Being? Or is it the temple of this deity which is placed six hundred paces farther to the north, having the same form and size, though more in ruins,-all the ornaments of which are accompanied by the serpent, the emblem of wisdom and eternity, and peculiarly that of the god now named? Judging from what he had seen of Egyptian temples, M. Denon is disposed to think that this supposed fane of Cneph belongs to the class which were used in the earliest times, and is absolutely the same species of building as the temple at Gornoo, which appeared to him the most ancient in Thebes. The chief difference in the sculpture of this at Elephantiné is, that the figures have more life, the drapery is more flowing, and falls into a better form of composition.*

The fascination attending this review of the monuments of ancient art has perhaps carried us somewhat farther than is quite consistent with our plan, which compels us to abstain from minute details, however interesting and agreeable. There is no other nation in the world, if we except those on the eastern borders of Asia,-whose real history has not yet been made known to the European reader,— which could present such a retrospect at the same early period, or gratify the traveller with the display of so much magnificence and beauty. Nor must our opinion of Egyptian science, art, and general civilization be limited to the rigid inferences which alone an examination of their actual remains might appear to justify. On the contrary, we are entitled to assume the most liberal rule of reasoning in regard to the acquirements of a people who surpassed, to such an extent, all their contemporaries westward of the Arabian Desert; and to conclude that in other matters, the memorials of which could not be conveyed to posterity by the architect or the sculptor, the priests and sovereigns of the Nile had made a corresponding progress.

For example, we are told, that in the time of Moses the land of Egypt was celebrated for fine linen,-a notice which, to a hasty reader, conveys only that simple fact, but which, to the philosopher who has reflected on the slow and gradual steps by which nations advance to maturity, suggests a state of improvement inseparable from an established government and the exercise of good laws. Our meaning

* Denon, vol. ti. p. 32.

will receive a suitable illustration from the following passage in the works of Dr. Adam Smith: "The woollen coat which covers the day-labourer, coarse and rough as it may appear, is the produce of the joint labour of a great number of workmen. The shepherd, the sorter of the wool, the wool-comber or carder, the dier, the spinner, the weaver, the fuller, the dresser, with many others, must all join their different arts in order to complete even this homely production. What a variety of labour, too, is necessary in order to produce the tools of the meanest of those workmen : To say nothing of such complicated machines as the ship of the sailor, the mill of the fuller, or even the loom of the weaver, let us consider only what a variety of labour is requisite in order to form that very simple machine, the shears with which the shepherd clips the wool. The miner, the builder of the furnace for smelting the ore, the feller of the timber, the burner of the charcoal to be made use of in the smelting-house, the brickmaker, the bricklayer, the workmen who attend the furnace, the millwright, the forger, the smith, must all of them join their different arts in order to produce them. Were we to examine in the same manner all the different parts of his dress and household furniture, the coarse linen shirt which he wears next his skin, the shoes which cover his feet, the bed which he lies on, together with the tools of all the different workmen employed in producing these different conveniences, we should be sensible that, without the assistance and co-operation of many thousands, the very meanest person in a civilized country could not be provided, even according to what we very falsely imagine the easy and simple manner in which he is usually accommodated."

Let the reader transfer this reasoning to the "fine linen" of Egypt, and he will immediately see the conclusions to which we have alluded. Many arts must have arrived at great perfection before the commodity mentioned by the Hebrew legislator could have become an object of merchandise or of foreign commerce. How much skill, too, in the art of tempering metals was necessary to prepare tools for the workmen who carved the hardest granite, and covered with sculptures the walls and ceilings of the most ancient

* Wealth of Nations, vol. i. p 17.

temples! Even the improvements of modern Europe supply not means for equalling the ingenious labours of the Egyptian artists. What a series of efforts must have preceded the excellence which is preserved for our admiration in the temples of Karnac and Luxor, in the tombs of Gornoo, and even in the grottoes of Eleithias! How many generations must have contributed their share to this perfection! The contemplative mind seeks refuge in a remoter antiquity than is allowed by the annals of the neighbouring tribes of Syria and of Greece; some of whom, instead of imitating the arts which would at once have secured to them the comforts and dignity of social life, derived nothing from their intercourse with Egypt except the absurd ceremonies of a gross superstition, which degraded the understanding while it polluted the heart.

It was our intention to have entered at some length into a history of the commercial relations which appear to have subsisted at an early period between Egypt and the nations of the East, and which were maintained, during several centuries, by a regular intercourse as well by land as by the Erythrean Sea and the Arabian Gulf. But we must content ourselves with a simple reference to the learned volumes of Dr. Vincent on the Commerce and Navigation of the Ancients, and to Dr. Robertson's Historical Disquisition concerning Ancient India; where is to be found the most authentic information that we possess on this important subject, recommended, too, by very luminous and satisfactory reasoning.

CHAPTER VII.

The Civil History of Modern Egypt.

Saracenic Dynasties-Foundation of Cairo-Crusaders-Saladin the Great-Siege of Ptolemais-Death of Saladin-Crusaders defeatedRise of Mamlouks-The Borghites-Monguls and Tatars-Ibrahim Bey-Ali Bey; his Syrian Campaign; his Death and CharacterMohammed Bey-Ibrahim and Mourad-Invasion by the FrenchDefeat at Acre-Victory of Lord Nelson-Battle of Alexandria, and Death of Abercrombie-Evacuation of Egypt by the French-Kurouf Pasha-Mohammed Ali; Success against the Beys; appointed Pasha -British Expedition in 1807-Massacre of Mamlouks-History of Wahabees; defeated by Ibrahim Pasha-European Tactics introduced -Character of Mohammed Ali.

THE enterprising spirit breathed into the Saracens by their military prophet soon made itself felt in the rapid conquests which they effected in all the surrounding countries. Egypt, as a province of the Roman empire which was already about to fall in pieces by its own weight, could not resist their arms, led by the valiant and politic Amru. Aided by treachery this fortunate general got possession of Alexandria; to the inhabitants of which he presented the humiliating alternative of paying a heavy tribute year after year, or of embracing the Mohammedan faith and submitting to its painful ritual. At the same time the valuable library which adorned that city fell a prey to the religious bigotry of the conquerors, who thought that any addition to the knowledge bequeathed to them by the author of the Koran was either superfluous or positively sinful.

The frequent contentions which ensued during the eighth century for the honours of the caliphate afforded to Egypt an opportunity of occasionally asserting its independence; but no sooner was the question of supreme power determined by arms or by treaty than it was again compelled to submit to the will of the victor. Among the various dynasties which assumed the reins of government were the descendants of Ali the son-in-law of the prophet, of Abbas his uncle, and of Fatima his daughter, who continued to

urge their respective claims during several generations, and to expel one another in their turn from the thrones of Damascus and of Bagdad.

The reader could take no interest in the obscure wars and sanguinary revolutions which were directed by the powerful families of Aglab, Ommiah, and Ikshed, who not only seized the provincial authority along the shores of the Mediterranean, but even alarmed the holy successors of Mohammed in Syria and on the banks of the Tigris. At length, towards the end of the tenth century, the chief of the Fatimite branch removed the seat of his power from Cyrene, where it had been long established, to Cahira the City of Victory, the Grand Cairo of modern times. Other princes had assumed independence in Egypt, and refused to acknowledge the temporal supremacy of the Caliph of Bagdad, though the title of the latter, in his capacity of Imaum or chief priest of the Mohammedans, was regularly recited in the daily prayers of the faithful. But the African usurper at length interdicted this mark of spiritual allegiance, and demanded as his own right all the honours which belonged to the lineal descendant of the prophet.

The eleventh century brought upon Egypt a succession of calamities. A dreadful famine, with the usual accompaniments of plague and pestilence, swept off great multitudes, especially in the maritime districts and along the Syrian border. This destructive visitation was succeeded by one hardly less to be deplored,—an inroad of the Turks, who had already descended from the extensive plains of Central Asia and found employment at the court of the caliph as mercenary soldiers. They had resolved to avenge the cause of their master on his rebellious subjects; and with this view they committed the most horrid cruelties wherever they could carry their arms, setting an example of a savage warfare long unknown to the country which they had overrun, and thereby rousing against themselves the bitterest resentment and detestation of the whole body of the people. The hosts of the crusaders arrived to complete the misery which the northern barbarians had commenced. Having reduced Pelusium these warriors advanced against Cairo, which they threatened with a similar fate; but learning that a Syrian army was on its march to cut