that of an open leather cover, capable of forming a bag, are so distinct, that it seems every way necessary, were it only to avoid that ridicule to which skepti

cism is ever prompt, that a different word should be substituted; a word more capable of designating the subject, and describing the utensil intended.

GEOGRAPHY and chronology are the two eyes of history; yet very rarely is geography purged from those films to which it is naturally subject. The task is not easy for, to accomplish it, requires no less than actual acquaintance with the country which it describes, and this is not always possible; the utmost we can do is, to collect from those who have travelled there, what accounts they offer, and to correct the judgment of one traveller by that of another, who may have had superior advantages, and probably better information.

As the celebrity of mount Sinai has induced many persons to visit it, we are happily relieved from the necessity of depending on one only; we shall therefore, to the narrations of Dr. Shaw, who was certainly a man of observation, but not a correct draughtsman, subjoin that of Niebuhr, whose map we presume to think is the most faithful of any yet published. Moreover, as Dr. Shaw travelled the very course which Moses and the caravan of Israel had travelled so many ages before him, his remarks cannot fail of being interesting and acceptable. Travels, p. 348, &c. folio edit.

"Corondel, I presume, made the southern portion of the desert of Marah; from whence to the port of Tor, the shore, which hitherto was low and sandy, begins now to be rocky and mountainous, whilst that of Egypt is still more impracticable, and neither of them afford any convenient place, either for the departure or the landing of a multitude. Moreover, from Corondel to Tor, [1] the channel is ten or twelve leagues broad, too great a space certainly for the Israelites, in the manner at least they were encumbered, to traverse in one night. And, at Tor, the Arabian shore begins to wind itself, round what we may suppose to be Ptolemy's promontory of Paran, toward the Gulf of Eloth; at the same time the Egyptian retires so far to the S. W. that it can scarce be perceived. The Israelites therefore could neither have landed at Corondel nor Tor, according to the conjectures

of several authors.

"Over against Jibbel At-tackah, at ten miles distance, is the desert, as it is called, of Sdur, the same with Shur, Exod. xv. 22. where the Israelites landed, after they had passed through the interjacent gulf of the Red Sea. The situation of this Gulf, which is the [Jam Suph D'] The weedy sea, in the Scriptures, the Gulf of Heroopolis in the Greek and Latin geography, and the western arm, as the Arabian geogra

phers call it, of the sea of Kolzum, lies nearly north and south; in a position very proper to be traversed by that strong east wind which was sent to divide it, Exod. xiv. 21. The division that was thus made in the channel, the making the waters of it to stand on a heap, Psalm lxxviii. 13. their being a wall to the Israelites on the right hand and on the left, Exod. xiv. 22. besides the distance of at least twenty miles, that this passage lies below the extremity of the Gulf, are circumstances which sufficiently vouch for the miraculousness of it, and no less contradict all such idle suppositions as pretend to account for it, from the nature and quality of tides, or from any such extraordinary recess of the sea, as it seems to have been too rashly compared to by Josephus.

"In travelling from Sdur toward mount Sinai, we come into the desert, as it is still called, of Marah, where the Israelites met with those bitter waters, or waters of Marah, Exod. xv. 23. And as this circumstance did not happen, till after they had wandered three days in the wilderness, we may probably fix it at Corondel, where there is a small rill of water, which, unless it be diluted by the dews and rains, still continues to be brackish. Near this place, the sea forms itself into a large bay, called Berk el Corondel, which is remarkable for a strong current, that sets into it from the northward. The Arabs preserve a tradition, that a numerous host was formerly drowned at this place, occasioned, no doubt, by what we are informed of Exod. xiv. 30. that the Israelites saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.

"There is nothing further remarkable, till we see the Israelites encamped at Elim, Exod. xv. 27; Numb. xxxiii. 9. upon the northern skirts of the desert of Sin, two leagues from Tor, and near thirty from Co rondel. I saw no more than nine of the twelve well that are mentioned by Moses, the other three being filled up by those drifts of sand, which are common i Arabia. Yet this loss is amply made up by the grea increase of the palm-trees, the seventy having propa gated themselves into more than two thousand. Unde the shade of these trees is the Hammam Mouse Bath of Moses, which the inhabitants of Tor have extraordinary esteem and veneration; acquainting u that it was here, that Moses himself and his partic lar household were encamped.

"We have a distinct view of mount Sinai fr Elim; the wilderness, as it is still called, of Sin, lyi betwixt us. We traversed these plains in nine hou

F

being diverted, all the way, with the sight of a variety of lizards and vipers, that are here in great numbers. I had not the good fortune to see the famous inscription, that is said to be engraven upon the rocks, just as we turn into the valley that conducts us to mount Sinai. Sin was the first place where God gave the Israelites manna, Exod. xvi. 14. and therefore some authors have imagined, that these characters were left as a standing monument of that blessing, to future generations.

"From mount Sinai, the Israelites directed their marches northward, toward the land of Canaan. The next remarkable stations therefore were in the desert of Paran, which seems not to have commenced, till after they departed from Hazeroth, three stations from Sinai, Numb. xii. 16. Now as tradition has preserved to us the names of Shur, Marah, and Sin, so we have also that of Paran, which we enter at about half way betwixt Sinai and Corondel, in travelling through the midland road, along the defiles of what were probably the Black Mountains of Ptolemy. In one part of it, ten leagues to the northward of Tor, there are several ruins, particularly of a Greek convent, called the convent of Paran, which was not long ago abandoned, by reason of the continued insults which they suffered from the Arabs. Here likewise we should look for the city of that name, though, according to the circumstances of its situation, as they are laid down by Ptolemy, Tor, a small maritime vil lage, with a castle hard by it, should rather be the place.

"It would be too daring an attempt to pretend to trace out all the particular encampments that are mentioned, Numb. xxxiii. the greatest part whereof were confined to this small tract of Arabia Petrea, which I have just now described. However, thus much may be added, that, after the Israelites left mount Sinai, the most southern of their stations seems to have been Ezion-geber; [2] which being the place from whence Solomon's navy went for gold to Ophir, 1 Kings, ix. 26; 2 Chron, viii. 17. we may be induced to take it for the same with what is called at present, Meenah el Dsahab, the Port of Gold. According to the account I had of it, from the monks of Sinai, it lies in the Gulf of Eloth, at the distance of two days journey from them, enjoying a spacious harbour, which supplies them sometimes with plenty of lobsters and shell fish.”

We shall now direct our attention to Niebuhr, Travels, vol. i. p. 175, &c.

"The city of Suez stands upon the western side, but not just upon the western extremity, of the Arabic Gulf. It is not surrounded with walls; but the houses are built so closely together, that there are only two passages into the city, of which that nearest the sea is open, the other shut by a very insufficient gate. The houses are very sorry structures; the

kans being the only solid buildings in the city. Hardly any part now remains of the castle which the Turks built upon the ruins of the ancient Kolsum.

"It is very thinly inhabited. Among its inhabitants are some Greeks, and a few families of Copts. But, about the time of the departure of the fleet, it is crowded with strangers.

"The ground lying around it is all one bed of rock, slightly covered with sand. Scarce a plant is to be seen any where in the neighbourhood. Trees, gardens, meadows, and fields, are entirely unknown at Suez. Fish is the only article of provisions plentiful here. All other necessaries of life, for both men and the domestic animais, are brought from afar; from Cairo, which is three days journey distant from Suez; mount Sinai, at the distance of six days journey; or Ghasso, at the distance of seven.

"At Suez there is not a single spring of water. That at Bir Suez is scarcely good enough for cattle; but it is drawn to Suez twice a day for their use. The water of the pretended wells of Moses is still worse; and besides, these wells lie at a league and a half distance, on the other side of the Gulf. The only water fit for drinking that is to be had here, comes from the wells of Naba, upon the other side of the Gulf, and more than two leagues distant from Suez. The Arabs are the carriers; and they sell this water at the rate of nine French sols a skin; but, though reputed the best, it is still very bad. [3]

"The Arabs who live about Tor, [1] upon the other side of the Gulf, are little afraid of the Turkish governor of Suez. When dissatisfied with him, or with the inhabitants of the city, they threaten to bring no more water, and forbid them to come near the wells of Naba. These threats, if carried into execution, would reduce the city to the last extremities; and all means are, therefore, used to pacify them.

"On the 6th of September, 1762, we crossed the Gulf, and set out next morning with our Arabs. The first day we travelled along the coast of the Arabic Gulf, through a sandy plain, having a few hills scattered over it. The Arabs call such plains, when they lie somewhat low, Wadi, [4] or vallies, because water remains stagnant in them, after heavy rains. We rested under a palm-tree, in a place called Aijoun Musa, Moses's Fountains. These pretended fountains, are five holes in the sand, in a well of very indifferent water that becomes turbid, whenever any of it is drawn. As the holes bear the name of Moses, the Arabs ascribe them to the Jewish lawgiver. After a day's journey of five German miles and a half, we encamped on the sand, in the plain of El-Ti. In the evening, a violent blast of wind raised the sand about us, by which we were not more incommoded than a similar incident would have incommoded us in Europe.

"The country through which we passed, is famous as the scene of the emigration of the Jews, under Moses. We were therefore desirous of learning from the Arabs, the names of all the places, and of all the mountains, especially, in our way. I likewise measured the distances of places, by counting the steps of the camel, and comparing the number with the time in which they were travelled, by my watch. By means of a compass, I distinguished likewise the directions of the road. None of the Arabs understood the nature of this instrument. It is plainly, therefore, an idle tale, that they follow the direction of the compass, in travelling through their deserts.

"On the 8th of September we travelled through the plain of Girdan. We saw, on our way, an enormous mass of rock, that had fallen from a neighbouring mountain. We entered next the valley of Girondel, and, after proceeding five miles and a half further, found ourselves in the vicinity of Jibbel Hammam Faraun. In the rainy season a considerable torrent runs through the valley of Girondel. [4] It was at this time dry; yet, by digging in the bed, to the depth of two feet, we found better water than that which is used at Suez. This valley not being deficient in water, has in it several trees, and even groves, that appear singularly striking to travellers from Cairo, who have seen no similar appearance in the previous part of their journey.

"Hammam Faraun is the name of a hot spring which rises by two apertures out of a rock, at the foot of a high mountain. It is used in baths by the neighbouring sick, who commonly stay forty days for a cure, during which their only food is a fruit, called lassaf, which grows here. An extensive burying place near the baths, suggested doubts in my mind of the beneficial effects of this regimen. The tradition that the Jews passed this way, and that Pharaoh's army was drowned here, has occasioned this place to receive the name of Birket-el-Faraun. The Arabs imagine that Pharaoh is doing penance at the bottom of this well, and vomits up the sulphureous vapour with which the water is impregnated.

"This eastern side of the Arabic Gulf is tolerably level and uniform. But the opposite side is one range of lofty mountains; broken, however, and divided by two vales, by one of which we must pass in travelling from Egypt to the shore of the Red Sea.

"We turned, by degrees, toward the northeast, in pursuing the direct road to mount Sinai, and at length entered a narrow vale, which appeared to have been cut by the torrents in the rock. The mountains which rose upon every side of us, in uninterrupted chains, were masses of a sort of limestone intermingled with veins of granite. In several places through them, I discovered a quantity of petrified

shells, of a species which is to be found with the living shell fish in it, in the Arabic Gulf. One of those hills is entirely covered with flints. The granite becomes more and more plentiful as we approach mount Sinai.

"Our road lay often along the brink of precipices, commonly through stony glens, and sometimes through wide vallies, watered and fertile. Such were Usaitu, El Hamer, and Warsan. We passed, also, in our way by Nasbe, the seat of some Bedouins of this country. As water was sometimes at a distance from the places where we encamped, our servants were obliged to go to bring it. We could have wished to accompany them, in order to see a little of the country; but our guides would not always permit us. After passing through the valley of Warsan, we turned a little out of the highway, and the same evening reached the abode of our chief of the tribe of Leghat.

"Being determined to proceed on to mount Sinai, we set out from the dwelling of our schiech of Beni Leghat, on the 12th of September. The country became more mountainous as we advanced; yet we passed through some pleasant vallies; such were those at Chamela, Dabur, Barak, and Genna. Before reaching the vale of Israitu, which, although surrounded with rocky and precipitous mountains, displays some rich and cheerful prospects, we were obliged to go over another lofty and almost inaccessible hill.

"At the distance of nearly seven German miles from the dwelling of our schiech of the tribe of Legbat, we found the abode of our other schiech of the tribe of Said. The Arabs set up our tents near a tree, in the valley of Faran, and left us to amuse ourselves there in the best manner we could, till they went to see their friends in gardens of date-trees, scattered over the valley. We were at no great distance from our schiech's camp, which consisted of nine or ten tents. We were informed that the ruins of an ancient city were to be seen in the neighbourhood. But, when the Arabs found us curious to visit it, they left us, and would give us no further account of it.

"The famous valley of Faran, in which we now were, has retained its name unchanged since the days of Moses, being still called Wadi Faran, the Valley of Faran. Its length is equal to a journey of a day and a half, extending from the foot of mount Sinai to the Arabic Gulf. In the rainy season it is filled with water; and the inhabitants are then obliged to retire up the bills: it was dry, however, when we passed through it. That part of it which we saw was far from being fertile, but served as a pasture to goats, camels, and asses. The other part is said to be very fertile; and the Arabs told us, that, in the districts to which our Ghasirs had gone, were many