But whether the Ministers pawed them too much- But, in short, my dear, names like Wintztschitstopschinzoudhoff If he brings the whole alphabet, so much the better. POSTSCRIPT. By the bye, have you found any friend that can construe LETTER VI. FROM ABDALLAH,† IN LONDON, TO MOHASSAN,"IN ISPAHAN. I saunter on-the admiration Of this short-coated population This sewed-up race-this buttoned nation- But live, with all their lordly speeches, * Alluding, I suppose, to the Latin advertisement of a Lusus Naturæ in the newspapers lately. I have made many inquiries about this Persian gentleman, but cannot satisfactorily ascertain who he is. From his notions of religious liberty, however, I conclude that he is an importation of Ministers; and he is arrived just in time to assist the P-e and Mr. L-ck-e in their new Oriental plan of reform.-See the second of these Letters. How Abdallah's epistle to Ispahan found its way into the Twopenny Post-Bag is more than I can pretend to account for. Yet, though they thus their knee-pans fetter I own I like their notions quite, Or longs to flog +-'tis true, they pray To wear the established pea-green slippers! T They wash their toes-they comb their chins- And (what's the worst, though last I rank it) Yet, spite of tenets so flagitious, Green slippers, but from treasonous views; * "C'est un honnête homme," said a Turkish governor, of De Ruyter, "c'est grand dommage qu'il soit Chrétien." + Sunnites and Shiites are the two leading sects into which the Mahometan world is divided; and they have gone on cursing and persecuting each other, without any intermission, for about eleven hundred years. The Sunni is the established sect in Turkey, and the Shia in Persia; and the differences between them turn chiefly upon those important points which our pious friend Abdallah in the true spirit of Shiite ascendancy, reprobates in this letter. "Les Sunnites, qui étoient comme les Catholiques de Musulmanisme." D'Herbelot. §"In contradistinction to the Sounis, who in their prayers cross their hands on the lower part of the breast, the Schiahs drop their arms in straight lines; and as the Sounis, at certain periods of the prayer, press their foreheads on the ground or carpet, the Schiahs," &c., &c.-Forster's Voyage. "Les Turcs ne détestent pas Ali réciproquement; au contraire, ils le reconnoissent," &c., &c.-Chardin. "The Shiites wear green slippers, which the Sunnites consider as a great abomination."—Mariti. All orthodox believers beat 'em, And twitch their beards, where'er they meet 'em. As to the rest, they're free to do The same mild views of Toleration The tender Gazel I enclose GAZEL. Rememberest thou the hour we passed, As is the soothing memory Of that one precious hour to me! How can we live, so far apart? Like those sweet birds that fly together, LETTER VII. FROM MESSRS. L-CK-GT-N AND CO. TO ESQ.t PER post, sir, we send your MS.-looked it through- This will appear strange to an English reader, but it is literally translated from Abdallah's Persian, and the curious bird to which he alludes is the Juftak, of which I find the following account in Richardson :-"A sort of bird, that is said to have but one wing; on the opposite side to which the male has a hook and the female a ring, so that, when they fly, they are fastened together." From motives of delicacy, and indeed, of fellow-feeling, I suppress the name of the author, whose rejected manuscript was inclosed in this letter. Clever work, sir!—would get up prodigiously well- And though Statesmen may glory in being unbought, Hard times, sir,-most books are too dear to be read Though the gold of Good Sense and Wit's small change are fled, Rises higher each day, and ('tis frightful to think it) However, sir-if you're for trying again, An East-India pamphlet's a thing that would tell— Should you feel any touch of poetical glow, We've a scheme to suggest-Mr. Scott, you must know, And beginning with Rokeby (the job's sure to pay) Now, the scheme is (though none of our hackneys can beat him) To start a fresh poet through Highgate to meet him; Who, by means of quick proofs-no revises-long coaches May do a few villas, before Scott approaches Indeed, if our Pegasus be not cursed shabby, He'll reach, without foundering, at least Woburn Abbey. Such, sir, is our plan-if you're up to the freak, 'Tis a match! and we'll put you in training next weekAt present, no more-in reply to this letter, a Line will oblige very much TEMPLE OF THE MUSES. Yours, et cetera. This alludes, I believe, to a curious correspondence, which is said to have passed lately between Albinia, Countess of Buckinghainshire, and a certain ingenious parodist. LETTER VIII. FROM COLONEL THOMAS TO -, ESQ. COME to our fête,* and bring with thee Come to our fête, and show again That pea-green coat, thou pink of men! Which charmed all eyes, that last surveyed it; Oh! come-(if haply 'tis thy week Bring thy best lace, thou gay Philander! For that night only, means to hire Thou know'st the time, thou man of lore! * This letter inclosed a card for the grand fête on the 5th of February. + "Quem tu, Melpomene, semel Nascentem placido lumine videris," &c.-Horace. The Man upon whom thou hast deigned to look funny, The assertion that follows, however, is not verified in the instance before us: "Illum -non equus impiger Curru ducet Achaico." |