(20 
smatter ; with: extracts from common 
:books, the republication of papers which 
are not scarce, and the recapitulation of 
_-historical facts which-haye no relation to 
maritime discovery. Long notes -are 
every where annexed to. long. digres- 
-sionsy:like the hairs of a mole, the ex- 
.erescencies of an-excresence, deforming 
deformity. The part which actually 
-relates to the protessed subject of the 
-work, might have been comprized in a 
small octavo volume ; and that part is 
«badly executed. Instead of comparing 
‘the accounts of, various authors, and 
digesting them into one.connected narra- 
tive, Mr. Clarke has indolently sewed 
-together ‘scraps whenever they would 
suit his purpose, contrasting occasionally 
the rust of Hakluyt and the old trans- 
Jator, with his own modern tinsel. The 
‘price of the volume-has been unnecessa- 
rily enhanced by engravings, admirably 
executed indeed, but which are altoge- 
ther superfluous. The spectre of the 
cape, for instance, is the frontispiece. 
Still more absurdly has a view of Co- 
lumbo harbour in Ceylon been intro- 
duced, upon these grounds: Mr. Clarke 
enters into a discussion concerning the 
situation of Solomon’s Ophir; he ents 
Mmerates the various opinions of the 
thousand and one authors who have 
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 
‘discussed the questioti; and .“ after 
‘much consideration” he inclines to ee 
the preference “to that distinguished 
-scholar, Samuel Bochart, who.-in_ his 
-valuable work on sacred geography,-en- 
titled Phaleg and Canaan, demonstrates 
with equal ability and reason, that 
Ophir was the great island ‘Taprobana, 
since called Zeelan and Ceylon, which 
produces gold, ivory, precious stones, 
and peacocks.”” He has therefore given 
a view of the Ophir, that is, of Columbo 
harbour: thisis a,perfectly. flat shore, with 
a few trees. and fortifications, . being no 
doubt the batteries erected by the Jews; 
and._to fill up the plate, an Englishman of 
war brig is added, representing, we pre- 
sume, one of the fleet sent, in conformity 
to treaty, by his present Majesty, to pro- 
tect the possessions of his good ally, 
King Solomon, against the machinations 
of 'lippoo Saib, Bonaparte, and Ne- 
buchadnezzar. ' 
When we consider the important na- 
ture of this work, and that it was. pro- 
jected ‘* under the auspices, and with 
the approbation” of the then first lord 
of the admiralty, we cannot but feel that 
a compilation so every way despicable, 
appearing under such patronage, is to 
be considered as a national disgrace. 
Arn Tike A Fournal of Travels in Barbary, in the Year 1801. By James Curtis, 
sq. Surgeon to the Embaxy to Morocco. With Observations on the Gum Trade of 
Senegal. 12mo. pp. 157. = 
MR. CURTIS accompanied the Eng- 
lish embassador, in 1801, from Gibraltar 
to Fez: in this little volume he relates 
‘such ‘circumstances as he saw or heard 
- ‘during his journey. 
The embassy landed at Tangiers. The 
old castle, he tells us, remains as it was 
left by the Portugueze; for the Moors 
never repair a building, though, they 
do not scruple to add to it. Vhe town 
itself, like‘all Moorish towns, is dirty, 
and with narrow streets; the houses all 
whitewashed,*a pernicious custom ia so 
hot a climate: the number of blind in 
consequence is very great; and there’ is 
scarcely one’ person ‘in‘ten free ftom the 
gutta serena. ‘The population is computed 
at 15,000 souls. ‘Tangiers was once a 
strong place; it baffled the army of 
Portugal for many years,-and once gave 
that country a severe lesson, ominous of 
the fate of Sebastian.. The'fortifications 
aré now in a ruinous state; yet the para- 
‘pet wall which surrounds it has ‘the ap- 
pearance of'strength. ‘The storks perth 
> ¥ 
on it in great numbers; so constantly. 
indeed, and in such number, that the 
author at first mistook them for soldiers. 
The stork, we believe, is-every where a 
sacred bird; perhaps because he builds 
pon churches and mosques: and hay- 
ing there been usually‘ protected by the 
sanctuary, a sanctity has been attributed 
every where to his nest. The whole 
trade of ‘l'angiers consists if supplymg 
the opposite coasts with provisions; their 
markets are held thrice a week, abun- 
dantly supplied, and of cotirsé cheap ; 
they resemble English fairs, ‘cattle are 
bought there for sale, and tradesmen 
and handicrafts of every description piich 
their tents,.for the people never think 
-of having any, work: done. but on-these 
days... Add to: this, bustle of business, 
shows, jugglers, .and- dancing: to” the 
Moorish tambourine ; andthe work days 
in Tangie¥s resemble our:holidays in 
England. toate UF cs Bh 
. The fertile valleys of Barbary,. (says 
Mr. Curtis,) the rich and extensive corn- 
