The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-12 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Four Months in a Dahabeel ; or Narrative of a
Winter's Cruise on the Nile. By M. L. M.

CArey. Booth.

We have before us a goodly volume of handsome
appearance, illustrated with some half-a-dozen
beautiful sketch( s, recording a four months' cruise
in a Dahabeeh (or river boat) upon the Nile. The
travelling party consisted of five Europeans—the
fair author of the narrative, " Cousin Phil" and hir3
daughter Selina, to whom conjointly the work is
dedicated, and Thom :s and Sarah, the man-servant
and lady's maid—objects of unmitigated astonish-
ment to the native dragoman, who, when he found
they were each to have a cabin on board the Daha
beeh, regarded them as " very great personages
indeed." This dragoman, Mahommed el Adleek,
with El Abiad and Ali, two of his companions, are
depicted in the frontispiece, seated on the deck of
" the Cairo," as the Dahabeeh is named. Very pic-
turesque do they appear in their oriental costume,
as displayed in the coloured engraving. There is
also a picture of the crew of " the Cairo" at breaf-
fast on the bank, and views of Boulak, the port of
Cairo, the island of Philsa, and other scenes, very
charmingly drawn, we 'resume, by the hands of
the authoress and " Selina." The narrative is for
the most part in the form of a journal, and possesses
some of the advantages and also some of the dis-
advantages of that style of composition. It is
easily and ple-,santly written, and we realise the
scenes and take part in the adventures detailed to
us; but, at the same time, a great deal of very
trivial and unnecessary matter is occasionally in-
troduced, and the style at times becomes too collo-
quial and undignified. With the exception of these
blemishes the journal proves very pleasant to read,
and introduces into very unaccustomed scenes. There
is an amusing account of a visit paid by the ladies
to the house of Sheik Abool Gowad, at Girgeh.
Under the auspices of the invaluable Mohammed
they are introduced to the Sheik and his mother.
Selina wore dark gloves and gauntlets, and her
" black hands," compared with her " white face,"
caused a great deal of whispering and specu-
lation among the hosts, and she was finally
requested by Mohomrned to pull off her gloves,
and to show that hands and face were suitably
alike. The gloves they had never seen oefore.
The visit to the Bazaar is very interesting, and the
account of the Eastern mode of embroidery is
given in detail, and will be attractive to lady
readers. The cover of the book displays some
splendid specimens of the mosquito that
plague of the East, and very pitiful are
the writer's complaints of the misfortune which
occasionally befalls the unwary, who, shutting close
the musquito curtains at night, sometimes shut in
the musquitoes, with very direful results. The
"Cruise in the Dahsheeh" will :on acquaintance
prove, we doubt not, as entertaining to its readers
as it has done to the fair journalist and her com-
panions.

Adventures and Researches Among the Andaman
Islanders. By Dr. Mouat. Hurst and Biackett.

he Andaman Islands, situated in the Bay of
Bengal, are little known even by name in this
country, and their inhabitants hold about the very
lowest rank among the diversified races of the
human family. Nevertheless, Dr. Meuat's book on
this unpromising theme is full of interest, and we
doubt not that many who open its pages will, like
ourselves, be surprised to find its contents so gene-
rally attractive. In the course of the year 1867,
immediately after the Indian mutiny, Dr. Mouat,
then in Calcutta, was summoned to join an expedi-
tion to the Andaman Islands, in order to examine
" how far they were adapted for the establishment
of a convict statron, and to select a suitable site for
such a settlement"—his colleagues being Dr.
George Play fair, of the Royal Army, and
Lieutenant J. A. Heathcote, of the Indian Navy.
" My last evening in Calcutta," writes Dr. Mouat,
" was spent in the society of the Governor-General
and bis kind-hearted and accomplished lady. Alas !
it is only a few years since, and they are now both
no more ! To my certain knowledge they are both
mourned throughout our Eastern Empire with a
depth and intensity of sorrow, with tee,ings of such
deep personal regret as are seldom felt for those
who have occupied a station so exalted." We must
transcribe the follcwing beautiful and evidently
heart felt tribute to Lady Canning :
"I can scarcely trust myself to lie eak of the lamented
Countess Canning. Her popularity in India was, as it
deserved to be, unbounded. Every one who has ever had
an opportunity of coming in any way in contact with her
can only have words of praise to bestow in speaking of her
personal character. All were immediately attracted by the
matchless grace and elegance of her manner, and the kind-
ness beaming in her eye at once won the homage of every
heart. Not only did she possess the lighter accomplish-
ments that enhance the beauty and dignity of the female
character, but she had evidently applied herself with no
little teal and diligence to severer studies, and had amassed
much of that useful knowledge which strengthens and
elevates the mind. Every one who was admitted into her
presence she received with the most refined courtesy; and
none could converse with her long without perceiving
that all the other excellencies of her mind and heart
were enhanced by that Christian grace which is the
crowning beauty of an elevated female character.
as
mare
means
of
attraction
virtues she manifested in her intercourse withsocieitny
were evidently not assumed,
the circle in which she moved; but were the natural out-
growth of her character, the root of all that
in her life and intercourse being within.
i
disposition fade
rwev beautiful
will u
the
titf
from the memory of those
memory of her inexpressibele
tn
lo with which she showed ee
misfortune of
rtun
she endea-
voured to alleviate, and thesme the more fortunate is im-
i
whosesw fe
f
her sympathy in the happiness
heir hearts. No doubt, like all
human creaturee,
pressed indelibly on
their
orwe extirakpate them. Never
how to conceal, ;to ove ,
she had her nesses, but she knew
did her innate kindness more delight in alleviating the
sorrows of the unfortunate than during that fearful mutiny
which overwhelmed so many once happy and prosperous
families with unexpected calamities. The sympathies of
her noble nature were a source of joy and comfort to all
during that period of trial and probation, and in many a
grateful heart is the recollection of her unwearied goodness
eChaitsh o
el,iocnrsetga
na rt d egut h:re
dp a t
ar onnd saint
ew haommi
dhset
ll e
tvhe:
temptation, sin, and sorrow through which he must p
cherished with a devotion equal to that with which the
ptoioubs
‘ pass en
his way to a better and higher life."
At the close of the volume, Dr. Mouat again re-
turns to Government House, bringing with him an
object of universal curiosity—a real live Andaman
—who, dressed in unaccustomed clothes, is pre-
sented to Lord and Lady Canning. " Most of the
time Jack spent in their presence, he was
greatly absorbed in self-admiration. Ob
serving his figure at full length in the
large pier-glasses with which the apartment
was adorned, he stationed himself before one and,
regarding his own image with undisguised satis-
faction, I.e continued grinning at himself with a

leer expressive of the utmost self-admiration, .ce n.
stantly repeating with a strange chuckle, "Jac; la!
Jack !" and then bursting out, in violation of a 11
good manners, into an irrepressible fit of laughter,
in which we found it difii;:ult to prevent ourselves s
joining." Jack proves, however, more teachablea
and tractable than the majority of his tribe, but his
health suffers from the confinement and the climate,
and he is obliged to return to his natives town. He
is put on shore and left there, divested of hio ostume,
in order that he may be received back by his suvage
brethren, who are singularly rude and inhospita
Speaking of the Andaman Islands, Dr. Mouat (*-
serves that they form "an almost invisible dot t )11
the map of the world, the civilisation both of the
East and of the West has pawed them by
without in any way affecting the cond,ition of their
inhabitants. In these islands man is probably still
in the sc•me condition in which he was when they
were first settled."
"Their inhabitants acknowledge no law to restrah, and
gaide them in life. Not only have they no knowledge of a
supr, me Being, but they are even destitute of such a ru,
le
system of religious faith as is gentrally found even amongst
men in the most savage state. Their language is harsh
and disagreeable, in an imperfect state of development,
barely sufficient for the expression of their few
and simple wants. Totally ignorant of agriculture,
they have no means of making provision for the future, and
must be satisfied with such fruits and herbs AS the earth
sponransehooure.o
spontaneously produces, or with the shell-fish L'iey pick up
on the
Thanks to Dr. Mouat's explanations, we been me to
a certain extent acquainted with the manners of
this uncultivated, people, and we find, in additi, an ,
in the pages of this volume a variety of anecdoteas
and details on matters of general interest. For
example, here is a description of some of the men.
engaged in the Expedition :
" Many of them were Ni ild adventurous seamen, who had
led roving and unsettled lives in all parts of the globe.
Excitement and danger were the elements of the atmosphere
in which they lived ; and as they were utterly reckless of
their lives and persons, it was with difficulty they could be
induced to exercise even ordinary caution when they were
threatened with the most imminent perils. The officer who
commanded them was a man according to their own hearts;
he was the most daring of their number, and always in.
front when there was the least chance of an encounter of any
kind. His life had been a very adventurous one, and the ex-
perience of danger had not taught him to fear or avoil it.
He was on board the Prince, at Balaclava, in that terrible
storm of November which so soon followed the battle of
Inkerman, and was the sole survivor of that lamentable
calamity. When the unfortunate vessel went down, he was
washed by the tempestuous sea on to a ledge of rock, from
which perilous position he was with great difficulty rescued
by means of ropes let down from the overhanging heights.
Such was the spirit of adventure by which this fearless
man was animated, one might well imagine that on that
night of dark and ominous memory he had imbibed the
very spirit of the Black Sea tempest."
The " Matrimonial Parade" describes a very original
scene, and " David's Venture" in selaction of a Wife
is an episode of much interest, but our extracts have
already extended so far that we must take leave of
Dr. Mouat's pleasant pages.

FINE ARTS.

The Lord's Prayer. Illustrated by Lorenz Froi.ich

Trubner.

A series of etchings upon the Lord's Prayer,
every sentence being the text for an illustration..
Some of these ilustrations are singularly happy,
and the idea of the work is likely to render it
popular. To say that the actual pictures come very
far short of the ideal, conjured up by that sublime
prayer, and familiar to us all from infancy is only
to express what is, perhape, inevitable. Nothing
less than an inspired pencil could do justice to
such a theme. In the first page, the Saviour
looking up to His Father and ours, is teaching
his followers to address the Almighty by that
tender appellation, which is at once the token of
our adoption and the bond of our common brother-•
hood—" Our Father." The readers of " Bleak
House " will remember the touching description
of the death of poor neglected Jo. There, on his
death-bed, for the first and last time, he learns to
pray, and only those two words come to his dying
lips—" Our Father—it sounds very good—it does,"
says the dying boy—" Our Father !" " Give us
this day our daily bread," is one of the happiest
of the artist's sketches. The scene is a cornfield,
and there in the midst of the harvest given by God.
—a peasant is dividing a loaf of bread among his
children. A charming group, suggestive of peace
and plenty, while from above beams down the
benign face of the Divine Giver of all good gifts.
"Lead us not into Temptation" depicts the strug
gling Christian clinging to the rock, while the
sirens and the tempters allure him to the waters
of destruction, and is very effectively pourtrayed,
The work is dedicated to the Princess of Wales.

MARKETS---This Day.

MARK LANE•

The supply of English wheat on sale here to-day was
very moderate. Selected parcels were tolerably firm in
price ; otherwise, the trade was dull, and in some instancee
the quotations had a downward tendency.
There was a good show of foreign wheat on the stands.
In most descriptions a limited business was transacted at
Monday's currency. The demand was in a great measure
confined to good and fine wheats.
Floating cargoes of grain were in but moderate request
at late rates.
The supply of barley was seasonably large. Beth Eng-
lish and foreign qualities were in moderate demand, and
prices ruled firm.
Malt changed hands steadily, at full prices.
The supply of oats was moderately large. All qualities
met a slow sale, and inferior corn was rather cheaper than
on Monday.
Beans and peas—the supplies of which were small—ruled
firm at extreme rates.

The supply of barrel flour was somewhat extensive, and
the demand ruled inactive at late rates. Other kinds of
four were unaltered iu value.

ARRIVALS THIS WEEK.
Wheat. Barley. Malt. Oats. Flout.
English.-- 1,900 1 10 1 MO i 20 ' 790
Irish — _
Yoreign 8,130 1,670 I 13,350' 7 1,520 sks
28,550 brls

NEW GATE AND LEADENHALL.
The supply of meat is only moderate, and the tratie rule'
firm at our quotations.
Per Sib. by the carcase.
sdsd sdgd
inferior beef .. 3 0 4 4 Middlingrnutton 3 10 4 4
Middling do. .. 3 6 3 10 Prime do ....... 4 6 4 8
3 10 4
F rime large do. 40 4 2 Veal ....•••" 5g
Do. small do. .. 44 4 6 Small pork .... 4 g 0
Large pork 32 4 4 I.amb ........ 5
Inferior mutton. 3 4 3 81

BOROUGH HOP.
The accounts from the plantations being wore favourable,
sales progress less fre,ly in most descriptions of hops. In
prices, however, no quotable change has taken place com-
pared with our previous report. The supply of foreign
hops is large for the time of year.
Mid and East Rents 7os to
190 s per cwt.
Weald of Rents
Sussex ....••••••
Bavarian 7os to 112 e
Belgian
American

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS- —Last Evening,
The Lord) CHANCELLOR. took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.