in order to obtain that chieftain's consent. His inquiries concerning the objects of the traveller's pursuit were very minute: and the required permission was granted, on the latter promising that, if the temple should be full of gold, the Cacheff should have one half; but if it should be full of stones, they should be the exclusive property of Mr. Belzoni. He accordingly returned to Ybsambul, and commenced the operation of removing the accumulated sand; but want of time compelled him to relinquish this undertaking, and he descended the Nile to Thebes; where, after considerable difficulty, he succeeded in embarking the bust of Memnon for Cairo, on the 17th of November. His account of this laborious undertaking is worth extracting.

"It was no easy undertaking to put a piece of granite, of such bulk and weight, on board a boat, that, if it received the weight on one side, would immediately upset; and, what is more, this was to be done without the smallest help of any mechanical contrivance, even a single tackle, and only with four poles and ropes, as the water was about eighteen feet below the bank where the head was to descend. The causeway I had made gradually sloped to the edge of the water close to the boat, and with the four poles I formed a bridge from the bank into the centre of the boat, so that when the weight bore on the bridge, it pressed only on the centre of the boat. The bridge rested partly on the causeway, partly on the side of the boat, and partly on the centre of it. On the opposite side of the boat I put some mats well filled with straw. I necessarily stationed a few Arabs in the boat, and some at each side, with a lever of palm-wood, as I had nothing else. At the middle of the bridge I put a sack filled with sand, that, if the colossus should run too fast into the boat, it might be stopped. In the ground behind the colossus I had a piece of a palm-tree firmly planted, round which a rope was twisted, and then fastened to its car, to let it descend gradually. I set a lever at work on each side, and at the same time that the men in the boat were pulling, others were slackening the ropes, and others shifting the rollers as the colossus advanced.

"Thus it descended gradually from the main-land to the causeway, when it sunk a good deal, as the causeway was made of fresh earth. This, however, I did not regret, as it was better it should be so, than that it should run too fast towards the water; for I had to consider, that, if this piece of antiquity should fall into the Nile, my return to Europe would not be very welcome, particularly to the antiquaries; though I have reason to believe, that some among the great body of its scientific men would rather have seen it sunk in the Nile, than where it is now deposited. However, it went smoothly on board. The Arabs, who were unanimously of opinion that it would go to the bottom of the river, or crush the boat, were all attention, as if anxious to know the result, as well as to learn how the operation was to be performed; and when the owner of the boat, who considered it as consigned to perdition, witnessed my success, and saw the huge piece of stone, as

he called it, safely on board, he came and squeezed me heartily by the hand. • Thank heaven!' I exclaimed, and I had reason to be thankful; for I will leave it to the judgment of any engineer, whether it would not be easier to embark a mass ten times larger on board a competent vessel, where all sorts of mechanical powers can be procured, instead of being destitute, as I was, of every thing necessary." (P. 131-133.)

The voyage down the Nile was completed in twenty-four days from Thebes; and after five months and a half continual activity and exertion, he arrived at Cairo, on the 15th of December. Early in January 1817, the bust of Memnon was removed to Alexandria, in order to its ultimate conveyance to England. Having thus finished his operations, and whatever was necessary respecting the bust, he proposed to Mr. Salt, the British Consul, to make another excursion into Upper Egypt and Nubia, to open the temple at Ybsambul. This offer being accepted, Mr. Belzoni embarked once more on the Nile, on the 20th of February 1817, accompanied by Mr. Beechey, the son of the distinguished artist. The narrative of this second journey is extremely interesting; we shall therefore be more minute in our analysis of it.

At Meimond the travellers stopped to attend an Arabian dance, of which we have a pleasing delineation in the thirteenth plate. They were courteously introduced in front of the spec

tators.

"The performers consisted of about thirty men, all in a row, clapping their hands in concert, so as to form a kind of accompaniment to their song, which consisted of three or four words; and with one foot before the other keeping a sort of perpetual motion, but without changing their positions. Before the men were two women with daggers in their hands, also in continual action, running toward the men and then returning from them with an extraordinary motion, brandishing their daggers, and waving their garments. In this they persevered for such a length of time, that I wondered how they could support the exertion. This is a sort of Bedoween dance, and is the most decent of all that I ever saw in Egypt;-but no sooner was it ended, than in order I suppose to please us, they immediately began another, in the fashion of the country, which fully compensated for the extraordinary modesty of the first: but we returned to our boat more disgusted than pleased with it."

"For three days," he continues, "we had a strong southerly wind, so that we advanced but a few miles, and did not arrive at Minieh till the 5th of March. It was necessary for us to land there, to see Hamet Bey, who has the command over all the boats on the river. He styles himself admiral of the Nile, and thinks himself as great as any British admiral on the sea. One day at a christian party in Cairo, the discourse happened to fall upon Sir Sidney Smith; Ah!' said Hamęt

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIII.

R

Bey, Sir Sidney is a very clever man, and holds the same rank aš myself. From this great commander we had to obtain a protection for our Reis, to secure him from having his boat pressed while we employed it. We found him sitting on a wooden bench, attended by two or three of his sailors. He complied with our request, and gave a hint for a bottle of rum. We sent him two, and he made a feast in high glee with them." (P. 143, 144.)

From Minich they proceeded to Eraramoun, the ancient Hermopolis; where, being informed that some agents of the French consul were making a forced march to Thebes, to buy up all the antiquities which the Arabs had collected during the preceding season, Belzoni determined to proceed by land to Thebes. His journey occupied five days and a half, during which he slept only eleven hours. In his progress he met with a body of Bedoween Arabs, on their way to Cairo to enter into the service of the Bashaw, who could find no other expedient for suppressing these freebooters, than offering to give them good pay, horses, and arms, and to send them to Mecca. This proposal, it appears, had its due effect: for all the young men embraced it, leaving the women and old men in the deserts. Their horses were very strong, though not in full flesh, and their riders were clothed with a kind of woollen mantle that covered the head and part of the body. They retain the rude and simple habits of their ancestors. Their tents consist of four sticks set in the ground, about a yard in height, to which one of their shawls is fastened as a cover, with another behind, so as to form a kind of shelter. They generally pitch their camps near a fertile spot, but always at the foot of the desert; so that, in case of a surprise, they may speedily regain their native country. The women were all uncovered, and the children entirely naked. They are very frugal in their diet, and never drink any strong liquors. They are Arabs,' says Mr. Belzoni, but no more like the Arabs of Egypt than a freeman is like a slave. The Egyptian Arabs are accustomed to obey, but will not do any thing unless compelled by force. They are humbled, because they are continually under the rod; and indolent, because they have no interest in any thing. But the wild Arabs, on the contrary, are constantly in motion, and labour to procure provision for their beasts and themselves; and being in perpetual war with each other, their thoughts are incessantly employed in improving their arts of defence, or in obtaining plunder.'

At Thebes he resumed his excavations, and also at Carnac, where he uncovered a colossal figure in front of the great temple. While his people were at work in other directions, our enterpris ing traveller seized the opportunity thus presented to him, of examining at leisure the superb ruins of this edifice. His de

scription of the impressions they produced in his mind is both natural and pleasing.

"In a distant view of them nothing can be seen but the towering propylæa, high portals, and obelisks, which project above the various groups of lofty palm-trees, and even at a distance announce magnificence. On approaching the avenue of sphinxes, which leads to the great temple, the visiter is inspired with devotion and piety: their enormous size strikes him with wonder and respect to the Gods, to whom they were dedicated. They represent lions with heads of rains, the symbols of strength and innocence, the power and purity of the Gods. Advancing farther in the avenue, there stand before it towering propylæa, which lead to inner courts, where immense colossi are seated at each side of the gate, as if guarding the entrance to the holy ground. Still farther on was the magnificent temple dedicated to the great God of the creation. It was the first time that I entered it alone, without being interrupted by the noise of the Arabs, who never leave the traveller an instant. The sun was rising, and the long shades from the various groups of columns extended over these ruins, intermixed with the rays of light striking on these masses in various directions, formed such delightful views all around as baffle description." (P. 152.)

Mr. Belzoni has given a general idea of these extensive ruins, in one of his engravings, and in another a small sketch of part of the interior of the great temple, as well as of the colossa! bust which was uncovered. These must be inspected, in order to form an adequate conception of the grand scale upon which they were executed.

"I was lost," he continues, "in contemplation of so many objects; and being alone in such a place, my mind was impressed with ideas of such solemnity, that for some time I was unconscious whether I were on terrestrial ground, or in some other planet.

"I had seen the temple of Tentyra, and I still acknowledge, that nothing can exceed that edifice in point of preservation, and in the beauty of its workmanship and sculpture; but here I was lost in a mass of colossal objects, every one of which was more than sufficient, of itself alone, to attract my whole attention. How can I describe my

sensations at that moment! I seemed alone in the midst of all that a most sacred in the world; a forest of enormous columns, adorned all round with beautiful figures, and various ornaments, from the top to the bottom; the graceful shape of the lotus, which forms their capi tals, and is so well proportioned to the columns, that it gives to the view the most pleasing effect; the gates, the walls, the pedestals, and the architraves, also adorned in every part with symbolical figures in basso relievo and intaglio, representing battles, processions, triumphs, feasts, offerings, and sacrifices, all relating no doubt to the ancient his tory of the country; the sanctuary, wholly formed of fine red granite, with the various obelisks standing before it, proclaiming to the distant passenger, Here is the seat of holiness;' the high portals, seen at a distance from the openings to this vast labyrinth of edifices; the va

rious groups of ruins of the other temples within sight; these altoge ther had such an effect upon my soul, as to separate me in imagination from the rest of mortals, exalt me on high over all, and cause me to forget entirely the trifles and follies of life. I was happy for a whole day, which escaped like a flash of lightning; but the obscurity of the night caused me to stumble over one large block of stone, and to break my nose against another, which, dissolving the enchantment, brought me to my senses again. It was quite late when I returned to Luxor, to the hut of an Arab, who ceded to me part of his chamber, and a mat, which afforded me an excellent bed." (P. 152, 153.)

His further researches being prevented by the arrival of the French agents, he returned to Thebes; and, mooring his bark at Luxor, recommenced his operations with what assistance he could obtain. Two objects now jointly claimed his attention, viz. the exploring of the sepulchres of the ancient Egyptians at Gournou, and the prosecution of the excavations at Carnac.

Gournou is a tract of rocks about two miles in length, at the foot of the Libyan mountains, on the west of Thebes, and was the burial-place of the great city of a hundred gates. Every part of these rocks is cut out by art, in the form of large and small chambers, each of which has its separate entrance; and though they are very close to each other, they seldom have any interior communication from one to another. The inhabitants of this region are described as being superior to any other Arabs in cunning and deceit, and the most independent of any in Egypt. They boast that they were the last whom the French were able to subdue, and that, when subdued, they compelled their conquerors to pay them whatever they demanded for their labour. They have refused submission both to the Mamelukes and to the Bashaw consequently they have undergone the severest punishments, and have been hunted down like wild beasts. Their hiding places in the rocks are almost impregnable.

Into the mansions of the dead of former ages our traveller penetrated; and though the difficulty of visiting these recesses made it impossible to give an adequate description of them and their inhabitants, yet he has succeeded in conveying to his readers some idea of the danger to which he exposed himself in exploring them.

"A traveller is generally satisfied when he has seen the large hall, the gallery, the staircase, and as far as he can conveniently go: besides, he is taken up with the strange works he observes cut in various places, and painted on each side of the walls; so that when he comes to a narrow and difficult passage, or to have to descend to the bottom of a well or cavity, he declines taking such trouble, naturally supposing that he cannot see in these abysses any thing so magnificent as what he sees above, and consequently deeming it useless to proceed any far