gPublished every Wednesday.

‘States has its origin in a human feeling, amiable in

. nion over prejudice, new ways over old ways,--when,

VOLUME ill. .
-37. 

FIPTY-THIRD YEAR .

or
POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE.

THE

 GAZETTE.

r——-t

% “ If we cannot reconcile. allopinions, let us endeavor to unite all hearts.” 3

WHOLE NUMBER.
141.

Teams: $52 per ann.in a:..li7.

V

THIRD YEAR

MENTAL lNl§EPEN DEN C 1:2-

NEW-HARMONY, (lND.) WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 1828 OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA.

ADDRESS,
DELIVERED IN THE NEW-HARMONY HALL,
BY
FRANCES WRIGHT,

at the Celebration of the Fourth of July, 1828,
the F ifty-second Jlnniversary o f J1-mericau Inde-‘
' pendence.

The custom which commemorates in rejoicing the
Anniversary of the national Independence of these

its nature, and beneficial, under proper direction, in
its indulgence.

From the era which dates the national existence
of the American people, dates also a mighty step in
the march of human knowledge. And it is consistent
with that principle in our conformation which leads
as to rejoice in the good which befals our species,
and to sorrow for the evil, that our hearts should ex-
pand on this day. On this day, which calls to me-
mory the conquest achieved by knowledge over igno-
rance, willing cobperation over blind obedience, opi-

fifty two years ago, America declared her national‘
Independence, and associated it with her republican
federation. Reasonable is it to rejoice on this day,
and useful to reflect thereon; so that we rejoice for
the real, and not any imaginary, good: and reflect
on the positive advantages obtained, and on those
which it is ours farther to acquire.

.- Dating, as we justly may, a new era in the his-
tory of man from the Fourth of J uly 1776, it would be
1rell—-that is, it would be useful, if on each Anni-
versary we examined the progress madeby our spe-
cies in just knowledge and just practice. Each

Fourth of July would then stand as atide-marl: in
the flood of Time, by which to ascertain the advance

of the human intellect, by which to note the rise

and fall of each successive error, the discovery of
each important truth, the gradual melioration in

our public institutions, social arrangements, and,

above all, in our moral feelings and mental views.

Let such a review as this engage annually our atten-

fi°0a and sacred--doubly sacred shall be this day;

and that not to one nation only, but to all nations

of federative government that sprung out of the ar-
ticles signed in 76 is one of the most beautiful inven-
tions of the human intellect. Itbas beenain go-
vernment what the steam engine has-been in mecha-
nics, and the printing press in the dissemination of
human knowledge.

But it needs not that we should now pause to ana-
lyze what all must have considered. It is to one
particular feature incur political institutions that I
would call attention, and this,--because it is at once
the most deserving of notice and tbeleast noticed.
Are our institutions better than those of other coun-
tries‘! Upon fair examination most men will answer
yes. But why will they so answer‘? is it because they
are republican, instead of monarchical ; democratic,
rather than aristocratic? In so far as the republi-
can principle shall have been proved more conducive
to the general good than the monarchical, and the
democratic than the aristocratic--in-so far will the
reasonsbe good. But there is another and a better
reason than these. There is in the institutions of
this country, one principle which, had, they no other
excellence, would secure to then: the preference
over those of allother countries. I mean--and some

change.

I have used a word to which is attache.-1 gm
obnoxious meaning. Speak of ‘change’ and tin:
world is in alarm. And yet where do we not sea
change? What is there in the physical world but
change? And what would there be in the moral
world without change? The flower blossoms, the fruit
ripens, the seed is received and germinates in the
earth, and we behold the tree. The aliment we eat
to satisfy our hunger, incorporates with our frame,
and the atoms composing our existence to day, are
cxhaled tomorrow. In like manner our feelings and

!

as it is. Strange then that we should start at a word
used to signify a thing so familiar! Stranger yet that
we should fail to appreciate a principle which, in-
herent in all matter, is no less inherent in ourselves;
and which as it has tracked our mental progress
heretofore so will it track our progress through time

capable of retlection!

‘The political dismembermcnt of these once Bri-
tish colonies from the parent island, though involv-
ing a valuable principle and many possible results,
7°11” 5°3’°°l3’ merit a yearly commemoration, even
‘*1 this °°“’ll".‘/‘a had it not been accompanied by oth-
er Occurrences more novel and far more important.
cl°=;I11tl:::li:;‘.o the seal then ‘set to the system of repre.
to the cmsm thzcrfiecure y practised in America; and

-_ placed on this system by the no.

good sense? It may be for the better and it may be

as it is. But in the moral world-—tbat is, in the

may certainly be either for the better ’or for the
worse; ‘or it may be for neither. Changes that are

to come!
But, will it be said, change has a bad as well as a

for the worse? In the physical world it can be nei-
ther the one nor the other. It can be simply such

thoughts and feelings and inventions of men, change

neither bad nor good can have regard only to l’.l‘l"s'l:-ll
matters, and can be as little worthy of observation

'-"'l‘f”‘£’°1'i3?-81.‘-‘t Of political federation. The frame

as of censure. Changes that are from better to worse

devout patriots will "start; i mean, the 9,336,910 of

H?

can originate only in ignorance, and are ever amend-
ded so soon as experience has substantiated their
mischief. Where men then are free to consult expe-
rience they will correct their practice, and make
changes for the better. It follows therefore, that the
more free men are the more changes they will make.
In the beginning‘, possibly, for the worse; but most
certainly in time for the better; until their knowledge
enlarging b y observation, and theirj ud gm cut strength-
ening by exercise, they will find themselves in the
straight, broad, fair road oflmprovernent. Out of

change, therefore, springs improvement; and the
people who shall have imagined a pcaccable mode
of changing their institutions, hold a surety for

their melioration. This surety is worth all other
excellencies. Better were the prospe :ts of a people
underthe influence of the worst Government who
should hold the power of changing it, than those of a
people under the best who should hold no such pow-
er. Here then is the great beauty of Anlcrican Go-

vernment. The simple machinery of representation
curried through all its parts, givtas facility for its be-

ing moulded at will to fit with the knowledge of the
age. Ifimpcrfcct in any or all of its parts, it bears
within it a perfect principle--the principle of im-
provement. And, let us observe, that this principle
is all t!;;jg we can ever‘ know of perfection. Know»-

lcrlac, (and 5:" L00 blessings which spring out of know-

ledge, can never be more than progressive; and what~

soever set: open the door does all for us--does every
thing.

The clcarsightcd provision in the national as in
the state constitutions, by which the frame of gov-
ernment can be moulded at will by the public voice,
;and so made to keep pace in progress with the public
lmind, is the master-stroke in constitutional law.
%VVore our institutions for less enlightened and well

°Pi°l°“S 3'57 m°“1d°d by Clmumstancca and milmrell ldigested than they are--were every other regulation
by observation and experience. All is change. W ith- 

‘erroneous, every other ordinance defective--—nay,

in ‘ma 35°“ "'3 9° W9 “li°§ 55 33 it W39: 01‘ Will be leven tyrannous-—this single provision would counter-

lance all. Let but the door he opened and he fixed
open for Improvement to hold on her unimpeded
course, and vices, however flagrant, are but the evils
of an hour. Once lanch the animal man in the road
of enquiry, and he shall--he must--hold a forward
career. He may be sometimes checked ; he may seem
occasionally to retrograde; but his retreat is only
that of the receding wave in the inning tide. His
master movement is always in advance. By this do
we distinguish man from all other existenccs within

the range of our observation. By this does he stand
preeminent over all known animals. By t/zz's——-by his
capability of improvement: by his tendency to im-
prove whenever scope is allowed for the develope-
mcn’: of his faculties.
chained. Snap the chain, and he springs forward.

To hold him still, he must be

But will it be said, that the chains which bind him

are more than one? That political bonds are much,

A the less of the some thing?

290 T

‘ ‘UIVV

but not all; and that when broken» WBJMJ’ Still b8
slaves‘! I know not, my friends- There are distinc-
tions, and these not diflicult to draw. _ ‘Va are told
or political libcrly——-of religious liberty-of moral
liberty. Yet, after all, is there more than one lib-
erty; and these divisions, are they not the more and
The provision we have
referred to in our political institutions, as framed in
accordance with the principle inherent in ourselves,
insures to us all of free action that statutes can insure.
Supposing that our laws, constitutional, civil, or pe-
nal, should in any thing cripple us at the present,
the power will be with us to amend or annul them
so soon (and how might it be sooner?) as our en-
larged knowledge shall enable us to see in what they
err. All the liberty therefore that we yet lack will
gradually spring up-—there, where our bondage is----
in our minds. To be free we have but to see our
chains. Are we disappointed—-are we sometimes
angry, because the crowd 0" any part of the crowd
around us bows suhmissively to mischievous usages
or unjust. laws? Let us remember, that they do‘ so in
ignorance of their mischief and injustice, and that
when they see these, as in the course of man’s pro-
gressive state, they must see them, these and other
evils will be corrected.

'1‘ H

__._....._‘........«..-¢ 1...... .....—.a.

tion.

its interests are in unison with our own‘!

The great error of the wisest known’ nations of an-
tiquity, the Greeks and Romans, was the preference
invariably given to the imagined interests of an iron-
ginary existence called the state or coultrry, and the
real interests of the real existenceaz, or- human be-
ings, upon whom,individually and collectively, their
Another error was the

lnuppreciahle is this advantage that we hold (un-

laws could alone operate.

opposition in which they invariably placed the in-
fortunately) above other nations !‘ The great nation-ztcrcsts of their own nation to the interests of all
nl and political revolution of 76 set the seal to thelother nations: and a third and greater error, was
liberties of North America. And but for one evil,.2the elevating into a virtue this selfish preference of"
and that of immense magnitude, which the constitu- :their own national interests, under the name of pa-

EW-HARMONY GAZETTE. M  

of 3 Billion or subjects of 0. government. Indeed, the
only ‘rational purpose for which we can suppose men
congregated into what are called nations, is the in-
crease of happiness-—-the insuring of some advan-
tage, real or imagined. The only rational purpose
for which we can suppose governments organized,
the same. If upon examination we should find the
object not gained, the experiment, so far as it went,
would have failed, and we should then act rational-
ly to break up such notional congregations and to
change or annul such Governments. Our character
as citizens, therefore, must eveydepend upon our fin-
ding it for our interest. as mento stand in that rela-
What then is patriotism, or the fulfilment of
our duties as citizens, but the acting consistently in
that way which we conceive it for our interest that
-we should act? Or what reason shall be offered for
our ‘consulting the interests of a Governmenfiuuleas

 M|_.luly 9",

Does not the defence of country afford a’ parallel
case totbe first supposition? lnlso much as it be
ml": We defend our own. We do what it is fair and
proper that we shoulcl (lo,--‘\nt we do nothing more.
Whzit then is patriotism, of which we hear so much
and understand’ so littlpl If it mean only a proper
a“°m'°" l0 0'1!‘ own interests, and the interests of
the People with Wimm we stand connected, and or
thegovernmont instituted for our protection, it is a
rational sentiment, and one appertaining to our or-
gamzation. It is one in short, with the love of self,
and the principle of self-defence, and self-preserve.
tion. Again--are we to understand by it an attach.
ment to the soil we tread, because we tread it; 111,,
language we speak, because we speak it; the guy.
ernment that rules us, merely because it rules us‘? it
"lea"-“ “°“‘59§a or it means nonsense. Again; arc-
W9 *0 Understand by patriotism a preference for the
interests of our own nation under all circumstances
even to the sacrifice of those of other nations--it 3-.
a vice.

In continental Europe, ofllate years, the word:
patriotism and patriot have been used in n more on
larged sense than it is usual here to attribute to them._
or that: is attached to them in Great Britain. Sinai
the political strrxgglcs of France, Italy, Spain, and

 ..... -... ¢..  ,_,___

 

throughout continental Europe, to express a love 0:‘
the public good; :1 preference for the interests nfthr
many to those of the few; a desire for the cmanci
potion of the human race from the thrall of clcspn.

tionul provision we have been considering does not Ltriotism. The modems are growing :1 little wiser on ,tism, rc~li:_:ious and civil: in short, patriotism there is
fairly reach,-—l allude to negro slavery and the degra-"these matters, but they are still very ignorant. The ’ used rather to express the interest felt in the humar
dation ofour colored citizens-—--vve could foresee for least ignorant are the people of this country: but race In _z_:t:ner:1l, than that felt for any country, crin-

the wholeofthis magnificent country a certain future
of uniform and peaceful improvement. While other

nations have still to win reform at um ,,,,.¢....1a.. ,..~.;nt,'

éthey have much 10 learn.

‘gun on
order that 3

Americans no longer ur-
ghe propriety of making all men soldiers. in

habitunts of a country, if! particular. And patriot.
in like manner, is employed to signify a lover of hu.

5
I

heir 03509 "”‘.’~’ 50 3" 0b.l"C¢ Of if-‘"'0|' Wiman liberty andhuman improvement, rather than a

we have onlyto will it. \‘Vhile in Europuaucuhavcimc rest of the world. They understand that theimerc lover of the country in which he lives, or the

still to fight, we have only to learn. Vvhile there

they have to cope with ignorance armed cap-a-pee,»
‘free to choose, can haven government at all. They

encircled with armies and powerful with gold,we have
only peacefully to collect knowledge and to frame
our institutions and actions in accordance with it.

It is true, that we have much knowledge to col-
lect, and consequently much to amend in our opin-
ions and our practice. it is also true that we are
often ignorant of what has been done, and quite un-
aware that there is yet any thing to do. The very
nature ofthe national institutions is frequently mi-:-
taken, and the devotion exhibited for them as fre-
quently based on a. wrong principle. Here, as in
other countries, we hear of patriotism; that is, of
love of country in an exclusive sense; of love of our
countrymen in contradistinction to the love of our
fellow-creatures-, of love of the constitution, instead
of love or appreciation of those principles upon
which the constitution is, or ought to be, based,-—

und upon which, ifit should be found not to be bas-

ed, it would merit no attachment at all. The senti-
ment here adrcrted to involves much of importance
to us in our double character of men and citizens.
Thatdouble character it will be also useful that we
examine, as much confusion prevails in the vulgar
ideas on the subject.

it will be conceded, that we do not cease to be
men whim We b99011“-'9 Citizens: and farther, that our
h'<ll’P3’~0Xistence as human beings is of more impor-
td-Bce to us than our artificial existence as members

Thappiness of a people is the only rational object of a,u-ihe to which he be],mg5_

I

Used in this sense, pa.

government; and (homily object for which a peoplcftriotism is a virtue, and a patriot a virtuous man.

5With such an interpretation, a patriot is a useful

have farther almost excluded war as a profossionflmcznber of society, capable of enlarging all minds

simple defence. In so doing, they ought also to have
laid aside all show of military parade, and all ideas
of military glory. lfthey have not done so, it isthut
their reform in this matter is yet imperfect, and their
ideas respecting it, are confused.
Who among us but has heard, and, perhaps, echo-
d culogiums on-the patriotism of statesmen and sol-
diers,--not because they have upheld some strict
principle of justice, which should rather merit the
name of virtue, but because they have flattered
the vanity of their countrymen in a public speech,
defended their own interests, and the national in-
terests, in some foreign treaty, or their own pos-
sessions, and the national possessions, in a seige
or a pitched battle? it is not that some of these
actions may not be just and proper; but are they
justly and properly estimated? Is it virtuous in
a man if a pistol be presented to his breast, to
knock down the assailant? The action is perfect-
ly Warrantable; but does it call forth admiration?
Should the attack be made on another, and should
he defend the life ofthat other at the risk ofhis own,-—
the action, though not exceedingly meritorious,
might excite a moderate admiration, as involving a
'fo1-getfulness of self in the service rendered.

and reduced it from a system of robbery to one oféand bettering all hearts with which he comesin con-

tact; a useful member of the human family, capable
{of establishing fundamental principles, and of morg-
ing his own interests, those of his associates, and
those of his nation, in the interests of the human
race. Laurels and statues are vain things, and mis-
chievous as they are childish; but, could we imagine
them of use, on such a patriot alone could they be
with any reason, bestowed.
Is there a thought can fill the human mind
More pure, more vast, more generous, more refin’d
Thnnthat which guides the enlighted Patriot’: toil '-'
Not He, whose view is bounded by his soil;
Not‘ He, whose narrow heart can only shrine
The land-—-the people that he calleth mine;
Not He, who to set up that land on high,
Will make whole nations bleed, whole nations die-7
Not He, who, calling that land"s rights his pride.
Trampleth the rights of all the earth beside;
No!-He it is, thejust, the generous soul!
Who owneth brotherhood with either pole,
Stretches from realm to realm his spacious mind,-
And guards the weal of all the human-kind,
Holds Freedonvs banner o’er the earth unfurl’d,
And stands the guardian Patriot of a world?

if such a patriotism 88 we have last cousidcren

Greece, the word patriotism has been cmployc-d_.

llowd the blood of every p°°Pl9 09 ll“? globe-

-iboth mischievous and absurd. The very origin 0

is truly the home‘
izcns'
Pat-
riotism, in the exclusive meaning, is surely nottmndo

for America. Mischievous every where, it were herds,
ll

be certainlyviu this. In this which .
of all nations, and in the veins Of Wl‘°3¢ °“

the people is opposed to lift. The institutions, in
their principle, militate" against it. _'I__"l_l_c_ dill’
weare celebrating protests against it. It is for,Amer-
jcans, more especially, to nourish a nobler sentiment;
one more consistent with their origin, and more con-i
ducive to their future improvement. It is for them?
more especially to know why they love their coun-3
try; and to feel that they love it, not bfcnuse it is
their country, but because it is the pallet‘ ium of hu-
man liberty-—tlie_favor’d scene of human improve-
ment. It is forithemi,im&ore especially, to know,_wh y
they honor their-",institutions;' and to feel, that they
honor them because they are based on just principles.
ll is,“-‘T them: m0!'e especially, to examine their in-
stitutions, because they have the means of improviiig
them; to examine their laws, because at will they

l
l
.
l
l

9l"~'3Ҥth is in kҡ-Wledge; ambitious distinctionsg

whose principle is equality. it is for them not to restithe form of large and Small chambers, each of
Samfied with W°|'d5.Wh°. C?" 99529 "POD things; aml'.which has its separate entrance; and, thougb,pl-ace, found one,
5° "-"}‘°‘”b°"v ‘_l‘_"* E‘l“°l"¥ means. not the mercfthey are very close to each other, itis seldom
€‘l“3-11')’ °l' P°lll|°3l fights. however valuable, butllhat there is any interior communication from

equality of instruction and equality in virtue; andl

gust cornea
lsuccession, by pu

 

    

_. ., ..'..ow  an-r

 

i;a2s.3 -THE NEW-HARMONY GAZ rxrri-;.
. . '______________,,W______ _______ A '  “‘“"""”""""i' ”' in ‘;"“'"~”’ '    ,_, _,
     . ,    -   . . ~ .   .-        v -   

were then as perplexed as evefaillld were both
exhausted from the ascents and ztlescents, which
we had been obliged to go over. The "Arab
seated himself, but every m0m€_nt of delay
was dangerous. The only exlffilllfint was to
put a mark at the place out of which we had
' and then examine the cavities in
tting also a mark at their eu-
trance, so as to know where we had been. Un-
fortunately, our candles would not last through
the whole researches: however, We began ..0u_1‘
operations. ,

On the second attempt, when passing before
a small aperture, I thought I heard the sound
of something like the roaring of the sea at a
d;5¢an¢,-mt in consequence lentered this cav-
;,fy;..and «as .we advanced the noise increased,

.7 -"sté<m{’e's4,; tjhat’ cut like
glass. ‘ Afteri;',g_é7tt‘ing” tfll!?0ll.gfl'!ii.*l1,.‘?5’.‘3 Passilgess
some of them two O1"'~l‘;llli-i';€.€2i.l‘ll3“ill(l.t‘.Bll yards Wigs
you generally find. a"miO!‘t3 .C'0m¥Y.1.0dious Places
perhapshigh enough to sit. I_3nt what. a place‘
of rest‘. surrounded by -bodies. by l3€flP5 °l
mummies in all directions; which.» l>}“3V|°“-‘5 ll‘
my-_b'ei~ng accustomed to the sight, impressed
me with horror. The blackness ol the wall,
the faintlight given by the candles or torches
for want ofgair, the diderent objects that sur-
rounded me, seeming to converse with each
other, and the Arabs with the candles or
torches in their hands,nal_ied and covered with
dust, themselves resembling living mummies,
absolu_tel”yLformed a scenethat cannot be des.
cpibegl’, [gin such zi situationl found myself
several tiir'ics,r»'vand often returned exhausted
and faminting, til! at last I -became inured to it,

till lcould distinctly hearanumber of voices
all at one liime. At last, thank God: ‘"3 ‘Vi?-l"
ea out; and, .to my no small surprise, the first
person I saw was my interpreter. i

Gournou is a tract Of 1'01?-k9: 3

l

l

Every part of these rocks is cut out by art, in

one to another. I can truly say, it is impossi-

bout two iuiles'titute oft
. ~ ' h it t f t f tbeLibian mountains lthat the in
can illtCfth8ll1.. It is for them to lay aside luxury-"gm! lgpegrt  ‘lg? 3.18298, and was t,f,e,buri,',g:i5,,,,,”0,,.'

whose wealth is in industry; idle parade, whoseiptace of the great cityof 8. liundred gates.

3wlien my weight born out

l

i that Liberty means--not the mere voting at electioiis,j§ ble to give any description sufficient to convey ,but they found no better support ;so that l

and indiflerent to what I suffered, except from
the dust, which never failed to choke my throat
and nose; and though, fortunately, lam des-
he sense of smelling. lcmlld “isle
umniies were rather unpleasant f0
After-the exertion of entering into
through a passage 0! llflya 11 M0‘
dred, or perhaps six hundred
ercome, l sought :1 1135033’
and contrived to sit; bl”
he body of an Egyp-
ian, it crushed it like a hand-box. I naturally _

iad recourse to my hands to sustain my weight,
sun '

0

such a place,
dred, three hur.
yards, nearly 0%.’

but the free and fearless exercise of the mental facul-lthe smallest idea of those subterranean al)0(l83,la]taggthe[- among the broken mummies, with

ties, and that self-possession which springs out of well-9

and their inhabitants.

'“‘°"° We "0 Seplll-in crash of bones, rags, and wooden cases,

reasoned opinions and consistent practice. It is rorrchres in any part of the W0!‘l<l like lhcmmvhicli raised such a dust as kept me motion-

ihem to honor principles, rather than imen,--to com-glue": are 00 €XC?lV3ll0"5a 01' 01l"?5:_U1i1l can be 1955 for a

meuiorate events, rather than days: when they re-l
juice, to know, for what they rejoice,--and to re-l
_ioice- only for what has brought and what brings‘
peace and happiness to men. The event we coni-

memorate this day has procured much of both, and

shall procure in the onward course ofhuman improve-
ment'niore_,tb,an"vve can -now conceiveof. For this-—
for the good obtained, and yet in st'ore for our race,
let us rejoice! (But let us rejoice as men, not as
children,--as human’ beings, rather than as Ame;-3-
..-ziiis,--as reasoning beings, not as ‘ignorants. So
Shall We *‘e.l0i¢é to good “pilrpose, and "H in good feel-
ing; so shall we improve the victory once. on this
day achieved, until all mankind hold with us the
Jubilee of Independence. . 4 I '

v

_. t From Belzonils
EGYPT AND NUBIA“.
_ [Continued from p. 285.]

seeing on.e,whicb ‘appeared to be the right,
we proceeded. through it a long way; but by
this time our candles bad diminished conside-
rably; and I feared, that, if we did not get
out 80011, We should have to remain in the dark ;
meantime it would have been dangerous to
put one out, to save the other, lest that which
was left should, by some accident, he extin-
guished. At this time we were considerably
advanced towards the outside, as we thought-
butto our sorrow we found the end of thai
C‘“”tYs Without any outlet. Convinced that
we were mistaken in our conjecture, we quick-

uarfpr of an hour, waiting till it

and no exact description can be given oftlieir place,|,0,,,e,,e,., ,,.,‘,;,,,u, ;,,c,.ea5,°,,g it, and es,--
l“l'3¥‘l°"s °“'"’g l° file d'ifi°“.lt~V °l ‘”5"'"g;ery step ltookl crushed a mummy in some
these recesses. The iiiconvenieucy of €tll’.c.l‘-lpapt or ou,c,._ Once i was cnnducted from

who can support the exertion.

A traveller is generally satisfied when hes
has seen the large ball, the gallery, the stair-
case, and as far as he can conveniently go: be-
sides, lie istalien up with the strange works
he observes cut in various places, and painted
on each side of the walls; so that when "he
comes to a narrow and difficult passage, or to
have to descend to the bottom of a well or
-cavity, he declines taking such trouble, natu-
rally supposes that he cannot see in these
abysses any thing so magnificent as what he
sees above, and consequently deeming it use-
less to proceed any farther. Of some of these-
tombs many persons could not withstand the
sutlocating air, which often causes fainting. A
vast quantity of dust rises, so fine that it enters
into the throat and nostrils, and chokes the
nose and mouth to such a degree, that it re-
quires great power of lungs to resist {.1 and
the strong eflluvia of the mummies. his is
not all; the entry or passage where the bodies
are is roughly cut in the rocks, and the falling
of the sand from the upper part or ceiling of
the passage causes it to be nearly filled tip.

I

ing into them is such, that it is not every oneguch 3

place to another resembling it, through
21 passage of about twenty feet in length, and
no wider than that a body could be forced
through. It was choked with mummies, and
[could not pass without pulling my face in
contact with that of some decayed Egyptian,-
but as the passage inclined downwards, my
own weight helped me on: however, l could
not avoid being covered with bones, legs,arms,
and heads rolling from above. Thus. lpro-
ceeded from one cave to another, all full of
mummies piled up in various ways, some sta-n.
ding, some lying, andsome on their heads.
The purpose of my researches was to rob the
Egyptians oftheir papyri; of which I found a
few hidden in their breasts, under their arms,
in the space above the knees, or on the legs,
and covered. by the numerous folds oi‘ cloth;
that envelop the mummy. The people of
Gournou, who make a trade of antiquities of
this sort, are very jealous ofstrangers, and
keep them as secret as possible, deceiving ire--
vellers by pretending, that they have arrived
at the end of the pits, when they are scarcely
at the entrance. I could never prevail on
them to conduct me into these places till this

in some places there is not morejthan a vacan-
cy of a foot left, which you ymuist contrive to

5:’ returned towards the place of the various

pass through in a creeping "posture like a snail,

‘my second voyage,‘when I succeeded niob-
Etaiuing z_idmissiQ_n ‘intoiany cave wlicrc alum»
imies were to be seen.