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is then allowed a voice in the matter and may refuse to ratify her father's contract. The members of this tribe are not permitted to dispose of their estates, either by gift or testament, to the prejudice of the lawful heirs; nor to leave more to one child than to another. The following is the order in which succession to property is regulated: First, sons; Secondly, male descendants through the male line; Thirdly, daughters; Fourthly, daughter's children indiscriminately; Fifthly, father; Sixthly, paternal uncles; Seventhly, brothers; Eighthly, mother. Illegitimate children are not excluded, provided the mother be a Karaite. A husband can never inherit from his wife; but it is lawful for her to resign to him a share of her dower.

The Rabbinists pretend that the schism (as they term it,) of the Karaites cannot be traced beyond the year 750 of our era. These, on the contrary, maintain that, before the destruction of the first temple, they existed as a distinct sect under the name of "The company of the son of Judah;" that it was only in later days that they were called Karaites, to distinguish them from the Rabbinists; and that their princes reigned over Egypt. According to some, their history is marked by

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KARAITE HISTORY.

three great epochs: First, the year 106 B. c. in which Simeon Ben Chetak, driven to Alexandria to avoid the persecution directed by Alexander Janneus against the wise men of his country, returned to Jerusalem after the danger was past, and began to disseminate his doctrines: Secondly, 750 A. D. when Anan was their chief at Babylon: Thirdly, the year (in the fifteenth century,) in which Héléliah Ben Don Davis went from Lisbon to Constantinople in order to effect a coalition between the Karaites and Rabbinists; but, failing in his project, gave them a code of laws which, with the Adareth, (a moral work much esteemed among them,) formed the basis of their institutions.

As our visit was protracted to some (length, the greater part of the population of this little fort heard of our arrival; and before we took leave, the number whom curiosity had brought to see the strangers was such as to incommode us. The boys fought for the hopeful privilege of holding our horses, and still more for the kopecks, in distributing which we strove not to give rise to a breach of the peace; but some more than playful blows proved that our efforts were unsuccessful.

With the double object of avoiding the pre

VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT.

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cipitous ascent encountered in our progress to the town, and of seeing the burial-ground of these lovers of Holy Scripture, on quitting Joofud Kalah we proceeded along a road leading to a valley peopled with the dead of the last five centuries, and called "The valley of Jehoshaphat." It lies in a fissure of the mountains, and is darkened by the shade of numerous venerable trees which cast a sombre hue over the graves and give effect to the scene. The cemetery is filled to overflowing with white marble monuments, each carved in the shape of a sarcophagus and furnished with a headstone: the oldest of these, which was more than half buried in the ground till the visit of the emperor Alexander who caused it to be taken up and laid down afresh, bears a date corresponding to the year 1364 of our era. view from this spot is very grand; and our last impressions of Joofud Kalah were such as to induce a regret that we were compelled to hasten away, and that our visit could neither be prolonged nor repeated. Yet so it is! A regret is mingled with life's every pleasure!

The

CHAPTER XI.

THE CRIMEA. FROM BAGTCHESERAI, BY THE
HERACLEOTIC CHERSONESUS, TO Odessa.

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Leave Bagtcheserai.-Tartar village of Dosis.-Mausoleums. Castle of Mankup.- Dewankooee. Carts. - Burialgrounds. — Broochkooee. Scenery.- Ferry.-Old Jew.

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tress and caves of Inkerman.-Chapels in rock.-Hidingplaces of early Christians.-Harbour.-Shipping and fortifications. Site of ancient Chersonesus.-Its foundation and history.-Heracleotic and Taurica Chersonesus.-Genoese buildings.-Pagan temples and Christian churches.—Extensive ruins. - Flowers and insects.-Anecdote.-Natural magic. — Circular stone basins. — Coins.-Rings for shipping on tops of mountains.-Geological conjectures.— Monastery of St. George. -Temple of Diana.-Metropolitan. Greek service.- Valley of Balaclava. — Greek inhabitants. Variety of nations in Crimea. Harbour of Balaclava.-Ancient fortress.-Name derived from Genoese. Fish. -Sea-servant. Town paved with marble. -Valley of Baidah. Tartar cottage. Repast. - Ablutions.-Mountains of Ayila.-Majestic scenery.-" Devil's

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Village destroyed. - Houses.

DEPARTURE FROM BAGTCHESERAI.

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Mode of stacking hay.-Richness of soil.-Spina Christi.Tree frog. Eagles.-Lizards. Return to Aloupka.Yalta.-Massandra.- Count Woronzow's exertions in Crimea.—Anecdote.-Public garden at Nikita.-Aidaniel.— Its situation. View. Bear's mountain. - Return to Odessa.

THE distance from Bagtcheserai, the ancient metropolis of Crim Tartary, to Sebastopol, its present capital, is about thirty versts; and the journey may be accomplished on horseback in three hours and a half, the road being level and such as even a wagon can pass over. The first little cluster of cottages, wearing an appearance of comfort superior to that of most Tartar villages, is called Dosis. In the vicinity are several mausoleums; one, remarkable for the beauty of its architecture, is considered by competent judges the best specimen of that art in Russia; it probably contains the dust of royalty, and the name of the spot thus consecrated to the dead, which may be translated The old abode, has given rise to a belief that the khans formerly resided here. The burialgrounds of the Tartars, like those of Mohammedans in general, lie near the public road; and they are numerous, as each family can choose their last home without regard to a form of consecration. These frequent mementos

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