Near the parallel of the twenty-first degree of latitude, and about four hundred paces from the western bank, stand the ruins of the magnificent fane just mentioned. In advancing towards it the eye is first attracted by an elevated stone-foundation thirty feet in thickness, extending in front of the temple, and of equal length with the portal.

The remains of two sphinxes are seen at either side of the approach, where there was a staircase which led to the main building, now in a state of complete dilapidation. The front of the portal, of which only a part is left, is about a hundred and seventyfive feet long; and the width of the steps is not less than fifty-seven feet. The wall, which is twentyfour feet thick, is not solid, but contains a variety of cells, set apart, it may be presumed, for a variety of uses no longer obvious to the uninitiated.

The first chamber is more than a hundred feet in breadth, and eighty-nine in depth; round three sides of which runs a single row of pillars, while on the fourth there are indications of a double row; making in the whole thirty columns, of which seven are still standing and perfect. They seem all to have been executed from the same model; the diameter of the base being sixty-seven inches, and the height about forty feet. They are inscribed with hieroglyphics only, and exhibit no figures which can properly be referred to the hand of the sculptor.

There is a second chamber, in which it is still possible to trace a row of twenty-four pillars resembling those in the first; but their fragments are scattered about in every direction. The very bases of some of them are rooted up, and the mud-foundation on which they stood is completely exposed. So

entire yet so partial a ruin, it is remarked, can only be attributed to the sudden yielding of the ground; for an earthquake would not have spared the columns which remain in other parts of the edifice.

It is difficult to ascertain the dimensions of the adytum, as no trace of the side-walls can be detected, and only a few feet of the one which had formed the remote end of that splendid sanctuary. It is manifest, however, that it must have contained twelve pillars and not more, and of these there are three still entire. The rest have fallen chiefly towards the Nile, under the assault of their powerful enemy the desert; and even one of those which stand is already so much inclined in the same direction, that it must shortly take a place beside the others. The lower parts of all the columns bear representations of figures about three feet high, of which the inferior half is concealed by a tablet inscribed with hieroglyphics. They are executed in the very best style, as are all the sculptures remaining in the temple, though in some places they have not been finished. Among these Jupiter Ammon appears twice; and to him it is more than probable that the whole structure was originally dedicated.

Mr Waddington observes, that the temple of Soleb affords the lightest specimen he had any where seen of Egyptian or Ethiopian architecture. The sandstone, of which most of the columns are composed, is beautifully streaked with red, giving them from a distance a rich and glowing tint. As the walls have almost entirely disappeared, and the roof fallen in, there remains no ponderous heap of masonry to destroy the effect of these beautiful pillars, backed by the mountains of the desert or the clear blue horizon.

Here the man of taste does not contemplate a gloomy edifice, where heaviness is substituted for dignity, height for sublimity, and size for grandeur, nor measures a pyramidal mass of stone-work, climbing up to heaven in defiance of nature and propriety. "We seemed," says the traveller just named, "to be at Segesta, at Phigalea, or at Sunium, where lightness, and colour, and elegance of proportion, contrasted with the gigantic scenery about them, make the beauty of the buildings more lovely, and their durability more wonderful. There is no attempt to imitate or rival the sublimity that surrounds them; they are content to be the masterpieces of art, and therefore they and nature live on good terms together, and set off each other's beauty. Those works that aim at more than this, after exhausting treasuries, and costing the life and happiness of millions, must be satisfied at last to be called hillocks."*

Upon inspecting the map of Nubia it will be observed, that at a point near Old Dongola the river turns towards the north-east, and gives an insular form to a large extent of land distinguished as the province or kingdom of Merawe. In this tract there are some magnificent monuments near the spot which is supposed to have contained the ancient capital. For example, there are the remains of seven temples, of which the largest is 450 feet long (almost equal to St Paul's) by 159 broad. The principal apartment is 147 feet by 111, and the next is 123 by 102. This edifice is generally speaking in a very ruined state; and some of the materials are in so

* Journal of a Visit to some Parts of Ethiopia, p. 290.

confused and shattered a position, as to indicate that they had been broken down and unskilfully replaced. The other temples are of much smaller dimensions, but several of them more perfectly preserved; and in two, most of the chambers are excavated in the solid rock. This is part of a lofty eminence, called Gebel el Berkal or the Holy Mountain, along the foot of which all the monuments are erected. Here are also seventeen pyramids, while at El Bellal, seven miles farther up the river, there is a more numerous and lofty range of these structures, none of which, however, rival those of Memphis. A general character of ruin pervades the whole, and some, indeed, are reduced to masses of mere rubbish ; a state which seems at least partly owing to the friable nature of the sandstone used by their architects. The sculptures and ornaments, which can still be traced, bear marks of very different periods of art; some being extremely rude, and others nearly as perfect as any in the palaces of Egypt.

The examination of these monuments, whether temples or pyramids, has led to an ingenious hypothesis relative to the site of the ancient Meroë, which is maintained with a considerable show of argument and learning in a popular journal. It is well known, that all the ancient authorities describe the geographical position of the Ethiopian capital as an island formed by the junction of the Nile with the Astapus or river of Abyssinia, and with the Astaboras, which is undoubtedly the modern Tacazze, still called Atbara. The city of Meroë, then, if it stood in the country bounded by the two latter rivers, must necessarily have been above the point at which they unite; a conclusion fully con