the middle, from whence they gradually diminish away to nothing at each extremity, Fifteen feet is the greatest length of the whalebone; but 10 or 11 feet is the average size, and 13 feet is a magnitude seldom met with. The greatest breadth, which is at the gum, is 10 or 12 inches. The laminæ, composing the two series of bone, are ranged side by side, two thirds of an inch apart, (thickness of the blade included,) and resemble a frame of saws, in a saw-mill. The interior edges are covered with a fringe of hair, and the exterior edge of every blade, excepting a few at each extremity of the series, is curved and flattened down, so as to present a smooth surface to the lips. In some whales, a curious bollow on one side, and ridge on the other, occurs in many of the central blades of whalebone, at regular intervals of 6 or 7 inches. May not this irregularity, like the rings in the horns of the ox, which they resemble, afford an intimation of the age of the whale? If so, twice the number of running feet in the longest laminæ of whalebone in the head of a whale not full grown, would represent its age in years. In the youngest whales, called suckers, the whalebone is only a few inches long; when the length reaches 6 feet or upwards, the whale is said to be size. The colour of the whalebone is brownish-black, or bluish-black. In some animals, it is striped longitudinally with white. When newly cleaned, the surface exhibits a fine play of colour. A large whale sometimes affords a ton and a half of whalebone. If the "sample blade," that is, the largest lamina in the series, weigh 7 pounds, the whole produce may be estimated at a ton; and so on in proportion. The whalebone is inserted into the crown-bone, in a sort of rabbit. All the blades in the same series are connected together by the gum, in which the thick ends are inserted. This substance, (the gum,) is white, fibrous, tender,and tasteless. It cuts like cheese. It has the appearance of the interior or kernel of the cocoa-nut. The tongue occupies a large proportion of the cavity of the mouth, and the It is arch formed by the whalebone. incapable of protrusion, being fixed from root to tip, to the fat extending between the jaw-bones." A slight beard, consisting of a short scattered white hair, surmounts the anterior extremity of both jaws. The throat is remarkably strait. Two paps in the female, afford the means of rearing its young. The milk of the whale resembles that of quadrupeds in its appearance. It is said to be rich and well-flavoured. Immediately beneath the skin lies the blubber or fat, encompassing the whole body of the animal, together with the fins and tail. Its colour is yellowishwhite, yellow, or red. In the very young animal it is always yellowishwhite. In some old animals, it resembles in colour the substance of the salmon. It swims in water. Its thick ness all round the body, is 8 or 10 to 20 inches, varying in different parts as well as in different individuals. The lips are composed almost entirely of blubber, and yield from one to two tons of pure oil each. The tongue is chiefly composed of a soft kind of fat, that affords less oil than any other blubber; in the centre of the tongue, and towards the root, this fat is intermixed with fibres of a muscular substance. The under jaw, excepting the two jaw-bones, consists almost wholly of fat; and the crown-bone possesses a considerable coating of it. The fins are principally blubber, tendons, and bones; and the tail possesses a thin stratum of blubber. The oil appears to be retained in the blubber in minute cells, connected together by a strong reticulated combination of tendinous fibres. The blubber, in its fresh state, is without any unpleasant smell; and it is not until after the termination of the voyage, when the cargo is unstowed, that a Greenland ship becomes disagreeable. Four tons of blubber by measure generally afford three tons of oil; but the blubber of a sucker contains a very small proportion. Whales have been caught that afforded nearly thirty tons of pure oil; and whales yielding twenty tons of oil, are by no means uncommon. The quantity of oil yielded by a whale, generally bears a certain proportion to the length of its longest blade of whalebone. A stout whale of sixty feet in length, is of the enormous weight of seventy tons; the blubber weighs about thirty tons, the bones of the head, whalebone, fins and tail, eight or ten; carcass thirty or thirty-two. The flesh of the young whale is of a red colour; and when cleared of fat, broiled, and seasoned with pepper and salt, does not eat unlike coarse beef; that of the old whale approaches to black, and is exceedingly coarse. An immense bed of muscles surrounding the body, is appropriated chiefly to the movements of the tail. The number of ribs, according to Sir Charles Giesecké, is thirteen on each side. The bones of the fins are analogous, both in proportion and number, to those of the fingers of the human hand. From this peculiarity of structure, the fins have been denominated by Dr. Flemming, "swimming paws." The posterior extremity of the whale, however, is a real tail; the termination of the spine or os coccygis, running through the middle of it almost to the edge. long time down. They respire or blow about four or five times a-minute. The usual rate at which whales swim, even when they are on their passage from one situation to another, seldom exceeds four miles an hour; and though, when urged by the sight of any enemy, or alarmed by the stroke of a harpoon, their extreme velocity may be at the rate of eight or nine miles an hour: yet we find this speed never continues longer than for a few minutes, before it relaxes almost to one-half. Hence, for the space of a few minutes, they are capable of darting through the water, with the velocity almost of the fastest ship under sail, and of ascending with such rapidity as to leap entirely out of the water. This feat they sometimes perform as an amusement apparently, to the high admiration of the distant spectator; but to the no small terror of the unexperienced fishers who, even under such circumstances, are often ordered, by the foolhardy harpooner, to "pull away" to the attack. Sometimes the whales throw themselves into a perpendicular posture, with their heads downward, and, rearing their tails on high in the air, beat the water with awful violence. cases, the sea is thrown into foam, and the air filled with vapours; the noise, in calm weather, is heard to a great distance; and the concentric waves produced by the concussions on the water, are communicated abroad to a considerable extent, Sometimes the whale shakes its tremendous tail in the air, which, cracking like a whip, resounds to the distance of two or three miles. In both these The whale seems dull of hearing. A noise in the air, such as that produced by a person shouting, is not noticed by it, though at the distance only of a ship's length; but a very slight splashing in the water, in calm weather, excites its attention, and alarms it. Its sense of seeing is acute. Whales are observed to discover one another, in clear water, when under the surface, at an amazing distance. When at the surface, however, they do not see far. They have no voice; but in breathing or blowing, they make very loud noise. The vapour they discharge, is ejected to the height of some yards, and appears at a distance, like a puff of smoke, When the ani- In their usual conduct, whales remals are wounded, it is often stained main at the surface to breathe, about with blood; and, on the approach of two minutes, seldom longer; during death, jets of blood are sometimes dis- which time, they "blow" eight or nine charged alone. They blow strongest, times, and then descend for an interval densest, and loudest, when "running," usually of five or ten minutes; but when in a state of alarm, or when they sometimes, when feeding, fifteen or first appear at the surface, after being a twenty. The depth to which they When it retires from the surface, it first lifts its head, then plunging it under water, elevates its back like the segment of a sphere, deliberately rounds it away towards the extremity, throws its tail out of the water, and then disappears. commonly descend, is not known, rious species of actiniæ, cliones, sepiæ, medusæ, cancri, and helices; or at least some of these genera are always to be seen whenever any tribe of whales is found stationary and feeding. In the dead animals, however, in the very few instances in which I have been enabled to open their stomachs, squillæ or shrimps were the only substances discovered. In the mouth of a whale just killed, I once found a quantity of the same kind of insect. though from the "eddy" occasionally LETTERS FROM TRIPOLI.* From the Literary Gazette. ALTHOUGH the gallant and suc cessful attack of the fleet under Lord Exmouth, has, in addition to liberating the unfortunate christian slaves, repressed, if not entirely removed the system of piracy, which the Barbary powers had, to the disgrace of civilization, established so long; it has neither tended to produce greater confidence, nor increase to any considerable extent their commercial intercourse with the nations of Europe. Consequently nothing that is calculated to make us better acquainted with the manners and customs of the people or their governments, has by any means diminished, while the same impenetrable mystery in which religious dogmas and jealous habits have hitherto concealed them, only stimulates curiosity, particularly towards those works that bear internal evidence of having been prepared on the very spot where the facts they relate occurred, or in which the manners and customs described, still continue to prevail in all their original force. Such is the case with regard to the volumes before us, which were written by the sister-in-law of the late Mr. Tully, British Consul General at the court of Tripoli ; between whose family and that of the bashaw, the closest intimacy subsisted for many years. Previous to our giving any of the singular anecdotes with which these letters, abound, our readers will perhaps be pleased to know something of the place in which the author collected her materials. It is thus described "Previous to entering the Bay of Tripoli, a few miles from the land, the country is rendered picturesque by various tints of beautiful verdure: no object whatever seems to interrupt the ⚫ Letters written during a Ten Years' Residence at the Court of Tripoli, &c. with coloured plates. 2 vols. London 1820, evenness of the soil, which is of a light colour, almost white, and interspersed with long avenues of trees; for such is the appearance of the numerous palms planted in regular rows, and kept in the finest order. Their immense branches, coarse when near, are neat and distinct at a distance. The land lying low and very level, the naked stems of these trees are scarcely seen, and the plantations of dates seem to extend for many miles in luxuriant woods and groves. On a Dearer view, they present a more straggling appearance, and afford neither shelter nor shade from the burning atmosphere which every where surrounds them. The whole of the town appears in a semicircle, some time before reaching the harbour's mouth. The extreme whiteness of square flat buildings covered with lime, which in this climate encounters the sun's fiercest rays, is very striking. The baths form clusters of cupolas very large, to the number of eight or ten crowded together in different parts of the town. The mosques have in general a small plantation of Indian figs and date-trees growing close to them, which, at a distance, appearing to be so many rich gardens in different parts of the town, give the whole city, in the eyes of an European, an aspect truly novel and pleasing. On entering the harbour, the town begins to discover dilapidations from the destructive hand of time, large hills of rubbish appearing in various parts of it. The castle, or royal palace, where the bashaw resides, is at the east end of the town, within the walls, with a dock-yard adjoining, where the bey, (the bashaw's eldest son, and heir to the throne) builds his cruis to events which took place in the bashaw's castle, we shall pass over the early part of the first volume, descriptive of the city, adjoining country, and various traits of manners and customs, for the purpose of at once introducing the reader to the interior of the barem and palace, of which it forms a part. "On approaching the castle of the bashaw, you pass the first intrenchments, escorted by the hampers (the bashaw's body-guards). The castle is surrounded by a wall upwards of forty feet high, with battlements, embrásures, and towers, in the old manner of fortification, cd is of ancient architecture, much disfigured on the inside by irregular additions made by the present bashaw to contain the numerous branches of his family. Having passed thro' the gate, you enter the first court-yard of the castle crowded with guards, waiting before the skiffer or hall where the Chiah sits all day. This is the highest officer belonging to the Bashaw, and the most in his confidence. He is invested with supreme power whenever the bashaw is absent. No subject can approach the bashaw on any affairs but through him. A number of guards with black slaves and Mamelukes attend him. Through this hall is a paved square with a piazza supported by marble pillars, in which is built the messeley or council chamber, where the bashaw receives his court on gala days. It is finished on the outside with Chinese tiles, a number of which form an entire paint. ing. A flight of variegated marble steps leads up to the door of it." The fair author had not been many days in Tripoli, when she had the good fortune to be presented at court, at least to the female portion of it. Lilla Kebbiera, or Halluma, to use a more poetic appellation, wife to the bashaw, is represented as being extremely affable, and possessing the most insinuating manners. Though at that time forty years of age, she was still very handsome, having light blue eyes and flaxen hair. She was adored by her subjects. The appearance of Lilla Halluma and the apartment in which the author first saw her, are described as follows. "The Moorish habit for mourning consists only in the clothes being entire ly deprived of their new appearance, and the deeper the mourning is meant to be, the more indifferent and even shabby the clothes: therefore when she orders a new cap, which is so richly embroidered that it is like a solid plate of gold, she never puts it on till it has passed through water before her, and all the beauty of it destroyed. She weeps over the operation, and her tirewomen make extempore verses on the cause of her distress. The rest of her clothes were grand,and she wore costly jewels; a transparent veil of many yards, flowing carelessly about her in graceful drapery, displayed through it the whole of her rich dress; and her figure was altogether majestic, with the sweetest countenance. The apartment she was in was hung with dark green velvet tapestry, ornamented with coloured silk damask flowers; and sentences out of the Koran were cut in silk letters and neatly sewed on, forming a deep border at the top and bottom; below this, the apartment was finished with tiles forming landscapes. The sides of the doorway, and the entrance into the room, were marble; and according to the custom of furnishing here, choice china and crystal encircled the room on a moulding near the ceiling. Close beneath these ornaments were placed large looking-glasses with frames of gold and silver; the floor was covered with curious matting and rich carpeting over it; loose mattrasses and cushions placed on the ground, made up in the form of sophas, covered with velvet, and embroidered with gold and silver, served for seats, with Turkey carpets laid before them. The coffee was served in very small cups of china, placed in gold filagree cups without saucers, on a solid gold salver, of an uncommon size, richly embossed this massive waiter was brought in by two slaves, who bore it between them round to each of the company; and these two eunuchs were the most richly habited slaves we had yet seen in the castle: they were entirely covered with gold and silver. Refreshmeats were afterwards served upon low and beautifully inlaid tables, not higher than a foot from the ground; and amongst the sherbets was fresh pomegranate juice, passed through the rind of the fruit, which gave it an excellent flavour. After the repast, slaves attended with silver filagree censers, offering, at the same time, towels with gold ends wove in them near half a yard deep." Though want of room prevents our extracting some of these anecdotes which succeed the above passage, we cannot omit one illustrating the wretched state of the females in Barbary, where their very lives are in the hands, and at the disposal of men alternately the slaves of caprice and jealousy. The Tripolitan ambassador to Morocco bad a Circassian slave who lived near the family residence, and whom he suspected of infidelity; but after having often threatened and as often pardoned her, she at length fell a victim to the rage of a Mameluke in the service of her lord. "This wretch was an enemy to his master, and an unsuccessful admirer of the fair Circassian. Hearing that his master was engaged at an entertainment given by the Christians, he came to him late in the evening, and worked on his imagination till the fatal teskerar was obtained. The Mameluke immediately rode off full speed to the garden where she resided, and had departed on the wretched errand but a few moments, when the visible alteration and the agony in the countenance of the ambassador, led his friends soon to the supposition of the cruel orders he had issued, and he was easily persuaded to countermand them. He sent horsemen with every inducement given them to overtake the sanguinary Mameluke, and arrest his hand from the murder he was so eager to perpetrate. They reached the garden a few seconds after him ; but he knowing of a breach in the garden wall, had, assassin-like, entered that way to prevent alarm, and found the fair Circassian walking solitarily in the garden at that late hour. At the sight of him she fled, having long considered him as her destined murderer. She, in |