were sometimes two of these places abreast of each ¡other, and: the same
number at their head or feet, accdrding td ttedsis®) of'thestomb.'
Innumerable busts and statues originally- adorned the constructed
tombs (as we have already observed.to be; the!case,in those which have
been excavated in the mountain), and many of these are still seen half
buried beneath heaps of rubbish; and soil, at the! foot of;the buddings
they once surmounted. Those entirely above ground we usually
f o u n d b r o k e n , in, several, pieces, or mutdated so as to be much disfigured;
but we have not the least doubt that there are many of
them still existing in a perfect state, within a few feet, and often a
few inches, of the surface, which might easdy be obtained by excavation.
Two Arabs of the. place, who. had . one day observed us looking at,
some of the statues here, alluded to, came the next, morning to our
tent, and gave us to understand that they knew of one, in a perfect
condition, which they could point out to us for an adequate reward.
We made the only bargain with them which it would have been safe
to. conclude, among so many mutdated . pieces, lying round us in all
directions, which was simply, that if it proved to be worth taking
away we would give them a certain number of dollars for the information
which they had afforded us. On our accompanying
them to the place where the figure lay, they soon cleared the
earth from a female statue, in very good style, and tolerable
preservation, excepting that the surface of the face and upper
part of the body had entirely lost its polish and become extremely
rough. As the statue was of larger dimensions than
life,‘:!altd consequently very heavy, it would not, under .these
circumstances, have been worth our while to remove it from the
place where it was ; and we accordingly gave the Arabs a bakh’shees
for their trouble, and told them that we did hot' think it good
enough to remove; but that if we should ultimately take it away we
would give them the reward before specified. With this arrangement,
however; (though a perfectly just one,) they proved to be so
little satisfied, that on the following morning in passing by the place,
we found that the statue had been placed upright, and pelted with
stones for their own or their children’s amusement. The lips were
knocked off, and the face and body otherwise mutilated ; though not
to the degree which we expected when we first observed the figure
placed Up as a mark for every idle passenger to amuse himself with
throwing at. We were not a little concerned to see the mischief which
we ourselves (however innocently) had in fact been the cause of, and
gave out that we intended to write to Mahommed Bey that he might
discover and punish the delinquents! adding, that if any similar outrage
should be practised in future, the severest retaliation might be
expected.
After this we were careful, when we discovered a good statue, to
bury it an inch or two in the soil which surrounded it, effacing at
the same time all traces of our work; and never indulged ourselves
in looking at any object of importance when we thought ourselves
observed by the Arabs. For such is the inconsistency of Arab character,
that the very same statue which they would walk over continually
without ever honouring it with more than a glance en pas