298 TRAVELS IN UPPER 



say that Nature placed mangoustes on the earth 

 merely to prevent the too great propagation of 

 chickens, to which they are far more hostile, in 

 reality, than to crocodiles. 



And what proves more clearly that men have 

 been mistaken in ascribing such intentions to Na- 

 ture respecting mangoustes, is this : in more than 

 half of the northern part of Egypt, that is to say, 

 in that part comprised between the Mediterranean 

 sea and the city of Siout, they are very common, 

 although there are no crocodiles there ; whilst 

 they are more rare in Upper Egypt, where the cro- 

 codiles are, in their turn, more numerous. The 

 mangoustes are no where more multiplied than in 

 Lower Egypt, which, better cultivated, more in- 

 habited, more humid, and more shaded, presents 

 also more abundantly the means of supplying 

 them with prey and with food, and, I again repeat 

 it, crocodiles never appear there. 



I will do away on this subject an error which 

 would not be of the slightest importance, in the 



Dom. Jauna, vol. ii. Present State of Egypt, page 1230. And 

 observe that this last gentleman, in almost every thing the faith- 

 ful copyist of Maillet, has on this subject refined upon his model, 

 by adding other fables, which Maillet rejected with disdain. It is 

 in this manner that people frequently contrive to write immense 

 quartos, 



writings 



