Mamelukes were no longer under restraint; the exiled colleagues, Murad and Ibrahim, returned, and assumed the sovereignty notwithstanding the threatenings of the Porte.

But what was the state of the people during this long period of anarchy, tyranny, and misrule? Let us here attend to the testimony of Volney. He speaks of what he himself beheld, after the year 1770, but it applies to nearly three centuries since the conquest of Selim in 1517, previous to the elevation of Mehe. met Ali. "In Egypt there is no middle class, neither nobility, clergy, merchants, nor landholders. An universal air of misery, manifest in all the traveller meets, points out to him the rapacity of oppression, and the distrust attendant upon slavery. The profound ignorance of the inhabitants equally prevents them from perceiving the causes of those evils, or applying the necessary remedies. Ignorance, diffused through all classes, extends its effects to every species of moral and physical knowledge. Nothing is talked of but intestine troubles, the public misery, pecuniary extortions, bastinadoes, and murders; justice herself puts to death without formality."

After this period Egypt becomes intimately connected with the history of Great Britain and France. Its severe intestine distractions were succeeded by foreign invasion, and the distant country of the Pharaohs participated in the French Revolution. To overthrow the power of the British in the East, an invasion of Egypt was determined by the French Directory, and Napoleon headed the expedition in person. The French in this campaign encountered the most humiliating disasters, and the British were covered with glory. In the Battle of the Pyramids when Napoleon addressed to his soldiers those words which afterwards became celebrated-" From the tops of these pyramids forty centuries look upon you!"-the French gained a temporary advantage; but the British victory at Aboukir, gained by Nelson, amply counterbalanced Napoleon's feeble

success. But it is the province of the historian to narrate the brave defence of Ptolemais or Acre by Sir Sidney Smith, the retreat of Napoleon to Jaffa, the desolation he committed in the country by destroying the fields of corn and burning the villages through which he passed; his final departure from the banks of the Nile, and the battle before Alexandria, where Abercromby fell covered with glory. The events which followed, until the evacuation of Egypt by the British troops, are accessible to every reader. The same observations apply to the extraordinary career of Mehemet Ali, the viceroy (1837), or rather independent sovereign, of Egypt, who is absolute master not only of the fertile valley of the Nile, but of the whole territory of Palestine, and, to a considerable extent, even of the regions of the Desert. Of Greek origin, and in the outset of life a domestic servant to the governor of his native district of Albania, this distinguished person, after a variety of adventures, succeeded in inducing the citizens of Cairo to elect him their governor, and peremptorily to demand his confirmation by the Porte. From that moment, notwithstanding all the intrigues and conspiracies formed against him, Mehemet steadily advanced to the great object of his ambition-the sovereignty of Egypt. He has almost exterminated the dangerous Mamelukes, and compelled his former master the Sultan to submit to his terms. Although a despot and a tyrant, he has regenerated the country, and formed a kingdom out of a chaos of ignorance, ferocity, and treachery. He possesses an army, disciplined by French officers, of 70,000 infantry, with their train, engineers, and artificers, and about 5000 cavalry, the latter raised since 1828. His naval force, consisting of ships of the line, frigates, corvettes, brigs, schooners, and sloops of war, is superior to that of the Sultan ; he has organized a vigilant police; and Egypt, formerly the country of violence and blood, is now as safe to the traveller as any part of England or France. He

has improved agriculture, extended commerce, and reared an industrious population; he has raised the exports and imports of Egypt from being a mere trifle to the sum of several millions annually; he has spread knowledge among his subjects, erected schools and colleges, and sent young men to England and France to be instructed in practical mechanics, machinery, engineering, and in the laws, institutions, and workings of modern civilization; he has made the land of the Pharaohs, so long devoted to misrule, abound with labour and active industry; its cotton and flax compete with the best in the markets of Europe; its silks, sugar, tobacco, grain, and other commodities, are extensively exported; and all this has been done by an Albanian peasant not yet (1837) in the seventieth year of his age. In religion, says Mr Fuller, "Mehemet Ali, though his successes against the Wahabee heretics, and the recapture of the holy cities, have procured for him the reputation of being the defender of the Islamite faith, is not supposed to be himself a very firm believer. He is regular in his attendance at the mosque, and in the outward observances of his religion, but in private he makes little scruple of avowing his real sentiments; and, like many strenuous supporters of other creeds, he probably thinks the faith chiefly valuable from the profession of which he derives the most advantages."

In ancient times the population of Egypt was considerable. Herodotus says that, in the reign of Amasis, the Egyptians boasted of 20,000 well-inhabited cities. In the time of Ptolemy Lagus three thousand still remained, according to Diodorus, and the population amounted to 3,000,000. "Ancient Egypt," says Savary," supplied food to 8,000,000 of inhabitants, and to Italy and the neighbouring provinces likewise. At present the estimate is not one half. I do not think with Herodotus and Pliny that this kingdom contained 20,000 cities in the time of Amasis, but the astonishing ruins everywhere to be found, and in unin

The classes,

habited places, prove that they must have been thrice as numerous as they are." Volney thinks that "it is impracticable to form a just estimate of the population of Egypt; nevertheless, as it is known that the number of towns and villages does not exceed 2300, and the number of inhabitants in each of them, one with another, including Cairo itself, is not more than 1000, the total cannot be more than 2,300,000." The population of Egypt may be stated in round numbers at about 3,000,000, including the Arabs of the neighbouring deserts, who render a nominal obedience to Mehemet Ali; but, strictly speaking, the actual population, excluding these and other wandering tribes, may be safely calculated at or upwards of 2,000,000. says Mr Lane, of which the population is mainly composed, are nearly (1835) as follows:-Moslem Egyptians, or peasants and town people, 1,750,000; Christian Egyptians, or Copts, 150,000; Turks, 10,000; Syrians, Jews, and Greeks, each 5000; Armenians, about 2000. Of the remainder, viz. Arabians, Western Arabs, Nubians, Negro slaves, Memlooks (or white male slaves), female white slaves, Europeans, &c. the precise numbers are at all times very uncertain and variable. It ought to be added that the Moslem Egyptians, Copts, Syrians, and Jews of Egypt, with few exceptions, speak no language but the Arabic, which is also the language generally used by foreigners in the country. The Nubians converse in their own dialect among themselves. The Copts, who were not known by this name before the time of Amrou, are descendants of the old Egyptians, or perhaps are a mixture of the ancient Mizraim, the Persians, and the Greeks, who long occupied that country; yet among this people the mixture has only been partial, and we still find them exhibiting traces of customs which obtained in Egypt in the days of the Pharaohs. Herodotus says that from time immemorial the ancient Mizraim used circumcision. "As this practice," he farther observes, "can be traced both in Egypt and Ethiopia to the

remotest antiquity, it is not possible to say which first introduced it." He describes the hair of the Mizraim as short and curling; and Volney remarks on this passage, that the "ancient Egyptians were real Negroes, of the same species with all the natives of Africa, and though, as might have been expected, after mixing for so many ages with the Greeks and Romans, they have lost the intensity of their first colour, yet they still retain marks of their original conformation." These remarks are supported by the fact that the ancient monuments indicate the Negro type, which is quite distinct from the Arab race; and as it still predominates among the Copts, it may be inferred that these people have never in any sensible degree amalgamated with the former.

The Copts are Christians, but like most of the Oriental Christian nations they are divided into two parties-the Latins, who have made their peace with Rome and acknowledged the authority of the Pope; the others have a Patriarch of their own, and are among the asserters or representatives of the Monophysite heresy, which long convulsed the Church and the Empire. The latter are the most numerous, and have a Patriarch resident in Alexandria, who is elected by the great body of the clergy, and receives the most implicit obedience. The bishops are chosen from the monks, who are bound to strict celibacy; but the other clergy cannot be ordained until they are married. The Copts practise circumcision, auricular confession, and other ceremonies. The Romish party among them are instructed by members of the Propaganda College at Rome.

It is unnecessary to revert to the period when and by whose means Christianity was introduced into Egypt. Heresy, after many vicissitudes, sometimes predominant at the Court of Constantinople, and at other times wandering in the banishment of the Oases, alternately distracting the repose of provinces and defying the anathemas of General Councils, at length fixed its residence in the land of the Pha

raohs. When Amrou invaded Egypt he found the people divided into two parties

the one, of the Romans or Greeks from Constantinople, who held the principal appointments in the army, the forum, and the tribunals—the other, of the Copts, or native Egyptians, although some of them were also of Nubian, Aby'ssinian, and even of Jewish extraction. Of this body were the scribes, husbandmen, artificers, and merchants, and, what was of more moment, the bishops and clergy. Between those two factions there were continual hostilities; they never intermarried, and they exasperated each other by frequent murders. At Amrou's invasion, the former faction attempted to oppose him with a large force; but the Copts, having obtained peace on the terms of paying tribute, assisted the Mussulmans against the Greeks, and expelled them from the country. Amrou favoured the Copts to a certain extent; he courteously received the Patriarch Benjamin, and confided to his care all the Christian churches and people; and when he proceeded on his conquests westward, he addressed a singular request to that Patriarch, directing him to offer prayers for him, that, as he was departing for Pentapolis and Interior Africa, God would place those countries under his dominion as he had done Egypt. But from the time of the Patriarch Isaac, A.D. 686, to the close of the eighteenth century, the Coptic Church was grievously oppressed by its Mussulman masters; and at the present time, says Mr Jowett, "the words of the Psalmist may be uttered with truth and feeling by this Church, as they are in the service of the inauguration of their Patriarch, Have mercy upon us, O Lord, and help us, for we are brought very low.”

The following ecclesiastical statistics are collected from various sources, and will give a brief view of the state of Christianity in Egypt. In Alexandria there is a Coptic convent, which was greatly destroyed by the French troops. The Latin convent is of considerable extent. The church of the Greek conven! is built on the spot where St Catharine

the

was beheaded; and they pretend to show very block of marble, still tinged with her blood, on which she suffered. This convent is under the protection of the Russian consul; the number of Greek Christians, including the few resident families, and the crews of ships, amount to nearly 800. The English are indebted to the clergy of this convent for the services of the Church, such as baptisms, burials, &c. These convents are built within a few minutes' walk of each other, in a large open space without the inner and within the outer walls, which was the site of the old city. They have schools attached to them. There are few Copts at Alexandria who are rich; a few possess from 20,000 to 30,000 dollars, equivalent to from L.4000 to L.6000 sterling.

At Rosetta there is a Coptic church, in which is preserved the arm of St George, duly shown on the festival of that celebrated personage. There is also a school attended by a few scholars. The Latins and Greeks have convents in this place.

The resident Patriarch at Cairo has some jurisdiction over the Church of Abyssinia. In this city there are about fifteen hundred families. There are two convents of the Latins at Cairo-the one, Della Propaganda, which extends its jurisdiction over the convents of Upper Egypt the other, Della Terra Santa, is in immediate connection with the superior convent at Jerusalem. The Greek Christians have also a small convent at Cairo. The Armenian Patriarch at Cairo does not hold higher ecclesiastical rank than a bishop, and his flock consists of about two hundred Armenians in Cairo, and about one hundred in Upper Egypt, where they exercise the office of bankers to the Government, there being no Jews in Egypt south of Cairo.

We conclude this sketch of Egypt by some extracts from a work by Mr Lane, and published (1837) under the superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, entitled, "The Modern Egyptians," in two volumes, which exhibits a more distinct view of

VOL. I.

"The Nile, in its course through the narrow and winding valley of Upper Egypt, which is confined on each side by mountainous and sandy deserts, as well as through the plain of Lower Egypt, is everywhere bordered, excepting in a very few places, by cultivated fields of its own formation. These cultivated tracts are not perfectly level, being somewhat lower towards the deserts than in the neighbourhood of the river. They are interspersed with palm-groves and villages, and intersected by numerous canals. The copious summer rains which prevail in Abyssinia and the neighbouring countries begin to show their effects in Egypt, by the rising of the Nile, about the period of the summer solstice. By the autumnal equinox the river attains its greatest height, which is always sufficient to fill the canals by which the fields are irrigated, and, generally, to inundate large portions of the cultivable land: it then gradually falls until the 'period when it again begins to rise. Being impregnated, particularly during its rise, with rich soil washed down from the mountainous countries whence it flows, a copious deposit is annually spread, either by the natural inundation or by artificial irrigation, over the fields which border it; while its bed, from the same cause, rises in an equal degree. The Egyptians depend entirely upon their river for the fertilization of the soil; rain being a very rare phenomenon in their country, excepting in the neighbourhood of the Mediterranean; and as the seasons are perfectly regular, the peasant may make his arrangements with the utmost precision respecting the labour he will have to perform. Sometimes his labour is

2 L

light; but when it consists in raising water for irrigation, it is excessively se

vere.

"The climate of Egypt during the greater part of the year is remarkably salubrious. The exhalations from the soil after the period of the inundation render the latter part of the autumn less healthy than the summer and winter, and cause ophthalmia and dysentery, and some other diseases, to be more prevalent then than at other seasons; and during a period of somewhat more or less than fifty days (called el-khum'a'see'n), commencing in April, and lasting throughout May, hot southerly winds occasionally prevail for about three days together. These winds, though they seldom cause the thermometer of Fahrenheit to rise above 95° in Lower Egypt, or in Upper Egypt 105°, are dreadfully oppressive, even to the natives. When the plague visits Egypt, it is generally in the spring; and this disease is most severe in the period of the khum'a'see'n. Egypt is also subject, particularly during the spring and summer, to the hot wind called the semoo'm, which is still more oppressive than the khum'a'see'n winds, but of much shorter duration; seldom lasting longer than a quarter of an hour, or twenty minutes. It generally proceeds from the south-east or south-south-east, and carries with it clouds of dust and sand. The general height of the thermometer in the depth of winter in Lower Egypt, in the afternoon and in the shade, is from 500 to 60°: in the hottest season it is from 90° to 100°; and about 10° higher in the southern parts of Upper Egypt. But though the summer heat is so great, it is seldom very oppressive; being generally accompanied by a refreshing northerly breeze, and the air being extremely dry. There is, however, one great source of discomfort arising from this dryness, namely, an excessive quantity of dust; and there are other plagues which very much detract from the comfort which the natives of Egypt and visiters to their country otherwise derive from its genial climate. In spring, summer, and autumn,

flies are so abundant as to be extremely annoying during the day-time, and musquitoes are troublesome at night (unless a curtain be made use of to keep them away), and sometimes even in the day; and every house that contains much wood-work (as most of the better houses do) swarms with bugs during the warm weather. Lice are not always to be avoided in any season, but they are easily got rid of; and in the cooler weather fleas are excessively numerous.

"The climate of Upper Egypt is more healthy, though hotter, than that of Lower Egypt. The plague seldom ascends far above Cairo, the metropolis. It is most common in the marshy parts of the country, near the Mediterranean. During the last ten years, the country having been better drained, and quarantine regulations adopted to prevent or guard against the introduction of this disease from other countries, very few plaguecases have occurred, excepting in the parts above mentioned, and in those parts the pestilence has not been severe. Ophthalmia is also more common in Lower Egypt than in the southern parts. It generally arises from checked perspiration; but is aggravated by the dust and many other causes. When remedies are promptly employed, this disease is seldom alarming in its progress; but vast numbers of the natives of Egypt, not knowing how to treat it, or obstinately resigning themselves to fate, are deprived of the sight of one or both of their eyes.

"The modern Egyptian metropolis is now called Musr; but was formerly named El-Chahireh; whence Europeans have formed the name of Cairo. It is situated at the entrance of the valley of Upper Egypt, midway between the Nile and the eastern mountain range of Moockuttum. Between it and the river there intervenes a tract of land, for the most part cultivated, which, in the northern parts (where the port of Boolack is situated), is more than a mile in width, and, at the southern part, less than half a mile wide. The metropolis occupies a space equal to about three square miles; and