THE ORIGIN OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 41 



voyages along the Nile in Abyssinia. M. Heuglein 

 is a very keen observer ; he uses the most improved 

 instruments, and he may be fully trusted as regards 

 all the geographical points which he has fixed. He 

 verified the absolute accuracy of the geographical 

 observations of Bruce, especially with respect to the 

 position of Lake Tana, which is traversed by the Blue 

 Nile and just below its source. 



Ui HISTORICAL BEMARKS UPON THE EMPIRE OF 

 ME*ROE". 



" i No one has ever yet been able to say what was 

 the extent of this empire, so rare are the remarks of 

 ancient authors upon this subject. According to M. 

 Heuglein, who has studied the question very closely 

 upon the spot, the ancient Empire of Meroe' was the 

 Sheba of Scripture. It comprised Upper and Lower 

 Ethiopia that is to say Abyssinia, the Peninsula of 

 Sennaar between the Blue and the White Nile, the 

 Kordofan, the Peninsula of M^roe, between the Nile 

 and the Athara (Astaboras), the provinces of Berber 

 and of Dongola with Taka. He derived this opinion 

 from the inscriptions of Axoum and during his inves- 

 tigations of Ethiopian monuments. He discovered 

 pyramids at six leagues from Koseres (Sennaar, Blue 

 Nile), at Debbah, and at the mouth of the two tribu- 

 taries of the Blue Nile, the Yabous and the Taumat, 

 to the south-east of Fazoglu. 



" ' Besides the ruins of Meroe, discovered by Cail- 



VOL. II. E 



