The Sun.
London, England, 1827-02-06 00:00:00

MARSHAL. 01.113, KING.

" Among the Portuguese," says the author, " who, from t;
perversion of good feelings, or the original prevalence of be,
ones, were open to corruption, persons were found to form
the design which Soult had now formed of becoming King
Northern Lusitania. Buonaparte's formation of new principaliti,
and kingdoms for his brothers and faTourites, had made the gen—
rats of this new Alexander suppose that his conquests would Le
divided among them, and a petty kingdom under this tide
been carved out in the secret treaty of Fontainebleau. A depot.
tied of twelve principal inhabitants of Braga, as they were reprt
eented to be, waited upon the Marshal, and published in his g,
zette an account of their interview with him, and an address i.i
consequence to the Portuguese people. They assured their coun-
trymen that Marshal &tilt had conversed with them at greet
length, upon the produce, commerce, and interests of the pro-
vince between the rivers, in a manner which funned a striking
contrast to the conduct of their old government. 'That govern-
ment, they said, had been indifferent about all things except
the raising of its revenues. The tlight of the Prince Regent
amounted to a voluntary abdication of the throne, MA a
happy ftiturity might tinw be anticipated under a better dy-
nasty. 'The House of Braganza,' said these traitors, no longer
exists. It is tho will of Heaven that our destinies should pass
into other hands ; and it has been the peculiar favour of Divine
Providence to send us a man exempt from passions, and devoted
to true glory alone, who desires to employ the force entrusted to
hint by the great Napoleon only for our protection and deliverance
from the monster of anarchy which threatened to devour us. Why
do we delay to assemble round him, and proclaim I,:au our father
and deliverer ? Why do we delay to express bur anxiety to see
him at the head of a nation, of whose affections he has made so
rapid a conquest ? The sovereign of France will lend a gracious-
ear to our supplications, and will rtioice to see that we desire one
of his Lieutenants for our King, who, in imitation of his example,
knows how to conquer and to pardon.' Such an tddress could
not have been published in a journal which was under French
superintendence unless it bad been in unison With Soult's designs.
On another occasion, when he gave audience to a second deputa-
tion from Braga, and to *le civil, religious, and military authori-
ties of Porto, the °bee quious traitors requested that, till the su-
preme intentions t:f the Emperor should be ascertained, they
might be aliv.ved to swear fidelity to his most worthy
representativ-2, who bad so many claims upon the love,
respect,. -and gratitude of the Portuguese. The Marshal ex-
patiate d as usual, in reply, upon the felicities which were about to
be showered upon Portugal under a French master. "As to
what concerns myself," he added, " I feel obliged by the frank ex-
pressions which you have used relating to my person ; but it does
not depend upon me to answer them." He had, however, depended
so much upon realising this dream of ambition, that proclama-
tions were prepared, announcing him as King. It was fortunate
for the parties concerned, that they went no farther ; for one of
his staff, who was supposed to he a principal agent in the frame,
was recalled to Paris, and Buonaparte, addressing him by name
at a grand levee, said to him, " Take care how you draw up pro-
clamations! My empire is not yet sufficientl7 extended for cis'
generals to become independent. One et-:p farther and I would
have had you shot." Expecting no s'ach impediment to his hopes,
the " worthy representative" of P:uonaparte proceeded, as his mas •
ter had done in Egypt, to slY,,w his attachment to the religion of
the people whom he ce.:me to govern.—Southey s Peninsular
War,

SPORTING IN INDIA.

(From Keppers Journey from India.)

The description of a horse-race at Bussorah merits
quotation :

On March Ist Captain K. states, " We went this after-
noon into the desert to a horse-race, an amusement of
which the natives of Bussorah are as find as our own
countrymen ; though I fear if an English jockey had been
here he would have thought the profession disgraced by
the exhibition. For our own parts, we were more amused
than if the business' had been conducted according to the
strictest rules of the turf. The spot selected was the
Great Desert, which commences immediately outside the
town ; a circular furrow of two miles marked the course,
and the stakes consisted of a small subscription raised
from amongst our European party. The five candidates
who started for the prize were well suited to the general
character of the scene. Instead of being decked in all the
colours of the rainbow, a coarse loose shirt comprised all
the clothing of the Arab jockey ; and the powerful bit of
the country was the only article of equipment of the horse
he bestrode. Thus simply accoutred, at a signal given,
these half-naked savages set oft at full speed, each giving
a shout to animate his horse. They arrived like a team
at the gaol; the prize was adjudged to an Ethiopian
slave. The scene was highly animated and interesting,
though we had neither splendid equip .fires, nor fair ladies
to grace our sports."
The middy; of the Alligator got up a race of their own,
a la 'Jack, and furnished as much sport to the natives as
they usually do at home when they man horses.
From Bussorah our party proceeded up the Tigris, to
Bagdad, in a large boat, with an Arab guard, &c.
" Three of our party went out shooting in the desert,
and had excellent sport. Hares, black partridges, and
snipes, were in the greatest abundance. For my own
share of the game, I claim a brace of partridges, not a little
proud that nearly the first birds which ever fell by my gun
should have been killed in the garden of Eden. Another
of our party killed a hare, but the boatmen objected to
our having it dressed on board, as it had not undergone
the ceremony of being made hulaul (lawful). This is
performed by repeating a prayer, and by cutting the throat
of the animal, with the neck placed towards the tomb of
Mahomet. Yet, according to the Jewish law, from which
nearly all Mahometan prohibitions respecting food are
taken, the hare is an unclean animal,' because he chewed
the cud, and divideth not the hoof.' " • * *
" At four o'clock we stopped at a patch of brushwood
jungle, where nearly all the boatmen and guard went to
cut wood for fuel. In the midst of this employment one
of the party disturbed a lion that was sleeping under a
bush. He was greatly frightened, and speedily commu-
nicated his terror to his comrades, who hastened on board.
The lion stole away, and the trackers who had to walk
through the same jungle, continued their work without
makingany objection. Game of every description is abundant
throughout, which reminds us that we are in the ancient
kingdom of Nimrod, that' mighty hunter before the Lord.'
The spot we were now passing was 'quite living with the
immense quantities of animals of all descriptions. At every
step, our trackers put up pelicans, swans, geese, ducks,
and snipes; numbers of hogs were seen galloping about in
every direction ; a lioness strolled towards our boat, and
stood staring at us for two or three seconds ; when within
thirty yards, Mr. Hamilton and myself both fired at her,
but as we were
_loaded with small shot, we did her no in-
jury; the noise of our guns made her turn quietly round,
and she went away as leisurely as she came. 'We saw
this afternoon a numerous flock of small birds, which pre-
sented the appearance of a large whirlwind, and literally
darkened the air in their flight. Both Mr. Lamb and Mr.
Hart had seen the same in India, and told me that they
were bids of the ortolan species.
Jubul Afees " is said to be coeval with the ruins at
Filifileh and Sooroot. While we were examining these
ruins, we put up great numbers of hares and partridges.
We met also some men with greyhounds; these dogs are
very beautiful animals, and are somewhat smaller than the
English breed; the ears hang down, the tail is feathered,
and both are covered with hair as fine as silk. The Arabs
are very fond of this species • but the dog being an unclean
animal according to the Mahometan law, the Faithful are
not allowed to touch it, except on the crown of the head,
that being the only part of the animal which he is unable
to pollute with his tongue. The owner of these dogs was
rather an anomalous being for an inhabitant of the Desert
__a young Arab dandy ; his turban and robes were ad-
justed with the greatest neatness, his eyelids were stained
with antimony, two or three rings graced each finger, and
he conversed with an air of the most amusing puppyism.”
While the rest went up the river, Mr. Hamilton made a
cut across the desert, of which he gives a very brief but
lively account :
" On the 18th Mr. Hamilton passed through several en-
campments of Arabs, from whom he experienced all those
rites of hospitality for which those tribes are so celebrated.
lie describes the plain as being in some parts quite alive
with numerous encampments and their attendant herds of ca-
mels,oxen, andhorses. At 9 in the evening he came to the

bed of a very broad canal, the banks of which are thirty
feet high. He saw vast quantities of birds, called bitterns,
of which the Scriptures tells that Babylonia was to be-
come the nonession. He met an Arab Beg, attended b)
four men, well armed and Mounted ; these carried hawks
on their wrists, and were followed by several greyhounds.
Mr. Hamilton drank coffee With his new acquaintance out
of cups with gold saucers. The Aey \Vas very civil, and
promised to spew him coca; good hawks on a future occa-
sion. He slept the first part of the night in the tent of an
Arab, the father of two beautiful girls; A sheep was
brought to the tent door, and milked by one of the fair
hostesses ; a carpet, Was spread for him in the upper part
of the tent-, a fire was lighted, and he Was regaled with
pipes, coffee, milk, butter, and a Bhetp ttaSted whole. He
bivouacked from one till three o'clock in the morning, to
rest his cattle, On resuming the march, the cold was so
intense, teat his party were obliged to alight from their
horses and make a fire with some brushwood they folind
in the jungle. The heat during the day had nearly been
insupportable, and the opposite extreme at this time brings
to mind Jacob's spirited remonstance with his father-in-
law, Laban, when in a similar situation :—" In the day the
drought consumed me and the frost V night." They were
all huddled round the fire, when a soldier gave the alarm
of robbers. They were up in arms in a moment; but
the enemy, on seeing their numbers, made off. On the
19th he saw the ruins of a circular building, which, from
description, must have resembled that we saw on the
banks of the Tigris. It was forty feet in diameter, and
built Of red bricks fourteen inches square. Every flock of
sheep that be saw in the eight was attended by three or
four armed men, At midnight he reached another en-
campment, and met with treatment similar to that of the
night before. The Arab, in whose tent he was breakfast-
ing, was told by a boy that a party had carried off some of
his sheep ; he seized his sword and spear, snatched a mus-
ket from one of the soldiers, mounted his horse, bare-
backed, and in one moment was scouring across the
desert. They resumed their march on the morning of the
20th, and reached Bagdad in the afternoon,"
Among the mighty remains of Babylon, he tells us—
" Wild beasts appeared to be as numerous here as at the
Mujillebe. Mr. Lamb gave up his examination, from see-
ing an animal crouched in one of the square apertures. I
saw another in a similar situation, and the large foot-print
of a lion was so ftesh, that the beast must have stolen away
on our approach. From the summit we had a distinct
view of the vast heaps which constitute all that now re-
mains of ancient Babylon a more complete picture of de-
solation could not well be imagined. The eye wandered
over a barren desert, in which the ruins were nearly the
only indication that it had ever been inhabited. It was
impossible to behold this stenG and not to be reminded
how exactly the predictions of Isaiah and Jeremiah have
been fulfilled, even in the appearance of Babylon was
doomed to present; that she should never be inhabited;'
that the Arabian should not pitch his tent there;' that
she should 'become heaps ;' that her cities should be a
desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness.'
" The prophecy of Isaiah, that Babylon should be in-
habited by wild beasts, was fulfilled after the extinction
Of the Seleucice; for their successors, the Parthians,
turned the city into a park, and stocked it with wild beasts
for the purpose of hunting, Amongst these the wild boar
is enumerated.