THE MEDITERRANEAN, PHYSICAL AND HISTORICAL. 275 



sides many other places of almost equal iuteiest. Still farther west are 

 Corsica, Sardioia, and the Balearic Islands, all easily accessible from 

 the coasts of France, Italy, and Spain. Their ports are constantly vis- 

 ited by mail steamers and private yachts, yet they are but little ex- 

 plored in the interior. - - - 



1 have endeavored to sketch, necessarily in a very imperfect manner, 

 the physical character and history of the Mediterranean, to show how 

 the commerce of the world originated in a small maritime state at its 

 eastern extremity; how it gradually advanced westward till it burst 

 through the Straits of Gibraltar and extended over seas and continents 

 until then undreampt of, an event which deprived the Mediterranean ot 

 that commercial i)rosperity and greatness which for centuries had been 

 limited to its narrow basin. 



Once more this historic sea has become the highway of nations; the 

 persistent energy and genius of two men have revolutionized naviga- 

 tion, opened out new and boundless fields for commerce, and it is hardly 

 too much to say that if the Mediterranean is to be restored to its old 

 position of importance, if the struggle for Africa is to result in its re- 

 generation, as happened iu the Xew World, if the dark places still re- 

 maining in the farther East are to be civilized, it will be in a great 

 measure due to Waghorn and Ferdinand de Lesseps, who developed 

 the overland route and created the Suez Canal. 



But the Mediterranean can only hope to retain its regenerated posi- 

 tion in time of peace. Nothing is more certainly shown by past history 

 than that war and conquest have changed the route of commerce in 

 spite of favored geographical positions. Babylon was conquered by 

 Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, and liomans, and though for a time 

 her position on the Euphrates caused her to rise like a Phoenix from 

 her ashes, successive conquests combined with the luxury and effemi- 

 nacy of her rulers, caused her to perish. Tyre, conquered by Nebuchad- 

 nezzar and Alexander, fell as completely as Babylon had done, and her 

 trade passed to Alexandria. Ruined sites of commercial cities rarely 

 again become emporia of commerce; Alexandria is an exception de- 

 pendent on very exceptional circumstances. 



The old route to the East was principally used by sailing vessels, and 

 was abandoned for the shorter and more economical oue by the Suez 

 Canal, wlii(;h now enables a round voyage to be made in 60 days, which 

 formerly required from to 8 months. This, however, can only remain 

 open in time of i)eace. It is quite possible that in the event of war the 

 old route by the Cape may be again used to the detriment of traffic by 

 the Mediterranean. Modern invention has greatly economized the use 

 of coal, and steamers, by the use of duplex and triplex engines, can run 

 with a comparatively small consumption of fuel, thus leaving a larger 

 space for cargo. Kngland, the great carrying power of the world, may 

 find it more advantageous to trust to her own strength and the secur- 



