to that of nature, their thoughts were stronger and more energetic, their style rieher in ideas than words, and their expreffions loaded with metaphors which often appeared exaggerated, because they were not familiar with those gradations and flades which cultivated nations have introduced in painting their ideas.. The language afterwards became polished, and freed from its rudenefs at the time when the conquering Arabs made themfelves acquainted with Greek literature. By forming their ftyle on the model of the excellent works in this language, and tranflating them in their own, they purified their taste and refined their native tongue.

"However, even at this period the imitation of the Greek poetry by the Arabian authors was not fervile: in receiving a spirit of order and regularity from the Greeks, the poetry of the Arabs has preferved its original tone, and that characteristic fhade of difference which distinguishes it from that of every other nation.

Its demeanour is entirely its own, it preferves its own manner of thought, of expreffion, of arrangement of ideas.' P. 136.

Ex pede Herculem!

Of the ode itself we fhall copy the three first stanzas.

• Tranfcript of the Arabian ode, conformably to the harmonic alphabet of M. L-s.

At length the dawn of happiness breaks upon us; the time def tined by God has arrived; an atmosphere of felicity furrounds us; the refplendent ftar of victory which guides the French warriors has shed upon us its dazzling light; fame and renown go before them; fortune and honour accompany them.

The chief who marches at their head, is impetuous and terrible; his name terrifies kings; princes bow their haughty heads before the invincible Bonaparte, the lion of battles; his courage fways irrevocable deftiny, and the heavens of glory are proftrate before him.

All muft yield to his might! Woe to whoever lifts up against him the standard of war! To declare enmity to him is to bring on inevitable rujn; he humbles before him the mighty who refift him, but his generosity to vanquished nations is a fea that knows no bounds,' P. 140,

Report of the Commiffioners charged with the Examination of a Monument near the great Aqueduct of Cairo. By M. Denon.'

These remains are not of importance. The building is comparatively modern, from fome ancient ruins defaced and disfigured by the taftelefs repairs of later archites.

Obfervations on the Colour of the Sea. By M. Coftaz,' The colour of the fea is blue, and from the thore appeals green, only from the yellow fand at the bottom. The blue is of the indigo hue, rendered lighter by the mixture of the whi.e light of the fun, as it rifes higher or is more intenfe.

• Plans for Schools of Defign, and an Agricultural Eftablishment in Egypt; by M. Dutertre and M. Nectoux,'

Offer nothing of importance to the English reader.

• Extract of Obfervations by M. Cerefole, Phyfician in Ordinary to the Army, during a Journey along the Western Banks of the Nile, from Cairo to Siout.'

Thefe minuter traits of Egyptian manners and conftitution are not uninteresting to the curious inquirer, but are incapable of analyfis, and will not appear of importance even in an

extract.

An Attempt to tranflate a Fragment of the Koran into Verfe. By M. Marcel.'

On the Dyeing of Cotton and Flax, by Means of the Carthamus.'

The Egyptian method of dyeing cotton with the carthamus is more important, as the European dyers find it difficult to impart to cotton a fufficiently rich colour. The difference between theirs and the European method confifts in immerfing the cotton in a hard water, grinding the carthamus with the alkali by means of a mill-ftone instead of a fingle mixture, and the bath is a little heated. The colour, by this method, is very fuperb, but does not refift the action of foap, yet a flight action of this alkaline substance may be in fome degree counteracted by afterwards immerfing the cotton in the juice of citron, though it has then fomewhat of a lilac hue. The fun weakens the colour without deftroying it.

Memoir relative to the Lake Menzaleh. By Andreoffy, General of Artillery.'

The mouths of the Nile abound with lakes; and, though the delta is gained from the fea, thefe appear to be of pofterior formation, and to have been produced by a fubfequent inundation of the river. To comprehend the formation of this lake, fituated between the Pelufian and the Phanitic branch, or that of Damietta, we must remark, that the interclosed space once contained at least two other mouths of the Nile, the Mendelian and Tanitic; but the water, having been drained by the canals above in part from their branches, they were no longer able to oppofe the incroaching fea, were confequently repreffed by it and overwhelmed the adjoining land. This is proved by the foundings, the direction of the iflands, &c. which are now inhabited by a peculiar race. We fhall transcribe our author's defcription of the iflanders, as it ferves to show what changes are effected in the fame men by modes of life effentially different.

The Menzaleh abounds in fifh; the entrance of the mouth is frequented by porpoifes. We faw but few birds, but there are many in fuch of the marshes along the fea as had been abandoned by the waters.

The lake is navigated by means of fails, oars, and poles; a contrary wind, provided it be ftrong, renders the paffage twice or thrice as long as it would otherwife be. They anchor by means of two poles, which they easily stick in the mud, one at each end of the veffel. The fishing boats are nearly of the fame form as thofe on the Nile; that is to fay, the prow is about feven decimeters more elevated than the poop. In the former, the stern also dips more into the water; this affords a greater degree of facility to the fisherman, who ftands on the deck on purpose to hand, to throw, and to draw up his net.

'When the inhabitants of Matharyeh intend to fish at a distance from their own ifles, they take on board a quantity of fresh water in large jars, which are tied to the foot of the mafts of their germes; each germe carries one.

The fishermen of Matharyeh appear to form a feparate clafs. As they prohibit their neighbours from enjoying the advantages of the lake, they have but little communication with them. Nearly always naked, generally employed on the water, and occupied continually in a laborious calling, they are strong, vigorous, and determined. They poffefs fine figures, but their afpect is favage; their fkin is burnt with the fun, and their beard, which is both black and harsh, renders their appearance still more hideous. In presence of their enemies, they utter a thousand barbarous cries, accompanied with a moft furious howl; they at the fame time ftrike a kind of tambourin, the decks of their boats, or any thing that will occafion a noife; they apply the buccina to their mouths, and make its cont utter the famous rouhh; "if we were militia," exclaimed our volunteers, "this noife would affright us, and we fhould jump into the water." It is thus that the French foldier on every occafion preferves his gaiety, and by means of fome merry-faying, either prevents the tedium of life, or banishes every idea of danger,' P. 196.

The following obfervations alfo deferve notice: it is well known, that modern geographers often differ to which quarter of the world Egypt belongs.

Upon a proper examination of the ifthmus which divides the Red Sea from the Mediterranean, it will be feen that mount Mokatham and mount Cafius (Louga) are the promontories of that fea of fand; and the point which almoft infenfibly unites them (fcarcely perceived by the eye, but which nevertheless exifts in nature) marks the feparation of the gulph of Soues (Suez) from that of Gaza. Thus, topographically fpeaking, the Nile rather belongs to Africa than to Afia. The Nile running at the back of the mountains on the fide of Africa, fhould have its courfe towards the weft; fince it is known that the waters of a river are subject to two declinations, the one in the direction of their length, and the other depending on the general topography of the country, which

latter determines the principal current of this river, by more particularly affecting that of the two fhores, which are contrary to the general declivity of the country.

When the principal current meets with a counter-current, as happens in the Rhone, which is fupplied from the mountains of the ci-devant Vivarais, it is not then fo eafy to form canals which originate from the coaft; but at the fame time no bursting of the banks need be dreaded; but the contrary takes place in different circumftances. Nevertheless there is nothing to prevent the direction of a river from being changed by appropriate works.

What we have already said appears to be confirmed in Egypt. The works of the canal of Youcef, of the lake Moris, and thofe of the pier, which an ancient king of Egypt caufed to be built, in order to turn afide, upon the right bank, the river which runs among the little hills of Lybia, and by that means ftruck with fterility all the eastern part of the Delta,'

P. 208.

It is a juft obfervation, and deferves particular notice, that where a river is banked, and of course its depofits limited, the bed of that river will in time rife above the adjacent country, though that country was originally formed by the depofitions of the river, when flowing unreftrained. This is at prefent the cafe with the Po. The draining of the lake Menzalch muft depend on deepening the Tanitic and Mendefian branches, thus giving a greater momentum to their streams, which muft be increafed by deriving a portion of the waters of the Phanitic branch into them, while the momentum of the fea is checked by proper flood-gates. The minuter details of the reft of this memoir, which, though ably, is harthly and obfcurely written, imperfealy tranflated, and incorrectly printed, need not detain us. The chart annexed differs confiderably from that of D'Anville. We could have withed to have followed the author more minutely, for it is claffic ground, and it is an interefting talk to retread the fteps of Alexander and Pompey.

Memoir on a Journey, made in the end of Frimaire (about the middle of December), on the Tanitic Branch of the Nile. By. M. Malus.'

MM. Fevre and Malus went from Cairo, on the canal of Moez, to lake Menzalch. They think that this was truly the Tanitic branch, and the fhores were once decorated with magnificent buildings and cultivated by a numerous population. The ruins of the former are every where obfervable. As this canal is navigable for eight months of the year for large jermes, our author thinks the route preferable to that by Damietta.

Particulars concerning the Valley of the Natron Lakes, and that of the old Bed of the River. By General Andreoffi.' As we have followed M. Sonnini in his journey to the

natron lakes, it will be lefs neceffary to defcribe them ininutely, or to point out the variation in the different narratives. The bahhar-bela-me is the most aftonishing circumstance of the whole Egyptian fyftem. It feems at leaft probable, as Herodotus has afferted, that the prefent bed of the Nile is the work of art, and that, from the lake Maris, the river once ran to the weft of its prefent courfe, through the hollow now left waterlefs. From our author's obfervations, and the remarks of other travellers, it is evident that this was once the course of a river communicating with the fea, and the traces of this former courfe may be difcovered in a direction north-east from the fea, till it reaches the prefent bed of the Nile, nearly at the Jake just mentioned. The natron lakes contain fea-falt, car bonat of foda, and fulphat of foda. The proportions of the two former are different, even in the immediate vicinity of each other, which appears to be owing to the falt originally being fea falt, and having been decompofed by the air and the affiftauce of a calcareous foil. Where it refts on clay, the falt is neutral, and in the lakes which lie on flint there is no falt of any kind. It is decompofed alfo, we have faid, by the air, for the ruthes are covered by cryftallifed falt, which is carbonat of foda, the diffolved falt rifing through the lower crystals by capillary attraction. The red hue in fome of the falts is from extraneous matter. M. Berthollet recommends purifying the natron before it is exported; for, as falt is often brought from thefe lakes with little diftinction, the commerce may be injured by the large proportion of fea-falt fometimes mixed; and from the different folubility of fea-falt and natron, the feparation will not be very difficult. The natural productions of this valley are not very important. The progrefs of the fands is from west to east, but our author thinks that they will not reach the Nile, as has been apprehended, though they may ultimately meet the river, as it gains on the western bank.

The Djeouabys are a hofpitable thepherd race, who annually frequent the natron lakes, and encamp there every winter with their flocks. They are merely fhepherds, of mild manners, and inoffenfive in their conduct. The manners of the Arabs of the defert are defcribed at length, but offer nothing new.

Obfervations on the Natron, By M. Berthollet,'

We have anticipated in our account of the former article. Obfervations on the dycing Properties of the Hhenue. By MM. Defcotils and Berthollet."

་

Of the hhennê we have lately fpoken. It is of the family of falicaria, and abounds in colouring matter, which may be employed in dyeing wool. Alone, it affords a permanent fawn colour, which,. by means of alum and fulphat of iron,