7 o6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER
at laft the rivers, marfhes, and lakes, being refrefhed by lhowers, (the rain becoming conftant) and parting through the kingdom of Sennaar, the foil of which is a red bole ; This mixture, and the moving fands of the deferts, fall in- to the current, and precipitate all the vifcous and putrid fubflances, which cohere and float in the river ; and thence (as Pococke has well obferved) the fign of the Nile being wholefome, is not when it is clear and green, but when mingled with frefh water, and after precipitation it be- comes red and turbid, and ftains the water of the Mediter- ranean.
The next remark of Mr Pococke * is equally true. It has been obferved, fays he, that after the rainy feafon is over, the Nile fallen, and the whole country drained from inundation, it has begun again to rife ; and he gives an, inflance of that in December 1 737, when it had a fudden in- creafe, which alarmed all Egypt, where the received opinion was that it prefaged calamities. This alfo is faid to have happened in the time of Cleopatra, when their government was fubverted, their ancient race of kings extinguifhed. in the perfon of that princefs, and Egypt became a province to the Romans.
The reader will not expect, in thefe enlightened times, that I fhould ufe arguments to convince him, that this ri- ling of the Nile had nothing to do with the extinction of the race of the Ptolemies, though popular preachers and prophets have always made ufe of thefe fortunous events to confirm the vulgar in their prejudices.
The
- Pococke, voJ. i.p. 201.
