an expression that, like its congener INFINITE SPACE, raises the mind above our mundane planet, until it feels the irresistible command of thus far and no farther!

No. 1. A representation of the fragment, its dimensions in English feet and inches.

No. 2. The prenomen of Hophra, Phrah-Hophra, or Hophra-Psammetic.

No. 3. The cartouch, containing the hieroglyphics for the letters P S M T K.

No. 4. The remains of the inscription on the column at the back of the statue, in which the
hieroglyphics that were contained in the ring or cartouch have been carefully obliterated.

No. 472 of the oft-cited Catalogue is an Egyptian vase made of a hard brown clay; it is 7 inches high, of a flattened globular form, with a short

00

neck, two handles, and two nodules for standing it upon. On the front and back there is impressed, in relievo, the semblance of a full-blown water-lily within a circling ornament. It appears to be the true prototype of the punning device on the reverse of a denarius of Aquillius Florus, which had been considered to represent an expanded lotus. (See The Northumberland Cabinet of Roman Family Coins, page 16.) This flower seems to have been an object of high regard through all ages in the East, for it was even made use of as a kind of rallying symbol by the Sepoy mutineers in India, and cakes stamped with this emblem were widely distributed just before the dreadful outbreak in 1857.

At page 207 of the Edes, a sepulchral stela of Theban limestone, curiously coloured, is described and figured as bearing the effigies of the wife, mother, and sister of one Mr. Pepi, each of them smelling a lotus; which shows that the flower was in favour at that early day, as well with the ladies as with the recording hierogrammists or Egyptian pundits. At page 182 of the same work, I alluded to the female choristers who attended Pharaoh's daughter on her

* The father of this princess appears to have been the Shishak (Sheshonk-Shishak) of the Bible, and conqueror of Rehoboam, who plundered Jerusalem about four years after Solomon's death.

Wishing to obtain the best authority upon the above points, I wrote last spring to the learned S. M. Drach, F.R.A.S., who has elsewhere been introduced to the reader; and the following is an extract from his reply:" In receipt of yours of the 12th inst. Believe me there is no man living to whom I am more bound to devote my humble abilities than to the gentleman whom I have now the pleasure of answering: therefore you will always find me ready to give my (perhaps too original) explanations of Scripture phrases to you, as well as other matters.

“On carefully reading the Hebrew original of Psalm xlv., and collating your remarks in p. 182 of the Edes Hartwelliana, as also the Song of Solomon, ch. ii. ver. 1-2, I have many years ago thought that the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys ought to be the lily of Sharon and the rose of the valleys; but at a Royal Geographical meeting, the Rev. G. C. Renouard told me that he understood Shoshannah (Anglicè rose) to be a yellow flower. However

"(1.) of Sharon is perhaps derived from y (batzel) an onion; whence Zireebel-Cipolla, &c. Comp. oignon in French for tulip-root (Numb. xi. 5): and the sandy sea-shore of Sharon south of Mount Carmel, subject to inundations, may correspond with its habitat; it may mean shade-loving (by nɔn), or be a foreign word incorporated. Thus, I read lately that the D7 (karpass) of Esther, i. 6,-the green

espousals with Solomon, and who gave title to the XLVth Psalm. These gay ladies, it is presumed, were named Shoshannim -that is, lilies-on account of the lotus-lily worn as a head-dress while singing the erotic verses called forth by the joyful occasion. The mode of wearing this simple ornament is herewith shown; and instead of Shoshannim being a prophetic rhapsody, as too hastily asserted, it is, as I have said, "a poetic allusion at once to the country, the beauty, and the attire of the songstresses." Nor were those damsels altogether unmindful of the pomps and vanities of this weak world, as evinced by their fine linen,

necklaces, precious stones, gold chains, armlets, bracelets, anklets or bangles, false jewels, enamels, studs, and ear-rings, of all which we have the fullest testimony. Regarding the rich network of bugles or beads, which so frequently is found enveloping mummies over their linen cloths, a relic of the same taste pervaded the court of Youssuf, the late Basha of Tripoli; where, after an evening with his "songstresses" and dancers, I left the castle with a net-work of fragrant jasmines thrown over my shoulders, as a special mark of grace.

A very material article of an Egyptian lady's toilet was the scent-bottle, and the vessel which contained the preparation of antimony, oxide of manganese, or other substances to blacken the eye-brows and eye-lids withal, after the fashion of Jezebel when Jehu approached. This blacking remains in use over the Levant, under the name of kohol; and the "rosy-fingered Auroras" still stain their nails, tips of the fingers, palms of the hands, and their toes, with henna. The unguents and perfumes in request among those ladies were at once costly, odoriferous, and durable, being manufactured with articles selected from all the neighbouring regions; thus, when Joseph was sold by his brethren, we find that the Ishmaelites

hangings, are really the Sanscrit (karpass) cotton, i.e. printed calicoes, which were then probably a royal rarity. (In a recent newspaper.)

(2.)

is more likely a rose-from second verse, a rose amongst thorns. Shoshanna, the flower of Sosan (joy), y, &c

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who bought him, were carrying spicery and balm and myrrh to Egypt. No. 489 is a perfect little vase made of the material usually termed alabaster; but to which-from its being a crystalline carbonate of lime-Werner gave the name of Arragonite, thinking it was first dis

covered in Spain.* This relic is 4 inches high, and still contains a portion of brown matter which gives out an unctuous smell, residue of some costly-scented ointment. Indeed, such was the skill of the ancient Egyptians in the art of perfumery, and so strong was the odour of their produce, that some retained the scent for several hundred years: thus the Duke of Northumberland possesses an alabastron, between two and three thousand years old, which is still perfumed. These vessels were made at Alabastron on the Nile, whence they received the name. This word in the authorised version of the New Testament is rendered an "alabaster box," but it would have been better translated an "Alabastron jar." As the scent deposited therein was of very great price, the utensil containing it was not intended to be opened, but was to emit its fragrance through the porous substance of the vessel; hence the blame thrown upon the woman, who, in her pious zeal for our Saviour, broke the precious casket for immediate use, and thereby consumed in a moment that which would have endured for years. (See St. Matthew, xxvi. 7—13.)

The Land of Ham, in its ample remains of majestic structures, and by means of its pictorial legends, bears unequivocal evidence of power and civilization at periods too remote for our present knowledge to trace their growth. It is, however, an elevating inquiry, and, as an old poet sings,

'Tis link'd with sacred chronicles, where faithful records tell
Of Pharaoh's pride and punishment, and captive Israel.

* The most valuable, or rather invaluable, known specimen of Arragonite is the beautiful semitransparent sarcophagus found by Belzoni in the sacred Beban al Malûk; it is 9 feet 5 inches in length, 3 feet 7 inches wide, and 2 inches thick, minutely sculptured both within and without with several hundred figures.

§ 5. FINDINGS IN NORTH AFRICA.

Perhaps the best way of opening this section will be, by reproducing an extract from "The Mediterranean," page 473, which alludes to my joining Lord Exmouth, in the spring of 1816, in Tunis Bay, where he was abolishing Christian slavery. "Here matters being amicably adjusted with the Bey, as they had just been with the Dey of Algiers, we sailed for Tripoli, where affairs were also amicably settled; and this beautifully moral cruize for ever quashed the odious white slavery, which had so long and so shamefully been submitted to. On the terms being ratified, I accompanied his Lordship when he made his take-leave visit to the Bashaw of Tripoli, and prevailed on him to make a formal request -which in this instance almost amounted to a condition-for me to be permitted to visit Lebida (Leptis Magna) after the departure of the squadron, there to examine some ancient architectural relics, which the Bashaw, at the instance of our Consul-General Colonel Warrington, had recently offered for the acceptance of our Prince Regent." This will account for my residence there, the excavations made, the shipments to England, and the opening of a road into Central Africa. My ordering a party of Arabs to open some graves to the west of the city occasioned, or may be supposed to have occasioned, the following rebuke from the manes of the ancient occupants