the warrior himself. In a few days a messenger arrived from Duba with the announcement, in Schamyl's name, that Duba himself, Egie Adschi, and another confidant of the chief, would act as guides and bring him to the residence of their leader. But we shall allow the traveller in these secluded and closely-guarded regions, for the most part, to tell his own tale, merely somewhat condensing the narrative :

"When I was informed," he says, "that Schamyl's ambassadors were within four versts of the fortress, I took leave of its commander, who warned me of my danger, put on the costume of the Tschetschenzes, armed myself completely, and set out in the company of two well-mounted horsemen. One of these, named Sisa, was my host.

"Along the ravine of the Argua, I approached the messengers of Schamyl, and when we were about within gunshot of them, we consulted as to who should advance. My companions refused to go forwards, for, belonging to a village that had submitted to the Russians, they were at deadly enmity with Schamyl's people. I reminded them that, according to Mussulman law, a kunak (host) should rather die than leave his friend in danger; on which appeal Sisa agreed to follow me; but the other remained behind.

"Approaching cautiously to within a short distance, I asked Sisa if he recognised either of the Naibs. Only the Naïb Duba,' he replied-'him who is distinguished by a yellow turban.' I then saluted him aloud in his own language, to which he responded. .Advancing with the greatest circumspection, for I feared an ambuscade, I at last sprang suddenly forward and held out my hand to him. We then exchanged salutations after the manner of the Tschetschenzes."

The party was then joined by an escort of fourteen horsemen, cach of whom had to be greeted separately; and after a variety of questions and satisfactory answers, as to the object of our merchant's visit, they set out on their journey. Not quite satisfied, however, as to the honesty of his intentions, and fearing he might be a Russian spy, they conducted him by a most difficult and circuitous route. The road was constantly up-hill, and often so precipitous that they were obliged to dismount and lead their horses. They also traversed pathless forests, swarming with boars of an immense size. It was not till the seventh day that they reached the village of Datsche-Barsa, the residence of Duba, in whose house our traveller was accommodated.

Our narrator continues :

"Soon after we had arrived at our resting-place all the inhabitants of the village came to the house of the Naïb, some of whom sat down in the second story of the house, where we drank Russian tea under an open gallery. I was much amused with the behaviour of the Naïb's servants to the crowd of inquisitive natives who thronged the house. At length they armed themselves with sticks, belaboured the crowd lustily, and drove VOL. II.

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them away, asking them at the same time who they were, what they wanted, and if they had never seen a Russian before?

"The next morning we continued our journey, as before, over steep rocks and fearful precipices-up lofty mountains, and through almost impenetrable forests-till we came at length to an immense valley, in the middle of which lies the village of Wedenno. About four versts to the east of the village is seen a small opening in the mountain, bounded on the right by the lofty, forest-clothed mountain, and protected on the left by a fearful chasm, through which flows the Chlilo. In the midst of this opening is a flat space, from which rises a fortress, surrounded by a variety of other buildings. This inaccessible stronghold is called Dargy Wedenno, and is the residence of the illustrious chieftain. The stronghold has but one gate, which is protected by a tower within the outer fortifications. These consist of large beams, fixed into the ground, the intervals between them being filled up with stones and rubbish, rammed down into a compact mass. To the right of this fortress is a village set apart for the murids. There is another small assemblage of houses near by, inhabited principally by mechanics, among whom is a watchmaker. A large reservoir, used for bathing purposes is supplied with water from a sprin; in the adjacent mountain. At a short distance is a storehouse, filled with maize, wheat, and other grain. Such are the environs and the outward aspect of Schamyl's abode.

"I arrived at Dargy on the evening of the eighth day, and stayed at the house of Egie Adschi. The three next days were occupied in interrogations and cross-examinations, as to the object and aim of my journey, as Schamyl feared that I was some treacherous emissary in the employ of Russia. During this painful interval of suspense I hovered between life and death; for if the result of the inquiries had been unfavourable, my death would have been inevitable. The suspicions of my interrogators however, were disarmed, and I was hospitably entertained. At the close of the third day I was invited to supper in Schamyl's house for strangers, where his more immediate followers take their meals. This building is situated in the midst of the fortress. At the end of the meal, they offered me pilau; and, to my astonishment, I remarked that the guests, of whom there were no fewer than twenty present, became much excited after they had partaken of the pilau, frowned, and looked gloomily at me. The horrible thought now flashed across my mind that they might have treated me kindly only as a preliminary to cutting off my head. But I preserved an air of cold indifference, however, and endeavoured to console myself with the reflection that it must be a strange custom of theirs to look gloomy and whisper mysteriously to each other after having eaten pilau. At this harrowing juncture of affairs, I addressed some questions to my neighbour, but received no answer, which served to increase my alarm.

"After the pilau, cakes of maize were served as dessert, which were very well prepared. I refused them at first, but when one of the hosts said to me, 'Eat; your cousin prepared them,' I answered, 'In that case I will partake of some with pleasure.' Their threatening aspect, however, was not relaxed, until a young murid entered the room, and spoke a few words in their mountain dialect. Immediately after this communication, the behaviour of all present underwent a change; they freely conversed

with me, and one personage of high rank who sat next to me, was extremely affable.

"The reason of the strange and stern behaviour I had experienced was afterwards disclosed to me. My cousin, it appears, had been brought into an adjoining room, and I was shown to her through an opening in the wall. Being asked if I was her brother, she replied that I was not, and that she did not know me; she begged, however, that I might be made to speak; and when I, suspecting nothing, addressed him who offered me the cakes, she at once recognised my voice, acknowledged me as her cousin, and mentioned my name. Eight years of separation and my present dress will account for her not recognising me immediately. If it had not fortunately occurred to her to hear my voice, I should have been taken for an impostor, if not for a spy, and death would have been my certain doom. We remained a long time at table, in conversation, during which I was evidently being closely scrutinized.

"The next day, beginning to breathe more freely under a sense of security, I invited Egie Adschi to take a walk with me through the valley. Being willing to try the skill of the Circassian watchmaker, I had a new glass put into my watch, which he executed well. On our return, I again received an invitation to supper from Schamyl. I went, expecting to see the renowned chief himself, but he was not present. After supper I said to one of the, naïbs, 'If I am unworthy of seeing your imam, allow me at least the honour of begging your intercession that I may see my cousin.' 'God will grant your request,' replied he; after which we returned to our quarters.

"I had scarcely reached Egie Adschi's house, when a secretary of Schamyl's appeared with the order to conduct me to where I might see my cousin. Egie Adschi bade me take a dagger, seizing a musket himself, and we repaired to the middle fortress, where the wives and the most precious property of the imam are treasured up. His two wives live in separate dwellings, which are provided with balconies after the European fashion.

"At the door of the inner fortress were two murids standing as guards -one outside, and the other inside. Indeed, Schamyl neglects no precautionary measures. He never even goes to pray in the mosque, except through his murids, who stand in two rows with drawn swords. On my entrance, I found that the room of my cousin was ornamented with carpets, and contained chairs and couches, like those of Georgia. My cousin, accompanied by six women, soon made her appearance from another apartment. I bowed to her, while Egie Adschi remained at the door. In a few minutes her companions rose, and, saluting me with covered faces, left the room. I then, in the Armenian tongue, begged her to uncover her face. She answered, in the Kumuck tongue, that she understood me, but as she might make mistakes in her answers, requested me to speak to her in Kumuck. I judged from this that she feared Egie Adschi might suspect her of communicating secrets; I therefore explained to him what I said, and begged him to persuade my cousin to remove her veil.

""Mother,' said Adschi, approaching her, as, according to our customs, a woman can remove her veil only in the presence of her brethren, take me for your younger brother, and do me and your cousin the favour to

uncover your face, as a reward for the trouble he had in scaling the moun tains to come to see you.' Thus entreated, she readily removed the veil, whereupon we conversed more freely; but, just at this juncture, a door into the passage suddenly opened, the veil was again hastily dropped, and Schamyl entered the room.

I sprang from my seat with ardour, and Egie Adschi approached and kissed the hand of the imam with reverence. I was about to follow his example, but Schamyl would not suffer me. He sat down on a couch, begged me to do the same, and we entered into conversation.

"Schamyl is a stately figure, of grave carriage, with light red hair, and large eyes; his face is freckled, and his hand is red. His dress consisted of a dark satin jacket, and a red cloth cloak, like those worn by the highest dignitaries of the Mohammedan priesthood. On his head he wore a small red fez, with a large tassel. Once, on going to the mosque, I had seen him with a large turban on his head.

"As soon as I was seated, Schamyl asked me, in well-chosen expressions, if I got over the journey safely, how the roads and mountains pleased me, from whom I had obtained permission to come, and what was the real object of my journey. I replied that the mountains delighted me, but not the roads, which were so bad that, if I had anticipated so much ruggedness, I should not have undertaken the journey; I further informed him that I had obtained the permission of our authorities to pay the visit; and, finally, that my sole object was to see my cousin, and to ascertain how she was. Schamyl repeated his inquiry as to who had given me an authorization to travel through Tschetschna.

"I was fortunate enough,' I replied, 'to have your own permission, in reply to my letter.'

"I would give the permission to many,' observed Schamyl, 'only I do not know who would venture to undertake the journey.'

"May God be with you,' I replied; 'my journey hither depended on me; my departure, however, depends on your good will and favour.'

"Be it so,' said Schamyl, with a smile; but I think a second will not so easily be found to venture on such a step.'

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He then questioned me about the French, about Hungary, and about our army. I gave him all the information in my power, and then begged the imam to accept a present from me, according to our custom. 'Why should I not?' he replied. Thus encouraged, I took from my bosom a lady's gold watch, and presented it to my cousin, while to Schamyl I offered a gold chronometer and chain. The chief declined to take them in his own hand, and my cousin bade me lay them upon the couch, which I accordingly did. "Is it really the custom for your country,' asked Schamyl, 'to give and receive presents ?'

"I answered in the affirmative. The conversation was now continued for another half hour, at the expiration of which period Schamyl rose and left the room. Left alone once more with my cousin, she again uncovered her face. Towards the close of the evening I was offered tea, pears, apples, and grapes. I was astonished to see fresh grapes in the month of May; but my cousin explained to me that in Circassia the natives understood the art of preserving the grapes of the past season until the new ones are ready for gathering.

"After we had remained here till nightfall, I took leave of my cousin, and departed in company with Egie Adschi, who strictly forbade me to say anything in reference to my interview with the imam. If anybody asks you,' said he, 'say merely that you have seen your cousin ; when you are away from here, however, you can say what you please.'

"Why so? I inquired, with surprise. Do you think your people would laugh at me?'

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"They would not only laugh,' said he, 'but they would murder you if you permit them to know that you have had any intercourse with Schamyl.'

"I begged my companion to explain to me the meaning of his dark and mysterious warning.

"You have eaten twice with the Naïbs,' said he; but you have not seen Schamyl at the common table on either occasion. And the reason of this absence is, because, according to the laws of our religion, the imam may not sit at the same table with a giaour. Now you know why you must bridle your tongue if you would return with a whole skin.'

"The next day I solicited permission to depart, and wished to take a final leave of my cousin. Instead of an answer to my request, I received from Schamyl a handsome horse as a present, and the secretary of the imam at the same time informed me that orders had been given that I should have an escort of thirty men, and that the Naïb Dabu had instructions to conduct me to the vicinity of the fortress from which I had started on this perilous journey. We departed next morning, and, as my companions took a shorter way, I arrived safely the same evening at my native place."

THE AMAZON VALLEY.

THE basin of the river Amazon is the largest in the world, and the volume of fresh water which it pours into the ocean is much the largest also, whilst the richness of its productions and the fertility of its soil render it capable of supporting a greater population than any other region of equal extent. Some account of this remarkable valley cannot but be interesting to the reader.

Starting from lake Lauricocha, as its source, and following the main curves of this mighty river, without regarding its minuter windings, its length is two thousand seven hundred and forty miles. Its length in a straight line from east to west is about two thousand and fifty miles. The area of its basin, exclusive of the Tocantins, is two million three hundred and thirty thousand square miles, or more than a third of all South America. All western Europe, says Mr. Wallace, could be placed in it without touching its boundaries.

Its tributary streams-many of them equal to the largest European rivers-differ both in their botany and zoology and in the