a small sea-port town, situated near the northern extremity of the Red sea, and about 30 hours journey east from Cairo. The country around it is a sandy plain, without the smallest spot of verdure. The only water which can be drunk is brought from El-Naba, or the spring, at the distance of three hours journey; and it is so brackish, that without a mixture of rum it is insupportable to Europeans. The town itself is a collection of miserable ruins, the khans being the only solid buildings; yet from March till June, the season when the Jidda and Yambo fleet arrives, the town becomes crowded; but after its departure nobody remains except the governor, who is a Mamlouk, 12 or 14 persons who form his household, and the garrison. The forts are a defenceless heap of ruins, which the Arabs consider as a citadel, because it contains fix brafs four-pounders, and two Greek gunners, who turn their heads aside when they fire. The harbour is a wretched quay, where the smallest boats are unable to reach the shore, except at the highest tides. There, however, the merchandise is embarked, to convey it over the banks of sand to the vessels which anchor in the road. This road, situated a league from the town, is separated from it by a shore which is left dry at low water; it has no works for its defence, so that the vessels which M. Volney tells us he has seen there, to the number of 28 at a time, might be attacked without opposition; for the ships themselves are incapable of resistance, none having any other artillery than four rusty swivels.

Suez has always been, notwithstanding its local disadvantages, a place of great trade, on account of its geographical situation. It was by the gulf of Suez that the commodities of India were formerly conveyed to Europe, till the discovery of the passage by the Cape of Good Hope converted that trade into a new channel. As the isthmus of Suez, which separates the Red sea from the Mediterranean, is not more than 57 miles, it has been frequently proposed to join these two seas together by a canal. As there are no mountains nor remarkable inequalities of surface, this plan would at first view appear easy to be executed. But though the difference of levels would not prevent a junction, the great difficulty arises from the nature of the corresponding coasts of the Mediterranean and the Red sea, which are of a low and sandy soil, where the waters form lakes, shoals, and morasses, so that vessels cannot approach within a considerable distance. It will therefore be found scarcely possible to dig a permanent canal amid these shifting sands: not to mention, that the shore is destitute of harbours, which must be entirely the work of art. The country besides has not a drop of fresh water, and, to supply the inhabitants, it must be brought as far as from the Nile.

The best and only method therefore of effecting this junction, is that which has been already successfully practised at different times; which is, by making the river itself the medium of communication, for which the ground is perfectly well calculated; for Mount Mokatum suddenly terminating in the latitude of Cairo, forms only a low and semicircular mound, round which is a continued plain from the banks of the Nile as far as the point of the Red sea. The ancients, who early understood the advantage to be derived from this situation, adopted the idea of joining the two seas by a canal connected with the river. Strabo* observes, that this was * Lib. xi. first executed under Sesostris, who reigned about the time of the Trojan war; and this work was so considerable as to occasion it to be remarked, "that it was 100 cubits (or 170 feet) wide, and deep enough for large vessels." After the Greeks conquered the country, it was restored by the Ptolemies, and again renewed by Trajan. In short, even the Arabs themselves followed these examples. "In the time of Omar ebn-el-Kattab (says the historian El Makin), the cities of Mecca and Medina suffering from famine, the caliph ordered Amrou governor of Egypt to cut a canal from the Nile to Kolzoum, that the contributions of corn and barley appointed for Arabia might be conveyed that way."

This canal is the same which runs at present to Cairo, and lies itself in the country to the north-east of Berket-el-Hadji, or the Lake of the Pilgrims.

The place on the west coast of the gulf of Suez, where the children of Israel are supposed to have entered it, is called Badea, about six miles to the north of Cape Korondel, on the other side of the gulf, as we are informed in a letter from the ingenious Edward Wortley Montague, F. R. S. to Dr Watfon, containing an account of his journey from Cairo to the Written Mountains in the desert of Sinai. Opposite to Badea is a strong current which sets to the opposite shore, about south-east, with a whirlpool called Birque Pharaone, the well or pool of Pharaoh, being the place where his host is said to have been destroyed. We are told by the same gentleman, that the Egyptian shore from Suez to Badea is so rocky and steep, that there was no entering upon the gulf but at one of these two places.

"The British nation, we believe, never attempted to carry on commerce with any of the ports of the Red sea beyond Jidda, till, on the suggestion of Mr Bruce, in 1776, some British merchants at Bengal equipped two or three vessels for Suez, laden with piece-goods of Bengal and coast manufactures. The command of the vessels was committed to Captain Greig, a meritorious seaman; and the management of the goods was entrusted to Mr Straw, a gentleman distinguished for his mercantile knowledge. The sale turned out to advantage; but such such great expences were incurred in making presents to the bey of Cairo and Suez, as to consume the whole profits gained by the sale of the cargo. The great purpose of the expedition was, however, accomplished, as a firman was obtained from the government of Cairo to trade by the way of Suez. In consequence of this, three ships went to Suez the following year, and as many in 1778. The opening of this trade alarmed the jealousy of the East India Company; they applied to our government, and orders were given to relinquish this promising commerce. These orders reached Egypt sooner than Bengal, and the consequence was fatal to the unfortunate adventurers who visited Suez that year (1779). By a plan concerted between the beys, a large body of Bedouin Arabs attacked the caravan passing from Suez to Cairo with goods valued at 12 lacks of rupees. The goods were plundered, the Europeans were stripped and left naked in the desert, exposed to the burning rays of the sun, without a drop of water to quench their thirst, or food to support life. Most of them died, and some of their bodies were afterwards found mangled and disfigured by wolves. We have been favoured with a particular account of the sufferings of our countrymen by a correspondent, which, we are sorry, we have not room to insert. Those who wish to obtain a more full account may consult the Annual Register for 1781 or 1782.