to our own seaman, but I would suggest that a handsome sum be appropriated for the foundation of a Home for the Seamen of all Nations; an Institution that would redound, not only to the honour of the great event it would help to commemorate, but be responded to most heartily by every maritime country and as the career of the Crystal Palace; that splendid monument of British art and perseverance (justly called the World's wonder) has come to a close after unparallelled success, allow me to remark that this success would have been unavailing without the instrumentality of seamen.

It is a great stigma and disgrace on this much favoured country, not to try and ameliorate and raise the character of those men who have been so eminently serviceable to her, and brought the commerce of all the nations of the earth to her feet.

Had England duly regarded the moral welfare and happiness of her Sailors, when she first began to colonize distant lands, by encouraging "Sailors' Homes," and discouraging those haunts of vice, which now exist in every sea port, how different an aspect might this world at this moment have presented.

But the Philanthropist must remember that unfortunately, the great evil of neglecting our Seamen does not end at home or with themselves. The Navy and Mercantile interest suffer generally from the demoralized and diseased state in which they again embark, carrying the moral contagion abroad and propagating it amongst thousands. To these deplorable results I have been myself but too often a witness. I remain, Sir,

Your obedient servant,

W. H. HALL, Capt. R.N.

To the Editor N.M.

SHAKINGS FROM SMYRNA.-By Mahmouz Effendi.

(Continued from page 472.)

"In the name of the Prophet-figs!"-"Indjeer, Indjee, Indjeer!!! -such was the exclamation that burst from us as we threw down the Times of Monday, the 8th day of September in the current year, after having read therein the arrival at Southampton of the steamer Euxine, bringing from the ancient and ever prosperous port of Smyrna a miscellaneous cargo, among which figured in her bill of lading no less than forty-seven tons of figs! This sounds pretty well as the very first import of the season, and when the Euxine left her Ionian istalia other and larger cargoes of the same delicious fruit were ready for immediate embarkation. the first We happen to have noticed that, after year year figs generally leave Smyrna on or about the 22nd of August, (almost without the variation of a day) and certainly after that date not a ship

*In 1849 the first export of figs from Smyrna occurred on the 22nd of August. See Times, "City article," 7th September, 1849, and the Eurine sailed from Smyrna on the same date, or on the preceding evening in 1851.

sails for England without them. Well may we then in any autumn exclaim "In the name of the Prophet, figs!"

The exports of Smyrna consist also of raisins and of other fruits, of cotton, goats' wool, and raw silk, opium, rhubarb, gums mastic and tragacanth, drugs, madder, olive-oil, valonea, carpets, .galls, sponges, hareskins, copper, honey and wax, scammony, safflower, &c., &c. Nor must we omit gold fish, and last not least leeches!

The Saucy Fanny (so often mentioned in our "Shakings,") notwithstanding the fear her chief mate had expressed of having to visit the Dardanelles merely for a "dirty" cargo of Valonea, (for thus that officer termed this species of oriental acorn so coveted by British dyers,) luckily escaped the dreaded infliction and was now more profitably and unexpectedly chartered with a general cargo for Harwich, that rising port of Essex, which bids fair again to become not only a place of large trade, but almost to monopolize the passenger traffic between London and Ostend, Antwerp, and Rotterdam. And we understand that even the Levantine merchants anxiously look forward to the day when by a steamer running from Harwich to Ostend they may accelerate their correspondence, and passing along the railroads through Belgium and onwards via Vienna, save two or three days of the time now occupied by the mails taking other and less direct routes. But into this question

we must not here enter.

The charter obtained by the Saucy Fanny had been finally arranged to the full satisfaction of Captain Nicholas Collier, before he went on board the schooner-yacht Flat Fish to sup with Mr. Chatterton as mentioned in our last chapter. And here, at this stage, with the permission of the reader we shall "call a halt," in the real progress of our story, promising to resume our march in the Nautical for 1852, Deo Volente. So that what here follows must be taken as a mere episode.

The Turkish Tour seems to be becoming quite the fashion, but we hear on all sides, expressions of regret at the language of Anatolia and Roumelia, being so little understood by English travellers. Now, those of our readers who visit Smyrna in men-of-war will probably be provided with the Nautical Magazine; and in this, in 1851, we ventured to pen a few papers entitled "Turkish for Tars," which till some more elaborate contributions appear from abler hands, may possibly be found acceptable by tourists and blue-jackets. They are, however, regarded by their author as a mere step in the right direction, and as in short but the herald of better things from many quarters. Turkish is no longer unstudied in the navy. Captains Slade and Sir Godfrey Webster are said to know more of it as yet, than any other officers, the former especially. Others it is to be hoped are also following their example, and books from their pens may yet see the light. Turkish frigates are yet again destined to visit Spithead and Plymouth Sound, although in London the Crystal Palace is defunct. We have already and recently heard an Ottoman Admiral harangue in English, and we yet hope to hear an English Admiral speak Turkish. Let it not long be said that English officers are not good linguists; that, in the words of Shakspeare,

"They have been at a great feast of the languages and stolen the scraps."

On looking over our "Turkish for Tars," we cannot but plead guilty to many omissions, and we hasten therefore, to insert part of a further vocabulary in short sections, to supply some few of the discovered defects. We may do more next year. The sailor certainly looks to the Nautical Magazine for information on this head, as well as on others; though the tourist may prefer seeking such knowledge in a Murray's Handbook.*

Though there is certainly a lack of good English works on the Turkish language, there is no want of modern books for the edification of those who contemplate the "Turkish Tour." Numerous as the volumes are 66 the cry is still they come." Pardoe, White, Slade, Urquhart, and Layard and Warburton; and Kinglake have been followed up by Macfarlane, Christmas, Neale, Fletcher, Margoliouth, St. John, De Vere, Ditson, Lear, Formby, Beldam, and many others; and this list would certainly not be complete without adding "The Devil in Turkey," by Stephanos Xenos! Then we have the Hora Apocalyptica by the Rev. E. B. Elliott, a really astounding work, and the author's explanation (at the end of his first volume), of the second or Turkish woe, foretold in the Revelations, should be carefully pondered on by all about to visit the East.†

Not only in books of travel, but also in the English newspapers has attention been more than usually directed to the Levant in 1851, and although a perusal of the books may have tempted crowds of our tourists to hie forthwith to the east, the contents of our leading journals (no longer confined to the Suez railroad on the one hand, and to the question of Kossuth on the other) have certainly damped the courage of very many, and led them more prudently to turn their footsteps elsewhere. For gazette upon gazette has clearly shown that brigandage and piracy are again in the ascendant throughout the shores and waters of Greece and Asia Minor! Izmeer has not escaped a visitation or two; verily, verily, they have had divers "Shakings at Smyrna." Not that the great earthquake at Rhodes and Macrit extended its terrific movements to the Meles; no, no; but that scores of bold bandits and blood-thirsty buccaneers have played off some of their mad pranks under the very nose of

A short vocabulary in English and Arabic is given in "Usborne's Levant Guide," pp. 140, 144; and one in English and Turkish in "Knight's Oriental Outlines," p. 343. Stampa, the shipchandler of Constantinople, sells also, for twelve piastres, a work called "Words for the Windbound," containing a long list of provisions, etc., in English and Turkish. Major Boyd has also published "The Turkish Interpreter," Reid, an "Outline of Turkish Grammar," and Schroeder, a "Turkish Grammar for Travellers." Then we have David's “Turkish Grammar" both in English and French.

† See Elliott, vol. 2, p. 442, Seeley, Fleet Street, "Cessation of the Turkish Woe and Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet." If, as he seems to prove, the "Cessation," actually did occur in A.D. 1774 (end of the Austro-Russian War) how fearfully near are we to the end!

Earthquakes at Rhodes, and Macri, lasted in 1851, from February to April, and the Sultan sent down Osman Pasha to make an official report of the immense damage done.-Morning Herald, May 16th, 1851.

Halil the Pasha of Ionia,* in addition to performing other exploits among the Fifty Islands of the Archipelago. Our tourists have indeed had good excuse for their timidity.

We may record a few of these incidents, hereafter giving the authorities whence they are derived. We ourselves know the ground, and, from experience we earnestly warn our merchantmen and yachtsmen to keep a sharp look-out for the next six months at least.

“How many men, are you?” “Nekadar Adem-syz?”—“Ten.” “On.”

*Halil Pacha, ancien gouverneur de Smyrne, qu'il a quietté par suite de mesintelligence avec le consul d'Angleterre, va très prochainement se rendre à Rhodes, chef-lieu du gouvernment des îles de l' Archipel qu'il a reçu en remplacement de son ancienne position. Extract from "Le Pay's," Paris Newspaper, 13th September, 1851.

In looking over the above section the scholar will doubtless here and there discover in the modern Greek, some similarity to the ancient tongue he has been taught at school and college; but if he visit the Levant, he will find his Oxford and Cambridge pronunciation most woefully at fault. The modern Greeks pronounce all their vowels as do the Italians and French. And the d becomes th in pronunciation, thus Lathi (as I have written it above) is properly written ladi, and yitha, yida. The island of Scio or Chios is pronounced by a Greek as if written in English He-o. Such differences are a great puzzle to the ear at first. But, we hope, although we must now bring our paper to a close, to refer again to Greek pronunciation, in a future chapter of our Shakings from Smyrna.

ON JULIUS CESAR'S EXPEDITION AGAINST ENGLAND, in relation to his places of departure and landing.

Greenwich, 17th October, 1851. MR. EDITOR.-My attention was called some time since to a communication by Captain Martin in the Nautical Magazine, for July last, in which he has, with great courtesy, remarked upon a paper published by me in the Athenæum of March 29th, relating to the invasions of Julius Cæsar. I had not intended to enter at present into any further controversy on this subject; but I have derived so much instruction from other papers of Captain Martin's that I should be sorry to appear in any degree to slight his remarks. The little rejoinder which I have now to make would probably long ago have been in your hands, but I have been