age lafted three years; and while it is evident from the tradewinds, that the voyage directly to India might be performed in one year, that to the fuppofed Ophir muft for the fame reafons employ three years. Thefe winds blow in different directions in the Red Sea, on the coast between the Streights and Mocha, the fuppofed Tarthith, and on the more fouthern coast of Africa, between Tarfhish and Ophir. The names of the different ports ftrongly fupport this fyftem, and we think our author has rendered it highly probable."

The military expeditions of the Perfians greatly injured this trade; and Edom, as well as Eloth, being taken by the king of Damafcus, the commerce of India again centered in Affyria. Cyrus, however, who conquered Babylon, enriched by the fpoils of Paleftine, and the gold brought from Ophir by Sofomon to adorn his temple, from an earnest defire of gaining ftill greater riches, committed the error of Semiramis, and attempted, without fuccefs, to enter India. Cambyfes was. equally unfuccefsful in his attempt to penetrate by land to Ethiopia and Ophie. Darius more wifely fent veffels down the river Indus, which returned by the Red Sea, and acquired much information. Alexander, our author thinks, was rather actuated by a wild unmeaning fpirit of conqueft than commercial views, for his conduct was very impolitic, if he defigned to open a permanent trade to India. The Prolomies, who fucceeded him in Egypt, were more enlightened; and in their time; Eudoxas feems to have doubled the Cape of Good Hope from the Arabian Gulf. In the time of the Ptolomies, the trade from Egypt to Ethiopia and India feems to have flourished very confiderably.

The vifit of the queen of Sheba (Saba) to Solomon, forms the great epoch from which Mr. Bruce commences the Abyffinian history; which is continued from near the end of the first volume to the conclufion of the second. Saba is the coaft of Ethiopia between the mountains and the Indian ocean, where it joins the Red Sea it is the angle from cape Gardefan fouthward, and is the country of the myrrh tree and of caffia. The queen feems to have been a Negro, and her intercourfe with Solomon was terminated by the birth of a fon. Queens were, before this time, the ufual fovereigns of this country; but the queen of Saba, whofe tefritory feems to have comprised the prefent Ethiopia, changed the conftitution in this relpect: The dynasty of Solomon was, however, frequently interrupted; but as the hiftory of Ethiopia would be little interefting to our readers, we shall refer them to the

Another Mocha on the eastern coaft of Africa, fignifying a prifon in the original. VOL. LXX. July, 1990.

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work, without even attempting to give an outline, which confifts of names and actions of importance only to a few excentric enquirers. Some mifcellaneous information relating to the book of Enoch, quoted by St. Jude, we may felect.

The laft of this Ethiopic library is the book of Enoch. Upon hearing this book fit mentioned, many literati in Europe had a wonderful defire too fee it, thinking that, no doubt, many fecrets and unknown hiftories might be drawn from it. Upon this, fome impoftor, getting an Ethiopic book into his hands, wrote for the title, The Prophecies of Enoch, upon the front page of it. M. Pierife no fooner heard of it than he purchafed it of the impoftor for a confiderable fum of money: being placed afterwards in cardinal Mazarine's library, where Mr. Ludolf had access to it; he found it was a Gnottic book upon mysteries in heaven and earth, but which mentioned not a word of Enoch or his prophecy, from beginning to end; and from this difappointment, he takes upon him to deny the existence of any fuch book any where elfe. This, however, is a mistake; for, as a public return for the many obligations I had received from every rank of that most humane, polite, and fcientific nation, and more efpecially from the fovereign Louis XV. I gave to his cabinet a part of every thing curious I had collected abroad; which was received with that degree of confideration and attention that cannot fail to determine every traveller of a liberal mind to follow my example.

Amongst the articles I configned to the library at Paris, was a very beautiful and magnificent copy of the prophecies of Enoch, in large quarto; another is amongst the books of fcripture which I brought home, ftanding immediately before the book of Job, which is its proper place in the Abyffinian canon; and a third copy I have prefented to the Bodleian fibrary at Oxford, by the hands of Dr. Douglas, the bishop of Carlife. The more ancient history of that book is well known. The church at first looked upon it as apocryphal; and as it was quoted in the book of Jude, the fame fufpicion fell upon that book also. For this reason, the council of Nice threw the epistle of Jude out of the canon, but the council of Trent arguing better, replaced the apoftle in the canon as before.

Here we may obferve by the way, that Jude's appealing to the apocryphal books did by no means import, that either he believed, or warranted the truth of them. But it was an ar gument a fortiori, which our Saviour himself often makes ufe of, and amounts to no more than this: You, fays he to the Jews, deny certain facts, which must be from prejudice, becaufe you have them allowed in your own books, and believe them there. And a very strong and fair way of arguing it is, but this is by no means any allowance that they are true. In the fame manner, you, fays Jude, do not believe the coming of Christ and a latter judgment; yet your ancient Enoch, whom

you

you fuppofe was the feventh from Adam, tells you this plainly, and in fo many words, long ago. And indeed the quotation Is, word for word the fame, in the fecond chapter of the book.

All that material to fay further concerning the book of Enoch is, that it is a Gnoftic book, containing the age of the Emims, Anakims, and Egregores, fuppofed defcendents of the fons of God, when they fell in love with the daughters of men, and had fons who were giants. Thefe giants do not seem to have been fo charitable to the fons and daughters of men as their fathers had been. For first, they began to eat all the beasts of the earth, they then fell upon the birds and fishes, and ate them alfo; their hunger being not yet fatisfied, they ate all the corn, all men's labour, all the trees and bushes, and not content yet, they fell to eating the men themfelves. The men (like our modern failors with the favages) were not afraid of dying, but very much fo of being eaten after death. At length they cry to God against the wrongs the giants had done them, and God fends a flood which drowns both them and the giants.'

Christianity was introduced into Ethiopia about the year 333, by Frumentius; and the finall-pox is faid to have firft appeared at the fiege of Mecca, and to have deftroyed the Abyffinian army in 356. The Abyffinians fent ambaffadors to the council of Florence from Jerufalem, where they had a convent about the middle of the fifteenth century; and nearly at the fame time, or foon after, the Roman Catholic religion was introduced into this country, which belonged before to the Greek communion. Unfortunately for the credit of this fect, perfecution very foon followed, and an inquifition, with all its fecret informations, and fecret punishments, was established. This foundation was fufficient probably for the fable of a holy king, and prieft in Africa, which, from being at first ftyled Pretre Jan, was afterwards corrupted to Prefter John. Jan is faid to be the Ethiopic term for king.

Among the mifcellaneous information in the fecond volume, we must mention one of the fulleft and moft connected accounts of the difcovery of India, by the Cape of Good Hope, illuftrated by many circumstances not generally known of the events which preceded, and on which the enlightened princes, Henry and Emanuel of Portugal, founded their expectations. But the connection of Portugal with Abyffinia was more near and immediate. Collivan, whofe information led Emanue to undertake the voyage to India, was ambaffador to the king of Abyffinia, but detained, according to the accustomed policy of thefe Africans, by fplendid bribes, by matrimonial connections, and even by force. Matthew, an Armenian, was fent in return, when the king, preffed on by the Mahometans, wifhed for effeaual fupport from fome European power. Galvan

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Galvan and Roderigo de Lima were afterwards fucceffive ambaffadors to this kingdom; and Zaga Zaab was also sent to Portugal; but this intercourfe does not seem to have produced any very beneficial confequence to either party. The Mahometans combated with various fuccefs to extend the faith of Mahomet; and the Chriftians, divided by the different parties of the church of Rome, and the petty intrigues of the different orders for influence and power, defended themselves with lefs fuccefs than would otherwife have attended their efforts. At last, in the fplendid reign of Louis XIV. it was fuppofed that an embaffy from the interior parts of Africa would add to the glory of the monarch and the nation. Every attempt was made to procure it, without reflecting on the dangers of the attempt, by the Abyffinians paffing through the Mahometan countries, the difficulty of perfuading these jealous Africans, and the total impoflibility of forming a commercial connection between nations where the wants and inconveniencies of the one, the other could not fupply. M. Poncet was phyfician to the party fent to perfuade the Abysfinians to fend this embaffy; and his journey, though it is confeffedly interpolated and altered, is fuppofed by our author to be in many refpects correct and faithful. It was published in English, in twelves, in 1709, for W. Lewis, and bears many internal marks of authenticity. This attempt was fruftrated by the oppofite intrigues of the Francifcans and Jefuits, who were anxious for the honour of a miffion; and the fubfequent journey of M. du Roule was counteracted by M. Maillet, the conful at Cairo, and terminated in the death of the former at Sennaar. As we perceive nothing more that is peculiarly interelling to general readers in this volume, we fhall turn to the third, where Mr. Bruce resumes the narrative of his journey.

Mafuah, where we left our traveller, is a spot on the weft. ern coaft of the Red Sea, the grave of commercial or inquifi. tive travellers; for as it is equally under the dominion of the Porte and the Abyffinian monarch, the power of each is inconfiderable, and the Naybe under a sway fo loose and undefined, fcruples not to commit any action which avarice or re.venge may dictate. It required all Mr. Bruce's fpirit and address to counteract the villainy of this fubordinate monarch, whom he reprefents as the diftant refemblance only of a human or an intelligent being. Fortunately, in his nephew, he found fomething more civilized, more humane, and more judicious; but even with his affiftance he feems to have narrowly escaped affaffination, and to have owed much to his prefence of mind and his refolution. Mafuah is in latitude

15°

15° 35'5", and in longitude, from obfervation, 39 36′30′′ caft. The barometer was 25.3.7. only, an inch and a line lower than at Loheia: the thermometer in October from 82° to 93o in the shade. The heat was intenfe, fo as to keep Dutch fealingwax fluid like tar, to discharge the colour from the spirit in the thermometer, and, in a plate for making fcrews, almost to cut through the pin or male fcrew, by the expanfion preffing it against the plate. It is an unwhole fome fpot, abounding with fevers, which require an immediate exhibition of the bark; probably malignant remittents. The bark, our author tells us, fucceeds better when it proves laxative, Other me dical herefies occur in this part of the volume, which, however, feem fometimes to deferve a better name, Vomits are, he thinks, injurious from their debilitating effects; and to preferve health, he tells us, fpirits fhould be avoided. To fupport the neceffary tone of the ftomach, fpices, not wine, are proper. The drink fhould be water, frained through clean fand, and boiled fo much as to kill any animalcules which may be in it. Bathing in the coldeft water,when the body is heated, is not dangerous, as from the heat of the air the perfpiration is immedi ately reflored; and bathing, our author thinks, acts by restoring fluid particles to the blood, not by its tonic power, as warm water is equally refreshing after fatigue. In Nubia, adds Mr. Bruce, never fcruple to throw yourself into the coldest river you can find, in whatever degree of heat you are.' Food should be vegetables, the fruit not too ripe or gathered in the fun, and eat sparingly.

From Arkeeko, our author, instead of a western route, which is plain and open, purfues that over the mountain Taranta, fteep, craggy, and difficult, and only preferable as being fafe: in this, as in every other part of the journey, he shows his great power over the Arabs, by the force of fuperior abilities, addrefs, and strength of mind. In their progrefs they met with fome of the tribe of Shiko. Thefe are fhepherds, and drink of two waters,' a character not more refpectable to an Arab than the traveller, who breathed with an hot and cold breath, was to the fatyr in the fable. In fact, this change of fituation leads the Shiko to robbery, as detection is difficult, and in the lax police of the eaftern countries, almost impoffible. Thefe wanderers feem to be monogamous, and perhaps ichthyophagi, for their word for bread is Arabic, though their language is very different. A mountain fcene in Abyffinia is worth tranfcribing.

At two o'clock in the afternoon we refumed our journey through a very strong uneven road, till five o'clock, when we pitched our tent at a place called Hamhammou, on the fide of afmall green hill, fome hundred yards from the bed of the tor

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