The inhabitants of western Tartary differ very much in personal appearance from the Mongul race; being generally well shaped, with handsome features, and a Turkish cast of countenance. A large proportion of them are Mohammedans. Many of them, having gathered into large cities and villages, and acquired wealth, wear more elegant and tasteful apparel, and are more civilized in their habits, than the tribes previously described. The women are not handsome, but have a fresh, healthy, modest look, which is very pleasing. They are extremely frugal, industrious, and submissive. In some of the larger towns there are schools for girls as well as boys; and though they probably never learn any thing more than reading and writing, these are rare advantages for the women of Asia. Among the Tartars, as among other eastern nations, married women are generally better dressed than girls. All the expense bestowed upon the latter would be a loss to the father when his daughters were sold, exchanged, or bestowed in marriage; but the finery of wives is a perpetual credit to the wealth and generosity of their husbands. Almost all the Tartars are great admirers of scarlet garments, and all share the oriental taste for ornaments. The rich have their foreheads covered with a net-work of pearls, in lieu of which the poor wear glass beads. The married women fasten to the back of their jewelled-covered caps a piece of gay brocaded silk, adorned with pearls or beads, which hangs down nearly to the end of their robes. Some of the tribes stain their nails red, and their eyebrows black. They seldom appear before strangers without a veil. Dr. Clarke’s servant, perceiving that the Tartar women of the Casan always covered their faces, and ran away at his approach, thought it polite to save them the trouble, by putting his hands to his own face, and getting out of their way as quick as possible. This excited female curiosity. The next time they met him, they partially removed their veils; and he, as in duty bound, ran the faster. At last they fairly hunted him in troops, with their veils off, impatient to see the man who thus hid his face at the approach of a woman. Even the poorest habitations are divided into two parts; and the most intimate friend would give deadly offence, if he were to enter the dwellings appropriated to the female members of the family. Where there are several wives, each one has a separate set of apartments. The houses are generally very clean, being often whitewashed, and the floors well covered with neat mats and carpets. The rich sometimes have handsome Turkish sofas with damask canopies.