AND LOWER EGYPT. I33 



modern Alexandria would have disappeared in the 

 sand, leaving only a resort for ferocious animals, 

 which seemed already to threaten it, as they roam- 

 ed round and round its walls. 



The brink of the canal is animated by some of 

 the rich productions of living nature : at a greater 

 distance she appears dead ; nothing is to be seen 

 on all sides but sands, rocks, and sterility. Trees 

 and shrubbery grow by the water's side, and some 

 spots of verdure extend to the vicinity. Small ra- 

 mifications of water carry fecundity into the plains, 

 in which they sow barley, and cultivate a variety of 

 leguminous plants, particularly artichokes in abun- 

 dance. The culture of this district once extended 

 much farther : it would have been easy for the mo- 

 dern Alexandrians to push it still farther ; but they 

 had no activity, except for committing robbery ; and 

 it is not a matter of surprise that people who were 

 at no pains to preserve the only water that they 

 could drink, should not employ themselves in 

 procuring the other necessaries and comforts of life. 



Such are the vestiges of the agriculture with 

 which ancient Alexandria was surrounded ; the 

 remains of those superb gardens which contributed 

 to its magnificence, and the deliciousness of which 

 Abulfeda cried up, down even to the limes of the 



k 3 Arabs. 



