Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-05-25
UP THE NILE.
River. Ruins and TOmbs-The
Debris of Ancient Mem
phfs.
Cor. N. Y. Tribune.

steamer MAS" Arabic Tor Carol
side wheeler, in shape something
between a Scotch lake and Hudson
river steamboat, with all her passen'
ger accommodations on the main
deck. Soon after lunch, on the first
day of the voyage, the boat stopped at
Bradashin, village from where we
were to make our FIRST excursion.
Donkeys we're in waiting. and shrek
ing mob of Arabs struggled turiously
for the possession of the tourists until
the whole party was mounted. With
wild howl Of encouragement to the
beasts, and the application of young
forest Of sticks, the procession started
toward the great cemetery of Sakkara
across the blooming odoriierous bean
fields. Badrashin and Milrahineh,
both extensive collections of mud
huts, stand upon hills Of rubbish.
the debris Of part of the ancient
city of Memphis, the first capital of
the old Egyptian monarchy. Mem
phis extended along the rivers bank
for miles; the Greek writers tell of its
glories lin their day, and even as late
as the twelfth century one Abdellatif
wrote of the splendor Of its then ex
isting ruins. Here was the famous
temple to Ptah, or Vulcan, and here was
the center of the worship of Apis.
Cambyses stormed the city 500 years
r g. nine centuries later Theodosius
commanded the overthrow of its gods
and temples; and the victorious Omar
seized upon its sculptuled stones and
bore them to the eastern bank of the
river to build his Moslem capital.
And now, where stately temples and
endless palaces once covered the plain,
the placid sky looks down on bloom
ing fields, or sees itself reflected in
the rich overflow of the great river.
Around Milrahineh there are superb
groups of palms, and here and there
under their shadows are scattered
remnants of the ruined city. From a
wide>Open grave Pharoah smiles in
stone. and in a great hollow not far
away a colossal Rameses lies face
downward in the water. Here and
there a few foundations crop out Of
the soil, and these, with the thoughts
they suggest, are all that are left to
tell Of the vast city.
Two miles or so through Towering
lupins aud lentils, and | skirted the
village of Sakkara, through orders OF
all things villaiuous Arabian aud
squalid. A butcher was dissectiDg a
bullock as it lay in its hide on the
ground, and around the man and the
dead beast was vociierating crowd,
dickering for portions of the carcass.
Tall, graceful woman clad in an only
garment gazed with their grand
luminous eyes; the children vocifer>
ated "bakshish," and babies wallowed
joyously in the mud. But from the
vile stencil of the purlieus to the
sweet smelling desert was but step,
and soon | was among the sands heaped
above the graves of the buried multi
tuds.
The entire limestone ridge that
borders the cultivated plain for twelve
miles north and south OF Sakkara is a
vast graveyard, and boasts more than
forty pyramids from Gizeh to Mey
doum. Doubtless before the sacred
ground was invaded by the desert it
was laid out with the same order and
beauty that regulates Greenwood, but
now allis waste; the monuments are
buried deeply by the constantly in
vading sands, and few objects oil
great interest only are kept clear for
the inspection of the traveller. Much,
however. has been done by Marietta
and others, and great treasures in
sculpture and stella have been found
and conveyed to the various museums
of Europe. The statues of III and
Phahotep in the collection OF Boulak
were found here, and the "mastaba"
or tomb of Ii is the only one of which
every part can be inspected with
facility. In this desolate waste
Marietta built himself house and
lived many years. devoting himself to
subterranean discoveries, and here be
unearthed the Serapeium with its
Greek philosophers (now in the
LOuvre) and discovered the marvel>
GUS rock tombs Of the APIS bulls. To
this mausoleum the Arabs lead the
way, and ragged crowd follows, offer
ing bits Of pottery, mouldy copper
coins and "anteekas" Of various sus.
picious shades of imitation.
The series of vaults | visited dates
back only to the reign Of Psamtik, OF
the twenty.sixth dynasty, but an ear
lier Serapeum was found by Marietta
and closed again, as most Of the vaults
in so ruinOus condition. l visited
next the tomb of III, which the kindly
desert has preserved almost intact fol
the delight Of the people of to day
Once it stood upon the surface soil
but engulfed and hidden for centuries
it was finally disinterrcd by Mariette
1t consists Of little chapel Of pur,
J white limestone, with long passag,
with lateral chambers with every
square foot of their surfaces charm
; ingly sculptured in bas relief Ii wa
chamberlain to three consecutive
monarchs of the fifth dynasty, anC
: originally person Of humble origin
r but he amsssed great possessions il
s various parts Of the Nile valley, ant
became, according to the inscriptions
t "a priest of the pyramids, priv
b. councillor. and enthroned in tn
a heart Of his lord" Ii must hav
n feathered bis life nest very well, 70
he married a lady Of the royal family
n and Mrs. Ii is atfeOtionately picture
on the walls and docketed as 9TH
It palm Of amiability toward her hul
y band" For these facts | take th
e assertions Of the Psychologists; bu
y the sculptures on the chambers CON
a mend themselves TO the interest with