laborious service, remained there of their own accord.* The Colchians, indeed, appear to be of Egyptian origin; and a strong argument in support of this conjecture, is derived from the fact of their being the only people, except the Egyptians and Ethiopians, and, I may add, the Phoenicians and Syrians of Palestine, who use circumcision; and these two last acknowledge that they borrowed the custom from Egypt. The Colchians have also another point of resemblance to the Egyptians the manufacture of linen is alike in both countries, and peculiar to them; and, moreover, their manners and language are similar.

"The greater part of the stelæ erected by Sesostris in the places he conquered, are no longer to be found. I have myself seen some in Palestine of Syria, with the disgraceful emblem and inscriptions above mentioned; and in Ionia are two figures of the same king hewn in the rock, one on the way from Ephesus to Phocæa, the other between Sardis and Smyrna. They both represent a man, five palms in height, holding in his right hand a javelin, and in his left a bow; the rest of his armour being partly Egyptian and partly Ethiopian. Across his breast, from shoulder to shoulder, is this inscription, in the sacred or hieroglyphic writing of Egypt-'I conquered this country by the force of my arms.'t Who or whence he is, are not specified; both being mentioned elsewhere‡; and though some * Rather as a garrison for one of the military posts he established, in order to secure the conquered territory, and the exaction of tribute. + Or "shoulders:" conf. Claudian, Bell. Gild., 114. "Terras humeris pontumque subegi."

Probably in the lines of hieroglyphics on the tablet accompanying the figure.

who have examined it, suppose it to be Memnon, I am persuaded they are mistaken in the name of the monarch."

There is little doubt that one of the tablets or stele alluded to by the historian still exists in Syria, bearing the name of Remeses II. It is at the side of the road leading to Beiroot, close to the river Lycus, now Nahr-el-Kelb; and though the hieroglyphics are much erased, sufficient remains to show by whose order it was sculptured. Near it is another, accompanied by the figure of a Persian king, and inscribed with the arrow-headed character, copies of which have been lately made by Mr. Bonomi; and thus the memorials of the passage of the Egyptian army, marching triumphant over Asiatic nations, and that of the Persians victorious over Syria and Egypt, are recorded in a similar manner at the same spot.

Diodorus mentions several princes who reigned in Egypt between Menes and Sesostris, some of whom preceded, and others followed, Moris, or, as he calls him, Myris. Menes, according to that historian, was succeeded by two of his descendants, who in Manetho are his son Athothes and his grandson Cencenes, or, as Eratosthenes states, Athothes I. and II. Fifty-two kings, whose names are omitted, succeeded them; then Busiris, who was followed by eight of his descendants, the last of whom bore the same name as the first, and was said to have been the founder of Thebes. This honour, we have seen above, has also been claimed for Menes; but it is more probable, as I have elsewhere shown, that the city existed even

before his era, especially as he is said to have been a native of Thebes. Nor can we agree with Diodorus in ascribing the foundation of Memphis to Uchoreus II., who is said to have borne the same name as his father, and was the eighth in descent from the monarch he supposes to have been the builder of Thebes. Uchoreus was followed by twelve generations of kings, after whom came Myris, who excavated the lake above Memphis, and is the Moris of Herodotus. If we admit the authority of Diodorus, seven generations intervened between Moeris and Sesostris; but Herodotus seems to place the latter as his immediate successor.

Sesostris, or, as Diodorus calls him, Sesoosis, was reputed by some to have been the son of Amenophis; and about the period of his birth, the god Vulcan appeared to his father in a dream, informing him that his child should become lord of the whole earth. Impressed with the truth of this vision, and anxious to profit by the admonition of the deity, he ordered all the male children throughout Egypt, who were born on the same day as his son*, to be brought to him, and having appointed nurses and gave proper persons to take charge of them, he instructions that they should be educated and treated in every respect as the young prince: being persuaded that those who were his constant companions in childhood and youth would prove his most faithful adherents and affectionate fellow-sol

* Of about the same age as his son, would have been more consistent with probability. Voltaire ridicules this account very severely. Phil. de l'Hist. p. 50.

diers. They were abundantly furnished with every thing needful as they grew up, they were by degrees inured to laborious and manly exercises, and were even forbidden to taste any food till they had performed a course of 180 stadia, or nearly twenty-three Roman miles. By this severe training of the body, and by a suitable cultivation of the mind, they were equally fitted to execute and to command. And at length, resolving to give him and his companions an opportunity of proving themselves worthy of the pains bestowed upon their education, the monarch sent them with an army into Arabia: and as soon as they had subdued that unconquered country, they passed into Africa*, great part of which they over-ran.

Sesostris having ascended the throne, turned his attention to the internal administration of the country, and having divided all Egypt into thirtysix nomes or provinces, he appointed a governor over each. He then prepared to put his military designs into execution, and to extend the conquests of Egypt into the most remote countries. With this view he collected an army of 600,000 foot, 24,000 horse, and 27,000 chariots, and appointed the companions of his youth, in number upwards of 1700, to the chief command.t Leaving his brother Armais regent in his absence, he invested him with supreme power, forbidding him only the

* Libya was always considered to form part of the territories of Egypt, even to the time of the Ptolemies. Thus Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, was deputed by Alexander to preside over Egypt and Africa, as well as part of Arabia. Justin. xiii. 4.

+ Diod. i. 54.

use of the diadem, and commanding him to respect and defend the queen, the royal family, and the household and having marched into Ethiopia, and exacted from that country a tribute of gold, ebony, and ivory, he proceeded to the promontory of Dira, near the straits of the Arabian Gulf, where he erected a stela, with an inscription in the sacred character, to commemorate his successes; and advancing to the country that produces cinnamon, he raised other monuments there, which were seen many ages after his time.

The fleet of Sesostris consisted of 400 sail, and by having ships of war in the Mediterranean as well as the Arabian Gulf, he commanded the coast of Phoenicia, and made himself master of many of the Cyclades. Having vanquished numerous southern and eastern nations, he returned to Egypt; and on his arrival at Daphne of Pelusium, he was met by his brother, who, with the plea of celebrating and welcoming this joyful event, invited him to a feast. Sesostris, little suspecting his designs, repaired to the house fitted up for his reception, accompanied by his principal friends and the different members of his family. The house had been previously filled with combustibles, which, by the command of his brother, were ignited as soon as they all retired to rest. Sesostris, roused from his sleep, perceived the imminent danger to which they were exposed, and seeing no other means of escape but by placing two of his children across the parts which were burning, he came to the resolution of making this sacrifice for the pre