GUT

and says he received no re

he had incurred on the occasion.

Having made the necessary preparations, Mr. Belzoni departed from Cairo on the 30th of June, and met Ibrahim, Bashaw of Upper Egypt, on his way to Siout, to whom he presented his letters. The Bashaw politely requested of him to deliver them to the Defterdar, who was left in command at Siout. He reached Siout on the 6th of July, and found the Defterdar Bey from home. He waited on Dr. Scotto, according to the instructions which he received from the Consul, but found him unwilling to promote the success of his undertaking, observing, that "the bust was a mass of stone not worth the carriage." The Bey, however, on his arrival, received him very politely, and furnished him with orders to the Casheft of the province of Erments, who holds jurisdiction over the Fellahs of Thebes. Mr. Belzoni proceeded on his voyage, and reached Dendera on the 18th, at night; and visited the celebrated temple of Tentyra the next morning. It is the first Egyptian temple that presents itself along the Nile, and by far the most magnificent. Mr. Belzoni gives a very minute description of this" Cabinet of Egyptian Arts, the product of studies for many centuries." Here he saw the famous Zodiac, which, we understand, has been purchased since Mr. Belzoni left Egypt, by the King of France, out of his own private purse, to embellish the ceiling of the Louvre. -For the description of this noted temple, we must refer the reader to the work before us, that we may pursue Mr. Belzoni on his route. the 22d, he landed at Luxor, and saw the ruins of Thebes, for the first time.

On

Mr. Belzoni describes several colossal figures, which he met with before he reached the bust which he had to remove, particularly the colussus of Memnon, or Sesostris, or Osymandias, or Rhamenoph, or some other Egyptian monarch, for, as Mr. Belzoni observes, 66 so many names have been given to it, that at last it has no name at all." He says it would require more labour to convey this mass of granite by water than the obelisk known by the name of Pompey's Pillar. He commenced

The only implements he brought from Cairo were fourteen poles, eight of which were employed in making a sort of cart to lay the bust on, four ropes of palm leaves, and four rollers without tackle of any sort. The want of implements, however, was little in comparison to the difficulties thrown in his way by the Turkish Cachefts and Caimakans, on whose word no reliance can be placed. Even when a supe rior sends a firman, tiscarry, or or der to an inferior governor, though he will not positively disobey the order, he will endeavour to prevent its execution one way or other, unless he receives a present from the person whose interest it promotes Mr. Belzoni, however, succeeded in removing the bust to the banks of the Nile, though he had considerable difficulty in getting the Arabs to work; for they not only acted in concert with each other, but seemed to have frequently private instructions from the Cachefts to disappoint him when he stood most in need of them. Accordingly, if he had and hundred men at work one day, he could not get one of them to appear { the day following, though they had strict orders to attend him from the Cachefts, and were regularly paid for their labour by Mr. Belzoni.33 23

After conveying the bust to the banks of the Nile, he went with some Arabs to a cave, where he wasi: informed by M. Drouetti, the ex-o consul-general of the late govern ment of France, that a sarcophagus } was discovered. The ex-consults himself endeavoured to remove it, but could not succeed, the Arabs having cunningly stopped up the great entrance which led to it. Mroi Belzoni entered through a long nar row cavity, where he was frequently obliged to creep on the ground. They reached the sarcophagus at length, which nearly closed up the passage. One of the Arabs, how ever, and Mr. Belzoni's interpreter, succeeded in passing, and it was agreed that Mr. Belzoni himself, and the other Arab should wait there till the interpreter and his companion returned. They went so far that the lights entirely disap peared, and a few minutes after the interpreter was heard to cry out, O

mon Dieu! mon Dieu! Je suis perdu. Mr. Belzoni immediately returned to procure help from the other Arabs, but lost his way. At length, however, he miraculously got out, and found his interpreter at the entrance. It seems that, after leaving Mr. Belzoni, they came to a pit, which they did not perceive till the Arab fell in. It was then the interpreter cried out, I am lost; for the Arab, in falling, put out both lights. The interpreter, however, happening to see a small light at a distance, approached it, and after scraping away some loose sand and stones, got out of the cave through an aperture in the large entrance which the Arabs had stopped up. Mr. Belzoni immediately set the Arabs to work, and cleared out the large entrance, in order to remove the sarcophagus, but the Cacheft of Erments, whose permission he had heretofore in all his operations, sent him word to desist, as the sarcophagus was sold to the French consul. Finding he could not, at present, succeed in his design, and having no boat fit to convey the colossal bust to Cairo, he sent a courier to Mr. Salt, to send him a boat for that purpose, and determined, in the mean time, to go up the Nile, and return before the courier arrived from Cairo. His voyage up the Nile is extremely interesting, and places the character of the Turks and their chiefs in a truer point of view than that of any other traveller. The principal places and remains of antiquity, which he describes, are Esné, Edfu, Assouan, the Isle of Elephantine and its temple, supposed to be dedicated to the serpent Knuphis, the beautiful Island of Philoe, Taffa, the ruins of Kalabshe, Garba Dandour, Garbah Merieh, Garba Gyrshe, the stemple of Dakke and its Greek inscriptions, Meharraka, or Offelina, Seboua, Korosko, Deir the great capital of Lower Nubia, Ibrim and its sepulchral chambers, Faras, Yb sambul and its temple, half-buried in the sand, Wady Halfa, the Isle of Mainarty, and the rock of Aspir, which commands a view of the second Cataract. Here Mr. Belzoni was obliged to return; but on his arrival at Thebes, he found that no boat had arrived from Cairo, though Mr. Salt had sent him a remittance of money. After considerable trous

1

1

ble and perplexit perplexity, Mr. however succeeded in procuring a Para Belzoni boat, and conveying the bust of Memnon to Cairo, where he received letters from the consul, who was then at Alexandria, to proceed to him directly with the colossus, leav ing all the other articles he had brought with him in the consulate. He left Cairo accordingly on the 3d of January, 1817, and reached Alexandria in eleven days, where he lodged the colossus in the Bashaw's magazine to await its embarkation for England.

Mr. Belzoni had left too many objects of curiosity behind him to remain satisfied with his first trip into Upper Egypt and Nubia. He proposed accordingly a second voy age to Mr. Salt, particularly with a view to open the temple of Ybsambul, which he attempted in his first journey, but which he was obliged to give over for want of sufficient money to pay the workmen. The consul readily embraced the proposal, and Mr. Belzoni set off from Boolak on the 20th of February, in company with a Mr. Beechey, whom he took along with him at the consul's request. On their arrival at Eshmouneir, they were informed that two agents of Mr. Drouetti, the French ex-consul, were making a forced march to Thebes. Mr. Belzoni justly concluding that their ob-ject was to reach that place before himself to purchase up all the antiques, that had been accumulated by the Arabs during the preceding season, and also apprehensive they would take possession of a spot where he had made excavations and discovered sphinxes and statues, if they reached Thebes before him, immediately determined to travel by land, and ordered a horse and ass to be got ready. He took along with him a Greek servant, who attended on board, and leaving the boat in Mr. Beechey's charge, he arrived in Thebes by forced marches in five days and a half. It happened that the Defterdar Bey of Siout had given Mr. Belzoni a letter to the British consul, to which he expected an answer by Mr. Belzoni on his return; but the consul having neglected to write to him he was so enraged, that he went direct to Luxor, and ordered the ground where Mr. Belzoni had discovered the

sphinxes, to be dug up, and all its contents were afterwards given to the agents of M. Drouetti, who took every opportunity of conciliating the good will of the Bey, and irritating him against the English party. Mr. Belzoni, however, continued to make many important discoveries, though every possible difficulty was thrown in his way. Among the relics of antiquity which he discovered, were two brazen vessels, which he purchased from one of the Fellahs, and which he describes as the finest

and most perfect pieces of Egyptian antiquity he had ever seen. They were covered with engraved hieroglyphics, admirably executed; and were about eighteen inches high, and ten in diameter, their sound resembling that of Corinthian brass. The French party, finding the suc cess that attended Mr. Belzoni's labours, succeeded at length in persuading the Bey, who was already incensed against the English, to issue an order to all the Cachefts, and Caimakans who commanded on both sides of Thebes, not to permit Mr. Belzoni's party to collect any more antiquities, nor to allow the Arabs to work, or sell any thing more to them on any account. Belzoni expostulated, and threatened to write to the Bashaw, on which he counteracted the order, but short. ly renewed it again, so that Mr. Belzoni finding it useless to remain at Thebes, determined to proceed farther up the Nile. He left a Sheik to guard his collection, which he covered with earth, and encompassed with a mud wall before his departure.

Mr.

Mr. Belzoni gives, not only a very circumstantial, but a very pleasing, account of the various places, curiosities, and antiquities which he visited and explored in his second voyage up the Nile, among which may be particularly noticed his account of the Island of Philoe, and its curiosities. His opening the temple of Ybsambul, however, excites the attention of the reader more than all the rest, not only because it was half buried in the sand, but because its internal part was never seen by the oldest inhabitant then living. He was twenty-eight days in removing the sand which closed up the entrance, and had frequently upwards of one hundred men employ

ed. On entering, he was surprized to find it one of the most beautiful temples in Egypt, enriched with beautiful intaglios, paintings, colos sal figures, &c. We regret our li mits will not afford us to give even an abstract of his s description; but it is well worthy the attention of every lover of antiquity.

Mr. Belzoni, after visiting every place worthy the attention of the antiquary and inquisitive travelier, returned to Thebes, and commenced his operations anew. Finding M. Drouetti's agents making excavations about Gornau, and knowing from experience he could not be at peace in their neighbourhood, he de termined to make the sacred valley of Beban el Malook the scene of his researches; having previously ob tained a firman from the Cacheft of Ghous, who was now ruler over Thebes, directed to the Scheiks of Gournou, commanding them to sup ply him with twenty men. In this fortunate valley Mr. Belzoni made his grand discovery of the tomb of Psammuthis, King of Egypt. He caused the earth to be dug up at the foot of a steep hill, immediately un der a torrent, where no vestige of a tomb appeared. He kept the men at work, however, for three days, and at length discovered an entrance into the solid rock, eighteen feet below the surface. The entrance led to a corridor, thirty-six feet two inches long, eight feet four inches wide, and eight feet nine inches high: the paintings on the ceiling and the hieroglyphics, in basso relievo indicated that it was the entrance to some magnificent tomb At the end wasva staircase twenty-three feet in depth, which led to another corridor, still larger and more sumptuous than the former: at the end was a pit, thirty feet deep, and fourteen by twelve feet wide, beyond which he deseried a small aperture, two feet wide, and two feet and a half high. Het contrived, by placing beams across the pit, to reach the entrance, and open it on entering, Mr. Belzoni found himself in a beautiful hall, twentyseven feet and a half long, and about twenty-six feet wide, supported by square pillars. This entrance hall led to a chamber twenty-eight feet long, and twenty-five feet and a half wide, also supported by pillars. On one side of the entrance hall he dis

covered another corridor, thirteen feet long, which led to another beautiful corridor, thirty-six feet six inches, by six feet eleven inches. The paintings still became more and more perfect as he advanced. A descent of ten steps led to another corridor, seventeen feet by ten feet five inches, which led to a chamber, twenty feet four inches by thirteen feet eight inches: in this chamber was a grand display of Egyptian gods and goddesses. This chamber led to a large hall, about twenty-eight by twenty seven feet, supported by two rows of square pillars: on each side of the hall is a small chamber, and the end led to a grand saloon with an arched roof, about thirty-two feet long, and twenty-seven wide. On the left of the saloon was a chamber about twenty-six feet long, and twentythree wide: at the end of this room, facing the hall of pillars, was another grand chamber, forty-three feet four inches by seventeen feet and a half wide. In the centre of this room, Mr. Belzoni discovered the most perfect and valuable remains of Egyptian antiquity,-a Sarcophagus of the finest oriental alabaster, nine feet five inches long, and three feet seven inches wide: its thickness is two inches; and it is transparent when a light is placed in the inside. It is sculptured within and without with several hundred figures and emblems. It was placed over a staircase in the centre of the saloon, leading to a subterraneous passage three hundred feet deep.

Mr. Belzoni, with the assistance of M. Ricci, made drawings afterwards of all the figures, hieroglyphics, emblems, ornaments, &c. in the tomb; and took impressions of every thing in wax, a task which occupied him more than twelve months. The paintings, &c. are all minutely described in the work before us the description, though brief, takes up fourteen pages.

Shortly after the discovery of this celebrated tomb, Mr. Belzoni left Thebes for Cairo, to which he conveyed his second collection of antiquities. Even here the spirit of curiosity would not suffer him to be at rest-he formed a project of opening the second pyramid of Ghizeh-that enormous mass, which has baffled the conjectures of ancient and modern writers. Having mentioned his inEur. Mag, Vol. 82.

tention to Count de Forbin, who was then at Cairo, he sarcastically requested of him to send him a plan of it to France, when opened. The Count thought the thing impossible, but he was mistaken-Mr. Belzoni opened the pyramid, and sent him the plan. A paragraph appeared shortly after in a French paper, stating that Count de Forbin, Director General of the Royal Museum of France, penetrated into the second pyramid of Ghizeh, and brought the plan of the discovery along with him to France. The expenses of opening the pyramid Mr. Belzoni paid out of his own pocket; all his other expenses were paid by Mr. Salt, to whom he delivered both the collections which he brought from Thebes. He therefore determined, after opening the pyramid, to make a collection on his own account, and to make the drawings of the tomb of Psammuthis, and the wax impressions of which we have already spoken: having, accordingly, arranged his affairs with the Consul, he set off once more for Thebes. On his third journey to Thebes, he visited the Defterdar Bey of Siout, whom he found exercising his soldiers and young Mamelukes in gunnery and horsemanship:having obtained a firman from him, he continued his voyage to Thebes, where he commenced his drawings and models of the tomb as before stated, the moment he arrived.

It is disagreeable to revert to the difficulties he had here again to encounter, and the obstacles illiberally thrown in his way, not only by M. Drouetti and his agents, but by Mr. Salt himself. So determined were they to put a stop to his researches, that on his arrival at Thebes he found the ground on both sides of the Nile marked by the agents of one party or the other. I verily believe," he says, "if I pointed out one of the sand banks or solid rocks, they would have said they just intended to have broken into it the next day." Perceiving the difficul- . ties of making researches on his own account, without quarrelling with some of the parties, he retired to his tomb, and devoted his time to his drawings and models. His thirst for discovery, however, prompted him to diversify his pursuits by occasional excavations, whoever might reap the benefit of his discoveries.