344 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 



coarse Turkish carpets, cotton quilts, linen for shirts, 

 red and yellow slippers, and other articles of dress ; 

 besides a variety of commodities which are not 

 manufactured in Arabia. Ships laden with coffee 

 are constantly arriving from Mocha, and their car- 

 goes are generally converted into dollars. This 

 branch of trade suffered, when the Mocha coffee was 

 supplanted, in the markets of European Turkey, 

 Asia Minor, and Syria, by that produced in the East 

 and West Indies ; but there is little doubt that it 

 will revive under the auspices of Mohammed Ali, 

 who may be said to command the entire commerce 

 of the Arabian Gulf, now that he has become the 

 independent sovereign of Egypt and Syria. With 

 this view he has already proposed to augment his 

 navy ; to construct a canal from Suez to the Nile ; 

 to establish regular marts on the Mediterranean 

 coast ; and open a communication between the 

 Orontes and the Euphrates. Should these mighty 

 projects be carried into effect, a few years may be- 

 hold a total revolution in the mercantile intercourse 

 between the nations of the East and the West. The 

 annual exports of coffee at present, from Jidda, 

 Mocha, Hodeida, and other contiguous ports, is 

 estimated at 12,000 tons. The duties on the best 

 are 100 per cent., and fully 150 per cent, on the 

 inferior sorts. Independently of coffee, the export- 

 trade of Mocha is very considerable in gum-arabic, 

 myrrh, and frankincense. Muscat carries on a val- 

 uable trade with India and the Persian Gulf. Its 

 inhabitants are reputed excellent seamen. 



There is one circumstance connected with the 

 commerce of Arabia that deserves notice, from the 

 attention which it has recently excited in this coun- 

 try; we mean the communication with India by 

 steam conveyance. Two routes have been proposed, 

 both of which are practicable, but attended with 

 obstacles that it may be difficult to overcome. One 

 of these is by the Persian Gulf along the Euphrates 



