in Ancient Geography, a mountain of Mylia, on the sea coast, forming a part of Mount Ida, where Paris gave judgment on the three goddesses.

now Scanderia, by Athenæus called Ξανθοῦ; a city of Lower Egypt, and for a long time its capital. This city was built by Alexander the Great, soon after the overthrow of Tyre, about 333 years before Christ. It is situated on the Mediterranean, twelve miles west of that mouth of the Nile anciently called Canopicum; and lies in E. Long. 30° 9'. N. Lat. 31° 40'.

Alexander is said to have been induced to build this city, (on account of its being conveniently situated for a fine port) and so sudden was his resolution, that after he had directed where every public structure was to be placed, fixed the number of temples, and the deities to whom they should be dedicated, &c., there were no instruments at hand proper for marking out the walls, according to the custom of those times. Upon this, a workman advised the king to collect what meal was among the soldiers, and to fit it in lines upon the ground, whereby the circuit of the walls would be sufficiently marked out. This advice was followed; and the new method of marking out the walls was, by Aristander, the king's footstapler, interpreted as a presage of the city's abounding with all the necessaries of life. Nor was he deceived in his predictions; for Alexandria soon became the staple, not only for merchandise, but also for all the arts and sciences of the Greeks.

Alexandria was a league and a half long, by one-third in breadth, which made the circumference of its walls about four leagues. Lake Mareotis bathed its walls on the south, and the Mediterranean on the north. It was intersected lengthwise by straight parallel streets. This direction left a free passage to the northern wind, which alone conveys coolness and salubrity into Egypt. A street of 2000 feet wide began at the gate of the sea, and terminated at the gate of Canopus. It was decorated with magnificent houses, temples, and public buildings. In this extensive range, the eye was never tired with admiring the marble, the porphyry, and obelisks, which were destined for some future day to embellish Rome and Constantinople. This street, the handsomest in the universe, was intersected by another of the same breadth, which formed a square at their junction of half a league in circumference. From the middle of this great place, the two gates were to be seen at once, and vessels arriving under full sail from the north and from the south.

A mole of a mile in length stretched from the continent to the island of Pharos, and divided the great harbour into two. That which is to the northward preserved its name. A dike drawn from the island to the rock whereon was built the Pharos, secured it from the westerly winds. The other was called Eumolpos, or the Safe-Return. The former is called at present the new, the latter the old harbour: a bridge that joins the mole to the city, served for a communication between them. It was raised on lofty pillars sunk into the sea, and left a free passage for ships. The palace, which advanced beyond the promontory of Lochias, extended as far as the dike, and occupied more than a quarter of the city. Each of the Ptolemies added to its magnificence. It contained within its enclosure the museum, an asylum for learned men, groves, and buildings worthy of royal majesty, and a temple where the body of Alexander was deposited in a golden coffin. The infamous Seleucus Cibyraëtes violated this monument, carried off the golden coffin, and put a glass one in its place. In the great harbour was the little island of Anti-Rhodes, where stood a theatre, and a royal place of residence. Within the harbour of Eumolpos was a smaller one, called Kibotos, dug by the hand of man, which communicated with Lake Mareotis by a canal. Between this canal and the palace was the admirable temple of Serapis, and that of Neptune near the great place where the market was held. Alexandria extended likewise along the southern banks of the lake. Its eastern part presented to view the gymnasium, with its porticoes of more than 600 feet long, supported by several rows of marble pillars. Without the gate of Canopus was a spacious circus for the chariot races. Beyond that, the suburb of Nicopolis ran along the seashore, and seemed a second Alexandria. A superb amphitheatre was built there, with a race-ground, for the celebration of the quinquennalia.

Such is the description left us of Alexandria by the ancients, and above all by Strabo.

The architect employed by Alexander in this undertaking was the celebrated Dinocrates, who had acquired so much reputation by rebuilding the temple of Diana at Ephesus. The city was first rendered populous by Ptolemy Soter, one of Alexander's captains, who, after the death of the Macedonian monarch, being appointed governor of Egypt, soon assumed the title of king, and took up his residence at Alexandria, about 304 years before Christ. In the 30th year of Ptolemy Soter's reign, he took his son Ptolemy Philadelphus partner with him in the empire; and by this prince the city of Alexandria was much embellished. In the first year of his reign, the famous watch-tower of Pharos was finished. It had been begun several years before by Ptolemy Soter; and, when finished, was looked upon as one of the wonders of the world. The same year, the island of Pharos itself, originally seven furlongs distant from the continent, was joined to it by a causeway. This was the work of Dexiphanes, who completed it at the same time that his son put the last hand to the tower. The tower was a large square structure of white marble; on the top of which fires were kept constantly burning, for the direction of sailors. The building cost 800 talents; which, if Attic, amounted to 165,000l.; if Alexandrian, to twice that sum.

The architect employed in this famous structure fell upon the following contrivance to usurp the whole glory to himself.—Being ordered to engrave upon it the following inscription:—"King PTOLEMY to the Gods the Saviours for the benefit of Sailors;" instead of the king's name he substituted his own, and then filling up the hollow of the marble with mortar, wrote upon it the above-mentioned inscription. In process of time, the mortar being worn off, the following inscription appeared: "SOSTRATUS the CNIDIAN, the son of DEXIPHANES, to the Gods the Saviours, for the benefit of Sailors."

This year also was remarkable for the bringing of the image of Serapis from Pontus to Alexandria. It was set up in one of the suburbs of the city called Rhacotis, where a temple was afterwards erected to his honour, suitable to the greatness of that stately metropolis, and called, from the god worshipped there, Serapeum. This structure, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, surpassed in beauty and magnificence all others in the world, except the capitol at Rome.

Within the verge of this temple was the famous Alexandrian library. It was founded by Ptolemy Soter, for the use of an academy he instituted in this city; and, by continual additions by his successors, became at last the finest library in the world, containing no fewer than 700,000 volumes. The method followed in collecting books for this library, was, to seize all those which were brought into Egypt by Greeks or other foreigners. The books were transcribed in the museum by persons appointed for that purpose; the copies were then delivered to the proprietors, and the originals laid up in the library. Ptolemy Euergetes, having borrowed from the Athenians the works of Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus, returned them only the copies, which he caused to be transcribed in as beautiful a manner as possible; presenting the Athenians at the same time with fifteen talents (upwards of 30,000l. sterling) for the exchange.

As the museum was at first in that quarter of the city called Bruchion, near the royal palace, the library was placed there likewise; but when it came to contain 400,000 volumes, another library, within the Serapeum, was erected by way of supplement to it, and on that account called the daughter of the former. In this second library 300,000 volumes, in process of time, were deposited; and the two together contained the 700,000 volumes already mentioned. In the war carried on by Julius Caesar against the inhabitants of this city, the library in the Bruchion, with the 400,000 volumes it contained, was reduced to ashes. The library in the Serapeum, however, still remained; and here Cleopatra deposed 200,000 volumes of the Pergean library, which Mark Antony presented her with. These, and others added from time to time, rendered the new library at Alexandria more numerous and considerable than the former; and though it was often plundered during the revolutions and troubles of the Roman empire, yet it was again and again repaired, and filled with the same number of books.

For 293 years Alexandria was held in subjection by the Ptolemies. Here is a list of these princes, with the dates of their respective reigns:

Ptolemy the son of Lagas, surnamed Soter, reigned 39 years, and died in the year of the world 3720. Ptolemy Philadelphus reigned 39 years, and died in 3758. Ptolemy Euergetes reigned 25 years, and died in 3783. Ptolemy Philopater reigned 17 years, and died in 3800. Ptolemy Epiphanes reigned 24 years, and died in 3824. Ptolemy Philometor reigned 37 years, and died in 3861. Ptolemy Euergetes or Physicon reigned 53 years, part with his brother Philometer, and part alone. He died in 3888. Ptolemy Lathyrus reigned 36 years six months. He died in 3923. Cleopatra, the daughter of Lathyrus and wife of Alexander I., reigned six months. Alexander I., the nephew of Lathyrus, was established in 3924, and died in 3943. Alexander II., the son of Alexander I., was dethroned by the Alexandrians in 3939. Ptolemy Nothus, or Antiochus, the son of Lathyrus, reigned 13 years, and died in 3953. Ptolemy, surnamed Dionysius or Bacchus, reigned three years eight months, and died in 3957. Cleopatra reigned from 3957, and killed herself in 3974.

This city, as we have already observed, soon became extremely populous, and was embellished both by its own princes and the Romans; but, like most other noted cities of antiquity, hath been the seat of terrible massacres. About 141 years before Christ, it was almost totally depopulated by Ptolemy Physicon. That barbarous monster, without the least provocation, gave free liberty to his guards to plunder his metropolis and murder the inhabitants at their pleasure. The cruelties practised on this occasion cannot be expressed; and the few who escaped were so terrified that they fled into other countries. Upon this, Physicon, that he might not reign over empty houses, invited thither strangers from the neighbouring countries; by whom the city was repeopled, and soon recovered its former splendour. On this occasion, many learned men having been obliged to fly, proved the means of reviving learning in Greece, Asia Minor, and the islands of the Archipelago, and other places, where it was almost totally lost.

The new inhabitants were not treated with much more kindness by Physicon than the old ones had been; for, on their complaining of his tyrannical behaviour, he resolved on a general massacre of the young men. Accordingly, when they were one day assembled in the gymnasium, or place of their public exercises, he ordered it to be set on fire; so that they all perished. ALE

Alexandria, ed., either in the flames, or by the swords of his mercenaries, whom the tyrant had placed at all the avenues.

Though Julius Caesar was obliged to carry on a war for some time against this city, it seems not to have suffered much damage, except the burning of the library already mentioned. Before Caesar left Alexandria, in acknowledgment of the affiance he had received from the Jews, he confirmed all their privileges there, and even engraved his decree on a pillar of brafs. This, however, did not prevent the massacre of 50,000 of them in this city about the year of Christ 67.

The city of Alexandria seems to have fallen into decay soon after this, and to have forfeited many of its ancient privileges, though for what offence is not known; but when Adrian visited Egypt, about the year 141, it was almost totally ruined. He repaired both the public and private buildings, not only restoring the inhabitants to their ancient privileges, but heaping new favours upon them; for which they returned him their solemn thanks, and conferred upon him what honours they could while he was present; but as soon as he was gone, they published the most virulent and bitter lampoons against him.

The fickle and satirical humour of the Alexandrians was highly disliked by Adrian, though he inflicted no punishment upon them for it; but when they lampooned Caracalla, he did not let them escape so easily. That tyrant, in the year 215, when he visited their city, having become the subject of their foolish satires, ordered a general massacre, by his numerous troops, who were dispersed all over the city. The inhuman orders being given, all were murdered, without distinction of age or sex; so that in one night's time the whole city floated in blood, and every house was filled with carcases. The monster who occasioned this had retired during the night to the temple of Serapis, to implore the protection of that deity; and, not yet satiated with slaughter, commanded the massacre to be continued all the next day; so that very few of the inhabitants remained. As if even this had not been sufficient, he stripped the city of all its ancient privileges; suppremed the academy; ordered all strangers who lived there to depart; and that the few who remained might not have the satisfaction of seeing one another, he cut off all communication of one street with another, by walls built for that purpose, and guarded by troops left there.

Notwithstanding this terrible disaster, Alexandria soon recovered its former splendour, as Caracalla was murdered a short time after. It was long esteemed the first city in the world, next to Rome; and we may judge of its magnificence, and the multitude of people contained in it, from the account of Diodorus Siculus, who relates, that in his time (44 years before Christ) Alexandria had on its rolls 300,000 freemen. Towards the middle of the fifth century, Amrou Ebn al Aas, Omar's general, took it by storm, after a siege of 14 months, and with the loss of 23,000 men. Heraclius, then emperor of Constantinople, did not send a single ship to its assistance. This prince affords an example very rare in history; he had displayed some vigour in the first year of his reign, and then suffered himself to be lulled into idleness and effeminacy. Awakened suddenly from his lethargy by the noise of the conquests of Cosroes, that courage of the east, he Alexandria put himself at the head of his armies, distinguished himself as a great captain from his very first campaign, laid waste Persia for seven years, and returned to his capital covered with laurels; he then became a theologian on the throne, lost all his energy, and amused himself the rest of his life with disputing upon Monothelism, whilst the Arabs were robbing him of the finest provinces of the empire. Deaf to the cries of the unfortunate inhabitants of Alexandria, as he had been to those of the people of Jerusalem, who defended themselves for two years, he left them a sacrifice to the fortunate ascendant of the indefatigable Amrou. All their trepid youth perished with their arms in their hands.

The victor, astonished at his conquest, wrote to the caliph, "I have taken the city of the west. It is of an immense extent. I cannot describe to you how many wonders it contains. There are 4000 palaces, 4000 baths, 12,000 dealers in fresh oil, 12,000 gardeners, 42,000 Jews who pay tribute, 400 theatres or places of amusement."

At this time, according to the Arabian historians, Alexandria consisted of three cities, viz. Mena, or the port, which included Pharos, and the neighbouring parts; Alexandria, properly so called, where the modern Scanderia now stands; and Nekita, probably the Necropolis of Josephus and Strabo.

At that time John, named the Grammarian, a famous Peripatetic philosopher, being in the city, and in high favour with Amrou Ebn al Aas the Saracen general, begged of him the royal library. Amrou replied, that it was not in his power to grant such a request; but that he would write to the caliph on that head; hence, without knowing his pleasure, he dared not to dispose of a single book. He accordingly wrote to Omar, who was then caliph, acquainting him with the request of his friend: To which the ignorant tyrant replied, That if those books contained the same doctrine with the Koran, they could be of no use, since the Koran contained all necessary truths; but if they contained any thing contrary to that book, they ought not to be suffered; and therefore, whatever their contents were, he ordered them to be destroyed. Pursuant to this order, they were distributed among the public baths; where, for the space of six months, they served to supply the fires of those places, of which there was an incredible number in Alexandria.

After the city was taken, Amrou thought proper to pursue the Greeks who had fled farther up the country; and therefore marched out of Alexandria, leaving but a very slender garrison in the place. The Greeks, who had before fled on board their ships, being apprised of this, returned on a sudden, surprized the town, and put all the Arabs they found therein to the sword; but Amrou, receiving advice of what had happened, suddenly returned, and drove them out of it with great slaughter; after which the Greeks were so intimidated, that he had nothing farther to fear from them.—A few years after, however, Amrou being deprived of his government by the caliph Othman, the Egyptians were so much displeased with his dilution that they inclined to a revolt; and Constantine the Greek emperor, having received intelligence of their disaffection, began to meditate the reduction of Alexandria. For this purpose, he Alexandria, he sent one Manuel, an eunuch, and his general, with a powerful army, to retake that place; which, by the affluence of the Greeks in the city, who kept a secret correspondence with the imperial forces while at sea, and joined them as soon as they had made a descent, he effected, without any considerable effusion of Christian blood. The caliph, now perceiving his mistake, immediately restored Amrou to his former dignity. This step was very agreeable to the natives; who having had experience of the military skill and bravery of this renowned general, and apprehending that they should be called to an account by the Greeks for their former perfidious conduct, had petitioned Othman to send him again into Egypt.—Upon Amrou's arrival, therefore, at Alexandria, the Copts or natives, with the traitor Al-Mokawwas (who had formerly betrayed to Amrou the fortresses of Meir) at their head, not only joined him, but supplied him with all kinds of provisions, exciting him to attack the Greeks without delay. This he did; and, after a most obstinate dispute which lasted several days, drove them into the town, where, for some time, they defended themselves with great bravery, and repelled the utmost efforts of the besiegers. This so exasperated Amrou, that he swore, "If God enabled him to conquer the Greeks, he would throw down the walls of the city, and make it as easy of access as the house of a prostitute." Nor did he fail to execute his threat; for having taken the town by storm, he quite dismantled it, entirely demolishing the walls and fortifications. The lives of the citizens, however, were spared, at least as far as lay in the general's power; but many of them were put to the sword by the soldiers on their first entrance. In one quarter particularly, Amrou found them butchering the Alexandrians with unrelenting barbarity; to which, however, by his reasonable interposition, he put a stop, and on that spot erected a mosque, which he called the mosque of mercy.

From this time Alexandria never recovered its former splendour. It continued under the dominion of the caliphs till the year 924, when it was taken by the Magrebians, two years after its great church had been destroyed by fire. This church was called by the Arabs Al-Kafuria, or Cefaria; and had formerly been a pagan temple, erected in honour of Saturn by the famous Queen Cleopatra.

The city was soon after abandoned by the Magrebians; but in 928 they again made themselves masters of it; their fleet being afterwards defeated by that belonging to the caliph, Abul Kafem the Magrebian general retired from Alexandria, leaving there only a garrison of 300 men; of which Thmaid, the caliph's admiral, being apprised, he in a few days appeared before the town, and carried off the remainder of the inhabitants to an island in the Nile called Abuqair. This was done to prevent Abul Kafem from meeting with any entertainment at Alexandria, in case he should think proper to return. According to Eutychius, above 200,000 of the miserable inhabitants perished this year.

What contributed to raise Alexandria to such a prodigious height of splendour as it enjoyed for a long time, was its being the centre of commerce between the eastern and western parts of the world. It was with the view of becoming master of this lucrative trade, that Alexander built this city, after having extirpated the Tyrians who formerly engrossed all the East India traffic. Of the immense riches which that trade afforded, we may form an idea, from considering that the Romans accounted it a point of policy to oppress the Egyptians, especially the Alexandrians; and after the defeat of Zenobia, there was a single merchant of Alexandria who undertook to raise and pay an army out of the profits of his trade. The Greek emperors drew prodigious tributes from Egypt, and yet the caliphs found their subjects in so good circumstances as to screw up their revenues to three hundred millions of crowns.

Though the revolutions which happened in the government of Egypt, after it fell into the hands of the Mahometans, frequently affected this city to a very great degree; yet still the excellence of its port, and the innumerable conveniences resulting from the East India trade, to whomsoever were masters of Egypt, preserved Alexandria from total destruction, even when in the hands of the most barbarous nations. Thus, in the 13th century, when the barbarism introduced by the Goths, &c., began to wear off from the European nations, and they acquired a taste for the elegancies of life, the old mart of Alexandria began to revive; and the port, though far from recovering its former magnificence, grew once more famous by becoming the centre of commerce; but having fallen under the dominion of the Turks, and the passage round the Cape of Good Hope being discovered by the Portuguese in 1499, a fatal blow was given to the Alexandrian commerce, and the city has since fallen into decay.

At present, the city of Alexandria is reckoned to have about 14,000 or 15,000 inhabitants; a strange conglomeration of different nations, as well as from various parts of the Turkish empire. They are in general given to thieving and cheating; and (like their predecessors) factious above all others, were they not kept in awe by the severity of their government. The British and French carry on a considerable commerce with them, and have each a consul residing here. Some Venetian ships also sail thither yearly, but with French colours, and under the protection of France. The subjects of those kingdoms which keep no consul here, are subjected to a tax by the Grand Signior; but the Jews have found out a method of indemnifying themselves for this disadvantage; namely, by selling their commodities cheaper than other foreigners can afford. They are also favoured by the farmers of the revenue; who know, that if they do not pay some private regard to them, the Jews have it in their power to cause fewer merchandises come into their port during the two years that their farm lasts.

The present city is a kind of peninsula situated between the two ports. That to the westward was called by the ancients the Portus Eumolpus, now the Old Port, and is by far the best: Turkish vessels only are allowed to anchor there; the other called, the New Port, is for the Christians; at the extremity of one of the arms of which stood the famous Pharos. The New Port, the only harbour for Europeans, is clogged up with sand, inasmuch that in stormy weather ships are liable to bilge; and the bottom being also rocky, the cables soon chafe and part; so that one vessel driving against a second, and that against a third, they are perhaps all lost. Of this there was a fatal instance some years ago, when 42 vessels were dashed to pieces on the mole. Alexandria in a gale of wind from the north-west, and numbers have been fine lost there at different times. If it be asked in Europe, 'Why do they not repair the New Port?' The answer is, That in Turkey they destroy every thing, and repair nothing. The old harbour will be destroyed likewise, as the hall of vellies has been continually thrown into it for the last 200 years. The spirit of the Turkish government is to ruin the labours of past ages, and destroy the hopes of future times, because the barbarity of ignorant despots never confers to-morrow.

In time of war, Alexandria is of no importance; no fortification is to be seen; even the Farillon, with its lofty towers, cannot be defended. It has not four cannon fit for service, nor a gunner who knows how to point them. The 500 janizaries, who should form the garrison, reduced to half that number, know nothing but how to smoke a pipe. But Alexandria is a place of which the conquest would be of no value. A foreign power could not maintain itself there, as the country is without water. This must be brought from the Nile by the kalidj, or canal of 12 leagues, which conveys it thither every year at the time of the inundation. It fills the vaults or reservoirs dug under the ancient city, and this provision must serve till the next year. It is evident, therefore, that were a foreign power to take possession, the canal would be filled, and all supplies of water cut off. It is this canal alone which connects Alexandria with Egypt; for from its situation without the Delta, and the nature of the soil, it really belongs to the deserts of Africa. Its environs are sandy, flat, and sterile, without trees and without houses; where we meet with nothing but the plant which yields the kah, and a row of palm-trees which follows the course of the kalidj or canal.

The city is governed like others in the same kingdom. (See Egypt.) It hath a small garrison of soldiers, part of which are Janizaries and Affairs; who are very haughty and insolent, not only to strangers, but to the mercantile and industrious part of the people, though ever so considerable and useful. The government is to revolve in favour of these wretches, that Mr Norden informs us, one of them did not hesitate to kill a farmer of the customs, for refusing to take less of him than the duty imposed, and went off unpunished; it being a common salvo among them, that what is done cannot be undone.

The present condition of Alexandria is very despicable, being now so far ruined, that the rubbish in many places overtops the houses. The famous tower of Pharos has long since been demolished, and a castle, called Farillon, built in its place. The causeway, which joined the island to the continent is broken down, and its place supplied by a strong bridge of several arches.

Some parts of the old walls of the city are yet standing, and present us with a masterpiece of ancient masonry. They are flanked with large towers, about 200 paces distant from each other, with small ones in the middle. Below are magnificent cæsareans, which may serve for galleries to walk in. In the lower part of the towers is a large square hall, whose roof is supported by thick columns of Thébaic stone. Above this are several rooms, over which there are platforms more than 20 paces square. The ancient reservoirs, vaulted with so much art, which extend under the whole town, Alexandria, are almost entire at the end of 2000 years.

Of Caesar's palace there remain only a few porphyry pillars, and the front, which is almost entire, and looks very beautiful. The palace of Cleopatra was built upon the walls facing the port, having a gallery on the outside, supported by several fine columns. Not far from this palace are two obelisks, vulgarly called Cleopatra's Needles. They are of Thébaic stone, and covered with hieroglyphics. One is overturned, broken, and lying under the sand; the other is on its pedestal. These two obelisks, each of them of a single stone, are about 60 feet high, by seven feet square at the base. Denon, who went to Egypt along with the French army in 1798, supposes that these columns decorated the entrance of the palace of the Ptolemies, the ruins of which still exist at no great distance from the place of the obelisks. Towards the gate of Rofetta, are five columns of marble on the place formerly occupied by the porticoes of the gymnasium. The rest of the colonnade, the design of which was discoverable 100 years ago by Maillet, has since been destroyed by the barbarism of the Turks.

But what most engages the attention of travellers is the pillar of Pompey, as it is commonly called, situated at a quarter of a league from the southern gate. It is composed of red granite. The capital is Corinthian, with palm leaves, and not indented. It is nine feet high. The shaft and the upper member of the base are of one piece 90 feet long, and nine in diameter. The base is a square of about 15 feet on each side. This block of marble, 60 feet in circumference, rests on two layers of stone bound together with lead; which, however, has not prevented the Arabs from forcing out several of them, to search for an imaginary treasure. The whole column is 114 feet high. It is perfectly well polished, and only a little chipped on the eastern side. Nothing can equal the majesty of this monument; seen from a distance, it overtops the town, and serves as a signal for vessels. Approaching it nearer, it produces an astonishment mixed with awe. One can never be tired with admiring the beauty of the capital, the length of the shaft, nor the extraordinary simplicity of the pedestal. This last has been somewhat damaged by the intrusions of travellers, who are curious to possess a relic of this antiquity; and one of the volutes of the column was immaturely brought down about twelve years ago, by a prank of some English captains, which is thus related by Mr Irwin.

These jolly sons of Neptune had been puzzling about the can on board one of the ships in the harbour, until Voyage and a strange freak entered into one of their brains. The Route's eccentricity of the thought occasioned it immediately to be adopted; and its apparent impossibility was but a spur for the putting it into execution. The boat was ordered; and with proper implements for the attempt, these enterprising heroes pulled ashore, to drink a bowl of punch on the top of Pompey's pillar! At the spot they arrived; and many contrivances were proposed to accomplish the desired point. But their labour was vain; and they began to despair of success, when the genius who struck out the frolic happily suggested the means of performing it. A man was dispatched Alexandria, patched to the city for a paper kite. The inhabitants were by this time apprized of what was going forward, and flocked in crowds to be witnesses of the address and boldness of the English. The governor of Alexandria was told that these seamen were about to pull down Pompey's pillar. But whether he gave them credit for their respect to the Roman warrior, or to the Turkish government, he left them to themselves; and politely answered, that the English were too great patriots to injure the remains of Pompey. He knew little, however, of the dilapidation of the people who were engaged in this undertaking. Had the Turkish empire risen in opposition, it would not perhaps at that moment have deterred them. The kite was brought, and flown so directly over the pillar, that when it fell on the other side, the string lodged upon the capital. The chief obstacle was now overcome. A two-inch rope was tied to one end of the string, and drawn over the pillar by the end to which the kite was affixed. By this rope one of the seamen ascended to the top; and in less than an hour a kind of shroud was constructed, by which the whole company went up, and drank their punch amid the shouts of the astonished multitude. To the eye below, the capital of the pillar does not appear capable of holding more than one man upon it; but our seamen found it could contain no less than eight persons very conveniently. It is altogether nothing that no accident befell these madcaps, in a situation so elevated, that would have turned a landman giddy in his sober senses. The only detriment which the pillar received, was the loss of the volute before mentioned; which came down with a thundering sound, and was carried to England by one of the captains, as a present to a lady who commissioned him for a piece of the pillar. The discovery which they made amply compensated for this mischief; as without their evidence, the world would not have known at this hour that there was originally a statue on this pillar, one foot and ankle of which are still remaining. The statue must have been of a gigantic size; to have appeared of a man's proportion at so great a height.

There are circumstances in this story which might give it an air of fiction, were it not demonstrated beyond all doubt. Besides the testimonies of many eyewitnesses, the adventurers themselves have left us a token of the fact, by the initials of their names, which are very legible in black paint just beneath the capital.

Learned men and travellers have made many fruitless attempts to discover in honour of what prince it was erected. The best informed have concluded, that it could not be in honour of Pompey, since neither Strabo nor Diodorus Siculus have spoken of it. The Arabian Abulfeda, in his Description of Egypt, calls it the Pillar of Severus. And history informs us* that this emperor "visited the city of Alexandria: That he granted a senate to its inhabitants, who until that time, under the subjection of a single Roman magistrate, had lived without any national council, as under the reign of the Ptolemies, when the will of the prince was their only law: That he did not confine his benefactions there; he changed several laws in their favour." This column, therefore, Mr Savary concludes to have been erected by the inhabitants as a mark of their gratitude to Severus. And in a Greek inscription, now half effaced, but visible on the west side when the sun shines upon it, and which probably was legible in the time of Abulfeda, he supposes the name of Severus to have been preserved. He further observes, that this was not the only monument erected to him by the gratitude of the Alexandrians; for there is still seen in the midst of the ruins of Antinoë, built by Adrian, a magnificent pillar, the inscription on which is still remaining, dedicated to Alexander Severus.

Denon, whom we have already quoted, seems to be of a different opinion. "We passed (says he) near Pompey's pillar. This monument is in the predicament of almost every thing famous, which loses on a near scrutiny. It was named Pompey's pillar in the fifteenth century, when learning began to recover itself from the torpid state in which it had so long languished. At that epoch, men of science, but not observers, bestowed names on all the monuments; and these names have been handed down by tradition, and without being disputed, from century to century. A monument had been raised to Pompey at Alexandria; it had disappeared, and was thought to be recovered in this pillar or column, which has since been converted into a trophy erected to the memory of Septimius Severus. It is, however, placed on the ruins of the ancient city; and in the time of Septimius Severus, the city of the Ptolemies was not in a ruinous state. To support this column by a solid foundation, an obelisk has been sunk in the earth, on which is placed a very clumsy pedestal, having a fine shaft, and surmounted by a Corinthian capital of bad workmanship.

"If the shaft of this column, separating it from the pedestal and the capital, once belonged to an ancient edifice, it is an evidence of its magnificence, and of the skill with which it was executed. It ought therefore to be said, that what is called Pompey's pillar, is a fine column, and not a fine monument. It should be said, that the column of St Maria Maggiore, notwithstanding it is one of the finest in existence, has not the character of a monument; that it is merely a fragment; and that, if the columns of Trajan and Antoninus are not in the same predicament, it is because they appear as colossal cylinders, on which the history of the glorious expeditions of these two emperors is pompously displayed, and which, if reduced to their simple form and dimensions, would be nothing more than dull and heavy monuments.

"The earth about the foundation of Pompey's pillar having been cleared away by time, two fragments of an obelisk of white marble, the only monument of that substance which I have seen in Egypt, have been added to the original base, to render it more solid.

"Excavations made round the circumference of this column, would, no doubt, afford some information relative to its origin. The flaking of the earth, and the form it takes on treading on it, seem to attest that these researches would not be fruitless. They would perhaps discover the base and atrium of the portico to which this column belonged, which has been the subject of dissertations made by literati who have seen the drawings only, or whose information has been limited to the descriptions of travellers. These travellers have neglected to apprise them, that fragments of columns of the same substance and diameter are found in the vicinity; and that the flaking of the earth indicates the destruction of great edifices buried beneath, the forms of which... ALE

Alexandria, which may be distinguished on the surface, such as a square of a considerable size, and a large circus, the principal dimensions of which may be measured, notwithstanding it is covered with sand and ruins.

"After having observed that the column, entitled Pompey's pillar, is very chaste both in style and execution; that the pedestal and capital are not formed of the same granite as the shaft; that their workmanship is heavy, and appears to be merely a rough draught; and that the foundations, made up of fragments, indicate a modern construction; it may be concluded that this monument is not antique, and that it may have been erected either in the time of the Greek emperors, or of the caliphs; since, if the capital and pedestal are well enough wrought to belong to the former of these periods, they are not so perfect but that art may have reached so far in the latter." (Demon's Travels)

On the south-west side of the city, at a mile's distance, are situated the catacombs, the ancient burial-place of Alexandria; and although they cannot be compared to those of the ancient Memphis, which the Arabs will not permit to be visited, in order to make the better market of their mummies, it is probable that, the method of embalming being the same, the form of these catacombs can only differ in their proportions. The Baron de Tott, in describing these, observes, "that Nature not having furnished this part of Egypt with a ridge of rocks, like that which runs parallel with the Nile above Delta, the ancient inhabitants of Alexandria could only have an imitation by digging into a bed of solid rock; and thus they formed Necropolis, or "City of the Dead." The excavation is from 30 to 40 feet wide, and 200 long, and 25 deep, and is terminated by gentle declivities at each end. The two sides, cut perpendicularly, contain several openings, about 10 or 12 feet in width and height, hollowed horizontally; and which form, by their different branches, subterranean streets. One of these, which curiosity has disencumbered from the ruins and sands that render the entrance of others difficult or impossible, contains no mummies, but only the places they occupied. The order in which they were ranged is still to be seen. Niches, 20 inches square, sunk six feet horizontally, narrowed at the bottom, and separated from each other by partitions in the rock, seven or eight inches thick, divided into checkers the two walls of this subterranean vault. It is natural to suppose, from this disposition, that each mummy was introduced with the feet foremost into the cell intended for its reception; and that new streets were opened, in proportion as these dead inhabitants of Necropolis increased." This observation, he adds, which throws a light on the catacombs of Memphis, may perhaps likewise explain the vast size and multitude, as well as the different elevations, of the pyramids in the Higher and Lower Egypt.

About 70 paces from Pompey's pillar is the khalis or the canal of the Nile, which was dug by the ancient Egyptians, to convey the water of the Nile to Alexandria, and fill the cisterns under the city. On the side of the khalis are gardens full of orange and lemon trees, and the fields are full of caper and palm trees. On the top of a hill is a tower, on which a sentinel is always placed, to give notice, by means of a flag, of the ships that are coming into the port. From this hill may be seen the sea, the whole extent of Alexandria, the city, and the parts round it.

In going along the sea coast, there is a large basin cut out of the rock that lines the shore. On the sides of this basin, two beautiful falcons are hewn out by the chisel, with benches that run across them. A canal made zig-zag, for the purpose of stopping the sand by its different windings, conveys into the water of the sea, as pure and transparent as crystal. Seated on the stone-bench, the water rises a little above the waist; while the feet softly repose on a fine sand. The waves of the sea are heard roaring against the rock, and foaming in the canal. The swell enters, raises you up, and leaves you; and thus alternately entering and retiring, brings a continual fresh supply of water, and a coolness which is truly delicious under a burning sky. This place is vulgarly called the Bath of Cleopatra. Some ruins announce that it was formerly ornamented.

In 1798 Alexandria was taken by the French under the command of Bonaparte. It fell into the hands of the British army in the year 1801; but by an article in the treaty of peace, dictated probably by mutual jealousy, it is to be restored to the Ottoman Porte, and again subjected to the barbarous policy of the Turkish government.

Alexandria is about 50 leagues north of Cairo. E. Long. 31° 15'. N. Lat. 31° 12'.

strong and considerable city of Italy, belonging to the duchy of Milan, with a good castle, built in 1178 in honour of Pope Alexander III. This pope made it a bishopric, with several privileges and exemptions. Prince Eugene of Savoy took this city in 1706, after three days siege. The French took it in 1743; but the king of Sardinia, to whom it belongs by the treaty of Utrecht retook it in 1746. The fortifications of the town are trifling, but the citadel is considerable. It is 15 miles south-east of Casale, 35 north-by-west of Genoa, and 40 south-by-west of Milan. E. Long. 8° 40'. N. Lat. 44° 53'. The country about this town is called the Alexandrin.

Ancient Geography, a city of Arabia, called also Alexandropolis, on the river Arachotus (Stephanus, Hidorus Characenus).—Another Alexandria in Gedrosia, built by Leonatus, by order of Alexander (Pliny).—A third Alexandria in Aria, situated at the lake Arias (Ptolemy); but, according to Pliny, built by Alexander on the river Arius.—A fourth in Bactriana (Pliny).—A fifth Alexandria, an inland town of Carmania (Pliny, Ptolemy, Annius).—A sixth Alexandria, or Alexandropolis, in Sogdiana (Hidorus Characenus).—A seventh in India at the confluence of the Acesines and Indus (Arrian).—An eighth, called also Alexandretta, near the Sinus Ilicus, on the confines of Syria and Cilicia, now Scanderoon (see Alexandretta), the port town to Aleppo.—A ninth Alexandria of Margiana, which being demolished by the barbarians, was rebuilt by Antiochus the son of Seleucus, and called Antiochia of Syria (Pliny); watered by the river Margus, which is divided into several channels, for the purpose of watering the country which was called Zotaera. The city was seventy stadia in circuit, according to Pliny; who adds, that, after the defeat of Crallus, the captives were conveyed to this place by Orodes, the king of ALEXANDRIA the Parthians.—A tenth, of the Oxiana, built on the Oxus by Alexander, on the confines of Bactria (Pliny).—An eleventh, built by Alexander at the foot of Mount Panopamis, which was called Caucasus (Pliny, Arrian).—A twelfth Alexandria in Troas, called also Troas and Antigonia (Pliny).—A thirteenth on the Iaxartes, the boundary of Alexander's victories towards Scythia, and the last that he built on that side.