The heir of heaven, henceforth I fear not death: Yes! but not his-'tis Death itself there dies.'-vol. ii. p. 151. ART. II.-Journey to the North of India overland from England, through Russia, Persia, and Affghaunistaun. Lieut. Arthur Conolly. 2 vols. 8vo. London. 1834. IT By is not very long since the grand vizier of the King of Persia asserted that a man's head would not be worth ten shahis (10d.) who would venture to go to Balkh. Behold, in the face of that assertion, a young Englishman arriving at Tehran, with the safe and beaten road of Ispahan, Shiraz, and the Persian Gulf before him, determines to abandon it, and facing an almost unknown region teeming with barbarous fanatics of every sort, to encounter the numberless dangers by which it is thronged, and so seek his way to his countrymen in India. Lieutenant Conolly tells us in the most modest of prefaces, that his apology for submitting this work to the notice of the public must rest upon the circumstance of his having travelled by a new route and through very interesting countries.' When it is recollected how full of difficulty was the undertaking, we are quite certain that the public will appreciate the spirit and enterprise which impelled him. In truth we owe him a great deal-the usual overland routes to India, both by Egypt and through Persia, are too well known to require more information concerning them; but the Russian road, if we may so call it, is still open to much investigation. It has hitherto been but little travelled-the passage of a Frank along it, should he adhere to his shaven chin, his tight pantaloons, and his swallowtailed-coat, would be as great a curiosity to the inhabitants which border it, as the elephant which walked all the way through Russia, equipped in boots, sent as a present from the Shah to the Emperor Alexander, was to the Muscovites. Mr. Conolly is the first, we believe, who has ventured to adopt this route proceeding from Europe, and we consider this undertaking more difficult than that of the traveller who comes from India. In the one case he arrives from a quarter more open to suspicion, for the impression which a stranger creates upon the ignorant Turcoman and Affghaun is, that he is a Rus; while in the other, the traveller who during his sojourn in India has had time to imbue himself in the character of of an Asiatic, comes from a less suspected region, and can more easily pass unnoticed. Leaving London in August, 1829, Mr. Conolly proceeded to Petersburg, whence he had at first determined to pursue the usual line by the south of Persia; but conceiving that he might get to India by a more direct overland route, and being desirous of adding to the information already obtained respecting certain interesting and little-travelled countries, he resolved to attempt a journey via Khiva, Bokhara, and Cabul, through Khorassan and Affghaunistan, to the Indus. He, therefore, abandoned his English party, and engaged as a companion, Syud Karaumut Allee, an unprejudiced, very clever, and gentlemanly native of Hindoostan. We must take this early opportunity of saying that we do not approve of Lieutenant Conolly's mode of writing Oriental names, some of which are so universally adopted in European literature, that it is quite absurd to think of altering their aspect to our eyes. Why write Allee for Ali, and why should our old friend Turk be now introduced as Toork? Throughout we have Vuzeer for Vizier-and so on. All this sort of thing is silly affectation. Upon reaching Tabreez, he engaged two servants, purchased three ambling galloways, and hired mules, and on the 6th March, 1830, took leave of his friends, and rode away from that city. At Tehran, he shaved his head, and having allowed his beard to get two months start, he flattered himself that, as soon as the weather should have tanned his neck, he might exhibit himself in the face of all Asia as an accomplished Kizzilbash. He then proceeded to Asterabad, where he assumed the character of a merchant bound to Khiva, and bought red silk scarfs, Kerman shawls, furs, large bags of pepper, ginger, and other spices. Happy are we who can travel further than from Asterabad to Khiva, with no other baggage than an umbrella, a cloak, and a portmanteau, and that we do not require the pomp and circumstance of pepper, ginger, and other spices, to announce who we are! But all this was absolutely necessary in the case of Lieutenant Conolly;-or rather, so he thought; for indeed, had we been his advisers on this occasion, and we have had some experience of the Eastern world, we would have said, take no such things-they announce wealthyour object is to assert poverty-make yourself as poor a wretch as you can-look as much like an Irishman coming to seek service in Marylebone as possible. You tell us that among your comforts you have taken a small bag of raisins, tea and sugar, and a bottle of vinegar-how is this? these are unpermitted luxuriesthey may lead to your destruction-you must live as you cana blue shirt, a pair of trousers, a sheep's skin and a staff, are all that . that we can allow you. We would have confirmed what the lieutenant's Cujjer friend whispered into his ear as he was leaving Asterabad, I don't like those dogs you are going amongst;' and the result proved the truth of his suspicion, for we find as he proceeded, earning dear-bought experience, that he himself comes to the conclusion, that were he to travel again in the disguise of a native, he would adopt the appearance and character of a pauper. It is related of one of our naval characters, that during the last war when hands were scarce, he was walking the streets in full security, dressed as a gentleman, so he thought-when all at once he was seized by a press-gang and taken on board the tender in the river. He had flattered himself, that in his long-tailed coat, drab breeches, and gaiters, he would pass muster with every body for a quiet citizen, and he, not a little puzzled, inquired of the officer commanding the press-gang, how they had ascertained him to belong to the sea- Did I not watch you as you stepped over the gutter ?' said the other; none but a sailor could have performed that feat as you did.' And thus it was with Lieutenant Conolly, and so it will be with every European who attempts to pass himself off for an Asiatic. He may plant his chin and upper lip with the most tufted beard-he may mow his head according to the best Mahomedan pattern, and keep his fingers and toes properly pointed; he may learn to adjust his girdle according to the last fashion, and to walk slipshod; but what can preserve him from occasionally stepping over a gutter?' We shuddered when we found him in the Turcoman Orauz Kilige's tent, where he met with hospitality, acting up to the dignity of a pepper and spice merchant;-he says, It would have been insulting our host to have offered payment for lodging and cheer; therefore, we presented his wife with a silk scarf and a small shawl!' In this one act, we discover the principal source of all the miseries which he afterwards endured among the Turcomans. The feelings of an English gentleman have no business in the breast of a traveller among the Turcomans: he must suppress them as he values his life. After having endured considerable misery, the whole truth of this breaks out upon our traveller. On his road to Khiva he had placed himself in the hands of one Perwallee, who provided him with camels for his journey, and who was looked upon as a safe man, but proved to be a villain, for he, with the above-named Orauz Kilige, tempted by the supposition of Mr. Conolly's wealth, determined to make away with him and his companion. Under various pretexts, they made them wander about the desert, somewhat in the same manner as Tony Lumpkin treats his mother, until they found themselves at the same place whence they departed. They had been kindly received at at an encampment of Turcomans, and were drying themselves by the fire, whilst a cauldron of rice was boiling for their supper. Their servant, in a fit of extravagant happiness at this piece of good fortune, produced two cakes of sugar, and threw them into the bubbling mess, upon which the lieutenant's companion heard one of their escort whisper to a bystander, He is an elchee'-an ambassador. This is a trifling incident,' says the author; but it shows how watchful a traveller should be in these countries, where every action is commented upon. Two cakes of sugar were actually of no great value, but to Turcomans, who seldom think of tasting such a refined sweet, the throwing them unconcernedly into a mess of rice-milk appeared to augur great wealth on our part.' He travelled on a camel, in a pair of kajavahs-open cribs, slung evenly on the huge creature's sides like panniers-in which he and his companion the Syud stowed their bedding, and sat or lay upon it. We halted at evening from five till eight, and a great relief was this respite from the distressing motion of the kajavahs. These cribs were but four feet by two, and when we had contrived to dispose of our bodies in this small space so as not to be in torture, our remaining skill was needed to preserve the centre of gravity; for the kajavahs were only loosely slung over the camel's back, and the very act of rising to draw a cramped leg from under one might have sufficed to destroy the balance. The motion had the effect of giving me a severe headache, which I should have minded more had I not been kept in laughter at the alarm of my friend in the other pannier. We were frequently obliged to spring up and clutch each other, as one or other crib leaned over; and he took infinite pains to show how, by my giving too much of my weight to one side, he might be made to fly over my head and break his bones.'-vol. i. pp. 52, 53. Were it the custom in England to travel in kajavahs, what greater torment can be imagined for two individuals—let us say one of the late members for Bath, and one of the actual members for Wigan, or any fat and lean friends of our acquaintance, should they happen to be of different politics, than to be so circumstanced? -What a scene of springing up and clutching each other' would it not present! The old hatred between Sonnee and Sheah exists with the same intenseness as ever in this part of Asia; the orthodox Sonnee clings to Abu Bukr, Omar, and Osman; whilst the Sheah upholds Ali; and they curse each other with appropriate violence, without any expense of conscience : "May God curse Abu Bukr, Omar, and Oosman, and shed his peace upon the blessed Allee! is the form of speech commonly used," said a reverend Sheah to me; "but there is no strict injunction to use use words of cursing, so long as a man holds them accursed in his heart." The names of the original caliphs are commonly introduced into the phrases of gross abuse which the Persians deal so largely in : "May the face of the father and father's father of your Omar be defiled," will a mule-driver say in correcting an unruly beast, and without entertaining a particular regard for either sect.'-pp. 48, 49. We do not think, strong as religious feeling is among us, that any Protestant cab-driver would be found even in Dublin, who would say to his broken-kneed jade, May the face of the father and the father's father of your Dan be defiled!' The whole account of their adventures in their unavailing attempt to reach Khiva bears such internal evidence of truth, and is so characteristic in its details, that we must refer our reader to it as one of the best specimens which we have ever read of the manners of those extraordinary people. The Toorkmuns pride themselves much on their hospitality, and they feel affronted if a traveller passes their camp without stopping. When a stranger comes to an oubeh, he is invited into the first tent, the master of which welcomes him by taking his hands within his own, and, holding the bridle of his horse, orders his wife to prepare refreshment for their guest. There can hardly be a livelier illustration of the manners of the Patriarchs than this:-instance Abraham's running from his tent-door in the plains of Mamre to meet and welcome the angels, praying them to rest themselves, and comfort their hearts. with a morsel of bread; and then his desiring Sarah, his wife, to make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. The manners, in particular, of the pastoral nations in Asia have undergone so little change, that you may see among them illustrations of nearly all the customs that are described in Scripture; and a traveller in any part of the East will meet with the most satisfactory evidences of the unaffected veracity of the sacred writers. To a European, the description of many simple Oriental customs appears a romance; and, connected as they are with so much miraculous anecdote, it is very assuring to find that those who described the lives and actions of the people of antiquity, did it not in any spirit of exaggeration, and that relations, which appear to us highly coloured, are told in the simple and natural idiom of the countries and days the writers lived in. As far as giving to eat and drink, the Toorkmuns are hospitable; but the very man who gives you bread in his tent will not scruple to fall upon you when you are beyond its precincts. This same hospitality of wandering tribes has been so lauded by poets and others, that it has become a fashion to talk as if the virtue existed only among demi-savages; and a man who exercises it shall be excused though he be a thief and a cut-throat. Your person is sacred, and your life is to be dearer to him than his own while you are under the shadow of his tent ;-but you cannot remain there for ever. Perhaps at |