90 MINES IN 



CHAP. II. 



their gold and their silver with them V 

 Ezekiel also, when speaking of Tyre, says, 

 " Tarshish was thy merchant, by reason of the 

 multitude of all kinds of riches. With silver, 

 iron, tin, and lead they traded in thy fairs V 

 And afterwards we find the following assertion 

 on this subject : " The ships of Tarshish did 

 sing of thee in thy market ; and thou wast re- 

 plenished and made very glorious in the midst 

 of the seas V We have thus, from the most an- 

 cient of all written records, two facts on which 

 we can rely, viz. that the ships which arrived in 

 Tyre from Tarshish were very numerous, and 

 that their cargoes, to a considerable extent, con- 

 sisted of gold and silver. 



It has been suggested that the Tarshish of 

 Solomon must have been some port on the 

 eastern shores of Africa, or in the East Indies. 

 Without entering into the discussion, we may 

 observe that the place at which Jonah is related 

 to have embarked for Tarshish, Joppa, now 

 Jaffa, being on the Mediterranean sea, it seems 

 clear that the place of his destination must have 

 been on the shores of the same sea. 



It is necessary, however, to have recourse to 

 the ancient profane writers to arrive at certainty; 

 and the examination of them has led, with most 



1 Isaiah, cap. Ix. v. 8 and 9. 



2 Ezekiel, cap. xxvii. v. 12. 



3 Idem, cap. xxvii. v. 25. 



