3-p Travels through Turkey, 



cornelians and chalcedonies In the fiffures of the volcanic 

 rocks, mines of alum and fulphur, mineral waters of every 

 kind; in a word, if wc recollect that no traveller has con- 

 sidered this country in regard to geologv, that part of natural 

 hiftory fo intercfting, which by enabling us to obferve the 

 different ft rata of earth and ftones, the direction and ftrueture 

 of mountains, and to compare the different foffils that one 

 meets with, muff neceffarily conduct to a certain knowledge 

 of the antiquity of our globe, of the laws to which it is Sub- 

 ject, and of the different cataftrophes it has experienced, and 

 of which fome faint light has been tranfmitted to us by the 

 fabulous hiftory of antiquity, will be readily perfuaded that 

 our obfervafions, directed to thefe objects, cannot fail of 

 being liighlv intereffing. 



We remained four months at Candia; and though two 

 vears Bad elapfed fthce our departure from Paris, wc had re- 

 ceived no intelligence from government. Wc were, there- 

 fore, of opinion, that it would be absolutely neceflary for us 

 to renounce our firll plans; but as we were defirous of em- 

 ploying our time in the mo ft ufeful manner poffible, we re- 

 folvcd to proceed to Egypt, and to traverfe that country lb 

 abundant in iubjeefs of obfervation, and as intcrefting for 

 the politician and itatefman, as for the philofopher, naturalili 

 and antiquarian. 



The iituation of the French in Egypt was extremely dif- 

 agrccablc : their commerce had been interrupted, and thev 

 were in a iiaic of opprefiion at Cairo. Some of them had 

 been maltreated by the government, and the conful of the 

 Republic enjoyed no conffderation. Our firff care was to 

 ftudy the monftrous government. of the Mamelouks, their 

 military force and their' manners ; to make ourfelvcs ac- 

 quainted with the revenues of Egypt, the prefent ftate of 

 its commerce, and that which it might be fufceptiblc of under 

 a juft and enlightened government. Wc examined the ports 

 of Alexandria, the road of Aboukir, the Delta, the courfe of 

 the Nile, its periodical inundation, the canals which the 



9 negligence 



