gold, were firft borne along.

Next, followed a double altar, fix cubits in height, wreathed with foliage of gold, decorated with golden ornaments and inftruments of facrifice,' and bound round with a crown of gold. Then came one hundred and twenty youths, each carrying a vase of gold; and these were fucceeded by forty fatyrs, wearing on their' heads, and bearing alfo in their hands, crowns of gold. Two Sileni, each bearing a gold caduceus, and between them a man of gigantic ftature carrying alfo a proportional caduceus of the fame metal. Thefe were introductory to the peculiar deity upon whofe sports they attended, Bacchus, to whofe numen the pomp was devoted. And now were borne aloft two mighty vafes of gold, called Ouμiatypia, or medicine of the foul, with a fquare altar of folid gold, facred to that deity. Another band of fatyrs, carrying vases of gold, immediately preceded Bacchus himself, a figure ten cubits in height, enthroned in a car drawn by a hundred and eighty men; before him ftood a vaft Laconic goblet, big enough to hold ten meretræ; à measure of a hundred pound weight. This was followed by a tripod of gold, upon which there was placed

K 4

placed another Θυμιατήριον, and two gold phials preceded Nyfa, the nurfe of Bacchus, a figure. of the height of eight cubits, wearing a gold crown, and holding in her hand a gold phial. She was followed by a hundred and twenty Sileni and fatyrs, fome of whom carried dishes, others phials, others capacious Therilcaan cups of gold. Such was the order and march of those who were to difplay the treafures in golden ornaments and utenfils of the fumptuous court of the Ptolemies.

Thofe fabricated of filver were not lefs numerous and ftupendous, and are thus detailed by Athenæus.

First was exhibited a crater of that metal of fuch enormous magnitude, that the car in which it was placed was obliged to be drawn along by fix hundred men; it was fo ample as to contain fix hundred meretræ; and the margin was enriched with a crown of gold, fet with all manner of precious ftones. It was followed by two other filver vases of inferior dimenfions, but still vast; for they were twelve cubits in breadth, and fix cubits in height. Then flowly moved in order, before the whole affembled city of Alexandria, gazing in profound astonishment,

the

the under-mentioned coftly articles: ten huge tubs of filver; fixteen filver flaggons, the largest of which contained thirty meretræ, and the least five; ten filver caldrons; twen ty-four vafes, each with two handles, on five falvers; two filver preffes, containing twentyfour goblets; a table of maffy filver, of the height of ten cubits; and thirty other tables fix cubits high, four tripods of prodigious magnitude, the largest fixteen cubits in circumference; the three others, of inferior. magnitude, were adorned in the middle with precious ftones; twenty-four Delphic tripods of filver, ftill lefs, and of a different fashion twenty-fix pitchers for water; fixteen Panathenaic amphora; and a hundred and fixty. other filver veffels of all fizes, of which, however, the leaft held not less than two mere træ; that is two hundred pounds weight. Surely, Mexico itself, that mine of filver, when CORTES made his triumphal entry into that capital, could fcarcely have exhibited a grander fpectacle. But the torrent of wealth, poured forth from the new into the old world, will form a fubject of future confideration. Let us attend (for, we have not half gone through this magnificent pro

ceffion)

ceffion) to the remaining articles of regal grandeur difplayed at this proud festival in Egypt, the fpoils of the plundered temples and palaces of Perfia, and probably of many of those which, on the Panjab and on the rich shore of the Indus, experienced the fury of Macedonian avarice. The veffels already defcribed, from their enormous dimenfions, feem to have been appropriated to the fervice of the temple folely, and fully verify all that was faid above, concerning the riches of thofe of Belus and the Dea Syria; the infinity of vafes, all of gold, to be now enumerated, probably formed part of the splendid furniture of the palaces of Sufa, Perfepolis, and the great Babylon.

This part of the proceffion commenced with the expofition of four Laconic and two Corinthian vafes of the finest gold, each of which held eight meretræ. A press, or fideboard, followed, bearing ten goblets and two vafes, each of which held the quantity of two Then came in order the following articles twenty-two vafes called Pfycteres, the largest containing thirty meretræ; and the least, one; four noble tripods of gold; a vast machine, or case, of gold, ten cubits in length,

meretræ.

for

for holding the vases, divided into fix compartments, curiously engraved, and adorned with figures of animals, four palms high; two very large goblets; two falvers of gold, four cubits in diameter, and three others of less dimenfions; ten amphoræ, or great jars of gold; a golden altar, fix cubits high; and twenty-five pateræ.

We now come to circumstances that prove this festival to have been of the Phallic kind, as indeed were all the Bacchanal festivals of ancient æras, Bacchus representing the fun, the great invigorative power of nature, who ripens the ore in the mine, and therefore properly dedicated to him. In this part of the pomp, gold and filver are promifcuously introduced, and I am inclined to think the ciroumstance allufive to his own conjunction with the moon; filver being her chemical diftinction. Confonantly to the idea abovementioned, fixteen hundred youths, in the flower of their age, now appear carrying vases of gold and filver, and three hundred and twenty of that particular fort of gold veffel, called, by the ancients, Tuxrness, vafa in qua vinum refrigeratur, or immenfe vafes, used in the hot Eastern countries for the purpose of

cooling