ch was then bolled.(387) This storm was in March.

Byssus. This was another kind of flax extremely fine and delicate, which
often received a purple dye.(388) It was very dear; and none but rich and
wealthy persons could afford to wear it. Pliny, who gives the first place
to the Asbeston or Asbestinum, (_i.e._ the incombustible flax,) places the
Byssus in the next rank; and says, "that the dress and ornaments of the
ladies were made of it."(389) It appears from the Holy Scriptures, that it
was chiefly from Egypt that cloth made of this fine flax was brought:
"fine linen with broidered work from Egypt."(390)

I take no notice of the Lotus, a very common plant, and in great request
among the Egyptians, of whose berries, in former times, they made bread.
There was another Lotus in Africa, which gave its name to the Lotophagi or
Lotus-eaters; because they lived upon the fruit of this tree, which had so
delicious a taste, if Homer may be credited, that it made those who ate it
forget all the sweets of their native country,(391) as Ulysses found to
his cost in his return from Troy.

In general, it may be said, that the Egyptian pulse and fruits were
excellent; and might, as Pliny observes,(392) have sufficed singly for the
nourishment of the inhabitants, such was their excellent quality, and so
great their plenty. And, indeed, working men lived then almost upon
nothing else, as appears from those who were employed in building the
pyramids.

Besides these rural riches, the Nile, from its fish, and the fatness it
gave to the soil for the feeding of cattle, furnished the tables of the
Egyptians with the most exquisite fish of every kind, and the most
succulent flesh. This it was which made the Israelites so deeply regret
the loss of Egypt, when they found themselves in the wilderness: "Who,"
say they, in a plaintive, and at the same time, seditious tone, "shall
give us flesh to eat? We remember the flesh which we did eat in Egypt
freely; the cucumbers and melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the
garlick.(393) We sat by the flesh-pots, and we did eat bread to the
full."(394)

But the great and matchless wealth of Egypt arose from its corn, which,
even in an almost universal famine, enabled it to support all the
neighbouring nations, as it particularly did under Joseph's
administration. In later ages, it was the resource and most certain
granary of Rome and Constantinople. It is a well-known story, how a
calumny raised a