the fame proportion. The only ufe the Arabs now make of this temple, is to fhut up their cattle in it. Our Author was obliged to take a hafty draught of this very antient and wellpreferved edifice, being not only in great pain from an abfcefs formed by a fever, but likewife interrupted by the Arabs, who are extremely jealous of ftrangers vifiting thefe ruins; for they take them for magicians, and their drawings for talifmans. Not only in Egypt, but all over Africa*, where there are any ruins, the people imagine immenfe treasures are to be found; and as they care little for the most beautiful remains of antiquity themfelves, they fuppofe travellers have other views than merely to look at ruins, and that they mean to carry off fomething more than the appearances of things. From this place a fpecies of money different from the parat, is made ufe of; the bourbe, twelve of which make a parat; and the fevillan, worth a hundred parats. Wood is not to be had here for money. The people higher up are called Ababuda. They are a fort of rebels, against whom force must be continually employed, to make them obedient.

Edfu is the Apollinopolis of the antients, of which our Author has given a view. Here is an antient portal, extremely well preferved, which the Turks have turned into a citadel; and fome pretend, that it was originally built for that purpose. The architecture is regular, and fimple. There are three ranges of hieroglyphics on every fide, refembling infants, but of a Coloffal form, being larger than men: alfo the ruins of a temple of Apollo, the greateft part buried under ground; of the reft, the Arabs have made fome paultry dove-cotes.

After paffing nine or ten villages, the Author arrives at a place called Jabel, or Tfhabel Effelfele, the mountain of the chain. The tradition is, that here the paffage of the Nile was fhut up by a chain; and this feems to be confirmed by the narrowness of the river, and the fituation of the mountain to the east, and a rock on the weft fide of the Nile, which narrows here confiderably; but immediately beyond this pass, it fpreads again to its ufual fize. The rock to the weft is 15 feet high, with holes for the feet to ascend to the fummit, which is ten feet high, and to this the chain was faftened. Round about are a great number of grottos, charged with hieroglyphics. In one the Author found four human figures, of a common fize, fitting; the two in the middle are men, with their arms across their breaft; the other two are women, having each a man under her arm. I deteft, and with reason,”

*See Leo Africanus, paflim

fays

fays our Author, the malice and fuperftition of the Turks and Arabs, who have ftrangely defaced thefe figures,' On the fide of thefe figures is a table of hieroglyphics, in bas relief, extremely well preferved, tho' of a fandy ftone. It should feem to contain the epitaphs of thofe whofe bodies are inclofed within that grotto or cavern.

Paffing by seven villages, the Author arrives at Komombu, where, hid by a mountain on one fide, and by fome miserable huts on the other, may be feen the principal monument of the antiquities of this place. It is an edifice fupported by twenty-three fine columns, adorned with hieroglyphics. The ftones that cover it are of a prodigious fize: and it may be cafily feen, that the architrave, which is now fplit in two, was of one fingle ftone. Under the cornice is the cartouch, or usual ornament for portals, finely wrought. All the ftones are covered with hieroglyphics, in like manner as are the ruins of Medinet-Habu, defcribed above. The columns are twenty-four feet in circumference, and higher than thofe of Medinet Habu. It is great pity this edifice cannot long fubfift: two fides only remain. The top is already covered with earth, and the columns, with the reft of the building, are three parts under-ground.

*

We are now come to the feventh part of this work, which contains Mr. Norden's travels from Effuaen to Deir, or Derri, the utmost extent of his voyage up the Nile, from whence he returned to Cairo,

3

The town of Effuaen, fituate on the eaftern fide of the Nile, is not more confiderable than other towns in Upper Egypt, only it has a fort, with an Aga; but it is more remarkable on account of its being the place where the first cataract ends, marked by rocks feen in the middle of the Nile, before they are approached. The captain of the bark, who was a Janiffary, announced his arrival with the Franks on board, to the Aga; and, at the fame time, preter ted him with letters from Ofman Aga, Chief of the Janiffaries at Cairo. Ibrahim (that was the Aga's name) received them with great civility, and wifhed them not to think of proceeding farther up the Nile: You will be deftroyed,' faid he, you go not amongst men, but wild beafts. However, finding them refolved, he furnifhed them with letters, and for a certain confideration agreed on between them, fent his brother with them. This honeft Aga had not a fheet of paper left to write his letters on, till they fupplied him from the bark.

Our Author now vifited a little ifland, known to the antients by the name of Elephantin, fituate in the neighbourhood of Effuaen,

Effuaen, and very near the weft fide of the Nile. The east part of the ifle is hilly, and covered with ruins, almost undifringuishable; but amongst the reft is feen an antient edifice, ftill ftanding, called the Temple of the ferpent* Knuphis; but to judge of it by appearance, it fhould feem no other than a fepulchral monument. It is furrounded with a kind of cloyfter, fupported by columns. At each of the four corners, is a folid wall. The whole building is covered with hieroglyphics, and feemingly of the most antient fort. The infide forms a grand apartment, leading into which are two large entrances, one north, the other fouth. In the middle, on the western fide, is a fquare table, without any infcription; "on which, perhaps, once ftood a mummy, or an urn: this edifice meafures about eighty, by twenty, Danish feet. Near to this is a kind of pedestal, made of large blocks of white ftone, covered with Greek infcriptions, which, our Author fays, he had not time to copy. From hence he went to the western fide, to take a view of the ruins of the antient Syene; concerning which, fee Strabo, Pliny, and others. There was scarce any thing of confequence amongst these ruins: however our Author has given us a plan of them. Before they set fail, a Mohammedan

*This ferpent is often mentioned by antient authors, under the name of Cneph, and is called ayabos Aarplay, or good genius, not only by the old Greeks, but in many inferiptions on the Abracas, as may be seen in Mountfaucon's Antiquities. Cheph feems to be the fame with the Arabic Conapha, covered, protected, whence allo the word canopy. Thele Divini protectores on the Abracas are frequently called Δεξιαι δυνάμεις, fortunate powers, alfo IΑΩ and ΑΔΩNAI, the Hebrew names of God, Jehovah, and Adonai, which fignifies Lord. The ufeal image on thefe pieces, which are fometimes metal, fometimes tone, is a large ferpent; and on others a monfter, having the head of a cock, and tail of a ferpent, both fymbols of Afculapius, with the body of a man, holding a whip in one hand, as the depeller of evils, and a fhield in the other, as an emblem of protection, which is the fignification of the oriental word, Cneph. And perhaps the word Abracas is derived from Abarac, benedixit, and the celebrated eastern charm, Abracadabra, from the fame word compounded with Bara, which fignifies fanavit, as well as creavit, with the particle, or inferted between. Dio. genes Laertius, in his eighth book, menuons a priest of Memphis, called έχεις. 2 in the Coptic, is the fame with Aau in the Greek, and ep is ayades; fo that in the Egyptian language, inouphi is the good genius. But the words IAS and AANNAI being certainly Hebrew, and a quara of the Hebrews, we have given

the Hebrew interpretation also of Cheph Let our learned Readers determine as they please Supedgold to supra onu ya,

faint

faint touched the coffers, and the men, with a crooked stick, which he held in his hand, bleffing them after his manner; but coming to a dog, who had not been used to look upon the touch of a flick as a benediction, he flew at the faint, who then uttered curfes as plenteously as he had beftowed his bles fings a moment before: but two Sevillans appeafed him.

In paffing through a plain of fand, between Effuaen and the Cataract, our Author difcovered a very large comitery, filled with ftones, every one of which had an infcription; but in what language, the Jew valet, who could read Turkish and Arabic, did not know. The tradition of the country is, that they are the tombs of the Mamalukes, who were killed when the Calif entered Egypt. Which is not very probable. Such monuments are feldom raised in honour of a conquered people. It is great pity our Author did not copy fome of the characters; if they are Coptic, that is a language ftill understood: and whatever the characters are, if there is but a fufficient quantity given, a good Orientalift, and a good decypherer, will interpret them. One reafon, however, we have to sufpect these characters not to be Coptic, is, that the resemblance between the Coptic and the Greek, is fuch, as that our Author would, in all probability, have called them Greek, if they had been Coptic.

Before we leave the cataract, it is proper to inform our Readers, that the fall was no more than four feet, at the time Mr. Norden took his furvey of it, and about thirty feet in

extent.

Gieferet el Heif is the Phile of the antients, fituate at fome distance from the eaftern banks of the Nile, and near to another island, that is much larger, but defert, and covered with rocks of granite. The rocky fhores of the first-mentioned ifland, are wrought into the form of a wall; and many colonades, and other grand monuments of antiquity, are found in the place of which three views were taken from on board the bark. The first reprefents the ifland, fuch as it appears to view upon quitting the firft cataract; and here a port or citadel is feen, refembling that defcribed among the antiquities at Edfu : tho' this of El Heiff is better preferved. The hieroglyphics are of the fame fize in both places, but of different forms; fome fit, and have mitres on their heads; others are erect, with wea pons in their hands. There are fome works like baftions, which appear to be in good condition. The wall being broke down in fome parts, difcovers the columns, which appear to be many, and of good workmanship. On this fide are seen, upon the granite rock, many hieroglyphics, wrought nearly

nearly in the fame manner as thofe feen at Effuaen. The fecond view is taken from the eaft: the third from the fouth. On our Author's return, he went on fhore on this island, and entered a magnificent temple of Ifis, a most noble monument, and almost entire. There is a view of this building, in which are diftinguifhed the principal entrance, the interior court, the fecond entrance, the veftibule, the baffe-cour, divers cham

bers; and the out court. From hence he went into ano

ther temple, much lefs than the former, but of extraordinary. tafle and beauty. He fuppofes it to be the temple mentioned by Strabo, lib. xIII. There were other temples, and from the ffairs remaining, he supposed there must be fubterraneous apartments; but the paffages were all choaked with filth and ruins, and he had not time to examine them. However, he has given us a fheet of columns and capitals, which are very beautiful. I did not quit this ifland,' fays our Author, but with great regret. One day would have been fufficient for taking defigns of a great number of hieroglyphics, which would have cleared up the story and worship of Ifis. But my inclinations were forced to yield to prudence.'

At Deboude is a long and large edifice, built of square ftones, and clofed, except in the front; to which is a grand portal, and apertures, like windows, on each fide, formed by four columns. On the top of the edifice is a plain cornice, and under it, as alfo at the four angles, is a moulding, common to "Egyptian buildings. This edifice is furrounded by a high wall, much damaged, particularly towards the portal. Oppofite are three portals in a row, which seem to form a paffage leading to a canal forty feet wide, now ruined, and full of fand; the fides of which were lined with a thick wall, made of large blocks of stone. Within the principal edifice are columns that seem antiently to have belonged to a temple.

At Hindau, our Author faw four or five columns, and (for the fpace of a quarter of a league) walls, and foundations, of feveral magnificent buildings. At Sahdaeb, he found another antient edifice and near Teffa, fome other remains, of which he has given us a fketch. At Sherk Abohuer, he faw an antient ftone quay along the Nile, about gun fhot diftance to the north of the town; the ftones were wrought in the form of prisms, and fo closely joined, that no interftices could be difcovered. At fome distance, are five or fix huts, built of ftones, covered with hieroglyphics, wrought by a good hand, but never paint

*Th's moulding is femi-circular, and is called by architects, an Allragal, Tondino, or, when larger, a Ballone..

ed.