remain in port for the rest of our time.

We are now screwed

into an humble form, and I hope to continue so for life, as it is my intention, please God, never to emigrate from Alma Mater any more, unless to go to Paris, which I fear I shall not be able to afford." Nor was this a temporary feeling, arising chiefly from the agreeable surprise which Mrs. Clarke had prepared for him; at several subsequent periods he wrote to his friends in the same strain.

Here, therefore, he remained, and henceforth thought no more either of removing or of travelling. Nevertheless, his anxiety about the MSS. did not cease, and it is creditable to him to mention, that through his means a considerable sum (five hundred pounds,) was placed by the government at the disposal of a gentleman from Cephalonia, for the purpose of effecting this great literary object.

CHAPTER IX.

The Friends and Correspondents of Dr. Clarke-Mr. Burckhardt and his
Letters-Mr. Eustace.

THE narrative will now turn aside for a while from Dr. Clarke, to advert to other persons connected with him. Of his friends and correspondents it may be said without the slightest exaggeration, that they formed no inconsiderable portion of the persons whose learning and genius have shed a lustre upon their country during the last twenty years, and this, not in one department only, but in several; and if he had shown. as much regard for his own letters, by taking copies of them, as he did for those of others, by preserving them, they would have constituted together a body of correspondence as interesting and instructive as any which has been presented to the public in our memory. His curious and ardent mind, was ever stirring some question of ancient or modern learning, for which the course of study connected with his Travels or his Lectures, was constantly supplying fresh materials, as various as they were important, and it is only necessary to subjoin the names of some of the persons who took a share in these discussions, to satisfy the reader how much both of light and inerest the application of such minds must have brought to

them.* Of these it is not intended to assert that every one was a regular correspondent of Dr. Clarke, although many of them were so in the most extensive sense of the term, but merely to affirm, that they all contributed in their several ways, and in a greater or less degree, to that mass of active information, which he was constantly employed in distributing, through various channels, to the minds of others; for with him the delight of acquiring knowledge was only equalled by that of communicating it. Nor could there possibly exist a stronger testimony to his own candour, liberality, and intelligence, than that such a host of men, so variously gifted and endowed, some of them neither easy of access, nor prodigal of information, should have found it a pleasure for so many years to cooperate in his labours, and to interest themselves in his success: we say, found it a pleasure, for it is gratifying to observe, that the great bulk of these letters are as expressive of good-will and kindness, as they are distinguished by intelligence and learning; and the fact itself will be considered as one of the most remarkable features in the life and character of the man. The letters on Mineralogy consist of two large volumes, collected and bound up by himself, and would almost form a history of the science for the last ten years: those of Mr. Matthias, from Italy, are very numerous, and as remarkable for their classical taste, as for their playfulness and affection. Upon these stores it is not the intention of the author of this Memoir to intrude: happily most of the writers, still survive, and if it were otherwise, even the most moderate use of their correspondence would lead him far beyond the limits and the object of the present work; nevertheless one exception will be made, in the case of Mr. Burckhardt, an accomplished traveller like himself, whose letters will now be given, partly because they throw light upon his connexion with Dr. Clarke, which was highly honourable to both, and partly because,

Besides the eminent names of Porson, Parr, and Burney, with Dr. Maltby and Dr. Butler, already mentioned, there appear in the departments of classical and philological literature, Mr. Payne Knight, Dr. Raine, Dr. Bloomfield, Professors Monk and Dobree, Dr. Kaye (Bishop of Bristol,) Mr. Matthias, Mr. Weston, Archdeacon Wrangham, &c.; among persons distinguished by travel, or in the fine arts, Mr. John Hawkins, Mr. Malthus, Lord Byron, Mr. Walpole, Lord Aberdeen, Mr. Squire, Lord Valentia, Mr. Wilkins, Mr. Hobhouse, Mr. Banks, Mr. Burckhardt, Dr. Heber, Sir W. Gell, Mr. Hamilton, Major Rennel, Mr. Pennant, &c.; in chemistry, mineralogy, and natural history, Dr. Wollaston, whose letters are particularly kind and instructive, Mr. Tennant, Sir H. Davy, Mr. Wavel, Dr. Thomson, the mineralogical Professor at Aberdeen, Mr. Hailstone, Dr. Milner, Dean of Carlisle, Professor Kidd of Oxford, Mr. Holme, Mr. Lunn, Mr. Leslie, Dr. Brewster, Mr. Jameson, Sir W. Smith, Mr. Lambert, &c.; to these may be added, Mr. Edgeworth, Mr. Wilberforce, Dr. Nicholls, Arabic Professor at Oxford; among foreigners, Chevalier, Pallas, Hauy, Nozen, &c.-This list does not include the names of many of his eminent friends resident at Cambridge with whom his communications were chiefly oral.

although possessing much interest, as well from the character of the man as from the circumstances under which they were written, they are not likely in any other way to see the light.

It has been affirmed in the Memoir prefixed to Mr. Burckhardt's Travels, that the bequest of his Arabic MSS. (the choicest collection in Europe) to the Public Library at Cambridge, was intended as a mark of gratitude for the literary benefits and the kind attention which he received there; the statement is undoubtedly true, but it remains to be recorded how much of the merit of these services is due to Dr. Clarke, and how happily in this instance, as well as in others, his exertions and character have tended indirectly to the credit of the University, whose welfare he had so much at heart.

Mr. Burckhardt was a gentleman by birth, as well as by education, and resided for a considerable time in Cambridge, both before and after his engagement with the African Society, in 1808; chiefly with the view of profiting by such opportunities as the place afforded for improving himself in natural history and oriental literature. He brought few recommendations, and from principle as well as inclination, lived exceedingly private and retired. nor was there any thing at that time, either in his conversation or manner, which was likely to strike an ordinary observer; for the dispersion of his family by the French Revolution, had added seriousness to a character naturally grave; and at all times his parts were more solid than specious. Dr. Clarke, however, soon found him out, and by every means which his own resources and his situation in Cambridge supplied, endeavoured to give effect to his views, and to make his residence agreeable to him, as well as instructive. His house was open to him at all times-he procured him access to whatever books or persons were likely to be of service to him; and without wishing to detract from the kindness of others, and particularly from that of Dr. and Mrs. Marsh, to which Mr. Burckhardt himself always attached the highest value, it may be said, that most of his happiest hours were spent in Dr. Clarke's society, and in that of his family. Nor was his sagacity less remarkable with regard to this gentleman, than his kindness. He soon discovered in Mr. Burckhardt those qualities for which he has been since so distinguished, and was delighted to bring them forward to the notice of his friends; to whom he also frequently predicted that high degree of reputation which this traveller afterward attained. How sensible Mr. Burckhardt was of this kindness, may be partly inferred from the fact of his having confided his MSS. to Dr. Clarke; but the letters now submitted to the reader will show it more decidedly.

Mr. Burckhardt to the Rev. Dr. Clarke.

"ALEPPO, May 3, 1811. ¡ “I might begin with a world of reproaches, but knowing as I do that nothing will ever change your fickle disposition, I waive my right of abusing you, and assure you, that notwithstanding your obstinate silence, my thoughts have often been with you, and dwelt on the remembrance of our friendship, which, against all appearances, I still am persuaded to be as sincere on your side as it is on mine. Do not, however, put my consdence upon too severe a trial, nor presume that you possess any means of making in future times amends for having thus trided with the desire I have to hear of the welfare of my friends. Lady R. will have informed you of my tour to Palmyra. I have since not been idle. As soon as the government of Damascus, after the recent change of the Pacha, and a short internal war, bad reassumed some degree of stabity, without which the traveller is at the mercy of every miserable village Scheik, I set out upon an excursion to Baalbec and the Libanus, along the highest summits of which, from the Cedres two days' journey southward, I returned into the fertile valley of Bekaa, or Coele-Syria. From thence I continued my way through the Druse districts of Hasbeya into the plain of the Houle, or the lake Samachonitis, where I visited the source of the river Jordan, and the ruins of the ancient Cæsarea Philippi, now called Banias; and returned afterward to Damascus, over the chain of mountains called Djebel Heish. The district of Hasbeya is interesting on account of its mineral productions. Little qualified as I was, fully to judge of them, I was merely busy in picking up specimens of rocks and minerals, in order to exhibit them to some true connoisseur. In the neighbourhood of Hasbeya are large wells of bitumen Judaicum. Ilikewise found there a mountain covered with pieces of fluor spar, and at another spot native amalgam of mercury. The whole chain of the Libanus and AntiLibanus is of a primitive, calcareous rock; near the highest top of it, over the Cedres, I found a petrified shell. After my return to Damascus, I remained there three weeks, preparing and collecting information for a tour through a country, which, till a few years ago, had never been visited by any European traveller. I mean the country to the south and south-east of Damascus, which is still called by its ancient patriarchal name, the country of Hauran. Mr. Seetzen, the German traveller, who is at this moment exploring the interior of Africa, to the south of Abyssinia, had seen five years ago part of Hauran,

previous to his memorable tour round the eastern borders of the Dead Sea. The diversity of Arab tribes who frequent that country, make it of difficult access. I had, however, the

good fortune to return unmolested, in the beginning of December, 1810, to my head-quarters at Damascus, after an absence of nearly four weeks. The Hauran is cultivated to the distance of about one hundred miles south of Damascus. Its inhabitants, in their dress and manners, and their frequent change of abode from one village to the other, are complete Bedoweens. The generality of them are Turks, but Greek Christians are likewise met with in almost every village, and the Druses have a settlement of about twenty villages in the mountains of Hauran. The good disposition one of the Druses' chiefs entertained towards me, enabled me to push forward into the desert, part of which, to the south-east of the Castle of Bosra, traversed during a fatiguing march of four days, accompanied by three Druses and two Bedoweens. The mountain of the Druses, as well as the southern plain, is full of interesting ruins and remains of antiquity. I saw an amphitheatre in most complete preservation, several elegant temples, a number of colonnades; and copied upwards of one hundred Greek inscriptions. Most of them are of the lower empire; there are, however, several of the time of Nero, Trajanus, M. Aurelius. On my way back to Damascus, I visited several villages which had a few months ago fallen a prey to the ravages of the Wahabee chief. You may have already been informed by the newspapers that Ibu Saoud, the present Wahabee chief, made in July, 1810, an incursion into the neighbourhood of Damascus; it was just about the time I arrived there from Palmyra. The inhabitants of Damascus, knowing the Pacha's feeble resources for the defence of the city, were so much frightened, that many began to send off to the mountain of the Druses their most valuable effects. The Wahabee, however, executed his design in the true Arab style. He remained only two days and a half in the Hauran, overran in that time a space of at least one hundred and forty miles, plundered and ransacked about thirty villages, and returned flying into the heart of his desert dominions. The Pacha had issued from Damascus with a corps of about six thousand men, but did not venture to hazard the chance of an engagement. Ibu Saoud was for several hours in view of him, but he contented himself with awkwardly firing off his guns. The Wahabees were for the greater part mounted upon she-camels, whose milk afforded in the desert subsistence for themselves, and to the few horses which accompanied them. Their strength was between seven and eight thousand men. It is to be presumed,