Page:History of the Franks.djvu/41

THE FIRST BOOK 9 dred high, and four hundred and seventy stades in circumference. A stade contains five agripennes. Twenty-five gates are situated on each side, which make in all one hundred. The doors of these gates, which are of wonderful size, are cast in bronze. The same historian tells many other tales of this city, and says: "Although such was the glory of its building still it was conquered and de- stroyed." [7. Abraham, who is described as "the beginning of our faith." 8. Isaac, Esau, Jacob, Job. 9. The twelve patriarchs, the story of Joseph, and the coming out of Egypt to the crossing of the Red Sea.] ^ 10. Since many authorities have made varying statements about this crossing of the sea I have decided to give here some in- formation concerning the situation of the place and the crossing itself. The Nile flows through Egypt, as you very well know, and waters it by its flood, from which the inhabitants of Egypt are named Nilicolae. And many travellers say its shores are filled at the present time with holy monasteries. And on its bank is situ- ated, not the Babylonia of which we spoke above, but the city of Babylonia in which Joseph built wonderful granaries of squared stone and rubble.^ They are wide at the base and narrow at the top in order that the wheat might be cast into them through a tiny opening, and these granaries are to be seen at the present day. From this city the king set out in pursuit of the Hebrews with armies of chariots and a great infantry force. Now the stream mentioned above coming from the east passes in a westerly direction towards the Red Sea ; and from the west a lake or arm of the Red Sea juts out and stretches to the east, being about fifty miles long and eigh- teen wide.^ And at the head of this lake the city of Clysma is built, not on account of the fertility of the soil, since there is noth- ing more barren, but because of the harbor, since ships coming from the Indias lie there for the convenience of the harbor; and the wares purchased there are carried through all Egypt. Toward this arm the Hebrews hastened through the wilderness, and they came to the sea itself and encamped, finding fresh water. It was in this place, shut in by the wilderness as well as by the sea, that ^The square brackets indicate where less significant sections of the text have been summarized. 2 xhe Pyramids, apparently. ^ Gregory's geography is mixed.