descended from Esau, and consequently their brethren; but in the course of time, and amid the multitude of events, David the king of Jerusalem added the land of Edom as a province to his dominions, and thus got possession of the celebrated harbours of Elath and Eziongeber.

Solomon his son was a pacific prince, attended to the affairs of commerce, visited the harbours, and, by the assistance of Hiram king of Tyre, carried on an extensive and profitable trade. The ships of Tarshish, and the gold of Ophir, enriched the king of Jerusalem ; but whence those vessels sailed, and whither they directed their course, has been so much controverted by historians, and is wrapt so much in obscurity, that I shall easily plead an excuse for avoiding a question which is both intricate and impossible to be solved. We have been directed to Spain, to Tarsus in Cilicia, to the regions of India, and by Mr.

Bruce, with considerable acuteness, to the southern coast of Africa.

The benefit of this traffic reverted to the Edomites; the harbour of Eziongeber ceased to be resorted to on account of the dangerous rocks which were near its entrance, and Elath, the remaining port fell into the power of the Syrians. By degrees the merchants of Tyre engrossed that lucrative trade, and bringing it across the desert to Rhinocurura, it was partly carried to Tyre, and partly disposed of in Egypt. The trade of India was at length enjoyed by the Egyptians; and, to improve the interests of commerce, a canal was opened between the Pelusian branch of the Nile and Arsinoe, a town upon the shore of the Red sea, not far from the place where Suez now stands. The honour of forming this canal has been ascribed to various monarchs, from Pharaoh Necho to the

b Bruce, vol. i, ch. iii, and iv; 2 Samuel, ch. viii, v. 14; 2 Chron. ch. viii, v. 17 and 18; and the Introduct. to Ren. Map of Hindostan, p. 34.

caliph Omar, and perhaps it was a work which frequently excited the attention of the kings and governors of Egypt. It was an obvious mean of improving the country, to open an easy passage between the Arabian gulf and the river Nile. Perhaps it was begun by some of the Pharaohs, and finished in the reign of succeeding monarchs, or passing through a sandy desert, and occasionally neglected, it might become unfit for use, and be repeatedly cleared and re-opened by the commands of Darius Hystaspes, Ptolemy II, the emperor Trajan, or Adrian, and the caliph Omar. During the reign of the Ptolemies, Alexandria was the centre of this commerce; but several nations of Europe partook of the merchandize, and at length, by bold efforts, they turned it wholly into their own channels.

While Egypt was favoured with the trade of India, Arsinoe was deserted, because the Arabian gulf, which is dangerous throughout, was peculiarly hazardous for vessels toward the upper part,

and therefore Berenice was built upon the western shore, considerably further down; and afterwards a more convenient port was found at Myoshormos. From both of these latter towns, there was a communication across the country to Coptos, upon the Nile, and thence the merchandize was conveyed upon the river to Grand Cairo. A. D. 1498, the enterprizing spirit of the Portuguese discovered a passage to India round the Cape of Good Hope: then the stream of trade ceased to flow through Egypt; and the French, the Dutch, and the English, partook of its benefits with the fortunate discoverers. The industry and favourable circumstances of the British nation gave them at length the decided preponderancy in the scale of commerce; and now they command an unexampled extent of territory in India, and convey the most of its trade to the nations of Europe.

Rennel's Geog. of Herod. p. 466; Strabo, lib. xvii, p. 1156, &c.; and Robertson's Historical disquisitions on India, p. 171.

The trade and manufactures of Egypt must have early directed them to the arts of tinging and dying with different colours. The manufactures of Tyre were famous for purple, the Chaldeans were skilled in the art of painting, and evidences of the Egyptian knowledge in colours are produced in the ancient paintings which have been found among the ruins of temples and costly buildings. Engraving, as a natural concomitant of the art of painting, was known and practised among the early nations of the world: of this we have a proof in the figures delineated on the shields of heroes. Sculpture, carving, architecture, and several of the fine arts, appear to have been cherished, if not invented, in Egypt.*.

The exquisite tones, the delightful harmony, and the sublime expressions of music, are only to be found among

d Ezek. ch. xxiii, v. 15; Bruce, vol. i, p. 103, &c; and Denon, vol. i, p. 204, &c. and vol. iii, p. 34, &c,