356 NILOMETER OF ES-SOUAN.• gaged in the work of destruction, every trace of it, I imagine, will quickly disappear. Lower down, among the date trees, we observed four small upright columns, two of a square form; and near them, upon the ground, two other shafts, which were double. In returning to the town along the river, we passed by that round low tower, rising out of the water like an old bastion, which is called the Nilometer of Es-Souan. What its original purpose may have been, I know not; probably it once contained something like a measure, by which the inhabitants might learn the gradual rise of the river; but, if so, the measure has now disappeared, though several holes, both round and square, remain, through which they may have observed it. In the evening the reis of the cataract had grown more reasonable in his demands, and we entered into an arrangement with him to ascend into Nubia on the morrow. CCLVIII. The ancient inhabitants of Syene were a kind of heretics, worshipping the phagrus, a species of fish found in the Nile, which, according to Plutarch, assisted the Lepidotus and Oxyrynchus in devouring the phallus of Osiris, when it had been thrown into the river by Typhon. Our learned and able mythologist, Dr. Pritchard, whose work both amused and instructed me on the Nile, observes, after Plutarch*, that, in consequence of the action above commemorated, all these fishes were held in * De Iside et Osiride, c. 72. abomination by the Egyptians*; while Strabo, on the contrary, relates that they were regarded with religious reverence by all the Egyptians, being supposed to have sprung from the wounds of Osiris. But the fact is, they were worshipped by some, and eaten by others, especially by the Cynopolites. These ate them in revenge, believing them to have devoured the aidoiov of their popular god; those venerated them, supposing that they had been miraculously produced from his blood. The people of Elephantine, no less superstitious than their neighbours, held sacred a species of fish called mæota, which were considered as prophetic messengers of the inundation. Pritchard, On the Mythology of the Egyptians, p. 61.327, 328. A A 3 358 DEPARTURE FROM ES-SOUAN. CHAPTER XV. - SUBINFLUENCE DEPARTURE FROM ES-SOUAN -ISLANDS IN THE NILE-FIRST AP SAVAGE COSTUME OF THE NUBIAN WOMEN CHARACTER OF THE NATIVES-HAMLETS AND VILLAGES-ROCK CHAPEL - ANCIENT SCULPTURE HUMAN SACRIFICE POPU LATION AND ANCIENT HISTORY OF NUBIA- -INGENIOUS SYSTEM OF IRRIGATION -WHITE EAGLE. Tuesday, Jan. 15. Ipshir in Nubia. CCLIX. WE rose very early, in the hope that, according to promise, the reis of the cataract would arrive, in order to begin with the day the ascent into Nubia. But these people seldom keep their promises, having no idea of the value of time. He, in fact, did not make his appearance: and, while we were waiting for him, half the population of Es-Souan seemed to crowd down to the beach; some with trifling antiquities for sale; others, who had nothing to sell, in search of presents; others with ISLANDS OF THE CATARACT. 359 camels for our luggage and asses for ourselves, in case we should desire to proceed by land. The luggage, according to custom, was sent forward; but, being desirous of witnessing the passage of the cataracts, we determined to remain in the kandjia, until we should arrive at what is called "the Gate," where we might land, proceed a few yards over the rocks, and then reimbark. The scene, on losing sight of the town, and entering the narrow channels into which the river is here divided by the prodigious masses of granite, which on all sides encumber its bed, is peculiarly magnificent; far more so than when viewed from the island of Elephantine or the mountains of Es-Souan. Every moment, as we advanced, the grandeur of the spectacle augmented. Numbers of the rocky isles, which appear to extend in endless succession towards the south, consist of enormous blocks of granite, blackened by the water below, split into ragged pinnacles above by the sun, and thrown by some convulsion of nature into positions in which this kind of rock is seldom found. Into the clefts and interstices which diversify their surface, the Nile, during the inundation, has introduced the rich alluvial soil peculiar to Egypt; and on these spots are date palms of stately growth, small level terraces of corn or lupines in flower, with acacia and mimosa trees; while the more hardy tamarisk hangs waving from the smaller fissures of the cliffs. Between these islands, of various form, structure, dimensions, and aspect, the Nile, divided into innu 360 ASCENT OF THE FIRST RAPID. merable tortuous channels, rushes along with extraordinary noise and velocity, in some places dashing in spray and foam over opposing rocks; in others eddying round projecting promontories, its whole surface vexed with whirlpools. Almost every thing in Egypt has been exaggerated by the imagination of travellers, except the cataracts of Es-Souan, the magnificence and grandeur of which are beyond description. CCLX. As we ascended the stream with a moderate breeze, the kandjia proceeded smoothly and delightfully, until we approached the falls, where the river, hemmed in by huge granite rocks, rushes over its narrow bed like a sluice, roaring, foaming, and dashing in tremendous sublimity. Our vessel, being an admirable sailer, cleared the minor rapids in a noble style; but there were two other travellers in another bark behind, which, choosing a different channel, and frequently disappearing among the rocks, excited strong apprehensions for its safety. At length, however, all our attention was fixed upon our own position. Turning suddenly round the point of a small island, we discovered before us one of the most considerable of the falls, up which our course lay. Our captain, terrified at the appearance of the dashing waters, would now gladly have refunded the money he had received, to be permitted to return to Cairo from that spot. It was, however, too late; for, while he was making these foolish offers, the |