The Nile : notes for travellers in Egypt . e standing around the base, I cannot confidently from the uncertainty of the cause, I am disposed tobelieve anything rather than that stones disposed in thatmanner could send forth sound. Above the Memnoniumare tombs of kings in caves, and hewn out of the stone,about forty in number; they are executed with singularskill, and are worthy of notice. Among the tombs areobelisks with inscriptions, denoting the wealth of the kingsof that time, and the extent of their empire, as reaching tothe Scythians, Bactrians, Indians, and the present Ionia ;
The Nile : notes for travellers in Egypt . e standing around the base, I cannot confidently from the uncertainty of the cause, I am disposed tobelieve anything rather than that stones disposed in thatmanner could send forth sound. Above the Memnoniumare tombs of kings in caves, and hewn out of the stone,about forty in number; they are executed with singularskill, and are worthy of notice. Among the tombs areobelisks with inscriptions, denoting the wealth of the kingsof that time, and the extent of their empire, as reaching tothe Scythians, Bactrians, Indians, and the present Ionia ;the amount of tribute also, and the number of soldiers,which composed an army of about a million of priests there are said to be, for the most part, astro-nomers and philosophers. The former compute the days,not by the moon, but by the sun, introducing into thetwelve months, of thirty days each, five days every in order to complete the whole year, because there is(annually) an excess of a part of a day, they form a period. 286 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT. from out of whole days and whole years, the supernumeraryportions of which in that period, when collected together,amount to a day.* They ascribe to Mercury (Thoth) allknowledge of this kind. To Jupiter, whom they worshipabove all other deities, a virgin of the greatest beauty andof the most illustrious family (such persons the Greeks call pallades) is dedicated (Bk. XVII, chap, i, sec. 46, translated by Falconer.) The principal objects of interest on the east or right bankof the river are :— I. The Temple of Luxor. Compared with Karnakthe temple of Luxor is not of any great interest. Until veryrecently a large portion of the buildings, connected inancient days with the temple, was quite buried by theaccumulated rubbish and earth upon which a large numberof houses stood. During the last few years excavationshave been made by the Egyptian Government, and someinteresting results have been obtained. Among the
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