to answer all the various odd questions which the good ladies of
Cyrene proposed to us, we should have employed the whole day in,
replying to them. By the help of a few little trinkets, however,,
which we usually carried about with us, we contrived to put an end
to the conversation, without any offence^ whenever it began ta
exceed' moderate limits; and continued our route under a shower of
pious wishes that the blessing of God might attend us.
In. passing along the galleries we, have mentioned in this, ravine,
there are a great many exeavated tombs, some of whieh are very
beautifully finished^. and one of them presents the only example
whieh we remember to have met with at Gyrene of amixture of two
orders of architecture in the same part of a budlding-~the portico
in front of thus tomb being supported by Ionic columns, surmounted
with a Doric entablature. The whole, portico is formed out of the
rock itselh which has been left in the manner formerly alluded to,
and advances a few feet before the wall of the chamber in whieh
the door is excavated. The proportions are bad, and no part, of
the tomb has anything particular to, recommend it to notice beyond
the peculiarity we have stated it: to, possess; but as, it is- the only
instance which we observed of the kind, we have thought it as well
to advert to it* The tympanum is. here placed immediately over
the zophorus, without any cornice intervening^ and tfee mutufes are
in consequence omitted*. Bike many; other, excavated tombs> at
Gyrene, the one now in question has no cella*, beyond the, chamber1;
* In the tomb of Theron at Agrigentum we have a similar instance of a Doric entablature
supported by Ionic columns.
and the places for the bodies were sunk in the door itself and
covered with tablets of stone. In such cases we often see that
two, or more, bodies have been ranged parallel with each other
round thé sides of the chamber, in the manner represented in the
ground-plans (page 464), a circumstance whieh never occurs in
the cellæ, as we have already stated above.
The galleries whieh are formed in one side of this ravine lead'
round the cliff into another valley, somewhat broader, in which are
also several excavated tombs. In one of these, which has been
furnished with a Doric portico, Mr. Campbell discovered the suite
of beautiful little subjects which we have given with all the fidelity
we could command in the plate (page 456). They are painted on
the zophorus of'an interior façade, of which we have given the
elevation ; and each composition occupies one of the metopes, the
pannel of which appears to have been left plain in order to set
off the colours of the figures. The outlne of these highly
finished little groups has been very carefully put iu with red :
the local colour of the flesh and draperies have then been filled
in with body colour, and the lights touched on sharp, with
a full and free pencil, which reminded us strongly of the beautiful
execution of the paintings at Herculaneum and Pompeii.
There is no other attempt at light and shadow in atif of them but
that of deepening the local colour of the drapery in two or three
places, where the folds are intended to be more strongly marked Ilian
in others;, the flesh beingleft (so far as can at present be'ascertained)
with no variation of the local colour produced either by light or
S M S