After very pathetically exhorting his auditors to deftroy the old heap of fuperftition, the Church, "It may be the fall of the old frame," fays he, "may hurt fome, as the house which Samfon pulled down, which killed fome of the Lords of the Philistines."-Now this was a homethrust against the Lords the Bishops.Again: "God shakes the old building, by discovering the abominations thereof; and by a miraculous turn upon the people's ANECDOTES of Mr. HOWARD. THE following characteristic anecdote Mr. HOWARD obferved, that he had found few things more difficult to manage than poft-chaife drivers, who would feldom comply with his wifhes of going flow or faft, till he adopted the following method. At the end of a ftage, when the driver had been perverfe, he defired the landlord to feud for fome poor induftrious widow, or other proper object of charity, and to introduce fuch person and the driver together. He then paid the latter his fare, and told him, that as he had not thought proper to attend to his repeated requefts as to the manner of being driven, he fhould not make him any prefent; but, to show him that he did not withhold it out of a principle of parfimony, he would give the poor perfon prefent double the fum ufually given to a poftillion. This he did, and difmiffed the parties. He had not long practifed this mode, he faid, before he experienced the good effects of it on all the roads where he was known. A more extraordinary instance of his determined spirit has been related to me. Travelling once in the King of Pruffia's dominions, he came to a very narrow piece of road, admitting only one cars riage, where it was enjoined on all poftillions entering at each end, to blow their horns by way of notice. His did fo; but after proceeding a good way, they met a courier travelling on the King's business, who had neglected this precaution. The courier ordered Mr. HOWARD'S poftillion to turn back; but Mr. HOWARD remonftrated, that he had complied with the rule, while the other had violated it ; and therefore that he should infift on going forwards. The courier, relying on an authority to which, in that country, every thing must give way, made ufe of high words, but in vain. As neither was difpofed to yield, they fat ftill a long time in their refpective carriages : at length the courier gave up the point to the sturdy Englishman, who would on no account renounce bis rights. KNOLL near SWANSEY. THIS is the beautiful Seat of the late Sir HERBERT MACKWORTH, at the Knoll near Swanfey in Glamorganshire, delightfully fituated on an eminence fheltered by woods, and combining all the beauties of wood and water. Here the late owner died, 25th September 1791, lamented by his relatives, and regretted by a very numerous set of friends. EPITAPH in TUNBRIDGE CHURCH to the MEMORY of the Rev. JAMES CAWTHORN, A. M. Hic fitus eft JACOBUS CAWTHORN, A. M. Qui Juventuti tum Moribus tum Literis inftituenda Opibus quas largâ manu distribuit Soror mosta ex grato animo hoc pofuit. Sir Herbert Mackworth's HOUSE at the Knoll near Swansey, Glamorganfhire. Morris del et sculp Published by J.Sewell 32 Cornhill,1791. ACCOUNT OF A TOUR MADE IN PERSIA, IN THE YEAR 1787, WITH REFLECTIONS ON THE MANNERS OF THE EAST. and CORRESPONDING MEMBER of the FRENCH ACADEMY of SCIENCES. EVER fince the year 1781, that I have tage of being level with the foil: trenches been at Bagdad, I have entertained a defire of doing fomething towards a knowledge of the geography of Periia; and to this I have also been incited by the letters of M. de la Lande. On the 6th of April 1787, I fet off with a defign to carry this project into execution. Hitherto Perfia has ever been regarded as one of the first empires of the East, from its antiquity and the magnificence of its Sovereigns; and, notwithstanding the many accounts of it given by various travellers, the public always receive fresh ones with avidity: this is a confequence of that ancient efteem in which the Perfians have been held by the inhabitants of Europe. Were Perfia the fame at present as it was in the time of the Sophis, or even in that of Nadir-Shah (Thamas Kouli Kan), I do not think I could give a better account than that of Chardin, the most judicious and learned traveller that ever visited that country. Though very few remains of the fumptuous edifices he mentions are now in exiftence, yet we may judge that his defcriptions are not exaggerated. With refpect to character, the Perfians are even at this day, amidst the revolutions with which the empire is torn, the fame as they were at the time of Chardin. The work of that Author is become scarce, and I think it would be rendering a fervice to the public to give a new edition of it, making it lefs voluminous by omitting many repetitions and epifodes foreign to the fubject, and eorrecting the geographical part, in which Chardin was neceffarily led into miftakes by taking the longitudes and latitudes from Perfian manufcripts. This talk would require an editor acquainted with the Arabic, and confequently capable of rectifying terms regarding religion and the fciences. Chardin confeffes that he had learnt only the Turkish and Persian; and that was a great deal. I left Bagdad in company with a numerous caravan. It took us fix days to arrive at the firft mountains which ter minate the Defert on that fide, and separate Perfia from the territories of the Grand Seignior. I call it the Defert, because it is a flat country; but the parts watered by the Delta are extremely fertile. This river, which rifes in Perfia, and runs into the Tigris below Bagdad, has the advanVOL, XXI. are cut from it, which conduct the water to the lands that are cultivated, and into the gardens of eighty-two villages feated on its banks. Thefe villages fupply with corn, in part at leaft, the city of Bagdad, which is unable to furnish itself with fubfiftence, though situated on a large river: for this river is at fuch a depth from the furrounding land, that it is almoft useless, and the neighbouring gardens cannot be fupplied from it but at a great expence, the water being drawn up in leathern buckets by oxen employed for that purpose from morning till night. The mountains which announce the entrance of Perfia are lofty, and form a chain that must be croffed. In afcending the one called Gebel-Tak we found no Imall difficulty. The path is narrow, on a flippery rock, and bordered with precipices. The mule that carried my aftronomical inftruments, confifting chiefly of a half-fecond pendulum, a telescope, and a fmail quadrant, ftumbled, and would have fallen to the bottom, had not a muleteer been at hand, who caught him by the tail, and held him till affiftance came up. After thirteen days march we arrived at Kermounshah, a fmall Perfian town, near which is an ane cient monument mentioned in many accounts of travels, but described nowhere that I know of; Chardin fpeaks of itih his ninth volume, but curforily and without having seen it. This monument is fituated at the foot of a lofty mountain, from which in the Spring iffues a confiderable ftream of limpid water, falling in cafcades and irrigating a beautiful plain. The place is called by the inhabitants Tak-Ruftam ; a name famous in Perfia, and which Chardin fays is the fame with Hercules. Others say it is Ferabat, another celebrated name of a Perfian King. We fee here, cut in the native rock, two halls refembling porti coes, one of which is nearly as big again as the other. The largest may be twentyfive or thirty feet fquare. At the bottom of this hall are four figures. The most confiderable, which is level with the pavement, is a toloffal equeftrian ftatue, holding a lance in one hand and a buckler in the other. It is in three quarter relief, the fhoulder only of the harfe and of the rider touching the rock. The warrior C has has a coat of mail, and his head is covered like that of our ancient knights. Above is a kind of cornice, over which are three other figures in bas relief and of a lefs coloffal fize. The middle one probably reprefents a fovereign; it is offering a cup to the one on the left, which, from its modeft pofture, has the air of being the minifter. From the cup water appears if fuing. The figure on the right reprefents a woman pouring out water. In my pinion, they allude to the neighbouring fountains, which iffue from this delightful place. The figures may be about eight feet high. The workmanthip is rude. On one fide of the hall are a great number of wild boars purfued by hun finen mounted on elephants. Thefe finall figures in bas-relief are pretty well executed. The boars feem throwing themfelves from a rock into the fea. On the water are four boats, in two of which are hunters drawing bows; in the other two are fix muficians playing on inftruments with ten ftrings. On the other fide of the hall are tags or deer purfued by horfemen riding full speed. There are alío camels and elephants; and in the middle is a perfon over whole head flaves are holding a parafol. On each fide of him are muficians. The finaller cavern has only two figures of the natural fize, and situated at the faither end. Near them are two infcriptions in writing unknown, which I copied, in order to communicate them to Ab. Barthelemy. From Kermounfhah till we arrived within three days journey of Ifpahan, our road lay through fine vallies abounding with excellent patturage; but they afforded little variety, and I found none of thofe picturesque views fo common in France. A fingle rivulet fcarce perceptible watered the plain; arid mountains and the fummits of rocks projecting like the fcolloped border of a garment terminated the view; but not a fingle tree was to be feen. Such is Perfia in general. The relations of aneient travellers are much exaggerated; and even Chardin was a little prejudiced in favour of the beauty of Perfia, and of its climate. The question, however, may be decided in few words, which no modern traveller will conteft: a country deftitute of wood and water cannot be beautiful. At a place called Sannah, two days journey from Kermounfhah, I met with fome trouble. Chriftians paffing this place pay a tax this is a trifle, indeed, when Perfia is under the dominion of a proper fovereign; but when I was there, every lord of a village being mafter, the tax was arbitrary. From the Khan of this village I experienced great moleftation: he made me open my trunks by force, took the box which held my papers and money, and would have broken it open had I not been protected by a Turk of Bagdad, who knew me, and, coming to my affiltance, took it from him, loading him with all the abufe a funni or orthodox Mufelman could bestow on a chia or proteftant one. I muft obferve on this occafion, that chriftians receive much more moleftation when travelling in Perfia than in Turkey. Every change of province expofes them to troubles from the arbitrary tax imposed on them by the commiffaries of the governors. In the Grand Seignior's dominions, on the contrary, they travel without hindrance. When they have paid the annual tribute, for which they have a receipt, they may go where they pleafe, on producing that paffport. Europeans, in right of treaties with the Porte, pay nothing. It is fufbcient for them to thow themselves to be fc. The towns we paffed from Kermounfhah till we arrived at Hamadan were in ruins. The laft mentioned city is at the foot of a chain of mountains called Alouend, which Chardin fays is a branch of Mount Caucafus. I was aftonished to fee thefe mountains, in the latitude of 34°, covered with fnow towards the end of May; particularly as they appeared to me far lefs lofty than the golden mountains of Auvergne. On mountains ftill lefs high, towards lat 36, I faw fnow in the month of July. Hence I conclude, that Perfia is an elevated country. Ifpahan, though fituated in a valley, retains for three months the fnow, which falls there in great abundance. From Hamadan to Ifpahan we paffed fome good land, but none of it is cultivated, except in the neighbourhood of the villages, which are very few in number.. Chardin fays (vol. iv. p. 9.), that not a twelfth part of Perfia is inhabited; at prefent it is much worfe, for I can affirm that one thirtieth is not inhabited in the northern parts which I traverted. The province of Hamadan, which is in Irak-Agemi, appeared to me better cultivated than the reit. As we were paffing the defiles of the mountains, we were a little alarmed by the appearance of fome hortemen: we had perceived them in the evening. The chief of the caravan was for fetting off instantly; but they who had molt at ftake refufed, faying," that it was too dangerous to pass the mountains by night." In doubtful cafes the Perfians have recourfe to divination, which is done in various ways. Commonly they apply to fome Mollah, who opens the Koran at a venture, and reads the first verfe, which he adapts to the circamftance |