The next of the ancient races that may be mentioned in connection with Africa is the PHENICIANS or CANAANITES. Before Homer’s time they had the commerce of the Mediterranean. By the time of Solomon they were making voyages down the Red Sea to a place called Ophir, regarding which there have been many theories. In connection with one of these, we quote the following from Baines. Speaking of the long-sought ruins in the land of Ophir, he says:—“They are extensive, and one collection covers a considerable portion of a gentle rise, while another, apparently a fort, stands upon a bold granite hill. The walls are still thirty feet in height, and are built of granite hewn into small blocks about the size of our bricks, and put together without mortar. The most remarkable of these walls is situated on the very edge of a precipitous cliff, and is in perfect preservation to the height of thirty feet. The walls are about ten feet thick at the base, and seven or eight at the top. In many places there remain beams of stone, eight or ten feet in length, projecting from the walls, in which they must be inserted to a depth of several feet, for they can scarcely be stirred.” This explorer finds Ophir in Southern Africa. The JEWS had contact with most of the nations of antiquity, and it is said that the kings of Abyssinia were descended from Solomon, through the Queen of Sheba, who on her return was accompanied by many Jews. It is also maintained that numbers of Jews found refuge in Abyssinia at various periods. The Abyssinians, as their name implies, are a mixed race. Herodotus mentions a party of young men that travelled through the desert and went on till they came to a black people who lived by a large river which flowed westwards. On comparing the customs of the modern tribes of Africa with those of the Ancient Egyptians, the Phenicians, or the Jews, we find many points of difference. Still there are points of similarity also. In describing African manners we have already noted many agreements with old Jewish customs. The customs of the Canaanites need not detain us long. Even in the time of the Patriarchs this race could make seals and graven images, had silver money, and could dye purple. It may be mentioned, however, that they believed themselves to have sprung from slime; while the worship of Ashtaroth involved the pollution of the young of both sexes, and Moloch demanded sacrifices of children. Divination was also practised. It is interesting to note the following particulars regarding Ancient Egypt:— The civilisation of Egypt did not come down the Nile—the black people from the land of Cush being represented on Egyptian monuments as Pharoah’s servants. The Egyptians are akin in customs to the Asiatics. Some say the Egyptians and Indians are of the same origin (_cf._ Prichard).