about twenty-seven miles from the point or head of the
Delta, where is situated the town of "Bain-el-Bak-
karah," or, as it has been interpreted, "the cow's
belly," is Terranêh, which contains many buildings of
unburned brick, interspersed with heaps of rubbish and
some sculptured fragments, which sufficiently mark
its present degenerated condition. It is now only im-
portant on account of its contiguity to the Natron
Lakes, and formerly a great deal was prepared there.
We are told, however, that the natron was not par-
ticularly profitable until Carlo Rosetti, a Venetian
merchant, went to Egypt as consul, some years ago:
for the cascheffs and other officers used to monopolize
every thing to themselves, in the same way as the
Pascha does now, exacting from the people who
brought it from the lakes. Carlo Rosetti might be said
to farm the lakes, just as Mohammed Ali allowed the
customs to be farmed in later times; for, by degrees,
he got the trade into his own hands, and ultimately, it
was granted to him to receive the whole of the produce,
on paying a certain sum to the officers, who, as in
other matters, were generally open to bribery, and had
contrived to get absolute authority there.
But some
idea may be formed of the extensive operations carried
on, by the fact, that one year, the duty paid to the
Egyptian government, amounted to no less a sum
than 60007. sterling!

CHAPTER VIII.

JOURNEY FROM BAKKARAH TO BOULAC.-THE DELTA. PYRAMIDS.-OBJECTS OF NATURAL HISTORY.

-THE

-THE MAMLÛKS.-THE CAMPAIGNS OF NAPOLEON, HIS SUCCESS, AND DEFEAT.

THE Course of the Nile, from its mouth to Terranêh, lies as nearly as possible N. W. and S. E., and the distance between Damietta and Râschid, in a direct line, is about twenty-seven leagues. The consideration of the canals which cut and subdivide the Delta, is one of the greatest possible interest, whether we regard them as the source of every good, the Delta being the most productive part of Egypt, or speak of them in reference to the ancient condition of the country. In tracing their former course and extent, we are led to the discovery of the original sites of some of the most important towns, and the subject, if properly investigated, may hereafter enable us to elucidate many points of interest. We may depend upon it, there is a rich fund of information at present concealed among the buried ruins of the Delta. It would be well worth the while of any enterprising traveller to devote himself to the study of this district, but he should be a person of superior classical attainments, ardour, and perseverance, and

246 EGYPTIAN RESEARCHES THE TRue nile.

say,

one to whom neither time nor money is an object. When I speak of the Delta, perhaps I ought rather to Lower Egypt, which includes the districts adjoining; for it is deeply associated with the history of our religion, and with scenes described in the Old Testament. I wish I could instil into the mind of some suitable person an enthusiastic spirit for the enquiry. I never yet met with an individual who had resided in this land of mysteries, who did not leave it with regret; and the best informed travellers have always acknowledged that they felt an interest in Egypt which no other country could excite.

After quitting Bakkarah, the point at which the Nile divides, and which, from its convenient situation, must have been most important as a place of commerce, to the ancient Egyptians, the distance is but short to Cairo. There are no towns on either of the banks worth mentioning; nor does the appearance of the land materially differ. It is still flat, and if any thing, less fertile, particularly on the western side, the great Libyan waste approaching nearly to the water: the scenery is therefore chiefly interesting from association of idea, and from the sudden appearance of the Pyramids, rising in the distance, like immense tumuli, from the midst of the wilderness; and though when viewed through the oscillating haze of the intervening desert, most people are mistaken as to their magnitude, and exclaim after the first impulse is over, "What are those the pyramids ?"-they really do surpass everything which the mind has conceived concerning them, notwithstanding it has been raised to an extraordinary pitch by all that we have read or heard, either during the period of infancy, when we lent a willing ear to the marvellous exaggerations of nursery

THE PYRAMIDS IN SIGHT!

247

tales, or since, up to the very moment that we are first permitted to behold them, under all the advantages perhaps of a cultivated taste and an enlightened understanding. It is not easy to convey to others a just idea of the sensation that is experienced by the traveller when he is first told that the Pyramids are in sight. All, with one accord, rush forward to see them! Never, perhaps, did the announcement of inanimate objects create such a general thrill throughout the body, such an enthusiastic glow, such energetic mental excitement, as that of these gigantic monuments of antiquity. The reason is, that, stupendous as they are, nothing is actually known of their origin; no document that has been handed down to us, furnishes satisfactory evidence concerning them; they have been attributed to various individuals, and various purposes and uses have been assigned to them. It is probable that the real truth may long remain veiled in obscurity, and however plausible, and supported by facts or inductive reasoning, the arguments advanced, there will still be difficulties to overcome, doubts will continue to be raised, and disputations to be held. Every one will have his own opinion; for as they are a sealed book, and there is no oracle to consult, their history and object must ever be open to conjecture, until we have fresh data to go upon; and none will be able to set us right, until the study of the hieroglyphics or the discovery of future relics shall enlighten us. In the present day we are accustomed to reason only upon facts, and not to seek facts to confirm our reasoning; and although we do not require a basis for our argument as broad as the foundation of the Pyramids themselves, we nevertheless do require something as tangible, and likely to be as firm and as lasting; but that

248

THOUGHTS AND IMPRESSIONS ON

the time will come when we shall be able to say something more definite about them, is at least probable. I have already stated my conviction that there remains as much to be unfolded to us respecting Egypt and its antiquities, as we have hitherto been put in possession of. Works of such astonishing magnitude as the Pyramids, must have been undertaken at an enormous expense, even in that day, supposing labour to have cost nothing they were evidently intended for some important religious purpose, and designed to excite the awe and veneration of the people. A similar effect was produced in each successive generation, long after the mighty projectors of them had passed away from the earth, and mingled with their native dust: they have called forth the wonder of Eastern nations, and of all who ever saw them or held communication with the country; they have been the talk of the whole world, and their influence continues to be felt in the present day. They have resisted every attempt that has been made to remove them; and it would seem that they are destined to remain to the end of time, as monuments to commemorate the days of Noah and his progenitors. We may easily conceive that much would be written about them at various periods, by the Greeks and Romans, Copts, and Egyptians, if not by Oriental nations generally. Let us then hope that some document may have escaped the general wreck of the Alexandrian manuscripts, and that it may one day come to hand. Even the convents in remote districts, may yield some clue to the subject, containing as they do, hoards of musty parchments and antiquated scrolls, of which nothing is known the idea should, at all events, stimulate us to persevere in the investigation; and I trust that those