lisk of marble, very nearly square, broken at the end, and towards the top. It was nearly thirty feet long, and nineteen feet in the face; about two feet of the bottom were perfectly insulated, and one whole side separated from the mountain. The gully had been widened and levelled, and the road made quite up to underneath the block. We saw likewise, throughout the plain, small pieces of jasper, having green, white, and red spots, called in Italy," Diaspo Sanguieno." All the mountains on both sides of the plain seemed to be of the same sort.

Feb. 22d, at half past one in the morning, we set out full of terror about the Atouni. We continued in a direction nearly east, till at three we came to the defiles; but it was so dark, that it was impossible to discern of what the country on each side consisted. At day break, we found ourselves at the bottom of a mountain of granite, bare like the former. We saw quantities of small pieces of various sorts of granite and porphyry, scattered over the plain, which had been carried down by a torrent, probably from quarries of ancient ages; these were white, mixed with black spots; red, with green veins, and black spots. After this all the mountains on the right hand were of red marble in prodigious abundance, but of no great beauty. They continued, as the granite did, for several miles along the road, while the opposite side was all of dead green, supposed serpentine marble.

It was one of the most extraordinary sights I ever saw. The former mountains were of considerable height, without a tree, or shrub, or blade of grass upon them, but these now before us had all the appearance, the one of having been sprinkled over with Havanna, the other with Brazil snuff. I wondered, that, as the red is nearest the sea, and the ships going down the Abys sinian coast observes this appearance within lat. 26°, writers have not imagined this was called the Red Sea upon that account, rather than for the many weak reasons they have relied upon.

About eight o'clock we began to descend smartly, and, half an hour after, entered into another defile like those before described, having mountains of green marble on every side of us. On our left, we saw the highest mountain we had yet passed. We found it, upon examination, to be composed of serpentine marble; and, through about one third of thickness, ran a large vein of jasper, green, spotted with red. Its exceeding hardness was such as not to yield to the blows of a hammer; but the works of old times were more apparent in it, than in any mountain we had seen. Ducts, or channels, for carrying water transversely, were observed evidently to terminate in this quarry of jasper; a proof that water was one of the means used in cutting these hard stones.

About ten o'clock, descending very rapidly, with green marble and jasper on each side of us, but no other green thing whatever, we had the first prospect of the Red Sea, and, at a quarter past eleven, we arrived at Cossier. It has been a wonder with all travellers, and with myself among the rest, where the ancients procured that prodigious quantity of fine marble, with which all their buildings abound. That wonder, however, among many others, now ceases, after having passed, in four days, more granite, porphyry, marble, and jasper, than would build Rome, Athens, Corinth, Syracuse, Memphis, Alexandria, and half a dozen such cities. It seemed to be very visible, that those openings on the hills, which I call Defiles, were not natural, but artificial; and that whole mountains had been cut out at these places, to preserve a slope towards the Nile as gentle as possible; this, I suppose, might be a descent of about one foot in fifty at most; so that, from the mountains to the Nile, those heavy carriages must have moved with as little draught as possible, and, at the same time, been sufficiently impeded by friction, so as not to run amain, or acquire an increased velocity, against which, also, there must have been other provisions contrived. As I made another excursion to these marble mountains from Cossier, I will, once for all, here set down what I observed concerning their natural appearance.

The porphyry shews itself by a fine purple sand, without any gloss or glitter on it, and is exceedingly agreeable to the eye. It is mixed with the native white sand, and fixed gravel of the plains. Green unvariegated marble, is generally seen in the same mountain with the porphyry. Where the two veins meet, the marble is for some inches brittle, but the porphyry of the same hardness as in other places.

The granite is covered with sand, and looks like stone of a dirty brown colour. But this is only the change and impression the sun and weather have made upon it; for, upon breaking it, you see it is grey granite, with black spots, with a reddish cast, or blush over it. This red seems to fade and suffer from the outward air, but, upon working or polishing the surface, this colour again appears. It is in greater quantity than the porphyry, and nearer the Red Sea. Pompey's pillar seems to have been from this quarry.

Next to the granite, but never, as I observed, joined with it in the same mountain, is the red marble. It is covered with sand of the same colour, and looks as if the whole mountain were spread over with brick dust. There is also a red marble with white veins, which I have often seen at Rome, but not in principal subjects. I have also seen it in Britain. The common green (called Serpentine) looks as if covered over with Brazil snuff. Joined with this green, I saw two samples of that beautiful mar

ble they call Isabella; one of them with a yellowish cast, which we call Quaker-colour; the other with a bluish, which is commonly termed Dove-colour. These two seem to divide the respective mountains with the serpentine. In this green, likewise, it was we saw the vein of jasper; but whether it was absolutely the same with this which is the bloody jasper, or blood stone, is what we had not time to settle.

I should first have made mention of the verde antico, the dark green with white irregular spots, because it is of the greatest value, and nearest the Nile. This is produced in the mountains of the plain green, or serpentine, as is the jasper, and is not discoverable by the dust, or any particular colour upon it. First, there is a blue fleaky stone, exceedingly even and smooth in the grain, solid, and without sparks or colour. When broken, it is something lighter than a slate, and more beautiful than most marble: it is like the lava of volcanoes when polished. After lifting this, we come to the beds, of verde antico; and here the quarrying is very obvious, for it has been uncovered in patches, not above twenty feet square. Then, in another part, the green stone has been removed, and another pit of it wrought.

I saw, in several places in the plain, small pieces of African marble scattered. about, but no rocks or mountains of it. I suppose it is found in the heart of some other coloured marble, and in strata, like the jasper and verde antico, and, I suspect, in the mountains of Isabella marble, especially of the yellowish sort of it, but this is mere conjecture. This prodigious store of marble is placed upon a ridge, whence there is a descent to the east or west, either to the Nile or Red Sea. The level ground and hard-fixed gravel are proper for the heaviest carriages, and will easily and smoothly convey any weight whatever to its place of embarkation on the Nile; so that another wonder ceased, how the ancients transported those vast blocks of Thebes, Memphis, and Alexandria."

Cossier, is a small mud-walled village, built upon the shore, among hillocks of floating sand. It is defended by a square fort of hewn stone, with square towers in the angles, which have in them three small cannon of iron, and one of brass, all in very bad condition; of no other use but to terrify the Arabs, and hinder them from plundering the town when full of corn, going to Mecca in time of famine. The port is on the south-east of the town. It is nothing but a rock, which, runs out about four hundred yards into the Red Sea, and defends the vessels which ride to the west of it, from the north and north-east winds as the houses, of the town cover them from the north-west. There is a large

inclosure with a high mud wall, and, within, every merchant has a shop or magazine for his corn and merchandize.

The caravan from Syene arrived at this time, escorted by four hundred Ababdé, all upon camels, each armed with two short javelins. The manner of their riding was very whimsical; they had two small saddles on each camel, and sat back to back, which might be, in their practice, convenient enough: but, if they had been to fight with our travellers, every ball would have killed two of them.

Mr. Bruce now took up his quarters in the castle, and as the Ababdé had told strange stories about the mountain of Emeralds, he determined to make a voyage thither. He chose a man who had been twice at these mountains of emeralds; and with the best boat then in the harbour, on the 14th of March, 1769, they sailed from the harbour of Cossier. They kept coasting along, with a very moderate wind, much diverted with the red and green appearances of the marble mountain upon the coast. Their vessel had one sail, like a straw matrass, made of the leaves of a kind of palm tree, which they call Doom. It was fixed above, and drew up like a curtain, but did not lower with a yard like a sail; so that upon stress of weather, if the sail was furled, it was so topheavy, that the ship must founder, or the mast must be carried away. But, by way of indemnification, the planks of the vessel were sewed together, and there was not a nail, nor a piece of iron, in the whole ship; so that when you struck upon a rock, seldom any damage ensued.

On the 15th, Mr. Bruce saw a large high rock, like a pillar, rising out of the sea. This island is about three miles from the shore, of an oval form, rising in the middle. It seems to be of granite, and is called in the language of the country, Jibbel Siberget, which has been translated the Mountain of Emeralds. Siberget, however, is a word in the language of the Shepherds, who, probably, never in their lives saw an emerald; and though the Arabic translation is Jibbel Zumrud, and that word has been transferred to the emerald, a very fine stone, oftener seen since the discovery of the new world, yet Mr. Bruce very much doubts, whether either Siberget or Zumrud ever meant emerald in old times.

Mr. Bruce, having satisfied his curiosity as to these mountains without having seen a living creature, returned to his boat. They continued this voyage, and, after encountering storms that were nearly proving fatal to them, they arrived safe at Cossier. On the 5th of April, Mr. Bruce, embarked on board a vessel he had procured for the purpose, and sailed from that port for Jidda.

On the 6th, they arrived at Tor, a small straggling village, with a convent of Greek Monks, belonging to Mount Sinai. It serves

as a watering -place for ships going to and from Suez. From this we have a distinct view of the the points of the mountains Horeb and Sinai, which appear behind and above the others, their tops being often covered with snow in winter.

The ridge of rocks that run along behind Tor, bound that low sandy country called the desert of Sin, to the eastward. On the 12th, they passed the island of Tyrone, in the mouth of the Elanitic Gulf, which divides it nearly equally into two; or rather the north-west side is the narrowest. The direction of the gulf is nearly north and south.

The following singular custom prevails on the Eastern Coast of the Red Sea, for the preservation of Christians who have the misfortune to be shipwrecked on that coast. "I would not have it imagined (says Mr. Bruce) that my case was absolutely desperate, even if I had not been known as a Christian, and had fallen into the hands of the Arabs, of Arabia Deserta, or Arabia Petrea,. supposed to be the most barbarous people in the world, as indeed they probably are. Hospitality, and attention to one's word, seem in these countries to be in proportion to the degree in which the people are savage. A very easy method is known, and followed with constant success, by all the Christians trading to the Red Sea from Suez to Jidda, to save themselves if thrown on the coast of Arabia. Any man of consideration from any tribe among the Arabs, comes to Cairo, gives his name and designation to the Christian sailor, and receives a very small present, which is repeated annually if he performs so often the voyage. And for this the Arab promises the Christian his protection, should he ever be so unfortunate as to be shipwrecked on their coast.

The Turks are very bad seamen, and lose many ships, the greatest part of the crew are therefore Christians; when a vessel strikes, or is ashore, the Turks are all massacred if they cannot make their way good by force; but the Christians present themselves to the Arab, crying Fiarduc, which means, "we are under immediate protection." If they are asked, who is their Gaffeer, or Arab, with whom they are in friendship? They answer, Mahomet Abdelcader is our Gaffeer, or any other. If he is not told he is absent so many days journey off, or any

there, you as acquaintance or neighbour, then helps you, to

save what you have from the wreck, and one of them with his lance draws a circle, large enough to hold you and yours. He then sticks his lance in the sand, bids you abide within that circle, and goes and brings your Gaffeer, with what camels you want, and this Gaffeer is obliged, by rules known only to themselves, to carry you for nothing, or very little, wherever you go, and to furnish you with provisions all the way. Within that circle you are as safe on the desert coast of Arabia, as in a cita