NAPOLEON. In spite of all the clamorous complaints, that fortune is fickle and not to be relied on, yet it is, perhaps, the better that she is so. Were things never to change, but go on in one dull, monotonous course, what would be the state of affairs? Men who might otherwise rise from low obscurity to hold distinguished stations, would linger out their dreary days in changeless forgetfulness; the gay beauties of nature would cease to call forth the admiration of men, and youthful genius, drooping her new-fledged pinions, would sink to rise no more. But she is delusive and changeable, and the contrary is true. No matter whether genius be bred in the low hovels of poverty and wretchedness, or in the towering temples of the rich; it may, by the aid of fortune, shine with equal lustre. He who has genius need not fear the raging of false accusers of fortune; she herself will lead him from his gloomy meditations on his future lot, and publish the refutation of her conspiring enemies. Napoleon, for instance, presents a lively example of the goodness of fickle fortune. He was born in 1769. Though his family was not of the lowest class, yet but half of his fame would outshine that of the whole host of his predecessors. Corsica was the place of his birth. His genius, even in his boyish days, burst the fetters of igno ignorance, and shone conspicuous at every school and academy at which he was placed. I will not attempt to sing the praise of Napoleon; his deeds bear the impress of applause upon their own faces. I will not attempt to enumerate all of his achievements-they would fill many volumes; but merely to mention a few of his many brilliant exploits, is all at which I would aim. His seventeenth year was destined to be an important epoch in his life: it was then that he entered the army, and commenced that "brilliant career of illustrious achievements," which has borne his name triumphantly through the bitter slanders of English enmity, and fixed his fame upon the firm basis of immortality. 373 The same towering genius which led him conqueror through the fair provinces of Italy, at another time conducted him triumphantly across the snow-capt ranges of the Alps: the same dauntless perseverance and stable fortitude which supported him amidst the torrid sands of Africa and the foul pests of Egypt, supported him in the cold and icy regions of the north. Austria, Prussia, Sweden, Russia, and England herself, looked with a fearful eye upon the unparalleled strides of the gigantic Napoleon, while the regal diadems tottered upon the heads of their despotic rulers. The proud autocrat of Russia bent before his irresistible might, and the dynasty of Gustavus crumbled beneath his touch. But to follow his movements, would be at once to traverse the continent of Europe, from the sunny plains of chivalrous Spain to the frozen mountains of the northern climes. The tall Castilian felt the power of Napoleon, and the gallant Cossack of the Don stood astonished and confused at the recital of his victories. It has with truth been said that kings were his subjects. Almost every throne of the continent was filled by the minion of his ambition, and others were made to totter at his nod. But even the mighty greatness of Napoleon was doomed to wither and fall before the combined forces of jealous Europe. Who, that has attentively perused ised the history of Napoleon, has not admired his gallant courage, his intrepid bravery, and his manly skill? Who has not anxiously followed him through the heroic scenes of his glory, and delighted to admire his unparalleled success? And who has not felt his blood boil with full-fraught indignation, while reading the shameful story of his fall, and the darksome story of Europe's cowardly combination? Yes, nothing less than Europe could have effected his overthrow. Witness the combination of powers, arrayed in dastardly union against the towering talents of fortune's mighty son. His fall more resembles the treacherous assassination of the virtuous Dentatus, than the honorable combat of Christian kings. View Prussia, Austria, Germany, Spain, Russia, and mighty England, arrayed in one vast, extended arena, against the soaring eagles of Napoleon, and "last though not least," view the cold and selfish spirits of Bernadotte and Murat, hovering, like the false and traitorous conspirators of Julius, around the evening sun of Napoleon, and watch how they shrink from the eagle glance of their lawful Such was the force against which the master of Europe had to contend. Consider well, ye mortals, and wonder not that he fell. This illustrious man entered the service, not in the gaudy uniform of commander-in-chief, nor in the still more fantastic equipage of the vain adjutant; but as the humble subaltern, he bore the fatigues of the camp, until his own bright genius, and not the favor of a partial despot, raised him to distinction. Ten years from the time he entered the army, as a subaltern, this self-same Napoleon was commander-in-lord. chief of the French army in Italy; and that classic ground, once trampled by the valiant veterans of Cæsar's legions, was now fallen into the hands of a nobler Cæsar than he of old. City after city bowed before him, until the proud capital of the ancient world was the scene of his gallant victories. Naples and Mantua, memorable cities of antiquity, reflected the dazzling halo of his glory; the greatest generals of Europe sank before him, and the vain and selfwreathed Pope trembled and sickened at the dauntless courage and daring spirit of the "Little Corporal." France can never forget the memory of Napoleon; he raised her from comparative lowness to gigantic greatness; and by her, at least, should the name of Bonaparte be remembered "with fond delight." He is no more! The man who could move undaunted through the trying era of the revolution, and conduct the armies of his country to victory and glory, amid the smiling verdure of Italy and the icy glaciers of the Alps, died, lonely and sorrowfully, upon the barren cliff of St. Helena, Europe beheld with admiration the invincible spirit of Napoleon, and trembled as she beheld. I where English fear and injustice had doomed 374 CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF PERSIAN WOMEN. the last sad days of his illustrious life to be spent. is turned up at the day of resurrection, and And the rocky isle of St. Helena will be marked lucky is he if his legs are able to carry him into in history as the rugged rock, where breathed Paradise. If we consider the nature of Al Sirat, his last, the great and mighty Napoleon, against whose memory the billows of English hatred will dash, but to recoil upon the deceitful authors of their motion. This, we do not hesitate to say, is the most important work that has ever been published in the East. Whether it has been honoured with a royal or gold medal, does not appear; but that it contains more information respecting the state of society in Oriental countries, (which are all as much influenced by Persia as the continent was by France,) more solid wisdom, pure morality, and judicious rules of life, than any other profane volume of the same size, will not be doubted by those who read it. The false notions, in particular, which have prevailed about the "slavery" of women in the East, are completely blown away. It seems that a royal commission was directed (we do not accurately know when, or by whom) to five ladies of distinguished breeding and quality, empowering them to draw up a complete code of laws for the women of Persia; and, in the prosecution of their labours, to call in, as often as their advice might be necessary, two other women of great distinction and learning to aid their deliberations; precisely as the judges are sometimes required to deliver their opinions to Parliament on difficult questions of law. The names of the first five are, Kulsum Naneh (President,) Shahr-Banu Dadeh, DadehBazm Ara, Bagi Yasmin, Khala Gul-bari. The assessors or judges are, Khala Ian Agha, Bibi Ian Afroz; And the work before us is the pandect of laws collected, arranged, and settled by them. As we proceed, it will be seen how erroneous were the opinions that regarded freedom, pin-money, separate maintenance, divorce, &c., as peculiar privileges of Western women. It will, on the contrary, be inade manifest, that these have come, like the Cholera, Light, &c., from the East; and that the circle of a Persian lady's amusements, though the links may be apparently different, is as large as that of any woman of fashion here; while the ties of morality are equally strict in both countries. If the one has her private box at the opera, church, the race-course, the ball, the carriage; the other has her bath, mosque, litter, pipe, and Almehs, who dress and dance as voluptuously as Taglioni herself. But one circumstance deserves notice: The good treatment of women here is secured partly by sentiment, and partly by law. In Persia, besides law and sentiment, they have religion on their side. A man who abuses his wife is not only exposed to the tongues of all her friends, and a bastinado from the Kazi; but he * Customs and manners of the Women of Persia, with their domestic superstitions. Translated from the original Persian Manuscript, by James Atkinson, Esq., of the Hon. East India Company's Bengal Medical Service. Priuted for the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Brit ain and Ireland. it is evident that he must have great difficulty in keeping his footing upon that very narrow pass. The code (and it may be observed that its mere existence proves the great consideration of women in Persia) contains numerous enforcements of this great principle, some of which we proceed to lay before the reader, premising that there are four degrees of obligation mentioned-Wajib, necessary; mustahab, desirable; sunnat, according to the law and traditions of the Prophet; and sunnat Mu'akkad, an imperative duty of religion. IMPERATIVE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF WOMEN. "1. A husband should give his wife money without limit. Allah forbid that she should die of sorrow and disappointment! in which case her blood would be on the head of her husband. The learned conclave are unanimous in declaring that many instances have occurred of women dying from the barbarous cruelty of their husbands in this respect; and if the husband be even a day-labourer, and he does not give his wages to his wife, she will claim them on the day of judgement. It is incumbent on the husband to bestow on the wife a daily allowance in cash, (not yearly or quarterly, but daily, this is a decided improvement on pin-money;) and he must also allow her every expense of feasting, and of excursions, and the bath, and every oth er kind of recreation. If he has not generosity and pride enough to do this, he will assuredly be puished for all his sins and omissions, on the day of resurrection." This is not all. He is accountable, not only for his own soul, but his wife's. As in this country, so in the other world, any debts she contracts he becomes liable for; and they are exhibited on the debit side against him, upon the day of judgment. "2. As long as he will not allow his wife the fees for the bath, and she is thus prevented from performing her ablutions, so long will fasting and prayer be of no use." How pleasant it would be, if, on the eve of an Election, a cry of Atheism could be raised against a candidate, because he did not allow his wife a private box at the Opera? If Sir James Scarlet could introduce such a doctrine from Persia, he might then indeed pen luscious addresses to the ladies of Norwich. How much the salvation of a Persian woman's soul depends on the due use of the bath, will be plain from the following extract. Particular attention is requested to the nature of the figures; especially to those of the sun, moon, and beasts. Had not the writer overlooked that essential point, we might have been spared his concluding absurd remark, as he would have seen that the whole is religious in an extreme degree. The correct view is taken by the Wise Women. "The Persian ladies regard the bath as the place of their greatest amusement. They make appointments to meet there; and often pass seven or eight hours together in the carpeted saloon, telling stories, relating anecdotes, eating sweetmeats, sharing their kolyouns, and em CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF PERSIAN WOMEN. 375 bellishing their beautiful forms with all the fan- | a woman remain in the house of her husband, cied perfections of the East; dyeing their hair and eyebrows, and curiously staining their fair bodies with a variety of fantastic devices, not unfrequently with the figures of trees, birds, and beasts, sun, moon, and stars. "3. On the last Friday of the blessed month of Ramazan, the women ought to dress superbly and perfume themselves, and put on their best ornaments, and go to the porticoes of the mosques; because young men of cypress forms, with tulip cheeks, and amorous demeanour, assemble there in greater numbers than at other places. There they must sit down and stretch out their feet, and every one must light twelve tapers; and in doing this, care must be taken to lift the hand high above the head, so as to raise up the veil, as if by accident, and thus display their beautiful faces. Their crimson-tinted toes must also be exposed, in order that the young men may see and admire them with wounded hearts; but it would be an unlucky omen if one of the tapers were left unlighted. Bibi lan Agha, and the rest of the learned conclave, are unanimous in this opinion. Further, it is not at all necessary that, in lighting the tapers, silence should be observed. On the contrary, lovely women should always let their sweet voices be heard." This must be understood to be an important religious ceremony. It will be rendered plainer presently. "4. Should a favourable opportunity occur for the beautiful young girls to remain with the who is continually opposed to those recreations to which her whole soul is devoted?" This, to us, seems conclusive. Indeed, the husband who can digest so powerful an argument, must have a stomach at least equal to that of an ostrich. But the Learned Women leave no loophole for escape. "9. Dadeh Bazm Ara says, I have proved, from the instructions of my master Iblis, (a great eastern philosopher, not to be confounded with Eblis, Saten,) that the man who does not allow his wife to visit holy places and mosques, and the house of her friends, male and female, and who prohibits other innocent and agreeable proceedings, such as we have deemed proper and expedient for her own satisfaction and comfort; that man, I say, will be damned hereafter." Nothing can be more clear or satisfactory than this. The crimes, however, of the husband, do not escape punishment in this world: "Should his wife die of a broken heart, he and his relations are liable to pay the expiatory mulct, as in cases of wilful murder." This great right of women to innocent amusements is further insisted on; and the precise mode of the husband's perdition explained, in another article of the code. It appears that he is to be accused and condemned at the day of resurrection, by the Seven Learned Women. SCIENTIFIC DIVISION OF MEN. The proper Man, the Half Man, and the Hupul-hupla.- "There are three sorts of men: young men for a short time, and especially if 1. A Proper Man; 2. Half a Man; 3. A Hupul their intercourse arises from mutual affection, there can be nothing wrong in the indulgence of their attachments. Indeed, it is a fortunate circumstance, and, upon the whole, more gratifying and satisfactory to them than fasting the whole year. "5. And whenever the young women visits their female friends upon that blessed day, for the purpose of meeting their lovers, they may be permitted, without any violation of decorum, to remain till a late hour." The love here meant is Platonic love. "6. If a woman's husband presumes to ask where she has been, and why returned so late, it is highly reprehensible on his part; for, through the sacred influence of that blessed day, she stands acquitted of all impropriety." "7. Dadeh-Bazm Ara, Bagi Yasmin, and Shahr-Banu Dadeh, are of opinion, that when a woman applies the end of a taper to the tips of the toes of her right foot, and, at the time of lighting it, displays the beautiful shape of her leg, she will undoubtedly be in no danger of hell-fire." The Seven Wise Women are careful to lay down axioms, as the ground-work of their reasonings on every subject. The preceding is one. "8. And Kulsum Naneh, the President of the Council, is decidedly of opinion, that no woman can entertain the least hopes of heaven, whose hupla. A Proper Man at once supplies whatever necessaries or indulgencies his wife may require: he never presumes to go out without his wife's pe permission, or do any thing contrary to her wish." It strikes us, that this is the character, which, in these countries, is called "A Jerry Sneak." In the East he seems to be held in high honour. "2. Your Half Man is a very poor, snivelling wretch, always meddling; with but little furniture in his house, and just bread and salt enough for bare subsistence; never on any occasion enjoying the least degree of comfort. The wife sits in his house, and works, and all she earns is applied to procure food and light. It is, therefore, wajib in that industrious woman to reply harshly to whatever he says: and if he beats her, it is wajib to bite and scratch him, and pull his beard, and do every thing in her power to annoy him. If his severity exceeds all bounds, let her petition the Kazi, and get a divorce." These rules carry on them such a stamp of wisdom and reasonableness, that it is unnecessary to express our full concurrence in their perfect propriety. There can be little doubt that they will soon be used to enrich the law of Doctors' Commons. And to whom can the task of improving the social condition of our countrywomen be more safely intrusted, than to the man who had struggled, with such purity of motive, for the happiness of the woman of India husband forbids the things that are herein com- -Dr. Lushington? The right side of the quesmanded, and considered proper for her pleasure tion, important as it is, may, without hesitation, and happiness in this world. For, with what be confided to him, unless he get money to adcomfort (it is logically and forcibly asked) can | vocate the opposite side. : 376 CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF PERSIAN WOMEN. It would be unjust to omit noticing the judi- | reverential awe to his better half; and the Sun cious mode in which the Seven Learned Women direct a wife to resist her husband. We allude more particularly to the application to be made to his beard. In this point, Eastern women have a decided advantage over the women of the West. For here, unless a woman's husband happen to wear large whiskers, there is nothing on which she can fasten. Then the whiskers may be false ones; and as to mustachois, we are assured that they afford no grip whatever. But in the East, independently of the fact, that both hands may at once be stuck in it, and that with a powerful purchase, -the beard is the seat of honour, and is looked up to with profound veneration by both sexes. Without a large black beard a man is nobody; he is a being whom, as Hajgi Baba says, "a hundred dogs may make a corner-stone of, and bring their friends." The respect in which any individual is held, varies in the compound ratio of his own length, and that of his beard. Madden, in his very instructive and amusing travels, tells of a French nat Mu'akkad, or, as we might say, the Martyr. But in the case last extracted, there seems an omission on the part of the Seven Learned Women:-Should the husband see the street door open, and a young man, of cypress form, &c., come out, might be, in that case, provided it was not the blessed month Ramazan, suspect that there was any thing suspicious in the case? We confess we should like to hear Kulsum Naneh, or a grave Mollah on that point. Our present leaning decidedly is, that he might ask the young man, of the cypress form, &c., what was his business in that house. OF LIFTING THE VEIL FOR STRANGERS. serjeant-major, who, by a portly person, and a such liberties with mullans [priests] and Jews; huge mane to his chin, obtained great consideration in Constantinople. He was an Effendi, a Prince, a Sultan, to them. As soon as Napoleon's career of victory in Egypt commenced, the most extravagant stories were circulated about his stature and his beard. The Turks declared that he was a giant, with a beard as large as the three tails of a Pasha! and, accordingly, they resolved to submit to such a Child of Destiny; but as soon as they actually saw that he was even under the middle size, and, instead of the phenomenon represented, had no beard whatever, they cried out that he was an infidel; and the rebellion in Cairo was the consequence. The veneration paid to the beard must not be understood to arise merely from motives of personal vanity. It is a part of that mass of religious prejudices which is so firmly rooted in the Eastern mind. Men swear by it as something mysterious and holy. The most dreadful insult, therefore, that can be offered to an Oriental, is any disparagement to, much more manual intermeddling with his beard. The pity of the Janizaries for Charles XII., at Bender, was converted into fury when he ordered their beards to be cut off. "1. The Seven Learned Women declare that, among the forbidden things, is that of allowing their features to be seen by men not wearing turbans, unless, indeed they are handsome, and have soft and captivating manners; in that case their veils may be drawn aside. But they must scrupulously and religiously abstain from all since, respecting them, the prohibition is imperative." There is as much liberality as sound judgment in this article of the code. Indeed the learned women seem rather beyond their age; for Madden says, that none spit farther or oftener at him than women. Captain Franklin says, that being one day beyond the walls of Constantinople, sketching some senery, a Turkish lady came up, with, we believe, a child; and, having ascertained his employment, sat opposite to him, lifted her veil and made signs to him to draw her portrait. As she was young and very handsome, the Captain began with pleasure. But after some time, growing apprehensive that the Turks about the place might notice this tete-a-tete, (and for such things there are summary modes of proceeding on the Bosphorus,) he ceased sketching, and began to blow kisses from the end of the pencil towards his fair sitter. At this she coloured up to the temples, and drew her hand several times violently across her throat; a hint which the gallant Captain thought was not to be neglected, at least within the sound of the Euxine. The cause of this dislike depends, no doubt, somewhat on national prejudices; but in a far beard. The greater degree on the want of a no friends. "3. The Hupul-hupla has nothing; He wants to dress and live huiusly is totally destitute of means. If the wife of such a man absents herself from his house even for ten days and ten nights, he must not, on her return, her where has been; and, if he sees a stranger in the house, he must not ask who it is, or what he wants. Whenever he comes home and finds the street door shut, he must not knock, but retire, and not presume to enter till he sees it open." angular European dress, ess, to their notions, (but surely without any just grounds,) tight and indecent, is another powerful obstacle; but the shaven face, on which even a goat may look with contempt, is the greatest. Mahmoud, for a Turk, a great man, and not to be compared with the blood-stained knave of Egypt, has done much to remove those prejudices, and approximate Europe and Asia. A few years since, it was death upon the spot for any man, even by chance or necessity, to have seen one of the sultan's harem; but, not long ago, an English traveller, without the slightest danger, beheld one of Mahmoud's daughters standing at the window of the palace at Buyukdere. No stronger proof could be given of a change in opinion, than that furnished by the Seven Wise Women. Should he be a person of so violent a temper as to think there was any thing in all this, his wife must get divorced instanter; as evidently it would be impossible for any prudent or virtuous woman to live with so suspicious a husband. Considering the Proper Man as the pivot, and the Half Man and Hupul-hupla as the descending part of the series, the ascending would be the Sunnat, (or Godly Man, who looks up with The learned women next lay down, with judg OF PRAYER. CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF PERSIAN WOMEN. ment and clearness, the occasions on which prayers may be dispensed with. "J. When females are engaged with their friends in pleasant conversation, and in the mutual communication of secrets. "2. Upon hearing the sound of the drum or other musical instruments. "3. When a husband does not allow his wife enough of money. "4. Upon the nuptial night. "5. If the marriage happen during the blessed month of Ramazan, prayers and fasting may also be omitted during the whole month. "6. When a woman is listening to her lover. 7. When a husband goes on a journey. "8. If a woman engaged in prayer, happen to discover her husband speaking to a strange damsel, it is wajib for her to pause and listen attentively to what passes between them; and, if necessary, to put an end to their conversation. Prayer is proper. "1. If a woman have a slave girl in the house; for she must on no account leave her alone, and go to the bath, because the husband might come in the meantime and make love to her. "2. Kulsum Naneh is decidedly of opinion 'that, when resting from a promenade in the garden, or other amusements, prayer may be indulged in without any evil ensuing." This seems a sound and well-considered dic tum. TREATMENT OF A HUSBAND. Of this important subject a profound scientific view is taken, and masterly rules are laid down for conducting the war. The husband is con sidered as a fortress; his wife the besieging, and his mother, relations, &c., as the relieving army. The latter must be first defeated; the most approved mode being, "by, at 377 for him, and his pillow a pillow of stone; so that at last he becomes weary of life, and is glad to acknowledge her authority. On the other hand, should these resources fail, the wife may privately convey from her husband's house every thing valuable that she can lay her hands upon; and then go to the Kazi, and complain that her husband has beaten her with his shoe, and pretend to show the bruises on her skin. She must state such facts in favour of her case as she knows cannot be refuted by evidence, and pursue every possible plan to escape from the thraldom she endures. For that purpose, every effort, of every description, is perfectly justifiable, and according to law." As to the justice of the case, there can be little doubt; but upon the law of some parts, this country seems to be behind the East. It strikes us, for instance, that in the case of conveying away a husband's property, the people, in whose house it should be found, would have a chance of being prosecuted as receivers of stolen goods. And we have an obscure recollection that, some short time since, a young man, who felt deeply indignant at the treatment of a woman by her husband, and assisted in removing various articles (including the husband's clothes) which he believed to be her property, was actually indicted for something like burglary; and, it might even be, convicted. The hair of the Seven Learned Women would have stood on end at such profligacy in our laws. But if the Frangees are behind the Orientals in some points, there are others which may challenge comparison. The instance of the loaf, projected at an angle of 45° at a man's head, has much spirit; but we have heard of a most amiable lady, who, one day, in a fit of absence, struck her husband across the face with a leg of mutton, and had whole the compliment gallantly returned by a kicking and pul using her fists, her teeth, and least, once a day ling their hair, till tears come into their eyes, and fears prevent any further interference with her plans." From the moment the sword is drawn, the scabbord is to be thrown away. Like an experienced manœuverer, as she is, Kulsum Naneh despises half measures, or half victories. "She says that the wife must con tureen of in her bosom. ral years since this occurred; but though sim ilar instances are now quite rare, perhaps, upon the whole, the system of female tactics is not much inferior to that of Persia, however different their external appearances. PIN ΜΟΝΕΥ. tinue this indomitable spirit of independence Upon the interesting question of pin money, until she has fully established her power." The relieving army being annihilated, and the besieger at liberty to open the trenches, without molestation, against the husband; two modes of proceeding offer themselves. First, to consider him as enchanted; or, secondly, as a person in his senses, but cursed with an infernal disposition. In the first and most probable supposition, "it is wajib that cold water be poured over his head on three successive Wednesdays;" the demon it seems, having "an oath in heaven" against such a shower-bath. In the second case, "She must redouble all the vexations which she knows, from experience, irritate his mind; and day and night, add to the misery of his condition. She must never, whether by night or day, for a moment relax. For instance, if he condescends to hand her the loaf, she must throw it from her, or at him, with indignation and contempt. She must make his shoe too tight various opinions will be formed. In our mode of securing it, there certainly is something exceedingly prosaic. It does not, like the Persian, admit that variety of adventures, and rapid succession of hopes and fears, which form the wine of life. Hear Kulsum Naneh's account of the Eastern mode: "When a woman has not been to the bath for a considerable period, she ought to take whatever there is in the house of her husband, to defray the expenses of the bath. And it is wajib that she should scold and fight with her husband, at least twice a-day, till she obtains from him the amount required. And since there is no constancy in the disposition, or certainty in the life of a husband, [why don't they insure his life at some office?] who may repudiate his wife from caprice, or chance to die suddenly; it is wajib, while she does remain in his house, to scrape together, by little and little, all in her power; that, when the hour of separation arrives she |