NUBIA AND THE NILE RAPIDS. 361 



intent on sweeping them away to utter destruction, and to be 

 enraged at finding its opponents still invincible. The thunder of its 

 waters resounds in the ears of the spectator above, and seems to 

 him a fit accompaniment to the magnificent scene beneath him. 

 Restless as the ever-flowing waves, the eye travels over the chaos of 

 rocks; it embraces hundreds of single pictures in one glance, and 

 then combines these into one sublime, harmonious whole, the 

 stiff masses of gleaming rock contrasting sharply with the white 

 foam of the hissing water, the golden - yellow deserts that bound 

 them on either side, and the dark, cloudless sky overhead. The 

 upper region of the rapids is especially charming. A chain of 

 black rocks, the natural boundary-wall between Egypt and Nubia, 

 stretches obliquely across the river, and sweeps out on both right 

 and left bank in a wide curve, thus forming before the eye of the 

 spectator a great basin almost completely surrounded by rocky 

 ramparts. These walls consist in part of continuous masses, but in 

 part also of loose blocks round, oval, and angular lying one upon 

 the other as though piled up by the hand of some giant. Here and 

 there portions of this wonderful rampart project and again recede; 

 here and there they rise like islands from the bed of the ancient 

 lake which they encircled before the mighty stream broke its way 

 through. 



In the midst of these prehistoric ruins lies the green, palm-clad 

 island of Philse with its stately temple. I know of no more im- 

 pressive picture than this. Surrounded by dark, rugged rocks, 

 encompassed by the ceaseless roar of the waves as they beat on its 

 foundations, bedecked with fruitful palms and fragrant mimosas, 

 the temple stands a striking emblem of inner peace amid raging 

 strife. The river shouts its mighty battle-song; the palms wave 

 back an answer of peace. A worthier place could scarcely be 

 found for the worship of the great god to whom it was dedicated. 

 Amid such solitude, and in such an environment, the spirit of the 

 youths whom the wise priests taught must surely have found both 

 nurture and life, must surely have turned to what is high and 

 holy, have recognized the kernel within the sensory symbolism of 

 their cult, and have beheld the veiled image of Sais. 



