ges have been traced upwards of 300 yards, and may probably extend to a much greater distance. It is to be feared that in a comparatively little time these remains of antiquity will be destroyed, as the natives break off large pieces of the rock, to sell them to travellers; and there are many unsightly gaps already in the walls, caused by this unwarrantable traffic.

ers his last bright ray. The two statues of Mem-
non were sitting in silence, as if too gigantic in
their imaginings to be attracted by any scene in
this lower world, as they were far away in their
colossal proportions from any thing that pertains
to man. From this plain the monarch might once
summon to his standard, through each of the gates
of the city 20,000 fighting men, and 200 chariots;
now scarcely. single habitation is to be seen.-
"Where are they, where are thy wise men?
Why are thy valiant men swept away;" asks the
prophet; and the same prophet answers, They
stood not, because the Lord did drive them." Jer.
xlvi. 15.

著

66

The most ancient of the existing temples is said by the interpreters of the hieroglyphics to have been erected about the year 1778, B. C.; and, in turning over our Bibles, to search for the contemporary sacred history, we find that about that time Jacob was wooing his beloved Rachel, at the well of Haran. The city is mentioned by Homer as "the hundred-gated." I had an opportunity of seeing the sun set from a situation in the western range of mountains, that commands a view of the ON-NOPH, OR MEMPHIS. whole plain. As I was proceeding towards the place, the people came running out of their sepul- THESE cities both stood in the neighborhood of the chres with curiosities to dispose of, that they had pyramids, and the whole of the valley on both found among the ruins. These people live in sides of the river may be considered as sacred tombs, sleep in coffins, and gain their food by sell- ground. The prince whose daughter Asenath was ing the bones and flesh of men. One old fellow given to Joseph in marriage, was priest of On. brought out the dark mummy of a man, without It is called Beth-shemesh by Jeremiah, and is any covering; but it was too disgusting an object translated Heliopolis by the LXX., by which name to look upon the skin and form were quite per- it was known to the Greeks, both of which signify fect. The desiccating qualities of the place are"the house, or city, of the sun." On the opposite wonderful. An Italian died here some time since, and his body soon became so dry, that it was sold to a certain traveller as an ancient mummy; but on being brought to Alexandria, the features were recognised by some of his friends. The ground is perforated with mummy pits, like the cells of a honeycomb, and it required some little care in guiding the animal on which I rode among them, fest we should both fall in and be buried alive. I had no wish to be exhibited some years hence as a genuine Egyptian mummy, and to be addressed by some poet as having shaken hands with Pharaoh, or seen the departure of the Israelites. Higher up the mountains are the tombs of more respectable persons, now inhabited by the people. They are excavated in rows, one above the other, and in the evening the flocks are brought up to them by steep paths, after feeding upon the rich pasture in the plain. I dined in one of the tombs with an English gentleman, who has been located in this strange habitation several years. By the time we reached this place, the sun had set to us, but was shining upon the plain through a pass in the mountains. I never at any time saw so many birds as were now returning from a distance to their resting places for the night. It seemed as if the spirits of the millions of the dead who had breathed their last in the valley had suddenly become embodied, and were hovering in dark masses above their deserted city. There was the majestic Nile in the centre of the expanse, its banks covered with a mantle of the loveliest green, from the midst of which arose the white walls of a temple in every quarter to which the attention was directed. The temples of Karnac were nearly hidden by a grove of dates. The columns of Luxor showed themselves in splendor, and worshippers might have been imagined as standing among them, bowing to the fancied Lord of Heaven, as he might seem for a moment to veil his majesty before them, or shed upon their pray

bank of the Nile stood the ancient city of Noph, called also Memphis, by the prophet Isaiah. There are few places mentioned in ancient history whose site has been laid down with more minuteness of circumstance, yet the learned are very far from being agreed as to the exact spot where Memphis stood. The controversy may have arisen from the vast extent it occupied, which may possibly have been so great as to bring places at a considerable distance from each other, within the limits of the ancient metropolis. The name is still retained in an Egyptian village; for when I asked a native, whom I hired as an attendant, the place of his residence, he replied Memf, and afterwards pointed out to me the place, within sight of the pyramids. Memphis was the capital of Egypt previously to the time of the Ptolemies, who transferred to Alexandria the seat of empire. It continued to retain a part of its former magnificence until the Fatimite caliphs became masters of Egypt, and built near the same place, but on the eastern bank of the river, El Kahirah, "the victorous," the present Grand Cairo.

The remains of On are nearly reduced to one single obelisk, and as the description of Memphis would consist of little more than mere conjecture, the objects most worthy of attention as illustrative of the present history of these places, are Grand Cairo and the pyramids. The notices given of the present capital of Egypt will be considered as additionally interesting if brought into contrast with the account given of Thebes, the former capital of the same country.

Grand Cairo consists of two towns, distinguished by the names of Old and New, though the latter is only modern, in comparison with the former. Besides these two places there is Boulac, the riverport of the city, and fast rising into importance. The whole population of Cairo is stated at 600,000 souls, from a recent census.

New Cairo is by far the most extensive of the

The divan of the governor is very splendid. An erection of marble has been commenced by the pacha, in memory of his favorite son Touissan. There are now no remains of the places formerly shown as the halls of Joseph and his steward, except a few pillars. Joseph's well is 272 feet deep, and a passage, several feet wide, winds round it, cut in the rock, with openings towards the well at certain intervals for the admission of light. The water is drawn up by two wheels, one at the top and the other some distance down, turned by oxen in the usual manner. The water is brackish, from the sand through which it filters, but it might be used in case of necessity, and would be the only supply for the garrison during a siege. The place where the Mamelukes were massacred has been much altered since this deed was perpetrated, one of the darkest of modern times. We had some difficulty in making out the spot, as the Turks are wishful to bury all traces of the transaction in oblivion. I almost shuddered as I trod the stones where so many brave men were murdered in cold blood. Near this place is an extensive manufactory of arms. We passed through all the workshops and foundries, and were everywhere treated with great attention. The army is supplied from hence with swords, pistols, guns, and cannon. The overseers are principally Englishmen. The walls of the citadel command the finest view of the city, particularly of the mosque of Sultan Hassan. It appears scarcely possible that so large a population can be crowded into so small a space as the city occupies.

three places. It is entered, when coming from pregnable, but the stone of the fortifications is too the river, a distance of about two miles, by a sub-soft to resist the effects of cannon. It contains a stantial gateway, and after passing an extensive telegraph that communicates with Alexandria. barrack on the left, the road opens upon a square, the only one in the city, called the Esbequieh. It is in turn a lake, a morass, and a corn-field, as it communicates with the Nile by a canal. The streets are so narrow that I could frequently touch the houses on both sides by stretching out my arms. The place seems as if built on purpose to favor the ravages of disease, and on passing through its dark, dirty, narrow streets, the name it has received of "the city of the plague," struck me as being particularly appropriate. The halls of merchandise are protected by chains at the entrance, and have an imposing appearance. I wandered from street to street, through turnings and windings innumerable, lingering at places where any thing of interest was exposed for sale, and scarcely any article can be mentioned, either for use or ornament, that is common among Europeans or Turks, of whatever degree, that cannot be purchased in some quarter or other of this extensive mart. The dresses of the Turkish ladies were the most splendid articles I noticed. Except in the Frank quarter there are no shops: you must stand in the street to make the bargain, though sometimes the salesman will invite you to mount up, and take part of the mat upon which he is sitting. Narrow as the streets are, the crowds that pass through them are incredible. I generally rode a donkey, and the boy with me kept continually calling to the people to mind their feet; but in spite of all our endeavors to give warning, my awkward boots were always getting entangled among some of the manifold habiliments in which the women are enveloped, and I either turned them There is an asylum for lunatics attached to one half round before I could get free, or made a rend of the mosques. It contained at the time of my that brought down upon my poor head many an visit twelve men and thirteen women. The men ungracious wish. But I was made to suffer in my have separate cells that look into an open court, to turn: first a Turk upon horseback gave my knee the bars of which they are chained. One was a stroke with his great stirrip, then a camel came continually passing himself from side to side of the with a load so large that there was no possibility of grating, as I have seen hyænas, when under congetting past without a crush against the wall, and finement, and called out incessantly, "Francisco, before I had well had time to exclaim against the Francisco." Others were sitting in moody silence. want of manners in the animal, my feet were graz- The description of the women's apartment I reed against the projecting boards of a bazaar.ceived from the keeper, deterred me from visiting Soldiers are stationed in all directions, and fre- it. quently add to the confusion by their efforts to pre- The slave market is an open square, with rooms serve order. The mosques, of which there are on each side, and apartments above for the more about 300, would some of them have a magnificent valuable females. The rooms were most of them appearance if they could be seen from a little dis- closed, but they were all thrown open on our aptance, but they are now buried among houses and proach, and the poor creatures were shown as if common buildings. I had a peep into some of they had been so many horses or cattle. They them through the windows: the space between set up a loud laugh, but though there was laughter each arch of the principal aisle appears to be par- upon the lip, it came not from the heart. I stood titioned from the rest, and to be a place of worship some time in the gallery, looking at the different perfect in itself, so that the effect is lost that would groups, and felt for them sincere pity. There be produced by a view of the undivided whole. was something peculiarly forbidding about the They have sometimes buildings attached to them countenances of the old fellows who appeared to with brass lattices, erected with considerable be the principal proprietors. The greater part of taste, at which water is distributed to passengers by persons appointed for the purpose. The houses are five or six stories high: the lower part built with stones of a large size, and many of them having arched entrances, the ribs of which are chastely ornamented.

The citadel has of late received great attention, and every effort has been made to render it im

the slaves then in the market were Berberries, and nearly all children. Their hair grows in ringlets, and has been compared to a natural wig. These were all merrily warming themselves round a fire, and it is possible might be really destitute of all painful thought on their situation. It shall be a glory unto Britain, more durable than that of her conquests, that slavery has ceased throughout

her dominions, a fact the more interesting, because without a parallel in the annals of nations since the chain was forged that bound in fetters the first slave. In the court leading to the market curbashes are sold, thongs made of the skin of the rhinoceros and hippopotamus, a cut from which is so severe that it becomes a powerful weapon. I never failed to make my way through a crowd, when I had one in my hand, though I never struck any one a blow.

The tombs of the caliphs and Mamelukes have been much admired, but they are very inferior to many of those erected by the Mussulmans in India during the existence of the Mogul empire.

Between new Cairo and the old city, after crossing an extensive burial ground and some gardens, there is an aqueduct with 317 arches, not at present in use. In the same direction is one of the palaces of the pacha, in which, as in all other modern Egyptian architecture, there is a strange mixture of refinement and barbarism.

in vain that we cast a look towards the pyramids, to contrast their appearance under different lights, and at different distances; our attention was soon called away from Cheops and his monument of 3000 years to the reiterated claims of our nearer attendants. I was anxious to proceed to the top of the highest pyramid before the sun's rays had become too powerful. I was assisted by two Arabs in climbing the steps, which at the commencement are upwards of a yard high. It is a difficult task for muscles not accustomed to the attempt, but by no means so formidable as has been represented. It is not unusual for females to accomplish the undertaking, and a party had engaged to accompany us, but in the mean time one of them had been taken ill. Not long since some English travellers, with that love of frolic which is their general characteristic, had a donkey taken to the summit, and then, with that thoughtlessness and cruelty of which they are too often guilty, had it precipitated to the ground, by which it was, of course, dashed to pieces. It is during the ascent that the magnitude of the erection first comes home to the mind with proper force; to look down, and then towards the summit, it seems impossible that so immense a pile can be entirely the result of human labor. It is about 700 feet in the length of its base, and is 461 feet high, being 227 feet higher than the cathedral of York, and 117 feet higher than St. Paul's at London. It is ascended by 206 layers of steps, of different dimensions. I did not myself make any admeasurement, and must take for granted the declarations of former travellers, or I should have taken the elevation at a greater number of feet, allowing the number of steps to be correctly stated, as The palace of Shoobra is situated on the banks there appeared to me to be more tiers that were of the Nile, and is approached from Cairo by a above three feet in height than there were under broad road shaded with trees. The gardens are this size. There will always be a difference in laid out with some taste, and have walks pebbled the computations of travellers, because many of with different devices. There is a fountain, sur- the steps are broken, and the sand at the base rounded by a court paved with marble, to which does not always accumulate to the same elevathe pacha is sometimes accompanied by the ladies tion. At the apex is a flat space, about 30 feet of his harem. The giraffes brought from the in-square, upon which are cut the names of its adterior were all dead but one, and the dim eye and languid movements of the survivor betokened that it would soon follow its companions.

The glory of Old Cairo is completely eclipsed by the superior grandeur of the New, but it is more conveniently situated in every respect except for defence, being near the river. There is here shown the place where our Saviour is said to have lived during his residence in Egypt, and several other places of a similiar description, fruitful sources of revenue to the monks.

The island of Rhoda is formed by a division of the Nile, and is occupied by the gardens of Ibraham Pacha, to which the wealthier Turks delight to retire in the cooler hours of the day and listen to music. At the southern extremity is the ancient Nilometer, from which the official account of the rise of the river is ascertained.

I was accompanied to the pyramids by the Rev. J. Bartholomew, of the Wesleyan society, who had come to the capital on business connected with the mission. We mounted the donkeys of the country, active and useful little creatures, on the western bank of the river, and after an hour's quick ride were at the foot of one of the seven wonders of the world, and the only one of the seven at present in existence. The cultivated plain approaches these ancient structures within a few hundred feet. The ground upon which they are built is somewhat elevated, which adds to their imposing appearance from the distance. The villages we passed in our ride each sent one or more of its inhabitants to accompany us, and before we had proceeded far we were surrounded by a noisy crowd, all of whom had something to say why they in particular should have their services accepted; and if we insisted upon their return before we would proceed one step further, it was only to see them come back again after a little time, perhaps in increased numbers. It was

venturous visiters. I added my name to those of three other missionaries, all of whom are now no more. The multitude of events that rush at once upon the mind, when standing in this elevated position, produces an indistinct and indefinite excitement, half fearful, half joyous, and utterly indescribable; a something that was never felt before, and cannot be expected ever to be felt again. The stones that are there placed have occupied the same spot an unknown period, more than half the age of the world. We may tell every name written upon the scroll of history, every event recorded among the archives of the world, every empire whose fall has been wept by its bereaved children, however ancient that name, or distant that event, or extended the sweep of that empire; and whilst all these were the passing wonders of the day, this erection was standing as it now stands, in the same form and the same position. The day was most favorable to the full enjoyment of the prospect. At our feet were other pyramids of equal antiquity, and the pyramids of Saccarah and Dashoor were seen in the distance. The minarets of Cairo were to be distinguished over the Nile, with the citadel frowning from the Mo

kattam. The river was presented in a long continuous line, and the earth did her homage as she passed by, arraying her banks with flowers, and trees, and a mantle of green. It is more than probable that the first miracles of Moses, including all the plagues, from the turning of the river into blood to the death of the first-born, were performed within the limits commanded by our vision. On the opposite bank had stood the city of On, to which Plato and many other of the Grecian sages resorted to learn lessons in good government and philosophy. On the flight into Egypt, there is little doubt that Joseph and Mary, with the holy child Jesus, resided for a time at the same place, as we know that great numbers of Jews were located there at that period, though the exact spots consecrated by the presence of the Saviour may not be known. The nearer valley had once been covered with the houses, palaces, and temples, of an extensive city, not a vestige of which now remained. The prophecy of Jeremiah has been literally accomplished: "They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise: he hath passed the time appointed. As I live, saith the king, whose name is the Lord of Hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity; for Noph shall be waste and desolate, without an inhabitant."―Jer. xlvi. 17-19. The thoughts glance at these different events, and all connection with the present age is for a time forgotten, until the Arabs become impatient, and remind you that they consider their expected present of greater consequence than all the kings and cities that have ever existed.

The descent is less difficult to the muscles, but a greater trial to the nerves. An English gentleman was thrown down about three years ago, and was killed, as the wind was violent, and he refused the assistance of the Arabs.

no doubt that they were tombs, and perhaps they were nothing more. If it be objected, that it would be absurd to suppose the Egyptians lavished so much expense upon buildings that had no other design, we need only refer to their mummies, their catacombs, and the tombs of the kings at Thebes. In the centre of the pyramid the body of the founder was probably deposited, and the passages would answer the same purpose for the bodies of his family and descendants. They might afterwards be used for deeds of darkness that the licentiousness of later periods introduced into the world. The absence of hieroglyphics in every part of the structure may arise from their antiquity, as they may have been built before the invention of these symbols: but it is more probable that the cause is to be found in the known opposition of the founders to the existing hierarchy, who alone had the key to this secret manner of writing; as Herodotus, in speaking of Cheops, expressly states that "he barred the avenues to every temple, and forbade the Egyptians to sacrifice to the gods.' It has been assumed, with a great appearance of probability, that the Israelites assisted in the erection of these artificial mountains; and to support this argument, many distinct series of proofs have been brought forward both from sacred and profane history.

An at

There are two other pyramids at a little distance, one of them of a much smaller size. The nearer of the two was opened by Belzoni, after a close of somè ages, but he was disappointed in finding that it had been previously explored, and deprived of its most valuable remains. tempt has been made to destroy it, as the steps are all broken nearly half-way up to the summit. There are several other buildings in the plain, half-buried by the sand. The paintings in one of them might represent a grand gastronomic procession, as there are all the operations of cooking. At a little distance are several beautiful sarcoThe entrance into the interior is at some dis- phagi cut into the shape of the human body, with tance from the base, but is approached by an ac- the lids entire and the inscriptions as perfect as if cumulation of sand and stones. We descended just prepared for some one that was about to be to the distance of about 70 feet by a gradually interred. The sphinx is cut out of the rock where inclined plane, from whence the principal passage it stands, and the head only can now be seen. I ascends with a shelving ledge on each side, and could not discover so much beauty in the features we could distinguish the roof by the light of our as many travellers profess to find. There are dim tapers. The ascent is attended with some said to be many inscriptions on the lower extremidifficulty, and would be almost impossible, were ties, and the whole mass, if cleared away entirely not holes cut in the stones for the hands and feet. from the sand, would be upwards of 100 feet long. The passage terminates in a chamber 32 feet long The Arabs continued to throng about us, in spite by 16 feet wide, and said to be 19 feet high. In of all our efforts to drive them away. They have the centre of the chamber is a sarcophagus of red been designated robbers, and all manner of evil granite, without any inscription. We sang the has been said against them, but a set of merrier doxology,-"Praise God from whom all blessings or better natured fellows I never met with, and a flow," to the usual psalm, and the effect was few piastres distributed among them were acvery grand. Our two voices seemed to be swell-knowledged by a thousand thanks. Some of them ed to the compass of a multitude, as if some of the live in the excavated parts of the rocks, where old Egyptians who had been there entombed had they have comfortable shelter in this favored also taken to themselves a voice, and joined in the climate. song of praise. There were many other passages breaking off in different directions to less or greater distances. Some of them have been explored to the extent of several hundred feet, and it is probable there are many others, the entrances to which cannot now be ascertained. There have been a great many opinions as to the design with which the pyramids were erected. There can be

On our return we called at what our guide denominated "a manufactory of chickens ;" and after recrossing the river, visited one of the pacha's schools.

There were 1700 boys under a course of instruction, nearly all of whom were boarded upon the premises. We saw the kitchen, bath, and hospital. Nearly all their studies are in Turkish, which I do not understand; but they