it is said
they '_stood as an heap_,' and were '_congealed_,' or suspended, as
though turned into ice:--'And with the blast of thy nostrils, the
waters were gathered together: the floods stood _upright as an
heap_; the _depths_ were _congealed_ in the heart of the sea.'"

MR. WILTON. "Emma, I call upon _you_ for the account of the Persian
Gulf; but you seem so intent on the book before you, that I feel a
little curious to know the subject of your meditations."

EMMA. "You shall hear, papa, although perhaps you may laugh at me
afterwards. I was thinking that it seemed rather absurd for people
who are constantly voyaging to the East Indies to go such an immense
way round Africa, when by cutting a passage through the Isthmus of
Suez they could arrive at the desired haven in half the time. What
is the width of the isthmus, papa? Would such a thing be
practicable, or am I very foolish?"

MR. WILTON. "Not at all, my dear, as I will readily prove. The width
is about seventy-five miles; and there _has_ been a communication
between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Strabo, the historian,
asserts that a canal was built by Sesostris, king of Egypt; and in
February, 1799, Napoleon, then General of the French Republic,
accompanied by some gentlemen skilled in such matters, proceeded
from Cairo to Suez with the view of discovering the vestiges of this
ancient canal. They were successful: they found traces of it for
several leagues, together with portions of the old great wall of
Sesostris, which guarded the eastern frontiers of Egypt, and
protected the canal from the sands of the desert. It was a short
time since in contemplation to renew this communication by the same
means as those used by Sesostris; viz., by forming a canal for the
advantage of commerce, &c.; which advantage is well explained by Mr.
Edward Clarkson, in an article on Steam Navigation, thus: 'The
distance from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea by the Suez navigable
canal would be from eighty to ninety miles. The time consumed by a
steamboat in this transit might be averaged at five hours. What is
the time now consumed in the transit through Egypt by the voyager
from England to Bombay? and what is the nature of the transit?
Passengers, packages, and letters, after being landed at Alexandria,
are now conveyed by the Mahmoudie Canal forty miles to Atfeh, on the
Nile. This consumes twelve hours, and is performed by a track-boat,
attended by numerous inconveniences.