no doubt but our janissary and the Greek servant put them up to this request, as the soldier took a poor cowardly part, and urged that we were in a savage country, and had better temporize till we were on our return, thus showing of how little use these fellows are to protect travellers.

June 28. Passed Ibrim, situated on a rude but picturesque hill of a conical shape, and of barren calcareous stone. There is not now the least vestige of an inhabitant to be seen, and it presents a sad picture of ruin and desolation. Mr. Legh, in his new publication, (a few extracts from which we have seen in the Quarterly Review for February last) says " this town was destroyed by the mamelukes;" it was the extent or limit of his voyage in Nubia: he travelled in 1813. Mr. Bankes, it appears, was the first Englishman who ever succeeded in gaining the second cataract: he travelled in 1815. I fancy he took much about the same tour of Syria that we mean to take, though we have not as yet seen his journey traced out. In 1816, Mr. Drovetti, the cidevant French consul in Egypt, succeeded in reaching the second cataract, together with his two agents, Rifaud and Cailliaud; these travellers, together with Sheck Ibrahim (a real friend of ours) and Mr. Belzoni, are all that have reached

米

thus far: Mr. Belzoni had his wife with him in man's clothes. Poor Norden, who travelled eighty years ago, could only reach Derry; his Nubian trip is rather interesting, though not very instructive. Denon went no higher than Philæ; and Pocock, who passed Norden on the Nile, only reached that isle. On the tops of the hills near Ibrim, we remarked many conical hillocks, as marks to lead the Dongola caravans ('). This evening we saw a crocodile sleeping on the sand a considerable way up; we were within twenty yards of him, but as none of our muskets were loaded with ball we did not fire; we however made a noise to awaken him, when he rushed into the water with his mouth open, looking very savage; he was about fifteen feet long.

June 29. Arrived at Ebsambal, and unfortunately found Hassan Cashief absent; sent again to Derry, to Daoud and Halleel, for leave to begin and open the temple when we returned from the second cataract: the banks of the river between Ibrim and Ebsambal are beautifully strewed with the yellow and purple acassia, forming thick hedges, which have a very pleasing effect; a species of the tamarisk is also common here. The acassia is famous for producing the gum arabic, which is brought in great quantities from

the interior of Africa in the vicinity of Darfur; the seeds of the acassia also serve for a lucrative branch of trade, being sent in the first instance to Cairo, and then shipped for Europe, where they serve as a good article for tanning. The water is now become exceedingly thick, it is not however unpleasant to the taste.

June 30. While we were at Ebsambal, the Dongola caravan passed; it was preceded by about fifty camels, carrying the provisions, &c. The conductors were armed with a sword, dagger, and spear each; they wore sandals to preserve the soles of their feet from the burning sand, which we now feel most sensibly, being obliged to stop every now and then to pour it out of our shoes. These sandals are much like those worn by the ancient Egyptians, and which are often found on the feet of the mummies at this day.

The range of the Mockatem mountains finish nearly opposite Ebsambal in a remarkable manner, terminating in a considerable number of pyramidal hills rising up from the sand, and having the appearance of a gigantic camp; some of the hills are oblong, and in the form of marquees; others are so perfectly pyramidal, that one finds it difficult to divest one's-self of the idea that they are the work of men's hands. Bruce attributes the origin of the pyramidal

mode of building to an imitation of the slope or inclination of the sides of mountains. (Vol. ii. p. 33.)

July 1. Stopped opposite the village of Farras; we here examined the site of a large Nubian city, and amongst the modern stone buildings of the Arabs found several remnants of temples, with hieroglyphics; in one was a beautiful cornice and a frieze, with the winged globe highly finished. The natives shewed us some Greek and Roman ornaments, such as the spread eagle, ornamental cross, &c.; near the village are some fragments of a temple, consisting of several broken pieces of red granite pillars, also some small ones of beautiful white marble. From the appearance of these ruins, the fineness of the situation, and the rich plain of cultivated land near it, I think this must once have been a populous and flourishing city, in the time of the Greeks and Romans, as well as the Egyptians. Close to the rubbish there is a natural rock by itself, and a door leading to a very small recess or chamber, in which are two Egyptian figures, in intaglio, on the wall; one is a man, the other a woman with the lotus flower in her hand; a double row of hieroglyphics near the inner figure, and there is a niche at the further end of the chamber about four feet square.

We bathed this morning opposite a village, and

on a sand-bank in front of us, at not more than a musket-shot distant, we observed two crocodiles (timsah in Arabic); as soon as we went into the water they both walked into the river, to all appearance from fear, for they are certainly both shy and timid, and, I suspect, will only attack a single person when they can surprise him in the water, and off his guard; we saw no more of these two; at noon we saw another crocodile swimming with his nose just out of the water. We also observed, to day, a pretty large waterlizard, and a small black water-snake. To day the sand-hills have assumed a fine green appearance, being covered here and there with tamarisk; this verdure, contrasted with the dark yellow sand, forms a pleasing diversity of appearance. In the evening, while towing the boat, our sailors found a torpedo on the very brink of the river, apparently asleep; it was curious to observe their caution and timidity in approaching it; they, however, succeeded in sticking one of their daggers in his head, and by that means hauled it on shore; our Egyptian crew had done the same near Beni Hassan. We got the fish on board, and, though nearly dead, it sensibly affected my arm in laying hold of it; I felt a double shock up the arm near the elbow. It was about two feet long; had very small eyes; the belly and top of the back

C