Chapter IX: Part 9

When I did not choose to pass the river in the night to our habitation at the temple of Luxor, I took up my lodging in the entrance of some of the tombs along with those troglodytes. Nothing could be more amusing to me. Their dwelling is generally in the passages between the first and second entrance into a tomb. The walls and the roof are as black as any chimney. The inner door is closed up with mud, except a small aperture sufficient for a man to crawl through. Within this place the sheep are kept at night, and occasionally accompany their masters in their vocal concert. Over the doorway there are always some half-broken Egyptian figures, and the two foxes, the usual guardians of burial-places. A small lamp, kept alive by fat from the sheep, or rancid oil, is placed in a niche in the wall, and a mat is spread on the ground; and this formed the grand divan, wherever I was. There the people assembled round me, their conversation turning wholly on antiquities. Such a one had found such a thing, and another had discovered a tomb. Various articles were brought to sell to me, and sometimes I had reason to rejoice at having stayed there. I was sure of a supper of milk and bread served in a wooden bowl; but whenever they supposed I should stay all night, they always killed a couple of fowls for me, which were baked in a small oven heated with pieces of mummy cases, and sometimes with the bones and rags of the mummies themselves. It is no uncommon thing to sit down near fragments of bones; hands, feet, or sculls are often in the way; for these people are so accustomed to be among the mummies, that they think no more of sitting on them, than on the skins of their dead calves. I also became indifferent about them at last, and would have slept in a mummy pit as readily as out of it.

Every human being can be happy if he likes, for happiness certainly depends on ourselves. If a man be satisfied with what he has, he is happy; but much more so when he thinks, that there is nothing more to be got. It is somewhat singular to talk of happiness among people who live in caves like brutes, or rather who live in sepulchres among the corpses and rags of an ancient nation, which they know nothing of. But this is trifling compared with their slave-like state, subject to the caprice of a tyrannical power, who leaves them no chance of receiving any remuneration for their labour, and no prospect of any change except for the worse. But custom reconciles all this. The labourer comes home in the evening, seats himself near his cave, smokes his pipe with his companions, talks of the last inundation of the Nile, its products, and what the ensuing season is likely to be. His old wife brings him the usual bowl of lentils and bread moistened with water and salt, and when she can add a little butter it is a feast. Knowing nothing beyond this, he is happy. The young man’s business is to accumulate the amazing sum of a hundred piasters (two pounds and ten shillings) to buy himself a wife, and to make a feast on the wedding day. If he has any children, they want no clothing: he leaves them to themselves till mother Nature pleases to teach them to work, to gain money enough to buy a shirt or some other rag to cover themselves; for while they are children, they are generally naked or covered with rags. The parents are roguishly cunning, and the children are schooled by their example, so that it becomes a matter of course to cheat strangers. Would any one believe, that in such a state of life luxury and ambition exist? If any woman be destitute of jewels, she is poor, and looks with envy on one more fortunate than herself, who perhaps has the worth of half-a-crown round her neck; and she who has a few glass beads, or some sort of coarse coral, a couple of silver brooches, or rings at her arms and legs, is considered as truly rich and great. Some of them are as complete coquettes, in their way, as any to be seen in the capitals of Europe. I often noticed, that modesty was most apparent among the ugliest. These do not care to let a stranger see their faces; as they have nothing to gain by it, they deem it better to keep it covered; on the contrary, one who hopes to excite admiration in the stranger, takes care that some accident or other shall cause the veil, or cloth, or rag, covering her face, to fall or turn aside. The artifice having succeeded, she pretends to be quite anxious to cover herself again; but she is satisfied the stranger has had his peep, and she passes on, proud that he knows her to be pretty.

When a young man wants to marry, he goes to the father of the intended bride, and agrees with him what he is to pay for her. This being settled, so much money is to be spent on the wedding-day feast. To set up housekeeping nothing is requisite but two or three earthen pots, a stone to grind meal, and a mat, which is the bed. The spouse has a gown and jewels of her own; and, if the bridegroom present her with a pair of bracelets of silver, ivory, or glass, she is happy and fortunate indeed. The house is ready, without rent or taxes. No rain can pass through the roof; and there is no door, for there is no want of one, as there is nothing to lose. They make a kind of box of clay and straw, which, after two or three days’ exposure to the sun, becomes quite hard. It is fixed on a stand, an aperture is left to put all their precious things into it, and a piece of mummy case forms the door. If the house do not please them, they walk out and enter another, as there are several hundreds at their command; I might say several thousands, but they are not all fit to receive inhabitants.

While I was thus occupied in my researches at Thebes, we received news that the Defterdar was to come up the Nile again. By this time I had arranged my operations, and they were going on very well. At Carnak, one morning previous to my crossing the Nile to Gournou, I set several men to work on a spot of ground at the foot of a heap of earth, where part of a large colossus projected out. Mr. Beechey, who sometimes visited the ruins, did me the favour to superintend the work on that day; and, on my return from Gournou, I had the pleasure to find the discovery had been made of a colossal head, larger than that I had sent to England. It was of red granite, of beautiful workmanship, and uncommonly well preserved, except one ear, and part of the chin, which had been knocked off along with the beard. It is detached from the shoulder at the lower part of the neck, and has the usual corn measure, or mitre, on its head. Though of larger proportion than the young Memnon, it is not so bulky or heavy, as it has no part of the shoulder attached to it. I had it removed to Luxor, which employed eight days, though the distance is little more than a mile.

I had by this time accumulated at Luxor articles enough to fill another boat, as large as that of the preceding year. Besides this head, which is ten feet from the neck to the top of the mitre, I procured an arm belonging to the same colossus, which measures also ten feet, and with the head, will give a just idea of the size of the statue.

I brought also the famous altar, with the six divinities, in alto relievo, which are the most finished works of any I have seen in Egypt. It was thrown from its pedestal in a small temple in the north-east angle of the wall inclosing the great temple of Carnak. The pedestal is still there, and is of a kind of whitish marble. I had also four large statues with the lion-heads; and the cover of the sarcophagus, of which so much was said on my first visit. It cost some trouble, as may be supposed, to remove a heavy piece of granite from those abysses, through a place scarcely high enough to allow a man to sit on the ground, up an uneven and craggy ascent, by the assistance of people, strangers to every sort of order, and who had to contend with the dust that rose under the feet, and the excessive heat from the number of labourers. I had it conveyed over the water to Luxor, ready to embark, and it was well that I did so.

Fortune seemed to favour me so far this time; for, no sooner had I finished the operation, and made the above collection, than an order came from the Defterdar Bey, who had arrived at Gamola, three miles north of Thebes, to all the Cacheffs and Caimakans, who commanded on both sides of Thebes, not to permit the English party to accumulate any more antiquities, nor to allow the Arabs to work or sell any thing more to them on any account.

I must inform my reader, that the two agents for the opposite party had gone to Gamola on the arrival of the Bey, and requested him to send this order, under the pretext, that they could not find or buy a single article in consequence of the English, who laid their hands on every thing. He did not want much persuasion to this; and immediately sent for the chiefs of Gournou, Luxor, and Carnak, to whom he gave strict orders as above.

The Sheik of Gournou came to tell us of the order the Bey had issued. The poor fellow, who was rather attached to us, was sorry for his part, but said he must obey. It was too late to set off that evening to see the Bey, so I waited till early the next morning. On my arrival, I found the mighty potentate seated in his divan, surrounded by his Cacheffs, and a number of other attendants. He received me more coolly than on my former visit. He inquired whether I had not yet made up my collection. I answered, that, as long as I had his permission, I would still endeavour to find something more.

I presented the letter from the Bashaw; but if I had brought him a present, it would have had a better effect. As he saw the address previous to his taking the letter into his hands, he dexterously turned the discourse on other business; and half an hour passed before I could bring the subject on again, which he still contrived to divert. I was at a loss what to think of his behaviour, and began to inquire, if there were any reasons why our works were stopped at Carnak, and orders given at Gournou, that the English should not purchase any thing, and on what account they were to be distinguished from the opposite party. He looked at the letter a second time; and, with a smile, told the Cacheffs what the Bashaw had written, but the letter was expressed in a manner as if the old Bashaw were in his dotage and quite childish; so that the Bey might do as he pleased in the affair. He then put the letter aside, and began to talk of other matters. I saw that he wanted an excuse for his conduct towards us; for he said he had been informed that the Fellahs had complained of being so exceedingly ill-treated by us, that we drew our swords every moment to cut off their heads, and that we beat them continually. At this I rose from my seat, and said I was surprised that a man of his good understanding could believe such reports, and condemn us without proof; that, if he would inquire into the matter, he would find it to be all false; and that it was his duty to do me justice. He answered, that we had bought nearly every article of antiquity that could be obtained in Gournou, while the other party could purchase nothing, and therefore it was time to stop our proceedings. I replied, what we had bought had been voluntarily sold to us by the Arabs, and begged him not to believe what he heard from our opponents, who played such tricks, that we could not be aware of them. He continued to talk of other things, till at last I asked him what he intended to do with respect to the order for Carnak: to which he made no reply, but inquired whether Gournou were far off. On being shown the place out of the window, six miles distant, he ordered horses, and in a few minutes we set off for that place. We arrived in two hours, and he went straight on to Memnonium; where he inquired about these great “mosquees,” as he named them, and put several questions concerning the buildings and the colossi that are there. He then proceeded to the two colossi, and from them to Medinet, whither I followed him, as I was determined to have the order he gave to the Sheiks recalled. I sought an opportunity to speak to him tête-à-tête, and indeed I had many, but all to no purpose; for the moment I began to mention the business, he put some other question, so that my words were of no effect. Still I was determined not to lose my patience, as I saw this was what he wanted, and resolved not to leave him a moment; for it is the character of the Turks, that they must be importuned into compliance with whatever is against their inclination. After a general survey of the ruins, he seated himself before the famous battle painted on the wall, and gave his opinion respecting it; observing, it was impossible that the colouring could have been done at the time the figures were made, as it was so fresh, and the stones were so much broken. I told him, it was owing to the climate of the country that these things were preserved; but he persisted in his opinion, that it was impossible it could be so. Then, quitting his station, he seated himself under the archway of the first entrance, and called the Sheik of Gournou, whom he knew to be our friend, and who had received the order the night before. The poor Sheik, trembling all over at this call, was asked how many men there were in Gournou who dug the ground in search of mummies. The Sheik answered six or seven. I saw the Bey did not know what to do to gratify his spleen; and, as he could not avoid retracting the order, the poor Sheik was to suffer, and our party to be mortified. A diabolical thought came into his head; and he asked the Sheik if he could find in Gournou a mummy that had not been opened. The Sheik answered, that one might be found, if he gave him time to search; but the people who find them always open them instantly. On this the Bey flew into a great rage, and insisted that one should be found immediately; and, if he did not find it, he would give him the bastinado. The poor Sheik was ordered to dig directly under his feet, and take out a mummy; but he answered, that the mummies were in Gournou, and none were ever found in the place where he stood: and it was well for him that one of the attendants and a Cacheff confirmed what he said. The Bey then sent him to Gournou, and told him to see that he found a mummy, in its case and unopened; and he allowed him an hour for doing it. The poor Sheik attempted to speak, but was turned out by three or four soldiers. A little after, the Bey began to ask some other questions respecting the temple, particularly if we had taken any drawings; adding, that he could draw himself, if he had paper and pencils. I told him I had no doubt he might make some good sketches from what was before him; on which he asked me for a pencil and some paper, which I gave him from my pocket-book, and he made a sketch of the capital of one of the columns that are before the gate. When finished, it was shown to all around with great parade. He praised it himself highly, and every one agreed, that it was very fine indeed. He then gave it to me, with an air of self-conceit, saying, “There, see what I can do!” I took it, put it into my pocket, and have preserved it, as it may give an idea of the person by whom it was executed. We left Medinet Abou and came to Gournou, and under a doum-tree saw the Sheik and some of the Janizaries, with the mummy ready for his highness. Before he drew near to ascertain the fact, the Bey began to cry out that he was sure it had been opened by one of the fellows who search for mummies; and it was in vain he was told otherwise. I did not imagine things would be carried to such an extreme. That the case had been opened no one could suspect; but the Bey wanted a pretence to beat the poor Sheik for being our friend. Accordingly, he ordered him to be immediately stretched on the ground; and such a scene ensued, that I heard from the Turks themselves expressions both of displeasure and disgust. I perceived that all this was owing to the intrigues of our opponents, who had told the Bey, that the Sheik was our friend; and as they brought him some trifling presents to back their assertion, of course he listened to what they said. I did not fail to intercede for the unfortunate wretch, who all this time was under the stick, but it was useless; and I was persuaded, the more I entreated, the more beating he would receive. The interpreter, not reflecting on what he did, ventured to intercede in the name of Mr. Salt, the British consul; at which the Bey laughed. He then begged in the name of his father-in-law, the Bashaw; and the Bey made answer, that he was the sole commander in all business there; adding, to the man who was punishing the Sheik, “Go on, go on, and hard.”

By this time the poor fellow was like the mummy that lay by his side, deprived of sense and feeling; and with a little more beating I have no doubt would have remained there for ever, and been buried where he lay. I leave to the imagination of any friend of humanity to what a height my blood rose, and what my feelings must have been at that moment. I can assure the reader I did not think I could have stood so long without openly declaring them; but I reflected, that losing my patience would answer no good purpose, and only expose me to insults from the Bey, for all he wanted was an opportunity to justify him in acting as he liked towards us. Reason, however, subdued not my rage, but it restrained the mere action of my body, and I stood for a long time motionless. The Bey was smiling, and I was afraid might discover the state of my feelings, which would have increased his pleasure. At last he told the man to stop, and the miserable Sheik was carried to his cave as into his tomb; and was, indeed, more fit for the tomb than for a house. The Bey then caused the mummy to be opened, and finding nothing, he exclaimed, if they did not bring him one that was entire, he would throw the Sheik into the river. Observing that I avoided speaking to him, for I was too much disgusted even to continue near such a being, he called another Sheik, and ordered, that henceforth whatever antiquities were found in Gournou should be sold to our opponents. On my representing to him, that I now felt myself under the necessity of writing to Cairo that very night, he mounted his horse, called my interpreter, and bade him despatch a man to Gamola, and he would send an order by him, to have the men at work the next day. I told him, that I should send to Cairo notwithstanding this apparent change in his sentiments; as it was incumbent on me to let the Bashaw know how his commands were obeyed. I then went to see the Sheik, whom I found unable to speak; I did all I could for him; but there was such fear amongst the Arabs, that they dreaded having any thing to do with us.

In the morning I was about to send the interpreter to Gamola, when we saw the cangiar of the Bey passing before Luxor, and the Cacheff of Gheneh just landing a man from Gamola, who brought an order, that we might have twenty men to work for eight days. When I perceived that the Bey did not stop, I spoke to the Cacheff, to use his influence, that the order might be enforced; but he seemed desirous of evading it, as he was aware it was merely a pretext on the part of the Bey. He told us plainly, that our opponents had calumniated us to the Bey; and protested, that if it had been in his power, he would have befriended us. Accordingly I gave him to understand, that it would be to his advantage to be friendly to our party, as well as to the other, and that the Bey’s enmity would not last much longer, as it was simply owing to some business which had prevented the Consul from coming, who intended to bring with him presents both to the Bey and to himself, when all would be set to rights again. At length my persuasions prevailed; he ordered the men to work; and in a few days I collected all the pieces of antiquity together on the quay of Luxor; and caused a mud wall to be made round them.

At this time the Fellahs of Gournou were all in great consternation, in consequence of another order they had received from the Bey not to sell any thing either to us, or to the French; and to get three unopened mummies ready for him on his return, which would be in a few days. This was a pretext they had no doubt for a general bastinadoing, as it was expressly said, that the mummies were to be procured by the men who worked for the English. The poor Sheik, who still could scarcely move, began to fear that he should receive another beating; and we had just finished some works at Carnak and Luxor, when, on the 3d of May, in the morning, our gentleman made his appearance at Luxor on his return from Derou. On landing, he came to see our collection of antiques, which certainly formed no inconsiderable group. He made a remark or two, that the head was a very fine piece, &c. and then, like a being bewildered, ran here and there among the ruins, to seek for antiquities, without knowing where he went. As he appeared to be a little more disposed to hearken to what we had to say to him, we complained of our situation; stating to him, that in consequence of what he had done to the Sheik on the other side of the water, the Fellahs would not work, and that, although we had brought strong letters of recommendation from the Bashaw himself, we were without protection, exposed to the insolence of our opponents, and every one else, who thought they might act as they pleased towards us with impunity. He inquired if any one had done us any injury; and we informed him, that our interpreter had been beaten by the Fellahs of Carnak, and that the Caimakan, after it had been proved, said he could do nothing to the assailants, as he was afraid of incurring the displeasure of the Bey. He next asked, if I were displeased because he had beaten the Sheik of Gournou. I said, it was not pleasant to see any one beaten without cause, for the Sheik had had no dealings with us, had not sold us a single article of antiquity; but he might treat his own people as he liked, for we had no business to interfere either with his orders, or with them, so long as they were not injurious to us. He then wished to know what we wanted. We said, that we wanted to be respected, and to be allowed to proceed in our researches. We did not wish to be treated with more favour than our opponents; but we were desirous of an order to the people of Gournou, that we might purchase antiquities as well as others; and a farther order for the Cacheffs of Assouan and Ibrim, as we intended to ascend the Nile; with which he complied, and set off.

On our return to Luxor I found two of the fathers of the Propaganda whom I had met with on my first journey from Redamont to Luxor, and who were come to see the antiquities. As they had treated me with civility on my journey, I felt it my duty to return the obligation. Accordingly I went with them to all the places I knew, and in particular to the tombs of the kings, the Memnonium, Medinet Aboo, Carnak, Luxor, &c. To me it was in general a source of pleasure to show these things to strangers, to hear their remarks, and to observe their astonishment and satisfaction, after coming so far to view what cannot be seen any where else; at the same time no vexation can be greater to a lover of antiquity, than when he witnesses indifference even to what is most striking, which is often the case. These two holy fathers had been in the country for about ten years, and their place of residence was only at the distance of three days’ journey from Thebes; yet they had never thought of taking the trouble of such a journey during all that time, and probably never would have done it, had it not been for my persuasion when I first saw them. Such neglect of antiquities would be not a little provoking to the travellers who come from London, Paris, Vienna, and Petersburg, to see these magnificent ruins. On arriving at the first tombs through the entrance, which is truly magnificent, the holy fathers, who had as much taste for antiquity as the animals that brought them, complained of being very much fatigued, though they had been carried by two very good asses. My attention was on the alert for the first bursts of their astonishment; but how I was disappointed! They dismounted without taking any more notice of these magnificent places, than of a common building, or of the cloister of a convent. They sent immediately for the boy who had the bottle of aquavitæ, and drank a glass each. I thought they meant to take it easily, and to examine every thing minutely, but I was soon undeceived, for the only observation they made was on the name of a friend they happened to know, which was scrawled on one of these sacred walls in charcoal. They expressed their wonder how he had come thither, when he had been there, and so on; and although they were surrounded by Egyptian antiquities, hieroglyphics, figures, fine paintings, &c. all their occupation was to inspect the numerous other scrawls on the stones, to see whether any more of their friends had been there. On our arrival at the great hall, they could not help observing the immense sarcophagus that lies there, and immediately inquired whether the body were still in it. On advancing a little farther, and perceiving it had been emptied, they concluded there was nothing worth seeing, as there were none of the kings’ bodies to be found. At my request they cast their eyes on the painting, otherwise they would have walked out without knowing whether it were a tomb or a cellar: in the mean time a friend of theirs, who not being quite so anxious as the fathers to see these antiquities, had seated himself near the entrance, as he cared not about coming any farther, was calling to the holy friars to make haste, and wondered why they would waste so much time in examining such things. It may easily be imagined, that I was not only disappointed in the taste of my companions, but also provoked at their indifference; and as I saw there was no remedy, I hurried them out of the tomb as fast as I could, to show them another more magnificent, in hopes to have better success. Accordingly I took them to see the most remarkable of the tombs, and that which is reckoned the best. This tomb is truly grand; it is distinguished from the others not only by its excellent state of preservation, but because it contains eight small cells cut in the rock, in the first passage on each side of it, in which are painted a multitude of articles used by the ancient Egyptians, such as implements of war, domestic and ceremonial dresses, decorations, musical instruments, and in short all that was conducive to utility, ornament, or convenience, in their time, so as to give perfect ideas of their mode of living, &c. The ground is white, and the colours are so lively and striking, that we cannot fail to wonder at them. Farther on you pass through a long gallery, painted with the most beautiful hieroglyphics, in as good perfection as the former; and in the great hall lies an enormous sarcophagus, of one single piece of granite, measuring ten feet long, five wide, six high, and six inches thick, covered with hieroglyphics inside and out. This is one of the largest sarcophagi remaining in perfection at this day. There are other apartments communicating with the great hall, all of which deserve the attention of the traveller, for in them he sees various groups of figures and hieroglyphics indicating the manner of living, agriculture, &c.

On our entering I informed the fathers that this was the finest tomb, and that it contained paintings of the implements and other things of the ancients, which are very interesting. They passed the first corridor with the same apathy as the first tomb, holding a candle into each of the cells as they passed, and peeping in with their heads, but without entering. The only thing that struck their attention were the hasps on a little box, somewhat like those which contain large flasks for liquors. On coming out I took the road over the mountain, which is a little troublesome, but in a few minutes it brings you to the summit, and then descends to Medinet Abou. Having no better success here, I returned with them to Luxor.

A strong wind that arose this day leads me to mention some particulars of the phenomena that often happen in Egypt. The first I shall notice is the _whirlwinds_, which occur all the year round, but especially at the time of the camseen wind, which begins in April, and lasts fifty days. Hence the name of camseen, which in Arabic signifies fifty. It generally blows from the south-west, and lasts four, five, or six days without varying, so very strong, that it raises the sands to a great height, forming a general cloud, so thick that it is impossible to keep the eyes open, if not under cover. It is troublesome even to the Arabs; it forces the sand into the houses through every cranny, and fills every thing with it. The caravans cannot proceed in the deserts; the boats cannot continue their voyages; and travellers are obliged to eat sand in spite of their teeth. The whole is like a chaos. Often a quantity of sand and small stones gradually ascends to a great height and forms a column sixty or seventy feet in diameter, and so thick, that were it steady on one spot, it would appear a solid mass. This not only revolves within its own circumference, but runs in a circular direction over a great space of ground, sometimes maintaining itself in motion for half an hour, and where it falls it accumulates a small hill of sand. God help the poor traveller who is caught under it!

The next phenomenon is the _mirage_, often described by travellers, who assert having been deceived by it, as at a distance it appears to them like water. This is certainly the fact, and I must confess, that I have been deceived myself, even after I was aware of it. The perfect resemblance to water, and the strong desire for this element, made me conclude, in spite of all my caution not to be deceived, that it was really water I saw. It generally appears like a still lake, so unmoved by the wind, that every thing above is to be seen most distinctly reflected by it, which is the principal cause of the deception. If the wind agitate any of the plants that rise above the horizon of the mirage, the motion is seen perfectly at a great distance. If the traveller stand elevated much above the mirage, the apparent water seems less united and less deep, for, as the eyes look down upon it, there is not thickness enough in the vapour on the surface of the ground to conceal the earth from the sight. But, if the traveller be on a level with the horizon of the mirage, he cannot see through it, so that it appears to him clear water. By putting my head first to the ground, and then mounting a camel, the height of which from the ground might have been about ten feet at the most, I found a great difference in the appearance of the mirage. On approaching it, it becomes thinner, and appears as if agitated by the wind, like a field of ripe corn. It gradually vanishes as the traveller approaches, and at last entirely disappears when he is on the spot.

The third phenomenon is the _locusts_. These animals I have seen in such clouds, that twice the number in the same space would form an opaque mass, which would wholly intercept the rays of the sun, and cause complete darkness. They alight on fields of corn, or other vegetables, and in a few minutes devour their whole produce. The natives make a great noise to frighten them away, but in vain; and, by way of retaliation, they catch and eat them when fried, considering them a dainty repast. They are something like the grasshopper in form, about two inches in length. They are generally of a yellow or gold colour, but there are some red and some green.

To return to our proceedings at Luxor. By this time our opponents were preparing to depart for Cairo, at which we rejoiced, as we thought we should remain quite alone. We had written to Cairo, informing Mr. Salt, the consul, of all that passed with the Bey; but indeed, unless a person is present at such occurrences, he can feel no interest in them, nor understand the disgust they excite. I had written also to Mr. Burckhardt on the subject, and from his answer I perceived, that the Bey’s conduct excited in him no surprise.

When at last we thought we should remain alone, and pursue our researches in peace, I made preparations for commencing our work at Gournou. After having, in some measure persuaded the and the people of the place, that they would not incur the displeasure of the Bey, as I had an order from himself, which permitted them to work for us, and sell us antiques, it was agreed, that all the Sheiks should meet in the morning, and hear the order read. Accordingly, we assembled in the grotto, that usually serves as a public place for strangers, and a sort of exchange for buying and selling antiques. A great number of the Fellahs also came to hear the firman, which the great man had written with his own hand; and in consequence of the example that had recently been made of their Sheik, they were very attentive. The firman had been kept by our interpreter well secured in his pocket, as the most mighty order that had ever been given; and he often boasted of having it in his possession. At last it was produced, and put into the hands of the only person among the Sheiks who could read it. He first perused it to himself, that he might read it fluently to the assembly; but had not gone far, when he turned towards me a look of astonishment: however, he proceeded to the end, and then asked me whether he should read it aloud to the assembly; and upon my answering in the affirmative, read nearly as follows:

“It is the will and pleasure of Hamed, the Defterdar Bey and present ruler of Upper Egypt, that no Sheiks, Fellahs, or other persons, shall from this moment sell any article of antiquity to the English party, or work for them; on the contrary, it is hereby ordered, that every thing that may be found shall be sold to the party of Mr. Drouetti; and whoever disobeys this order will incur the displeasure of the Bey.”

I need not inform the reader how I felt on hearing this mandate, the very reverse of what the Bey had given me reason to expect. Were I sure of not returning to Egypt again, I would explain farther how this happened, and what means had been employed to influence the Bey: but as I do not know what fate may attend my future proceedings, I shall say nothing on the subject till the proper season, when this and many other things, of which the world has not the smallest idea, shall be explained, and the various intrigues be exposed to light, that were darkly carried on against me by more than one description of persons.

Under the circumstances I have stated, we deemed it of no use to attempt a renewal of our labours, and contented ourselves with writing to Cairo, and entering on our intended journey to the island of Philoe. I had suggested to Mr. Salt, that, if he could send us a supply of money, we would proceed to open the temple of Ybsambul; a project that was deemed nearly imaginary, a castle in the air, as no one supposed any temple really existed there. After having secured all our collection in one spot, and built a mud wall round it, and covered it with earth, we left an Arab Sheik to guard it, and, on the 23d of May, set off for Assouan.

As we intended to examine every thing on our return, we went straight on, seeing scarcely any thing except Edfu and Ombos. At Assouan, we took a general view of Elephantine, and the other islands, and proceeded to Philoe, as our station to await the answer to the letters we had sent from Luxor to Mr. Salt. On our way, we took a good view of the cataract. One of the principal falls at this season is about thirty feet in length, forming an angle of fifteen degrees. Small boats and cangiars can be drawn up or down at all times of the year.

The prospect of the island of Philoe and its ruins is truly magnificent, particularly at some distance, though it is extremely barren. It is surrounded by rocks of granite in all directions, forming part of the main land, and part of other islands. The style of the hieroglyphics proves, that the edifice on it is of the last era of the Egyptian nation: in my opinion, of the time of the Ptolemies. There are reasons enough to remove all doubts of this, if any were entertained: in particular, the peripteral temple, supposed to have been at the landing-place at the east of the island, is evidently of the last school, and not half finished. The work of the columns is in a much lighter style than the old Egyptian, evincing, if that nation had continued its existence, it would have improved gradually; and in due course of time, by amalgamating the Grecian elegance with the vast and lofty magnificence of its own works of art, would have formed an architecture of which we have no idea, but, no doubt, most sublime. There are other proofs that this temple is a more modern structure, formed of the materials of an older edifice. In one of the columns, opposite the gate in the portico which leads to the sanctuary, there is in the centre a stone, sculptured with hieroglyphics inverted; and another stone of this kind is to be seen in the same column on the west side, near the ground. The whole edifice consists of two temples, nearly united together. The small temple, dedicated to Isis, is within the peristyle of the larger, which was dedicated, I believe, to the same goddess, to Serapis, and to the rest of the gods. The building faces the south, with a large portal or propylæon, flanked by two porticoes or colonnades, the capitals of the pillars of which are different from each other. At the entrance of the first portal lies the obelisk of granite, thrown down, as mentioned before, its pedestal having a Greek inscription on it, which is a complaint of the priests, addressed to Ptolemy and Cleopatra, against the soldiers and the government of the place, and proves that the Egyptian priests had no influence in the government at that period. The inscription was discovered by an English traveller, Mr. Banks, who, not having time to dig it out, left it, and Mr. Beechey took a copy of it. Part of another obelisk and pedestal are to be seen in the mud wall opposite. There are also two lions, of granite, which were at the sides of the stairs formed by four steps, that must have been in this situation, as I observed, that the bases of the colonnades are lower than the bases of the propylæa.

After passing the first portal is the entrance to the pronaos; on the west of which is the small temple of Isis, surrounded by square pillars, with the head of the goddess as the capital. The inner part consists of three apartments: the portico, the cella, and the adytum. The hieroglyphics on it are nearly perfect, but almost covered with mud, as it has served as a Greek chapel. On the east of the pronaos is a gallery with several cells, no doubt for the use of the priests; and the north is the second portal, covered with colossal figures like the first. On passing this we come to the portico, which is reckoned the most perfect and beautiful part of this building. The hieroglyphics are entire and highly painted, as are the capitals of the columns, which are ten in number. The figures on the wall of this portico are all divided into several groups, forming compartments of five feet high; those on the columns forming the ornaments of this hall are highly beautiful. There are other ruins on the west of the island, which formed the entrance into the temple by the water-side; and on the north-east are the remains of three arches made by the Romans. Here must have been the landing-place to the island. The middle arch has fallen down. On the key-stones the words “sanctum, sanctum, sanctum,” are cut; affording clear evidence, that this island served as a holy seat not only to the Egyptians and Greeks, but also to the Romans. There are palpable marks of the whole temple having been fitted up for Christian worship. The walls are covered with mud, to hide the hieroglyphics on them; and some figures peculiar to the Christian religion were painted on this; but time uncovered the hieroglyphics again, as the mud lost its hold in several places. At the back of the temple, or on the north side of it, are the foundations of a building that served for a Greek church, and was formed of the stones from the ruins of the other buildings, as is obvious from the hieroglyphics on them. I cannot avoid observing, that this island is the most superb group of ruins I ever beheld together in so small a space of ground. The whole island, which is not more than a thousand feet in length, and less than five hundred in breadth, is richly covered with ruins; and being detached from the other barren islands which surround it at some distance, has a very superb appearance. On the island to the west of Philoe are the remains of a small temple, which has also served for Christian purposes. There are but few hieroglyphics to be seen, and the remains of two sitting figures in granite much mutilated. On the south of this temple is a burying-ground, so much like that of Gournou, that I was led to suppose it may have been the burying-place of the inhabitants of Philoe, though there are other tombs in the mountains on the east of the island.

During our stay in Philoe I made a model in wax of the portico of the great temple. The beautiful capitals and other ornaments of the columns induced me to do this. It was the month of May, and the heat was so great, that wax incorporated with resin could scarcely be kept in a mass of sufficient solidity to be reduced into form. The thermometer stood as high as 124° of Fahrenheit in the shade; but the mercury had risen to the top of the glass, so that we could not judge what degree it would have reached had the tube been longer.

An Arab now arrived from Cairo with a letter from Mr. Salt. He had performed his journey in eighteen days, all by land. The letter brought us a supply of money; and, to my great satisfaction, Mr. Salt complied with my wishes of opening the temple of Ybsambul, which I had so often suggested to him; and I must give him much credit for risking the expense of such an undertaking, the uncertainty of which would have deterred most people from doing it, particularly as he himself entertained strong doubts of the existence of a temple there; for he said, in the same letter, that he thought we should find no entrance, but that it would turn out to be like some of the mausoleums round the pyramids.

A few days previous to this the two captains, Irby and Mangles, had arrived in the island. They were going up the Nile, as far as the second cataract, and as there was some difficulty in obtaining two boats, we made a joint party, and contented ourselves with one only. We had to send our interpreter to Esne for provision, nothing being to be had at Assouan. The fourth of June arrived, and our jolly companions, Captains Irby and Mangles, proposed to commemorate the birth-day of his Majesty George III. Accordingly we took an old flag we had in the boat, and planted it on the highest propylæon in the island. At noon we brought out all our fire-arms, and went through the regular salute of twenty-one guns. Having only five, we had to load them again immediately after being fired; and from the heat of the fire and that of the sun, the barrels soon became so hot, that we could not touch them with our hands. At night we repeated our rejoicings, and frightened all the natives round, who could not imagine why we wasted so much powder without killing somebody. However, it convinced them, I believe, that we were well prepared in case it should be requisite to make our defence. The next day Mrs. Belzoni arrived from Cairo, a voyage which she performed accompanied only by the Irish lad, James. I could not contrive to take her higher up the Nile with us, as we had only one boat; and therefore left her in the island till our return. The account of her stay there will be given by herself.

On the 16th of June we left the island of Philoe. Our company consisted of Captains Irby and Mangles, Mr. Beechey, and myself; two servants, and Mahomed, a soldier sent to us by Mr. Salt. On our voyage up we had much trouble with our crew, who were five men and three boys, all of one family.

On our arrival at Ybsambul, we found that the Cacheffs were not there, but at Tomas, opposite Deir. We sent an express to inform them, that we were to open the temple, and meanwhile we proceeded to the second cataract. Previous to our arrival at Wady Halfa, or the second cataract, we followed the west side of the Nile, as far as we could go with the boat, and then landed, and walked three or four miles to the Rock Upsir; for as I had seen such beautiful views there on my first voyage, when the water was high, I wished to see how they appeared at this season, and to show them to my companions. I found them not so interesting as the first time; the islands did not appear so numerous; nor did the water form those foaming eddies, which so finely interspersed the views with white and green. Notwithstanding this, the whole was very grand, and I was gratified in seeing it again.

Having returned to our boat, we passed the night on the same side of the river. The next morning we crossed the water, and entered into an inlet of the Nile, where we moored our boat near the village of Wady Halfa. The crew took it into their heads to extort money from us by force, for which purpose they landed, and said we might return by ourselves if we liked. They knew we could not effect this without some difficulty, as the boat was surrounded by sand banks. We had intended to proceed by land to see the cataract on the east side, as I had done the year before, but under the present circumstances we deemed it imprudent to leave the boat, lest all we had in it should be plundered; for the crew had collected several of the natives, who were apparently disposed to aid them in their undertakings. We would not give up to them, and they protested that they would not come on board, unless we first gave them some money. We then took the resolution to try what we could do ourselves, but it was more in appearance than reality, for we never could have got the boat out of that place. However, the appearance of our attempt to strike the sail, which must be done to fall down the river with the current, had the intended effect; for these fellows immediately sent one of the crew to a parley. We told him, if they took the boat out into the middle of the river, we would give them a bakshis, but not till then. This was agreed on, and at last, after losing the whole day in this business, we returned towards Ybsambul. During this day the natives came to examine every thing we had on board; but they perceived that we were too well armed for them, and quite ready for defence in case of necessity.

On our reaching Ybsambul we found that no answer had been sent from Mosmos. We waited three days, and on the fourth a messenger arrived on a camel. He said he came to see whether I were the same person, from the English consul, who was there the preceding year, and wished to open the temple. On recognizing me, he returned immediately.