UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 277 



were in Goshen, they were, if faithful, a sort of 

 defence to his kingdom, by being thus situated 

 on its frontiers. 



" But to return to the history of Moses the 

 ark of rushes which his mother ' took for him,' 

 was a little vessel or basket, made of reeds, and 

 daubed with slime or pitch, to keep out the 

 water ; it was probably of the form of one of 

 those boats, with which the river was always 

 covered, and made, like them, of ' bulrushes,' by 

 which is meant the papyrus of which the Egyp- 

 tians made their paper, and which grew in 

 abundance on the banks of the Nile. This papy- 

 rus was strong enough to resist the water, and 

 well adapted by its lightness to swim with a 

 child's weight. The vessels of bulrushes men- 

 tioned in both sacred and profane history were 

 made in the same manner on a larger scale. 

 Bruce, the traveller, saw them in common use 

 in Abyssinia; and even at this day they are to 

 be seen on the Nile ; though the introduction of 

 plank and stronger materials has caused them 

 to be laid aside in a great degree. 



"It was customary for the Egyptian females to 

 express their veneration for the Nile, by plunging 

 into it, when it began to overflow the country ; 

 and it is probable, that when the daughter of 

 Pharaoh bathed, it was in compliance with some 

 such custom. Modern travellers tell us, that a 

 ceremony is still observed by the Egyptian fr> 



