'them an earnest in time, of the only other worfe which he has referved to them for an eternal hereafter.'

This obfervation reminds us of a fhort story of the celebrated Abbé Fuggini, who, having written a book to trace St. Peter's journey to Rome, ftage by stage, soon after pablished another volume to fettle the number of the damned, both of which works he dedicated to his patron, Pope Lambertini, of facetious memory; who, on receiving the last performance, obferved how whimsical it was, that the good 'Abbé, who had been St. Peter's poftilion, fhould fo foon become the devil's accountant. Mr. B. by thus affigning to the devil the whole kingdom of Sennaar, after he had fo fkilfully traced the famous voyage to Ophir and Tarfhifh, from port to port, as juftly to merit the appellation of Solomon's pilot*, expofes himself to the fame lively obfervation, which, probably, will not escape the learned prelate (the Bishop of Carlisle), to whom he has dedicated this chart of that celebrated voyage.

We could fcarcely credit the information of our eyes, when, on a fecond perufal of the paffage, we found that Mr. B. was not only King Solomon's but King David's pilot. We entertained a notion, that King David never had a ship in his life. Mr. B. fays, King David took poffeffion of two ports, Eloth and Eziongaber, from which he carried on the trade to Ophir and Tarthish, to a very great extent, to the day of his death.' His authorities are, 1 Kings, ix. 26., and 2 Chron. viii. 17. Now in both thefe texts, Mr. B. has fubftituted the name of David for that of Solomon. Another miftake, equally grofs, which difgraces the author's most ingenious account of the trade to Ophir and Tarfhish, is, that he makes the facred fcriptures reprefent Palestine, in the earliest ages, as not only full of polifhed, powerful, and orderly ftates, but abounding in gold and filver, in a greater proportion, than is to be found at this day in any state of Europe.' Vol. i. p. 366. We turned to the text to which he refers, Exodus, xxxviii. 39. As the chapter has not 39 verses, we foon found that he ought to have referred to verfes 24 and 25, which run as follows: "All the gold that was occupied for the work, in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and feven hundred and thirty fhekels, after the fhekel of the fanctuary. And the filver of them that were numbered of the congregation, was an hundred talents, and a thoufand feven hundred and threefcore and fifteen fhekels, after the fhekel of the fanctuary."

To facilitate the computation, we may omit the odd fhekels, 3000 of which make but one talent; the Alexandrian or

Vol. i. p. 429.

Jewish talent of filver, is equal to 450l. and therefore the hundred filver talents are equal to 45,000l. In early times, the proportion of gold to filver was ten to one; therefore, the twenty-nine talents of gold are equal to 130,500l. Sum total, 175,000l. A fum which by no means juftifies Mr. B.'s affertion. Instead of citing Exodus, xxxviii. he ought, therefore, to have referred to 1 Chron. xxii. 14. & feq. which paffages, indeed, he mentions on a future occafion, p. 429, vol. i. but infinuates, we think, with great propriety, that the talent there meant, is not the Hebrew talent, but a weight of the fame denomination, of which the value was lefs.

Mr. Bruce's journey through the Nubian defert is peculiarly interefting. In this part of his work, he fhews himself not only an intrepid traveller, but a fkilful hiftorian. By preceding converfations and reports, the mind of the reader is admirably well prepared for the adventures with which he is to meet; the plot commences at Teawa, thickens at Sennaar, and reaches the highest pitch of intereft, at the author's converfation with Sittina Queen of Chendi. Then follow the dreadful diftreffes and dangers of the defert: the camels die, and the baggage is abandoned.

At length the EPITETEIα, the revolution of the piece, happensthe author is kindly received at Affouan, recovers what he had loft, and proceeds fafely to Cairo.

Where all is excellent, felection is not eafy; but our readers would have reason to complain, if we did not infert the following pages:

On the 14th, at feven in the morning, we left Affa Nagga, our courfe being due north, At one o'clock we alighted among fome acacia-trees at Waadi el Halboub, having gone twenty-one miles. We were here at once surprised and terrified by a fight furely one of the most magnificent in the world. In that vast expanfe of defert, from W. and to N. W. of us, we saw a number of prodigious pillars of fand at different diftances, at times moving with great celerity, at others ftalking on with a majestic flownels: at intervals we thought they were coming in a very few minutes to overwhelm us; and fmall quantities of fand did actually more than once reach us. Again they would retreat fo as to be almost out of fight, their tops reaching to the very clouds. There the tops often feparated from the bodies; and thefe, once disjoined, difperfed in the air, and did not appear more. Sometimes they were broken near the middle, as if truck with a large cannon shot. About noon they began to advance with confiderable fwiftnefs upon us, the wind being very ftrong at north. Eleven of them ranged alongfide of us about the distance of three miles. The greatest diameter of the largest appeared to me at that distance as if it would meafure ten feet. They retired from us with a wind at S. E. leaving an impreffion upon my mind to which I can give no name, though furely one ingredient in it was fear, with a confiderable degree of wonder and aftonifhment. It was in vain to think of flying; the fwifteft horfe, or fafteft failing fhip, could be of no ufe to carry us out of this danger, and the full perfuafion of this rivetted me as if to the spot where I tood, and let the

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camels gain on me fo much in my state of lameness, that it was with fome difficulty I could overtake them.

The effect this ftupendous fight had upon Idris was to fet him to his prayers, indeed rather to his charins; for, befides the name of God and Mahomet, all the rest of the words were mere gibberish and nonfenfe. This created a violent altercation between him and Ifmael the Turk, who abused him for not praying in the words of the Koran, maintaining, with apparent great wifdom at the fame time, that nobody had charms to stop thefe moving fands but the inhabitants of Arabia Deferta.

The Arabs to whom this inhofpitable fpot belongs are the Adelaia. They, too, are Jaheleen, or Arabs of Beni Koreifh. They are faid to be a harmlets race, and to do no hurt to the caravans they meet; yet I very much doubt, had we fallen in with them, they would not have deferved the good name that was given them. We went very flowly to-day, our feet being fore and greatly fwelled. The whole of our company were much disheartened, (except Idris) and imagined that they were advancing into whirlwinds of moving fand, from which they should never be able to extricate themselves; but before four o'clock in the afternoon these phantoms of the plain had all of them fallen to the ground and difappeared. In the evening we came to Waadi Dimokea, where we paffed the night, much disheartened, and our fear more increafed, when we found, upon wakening in the morning, that one fide was perfectly buried in the sand that the wind had blown above us in the night.

From this day, fubordination, though not entirely ceafed, was fast on the decline; all was difcontent, murmuring, and fear. Our water was greatly diminished, and that terrible death by thirtt began to ftare us in the face, and this was owing in a great mealure to our own imprudence. Ifmael, who had been left centinel over the fkins of water, had flept fo foundly, that this had given an opportunity to a Tucorory to open one of the fkins that had not been touched, and ferve himself out of it at his own difcretion. I fuppofe that, hearing fomebody ftir, and fearing detection, he had withdrawn himfelf as fpeedily as poffible, without taking time to tie the mouth of the girba, which we found in the morning with scarce a quart

of water in it.

On the 15th, at a quarter past feven in the morning, we left Waadi Dimokea, keeping a little to the weftward of north, as far as I could judge, just upon the line of Syene. The fame ridge of hills being on our right and left as yesterday, in the centre of thefe appeared Del Aned. At twenty minutes past two o'clock in the afternoon we came to an opening in the ridge of rocks; the paffage is about a mile broad, through which we continued till we alighted at the foot of the mountain Del Aned. The place is called Waadi Del Aned.

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The fame appearance of moving pillars of fand prefented themfelves to us this day in form and difpofition like thofe we had feen at Waadi Halboub, only they feemed to be more in number, and lefs in fize. They came feveral times in a direction close upon us; that is, I believe, within lefs than two miles. They began, immediately after fun-rife, like a thick wood, and almoft darkened the fun: his rays fhining through them for near an hour, gave them an appearance of pillars of fire. Our people now became defperate; the Greeks fhrieked out, and faid it was the day of judgment. Imael pronounced it to be hell, and the Tucorories, that

the world was on fire. I afked Idris if ever he had before feen fuch a fight? He faid he had often teen them as terrible, though never worfe; but what he feared molt was that extreme rednefs in the air, which was a fure prefage of the coming of the fimoom. I begged and entreated Idris that he would not fay one word of that in the hearing of the people, for they had already felt it at Imhanzara in their way from Ras el Feel to Teawa,

and

and again at the Acaba of Gerri, before we came to Chendi, and they were already nearly distracted at the apprehenfion of finding it here.

At half past four o'clock in the afternoon we left Waadi Del Aned, our course a little more to the weltward than the direction of Syene. The fands which had difappeared yesterday fcarcely fhewed themfelves at all this day, and a great distance from the horizon. This was, however, a comfort but of thort duration. I observed Idris took no part in it, but only warned me and the fervants, that, upon the coming of the fimoom, we should fall upon our faces, with our mouths upon the earth, fo as not to partake of the outward air as long as we could hold our breath. We alighted at fix o'clock at a fmall rock in the fandy ground, without trees or herbage, fo that our camels fafted all that night. This place is called Ras el Seah, or, by the Binnareen, El Mout, which fignifies death, a name of bad omen.

On the 16th, at half paft ten in the forenoon, we left El Mout, ftanding in the direction clofe upon Syene. Our men, if not gay, were however in better spirits than I had feen them fince we left Gooz. One of our Barbarins had even attempted a fong; but Hagi Ifmael very gravely reproved him, by telling him, that finging in fuch a fituation was a tempting of Providence. There is, indeed, nothing more different than active and paffive courage. Hagi Ifmael would fight, but he had not strength of mind to fuffer. At eleven o'clock, while we contemplated with great pleafure the rugged top of Chiggre, to which we were faft approaching, and where we were to folace ourselves with plenty of good water, Idris cried out, with a loud voice, Fall upon your faces, for here is the fimoom. I faw from the S. E. a haze come, in colour like the purple part of the rainbow, but not fo compreffed or thick. It did not occupy twenty yards in breadth, and was about twelve feet high from the ground. It was a kind of bluth upon the air, and it moved very rapidly, for I fcarce could turn to fall upon the ground with my head to the northward, when I felt the heat of its current plainly upon my face. We all lay flat on the ground, as if dead, till Idris told us it was blown over. The meteor, or purple haze, which I faw, was indeed paffed, but the light air that still blew was of heat to threaten fuffocation. For my part, I found diftinctly in my breaft that I had imbibed a part of it, nor was I free of an asthmatic fenfation till I had been fome months in Italy, at the baths of Poretta, Bear two years afterwards.

An univerfal defpondency had taken poffeffion of our people. They ceafed to speak to one another, and when they did, it was in whispers, by which I easily gueffed their difcourfe was not favourable to me, or elle that they were increasing each others fears, by vain fuggeftions calculated to fink each others fpirits ftill further, but from which no earthly good could poffibly refult. I called them together, and both reprimanded and exhorted them in the strongest manner I could; I bade them attend to me, who had neatly loft my voice by the fimoom, and defired them to look at my face, fo fwelled as fcarcely to permit me to fee; my neck covered with blitters, my feet fwelled and inflamed, and bleeding with many wounds. In anfwer to the lamentation that the water was exhaufted, and that we were upon the point of dying with thirst, I ordered each man a gourd full of water more than he had the preceding day, and fhewed them, at no great diftance, the bare, black, and fharp point of the rock Chiggre, wherein was the well at which we were again to fill our girbas, and thereby banish the fear of dying by thirft in the defert. I believe I never was at any time more eloquent, and never had eloquence a more fudden effect. They all protested and declared their concern chiefly arofe from the fitua tion they faw me in; that they feared not death or hardship, provided I would fubmit a little to their direction in the taking a proper care of my

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felf. They intreated me to use one of the camels, and throw off the load that it carried, that it would eafe me of the wounds in my feet, by riding at least part of the day. This I pofitively refused to do, but recommended to them to be strong of heart, and to fpare the camels for the last resource, if any fhould be taken ill and unable to walk any longer.

This phænomenon of the fimoom, unexpected by us, though foreseen by Idris, caufed us all to relapfe into our former defpondency. It still continued to blow, so as to exhauft us entirely, though the blast was fo weak as fcarcely would have raifed a leaf from the ground. At twenty minutes before five the fimoom ceafed, and a comfortable and cooling breeze came by starts from the north, blowing five or fix minutes at a time, and then falling calm. We were now come to the Acaba, the afcent before we arrived at Chiggre, where we intended to have topt that night, but we all moved on with tacit confent, nor did one perfon pretend to fay how far he gueffed we were to go.

At thirteen minutes past eight, we alighted in a fandy plain abfolutely without herbage, covered with loose stones, a quarter of a mile due north of the well, which is in the narrow gorge, forming the fouthern outlet of this fmall plain. Though we had travelled thirteen hours and a quarter this day, it was but at a flow pace, our camels being famished, as well as tired, and lamed likewife by the sharp tones with which the ground in all places was covered. The country, for three days paft, had been deftitute of herbage of any kind, entirely defert, and abandoned to the moving fands. We faw this day, after pafling Ras el Seah, large blocks and ftrata of pure white marble, equal to any in colour that ever came from Paros.

Chiggre is a fmall narrow valley, clofely covered up and furrounded with barren rocks. The wells are ten in number, and the narrow gorge which opens to them is not ten yards broad. The fprings, however, are very abundant. Wherever a pit is dug five or fix feet deep, it is immediately filled with water. The principal pool is about forty yards fquare and five feet deep; but the best tafted water was in the cleft of a rock, about 30 yards higher, on the weft fide of this narrow outlet. All the water, however, was very foul, with a number of animals both aquatic and land. It was impoffible to drink without putting a piece of our cotton girdle over our mouths, to keep, by filtration, the fith of dead animals out of it. We saw a great many partridges upon the face of the bare rock; but what they fed upon I could not guess, unless upon infects. We did not dare to fhoot at them, for fear of being heard by the wandering Arabs that might be fomewhere in the neighbourhood; for Chiggre is a haunt of the Bifhareen of the tribe of Abou Bertran, who, though they do not make it a itation, because there is no patture in the neighbourhood, nor can any thing grow there, yet it is one of the most valuable places of refreshment, on account of the great quantity of water, being nearly half way, when they drive their cattle from the borders of the Red Sea to the banks of the Nile; as alfo in their expeditions from fouth to north, when they leave their encampments in Barbar, to rob the Ababdé Arabs on the frontiers of Egypt.

Our first attention was to our camels, to whom we gave that day a double feed of dora, that they might drink for the rest of their journey, fhould the wells in the way prove fcant of water. We then washed in a large pool, the coldest water, I think, I ever felt, on account of its being in a cave covered with rock, and was inacceffible to the fun in any direction. All my people feemed to be greatly recovered by this refrigera tion, but from fome caufe or other, it fared otherwife with the Tucolory; one of whom died about an hour after our arrival, and another early the next morning.

Subordination,