tance in excavating and embarking the statue, till he had the satisfaction, at last, of seeing it stowed into the boat intended for its conveyance, without having received any injury, and fairly afloat on the Nile. Having arrived at Alexandria, it was afterwards sent to England, and is now in the British Museum.

Belzoni had now found his proper sphere, and henceforth, his whole soul was engaged in the work of exploring the wonderful country in which he was, in search of the monuments of its ancient arts and greatness. In this occupation, he was constantly employed, sometimes in the service of Mr. Salt, and sometimes on his own account. The next affair which Mr. Salt committed to him, was the excavation of the Temple of Ipsamboul, in Upper Egypt, which was so enveloped in sand, that only its summit was visible. Belzoni, however, in despite of innumerable obstacles, partly of a physical nature, and partly created by the opposition of the natives, at last succeeded in penetrating into its interior. On returning from this expedition, he next undertook a journey to the valley of Beban el Malouk, beyond Thebes, where, from a slight inspection, on a former occasion, of the rocky sides of the hills, he had been led to suspect that many tombs of the old inhabitants would be found concealed within them. For some time he searched in vain, in all directions, for any indication of what he had expected to find, till at last his attention was suddenly attracted by a small fissure in the rock, which presented to his experienced eye something like the traces of human labor. He put forward his hand to examine it, when the stones, on his touching them, came tumbling down, and discovered to him the entrance to a long passage, having its sides ornamented with sculpture and paintings. He at once entered the cavern, proceeded forward, and, after overleaping several obstacles, which opposed his progress, found himself in a sepulchral chamber, in the centre of which, stood an alabaster sarcophagus, covered with sculptures. He afterwards removed this sarcophagus, and with infinite labor took exact copies of the drawings, consisting of nearly a thousand figures, and the hie

roglyphic inscriptions, amounting to more than five hundred, which he found on the walls of the tomb. It was from these copies, that Belzoni formed the representation or model of this tomb, which he afterwards exhibited, in London and Paris.

On returning to Cairo, from this great discovery, he immediately engaged in a new investigation, which conducted him to another, perhaps still more interesting. He determined to make an attempt to penetrate into one of the pyramids; and was at last fortunate enough to discover, in that called the pyramid of Cephrenes, the entrance to a passage, which led him into the centre of the structure. Here he found a sepulchral chamber, with a sarcophagus in the middle of it, containing the bones of a bull, a discovery which has been considered as proving that these immense edifices were in reality erected by the superstition of the old Egyptians, for no other purpose than to serve each as a sepulchre for one of their brute divinities. After this, encouraged by the splendid success that had hitherto attended his efforts, which had now made him famous over Europe, Belzoni engaged in various other enterprises, of a similar character, which we have not room to enumerate. He made also several journeys, both to the remote parts of Egypt, and beyond the bounds of that country, into the adjoining regions of Africa. At last, he determined to revisit Europe, and accordingly he set sail for that purpose, in September,

1819.

The first place which he visited, was his native city, from which he had now been absent nearly twenty years. When he left it, last, he was an unknown wanderer, without employment or the means of existence, and ready almost to accept the humblest that might be any where offered him; he returned to it, now, with a name familiar over the civilized world, and the glory of many discoveries, which had long made him the pride of his fellowcitizens. He presented, on this occasion, to the town of Padua, two lion-headed granite statues, which were placed, by the magistracy, in a conspicuous situation, in the Palace of Justice; and a medal was at the same time

struck, in honor of the giver, on which were inscribed his name, and a recital of his exploits. A copy of this medal, in gold, was presented to Belzoni, accompanied with a letter, expressive of the admiration felt by the Paduans, for their distinguished townsman. From Italy, Belzoni hastened to England, where the rumor of his discoveries had already excited a greater interest, than in any other country. Here, he met with the welcome, due to one whose services had contributed to extend the scientific glory of the nation; and, both in the world of letters, and in the world of fashion, the celebrated traveller became a chief object of attraction. He now employed himself, in preparing an account of his travels and discoveries for the press; and the work appeared about the end of the year 1820, in a quarto volume, accompanied with another volume, of plates, in folio. It excited great interest, and soon passed through three editions; while translations of it, into French and Italian, had also appeared at Paris and Milan. It was after the publication of his book, that Belzoni prepared his representation of the tomb he had discovered at Beban el Malouk, which was exhibited in London and Paris.

Tired, however, of leading an inactive life, Belzoni soon began to project other schemes of foreign travel. He visited, successively, France, Russia, Sweden, and Denmark; after which, returning to England, he undertook, under the auspices of the government, to prosecute the perilous attempt of penetrating into central Africa. His plan was, to endeavor, in the first instance, to reach Timbuctoo, thence to direct his course eastward, towards Sennaar, and then to return through Nubia and Egypt. But even his experience, skill, and extraordinary personal strength and prowess, did not save him from falling a victim in the cause in which so many gallant men had already perished. He left England, towards the end of the year 1822, for Gibraltar, on reaching which, he immediately embarked for Tangiers. From this, he proceeded to Fez, where he was well received by the Emperor of Morocco, and obtained permission to join a caravan for Timbuctoo, which was to set out in a few

days. Unexpected difficulties, however, arose when he was on the point of departure; and after a residence at Fez of five months, he was obliged to give up all hope of commencing his journey by the route he had originally fixed upon. On this disappointment, he sailed for Madeira, and thence, in October, 1823, he set out for the mouth of the river Benin, on the west coast of Africa, with the intention of making his way to the interior from that point. He entered upon this journey, accompanied by an English merchant, who was to conduct him as far as the town of Benin, and to introduce him there to the king of the country; but by the time he had arrived at this place, a malady, which had attacked him almost as soon as he had set his foot on shore, had reached such a height, that he was unable to proceed any further; and he begged his companion to have him taken back to Gato. He arrived there on the 2d of December, in a dreadfully exhausted state, and being immediately attacked with delirium, expired on the following day. His remains were interred under a plane-tree on the shore, while the English vessels on the station honored his memory, by discharges of their cannon, during the ceremonial. An inscription, in English, was afterwards placed over his grave, recording his melancholy fate, and expressing a hope, that every European who might visit the spot, would, if necessary, cause the ground to be cleared, and the fence repaired, around the resting-place of the intrepid and enterprising traveller.

Many other names, of persons of both sexes, yet remain on the records of literature, science, art, and the other departments of intellectual exertion, which might be referred to, as illustrating the Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties. But the selection of examples we have made, regulated as it has been with a view to give as much diversity of interest as possible to the contents of

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the work, will probably be thought sufficiently extensive for our purpose. The lesson we would teach, as we have already frequently had occasion to remark, is, that in no situation of life, be it what it may, is the work of mental cultivation impossible, to him, who, in good earnest, sets about it. What is chiefly wanted, to invigorate the mind to the encounter and conquest of the most formidable difficulties, which any circumstances can oppose to it, is simply the conviction of this truth; and of that conviction we can bring forward nothing likely to produce a more deep and abiding impression, than some of the histories recorded in the preceding pages.

[As the English edition of these two volumes was occupied with examples drawn from other countries than our own, to the exclusion of the numerous examples of a similar character which the United States would have afforded, with the exception only of notices of Franklin, West, and Ledyard, we have omitted the sketches of these three individuals, and supplied the place with other interesting matter, intending to have the subject continued in a succeeding volume, which will be devoted to examples selected from among our own countrymen.-Aм. PUB.]