who have recorded their impressions in inscriptions which are legible on the legs 
and feet of the statue. That it was a trick of the priests there can he no doubt, 
as a stone is still found in the lap of the statue which when struck is sonorous like 
brass: this was verified by Wilkinson, and confirms what is recorded in an inscription 
by one Ballilla, that the sound might be compared to that produced by the striking 
of brass. The Emperor Hadrian heard it three times,— a princely compliment to 
the sovereign and his consort, or to the ladies who accompanied them; for the names 
still appear, among others in the inscriptions, of Julia Romilia and Cecilia Treboulla. 
Wilkinson’s Egypt. 
SCENE ON THE NILE NEAR WADY DABOD, WITH 
CROCODILES. 
This scenery is very characteristic of the Nile in Nubia; the mountains break into 
bold forms, the rocks are often precipitous, and islands rise abruptly from the river. 
Here the view is taken looking down the Nile. Wady Dabod, or the Valley of 
Dabod, lies on the western side of the river, but the Temple of Wady Dabod is 
situated too far on the left to be introduced in the view. Some Egyptian ruins 
crest the summit of the island, but, like other masses of ancient structures, which 
can often be traced on the borders of the Nile, enough scarcely remains to reward 
the traveller for the labour of research into their history. 
Here our Artist observed many crocodiles. Those brutes, so characteristic of 
the Nile, that they may be considered its emblems, unlike the changelings of the 
land, are the lineal descendants of those who were worshipped in certain places in 
the valley, and contemporary with its earliest Pharaohs. It is the sport of the Nile 
traveller to shoot at these poor animals; the first crocodile seen on the ascent of 
the river is a red-letter day in his journal, and his success in killing one is a 
triumph. They are often seen basking in the sun on the sand-banks, but on the 
approach of a boat they generally take to the water. Mr. Roberts says, they do 
not dive into the river— they seem to be denied the power of swimming, and are 
never seen to float—but enter the water by walking down the slopes and mud-banks; 
and if steep, their tails are seen out in the angle of the slope, and slowly descend 
into the water, until they wholly disappear. Of the birds which are always seen 
near them the Arabs tell strange tales, and assert that they may be constantly seen 
picking flies from the mouths of the crocodiles, which are open when the animals are 
dormant. 
Roberts's Journal. 
