INTRODUCTION. 
XXIX 
exhausting sand of Nubian deserts, supporting all 
losses by evaporation and absorption, the noble flood 
shed its annual blessings upon Egypt. An anomaly 
among rivers; flooding in the driest season; ever¬ 
lasting in sandy deserts ; where was its hidden origin ? 
where were the sources of the Nile ? 
This was from the earliest period the great geogra¬ 
phical question to be solved. 
In the advanced stage of civilization of the present 
era, we look with regret at the possession by the 
Moslem of the fairest portions of the world,—of countries 
so favoured by climate and by geographical position, 
that, in the early days of the earth’s history, they were 
the spots most coveted; and that such favoured places 
should, through the Moslem rule, be barred from the 
advancement that has attended lands less adapted by 
nature for development. There are no countries of 
the earth so valuable, or that would occupy so "im¬ 
portant a position in the family of nations, as Turkey 
in Europe, Asia Minor, and Egypt, under a civilized 
and Christian government. 
As the great highway to India, Egypt is the most 
interesting country to the English. The extraordinary 
d 
