40 
Account of an Excursion to Thebes, ^ 
The roofs are ail blue, with little stars, which has a very fine efl^ 
feet ; and the sides are painted upon a ground of the purest white. 
Tady B., who has been travelling in this country with her hus- 
band and family, gave, perhaps, the best description of them 
when she said, they were like elegant drawing-rooms, newly 
finished and painted, and ready to receive the furniture.'” The 
sarcophagus contained nothing, but is quite perfect, except the 
lid, which is broken in many pieces. Whether it ever received 
the body for which it had been destined, and which may have 
since been disturbed, it is difficult to determine : the broken 
state of the lid seems to imply that it has. The mouth of the 
tomb was completely concealed with broken stones and chips of 
rock, found in the excavations, and large mounds of which are 
seen in all parts of the valley. The sarcophagus chamber was 
strewed over with little wooden idols, . with hieroglyphics on 
them. These, when collected together, formed a large heap se- 
veral feet square. After visiting a great many of the tombs, we 
descended some mummy-pits. One of these had three small 
chambers near the entrance, on the walls of which vrere fine re- 
presentations in painting of musicians and dancers. The mum- 
mies w^ere contained in a chamber belowq in which they were 
heaped up nearly half way to the roof. 
From the mummy-pits we went to the temples, and began 
with what is called The Memnonium.” This has a very pic- 
turesque appearance at a distance, presenting long files of pil- 
lars, and forming several insulated buildings, but it is neither so 
perfect, nor in such a fine style of sculpture, as that at Dendera. 
In their plan of this temple, the French give part of one wfing as 
standing which does not exist, and leave out, on the other side, a 
wffiole range of pillars. I chose this temple as the best calculated 
for affording good views, and employed myself several days in 
making sketches of it, taken at six or eight difierent points of 
view, which give the whole temple complete, wffiile the views are 
sufficiently varied to make them all interesting. The colossal 
■statue, wfiiich has been called that of Memnon, and is a very inte- 
resting object, is formed of two immense masses of granite, w'hicii 
compose the seat and figure. The head is lying “face up,” instead 
of doym, as Denon says, but so much spoiled, that the features av% 
