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which fo many ridiculous tales were told by the Tripoline ambaffador, Caffem Aga, at the beginning of this century, and all believed in England, though they carried falfehood upon the very face of them.

Next approaching the fea coaft, he arrived at Ptolometa, where he met a Greek junk belonging to Lampedofa, a little island near Crete, which had been unloading corn, and was now ready to fail.

He embarked on board this veffel, very ill accoutered, as he afterwards found, and, though it had plenty of fail, it had not an ounce of ballaft. A number of people, men, women and children, flying from the calamities which attend famine, crowded in unknown to him; but the paffage was fhort, the veffel light, and the mafter, as was fuppofed, well accustomed to thofe feas. The contrary of this, however, was the truth, as he learned after wards, when too late, for he was an abfolute landfman; proprietor indeed of the veffel, but this had been his firft voyage. They failed at dawn of day in very favourable and pleafant weather. It was the beginning of September, and a light and steady breeze, though not properly fair, promifed a fhort and agreeable voyage; but it was not long before it turned fresh and cold; a violent shower of hail came on, and the clouds were gathering as if for thunder. Mr. Bruce obferved that they gained no offing, and hoped, if the weather turned bad, to perfuade the captain to put into Bengazi, for one inconvenience he prefently difcovered, that they had not provifion on board for one day.

The expected form came on, the wind blew contrary to their wishes; and, before they could reach the harbour of Bengazi, the hip ftruck on a funken rock. Among others, Mr. Bruce and his fervants took to the boat; but being in great danger of overfetting, our traveller, fearing that fome of the people would take hold of him to fave themselves, committed himself to the waves, telling his fervants to follow. In this fituation he continued fome time, ftruggling manfully against the ftorm; but when, by the most uncommon efforts, he had reached near fhore, he loft his recollection. Thus he lay, till awakened by a ftroke from the

butt-end of a lance, fhod with iron, upon the juncture of the neck with the back bone. This he received from an Arab; a tribe of whom were already arrived to plunder the ship.

After having received this difcipline, he had walked, or crawled up among fome white, fandy hillocks, where he fat down and concealed himself as much as poffible. The weather was then warm, but the evening promised to be cooler, and it was faft drawing on; there was great danger to be apprehended if he approached the tents, where the women were, while he was naked, for in this cafe it was very probable he would receive another baf tinado fomething worse than the first. Still he was fo confused, that he had not recollected he could speak to them in their own language, and it now only came into his mind, that by the'gibberish, in imitation of Turkish, which the Arab had uttered to him while he was beating and stripping him, he took him for a Turk, and to this mistake he probably owed his ill treatment.

The fhekh of the tribe, being in peace with the bey of Bengazi, and alfo with the fhekh of Ptolometa, after many questions, ordered our traveller a plentiful fupper, of which all his fervants partook, none of them having perished. A multitude of confultations followed on their complaints, of which he freed himself in the best manner he could.

After ftaying two days among them, the fhekh rettored to them all that had been taken from them; and mounting them upon camels, and giving them a conductor, he forwarded them to Bengazi, where they arrived the second day. in the evening.

He loft a fextant, a parallactic inftrument, a time-piece, a reflecting telescope, an achromatic one, with many drawings, a copy of M. de la Caille's ephemerides down to the year 1775, much to be regretted, as being full of manufcript marginal notes; a fmall camera obfcura, fome guns, piftols, a blunderbufs, and feveral other articles, of lefs value.

At Bengazi Mr. Bruce found a small French floop, the mafter of which had been often at Algiers when he was conful there. He had even, as the mafter remembered, done him fome

little

little fervice, for which, contrary to the custom of that fort of people, he was very grateful. He had come there laden with corn, and was going up the Archipelago, or towards the Morea, for more. The cargo he had brought was but a mite compared to the neceffities of the place; it only relieved the foldiers for a time, and many people of all ages and fexes were ftill dying every day.

The captain of this little veffel loft no time. He had done his bufinefs well, and though he was returning for another cargo, yet he cheerfully offered Mr. Bruce what part of his money he fhould want. They then failed with a fair wind, and in four or five days eafy weather landed at Canea, a confiderable fortified place at the west end of the ifland of Crete. Here our traveller was taken dangerously ill, occalioned by the bathing and extraordinary exertions in the fea of Ptolometa, nor was he in the leaft the better from the beating he had received, of which he very long afterwards bore the marks.

From Canea he failed for Rhodes, and there met with his books; he then proceeded to Caftelroffo, on the coaft of Caramania, and was there credibly informed that there were very magnificent remains of ancient buildings, a fhort way from the fhore, on the oppofite continent. Caramania is a part of Afia Minor yet unexplored.

Disappointed in an attempt to procure new inftruments, in the room of those he had loft, he confoled himself that he had pencils and paper; and luckily his large camera obfcura, which had efcaped the catastrophe of Ptolometa, was arrived from Smyrna. He therefore began to look about for the means of obtaining feasible and fafe methods of repeating the famous journey to Pal

myra.

From Smyrna, Mr. Bruce went to Tripoli in Syria, and thence to Haffia. From thence he would have gone fouthward to Balbec, but it was then befieged by Emir Youfef, prince of the Drufes, a Pagan nation, living upon mount Libanus. He therefore returned to Tripoli, in Syria; and after fome time fet out for Aleppo, travelling northward along the plain of Jeune, betwixt mount Lebanon and the fea. He visited the ancient Byblus, and

bathed with pleasure in the river Adonis. All here is claffic ground. He faw feveral confiderable ruins of Grecian architecture all very much defaced.

He paffed Latikea, and then came to Antioch, and afterwards to Aleppo.

After narrowly efcaping drowning once more, Mr. Bruce happily paffed Haffia, and proceeded for Palinyra. Juft before they came in fight of the ruins, they afcended a hill of white gritty tone, in a very narrow, winding road, fuch as is called a pafs, and, when arrived at the top, there opened before them the most aftonishing, stupendous fight that perhaps ever appeared to mortal eyes. The whole plain below, which was very extenfive, was covered fo thick with magnificent buildings, as that the one feemed to touch the other, all of fine proportions, all of agreeable forms, all compofed of white ftones, which at that distance appeared like marble. At the end of it flood the palace of the fun, a building worthy to clofe fo magnificent a fcene.

Mr. Bruce proceeded from Palmyra to Balbec, diftant about one hundred and thirty miles, and arrived the fame day that Emir Yousef had reduced the town and fettled the government, and was decamping from it on his return home. This was the luckiest moment poffible for our traveller, as he was the Emir's friend, and had obtained liberty to do there what he pleased; and to this indulgence was added the great convenience of the Emir's abfence, fo that he was not troubled by the obfervance of any court-ceremony or attendance, or teased with impertinent queftions.

Balbec is pleafantly fituated in a plain on the weft of Anti Libanus, is finely watered, and abounds in gardens. It is about fifty miles from Haffia, and about thirty from the nearest fea-coaft, which is the fituation of the ancient Byblus. The interior of the great temple of Balbec, fuppofed to be that of the fun, furpaffes any thing at Palmyra.

Paffing by Tyre, from curiofity only, Mr. Bruce came to be a mournful witnefs of the truth of that prophecy, that Tyre, the queen of nations, thould be a rock for fishers to dry their nets

on.

only a concealment of their knowledge of cochineal, as, had they depended upon the fish for their dye, if the whole city of Tyre applied to nothing elfe but fishing, they would not have coloured twenty yards of cloth in a year. Much fatigued, but fatisfied beyond measure with what he had feen, our traveller arrives at Sidon in good health.

Mr. Bruce failed from Sidon, on the 15th of June 1768, bound for the island of Cyprus. On the 16th, at dawn of day, our traveller faw a high hill, which from its particular form, defcribed by Strabo, he took for Mount Olympus. It is fingular, that Cyprus fhould have remained fo long undifcovered; fhips had been used in the Mediterranean one thousand feven hundred years before Chrift; yet, though only a day's failing from the continent of Afia on the north and east, and little more from that of Africa on the fouth, it was not known at the building of Tyre, a little before the Trojan war, that is, five hundred years after fhips had been paffing and repaffing in the furrounding feas.

On the 17th of June they left Lernica; and, on the 20th, early in the morning, had a diftant profpect of Alexandria rifing from the fea. On the first view of the city, the mixture of old monuments, fuch as the Column of Pompey, with the high Moorish towers and fteeples, raife expectations of the confequence of the ruins to be found; but the moment travellers are in port, the illufion ends, and they diftinguish the immenfe Herculean works of ancient times, now few in number, from the ill-imagined, ill-conftructed, and imperfect buildings, of the feveral barbarous mafters of Alexandria in later ages. There are two ports, the Old and the New, which are by no means fafe. There is nothing beautiful or pleafant

who have affured them, that Mecca being deftroyed, (as it must be, they think, by the Ruffians) Alexandria is then to become the holy place, and that Mahomet's body is to be transported thither.

Mr. Bruce arrived at Cairo in the beginning of July, récommended to the very hofpitable houfe of Julian and Bertran; to whom Mr. Bruce imparted his refolution of purfuing his journey to Abyffinia. The wildness of the intention feemed to ftrike them greatly.

After a variety of circumftances of little conféquence, Mr. Bruce was admitted to an audience of Ali Bey. He was a much younger man than our traveller had conceived him to be; he was fitting upon a large fofa, covered with crimfon cloth of gold; his turban, his girdle, and the head of his dagger, all thickly covered with fine brilliants; one in his turban, that ferved to fupport a fprig of brilliants allo, was among the largelt Mr. Bruce had ever seen. The bey entered into difcourfe with him concerning the Ruffian and Turkifh war, and converfed fome time with him on that fubject.

Two or three nights afterwards the bey fent for him again. It was near eleven o'clock before he got admittance. He met the janiffary Aga going out, and a number of foldiers at the door. As Mr. Bruce did not know this officer, he paffed him, without ceremony, which is not ufual. Whenever he mounts on horseback, he has abfolute power of life and death, without appeal, throughout Cairo and its neighbourhood.

The Aga ftopt Mr. Bruce juft atthe threshold, and afked one of the bey's people who he was? and was' anfwered, "It is Hakim Englefe," the English philosopher, or phyfician. He politely afked Mr. Bruce, in Turkish,

well? He anfwered him in Arabic, "Yes, whenever he pleafed, but could not then stay, as he had received a meffage that the bey was waiting." He replied in Arabic, "No, no; go, for God's fake go; any time will do for

me."

The bey was fitting, leaning forward, with a wax taper in one hand, and read. ing a fmall flip of paper, which he held clofe to his face. He feemed to have little light, or weak eyes; nobody was near him.

He did not feem to obferve Mr. Bruce till he was close upon him, and started when he faid, "Salam." He told him he came upon his meffage. The bey faid, "I thank you, did I fend for you" and without giving him leave to reply, went on, "O true, I did fo," and fell to reading his paper again. After this was over, he complained that he had been ill, that he vomitted immediately after dinner, though he eat moderately; that his ftomach was not yet fettled, and was afraid fomething had been given him to do him mischief. Our traveller felt his pulse, which was low and weak; but very little feverifh. He defired he would order his people to look if his meat was dreffed in copper properly tinned; he affured him he was in no danger, and infinuated that he thought he had been guilty of fome excefs before dinner; at which he fmiled, and faid to one who was ftanding by," Afrite! Afrite! he is a devil! he is a devil!”

Mr. Bruce's favour with the bey be ing established by frequent interviews, he thought of leaving his folitary manfion at the convent. He defired Mr. Rifk, the bey's fecretary, to procure his peremptory letters of recommendation to fhekh Haman, to the governor of Syene, Ibrim, and Deir, in upper Egypt. He procured alfo the fame from the janiffaries, to these three lalt places, as their garrifons are from that body at Cairo, which they call their Port. He had alfo letters from Ali Bey, to the bey of Suez, to the fherriffe of Mecca, to the naybe (fo they call the fovereign) of Mafuah, and to the king of Sennaar, and his minister for the time being.

Having obtained all his letters and dispatches, as well from the patriarch

as from the bey, he prepared for his journey.

On the other fide of the Nile, from Cairo, is Geeza; and about eleven miles beyond this are the pyramids, called the Pyramids of Geeza.

It has been a conftant belief, that the ftones compofing these pyramids were brought from the Libyan mountains, though any one who will take the pains to remove the fand on the fouth fide, will find the folid rock there hewn into steps. In the roof of the large chamber, where the farcophagus ftands, as alfo in the top of the roof of the gallery, are large fragments of the rock; affording an unanswerable proof, that those pyramids were once huge rocks, ftanding where they now are; that fome of them, the moft proper from their form, were chosen for the body of the pyramid, and the others hewn into steps, to ferve for the fuperftructure, and the exterior parts.

On the 12th of December, Mr. Bruce embarked on the Nile at Bulac, on board a sort of vessel called a Canja.

The wind being contrary, they were obliged to advance against the stream, by having the boat drawn with a rope, They advanced a few miles to two convents of cophts called Deireteen. Here they ftopped to pafs the night, having had a fine view of the pyramids of Geeza and Saccara, and being then in fight of a prodigious number of others built of white clay, and ftretching far into the defert to the fouth-west. Two of these feemed full as large as those that are called the Pyramids of Geeza. One of them was of a very extraordinary form; it feemed as if it had been intended at first to be a very large one, but that the builder's heart or means had failed him, and that he had only brought it to a very mishapen dif proportioned head.

On the fide of the Nile, oppofite to their boat, a little farther to the fouth, was a tribe of Arabs encamped. These were fubject to Cairo, or were then at peace with its government. They are called Howadat, being a part of the Atouni, a large tribe that poffeffes the ifthmus of Suez, and from that go up between the Red Sea and the mountains that bound the east part of the valley of Egypt. They reach to

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had food, a large city, the capital of all Egypt. All this was executed with great fuccefs. Early in the morning the Alekh of the Howadat had paffed at Miniel, where there is a ferry, the Nile being very deep, and attended our traweller with five horsemen and a fpare horfe for himself, at Metrahenny, fouth of Miniel, where there is a great plan tation of palm-trees.

On the 13th, our traveller let out their vaft fails, and paffed a confiderable village called Turra, on the eaft fide of the river, and Shekh Atman, a fmall village, confifting of about thirty houses, on the west.

The Nile here is about a quarter of a mile broad: it is by very far the narroweft part of Egypt yet feen; for it is certainly lefs than half a mile between the foot of the mountain and the Libyan more.

Having gained the western edge of the palm-trees at Mohannan, our traveller had a fair view of the pyramids at Geeza, which lie in a direction nearly S. W. They saw three large granite pillars S. W. of Mohannan, and a piece of a broken cheft or ciftern of granite; but no obelisks, or tones with hieroglyphics, and they thought the greater part of the ruins feemed to point that way, or more foutherly.

Thefe, their conductor faid, were the ruins of Mimf, the ancient feat of the Pharaohs kings of Egypt; that there was another Mimf, far down in the Delta, by which he meant Menouf, below Terane and Batnel Baccara.

Mr. Bruce returned to his boat; and pursuing his route, arrived at Halouan, an inland now divided into a number of small ones, by califhes being cut through it, and, under different Arabic names, they still reach very far up the ftream. Mr. Bruce landed to

fortified towards the water, at least there were fome guns there.

They came to a village called Rhoda, whence they faw the magnificent ruins of the ancient city of Antinous, built by Adrian. Unluckily Mr. Bruce knew nothing of thefe ruins when he left Cairo, and had taken no pains to provide himfelf with letters of recommendation.

The Nubian geographer informs us, that it was from this town Pharaoh brought his magicians, to compare their powers with thofe of Mofes; an anecdote worthy that great historian.'

Our traveller told the Rais, that he muft, of neceffity, go afhore. He did not feem to be fond of the expedition; but hauling in his main-fail, and with his fore-fail full, ftood S. S. E. directly under the ruins. In a fhort time they arrived at the landing-place.

Abou Cuff's fon Mahomet, (whom they had taken as a hostage) and the Arab, went on shore, under pretence of buying some provifion. In the mean time, partly with his naked eye, and partly with his glafs, Mr. Bruce was enabled to contemplate the ruins attentively, which filled him with aftonishment and admiration. The columns of the angle of the portico were standing fronting to the north, part of the tympanum, cornice, frize, and architrave, all entire, and very much ornamented; thick trees hid what was behind. The columns were of the largest fize and fluted; the capitals Corinthian, and in all appearance entire. They were of white Parian marble probably, but had loft the extreme whitenefs, or polish, of the Antinous at Rome, and were changed to the colour of the fighting gladiator, or rather to a brighter yellow. He faw indiftinctly, alfo, a triumphal arch, or gate of the town, in the very fame ftile; and fome blocks of very

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