of the Holy Land. Finati was then engaged by the British Consul to accompany Mr. Beechey and the famous Belzoni to Upper Egypt, and he took a part in the explorations of that remarkable traveller. He was present at the opening of the great temple of Abousombal, of which he gives a spirited account. "While fresh clamours and new disputes were going on with our crew (he says), I, being one of the slenderest of the party, without a word said, crept through into the interior, and was thus the first who entered it, perhaps, for a thousand years. Unlike all the other grottoes in Egypt and Nubia, its atmosphere, instead of presenting a refreshing coolness, was a hot and moist vapour. It was, however, a consoling and almost an unexpected circumstance that the run of sand extended but a very little way within the aperture, and the remainder of the chambers were all unencumbered. With this favourable intelligence I came out again, still creeping flat upon my face, and assisted the rest in extending the orifice."
Finati spent many years in accompanying explorers in this way both in Africa and Syria, and in taking an active part in their researches, which he describes with great intelligence. Being at length invited by Mr. Bankes to visit him in England, he spent a considerable time in this country, where, in 1830, he published, for the first time, his narrative of his adventures.
