onders of the halls and
courts of Karnak, and the mind is open only to one general impression of
colossal variety.

I well remember the morning when I stood before the propylon, or chief
entrance of Karnak. The silver stars were still shining in the cold blue
heaven, that afforded a beautiful relief to the mighty structure, built
of a light yellow stone, and quite unstained by the winds of three
thousand years. The front of this colossal entrance is very much broader
than the front of our cathedral of St. Paul, and its height exceeds that
of the Trajan column. It is entirely without sculpture--a rare omission,
and doubtless intended that the unity of effect should not be broken.
The great door in the centre is sixty-four feet in height.

Through this you pass into colonnaded courts, which in any other place
would command undivided attention, until you at length arrive in front
of a second propylon. Ascending a flight of steps, you enter the great
hall of Karnak. The area of this hall is nearly fifty-eight thousand
square feet, and it has recently been calculated that four such churches
as our St. Martin's-in-the-Fields might stand side by side in this
unrivalled chamber without occupying the whole space. The roof, formed
of single stones--compared with which the masses at Stonehenge would
appear almost bricks--has fallen in; but the one hundred and thirty-four
colossal columns which supported it, and which are considerably above
thirty feet in circumference, still remain, and with the walls and
propyla are completely covered with sculptured forms.

I shall not attempt to describe any other part of Karnak;-the memory
aches with the effort. There are many buildings attached to it, larger
than most temples; and infinite number of gates and obelisks, and
colossi; but the imagination cannot refrain from calling up some sacred
or heroic procession, moving from Luxor to Karnak, in melodious pomp,
through the great avenue of sphinxes, and ranging themselves in groups
around the gigantic columns of this sublime structure. What feudal
splendour, and what Gothic ceremonies; what tilts and tournaments, and
what ecclesiastical festivals, could rival the vast, the beautiful, and
the solemn magnificence of the old Egyptians?

Crossing the river to Western Thebes, we arrive at two seated colossi,
one of which is the famous musical statue of Memnon. It is fine to see
him still seated on his throne, dignified and serene, on the plain