with the rich invention
of the Nile, and produced Philoe, Dendera, and Edfou. It is from the
Pharaohs, however, that you must seek for the vast and the gigantic: the
pyramid, the propylon, the colossus, the catacomb, the obelisk, and the
sphinx.

It was in the early part of the year of the invasion of Syria by the
Egyptians, some eight years gone, that I first visited Thebes. My barque
was stowed against the bank of the river, near the Memnonion; the last
beam of the sun, before it sunk behind the Libyan hills, quivered on the
columns of Luxor; the Nubian crew, after their long and laborious
voyage, were dispersed on shore; and I was myself reposing in the shade,
almost unattended, when a Turk, well mounted, and followed by his
pipe-bearer, and the retinue that accompanies an Oriental of condition,
descended from the hills which contain the tombs of the queens, and
approached the boat. I was surprised, on advancing to welcome him, to be
hailed in my native tongue; and pleased, at such a moment and in such a
place, to find a countryman. While we smoked the pipe of salutation, he
told me that he had lived at Thebes for nearly ten years, studying the
antiquities, the history, and the manners of its ancient inhabitants. I
availed myself of his invitation to his residence, and, accompanying
him, I found that I was a visitor in a tomb, and yet by no means a
gloomy dwelling-place. A platform, carved in the mountain, was
surrounded by a mud wall and tower, to protect it from hostile Arabs.
A couple of gazelles played in this front court, while we, reposing on a
divan, arranged round the first chamber of the tomb, were favoured with
a most commanding view of the valley outspread beneath. There were
several inner chambers, separated from each other by hangings of scarlet
cloth. Many apartments in the Albany have I seen not half as pleasant
and convenient. I found a library, and instruments of art and science;
a companion full of knowledge, profound in Oriental manners, and
thoroughly master of the subject which naturally then most interested
me. Our repast was strictly Eastern, but the unusual convenience of
forks was not wanting, and my host told me that they were the very ones
that he had used at Exeter College. I shall never forget that first day
at Thebes, and this my first interview with one then unknown to fame,
but whom the world has since recognised--the learned, the ingenious, and
amiable Mr. Wilkinson.

EGYPTIA