506

RUINS OF MEHARRAKA.

the recital more vexatious than they do the grievances themselves. But when mankind are wretched, they naturally seek to excite sympathy; and those persons who do not deserve to exchange conditions with them, will patiently listen to their complaints, however tedious.

CCCLXXX. Shortly after sunset we reached the Wady Meharraka, and landing about a mile south of the temples, proceeded towards them across the sands. The light of the moon, stronger than that of the declining day, imparted to the ruins a soft and picturesque aspect. The principal building is a small hypæethral temple, walled round on three sides, with a row of six columns in front, united at the bottom by a mural skreen. The colonnade, roofed with large blocks of stone, extending round the interior, originally contained sixteen pillars, seven feet in circumference, two of which, at the eastern end, have been overthrown. Those now erect stand on a low square pedestal, and their capitals consist of a cluster of palm leaves, variously arranged. A small staircase in the north-east corner leads to the roof; but the whole is in a very dilapidated state, the temple having apparently been destroyed by an earthquake, that rent the walls, now parting and ready to fall; while the enormous slabs of the terrace in front were at the same time wrested out of their places, and thrown on their edges. There are no sculptures; but on one of

* Its dimensions are, length, 56 feet 6 inches: Its face is towards the south.

breadth, 44 feet.

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

508

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.

509

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.

CCCLXXXIII. The village cemeteries are extensive, and the numerous head and foot stones, recently set up, 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