168 
Jaft publications of M, Savary and 
Volney feem to have left the fub- 
ject threadbare—T his however is not 
‘the only reafon. 
« After Mr. Wood and Mr. 
Dawkins had publifhed their Ruins 
of Palmyra, the late king of Den- 
mark, at his own expence, fent out 
, a number ef men, eminent in their 
feveral profeflions, to make difco- 
veries in the Eaft, of every kind, 
with thefe very flattering inftruc- 
tions, that though they might and 
ought to vifit both Baalbec and 
Palmyra for their own ftudies and 
improvement, yet he prohibited 
them to fo far interfere with what 
the English travellers had done, as 
to form any plan of another work 
fimilar to theirs. This compliment 
was gratefully received ; and as I 
was directly to follow this miffion, 
Mr. Wood defired me to return it, 
and to abftain as much as poflible 
from writing on the fame {ubjects 
chofen by M. Niebuhr, at leaft to 
abftain either from criticifing or 
differing from him on fach fubjects. 
I have therefore pafied flightly 
over Egypt and Arabia: perhaps 
indeed [ have faid enough of both ; 
if any fhall be of another opinion, 
they may have recourfe to M. 
‘Niebuhr’s, more copious work ; he 
was the only perfou of fix who lived 
to come home, the reft having died 
‘in different parts of Arabia, with- 
out having been able to enter Abyf- 
finia, one of the objects of their 
miffion. 
« My leaving-Egypt is followed 
by my furvey of the Arabian gulph 
as far as the Indian ocean—arrival 
at Mafuah —fome account of the 
firft peopling of Atbara and Abytf- 
* 1 Kings, chap. x. ver.22.- 
ehap. 1X. ver. 21. 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790, 
finia conjectures concerning Ian- 
guage—firft ages of the Indian 
trade—foundation of the Abyflinian 
‘monarchy, and various revolutions 
till the Jewifh ufurpation, about the 
year goo, ‘Thefe compofe the firft 
volume.” 
We fhall fele&t from this volume 
the following extract, in which the 
author has attempted, and we think 
not without fuccefs, to afcertain the 
fituation of Ophir and Tarfhifh, 
rendered famous by the triennial 
voyages made thither in the time 
of king David and Solomon, 
« Many doubts have arifen about 
a port called Ophir, wherice the 
immenfe quantities of gold and filver 
came, which were necefiary at this 
time, when provifion was making 
for building the temple of Jerufa- 
lem. In what part of the world 
this Ophir was, has not been yet' 
agreed. Connected with this voy- 
age, too, was one to Tarfhifh, which 
fuffers the fame difficulties ; one and 
the fame fleet performed them both 
in the fame feaion. 
«In order to come to a certainty 
where this Ophir was, it will be 
neceflary to examine what fcripture 
fays of it, and to keep precifely to 
every thing like defcription which 
we can find there, without indulg- 
ing our fancy farther. Firft, ther; 
the trade to Ophir was carried on 
from the Elanitic gulf through the 
Indian ocean. Secondly, the re- 
turns were gold, filver, and ivory, 
but efpecially filver*. Thirdly, 
the time of the going and coming of 
the fleet was precifely three years +, 
at no period more nor Jefs. . 
“ Now, if Solomon’s fleet failed 
from the Elanitic gulf to the Indian 
+ 1 Kings, chap.x. ver. 22. 2 Chron. 
“pe OCean, 
