DANCES OF THE NUBIAN GIRLS.

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the front columns are several Greek inscriptions, not legible by moonlight. On the fragment now remaining of the temple or chapel which formerly stood near, I could discover neither hieroglyphics nor sculpture.

CCCLXXXI. Dropping down the river to Korti, we, in the dark, proceeded two or three miles beyond the ruins, which, as Sir Frederic Henniker has very justly observed, are little worth the trouble of visiting. The village, though long and straggling, is, perhaps, one of the largest in Nubia. According to custom, the natives were making merry. In a court-yard, squatting on their hams, smoking and gossiping, we found a number of men, three of whom undertook to be our guides. Numerous parties of young women were assembled in front of their huts, dancing naked round large fires, by the light of the moon, encircled by their neighbours, men, women, and children, seated on their heels, clapping their hands, singing and laughing at their performances. On our near approach, however, the greater number took to flight, but, after the first alarm was over, many returned, relinquishing their amusements to follow us; so that by the time we reached the ruin the party resembled a small caravan. The chapel, chiefly remarkable as having, during so many centuries, escaped being overwhelmed, is extremely small and insignificant, consisting of only two chambers, entirely destitute of ornament, with the exception of the winged globe over the doorway. The Nubians were exceedingly amused at seeing us examine the interior and the

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NILE FORDABLE.

ornaments of the frieze by candlelight; and formed, no doubt, a very extraordinary opinion of our pursuits. On returning, they accompanied us a considerable distance. Having ceased to be apprehensive of these people, none of us carried any arms; though in Middle Egypt, particularly about the Bird Mountains, to venture unarmed a hundred yards from the boat, even by day, would be unsafe. Moored at Dakke.

Saturday, Feb. 2. Kalabshi.

CCCLXXXII. The progress of vegetation is here so rapid that the whole face of the country seems totally changed since we ascended. Corn, then green, was now turning yellow, and many spaces at present covered with luxuriant verdure, were then bare. Landing on the Arabian side of the Wady Kostamni, we proceeded to that point where the Nile is fordable in May, and where, in 1812, the Mamalooks, in retreating towards Dóngola, are said to have crossed on horseback to the western bank, with their harems and baggage. Here the mountains project westward to the edge of the river in numerous rocky promontories, between which the plain widens, and in some parts is carefully cultivated; in others, extensive fields lie neglected through lack of hands, most of the young able-bodied men having been drafted off to serve in Syria: on these spots the sands were already settling, and the prickly plants, peculiar to the desert, springing up. We passed by a small aqueduct, about three feet in height, constructed partly of stone, and partly of clay, which, extending

VILLAGE CEMETERIES.

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along the plain for the space of more than half a mile, formerly spread fertility around. In these walks we encountered few people; not more than three or four men during the whole day; with one poor girl proceeding among the rocks to some neighbouring hamlet.

set up,

CCCLXXXIII. The village cemeteries are extensive, and the numerous head and foot stones, recently bear testimony to the ravages of death in this country. Perhaps the number may have been greatly augmented by the cholera morbus, which, last year, in Egypt alone, is supposed, at the lowest computation, to have carried off one hundred thousand persons. But in these countries, where medicine is unknown, many diseases prove fatal, which with us are capable of cure. The small-pox, when it appears, sweeps thousands into the grave. Ulcers, wounds, fractures, nay, sometimes, a slight contusion, or a scratch, neglected, becomes incurable, and terminates in mortification and death. Affectation or ignorance, borrowing the aid of wit, may, in civilised countries, convert the physician and his art into objects of ridicule; but here an honest and able practitioner would be regarded almost as a god. And what, in Europe, has been the cause that, in proportion as knowledge and civilisation have advanced, mortality has so strikingly diminished? Unquestionably, improvement in the science and practice of medicine and surgery, have mainly contributed to produce this result. At all events, there is no one who ever travelled through these countries, and observed the

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GRAVES OF THE NUBIANS.

effects of ignorance and barbarism among the wretched population, who has not at the same time earnestly desired to bequeath to them in parting the art of combating disease, and assuaging corporeal suffering. The Nubians, in burying their dead, make use of no coffins. The corpse, dressed in an under garment, and covered with a kind of winding-sheet, is laid in the grave, with the arms stretched by the side. A row of stones being piled up on either hand, to the height required by the body, a number of small slabs are laid across, so as to form over it a kind of vault. After this the sand is cast in, and a small oblong mound raised over the grave, at either end of which a stone is set up, exactly as in our own country churchyards. These cemeteries seem never to be enclosed by a wall; yet the pious sentiment with which mankind, in every stage of society, regard the dead, protects the humble grave from the foot of the passenger. No particular mark seems here to distinguish the tumuli of women from those of their fathers or husbands; nor, in any instance, did I observe either flowers or funereal plants cast upon the mounds; such tokens of remembrance belonging, perhaps, to a more advanced stage of civilisation.

CCCLXXXIV. The prevalence of a strong north wind, attended by heavy clouds, which more than once appeared to threaten rain, greatly retarded our progress during the whole of this day. The aid of the current at such times is almost of no value, for little or no way can be made; the oars are rendered

KALABSHI BY MOONLIGHT.

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useless by the tossing of the waves, and tracking is slow and laborious. The better mode is, to abandon the kandjia to the river, reserving the strength of the men until night, when the wind dies away. Meanwhile, we float at the pleasure of the Nile, sometimes head, sometimes side, sometimes stern foremost, turning round and round like a tub. It was late in the evening when we arrived at Kalabshi; but the clouds having in a great measure been dispersed by the winds, the moon afforded sufficient light to enable me once more to enjoy the sight of the ruins.

CCCLXXXV. Accompanied by my interpreter and the Nubian pilot, I landed at the entrance to the village. A narrow winding path, between walls of loose stones and low hovels, built with the same material, conducted us to the temple. Most of the inhabitants had retired to rest, though in a few huts there were still lights and voices. The moon being nearly vertical, caused few shadows, and those less distinctly and sharply defined than in our northern latitudes. The lofty propylon and massive walls of the temple, towering far above every thing around, appeared in the serenity and stillness of night far more solemn and magnificent than by day. Egyptian architecture is, indeed, admirably adapted for producing a sublime effect by moonlight; its vast unbroken masses, continuous lines, and regular projections, its lofty propylæa and huge columns, appearing in such a light to expand and multiply. Entering the great gateway, we scrambled with considerable difficulty across the