to 700 feet in depth, as on the granite mountains narrow horizontal ledges extend along the face of these, nourishing numerous trees and bushes, their verdant hue contrasting in a singular manner with the grey and weather-beaten appearance of the rock, and giving it, what in reality it does not possess, an appearance of stratification. The rock, in common with all other mountain limestone, is very cavernous; and I observed in some of these hollows, very splendid stalactitical formations, formed by the constant dripping of water from above. The surface of the rock within exhibits a succession of rounded masses perforated by numerous cavities: these caverns are used both as places of residence for the living and the dead: one of them, the most magnificent and extensive I had found on the island, was 250 yards in length, in breadth 175, and height 87 yards. Within the interior masses hung, as it were, suspended in the act of falling from the roof at the entrance: at the very centre the arch drooped, and rested on a rude sort of pillar: the dimensions and form of this vast cavern were in accordance with the solitary magnificence of the whole scene: the entrance was in a measure blocked up by a huge overhanging rock, which excluded the rain, while it preserved the interior from the heat of the sun's rays: circular stone walls, with low, narrow doors, divided the interior into different apartments, each of which appeared to be occupied by the same family; the number in one was eight, and, allowing an average of four in others, it gives forty inhabitants in this lonely retreat amidst the mountain wilds. A place in each, as with other oriental dwellings, is set apart for the females, and called the harem. It has been observed, with some show of justice, that orientals are less sensible of the charms of natural scenery than Europeans; but some of these dwellings are most picturesquely situated in wild and solitary glens: their entrance is not unfrequently wholly concealed from view by the hardy and umbrageous foliage of the wild fig, the roots of which possess the instinctive quality of traversing the rock and following its irregularities until they find a sufficiency of soil to nourish them. The darker hues of the herbage around, produced by the ordure of their cattle, was frequently the only clue to the existence of these habitations. But the most singular purpose to which these caverns are applied is as places of interment: a portion near the inner extremity was selected, and divided from the rest by a wall; the body was then placed therein, and partially covered with earth, but no coffin was used. Those who were added were deposited in alternate layers, the head of one occupying the position of the feet of the other. The custom of burying the dead in caves is of great antiquity; we find mention made of it at the commencement of the records of Holy Writ. The natives tell me they have long since abandoned the custom, and their dead are now buried in the same manner as with other Mahommedans.

They have, however, on such events, retained a custom now peculiar to themselves: when a near relative is about to die they send out and collect as many bullocks as their means will admit of their purchasing, which, when the event takes place, are slaughtered and sent round the neighbourhood. I was acquainted with an old man in Tamarida, who had made these preparations under an impression that his wife would not survive many days, and he told me in confidence that he had already fixed his eyes on a younger and more comely maiden to supply

her place; but an unexpected change took place which escaped his mind in all his calculations-he died himself, just as his disconsolate widow recovered, to pay, by the distribution of his cattle, due honour to his memory.

Jebel Raggud is destitute of other water than that left by the rains in the hollows and cavities of the rocks. The natives have preserved a curious tradition respecting the disappearance of one of the swamps which are formed on the loose soil: some cows, with their tenders, had gone to a spot they had for years been in the habit of visiting; the ground suddenly sank beneath and overwhelmed them. The hollow is at present about 200 feet in depth; it was, I have little doubt, one of those numerous caverns which everywhere abound in the formation, partially covered by a thin layer of earth.

I kept a register of the climate during the time I remained in these mountains. The transitions from heat to cold are sudden in the mornings and evenings, but during the day the thermometric range is very limited; in the morning the air continues very cool, until the sun rises over the summit of the eastern mountains: at noon, provided there was no wind, which was rarely the case, the heat of the sun was very considerable, but the instant it sinks behind the western mountains the air again becomes cool. In a house the transitions would not, of course, be so observable; and I may remark, moreover, that the station which I occupied received but for a short period the sun's rays. I found here, and on several other visits I made to the mountains, that a superior current of air frequently sweeps down from the higher points in a direction quite contrary to the wind prevailing below, which would sink the thermometer several degrees. It must be observed that the climate, besides being subjected to these sudden variations, was not wholly free from the usual disagreeable accompaniment of highland regions: the summits of the lofty peaks obstruct the clouds in their progress, so that from sunshine and clear weather a few minutes brings dense fogs and drizzling rain; yet is this more than compensated for by the clear, pure, and unclouded atmosphere we enjoy at others. If possible, the nights are more pure than the days; and the moon's rays reflected from the smooth and grey surface of the granite mountains produce an effect I have rarely seen equalled.

The degree of humidity which was also exhibited after sunset and before sunrise (rarely a few degrees above the point of saturation) was also very great; our tent in the morning was usually found wet through, and the grass and bushes were everywhere dripping with moisture; it was impossible to move for some hours without getting completely

drenched.

I may here, in the hope they will prove of service to future travellers, give insertion to a few remarks which suggest themselves to me. There are several methods of ascertaining the mean temperature of mountain regions, of which the most common are

1. By supposing the heat to decrease at certain rates as we advance above the level of the sea.

2. By the temperature of copious springs.

3. By long-continued observations of the thermometer.

Mine was observed at 9 h. 13 m. A.M. which, by Vol. X. of the Edinburgh Philosophical Transactions, is the hour in the morning when the

mean annual temperature takes place; the mean daily minimum is a little below 5 h. A.M., and maximum 2 h. 40 m.

I had Leslie's hygrometer, which Daniel recommends to be used at 2 h. 40 m. This instrument was invented by Professor Leslie, and is by some called the Thermometric Hygrometer: its use is to mark the difference of temperature produced by evaporation, and is fully described in the Encyclopædia Britannica.

I am surprised, considering their extensive utility, that we have no well-constructed portable mountain barometer. I had one on this occasion constructed by Gilbert: it differed from others in the mode of fixing the zero of the scale; a screw attached to the lower part of the bag raises the surface of the mercury to this. To prevent, however, the frequent accidents which have occurred by its weight breaking the tube, the instrument was filled at the station where it was required to be used. A glass cistern was affixed to the tube by four steel screws: but the plan does not answer-the screws rusted, the glass cylinders snapped, or the mercury could not be prevented from escaping. I managed, however, to use it for ascertaining the daily variations in the height of the column. These were once supposed to be confined to the vicinity of the Equator, but they are now known to extend to every part of the globe, and, according to Humboldt, not only at the level of the sea, but 12,800 feet above it. I wished, as more observations were much required, to compare their range with that of those carefully noted on board the vessel.

As was my usual custom on such journeys, I mixed much with the natives, living in their huts with them. Desirous of remaining close to their herds on those occasions when they bring them from the plains below to browse here, they erect huts of loose stones, neither side of which exceeds seven or eight feet; more filthy habitations can scarcely be conceived, and they swarm with vermin. Those which are not thatched are usually covered with earth, and goats and sheep may frequently be observed feeding there. The mountaineers inhabiting this range are usually of a hardy race, yet, from being so lightly clad, and from exposing themselves at all hours to the wind and rain, intermittent fevers are by no means uncommon among them. Most of the cases I saw had assumed the tertian type, and this was the form it took whenever those who accompanied me were attacked.

The result of my inquiries and observations on this range induced me to strongly recommend that it should be selected as a station for the troops. How bitterly it is to be regretted that my suggestion was not adopted the whole of the first detachment, including their officers, with the exception of one, died two months after they landed; but the second, with better judgment, were at once marched to the summit of the mountains, where, until they were recalled, they enjoyed a climate equal to that of England, and not a fatal case occurred amidst them.

Socotra enjoys so many advantages of position, that, now steam-navigation between the East and West is occupying so much discussion, attention has been constantly drawn to it. It lies directly in the route of ships coming from the Red Sea, the entrance to which it may be said to command-and also in the track of vessels proceeding from Europe to India-advantages which will, in all human probability, at no very distant period, compel us again to occupy it.

U. S. JOURN, No. 116, JULY, 1838.

Y

DISASTER OF EL HAMET.

MR. EDITOR,-I have read with great satisfaction the notice of an Expedition to Alexandria, which appeared in the Numbers for January and May of your Journal. They evidently proceed from the pen of a writer who knows what he is about; but they do not give an account of the most deeply and painfully interesting portion of the campaign-I mean the terrible struggle at or near El Hamet, which ended in the total destruction of Colonel Macleod's detachment. It so happens that I have in my possession the journal of a gallant officer who served with this detachment, and shared the fate of the survivors of the battle; and though it be thrown into a shape which may or may not be accounted appropriate, according as the reader's taste shall lean to the light or the grave mode of detailing such matters, I think it best to send it to you as it is merely warning you that of the names introduced many are avowedly fictitious, though of the details you may rest assured that all are candidly stated. It is perhaps needless to add, that the substitution of fictitious for real names was meant by the writer as a means of sparing the feelings of individuals, who might not perhaps relish his remarks on their own conduct, or on the conduct of their deceased relatives. I think that such a course is never a judicious one, because when we deal with matters of history our course is plain. But I am not going to interfere with it in the instance before me. So take the journal as I give it to you, and be thankful.

AN OLD SOLdier.

JOURNAL.

The village of El Hamet is situated on the bank of a canal, which, when the river is subject to one of its periodical floods, unites the Nile with the Lake Edko. On one side a chain of low hills stretches along its entire extent; on the other the ground slopes gently towards a narrow belt of desert, which, intervening between El Hamet and the town of El Raschid, forms, as it were, a natural defence against the approach of an enemy from the interior. The village itself consists of about 100 houses, and is planted in the centre of a ridge, on the only spot where the ridge is traversed by a road. There, during the continuance of the operations against El Raschid, a detached force was stationed, as well for the purpose of covering in the rear the division that was employed in the siege, as in order to welcome the Mamelukes, of whose arrival in the lines there existed a momentary expectation. Indeed, so confident was the General commanding on this head, that the piquets received orders to be very cautious how they fired after nightfall; and I have good cause to believe that to the detachment in occupation of El Hamet instructions of a similar character were given.

The following narrative commences on the 22nd of April, 1807, on which day it was my lot to occupy with my company one of the breaching batteries that had been thrown up against the town. There had been a good deal of firing during the early part of the day, which still continued, though with long and increasing intervals, as if guns and gunners were growing alike weary of their work-and the latter, at least, had become anxious for repose. For ourselves, we of the infantry,

having had little share in the fatigue, were more open to the cravings of hunger than to the pressure of weariness; and I and my trusty Subaltern made the best dispositions which circumstances would allow to allay them. Accordingly, under the shelter of our cloaks, and squeezed as close to the parapet as possible, we sat down knee to knee, having each upon his canteen a piece of salt junk and a biscuit, and each brandishing a clasp-knife in his hand.

"Come, Tom," said I, "eat, drink, and be merry. As soon as this horrible din ceases, we'll have a snooze. They shan't work me as they did last night; we're on the right side of the wall for once."

Hervey, Hervey, my boy," exclaimed a voice from the outside of the parapet, where are you

י?

"Here," said I, peeping from beneath my cloak, and observing the Adjutant. "Here I am, Roster; but what brings you hitherward?" "Not curiosity, you may depend upon it," was the answer. General wants you."

"The

"For what?" asked I, by no means delighted at the prospect of being called upon to quit my shelter, and to run the gauntlet of the enemy's fire while proceeding to the General's tent. "What does he want with me?"

"I only

"He must answer that question himself," replied Roster. know that he sent me to bring you to him, and then to relieve your company. I suppose you are going to be sent somewhere or anotherperhaps to El Hamet, where there has been some fighting this morning. I saw the ammunition packed and ready for a start opposite to the General's tent."

"Well, Roster, if that be all, you may tell the General he had better send off the other company at once, and not give me a dance of half-adozen miles in the dark for no purpose. You may add, that I am on piquet; that I came back from escort only last night; that it is not my turn for detachment; and, in a word, that I won't budge an inch for him or anybody. Tell him that, or anything else you please, for go I positively will not."

"Pooh, pooh, nonsense man!" replied the imperturbable Adjutant, "that's all stuff. What have you got in your canteen? Hand it this way and let's try." And, suiting the action to the word, he clapped it to his mouth. "There now," continued he, after emptying the implement of half its contents,-"let's be off,-and devil take the hindmost." And away we ran as fast as our legs could carry us-I at least in no good humour, and both willing to get beyond the line of fire with as little delay as possible.

On entering the tent I found the General seated by the table, and carelessly picking his teeth. Near him was Colonel and half reclining on a sort of couch, formed of two or three camp-stools, was Lord Burghersh, who rested his arm on the table, hummed Di Tanti Palpiti, and beat time with his knife on a plate.

"Have you dined, Hervey?" asked the General.

"No, Sir," replied I. "Roster took good care to prevent that; for he lugged me off before I could swallow the first morsel of carrion I had put into my mouth."

"Come here, then," rejoined the General, taking up a cold fowl,