326 



rounding vallies, than the bed in which it now flows, 

 and which is constantly getting lower. '** 



From Mr. Bruce, whose veracity can scarcely be 

 doubted, we have the following opinion : " It seems 

 to me, that soon, the greatest part of Egypt, on the 

 side east of the ^ile, between Aichmim and Cairo, 

 will be a desert ; not from the rising of the ground by 

 the mud, as is supposed, but from the quantity of sand 

 from the mountains, which covers the mould, or earth, 

 several feet deep."f 



From this view, it must appear evident, that the 

 operations of the winds on the deserts that skirt the 

 valley of Egypt, both on the east and the west, have 

 been the principal cause by which both the plains in 

 the valley of Egypt and its delta have been formed 

 and extended to their present limits. That these 

 sources have existed, and the same process has been in 

 operation, for nearly or quite four thousand years, we 

 have the most unquestionable authority ; and we have 

 the same reason to believe, that they were in full ope- 

 ration for nearly two thousand years before. 



That they still exist, and are threatening the entire 

 expulsion of the inhabitants of this once fertile region, 

 we have the most respectable testimony from several 

 travellers who have visited it, and from whose writings 

 I shall take the liberty of transcribing the following 

 extracts, as they are written in a style forcible and ex- 



* Denon's Travels, vol. F, page 370- 

 t Bruce's Travels, vol. I, page 105. 



