came into the land of Canaan, in opposition to the views of Greppo, which were followed in our former article. Now, Abraham was 75 years of age when he left the land of his nativity, and this corresponded with the 32d year of the reign of the Shepherds in Egypt. The descent of Jacob into that country, which was 215 years after, corresponded with the 247th year of the reign of the Pastor dynasty, and with the 86th of the contemporaneous Theban dynasty. We will now bring this article, already too long, to a close, by giving, in the form of a table, the names of some of the persons whose age we have attempted to determine, and the year B. C., in which certain events took place: Accession of the 16th of Manetho's dynasties of Egyp tian kings, the highest point to which Egyptian his. B. C. Egypt conquered by the Shepherds, 2339 2082 Abram called from Canaan in the 13th year of Beon, Amosis began to reign in Thebes, 1921 Amersis, fourth sovereign of Thebes, 22 years, 1859 Aphobis, last of Pastor dynasty, 61 years, 1859 Joseph sold into Egypt, 1858 Famine in Egypt begins, 1845 Mephres in Thebes, 13 years, 1837 Jacob goes down into Egypt, 1835 Mephramuthosis, 26 years, 1824 Jacob dies, 1818 Tethmosis, seventh king of 18th dynasty, expells the Shepherds in the first year of his reign, 9 years, Rehoboam, 17 years, and Abijah, 3 years, Zerah, or Osorthon, 15 years, Asa, 41 years, 992 982 972 Sevechus, second king, 25th dynasty, 14 years, 739 Hoshea of Israel, 728 Cambyses of Persia, 525 520 Conquers Egypt, and becomes first king of the 27th The variation of these dates from those of Usher and Hales, is inconsiderable, and in most cases follows midway between them. Thus Usher dates the call of Abraham, B. C. 1917, the foregoing places it B. C. 2050, and Dr. Hales, 2093 years B. C. The exodus by Usher took place B. C. 1487, by the foregoing 1620, and by Dr. Hales, 1648. If these conclusions are well drawn, Champollion and Greppo erred in supposing that the Cynic cycle ended in the reign of Ammenophis, third king of the 19th dynasty,—in supposing, that the 17th and 18th dynasties were at all times successive, in the time they assigned to both the 17th and 18th dynasties,-in the time of the exodus, involving also a variety of minor considerations, which it is not necessary to specify. This calculation also supposes, that the life of Menophes ended with the exodus, whereas, by their chronology, he lived 20 years after, and therefore could not have been drowned in the Red Sea, as the literal import of scripture would lead us to believe. ART. III.-ORIENTAL TRAVELERS. Journey through Arabia Petraea, to Mount Sinai, and the excavated city of Petra, the Edom of the Prophecies. By M. LEON DE LABORDE. London, John Murray, Albermarle street. 1856. pp. 331. 8vo. THE work whose title we have placed at the head of this article, has not yet been republished in this country. It is one of a large number of works which have appeared in Europe within comparatively few years, whose design is to illustrate the manners, customs, habits, religious rites, laws, traditions, forms of speech, and geography of Eastern nations; and which have received far less regard from the religious- public in this country than they deserve. It is mainly for the purpose of directing the attention of our readers to this class of writings, that we have selected the work of Laborde as the basis of some observations on the present state of literature in regard to this interesting portion of the world; and as a specimen of the illustration which is furnished of the truth of prophecy from these works. M. Léon de Laborde is the son of the Count Alexandre de Laborde, well known for his sumptuous and valuable works on Austria, Spain, &c. M. Léon de Laborde has distinguished himself as an enterprising traveler, as a diligent antiquarian, and as a skillful artist. Most of the illustrations which accompany his great work, are taken from his own drawings, and many of the engravings are executed by his own hand. This work was published in Paris in 1830, in a very large folio size. It is said to be elegantly printed, and is accompanied by about seventy well executed illustrations or engravings. The work which we have before us, is a translation chiefly of the work of M. de Laborde, which was printed at Paris. The translator has prefixed to the work two chapters, comprising an account of ancient Idumea, and a summary of the remarks made upon Petra by the few travelers who had been permitted to examine the remains of that once celebrated capital. work of M. de Laborde has also been arranged in such a manner as to constitute a continuous narrative. We have not had an opportunity of examining the original work, published at Paris. But one copy, we understand, has come to this country; and the cost of an imported copy is not less than eighty dollars. The The main object which M. Laborde had in view, was to visit Petra, the Sela of the Hebrews. This celebrated city, once the magnificent capital of Idumea, was long since reduced to a state of ruin, and its very site was unknown to Europeans. Burckhardt, in his travels in Syria in 1811, heard the people, among whom he traveled, speak in terms of great admiration of the ruins of an ancient city in the vicinity of Mount Hor, or in the valley Wady Mousa, or the valley of Moses; and from this description of it he was led to believe, that it was the once celebrated capital of Idumea. Under the name Sheikh Ibrahim, and under the pretence of sacrificing a goat in honor of Aaron, on the summit of Mount Hor, where the tomb of Aaron is situated, he was enabled to reach Petra, and to survey, though but for a short time, and in a very imperfect manner, its ruins. Yet he was not permitted to make an accurate examination of these ruins. "I knew well," he observes, "the character of the people around me; I was without protection, in the midst of a desert, where no traveler had before been seen; and a close examination of these works of the infidels, as they are called, would have excited suspicion, that I was a magician, in search of treasures. Future travelers," he adds, "may visit the spot under the protection of an armed force, the inhabitants will become more accustomed to the researches of strangers, and the antiquities of Wady Mousa will then be found to rank among the most curious remains of ancient art." (Burckhardt's Travels in Syria, &c. 4to. pp. 421, 422.) Burckhardt then proceeds to describe a variety of tombs of most remarkable structure, which he observed at the entrance into the valley, which constitutes the single way of access to the ancient city. This exhausting valley, which is almost a subterranean passage, was the only way in which the city was accessible. The city itself was situated in a deep glen, surrounded entirely by lofty rocks, of a kind of freestone, and these rocks are excavated on every side in a magnificent manner for tombs. The valley itself, through which the city is approached, Burckhardt describes as in general about one hundred and fifty feet in breadth; though in one place it is reduced to a width of fifteen or twenty feet. Approaching the city through the valley, he says, "there is a spot where the valley seemed to be entirely closed by rocks; but upon a nearer approach, I perceived a chasm about fifteen or twenty feet in breadth, through which the rivulet [the stream which supplied the city with water] flows westward in winter; in summer its waters are lost in the sand and gravel before they reach the opening, which is called El Syk. The precipices on either side of the torrent are about eighty feet in height; in many places the opening between them at top is less than at bottom, and the sky is not visible from below. As the rivulet of Wady Mousa must have been of the greatest importance to the inhabitants of the valley, and more particularly of the city, which was entirely situated in the west side of the Syk, great pains seem to have been taken to regulate its course. Its bed appears to have been covered with a stone pavement, of which many vestiges yet remain; and in several places, stone walls were constructed on both sides, to give the water its proper di rection, and to check the violence of the torrent." pp. 422, 423. After traveling for near half an hour in this gloomy and almost subterranean passage, he came to an excavated mausoleum, "the situation and beauty of which," he remarks, "are calculated to make an extraordinary impression on the traveler. It is one of the most elegant remains of antiquity existing in Syria; its state of preservation resembles that of a building recently finished; and on further examination, I found it to be a work of immense labor." p. 424. Of this stupendous work, he gives a full and accurate description. "The natives call this monument," he says, "Kaszr Faraoun, or Pharaoh's castle, and pretend that it was the residence of a prince. But it was rather the sepulchre of a prince; and great must have been the opulence of a city, which could dedicate such monuments to the memory of its rulers." As we shall have occasion to give from Laborde a more full description of this, and the other remains of art which Burckhardt saw, we omit a fuller description in this place. Burckhardt proceeded to examine other remains of antiquity of this celebrated city, but was prevented from a full examination by his guide. "Near the west end of the Wady Mousa," says he, " are the remains of a stately edifice, of which part of the wall is still standing; the inhabitants call it Kaszr Bent Faraoun, or the palace of Pharaoh's daughter. In my way I had entered several sepulchres, to the surprise of my guide; but when he saw me turn out of the footpath towards the Kaszr, he exclaimed, 'I see now already that you are an infidel, who have some particular business in amongst the ruins of the city of your forefathers; but depend upon it, we shall not suffer you to take out a single para of the treasures hidden therein, for they are on our territory, and belong to us.' I replied, that it was mere curiosity which prompted me to look at the ancient works, and that I had no other object in coming here than to sacrifice to Haouran, [Aaron;] but he was not easily persuaded, and I did not think it prudent to irritate him by too close an inspection of the palace, as it might have led him to declare, on our return, his belief that I had found treasures, which might have led to a search of my person, and a detection of my journal, which would most certainly have been taken from me as a book of magic. It is very unfortunate for European travelers, that the idea of treasures being hidden in ancient edifices is so deeply rooted in the minds of the Arabs and Turks; nor are they satisfied with watching all the stranger's steps; they believe that it is sufficient for a true magician |