I have only to add, that were it probable, as in my decayed state of health it is not, that I should live to see a second edition of this work, all well-founded, judicious remarks suggested should be gratefully and carefully attended to; but I do solemnly declare to the public in general, that I never will refute or answer any cavils, captious, or idle objections, such as every new publication seems unavoidably to give birth to, nor ever reply to those witticisms and criticisms that appear in newspapers and periodical writings. What I have written I have written. My readers have before them, in the present volumes, all that I shall ever say, directly or indirectly, upon the subject; and I do, without one moment’s anxiety, trust my defence to an impartial, well-informed, and judicious public.
CONTENTS
OF THE
FIRST VOLUME.
| Dedication. | |
| [Introduction], | Page i |
| [BOOK I.] | |
|---|---|
| THE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY AND VOYAGE FROM SIDON TILL HISARRIVAL AT MASUAH. | |
| [CHAP. I.] | |
| The Author sails from Sidon—Touches at Cyprus—Arrives atAlexandria—Sets out for Rosetto—Embarks on the Nile, andarrives at Cairo, | 1 |
| [CHAP. II.] | |
| Author’s Reception at Cairo—Procures Letters from the Bey andthe Greek Patriarch—Visits the Pyramids—Observations on theirConstruction, | 24 |
| [CHAP. III.] | |
| Leaves Cairo—Embarks on the Nile for Upper Egypt—Visits Metrahennyand Mohannan—Reasons for supposing this the Situation of Memphis, | 43 |
| [CHAP. IV.] | |
| Leaves Metrahenny—Comes to the Island Halouon—False Pyramid—TheseBuildings end—Sugar Canes—Ruins of Antinopolis—Reception there, | 69 |
| [CHAP. V.] | |
| Voyage to Upper Egypt continued—Ashmounein, Ruins there—GaweKibeer Ruins—Mr Norden mistaken—Achmim—Convent of Catholics—Denaera—MagnificentRuins—Adventure with a Saint there, | 91 |
| [CHAP VI.] | |
| Arrives at Furshout—Adventure of Friar Christopher—Visits Thebes—Luxorand Carnac—Large Ruins at Edfu and Esné—Proceeds on his Voyage, | 114 |
| [CHAP. VII.] | |
| Arrives at Syene—Goes to see the Cataract—Remarkable Tombs—TheSituation of Syene—The Aga proposes a visit to Deir and Ibrim—The Author returns to Kenné, | 150 |
| [CHAP. VIII.] | |
| The Author sets out from Kenné—Crosses the Desert of the Thebaid—Visitsthe Marble Mountains—Arrives at Cosseir on the RedSea—Transactions there, | 169 |
| [CHAP. IX.] | |
| Voyage to Jibbel Zumrud—Returns to Cosseir—Sails from Cosseir—JassateenIslands—Arrives at Tor, | 204 |
| [CHAP. X.] | |
| Sails from Tor—Passes the Elanitic Gulf—Sees Raddua—Arrivesat Yambo—Incidents there—Arrives at Jidda, | 239 |
| [CHAP. XI.] | |
| Occurrences at Jidda—Visit of the Vizir—Alarm of the Factory—GreatCivility of the English trading from India—Polygamy—Opinionof Dr Arbuthnot ill-founded—Contrary to Reason and Experience—Leaves Jidda, | 265 |
| [CHAP. XII.] | |
| Sails from Jidda—Konsodah—Ras Heli, Boundary of Arabia Felix—Arrivesat Loheia—Proceeds to the Straits of the Indian Ocean—Arrivesthere—Returns by Azab to Loheia, | 294 |
| [CHAP. XIII.] | |
| Sails for Masuah—Passes a Volcano—Comes to Dahalac—Troubledwith a Ghost—Arrives at Masuah, | 327 |
| [BOOK II.] | |
| ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST AGES OF THE INDIAN AND AFRICANTRADE—THE FIRST PEOPLING OF ABYSSINIA AND ATBARA—SOMECONJECTURES CONCERNING THE ORIGIN OFLANGUAGE THERE. | |
| [CHAP. I.] | |
| Of the Indian Trade in its earliest Ages—Settlement of Ethiopia—Troglodytes—Buildingof the first Cities, | 365 |
| [CHAP. II.] | |
| Saba and the South of Africa peopled—Shepherds, their particularEmployment and Circumstances—Abyssinia occupied by seven StrangerNations—Specimens of their several Languages—Conjecturesconcerning them, | 381 |
| [CHAP. III.] | |
| Origin of Characters or Letters—Ethiopic the first Language—Howand why the Hebrew Letter was formed, | 411 |
| [CHAP. IV.] | |
| Some Account of the Trade-Winds and Monsoons—Application of thisto the Voyage to Ophir and Tarshish, | 427 |
| [CHAP. V.] | |
| Fluctuating State of the India Trade—Hurt by military Expeditionsof the Persians—Revives under the Ptolemies—Falls to Decay under the Romans, | 447 |
| [CHAP. VI.] | |
| Queen of Saba visits Jerusalem—Abyssinian Tradition concerning Her—Supposed Founder of that Monarchy—Abyssinia embraces the Jewish Religion—Jewish Hierarchy still retained by the Fatasha—Some Conjectures concerning their Copy of the Old Testament, | 471 |
| [CHAP. VII.] | |
| Books in use in Abyssinia—Enoch—Abyssinia not converted by the Apostles—Conversion from Judaism to Christianity by Frumentius, | 493 |
| [CHAP. VIII.] | |
| War of the Elephant—First Appearance of the Small-Pox—Jews persecute the Christians in Arabia—Defeated by the Abyssinians—Mahomet pretends a Divine Mission—Opinion concerning the Koran—Revolution under Judith—Restoration of the Line of Solomon from Shoa, | 510 |
TRAVELS
TO DISCOVER
THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.
BOOK I.
THE AUTHOR’S TRAVELS IN EGYPT—VOYAGE IN THE RED SEA, TILL HIS ARRIVAL AT MASUAH.
CHAP. I.
The Author sails from Sidon—Touches at Cyprus—Arrives at Alexandria—Sets out for Rosetto—Embarks on the Nile—and arrives at Cairo.
It was on Saturday the 15th of June, 1768, I sailed in a French vessel from Sidon, once the richest and most powerful city in the world, though now there is not remaining a shadow of its ancient grandeur. We were bound for the island of Cyprus; the weather clear and exceedingly hot, the wind favourable.
This island is not in our course for Alexandria, but lies to the northward of it; nor had I, for my own part, any curiosity to see it. My mind was intent upon more uncommon, more distant, and more painful voyages. But the master of the vessel had business of his own which led him thither; with this I the more readily complied, as we had not yet got certain advice that the plague had ceased in Egypt, and it still wanted some days to the Festival of St John, which is supposed to put a period to that cruel distemper[49].
We observed a number of thin, white clouds, moving with great rapidity from south to north, in direct opposition to the course of the Etesian winds; these were immensely high. It was evident they came from the mountains of Abyssinia, where, having discharged their weight of rain, and being pressed by the lower current of heavier air from the northward, they had mounted to possess the vacuum, and returned to restore the equilibrium to the northward, whence they were to come back, loaded with vapour from Mount Taurus, to occasion the overflowing of the Nile, by breaking against the high and rugged mountains of the south.