the description of which in all their extent would be extremely tedious, but which will be partly found in the following

extract:

Ceremonial at Mecca. Being arrived at the house of God, we repeated a little prayer, kissed the sacred black stone brought by the angel Gabriel, named Hajera el Assouad, or the heavenly stone; and, having the guide at our head, we performed the first tour round the Kaaba, reciting prayers at the same time.

The Kaaba is a quadrilateral tower, entirely covered with an immense black cloth, except the base. The black stone is discovered through an opening in the cloth. It is encrusted on the eastern angle. A similar opening to the former at the southern angle discovers a part of it, which is of common marble.'

The pilgrims go seven times round the Kaaba, beginning at the black stone, or the eastern angle, and passing the principal front, in which is the door; from thence turning to the west and south, outside of the stones of Ismael. Being arrived at the southern angle, they stretch out the right arm; when, having touched the angular marble with the hand, taking great care that the lower part of their garment does not touch the uncovered base, they pass it over the face and beard, saying, "In the name of God, the greatest God, praises be to God;" and they continue to walk towards the north-east, saying, "Oh great God! be with me! Give me the good things of this world, and those of the

The second is like the first, except that the prayers are different from the angle of the black stone to that of the south; but they are the same from the latter to the former, and are repeated with the same forms during the seven rounds.'

The procession then directs its course through the principal street, and passes a part of Djebel Meroua, or the hill of Meroua, the pilgrims reciting some prayers at the end of the street, which is terminated by a great wall..

There are a number of barbers in waiting to shave the pilgrims' heads, which they do very quickly, at the same time saying prayers in a loud tone, which the former repeat after them word for word. This operation terminates the first ceremonies of the pilgrimage to Mecca.'

These singular details will recall to some of our readers the mysteries of the chapel of Loretto, the picture of the Virgin Mary by the pencil of St. Luke, and other absurdities of our Catholic neighbours. We turn with less dissatisfaction, though certainly without any feeling of admiration, to an account of the local position of this far-famed city. Mecca is situated in latitude 21° 28′ N., and stands in a very narrow valley, the mean breadth of which is between 3 and 400 yards; the streets, following the winding of the valley, are crooked; and, to complete the irregularity, the houses stand

on

on very different elevations, being built on the sides of the hill. Still the fronts of the buildings are better than we could expect in so uncivilized a country, being superior to most of the towns of Morocco or Egypt, and having a double row of windows and balconies covered with blinds. The buildingmaterials are stone; the height of the houses extends to three. or four stories; the roofs are flat, and the rooms are spacious; but nothing can afford a greater contrast than the outward magnificence of the buildings and the interior condition of the inhabitants of Mecca.

An Arab is by nature generally thin; but those of Mecca, and above all those that serve in the temple, seem absolutely walking skeletons, clothed with a parchment that covers their bones. I must own I was struck with astonishment when I saw them for the first time upon my arrival. What I have advanced may be perhaps considered as an exaggeration; but I protest to the truth of my assertions; and may also add, that it is impossible, without seeing them, to form an idea of an assemblage of such lean and scraggy-looking men, as all of them are, with the exception of the chief of Zemzem, who is the only person that is at all lusty, and two or three eunuchs, a little less thin than the others. It appears even impossible that these skeletons, or shadows, should be able to stand so long as they do, when we reflect upon their large sunk eyes; slender noses; cheeks hollow to the bones; legs and arms absolutely shrivelled up; ribs, veins, and nerves, in no better state; and the whole of their frame so wasted, that they might be mistaken for true anatomical models.’—

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It may be deduced from these observations, that the population of Mecca diminishes sensibly. This city, which is known to have contained more than 100,000 souls, does not at present shelter more than from 16 to 18,000. There are some quarters of the suburbs entirely abandoned, and in ruins; nearly two thirds of the houses that remain are empty; and the greatest part of those that are inhabited are decaying within, notwithstanding the solidity of their construction.'

The town is an English mile in length, and about a quarter of a mile in breadth. The motive for keeping the houses, or rather the fronts of the houses, in a condition so much superior to the surrounding misery, is the interest of each inhabitant in inducing pilgrims to lodge with him. Here is no square or market-place, of which the irregularity of the ground would not admit, but the principal street is filled throughout its extent with sheds containing merchandise and provisions. The barrenness of the neighbouring district obliges the inhabitants to draw their supplies from a distance, so that provisions are both indifferent and dear; in fact, Mecca would never have been inhabited, had it not laid other countries under contribution at first by force of arms, and in

later

later ages by religious enthusiasm. This city was the object of pilgrimage and of idolatrous admiration before the days of Mohammed, who was rather a reformer than an innovator; having pulled down the idols and directed the worship of the people to one divinity; though mixing with it a most undue portion of reverence for himself, and taking especial care to confirm, by the Koran, the lucrative resort of pilgrims to his native place. The days, however, are now past in which all-powerful superstition brought crouds of wealthy votaries to this sacred spot, and the comparatively tranquil state of the country divested the journey of half its present danger: but, unluckily, the inhabitants are ill prepared to compensate by industry or exertion for the sudden decline of other sources of income.

There is no Mussulman city,' says the author, where the arts are so little known as at Mecca. There is not a man there who is capable of making a lock or forging a key; the slippers and sandals are brought from Egypt and Constantinople; there is not one individual to be found who knows how to engrave an inscription; not a gun-smith or cutler capable of making a screw, or replacing any part of the lock of a gun. The sciences are in a similar state; the whole knowledge of the inhabitants is confined to reading the Koran and writing very badly.'

Next to the Scheriff, the principal personage at Mecca is the chief of the well of Zemzem, who fortunately proved well disposed to our traveller; a point of primary consequence on the part of so dignified and dangerous a functionary.

He is a young man, about twenty-two or twenty-four years of age, extremely handsome, with very fine eyes. He dresses remarkably well, and is very polished. He has an air of sweetness, which is seducing, and appears to be endowed with all the qualities which render a person amiable. As he possesses the entire confidence of the Scherif, he fills the most important place. His title is, The Poisoner. Take courage, reader, lest I should make you tremble for me. This dangerous man was known to me the first time I went to the well of Zemzem, when he made his court assiduously to me. He gave me a magnificent dinner, and sent me every day two small pitchers of the water of the miraculous well. He even watched the moments when. I went to the Temple, and ran with the most winning grace and sweetness to present me a handsome cup filled with the same water, which I drank to the last drop, because it would have been considered a sort of crime or impiety to have refused it.

This wretch observes the same conduct to all the Pachas and important personages who come here. Upon the slightest suspicion, or the least caprice that may arise in the mind of the Scherif, he orders, the other obeys, and the unhappy stranger ceases to exist. As it is reckoned impious not to accept the

sacred

sacred water presented by the chief of the well, this man is arbiter of the lives of every one, and has already sacrificed many victims.

From time immemorial, the Sultan Scherifs of Mecca have had a poisoner at their court; and it is remarkable that they do not try to conceal it, since it is well known, in Egypt and Constantinople, that the Divan has several times sent to Mecca, Pachas, or other persons, to be sacrificed in this manner.

This was the reason why the Mogrebins or Arabs of the West, who are entirely devoted to me, hastened to warn me to be upon my guard upon my arrival in the city. My servants wished this traitor at the devil; but I myself treated him with the greatest marks of confidence. I accepted his water and his enterainments with an unalterable serenity and coolness. I took the precaution, however, to keep three doses of vitriolated zinc, a much more active emetic than tartar emetic, always in my pocket, to take the instant I should perceive the least indication of treason.'

Considerable interest is given to Ali Bey's residence at Mecca by its coincidence with a visit of the Wehabees to that city. Some of these irregular warriors annoyed him in his excursion to Mount Arafat, and another party of them caused him to stop short in his journey to Medina; yet he is not inclined to speak of them with acrimony, or to regard them as the enemies of religion or moral order. They are by no means unbelievers in the main part of the Mohammedan creed, but profess to restore it to its antient purity by removing the absurd additions made by the successors of the prophet and others who were interested in operating on popular credulity. It is on this account that they have destroyed several of the public buildings of Mecca and Medina; a circumstance which gives additional value to the author's account of the former when in their unimpaired state:

On the same day, (3d February 1807,) a part of the army of the Wehhabites entered Mecca to fulfil the duties of pilgrimage, and to take possession of this holy city. It was by chance I saw them enter.

I was in the principal street about nine o'clock, when I saw a crowd of men coming; but what men! We must imagine a crowd of individuals, thronged together, without any other covering than a small piece of cloth round their waist, except some few who had a napkin placed upon the left shoulder, that passed under the right arm, being naked in every other respect, with their matchlocks upon their shoulders, and their khanjears or large knives hung to their girdles.'

I saw a column of them defile, which appeared composed of five or six thousand men, so pressed together in the whole width of the street, that it would not have been possible to have moved a hand. The column was preceded by three or four horsemen, armed with a lance twelve feet long, and followed by fifteen or

twenty

twenty men mounted upon horses, camels, and dromedaries, with lances like the others; but they had neither flags, drums, nor any other instrument or military trophy during their march. Some uttered cries of holy joy, others recited prayers in a confused and loud voice.

They marched in this manner to the upper part of the town, where they began to file off in parties, to enter the temple.

Already had the first parties began their turns round the Kaaba, and were pressing towards the black stone to kiss it, when the others, impatient no doubt at being kept waiting, advanced in a tumult, mixed among the first; and confusion being soon at its height, prevented them from hearing the voices of their young guides. Tumult succeeded to confusion. All wishing to kiss the stone, precipitated themselves upon the spot; and many of them made their way with their sticks in their hands. In vain did their chiefs mount the base near the stone, with a view to enforce order; their cries and signs were useless; for the holy zeal for the house of God which devoured them, would not permit them to listen to reason, nor to the voice of their chiefs.'—

These Wehhabites, who are from Draaiya, the principal place of the reformers, are of a copper colour. They are in general well made, and very well proportioned, but of a short stature. I particularly remarked some of their heads, which were so handsome, that they might have been compared with those of Apollo, Antinous, or the Gladiator. They have very lively eyes, the nose and mouth well formed, fine teeth, and very expressive countenances.

When we represent to ourselves a crowd of naked armed men, without any idea of civilization, and speaking a barbarous language, the picture terrifies the imagination, and appears disgusting; but if we overcome this first impression, we find in them some commendable qualities. They never rob either by force or stratagem, except when they know the object belongs to an enemy or an infidel. They pay with their money all their purchases, and every service that is rendered them. Being blindly subservient to their chiefs, they support in silence every fatigue, and would allow themselves to be led to the opposite side of the globe. In short, it may be perceived that they are men the most disposed to civilization, if they were to receive proper instruction.'

Mount Arafat is the name of a hill in the neighbourhood of Mecca, which in height is only 150 feet, but is remarkable in the Mohammedan creed for a supposed meeting between Adam and Eve after a long separation; a circumstance to which it owed the name of Arafat, meaning "recollection" or "recognition." Insignificant as it is, however, it forms a main object in the Mecca pilgrimage; and the concourse of people on this spot was immense at the time of Ali Bey's visit. The sides of the hill and its environs were covered with swarms of Wehabees and others, who remained there till sunset; after which, the whole moved forwards along a narREV. MAY, 1817.

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