Mean physic; but they appeared to entertain a horror of Caireen phlebotomists; and were evidently inclined, after all, to trust the whole affair to nature. while one of those who possessed healthy steeds, mounted, in order to amuse us with some of the singular feats of Turkish horsemanship. He wheeled, he curvetted, he stopped his courser in mid gallop; but in exhibitions of this kind, the Turks fall short, perhaps, of the old Mamalook cavaliers in boldness and dexterity. DXXXV. At a short distance beyond the pilgrim camp, we passed along the skirts of one of those extensive cemeteries which may almost be said to encompass Cairo on all sides. These Necropoli, or suburbs of the dead, are not enclosed, as in European countries, with walls or railings, or by a circumvallation of pious reverence, as in Nubia; thither, on the contrary, the jugglers, the dancing girls, the lewd and profligate of both sexes, repair, and by their bacchanalian orgies, conducted with indescribable effrontery, profane in open daylight the peaceful but neglected grave. In the midst of the cemetery stand a few superior mausolea, the last home of the wealthy and great, consisting of a neat square building, in the light Saracenic, style, surmounted by a dome, or cupola; but by far the greater number are humble tombs, whitewashed, as in Wales, and exhibiting evident signs of dilapidation and decay. Having traversed this melancholy spot, and the sandy tract beyond it, we entered on the richly 196 BEAUTIFUL PROSPECT. cultivated plain of Heliopolis, interspersed with groves of spreading trees, and the evergreen odoriferous gardens of Africa. Such landscapes, though destitute of the charm of hill and dale, always appeared to me eminently beautiful, when clothed, as they now were, with the fresh vegetation of spring. Here the rhamnus lotus, the lime tree, the citron, and the orange, growing in unpruned luxuriance, presented to the eye their lovely fruit, partly green and partly gold, clustering thick among the dark leaves, which, when pressed, or shaken by the wind, exhaled a rare and delicious perfume. Every part of the prospect, far as the eye could reach, exhibited some peculiar charm. The trees and bushes by the way side,-many of the latter apparently deciduous, - were already covered with young leaves; and innumerable wild flowers, some, as the daisy and the buttercup,familiar, others unknown, enamelled the fields. In several places the ground was covered with newly cut grass, which, as the warm rays fed upon its moisture, diffused that well-known but exquisite fragrance which scents our English hay-fields; while numerous rills of clear water, running through grassy channels, maintained an agreeable freshness in the air. But, perhaps, the master-charm of all derived its power from historical associations: I was approaching the birth-place of Moses; before me was the plain on which the Hebrew shepherds first pitched their * * This, I imagine, with Pococke, to have been the Land of Goshen ; though Jablonski, for whose learning, however, I entertain the highest respect, decides in favour of the Fayoom. "Ostendimus enim," he FOUNTAIN OF THE SUN. 197 tents on their arrival in Egypt: and such considerations, whatever may be the case with others, have always, I confess, exerted much influence over me. DXXXVI. Some time before arriving at Matarea, we turned into a citron grove, on the right hand of the road, to behold that venerable sycamore, in whose shade the Virgin, with the infant Christ, is said to have reposed during the flight into Egypt. Here, likewise, is the Ain* Shems, or "Fountain of the Sun," which, though supposed by the Catholic traditions to have been miraculously produced to quench the thirst of the holy fugitives, existed, no doubt, in all ages; and was, perhaps, if we may derive any inference from the modern appellation, consecrated to the service of a temple of Aroëris. The TREE OF THE MADONNA, as it is denominated even by the Mohammedans, consists of a vast trunk, the upper part of which having been blown down by storms, or shattered by lightning, young branches have sprung forth from the top, and extending their arms on all says, "rationibus non contemnandis, Gosen Israelitarum in Ægypto domicilium, illam regni hujus provinciam, quam Græci Heracleopolin, Arabes Fioum nuncupere consueverunt." — Dissert. de Terrâ Gosen, p. 224. *The village of Matarea derives its name, according to D'Anville, from this fountain: ma (or rather, moyé) "water;" and tarea, or trüeh, "fresh." He, moreover, observes that it may be regarded as a kind of phenomenon in a country where fountains are so rare. — Mémoire sur l'Egypte, &c. p. 114. But, as Major Rennell remarks, on the authority of Pococke, (i. 24.) good water is here obtained by digging to the depth of a few feet. Geography of Herodotus, ii. 116, 117. 198 TREE OF THE MADONNA. sides, still afford a broad and agreeable shade. Its shape is remarkable: flat on both sides, like a wall, but with an irregular surface, it leans considerably, forming a kind of natural penthouse. Numerous names, accompanied by the figure of the cross, have been cut upon it by Catholic travellers; but even the Moslems seem to regard it with veneration, for those who visited it with us spoke low and reverentially, as if they esteemed the spot whereon they stood to be holy ground. Protestants, from I know not what motive, sometimes affect to consider the tradition which sanctifies this tree as "one of those many childish legends which have diverted Christians from the spirituality and simplicity of faith;" but by what chain of ratiocination they arrive at this conclusion it appears somewhat difficult to discover. At all events, since the Egyptian sycamore, among various other trees, will live many thousand years, there is nothing absurd in the supposition that the Virgin may have sat, with the infant Saviour, under the shade of this noble trunk, which bears all the appearance of prodigious antiquity. DXXXVII. From this grove we proceeded through beautiful corn-fields to the site of Heliopolis, marked by extensive mounds, and a single obelisk, rising alone in the plain, and at this time surrounded by a rich crop of barley. This obelisk, consisting of one block of red granite, about sixty-five feet in height, is still nearly perfect; a part of the western face only having been chipped away, probably at the ANCIENT CAPITAL OF EGYPT. 199 time when Cambyses ordered immense fires to be kindled around this and similar monuments, in order to obliterate the traces of an idolatry which he despised, or of an ancient power which he had overthrown, and whose regeneration he may have dreaded. An inscription in hieroglyphical characters is repeated on each of its four faces; from which antiquarians, versed in the sacred language of the Egyptians, have discovered the name of the monarch by whom it was erected; but of this science I am entirely ignorant. Somewhere near this spot stood the temple, of which Potiphar, the father of Joseph's wife, was priest. Heliopolis, in fact, appears to have been the ancient capital of the country before the foundation of Memphis; for, from the historical details in the book of Genesis, it seems clear that, when Jacob and his sons came, by the invitation of Joseph, into Egypt, the seat of government and the palace of the Pharaohs were here, nigh to the Land of Goshen, which the minister obtained for his relations. When, in subsequent ages, Memphis arose, and became the habitation of the kings, Heliopolis dwindled into a city of inferior rank; though it still contained the most celebrated colleges of the priests, and was regarded as the university of Egypt. Here, accordingly, we find that Herodotus, Plato, and Eudoxus, men differing greatly from each other in character and genius, devoted much time and pains to the examination of the sciences and pretensions of the Egyptians. But from this period it must have fallen rapidly to decay; as, when Strabo and Ælius |