Whilst our Artist was sketching, a hawk—a descendant of those from whom 
Osiris was symbolised—perched sometimes on the Obelisk, and occasionally swept down 
upon the pigeons, collected in such infinite numbers around him. 
At Luxor there still remains a community of Coptic Christians, but their rules and 
doctrines are so debased, and differ so widely from our own, that even Gibbon desig¬ 
nated their religion as “a sightless and hideous mummery of a Christian church.” 
Roberts’s Journal. 
GENERAL VIEW OF KALABSHEE, FORMERLY TALMIS, 
NUBIA. 
This point of view admirably represents the striking situation of one of the largest of 
the Temples of Nubia. Its noble elevation above the river, the two magnificent terraces 
and steps by which the entrance is approached, the grand range of mountains by which 
the scene is backed, the rich gi’oves of palms and acacias in front, and even the mud 
houses of the population here, add to the striking grandeur of the Temple and the 
picturesque character of the whole scene. 
The present Temple was begun in the reign of Augustus, and though several 
succeeding emperors contributed towards its completion, yet it was left unfinished. 
Wilkinson thinks that it was built on the site of an older edifice, as a little chapel at 
the north-east corner is anterior to the building of the Temple — probably of the time 
of Thotlnnes III., whose name can be traced on a granite statue which is still lying 
on the quay or terrace before the entrance; and many of the blocks with which this 
Temple has been built have evidently been previously appropriated in such a structure. 
There are two walls of circuit which are joined to the propylon, and the whole 
presents a magnificent mass, which incloses the court, the portico, and the naos; the 
latter is divided into three successive chambers. The mountain, at the extremity, 
has been cut away to afford space for the Temple. The sculptures are of a low 
order. There are numerous ex-voto inscriptions, chiefly to Mandoli, the ancient deity 
of Talmis. One of the most interesting is in Greek, by Silco, king of the Nubadge 
and of all the Ethiopians,— one of those sovereigns on the frontier of the Roman states 
who, by treaty with Diocletian, protected it from the enemies of the Empire. 
Roberts’s Journal. 
Wilkinson’s Egypt. 
