receive it with every allowance when it has been snatched up at the peril of his life and amidst the necessary hurry of a forced journey. But a man who travels rapidly over a beaten ground which is patent to the world at large can see but little which has not been seen already ; and his obser- vations not only want the freshness of' novelty, but this want is unredeemed in the reader's mind by the peculiar hazard or diffi- culty of making them. These remarks have an immediate applicationsto the work be- fore us. Had Dr. HOGG visited a country of which we knew but little, his publication would have been a valuable addition to our books of travels, but the districts he passed through have been lately traversed by several tourists, and, amongst others, by the Reverend VERE MUNRO ; who nut only sojourned in the same places, but appears to have devoted a longer time to the examination of their curiosities than the Doctor was enabled to bestow. Hence the value of his sketches on the road have been rather deteriorated by

the lateness of their appearance; for though the route of each traveller and the circumstances attending it were different, the generic features were the same. For this accidental drawback no blame whatever attaches to Dr. HoGG: his movements appear to have been in a measure regulated by a companion, and his own health required those valetudinarian conveniences which the more robust organization of his reverend predecessor enabled hint to laugh to scorn. These circumstances, however, are matter of regret ; for our author possesses a quick and keen perception of character, a terse and animated style, with an eccasional felicity of expression that would have enabled him to produce a series of capital sketches of Asiatic life, had time and opportunity been allowed him to study it.

Dr. HoGG introduces himself to the reader as having reached that point of life when a man may be allowed to consider himself as neither old nor young. After some years of successful prac- tice in England, lie retired to Naples, to repair the inroads made by laborious exertion on a constitution never robust; arid we are happy to learn it has afforded bum an agreeable tetreat. In April 1832, an opportunity "presented itself of accompanying an intel- ligent friend to the East;' and the Doctor gladly availed himself of it. Proceeding by sea to Alexandria, they touched at Sicily and Malta in their course, and remained long enough at each to enable our traveller to make some agreeable observations. At Alexandria he saw what there was to be seen; and amongst other curiosities the ruler of Egypt : he then set sail for Syria, and landed at Tri- poli. From this place he crossed Lebanon to Balbee, and thence passed on to Damascus ; where he arrived soon after its occupa- tion by the troops of Inamust PASIIA. His descriptions of this celebrated city and of its inhabitants occupy a considerable por- tion of his work; and after having exhausted the subjects which his time and means allowed bins to investigate, lie set off for Jerusalem by way of Sidon, Tyre, and Acre, passing through the district of the Druses, and calling upon Lady HESTRIL STANHOPE in his route. At the Holy City he was prevented by illness from instituting many inquiries,—a matter of slight importance in a spot which has been so often examined and described. As soon as he was sufficiently convalescent, he returned to Egypt and made a trip up the Nile to the second cataract, of which tour he gives a brief but spirited account in a single chapter. One object of Dr. Hoc° in publishing his travels was to throw a light on the present political condition of the countries through which he passed. His facts, however, are not sufficiently nume- rous or important to render this a very conspicuous feature in his work, and the conclusions to which they lead have little novelty. The main subjects of his Visit are the incidents of travelling, the scenery through which he passes, and the persons he meets. Of ntscuserara OF IBRAHIM'S ARMY.

One evening, at Jaffa, as I returned from a solitary walk on the shore, I re- marked, on passing a barrack, an Egyptian soldier, who hastily withdrew from an upper window. in a few moments be reappeared, and with an sir indicating rather contemptuous insult than misebievana intention, threw two large stones, which fell at my feet. This outrage I could only resent by a menacing gesture ; but resided to complain to the authorities of so gross a violation of the Pasha's promisee! protection. The Consul took up the of warmly, assuring me that 1 Amulet obtain justice; for he had himself with much satisfaction lately wit- nessed the punishment of three soldiers who had been detected trespassing in his garden outside the walls. Accompanied by the consular dragoman, I in- stantly sought the military commander, vas received with attentive civility, coffee and pipes were brought in, and my ccutplaint made with the usual for. malities. •A sergeant, promptly despatched to ascertain the offender, returned in a few minutes with a procession into the hall. First appeared two athletic men, beating huge sticks, then a soldier, with a countenance evident!' dis- turbed by apprehension. Two others followed, carrying a chain, attnelted to II pole, :red a few stragglers brought up doe rear. The process waa summary ; the dragoman, at my request; explainitig to me sentence by sentence what leased The culprit made his salaam ; and in reply to the qiuntion why he threw the stones, simply stated that hewing found them on the floor, he had hurled them from the vandow without 017scrving that any one was passing below. No further question was asked; but the ,Hirer, taking his pipe from his mouth, coolly pranotinemd " Give him fifty." The soldier, without as word, laid himself on the floor, kicked off his shoes. and in a moment his feet were firmly fixed in a loop made in the chain by the twusoldiers who held it Sleeves were instantly tucked up and the stick raised ; but ere it fell I sprung from the diem, and placing myself before the criminal, et:via:toed " La, la ! " (" No, no ! '') waving my hand to arrest the blow. I then desired tie drago- man to thank the commandant for his promptitude, tee request that the punish- ment might be remitted, and to assure him that the only of ei t of my appeal was answered ; for the soldiers, aware that Frank travellers were protect •el by the Egyptian in:eminent, would now be convinced that they ■seie entitled to respect. The officer, without moving a muscle, replied, If you wish him to be punished, there is the offender ; if you are satisfied, let him go." On leav- ing the barrack, I perceived that the termination of this diaagreeable affair was satisfactory to the soldiers ; for smiles, and Leib, nib (good, good), greeted me on every side. although the worthy Consul shook his heed when he heard the tale, fearing that such unprecedented clemency might tend to diminish Euro- pean importance.

The following is another example in a &Invent way ;—a proof of how soon a barbarian becomes an adept in scientific destruction.

ACRE MEE THE SIEGE.

Acre, of less extent than we had anticipated, and occupying a preqectinn e f land, with the sea enclosing a third of its circuit, is now a dreary, uninhabited waste—a melancholy picture of devastation and ruin. Clearly besieged for five months and twenty-one days, during which time upwards of thirty-five thou- sand shells were thrown into the town, not a single habitation has escaped un- injured. Wilde streets are blocked up with half-demolished houses, and others are filled to the first story with fractured remnants of roofs and floors. Every door and window has been torn down and consumed fur fuel, shattered arches and tottering walls still seem to menace destruction, and narrow passages through heaps cf rubbish afford the only access to various parts of the town. Oue of the principal bazaars it would he dangerous to enter ; and another, of spacious dimensions, has only been saved by au arched roof from entire destruc- tion.

Near the magnificent mosque built by the atrncious Jezzsr, a handsome foun- tain, within a sort of Chinese pavilion, protected by a beautiful grating of bronze, has happily escaped. Here a flight of steps leads into a court, sur- rounded by a half-demolished cloister, resting on small columns of coloured marble. The pavement, richly variegated, had been shaded with groups of palm and plane trees, and two richly-ornamented fountains were buried beneath the fragments of handsome domes. The interior, tidily lined with compart- ments of coloured marble, was surmounted with a spacious and lofty cupola, everywhere shivered and perforated. It was gaudily painted, decorated with Arabic ,inscriptions, end still sustained by fractured portions of a beautiful colonnade. On one side, near a gallery, stood a high pulpit of Cipolino marble, and the rich mosaic floor, cruelly mutilated and strewed with book covers, was heaped with broken masses of porphyry and granite, among which lay an enor- mous bronze crescent that bad fallen from the summit of the dome. Shot and aliens had here made feat ful havoc ; the books had been carried off as a trophy, and the cunt without was converted into a military station.

his qualifications and inanner we have already spoken, but a few extracts will give a better notion than any criticism. Here is a sample of THE FA It- FAMED EGYPTIAN A LMES.

So much has been said of the extraordinary performances of the Alines, or public dancers, who are always summoned to enliven with their exhibitions the festivities with which both Turkish and Levantine families celebrate marriages, baptisms, and other happy events that lead to the assembling of their friends, that we gladly took advantage of an offer made us to witness their skill. On this occasion, a corps de bad consisted of four female dancers, whose agile evolutions were regulated by an orchestra composed of three male performers, seated on the ground. One of these played the deleitner, the second a sort of violin with a single string, and the third a small tambourine inlaid with mother- of-pearl. The personal appearance of the ladies was any thing but attractive ; and their gaudy and bespangled finery such as would have equally suited per- formers of a lar class in the front of a booth at Bartholomew Fair. They were variously and curiously dressed, two of them only being natives of Egypt. One bad her hair arranged behind in long plaits, and to the extremities of these a considerable number of small gold coin were attached ; while others bad rows of these coins arranged round their foreheads or suspended in their ears. Their eyelashes were blackened with antimony and their nails stained with henna. The capacious trousers of one of the exhibitors were of gold and silver brocade, enriched with spangles, and the waist of this lady was encircled with a solid Cashmere shawl. Their necks and wrists were loaded with heavy metallic necklaces and bracelets, to which, in one instance, massive anklets were super • added. The ballet was commenced by a dancer whose steps were slow and little varied, but in the movement of whose arms there was occasionally some- thing graceful as she raised them over her head to strike together a pair of cymbals that she held in her hands. Another soon joined her, and proceeded in the same monotonous style; but the dance quickly degenerated into a species of revolting pantomime, an exhibition of looks and gestures without grace or elegance, and such as long habit alone could allow in any cola try to be tolerated. The tambourine player occasionally assisted the instruments with his voice, and some of his notes were not unmelodious; but his affected tones of tenderness were accompanied with so much grimace as often to produce a ludicrous effect. The whole scene excited only a keling of pity and disgust, and we quitted it before the first set of dancers, fatigued by their exertions, were replaced by the second.

The observations at Damascus, the stronghold of Mahometan bigotry, have not in themselves the variety and depth that might have been expected ; and such as they are they depend for their effect upon the perusal of the whole. The most striking passages too have been for some time before the public, through an early notice in the Foreign Quarterly. Quitting, therefore, the Syriac part of the work, we will close with a few passages from the European section, which, alter all, is the best and the most effectively written.

• MFRICANS AT MALTA.

In Malta I had remarked large arm-chairs, foruished with rockers, in two different drawing-roams, and one also in a shop that I casually entered, which led me to inquire if the use of such chairs, confined to the nursery in England,. was common here. To my great surprise, I was informed that she custom of using reeking chairs had been imported Ilion America ; and a lady, to whom the adventure occurred, greatly enteitained me by relating the effiect produced on herself and her daughters by the first sight of a family rocking scene. This lady, soon after her arrival, had occasion to return a visit to an Ame- rican family, recently settled here. The party visited consisted of a father, mother, and three grown-up young people, all somewhat of a tall, spare make, with that sort of primitive mien which seems to characterize the inhabitants of some of the S'tates. 'flue visitors took their places on a sae in the drawing• room, and the family arranged themselves opposite, according to their seniority, in arm-chairs. When the first civilities had pais( 41, and conversation had begun to big, the lady of the house, whose appearance and cap were al he some. what starched, proceeded with touch comp sure to rock herself in her chair. The young peepa—their civil speeches concluded—with our easy unconcern, one by one, fullowel their mot liet's example. At !earth the father, who had hitherto borne the print:irel burden of conversation, seemed uticanacionedy to fill into the same. movement. Thus seated, is rather an awful semicircle, and all gently indulging in the same soothing exercise, tire impression up op the strangers was quite astounding. The lady, who had baldly recovered from the effects of her voyage, began to grow dizzy, and to think with dismay of what she had sagged un board ; while her young companions, highly entertained with so novel a scow, had great difficulty to restrain their mirth. The' gladly made their visit as short as was consistent with the co etomary forms, heat tily rejoiced to make their escape without disturbing the gravity of the party by an involuntary langh.

A HIGHLAND MARTINET.

The Highlander, wherever he server, still maintains his ancient national cha. raeteristies. Mae, as elsewhere. lie is distinguished by a lofty, independent bearing, that almost amounts in appearance, but in appvalance only, to an inso- lent insubordination ; and he not unfrequently exhibits a somewhat arrogant aesumption of knowing exact!y his duty and 'legged determination nut to overstep it a single inch.

This has recently been exemplified in a ludicrous occurrence that took place here. A medical officer nut very popular in the regiment observed one day, on quitting the military hospital, that a Highlander no duty did nut give him the customary salute. Time decker stood still, looking fiercely at the sentinel, ite well to remied hint of hie mglect as to afford him an opportunity of repai:. ing his remissness. "What fur d'ye kola at me?" said Sandy, with an °mope toss of the head and a sarcastic wrinkling of the upper lip and nose. "lieu don't know me, pedlars?" replied the outraged E-culeplaa, "or don't know your duty?" "now ye !" said Sandy, with a look of ineffable disdain ; "I know ye wed coon, and know my duty ton ; and that is to salute tha uniform of the service; but if folk choose to come bete without the regulation cap, they need nu' look for the compliment fru' the like o' me."

ILLNESS AT SEA IN MAN AND BRUTE.

The complicated miseries of an illness at sea can only he estimated by those who have only] tunatelv experienced them. Every retain of space on board is necessarily appropriated to its special use ; and doe is so nicely calculated, that the wretched sufferer is in every body's way, and thus feels acutely the embarrass- ment of his involuntary helplessness. The imprisoned inmates of a loaded vessel, ill at ease, pillages, themselves with few external objects to occupy their attention, went to allow a portion of the ordinary char ities of human nature to become dormant. Scarcely a word or look of sympathy is bestowed upon the invalid ; "few and far between" are the inquiries bow he fares; and it seems as if the customary restraints of civilized society alone saved him from being trampled upon by every passing foot, or thrown overboard, like arty other

nuisance. •

I now quite understand the feeling that impels our wretched fowls in the hencoop to harass and drive from thew food such of their companintis as droop and hang the wing. Rendered furious by the irksomeness of confiewinent, in a space that hardly allows them to move, their animosity is directed against those deprived, by debility, of the power of self-defence. One of these miserable victims let out to day upon deck as a relief from incessant persecution, instantly flew into the sea, as if resolutely bent upon self-deatmetion. A boat was im- mediately lowered, our live stock not boug abundant; but its apparent design had succeeded so well, that before it mad be taken up its sufferings had come to a dose.

The author informs us that, since his return, a British com- merce has sprung up with Damascus, which he thinks will lead to important results ; and in an Appendix he furnishes a short account of the commodities which are imported thither, and the return the Damascenes are enabled to yield. That, under a tolerable government, the inhabitants of Asia Minor would be- come large consumers of manufactured goods, and producers of many of the most valuable raw commodities, there can be no doubt. But to accomplish this will require time : the habits of a nation cannot be changed as quickly as their rulers or their forms of government ; or skill and industry substituted at once for awkwardness an sloth. lf, however, the prospect of immediate advantage were greater titan we believe it to be, we should be un- willing to aim at procuring it by the costly means which Dr. HOGG S suggestions would end in. To him, in his retreat at Naples, Eastern interference, followed by an Eastern war, might be an agreeable excitement ; but those who live in England naturally consider the probable cost of endeavouring to accomplish paper possibilities.