Daily National Intelligencer

ANTIQUITIES OF EGYPT.
FROM A PARIS PAPER.

M. Belzoni, sent by the English government to collect monuments of antiquity in Egypt, for the British Museum, addressed the following letter to M. Visconti, for the purpose of its publication in the Paris papers. The illustrious savant, when the letter arrived, was unhappily no more. Our readers will, no doubt, be gratified by our executing the intentions of M. Belzoni. The letter is as follows:

"CAIRO, JAN. 9, 1818.

"When I first visited Thebes, in 1816, I succeeded in embarking on the Nile, the upper part of the famous statue of Memnon. This grand fragment, which lay for so many ages in the ruins of the palaces destroyed by Cambyses, is actually on its way to the British Museum. It is a colossal bust from a single block of granite, ten feet in height from the breast to the top of the head, and twelve tons weight. Other travellers before me had formed the design of conveying it to Europe, but abandoned their intention, from the difficulty of finding means of transporting such a mass the distance of two miles, to embark it on the Nile, by which alone it could reach Alexandria. I have succeeded in effecting this without machinery, and solely by the labor of Arabs, however ill-suited such rude efforts, to a people sunk in the indolence of the savage state. It accordingly took the labor of six months.

"From Thebes, I returned up towards Nubia, to examine the grand Temple of Yusambul, which is buried more than two-thirds of its height in the sand, near the second cataract. There I found inhabitants very unfavorable to my views, and on whose part, I prepared myself to encounter difficulties. I, however, from the advanced state of the season, was induced to postpone this enterprize to another time.

"In the meantime, I went back to Thebes, where I employed myself in new excavations, near the Temple of Karnack. It was there I found, many feet under ground, a range of Sphynxes, within a wall. These Sphynxes, with a lion's head upon a woman's bust, are of black granite, of the ordinary size, and for the most part, finely executed There was in the same place a statue of Jupiter Ammon, in white marble.

"It was not until my second voyage in 1817, that I discovered the head of a Colossus, much larger than that of Memnon. It was of granite, and formed out of a single block—it measured of itself ten feet from the neck to the top of the mitre, with which the head is covered. It is in excellent preservation; the polish is still as fine as if it just came from the hands of the statuary.

"After this, I resumed the way to Nubia, where so many hard trials awaited me. The people of this country are utterly savage, and have no idea of hospitality. They refused us the common necessaries of life; neither entreaty nor promise had any effect upon them, we were obliged to live upon Turkish wheat. diluted in water. By dint, however, of patience and courage, after twenty two days of incessant travelling, I had the happiness of finding myself in the Temple of Yusambul, where no European foot had ever trod before, and which presents an excavation much more vast than any to be found in Nubia or Egypt, except the tombs which I discovered at Thebes.

"The Temple of Yusambul is 152 feet long, and contains four chambers and a large court, where are to be seen eight colossal figures, 30 feet high. The columns & walls are covered with hieroglyphics and figures, in good preservation. This Temple must, therefore, have been spared by Cambyses, and the other ravagers who came after him. I brought away from this some antiques, two lions with vultures' heads and a little statue of Jupiter Ammon.

"On returning through Thebes, I again viewed those objects, which have excited the attention of travellers of every nation —I mean the tombs of the Kings of Egypt.

"It was well known, that independently of these tombs which are open, there were others under ground; but no person had yet discovered in what precise spot. After employing myself for a considerable time in observing attentively the situation of Thebes, I found a clue to lead me on my way, and having made several excavations, I met with six of them. One is that of Apis, as is signified by the mummy of an ox, which was found there The mummy is filled with asphaltus. It is impossible for me to give you an idea of the grandeur and magnificence of this tomb.

"It is certainly the most curious and astonishing thing in Egypt, and impresses one with the highest idea of the workmanship of the ancient inhabitants. The interior, from one extremity to the other, is 190 feet, contains a great number of apartments and galleries. The walls are every where covered with hieroglyphics and bas reliefs, in fresco colors, which are brighter than any color we have; and are as fresh as if they had been only just put on But the finest antique in this place, is in the principal chamber. It is a sarcophagus, formed of a single piece of alabaster, 9 feet 7 inches long, 3 feet 9 inches wide, the interior and the exterior being equally covered with hieroglyphics and figures, hollowed with a chisel. This sarcophagus sounds like a silver bell, and is as transparent as ice; no doubt, when I shall have it transported to England, as I hope to do successfully, it will be esteemed as one of the most precious treasures of which an European museum can boast."