he caravan with all its camels, turbaned merchants, and
dashing cavalry, moving along the river's bank, on whose waters the
steam-boat is rushing; the many-coloured and many-named tribes of the
South, meeting the men of every European nation in the streets where the
haughty Osmanli was once master. The buildings offer scarcely a less
singular contrast:--the lofty, prison-like, close casemented fronts of
the huge Mahometan dwellings, frowning in grim repose upon the spruce
shops and glittering hotels of the French and Italian trader and
tavern-keeper; and though last, most memorable of all--the old Pasha,
the only man in existence who has given a new being to a people; the
true regenerator of his country, or rather the creator of a nation out
of one of the most abject, exhausted, and helpless races of mankind.
Egypt, the slave of the stranger for a thousand years, trampled on by
Saracen, Turk, Mameluke, and Frenchman; but by the enterprise and
intelligence of this extraordinary individual, suddenly raised to an
independent rank, and actually possessing a most influential interest in
the eyes of Europe and Asia.

The route of the travellers begins with Ceylon. Ceylon is a fine
picturesque island, very fertile, strikingly placed for commerce, and
containing a tolerably intelligent population. Yet we do not seem to
have made much of its advantages hitherto; Singapore and even Hong-Kong
are likely to throw it into eclipse; and the chief benefit of its
possession is in keeping away foreign powers from too near an inspection
of our settlements in India. But its shores have the richness of
vegetation which belongs to the tropics, and the variety of aspect which
is so often found in the Asiatic islands. The Major and his wife
embarked on board the steamer "The India," in May 1844. The view from
the Point de Galle is striking. The town is shaded by trees, which give
it the look of richness and freshness that contributes such a charm to
the Oriental landscape. On the left of the bay is a headland clothed
with tropic vegetation. In front are two islands, giving variety to the
bay. Behind is the esplanade, shut in by hills covered with cocoa-nut
trees. At the foot of those hills is the native town and bridge, also
shaded by trees. Crowds of canoes, of various shapes and colours, moored
along the shore, complete the scene.

The passengers were discontented with the India. They never saw any
thing like the dirt of the ship. The coal-