EGYPTIAN COMMERCE. 41 



Egypt into contact with the European world. Psam- 

 miticus, one of the twelve princes, received as his 

 allotment, the swampy district which adjoined the sea 

 coast and the mouths of the .Nile. His fortune, as we 

 shall see, was made by this position. 



The commerce of Egypt had hitherto been conducted 

 entirely by means of caravans. From Arabia Felix 

 came a long train of camels, laden with the gums 

 of that aromatic land, and with the more precious 

 produce of countries far beyond, "with the pearls of the 

 Persian Gulf and the carpets of Babylon, the pepper 

 and ginger of Malabar, the shawls of Cashmeer, the 

 cinnamon of Ceylon, the fine muslins of Bengal, the 

 calicoes of Coromandel, the nutmegs and camphor 

 and cloves of the Indian Archipelago ; and even 

 silk and musk from the distant Chinese shores. 

 From Syria came other caravans with the balm of 

 Gilead, so precious in medicine, asphalt from the 

 Dead Sea for embalming, cedar from Lebanon, and 

 enormous quantities of wine and olive oil in earthen 

 jars. Meroe contributed the spices of the Somauli 

 country, ebony, ivory, ostrich feathers, slaves, and 

 gold in twisted rings ; the four latter products were 

 also imported direct from Darfour, and by another 

 route which connected Egypt through Fezzan with 

 Carthage, Morocco, and the regions beyond the desert 

 in the neighbourhood of Timbuctoo. In return, the 

 beautiful glass wares of the Egyptians and other 

 artistic manufactures were exported to Hindostan ; the 

 linen goods of Memphis were carried into the very 

 heart of Africa as Manchester goods are now ; and 

 then, as now, a girdle of beads was the essential part 

 of an African young lady's dress. 



On the side of the Mediterranean, Egypt was a 



