Vain, futile hope! For the all-pervading English traveller, or scientific man, coolly appropriates the royal mummy, and packs it off in a hamper per rail and steamer to London; and in some Crystal Palace or provincial museum all that is mortal of a mighty Pharaoh or Ptolemy may be seen in its own particular glass case, for the consideration of a trifling current coin of the realm, possibly-on certain days of the week-free.

Some of our party, instead of returning through that terrible scorching, white, stony valley, climbed up the steep mountainous ascent at the back of the chief range of tombs, and were rewarded by a glorious view over the entire plain of Thebes which lies at your feet. In front is a tremendous precipice, hundreds of feet deep, at whose base may be traced a confused mass of ancient remains extending all the way to the memnonium. Beyond come the temples of Medinet Habou, the noble Colossi of the plain, in their solitary grandeur, the rich, green, fertile zone of vegetation, the broad glistening river, and the wilderness of ruins towards Luxor and Karnak, the whole picture bounded by the opposite ridge of Arabian mountains.

CHAPTER III.

THE FIRST CATARACT TO CAIRO.

ASSOUAN at last!

Here our steamer stops on her upward voyage, for this is the extreme point to which she can well proceed. After a brief visit to the famous ancient granite quarries of Syene, the Island of Elephantine, and the beautiful, solemn, and fascinating Philae, we must reluctantly resume our return to Cairo. As we near Assouan, where many of the dahabeahs also terminate their upward voyage, the river scenery changes its character considerably. The sandy desert becomes of a deeper yellow tinge, the rocks are darker and more sombre in colour, while only a small strip of vegetation extends between the river's bank and the slopes of the mountains.

Assouan is beautifully situated, being embosomed in palm groves, surrounded by rocky hills, having the gracefully outlined woody Island of Elephantine opposite in mid-stream, and the steep, sloping banks of the valley, variegated with a few scattered ruins of houses and mosques, close in the view. Here, too, congregate a number of dancing-girls, profusely decorated with jewellery, gaudy scarves, and other

At

female finery; and even more demonstrative in their advances are a legion of vendors of red clay pottery manufactures, ostrich feathers, ivory-hilted daggers, old coins, glass bangles, turquoises, fancy silks, warlike implements, and similar articles suitable for the taste of the British tourist. Assouan also you experience your first sensation of the delights, such as they are, of camel-riding, as the 'ship of the desert' is put in requisition to transport you to Philae, nearly five miles off.

After threading your way through the poor bazaars and lanes of the straggling village, you come out upon the granite quarries, which extend in different directions till they cover a considerable area of ground. Then the track leads along a broad strip of gravelly desert, at a distance of more than a mile from the river's bank, until you reach the few scattered mud houses a little way below Philae. Accompanied by a friend, I made my way off the main track down to the river, to see what one hears so often mentioned, the 'First Cataract.' A very poor specimen of a cataract indeed it is! The river is confined between narrow ridges of rocks, which are scattered about in picturesque confusion, and the stream rushes past them with some velocity and turmoil, but there is little perceptible fall or whirl of troubled waters. A man swam down the principal rapid for our benefit, and we were besieged by a lot of small naked boys for backsheesh. Some little distance above this, the banks of the river exhibit a marvellous peculiarity and grandeur of outline. Great fantastic masses of black porphyry and granite tower upwards

from numerous small islands studding the river's bed, and in many cases they assume the forms of ruined castles or monstrous figures seemingly carved in the adamantine rock by some Titanic hand.

Philae is a small island, but completely covered with ruins which crown its heights, and extend in terraces along its sides, while palm, acacia, and other luxuriant trees clothe the mouldering columns and prostrate capitals with a lovely surrounding of green. The large temple is dedicated to Isis, and is profusely decorated with coloured figures, the painting of which is vivid and fresh. Many of the capitals of the pillars are bright with rich blue and green colouring, and some noble avenues of columns extend in lofty perspective from the main building towards the river. The sandstone of which these remains are constructed is of a light brown tint, and this colour predominates in the small, elegant, roofless temple called 'Pharaoh's bed.' In some of the inner sanctuaries of the larger temple, a deep solemn gloom prevails, and the contrast is dazzling when you emerge into the glorious sunshine, with the intensely blue sky of Africa forming an azure canopy overhead. From the top of a lofty pylon, at the entrance of the great temple, a varied panorama is seen—a shimmering, silvery, calm river, dark, frowning, weird rocks, groups of palm and sycamore trees, dusky villages, slender strips of cultivated land, and the distant mountains of Nubia bounding the horizon.

Elephantine Island, opposite to Assouan, should be visited, though there is little to see beyond a few small ruins, and a

Nilometer for taking the height of the inundation, consisting merely of a staircase partially covered over, and open to the river at its foot, with a few measuring marks notched on its sides. The island appears to be chiefly populated by women and children, the latter attired in the scantiest possible costume, though the girls had invariably the usual fringe of leather cut into thongs round their waist. They were very importunate for us to buy shells, pebbles, necklaces, and other trinkets. We did purchase a good many of the articles sold in the Assouan bazaars, at a very moderate price; especially some really elegantly figured coffee cups and drinking vessels, with delicate arabesque patterns traced on them. Some of us also did a little amateur banking with a gentleman in an English dahabeah, who, having spent all his available coin, was anxious to turn into this useful commodity one or two of his circular notes.

At length, on Monday, February 5, we very reluctantly commenced our homeward voyage a little after noon. We had been compelled to leave unexplored the wonders of Nubia and the majestic rock-hewn temple of Ipsambul, for, as Tam O'Shanter found to his cost,

'Nae man can tether time or tide.'

That afternoon we passed the fine remains of the temple of Kom Ombos, which are placed high up the steep river's bank in a very commanding and striking position. Standing in front of the temple, you have an extensive view over plain and river, which here makes a rather sharp curve. The