the increase was too great, by receiving that injurious superfluity which would have prevented seed-time. Fearful lest this artificial sea might break its bounds and occasion dreadful ravages, a canal was cut through the mountain, by which the superabundant waters were discharged among the Lybian sands. History knows not a work so glorious, nor is it wonderful that antiquity esteems it above the pyramids and labyrinth; for, with the grandeur of the enterprise, it included the happiness of the people.

"Thus, the Egyptians, who detested the kings by whom they were forced to remove mountains that pyramids might be raised, blessed the memory of Moris, and his name is everlasting. This lake has nearly lost all its advantages. The barbarians, in whose hands Egypt has remained for twelve centuries, have destroyed most of its monuments, or suffered them to perish. The Lake Mareotis is dry, the canal of Alexandria is no longer navigable, and Moris is only fifty leagues in circumference. Were the rivulets and the canal of Joseph cleansed, in which the mud is very deep, the ancient mounds repaired, and the sluices restored, this lake might again serve the same purposes, might prevent the evils of a too great, and supply the defects of a too feeble, inundation; might extend, as formerly, from Nesle and Arsinöe to the Lybian mountains; and show the astonished traveller the 'sca which man had made.""

Here, then, we have a wonderful instance of the wisdom and power of man.

In Sale's Preliminary Discourse to the Koran, it is said that Abd-Shems, surnamed Saba, having built the city, from him called Saba, and afterward Marab, made a vast mound or dam, to serve as a basin or reservoir to receive the water which came down from the mountains, not only for the use of the inhabitants, and for watering their lands, but also to keep the country which they had subjected in greater awe, by being masters of the water. This building stood like a mountain above their city, and was by them esteemed so strong, that they were under no apprehension of its ever failing. The water rose almost to the height of one hundred and twenty feet,

See the thirty-fourth chapter of the Koran, also, under the name of Al-Arem ; "Ancient Universal History," Arabia; and Sir WILLIAM JONES'S "Discourse on the Arabs."

and was kept in on every side by a work so solid, that many of the inhabitants had their houses built upon it. Every family received a portion of this water, distributed by aqueducts. But at length, God, being highly displeased at their great pride and insolence, and resolving to humble and disperse them, sent a mighty flood, which broke down the mound by night, while the inhabitants were asleep, and carried away the whole city, with the neighbouring towns and people. This terrible inundation happened about the time of Alexander the Great, and swept away eight tribes from their habitations; so that it became proverbial to say of people who were carried off by their enemies, or destroyed by disease, "They are gone and scattered like Saba."

Dean Prideaux informs us, in reference to the presidency of the temple: "It was formerly in the possession of Abu-Gabshan, of the tribe of the Cozaites, who were of the ancient race of the Arabs, descended from Joktan, and formerly had their dwelling in Yamen, or Arabia Felix, till, being driven thence by an inundation from the breaking down of the banks of the lake Aram, which destroyed their country, they came and settled in the valley of Marry, not far from Mecca; and from thence they were called Cozaites, which signifieth the cutting off, because by this remove they were cut off from the rest of their kindred."

Bishop Lowth says, "The immense works made by the ancient kings of Egypt for receiving the waters of the Nile, when it overflowed, for such uses, are well known. But there never was a more stupendous work of this kind than the reservoir of Saba, or Merab, in Arabia Felix. According to the traditions of the country, it was the work of Balkis, that queen of Sheba who visited Solomon. It was a vast lake, formed by the collection of the waters of a torrent in a valley, where, at a narrow pass between two mountains, a very high mole or dam was built. The water of the lake so formed was nearly twenty fathoms deep; and there were three sluices at different heights, by which, at whatever height the lake stood, the plain below might be watered. By conduits and canals from these sluices, water was constantly distributed in due proportions, to the several lands, so that the whole country, for many miles, became a perfect paradise. The city of Saba, or Merab, was situated immediately below the great dam: a

great flood came and raised the lake above its usual height; the dam gave way in the middle of the night; the waters burst forth at once, and overwhelmed the whole city, with the neighbouring towns and people. The remains of eight tribes were forced to abandon their dwellings, and the beautiful valley became a morass and a desert. This fatal catastrophe happened long before the time of Mohammed, who mentions it in the thirty-fourth chapter of the Koran."

This, then, is another instance of the amazing ingenuity and strength of man.

But these gigantic works are not confined to antiquity, to Egypt, or Arabia; they may be found scattered over the continent of India at this day.

*

Bishop Heber says, "The emperors of Delhi showed favour in many ways to Ajmeer; but in none more than in a noble fresh-water lake which they made just above the city, by damming up the gore of an extensive valley, and conveying different small rills into it. The result is, that there is now a fine sheet of water four miles (and during the rains six miles) in circumference; sufficient, in industrious hands, to give fertility to all the neighbourhood. As it is, it affords the means of irrigation to a large district on its banks; supplies abundance of excellent water to the citizens of Ajmeer; is full of fish; and would, if there were any boats, be an excellent place for sailing."

These works are of such importance, that the Indian governments have regular English engineer-officers to superintend and keep them in repair. With one of these gentlemen, Captain C., I had the pleasure of being acquainted, who gave me the following information:

QUESTION. What is the circumference of the largest artificial lake you have seen?

ANSWER. Thirty miles. The most common size is from one to two miles.

Q. What is the greatest depth?

A. Sixty feet.

Q. What is the general height, length, and angle of the mounds?

A. The largest mound I have seen is fifty-four feet in height, at the base one hundred and thirty feet broad, and

• Vol. ii. p. 442,

thirty feet at the top. It is faced on the inner side with loose stones of about three tons weight, at a slope of two and a half base for one in height; but the outer slope is three of base for one in height. The largest mound is twelve miles in length, about thirty feet in height, about one hundred and twenty feet thick at the base, and twenty-four at the top.

Q. Is the water given in fixed quantities to the cultivators? A. In every village there is a man whose duty it is to distribute the water; which, however, is the cause of innumerable disputes, excepting in old tanks, where it has been well settled by long custom. Should a tank have to water many villages, then each will have a sluice to itself. The disputes are referred to the tahsildar, or "head of a division," and ultimately to the collector.

Q. How are they filled with water? and what is the general length of the canals?

A. They are filled either by natural nullahs that flow into them, or by small artificial nullahs, carried to a distance of three or four miles, so as to conduct the rain-water into them, or by canals from the rivers; in which last case, the canals water a great quantity of land directly before they reach the tank. The largest agricultural canal I have seen, is fifty-four miles in length.

Q. Where are those which you mentioned in the vicinity of mountains? and how are they constructed?

A. As there are numerous ranges of hills in the peninsula, a great many tanks are formed by uniting two hills, and thereby stopping up the stream that issued from between them. The principal one of this sort that I have seen is the Vearyasa-Samuteram,† in the south-west corner of the district of Cuddapah. The stream dammed up is about thirty yards broad. One end of the mound rests on a steep rocky hill, the other on a gradual rocky slope. There are several very large tanks of this description in the district of Cuddapah; the largest is at Cummum, north of Cuddapah. There are also some still larger in Mysore: that called by Hyder Ally, Moottee-Talao, not far from Mysore, I have heard, is the deepest tank in India.

• The English call these artificial lakes "tanks;" but the natives call them kullams.

+ Literally, "the sea."

- Q. What is the annual expense of the tanks to government?

A. The annual expenditure for repairing and improving works of irrigation in this presidency (Madras) is nine or ten lacs, or £100,000.

Q. What revenue does the government derive from them? A. Probably about two crore of rupees, or two millions of money; but I have not been able to obtain an official return. The largest revenue from any single work with which I am acquainted, is 90,000 rupees, or £9,000!

Q. What sum would be sufficient to construct the largest tank which you have seen?

A. About three lacs, or £30,000.

Q. How are engineer-officers stationed in reference to these works?

A. There are three divisions in that part of the presidency in which artificial works of irrigation are situated. In each is a civil engineer, as he is called, and an assistant; all of whom are officers of the corps of engineers. These divisions are the northern, centre, and southern, forming the castern half of the peninsula. The western division, situated between the western Ghauts and the sea, contains no works of this sort.

But the artificial lakes of Ceylon, also, are works of astonishing magnitude; and many marvellous legends are related respecting the kings and giants who projected these vast reservoirs, and nobly carried them into execution. "The monarch Theakkam, in forming a large mound, found that every morning a great part of it was thrown down. His mind was extremely perplexed; and one night he had a dream, in which it was revealed to him that a child must be sacrificed before he could accomplish his object. He mentioned the circumstance to his wife; but she refused to consent: he then told the affair to his sister, who said, 'Why should the people be ruined?' and she gave her son to be buried alive in the mound, from which time it never failed!"

The importance which the natives attach to these works, may be seen in all their literature, both ancient and modern. In a "Book of Fate" which I translated, and which has been printed by the Royal Asiatic Society, the question, "Is it good to make the mound or embankment?" occurs in eight