THE INTERIOR OF THE GREAT TEMPLE. 491 merciless bastinado, on the same part of their own b6dies.

Certainly, to have one of the statues seated on their breasts as a nightmare, every night of their lives, would not be too much punishment for such a desecration.

The great doorway of the temple is so choked up with sand that I was obliged to creep in on my knees. The sun by this time had risen exactly to the only point where it can illumine the interior, and the rays, taking a more yellow hue from the rock and sand on which they fell, shone down the long drift between the double row of colossal statues, and lighted up the entrance to the second hall of the temple. I sat down in the sand, awed and half frightened by the singular appearance of the place. The sunshine, falling obliquely on the sands, struck a dim reflection against the sculptured roof, and even lighted up the farthest recesses of the grand hall sufficiently to show its imposing dimensions. Eight square pillars — four on either side of the central aisle — seem to uphold the roof, and on their inner sides, facing each other, are eight statues of the King. The features of all are preserved, and have something of the grace and serenity, though not the majesty of the great .statues outside. They look into each other's eyes, with an eternal question on their fixed countenances, but none can give answer. There was something so stern and strange in these eight faces, that I felt a shudder of fear creep over me. The strong arms are all crossed on their breasts, and the hands hold various sacred and regal symbols, conspicuous among which is something resembling a flail, which one sees often in Egyptian sculpture. I thought of a marvellous story I once read, in which a genie, armed with a brazen flail, stands at the entrance of an enchanted castle, crushing with the stroke of