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ye with a kind
king and impatient nervousness, and when he has
Forth. as he does constantly. with a particularly suc-

His mouth sal

cessful cataract of expression, it assumes a curl of trium-
phant scorn that would be worthy of a Mephistopheles.

vy mass of jet black ringlets falls over his left
oat to his collarless stock ; while on the right

temple

is parted an

with the smooth careful-

nes most unctiously,

With thy incomparable oil, Macassar,

Disraeli was the only one at table who knew Beckford.
and the style in which he gave a sketch of his habits and
manners was worthy of himself. I might as well attempt
to gather up the foam of the sea, as to convey an idea of
the extraordinary language in which he clothed his de-
scription. There were, at least, five words in every sen-
tence that must have been very much astonished at the
use t

_ were put to, and yet no others apparently could
so well have conveyed his idea. He talked like a race-
horse approaching the winning-post, every muscle in ac-
tion, and the utmost energy of expression flung out in
every burst. It is a great pity he is not in parliament. *
* * * Victor Hugo and his extraordinary novels came
next under disclission ; and Disraeli, who was fired with
his own eloquence, started off, apropos des bottes, with a
long story of empalement he had seen in Upper Egypt.
It was as good, and perhaps as authentic, as the descrip-
tion of the chow-chow-tow in " Vivian Grey." He had
arrived at Cairo on the third day after the man was trans-
fixed by two stakes from hip to shoulder, and he was still
alive ! The circumstantiality of the account was equally
horrible and amusing. Then followed the sufferer's his-
tory, with a score of murders and barbarities, heaped
together like Martin's Feast of Belshazzar, with a mixture
of horror and splendour, that was unparalleled in my ex-
perience of improvisiation. No mystic priest of the Cory-
bantes could have worked himself up into a finer phrenzy
of language.—N. P. Willis
Authors and A RIDE T

TROUGH THE NUBIAN DESERT.—From an
interesting little work by Capt. W. Peel, recently pub-
lished, we extract the following :—" It is the halt in the
Desert by night that forms so sublime a scene. Men,
camels, and baggage lie stretched upon the plain ; all are
still and scattered ; yet all seem bound together, all seem
passing away; there is no other shadow but theirs to stain
the soft purple of the sand. And yet there is a melan-
choly in the Desert, and a gloom in the breast you cannot
dispel ; though lying in the vaulted chamber of the skies,
the thoughts are not heavenly—they turn, they cling to
all that is earthly. Why are they not heavenly ? What
is there between you and eternity? Are you not there
alone ? No, though you have left life behind you, you
are not alone: Death is your companion, it stares you in
the face at every step. Take care, or you will stumble
over its victim. Lave the road, you perish ; follow the
track of the caravan, and rotting carcases are its mile-
stones. Why is the voice of the caravan so hushed, and
why db you urge your camel's speed ? See, your spirit is
wounded ; you are musing on a secret in your own breast,
and yet it is known to all. Look at that horrid object
that lay in your path, his head turned back, and his month

wide open; he wanted water, Death has mocked him,
and choked it with sand ; he wanted air, the wind is
laughing through his ribs; he struggled to reach his
journey's end, his feet are striking in the air." He
speaks of the heat and thirst as quite agonising, and twice
mentions that a bird came fearlessly to the shelter of a
sorrel-tree, under whose shade they were resting. He
says —" A strong southerly wind, as hot as a furnace,
painfully oppressive, cloudless sky; so oppressive, that a
poor bird came to take refuge in the same place, though
aware of my presence. I put out my hand and caught it;
it was quite overcome. We gave it some water, which it
took most greedily, and set it free ; but it was too weak,
and, after flying short distances, it lay down on the sand
to die." The heat then was shown by the thermometer
to be 103 degrees, and the sand itself 140 degrees. Once
again the same thing happened, and a little bird was re-
freshed by these weary men, and this time it hopped mer-
rily away, keeping under the camels' legs for shade. They
were ten days in crossing this land of desolation, travel.
ling as fast as possible; and Capt. Peel ends this chapter
thus :—" This is my description of the Nubian Desert;
and now, perhaps, some other traveller will come, not
bound for such distant regions, and therefore choosing
his own time and moving with conveniences. He will go
in the winter season, or perhaps after some great tropical
rain. He will see the water dashing down the burns, and
carving a channel through the sand ; the face of the desert
will be refreshed ; he will not be pained by the hot south
wind, or scorched by the glaring sand ; and will he, there-
fore, say that I have exaggerated ? I could not wish him
a severer punishment than that he might be made to tra-
verse it at the same season and in the same time."

THE Rom( TEMPLES or EGYPT.—There is nothing
in Egypt which can be likened to the great temple of Ab-
ou-Simbel. Karnak is grander, but its grandeur is hu-
man. This belongs rather to the superhuman fancies of
the East, the halls of the Afrites, or to the realm of the
dethroned Titans of early Greek mythology. This im-
pression is not diminished on passing the second hall and
corridor, and entering the adytum, or sacred chamber of
the temple. There the granite altar yet stands in the
centre, before the undestroyed figures of the gods, who,
seated side by side, calmly await the offerings of their
worshippers. The peculiar individuality of each deity is
strikingly shown in these large statues, and their attitude
is much less constrained than in the sitting statues in the
tombs of Thebes. these look as if they could rise if they
would. The walls are covered with sculptures of them
end of the contemplar deities, in the grind bold style of
the age of Rameses. Some visiters had left a supply of
dry palm branches near the entrance, and of these I made
torches, rhich blazed and crackled fiercely, flaring with
a rich red light on the sculptured and painted walls.
There was sufficient to enable me to examine all the smaller
chambers, of which there are eight or nine, cut laterally
into the rock, without any attempt at symmetry of form
or regularity of arrangement. Several of them have seats
running around three sides, exactly like the divans in mo-
dern Egyptian houses. They were probably designed for
the apartments of the. priests or servants connected with
the temple, The sculptures on the walls of the grand hall
are, after those of Medeenet Abort, and on the exterior
wall of Karnak, the most interesting I have seen In Egypt.
On the end wall, on either side of the entrance, is a co-
lossal bas-relief, representing Rameses slaying a group of
captive kings, whom he holds by the hair of their heads.
There are ten or twelve in each group, and the features,
though they are not coloured, exhibit the same distinction
of race as I had previously remarked at Belzoni's tomb,
at Thebes. There is the Negro, the Persian, the Jew,
and one other form of countenance which I could not
make out, all imploring with uplifted hands the mercy of
the conqueror. On the southern wall the distinction be-
tween the Negro and the Egyptian is made still more ob-
vious by the colouring of the figures. The sculptures on
the side-walls of the temple represent the wars of Rame-
ses, who, as at Medeenet Abou, stands in a chariot,
which two horses at full speed whirl into the ranks of the
enemy. The king discharges his arrow against them, and,
directly in front of him, a charioteer, mortally wounded,
is hurled from his overthrown chariot. The groups are
chiselled with great spirit and boldness ; the figures of
the king and his horses are full of life. Towering over
all, as well by his superior proportions as by the majesty
and courage of his attitude, Bameses stands erect and
motionless amid the shock, and jar, and riot of battle.
There is no exultation in his face; only the inflexible
calmness of destiny. 1 spent some time contemplating
these grand and remarkable memorials of the greatest age
of Egypt, and left with my feeling for Egyptian art even
stronger than before. —Journey from New York to
Nineveh.

ALGIERS AND THE INTERIOR OF THE HOUSES.—
When viewed from the sea, this town presents the appear-
ance of a vast stone quarry, with huge blocks of white
marble piled one above the other, in the form of an
amphitheatre, on the shore of the Mediterranean. At a
distance its aspect is desolate and melancholy, but on a
nearer approach the simple but picturesque style of the
buildings offers a most pleasing spectacle, and recalls to mind
the well-known descriptions in the Arabian Nights. Lofty
domes and graceful minarets rise from the confused mass of
humbler edifices, thus varying the monotony of the general
plan. The streets are so narrow that the projecting upper
stories of the houses on each side almost meet, while a tole-
rably laden mule occupies all the width. In thehigher partof
thetown thestreets ascend, and are generally so steep that it
was found necessary to place the pavement in the form of
steps, to enable both men and horses to accom-
plish the feat of climbing them. This, however, is
still a most difficult enterprise, especially in the
streets that lead from the lower town to the Casbba.
In all the cities of Algeria, not only the houses,
but also the public edifices, are constructed according
to the same architectural plan, and have the same inte-
rior arrangement. It is only in the larger towns that luxury
and the fine arts display their wonders for the convenience
and ornament of the buildings. * * Speaking of the
ordinary dwelling-houses, I, of course, except those in-
habited by great personages of state, and wealthy private
individuals. These buildings are on a larger scale than
the rest, and are laid out in splendid suites of apart-
ments and rich marble galleries, that are decorated with
the well-known Moorish sculpture, so scrupulously correct
in its least detail. The projecting parts of this elegant
tracery are tastefully painted in brilliant colours, arranged
in harmonious contrast, and surrounded with gilding, thus
producing the effect of gems set in gold : while the light,
falling obliquely on several of these ornaments, enhances
their beauty by forming a mixture of tints like the vary-
ing
hues of the rainbow. None of the furniture so profusely
scattered about Parisian saloons is to be found here; pic-
tures, engravings, and tapestry are alike unknown, and even
mirrors arebutjust coming into notice. But, to compensate
for this deficiency, each apartment is bordered all round
with a wide divan, covered with rich silk brocade, and
serving the purpose of a seat by day, and a couch by night.
Soft carpets are laid on the floor during the wet season,
to preserve the feet of the luxurious inmates from the
cold arising from the porcelain mosaic work with which it is
ornamented, but which, during the summer, yields a de.
lightful coolness. * * * * * Algiers appears still
more picturesque when approached by land. Then the
traveller, standing in an immense plain, resembling a vast
carpet of verdure strewn over with groups of the brilliant
cactus and sombre tinted yellow, beholds afar a bright ap-
parition as of a fairy city, the walls of which are bathed by
the Mediterranean, whose clear depths reflect their glitterin g
whiteness; while the battlemented fortificationsand splendid
edifices cast a wide extensive shade on the ground, thus
affording a grateful relief to the eye, oppressed with the
brilliancy of a sky of dark azure, and of a sea so intensely
blue, that at the horizon its colour amounts almost to
blackness. Towards the north Mount Boudjareah forms
a background to the town rising to the height of 500 me-
tres' above the level of the sea. Pretty country houses
are built on its slopes, separated from each other by deep
ravines, planted with trees and shrubs of rapid vegetation,
whose green luxuriance presents a pleasing contrast to the
dazzling whiteness of the town below.—A Residence in
Algeria, by Madame Prus,