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the tribes near Palmyra endeavoured to persuade her to permit herself to be called "Sovereign of the Desert;" and, as she assured me, prepared a sort of ceremony for her installation at Palmyra ;-an honour, however, which she prudently declined. She believed in all kinds of astrology, and some of the wildest of the Eastern legends; especially in that which alludes to the Thirteenth Imaum, whom she called the Saviour, and for whom she kept a horse that had the natural mark of a saddle on its back, which she said had never been mounted by man or woman.1

"She also told me, that her astrologer had been closely observing us, during our first dinner, and had been able to assure her, that we were not born under a hostile planet, nor had either of us red hair, or foreheads 'villanously low;' for, had such

1 Mussulmen reckon, I think, twelve Imaums, commencing with Moussa (Moses), Ibrahim (Abraham), and Husrut Esau (Jesus Christ), the Healer of the Lame and Blind, and their own prophet Mahomet, &c. The word is also applied to the principal sects, as Ali, the Imaum of the Persians, or the sect of the Shiaites; Abu-Beker the Imaum of the Sunnites, the sect of the Turks; and Safi, of another sect, &c.

The Mahometans look for the advent or reappearance of another Imaum, who will convert the whole world to the faith of Islam, and reign on earth for a time in great glory and happiness: the end of this period and of the world will be simultaneous. The Mussulmen of India and Affghanistan expected the advent alluded to in A.D. 1842, and thought their successes at Cabul a prelude to it. A Belooch chief, when consulting a friend of the writer of this note, as to the advantage of his surrendering on certain terms, observed that if he could but hold out a little longer, his surrender would be rendered unnecessary by the appearance of the Thirteenth Imaum, whose arrival in that year was predicted by all the learned Faquirs in India.

been the case, she would have been unable to have admitted us to her presence; and this precaution she always took, with those who were favoured by a reception at her house. Being aware of a prophecy believed by the Mussulmen of Damascus, which declares that the Turkish Empire will crumble to pieces in a certain number of years, after the day on which a Christian or Jew shall first ride on horseback through the holy gate which leads to Mecca-she rode up to the guard stationed there with her suite (always numerous and formidably armed), spurred her horse, dashed through it, and went straight to the durbar of the Pacha, to acquaint him with her exploit.

"In the course of conversation, during the last night we remained at Mar Elias, she inquired whether we had seen the Emir Beschir, and on our replying in the negative, she clapped her hands, and the little black slave, who appeared, with hands crossed over her bosom, to answer the summons, was directed to call the scribe, to whom she dictated an epistle, which was despatched on the instant to the emir; saying, that two friends of hers would visit him next day, and desiring a suitable reception. Soon after daylight the messenger returned, though the emir's residence was some miles distant, bringing a cordial invitation, which we accepted.

"It was not without a feeling of great sadness that I took leave of Lady Hester; but when I ventured to hint at the possibility of her return to Europe, she cut the conversation short, by asking me if I thought

she could make up her mind to knit or sew like an Englishwoman, after having spent her life amid the stirring scenes she had been constantly engaged in? I then alluded to her forlorn situation, among men upon whose consciences the blood of a lone woman would have scarce weighed heavily; but her eyes flashed fire, as she replied, drawing a dagger from her breast, 'Who would be the first to venture on the wild cat in her den?' Her reply to the consul at Cairo, who addressed her by desire of Ibrahim Pacha, then Governor of Syria, was highly characteristic of herself; without deigning to enter upon the subject of his letter, she directed her secretary to write Consuls are for trade, not for the nobility.' The above meagre account will convey but a faint idea of this extraordinary woman, whose whole life was one continued romance; but it is all my memory enables me to give; and therefore, my dear Jesse, I must beg you to accept the will for the deed."

In a subsequent letter, a reply to one in which I had requested a more exact description of Lady Hester's personal appearance, my kind correspondent says, "Her ladyship must have been a tall woman, but her male attire took off from her height; she was slight, well formed, and carried herself exceedingly well. The folds of her turban concealed her grey hairs; and the fairness of her complexion, the absence of beard, the brightness of her eye, and the vivacity of her expression, gave her the appearance of a young man, until a strong light betrayed the wrinkles which

time never fails to engrave on the fairest face. Her enunciation was rapid and fluent; and when excited, her whole countenance seemed to light up, and she used her chibouque much in the same way that a Spanish lady would her fan-except that her gestures were more often those of command than entreaty. She rode as a man, and was always well armed.”

Such was my friend's clever outline of this singular woman, whose martial spirit and independent bearing remind us of those heroic ladies who, in ancient days, inhabited the banks of the Thermodon.1

Those "heroic ladies" were the Amazons, a tribe of warlike women, who dwelt in Pontus, on the banks of the river Thermodon, and are said to have cut or burnt off their right breasts, and to have killed all their male children.

CHAPTER XI.

Brummell's Album-His Letter presenting it to a Friend-Georgina Duchess of Devonshire-Lines on the Death of Hare-Wraxall's Description of her Grace-Her Fascinating Manners and Love of Dress and Dissipation—Lord Carlisle's Apology for her Plume—Her Friend Charles Fox-His Lines on the Death of her Favourite Spaniel -A Scale of the Beauties of 1793—Mrs. Bouverie and Charles Fox.

HAVING been able to collect only a few letters, written or received by Brummell before he left England, the most interesting substitute that I can offer in place of such materials is, extracts from his Album of the unpublished poetry of several of the most eminent characters of his time; indeed all the poetry subsequently given, is from that collection. This volume is a ponderous quarto, of plain vellum paper, and, though totally devoid of interior decoration, is, nevertheless, an example of his taste and extravagance; for the corners and clasps are of massive embossed silver gilt, like those on old missals, and the binding is dark-blue velvet.

The velvet has long been faded, and the gilding is much worn, as if he had often meditated after his reverses over its well-stored pages; and though several blank leaves remain, it contains no fewer than two hundred and twenty-six pieces of poetry: the

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