16 C 2 DESCRIPTIONS OF EGYPT. 
In that fervid atmosphere, which renders flowers 
more fragrant, fruit-trees of every species are con- 
stantly covered with fruits or blossoms, and equal- 
ly delight the senses by their variegated foliage 
and odoriferous shade. The acacia, which pro- 
duces the gum Arabic, abounds in the sandy 
plains. The appearance of this tree is stunted, 
the stem crooked and low, the branches long 
and naked, the leaves narrow, and the flowers 
minute and white, sometimes tinged with yel- 
low. Its bark is rough and brown, and the 
branches are armed with long white spines. * Were 
extensive forests of the acacia diffused over the 
sandy plains of Egypt, the basis of the soil of 
which consists frequently of vegetable mould, it is 
probable that extensive arid districts might be 
reclaimed from desolation to their original fer- 
tility. 
The ruins of the great Thebes, the ancient ca- 
pital of Egypt, the city of Jove, the city of the 
hundred gates, from each of which issued two hun- 
dred warriors, with their horses and chariots, over- 
whelm the mind with astonishment by their mag- 
nitude and magnificence, while they, at the same 
time, exhibit the most melancholy picture of the in- 
stability of human greatness. When the Scythians 
* Sonnini's Travels, p. 6'37? 4to. 
