flowing with liquid gold and silver, and gardens in which the trees were bowed down with the most magnificent fruit—­fruit that I had not strength enough to raise my hand and pluck.  My limbs were heavy as lead, my tongue, lips, and gums, dry and parched.  I breathed with the greatest difficulty, and within me was a burning sensation, as if I had swallowed hot coals; while my extremities, both hands and feet, did not appear to form a part of myself, but to be instruments of torture affixed to me, and causing me the most intense suffering.

I have a confused recollection of a sort of rushing noise, the nature of which I was unable to determine, so nearly had all consciousness left me; then of finding myself amongst trees, the leaves and boughs of which scratched and beat against my face as I passed through them; then of a sudden and rapid descent, with the broad bright surface of a river below me.  I clutched at a branch, but my fingers had no strength to retain their grasp—­there was a hissing, splashing noise, and the waters closed over my head.

I soon rose, and endeavoured to strike out with my arms and legs, but in vain; I was too weak to swim and again I went down.  A thousand lights seemed to dance before my eyes:  there was a noise in my brain as if a four-and-twenty pounder had been fired close to my ear.  Just then a hard hand was wrung into my neck-cloth, and I felt myself dragged out of the water.  The next instant my senses left me.

* * * * *

TRAVELS OF KERIM KHAN.

No.  II.

We left our friend the Khan, at length comfortably established in London, and pursuing his observations on the various novel objects of interest which every where presented themselves to his gaze.  The streets lighted by gas (which the Persian princes call “the spirit of coals”) are described in terms of the highest admiration—­“On each side, as far as the eye could see, were two interminable lines of extremely brilliant light, produced by a peculiar kind of vapour here called gas, which made the city infinitely more interesting to look at by night than by day; but the most extraordinary thing in reference to the flame in the lamps was, that this appeared to be produced without the medium of either oil or wick, nor could I discern the cause of the lighting.  The houses have from three to seven stages or stories, one of which is underground—­each stage containing at least two rooms.  The walls fronting the streets are of brick or stone, and the interior of woodwork; but the wood of the rooms inside is covered with a peculiar sort of paper of various colours and curious devices, highly elaborate and ingenious.  The balconies outside were generally filled with flowers of various hues:  but notwithstanding the wonders which surrounded me, and made me fancy myself in a world of talismanic creation, my spirits were for some time depressed, and this immense city seemed to me worse than the tomb; for I had not yet recovered from the bewilderment into which all that I had seen had thrown me.”