THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 7 



On the contrary, the Etefian winds blowing all Summer 

 \ipon that coaft, from the weflward of north, and a current 

 fetting conftantly to the eaftward, it is impofliblc that any 

 part of the mud of the Nile can go fo high to the windward 

 of any of the mouths of that river. 



It is well known, that the action of thefe winds, and the 

 conftancy of that current, has thrown a great quantity of mud, 

 gravel, and fand, into all the ports on the coaft of Syria. 



All veftiges of old Tyre are defaced ; the ports of Sidon, 

 *Berout, Tripoli, and fLatikea, are all filled up by the accre- 

 tion of fand ; and, not many days before my leaving Sidon, 

 Mr de Clerambaut, conful of France, fhewed me the pave- 

 ments of the old city of Sidon, y\ feet lower than the ground 

 upon which the prefent city Hands, and confiderably farther 

 back in the gardens nearer to Mount Libanus. 



This every one in the country knows is the effect of that 

 eafterly current fetting upon the coaft, which, as it acts per- 

 pendicularly to the courfe of the Nile when difcharging it- 

 felf, at all or any of its mouths, into the Mediterranean, mult 

 hurry what it is charged with on towards the coaft of Syria, 

 and hinder it from fettling oppofite to, or making thofe 

 additions to the land of Egypt, which J Herodotus has vain- 

 ly fuppofed 



The 20th of June, early in the morning, we had a diftant 

 profpeet of Alexandria rifing from the fea. Was not the Hate 



of 



Berj tus. f Laodicea ad mare. £ Herod, lib. ii. p. 90. 



