any of my prophecies arrived, and as foon as I had done my own business. This was my own idea likewise; I never saw a place I l.ked worte, or which afforded less pleasure or instruction than Cairo, or antiquities, which less answered their defcriptions. In a few days I received a letter from Rifsk, defiring me to go ont to the Convent of St George, about three miles from Caire, where the Greek patriarch had ordered an apartment for me; that I should pretend to the French merchants that it was for the fake of health, and that there I should receive the Bey's orders. Providence feemed to teach me the way I was to go. I went according ly to St George, a very folitary manfion, but large and quiet, very proper for study, and still more for executing a plan which I thought most necefsary for my undertaking. During my stay at Algiers, the Rev. Mr Tonyn, the king's chaplain to that factory, was absent upon leave. The bigotted catholic priests there neither marry, baptize, nor bury the dead of those that are Proteftants. There was a Greek priest, Father Christopher, who conftantly had offered gratuitoufly to perform these functions. The civility, humanity, and good character of the man, led me to take him to reside at my country house, where I lived the greatest part of the year; besides that he was of a chearful disposition, I had practised much with him both in fpeaking and reading Greek with the accent, not in use in our schools, but without which that language, in the mouth of a stranger, is perfectly unintelligible all over the Archipelago. Upon my leaving Algiers to go on my voyage to Barbary, being tired of the place, he embarked on board a vessel, and landed at Alexandria, from which foon after he was called to Cairo by the Greek patriarch Mark, and made Archimandrites, which is the second dignity in the Greek church under the patriarch. He too was well-acquainted in the house of Ali Bey, where all were Georgian and Greek flaves; and it was at his folicitation that Risk had defired the patriarch to furnish me with an apartment in the convent of St George. The next day after my arrival I was surprised by the vifit of my old friend Father Chriftopher; and, not to detain the reader with useless circumstances, the intelligence of many visits, which I shall comprehend in one, was, that there were many Greeks then in Abyssinia, all of them in great power, and some of them in the first places of the empire; that they corresponded with the patriarch when occasion offered, and, at all times, held him in such respect, that his will, when fignified to them, was of the greatest authority, and that obedience was paid to it as to holy writ. Father Chriftopher took upon him, with the greatest readiness, to manage the letters, and we digested the plan of them; three copies were made to send separate ways, and an admonitory letter to the whole of the Greeks then in Abyffinia, in form of a bull. By this the patriarch enjoined them as a penance, upon which a kind of jubilce was to follow, that, laying afide their pride and vanity, great fins with whichhe knew them much infected, and, instead of pretending to put themfelves on a footing with me when I should arrive at the court of Abyffinia, they should concur, heart and hand, in ferving me; and that, before it could be supposed they had received instructions from me, they should make a declara tion before the king, that they were not in condition equal to me, that I was a free citizen of a powerful nation, and servant of a great king; that they were born flaves of the Turk, and, at best, ranked but as would my servants; and that, in fact, one of their-country Ttz men inen was in that station then with me. After having made that declaration publicly, and bona fide, in prefence of their prieft, he thereupon declared to them, that all their past fins were forgiven. All this the patriarch most wi'lingly and chearfully performed. I faw him frequently when I was in Cairo, and we had already commenced a great friendship and intimacy. In the meanwhile, Risk sent to me, one night about nine o'clock, to come to the Bey. I faw him then for the first time. He was a much younger man than I conceived him to be; he was fitting upon a large fofa, covered with crimfon-cloth of gold; his turban, his girdle, and the head of his dagger, all thick covered with fine brilliants; one in his turban, that ferved to fupport a fprig of brilliants also, was among the largest I had ever feer. He entered abruptly into discourse upon the war between Ruffia and the Turk, and asked me if I had calcula ted what would be the consequence of that war? I faid, the Turks would be beaten by fea and land wherever they presented themselves. Again, Whether Constantinople would be burned or taken? - I faid, Neither; but peace would be made, after much bloodshed, with little advantage to either party. He clapped his hands together, and fwore an oath in Turkish, then turned to Risk, who stood before him, and faid, That will be fad indeed! but truth is truth, and God is merciful. He offered me coffee and sweetmeats, promised me his protection, bade me fear nothing, but, if any body wronged me to acquaint him by Rifk. Two or three nights afterwards he fent for me again. It was near eleven o'clock before I got admittance to him. I met the janissary Aga going out from him, and a number of fofdiers at the door. As I did not know him, I passed him without ceremony, which is not usual for any perfon to do. 'Whenever he mounts on horseback, as he was then just going to do, he has abfolute power of life and death, without appeal, all over Cairo and its neighbourhood. He stopt me just at the threshold, and asked one of the Bey's people who 1 was? and was answered " It is Hakim Englese," the English philofopher or physician. 66 He asked me in Turkish, in a very polite manner, if I would come and fee him, for he was not well? I answered him in Arabic, Yes, whenever he pleafed, but could not then ftay, as I had received a meffage that the Bey was waiting." He replied in Arabic, "No, no; go, for God's fake go; any time will do for me." The Bey was sinting, leaning forward, with a wax taper in one hand, and reading a small flip of paper, which he held close to his face. He seemed to have Little light, or weak eyes; nobody was near him: his people had been all dismisled, or were following the janissary Aga out. He did not seem to observe me till I was close upon him, and started when I faid, "Salam." I told him I came upon his message. He said, I thank you, did I fend for you? and without giving me leave to reply, went on," Otrue, I did so," and fell to reading his paper again. After this was over, he complained that he had been ill, that he vomited immediately after dinner, tho' he eat moderately, that his sftomach was not yet fetuled, and was afraid fomething had been given him to do him mischief. I felt his pulse, which was low, and weak; but very little feverish. I defired he would order his people to look if his meat was dressed in cop per per properly tinned; I assured him he was in no danger, and infinuated that I thought he had been guilty of fome excess before dinner; at which he smiled, and said to Risk, who was standing by, "Afrite! Afrite"! he is a devil! he is a devil! I said, If your ftomach is really uneasy from what you may have eat, warm some water, and, if you please, put a little green tea into it, and drink till it makes you vomit gently, and that will give you ease; after which you may take a dish of ftrong coffee, and go to bed, or a glass of spirits if you have any that are good. 66 He He looked surprised at this proposal, and faid very calmly, Spirits! do you know I am a Muffulman?" But I, Sir, faid I, am none. I tell you what is good for your body, and have nothing to do with your religion, or your foul. seemed vastly diverted, and pleased with my frankness, and only faid, "He speaks like a man." There was no word of the war, nor of the Ruffians that night. I went home defperately tired, and peevish at being dragged out, on so foolith an errand. Next morning, his fecretary Rifk came to me to the convent. The Bey was not yet well; and the idea still remained that he had been poifoned. Rifk told me the Bey had great confidence in me. 1 afked him how the water had operated? He said he had not yet taken any of it, that he did not know how to make it, therefore he was come at the defire of the Bey, to fee how it was made. I immediately thewed him this, by infusing some green tea in fome warm water. But this was not all, he modestly infinuated that I was to drink it, and fo vomit myself, in orfhew him how to do with the der to Bey. I excufed myself from being patient and physician at the fame time, and told him, I would vomit him, which would answer the fame purpose of inftruction; neither was this proposal accepted. The old Greek priest, Father Chriftopher, coming at the fame time, we both agreed to vomit the Father, who would not confent, but produced a Caloyeros, or young monk, and we forced him to take the water whether he would or not. Account of Dendera, the Ancient Tentyra in Upper Egypt-its Magnificent N Ruins, and an Adventure with a Saint there. EXT morning, Decemberthe 25th, 1768, impatient to vifit the greateft, and moft magnificent scene of ruins that are in Upper Egypt, we fet out from Beliani, and, about ten o'clock in the forenoon, arrived at Dendera. Although we had heard that the people in this place were the very worit in Egypt, we were not very apprehensive. We had two letters from the Bey, to the two principal men there, commanding them as they would answer with their lives and fortunes, to have a special care that no mischief befel us; and likewife a very preiling letter to Shekh Hamam at Furshout, in whose territory we were. 'I pitched my tent by the river fide, just above our bark, and fent a message to the two principal people, first to the one, then to the other, defiring them to fend a proper person, for I had to deliver to them the commands of the Bey. I did not choose to trust these letters with our boatman; and Dendera is near half a mile a mile from the river. The two men came after some delay, and brought each of them a sheep; received the letters, went back with great speed, and, foon atter, returned with a horse and three affes, to carry me to theruins. 'Dendera is a confiderable town * From the Same at this day, all covered with thick groves of palm-trees, the fame that Juvenal describes it to have been in his time. Juvenal himself must have feen it, at least once, in paffing, as he himself died in a kind of honourable exile at Syene, whilft in command there. Terga fugæ celeri, præftantibus omnibus inftant, This place is governed by a cacheff apointed by Shekh Hamam. A mile fouth of the town are the ruins of two temples, one of which is so much burried under ground, that litle of it is to be seen's but the other, which is by far the most magnificent, is entire, and accessible on every side. It is also covered with hieroglyphics, both within and without, all in relief; tand of every figure simple and compound, that ever has been published, or called an hieroglyphic. The form of the building is an oblong fquare, the ends of which are occupied by two large apartments, or vestibules, supported by monstrous columus, all covered with hieroglyphics likewife. Some are in form of men and beasts; some seem to be the figures of instruments of factifice, while others, in a smaller fize, and less distinct form, seem to be inscriptions in the current hand of hieroglyphics, of which I shall speak at large afterwards. They are all finished with great care. The capitals are of one piece, and consist of four huge human heads, plaeed back to back against one another, with bat's ears, and an ill-imagined, and worse-executed, fold of drapery between them. Above these is a large oblong square block, stil larger than the capitals, with four flat fronts, disposed like pannels, that is, with a kind of square border round the edges, while the faces and fronts are filled with hieroglyphics; as are the walls and Juv. Sat. 15. v. 75. ceilings of every part of the temple Between these two apartments in the extremities, there are three other a partments, resembling the first in every respect, only that they are smaller The whole building is of common white stone from the neighbouring mountains, only those two in which have been funk the pirns for hanging the outer doors, (for it seems they had doors even in those days) are of granite, or black and blue porphy ry. The top of the temple is flat, the spouts to carry off the water are monftrous heads of sphinxes; the globes with the wings, and two ferpents, with a kind of shield or breast-plate between them, are here frequently repeated, such as we fee them on the Carthaginian medals. : The hieroglyphics have been painted over, and great part of the colouring yet remains upon the ftones; red, in all its shades, especially that dark dusky colour called Tyrian Purple; yellow, very fresh sky-blue (that is, near the blue of an eastern sky), several shades lighter than ours; green of different shades; these are all the colours preferved. I could difcover no vestiges of common houses in Dendera more than in any other of the great towns in Egypt. I suppose the common houses of the ancients, in these warm countries, were constructed of very flight materials, after they left their caves in the mountains. There was indeed no need for any other. Not knowing knowing the regularity of the Nile's inundation, they never could be perfectly securein their own minds against the deluge; and this flight structure of private buildings seems to be the reason so few ruins are found in the many cities once built in Egypt. If there ever were any other buildings, they must be now covered with white fand from the mountains, for the whole plain to the foot of these is overflowed, and in cultivation. It was no part, either of my plan or inclination, to enter into the detail of this extraordinary architecture. Quantity, and folidity, are two principal circumstances that are seen there, with a vengeance. It strikes and imposes on you, at first fight, but the impressions are like those made by the fize of mountains, which the mind does not retain for any confiderable time after seeing them; I think, a very ready hand might spend fix months, from morning to night, before he could copy the hieroglyphics in the inside of the temple. They are, however, in several combinations, which have not ap. peared in the collection of hieroglyphics. I wonder that, being in the neighbourhood, as we are, of Lycopolis, we never fee a wolf as an hieroglyphic; and nothing, indeed, but what has some affinity to water; yet the wolf is upon all the medals, from which I apprehend that the worship of the wolf was but a modern superstition. Dendera stands on the edge of a small, but fruitful plain; the wheat, was thirteen inches high, now at Christmas; their harvest is in the end of March. The valley is not above five miles wide, from mountain to mountain. Here we first saw the Doom-tree in great profusion growing among the palms from which it scarcely is diftinguishable at a diftance. It is the Palma Thebaica Cuciofera. Its ftone is like that of a peach covered with a black bitter pulp, which resembles a walnut over ripe. A little before we came to Dendera we faw the first crocodile, and afterwards hundreds, lying upon every island, like large flocks of cattle, yet the inhabitants of Dendera drive their beafts of every kind into the river, and they stand there for hours. The girls and women too, that come to fetch water in jars, stand up to their knees in the water for a confiderabletime; and if we guess by what happens, their danger is full as little as their fear, for none of them, that ever I heard of, had been bit by a crocodile. However, if the Dende rites were as keen and expert hunters of crocodiles, as some historians tell us they were formerly, there is surely no part in the Nile where they would have better sport than here, immediately before their own city. Having made some little acknowledgment to those who had conducted me through the ruins in great fafety, I returned to the Canja, or rather to my tent, which I placed in the first firm ground. I saw, at some distance, a well-dressed man, with a white turban, and yellow shawl covering it, and a number of ill-looking people about him. As I thought this was some quarrel among the natives, I took no notice of it, but went to my tent, in order to rectify my quadrant for observation. As foon as our Rais saw me enter my tent, he came with expressions of very great indignation. "What fig. nifies it, said he, that you are a friend to the Bey, have letters to every body, and are at the door of Furshout, if yet here is a man that will take your boat away from you?" " Softly, foftly, I answered, Haf fan, he may be in the right. If Ali Bey, Shekh Hamam, or any body.. want a boat for public service, I must yield mine. Let us hear." Shekh Hamam and Ali Bey! says he; why it is a fool, an idiot, and an afs; |