the poorer class; who accompany the camels at stated hours of departure, and sell it at so much per skin. There is an agent here appointed by the English Consul at Alexandria; a Copt, whom we visited; he seemed anxious that the steam-boat communication from India should be more frequent; he said they had a large supply of coals when necessary. The present town is entered by a gate on the eastern side, which conducts to another wall, having passed which, the traveller finds himself surrounded by a miserable set of houses, built of bricks dried in the sun; the walls, and some of the court-yards, being constructed of large shells joined together by mud. There are four mosques, (one of which has a minaret), the palace of the Governor, and two large khans. From its central situation, the inhabitants of many provinces meet here to transact business — the Syrian with the Ethiopian; the Tribes of the Desert with the provinces of Lower Egypt. This also serves to give some occupation to a miserable set of wretches, who call themselves guides or ciceroni. The Gulf of Suez communicates with the Red Sea, which divides the shores of Africa and Arabia. There has been much dispute respecting the origin of the name of this sea. There can be no doubt that the Mare Erythræum of the ancients was the Indian Ocean which joined the Persian Gulf. This word might probably be derived from Erythas, a son of Perseus and Andromeda, who was drowned in that sea; but the more generally received opinion is that related by Browne, in his "Travels in Africa, 1793." "At Suez I observed, in the shallow parts of the adjacent sea, a species of weed, which, in the sunshine, appeared to be red coral, being of a hue between scarlet and crimson, and of a spongy feel and quality. I know not if any use be made of it, nor am I acquainted with its Arabic name, but it strikes me that if found in great quantities at any former period, it have given the recent name to this sea; for this was the Arabian Gulf may of the Ancients. This weed may perhaps be the suph of the Hebrews, whence Yam suph, their name for this sea." In the time of the Ptolemies, the ancient town, near the site of the present, was named Arsinoe, and afterwards Cleopatride; its site may yet be recognized in a mount called Kolzum, of which the present town occupies the extremity. There may still be traced some remains of a conduit from the Beer Naba, but of the extent or importance of the ancient town we have little account, no monument or temple remains; the sand of the Desert has nearly obliterated every vestige of its site. As there was little inducement to remain within the walls, I returned to the tent, it being our intention to proceed on the journey the same day; but one of the camels (belonging to my friend Mr. Bonomi) being found unable to bear the journey, we were obliged to part with it. This delayed our departure until nine A. M. the following morning; but, in the mean time, afforded me an opportunity of obtaining a sketch of the town, and giving some idea of its desolate appearance. It may be regarded as a place of some interest, but certainly not possessing much picturesque beauty. Our little caravan proceeded this morning along the sea coast, nearly in a northerly direction; there was nothing of interest on either side. We were now passing round the end of the Gulf. About 2 p. m., we arrived at the principal well (the Beer Naba) that supplies Suez with water; at this well we remained about two hours to repose; we then entered amongst a variety of sandy hillocks, which bore a very singular appearance. It is across this narrow part of the extremity of the Gulf, that many travellers imagine the Israelites passed, on their departure from Egypt; but the probability seems to be in favour of those who assert that the passage was made farther south. The expression contained in Exodus xiii. 18 v., "But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea," certainly implies that they journeyed in a southerly direction from the city of Pharaoh; as in the verse preceding it is expressly stated “that God led them not through the land of the Philistines, although that was near." We had now turned the end of the Gulf, and were arriving at a more interesting part of the coast. A quantity of green shrubs springing from the numerous hillocks, as also a few date trees, (none of which had arrived at any maturity) were sufficient evidence that we were near the springs called Ayoun Mousa, or the " Fountains of Moses." From here From here may be distinctly seen the mountains on the opposite coast, where the children of Israel encamped by the sea* (Exodus xiv. 2), the name Peha-hiroth signifying the mouth or opening of Hiroth. This aperture may still be seen; and, as it would lead in almost a direct line to these fountains, it is very probable that at this place the Israelites obtained a supply of water previous to their further wanderings, as we are informed on their journeying into the wilderness of Shur (Exodus xv. 22), "they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water." I could not but regard the scene around me with the greatest interest, for it was here that one of the greatest miracles had been displayed by the Almighty power, in the preservation of a people who, in succeeding ages, were to bear so important a part in the history of the world; and who, at the present day, still wandering, but enjoying influence, amongst the different nations of the globe, after suffering the greatest oppression and cruelties, form a convincing proof that the power of man, though permitted to afflict, has never been able to destroy. "For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord: because they call * From these fountains may be plainly seen a wonderful aperture in the mountains on the other side of the Red Sea, through and from which the children of Israel entered into the Red Sea, when Pharaoh and his host were drowned; which aperture is situated west-south-west from these fountains of Moses; and the breadth of the sea hereabouts, where the children of Israel passed it, is about four or five hours journey. But from Suez, by land, to these fountains would be seven or eight hours journey. (Journal from Cairo to Mount Sinai in the year 1722 by the Prefect of the Franciscans in Egypt.) thee an outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after." (Jeremiah, xxx. 17.) At this spot, the voices and hearts of the multitude joined those of their leader in praise for their deliverance: how beautiful are the expressions recorded in the song of Moses; Exodus xv. It was near sun-set when we arrived at the springs, which rise out of the ground at various places, but are soon absorbed by the sand. I found them of a very brackish quality, in consequence, perhaps, of their being so near the sea, but cool and refreshing, affording a desirable place for our first night's repose from Suez. The Arabs performed their ablutions and prayers, whilst I occupied myself, previous to repose, in making notes and memoranda of this very interesting spot. The next morning, at four o'clock, we left these fountains, continuing our route by the side of the Red Sea, over a perfectly level plain of sand and small stones; to our left were the chain of the Ruhut Mountains. This plain, which forms part of the great Desert, is designated by the name of the Wady Onardar, or Wilderness of Shur. The travelling was tedious and uninteresting, and I was glad of a repose at mid-day for four hours. We then continued over the same level plain for about three hours, when we pitched the tent for the night, and regarded, with extreme interest, the mountains to the south, and the prospect of some variety in the following day's journey. We were in readiness in the morning by five, and soon began to ascend several hills of sand; this variety afforded me great pleasure, as well as the prospect of soon arriving at the fountain called by the Arabs "Howara." It was half past ten A. M. when we reached this spring; but the water was really not drinkable; even the camels seemed hardly inclined to touch it. This, from its bitter quality, is generally thought to be the Well of Marah, where the Israelites murmured against Moses, and where he performed the miracle recorded Exodus xv. 25. We remained at this place about three hours, and soon afterwards entered a delightful valley called the Wady Ghirandel, which corresponds exactly to the valley of Elim, Exodus xv. 27. There were a variety of trees and shrubs, that, particularly, called by the Arabs "chaseam," a kind of thorny tree, of which the camels are very fond. I also noticed a few date trees. We were enclosed by low, rugged mountains;, but, after travelling for three hours, our Sheik Mousa was unable to resist the temptation of remaining in a spot which afforded such excellent pasturage for the camels. He also made the excuse of fetching some good water from a place about an hour's journey in the mountains. Nothing loath to agree to his proposal, we pitched the tents, and enjoyed a repose which the heat of the day rendered doubly acceptable. On leaving the Wady the following morning, I found myself much refreshed. We were in readiness about five o'clock, our route lying over a variety of hills. After seven hours' journey, we arrived at the Wady Tebai, where the scenery was of a much more wild character than in the former valley; the huge masses of rock on either hand, piled in ponderous confusion, gave no imperfect representation of the field of some lately fought battle of the Giants, in that day of "measureless uproar and wild pursuit," when the great earth -resounded; the wide heaven Groaned shattering; from its base Olympus vast Under one of these Titanic masses, which must have been detached by some great convulsion of nature, our caravan reposed for about four hours; but the shadow afforded by this rock was almost insupportable from the reflected heat of the meridian sun, which was pouring its blaze all around. When the declining orb permitted a refreshing sleep, we continued our journey down the Wady Tebai toward the sea. On the right of our track the rocks were composed of limestone and flint; while, on the left, I observed D |