of Memnon. It forms no part of the central fragments; and as to the supposed Memnon, and its co-mate, both their heads are on their shoulders.

But as before stated, there was another statue of the king in a court of the palace, adjoining the images of the Egyptian gods*, and between Osiris and Isis.

Now this circumstance agrees with the accounts of Norden and Denon. The remains of a magnificent portico opens on a colonnaded court, supported by eight Egyptian divinities (the eight great gods.) It was here that Norden discovered the head above described, and here that Denon saw the statue seventyfive feet long, with a foot lying near it. It was here that Captain Light saw the female bust which he speaks of. From these circumstances I should be tempted to make the following inference, that the female figure was the statue of Isis-the colossal statue lying on its face, of Denon, the elder Horus, or Jupiter of the Greeks; and, finally, that the head conveyed to the Museum, by Belzoni, belonged to a statue of Memnon, though not to the vocal statue.

There is more reason to believe the bust in question that of the king, inasmuch as the singular head-dress attached to it, is a regal ornament, and not appropriated to the gods. The crests or heraldic signs of the Egyptian deities are well known; and we gather from the Rosetta stone and other authorities, that a crown of serpents was worn by the kings.

Some of the prominent circumstances connected with the history of Memnon go far to corroborate the foregoing inferences. It is the opinion of many authors, that Egypt was either originally conquered or colonized by Indian emigrants, and that Osiris, Sesostris, and Memnon, are either the same individual or distinct conquerors from that nation. Now what does the fable of the birth of Memnon from Aurora and Tithonus† mean, than that he was a man of the East? What is to be inferred from Aurora carrying Tithonus to Ethiopia from Susa, but a colonization from the first country to the last? Strabo says, that Tithonus, Memnon's father, founded Susa in Media, and a citadel there called the Memnonium. Herodotus calls Susa the

* Next to the library was an edifice of curious architecture, wherein were twenty couches to feast on, and the statues of Jupiter, Juno, and the king. From hence was the ascent to the sepulchre, where was seen a ring or circle of gold.

+ The word Tit or Tith, in Hebrew, means mud or earth. The Greek word Cthon signifies the same. Did the Greeks combine the two words, and apply them to the same king? And was this the Thone so celebrated by Homer? The elixirs attributed to both seem to imply their identity; and Memnon was supposed to be at the siege of Troy, if that tale be not, as I suspect, a Greek theft from the Egyptians. It does not require much fancy to imagine the exploits of Achilles among the Memnonian representations. A similar impression occurred to Hamilton on surveying them. Was the tale of "Troy divine," with its warring gods, an Egyptian Holy War, as the Odyssey, according to the Platonists, was a Greek Pilgrim's Progress? The evidences for both suppositions are neither few nor contemptible.

city of Memnon. Pausanias says, that Memnon came from Susa to Troy, and subjected all the Median nations as far as the Choaspes. Diodorus adds, that Tithon, brother of Priam, led his armies into the eastern countries of Asia, as far as Ethiopia ; and that Memnon his son led 200,000 Ethiopians and Susians to the assistance of Priam his uncle.

Virgil, to mark his Indian extraction, says, he was a black; Hesiod, that he was king of Ethiopia, and wore a brazen helmet. Homer calls him the son of Aurora: says, that he was the most beautiful hero among the Trojans, and adds, that he was nobler in his descent than any of them. Pindar affirms, that he slew Antiochus. From all this, his being black, and not an Egyptian, I should infer, that he was an Indian. Now, the face of the bust in question has nothing Coptic or Nubian about it. It is handsome, as Homer sings; but it is of a decidedly Hindoo character, and agrees with the face of the conqueror, considered by Denon as a portrait, whose exploits are recorded on the walls of the Memnonium, as well as those of Luxore and Kurnu. There is, indeed, scarcely a doubt, that the conqueror is Osymandes or Memnon; and wherever he is represented, it is uniformly with the same features, which are heroic, but mild and pleasing. One striking fact, confirmatory of this supposition is, that in the bas reliefs at Luxore representing Memnon's triumphs, he is accompanied by a lion*, which agrees precisely with Diodorus's description. The conquered people represented in the same sculpture, are apparently Medest, against whom Osiris, Sesostris, and Memnon, marched armies from India. Another remarkable circumstance, which seems to identify the portrait with Sesostris, is the picture of the dedication of a ship to Isis in the island of Elephanta, an historical fact recorded of Sesostris, after his Indian expedition. At the same time the head-dress of the hero at Luxore and Kurnu identifies him with the Indian Bacchus. The hair is platted in compartments from the crown, and indeed agrees precisely with a bust of the latter deity in the British Museum. The probability therefore is, that Memnon was an Indian: that he transferred, from Elephanta in India to Elephantina in Egypt, the rites, the religion, and architecture of his country. Indeed, the analogy between the architecture of Egypt and India is too striking to escape notice.

We are told, that Memnon invented letters and the seven vowels, and thence the strange tale of the sounds emitted by his

*The king was represented besieging a town encompassed by a river, and accompanied by a lion.-Diodorus. Sir John Marsham believed the sculptured town to be Susa. Denon, it seems, has copied the very picture alluded to by Diodorus, and, indeed, most of the others.

+ It is not unlikely, that the invasion of Egypt by Cambyses was to revenge this ancient inroad; and hence the violence of that conqueror against the statue of Memnon.

statue. There is, however, little doubt that he was one of the most ancient of the Egyptian kings; perhaps one who contributed mostly to civilization. Every thing about the Memnonium, the architecture, the bas reliefs, and sculptures, indi-cate the first stage of the arts.

It may be considered as a matter of wonder in this age of etymology, that as Moses and Joseph have been thought to be Osiris, no one has wished to identify Joshua with Memnon. Certainly the epithet of Memnun, the son of, or derived from Nun, is a fair assimilation. But this is, perhaps, " considering too nicely.' The name, however, suggests another corroboration of the above stated theory, for it signifies derived from a fish*, or stranger from the sea; and the fish Oannes of the Babylonians is interpreted in the same manner. As the son of Aurora, Memnon agrees in designation with Cadmus, a man of the East, who perhaps was, like him, one of the early settlers in Egypt; for the story of the founding of Thebes, the bull that he followed, and the name itself Thebeth (or the bull) is evidently of Egyptian fabrication, adapted afterwards by the Greeks to a Theban colony settled in their own country.

After all, the statue in question, if really that of Memnon, is not very ancient, and must have been set up considerably after his time; and this is manifest from the sculpture of the hieroglyphics at its back, as well as the general freedom of the chisel. The most ancient hieroglyphics are little more than scratched without any relief. These decorate the walls of the Memnonium, and the ruins of Kurnu. A second period introduced a shallow relief into these graven characters; in the last period, the relief is a little below the level of the outline. Those on the head at the Museum are of the last description, and consequently of the latest date : and I think on that account, as well as of the delicacy and simplicity of the sculpture, it may be pronounced to be a production modern in comparison with the Memnonium, and the two gigantic seated statues of the plain. E. C.

HINTS.

BEAUTIES, whether male or female, are generally the most untractable beings in the world. The handsome fellow is so much a gentleman, and the fine woman has something so becoming, and both expect such great allowances, that there is no enduring either of them.

*Or, from a serpent. This interpretation would agree with the portrayed conqueror's usual crest of a serpent springing from his helmet, his brazen helmet, as Hesiod terms that of Memnon.

He that takes up another's time and abilities in his service, if he has no intention of rewarding his merit, is as unjust as he who takes up goods of a tradesman, without an intention or ability to pay him.

It is with compliments, as with portraits, where it is allowable to flatter a little, provided the likeness be preserved; but, to commend others for good qualities, to which they have no pretensions, is a prostitution of truth, and betrays a selfish and interested design.

Nothing is received with so much reluctance as advice, nor any intrusion considered so presumptuous as the offer of it; for he who advises, calls another man's judgment in question, and gives his own the superiority. The only safe way in advising, is to render your counsel agreeable to the inclinations of the person to whom it is addressed.

Abuse produces the worst of consequences, as well to him who utters it, as to him against whom it is uttered. Leaving out of view the coarseness and vulgarity of the language in which it is conveyed, and the uncontrollable violence of temper which it betrays, abuse should be avoided most scrupulously upon other grounds-it frequently gives rise to the bitterest and most interminable enmity, enslaves the mind to wrath, makes man a beast, and exposes him to the highest ridicule and contempt.

The truly bold spirit is ever acted upon by reason, and a sense of honour and duty. The affectation of such a spirit exhibits itself in an impudent aspect, and an overbearing confidence.

The constancy of the wise is no more than the art of confining their troubles within their own breasts. We have all constancy enough to bear the inflictions of misfortune upon others. Greater virtues are required to become a good fortune, than to bear an ill one. The sun and death are two objects which cannot steadily be contemplated.

Our friends flatter us as much as our own hearts; they palliate our faults, and set our virtues in the best light. An adversary makes a stricter search into us, and discovers flaws and imperfections; and although his malice sets them in a strong light, it generally has some grounds for what it advances.

Envy, in spite of itself, pays a homage to greatness, at the same time that it seems to despise it; for to envy a man, is to honour him.

1

The passion of avarice reigns most in those who have but few good qualities to recommend them. It makes a man a peevish and cruel master, a severe parent, an unsociable husband, a distant and mistrustful friend.

It is a certain sign of a bad heart to be inclined to defamation. This habit arises from the neglect of what is laudable in ourselves, and an impatience of seeing it in others.

A good will towards mankind supersedes the necessity for caution and circumspection.

That disposition of mind is truly great, that makes misfortunes and sorrows little, when they befal ourselves; great snd lamentable, when they befal others.

So wonderful is the power of conscience, that it makes us betray, accuse, and fight against ourselves.

If we consider how few there are for whom we feel esteem and regard, ought we to be surprised at the smallness of the number of those who thoroughly approve of ourselves?

SCEPTICISM.

DOUBT is a state of mind from which men in general are very anxious to escape; and this anxiety often leads them to adopt fancies as realities, and become the ready dupes of knaves and enthusiasts. This longing after certainty powerfully assisted in enforcing the dogmas, and upholding the authority, of the triple-crowned purveyor of consciences, till scepticism stepped in, laid bare his absurd pretensions, and toppled down his vicious greatness. But there are some men who doubt every thing, and others who seem to have a natural incapacity for receiving conviction upon particular subjects, whose minds appear to be constituted with one opaque point, while many are as credulous in some respects, as they are incredulous in others. Some men have no faith in any thing but money, and will part with none of it; others can never believe it to be of any worth, and get rid of it as fast as possible. Common men are jealous of what is uncommon: they will believe nothing but what is immediately within the sphere of their own narrow observation, or within the scope of their own limited capacities. Tell them there are animals larger than the elephant, and they are incredulous, because they never saw one; but if you offer to tell their fortunes, you command their implicit confidence. This is the scepticism of the vulgar. That of men of genius is speculative, but scarcely less unreasonable. Scepticism and credulity are sometimes the weak parts of vigorous intellects. Bacon could believe any thing of the powers of science, and was half an alchymist. Montaigne would adopt any gossipping old wife's tale, and make it the theme of his excellent philosophy. He could extract nutrition for his genius from the coarsest materials; his wisdom could find "good in every thing." Dr. Johnson, with all the might of his intellect, was a gloomy sceptic. His indignation at the apostacy of a young lady, who joined the sect of the quakers, is well known; he could not forgive her for receding from the faith of her ancestors, and having the temerity to decide where "doctors disagree." Alas! could she have reasoned as well upon humility as the doctor,-had she possessed his learning