were proud to show us several plans and sketches, at 20,000, about 5000 of whom are Franks.as well as drawings of fortifications and of different public buildings in Cairo, the execution of which was very respectable. We had no letter of introduction, but were treated with great politeness, and were shown through the whole of the premises. The masters appeared to be all Turks.

I was kindly entertained during my stay in Cairo at the house of the Rev. W. Krusie, of the Church Mission. There were at that time eight Protestant ministers in Cairo, perhaps an unprecedented occurrence; a clergyman of the Church of England on his travels; Messrs. Leider, Krusie, and Muller, stationed in Egypt; Mr. Gobat, on his way from Abyssinia to England; Mr. Iesenberg, on his way from England to Abyssinia; Mr. Bartholomew, and myself. I had the privilege of partaking with my brethren of the holy Sacrament, and on the Sabbath preached to a small congregation in English. The missionaries are principally employed in the superintendence of schools, but were in treaty for a place in which to attempt a public service in Arabic.

ALEXANDRIA.

THIS city was founded by Alexander the Great, under the direction of the same architect who rebuilt the temple of Diana at Ephesus. It was the capital of Egypt during the reign of the Ptolemies, and contained a population of 300,000 freemen, with the same number of slaves. It was second only to Rome, among all the cities of her empire. It was intersected by two magnificent streets, 2000 feet broad, one of which extended from the sea to the lake, and presented to the admiring passenger the sight of ships riding at anchor near both of its extremities. It holds a prominent place in history, especially under the early emperors of Rome. The ship belonged to this port in which Paul was wrecked at Melita. When taken by Amrou, the general of the caliph Omar, it had 4000 palaces, 4000 baths, and 400 places of amusement. The commerce between this city and Rome was considerable. The discovery of the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope destroyed the maritime superiority of Alexandria, and it can only be restored by a return of the eastern trade to its old channel of communication.

There are 3000 persons under the care of the British consulate, principally from Malta and the Ionian islands. At certain hours of the day, a greater number of Europeans than of natives is to be seen in the streets. The column called "Pompey's Pillar," is placed upon an eminence, and is seen to greatest advantage when emerging from the city in the direction in which it is situated.— It is one of the largest masses ever elevated by man, as the shaft is 90 feet long, and is composed of one entire piece of granite. The capital is 10 feet high, of the Corinthian order, and is the work of a much ruder period. The site is favorable to the supposition that it stood in the centre of some vast edifice. It was perhaps to commemorate the placing of the capital, or the re-erection of the column, that the inscription was cut, which has excited so many disputes among the learned, and given honor to men who little deserve it. The obelisks called "Cleopatra's Needles," are close to the sea-shore, one erect, and the other fallen, and nearly covered with earth. They are similar to those I saw in Upper Egypt, but the hieroglyphics are much less distinct, from their exposure to the sea breeze. There are several other places to which the name of Cleopatra is attached, with about equal authority. Another pile of ruins is said to be the site of the celebrated library destroyed by Omar's command. The catacombs are at some distance, and cannot be explored very far without difficulty: my other engagements did not allow me to visit them. In the convents are shown several relics, such as a picture painted by St. Luke, and the pulpit in which St. Mark preached. There are considerable spaces within the outer wall not occupied by any building, but mound after mound presents itself, the residue of what once was looked upon with wonder; and in the excavations that have recently been made, to procure stone for building, many pillars, capitals, and walls of extraordinary strength, have been laid open to the day. The city is still supplied with water by the ancient aqueducts, built with arches under the streets.

The European inhabitants are principally of the Roman Catholic persuasion. There are also many Greeks, and a few families of Copts and Armenians. The convents appear to flourish under the liberal sway of the pacha. The Jews are a numerous body. The Rev. J. Bartholomew, of the The present city may be compared to an an- Wesleyan mission, was the only resident Protescient lady, painted, patched, and powdered, and tant minister. I preached in the chapel to about trying to play the agreeable under her gray locks fifty persons, in English; but the performance of and wrinkled forehead. New walls are carried service was not generally known, as Mr. B. had over extensive ruins; Turkish palaces look out only arrived from the country the day before.upon Roman monuments; and hospitals and gra- There was a school in connection with the misnaries are built with stones cut by hands that sion, in which were 33 boys, of whom 16 were many centuries ago forgot their cunning. It is Greeks, 9 Italians, 5 Armenians, and 3 Arabs.situated upon a strip of sand between the Medi- Mr. B. preached on board one of the ships in the terranean sea and the lake Mareotis. It commu- harbor every Sabbath. Many persons of different nicates with the Nile by a canal dug by the pre-nations called upon him to converse on religious sent pacha, at immense expense, 47 miles long.The place bears marks of present prosperity, many large houses being in the course of erection, and the numerous flag-staffs that distinguish the residences of the European consuls are evidence that the interests of many nations are connected with its commerce. The present population is stated

subjects; and in this way it was hoped some good was done. There are many villages in the Delta, near to each other, in which the Copts are numerous. It would be well if schools could be established among them, as by this means access would gradually be gained to the people, and they might be brought under the preaching of the word

of God. The small force of the mission at pre- and great men came to learn from it wisdom: its sent precludes the possibility of an attempt that temples were crowded with worshippers, and its might be attended with the brightest results. river was covered with the swelling sails of its I embarked for Beirout, in Syria, in the Ran-multitude of vessels; it is now "the basest of kingger, and when we got under weigh, I looked to-doms." The oppressions that the people have wards the shore, and thought on the many important events that had there taken place. The palace of the pacha stands upon a peninsula between the two harbors. The site of the ancient Pharos has been swept into the sea. The ships anchor in the harbor furthest from the town, and it was then filled with ships of different descriptions from the western ports of Asia and all the principal ports of Europe. The number of men-of-war displaying the red flag with the crescent, one of which carried 130 guns, proclaimed the maritime power of the pacha. The harbor is difficult of access, having a bar of rocks at its entrance, and the coast on both sides is too low to be seen at any distance. We skirted the bay of Aboukir, in which was fought the battle of the Nile.

suffered have known no limit. Inhabiting one of the richest countries under heaven, the soil of which requires scarcely any culture to render it productive, they are destitute of the necessaries of life. Their moral condition is equally to be deplored. The Turks are the lords of the land, and no where have they been more proud or more cruel. The villagers are sunk into an awful degree of depravity: in no other place have I seen such shameful exposure of the person, both among males and females; and it is said, that there are crimes commonly committed among them to which I dare not more distinctly allude.

the greater firmness to Him who is the same, and whose years fail not, thankful that He who alone can save is willing "to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Jesus, seeing he ever liveth."

The sight of a ruin under any circumstances, is an impressive sign of the instability of the things of earth; but in contemplating the columns of Since its foundation by Alexander the great, Egypt, it cannot be forgotten that not merely a and its reception of his remains in a sarcophagus few generations have passed away since their of gold, Alexandria has been alternately a queen erection, but that even the mightiest empires the among the nations, and a slave to the oppressor, world ever saw, were founded, and flourished, and and its history is not without stirring pages that fell, within the same period: thus the voice with claim deep attention. In the time of the Ptolemies which they speak gathers fresh energy from every it was the metropolis of Egypt, it drew from proud century that is added to their age; and we not only Tyre her resources, and became the mart of the ask, What is man?-we ask, too, What would commerce of the East: it was near this place that man be, were even a thousand years added to his Pompey was murdered within sight of his wife threescore and ten? The soul then feels its need Cornelia; and that the great Cæsar and the un-of some support that is eternal, and cleaves with fortunate Marc Antony yielded themselves captive to the charms of the worthless Cleopatra: it gave birth to Apollos, the mighty in the Scriptures: the evangelist Mark here preached the humbling doctrines of the cross, and sealed them with his blood: it afforded refuge to 100,000 Jews, and In the infancy of the human race, Egypt rose to under Nero its streets were red with their blood: a situation of great pre-eminence among the nait was here that the translation of the Septuagint tions of the world. Its climate was a delightful was made, opening the volume of truth to the mean between the extremes of heat and cold. whole of the then civilized world, and that the most There being little rain, the labored erection of ancient copy of the Scriptures now in existence substantial dwellings was not necessary: the was penned by Thecla, a noble virgin; it was plains required little trouble to cultivate them, and here that the monastic life originated, that Arius their riches could never be exhausted. The wandenied the divinity of his Redeemer, Athanasius de-dering habits of the patriarchal families were here fended the truth, and Origen commenced his allegories, all of which have had their different influence upon the church: it was here that the eclectic philosophy flourished, the corrupter of the simplicity of the gospel: its skies have been blackened by the smoke of 700,000 volumes thrown to the flames by the bigotted Omar; then come Saladin, and Richard the lion-hearted, and the crusaders, and as a grand conclusion, Nelson and Napoleon have fought, and Abercromby died, within a few miles of its walls.

I quitted Egypt with some regret that it was not in my power to spend a longer period in investigating its antiquities; but I remembered that I had duties of a higher kind that required my attention. No man with eyes to see, and a heart to feel can look upon this country in its present degradation, and compare it with its former greatness without learning an instructive lesson. It once ɛat in majesty, and kings came to do it homage,

first repressed, as it was impossible that they could proceed further to the westward on account of the Libyan desert, and it was equally out of their power to migrate in the valley of the Nile, the constitution of the soil being adapted for tillage rather than for pasturage, and requiring a fixed settlement in those who were wishful to reap its advantages. This may have been one reason why "every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians."

Under a paternal government, the people of Egypt might have been the happiest nation upon earth, but as in too many similar instances, that which appeared to be their greatest advantage proved their greatest bane. They had leisure, and their thoughts, free from the anxieties of other lands, were swelled to compass that which was magnificent, from looking by day at the majestic fronts of their numerous mountains, which though of no great elevation have much in them of the sublime, and from gazing by night at the bright luminaries of the sky, through the clear firmament under which they reposed. The leisure and the mag

nificent thought were both seized upon by the kings The hieroglyphics upon the temples of Egypt and priests, and employed in works that required the bending of united strength to one common object. They first scooped out caves, then cut the rocks into columns, sanctuaries, and gigantic statues, of one single stone; and by degrees exhibited greater boldness and science, and upreared temples. There is great simplicity about all their productions, and a heaviness in their conceptions, compared with the more luxuriant imaginations of the Indian architects. There is little about any of their remains that expands the mind with that force it feels when looking at an extensive prospect in nature, or that excites the pleasurable emotions it experiences when examining a finished work of art. The thoughts dwell only on the builder: we are astonished at what he has done, but the soul feels as if burdened by the mass of materials that are crowded together, and cannot move with freedom, or be prompted to grandeur in its reveries. It was because the ancients were unacquainted with the principle of the arch, that all their temples are either too narrow, or too crowded with pillars. The temple at Karnac is to be excepted from these conclusions, as time has robbed it of its massy roof, and opened an inlet for the admission of "the thoughts that wander through eternity."

have ever been regarded with great interest.Their meaning was for many ages involved in obscurity. Clemens Alexandrinus spoke of a description of writing "by means of the initial sounds of words;" but it was not known until lately what was the meaning of the author. In 1814, the French discovered, near Rosetta, a slab, with an inscription in three different characters-the sacred, the vernacular, and the Greek. By a comparison of the three it was found that the hieroglyphics represented names by the initial letter of the word that expresses the figure drawn upon the stone, in the common language of the country.— Thus, in our own language, to express the term lion, the hieroglyphics might be a lotus, an ibis, an octagon, and a negro. The names of princes are encircled in an oval, and I was able to make out, from the published alphabet, the result of much patient investigation, the names of several princes known in history. Mr. Salt, by this method, discovered the name of TIRHAKA, which occurs, 2 Kings, xix. 9, of whose existence the enemies of revelation had affected to doubt, because it is not mentioned by any profane historian. There are also two other descriptions of hieroglyphics, that may be called the simple and the metaphorical. The simple is the most ancient, and gives The tale has been often repeated that the sepoys a direct representation, as a man for a man, or a that joined the British army in the war against bird for a bird. The metaphorical is more comNapoleon, performed their devotions in the temple plex, as it gives a scarabeus to represent the at Denderah, as if they had taken it for one of their oblique course of the sun, or the act of mundane own places of worship. The anecdote, perhaps, formation, or the reproduction of the world after rests upon too strong proof to be questioned; but the destruction to which it is periodically subject. it is contrary to the known customs of the Hin- The initial must have been used after the invendoos. They do not acknowledge a place that has tion of the alphabet. The grounds upon which it once been desecrated, and the wonderful cave at present rests are questionable, and little protemples near Bombay have no attendant priest-gress has been made beyond the discovery of a hood, and scarcely a single worshipper. I did not few proper names; but it is hoped that further discover so much similarity between the Brami-researches will complete the system, and render nical temples and the Egyptian as to prove an it applicable as well to abstract terms. indentity of religion, though I must confess that I am not deeply versed in either superstition, being most conversant with Buddhism. The most prominent examples I observed were the lingam, the lotus, and the hanshaya, or king of birds. The unsightly symbol of the phallus is exhibited in all its grossness in many places, particularly at Karnac, and its popularity in India, as the common form of an idol, I need not repeat. In history a few more particulars may be noticed, such as the use of brazen vessels, cleaned every day; the shaving of every part of the body by the priesthood; their confinement to one mode of dress; their frequent ablutions; their veneration for cows, and their abhorrence of swine. These observances, common to both religions, may prove that they derived their origin from one source, but were differently modified to meet their different circumstances. The simplicity of the Egyptian architecture may argue its superior antiquity. To express power, the Deity was formed in colossal proportions, and the Hindoos used the same method for the same purpose, but in addition gave to the idol a multitude of arms, an idea which was probably intended to be a refinement upon the African usage. The thought might be extended, but the controversy cannot be entered into within the narrow limits to which these observations are intended to be confined.

It is much to be regretted that some one of competent abilities does not spend a short time in Egypt for the express purpose of illustrating the Scriptures. This regret came to me with peculiar force when examining the caves of Beni Hassan, the paintings in which are of the most interesting description. In one cave there are figures of wrestlers, in at least a hundred different attitudes, and various other games are represented in separate compartments. A number of females appear to be playing at the rough game of leap-frog, and others at ball. There are washermen beating the clothes against a stone, and others wringing them out; blacksmiths, hunters, and fishermen ; houses, flowers, and musical instruments; men exciting bulls to fight, and driving cattle as if to market; children riding upon asses in panniers; the sacrificing of bulls and human beings; the various processes of ploughing, sowing, reaping, treading out the corn, and housing it in the granary; groups of cattle, antelopes, asses, and dogs; lions and tigers; men shooting at game with arrows; weighing in a balance, hauling boats, and rowing; marriage processions; in fact, a peep is given at most of the common transactions of life as they took place in the olden time, not after the crude imagination of a modern painter, but in all the force and fire of living truth. There are two harpers,

with instruments of a form more simple, and per- limits. The conscription for the army has been haps more ancient, than those in the tombs of one of the greatest hardships they have suffered. Bruce. The dresses, the manner of carrying bur- We saw many villages in succession, where the dens suspended from the end of a stick placed only inhabitants were old men, women, and childupon the shoulders, the way of guiding boats by ren. To prevent themselves from being pressed, an oar instead of a rudder, are exact representa- they subject themselves to all kinds of mutilation: tions of the present customs of India, proving the the boatmen of the canja in which we sailed were similarity of manners in the early ages, and the one morning busy in pulling out each others teeth, antiquity of the usages of India, where to say "it and when we inquired the reason, they said it was to is customary," is thought a sufficient excuse for prevent their being taken to serve as soldiers when acts in themselves the most absurd. The sooner they arrived at Cairo. The pacha has caused proa mission is commenced for the preservation of vincial assemblies to be formed, with a central asthese and other relics of antiquity, the better, assembly that is composed of deputies from all the they would throw great light upon many passages provinces, and has regularly met in the capital of the Bible, and every successive day adds some-since 1829. He has divided the country into dething to the destruction of these valuable records. partments, and has promulgated a penal code. A In some of the same caves the pillars are cluster- newspaper has been established at Cairo in Turked with ribs bound round by a cord near the capi-ish and Arabic, and another at Alexandria in tal, and a wedge driven within the cord to render French, in which some interesting papers have it tight; the whole cut out of the rock, as if to re-appeared on the present state of Egypt and Syria, present the clustering of the stems in the wooden the Nile, the pyramids, the Druses, &c. There is pillars then used in the common houses. In the religious toleration; the pacha is known to have same way, it has been supposed that the arch and read parts of the Scriptures, and is supposed to be clustered pillar of Gothic architecture have been favorably disposed towards Christianity. Several taken from the view presented by a vista of palms. schools are in vigorous existence, in each of which 1 have often been struck with this idea whilst are more than a thousand boys, educated, clothed, walking through a grove of young cocoa-nut trees and fed, at the expense of government. Teleby torchlight, and have almost fancied myself to graphs and steam-boats are in active operation, be treading the aisles of some ancient monastery and gas has been introduced into the palace at or cathedral. Shoobra. In some of the hospitals there are acThe present aspect of Egypt is not more inte- commodations for upwards of a thousand patients; resting to the moralist, the man of science, and and connected with them there is a school of anathe biblical student, than it is to the politician and tomy, and a vaccine establishment. The quaranthe philanthropist. The pacha has thrown off the tine laws are not a mere nominal restraint, as the yoke of the sultan; his son Ibrahim has conquer- plague was last year kept out of the country, ed Syria; and it was only the interference of the though it was brought by the pilgrims, and numChristian powers that prevented him from enter- bers died of it in the lazaretto at Alexandria. The ing the gates of Constantinople. Mahomet Ali, pacha has erected large cotton manufactories in though upwards of 60 years of age, retains all the all the principal towns; at Cairo he has extensive vivacity of youth, and is as restless, as active, and manufactories of cannon, fire-arms, swords, gunas attentive to business, as at the time when he en- powder, calico, and cotton prints; the granaries tered upon his first intrigue. He was indefatigable at Alexandria are the most extensive I have ever in raising supplies for the army of his son. He ap- seen; and the dock-yards exhibit a scene of acpears not only to sustain by his own single strength tivity not often to be equalled. He has many artthe whole machine of government, but also to pay ists, engineers, and mechanics in his employ, from personal attention to the progress of every separate England and other parts of Europe, who are libemovement. I saw him in his dock-yard, where he rally paid, and the latest inventions are immehad a temporary place erected to which he daily diately adopted. Several youths have been sent resorted to superintend the building of three ships to England and France to receive instruction in of the line, then upon the stocks. There is nothing the arts and sciences. The canals have been imof majesty in his appearance, and there were no proved, and the cutting of the Machmoudieh from ornaments about his dress: he is low in stature; the Nile to Alexandria, is in itself sufficient to imhe has a grave, care-worn countenance, with a mortalize his name. Every facility is offered to long gray beard, and a sinister expression about the establishment of a steam navigation with Inhis eye, which must be keen and piercing when dia; wells have already been dug in the desert; lighted up with interest or flashing with the fire of and it is intended soon to fit out an expedition to anger. There are dark spots in his character, discover the sources of the Nile. It is not allowbut when compared with any other of the pachas ed that any article shall be imported that can poswho have for a time successfully braved the pow-sibly be made in the country, and its resources are er of the Sublime Porte, such as the djezzar of made to tell to their greatest possible extent. Acre, or the robber of Ioannina, he deserves our These things would excite our warmest admipraise, and almost commands admiration. The provinces under his command are ruled with vigor, and in what does not concern his own advantage, the inferior chiefs are required to execute justice without partiality, and to defend the people from oppression. To Egypt he has been a Scourge, and the restlessness of his ambition has brought grief into almost every family within its

ration, were the end to which these mighty energies are directed in any way conducive to the happiness of his people; but money and men, with a profusion that knows no bounds, have been sacrificed at the altar of his own ambition, and treasure has been wasted, and blood has been shed, to gain a name among the nations, that may be the wonder of a moment, and then pass out of

In

remembrance for ever. There is a monopoly of them. Like all fallen churches, they are much cotton, silk, flax, sugar, coffee, tobacco, and almost attached to days and forms. I attended their every other article of commerce, and the pacha worship in Cairo, and was pleased to find that the has been pronounced the greatest merchant in service was conducted in Coptic and Arabic, the world. In agriculture he is equally great, as though I fear that the style is too antiquated to the country is one vast farm, and all the peasants be generally understood. I had to pass through are his laborers. These measures of political a long narrow passage before I entered the church. economy partake of the old school in which he It had pictures, but was less splendid than the was educated, the restraints of which he has not churches of the Greeks. The dresses of the been able entirely to set aside, and by their nar- priests are comparatively plain, and a great part row policy they oppress his people and impoverish of the service was read by boys. There might his coffers, whilst they seem to be an act of great- be about 200 persons present. The women were ness and the readiest means of producing the separated from the men by a latticed screen. most extensive good. The pacha is now in re- cense was very plentifully burnt, both before the ality independent, and as peace has been pro-altar, and before some old men, whom I took to be claimed, if his life should be spared, he will have dignitaries of the church. The people were attena favorable opportunity to repay the Egyptians tive, and had long crutches to lean upon if fafor the eminence to which they have raised him: tigued by the length of the prayers. The Roman and if he now turn his whole attention to the in- Catholic priests are sent to Egypt as a place of ternal concerns of the state, and bend the ener- banishment, when they have subjected themselves gies of his mind to the promotion of their welfare; to punishment, and it is not to be expected that if he give them liberty, and raise their minds by with such men at its head, popery can be proeducation to a standard commensurate with his gressive in the land. There are a few Abyssiown political rank; above all, if he permit the nian convents upon the Nile, but they are not free distribution of the word of God, and the pub- very numerously tenanted. The Armenians are lic preaching of "the unsearchable riches of the most wealthy and respectable of the Christian Christ," all that they have hitherto suffered may bodies not already noticed. Little direct impresbe forgotten, and he may go down to the grave sion has yet been made in Egypt by the missionamidst the tears and lamentations of a grateful aries, either upon the Mussulmans or nominal people. There are few sovereigns at present in Christians, but schools are established, many priexistence who have greater personal power than vate conversations have been held with natives of Mahomet Ali, the son of an Albanian aga, and all classes, and tracts and copies of the Scriptures when it is remembered from what he has raised have been extensively circulated. The good men himself, and by what means, it must be acknow- who are here laboring in the cause of Christ deledged that he is a great man: he has a mind serve an especial interest in the prayers of the that can form extensive plans, a courage to attempt church. It must always be an arduous task to exertheir execution, and a wisdom to collect together cise the ministry in a foreign language and a foreign the resources by which they may be brought to a land, but in places like Egypt, where men live for successful end. years, and after all their exertions and all their prayThe people of Egypt are divided into Copts, ers, see little apparent success, the task is increasArab Fellahs, and Bedouin Arabs. There are ed to an arduousness that none can understand, but also living among them many Turks, Jews, Greeks, those who have felt the same; and when the serSyrians, Armenians, and Berberries and other vants of Christ are still found at their posts, continublacks. The language at present spoken is the ing their apparently useless exertions, and their apArabic. The Copts are Christians, and are sup-parently unheard prayers, there is evidence of a sinposed to be the descendants of the ancient Egyp-cerity, and of a love for perishing souls, that ought tians, though there is little resemblance in their to command our sympathy, and excite our gratifeatures to the ancient statues. Their population tude to God, whose grace is thus manifested in is stated at 160,000, but I should think that this them. number is below the truth. The Fellahs are said to amount to 2,250,000, and the Bedouins to 150,000 they are all Mussulmans. The Turks are the rulers of the people, the Copts are the secretaries of government, the Jews, Armenians, Syrians, Greeks, and some of the Copts, are merchants, the Fellahs constitute the peasantry, the Bedouins wander in the deserts, and the Berberries and other blacks are household slaves.

The Copts are most numerous in Cairo and the villages of Upper Egypt. They are known by their dark turbans, and have generally a melancholy expression of countenance. The Coptic is an ancient church, has had some bright ornaments, and suffered much persecution. The priests are ignorant, never being educated for the office, and drunkenness is a common crime among them. They do not prohibit the circulation of the Scriptures, but this is perhaps more from indifference than good will, as they seldom read

Some sixty years ago, Egypt was visited by two Moravian missionaries, men of great enterprise, one of whom was bastinadoed by Osman Beg, that the money in his possession might be extorted from him, but he bore bravely the utmost rigor of the sentence, and still refused to give up the important trust that had been placed in his hands: the other died at Cairo. They met with some success among the Coptic villagers, but appear to have had little direct intercourse with the Mussulmans.

The prophecies relative to Egypt were many of them fulfilled immediately after their announcement: there are others, the force of which continues to our own day. It was declared by the Lord, through the mouth of Ezekiel, "I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries." It is evident that there must at some time have been a great dispersion of the people, or a general and most cruel