if he would profecute his purposes farther. He however determined now to vifit Egypt, where he might examine the most ancient remains of architecture. Norden, Pococke, and others, had already given general accounts of the Egyptian architecture; but he wished to obferve the proportions of their columus, and the general construction of their buildings. Observations which he might thus add to his former stock would furnish materials for a pleasant and useful amusement in his old age. A letter which he now received from M. de Buffon contributed fomewhat to make him alter his refolution. M. de Buffon, M. Guys, and feveral other French philofophers of great refpectability of character, had obtained for him a moveable quadrant from the "French king's own military academy at Marseilles." A letter from Mr. Ruffel informed him, that the aftronomers of Europe were now less fanguine in their hopes of difcovering the fun's parallax by the obfervation of the tranfit of Venus; and that a journey into Abyffinia, to explore the history of that country, would be confidered as a much more important fervice to learning. A letter from his correspondent at Alexandria, at the fame time informed him that the quadrant and his other instruments were ready in that city. TRAVELS TRAVELS TO DISC DISCOVER THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. BOOK I. THE AUTHOR'S TRAVELS IN EGYPT. VOYAGE IN THE RED SEA, TILL HIS ARRIVAL AT MASUAH. Ο N Saturday the 15th of June 1768, Mr. Bruce failed from the once opulent and powerful city of Sidon, for the ifland of Cyprus. Proceeding towards Cyprus, he obferved a number of thin white clouds, which came evidently from the mountains of Abyffinia, and were flitting towards Mount Taurus, to bring new ftores of vapour, to occafion the overflowing of the Nile. On the 16th, at dawn of day, he obferved a high hill, which he took for Mount Olympus. The reft of the island foon after appeared in view. Cyprus remained long undiscovered by the ancient navigators of thofe feas. It was not known at the building of Tyre, 500 years after ships had begun to pass around it. At its difcovery it was covered over with wood. On the weft fide of the island the wood ftill remains thick and impervious. Large ftags and wild boars of a monstrous fize find fhelter there; and the inhabitants affirm, that even an elephant was alive there not many years ago. A great many medals, though very few of them good, are dug up in Cyprus; filver ones, of very excellent workman thip, are found near Paphos, of very little value in the eyes of Antiquarians, being chiefly of towns, of the fize of those found at Crete and Rhodes, and all the islands of the Archipelago. In Taglios there are fome few, part in a very excellent Greek ftile, and generally upon better ftones than ufual in the islands. On the 17th of June they left Lernica, about four o'clock in the afternoon, and on the 18th, a little before twelve o'clock, a very fresh and favourable breeze came from the N. W. and they pointed their prow directly, as they thought, upon Alexandria. The 20th of June, early in the morning, our traveller had a diftant prospect 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, raise our expectations of the confequence of the ruins we are to find; but the moment we are in port, the illu fion ends, and we diftinguish the immenfe Herculean works of ancient times, now few in number, from the ill-imagined, illconstructed, and imperfect buildings of the several barbarous mafters of Alexandria in later ages. There are two ports, the Old and the New, which are by no means fafe, as many veffels are frequently loft while riding at anchor. Alexandria has been often taken fince the time of Cæsar*. It was at last destroyed by the Venetians and Cypriots, upon, or rather after the release of St. Lewis.-The building of the prefent gates and walls, which fome have thought to be antique, does not feem earlier than the last restoration in the 13th century. Some parts of the gates and walls may be of older date (and probably were thofe of the last Caliphs be fore Salidan) but, except these, and the pieces of columns which lie horizontally in different parts of the wall, every thing else is apparently of very late times, and the work has been When it was taken by the Saracens, Amrou, general of the victorious ar my, wrote thus to the Calfph: "I have taken the city of the Weft. It is of immenfe extent. It contains innumerable wonders. There are in it 4000 baths. 12,000 dealers in fresh oil, 4000 Jews who pay tribute, 400 comedians," &c. "Burn these books, faid Omar, with respect to the famous library collected by the Ptolemies if they fay nothing but what is in the Koran they are ufelefs: if any thing contradictory to it, dangerous," been huddled together in great haste. There is nothing beautiful or pleasant in the present Alexandria, but a handsome street of modern houses, where a very active and intelligent number of merchants live upon the miferable remnants of that trade, which made its glory in the first times. It is thinly inhabited, and there is a tradition among the natives, that, more than once, it has been in agitation to abandon it altogether, and retire to Rofetto or Cairo, but that they have been withheld by the opinion of divers faints from Arabia, who have afsured them, that 'Mecca being destroyed, (as it must be, as they think, by the Ruffians) Alexandria is then to become the ho❤ ly place, and that Mahomet's body is to be transported thither. On Mr. Bruce's arrival at Alexandria, he found that the plague had raged in that city and neighbourhood from the beginning of March, and that two days only before their ar rival, people had begun to open their houfes and communicate with each other; but it was no matter, St. John's day was past, the miraculous nuca, or dew, had fallen, and every body went about their ordinary business in safety, and without fear. Here Mr. Bruce received his instruments, and found them in good condition. Our traveller being now prepared for any enterprise, he left with eagerness the thread-bare inquiries into the meagre remains of this once-famous capital of Egypt.-The journey to Rofetto is always performed by land, as the mouth of the branch of the Nile leading to Rofetto, called the Bogaz, is very fhallow and dangerous to pass, and often tedious; befides, nobody wishes to be a partner for any time in a voyage with Egyptian failors, if he can poffibly avoid it. The journey by land is also reputed dangerous, and people travel burdened with arms, which they are determined never to ufe. All Egypt is full of deep duft and fand, from the beginning of March to the first of the inundation. It is this fine powder and fand, raised and loosened by the heat of the fun, and want of dew, and not being tied faft, as it were, by any root or vegetation, which the Nile carries off with it, and buries in the fea, and which many ignorantly fuppofe comes from Abyffinia, D |