The ancient historians represent the religion of Egypt to have been full of absurdity, but it may be, notwithstanding the foolish notions and practices which the Egyptians cherished, that they had some just ideas of a supreme deity. Plutarch relates that in a temple dedicated to one of the gods of Egypt, was this inscription, "I am whatever hath been, and is, and shall be; and no mortal hath yet pierced through the veil that shrouds me." The eternity of God's existence, and the elevation of his nature above our faculties, is thus expressed in words that nearly resemble some passages of the Hebrew scriptures.

2. A long series of princes called the Pharoahs, reigned in Egypt, till the time of Cambyses, king of Persia, who, about five hundred and twentyfive years before Christ, on some pretext, made war upon Egypt, and conquered the country. The people of Egypt were not patient vassals to the Persian domination. During one hundred and ninety-three years, Egypt was in a state of frequent rebellion against the Persians. Alexander, of Macedon, conquered Persia, and the Egyptians readily yielded themselves to his dominion.

3. On Alexander's death, his empire was divided among four of his officers. Ptolemy was made king, and his successors reigned about three hundred years over Egypt. Cleopatra, a very beautiful princess, was the last of the Ptolemies. The Roman Emperor, Augustus, took the city of Alexandria and reduced Egypt to a Roman province, thirty years before Christ.

4. While Egypt was subject to the Ptolemies, those Greek princes cultivated the language ann learning of Greece, and encouraged many Jews,

who resided at Alexandria; some of whom ac quired a knowledge of the Greek, and translated the Hebrew scriptures. These were the Hellenist Jews.

5. For 666 years Egypt furnished great quantities of grain to Rome and Byzantium. The Saracens, that is, the warlike princes of Arabia, who succeeded Mahomet, with their subjects and followers, conquered Egypt. About A. D. 887, the Turcomans, who were Janissaries, employed by the Caliphs, the Arabic sovereigns, revolted against their masters and founded a new govern

ment.

6. There is neither profit nor pleasure in reading the history of any people long subject to the religion of Mahomet, or to the power of the Turks. Arts, learning, civil liberty, and the rights of men, are entirely destroyed by a false religion and a ty rannical government; one part of society becomes slaves to hard masters, and to wrong opinions; and the more elevated portion is not more wise and virtuous than those whom they oppress.

7. The Turkish sultans of Egypt cherished a race of military slaves who were brought from foreign countries, and in time these slaves became masters of the country; these were the Mamelukes. The Mamelukes reigned, for the most part, under an aristocracy of their own, consisting of twenty-four military chiefs, called Beys, who paid tribute to the emperor of the Turks.

8. In 1798 the French made themselves masters of Egypt; the English followed them thither, and a most cruel war succeeded. In 1801 the French departed from Egypt, and the country was restored to the Turks. A Turkish pasha, a des

potappointed to the government by the Turks, now rules this degenerate state.

9. The Mamelukes were deprived of their power by the French. Soon after the establishment of the Turkish dominion, the pasha invited the chief of them to a great entertainment in his palace, and treacherously murdered them. The remnant of the Mamelukes retreated to Dongola, and afterwards to Darfoor, and there, in diminished numbers, and without any power, some of them still exist.

10. The Mamelukes long preserved their distinct order, not by the succession of their children to their rank and power, but by the purchase of slaves brought from various countries. They treated these young persons with affection, and trained them to the military art; and they were held in such general esteem that it became honourable to a man to have it said of him-he was purchased.

11. The inhabitants of modern Egypt are estimated to be about two millions and a half. They are divided into Copts, Arabs, Turks, Greeks, and Jews. The Copts are descended from the primitive inhabitants; they are supposed to be 200,000 in number. The Arabs are more numerous, they are divided into the Bedouins, or independent Arabs, and the more civilized; these latter include the sheiks or heads of villages, the fellahs or peasants, the boufakirs or beggars, and the artisans. The Turks of Egypt resemble other Turks. The Greeks are said to have the features of their ancestors, but have the character of roguery in business. The Jews live in towns, follow trade, and are

treated with the same contempt in Egypt that fol lows them every where.

12. At Cairo, the principal city of Egypt, the public amusements are leaping, dancing, and wrestling matches. The Almehs are women who dance and recite poetry for the entertainment of others. The Almehs are invited to all parties of pleasure. During meals they are placed at a desk where they sing, and afterwards they perform their dances.

13. This is a brief account of ancient and modern Egypt; other books give ample and interesting information concerning this celebrated country.

LESSON XII.

PHOENICIA.

1. Phoenicia was a small tract of country which lay at the head of the Mediterranean. The people of this country are celebrated in ancient history for industry, for enterprize, and for inventiveness in the useful arts. They are said to have invented the Alphabet; they also cultivated astronomy and geography, and manufactured linen and glass.

2. The art of navigation is first attributed to the Phoenicians. It appears that all savage nations who live upon the sea coast, build little boats and row themselves about in the neighbourhood of their own shores; and most of them do this

with courage and dexterity. But men must be well-informed, must understand agriculture and some manufactures, must possess the wealth which their own industry creates ; that is, the productions of a cultivated soil, and those articles of comfort which manufactures afford, before they can make navigation extensively useful.

3. The most important uses of navigation, are the intercourse it enables men of different countries, to hold with each other, and the conveyance of the productions of one country to another, soɔ that by means of ships, different nations can interchange their arts, their knowledge, and the vari ous things which grow, or are manufactured in their respective territories.

4. The Phoenicians could not go much beyond the Mediterranean, for want of some instrument to instruct navigators where they are upon the surface of the sea when they have lost sight of land. This instrument, called the Compass, has been invented in modern times, and by means of it, sailors are not lost upon the great ocean, but are enabled safely, and with certainty, to traverse the whole globe.

5. The Phoenicians are supposed not only to have navigated the Mediterranean, but to have passed through the Pillars of Hercules, now called the strait of Gibraltar, into the Atlantic ocean, to have coasted along the western shores of Africa, and to have sailed as far north as Britain. It is also supposed that the tin mines of Cornwall, still unexhausted, furnished that metal to these maritime adventurers.

6. The chief cities of Phoenicia were Tyre and Sidon. It appears that these cities were