Page:On the Desert - Recent Events in Egypt.djvu/13

 

The Peninsula of Sinai has been a favorite ground of Biblical explorers. In their zeal to visit scenes made dear by connection with sacred history, they have sought to follow the track of the children of Israel from the time of their departure out of Egypt; to trace their marches on the desert; and to fix the place of their encampments, not only around the base of Sinai, but even when wandering and almost lost in the Great and Terrible Wilderness. The fruit of these researches is a Library of Exploration, which forms a most valuable addition to our Biblical Literature, not only for the knowledge it gives of sacred geography, but of the whole religious, social, and political economy of the Hebrews.

While these great works, the monuments of so much learning, occupy the attention of scholars, other readers may be interested in turning over a Portfolio of Sketches, which claims only to present a few Pictures of the Desert. The Peninsula is as unique in its scenery as in its history — combining the three great features of the desert, the mountains and the sea; the sands, the cliffs, and the rolling waters — all which have a peculiar fascination when seen in a pure, transparent atmosphere, with the lights and shadows of sunrisings and sunsettings. Passing through such a country, not as an explorer, but only as a traveller, the writer has been content to accept what came within his personal observation, and to describe only what he could