DESCRIPTIONS OF EGYPT. 
107 
whichinhabit them have oftenbeen subject to Egypt, 
their territories at an early period formed no part 
of its proper domain. An ancient quarrel be- 
tween Egypt and Libya, concerning their boun- 
daries, was referred to the decision of the oracle 
of Ammon, which restricted the Egyptian terri- 
tories to the region inundated by the Nile. The 
authority of the oracle, however, has passed away, 
and as the Libyan tribes have dwindled into insig- 
nificance, the name of Egypt may with propriety 
be applied to those sterile districts which on 
the east stretch along the Red Sea as high as 
the latitude of Syene, which extend towards Nu- 
bia on the south, and Cyrene on the west, and 
acknowledge a very precarious subjection to any 
power. 
Egypt lies between the 48th and 53d degrees 
of longitude, and the 24th and 33d degrees of 
north latitude. The bare and unsheltered sur- 
face of the country, and its small elevation above 
the level of the sea, combining with its exposure 
to the rays of a vertical sun, render it much 
warmer than many countries in the same lati- 
tude. The hot season continues from March to 
November ; and during this period, while the 
sun remains above the horizon, the atmosphere is 
inflamed, the sky is cloudless and sparkling, and 
the heat is rendered supportable only by the pro- 
fuse perspiration which it excites. In summer the 
