equal in power to Alexander the Great." They talk of him always a 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 say, were built by spirits at the command of Solomon.

"POETRY and GENERAL LITERATURE. They have a few poets, as they are called, whofe compofitions are moftly 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 " Babylonijh dialed" of our puritans, which Butler compares to "fuflian cut on Jatin." P. 197.

As Egypt is now neceffarily become an object of general curiofity, our next extract shall present the fituation and circum. ftances 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 peculiar 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 themfelves in Egypt, claiming to themselves the title of commander of the faithful, heretofore borne by the kalifs of Bagdad. "Both thefe 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 Arangled him, A. D. 1171, when a new dynafty commenced in the perfon of Salah-ud-din.

"The Egyptian princes long maintained an independent power by the affiflance of their Mamaluk troops, until, in 1518, they were reduced to fubjection by Selim the fon 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 district, these in fact exercise a tyranny of the worft kind over a country, which would be one of the moft productive in the univerfe, were property protected, while they render little either of tribute or fubmiffion to the porte.

"This corps of Mamaluks is kept up, to this day, by Alaves bought from the fame countries, viz. Georgia, Circafia, Abaffa, and Mingre lia, and moftly purchased 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 moft of them in his fuite is confequently the moft powerful. the pafha 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 bim when they pleafe. 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 patha is in reality a prifoner in the castle of Cairo, which is the place fixed for his refidence.

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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, inftead 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 Marfeilles, whom I confulted on the fubject, that our quarantine regulations are wholly ineffectual, and that we are conflantly exposed to the danger of having the plague imported from Turkey, by every offel which comes directly from that country. "ift. It is beyond all doubt effablished, that the miasm, effluvia, or whatever it may be called, which produces the plague, may remain in an active flate, 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.

འ་

2. It

2. It is equally certain that thefe fomites, or the impregnation of fubftances with peftilential miafmata, cannot be destroyed but by airing a certain tine, by fumigating, by washing, by montening with fuch liquors as are anti peftilential, or by expofing to a fevere cold. Some of thefe deftroy the miafm in a thort time, fome require a longer.

66

3. It appears from Dr. Ruffel's remarks (and he has been delieate on this fubject too) that notwithstanding all the fidelity and diligence of confuls, infected goods may be shipped for Britain, and the thip which carries them have a fair bill of health.

Now as merchandize performing quarantine in Britain and in Holland (where the regulations are still worfe) are never opened and properly aired, it follows that fuch quarantines are not fufficient to dellroy the fomites; nor are these quarantines fafe with regard to other circumstances; for communication with those who fupply the paffengers and fhip's crew with proviflons, &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 permi: fuch a police to be obferved in lazarettos as is indifpenfably neceffary to fecure the country from the plague.

"The officers of health have, in the Mediterranean, a power of putting to death immediately all those 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 magifirate or any other authority. For the moft trifling thing fmuggled, or endeavoured to be fmuggled, out of the lazaretto, the offenders are fhot dead the inHant 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, not 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 laft plague in London entirely ceafed. I answer, 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 veffels 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 thort and obvious; to oblige all veffels coming from the Levant, whether with fair or with foul bills of heatib, to perform quarantine in Malta, in Leghorn, or in Marfeilles, &c. and then with the proper atteftations of the health officers, figned alfo by his Majesty's confuls in other ports, to admit them into Great Britain without performing a fecord 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 Mediterra nean, 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 veffela coming home from any part of Turkey. It is true that masters of vellels, 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 cote 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 fpecimen of Turkish manners. In the progrefs of the work, the reader will have frequent occafion to praife 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 moft circumftantial and fatisfactory of the kind, that has been published 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 Discovery 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 Difcoverer. 8vo. 99 pp. 2s. 6d. Johnfon. 1798.

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 efcaped the notice of phyfiologifts. This opinion," he fays, "was the refult of fome phænomena, which in the courfe of his practice had arrested his attention."

The phænomena alluded to, are

"The contraction of a mufele, 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 separate the gum from the tooth, preparatory to extracting it."

But

But the Doctor might have obferved, that many of his patients ceafed to complain of the pain in their teeth, as foon as they entered his thop, and before the inftrument was applied to their gums, 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 mufele 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 fuggelled 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 favourite purfuit," as it is here called, p. 4," and fought with eager nefs 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 most fanguine expectations; for he discovered, that by drawing over the parts affected, in particular directions, certain inftruments, which he formed from metallic fubftances into certain fhapes, he could remove chronic rheumatifm, fome gouty affections, pleurifies, inflammations in the eyes, eryfipelas, and tetters; violent pajmadic convalfions, as epileptic fits; the locked jaw; and indeed noit kinds of painful tòpical 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 flate, 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 teltintony 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 ufe 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 feen.

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, are no less common than diftreffing, why by putting an extrava

gant