THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 7 



On the contrary, the Etefian winds blowing all Summer 

 upon that coaft, from the weftward of north, and a current 

 fetting conftantly to the eaftward, it is impoflible that any 

 part of the mud of the Nile can go fo high to the windward 

 of any of the mouths of that riven 



It is well known, that the action of thefe winds, and the 

 •conftancy of that current, has thrown a great quantity of mud, 

 gravel, and fand, into all the ports on the coail of Syria. 



All vefliges of old Tyre are defaced ; the ports of Sidon, 

 *Berout, Tripoli, and fLatikea, are all filled up by the accre- 

 tion of fand ; and, not many days before my leaving Sidon, 

 Mr de Clerambaut, conful of France, fhewed me the pave- 

 ments of the old city of Sidon, 7t feet lower than the ground 

 upon which the prefent city Hands, and confiderably farther 

 i>ack in the gardens nearer to Mount Libanus. 



This every one in the country knows is the effect of that 

 eafterly current fetting upon the coaft, which, as it acts per* 

 pendicularly to the courfe of the Nile when discharging it- 

 felf, at all or any of its mouths, into the Mediterranean, mull 

 hurry what it is charged with on towards the coaft of Syria, 

 and hinder it from fettling oppofite to, or making thofe 

 additions to the land of Egypt, which % Herodotus has vain- 

 ly fuppofed. 



The 20th of June, early in the morning, we had a diftant 

 profpecl of Alexandria rifmg from the fea. Was not the ftate 



of 



? Berytus, f Laodicea ad raare. ± Herod, lib. ii. p. 90, 



