A pilgrimage to the temples and tombs of Egypt, Nubia, and ...

22 pompey's pillar.
ried by their mothers, astride upon one shoulder,
has something patriarchal and picturesque in it
indeed, the whole bearing and carriage of these
bare-limbed women is graceful in the extreme,
and when they are can-ying their well-poised
water-jars upon their heads without the assistance
of either hand, no Andalusian could tread the
earth with greater freedom and grace.
But if I allow the Fellahs to take up so much
of my time and paper, I shall have none left to
carry you with me to Pompey's Pillar,—not that
I intend to inflict upon you a catalogue of its pro-
portions, which every school-boy knows, or ought
to know, so often have they been recorded. That
which is far less certain is, by whom it was erect-
ed, and to whom dedicated ; for, although the
name of Pompey has been pompously attached
to it, and it has even been asserted that his head
was buried beneath, the prevalent belief now is
that the shaft (one entire and noble block of gra-
nite,) once appertained to the temple of Serapis,
and that the pedestal and capital (which bear
evident traces of the decline of the arts), were at
a later period added in honour of Diocletian, to
whom the column was then dedicated. In short,
that it is not purely an Egyptian monument, but
of the time of the Roman domination, is evident.
;