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caprice has changed the established order of the architecturalI j details, and capitals and cornices are reversed, without addingj i to the beauty or increasing the strength of the building. A; series of smaller halls and chambers terminates the extremityj of the temple, one of which is remarkable as containing thej names of the early predecessors of Thothmes III., their

| founder. In the western lateral adytum are the vestiges of

a colossal hawk seated on a raised pedestal; the sculptures! within and without containing the name of Alexander, byi whose order this was repaired and sculptured.

| “ The total dimensions of this part of the temple behind the

i inner propyla of the grand hall, are 600 feet, by about half that| ; in breadth, making the total length, from the front propyla to' the extremity of the wall of circuit, inclusive, 1,180 feet. Theadditions made at different periods, by which the distantportions of this extensive mass of buildings were united, willj be more readily understood from an examination of the surveyj itself than from any description, however detailed, I could offer

I to the reader ; and from this it will appear that Diodorus : is fully justified in the following statement: that ‘the circuit

of the most ancient of the four temples at Thebes measuredthirteen stadia,’ or about one mile and two-thirds English ;the thickness of the walls, ‘ of 25 feet,’ owing to the greatvariety in their dimensions, is too vague to be noticed ; butthe altitude of the building, to which he allows only45 cubits,falls far short of the real height of the grand hall, which, fromthe pavement to the summit of the roof, inclusive, is not lessthan 80 feet.”

j The next description of Luxor is from the same writer :—

I “ Luqsor, which occupies part of the site of ancient

j i Diospolis , still holds the rank of a market-town, the residenceof a Kits lief, and head-quarters of a troop of Turkish cavalry.

] Its name signifies the Palaces, and some might perhaps| feel inclined to trace in that of El Qasryn, or El Uqsorayn,j , (the dual of the word Qasr,) by which it is sometimes desig-1 nated, the existence of the two distinct parts of this building,erected by Amunoph III. and Remeses II. The former. monarch, who, at the time of its foundation, appears to have; reigned conjointly with his brother, built the original sanc-tuary and circumjacent chambers, with the addition of thelarge colonnade and the pylon before it, to which Remeses II.afterwards added the great court, the pyramidal towers, or; propyla, and the obelisks and statues.

; i “ These, though last in the order of antiquity, necessarilyj form the present commencement of the temple, which, likeI many others belonging to different epochs, is not ‘ two sepa-, rate edifices,’ but one and the same building. A dromos,

! connecting it with Karnak, extended in front of the twoj beautiful obelisks of red granite, whose four sides are coveredwith a profusion of hieroglyphics, no less admirable for thestyle of their execution, than for the depth to which they areengraved, which in many instances exceeds two inches.

“ Two sitting statues of the same Remeses are placed behindthese, one on either side of the pylon ; but, like the obelisks,are much buried in the earth and sand accumulated aroundthem. Near the north-west extremity of the propyla, anotherj similar colossus rears its head amidst the houses of the village,

' which also conceal a great portion of the interesting battle-scenes on the front of these towers. At the doorway itselfis the name of Sabaco, and on the abacus of the columnsbeyond, that of Ptolemy Philopater, both added at a laterepoch.

“ The area, whose dimensions are about 190 feet by 170, issurrounded by a peristyle, consisting of two rows of columns,

; now almost concealed by the hovels and mosk of the village.

I | The line of direction no longer continues the same behindj | this court, the Remessean front having been turned to the

eastward in order to facilitate its connexion with the g«JJtemple of Karnak, rather than to avoid the vicinity ofrtver as might at first be supposed. , th e

Passing through the pylon of Amunoph you arrive ,; 3great colonnade, where the names of this Pharaoh and ^brother are sculptured. The latter, however, has *effaced, probably by order of the surviving monarch,generally the case wherever it is met with, and those ofimmediate successor of Amunoph III. and of Osirei are i flduced in its stead. *q

“ The length of the colonnade to the next court is about ^leet, but its original breadth is still uncertain, nor can »*ascertained without considerable excavation. To tins s« fceeds an area of 155 feet by 167 surrounded by a12 columns in length and the same in breadth, terfflU 18 ”m a covered portico of 32 columns 57 feet by 1 U.

JSehind this is a space occupying the whole breadth obuilding, divided into chambers of different d,we< ! ° a s,the centre one leading to a hall supported by 4 e° lu fimmediately before the entrance to the isolated sanctuary-On the east of this hall is a chamber containing s ° m t faU t«

ous sculpture, representing the accouchement of q uee0 .7 ttf om-shoi, the mother of Amunoph and his brother ; th f, t0children nursed by the deity of the Nile , and presen 'teaAmun, the presiding divinity of Thebes ; and severalsubjects relating to their education and subsequent h ^J‘ n s,e sanctuary, which had been destroyed by the P® 1 , gB) ywas rebuilt by Alexander (the son of Alexander,being governor of Egypt, ) and bears his name in the folio*dedicatory formula : a 0 {

This additional work made he, the king of men, ^, eJS tthe regions, Alexander, for his father Amunre, P res „dot -tape (Thebes ;) he erected to him the sanctuary, 8g ha) -dmansion, with repairs of sand-stone, hewn, good, an ,

s one,, instead of his-■ majesty, the king of men,

nop l. Behind the sanctuary are two other sets o dments, the larger ones supported by columns, and ornamwith rich sculpture, much of which appears to havegilded. _ yy he

“ Behind the temple is a stone quay, of the late eI , a ° r e ofPtolemies or Cmsars, since blocks bearing the sculp l “ th «the former have been used in its construction. OpP°*‘ A nicorner of the temple, it takes a more easterly direct>on, dpoints out the original course of the river, which co ^ r .across the plain now lying between it and the ruins ot g (nak, and which may be traced by the descent of the st * T pit?that ground it gradually deserted. The southern ex (beof this quay is of brick, and indicates in like ffl ed 9former direction of the stream, which now, having itsrecess behind it, threatens to sweep away the w 0 f tb esolid masonry, and to undermine the foundationstemple itself. . ,; cat i t>g

I he road to Karnak lies through fields of hoffi 1 r0 nch^the site of ancient ruins, and here and there, on apP at) dthat magnificent building, the direction of the a stf 8 "the fragments of its sphinxes, are traced in the becanal, or watercourse, which the Nile , during ‘ ce cce e<>*tion, appropriates to its rising stream. To t 'j j 0 n 0another dromos of Criosphinxes, and a majes t,c P'g,Ptolemy Euergetes , with his queen and sister Ber««in one instance present an offering to their pr coJ np%parents, Philadelphus and Arsinoe. In one of the u Q t e&

ments within the doorway, the king is represente e3 1costume, of which there are some other <j S to j h ,

Ptolemaic ruins. Another avenue of sphinxes eSpropyla of the isolated temple behind this g 9 ® ’’

was founded by Remeses IV.,and continued by* em *~