by a beginning made,' as our author, or his tranflator expreffeth it, to Egypt's fertility for the enfuing year. As the good or bad fortune of the country;' continues he, depends on this day, in refpect to the plenty of the water, it is juftly one of the moft folemn in the whole year. The Nile is entirely under the direction of man: it overflows the country, but wanders not at will: it is conducted to all parts of the countries which may want it, with prudence and circumfpection; but the art of man cannot contribute to its encrease. This is the work of nature. When the Nile begins to encrease, a dam of earth is caft up at the opening of the ditch, which the Emperor Trajan made from the river, and goes through the city, which formerly ended in the fea at Rofette, after having watered the whole country through which the ditch was made. When the water

hath rifen to a fufficient height, which can be seen by the famous Nilometre, this dam is opened and the ditch filled with water, which is afterwards encreased and led over the whole country. The day this is done is a feftival, and was now celebrated. The festival was not so remarkable in this year as in others, because the Turks had now begun their Ramadan, when every body is filent and devout. The fcene was commonly performed in this manner: the Bashaw in Cairo, accompanied by a detachment of 1000 or more Janiffaries, with his Kiaja and other officers, goes to the dam on horseback at seven o'clock in the morning, where he enters a tchiofk (an open fummer-house) and orders. thofe that are to open the dam to hold themselves in readiness. The honour of opening the dam is divided between the Turks, Copthi, and Jews, and is opened by them in their turn. When every thing is ready for opening, the Bafhaw throws with his own hands a fpade upon the dam. This done, it is removed by thofe who are appointed for the purpose, with the loudeft acclamations of numbers of people.'

As to

Our Author's description of the grand caravan which goes. from Cairo to Mecca, is extremely curious; but we have not room for the particulars. His vifit to the burial places of the mummies, and to the celebrated pyramids, comes next. thefe prodigious monuments of Egyptian antiquity, the pyramids, we have already given, from Norden's travels t, a much more confiderable account of them, than is to be met with in Dr. Haffelquif's brief memoirs. Of the fepulchres of the mummies, our Author's account is also very brief, and much less fatisfactory than fome former defcriptions already before the public. In truth, our Swedish traveller is lefs of an antiquarian than a bo

• This caravan ufually confifts of pilgrims, to the number of 40 or 50,000; and fometimes even 100,000.

↑ See Review, vol. xv.

tanift. Thefe fubterraneous places, fays he, afforded me lefs pleasure than the open plain I faw around them, where I fearched for natural curiofities. However, he acknowledges that the infects he found in the land were the greateft advantage he reaped from this journey; for he met with fome which he supposes no naturalift had ever before feen :-He muft mean deferibed, for it is rather too much, to pronounce what had not been seen by other 'naturalists vifiting the fame country.

During his ftay at Cairo, our Author tells us he ventured to do a thing which he believes very few travellers before him have done, and in which he would not advise any one to follow his example, as they might not, perhaps, come off fo fafely as he did. He went into the Turkish mofque !-In direct oppofition to the laws of Turky, which ordain that any Christian who fhall prefume to enter one of their places of worship, muft either turn Mahometan, or be burnt alive. The Doctor's curiofity, nevertheless, was ftronger than his apprehenfion of the danger, and in he went; at a time, however, when none of the Turks who live there were prefent. He was accompanied by a French interpreter, and a good honeft Janiffary who was devoted to our Author, and the fcruples of the door keeper removed by a handfome fee-What our adventurer faw in the mofque proved, after all, but an indifferent compenfation for the hazard he ran; the building which he visited, and which he briefly defcribes, having nothing in it equal to the churches in most European nations.

From Cairo our Author went to Damiata, a little town built on the fhore of the Nile, in the form of a half-moon, fituated on the right-hand in coming from Cairo. In the environs of this town he botanized, according to cuftom, and here, he tells us, in the true fpirit of a difciple of Linnæus, he had the pleafure of feeing, from his window, one of the moft remarkable fights in nature. A female palm (Phoenix dactylifera Linnæi) had in the night put forth its bloffoms from the fpatha. I went thither at fun-rife to fee it, whilft the dew was yet falling. I faw a gardener, the proprietor of the palm, climbing up the palm, which equalled our largeft firs in height. He had a bunch of male flowers, with which he powdered the female, and by these means fecundated them. After he had done this, he cut away the inferior boughs or leaves, between which the flowers of the preceding year had come out, together with the remarkable web which covers the bafis of the leaves, and goes from one edge of a leaf to the other.'

And now quitting the Land of Egypt, we arrive, with our Author, at THE HOLY LAND.-April 1, 1750, the veffel by which he was conveyed, in four days, from Damiata, anchored before Jaffa, called Joppa, in the fcriptures. Here he im

mediately

mediately repaired to the quarters of the Latin Monks, who are appointed to receive pilgrims, and to forward them on their journey to Jerufalem. The Procurator immediately put to him a question, which our Proteftant traveller would willingly have avoided; viz." Whether he came to vifit the holy places out of devotion?" The Doctor honeftly anfwering in the negative, "What," cried the Monk, who was a Spaniard, "travel to the Holy Land without devotion!"-Our Author, however, fpeedily put an end to this difagreeable conversation, by changing the subject to that of money; and counted out to the pious Procurator 62 piaftres for himself, and the like fum for his fervant. In confideration of this fum, the procurator fent previous advice to Jerufalem, of the ftranger's arrival; and alfo took charge of all his baggage, till he fhould return. The Doctor was well pleafed with this delay, as it afforded him fome time for reft, after a difagreeable voyage, before he fet out on a journey yet more difagreeable by land.

I was now, fays he, come into the Holy Land, therefore had reafon to expect continual informations of holy things. The Monks began with their hotel, by informing me that it was the holy place where St. Peter had his fishing hut, and where he threw the famous ring into the fea. Every thing, even to the table on which we fupped, was holy. The wine we drank caine from the holy defart where St. John dwelt; and the olives grew on the mountain of Olives near Jerufalem. Thefe, independent of their holinefs, were of the beft kind I had tafted in the Levant, being fuch as Palestine, always famous for olivetrees, affords. Amongst thofe who vifited me, during my ftay in Jaffa, was a clerk of the customs, who on the third day came to receive the twenty-two piaftres, which every Frank is obliged to pay to the custom-houfe of Jaffa, for the privilege of coming on fhore and travelling in the country. The inhabitants of the country, Armenians, Greeks, &c. pay only half the fum. But as 4000 perfons arrive yearly, befides as many Jews, who come from all quarters of the world, this may be esteemed a confiderable revenue for the Turks; and indeed they receive no other from this uncultivated and almoft uninhabited country. The greateft part of this money is by legacies left to Mecca. A fhrewd difpofition, which appropriates the revenue arifing from one kind of fuperftition, to the maintenance of another." April 5th, our traveller, accompanied by a few others, mounted on alles, fet out for Jerufalem; and as they journied along, he obferved, and thus defcribes, the face of the country:

The whole country from Jaffa to Rami confits of little hills; between thefe are level and handfome vales, which extend in large plains. A part is turned into corn fields, but mot of it lies walte. The ground here confifts of a loose redd

REV. Feb. 1766.

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far

tanift. Thefe fubterraneous places, fays he, afforded me lefs pleasure than the open plain I faw around them, where I fearched for natural curiofities. However, he acknowledges that the infects he found in the land were the greateft advantage he reaped from this journey; for he met with fome which he supposes no naturalift had ever before feen:-He muft mean deferibed, for it is rather too much, to pronounce what had not been fseen by other naturalifts vifiting the fame country.

During his ftay at Cairo, our Author tells us he ventured to do a thing which he believes very few travellers before him have done, and in which he would not advise any one to follow his example, as they might not, perhaps, come off fo fafely as he did. He went into the Turkifh mofque !-In direct oppofition to the laws of Turky, which ordain that any Chriftian who fhall prefume to enter one of their places of worship, muft either turn Mahometan, or be burnt alive. The Doctor's curiofity, nevertheless, was stronger than his apprehenfion of the danger, and in he went; at a time, however, when none of the Turks who live there were prefent. He was accompanied by a French interpreter, and a good honeft Janiffary who was devoted to our Author, and the fcruples of the door keeper removed by a handfome fee-What our adventurer faw in the mofque proved, after all, but an indifferent compenfation for the hazard he ran; the building which he visited, and which he briefly defcribes, having nothing in it equal to the churches in most European nations.

From Cairo our Author went to Damiata, a little town built on the fhore of the Nile, in the form of a half-moon, fituated on the right-hand in coming from Cairo. In the environs of this town he botanized, according to cuftom, and here, he tells us, in the true fpirit of a difciple of Linnæus, he had the pleafure of feeing, from his window, one of the moft remarkable fights in nature. A female palm (Phoenix dactylifera Linnai) had in the night put forth its bloffoms from the fpatha. I went thither at fun-rife to fee it, whilft the dew was yet falling. I faw a gardener, the proprietor of the palm, climbing up the palm, which equalled our largeft firs in height. He had a bunch of male flowers, with which he powdered the female, and by thefe means fecundated them. After he had done this, he cut away the inferior boughs or leaves, between which the flowers of the preceding year had come out, together with the remarkable web which covers the bafis of the leaves, and goes from one edge of a leaf to the other.'

And now quitting the Land of Egypt, we arrive, with our Author, at THE HOLY LAND.-April 1, 1750, the veffel by which he was conveyed, in four days, from Damiata, anchored before Jaffa, called Joppa, in the fcriptures. Here he im

mediately

mediately repaired to the quarters of the Latin Monks, who are appointed to receive pilgrims, and to forward them on their journey to Jerufalem. The Procurator immediately put to him a queftion, which our Proteftant traveller would willingly have avoided; viz. "Whether he came to vifit the holy places out of devotion?" The Doctor honeftly anfwering in the negative, "What," cried the Monk, who was a Spaniard, " travel to the Holy Land without devotion!"-Our Author, however, fpeedily put an end to this difagreeable converfation, by changing the fubject to that of money; and counted out to the pious Procurator 62 piaftres for himself, and the like fum for his fervant. In confideration of this fum, the procurator fent previous advice to Jerufalem, of the ftranger's arrival; and alfo took charge of all his baggage, till he fhould return. The Doctor was well pleafed with this delay, as it afforded him fome time for reft, after a difagreeable voyage, before he fet out on a journey yet more difagreeable by land.

I was now, fays he, come into the Holy Land, therefore had reafon to expect continual informations of holy things. The Monks began with their hotel, by informing me that it was the holy place where St. Peter had his fishing hut, and where he threw the famous ring into the fea. Every thing, even to the table on which we fupped, was holy. The wine we drank caine from the holy defart where St. John dwelt; and the olives grew on the mountain of Olives near Jerufalem. Thefe, independent of their holinefs, were of the beft kind I had tafted in the Levant, being fuch as Paleftine, always famous for olivetrees, affords. Amongst thofe who vifited me, during my stay in Jaffa, was a clerk of the cuftoms, who on the third day came to receive the twenty-two piaftres, which every Frank is obliged to pay to the custom-houfe of Jaffa, for the privilege of coming on fhore and travelling in the country. The inhabitants of the country, Armenians, Greeks, &c. pay only half the fum. But as 4000 perfons arrive yearly, befides as many Jews, who come from all quarters of the world, this may be esteemed a confiderable revenue for the Turks; and indeed they receive no other from this uncultivated and almoft uninhabited country. The greateft part of this money is by legacies left to Mecca. A fhrewd difpofition, which appropriates the revenue arifing from one kind of fuperftition, to the maintenance of another."

April 5th, our traveller, accompanied by a few others, mounted on alles, fet out for Jerufalem; and as they journied along, he obferved, and thus defcribes, the face of the country:

The whole country from Jaffa to Rami confifts of little hills; between thefe are level and handfome vales, which extend in large plains. A part is turned into corn fields, but moft of it lies wafte. The ground here confifts of a loofe reddifh REV. Feb. 1766.

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fandy