screen. We have startled a dinner-party of six or seven, who are taking advantage of the recess. Two more are employed with basin and towel in washing the delf from which they have just finished their meal.

They smile very good-naturedly at the interruption-we blushing a little, it may be, at our own curious inspection of the domestic arrangements of ladies every whit as well bred as ourselves-and point out the recess with its fitting of stove and culinary utensils, where one of their number is just now brewing a most inviting cup of tea. The dining-room has a goodly row of shelves, with canisters, china, etc. etc., like any other store-room; and, as each person or party play cook and waiter for themselves, all is neatness and order.

Ten minutes have passed, and the recess is not yet over. The pretty faces are gathered in groups around the room and dressing-room. Some in the window-seats are watching us curiously, as we linger by the raised table of the directress, which commands a view of the room; others are in knots of threes and fives, discussing the fashion of a sleeve or the bright spring dresses displayed in the shopwindows. A few, more studiously inclined, have drawn forth a fascinating volume, and are dispatching page after page; even an industrious needle or two have made their appearance, and a few busy stitches are set. How little there is here to mark discontent or suffering, overwork or overtaxed strength! The employment, though monotonous, requires constant thought and attention, so that the mind is not wearied by habitual reverie, and the cheerful hum of voices, or music of laughter, would satisfy the most exacting philanthropist. They are paid on an average, and not for the exact amount each person executes: active or indolent, they receive four dollars and a half per week; but, in justice, we must say that each seemed striving to do her best.

We are struck with the ease and propriety of the employment, the neat and cheerful aspect of the room; so much pleasanter than if the same number of men and boys had been at work; and are reminded to inquire whether this employment of women is unprecedented. Entirely so: the philanthropy and good taste of the suggestion are entirely due to the chief coiner, our attentive guide, Franklin Peale, Esq. It is nearly two years since the experiment was commenced, and is found to answer admirably. "Women are at once more easily taught, and quicker in movement; and," adds Mr. Peale, we find them more conscientious," which truly noble compliment to our sex we could but acknowledge by a most respectful bow.

In making selections from the crowd of applicants, the most intelligent and well-educated have been chosen, and we doubt if fifty pleasanter-looking faces could be gathered together. The manners of many mark them as educated and refined, which

must, of course, give a tone to the whole circle. We could but fancy the intimacies and agreeable acquaintances which are no doubt frequently formed among them.

A situation in the adjusting-room being, for these various reasons, so eligible, it is no wonder that constant applications are made; but we were not prepared to hear that the number of disappointed applicants could not fall far short of six hundred, a fact of the greatest weight in proving our proposition with regard to the necessity for female employ

ment.

As we bid adieu to the cheerful room and its amiable directress, we will linger for a moment in a division of the apartment below, in which we saw the pieces prepared, where they are now undergoing the last process before the certain touch of the die stamps them the current coin of our country. It is not strictly german to the plan of our sketches; but our own curiosity was gratified in following the tempting pieces to their final embellishment, and we fancy, dear ladies, that this you share with us.

cess.

Here we are, then, in range with the glowing furnaces, in one of which we catch a glimpse of apparent short, thick bars of iron, red with the fervent heat. They are, in reality, iron boxes, containing a portion of the unfinished coin, which, after the adjusting, has been milled, or passed through a simple machine, where, by systematic pressure between two grooves of steel, the narrow rim or edge has been made to encircle it. Formerly, it also included the fine ridges, or border, which counterfeiters have found so hard to imitate; but this is now accomplished by the one stroke of the die. In these iron boxes, then, the golden circles are placed, still with the red and green stains upon them, which you may have noticed, caused by the action of the external air in some former annealing proThis is now to be cleansed; therefore the lid of the box is luted fast with wet clay, and the whole subjected to heat, until it has attained what the workmen call "cherry red." Here it comes sliding down the iron bars, supported by the pincers of the workman on either side, to its bath, a weak infusion of sulphuric acid. A huge sieve is suspended by a crane above it, the cover is removed, and the glowing metal thus retained is plunged into the vat beneath. Now it appears once more changed in color, but the same in form. Another bath, more cooling, of elear Schuylkill; and still a third, warmer in temperature, for it must be dried in haste, lest it should tarnish. Once more the huge sieve swings round, and now its contents, bright and burnished as we see the beautiful coin before it is dimmed by the touch of traffic, is emptied into the long sawdust-filled trough that occupies the centre of the room; and here the drying process is completed by the quick manipulation of the workmen.

There is so much to see! There is a fascination in the noiseless, regular working of the steam-engine

in the next apartment. It is an apt illustration of those quiet, forcible characters who accomplish so much without jar or tumult. But we must not linger; the opening door displays the rapid machinery for which it supplies the motive power; and ere again we find piles of the burnished golden circles. They are receiving the final mark of their perfection: the quick, sure stroke of the die conveys the rapid impression, and fast as the workmen ean feed the insatiate engine, the pieces, one by one, are passed beneath the powerful force, and fall, in all their glowing and finished beauty, into the receptacle beneath.

Did you ever wonder how all this coin is to be counted?-the dull, tiresome process of telling the half million adjusted in a day? For the larger gold pieces the original process is still retained, separating the pile by fives, and gathering them into rouleaux of ten each. Or there is the cutting, a wooden bar, at right angles, like a wide and thick carpenter's rule, notched at regular intervals; the piles are placed within the angle, as you sometimes

gather the counters of a backgammon board, and, when thus evenly adjusted, they are much sooner told. But for those bright coppers, silver, and smaller gold pieces, there is a triumph of mechanical ingenuity, and yet so simple in its application you wonder it was not thought of long ago. The workman sits, with a wooden frame before him, lined with copper, however, to save the constant attrition that would soon wear away the wood. This frame is divided into compartments the width of the pieces, and is carelessly heaped with bright new coppers. A few slow movements backwards and forwards, and the coins have arranged themselves between the grooves. The practised eye scans the board to see that the layers are not double; a hinged section falling, precipitates all over the sum required into a trough below, and the board has measured its five hundred pieces in much less time than the description has been written.

Thus ends our morning's investigations, with grateful acknowledgments to our courteous guide.

THE mingled waters of the Syrian and Phoenician seas beat high and angrily against the shores of the Holy Land, cooling with spray the low white buildings of Tripolis, which at a league's distance resembled those birds of the air and of the water, as they hover and dip, disappear and rise again in the eversounding waters of the main.

A boat of Oriental structure floated before the port; but so distant was it that it might have been easily mistaken for a dark cloud merging above the disk of the horizon, with an occasional mezzotint touch from the sun: its deck was ornamented by a small pavilion, beneath which sat a Saracen Assassin, and a Frank, or Western Christian.

"I will relate," said the former, "according to your request, some circumstances which may be of interest to you. Yes, friend of my soul, what would not Hásan do either to benefit or amuse you!

"The founder of the sect of Assassins was Hásan Sabah. My father gave me his name in consequence of his admiration of him. It is said he obtained our hill fort of Allahmout,' or the 'Eagles' Nest,' by the same stratagem which Dido practised in gaining Carthage.

"As soon as I could understand, he took me by

So called from their peculiar dagger, and derived, it is said, from the Sanscrit or Persian language.

the hand and pointed all around, as far as I could see, saying: 'Your namesake gained this fort by bargaining for as much of the ground as an ox's hide would cover. Malek Shah, a prince to whom the country belonged, readily consented, thinking Hásan Sábáh very modest, or very poor. He even said: "I will give you as much again, and you can raise vines sufficiently to supply a part of the market at Kazveen;" but he shook his head, thanked him, and insisted that he wanted no more than what an ox's hide would surround. "Well," said the prince, "you are an odd fellow, or half witted."

"Hásan bought the hide, and, sitting down, took such a dagger as this'-pointing to the one at his side and commenced shredding the hide into thongs and joining them until they multiplied sufficiently to cover as much of the ground as he desired.

"We guard the tenets of our religion with jealousy, and its mysticisms are carried by us to an

extreme.

"Mohammed's religion was called Islâm-resignation, or religion of salvation-and those who adhered to it were by the Arabs denominated Moslems, and by the Persians Mussulmans. The head of the empire, both temporally and theologically, is the khalif, or successor of the Prophet. The Fatimites or Ismaelites, from Ismael, a descendant of Fatima, daughter of Mohammed's successors, established a

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dynasty in the north of Africa, on the coast, making a conquest of Egypt and of Syria, while they reigned as Cairo. They were the enemies of the Khalif of Bagdad, each regarding the other as heretics. Moawiah, a descendant of the uncle of Mohammed, claimed the khalifate after the death of Ali, and reigned for ninety years at Damascus. From his family one called Abbas sprang from another of the uncles of the Prophet, wrested the khalifate, and reigned at Bagdad; while one of Moawiah's descendants, also claiming the khalifate, escaped to Spain and reigned at Cordova.

"The Ismaelites or Assassins were in the Abbaside dominions the disguised advocates of the Fatimite succession, but their religion will ever remain hidden and mysterious. Our chief's face is ever veiled; his power is unlimited; he has but to signify his wish, and it is obeyed. "Strike thyself to the heart; throw thyself from yonder tower;" and it is no sooner expressed than executed.'"

Hásan was silent for a short time, when he again called the attention of his Christian friend to the pavilion above them. It was lined with azure silk, upon which was wrought in silver a crescent, with some of the planets and satellites. They were delineated as accurately as if traced upon a celestial globe, and so artfully contrived as to represent a semi-sphere.

"See," said he, "the type of the crescent; of an increasing glory and power which ends, you know, in a perfect circle, and that, we all know, is typical of eternity. This recalls to my remembrance an event connected with my history.

"Sultan Sanjar, of Persia, was the son of Malek Shah. He is most justly regarded as the best and greatest of the Seljookian monarchy. Seven years ago, he was importuned, by some whose names I need not now recur to, to undertake the overthrow of our race. We were soon apprised of the circumstance, and our chief called upon me to set forth with a warning for the Sultan and for Fakir Razee, a doctor of laws, who was styled 'The Imaum of Rhe.' This grave fakir was suspected of leaning towards the Ismailee sect, and, fearing that it would be noised abroad, he undertook to express his horror of our tenets in a severe homily while attending the services of the mosque.

"The Sultan reigned at Khorassan. His dominions extended from beyond the Indus in one direction to the Jaxartes in another. Disguising myself as a merchant, I repaired to a caravansary in Meshed, the capital of Khorassan, and offered in the bazaar a few silks from Ghilen. While bartering for a couple of Cashmere shawls of the finest goat hair, I heard a crier proclaiming that the 'worshipful Imaum of Rhe would at sunset pronounce again his homily in the mosque.' This was precisely what I desired most, and, setting forth quite early, I examined the mosque, and seated myself near a place talled the 'Imaum's pulpit,' to await the homily, and

in due time heard the muezzin; after which the people assembled, and with them Fakir Razee. He was remarkably corpulent and very short, with a laughing eye, which was forever twinkling; so much so as to produce an incongruity when he undertook a grave subject.

"While he abused us, I was one of his most attentive auditors, and after he dismissed the crowd and returned to put on his slippers and lay aside his robe, I quietly followed him, and will never forget the ludicrous expression of his frightened countenance when I seized him by the beard, and, pointing to my dagger, asked him if he knew who I was?'

"Indeed I do not,' said he, almost fainting with horror.

"You abused the Ismailee sect,' said I.

"I was wrong: I will never do so again: I repent from the bottom of my heart!' was his reply.

"Swear by the Holy Prophet to what you have just said.'

"I swear,' replied the Imaum, gasping for breath. "Very well,' said I, quitting my hold; 'I have orders not to slay you, or my poniard should before this have been crimsoned with the blood of your heart. The lord of the Assassins, Allah-u-deen, desires his respects to you, and inquires if you are well informed of the tenets of that sect which you have dared to abuse? He advises you to be careful of your future conduct; and as he has a respect for your character, he sends you this bag, which contains three hundred and sixty gold mohurs,* and here is an order for a similar sum, to be paid annually by one of his agents.'

"Fakir Razee took the money, and continued for many years to receive his pension. He never mentioned to his pupils, or even in lectures, the Ismailee sect. Whenever asked why he abstained from the expression of such opinions, he was wont to observe 'that he had some sharp and weighty arguments which induced him to waive all discussion on the subject.'

"I had now a more difficult task to achieve, in my warning to the Sultan. After remaining four days at Meshed without seeing him, except when surrounded by a strong guard, I bethought me of an expedient.

"In Persia, students need but a slight acquaintance with astronomy to be regarded as adepts in the mysteries of judicial astrology. To take an altitude with an astrolabe; to know the position of the planets, stars, and satellites, with a perfect knowledge of astrological almanacs-which are published annually-is sufficient, particularly when a few technical phrases are added.

"The chief physician of the Sultan was in the daily habit of taking an evening walk. I managed, as he entered the shade of some date-trees, to attract

* Equal to two dollars.

his attention by exclaiming-'Alas for Sultan Sanjar, should he take the antelope hunt on to-morrow, as I have heard he designed doing. Oh that a poor astrologer like myself could influence him: I read his horoscope, and now that his'

"Hold there!' said the physician, stepping to the spot where I was seated-' what is that, friend, that I heard thee lamenting?'

"I tore my beard and beat my breast, in silence, until he promised to send for me on the following morning while the Sultan was breakfasting, so as to enable me to explain in person my apprehensions for his safety. I now rose from my seat, standing erectly, and crossing my hands until he repeated— "You shall be welcome; where shall I send for you?'

"I prostrated myself as I said, 'Most worshipful follower of Jalenous and Bocrat,† at the caravansary of Mohammed Ali Khan, if it pleases your worship.'

"As the religion of the Sultan exacted his rising early, and his popularity in his dominions depended upon his strict observance of the Koran, I had not long after sunrise to await the summons. The chief] steward, or nauzee of the Sultan, a man of remarkably ugly, and indeed almost deformed appearance, presented himself as my guide to the palace. As he stood before me but four feet high, and nearly as broad, his carroty hair hanging in strings beneath his lamb's-wool cap, a foot and a half high, his eyes large, and with the color and expression of a tiger's, I feared lest I should wound his feelings by the gaze of curiosity my face expressed: but whether he had become accustomed to such expressions of surprise or not, remains to be ascertained: certain it is, he did not notice me. We walked in silence for some time, until Illiz called to me, saying, 'Hark ye.' I turned as he pointed to a slave-merchant, who in an audible voice was saying to a richly-dressed Persian

"Thirty-nine, only thirty-nine.'

"What do you say?' replied the merchant. "Only thirty-nine.'

"That number,' continued Illiz, 'is deeply wrought in the tapestry of my life.'

"How, brother?" said I.

"Why, but four years since, standing in that very place with thirty-nine Turks, carried with myself to market, all of which the vizier bought for his royal master excepting myself, and when about to depart with them, I called to the minister-"Oh! vizier, if you have purchased thirty-nine slaves for the Sultan's sake, buy me, for God's sake!" The minister was pleased, and I was included with the others. From my wretched inferior appearance, I was thought worthy only of a scullion's place in the king's kitchen. I am not too humble to say that there I made so many improvements and friends,

that I was gradually promoted until I arrived at the place of steward, which I now hold.'

"We arrived at the palace, and found that the Sultan was awaiting his breakfast hour in one of his private halls. The nauzee now left me at the vestibule, and summoned the physician, after which the door was opened; and as we entered two officers raised their gold-enamelled wands, and we twice made obeisance. The Sultan was seated upon a divan of blue satin ornamented heavily with fringe of gold thread strung with pearls, and festooned with cords and tassels of the same: four square pillars of porphyry supported the divan, and upon each rested a golden peacock set with precious stones, and bearing costly pearls in their beaks. He was a remarkably fine-looking man, with eyes more lustrous than the diamonds and other precious stones which looped his turban, notwithstanding, when there was the least inflexion of his body, they flashed and sparkled most refulgently: his beard was black, and in the form of a fan: his dress the catebee or robe, composed of cloth of gold and brocade, clasped with diamonds. There were on each side of him pages splendidly dressed, who refreshed him by burning perfumes in vases, and fanning him with the feathers of the ostrich and bird of paradise. But these are the mere externals of eastern habits. The Sultan possessed the three great traits which Xenophon enumerates as the national character of the ancient Persians: riding, shooting with the bow, and speaking the truth.

"I listened with pleasure at the history given by his lieutenant of the country of Egypt. The Sultan had never visited the Nile, and was curious to hear a description from an eye-witness of his own court, and had just seated the lieutenant a few feet below him and commanded him to proceed. When I entered, I had consequently to fold my arms across my breast and stand respectfully aside, while he detailed the following narrative:

"Oh, commander of the faithful, Egypt is a country of black earth and green plants, between a pulverized mountain and red sand. The distance from Syene to the sea is a month's journey for a horseman. Along the valley descends a river, on which the blessing of the Most High reposes, both in the evening and the morning, and which rises and falls with the revolutions of the sun and moon. When the annual dispensations of Providence unlock the springs and fountains that nourish the earth, the Nile rolls his swelling and sounding waters through the realms of Egypt; the fields are overspread by the salutary flood, and the villages communicate with each other in their painted barks. The retreat of the inundation deposits a fertilizing mud, for the reception of the various seeds. The

* Translated from an Arabian manuscript in the possession of Cardinal Mazarin, in a volume published in the year 1666.

crowds of husbandmen who blacken the land may be compared to a swarm of ants, and their native indolence is quickened by taskmasters, who punish, or promise the flowers and fruits of a plentiful increase. Their hope is seldom deceived, but the riches which they extract from the wheat, the barley, and the rice, the legumens, the fruit-trees, and the cattle, are equally shared between those who labor and those who possess. According to the vicissitudes of the season, the face of the country is adorned with a silver wave, a verdant emerald, and the deep yellow of a golden harvest.'

"It was my time next to speak, and I had commenced approaching the Sultan in the usual formula, by stepping towards him, then stopping, and hesitating as if dazzled by his appearance, then advancing again, when the nauzee Illiz announced the king's breakfast. It was borne upon a tray covered by a rich shawl, which was removed, and laid upon an elegantly embroidered cloth spread before the Sultan, who left the divan for a seat on a carpet, which I need only describe as from the looms of the Iliats. The nauzee then proceeded to break the seal and unlock the tray. It contained dishes of very fine China, with silver covers. They being also removed and the dishes of viands placed before the Sultan, the physician stepped forward and remained standing by him until he had breakfasted and for an hour afterwards. During the latter period, I was called upon for proofs of my skill in judicial astrology. I went through the usual forms and calculations, pointing out to him that the invisible but baneful constellation Sukez yeldoz was exactly opposite the chief and only gateway leading towards the forest, and must consequently shed its dangerous influence in that direction. The Sultan was convinced that I had interposed between himself and some impending danger, and, drawing a ring from his finger, he placed it here'-pointing to the third finger of his right hand saying:

"Should the black clouds of sorrow ever lower over you, and Sultan Sanjar be possessed of the power to dispel them, even in a slight degree, send this to him.'"

The Assassin paused for some time while he gazed on his monarch's gift, and, as he raised his jewelled hand to his turban in respectful remembrance of him who was now a captive, a tear dropped upon his silken vestments, and spangled into a thousand brilliant particles. Thus in a few moments the incidents of many years glided before him in a multitude of sorrowful yet brilliant reminiscences, and, to use the language of his own country, were "full of the waters of the eye."

"We managed that the Sultan should not be disappointed in his hunting expedition; and on the following morning, after returning from the mosque, he agreed to pass through the city in the opposite direction of the constellation, and continue a route for ten or eleven leagues towards Killaat. I was to

accompany the party for the purpose of reminding the Sultan to keep his head in a proper direction, so as to avoid the constellation. When the cavalcade drew up in front of the palace, it resembled much more a caravan fitted out with merchandise for Bagdad, than a party of pleasure. There were ten camels laden with tents, furniture, and provisions; forty horses, and sixteen mules: two of the former bore rich saddles, plated with gold, and set with zubies and turquoise or ferouzah, one of which was led for, and the other ridden by the Sultan. The remainder of the horses were variously caparisoned, some with silver-mounted saddles, others with embroidered velvet and gilding. Spears were fastened to the saddles, and each man carried in his hand a bow, and in his sach a quiver full of arrows. The Sultan and vizier bore each a hawk upon his glove, and there were ten or fifteen dogs led in leashes.

"We vaulted into our saddles and filed off through the city, uniting again in the suburbs. I rode by the Sultan, and the vizier on the opposite side. There were twenty-four archers as a body-guard, twelve in the van and twelve in the rear: then followed many of the nobles, the gentry, and menials. We had travelled five or six leagues, when an outrider, who occupied the place of scout, returned for the purpose of informing the Sultan that he had discovered the tracks of a stag. The monarch was an excellent horseman as well as marksman, and, spurring his horse, he dashed forward, forgetting Sukez yeldoz. When within a hundred yards of the animal, he dismounted and advanced fifty steps, fitting at the same time an arrow to his bow; but the picturesque appearance of the scene before him arrested its flight. In a deep valley through which a stream bubbled and glided over pebbles as white as snow, lay sleeping one of the noblest stags I ever saw. So perfect was his rest, and so harmonious to repose the surrounding scenery, that it appeared a violation of nature to disturb him. An arrow flew from the monarch's bow, and a shower of dewy flowers fell from the shrubbery above, and carpeted the spot so lately occupied by the now bounding and almost invisible stag. I had followed the Sultan closely, and now for the first time addressed him.

""Sword of Persia, commander of the faithful, and noble Sultan, have you forgotten the baneful constellation?'

"He quietly surrendered his head into my keeping, and we journeyed on, until the hawks were flown. Away they went, rising higher and higher, now wheeling, now poising upon outstretched wings, and now darting until lost in the vapory clouds which sailed in fragments below the summits of the mountains. A sudden descent of the hawks, with a cry from the scout, informed us that the stag had been discovered, and that his rapid flight was now impeded by their attacking his head. Presently four dogs were unleashed, now four more, and so on, until the animal was almost fainting with fatigue,