equal in power to Alexander the Great." They talk of him always as the model of heroifm to be imitated, but they know not who he was, Solomon, they fay, was the wifeft man, and the greatest magician, that ever exifted. Palmyra and Balbek, they fay, were built by fpirits at the command of Solomon. "POETRY and GENERAL LITERATURE.-They have a few poets, as they are called, whofe compofitions are mostly little fongs and ballads; but in thefe, as well as their profe writings, they differ widely from the fimplicity of the Arabs, as they abound with falfe conceits; and the language is a barbarous mixture of the Turkish with Perfian and Arabic, not unlike that " Babylonish dialect" of our puritans, which Butler compares to "fuftian cut on fatin." P. 197. As Egypt is now neceffarily become an object of general curiofity, our next extract fhall present the fituation and circumftances of that province of the Turkish empire, as they appeared to Mr. Eton. "I have faid that Egypt is independent: a few words on the pecu fiar relation of that country to Turkey will not be improper, perhaps, The divifion of the fpiritual dignities of the Mahomedans took place, A. D. 970, in an early period of their religion, and the Fatimite kalifs established themselves in Egypt, claiming to themselves the title of commander of the faithful, heretofore borne by the kalifs of Bagdad. "Both these kalifs fucceffively yielded to the force or policy of the Turkish princes. The laft of the Egyptian kalifs called in the Turks to his affiftance against the Chriftian crufaders, which fervice being accomplished, the new allies turned against the kalif himself, and frangled him, A. D. 1171, when a new dynasty cominenced in the pers fon of Salah-ud-din. "The Egyptian princes long maintained an independent power by the affiftance of their Mamaluk troops, until, in 1518, they were reduced to fubjection by Selim the son of Bayazet, and have ever fince remained attached, nominally at least, to the porte; but as their beys were not deprived of their power, and to this day each is governor, or rather fovereign of a diftrict, these in fact exercise a tyranny of the worst kind over a country, which would be one of the most productive in the univerfe, were property protected, while they render little either of tribute or submission to the porte. "This corps of Mamaluks is kept up, to this day, by Alaves bought from the fame countries, viz. Georgia, Circaffia, Abaffa, and Mingre lia, and moftly purchafed at Conftantinople, for their children, born in the country, are not admitted into the corps; indeed it is affirmed, and it is very remarkable, that they have but few children, and their families never extend beyond two generations. This is accounted for by their being greatly addicted to an unnatural vice. "The actual power refides in the Mamaluks, and the bey who has most of them in his fuite is confequently the moft powerful. As to the pasha fent by the porte, he has at different times had more or lefs influence, but is in general a mere cypher, obliged to fubmit to the will of the beys, who difmifs him when they please. They have fometimes fometimes entirely thrown off all appearance of fubmiffion to the porte ; and at prefent, as well as generally, their obedience is only nominal, and the pasha is in reality a prifoner in the caftle of Cairo, which is the place fixed for his refidence. The tribute which Egypt ought to fend the porte is frequently withheld, or, if tranfmitted, it is diminished by deductions for the reparation of canals, fortreffes, &c. at the will of the beys. Yet a long proceffion of mules and camels fets out annually from Fgypt, with the pretended revenue for the fultan, which, instead of filver, confifts mostly of bags of rice, and, not unfrequently, ftones. "The janizaries and Arab foldiers in the fervice of the porte, are but little able to enforce its authority, as they are few in number, and moftly compofed of artizans and perfons unaccustomed to arms. The Mamaluks, on the contrary, muit be allowed to be most excellent cavalry. "In the beautiful country and climate of Egypt, it is diftreffing to confider how little the advantages of nature are cultivated, and how much its evils are augmented by the ignorance and unaccountably grofs fuperftition of its inhabitants. "From a furvey of Egypt I turn to the northern part of the empire, to contemplate the provinces of Walachia and Moldavia, which, like the laft-mentioned country, are rather attached to the empire by treaty than by abfolute fubjection, and who retain at least independence as to matters of internal regulation; their inhabitants are, however, more oppreffed than perhaps any people in the empire; nor could they poffibly bear fuch exactions, were it not for the wonderful fertility of the foil," P. 294. The ninth chapter ftates the political condition of Greece, and the tenth, which is very important, confiders the Turkish empire with regard to its foreign connections. The concluding chapter inveftigates the British trade to the Levant, and has, among others, the following moft momentous particulars. "But it may be neceffary to examine a little more narrowly how far our quarantine regulations fecure us at prefent from the plague. After all that has been faid by Dr. Ruffel, it may appear indeed fuperfluous to touch this fubject again, but fince his excellent treatise has produced no amelioration of thefe regulations, his arguments cannot be too much enforced. I affirm, not only from my own knowledge of the nature of lazarettos, but from the opinion of officers of the health offices at Malta, Leghorn, and Marseilles, whom I confulted on the fubject, that our quarantine regulations are wholly ineffectual, and that we are conftantly expofed to the danger of having the plague imported from Turkey, by every vel which comes directly from that country. "ift. It is beyond all doubt effablished, that the miafm, effluvia, or whatever it may be called, which produces the plague, may remain in an active state, fo as to occafion infection, for a much longer time than is required for a veffel to load in Turkey, make her voyage, and perform quarantine in Great Britain. 2. It is equally certain that thefe fomites, or the impregnation of fubftances with reftilential miafmata, cannot be deftroyed but by airing a certain time, by fumigating, by washing, by moiftening with fuch liquors as are anti-peftilential, or by expofing to a fevere cold. Some of these deftroy the main in a fhort time, fome require a longer. 66 3. It appears from Dr. Ruffel' remarks (and he has been delicate on this fubject too) that notwithflanding all the fidelity and diligence of confuls, infected goods may be flipped for Britain, and the fhip which carries them have a fair vill bealth. of Now as merchandize performing quarantine in Britain and in Holland (where the regulations are ftill worfe) are never opened and properly aired, it follows that fuch quarantines are not fufficient to destroy the fomites; nor are thefe quarantines fafe with regard to other circumstances; for communication with thofe who fupply the paffengers and fhip's crew with provifions, &c. is not fufficiently guarded, and the paffengers and the crew, though they were not infected in Turkey, are liable every day, by touching the cargo or their effects, to catch the plague, and to communicate it to others; nor is fmuggling impoffible, as the lazarettos now are established. "It does not appear that the laws of this country will permit fuck a police to be obferved in lazarettos as is indifpenfably neceflary to fecure the country from the plague. "The officers of health have, in the Mediterranean, a power of putting to death immediately all thofe who violate the laws of the quarantine in fuch a manner as that contagion may be communicated, and their power is independent of the civil magiftrate or any other authority. For the mott trifling thing fmuggled, or endeavoured to be fmuggled, out of the lazaretto, the offenders are fhot dead the inftant they are detected. A perfon efcaping from the lazaretto, were it one hour before the expiration of the quarantine, is equally punished with immediate death, &c. &c. &c. "There are neither proper places, nor buildings, nor regulations, for performing quarantine in fafety in Great Britain, nor is the nature of quarantine understood in our lazarettos. It may be afked, how have we efcaped the plague fince the year 1666, when the latt plague in London entirely ceafed. I anfwer, chiefly by not admitting hips with foul bills of health from the Levant, and obliging them to perform quarantine in the Mediterranean fince that regulation took place, and by God's mercy only that vefiels with clean bills of health have not brought it. "What are we to do to be more fecure in future, will then be asked. The answer is very fhort and obvious; to oblige all veffels coming from the Levant, whether with far or with foul bills of health, to perform quarantine in Malta, in Leghorn, or in Marfeilles, &c. and then with the proper atteflations of the health officers, figned alfo by his Majefty's confuls in other ports, to admit them into Great Britain without performing a fecond and ufelefs quarantine. Trade would gain by this regulation, and we should be under no apprehenfion of the plague. The charges are fmall in the Mediterranean, and not more for us than for our rivals in trade, "Malta Malta is by far the beft port to perform quarantine in; the regulations are even more to be relied on than at Leghorn, as they are in fome refpects more fcrupulous; it lies more in the road of veffels coming home from any part of Turkey. It is true that masters of veffels, for many private reafons, which do not benefit their owners or the freighters, prefer Leghorn; but it is confiderably out of the track of their voyage. "With refpect to Holland, moft certainly, Turkey goods, and cot tons in particular, ought not to be admitted thence till they have been well aired; nor need we ever have imported fuch vast quantities, or any quantity at all from Holland or any other place, had the Turkey trade been free in Britain." P. 487. The author's account of his efcape from a very perilous fituation, may be found at p. 326, and gives an interefting In the progrefs of the work, fpecimen of Turkish manners. the reader will have frequent occafion to praise the labours of Dr. Ruffel, to commend the knowledge of Baron Tott, and to reprehend the luxuriance of Lady W. Montague's imagination. The fidelity of Mr. Eton cannot poffibly be difputed; and his work is perhaps the most circumftantial and satisfactory of the kind, that has been publifhed in our language. ART. IX. The Influence of Metallic Tractors on the Human Body, in removing various painful inflammatory Difeafes fuch as Rheumatifm, Pleurify, fome Gouty. Affections, &c. lately difcovered by Dr. Perkins, of North America, and demonftrated in a Series of Experiments and Obfervations, by Profeffors Meigs, Woodward, Rogers, &c. by which the Importance of the Difcovery is fully afcertained, and a new Field of Enquiry opened in the modern Science of Galvanifm, or Animal Electricity. By Ben. Douglas Perkins, A. M. Son to the 2s. 6d. Johnfon. 1798. Difcoverer. 8vo. 99 pp. "DOCTOR Perkins," we are told, p. 1, " had for many years entertained the opinion, that metals poffeffed an influence on the human body, which had hitherto escaped the notice of phyfiologifts. This opinion," he fays, "was the refult of fome phænomena, which in the course of his practice had arrested his attention." The phænomena alluded to, are The contraction of a muscle, as the point of the knife with which he was about to divide it approached its furface, and the ceffation of pain, when a knife or lancet was applied to feparate the gum from the tooth, preparatory to extracting it.' But But the Doctor might have obferved, that many of his pa üents ceafed to complain of the pain in their teeth, as foor as they entered his fhop, and before the inftrument was applied to their guins, fo that fear acts in the fame manner on the nerves as metals are fuppofed to act; and it is probable, that the contraction of the mufcle proceeded from the fame caufe. Be this however as it may, it does not appear that the Doctor had communicated his obfervations to his brother practitioners, or that he had fuggefted any ufes to which this power in the metals might be applied, until the experiments of Galvani, on the influence of metals on the nerves and mufcular fibres, were published. "From this period he began to turn his attention to this his fa vourite purfuit," as it is here called, p. 4, and fought with eagerhefs for fubjects which might enable him to afcertain the power of metallic influence when applied to the difeafes of the human body. In the courfe of an extenfive practice thefe were frequently found, on which he never failed to make fuch experiments as were calculated to accomplish his object. "The refult corroborated," the author fays," and indeed exceeded his moft fanguine expectations; for he difcovered, that by drawing over the parts affected, in particular directions, certain inftruments, which he formed from metallic fubftances into certain shapes, he could remove chronic rheumatifm, fome gouty affections, pleurifies, inflammations in the eyes, eryfipelas, and tetters; violent fpafmodic convulfions, as epileptic fits; the locked jaw; and indeed moft kinds of painful topi cal affections." The mystery in which the author involved his difcovery, and with which his operations were performed, gave, and feemingly with reafon, fo much offence to the Connecticut Medical Society, a large and refpectable body of phyficians, from all the different towns of that state, that the Doctor and his art feemed both, for a time, to be profcribed: and though fome of the members have fince ufed the inftruments, and made favourable reports of their efficacy, it does not appear that their teftimony has been fufficiently weighty, either to make converts of the majority of members of that fociety; or to procure the introduction of the tractors into general use in that country. How far the credulity of the English may be made to compenfate for the fcepticifm of, the American, is now to be seen. But the terms on which the tractors are offered, viz. five guineas a fet, does not feem calculated to folicit experiment. As inflamed eyes, quinfies, pleurifies, rheumatifm, and the other complaints for which the tractors are recommended, ate no lefs common than diftreffing, why by putting an extrava gant |