The native American., 1839-01-26
THE NEW YORK OBSERVER.
CHEEVER'S LETTERS FROM THEBEs. No. 2.

THEBEs, Upper Egypt, 1898.
2ae6an Temples and Colossi on The Eastern side Of
the Nile.
AT sunrise our guide came, according to his
promise, bringing with him milk and butter for our
breakfast. Wespeedily got ready to start, and set
off upon our donkcys with four or five whippsrs
in behind u.s. our guide with his long Arab spear
trottng in front, one OF our boatmen with loaded
gun upon his shoulder, another with basket Of
bread, figs, hard boiled eggs, and Dutch cheese,
Oet all dyspeptcs envy,) anda donkey laden with
two water jars, besides Mustapha our JanssaIy,
and Moiiammed our ordinary servant and inter-
prefer. 1t was quite stately cavalcade, but one
of our party being mounted on long tailed Rosi-
nante looked 50 much like Don Quixote, and two
of us on our asses answered well forillustraons
Of Sancho Panza, that we were more udicrous
than battalions in our aspect. Crossing green
field of wheat from the bank of the river we en-
tered upon region fundulating mounds Of sand
stone partially disintegrated, and crumbed into
sand upon the surface and containing numerous
excavations the tombs Of ancient dead Egyptians,
the habitations Of modern living ones. Pursuing
our way towards the south, we speedily came 10
the remains ola temple at Old Gornou, Cor Qoornch,
as ii is sometimes written,) ruined and deserted
modern village, of which two heaps of crumbling
unburned bricks and mud novels arc lying within
by is small grove of palms, where part Of the
village was once pleasantly shaded, the inhabitants
having been accustomed to retreat to the noun
tains during the period Of the inundation Of the
Nile, and to come down again to the plain when
its waters had subsidized.
The temple has nothing in its appearance Of pc
culiar interest, either for beauty grandeur in
deed it disappoints the travellers expectations en-
tirely, until he is introduced to the other remains
of antiquity before him. 1t fronts towards the south
east, with coonnade of ten columns, eight Of
which are entire, and from which three gatcways
of entrance lead into the temple. Proceeding
through the central gateway, you find yourselfin
an obIong hall, supported by six columns, with
three small chambers or cells opening from the
sides on either hand There other lateral halls,
chambers and courts, covered with hieroglyPhics,
but in a state Of rubbish and ruin This temple
was dedicated to Ammon, the Theban Jupiter by
Osirei, and completed by his son Remeses second
the supposed Sesostris of the Greeks. Ihe reign
of Osirei is placed 1885 years before Christ, SO
that this temple possesses an antiquity doubtless OF
more than three thousand years. A little distance
to the westward Of this temple we passed two
broken statues Of Remeses I'd, cut out OF black
Granite, and another Of Remeses Sd in sandstone.
a little farther to the southwest is the temple COM
monty called the Memnonium, built by Remeses
ID, who is supposed to have commenced his reign
about 1856 years before Christ
Tn this latter temple we first began to under
stand the grandeur Of the Theban remains. Adj
vancng from the east, you see before you very
lofty gateway in the centre OF long ana lofty
pyramidal massive wall, which on the eastern SIDE
has been pushed out into vast heap OF huge dis
iointed stones, piled one upon another as il by an
sarthouake. and towering into the sky. On the
other side the surface of the wall IS unbroken,
though its pyramidal inclination is increased beyond
;ts originai line of direction. The impression was
irresistible upon any mind, that no power but that
of an earthquake could have thrown it into its
present position. It's western side, that ls Its inner
side towards the temple, is covered with sculptures
Of many crowded figures and actions, which have
been curously and minutely delineateG, and by
Mr. Wilkinson in his book upon the Topography
of Thebes interpreted, but which found 1t very
difficult to trace with satisfaction This pyramida
Propylon is lsO feet in length, and fronts an area
Of about 66 PAGES in breadth, which brings you to
the north wall of the temple. An area Of lao feet
by i7O forms the first division or compartment OF
the temple, faced north and south by range OF
square columns, with the front side scupured into
the representation of a statue OF Osiris, with the
lower part of the body in the shape OF mummy.
Next after this court comes the grand hall OF the
temple, 100 feet by 1873, with It's roof originally
supported by AS columns; Of which there are still
GS remaining. There are twelve, gigantic central
columns, bell-shaped at the top, and columns OF
different order and rather shorter than those at the
sides. This hall was rooted with beams of stone,
and the ceiling covered with azure and studded
with stars. Following this apartment, and divided
from it by wall covered with sculptures, is sue
cesson Of smaller rooms on the right and left. The
perspective through the successive gateways OF
this temple is very grand, and the building in its
ORIGINAL entireness must have been a noble monu-
ment OF Egyptian architecture.
But the most remarkable object of interest with
in its ruined precincts is the enormous colossal
statue Of Reneses which lies just outside the first
coumnar area Of the temple; broken and shivered
into fragments. 1t was doubtless the most gigan.
tic statue in the world the largest ever sculptured
by human device, whetberfor idolatrous worship
or the qualification Of human vanity and the means
by which it was placed there, and the means o os
which it was shattered in pieces are almost equally
wonderful; the mind pauses in amazement at th'
sight. For, in The first place, it is composed 9
Syenite, the coarse grained granite iron
Syene, and must have been cut out from the quar-.
at once in all its prodigious proportions OF BODY
limb, and feature and then conveyed down tn
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