town of Arabia, situated, according to Mr Bruce, in N. Lat. 28° 45' E. Long. 39° 16' 45". It is situated in a very unwholesome, barren, and desert part of the country. Immediately without the gate to the eastward is a desert plain filled with the huts of the Bedouins or country Arabs, built of long bundles of spartum or bent-grass put together like fascines. These people supply the town with milk and butter. "There is no stirring out of the town (says Mr Bruce) even for a walk, unless for about half a mile in the south-side by the sea, where there is a number of flanking pools of stagnant water, which contributes to make the town very unwholesome."

From the disagreeable and inconvenient situation of this port, it is probable, that it would have been long ago abandoned, had it not been for its vicinity to Mecca, and the vast annual influx of wealth occasioned by the India trade; which, however, does not continue, but passes on to Mecca, whence it is dispersed all over the east. The town of Jidda itself receives but little advantage, for all the customs are immediately sent to the needy and rapacious sheriff of Mecca and his dependents. "The gold (says Mr Bruce) is returned in bags and boxes, and passes on as rapidly to the ships as the goods do to the market, and leaves as little profit behind. In the mean time provisions rise to a prodigious price, and this falls upon the townsmen, while all the profit of the traffic is in the hands of strangers; most of whom, after the market is over (which does not last six weeks), retire to Yemen and other neighbouring countries, which abound in every sort of provision.

From this scarcity, Mr Bruce supposes it is that polygamy is less common here than in any other part of Arabia. "Few of the inhabitants of Jidda (says our author) can avail themselves of the privilege granted by Mahomet. He cannot marry more than one wife, because he cannot maintain more; and from this cause arises the want of people and the number of unmarried women."

The trade at Jidda is carried on in a manner which appeared very strange to our traveller. "Nine ships (says he) were there from India; some of them worth, I suppose, 200,000l. One merchant, a Turk, living at Mecca, 30 hours journey off, where no Christian dares go whilst the continent is open to the Turk for escape." Jidda escape, offers to purchase the cargoes of four out of these nine ships himself; another of the same cast comes and says he will buy none unless he has them all. The samples are shown, and the cargoes of the whole nine ships are carried into the wildest parts of Arabia by men with whom one would not wish to trust himself alone in the field. This is not all; two India brokers come into the room to settle the price; one on the part of the India Captain, the other on that of the buyer the Turk. They are neither Mahometans nor Christians, but have credit with both. They sit down on the carpet, and take an India shawl which they carry on their shoulder like a napkin, and spread it over their hands. They talk in the mean time indifferent conversation, as if they were employed in no serious business whatever. After about 20 minutes spent in handling each other's fingers below the shawl, the bargain is concluded, say for nine ships, without one word ever having been spoken on the subject, or pen or ink used in any shape whatever. There never was one instance of a dispute happening in these fairs. But this is not all; the money is yet to be paid. A private Moor, who has nothing to support him but his character, becomes responsible for the payment of these cargoes. This man delivers a number of coarse hempen bags full of what is supposed to be money. He marks the contents upon the bag, and puts his seal upon the string that ties the mouth of it. This is received for what is marked upon it without anyone ever having opened one of the bags; and in India it is current for the value marked upon it as long as the bag lasts.

The port of Jidda is very extensive, and contains numberless shoals, small islands, and sunk rocks, with deep channels, however, between them; but in the harbour itself ships may ride secure, whatever wind blows. The only danger is in the coming in or going out; but as the pilots are very skilful, accidents are never known to happen. The charts of this harbour, as Mr Bruce informs us, are exceedingly erroneous. While he stood here, he was defied by Captain Thorulill to make a new chart of the harbour; but finding that it had been undertaken by another gentleman, Captain Newland, he dropped it. He argues in the strongest terms against the old maps, which he says can be of no use, but the contrary; and he gives it as a characteristic of the Red sea, "scarce to have soundings in any part of the channel, and often on both sides; whilst ashore, soundings are hardly found a boat length from the main." To this, says he, I will add, that there is scarce one island on which I ever was, where the boltspurit was not over the land, while there were no soundings by a line heaved over the stern. Of all the vessels in Jidda, only two had their log-lines properly divided, and yet all were so fond of their supposed accuracy, as to aver they had kept their course within five leagues between India and Babelmandel. Yet they had made no estimation of the currents without the straits, nor the different very strong ones soon after passing Socotra; their half-minute glances, upon a medium, ran 57 seconds; they had made no observations on the tides or currents in the Red sea, either in the channel or in the inward passage; yet there is delineated in this map a course of Captain Newland's, which he kept in the middle of the channel, full of sharp angles and short stretches; you would think every yard was measured and founded!"