The people of the Lebanon seem to have no idea of union, or any thoughts of Syria as a whole: their patriotism seems confined to each village or district. I regretted very much not being able to devote more time to the examination of this magnificent country, and its interesting people. I would beg to direct the attention of travellers to the following subjects: 1. To geographers, the Lebanon is almost a "terra incognita:" every information as to distances and elevations is of great importance. The source of the river Liettani is unknown, yet must be somewhere in the plain of Baalbec, or on the hills towards the Cedars. 2. There are two MS. histories of the Shehab families existing, which would throw light upon the obscure history of this people. The Emirs Sadadeen and Afendy told me they knew of these books, but did not know in whose possession they now were. 3. There are two printing-presses on the Mountain: one at Kisbeia, near Eden; the other at Mar Hanna el Shiveir, one day's journey from Beyrout. No copy from the former has ever reached Europe. 4. There are some curious ruins of a Greek temple between Baalbec and Zahle and the ruins of a Roman city are to be found near Fakra, on the western declivity of Djebel Sûnnin. Neither of these have ever been explored, that I am aware of, by any person able to form an opinion as to their merits. The traveller will also find a visit to Antoura and the Natural Bridge repay his labour well. They are only one easy day's journey from Beyrout. These are all points on which I was unable to satisfy myself, owing to my limited time.* F. GOVERNMENT OF CORFU. WHEN England accepted the protectorate of the Ionian Republic assigned to her in 1815, she undertook to grant or to continue to them a free constitution. This consists of a House of Assembly, containing forty members, returned by the Seven Islands in a proportion relative to their population. From this House of Assembly, a senate, or council, composed of six members, is se lected by the Lord High Commissioner. These are, in fact, the ministry of the Republic, each presiding over a particular department, and receiving a salary of £800 per annum, while the President of the Council has an income of £1300. As the members of this council (whatever island they may belong to) are obliged constantly to reside at Corfu during their administration, this allow * I am indebted for the principal part of this information to M. Schultze, H. B. M.'s Consul at Jerusalem, Colonel Churchill, and Assaad Yacoob y Kayat. ance is necessary to induce them to accept office. The House of Assembly only sits for three months in every second year: the power of convening or proroguing is vested in the Lord High Commissioner; that of dissolution, in the Crown alone. This appears a sufficiently free form of government; and the only complaints I heard against it were, that the system of representation was corrupt; that there was no freedom of the press; and that Corfu was taxed to pay England. With respect to the former, a list of the persons whom the Lord High Commissioner deems eligible for representatives is sent to each island previous to an election; the electors may choose from out that list alone; if they don't like A., they must have B. To this objection I heard it replied that the islands, if left to their own selection, would return none but deputies of the Anti-English party, which would involve the government in perpetual difficulty. With respect to the Freedom of the Press, however invaluable that liberty may be in a great country, it appears to be productive of very indifferent results in a small community, where its spirit must be mainly fed upon personalities and imaginary grievances, as is the case at Malta. The third ground of complaint is the tax of £36,000 per annum claimed by England for purposes said to be unconnected with the interests of the island. It is true that this sum was formerly levied and applied to the repair of the existing fortifications and the creation of new; but it has not been levied for the last five years, and probably never will again. Moreover, the expenditure of English money in the island amounts to at least five times the amount of this tax. I mention these accusations against the English government as proving how little reason exists for complaint. The benefits conferred upon the Republic, and upon Corfu especially, by English rule, are not so easily enumerated. Sir Thomas Maitland (familiarly known in the island as "King Tom") first reduced the island to order and security: roads were made in every direction; lazarettos built; schools established; the town and fortifications repaired; commerce encouraged; and a native police created. The island appeared, to my superficial observation, to be prosperous and thriving, with full employment for its people, and a fair rate of remuneration for labour. Under any circumstances, we may proudly contrast its present state with that which it exhibited under the tyranny of the Venetian" proveditori," the Russian "commandants," and-worse than all-of its own native factious authorities. THE END. OF SCHILLER Correspondence between Schiller and Goethe, from 1794 to 1 vol. 12mo., 1805. Translated by George H. Calvert. handsomely printed. $1 00. These "Letters between Schiller and Goethe" are a record kept by friendship of the habitual feelings and thoughts of two great poets. If the translator has adequately executed his grateful task, he will have the pleasure of opening to the American and English reader the richest epistolary treasure that literature I contains. There is no other instance of affectionate union between two men of such genius, intellect, and culture. "In perusing this delightful work, we gather many new ideas upon the writings of the great men of other times."-U. S. Gazette. "This is a beautiful volume, which literary men must always look over with interest."-The North American. "A most delightful work, that will instruct as well as amuse."-Providence Journal. "This volume, as soon as known, must be eagerly sought for by every one for its very excellence; the translator does not exaggerate in calling this the richest epistolary treasure that literature contains."-Richmond Times. "Those who seek into the true philosophy of great minds will find ample I compensation in the perusal of these letters, remarkable alike for the breadth and variety of thought they involve, as well as the vastness of subjects, often handled by these great men with the familiarity of boys whipping a top or flying a kite. These letters are full of heart and soul-such letters as might be expected to pass between two affectionate friends. They are full of the highest order of genius-genius which has rarely been equalled in modern times. They are full of the German mind-are marked by those striking peculiarities of thought which distinguish the Germans from every other nation on earth."-American Citizen. "Epistolary literature contains no richer treasure. To minds like theirs, every department of science, literature, religion, and philosophy, possessed an engrossing interest; and in their cordial and confidential effusions, all these topics are discussed and illustrated with unsurpassed profundity of thought and comprehensiveness of knowledge. "The translator has executed his task as one who performs a labor that he loves."-Journal of Commerce. "The work is one that none can read without an expansion of thought, and without feeling that here is most unequivocally rebutted the scandal that asserts that men of literature are deficient in hearty appreciation of the talents and productions of each other."-Evening Gazette. "Every one who knows any thing of the history of modern literature, knows that Schiller and Goethe are among the brightest names by which it is em blazoned. And in this volume we are permitted to catch a glance at the friendly and delightful intercourse which they held with each other, during the period in which each shone with the brightest lustre. The letters are characterized by all the ease of the most unsuspecting confidence, and by a grace and fascination which must entrance every admirer of genius. They are perfectly unstudied efforts, and show us how gracefully great minds can occasionally come down to little things. There is not a page, or scarcely a paragraph, in which we do not discover the breathings of superlative genius."-Albany Advertiser. |