UPPER CASTLE ON THE DARDANELLES. For ages the passage of the Dardanelles was regarded as a most dangerous, or rather impracticable enterprise, by naval men, as well as by the world at large. Like many other opinions, founded on rumor, or on facts imperfectly understood, it has been totally changed, by an increase of knowledge. And thus it has been, within the memory of many of us, with several other points involving the military power of that nation to which these forts belong. The Russian campaign taught us, that the Turkish power had long been vastly overrated. The following allusion to the Upper Castle, (which is represented in our print) we copy from Dr. Kekay's Travels. He gives us a sketch, on a scale of an inch to a mile, to furnish the reader with an idea of the various defences of the Dardanelles, from the upper or inner castles to Abydos. It will be recollected, that in addition to these, an enemy would have first to encounter the fire of the two lower castles at the entrance of Dardanelles, besides several water-batteries along the shores, carrying altogether 203 guns, previous to meeting these formidable castles. Although these present a formidable aspect to an enemy, yet their importance has, we imagince, been greatly overrated. A debarkation on the Thracian peninsula would take the works on the European shore with great ease, and those on the opposite side would fall of course. The real enemy, and the one most to be dreaded, is far in the rear of all these formidable works; and past experience should have instructed the Turk that Russia does not depend so much upon her ships as upon her armed battalions. As we approached the extensive fortresses which command the narrowest part of the Dardanelles, a scene of a different nature presented itself. As a compliment, we hoisted a large Turkish flag, and immediately a hundred flags arose from every part of the castles on either side of the straits. The consuls of all the European nations residing here also hoisted the standards of their respective countries, and the long line of white battlements was crowded with spectators. The American flag was the only one not exhibited. We were afterwards informed that we have a consul here, but he was too poor to purchase a flag. He is a respectable Jew, with twenty-five children, and his consular fees amount to about six dollars It need scarcely be added per annum. that he has no salary. His official rank, however, is very great, and he enjoys the inestimable privilege of strutting through the dirty streets of this village with his twenty-five children all clad in yellow slipHe is the Levantine Jew alluded to by Turner, who was formerly the English vice-consul at the Dardanelles, a post which his family has filled for successive generations. pers. Taking the lead of our fleet, we ran rapidly up the straits, and passed a low point of land on our right, which is covered with a circular battery, marking the site of Abydos. At this place Xerxes crossed with his Persian host, on his disastrous expedition against Greece. The wind, shortly after we had passed this place, died away, and we anchored about three miles above, on the European side, under a high point of land, which is commonly supposed to have been the ancient locality of Sestos. This spot has obtained a singular celebrity, as the place whence Leander swam across the Hellespont. 105 QUEEN VICTORIA ON HORSEBACK. The English are remarkaby fond of riding on horseback, and the practice is far more common among ladies, as well as gentlemen, than in our own country, excepting Virginia, and certain other portions of the Union, where it is forced upon the people by necessity. No one, who has tried the experiment long enough to form an opinion, can have any doubt of the healthfulness of the exercise; and, as for the pleasure, it is unquestionably far more conducive to physical enjoyment, than the more easy but luxurious and effeminate movements of the railcar or steamboat. Some object to it on account of the numerous risks of injury in different ways; and of that we have nothing to say, except that if they be greater and more serious than in vehicles, we scarcely can institute a fair comparison, especially while we have so little practical acquaintance with horse-riding in our country at large, and so few arrangements or preparations to procure good and safe animals for the saddle. Besides, we know very well that the dangers and inconveniencies, what ever they may be, are not presented to us by those who have had the best opportunities to appreciate them, that is, horsemen themselves. On the contrary, they are the loudest in the praise of this mode of exercise and of travelling, and generally testify their attachment and preference for it, by practising it in preference to all others, to the end of their lives. The vigorous exertions of a spirited horse communicate to our frames a constant and exhilirating motion; the free air surrounds us, and comes to our lungs fresh from the cornfields or gardens, the mountain top or the ocean, without any interruption, check or contamination; the scenes around us are unscreened and unclouded, presenting all their natural beauty and continued variety. We move in the same atmosphere inhaled by the lowing herds and the joyful feathered throngs; and we soon begin to feel something of that infiuence on our physical system, which makes the lambs gambol on the grass, and the birds break out in songs. Who that has performed a journey on horseback, has not found his whole set of feelings in some degree altered by the physical excitement of the exercise? It requires a day, a week or a fortnight to accustom a novice to the saddle and the fatigue of the exercise: but, sooner or later, he will feel himself emancipated from the feebleness and effeminate condition, to which the luxurious, debilitating and depressing habits of city life reduce so many of us, and feel thrills of enjoyment through his nerves, and a rising energy in his limbs, which may remind him of youth, and its long-forgotten buoyancy and lightness of heart. At least such has been our own expe. rience; and this recurrence to the subject has already awakened pleasing recollections of the majestic solitudes of the White Hills, and of the Italian mountains, among which we have passed, in former days, borne by spirited, or at least, faithful and sure-footed steeds. The aspect of a good rider, well mounted, is recommendation enough of this mode of travelling to many an observer; and we could hardly have desired a more graceful specimen of horse manship than that which we have given on the preceding page, which represents the Queen of England, attended by her consort, in one of those country rides which she is so fond of taking. An Unexpected but Joyful Meeting.-A gentieman residing near Marlborough, in this county, some days since went to New York to get a hand to work for him on his farm. He chanced to have recommended to him a young man who had just emigrated from Germany, and through hired persons, (as the German could not speak English,) he engaged to work with him, and brought the young man over to his residence. At The dusk the gentleman sent to a neighbor for a German who had been working there for a long time, having emigrated from Germany many years since, and whose steady habits had, as much as anything, influenced him in retaining the young man, to come and talk with the new work-hand. German who was sent for, came and seated himself by the fire, back of the other, who was drinking his tea. The family were waiting for the meal to be finished, ex. pecting to hear some regular Dutch talk; nor did they wait in vain, for the moment the young man turned from the table, his eyes were fixed on the other German.Both stood a moment regarding each other, and then rushed into each other's armsthey were brothers, and had met for the first time in many years! The kind feeling, the unbounded joy, the repeated embrace, were worthy of lovers. These two honest Dutchmen did talk real Dutch that night, and will probably do so for a long time, as they work on farms which adjoin each other.-Monmouth Enquirer. SALT FOR CATTLE.-The advantage of salt as an addendum to the food of man is a "fixed fact," as Mr. Cushing might say, and it is proved to be no less a desideratum for the animal creation. The following_curious fact is mentioned in Parker's Treatise on Salt:" "A person who kept sixteen farming horses, made the following experiment with seven of them, which had been accustomed to eat salt with their feed. Lumps of rock salt were laid in their mangers, and these lumps, previously weighed, were examined regularly, to ascertain what quantity weekly had been consumed; and it was repeatedly found, that whenever these horses were fed on hay and corn, they consumed only two and a half or three ounces per day, and when they were fed with new lay, they took six ounces per day. This fact should convince us of the expediency of permitting our cattle the free use of salt at all times; and it cannot be given in so convenient a form as rock salt, it being much more palatable than the other in a refined state, and by far cheaper. A good lump should always be kept in a box, by the side of the animal, without fear that it will ever be taken to excess."-Boston Transcript. Perranzabuloe, the lost Church found.The title of this book is somewhat quaint. It seems that Perranzabuloe, a place on the North West Coast of Cornwall, is the site of an old church, and actually was its sepulchre from the twelfth century to the year 1835; the edifice during that long interval having been completely buried in sand! Eleven years ago, successful attempts were made to extricate the church from its sandy grave, and present it, "in all its unpretending simplicity, its rude but solid workmanship, to the wonder of antiquarians, and the gratitude of Cornish men." The application is this: the author says that Perranzebuloe illustrates the condition of the church of England at the reformationwhen it was not rebuilt, but restored from the incrustations which the church of Rome had spread over its walls, and at last " entombed in the depth of her own abominations." AN AMERICAN COLONY IN AFRICA This cut presents us with a view of one of the first villages formed in Liberia by the Colonization Society, as it appeared soon after its commencement. It has since been considerably enlarged, and many others are now erected on other parts of the coast. The history of those settlements abounds in interest; and such of our readers as have not yet paid particular attention to the subject, will find much to engage their feelings and to inform their minds, in the perusal of the accounts furnished by missionaries, agents and visitors, as well as by some of the colonists themselves, which have been published in different forms within a few years past, and this independently of any idea they may entertain about the expediency or feasibilty of the general plan. The following extracts from the last no ber of the African Repository contains important statistics. The Commonwealth of Liberia is represented to be in a most flourishing condition. The colony extends about three hundred miles along the coast. In 1821 the agents of the Colonization Society attempted to purchase a tract for their first settlemeut at Grand Bassa; but the obstinate refusal of the natives to abandon the slave trade was an insuperable obstacle. In December, however, of the same year, Cape Mesurado was purchased upon that indispensable condition. In 1825 another tract was purchased on the St. Paul's, by Mr. Ashmun, then governor. Of this territory he remarked, that "along this beautiful river were formerly scattered, in Africa's better days, innumerable native hamlets; and still within the last twenty years, nearly the whole river-board, for one or two miles back, was under the slight culture which obtains among the natives of this country. But the population had been wasted by the rage for trading in slaves, with which the constant presence of trading vessels, and the introduction of foreign luxuries, have inspired them. The south bank of this river, and all the intervening country between it and the Mesurado, have been from this cause nearly desolated of inhabitants. A few detached, solitary plantations, scattered at long intervals through the tract, just serve to interrupt the silence and relieve the gloom which reign over the whole region." There are now nine settlements in the colony. Of these, Monrovia, the seat of government, is the largest, containing a population of about one thousand. On the St. Paul's river there are two settlements, Caldwell and Millsburg. On an arm of St. Paul's river, called Stocking Creek, is New Georgia, the settlement of those recaptured Africans who were restored to the land of their nativity by the United States government. At the mouth of the Junk river is the settlement of Marshall, and on the St. John's are those of Edina, Bassa Cove and Bexley; further down the coast is that of Greenville, near the mouth of the Sinou river. Besides these are two others, one on the Sinou river, and the other on the St. Paul's. Writing of Cape Mesurado, in 1844, Com. Perry says "I first saw this beautiful promontory, when its dense forests were only inhabited by wild beasts; since then I have visited it thrice, and cach time have noticed with infinite satisfaction, its progressive improvement. The Cape has now upon its summit, a growing town, having several churches, a mission establishment, school-house, a building for the meeting of courts, printing presses, warehouses, shops, &c. In fact, it possesses most of the conveniences of a small seaport town in the United States, and it is not unusual to see at anchor in its capacious road, on the same day, one or more vessels of war and two or three merchant vessels. The The colony is divided into two counties, Montserado and Grand Bassa, in each of which courts are regularly held. form of government is similar to that of the State governments in the United States. All of its officers are blacks, including the Governor, who is the only one appointed by the American Colonization Society. Its legislature is composed of ten representatives, who are elected by the people, and hold an annual session. The colonial physician, in writing upon this subject, says, that in visiting the legislature and the different courts during their sessions, any unprejudiced individual cannot fail to be impressed with feelings of respect for the authorities of the colony, and with the conviction of the fact, that in a country in which the mind as well as the body is unfettered, the power of self-government does not depend upon the color of the skin. Most of the usual productions of tropical climates thrive well in Liberia. The coffee tree will grow as freely and yield as abundantly as perhaps in any other part of the world. At some future period, its fruit will be the principal staple production, and the most profitable article of exportation. The cotton tree will yield abundantly, and the sugar cane grows luxuriantly, but cannot at present be mannfactured to advantage for want of capital. Indeed such is the variety and value of its productions, that at no distant day a lucrative commerce must be established between the colony and other nations. The imports during the last two years amounted to 157,829, and the exports during the same period, to $123,694. The Liberia Herald states that "the commerce and the trade of the colony have been steadily on the increase. According to the official returns the imports for a single quarter exceeded $40,000, and the exports were about the same. The country has immense resources. It only requires industry and indomitable perscverance to develope them. "The receipts into the colonial treasury, chiefly from im port duties, were sufficient to meet the current expenses of the commonwealth. These receipts would be vastly increased, if all the sea coast was under the jurisdiction of the colony, by which smuggling and the introduction of goods free of duty would be prevented." The influence of the colony upon the slave trade has been of the most flattering character. For centuries, Africa has been plundered of her children without a single voice raised in her behalf, and thousands upon thousands have been annually carried away into hopeless captivity. Many sections of her territory have become entirely depopulated by the violence of intestine wars, excited by the cupidity of the slave dealer, and dense forests have covered the spot where once were thriving villages and extensive towns. "The two slaving stations of Cape Mount and Cape Mesurado," says Mr. Ashmun," have for several ages been desolated of every thing valuable, as well as the intervening very fertile and beautiful tract of country. The forests have remained untouched, all moral virtue has been extinguished in the people, and their industry annihilated by this one ruinous cause." The whole slave trading coast of Western Africa, is estimated at four thousand miles, which if in the market at 133 a mile, the estimated value of the tract which the American Colonization Society is now attempting to purchase, would cost $533,333. The expense, including interest on the first cost for two years, of our squadron of eighty guns, which the United States is bound, by the African treaty, to keep on the African coast for the suppression of the slave trade, is $613,272, being enough to buy the whole four thousand miles and leave a surplus of $79,939, while the annual expense of the British squadrons employed in watching the slave trade for several years past has been estimated at about two millions and a half. According to a Parliamentary return of 1843, the total expense to the British government of every thing connected with the suppression of this trade, including her settlements on the African coast established for that purpose, drawn up with great care from official documents, amounted to £22,429,271, or about $100,000,000, down to the beginning of 1839. The inefficiency of this immense naval expenditure is alluded to in the London Morning Herald-It is now sixty years since Englishmen directed their attention to the suppression of the destructive traffic; and with little effect, |