Egypt.

To this extraordinary land, the pride not only of
Africa but of the ancient world, as the parent of
those arts which soften and ennoble existence, and
of that legislature which renders man a sociable
and virtuous being, we turn with that satisfaction
its present situation forbids us to enjoy. This
emotion is felt the more strongly, because the memorials
of this country have, at a still more early
period of its history, been imprinted on our minds
by the sacred penman. In awakening the sweetest
affections of our hearts, and gratifying the most
laudable curiosity of our nature, Moses has imprinted
indelibly on our minds the remembrance of
Egypt, in its greatness and its humiliation, its
power and its punishment. We have pursued with B8v 16
anxious hearts the steps of the enslaved Joseph,
his advancement to greatness, his affecting forgiveness
of injury, the settlement of his brethren, the
captivity of their descendants, and their wonderful
emancipation through the immediate assistance of
Heaven, and our minds still linger enquiringly after
the land which witnessed such miracles, and suffered
such inflictions.

Egypt is a valley about six hundred miles long,
watered by the Nile, which, after running near a
thousand miles, falls into the sea by seven mouths.
It is enclosed on either side by barren sandy deserts;
but Egypt itself is singularly fruitful, for
which it is indebted to this wonderful river, whose
gifts have been so far aided by the industry of man,
that it is said not less that six hundred canals have
been cut, in different directions, to irrigate the soil,
and distribute that warm slime which the Nile, at
its annual overflow, deposits on the land. Three
branches constitute this wonderful stream, according
to Eratosthenes, but in general two only are
named; the Blue River, which first makes a circuit
through Abyssinia, and then flows through the
plains of Sennaar, the sources of which were
visited by the Jesuits Paez and Teller, and since
then by Mr. Bruce; and the White River, Bahr-
el-Abiad, which is considered the true Nile, the
source of which lies to the south of Darfoor. At
three different places, on its way to Egypt, the Nile
is interrupted by intervening rocks, which occasion B9r 17
what are called the Cataracts: the most remarkable
is at Syene, after which the river flows peaceably
into that country, which we find so immediately
connected with the Nile, that it is impossible to
touch on the one without recurring to the other.
Upper Egypt was called by the ancients the Thebaid,
because Thebes was its capital; it is now
called Said, and includes the provinces of Thebes,
Djirdjed, and Siast. (The moderns describe a part
called the Vostani as Middle Egypt.) Lower
Egypt, which is the maritime part of the country,
is the most populous, and was formerly the most
important. It includes that portion of land called
the Delta, from the divisions of the Nile forming
that Greek letter, and which is considered the most
fruitful in the country. In this country it never
rains, or so seldom, that a slight shower is a wonder,
and by no means held to be desirable. The air is
singularly pure, and during our winter months
their grain is rising in strength and beauty; and
from the earliest times we know that they abounded
in wheat, barley, beans, flax, mustard, anise, saffron-wood,
pumpkins, melons, lettuce, and the
finer fruits of the warm countries, although walnuts,
cherries, and almonds do not thrive here. Olive
plantations are only partially successful, but the
vine flourished in ancient Egypt. The fig of
Pharaoh, a kind of sycamore, was less valued for
the fruit than the shade it afforded. The lotos or
water lily, and the papyrus, have been much celebrated B9v 18
by old writers. The Natron, or Bitter
Lakes, supply various useful productions, and the
coasts and rivers abound in fish of excellent qualities
and peculiar kind. As the natural productions
of Egypt remain nearly the same, and will be noticed
hereafter, we shall proceed to give a brief
account of its ancient greatness, religion, and history,
beginning in the usual order from the coast,
and proceeding to the interior.

Lower Egypt at one time, probably, boasted
more cities than any country, of the same extent,
upon the face of the earth; but we have reason to
believe that the accounts transmitted us from old
writers were exaggerated. It is at least certain,
that the slightest remains of many cannot be traced,
and that the sites pointed out could not afford
foundation for more than a paltry village. In this
survey we can only notice the most remarkable, as
connected with historic details, peculiar magnificence,
or commercial importance.

Alexandria, founded by the conqueror whose
name it bears, was built on a sandy stripe of land,
formed by the sea against an ancient mole, connecting
the isle of Pharos with the continent.
From all that remains, we are led to conceive it
almost unequalled in its character of a magnificent
and convenient city, alike calculated for the emporium
of commerce, the splendours of royalty, and
the means of defence. The walls of the city were B10r 19
built in hewn stone, and enclosed all the buildings
except the palaces. Two magnificent streets, one
hundred feet wide, crossing each other at right
angles, appear to have formed the principal part
of the city, which contained numerous temples,
theatres, baths, a noble tavern, an extensive gymnasium,
and cisterns of such strength and magnitude,
for containing the waters of the Nile, that
they form, at this day, an object of wonder and admiration.
They are filled from the canal of Canopus,
a work of great utility to the city, which
flows near the beautiful erection called Pompey’s
Pillar, of which we shall speak hereafter, as that,
together with the Needles of Cleopatra, are objects
of modern curiosity.

Alexandria contained also a splendid academy
and museum, and a library of unparalleled extent,
which received from time to time such additions as
to render the collection not less than 700,000
volumes; an amazing collection, when we remember
that they were all manuscript. There was an
adjoining suburb, called the Necropolis, or City
of the Dead, where the honours paid to the departed,
by all the Egyptians, were exhibited in
noble monuments; and in the costly and luxurious
palaces every means by which wealth and
taste could be shown were undoubtedly displayed.
The burial-place of the kings was near the palace;
and here the body of Alexander the Great B10v 20
was deposited, in a coffin of gold,Open note 2Back to note ² placed within
a sarcophagus, which is at this time in the
British Museum. Alexandria had two fine harbours,
and various docks for shipping: the sea
washed it on the north, the lake Mareotis to the
south. The celebrated lighthouse, called the Pharos,
was built upon an island of that name, which,
being united to the land, renders itself a promontory,
and still serves as a lighthouse to the entrance
of the harbour or roadstead, which is dangerous
for vessels approaching the city. After Alexandria
was reduced to the Roman power, it declined
rapidly, but resumed some power and considerable
commerce under the earlier caliphs, being admirably
situated as the mart of Asiatic and Mediterranean
merchandise: but the discovery of the Cape
of Good Hope as a passage to India, deprived it of
all its highest advantages. Glass and cloth are manufactured
here, senna and saffron cultivated in the
neighbourhood; and it is still a busy, though a
deeply-humbled place, the shadow of its former
greatness.

Alexandria was built near the site of Rhacotis,
which was considered one of its suburbs. This
city was surrounded by a district called Bucolia,
famous for its flocks and herds, and frequently referred
to by the ancient poets.

B11r 21

Aboukir, the ancient Canopus; Rosetta, formerly
Raschid; and Tamiathis, now Damietta, are all
sea-ports on the mouths of the Nile. The last
named was destroyed in the time of the crusades.
On the eastern side of the lake of Menzaleh (the
ancient Tanis) lie the ruins of Pelusium, and on
the south side those of the city of Tanis.

Old Cairo, or El-Kahara, is now reduced to a
narrow compass; it lies on the right bank of the
Nile, and is most remarkable for containing those
granaries built by the patriarch Joseph, as mentioned
in the Scriptures: they consist of square
courts, built about fifteen feet high, open at the
top, and strengthened with buttresses. They were,
in the first instance, built of stone, but have been
repaired frequently with brick. This town is said
to be built by Amrou, near the site of Babylon,
for the purpose of besieging the latter, which was,
unquestionably, in the days of Alexander, the chief
town in Egypt, but of which scarcely a vestige remains,
so completely have the prophecies concerning
it been fulfilled.

New, or Grand Cairo, which was built in the
year 0973973, will be noticed in our review of the present
state of Egypt, as will also those prodigious
erections, the Pyramids, since, although they are
so ancient as to be recognized by the oldest profane
writers, we can throw no light on the founders,
beyond that attained by modern labours. Besides
the great Pyramids, near Djizeh, which, with the B11v 22
Sphinx, have been objects of attention so many
ages, as we ascend the Nile to Sakhara, there are
many Pyramids, formed of brick, which are dispersed
over a line of eleven miles, at the foot of
which chain, M. Malte Brun says, the ancient
Memphis once stood, “rubbish of its immense
buildings extending to Mitrahenos.”

Vostani, or Middle Egypt, contains the province
of Arsinoe, the lake Moeris, spoken of by
Strabo, and supposed to be an artificial excavation,
formed by a king of that name. Some fine ruins
of the city of Arsinoe attest its former splendour;
and Faioom and Benisooef, the remaining provinces,
give proof, in their present state, of the
riches and population the country may have enjoyed
in times past. In this district was situated the
Labyrinth, celebrated in antiquity for containing
three thousand chambers. Many remains of Greek
towns, with fragments of statues and other sculpture,
are found here; and it is the opinion of some
persons learned on the subject, that Mr. Belzoni
did actually find the Labyrinth, although he does
not himself believe that he was so fortunate. A
canal, believed to be the work of the patriarch
Joseph, passes through this country; and in the
lapse of so many centuries, has brought an accumulation
of sand by which many great works are unquestionably
buried; but the marbles and granite
found on the surface attest the value of what lies
below.

B12r 23

We now enter on Upper Egypt, of which
Djirdjez is now the capital, and passing Tentyra
(now called Dendera), find there splendid remains
of the power and the mythology of ancient Egypt.
The Nile here forms a great bend to the east, and
presents, on the elbow nearest the Red Sea, the
ancient Cenopesis: after this, we come to Luxor
and Karnak, to the wonder and pride of the land.

Thebes is so decidedly the glory of Upper
Egypt, and displays ruins of such an unparalleled
character for grandeur and extent, that no other
place can be brought into competition with it. It
was called the City of Jupiter, was twenty-seven
miles in circumference, and its palaces, gates, and
statues have been celebrated by the most ancient
poets. Diodorus Siculus says, “there never was
a city which received so many offerings in silver,
gold, ivory, colossal statues, and obelisks.” It had
a statue, framed with such amazing mechanism, that
it hailed the rising sun with music expressive of
joy. The magnificent ruins of this city will be
noticed when we speak of the present appearance
and condition of Egypt. Hermanthis, another
ancient city with a fine temple, where some paintings
are still found in high preservation, is now
called Ermount. Near Assouan are found the remains
of Syene, which consist of marble columns
and a square building. Esneh, the last town in
Egypt, has some curious caverns; the remains of a
large temple is also found at Edfar, and we are B12v 24
now within a short distance of the islands of Elephantine
and Philoe, which are covered with ruins,
evincing the former greatness of this people, and
their progress in art and science.

Previous to closing our account of the cities of
Egypt, we must observe that, before the building
of Alexandria, Babylon, Memphis, Thebes, and
Heliopolis have each been called its capital by ancient
authors. There were two cities of the last
name; one called On in the Scriptures, situated
near the Delta, where the village of Matareah now
stands, the other in Cœlo-Syria. In the former
Herodotus (the father of history) founded a school,
as did Plato, Lycurgus, and Solon. Here the year
was divided into twelve parts, and astronomy
studied not only by native philosophers, but Greeks
and learned men from other countries.

Gizeh, a town on the left bank of the Nile,
nearly opposite to Cairo, was supposed to be
planted on the site of Memphis, until the fallacy
was exposed by Norden, who asserts, “that no
persons so wise as the ancient Egyptians undoubtedly
were, would have founded a city in a place
subject to the overflowings of the Nile.” M.
Malte Brun, as we have already seen, places the
ruins of Memphis near the pyramids of Abusir. If
this was the capital when the Israelites were in
captivity, might they not be employed in rearing
these monuments, seeing we are expressly told that
they made bricks? Although their first occupations C1r 25
were in the pasture lands, and there is a tradition
which places the finding of Moses by the princess
near Grand Cairo, yet it seems very probable, that
as the people multiplied, bodies of them might be
compelled to remove for the purpose of labouring
at these singular erections.

Whilst the people of Egypt, from the sea-coast
to the cataracts, were occupying their time and
riches in raising monuments of imperishable durability,
their religious idolatry was the most extensive
and degrading that ever entered the mind of
man. Osiris, the Bacchus of Egypt, was the principal
god, and worshipped, together with Isis, his
queen, whose face is represented in numerous
temples with an expression of great beauty and
softness; but to these, and other deities of human
form, were added beasts, fishes, reptiles, and herbs.
In some places the crocodile, an immense animal,
long considered peculiar to the Nile (of the lizard
form, and singularly hideous,) was adorned with
golden ornaments and worshipped; in other parts,
they were killed and eaten. Their mythology also
included a sacred bird called the Ibis, exalted to
divinity because it broke the eggs of this detestable
animal; so that nothing can be more absurd than
the nature of their worship, except it be the multitude
of their deities, in which, together with many
other peculiarities, they greatly resemble the
Hindoos.

C C1v 26

In the study of philosophy, and more particularly
of astronomy, the Egyptians were eminent at a very
early period. The fineness of their climate, which
is considered unequalled, and their country, as being
a plain, facilitated their progress in this science, as
every mound or erection became an observatory,
and the unclouded heavens, beheld through the
purest atmosphere, revealed their golden worlds to
the enquiring eye without obstruction.

Their laws and customs were singular. The
monarch was absolute; but upon his death the
meanest subject had a right to reproach him for
error, by which means his successor learned an important
lesson, more especially as the dead were
held in high veneration, and every Egyptian desired
that honour should await him at that period when
he can no longer enjoy it. Every son was obliged
to be of the same trade or profession of his father,
whence great proficiency in all mechanic arts was
unquestionably induced, and, by the same rule, the
inspirations of superior talent and genius repressed.
But the most extraordinary and singular custom of
the Egyptians was that of giving preference to
women; since even the accordance of common consideration
for them as the weaker sex seems unknown
to all the nations around them. Diodorus
Siculus says “that in commemoration of the happiness
enjoyed by the Egyptians under the mild
government of Isis, they left to the women more
authority than the men; that the queens were more C2r 27
honoured than the kings, and the influence of
women was greater in private life.” In the contracts
of marriage it was stipulated, “that the
woman should be mistress of her husband, who
should obey her in every particular.” Herodotus
says, “men work at the loom, while women go
abroad on affairs of commerce.” Larcher accounts
for this state of society, by informing us, “that the
king, Sesostris, seeing the people became exceedingly
populous, and fearing they would conspire
against him, obliged the men to employ themselves
in feminine occupations in order to enervate them.”
By the law women were obliged to provide for
their parents, but the men were not thus called
upon, which, under the circumstances of their insufficient
power, was certainly only an act of
justice.

The clothing of the ancient Egyptians accorded
with this unprecedented peculiarity; the men wore
two large vests, or shirts, only, with a shawl; whilst
the women were loaded with splendid ornaments,
over garments similarly formed. Both sexes were
remarkably cleanly, and their ablutions were performed
with religious exactness. Their priests
were judges also, and enjoyed great privileges,
having land and wine set apart for their use; but
they were forbidden to eat of fish. Into this order
the women, notwithstanding their many privileges,
were not permitted to intrude.

C2 C2v 28

The history of this remarkable country, in its
early annals, is mixed with fabulous accounts, and
takes us back to dates almost as early and fallacious
as those of China. We can only cursorily observe,
that the name of Pharaoh seems to have been given
in addition to that of all their earlier kings, and
that of Ptolemy to their later. Of the first, Sesostris
was the most warlike and powerful on record;
but how far he extended his dominions cannot now
be even guessed at. He is conceived, by some
chronologers, to be the prince who took Jerusalem
in the reign of Rehoboam.Open note 3Back to note ³ A considerable lapse
of time after his death occurs of which we have no
records that can be relied on; but we find that, in
the time of Psammetichus, Egypt was again a warlike
state, and conquered Azotus in Syria, and that
he was a prince of ability and enquiry, as he sent
travellers to seek the source of the Nile. His son
is considered on just grounds to be the Pharaoh
Necho of the Scriptures, where the most remarkable
acts of his reign are recorded, as are those of
Apius, the Pharaoh-Haphra, whose misfortunes
were foretold by the prophet Jeremiah.

The succeeding reign was one of prosperity and
peace; but with the loss of Amasis, their sovereign,
the Egyptians experienced that of liberty, wealth,
and power; Cambyses, king of Persia, invaded
Egypt through Pelusium (which the sacred writings C3r 29
term the “key of Egypt”), and in spite of the
efforts of Psamminitas, the son of Amasis, succeeded
in enslaving all Egypt. To this conqueror
the ruin of Thebes is attributed, as he appeared to
have a pleasure in all possible destruction, whether
of man or his works; and his cruelties were not less
remarkable than his conquests, which took place
about 525 years before the Christian era.

The Egyptians remained under all the misery of
an enforced and galling vassalage until the conquest
of Persia by Alexander the Great gave them
a powerful and generous sovereign, who took undisputed
possession of a country thankful for any
change that promised relief. Alexander had, indeed,
previous to overthrowing that dynasty, laid
the foundation of Alexandria, traversed the great
desert to the oasis on which stood the temple of
Jupiter Ammon, and compelled the intimidated
priest to proclaim him the son of that deity, so that
his triumph over Persia might be said to commence
in this country. This great conqueror died in
Babylon, which he had enriched and beautified, but
commanded his body to be removed to Alexandria.
After his death, Ptolemy Lagus became governor
of this and other countries, in trust for Alexander’s
son, and on the death of that infant retained the
possession of Egypt, and became to it an excellent
king. The prophecy of Ezekiel, “there shall be
no more a prince of the land of Egypt,” was thus
fulfilled; but the wisdom and virtue evinced by this C3 C3v 30
Grecian general, as a sovereign, was certainly never
exceeded by his predecessors. Happily, he lived
to be eighty-five, and by his long reign restored
prosperity to the whole of Egypt, and gave to
Alexandria, which he made the capital, riches and
magnificence almost unequalled.

Ptolemy took the surname of Soter; and from
him descended a line of princes which held the
sovereignty nearly three hundred years, when it
became vested in Ptolemy Auletes, a weak, effeminate,
and wicked prince, whose subjects drove
him from the throne. The deposed prince appealed
to the Romans, who had now risen to such
power that they were made the universal arbiters,
and as they adopted his cause, he was soon reseated
on the throne. He died a few years after, leaving
a son and daughter, whom he desired to marry and
reign conjointly, such unions being neither illegal
nor unprecedented in the royal families of Egypt.
This princess was celebrated Cleopatra,Open note 4Back to note ⁴ who
had just entered her seventeenth year, and was remarkable
for her beauty, spirit, and accomplishments,
and therefore likely to aid a brother by no
means equally gifted, in managing a throne so
lately filled by a weak monarch, and surrounded by
a dissatisfied people.

The young couple in question alike refused to
marry or reign together; a war ensued, and whilst C4r 31
success was dubious, Julius Cæsar entered Egypt
in quest of Pompey, with whom he was at war.

Cleopatra was young, beautiful, and accomplished;
she was aware of her own attractions, and
aware also, that the Roman arms, if engaged in her
behalf, would decide in her favour. Causing
herself to be wrapped in a blanket, she was carried
without suspicion into the tent of the great Roman
general, at whose feet she fell, pleading her cause
with tears, and an eloquence that was rendered
more irresistible from the surprise her presence occasioned,
and the fascinations of her person and
manners. Cæsar yielded to her entreaties: Ptolemy
was slain in the battle which ensued, and Cleopatra
became the sole and undisputed sovereign of
Egypt.Open note 5Back to note ⁵

The taste and extravagance of this queen in her
style of living are unparalleled in history; and the
immense revenues exacted from fruitful Egypt
were found scarcely equal to her lavish expenditure.
She is said to have dissolved a pearl of immense
wealth in vinegar, which she swallowed in
the mere wantonness of profusion, and to have
taxed different provinces to supply different articles
of dress and jewels.

When she was about twenty-four years, it being
supposed that she had favoured Cassius, with whom C4 C4v 32
the Roman government was at war, she was commanded
as a tributary princess to repair to Marc
Antony, then at Cilicia, and account to him for her
supposed misconduct.

Cleopatra was too wise to contend with that
power which seven years before had placed her on
the throne; but she remembered her former influence
over Cæsar, and knowing Antony to be a
man of pleasure not less than of war, prepared to
propitiate him by those attractions which were now
in their zenith. She obeyed the mandate, not as a
suppliant, but a queen and a beauty, whose genius
could aid the attractions of her power and her sex.
She sailed down the Cydnus in a magnificent galley,
the stern of which was covered with gold, whilst
the oars were of silver, and kept time to the music
of flutes and harps. The sails of this vessel were
of purple; and beneath a costly-embroidered canopy
the queen lay on a splendid couch, arrayed like
Venus, and surrounded by lovely children habited
like Cupids, who fanned her with feathers. Her
maids, clothed as Nereids and Graces, conducted
the vessel; and on either side the river innumerable
multitudes, scattering perfumes, and exulting in the
sight of their lovely sovereign, rent the air with
acclamations.

Antony was seated in the forum, administering
justice, when this brilliant spectacle approached his
residence, and found himself deserted by the people,
whom he finally followed. Cleopatra soon found C5r 33
that her powers of seduction were not diminished.
Antony forgot his duty, his glory, his wife, his
country, in her society; and the witchery of her
luxurious entertainments, boundless expense, and
interesting conversation, bound him as by a spell
to Egypt. Once indeed he returned to Rome, and
his wife having died during his absence, he formed
a second engagement by marrying the sister of
Augustus Cæsar, with whom at that period he
might be said to divide the empire of the world.
Being drawn back to Cleopatra, his fate and hers
were sealed by their folly and vice. Augustus
commenced a war against him, which was unequally
maintained by the infatuated and enervated Antony,
who lost all his former glory in a battle at sea
when he had lingered too long with Cleopatra.

The queen had some time before built a tower,
in which she had amassed all her treasures, and on
learning that Antony was conquered, she hastily
repaired thither with only two of her maids.
When Antony arrived on the shore, he was told
that she was dead, and knowing her resolution
not to submit to the Romans, he could not doubt
the fact. Overwhelmed with shame and sorrow,
he hastily fell upon his sword; but being soon after
undeceived, he was carried to the tower, into the
window of which he was drawn up by Cleopatra
and her women, and had the melancholy satisfaction
of dying in her arms. The queen buried
him with her accustomed magnificence; but learningC5 C5v 34
that the victorious enemy were now approaching
the shore, she again ascended the tower, arrayed
herself in royal robes, and applied to her arm a
small serpent, the bite of which she knew to be fatal,
and which she had commanded to be sent to her
in a basket of figs.

Thus ended the dynasty of the Ptolemies; the
Romans took possession of the body of Cleopatra,
which they buried with that of Antony, taking her
two children captives, and her treasures to Rome.
From this time Alexandria and the whole land of
Egypt deteriorated, as a country ill governed and
ill at ease can never fail to do; but for a long time
it was found a most valuable granary and commercial
depôt to its conquerors, especially after the
division of the empire and the regal establishment
at Constantinople.

In 0642642 the Arabs, or Saracens, at this period
spreading their conquests on every side, and propagating
the new religion of Mahomet, entered
Egypt, which was subdued by Amru Ebu, the general
of the caliph (or sultan) Omra. This conqueror
committed dreadful ravages in Alexandria
(which the Romans had preserved), and one of his
acts has not ceased to be held in equal abhorrence
and regret by all civilized nations. The barbarian
distributed the contents of the grand library
to serve as fuel, with which his soldiers cooked
their victuals, observing, as a reason for his conduct,
“that if the books differed from the Koran C6r 35
they were impious, and ought to be destroyed; if
they agreed with it, they were superfluous.”

Egypt, after this, found various masters, and, in
the fluctuation of warfare, at one time enjoyed a
short period of independence; and it must be allowed
that some of the earlier caliphs governed it
with justice and humanity; but that period did not
last long. In 10661066 a famine raged in the land, of
so dreadful a character as almost to depopulate
Cairo, then the capital, although the caliph allowed
his miserable subjects to feed on his camels and
horses. In the year 12501250 they became subject to
the mamlouks, or mamelucs, who chose a sultan
from their own body. Under the government of
these soldiers all learning fell into decay and disrepute;
for these men (originally slaves) had no idea
of any excellence but that which belonged to the
profession of arms. In 15171517 this government was
destroyed by the Turks, after exhibiting instances
of such romantic valour as almost to redeem the ignorance
and ferocity which previously disgraced it.
Since that time Egypt has been governed by a Bey
sent from the Porte; but the present and other
governors so situated have often revolted. This,
however, was the last great revolution experienced
in this unhappy country, if we expect its short occupation
by the French.

We must now take leave of Egypt, of which our
historical data have necessarily been very concise.
In returning to its present situation and appearance, C6 C6v 36
we hope to throw light on circumstances connected
with its ancient power, acquirements, and usages,
avoiding, as far as it is possible, all repetition, except
what may be necessary to connect the information
then given with the foregoing details.

Ethiopia.

“By ascending the Nile from the frontier of
Egypt, we shall penetrate into the heart of ancient
Ethiopia,” a name given in general to the countries
inhabited by black or tawny people. So far as we
can learn, the land formerly denominated Ethiopia,
as a general term, comprehended Nubia and Abyssinia,
in the upper part, and Congo, Lower Guinea,
and Caffraria, in the lower; but as these
countries never have been united, the kingdom of
Ethiopia, as mentioned in the Scriptures, and referred
to by ancient historians, must be comprised
in Nubia and Abyssinia. Nubia itself consists
of two kingdoms, Sennaar and Dongola;
and whilst the latter was under the control of
Egypt, with which it is immediately connected,
the former was probably included in that kingdom
of Ethiopia spoken of as having offended the Romans
in the time of Augustus, and being governed
by a queen named Candace, seeing that circumstance
agrees with the time of the conversion of
the eunuch by St. Philip, who served a queen of C7v 38
that name, especially as we are told, “it was only
three days’ journey from the Red Sea.”

That ancient Ethiopia, under those limits which
are now termed Abyssinia, was indeed the latter
country, we cannot doubt, since the present race of
emperors declare themselves descendants from Solomon,
by a son of his, borne by that Queen of
Sheba mentioned in the Old Testament; and their
conversion to Christianity was said to be effected
through the medium of that nobleman who served
a queen of the same name (a name that, like that
of the Pharaohs and Ptolemies of Egypt, was inherent
to royalty). In addition to this nobleman’s
labours, it is also certain the Christian church of
Abyssinia was indebted to St. Athanasius, who
instructed the Abyssinians in the principles of
Christianity, and placed them under the patriarch
of Alexandria as their head, whose power they acknowledge
to the present day.

The ancient sovereigns, who, like all eastern
princes, had many wives, formerly secluded their
numerous progeny in splendid captivity, by placing
them in a solitude called The Happy Valley,
that all, except the heir, might escape the temptations
of ambition, and the power of forming those
intrigues often injurious to the succession.

This act of policy has been abolished many years,
in consequence of the reigning emperor of that day
being much affected by the enquiry of a little son, C8r 39
“whether he were big enough to be sent to the
mountains?”

Respecting the history of this country in former
times, we are left entirely in the dark; for, except
a few idle traditions, nothing has been handed
down, and, ancient as the country is, little more is
known even at the present day. Abyssinia constitutes
an object of the greatest curiosity, and in
its manners, products, and appearance has been repeatedly
examined; but as they necessarily remain
the same, we shall omit speaking of them till we
return to the country for the purpose of giving
the observations collected from modern travellers.

Africa Propria, Numidia, Mauritania.

Under these names were formerly comprised all
those countries which spread along the coast of the
Mediterranean sea, from Egypt to the Atlantic
Ocean, now generally termed Barbary.

Africa Propria, of the province of Africa, properly
so called (now Tunis), lies along that part
of the coast which leads from north to south. The
bay formed by the southern part of this land was
the Syrtis Minor, a dangerous quicksand; and in
that formed by another sweep of the sea, after
which the coast takes again a north-easterly direction,
was the Syrtis Major. Between the two C8v 40
Syrtes was Tripolis, now Tripoli. To the east of
Africa lay Numidia, now Algiers.

The city of Utica, upon this coast, is memorable
as giving name to Cato Minor, who, disgusted with
the loss of liberty in Rome, here destroyed himself.
Utica, like Carthage, was a Tyrian colony, and
founded the first, but did not attain distinction till
after the downfall of its rival. The celebrity of this
flourishing city, its progress, and downfall, demand
our particular attention.

The city of Carthage, which, by extending its
power on every side, became the metropolis of a
large kingdom, and the first maritime power then
existing, is said to have been founded by Dido, the
daughter of Belus, king of Tyre. This princess
was married to Sicheus, a priest of Hercules, who
was basely slain by her brother Pygmalion; in
consequence of which she hastily collected her property,
and sailed to a part of Africa, then called
Zeugitana, where she purchased of the natives as
much land “as she could compass with a bull’s
hide.” Having concluded her bargain, with a woman’s
ingenuity she caused the hide to be cut into
very narrow slips, and sewed together, by which
means she obtained the ground on which she built
Carthage, and a castle, which she called Byrsa (the
hide). Being pressed to marry a neighbouring
king, she preferred a voluntary death; but her
supposed love for Æneas is merely a poetical fable,
invented by the immortal Virgil, as the medium C9r 41
of displaying his own powers. Æneas entered
Italy three hundred years before the building of
Rome, and Dido laid the foundation of Carthage
seventy years after it was raised.

The Carthaginians, as a commercial nation, attained
immense wealth and power, so as to rival,
and in some particulars exceed, the pretensions of
imperial Rome itself, which sought rather to extend
its power by conquest than commerce. Two states
so situated were not long in finding reasons for disputing
each other’s prowess. Their wars are called
Punic, and occupy much of the earlier history of
Rome; but the most remarkable period connected
with them, was that when Hannibal, the renowned
Carthaginian general, entered Italy by crossing
the Alps with a powerful army, and who, for sixteen
years, pursued a war which from time to time
crowned him with splendid victories, of which one
fought at Cannæ, in which he defeated Scipio, was
the most memorable.

This great man has been thought the most perfect
general whom the world ever saw. Whilst yet
a child, he was brought by Hamilcar, his father, to
the altar of the gods, that he might swear eternal
enmity to the Romans; an oath he kept only too
well. He was successfully opposed by Fabius
Maximus, whose policy it was to harass and weary
him, rather than venture an engagement. This
mode of opposition was extremely difficult to be
followed by a Roman general, whose impetuous C9v 42
troops ill brooked to behold an enemy in their own
country.

Hannibal is thought to have committed an oversight,
in suffering his soldiers to indulge at Capua,
instead of pursuing the advantages gained at Cannæ.
He never lost any battle but one, which was at
Zama, in consequence of which he was obliged to
retreat from Italy, and take refuge with Prussias,
king of Bithynia, who afterwards made an alliance
with the Romans. In consequence, Hannibal,
dreading lest he should be betrayed into the hands
of the Romans, took poison, and thus ended, at the
age of sixty-four, a life of unparalleled activity and
extraordinary reverses.

The Romans, aided by the kings of Numidia,
carried the war into Africa; and after various success,
short peace, and hollow truce, finally became
conquerors, subduing and even annihilating Carthage.
To Scipio Africanus (whose predecessors
of that name had perished in these wars) was reserved
the dreadful glory of drawing the plough
over the smoking ruins of this mighty city, which
fell unredeemed by any act of heroism on the part
of its male inhabitants; whilst the queen exhibited
an extraordinary instance of resolution and barbarous
grandeur of spirit. When Asdrubal, the
king, went forth to fall at the feet of the conqueror
and beg for his life, she took her children into the
upper part of a high tower, and, after reproaching
him bitterly for his pusillanimity in thus begging C10r 43
mercy from an enemy that had destroyed his
people, slew his children and herself before his
eyes.

Previous to this crowning victory, Scipio had
conquered New Carthage in Spain, where the
parent state had established a thriving colony, well
calculated for extending that commercial power
which was always their first object. Carthage was
destroyed -0146146 years before Christ; but a new city
of that name was built by the Romans, and became
a flourishing place, though it never attained to the
size of the first, which was about fifteen miles in
circumference. This second city was destroyed by
the Arabs about the seventh century.

Dr. Shaw, who has carefully examined the spot
on which Carthage stood, describes the place as
perfectly solitary; for the sea having retired considerably
from the shore, has deprived it of its
former advantages as a station for commerce.
Among its ruins, cisterns are still to be seen, which
evince its former greatness; and in the neighbourhood,
the remains of an aqueduct and the situation
of the Byrsa may be clearly ascertained.

The city of Tunis has, by some writers, been
spoken of as close to the site of Carthage; but it is
full fifteen miles from these ruins, which have long
ceased to excite the slightest interest in the country.
The present inhabitants of this district are much
more civilized than those on the same coast; a circumstance
we cannot help imputing to the probability C10v 44
of their descent from these people, since it
is well known that prior to the settlement of the
Carthaginians, the whole country of Mauritania
(the present Barbary) was inhabited by a lawless
and savage race, engaged in perpetual warfare.

Under the general name of Mauritania was formerly
described all that portion of Africa now containing
the countries of Fez and Morocco, Algiers,
Tunis, Tripoli, and Barca. It was then, as now,
divided into numerous states, of which Numidia,
Mauritania Cæsariensis, Tingitania, Byzacium, and
Utica were the principal. The first being the most
extensive and important, of Numidia we must next
speak.

Numidia, which extended as far on the Mediterranean
coast as to Algiers, was divided into two
parts, which obeyed two princes celebrated in history,
Massinissa and Syphax. The latter having
been dispossessed of much of his territory by the
Carthaginians, took part with the Romans against
that people; and being opposed by the troops of
Gala (Massinissa’s father), under the command of
his son, is said to have lost thirty thousand men, and
to have been driven back to Mauritania in distress.
His fortune, however, afterwards changed; for he
married the daughter of Asdrubal, a princess of
uncommon beauty, went over to the Carthaginians,
and so pressed his rival Massinissa, that this young
prince, after the death of his father, was destitute of
forces, money, and every resource, being driven C11r 45
from his kingdom by an usurper. He was still in
alliance with the Romans; and when Lesbius arrived
in Africa, Massinissa assisted him with a few
horse, and from that time continued inviolably attached
to them.

After this, Syphax lost a great battle, and was
taken alive by the enemy. Massinissa besieged his
capital (called Cirtha), and took it; but met with a
greater danger within the city than he had found
in the field; for the charms and endearments of
the beautiful Sophonisba conquered his heart.
To secure this princess, he married her; but conscious
that the Romans would consider this conduct
a great error, in the course of a few days he sent
her a dose of poison as a nuptial present, in order
to keep her from falling into their hands.

After the capture of Syphax, his lands were
given to Massinissa, and those towns which the
Carthaginians had taken from him were restored
also; and thus rendered powerful, he proceeded to
take others which were not his own, on which
strong remonstrances were made by Carthage to
Rome, which was then the universal arbiter. No
steps were, however, taken to compel restitution;
new battles were entered into, and Massinissa increased
his dominions and his riches; whilst Carthage
lost so much to this prince as greatly to facilitate
the views of the Romans. The son and
grandsons of Massinissa became great warriors,
and one of the latter being taken prisoner by the C11v 46
Carthaginians, was murdered in cold blood, which
of course rendered this king the more their enemy.
He lived to see them completely vanquished, being
ninety years of age when he breathed his last,
surrounded by an immense family, for he had fifty-
four sons. As three only were eligible for the
throne, Scipio, whom he left in trust, divided the
kingdom between them, and gave handsome possessions
to the rest. The death of two of the
brothers placed the whole in the hands of Micipsa,
who himself died shortly after, leaving two young
sons and a nephew (Jugurtha) equal heirs to his
dominions.

This prince was remarkable for his personal
qualities, abilities, misfortunes, and crimes; but
Juba, also a descendant of Massinissa, was still
more remarkable for all that was good, without any
alloy: he was a friend to literature, and encourager
of the arts, and many beautiful monuments and
fragments of architecture, met with in obscure
parts of Barbary, may be ascribed to his reign.
He was the founder of the city of Cesarea, and
gave the name of Cesariensis to a considerable
country in Mauritania.

After the death of this prince, these countries
were reduced to Roman provinces, under the
names of Cesariensis and Tingitana, and remained
in that state until the Vandals, in the fourth century
of the Christian era, effected their expulsion.
It is impossible for us to relate the terrible persecutions C12r 47
of these conquerors against the orthodox
church, which was then established in these countries,
or to follow the succession of their princes.
After holding on their violent course for about a
century, the emperor Justinian sent out a powerful
army under the generalship of the renowned Belisarius,
against Gilimer, who had usurped the throne
of Hilderic, and imprisoned him.

Gilimer had been crowned at Carthage, and exercised
there every kind of tyranny and cruelty
consistent with a barbarous disposition; and there,
as to a strong and convenient place, he retired after
his first defeat from the Romans. From this he was
driven, and not being able to get on shipboard, he
fled with his family to a mountain, deemed almost
inaccessible, and endured the extremity of famine
with astonishing resolution. Pharos, the Roman
general, who had been intrusted by Belisarius with
this duty, wrote him a friendly and pathetic letter,
exhorting him “to extricate himself and family
from their great distress by surrender to the noble
and generous Belisarius.” His answer was extraordinary;
for, on the one hand, he utterly declined
the kind advice of Pharos, and, on the other, made
a submissive request, “that he would so far pity
his great distress, as to send him a loaf of bread,
a sponge, and a lute.” The messenger explained
the reason of this request: he said, “that the king
had not tasted baked bread since his arrival on the
mountain; that the sponge would allay a tumour C12v 48
in his eyes, and the lute assist him in setting to
music an elegy he had composed on his misfortunes.”
His request was complied with by the
kind enemy, who could not refrain from tears when
he contemplated the situation of one whose fortune
was so changed.

At the end of three months, Gilimer’s heart was
so touched by seeing one of his nephews in hunger
swallow a cake as it was baking on the coals,
burning as it was, and another by blows taking it
out of his mouth, to eat it himself, that he surrendered
to Belisarius, who treated him with honour,
carried him to Constantinople, and presented him
in golden chains to the emperor. He had a pension
assigned to him, and retired as a private gentleman;
but died of shame, grief, and conscious
guilt, in the fifth year of his captivity, thus ending
the race of Vandal kings, which had subsisted one
hundred and seventeen years.

The country after this continued under the
Greek emperors; but the Moors were always subject
to revolt, and the Vandals willing to take part
in any rebellion. The Arabs and Saracens who
had successfully invaded Egypt, Syria, and Palestine,
now bent their views to these parts, and in
0547547, the Caliph Omar, already master of these ancient
countries, sent his general, Amru, to western
Africa with a prodigious army. By degrees, this
general made himself master of an immense country,
conquering some towns, building others, and D1r 49
eventually introducing new divisions and a new religion,
which has rooted up all remains of Christianity,
as it then existed, and rendered Mahometanism
not less the profession of the settled inhabitants
than of the wandering hordes of Arabs,
who people the deserts of Africa, and are indeed
found in every part of it.

Mauritania (now the empire of Fez and Morocco)
was bounded on the north by the Straits of
Gibraltar and the Mediterranean; on the east by
Numidia; on the south by Getulia and the great
desert, and on the west by the Atlantic ocean.
Closely allied to Numidia, it shared the same fate
in becoming, after the fall of Jugurtha, a Roman
province. The ancient kingdom of Mauritania
was called Tingitania from its principal city Tingis
(Old Tangiers). Opposite to Calpe in Spain (the
rock of Gibraltar) is the other column of Hercules,
Mount Abyla, near Ceuta, in Mauritania. The
most remote Roman city on the western shore of
the Atlantic was Sale, now Sallee, a well known
piratical port. In the south of Mauritania is
Mount Atlas. Mauritania Cesariensis, a province
consisting of part of this country united to Numidia,
contained many Roman colonies, and still exhibits
many proofs of their residence in its ancient vestiges
of cities and bridges. Sigu, the residence of
Syphax before he invaded the dominions of Massinissa,
is however nearly the only place which D D1v 50
remains of any importance. It is situated northeast
of the river Malucha.

Cirta, the old capital of Numidia, on a branch of
the Ampsagus, is now called Constantina, and will
be described hereafter: it is the capital of a considerable
province of the same name. Hippius
Regius, on the Numidian coast, was the episcopal
see of St. Augustus, near to which is Mount
Pappua (now Edfong), where Gilimer, the last
king of the Vandals, sought a retreat, and afterwards
surrendered to Belisarius.

Getulia, a country named as forming part of the
boundaries to Mauritania, is spoken of by the
ancients very indefinitely. Ptolemy calls it the
Inner Libya; and Dr. Shaw thinks it may have
been at some period inhabited by Libyans or
Ethiopians, who have given way to the Bedoin
Arabs. It joins to the great desert on the south,
but the length is uncertain. In like manner
Byzacium lay adjacent to the Syrtis Minor in
Africa Propria, and constituted the most fertile
part of that country.Open note 6Back to note ⁶

Under the names of Zingis and Azania, the
ancients seem to have known the coasts of Zanquebar
and Ajan; and the Ophir of Solomon is considered D2r 51
to be the modern Safala, the gold procured
there being of a fine quality. Nigritia was their
Negro-land. On the western side of the Atlantic,
the Fortunatæ Insulæ, or Canary Islands, were
known to them, and even thought to be the residence
of the happy after death. Below these were
the Hesperidæ Insulæ, which must have been
either the Cape Verde Islands, or the Bissages, lying
a little above Sierra Leone. “Here did they
place the garden of the Hesperides, and the golden
apples which were won by Hercules when he had
slain the dragon which guarded the fruit.”

The long residence of Dr. Shaw at Aleppo,
about a century since, gave him extraordinary opportunities
for examining the sites of places memorable
in Mauritania, Numidia, Tripoli, and Upper
Egypt. Mr. Salt, who lived many years at Alexandria,
and travelled in the adjacent countries, has
also communicated much valuable knowledge; and
to Dr. S. Butler all young persons may look for a
key to assist their researches on every point connected
with ancient history and geography.

End of Part I.

D2

Egypt.

The invasion of Egypt by the French about thirty
years since, and the successful efforts made by our
nation to expel them, necessarily threw this ancient
country, with all its magnificent remains, natural
productions, and present property, under the immediate
inspection of those enlightened persons
from the contending countries most calculated to
report faithfully, and investigate judiciously, on that
which lay before them. They have confirmed the
accounts transmitted by those accomplished travellers,
Maundrell, Pocock, Shaw, and Bruce, and D3r 53
have excited the curiosity of others who, following
the tracks pointed out by them, have not only seen
more, but, by employing the natives and assisting
themselves in removing sand and rubbish, have restored
to light treasures which have been lost for
ages. The forms of temples and statues, of enormous
magnitude, have been thus developed, their
style of architecture analysed, and the extent of
their power and knowledge at a very remote period
ascertained.

Mr. Salt, for many years consul at Alexandria,
being himself an acute observer and excellent writer
on these countries, assisted his countrymen in their
endeavours as much as it was in his power; but, as
their principal objects were in Upper Egypt, great
difficulties were experienced as being beyond the
reach of his influence, and subject to all the impediments
which ignorance in the higher orders
and idleness in the lower could offer to retard their
operations. They were, however, carried on successfully
in many cases, though with great toil and
expence, by Belzoni, whose personal strength and
spirit seemed inexhaustible, and who turned his mind
to the subject in consequence of a disappointment
received in another project.Open note 7Back to note ⁷ Mr. Banks, a gentleman
of large fortune and astonishing perseverance,
was led to it from his taste and knowledge; and as
his travels in these countries have been more extensive
than any other person, his work on the subjectD3 D3v 54
(which has not yet appeared) may contain
many valuable particulars that have not yet transpired.
Captain Mangles, Sir Frederic Henniker, the
Honourable J. Irwin, Captain Beechey, and several
other English gentlemen, have expended money,
time, and personal exertion, even to the serious injury
of their health, in clearing away the sand from
the temples, and many very beautiful remains have
been transported to this country in consequence;
so that the British Museum is now the treasury
alike of Grecian and Egyptian sculpture. From
the works of the above-named travellers we shall
offer occasional extracts, in order that our readers
may experience that interest an eye-witness can
best impart; but in so comprehensive a subject as
Africa, we can only allot a short space even to the
most attractive subject, and must therefore condense
the information referred to in the most compendious
manner.

As Egypt was formerly the granary of the Roman
empire, so does it now form a supply to Constantinople
of various grains, but particularly rice, together
with many valuable fruits. At that period
of the year, when the Nile having flooded the
plains, and left behind that rich slime which is the
source of its abundant fruitfulness, the grain arises
with a celerity unknown to other countries, and
the whole land is covered with a luxuriant and
tender green, which is intersected with ten thousand
silver veins of that water still in the progress D4r 55
of absorption. When it is remembered that this
prospect is beheld under a sky of unclouded azure,
through an atmosphere of unrivalled purity, we
must allow that no view can be more beautiful and
exhilarating, especially as it is contrasted with deserts
of burning sand, or dry turf, painful to the
sight, and distressing to the mind. Egypt combines
all that is most promising in plenty, and most
terrible in desolation, to the eye of the traveller;
but as it has two, and frequently three harvests in
the year, particularly about the Delta, and exhibits
at once the beauties of spring and the riches
of autumn, it will be evident that abundance is provided
for the wants of human life, as well as the
demands of commerce and the exactions of tyranny.

Ancient Egypt was exceedingly populous; but
the wretched governments under which this fine
country has long groaned have reduced it to one
half of the former computation; but, notwithstanding
the great heat, the climate is remarkably
healthy, and the inhabitants, from living almost entirely
on herbs, and using frequent baths, live to a
good old age. Lentils in Upper Egypt supply the
place of rice in the Lower, and lucerne affords
excellent food for the cattle. Onions are so mild
and sweet as to be deemed a luxury by all classes,
and sufficiently plentiful to be used as food by all;
and strangers who eat them roasted, according to
the fashion of the country, observe, “that it was no
wonder the children of Israel regretted the loss of D4 D4v 56
them.” They have also excellent fish, fine grapes,
dates, lemons, and other fruits, and an abundant
supply of poultry, which they hatch by a method
which is peculiar to themselves, as the countries
which have adopted it are said to procure servants
from Egypt to manage the process, which is thus
described.

The ovens used for hatching chickens are built
under ground in two rooms, fronting each other,
with a narrow passage between them. They are
three or four feet in height, with holes at the top,
which are shut or opened as the heat may require
to be increased or diminished. They are warmed
with a smothering fire for ten days, when the eggs
are shifted and turned daily. A very slow fire is kept
up; and on the twenty-second the chickens break
their shells, and form a most extraordinary and
amusing sight.

Although Egypt, like many other eastern countries,
is subject to the plague, there is every reason to
believe that it is not an evil inherent to the country,
since it always makes its appearance in the towns
on the coast. The small-pox is common, but never
attended with great mortality. Pulmonary diseases
are unknown; but from February till May is considered
an unhealthy season; and if the plague
breaks out then, it will sweep off from two to three
hundred thousand inhabitants.

Egypt was formerly infested to a great degree
with crocodiles and sea-horses; but they have been D5r 57
so much destroyed as now to be rarely found
below the Cataracts. The ibis, celebrated for destroying
serpents, is now seldom seen; but the
Egyptian rat, which resembles a ferret, and is very
destructive to the eggs of the crocodile, is still
common. Their animals are horses, asses, mules,
and camels; and, in the desert places, tigers,
antelopes, foxes, hares, cows, sheep, and deer. They
have a species of large, strong, and savage ape,
with a head resembling a dog, formerly worshipped
under the name of Anubis. Many camelions are
found in the neighbourhood of Grand Cairo, also
yellow lizards. They have several species of
vipers, one of which (the cerastus of the ancients)
has horns; but their greatest tormentors are the
gnats and musquitoes, which, rising by millions
from the marshes, swarm in the air and the houses,
and render sleep a stranger to the eye of the weary
traveller, unless he is provided with a proper net
to protect him from their bite. Diseases of the
eyes are also singularly troublesome to the
Egyptians; and a late traveller assures us, that no
fewer than eight thousand persons quite blind are
supported in the mosque at Grand Cairo. The
learned Pocock informs us, that “the slime of the
Nile is strongly impregnated with salt, and as it
becomes, after the action of the sun upon it, a subtle
and impalpable powder, nothing can be more
likely to affect the eyes of the inhabitants.” That
the sands of the plains have also this effect, we D5 D5v 58
cannot doubt, as the sufferings of the European
armies from ophthalmia were very great.

Another disease peculiar to Egypt is called
elephantiasis, and consists of an enormous swelling
of the limbs, particularly the legs: it has been ascribed
to various causes by different medical writers.

The splendid ruins found in various parts of
Egypt, particularly those in the neighbourhood of
Cairo, and those of Thebes, and Luxor, are considered
as having been erected nearly three thousand
years. It is at least certain, that since the
period when Egypt became a Roman province,
none of those buildings have been raised which now
excite the attention of Europe. When the sovereigns
of the Greek empire embraced Christianity,
they overthrew some of the finest edifices in Lower
Egypt, as having been sacred to idolatry; and the
race of Caliphs who succeeded them, as Mahometans,
were not more given to spare the remains
of a mythology they condemned; so that much
was taken from the country, and nothing given in
return, if we expect the building of Grand Cairo
and Djdirzeh.

The immense tracts of country in Asia, inhabited
by the Arabians under the names of Arabia
Deserta, Arabia Petrea, and Arabia Felix, have
given birth to many great nations as well as the
wandering tribes, to whom we usually assign the
name of Arabs, and of whom in their present state
we shall speak hereafter. In the sixth century, D6r 59
Mahomet, an inhabitant of Mecca (a town near
the Red Sea), conceived the design of conquering
the whole country through the medium of a new
religion. He succeeded to an amazing extent, and
taking his young nephew to be his Kalif or helper,
that title was adopted by his successors, who, in
the course of the following century, conquered great
part of Africa, and for some time established their
court at Cairo; in consequence of which they restored
to Egypt much of its former splendour, but
a new race were, of course, introduced, who oppressed
the natives; and although the new nation,
then called Saracen, was wealthy and important,
it did not assist those whom it enslaved further than
to allow them the exercise of their religion. The
race of Caliphs were eventually conquered, after
many obstinate engagements, by the Turks, who
were themselves Mahometans, and had dispossessed
the Christians in Greece and the neighbouring
countries, being originally Tartars, who poured in
ferocious hordes from their own uncultivated and
sterile lands, to take possession of more fruitful
countries. For the last four hundred years, Egypt
has therefore been governed by a bey, or officer,
sent out from Constantinople, whose policy it is to
oppress his subjects as much as possible, either
to secure wealth against the time when he is compelled
to resign, or in order to propitiate the
government which continues him in office. Sometimes
these chiefs break out into rebellion against D6 D6v 60
their distant sovereign; and the miseries of war are
added to the oppressions and exactions which
already harass the inhabitants.

The Copts, who are the only descendants of the
ancient Egyptians, have now no share in the government,
and rarely advance to importance in
private life. They are generally found to be excellent
accountants, and sometimes amass money by
inland trade, but have rarely the wealth or enterprise
required for extensive merchandise. They
are superstitious, because ignorant, but are generally
found gentle in their manners, and humane and
friendly in their dispositions. The Egyptians were
amongst the first who embraced Christianity, and
they have been permitted by all their conquerors to
retain their churches, priests, bishops, and a patriarch,
who resides at Alexandria.

Those who inhabit the banks of the Nile, and
that part which borders on Nubia, are for the most
part thieves and vagabonds, yet are the persons
a traveller must look to for the guides he needs,
and the assistance he requires, as he can procure
no better.

The ancient buildings of Egypt have this advantage
over all others, that when once the sand and
earth, accumulated for so many ages around the
base, or interstices, is removed, the structure appears
in all its original grandeur and beauty; for, as
there is no rain in Egypt, the general effects of
humidity do not impair the labours of the architect D7r 61
and sculptor. The creeping lichens and the leafy
shrubs which beautify, but hide the ruins of
Europe, are here unknown; and the mighty temples,
with their massy pillars and colossal statues, rear
their proud heads in the arid plains in uninjured
but isolated magnificence, save where the hand of
violence has antedated the work of time.

Thebes, the most extensive ruins upon the face
of the earth, and in its impressions of grandeur
rivalling the magnificence of Baalbec, and the elegance
of Palmyra, is the first object of our attention.
This city (now called Seyd) lies on the banks of
the Nile, about 200 miles from Grand Cairo, and
seems to have been the centre, not less than the
crowing city of a wealthy and populous land.
Many other noble ruins are found scattered in the
neighbourhood, but they are so situated as not to
strike the eye of the traveller by any ordinary route,
and must be sought for to be seen. Denon, the
celebrated French traveller, who accompanied the
armies of his country to Egypt, thus describes the
effect produced by the view of this ancient capital:—

“At nine o’clock, in making a sharp turn round
the point of a projecting chain of mountains, we
discovered all at once the site of the ancient Thebes
in its whole extent. This celebrated city, which
Homer has characterised by the single expression
of ‘with a hundred gates,’—this illustrious city,
described by Herodotus in a few pages that have
since been copied by every historian;—celebrated D7v 62
by the number of its kings, whose wisdom had
raised them to the rank of gods, by laws that have
been revered without being promulgated; by science
involved in pompous and enigmatical inscriptions,
the first monuments of ancient learning which are
still spared by the hand of time. This abandoned
sanctuary, surrounded with barbarism, and restored
to the desert from whence it had been drawn forth,
enveloped in the veil of mystery and the obscurity
of ages, whereby even its own colossal ornaments
are magnified to the imagination, still impressed
the mind with such gigantic phantoms, that the
whole army suddenly and with one accord stood in
amazement at the sight of its scattered ruins, and
clapped their hands with delight, as if the end and
object of their glorious toils were accomplished
and secured, by taking possession of the splendid
remains of this ancient metropolis.”

Such was the enthusiastic exclamation of this celebrated
traveller on sight of those ruins which he
possessed a power of examining no other traveller
has enjoyed or probably ever will do; yet his discoveries,
though much vaunted, were very trifling
compared to the English and Italian travellers
whom we mentioned as indefatigable in research, and
of whose labours we cannot think too highly, for they
had not, like Denon, an army to possess the ruins
and second their intentions, but prosecuted them
under insult and danger from the Arabs, themselves
toiling beneath the fervours of an Egyptian sky, and D8r 63
utterly deprived of the common comforts required
for rest and sustenance. We offer the account of
Belzoni’s impressions on actually entering those
ruins of Thebes which Denon saw at a distance.

“The most sublime ideas that can be formed from
the most magnificent specimen of our present
architecture would give a very incorrect picture of
these ruins; for such is the difference not only in
magnitude, but in form, proportion, and construction,
that even the pencil can convey but a
faint idea of the whole. It appeared to me like
entering a city of giants, who after a long conflict
were all destroyed, leaving the ruins of their various
temples as the proof of their existence. The temple
of Luxor presents to the traveller at once one
of the most splendid groups of Egyptian grandeur.
the extensive propylæon, with the two obelisks
and colossal statues in the front; the thick groups
of enormous columns; the variety of apartments
and the sanctuary it contains; the beautiful ornaments
which adorn every part of the walls and
columns; the battles on the propylæon described
by Mr. Hamilton, cause in the astonished traveller
an oblivion of all that he has seen before. If his
attention be attracted to the north side of Thebes
by the towering remains that project a great height
above the wood of Palm-trees, he will gradually
enter a forest-like assemblage of ruins of temples,
columns, colossi, obelisks, sphinxes, portals, and
an endless number of other astonishing objects, D8v 64
that will convince him at once of the impossibility
of description. On the west side of the Nile he
will still find himself among wonders. The temples of Gournou, Memnonium, and Medinet
Aboo, attest the extent of the great city on
this side. The unrivalled colossal figures in the
plains of Thebes, the number of tombs excavated
in the rocks, those in the great valley of the Kings,
with their paintings, sculptures, mummies, sarcophagi,
figures, &c. are all objects worthy of the
admiration of the traveller, who will not fail to
wonder how a nation, which was once so great as
to erect these stupendous edifices, could so far fall
into oblivion, that even their language and writing
are unknown to us.”

It is well known, that a fine colossal bust, the
most splendidOpen note 8Back to note ⁸ sarcophagus ever brought to
Europe, and many more curiosities, were brought
to England by this indefatigable traveller, most of
which are now in the British Museum. In examining
the tomb of a Theban king, he found the
paintings in it as fresh as if newly finished; the
colours were gaudy but beautiful; and it has been
remarked by all travellers, that in the face of the
goddess Isis, wherever given, there is an expression
of delicacy and sweetness, and that elongation of
the eye peculiar to those whose sight is subject to
be dazzled by the rays of the sun.

D9r 65

There are still standing two gigantic statues, each
of which claims to be the celebrated one which
emitted musical sounds. They are nearly fifty feet
high, sitting with their hands on their knees. One
is formed of a solid brick of granite, the other of
various pieces; on the perfect figure there is no
inscription, but the broken one is covered with the
names of those who testify that they have heard
sounds proceed thence at sunrise: it is probable
that it has suffered injury for that reason.

At Dendera (or Tentyra), there is a most magnificent
temple, famous for containing the chamber
of the zodiac. The walls of this fabric are two
hundred and eighty paces in circumference, and
there is scarcely a spot of wall, ceiling, or column,
that is not adorned with sacred symbols, engraved
with the utmost delicacy, and perfectly uninjured
by the hand of time.

Dendera was formerly the pottery of Egypt, but
is now a wretched village, giving merely proof of
its former manufactory by heaps of broken vessels.

At Hermontis, Esneh, and Eleithias, there are
magnificent ruins, and at Edfon a temple equal to
any at Thebes. At Krom Ombos, where the
crocodile was formerly worshipped, there are thirteen
noble pillars standing; but magnificent as these
objects are, the ruins of Elephantine and Philoe,
appear to give still greater delight to the travellers
who have surveyed their stupendous edifices.

These are islands in the Nile which lie in the D9v 66
way to those cataracts which were described by
ancient writer in highly exaggerated terms, since
they have been visited within a few years by
various travellers at different periods, who all
concur in describing them as beautiful, but by no
means tremendous; and Sir Frederic Henniker
speaks of these famous falls as not more formidable
than London Bridge, and gives a laughable account
of the bustle made by the Nubian boatmen, who
gave command to about fifty men to throw ropes
about the boat to guard against a descent of from
two to three feet; but Belzoni declares, “that he
was confined nearly an hour in one spot during the
same expedition, and received a terrible shock from
the eddies driving them against a rock.” He describes
the scene as new and beautiful, there being
several thousands of islands, falls of water rushing
rapidly among them, white with foam, and contrasting
alike with the trees and verdure of the
islands and the black rocks that rise above the
boiling waves.

At Elephantine, Denon took up his abode: it is
on that part of the river where the rocks which
form the cataracts begin, and being covered in part
by corn and rich in palm-trees, the ruins of the
temples there appear to more advantage.

Philoe is above the cataracts, and is covered entirely
with temples, columns, and obelisks, and
when beheld by night under the soft clear lustre of
an Egyptian sky, conveys the idea of an enchanted D10r 67
island. That this island was inhabited by primitive
Christians, they have left full proof; and there is a
flight of steps here, as at Elephantine, which is considered
to be the ancient Nilometer. An inscription
was placed by the French army here, stating, “that
under General Buonaparte they had pursued the
Mamelukes to the island of Philoe.”

Leaving these retired parts, once so populous,
the traveller finds at Ebsambal labours of the most
extraordinary and unprecedented character. Opposite
to another immense temple are six gigantic
figures, sculptured in relief on the mountain-rock:
they stand upright, with their arms hanging down,
beneath which there are other figures standing also.
These appear like children, yet they are seven feet
in height. Within the temple are eight statues still
larger than these, which, like so many Atlasses, support
the roof, and form apparently a guard of honour
on the entrance. This temple is difficult to inspect,
from the great quantity of sand which, in the lapse
of so many ages, has worked its way to the interior;
but much of it has been cleared away by the perseverance
of British travellers, who have spared no
expense in hiring the lazy natives to accomplish
this task, being also obliged to make perpetual presents
to the governors, who never failed to thwart
their wishes. Their efforts were rendered the more
difficult on account of the superstition and suspicions
of the natives, as they all believed that the
travellers were seeking for treasure, and that they D10v 68
had the art of extracting gold from the stones before
them, by writing and drawing.

We must now take a short view of those wonders
which are more universally known, the Pyramids
of Egypt, particularly those generally understood as
such, lying in the neighbourhood of Grand Cairo.

The Pyramids of Ghizeh, or Djizeh, stand upon a
bed of rock one hundred and fifty feet above the
desert. The largest of the three, ascribed to
Cheops by Herodotus, is a square of seven hundred
and forty-six feet; its perpendicular height four
hundred and sixty-one feet, being twenty-four feet
higher than St. Peter’s at Rome, and one hundred
and seventeen feet higher than St. Paul’s in London.
Of this Sir Robert Wilson says:—

“When arrived at the very base of the great
Pyramid, then its wonders require positive vision to
credit. The mind is lost in the calculation, and the
eye, unaccustomed to such masses, cannot imagine
to itself such dimensions. The vastness of the
granite blocks, the quantity of labour that must
have been employed, the lever which must have
been necessary to raise such stupendous masses of
rock, its original beauty from the various coloured
marbles, porphyry, and granite, with which the
sides have been cased, impress with unequalled
sentiments of admiration and astonishment. When,
however, reflection directs the thought to the surprising
works of genius and learning of those ages
in which they were constructed, and contrasts the D11r 69
present abject race of their posterity, the mind
cannot but lament the degradation of such a portion
of human nature, and consider the Pyramids as a
monument of melancholy instruction. The pinnacle of the large Pyramid is about
thirty yards square, on which the French savans
once dined, and which is now constantly crowded
by English. The names of Bruce, Algernon
Sydney, Volney, and others, are carved on the
stones, and it does them no small credit to have
ventured, as solitary travellers, to the top of this
gloomy pile. The view hence is frightfully barren:
an immeasurable waste of desert is only interrupted
by the flat, uncultivated land which separates Libya
and Arabia, nor can that arid soil and the wretched
villages in the valley afford any scene picturesque
and gratifying. The ascent to the top is very difficult, and
requires resolution and strength; each stone is at
least four feet high, and the only steps are made
by each superior one receding, to form the Pyramid,
about three feet. The descent is more unpleasant
still, yet our soldiers went up and down perpetually
without any accident. At the base of the north
front is a door covered with hieroglyphics. This
Strabo assures us was originally half way up the
Pyramid, and that the drifting sand has covered
the base so high. The French, by digging, have
found the base, and ascertained that no such alteration
has taken place, since it is erected on solid D11v 70
rock; and from the excavations around there is
evident proof that the bodies of the Pyramids are
constructed of this rock; the huge masses of granite
and porphyry, used to case them, were brought
from the neighbourhood of Cassira on the Red Sea.
By the door of the north front is the entrance into
the sanctum of this wonder of the world. The
passage is at first very low, and afterwards enlarges.
At the extremity of one branch is a well, the depth
of which is unknown. Another passage leads to
chambers, in one of which is a stone coffin, the lid
of which was removed. The Arabs pretend that the
corpse of a man with his sword and golden ornaments
were found at the first opening of the coffin,
but their traditions are too vague to be relied on.”

Since the above was written, Mr. Caviglia has
examined the interior of this Pyramid with the
most scrupulous attention, and found that it contained
various apartments, several decaying mummies,
and fragments of statues: the heads of the
former had glass eyes, and appeared to have had
an external face painted to resemble the deceased.
Several of the chambers had numerous hieroglyphics
and paintings of figures, the colours of
which were vivid and beautiful.

It remained for Mr. Belzoni to effect the most
difficult task, which was that of opening the second
of these mighty monuments, to which he gained
entrance the 1816-03-01first of March, 1816. The general
description of the interior resembles the former, as
a sarcophagus of fine granite was found in the principal D12r 71
chamber, so that it is now incontestably proved
that the Pyramids were built for the reception of
the dead. The lid of this sarcophagus was half off,
and by an Arabic inscription on the wall, it appeared
that about a thousand years since this
Pyramid has been opened and inspected by the
sovereign of the country then resident at Grand
Cairo. On examination it was found that the bones
were those of a bullOpen note 9Back to note ⁹ (the Egyptian god Apis).
The Pyramids are four, though three only are
named, from the last being smaller by more than a hundred feet than
the third in size.

Near to the Pyramids is the Sphinx, a prodigious
colossal figure, lying recumbent on a platform of
rock, being a lion, with the face and breast of a
woman, holding between its immense paws a building
like a small temple. The dimensions of this
figure are immense, but the face is beautiful, and
the proportions fine, more especially since the sand
has been cleared from the pedestal on which it lies.
The meaning of its form and the purpose of its
erection remain among those mysterious peculiarities
which attach to the mythology and customs
of the ancient inhabitants, and on which no light
can now be expected to be thrown. Herodotus
and Pliny both described but do not in any respect
differ from modern accounts of it, or speak of
its founder.

D12v 72

The next most remarkable things in Egypt are
the Mummy-pits or Catacombs. The Egyptians
always embalmed their dead, having three different
methods of preserving the body, more or less expensive.
The most perfect was that of rolling the body
in numerous filaments, after it had gone through a
previous process, by which means some that are
known to have been dead above three thousand
years are yet in a perfect state, as to their form,
skin, and hair. The lower orders were merely
soaked in nitre and dried in the sun, and buried
without coffins, or, in general, ranged side by side
in caves formed for the purpose out of rocks. Numbers
of animals, the former idols of Egypt, shared
this care; and birds are found when unrolled to be
perfect in their feathers, the colours being quite
lively. The birds so embalmed were the ibis
(which is now scarcely ever seen in the country);
but the crocodile is also found occasionally wrapt
in these costly ligaments, and preserved with the
same distraction,—a decided proof of its sacred
character in their sight.

We must now quit the curiosities of Egypt to
speak of its critics and sea-ports. Grand Cairo and
Alexandria are the only towns that now merit the
former appellation. Cairo as compared with Alexandria
may be called a modern town. It was built
by the general of Caliph Ledimillah in 0973973. It is
founded on a canal cut from the Nile to the Red
Sea, the walls and the castle being raised by the E1r 73
celebrated Saladin, so frequently mentioned in the
history of the Crusades. In the beginning of the
fifteenth century this city was, perhaps, the most
noble in the world, and worthy its appellation of
Grand, being the emporium of commerce for Africa
and Asia, and the residence of a caliph or sultan,
who lived in all the pomp of eastern royalty, was
the commander of immense armies, and the patron
of arts and learning. The castle is built on a rock,
with high walls and strong towers, and before the
invention of gunpowder might be impregnable.
The houses of Grand Cairo are three or more
stories high; but the streets are very narrow, a circumstance
not unpleasant in so hot a place, as they
throw a desirable shade on the passenger. A stranger
is exceedingly struck by the motley crowds
which pour through these narrow defiles, which are
always in a dirty and disagreeable state. Loaded
camels, wandering Arabs, Turks in splendid array,
ragged Jews, troops in military uniform mounted
on chargers, women howling over dead bodies as
they convey them to the grave, and bearers of gay
canopies over the heads of veiled brides, are all
seen pushing their way at the same moment. Joseph’s
well, constructed about 700 years since by
a vizier of that name, in the castle, is an object of
great curiosity, the water becoming filtered in its
progress, and drawn up by oxen. This place has,
by some travellers, been erroneously attributed to
the Patriarch Joseph, of whom there are no remains E E1v 74
here, save the granaries of Old Cairo, formerly mentioned.
This latter place, though now of little importance,
is pleasant, and contains many country
houses belonging to the wealthy inhabitants of the
former, and has a Jewish synagogue, said to have
been founded sixteen hundred years, and a fine
aqueduct.

Grand Cairo is still a populous and busy place,
having, indeed, no rival city to divide its commerce.
Bulak, a small town, may be considered a suburb,
as it is the port of Grand Cairo on the Nile, and
contains a large bazaar, custom-house, and magazines.
In 17991799 it was almost destroyed by the
French armies.

Modern Alexandria, in its commerce and population,
its narrow crowded streets, and mixture of
visitants and inhabitants, much resembles Cairo. It
is divided into a new and old town; and in the latter
the antiquarian looks around with the greatest
interest, but in its state of confusion and poverty
finds little to remind him of the power of Alexander,
or the refinement and splendour of the
luxurious Cleopatra. Enough is, however, still
visible to enable us to give full credence to all
which has been formerly ascribed to it; and we are
also aware that, from its excellent situation, it has
always been well calculated for commerce and will
therefore retain trade in the Mediterranean. It has
a spacious harbour, and a second good port, which
is, however, closed against the Christians. It E2r 75
exports raw hides, saffron, senna, and glass. The
Greek Christians and the Armenians have each a
church: there are a considerable number of Jews:
the bulk of the people are Mahometans, yet the
whole population do not exceed twenty thousand.

The beautiful erection, long called Pompey’s
Pillar, (and which reminds us that on the sands of
Alexandria that great man’s ashes were burnt in
pity by a humble fisherman,) is ascribed by many
writers to Ptolemy Philadelphus, and said to be
built in honour of his daughter Arsinoë. The base
is five feet high, the pedestal ten, and the shaft sixty.
It is of red granite, and singularly elegant in its
construction, and stands about a quarter of a mile
south of the walls, on a rising ground.

Near the Gate of Rosetta (as they are called) are
some fragments of granite pillars, and several fallen
columns of the most beautiful marbles, but they are
not worthy to be compared with the obelisks called
Cleopatra’s Needles, which are two fine columns of
granite, inscribed with hieroglyphics: one of them
has fallen, and it is found that they measure seventy
feet from the shaft. For some time it was intended
to remove them to England; but that being found
impracticable, Lord Cavan has caused a marble
slate to be placed on the aperture caused by the
overthrow of that which is fallen, on which he has
inscribed an account of the invasion of the French,
and their expulsion by the English from the shores
of Alexandria, in the spring of 18011801.

E2 E2v 76

From this imperfect description of a city that
requires a volume, we hasten to Aboukir, the ancient
Canopas, where the great Nelson obtained a
naval victory which will live in the annals of history
so long as the name of his country has existence,
and the rights of humanity shall be respected.
Thence we proceed to Damietta, which was built
at the eastern mouth of the Nile, and increased in
naval importance as the ancient Pelusium declined.

At the time of the Crusades the Christian princes
besieged it for seventeen months, but only enjoyed
for a short time the victory they finally obtained by
abundance of blood and treasure; for the place
being surrounded soon after by the waters of the
Nile, and the Egyptian army, they resigned their
conquest. Thirty years afterwards, Louis IX. took
it without striking a blow, by the powerful effect of
heroic enterprize. The Arabs recovered it; but
aware that such events might occur again, the old
town was forsaken and another built, higher in the
country. The houses of the present town are good:
high mosques with their minarets ornament the
view, and there are public baths faced with marble;
but to a stranger there are few places less agreeable,
as there are no inns, and without a residential consul,
he would find himself very awkwardly situated.
There is considerable trade between this city,
Syria, Cyprus, and Marseilles. The Christians of
Aleppo and Damascus carry on the principal trade,
which now exceeds that of Alexandria eastward, E3r 77
though it may not equal it to the west. The harbour
is by no means good, but the neighbourhood
is fruitful, particularly in rice. The environs
abound in pelicans, which stand in rows near the
river, and sometimes produce a beautiful effect, as
their white plumage of a pink tincture glitters in
the sun.

Suez.—This town is situated on a small peninsula
on the uppermost point of the Red Sea, which appears
from thence a noble lake girded with rocks,
the water being of a beautiful blue colour, yet it is
not fit to drink, as the water used in Suez comes
from the wells of Naba, six miles distant. The
seaOpen note 10Back to note ¹⁰ has its name from being in the land of Esau,
or Edom, which signifies red. Suez is said to be
very pleasant, considering that it is a Turkish town,
but it is situated on a bed of sand, and all the
beauty and utility of vegetation is unknown. It is,
however, supplied with all the necessaries of life by
commerce, and caravans arrive from Grand Cairo
three times a year. Travellers who wish to visit
Mount Sinai embark at this place, which is thinly
inhabited, but at some particular times inundated
with strangers. A fleet goes from hence for Mecca
and Mocha; the last of which exchanges goods to
and from the India market, and produces the finest
coffee in the world. The inhabitants of Suez are
Turks, Greeks, and Copts; but there are times E3 E3v 78
when strangers from every part of the East may be
found there.

Rosetta is a town which lies in the road to Grand
Cairo, situated on an island in the Nile, and considered
the storehouse of that city and Alexandria.
It has been generally thought the pleasantest town
in Egypt, on account of the number of its gardens,
especially those on the tops of its houses, and
Savary, the French author, describes it as a paradise.
Our countryman, Sir R. Wilson, on the contrary,
gives it all the usual characteristics of Egyptian
towns in general. Narrow streets filled with dirty
and diseased inhabitants, where blindness, leprosy,
dropsy, and elephantiasis, meet your eyes every
moment. Terrible musquitoes, hideous women,
and dreadful stenches, from his account, complete
the evils of this city of roses. Perhaps the truth
may be found to lie between the two. It is certain
that at a little distance Rosetta forms a pleasing
object, especially to those whose eyes have been
long employed in gazing on the parched desert.
We must not conclude this sketch of Egypt without
informing our readers, that in the deserts which
intersects alike Nubia and it, (which in many respects
so intermingle as to belong to the same description,
particularly near the boundaries,) there are patches
of good land, capable of producing trees and corn,
and which appear like green islands in a sea of
sand, more especially as that sea is subject in some
places to be so agitated with the wind as to overwhelm E4r 79
in sudden destruction the unfortunate traveller.
These spots, whether in Nubia or Egypt,
are called Oases, and are places of curiosity and
partial relief to travellers, though by no means so
lovely and fertile as they were represented by the
ancients. The most remarkable of these is the
Oasis el Cassar, on which was formerly that temple
of Jupiter Ammon to which Alexander the Great
journeyed, for the purpose of gaining from the
oracle a declaration that he was the son of that
deity. The situation of this once celebrated place
has been long disputed; but it now appears to have
been clearly ascertained to be here by the indefatigable
Belzoni, who found on the island, or oasis, a
well of water, which was hot at midnight and cold
at noon, and which is described by Herodotus as
in the precincts of that temple. The ruins, though
considerable and extremely ancient, would not,
perhaps go far to establish the fact, since the inhabitants
will not permit them to be examined; but
this particular seems decisive,—the labours of
man change and perish, but the gifts of God, in the
wonders of nature, are eternal.

This traveller had hoped to find on the same
journey some remains of the Egyptian Labyrinth
described by the same ancient author, whose directions
he had always found excellent guides to the
buildings of this wonderful country; and at the
town of Fedmin el Kunois he examined certain
ruins, which others consider to be the place he was E4 E4v 80
seeking for, and assert “that he trod on the Labyrinth
without knowing it.” In his second edition
he repels this conclusion, and informs us, that by
tradition it appears there were in former times
three hundred churches there, which fell into decay
and were built upon by the Mahometan inhabitants:
being merely small places constructed of sun-burnt
bricks, he thinks they could not be the remains of
a place said to contain fifteen hundred apartments,
courts, and stupendous halls covered with white
marble, as the great historian has described the
Labyrinth to be, but they might be the churches of
a small and persecuted Christian body.

The women of this country are in a state of great
degradation, and, from Mrs. Belzoni’s account of
them, inherit those vices which may be expected
from unjust and unnatural debasement. They are
mean, ignorant, selfish, revengeful, and cruel, as
they advance in life, although lively and amiable
when young; for the custom of a man bringing in
a second and third wife, when he finds that he can
afford to keep them, never fails to produce
domestic bickerings and jealousies, which awaken
the worst passions of our nature. If the wives
agree at all, it is for the purpose of procuring some
extraordinary indulgence from the husband, or
of keeping out another intruder; but their general
disposition is that of opposing each other, either
in their own persons or that of their descendants E5r 81
and relations, so that quarrels and bloodshed is
continually arising.

To be extremely corpulent is the perpetual aim
of the women; for which purpose they eat various
unwholesome articles of food, as they consider this
beauty cannot be too dearly purchased. The
Egyptians have a piece of white cloth constantly
bound over their foreheads, and even the lowest
contrive to veil their faces; but on the Nubian
side they plait their hair in a neat manner, and
form it into a kind of helmet by no means unbecoming;
but being saturated with raw fat, and
powdered with a black powder, made from the
bark of a tree very noisome in its perfume, these
ladies are by no means sweet creatures. This is
not the same with the henna so universally used in
Asia for giving colour to the eyes, being a far inferior
preparation.

The women in the neighbourhood of the Cataracts
are more frank in their manners, much less
covetous, and of more kindly dispositions, and the
same temper may be found in those Mahometan
women of rank, who have been, from their situation
in life, accustomed to more gentle manners. Over
all the power of the husband is absolute; and there
would be few situations in which the law would interfere
to punish the murder of a wife. In this
respect the Christians, though they here have
little pretension on the score of morality, yet have
so far imbibed a better spirit as to be more merciful E5 E5v 82
and kind to the women. It is observed by Mrs.
Belzoni, that such of the Mahometan women as she
conversed with, were far from prejudiced in favour
of their own religion, and might, in her opinion, be
easily converted to Christianity. In their candour
they prove their own powers of observation, which
has served to show the most ignorant, that this religion
alone is the friend and protector of woman.

We must not take leave of this country (bounded
as our accounts have necessarily been) without
mentioning a body of men who have long been the
actual rulers of Egypt, and for a time were its
acknowledged princes,—these are the Mamelucs
or Mamlouks. They are a body of soldiers, who
were originally slaves from a particular district of
Africa, and were raised by the Egyptian sultans
for their defence at the time of the Crusades.
Being trained only to the art of war, they made
excellent horse-soldiers, and are so expert in the
management of their Arabian steeds as to excite
the admiration of Europeans; although their dress
is singularly cumbersome, from the quantity of
garments they wear, and very ugly in its appearance,
but frequently of great value from the gold
and jewels with which the higher officers adorn
themselves.

Their numbers are recruited by slaves brought
from the original country; for although they intermarry
with all the best families of the country, it
is found that their progeny seldom survive the E6r 83
second generation. The circumstances of receiving
these reinforcements of strangers is found to increase
their power, as the youths so brought
attach themselves inviolably to the master under
whose care they are placed, and the body to which
they are attached. They are ferocious, perfidious,
and every way wicked, and have greatly added to
the evils which distress the country which they
serve nominally, and tyrannise over systematically.

There have existed, from the earliest records, a
race of men in Egypt who possess the power of
taking serpents, and rendering them obedient and
harmless. They are termed Phsilli, and are said
to be of one tribe or family only, who have never
communicated their secret; but it is known that the
art is also practised among the Hindoos, with
whom, in many respects, the Egyptians seem to have
an affinity, as we have already observed.

Nubia and Abyssinia.

Nubia is bounded to the north by Egypt, to the
east by the Red Sea, to the south and south-east
by Abyssinia and the deserts; great part of it
being also desert, and inhabited by wandering
tribes of Arabs. This people may be considered
indeed the population of Nubia, as their language
is spoken throughout the country, but a great
number of Turks are also incorporated with them
from the country, being mostly subjected to that
people. Nubia consists of several kingdoms, of
which Sunaar and Dongola are the chief: the
natives divide it into two parts, Wady Kenous and
Wady el Nouba: according to their own tradition,
they are derived from the Bedouin Arabs. They
are governed by three brothers, who pay tribute
to the Pacha of Egypt, by whom it is transmitted
to the Porte. Durr is the residence of the chief
governor; but they are all continually moving about
for the purpose of collecting their taxes; and each E7r 85
being very avaricious, they rob each other as much
as it is in their power.

One method of extorting money from the
people, is that of demanding in marriage the
daughter of any wealthy man, as few durst refuse
the governor, and many would be proud of the
honour: these gentlemen have plenty of wives,
who never fail to prove innocent means of
ruining their fathers, from whom the husbands perpetually
exact presents. In general, the Nubians
purchase their wives, six camels being a common
price; of these, the father-in-law returns three, as
a wedding gift. A wife can insist upon divorce
as well as a husband; but then she must have all
her clothes taken from her, and her head shaved.
Mr. Burckhardt informs us, that the Nubians are
extremely jealous of the honour of their wives; and
on a slight suspicion of infidelity a husband will
carry his wife to the side of the river, plunge a
knife into her breast, then throw her into the
water, “to be food for the crocodiles.”

The same excellent author assures us, that he
found the Nubians generally of a kind disposition,
and without that propensity to theft which characterises
the Egyptians, whereas Sir Frederic Henniker
found them much given to it on the confines of
the two countries, which most probably arose from
their connection with the Egyptians. Both these
travellers describe them as a clever, intelligent race,
capable of great improvement; of dark complexion, E7v 86
brilliant eyes, athletic forms; supple and graceful
in action; wearing scarcely any clothes; of bold
and daring spirits, and strongly attached to their
native country. If they were not kept down by
the tyrannic government by which they are oppressed
and harassed, no doubt they would be dangerous
neighbours to the Egyptians, who are disposed to
peace, and almost no effeminacy. The dreadful
cruelties practised by the French at the period of
their inroads on that unoffending and defenceless
country, would not have passed unrevenged in
Nubia, scattered and weak as they appear to be,
when opposed to disciplined armies, like those
whose bravery was then strained by ferocity and inhumanity.

In some respects Nubia resembles Egypt, its
fertile parts being very fertile, and its deserts very
barren, yet blessed by a kind of moss on which the
temperate and patient camel can browse. In Dongola
they have a fine breed of horses, which are
principally purchased by the Mamelukes, as they
will not live in more northern countries; their mules
are also very good. They are much troubled with
the hippopotamus in some parts, and in others
with the crocodiles. Of these Mr. Burckhardt informs
us:—

“Crocodiles are very numerous about Shendy. I
have generally remarked, that those animals inhabit
particular parts of the Nile, from whence they
seldom move: thus in Lower Egypt they have entirely E8r 87
disappeared, although no reasonable cause
can be assigned for their not descending the river.
The same is the case in different parts of Nubia,
towards Dongola. At Berber nobody is afraid of
encountering crocodiles in the river; and we bathed
there, very often swimming out into the midst of
the stream: at Shendy, on the contrary, they are
greatly dreaded. The Arabs, the slaves, and the
femalse, who repair to the shore of the river near
the town, every morning and evening to wash their
linen, and fill their water-skins for the supply of
the town, are obliged to be continually on the alert;
and such as bathe take care not to go any great
distance into the river. I was several times present
when a crocodile made its appearance, and
witnessed the terror it inspired. During my stay
at Shendy, a man who had been advised to bathe
in the river after having escaped the small-pox,
was seized and killed by one of these animals. At
Senmaar, crocodiles are often brought to market,
and their flesh is publicly sold. I once tasted
some of the meat at Esne in Upper Egypt: it is
of a dirty white colour, not unlike young veal, with
a slight fishy smell. The animal had been caught
by some fishermen, and was above twelve feet long.
The governor ordered it to be brought into his
court-yard, where more than a hundred balls were
fired against it without any effect, till it was thrown
on its back, and the contents of a small swivel discharged E8v 88
at its belly, the skin of which is much
softer than that of the back.”

The Arabs who inhabit the mountains between
Nubia and the Red Sea are a very savage people.
They live entirely on flesh and milk, and eat the
former raw. They are said to be fond of the hot
blood of their slaughtered sheep, and consider the
raw marrow of camels a great luxury. They trade
to Derr with senna, sheep, and ostrich-feathers,
these birds being abundant in their mountains.

The Arabs may, generally speaking, be divided
into three classes. Those who have abandoned
their wandering life, and are settled in towns or
villages, where they apply themselves to traffic,
and sometimes to literature, are found in the
courts of princes, and form marriages with Africans
out of their own tribes. These are despised and
branded with the name of “courtiers” by the rest.

The second class is those who follow agriculture,
and breed camels and horses. Many of these live
in Libya and Numidia, but they are looked upon
as bastards and unworthy the name of Arabs, resembling
in their habits the savages of which we
have lately spoken. They are stout and martial,
and carry on a considerable trade in Barbary horses,
in Negroland.

The most considerable class live in deserts under
tents, and scorn all subjection to any but their
own Sheikhs, or heads of tribes. Holding themselves
as the sons of Ishmael, they maintain this E9r 89
freedom as a privilege granted to their progenitor
by God himself. Many powerful princes have
sought to subdue them, and even extirpate them,
but hitherto without effect, although they sometimes,
in their fierce encounters with each other,
seem likely to produce that end. There is a strong,
though painful, interest excited by these people in
whatever way we contemplate them. They live by
plunder, and may truly be said, “to have their
hand against every man,” yet they are hospitable
to all who seek their assistance, and scorn nothing
so much as the churl who would withhold his
best morsel from a stranger; and although they
will extort a high price for their services, will perform
them when the bargain is concluded with a
fidelity that includes the risk of life itself.

They carry with them numerous herds, cattle
and camels, which on the slightest alarm they remove,
together with extensive families of women
and children, in the most rapid manner imaginable.
Their tents are of two kinds, one made of camel’s
and goat’s hair, woven with great dexterity by
the women, exceedingly light, yet proof against
heavy rain; the other made of the bark of trees in
the way of a portable tent, that can be set upon
the back of a camel. Their hearths are in the
middle of the tent, round which they sit, every
article of their furniture being of the same useful
and simple kind as their habitations. In their own
dress, the ornaments of their women, and the E9v 90
sumpter of their horses and weapons, they display
their wealth; and gold, silver, and precious stones,
frequently adorn these children of the desert.

The women are extremely industrious, and if
they remain long enough in any place to follow
agriculture, it is all effected by them: they grind
the corn, make the bread, and all the garments of
the family, as well as tend the sheep and the goats,
for when the Arab is not out on his horse engaged
in reconnoitering, or attacking, he is indolent and
useless. They are, however, fully aware of the
value of their wives, and treat them with great personal
respect and tenderness, and are so proud of
their modesty, that their most binding oath is “by
the honour of their women:” such, indeed, is the
prudence and reserve of the women, and the proper
impression made on the men, in early life, with
respect to the sacred nature of marriage, that a
divorce is a very rare occurrence, and when it takes
place, the husband uses no other punishment than
that of sending back his wife to her relations, who
never fail to give a speedy death to one who has
dishonoured her family by meriting this disgrace.

The women are always kept in a part of the tent
divided by a kind of curtain, when any strangers
are admitted, and when seen, are covered to below
the arms with a veil. It is supposed, from the appearance
of the men and children, that they are
handsome, for these are decidedly so, having in
general lofty brows, keen sparkling eyes, high noses, E10r 91
and teeth of dazzling brilliance. On one occasion
only does it appear that any of our countrymen
were favoured with the sight of an unveiled Arab
woman (except such as were old and poor), and
then he witnessed a dance in one of their tents,
performed in honour of the Sheikh’s birth-day by
two very handsome young women. They were
splendidly arrayed, and danced with slow and
graceful movements in the most elegant manner,
keeping their eyes fixed to the ground.

They were much fairer than the men, and possessed
the general characteristics of Asiatic beauty,
but with more quiet dignity; and when this little
exhibition of their skill was over, retired to their
own female sanctorum, avoiding not only the expression
but the gaze of admiration.

The women wear long drawers and shifts over
them, made either of linen or coloured gauze, with
wide sleeves not contracted at the wrist. Those of
the maidens are richly adorned with needle-work
of silk. The outer garment is girt to the body
with a girdle of rich embroidery, and over this
the female has a mantle, or robe of a rich azure
hue, which envelops her person and hides even
her feet. Their heads and hands are covered with
a veil, and their necks, breast, ears, and hands,
adorned with beads of amber, rings, and jewels of
every description, and sometimes even their ankles
are adorned with silver bells, like those on the
corals of children. In the tent, when not seen, all E10v 92
this finery is dismissed, and the daughters of a
Sheikh, like women of the lowest order, merely
wear a cloth which reaches no lower than the
knees, and, wrapping over the breast, leaves the
limbs at liberty.

The men who can afford it wear, over their shirt
and trowsers, also a kaftan, or jacket, with long
narrow sleeves, which is girt with a broad sash,
being made without buttons: their scimitar or cutlass,
purses and handkerchief, are all appended to
this sash. They have socks of red morocco leather,
and red caps on their heads, encircled by several
rounds of fine white muslin, and over their kaftans
a sayd, or surtout, of white woollen cloth, without
sleeves, but having a large cape fastened behind,
with a handsome tassel, which is intended to be
drawn over the turban in case of rain. When on
horseback they carry their weapons across the
saddle-bow, holding in their hands the zagaz or
short lance, and their command of the handsome
animal on which they ride renders their tout-ensemble
very striking.

The diet of this people is very homely, being in
general bread made of millet, maize, or rice, formed
into cakes, and baked on the hearth or in a pan.
When dipped into honey, or oil and vinegar
beaten together, it becomes a luxury. Captain
Mangles and Mr. Rae Wilson, who hired Arab
guides to Palmyra and Arabia Petræa, say it is
surprising how quickly the food of this description E11r 93
was prepared for them in the desert. The Arab
pushed on before them, lighted a fire of camel’s
dung, which ignites in a moment, then kneaded
his cake, placed it on a stone, and baked it ready
for them to dip into his vessel of honey, the process
taking not more than twenty minutes.

Valiant and free, capable of feeling love in all
its strength and purity, untamed by the severity of
study as it relates to science and literature, the
intellectual energies of the Arab are developed in
his knowledge of natural philosophy, rhetoric, and
poetry. His eloquence is terse, impressive, and
pathetic, and his compositions, which relate to his
exploits in war and his emotions in love, and are
set to simple music, if properly translated, would
frequently convey, even to polished nations, the most
awakening and affecting feelings which language
can communicate, and thus evince the very essence
of soul-touching poetry, though in its most simple
and artless mode of expression.

Many writers have confounded those Moors who
live in the same manner as the Arabs (which is
much the case in Barbary) with the Arabs, more
especially as they also are followers of Mahomet.
Those descendants of the ancient Mauritanians,
called Moors or Maures, are, however, a very distinct
people, although very similar in their customs.
The Moors generally pay tribute to the government
where they reside, which is strictly exacted
from them, whereas the sons of Ishmael own no E11v 94
lord of the soil, and obey only their Sheikh, whose
command does not extend beyond his tribe,
although he appoints an officer called Dow-bar as
a judge under him. The marriages of both are
much the same, the bride being bought as already
mentioned. When an Arab wife is taken to her
husband’s tent, she puts a stick as deep into the
ground as she can, to indicate that she cannot be
removed thence without force; she is then taken to
milk the cows or camels, and perform other offices,
before she enters the tent, where she remains for
one month veiled to all but her husband, when she
enters on the general business of a wife.

At the death of an Arab, the women make outrageous
lamentations, which are not considered so
much the proof of grief, as the giving of honour,
whereas the men, however severe their sorrow may
be, always preserve perfect silence. As they have
no mosques, all their religious ceremonies take
place in their tents. When they have no water
they rub themselves with sand, in order to perform
the ablutions required by the Koran.

Although all intoxicating liquors are forbidden
to Mussulmen, yet the inhabitants of many parts of
Nubia indulge to excess in a liquor called bouza,
made from dhaurra, and fermented. They call it,
when good, “the mother of nightingales,” because
it makes the drunkard sing. Such is the effect of
their intemperance, aided by a natural disposition
to depravity, and an entire freedom from the restraints E12r 95
of law, that Burckhardt says, “I am convinced
there were few men amongst my fellow-
travellers who would have given a dollar to save a
man’s life, or who would not have consented to a
man’s death, to gain one. Care must be taken not to
be misled by their polite protestations, especially
when they come to Egypt, where they represent
their own nation as possessing superior excellence,
whereas, infamous as the eastern nations are in
general, I have never met with any so bad as these.”
Sir F. Henniker describes the Nubians he hired to
visit the Cataracts as of the same character, but
gay and lively, frequently singing a song, of which
the chorus ran thus: “Come, come to the Cataracts,
and you shall be clothed in Cashmere. Nubia is
the land of roses.”

From man we must turn for a short time to the
animals of Nubia, which applies equally to the
neighbouring country of Abyssinia. Horses of
uncommon beauty,—elephants, which are here never
tamed for the service of man, but hunted for their
flesh in some parts, and in other, from superstitious
motives, never molested,—rhinoceroses, which are
seen only in the most retired parts,—zebras, or
wild asses beautifully striped, and that most curious
animal the giraffe or camelopard.Open note 11Back to note ¹¹ These beautiful E12v 96
creatures are caught when young by the Nubians,
and tamed: they are as tall as a camel, with
a small head resembling that of deer, and a long
beautiful neck, measuring six feet from the nape,
from which cause they browse principally on the
leaves of trees, not being able to graze on the
ground with facility.

The camel, man’s best friend in these regions,
and the swift dromedary, are also common to this
country, and tigers, lions, panthers, leopards,
wolves, foxes, buffaloes, wild boars, elks, and stags;
to which may be added, the dante, or wild bull, said
to be more swift than any creature except the
ostrich. These birds are numerous; and they have
no fewer than seven kinds of eagles, and another
bird of prey, the size of a turkey, appearing to have
four wings. There are two birds with horns, one
of which Europeans call the devil: mackaws, cockatoos,
parrots, and every kind of domestic poultry,
together with all that come under the description
of game, are abundant. Nubia and Abyssinia are
also infested with a dreadful variety of serpents,
some of them of prodigious length and bulk, and
exceedingly subtle: they will slide into houses in
the night-time to seize on one of the family or any
domestic animal. The breath of some of these
creatures is said, from its horrid smell, to be poisonous;
and of others the very touch is so venomous,
that the person cannot be saved without immediate
amputation of the limb infected.

F1r 97

Besides the larger serpents there are small ones
of every description. The viper is the greatest
evil, because the inhabitants, whether Christian or
Mahometan, retain a superstition which forbids
them to kill vipers, so that in some parts the country
may be said to swarm with them. They have also
insects of the same deadly nature, scorpions, tarantulas
(called dubs), a small insect which frequently
adheres to the eye-lashes and cannot be drawn out,
because, if broken, it will cause the most excruciating
pains, and produce gangrene or death. The
camelion is also a native of this place: locusts and
ants are amongst its worst enemies; the ravages of
the former are well known, those of the latter would
probably exceed them if it were not for the interference
of monkies, who seek and devour them. The
monocephalus, a species of monkey with the head of
a dog, is a monster peculiar to this land and Egypt;
and in the woods are found pongas or gigantic apes,
of whom many extraordinary tales have been related.

Every kind of fish may be found here; some of
which are said to be superior to the same species
in the Mediterranean, and many pearls are found
also. Of those monsters of the Nile, the crocodile
and hippopotamus, we have not room to say more.

There is no possibility of travelling through Nubia
with any degree of safety, except in company with
those bodies of merchants called Caravans;Open note 12Back to note ¹² and F F1v 98
even then you will be attacked by the Arabs, unless
by reconnoitering these systematic robbers become
aware that you are too strong for them. Every
traveller must have plenty of fire-arms, in which the
Arabs are always deficient; so that a good gun or
pistol, and a few charges of powder, are always
valuable presents, both arms and ammunition being
equally bad; and their great command of spears
make fire-arms the more necessary. Every petty
governor expects a present for the slightest service;
and there is no act of justice ever performed without
being considered a species of disease; and the
women, in particular, seem struck with loathing at
the sight of a tolerably fair person. This objection
is not often made; for the heat of an Egyptian sky
frequently renders travellers, even from the north
of Europe, sufficiently embrowned; but there have
been instances where the women shrieked and the
children fled in terror from the face of a white
man, who at home would be deemed extremely
handsome.

The women of Nubia, with the exception of the
Bedouin (or wandering) Arabs, are by no means
entitled to the praise of modesty, notwithstanding
the severity of the married men towards their wives.
They are frequently handsome; but in some parts
so fond of tattooing the skin, as to render themselves
disagreeable to the eye of an European. Although F2r 99
compelled to perform all the drudgery, they do not
sink under it as the poor Egyptians do, and have a
spirit and animation about them that is extremely
pleasing: they are by nature more vivacious and
intelligent than those of Egypt. “Both sexes
wear the common Nubian dress, a Danmour shirt
and a cloak of the same stuff thrown over the
shoulders: they have brass or silver rings on the
toes, and leather aprons. In their tents they
suspend ornaments of shells and black ostrich feathers.
The women go unveiled; and the most respectable
think it no shame to be seen chatting with
a man in their tents, even when the husband is
absent.”

It is said, that in many parts treachery is not
considered disgraceful; and a man will boast of his
bad faith whenever it has led to the attainment of
his object. When they meet in parties to drink
bouza, it is generally in company with loose women:
the liquid is placed in a large gourd, and each
person holds a small one, the size of a tea-cup,
in his hand; as they become inebriated, they grow
quarrelsome, and as every man is armed, they
rarely part till blood is shed, and, most probably,
murder committed; and it is always observed that
the wretched and helpless women come in for their
full share of the mischief.

Houses in Nubia, particularly in the kingdom of
Sennaar, are built of clay and straw: the walls of
the capital are of the same material; and, as it F2 F2v 100
stands near the Nile, if that river should happen to
rise unusually high, the walls become humid, and
break down, the river enters, and half the city melts
before the flood. Their houses are only of one
story, except for men of rank, who are distinguished
by living in what they term a house upon a
house.

In Sennaar the banks of the Nile are pleasant,
and after the rains the air is sweet and refreshing;
but as the sun increases in power, all beauty suddenly
vanishes; vegetation is dried up, noxious
gales, moving sands, and various diseases arise from
that intolerable glare of day which dazzles the
sight, and withers the strength of man.

The trade of Sennaar is not great. The military
force consists of about fourteen thousand Nubians
and one thousand eight hundred black slaves, who
are handsomely mounted on black horses, armed in
coats of mail, and using a sword as their only weapon.
The former fight naked, having a short javelin and a
round shield as their arms. The kingdom of Sennaar
has been, for the last four hundred years,
governed by a race of Negro kings, who adopted
Mahometanism for the sake of trading with Grand
Cairo. Bruce informs us, that the king ascends
his throne with an understanding that it is lawful
for his subjects to put him to death, upon a
council being held by his officers, and a decree
passed that it is for the advantage of the state.
The principal offices of state are held by F3r 101
slaves, who may be called the only nobility.
This circumstance does not attach solely to Sennaar:
at Bornou the great general, Barca Gana, is
a slave.

Sennaar, the capital of this country, is surrounded
by a district of amazing fertility, but singularly
unhealthy for animal life, as no domestic
creature ever breeds there, or, indeed, continues to
live beyond a short time; but within a few miles
this peculiarity ceases. The superabundance of
grain raised in this country is lodged in granaries,
which are very serviceable, as the Arabs are much
addicted to pillaging their fields.

Abyssinia.

This ancient country is three hundred leagues
long, and two hundred and eighty leagues broad;
bounded to the east by the Red Sea (or Arabian
Gulf), north by Nubia, west by Nigritia, and
south by Caffraria and Gingiro.

It is divided into twelve provinces,—Masuak,
Tigrè, Samen, Begemder, Amhara, Walaka,
Gojam, Damot, Maitsha, Dembea, Kuara, and
Nara. The capital of this great country is Gondar.
The Nile is still the principal river, and the great
source of fruitfulness, and nearly surrounds the
province of Gojam. There are, however, many
other fine rivers. The province called Walaka
is low but fertile land, and is inclosed by the rivers F3 F3v 102
Geshon and Samba. It was famous for giving
a retreat to the last remaining prince of the house
of Solomon, whose followers and their posterity
resided here near four hundred years.

These provinces differ considerably in their
situation, some being flat and fertile, but unhealthy,
and others exceedingly mountainous. The rainy
season is from April to September, after which
their fine weather is uninterrupted. The winds
here are tremendous, the thunder awful, and the
rain falls in torrents; but being quickly succeeded
by heat, the fecundity of the earth is amazing:
they have a perpetual spring of fresh grass in their
meadows, and their trees exhibit blossoms and fruit
at the same moment. Their animals are the same
as those of Nubia, but their elephants are much
more numerous and destructive, and their plains
are ravaged by lions and tigers. They have also
an insect called zimb, a little larger than a bee,
that proves dreadfully destructive to every animal.
The pipe, a singular bird, attaches itself to sportsmen,
and never leaves them till it has pointed out
game, living itself upon the offals, which are left for
it; but as it will conduct to a tiger or a serpent also,
it is necessary for its follower to be well armed.
Another bird called moroc will guide the traveller
to honey, and wait near him to receive a share of
the prize, which is made, by a singular bee, in cells
formed beneath the earth. Abyssinia is ravaged by
clouds of locusts, which devour the fruits of the F4r 103
earth whilst they live, and occasion disease when
they are dead, by the pestilential smell of their
bodies, which spread over so large a surface that
they cannot be removed, or interred, with sufficient
rapidity.

The religion of Abyssinia continues to be nationally
Christian, but there are a great number of
Jews, Pagans, and Mohammedans in the country;
and it may be truly said, that their churches “have
sought out for themselves many inventions,” since
the time when St. Philip converted the eunuch,
who is said to have brought the religion of the
Gospel into this country. The emperor of Abyssinia
must by law assume the sacerdotal character, on
or before his coronation, and on occasions of
public solemnity he must perform the priestly
office; on which account it is supposed that this
kingdom in Europe was once called the land of
Prester-John, since such name is unknown in the
country. The emperors are descended from
Solomon, by a son born to him by Candace queen
of Ethiopia, and claim the blamable privilege of
their great ancestor, in having wives of all countries
and all religions, so that the palace is surrounded
by mosques, temples, and churches. The
crown is hereditary, but does not necessarily descend
to the eldest, as the father can bequeath it
by will to a favourite son. St. Athanasius, during
his residence at Alexandria, placed the affairs of
the Abyssinian church under the patriarch of that F4 F4v 104
place, prohibiting that office from being held by a
native Abyssinian. The effect of this law has
been very injurious, the patriarchs of Egypt having
sold the lucrative situations of the church to
ignorant and unworthy men, whereby the superstitions
of their Pagan and Mahometan countrymen
have crept into the established church. The
Portuguese father, who at different times visited
Abyssinia, took great pains to convert the king
and people to the Roman Catholic religion; but
though they succeeded with the former in two
instances, the latter were averse to it, and many civil
wars and much bloodshed were the consequence.
Peter Paez, a sensible and clever man who taught
them to build houses, and instructed them in mechanical
arts, was naturally so endeared to them,
that his arguments, in an after-period, went far to
persuade them on this subject also; but after his
death, they utterly renounced the Roman church
and persecuted it.

Their own religion is full of superstitious rites,
and in general they are grossly ignorant on the
points they yet strenuously defend, and their morality
is at a very low ebb. This is the more lamentable,
because they have in other respects
candid, ingenuous minds, and are of such peaceable
tempers, that the administration of justice is
with them rather a matter of arbitration than an
appeal to law,—it is yet certain, that their laws F5r 105
are bloody and cruel, and that human life is of
little value in their sight.

Their history is very ancient, but sometimes absolutely
without records for ages, and it is only
where it has been collected by the Portuguese
that it is regularly arranged; and our limits forbid
us to enter upon the details of rebellions and
battles which constitute its annals, which are given,
we believe with fidelity, by Bruce. In their persons
they are striking, being majestic in stature, with
sparkling eyes, finely formed noses and lips, with
teeth of dazzling whiteness. In their manners they
are affected, both as to their gestures and style of
conversation, and they are immoderately fond of
dress. Their wives are allowed to visit their relations
and friends with a familiarity unknown to
other eastern countries, and they are in all respects
treated with confidence and consideration. A
marriage, to be legal, must be solemnised before
the door of the church; but Shaw says this is
often dispensed with among the poorer class, who
generally come together in the same manner as their
Moslem countrymen, by bringing the bride to her
future home with much parade, and making a
feast. It must be observed, that the proper marriage
of Christians here takes place on the outside
of the church, to denote that it is a civil, rather
than a sacred, institution. The form consists of
little more than blessing the parties, and sprinkling F5 F5v 106
them with holy oil, but afterwards the new married
pair enter the church, and receive the sacrament.

The Abyssinians drink neither cider nor wine,
though they make both, and the latter in great
quantities. They are very fond of hydromel, a
pleasant liquor made of fermented honey. In the
arts of life they are singularly deficient, if we consider
them as an ancient and civilized people, since
we have seen it is within a short time that they
were indebted to a Jesuit for teaching them how
to build, a fact the more remarkable, when we remember
the proficiency of the old Egyptians.
They had at that time no idea of stairs, nor even
the proper placing of stones, yet they could weave
beautiful stuffs, and set jewels in a superior manner.
They are a people that rarely travel, nor
desire to see strangers in their country, so that
their minds have little chance of expanding. The
Turks who, in one form or other, nearly surround
their country, take care that no merchandise shall
reach it without being first made profitable to
themselves, and from these combined circumstances,
this country, though possessing inexhaustible
riches, is yet poor.

In this vegetable kingdom, they have the balm
of Gilead, the saffa, the myrrh tree, the ensete,
the coffee tree, cuffo, werginas, teff, and wheat;
also the papyrus, that celebrated plant of which
paper was made by the Egyptians, when the use of
hieroglyphics declined. It is no longer found in F6r 107
Egypt, and not used here, as the people write upon
skins only.

In minerals, they have silver, but gold is more
plentiful, also lead and iron: their salt is very
abundant, and they consider it an article of great
value. It is a custom for every man to carry a
bit of salt in a bag suspended in his girdle, and
when two friends meet, each gives the other his bit
of salt to lick. This custom probably originates
in some idea resembling that of the Arabs, who
eat bread and salt in token of amity with those
whom they engage to protect.

The mountains of Abyssinia pour down numerous
rivers and streams, of equal beauty and utility,
and give a charming diversity to the country: the
rocks which adorn some of these enormous mountains
are the greatest natural curiosities of the
country, as they exhibit the appearance of cities,
churches, and palaces. It was in the midst of
these magnificent scenes, that the children of former
sovereigns were placed in vallies abounding
with all the luxuriance of eastern fruits and flowers,
amid pleasures suited to a simple taste, and far removed
from the dangers of ambition.Open note 13Back to note ¹³ When we
consider the number of children likely to arise
from the various marriages of these emperors, we
are inclined to think it a pity that the plan of thus
preserving them from evil was abolished; but we F6 F6v 108
do not find, that the murders so prevalent in
Turkey and other Mahometan countries, under
similar circumstances, take place in Abyssinia.

Gondar, the capital, is situated on a high hill,
surrounded by deep valleys. The houses are principally
of clay, with roofs thatched in the form of
cones. The king’s palace is at the west end, and
surrounded by a wall thirty feet high, flanked with
square towers: it was formerly four stories high,
with a parapet wall, from whence the view over
the neighbouring country was of immense extent,
but having been partly burnt, still remains in ruins;
the apartments remaining being deemed equal to
the wants of the royal household, and the government
offices. The principal towns, besides Gondar,
are Dixan, Axum, and Masuah; the first is
also situated on a hill, and inhabited principally by
Moors, who carry on the trade of selling children
for slaves. Axum was at one period the capital
of Abyssinia, and in the ruins it still exhibits, conveys
a very different idea of the former state of the
country, as Bruce counted no fewer than forty
obelisks of granite in one square. They were
adorned with sculpture, but had no hieroglyphics.

Masuah is seated on a small island in the Red
Sea, near the coast of Abyssinia, and possesses a
most excellent harbour, with water deep enough for
the largest ships, and which has three divisions.
The island is so small that it is nearly covered by
houses, cisterns to receive rain-water, and a receptacle F7r 109
for the dead. It was called by the ancients
Sebasticum Os.

The torrents of rain which fall in this country
occasion the waters of the Nile to be so turbid,
that they must be purified before they are drank.
The inhabitants effect this by putting bitter almonds
powdered to dust, in a jar full of water, mixing it
with the hand, after which the particles will settle,
and the water become liquid and excellent.

The most extensive modern writer on this
country is a Scottish gentleman, named Bruce,
thence called Abyssinia. At the time when his
works were published, 17901790, many of the details
were considered fabulous, and the veracity of the
writer severely attacked, but since then his accounts
have been verified by numerous travellers
in Egypt, and several (of the highest respectability)
in Abyssinia also. The latest traveller who has
published his journal is Mr. Salt, who is, on the
whole, inimical to Bruce, yet confirms in the course
of his work an assertion of this traveller which he
had denied in the former part of it.

This circumstance is the account given by Bruce,
that certain savages in Abyssinia, when on travel,
would cut slices out of the animals they were
driving, and eat them as food on the road. All the
wits in Europe have ridiculed this assertion, and
few persons have ventured to believe it; yet when
Dr. Clarke was in Grand Cairo, he met with an
Abyssinian dean, who admitted, “that the soldiers F7v 110
of his country, when on marauding expeditions,
would take slices from the bodies of cows without
putting them to death at the time,” and that “raw
meat was esteemed delicious through the country,
and frequently taken from an ox or a cow in such
a state, that the fibres are still in motion, and the
attendants continue to cut slices till the animal dies.”

Mr. Pierce, who has resided some years in this
country, informed Mr. Salt, that he was in company
with two Lasta soldiers who had fasted long,
and who cut the shuladah, (the name they give the
pieces of flesh,) from a cow which had unfortunately
fallen into their hands. After the operation was
performed, the skin was laid over the wound and
plastered, and the poor animal was not killed till
the end of the journey.

Mr. Salt himself witnessed what is called a
brind feast, which he thus describes:—

“The sides of the table are covered with piles of
thin cakes made of teff, reaching to the height of a
foot, and two feet and a half in diameter; in the
middle, a row of curry dishes is placed; near the
Ras,Open note 14Back to note ¹⁴ there are a number of fine wheaten rolls for
his own use, and that of his favourites. The signal
to begin the feast is by his breaking and beginning
to distribute them: immediately, female
slaves, having washed their hands, dip the teff into
the curry, and serve it to all the guests, except the
ras, who receives his portion from a male slave, F8r 111
and afterwards distributes it among the chiefs, who
acknowledge the favour by standing up and bowing.
Balls, composed of teff, greens, and curds, are next
handed about. In the mean time, the cattle are
killing in the adjoining yard; while the fibres are
yet quivering, the flesh is cut into large pieces:
these are of no regular size, but generally a piece
of bone is attached to the flesh, by which it
is brought into the dining-room. The chiefs
with their crooked knives cut off large steaks,
which they divide into long stripes half an inch in
diameter. If they are not pleased with the piece
they have got, they hand it to a dependent, who, in
his turn, if not pleased, hands it to another, till it
comes to one whose taste, or rank, does not authorise
him to reject it. As soon as the first party is
satisfied, they rise from the table and give way to
others. The last cakes are scrambled for with a
great noise;” and it appears that though the chiefs
sometimes feed themselves, they frequently feed
one another, as Mr. Bruce has described.

That this cruel and horrible feast is held as a
luxury, there can be no doubt; and it is plainly a very
ancient custom, since it is forbidden by the law of
Moses “to eat the flesh with the life thereof, which
is the blood;” and from the knowledge of its impiety,
as a breach of this law, a learned Abyssinian was led
to deny the fact. For the honour of humanity we
will, therefore, hope, that although the custom seems
now undeniable, it is one of rare occurrence, and F8v 112
belongs rather to peculiarly savage tribes, than
those who are under the regular government of the
country. To relieve the mind from the contemplation
of this beastly ferocity, (which yet we could
not omit to notice on account of the notoriety belonging
to it,) we shall give Mr. Salt’s description
of a christening, which he witnessed at Chalicut,
and which is very interesting.

“On reaching the church we found the head
priest, Abou Barca, with about twenty priests of an
inferior order, waiting in a small area about thirty
yards from the spot, some of whom were engaged
in chaunting psalms, while the rest were busy in
preparing the water and making other necessary
arrangements for the occasion. At sun-rise every
thing being ready, an attendant was sent round
from the high priest to point out to each person
concerned the part which he was to take in the
ceremony. The officiating priest was habited in
white flowing robes, with a tiara, or silver mounted
cap, on his head, and he carried a censer with
burning incense in his right hand; a second, of
equal rank, was dressed in similar robes, supporting
a large golden cross; while a third held in his hand
a small phial containing a quantity of consecrated
oil, which is furnished to the church of Abyssinia
by the patriarch of Alexandria. The attendant
priests stood around in the form of a semicircle, the
boy being placed in the centre, and our party
ranged in front. After a few minutes’ interval, F9r 113
employed in singing psalms, some of the priests
took the boy and washed him all over very carefully
in a large basin of water. While this was
passing, a smaller font, called ma-te-mak, (which is
always kept outside the churches, owing to an
unbaptized person not being permitted to enter the
church,) was placed in the middle of the area, filled
with water, which the priest consecrated by prayer,
waving the incense repeatedly over it, and dropping
into it a portion of the holy oil in shape of a cross.
The boy was then brought back, dripping from
head to foot, and again placed, naked and upright,
in the centre, and was required to ‘renounce the
devil and all his works,’ which was performed by
his repeating a given formula four different times,
turning each time towards a different point of the
compass. The godfather was then demanded, and
on my being presented, I named the child George,
in honour of His present Majesty, when I was
requested to say the Belief and the Lord’s Prayer;
and to make much the same promises as those
required by our own church. The head priest
afterwards laid hold of the boy, dipping his own
hand into the water and crossing him over the
forehead, pronouncing, at the same moment,
‘George, I baptize thee in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost.’ The whole company then
knelt down, and joined in reciting the Lord’s
Prayer. Here I was given to understand the ordinary
ceremony of baptism concludes; but as the F9v 114
boy had been a Mussulman, he was, in addition,
crossed with a consecrated oil over every joint
and limb, or, altogether, thirty-six times in different
parts of his body. After this he was wrapped in a
clean white linen cloth (the chirsom of our church),
and placed for a moment in my arms, the priests
telling me ‘that I must henceforth consider him
as my son.’ That boy afterwards, according to the
custom of most of the eastern churches, was
admitted to partake of the Holy Communion.”

We shall conclude this division of our work with
Bruce’s description of the Cataract of the Nile,
which he passed on his way to the source, and
with the appearance of the river at the source.

“The Cataract itself was the most magnificent
sight that I ever beheld. The missionaries say
that the fall is about sixteen ells, or fifty feet.
The river had been considerably increased by
rains, and fell in one sheet of water, without any
interval, above half an English mile in breadth,
with a force and noise that was truly terrible, and
which stunned, and, for a time, made me perfectly
dizzy. A thick fume or haze covered the fall all
around, and hung over the course of the stream
both above and below, marking its track, though
the water was not seen. The river, though swelled
with rain, preserved its natural clearness, and fell,
as far as I could discern, into a deep pool or basin
in the solid rock, which was full, and in twenty
different eddies, to the very foot of the precipice; F10r 115
the stream, when it fell, seeming to run back with
great fury upon the rock, as well as forward in the
line of its course, raising a wave or violent ebullition
by chafing against each other.”

There is a smaller cataract nearer the sources
in which the water falls about sixteen feet, and is
then only an inconsiderable body, as the Nile (or
the river designated Nile) receives many considerable
additions within a few miles from the place
where it first appears. We are assured that “the
sources of the Nile have been worshipped time immemorial
by the inhabitants of the country;” that it
gushes from the edges of cliffs in various springs or
fountains near the village of Geesh, and has a kind
of green altar or hillock raised, on which religious
ceremonies are performed, at the first spring: the
second is not more than twenty yards distant, and
the water of both clear and tasteless; this also has
a green turfy altar. Our author says,

“Nothing can be more beautiful than this spot:
the small rising hills about us were all thickly
covered with verdure, especially with clover, the
largest and finest I ever saw; the tops of the
heights crowned with trees of a prodigious size;
the stream, on the banks of which we were sitting,
was limpid and pure as the finest crystal; the ford
covered thick with a bushy tree that seemed to
affect to grow to no height, but, thick with foliage
and young branches, rather to court the surface of
the water, whilst it bore, in prodigious quantities, a F10v 116
beautiful yellow flower not unlike a single wild rose
of that colour, but without thorns.” “We found it
was not a species of rose, but of hypericum.”

“From the source to this beautiful ford, below
the church of St. Michael, Geesh, after having
stepped over it fifty times, I observed it no larger
than a common mill stream. The Nile from this
ford runs to the westward: about four miles farther
the angle of inclination increasing, broken water
and a fall commences of about six feet, and thus it
gets rid of the mountainous place of its nativity,
and issues into the plain of Goutto, where is the first
cataract. Arrived in the plain of Guotto, the>>>>>>> .r50414
turns due north, receives the tribute of many small
streams which descend from the mountains of Aformasha,
and united fall into the Nile about twenty
miles below its source. It begins now to run rapidly,
and again receives a number of beautiful
rivulets.”