Four of the Princesses had been married; and amid the splendid festivities attending the nuptials of the fifth, closed the 9th of July, 1806. About three o'clock the next morning, the European troops, consisting of four companies of the 64th Regiment, were awakened by volleys of musketry crashing into their rooms. The assailants were the sepoys of the garrison, who remained outside, pouring in a murderous fire, not daring to encounter the bayonets of the Englishmen by attempting an entrance. Two Colonels, thirteen officers, and eighty-two men became their victims; ninety-one others were wounded. Some found shelter in nooks, where the shot could not reach them. A few managed to gain the ramparts, and maintained themselves by desperate valour. A fugitive carried the tidings to Arcot. The 19th Dragoons, under Colonel Gillespie, were in instant motion: the galloper-guns followed. By eight o'clock the Dragoons were at the gate, but could not effect an entrance. At ten the guns arrived: the gate was blown open, the troopers dashed upon the crowd within, cut them down by hundreds, and avenged the treachery with an unsparing hand.

(To be continued.)

HORE BIBLICÆ.

No. V. CULTIVATION OF THE LAND IN EGYPT AND

PALESTINE.

IN Deut. xi. 10, 11, it is said, “For the land whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot as a garden of herbs: but the land whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven." These verses furnish occasion for the following remarks ::

1. The supposition that Egypt is without rain, lies at the foundation of this passage. Against the correctness of this implication, the accounts of modern travellers cannot be adduced in argument, according to whom, especially in Lower Egypt, it certainly sometimes rains: for these rains are yet proportionally so seldom, and, what is the principal thing to which reference is made in this immediate connexion, they have so little influence in fertilizing the earth, that the classical writers are accustomed to speak of Egypt as if it never rained there. Herodotus* says perfectly plainly, "It rains not in their land."+ Collections concerning rain in Egypt are given by Faber, Nordmeier,§ and Hartmann.||

2. The author is designating Canaan, in opposition to Egypt, as a land of mountains and valleys, places in the flatness of country of Egypt the cause of absence of rain; and that he in this way proves himself acquainted with the natural condition of Egypt, no man can deny.

* B. 2, c. 14.

+ Compare Diod. 1, 41. Plinius, Panegyr., c. 30: Ægyptus alendis augendisque seminibus ita gloriata est, ut nihil imbribus coloque deberet. Mela names Æg. expers imbrium. Lucilius in Seneca, Nat. Quæst. IV., 2: Nemo aratorum aspicit cœlum; and Tibullus, Nec pluvio supplicat herba Jovi.

Zu den Beob. a. d. Orient., B. 1, S. 4, ff. 2, S. 347, ff.

In the Calend. Æg., pp. 11, 20.

| S. 197

Vossius upon Mela, L. 1, c. 9, sect. 1, ed. Tzschuck., III. 1, p. 247, says, Quærit vero causum Aristobulus apud Strabonem 1, 15, (p. 476, s. 692,) quare,

3. It appears at first view remarkable that the author represents it as a superiority of Canaan over Egypt, that it is subject to rain, and is not watered by a river. If we compare what Herodotus* says of the inhabitants of the region below Memphis, the thing will assume quite another phasis. "For now indeed these people obtain the fruits of their land with far less trouble and labour than other people, even than the other Egyptians. They need not trouble themselves to turn up furrows with the plough, nor to dig with the hoe, nor with any other kind of labour, which men bestow upon the earth, but the river comes of its own accord upon their land, and waters it; and having done this, it leaves it again, and then each one sows his ground." The great facility of cultivation in Egypt is also asserted by Rosellini.† But if we examine the affair more minutely, it appears that the author is perfectly right, and that the error, if it is altogether an error, falls rather on the side of Herodotus and those who take him as authority.

First, it is to be remarked, that Herodotus particularly designates only those labours as unnecessary for the Egyptians, which in other lands precede seed-sowing. But in Egypt, the burdensome labour, the watering, begins not until after the seed is sown; and this circumstance is made very particularly prominent in our passage. That irrigation is really a very laborious employment, is confirmed by many witnesses. "Forskäl," says Edmann,§"has shown that the cultivation of the land in Egypt requires more toil than one would imagine. The watering must be often repeated, and for that purpose the land is intersected by canals. These canals must be cleared out yearly, and sustained by hedges, &c., planted on their banks. And in Shaw, it can also be seen with what indescribable pains the water must be conducted through the numerous little channels, to furnish sustenance for the productions of the land, to say nothing of the various machines which are drawn by buffaloes, and are used for carrying up the water to the gardens, after the canals and cisterns are dry." The difficulty of cultivation in Egypt, Girard T also asserts. A single Feddan Doorah ** sometimes requires, according to him, a hundred days' work of watering. Prokesch says:++ "The watering is indispensably necessary, and must be

cum in Syene imbres cadant, intermedia tantum loca pluvia omnino careant. Quæstio hæc ibi proponitur, sed non solvitur. Ratio tamen est manifesta, quia nempe illa Ægypti pars, ubi nullæ cadunt pluviæ, plana, humilis, sicca, arenosa ac calida est admodum, utpote torrida zone vicina. Vapores itaque, qui a terra arida egrediuntur, cum rari admodum et tenues sint, aut noctu decidunt in rorem mutati, aut toti ab æstu consumunter, priusquam in pluviam abeant. At vero tractus Syeniticus, quia excelsus et montosus est, necessario pluviis abundat. Ubi enim montes, ibi nivium et aquarum lapsus perpetui.

* B. 2, c. 14.

+ II. 1, p. 288

Bähr, upon Herodotus, says, Herodoteis similia proferunt Diod. 1, 36. Colu mella II., 25, Athenæus V., 8. Sed recentioris ætatis Scriptores si audias, vix ulla invenitur terra, quæ quo fructus ferat magis hominum opera indigeat quam Ægyptus. Quæ cum ita sint, nisi erroris Patrem historia incusare velis, ejus verba non ad omnem Ægyptum erunt referenda, sed ad unam modo alteramve ejus partem, eximia agrorum fertilitate insignem.

§ Verm. Beitr. 1, S. 126.

| Page 172.

In the Descr., t. 17, p. 56.

** The Feddan, the most common measure of land in Egypt, was, a few years ago, equal to about an English acre. It is now less than an acre.

++ In den Erinnerung., Th. 2, S. 135.

performed at stated intervals. It is the custom to water the fields in winter once in fourteen days; in the spring, if the dew falls sufficiently, once in twelve days; but in the summer, once in eight days." The same author describes the various machines for irrigation.* Finally, Michaud + says, "The labour of tillage is not that which most occupies the agricultural population here; for the land is easy to cultivate. The great difficulty is to water the fields; even the most robust of the Fellahs are employed to raise the water and perform the irrigation."

Further, it must not be overlooked, that Herodotus speaks only of a single region of Egypt, of that which enjoys the blessings of the Nile in the fullest measure. He explicitly contrasts the inhabitants of the region below Memphis with the rest of the Egyptians. But our passage has particularly in view that part of Egypt which was inhabited by the Israelites. This lay upon the borders of the desert, and the blessings of the Nile could be appropriated to them only by means of the greatest exertions.

Finally, it is to be considered that the Canaan of which the author speaks is in a manner an ideal land. It was never what it might have been, since the bond of allegiance, in consequence of which God had promised to give the land its rain in its season, was always far from being perfectly complied with.

66

4. That our passage is spoken in opposition to the boasting of the Egyptians, who looked down with proud pity upon all other lands, since these had no Nile, is probable from a comparison of Herodotus, 2. 13, which has a striking relation to our passage: For when they heard that in all the country of the Greeks the land is watered by rain, and not by rivers, as in Egypt, they said, 'The Greeks, disappointed in their brightest hopes, will sometimes suffer severe famine;' which means, If God at some time shall not send rain, but drought, then famine will press upon them, for they can obtain water only from God." The phrase, "only from God," which seems so terrible to the Egyptians, is here represented as a mark of favour to the people which has God for its friend, and to which the eyes of the Lord its God are directed from the beginning, until the end, of the year. (Verse 12.)

5. The words, "Where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot as a garden of herbs," show, at least, that the author was acquainted with the manner of irrigation in Egypt, and are most easily explained on the supposition that he was acquainted with the manner of life among the Egyptians by personal observation. At the first view, these words appear, without doubt, to have reference to an Egyptian watering-machine described by Philo, with which they carried the water from the Nile and its canals into the fields. This machine, a wheel for raising water turned by the foot, is even now in use in Egypt. Nevertheless, since the authority of Diodorus, for the newness of the invention of this machine, scarcely sufficient of itself, (he mentions § that it was invented by Archimedes,) is confirmed by the circumstance that this machine is not represented in the sculptures,|| whilst the machine now most common for irrigation, the shadûf, is found even on very ancient monuments, it is most natural to refer the words

rather to the carrying of the water, in which the foot has the most to do.* This process we find also represented on the Egyptian monuments.+ Two men are there employed in watering a piece of cultivated land. They bear upon their shoulders a yoke with straps at each end, to which earthen vessels are fastened. They fill these with water from a neighbouring shadûf, or from a pool, and carry it to the field. Another stands there with a bundle of herbs, which he appears to have just collected; by which the phrase, "like an herb-garden," is very naturally suggested.

6. The whole passage transfers us, in a manner inimitable by a modern writer, to the time in which the Israelites were stationed midway between Egypt and Canaan, yet full of the advantages which they had enjoyed in the former land, and in want of a counterpoise to the longing desire for that which they had lost.-Hengstenberg.

THE REV. JOSEPH WOLFF, D.D., &c., AT BOKHARA.‡

(Concluded from page 1098.)

THIS whole conversation, at my proposal, was written down; and the Makram Kasem, with the Mirza, instantly rode off to the palace; for the King was so impatient to know the result of the conversation, that he actually sent three Makrams on horseback, one after the other, from the palace to the garden of the Nayeb.

After the Makram Kasem and the Mirza had departed, the Nayeb desired Dil Assa Khan, his servants, and my servants, to go down and take a walk in the garden; and after this had been done by them, the whole conversation took quite a different turn.

"the

Nayeb Abdul Samut Khan began to weep, and said, "Both Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly have been put to death without a sin or crime on their part. I was not able to answer your objection, that the King could not expect an answer from Dowlat," (this, which means power," is the emphatic designation of our Government at Bokhara,)“ as long as Stoddart was a prisoner; in fact, he was so much worn out that, when he (Stoddart) came to me, he had not a shirt on his back, pale as the

* This does not reach the point, since the passage in question does not seem to refer to the mode of distributing, but of supplying, the water. "Possibly," says Dr. Robinson, 1, 542, "in more ancient times the water-wheel may have been smaller, and turned, not by oxen, but by men pressing upon it with the foot, in the same way that water is still often drawn from wells in Palestine, as we afterwards saw. Niebuhr describes one such machine in Cairo, where it was called Sâkieh tedûr bir rijl, ‘a watering-machine that turns by the foot;' a view of which he also subjoins." The testimony in regard to the severity of the labour of irrigation is uniform. Lane, "Modern Egyptians," vol. ii., p. 24, speaking of the raising of water by the shadûf, says, "The operation is extremely laborious." Dr. Robinson, p. 541, also remarks, "The shadûf has a toilsome occupation. His instrument is exactly the well-sweep of New-England in miniature, supported by a cross-piece resting on two upright posts of wood or mud. His bucket is of leather or wickerwork. Two of these instruments are usually fixed side by side; and the men keep time at their work, raising the water five or six feet. Where the banks are higher, two, three, and even four couples are thus employed, one above another."

+ See the engraving from Beni Hassan, in Wilk., II., p. 137; and the description in Ros., II., 1, pp. 382, 383.

"Narrative of a Mission to Bokhara, in the Years 1843-1845, to ascertain the Fate of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly. By the Rev. Joseph Wolff, D.D. LL.D. In two Volumes. Vol. I. London, Parker. 1845."

wall. I offered to the King one hundred thousand tillahs for their release, but he would not give ear to my proposal; all His Majesty replied was, "They are spies, and as spies they must die.' Soon after them another Englishman came, whose name I do not know, he was also put to death; and one Frankee, Naselli by name, who had letters for Avitabile at Lahore. The tyrant," Abdul Samut Khan continued, "intended putting me to death, and has for two years back not given me any salary, until he saw that he could not go on without me; and thus he acted even after I had taken Khokand; and if he had been able to have taken Khiva, he certainly would have cut off my head. Let the British Government send one officer to Khokand, another to Khoolom, another to Khiva, and thus let those Khans be induced to march against Bokhara, and let the British Government only give me twenty or thirty thousand tillahs, I am ready to support them; I make halt, front!" (he said this in English, the only words he knows besides, "No force.") "Three days after they were killed, the tyrant sent to me Makram Saadat, and gave to me the full report of it, and I went to see the spot. There is a custom, on the circumcision of a son, to invite some great man, who takes the child upon his knees. I intend, if the British Government gives me twenty thousand tillahs, to invite the King, place him upon a seat undermined, and the moment he sits down I will blow him up. I know that he intends to kill me; but," (here the hypocrite lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,) " Inshallah, God willing,' I shall put him to death."

W. This neither the British Government, nor any Christian, will ever approve of; for Kings are considered by us as Sille-Ullah, that is, "The shadows of God." I will now ask you a question, and this it is, "What did he say when he heard of my arrival?".

Nayeb. When he received the letter from the Khaleefa of Mowr, announcing to him your arrival, he informed me of it. I asked, “What does Your Majesty intend to do with him?" He replied, "If he brings no letters from Dowlat, he shall fare like the former; I put him to death." But his mind was so restless, that he assembled about twenty Serkerdeha, (Grandees,) most of them advising him to put you to death. One of them, my enemy, who was dismissed on my account from his situation of Governor of Samarcand, said to him, "Your Majesty asks me for my advice: I would recommend Your Majesty first to kill the Nayeb and then the Englishman." I received this news only yesterday, when Mullah Haje informed me of it by his wife; but fear not, I will stand by you; and to prove I have been a friend of Stoddart and Conolly and Sir Alexander Burnes, I will show you something.........

The time of evening approached, and the band of soldiers played “God save the Queen," which most agreeably surprised me. I then asked him whether there were any other Europeans there : he told me that there was one Italian, Giovanni Orlando by name, who came from Constantinople to Khokand with a Khokand Ambassador; that, on the taking of Khokand, the King intended putting him to death, but that he, Abdul Samut Khan, saved his life, and brought him and his wife to Bokhara, where he now gains his livelihood by watch mending. I saw the man afterwards: he is a good-natured fellow of fair capacity, who was, as he expresses himself, un povero miserabile nel suo paese, which is Parma, and is un povero miserabile in Bokhara.

I then asked whether there were Russian slaves at Bokhara. He replied that there were in the town and in the villages about twenty. I said that