1 824.] Sketch of a Journey through 



Would we have converse that gives no 



disgust? 

 Let ns, regardless of tnmultiious life, 

 Speak oft to Hini whose listening ear 



receives 

 Tlie silent language of the pensive heart, 

 And the mute eloquence of every sigh. 

 Would we have honour, brighter than the 



arc 

 Of gaudj-colonr'd Iris, or the sun 

 Blazing at mid-day ? Let it flow from Him 

 Who in a moment can becloud their 



chainis ; 

 And, when their short-liv'd splendors are 



extinct, 

 Can shine on virtue with superior beams. 

 Would we have riches ? Let it be our care 

 To dig for those that will create no pain. 

 That wax not old, and suffer not decay ; 

 An interest in the everlasting God ; 

 The deep nnfathomahle mine! replete 

 Willi endless wealth, and blessings infinite; 

 Portion of him, who long has sought to find 

 This hidden treasure of his heart's desire. 

 By actions uniformly great and good. 

 Would we have friends? Let iis seek Him 



whose smiles 

 Are truth itself, — whose love is without 



bounds ; 

 Who if he prumisc will not disappoint; 

 Whose wisdom can direct our devious 



steps ; 

 AVhose fulness can supply our deepest 



wants ; 

 Whose power can shield us from ten thou- 

 sand ills ; 

 Who can give happiness when other friends 

 Shall trovvn, andall creation is our foe. 



Would we lay hold on (he immortal palm, 

 And reipn victorious o'er a hostile world. 

 Let us be virtuous, and the prize is gaiu'd. 



For the Blonlkhj Magazine. 



SKKTCH of a JOURNEY thouffll NUBIA 



and NORTH ETHIOPIA ; from the 



JOURNAL of JOSEPH SSENKOWSKY, 

 fl RUSSIAN TRAVELLER. 



ON tbc3il of April, 1821, we sailed 

 from Pliilu'e. Splendid moles, ma- 

 jestic colonnades, a great number of 

 temples, the obelisk, relieved by tlic 

 green palms interspersed among tliesc 

 ancient labrics, form tlic mostvariegaled 

 groups on this island, and a panoramic 

 view, contrasted with the black rocks 

 ©f granite, rising from the Nile behind, 

 which received a beautiful tint from the 

 yellowish buildings of the island. Tiiis 

 is the most picturesque jilace in all 

 J5gy|)t and Nubia, and is peculiar in 

 its kind. IJul, in |)rocceding farther on 

 the Nile, the rocks of granite, and hills 

 of sandstone, draw so near (he river, 

 that agricuKiirc is confined to ils inimc- 

 dialc banks. A narrow stripe of land, 



Nubia and North Ethiopia. 30p 



ornamented by small groups of palm- 

 trees, runs parallel with it, although the 

 trees are neither so high nor so stately 

 as in Egypt. In some places, the 

 banks are entirely covered with blocks 

 of granite; and nothing but the few 

 palm-trees scattered among them, indi- 

 cates the presence of man. The huls 

 are concealed between the rocks; and, 

 being small, (about five feet high and 

 nine feet wide,) and built of fragments 

 of rock of the same colour as the hills, 

 they are not easily distinguished, even 

 when close by them. The villages have 

 no particular names; but the country 

 consists of a succession of valleys, 

 (tvadi,) each of which bears its own 

 designation. Steep hills rise from them 

 on both sides, and form fields along the 

 river. The chain on the right bank is 

 called the Arabian, and that on the 

 left the Lybian. Behind tliera are 

 immense deserts of sand. Sometimes 

 the wind will carry the sand over the 

 hills wliich border the Nile, cover the 

 cultivated fields, and change them into 

 dreary wastes. In Wadi Shellial, and 

 Wadi Debod, as far as Dechmit, a lan- 

 guage is spoken, entirely diftering from 

 the Arabic ; it begins near Djebel Sihili, 

 beyond the cataracts, and is spoken at 

 Essitan, and on the islands of Elephan- 

 tiuic and Philoe. Tlie cataracts of 

 Sijene are called, in the language of the 

 people, Shellial; the language itself, 

 Shelliali ; and the people speaking it, 

 Shellialee. The language spoken be- 

 yond Dechmit, to the other cataracts, 

 and even to the borders of ZJa^ybwr and 

 Dongola, is called Nuba, and the inha- 

 bitants Berberi 01 Bai-bara, which deno- 

 mination is used by the Shelleli as a 

 nick- name. The Nuba language is 

 pleasing to the ear; it has no harsh or 

 guttural sounds; but, on the other hand, 

 it has many that are nasal, peculiar to 

 the African dialects. Most of their 

 words end in oiigo and ivgo. In both 

 the Nuba and Shelliali languages many 

 Arabic words are found. 



The Shellialies, although very dark, 

 are not entirely black. They are very 

 lean, although of a strong make, mali- 

 cious, boisterous, lively and quick in 

 their conversation, resembling, in some 

 measure, their noisy cataracts. In 

 Wadi Delod is a small temple, only 

 seventy-five feet in length, in very good 

 preservation. In front of it are three 

 moles, in one line, wliich formerly served 

 as entrances through as many walls, 

 which Koem to have surrounded the 

 temple. Now the remains of the second 



wall 



