from assassination. He relates the adventure
in his work on Egypt:—

"Some particular business calling me to
Cairo, I was on my ass in one of the narrow
streets, where I met a loaded camel. The
space that remained between the camel and
the wall was so little, that I could scarcely
pass; and at that moment I was met by a
Binbashi, a subaltern officer, at the head of
his men. For the instant I was the only
obstacle that prevented his proceeding on
the road; and I could neither retreat nor
turn round, to give him room to pass. Seeing
it was a Frank who stopped his way, he gave
me a violent blow on my stomach. Not
being accustomed to put up with such
salutations, I returned the compliment with my
whip across his naked shoulders. Instantly
he took his pistol out of his belt; I jumped off
my ass; he retired about two yards, pulled
the trigger, fired at my head, singed the hair
near my right ear, and killed one of his own
soldiers, who, by this time, had come behind me.
Finding that he had missed his aim, he took
a second pistol; but his own soldiers assailed
and disarmed him. A great noise arose in the
street, and, as it happened to be close to the
seraglio in the Esbakie, some of the guards
ran up; but on seeing what the matter was,
they interfered and stopped the Binbashi.
I thought my company was not wanted, so I
mounted my charger, and rode off. I went to
Mr. Baghos, and told him what had happened.
We repaired immediately to the citadel, saw
the Pasha, and related the circumstance to
him. He was much concerned, and wished to
know where the soldier was, but observed,
that it was too late that evening to have him
taken up. However, he was apprehended the
next day, and I never heard or knew
anything more about him. Such a lesson on the
subject was not lost upon me; and I took
good care, in future, not to give the least
opportunity of the kind to men of that description
who can murder an European with as
much indifference as they would kill an
insect."

Ruined by the loss of all his savings, which
he had spent in the construction of his water
machines, Belzoni once more applied to Mr.
Salt, and undertook the furtherance of his
scheme, to convey to England the bust of
Memnon. So eager was he, that the same day,
the Italian set out for the ruins of Thebes,
and hired a hundred natives, whom he made
clear away the sand which half covered the
stone colossus. With a large staff in his
hand, Belzoni commanded his army of Mussulmen,
directed their labours, astonished them
with displays of his physical strength, learned
to speak their language with marvellous
facility, and speedily came to be regarded by
them as a superior being, endowed with
magical power.

One day, however, his money failed; and at
the same time the rising of the Nile destroyed,
in two hours, the work of three months. The
fellahs rebelled : one of them rushed towards
Belzoni, intending to strike him with his
dagger. The Italian coolly waited his
approach, disarmed him ; and then, seizing him
by the feet, lifted him as though he had been
a hazel wand, and began to inflict vigorous
blows on the other insurgents with this novel
and extemporary weapon of defence. The
lesson was not thrown away : very speedily
the fellahs returned to their duty ; and after
eighteen days' incessant labour, Memnon
trembled at his base, and was moved towards
the bank of the Nile.

The embarkation of this enormous statue
presented difficulties almost as great as those
which attended its disinterment and land
transport. Nevertheless, the intelligence and
perseverance of Belzoni surmounted every
obstacle; and he brought his wondrous
conquest to London, where its arrival produced
a sensation similar to that caused more recently
in Paris by the sight of the Obelisk of Luxor.
Loaded with praise, and also with more
substantial gifts, Belzoni, now became an
important personage, returned to Egypt and to his
friend Mr. Salt. The latter proposed to him
to go up the Nile, and attempt the removal
of the sand-hills which covered the principal
portion of the magnificent temple of Ebsamboul.
Belzoni readily consented, set out for
Lower Nubia, ventured boldly amongst the
savage tribes who wander through the sandy
desert; returning to Thebes, he was
rewarded, not only by the success of his special
mission, but also by discovering the temple
of Luxor.

In all his undertakings, however
enterprising, Belzoni was aided and cheered by
the presence of his wife. The expedition to
Nubia was, however, thought too hazardous
for her to undertake. But in the absence of
her husband she was not idle; she dug up
the statue of Jupiter Ammon, with the ram's
head on his knee, which is now in the British
Museum.

The temple of Luxor had been so completely,
and for so long a period, buried in sand, that
even its existence remained unsuspected. It
had been dedicated to Isis by the Queen of
Rameses the Great; and the descriptions
which travellers give of it, resemble those of
the palaces in the " Arabian Nights." Four
colossal figures, sixty-one feet in height, are
seated in front. Eight others, forty-eight in
height, and standing up, support the roof of
the principal inner hall, in which gigantic
bas-reliefs represent the whole history of
liameses. Sixteen other halls, scarcely smaller
than the first, display, in all their primitive
splendour, many gorgeous paintings, and the
mysterious forms of myriads of statues.

After this discovery, Belzoni took up his
temporary abode in the valley of Biban-el-
Mouloch (Tombs of the Kings). He had
already remarked there, amongst the rocks, a
fissure of a peculiar form, and which was
evidently the work of man. He caused this