to form a good idea of the magnificence and skill displayed in every part of this superb structure. Having embarked all that he had found this season, Mr. Belzoni quitted Thebes with ano ther accumulation of antiquities, and arrived at Cairo, after ten months' absence.

He now directed his attention to the pyramids of Egypt, which he visited in company with two Europeans. The enor mous size of these ancient monuments, and the solidity of their structure, seem to promise a duration almost coeval with the everlasting mountains. They are visible at a great distance, and, as the traveller advances, appear to retire within the desert. Their stupendous height, prodigious surface, and enormous so→ lidity, strike the spectator with an involuntary awe, as they recall the memory of distant ages. The principal pyramids are situated in the vicinity of Thebes, at the entrance of the Plain of Mummies, where Mr. Belzoni made the very successful researches noticed in a preceding page, and where the sepulchres of the ancient Egyptians, hewn out of the solid rock, are closed with stones of a large size, and covered with sand. On the arrival of Mr. Belzoni and his companions at these monuments, while the latter entered the first pyramid, he took a turn round the second, or the pyramid of Cephrenes. The following is his account of the impressions produced on his mind by the contemplation of this wonderful monument:

"I seated myself in the shade of one of those stones on the east side, which form the part of the temple that stood before the pyramid in that direction. My eyes were fixed on that enormous mass, which for so many ages had baffled the conjectures of ancient and modern writers. Herodotus himself was deceived by the Egyptian priests, when told there were no chambers in it. The sight of the wonderful work before me astonished me as much, as the total obscurity in which we are of its origin, its interior, and its construction. In an intelligent age like the present, one of the greatest wonders of the world stood before us, without our knowing even whether it had any cavity in the interior, or if it were only one solid mass. The various attempts which have been made by numerous travellers to find an entrance into this pyramid, and particularly by the great body of French savans, were examples so weighty, that it seemed little short of madness, to think of renewing the enterprise." (P. 255.)

Undeterred, however, by the successive failures of others, Belzoni resolved to attempt an entrance into this celebrated pyramid, which his experience in such researches induced him to think practicable. Accordingly he returned to Cairo, and having obtained a firman from the Kakia Bey, he announced that he was going on an expedition to the mountain of Mokatam for a few days, and crossed the Nile to the scene of operation.

His first attempts were unsuccessful; but, making accurate comparative observations on the first pyramid, he applied them to that which he was desirous of exploring: and after various labours, which are narrated in a very simple and interesting manner, he found himself in the centre of that pyramid, which, from time immemorial, had been the subject of the obscure conjectures of travellers and antiquaries. The chamber in which he now was, is computed to be forty-six feet three inches long, by sixteen feet three inches in width, and twenty-three feet six inches high. It is excavated out of the solid rock, from the floor to the roof, which, being composed of large blocks of calcareous stone, meeting in the centre, is of the same slope as the pyramid itself. The ceiling is painted; and, after some search, he found a sarcophagus of the finest granite: the cover had been broken at the side, so that it was half open; but, like the sarcophagus in the first pyramid (that of Cheops), it is destitute of hieroglyphics. Many of the stones in this apartment had been removed from their places, evidently by some one in quest of treasure; and this observation of our author was subsequently confirmed by his discovering an Arabic inscription at the west end of the apartment, purporting that the pyramid had been opened in the presence of one of the early Mohammedan sovereigns, and again carefully closed up.

Few subjects have occasioned more speculation than the intent and use of the Egyptian pyramids. About thirty years since, a German professor published a volume to prove that these majestic remains of the most remote antiquity are nothing more than basaltic eruptions, magnificent sports of Nature, and so many incontrovertible proofs of the general derangement which has taken place on the globe! The improbability and absurdity of this hypothesis, however, are sufficiently demonstrated by the vestiges of human skill and labour which are evident in the pyramids. The great appearance of antiquity which they manifestly display, favours the supposition, that they must have been constructed at an earlier period than any other edifices that are to be seen in Egypt. Homer is silent respecting them; but his silence is no proof that they were not in existence in his time. It should seem that, in the time of Herodotus, as little was known concerning the second pyramid as before the late opening, with this exception, that in his time the second pyramid was nearly in the state in which it was left when closed by the builders.

Respecting these stupendous edifices, the common opinion (grounded on the authority of the Greek writers from a very remote antiquity) has been, and still is, that they were erected as the tombs of certain very ancient sovereigns of Egypt, and

ascribed to the three kings Cheops, Cephrenes, and Mycerinus. From the discovery of a fragment of a bull's bone, however, in the pyramid of Cephrenes, Mr. Faber (in his ingenious "Remarks" on that pyramid) endeavours to prove that each of the celebrated pyramids of Egypt was a mystic tomb, or high place, of that Osiris who was annually bewailed as dead, and was worshipped under the form of a bull; and consequently that these gigantic structures were not literal tombs of certain ancient sovereigns of the country. From their coincidence, in point of form, with the Babylonic pyramid (or Tower of Babel), he considers them as imitations of Mount Ararat, where the ark first rested, and as relics of the first and most ancient superstition which prevailed after the flood. The examination of this hypothesis, the grounds of which are stated at full length in his elaborate work on the "Origin of Pagan Idolatry," we have neither time nor space to prosecute: the praise of ingenuity it is impossible to withhold from it; but we apprehend that the current of popular opinion will continue to set in favour of the tradition related by Herodotus, viz. that the Egyptian pyramids were really the sepulchres of the sovereigns whose names they have borne for so many ages; especially when it is considered that they are surrounded by other smaller pyramids intermixed with mausoleums or burial-grounds, and that many mummy pits have been found in their immediate vicinity.

Disappointed in his plan of making further researches at Thebes, where his former excavations had been so successful, by the ground being pre-occupied by the agents of Mr. Drouetti and of Mr. Salt, Belzoni determined to make a journey to the Red Sea, and explore the ruins of the ancient city of Berenice, which part was said to have been visited by M. Caliud, whom the Bashaw had commissioned to examine some sulphur and emerald mines, the existence of which had been reported to him. The exaggerated accounts of this person are corrected by our traveller, who was fortunate enough to reach the emerald mines, and also to discover the real site of Berenice. In this excursion Belzoni and Mr. Beechey, who accompanied him, witnessed one of the greatest calamities which had occurred in Egypt in the recollection of any person living. The Nile rose this season three feet and a half above the highest mark left by the former inundation, with uncommon rapidity, and carried off many villages, besides several hundreds of their inhabitants. Though the Arabs had expected an extraordinary inundation this year, in consequence of the scarcity of water in the preceding season, its height far exceeded their expectations or apprehensions. They generally erect fences of reeds and earth around their villages, to keep off the water from their dwellings; but the

force of this inundation baffled all their efforts. Their earthconstructed cottages could not resist the current for an instant: men, women, children, cattle, corn,-every thing was suddenly washed away, and not a vestige of the village left. In one of his plates, Mr. Belzoni has given a view of the desolation caused by this tremendous deluge in the valley of the Nile; from which, by allowing the use of his boat, he was the providential instrument of rescuing a great number of men and women, together with their corn and cattle, and conveying them to higher ground. In traversing the deserts from the Nile to the Red Sea, he passed through the tract occupied by the Ababde Arabs, of whose savage customs he has related some interesting particulars; and at length he reached the far-famed emerald mines, of which he has given an account.

Having procured a guide to conduct them to the ruins of Berenice, Mr. Belzoni and his companions prosecuted a long and fruitless journey in quest of that city; the result of which disposed them then to think that no such place ever existed, and that M. Caliud had seen the great city only in his own imagination. They then advanced through a dreary region, until they reached the Red Sea, which they coasted for several days, and at length unexpectedly arrived at some ruins, which Mr. Belzoni conjectured to be those of Berenice, though they do not exactly correspond with the situation laid down by D'Anville. According to Strabo, this city was erected by Ptolemy Philadelphus. Situated in a lower part of the Arabian Gulph, it facilitated navigation by enabling mariners to take advantage of the regular winds. The inland route between Coptos and Berenice, was opened with an army by the same prince, who established stations along it for the protection of travellers. His commercial plans were adopted by his son Ptolemy Evergetes. The importance of their arrangements was perceived by the Romans on their conquest of Egypt; and they made it the emporium of their eastern trade.

Mr. Belzoni's account of the ruins of Berenice, (which are delineated in two engravings) is as follows:

"To our agreeable surprise, we found ourselves all at once on one of those moles of ruins which show the spot of ancient towns, so often seen in Egypt. We entered, and at once we saw the regular situations of the houses; the main streets, their construction, and in the centre, a small Egyptian temple, nearly covered by the sand, as well as the insides of the houses; and our wonder increased on examining the materials with which the houses were built. We could see nothing but. coral, roots, madrepore, and several petrifactions of sea-weeds, &c,

The temple is built of a kind of soft, calcareous, and sandy stone, but decayed much by the air of the sea. The situation of this town is delightful. The open sea before it is on the east, and from the southern coast to the point of the cape is like an amphitheatre of mountains,

except an opening on the north-west plain, where we came from. The Cape el Galahen extends its point nearly opposite the town on the east, and forms a shelter for large ships from the north and north-west winds. Right opposite the town there is a very fine harbour entirely made by nature; its entrance is on the north, it is guarded on the east by a neck of incrusted rock, on the south by the land, and on the west by the town; the north side, as I said before, being covered by the range of mountains which forms the cape, protects the harbour also. Its entrance has been deep enough for small vessels, such as the ancients had at those times, but no doubt was deeper. It has at present a bar of sand across, so that nothing could enter at low water; but a passage could be easily cut, and the harbour rendered useful." (P. 330, 331.)

The temple above noticed, on being partly uncovered, proved to be Egyptian; and on the wall were some well executed sculptures in basso relievo, as also some hieroglyphics. The plain surrounding this town is very extensive, and inclined to vegetation, such as a sandy soil can produce: and at a small distance the travellers saw several groups of ruins which Mr. Belzoni thinks were houses situated out of the town in different directions. From the calculation which he made, he supposes that its population may have amounted to ten thousand persons. Having ascertained that no other Berenice is in existence, corresponding to that laid down in D'Anville's map, the travellers returned to Gournou, after an arduous journey of forty days.

Mr. Belzoni's next achievement was to embark, and send down the cataracts of the Nile, an obelisk, which he had discovered on the island of Philae: this was not accomplished without considerable difficulty, notwithstanding his hydraulic skill. His last excursion was to the Oasis El Cassar in Faioum, which is so rich in antiquities as to afford some ground that it is the far-famed Oasis of Jupiter Ammon. For his adventures in this expedition, as well as his account of the natural and artificial objects which he beheld, we must refer our readers to his simple, but very interesting narrative, in which are interspersed many characteristic anecdotes of the rude inhabitants whom he met.

Exclusively occupied with researches after antiquities, Mr. Belzoni has added comparatively little to our stores of natural history: his pages, however, are enriched with many striking particulars relative to the manners and customs of the Egyptians, Nubians, and different Arab tribes with whom he had any inter

course.

With so many advantages as Mr. Belzoni enjoyed of elucidating various passages of Holy Writ, we confess that we have been struck with his total want of allusion to the Sacred Scriptures. We have, however, noticed two or three passages which derive material illustration from some of his remarks concerning the natural phenomena of Egypt, and with them we shall conclude our analysis of his work.