the rest for the interior. Damascus imported in 1836, 4,533 okes, and in 1837, 5,055.

Salammoniac.-8 cantars, or 1,600 okes, are annually required for Damascus, chiefly from Britain; whence Aleppo also received, in 1836-7, 2,450 rottoli; ruling prices 24 to 26 piastres. One third is consumed at Aleppo, the rest goes into Mesopotamia and the interior. Damascus received in 1836, 1,128 okes, and in 1837, 3,794.

Tin plates.-The Aleppo consumption is extremely limited. Damascus uses but 400 cases annually. In 1836-7, Aleppo received from England 84 cases of 225 plates each; ruling prices 250 to 280 piastres per case. Two thirds used at Aleppo, the rest in the interior. Damascus imported in 1836, 106 boxes, and in 1837, 169.

Woollen cloths.-None are received from England; a very small and unsuccessful trial has been made, both at Aleppo and at Damascus. Syria is supplied from France with the Languedoc cloths, and some are received from Trieste, of the Belgium manufacture, which are fast taking the place of the former. In 1836-7, Aleppo received from France 398 bales, of 12 pieces each, of various qualities; each bale valued at 4,000 to 6,000, and as high as 80,000 piastres; half is used at Aleppo, half is exported to the east. Only a bale or two are imported from Italy. Germany sent 44 bales through Trieste, of 12 pieces each, and valued at 8,000 to 10,000 piastres per bale. It is similarly disposed of. Damascus, in 1836, imported 6,401 pieces, in 1837, 2,819.

Silk goods. Of manufactured silks, none are received from Great Britain. Aleppo imported, in 1836-7, from Lyons, only 10 cases, each of 10 pieces of 35 pikes each; ruling prices 10 to 60 piastres per pike. French silks are not consumed at Aleppo, or in Mesopotamia, but they are generally purchased by the Persians. Damascus imported, in 1836, none, in 1837, 1,101 pikes.

Tarbonches, or red skull-caps.-None are received from England. Aleppo had from France, in 1836-7, 64 cases manufactured at Tunis. Each case has 50 dozen; ruling prices 200 to 400 piastres per dozen. The total quantity imported is 3,200 dozen, half for Aleppo, half for the interior. From Italy came 255 cases, generally Tuscan, each case of 70 dozen, equal to 17,850 dozen; ruling prices 70 to 120 piastres per dozen; one third for Aleppo, the rest for the interior. The Egyptian government manufactured what were wanted for the Egyptian army. Damascus imported, in 1836, 15,142 dozen, in 1837, 11,291.

Paper, for writing and common use, comes chiefly from Italy and France. Aleppo imported, in 1836-7, from France 280 bales of wrapping paper, of 30 reams each, at 10 to 12 piastres per ream; half for Aleppo, half for the interior. From Italy were received 166 bales, of 20 reams each, 25 to 40 piastres per ream, which met the same disposal. Damascus imported, in 1836, 19,299 reams of writing, and 5,940 of wrapping paper, and in 1837, 10,540, and 2,436.

Glass ware.-None comes from England; it is imported by Trieste from Bohemia. It is generally common ware, though some fine specimens are consumed by the higher orders. Aleppo received, in 1836-7, from Germany, 50 cases, which were disposed of there, being sold in retail to people coming from the interior, and a small portion is also sent to Bagdad.

Coral. The markets of Syria are wholly supplied with manufactured coral from Genoa. Aleppo received, in 1836-7, 25 cases, of 10,000 to

50,000 piastres value. About 8 to 10 cases are sold in Aleppo, to the Persians and Bedawin, and the remainder is sent to Bagdad and Persia― say one third at Aleppo, and two thirds exported. Damascus imported in 1836, 45 okes, in 1837, 167 okes.

Slave trade." It is not carried on in Syria to a great extent. In the houses of the opulent a few negroes are seen, and among the wealthy Moslems generally one black eunuch at least, but the annual importation is small and diminishing. The supplies come down the Nile, and are shipped at Alexandria. Black slaves are never employed for field labor in any part of Syria. For household purposes they are seldom engaged, except in the harems, there being a sufficient supply of domestic servants, which, in Egypt, cannot be found among the native Arab races. black slaves who are fortunate enough to be purchased for the more opulent Moslems, are well treated, and frequently comfortably settled by their masters, after a certain period of service. Their intermarriage with whites is not discouraged.

The

White slaves."The price of these has considerable augmented in Syria since the Circassian war, in consequence of the diminished importation. Dr. Bowring saw a Georgian Mameluke, of about 10 years old, sold at Nabulus for 7,000 piastres, equal to £70 sterling. One of the happy consequences of the non-arrival of slaves is, that the motives to the preservation of life are greatly increased by its increased value. The paternal ties are weakened in countries where the loss of children can be easily supplied by the purchase of slaves, and where the distinctions between the bondman and the free are very slight-so slight that the Mamelukes of a master are frequently more advanced than his own children, towards whom the habits of polygamy also seem to weaken the bonds of affection.”

ORIENTAL CHARACTER, &c.

"There is in the inertness of the oriental character, a great impediment to commercial development. The habits of the people are opposed to activity, and the motives which elsewhere lead to the gradual, however slow, accumulation of property, are faint and insufficient; for the rights of property are but vaguely recognised, and a continuity of effort in any case whatever, is of very rare occurrence. The examples are few in which opulence is reached by a continuous dedication of energy and attention to a given end. Most of the wealth possessed by the Mussulmans has been the result of conquest-of the power of oppression, or of some fortuitous and accidental circumstances. It rarely happens that either agriculture, or manufactures, or commerce, is the source of a Mohammedan's opulence. Slow and careful accumulation is a rare virtue in the east. Where fortune visits, her visits are sudden and liberal; but as every thing is held by a slight and uncertain tenure, the possession of one day is succeeded by the poverty of the next; and if there be, as there almost universally is, a want of those untired exertions whereby, in Christian nations, men so frequently amass riches, still more is there a want of that prudence and foresight which check the march of destruction. No element in the Mussulman character is more opposed to the sound commercial principle, than their indifference to the progress of decay, their unwillingness to repair the ravages of time. Even when a little attention and a little expense would prevent a building or an establishment from

falling into ruin, nothing is done to arrest the march of destruction. If an edifice be shaken with an earthquake, it is abandoned-it is seldom or never raised again on its foundations; that which is overthrown is never rescued or renovated. A ruined building, like a felled oak, remains in the dust forever. Even in the populous parts of some of the great cities of Syria, the heaps of ruins which have been left in the pathways by successive earthquakes, have not been removed. A few hours' labor would clear the wrecks away, but the passengers prefer to clamber up and down the piles of stones and fragments, rather than to displace them. So little disposition is there to alter or to interfere with what has been, that," continues Mr. Bowring, "we found the apartments of the castle of Aleppo in precisely the state in which they were abandoned to the conquerors; the halls strewed with armor, covered with broken bows, quivers, and arrows in tens of thousands, and numberless despatches with the sultan's signet, still scattered about the floor.

"Added to these obstacles, and operating in the same direction, the unchangeableness of the Mohammedan usages and institutions, is an almost invariable impediment to the development of commercial prosperity. The merchant is rarely an honored being. Those who wield the power of the sword and the authority of the book, the warrior and the ulema, are the two really distinguished races of society. All productive labor, all usefully employed capital, is regarded as belonging to something mean and secondary. In the ports of Syria, the presence of Europeans has modified, to some extent, the commercial usages of the country; but in the towns of the interior, in the great depôts, the bazaars represent the same system of commerce which existed many hundred years ago. Huge kahns receive the foreign merchants, who come with caravans from remote regions, and carry on their trades, both of sale and purchase, precisely as it was conducted by their forefathers. The bazaars are divided into different regions, such as that of the druggists, of spicemen, of the woollendrapers, of the silk merchants, of the traders in cotton goods, the shoemaker, the garment seller, the ironmongers, and a variety of others. Each generally has a separate street for its particular department, and the sale and purchase of goods are carried on with considerable formality. The buyer goes to the shop of the seller-is treated to coffee and a pipe, and he then discusses the merits and the price of the merchandise in which he trades. The bargain is generally of slow arrangement. Independently of the bazaars, there are certain days on which auctions are held, and all sorts of goods are paraded up and down for public sale."

"But notwithstanding all impediments and difficulties, wherever repose and peace have allowed the capabilities of Syria to develop themselves, production and commerce have taken rapid strides. One of the immediate consequences of Ibrahim Pasha's conquest was, a sense of security, the establishment of an improved police, and an immediate extension of trading relations, principally due to the presence of Europeans. When the policy of peace was interrupted, commercial intercourse was deranged; the amount of imports and exports diminished, the number of merchants from foreign countries sensibly lessened, and the hopes of progressive improvement were all checked and disappointed. But both for agriculture and manufactures, Syria has great capabilities. Were fiscal exactions checked and regulated, could labor pursue its peaceful vocations, were the aptitude which the country and its inhabitants present for the development of

industry called into play, the whole face of the land would soon be changed. It appeared to me," continues Mr. Bowring, "that there was a great disposition to activity among large bodies of the peasantry, and much skill among the manufacturing laborers of the towns. There would, if properly encouraged, be no want of demand for European articles, nor of the means of paying for them; and among the articles most required, those furnished by British industry are particularly prominent.

"But the articles for which the sale would be most likely to extend, are such as, having undergone a process of manufacture as raw materials, lend themselves to further and final manufacture,-such as iron, copper, and tin plates for the making of sundry vessels; threads and yarns of silk, flax, woollen and cotton, &c. These and other such would be suited by oriental skill to oriental taste, better than western ignorance of those tastes could possibly fashion them. I noticed a reflux of opinion favorable to the manufactures of the country, they having already greatly benefited by the import of the half-wrought materials to which I have been referring; for in the finishing of most articles, the Syrians are not wanting in dexterity and experience; they have, like all orientals, a pretty accurate sense of the beauty and arrangement of forms and colors; the patterns they work, though not very varied, are generally graceful; their dyeing is excellent; their artisans dexterous and intelligent. They use, for the most part, a rude machinery, but their wages are high enough to keep them in tolerable condition; and were some of the modern improvements* introduced, there would be a revival of manufacturing prosperity."

ART. IV.-COMMERCIAL VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES.

CHAPTER IV.

VOYAGE OF PEDRO ALVAREZ CABRAL.-VOYAGE OF JUAN DE NUEVA.-SECOND VOYAGE OF VASCO DE GAMA.

A NEW expedition to India was immediately resolved upon, and Pedro Alvarez was selected to command. It consisted of thirteen vessels, and twelve hundred men, besides a goodly missionary establishment of priests, monks, &c., who had orders "to begin with preaching, and if they found that would not do, to then try the sword." They set sail on the ninth of March, 1500, and after being drawn well over to the west, on the twentyfourth of April discovered strange land, to which was afterward given the name of Brazil. After landing at several points, and setting up stone crosses, and having communication with the natives, whom they found well disposed, they left two criminals to inquire into the state of the country, and resumed their voyage to the cape. A few days after, they saw a large comet, and encountered a terrible tornado, by which four ships, with all their men, were lost, in one of which was the celebrated Bartholomew Diaz, the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope.

After a succession of storms, the formidable cape was passed, and the fleet came to the neighborhood of Sofala, where they captured two Moorish vessels. Passing on to Yuiloa, they made a fruitless attempt to trade with the king, who at first, taking them for Moors, promised to pay in

* Such as the Jacquard loom, for instance.

gold for their merchandise, but who, when he found out they were Christians, pretended that the goods did not suit his market, and the Portuguese were compelled to go on to Melinda. Here they were again well treated, supplied with refreshments, and with two pilots for Kalicut.

On the thirteenth of September, Cabral arrived off Kalicut. Much time was lost from the mutual distrust on both sides, but at length hostages were exchanged, and Cabral visited the samorin, taking with him the present from the king of Portugal, which consisted of several pieces of rich silver plate, cushions of cloth of gold, a carpet, velvets, gold lace, and some pieces of tapestry. The samorin gave permission to establish a factory, and promised to load the fleet with spices and drugs; but the Moors again interfered, as in the case of De Gama, and continual quarrels and misunderstandings took place. The Moors, resolved to bring matters to a crisis, openly violated an order the samorin had given Cabral, for the exclusive purchase of spices, and commenced loading one of their vessels before the cargo of but two of the Portuguese ships had been completed. Cabral, judging that the Moors were acting by the connivance of the samorin, sent to complain of the breach of faith, and the delay which it occasioned. The samorin pretended to be highly incensed, and sent word that he might have liberty to search the Moorish ships that had violated his order. Wishing to bring matters to blows, the Moors commenced lading a ship openly. For some time Cabral refused to take any notice of her, but at length, urged to it by pretended friends, he sent his boats and took possession of her. As soon as this was known, the Moors assembled in a tumultuous manner, and inciting the populace of the city to aid them, they proceeded to the palace of the samorin, and demanded and obtained permission of the weak despot to attack the Portuguese factory. The first party of Moors that advanced were so few that the Portuguese thought it necessary merely to defend the gates with their cloaks and rapiers, but the numbers rapidly increased, and they were compelled to mount to the walls and use their cross-bows. At length they were pressed so hard, and by such an overwhelming force, who were getting up battering engines against the walls, that they were compelled, as a last resort, to make a sally by a gate leading to the beach, in hopes of escaping by the boats. They were closely followed by the crowd, and after performing prodigies of valor, and slaughtering an immense number of their enemies, twenty of them succeeded in getting clear. Among the survivors, was the famous Duarte Pachaco Pereyra,* who first distinguished himself in this expedition, and whose desperate valor soon rendered him famous throughout all Europe and the east, and the hero of a hundred ballads.

Cabral took a speedy revenge. He attacked several ships that were in the harbor, killed six hundred men, seized upon their cargoes of spices and drugs, and burnt the ships in sight of the enraged Moors. He then

*The exploits of the gallant Pachaco equal the most extravagant actions of the knights of romance. No disparity of force was too great for him. With one hundred and sixty men, and two or three small vessels, he repeatedly attacked a large force that had been brought against the king of Cochin, an ally of the Portuguese. He destroyed their ships, with several thousand men, and attacking them by land also, with the aid of three hundred natives, he at one time routed fifteen thousand men, and burnt several towns. At the end of five months, his enemies had lost twenty thousand men out of fifty thousand, and were compelled to give up the contest.