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the same time, to extend the commerce, and increase the wealth 
of his native country. The Ishmaelites had always been famous 
merchants, as well as warriors: in a very early state of their tribe, 
they travelled with their camels to Egypt, laden with spicery, 
balm, and myrrh; neither had they any objection to deal in slaves, 
as the history of Joseph exemplifies. 
It would be foreign to my purpose to enter into a detail of 
oriental commerce from that transaction, until the time that “ So- 
lomon made a navy of ships at Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, 
on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom: and Hiram 
put in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the 
sea, with the servants of Solomon; and they came to Ophir, and 
fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents; and 
plenty of Algum trees, and precious stones: and they had at sea a 
navy of Tharshish, with the navy of Hiram; once in three years 
came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold and silver, and ivory, 
and apes, and peacocks.’" 
It is not yet decided whether the island of Ceylon was the 
Ophir of Solomon, as well as the Screndib of the Persians and Ara- 
bians, or whether the vessels of Hiram traded to other parts of 
India: but from that period the commerce of the East has been a 
most interesting and productive source of wealth. When refine- 
ment and luxury had made a rapid progress in their extensive 
empire, the Romans were supplied with the most costly produc- 
tions from all parts of the known world; and received by different 
channels, a variety of articles from India and China; but there 
was little maritime intercourse on these seas, until after the pro- 
mulgation of the Koran; when the Arabians, with a boldness 
