^00 
DESCRIPTIONS OF EGYPT. 
With advantage by the antiquary ; but, from the 
minute details of which they consist, do not 
easily admit of abridgment. Mr Hamilton's 
admiration of Philae seems to have fully equalled 
that of Denon. He remarks, that the sculptures 
have evidently been studiously defaced, probably 
by the fanatical zeal of the early Christians. 
Near Syene Mr Hamilton particularly examined 
a temple supposed by Pococke to be the celebrat- 
ed observatory of that place. He employed a 
number of men and boys for several days in digg- 
ing, with the hope of discovering the well, where, 
at the summer solstice, the sun's disk was said to 
be reflected entire. He was obliged to leave the 
place, however, before arriving at any object 
which could reward the investigation. The tem- 
ples of Edfu, of Thebes, and of Dendera, are 
particularly described by Mr Hamilton. He ad- 
mired much also that of Esne, commonly sup- 
posed to be the ancient Latopolis, a derivation, 
however, the correctness of which he is inclined 
to doubt. 
That spirit of enterprise by which EngHsh tra- 
vellers have of late been so remarkably distin- 
guished, has extended itself to the course of the 
Nile above Egypt ; a tract which has been proved 
to exhibit a continuation of that series of wonders 
which mark every part of its progress from Cairo 
