arrived a considerable number of per- smooth surface of the sand, drifted by the night breeze, the tracks of the snakes, lizards, and other animals, which had come down to the water's side during the night to drink; and we could plainly discern the traces of their return to their solitary haunts in the desert. Sometimes these tracts indicated the presence of reptiles of considerable size; and we now could easily account for the dread our guides expressed of walking near the water's side on the night we returned from the second cataract. We renewed our operations at the very first appearance of day, and soon had about twenty-six workmen, together with the crew. Between eight and nine o'clock, as the people were working, we perceived a boat full of men coming over from the opposite side. As soon as the AbouSimbel people made them out, they all set off with old Mouchmarr at their head; the latter saying he knew who they were, and would go and treat with them, as they were coming to prevent our work. The old fellow, it appeared afterwards, was more intent on his own safety; as both he and his party went and hid themselves in caves in the mountains. Suspecting something, we sent for all our arms from the boat, and waited the event. The newly-arrived party now made their appearance, about forty in number, armed mostly with muskets, pistols, sabres, and pikes; they were much the mode of better dressed, and made a better working was to fix it per- figure than the attendants of Daoud pendicularly in the sand, and Halleel. There were two with and then to pull it forward white turbans, who appeared to be the by a cord attached to it; leaders: these approached in advance one person was stationed at of their attendants; and, after the usual the handle to fix it in the sand, and salaams and ceremony of salute, seated another at the cord by which it was themselves near us, and presented us pulled forward. Instead of one, the with two sheep, which their men had Arabs generally employed from four brought with them. We now desired to six men at the cord. This evening our janissary to ask them the intention we came to the chair of the statue; of their visit, and to tell them we had but still there was no indication of a nothing to dispose of, having given all we door; the unfinished work continuing, had to spare to the two cashiefs below. though the figure, drapery and all, They replied that they wanted nothing; was perfectly finished, as far as we that they were in the employ of the could see down. pasha; that their office was to keep Wednesday, July 23.-It was curi-order and tranquillity in the country, ous to observe in the morning, on the and that they wished to know if any of this form, and we were our own masters, we might give them something, but never through fear of them, or to gain their favour. Soon after, the two cashiefs and their gang proceeded to Abou-Simbel. We now learnt that they were Mahommed and Ali Cashief; that they lived a little above Derry, on the opposite side of the river; and were at war with Daoud and Halleel, in consequence of their kilied some relation of Ali's many years ago. This is what the Barbarius call the "warfare of blood for blood;" and it always lasts till an individual of one family is sacrificed to appease the other.* Sometimes this hostility exists for many ages between families; and it is for this reason that a murderer, who is one of our crew, dares not go to Philæ or the neighbourhood of Assuan, where he committed the crime. obstacles on the part of the inhabitants rendered their assistance necessary, as they were ready to be of service to us, hoping that on our return to Cairo, we should not fail to speak favourably of them to the pasha. We replied that we were going on tolerably well, and that we did not stand in need of any assistance. After sitting about half an hour, they went down to the other temple, followed by all their attend-grandfather (Hassan's father) having ants, and soon after sent our Greek servant up with a message, "that they were at war with the other two cashiefs; that they were greater than they; that they were the governors of this country; that when the others killed one man, they could kill two; in short, that we had given a gun, shawl, soap, and tobacco, to both Daoud and Halleel, and why, they wished to know, was nothing given to them, who possessed double the authority in this country, and could prevent our labour whenever they pleased? that they must have the same, and more presents than we had already given, or that we should not open the temple." They also wished to know under what authority we acted, and desired to see our firman. We replied to these menaces by the same statement we had made on their arrival, viz. that we had already given away all we had to give ; and we added, that as we had both the pasha's and Deftarda Bey's firman for doing what we were about, any violence offered to us would be sure to reach their ears. Their answer was that they cared nothing about the pasha. On seeing the firmans, they said they were good for nothing, being written in Turkish, not Arabic; that they had no Turkish interpreter; and that were the firmans even in Arabic, nothing but presents would induce them to permit us to proceed. The crew now thought it a favourable opportunity to ask for one of the sheep (for each of which we had given ten piastres), but we refused their request, saying, that they were mistaken if they thought it a proper time to ask gifts, when other people were endeavouring to plunder us; that as soon as the banditti were gone, and At three P.M. we renewed our operations, and had a considerable numberof assistants. It was truly ridiculous to see old Mouchmarr now make his. appearance, with his matchlock in his hand, and a few of the Abou-Simbel people. He took especial care to examine both up the river and down, to be sure that the cashiefs were well out of sight; and when he found the coast clear, he came to us to relate how his people had been in the habit of making slaves and prisoners of the other party; what numbers they had bound together and thrown into the Nile, &c. We rallied him about his promising to treat with them. We found that the cashiefs had prevented many of our assistants from coming, and that they had plundered the whole country, taking two sheep from every sackey, and ten piastres from those who could not procure the animals. We also learnt. that a fine of four dollars (thirty-six piastres) was to be levied on every one who came to our assistance. evening our men worked very well;; as they did not belong to Abou-Simbel, they knew they were out of the cashiefs" reach. This "The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer." Numbers, xxxv. 19. "Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer." Ibia. 31. Thursday, July 24.-At dawn of day we went to work again; as we had broken our water-jars we asked the crew for our ludri which we had lent them; but Hassan said it was ramadan, and that as they could not drink water in the day-time, they wanted our ludri to keep it cool for them in the evening, and that they would return it when they got to Phila. We gave them to understand that we liked cool water as well as they did, and desired the janissary to take the skin without further ceremony; asking them at the same time if that was gratitude for the sheep we gave them yesterday. Hassan answered, that the sheep was lean and good for nothing, or we should not have given it. This morning we had about twenty workmen, but neither Mouchmarr nor the Abou-Simbel men came. After we had worked about an hour, & party of about thirty came from the opposite side and volunteered to assist as they were more than we wanted, and came late, we told them we would give them only one and a half piastre each: this they rejected at first, but afterwards accepted. An hour afterwards four other men came and solicited employ: these we refused, when one of them displaying a dirty white turban as a flag, drew the whole party off with a shout. In a quarter of an hour, however, they returned; and the work went on pretty well, the armed ruffians not making their appearance. In the evening the people worked badly, being so numerous that one skulked behind the other. with them, and threatening our crew that, if they assisted us, they would acquaint Daoud and Halleel Cashief of it; thus showing that these brothers had ordered that no assistance was to be rendered us. Our sailors laughed at them, saying, they cared nothing about the cashiefs or any one else. Soon after this, the whole rabble crossed the water, having a dirty white turban (the prophet's banner) hoisted. At three we renewed our work with six instruments which we had made ourselves. The crew, and also that of another bark came, and assistance was offered by a few others. We got on tolerably well. Saturday, July 26.-At dawn of day we went up to our employment, with the same hands we had the preceding evening, in all about twentythree persons. Our servants had another quarrel with the crew. A mameluke arrived from Dongola; he reported his countrymen in great misery at that place. We now learned that Mahommed and Ali Cashief were gone down the river again with their plunder. In the evening we renewed our operations. A man who had received money for our bread on the opposite side of the river, refused to bring it: we had a dispute in consequence, and, after much noise and confusion, half the quantity we had paid for was brought. We found the price of everything we bought had doubled since our arrival; the natives hoping by these means to force us to relinquish our work; and, with our eyes open, we were obliged to submit to the imposition. Friday, July 25.-We got up at dawn of day and found one hundred men assembled, though the night before we Sunday, July 27.-At dawn of day told them that we did not want any we set to work again, and had only two more assistance. We explained this to assistants besides the crew, who worked them again, adding, that at most we remarkably well. Several volunteers could not employ more than twenty. came, but we rejected them on account They replied, that we must employ of their laziness. One of our two them all or none. Seeing them in this assistants sang a song to cheer up the mood, we returned to our boat, resolv- crew: this is their constant custom ing to wait till they were all gone; and when working; the words were as knowing that the heat of the sun at follows: "Oh! Nubia, my country, nine o'clock would drive them away. thou smellest like a rose; when I sleep After much noise amongst themselves, I dream of thee, and thou appearest a and numerous ineffectual parleys, they garden full of flowers." Our ideas of all set off, taking all the implements | Nubia, where a flowering shrub is scarcely ever seen, were not in unison with this song; but it was a new proof of that happy disposition which nature implants in the breast of every man to love his native soil, be it what it may. "The naked negro, panting at the line, Boasts of his golden sands and palmy wine: Basks in the glare, or stems the tepid wave, And thanks his gods for all the good they gave. Such is the patriot's boast where'er we roam, His first, best country, ever is, at home." At three o'clock we recommenced our operations. While we were working, a spy arrived from Daoud Cashief, who, after having deliberately examined us, began talking to the crew to draw them off from the work, and asked old Mouchmarr, who had just arrived from the village with some bread, how he dared assist us; adding, that the cashiefs would cut off his head for it. This news did not appear very agreeable to our friend, who now desisted from working. Our young mameluke friend, who understood the Barbarin language unknown to the crew and natives, told us of this. The spy next informed us that a firman had arrived from the Grand Signior to supersede the pasha in his government, and that new troops were now at Cairo. So paltry an attempt to alarm us was met by a hearty laugh, which made both the spy and his countrymen look very foolish; until, seeing the joke went against them, they put it off by a laugh also. In the evening old Mouchmarr came to be paid for his bread; and, on being asked to bring more, said he did not like to tell us a falsehood-that he had strict injunctions against bringing anything more, or, indeed, rendering us any further assistance. We further learned, that the whole of the natives on both sides of the river had mutually agreed that nothing was to be sold to us; but it was hinted that we might have some men to work if we chose however, as our money was getting low, and we found that we did almost as much without as with them, we sent word that we wanted none of them: we had three days' bread, and our work had arrived at such a point that we should soon ascertain whether there was any door or not: we felt ourselves, therefore, quite independent of our troublesome neighbours. Mouchmarr now took his leave. It is but justice to the old man to say that he behaved better than any of his countrymen. We Monday, July 28.-We commenced our operations at the usual hour, with only our sailors and the mameluke, no Abou-Simbel men making their appearance. All worked pretty well. This morning no milk was brought. We affected to take no notice of this; and at breakfast were particularly careful that the crew (who came down and were watching us narrowly, to see what effect the want of this luxury would have upon us) should observe no change in our manner, that they might report to the natives the poor success of their scheme. At three we renewed our labours. While working, an AbouSimbel man came to see what was going on. He said, that if we wished it, a certain number of people would come from each sackey to assist ; and he asked us if we wanted provisions. We refused all assistance. He then asked if we could live on stones. replied, that we had a boat, and could go and fetch whatever we wanted, and that money would always procure something. He now said we might think ourselves fortunate in having a soldier of the pasha's with us; as, were it not for fear of the consequences, in case anything should happen to him, the whole body of natives would prevent our work by force. We replied, that we were determined to proceed; and that even were the soldier not with us, we would persist in our undertaking. He now began to brag of the number of armed people they could muster from the neighbourhood: we, however, laughed at him; and he left us, having failed in all his designs. Our crew this evening worked very well; and we thought it good policy to tell them we noticed their exertions. Tuesday, July, 29.--At dawn of day we recommenced our labours with the crew, and made considerable progress. No strangers made their appearance; the one who assisted us yesterday being deterred by the threats of the spy. In the evening, at three, we renewed our work. Towards the close of day, the sailors requested to be dismissed, that they might go to AbouSimbel to get bread for themselves. We suspected some bad intentions on their part, but said nothing. Hassan had previously endeavoured to steal some of our doura (for bread we had none); but we were too sharp for him, and made his boy give us back what he had taken. Wednesday, July, 30.-At twilight we went to work again; the crew coming as usual. This morning a man brought us milk again; but said he was obliged to do it clandestinely. This was a real luxury; as we found; after four hours' hard work on an empty stomach, that a limited ration of doura grain, dried dates, and water, to which we were now reduced, was not very sumptuous fare. The reis of the bark, who had before cheated us of our bread, now made his appearance with some spirituous liquors, which he said he had brought as a present from the wife of Daoud Cashief. We clearly saw that this was a trick to get a present for the bearer, which is expected to be double the value of the article given. We therefore refused it as a gift; but offered to purchase it. After some hesitation he consented. It was the spirit distilled from the date; but without the addition of aniseed, which in Egypt makes it palatable. We generally took a little before dinner as a tonic; for, without something of the kind (the average of the thermometer being 112° Fahrenheit in the shade), we found that we had no appetite. As soon as he had got his money he took himself off to the other side of the river, having evidently come to see if we yet began to complain of the want of provisions. But although we had nothing to eat but doura, and only enough of that for four days, we never once mentioned the subject to him. This evening we came to a projection, evidently a cornice, though much broken by the shock of an immense block of stone that had fallen on it Beneath the projection, we found a plane and smooth surface, and a tablet of neat hieroglyphics, highly finished, carved upon it. This strong indication of a door cheered us greatly. At three we returned to our operations; and, by digging down and carrying away the sand in two boxes, we removed a sufficient quantity to make out about a foot of a tablet surmounted by a torus, and one end of a broken cornice above it; which, having been broken by some accident, had evidently been chiselled away subsequently, with the design of renewing it. The furrowed surface, and the marks of the tools in all directions, though rude and unfinished, prove this to be the case; and thus the mystery of the unfavourable appearances which had formerly given us so much uneasiness was cleared up. This evening Hassan asked, with more than usual impudence, for the pay of the crew, adding, that he wanted it before it was dark. Thursday, July 31.-At twilight we resumed our task, and palisadoed the part which we supposed to be immediately over the door, by driving in piles of date trees, and pouring at the back of them mud mixed with sand, to keep the outer sand from running in between them. Just as we were going to leave off work, some armed men came from the opposite side of the river, who had been called over by Hassan: when we inquired the reason of his sending for them, he said he wanted the boat from the opposite side, to go and get some provisions for the crew. Our sailors talked freely with the strangers, who appeared very intent on what we were doing. This day the mameluke took his departure for Cairo. He went on a small reed raft which a Nubian was conducting down the river. Hassan ran with great eagerness to send some message by the Nubian: no doubt to apprise the cashiefs below of the progress of our work. In the evening we resumed our labours, with the crew and two strangers; and towards sun-set we came to the corner of the door: it was rather broken. The sailors, on seeing it, expressed great signs of joy, uttering cries of "backsheeish, backsheeish," |