prophet changed his curses into a blessing, that he did not "go forth,
as at other times, to seek for enchantments." It is plain therefore
that Balak did not rely singly upon the eloquence and fervour of
Balaam to pour out vituperations upon the people of Israel, but that
it was expected that the prophet should use incantations and certain
mystical rites, upon which the efficacy of his foretelling disaster
to the enemy principally depended.


STATUE OF MEMNON.

The Magi of Egypt looked round in every quarter for phenomena that
might produce astonishment among their countrymen, and induce them to
believe that they dwelt in a land which overflowed with the testimonies
and presence of a divine power. Among others the statue of Memnon,
erected over his tomb near Thebes, is recorded by many authors. Memnon
is said to have been the son of Aurora, the Goddess of the morning;
and his statue is related to have had the peculiar faculty of uttering
a melodious sound every morning when touched by the first beams of
day, as if to salute his mother; and every night at sunset to have
imparted another sound, low and mournful, as lamenting the departure
of the day. This prodigy is spoken of by Tacitus, Strabo, Juvenal and
Philostratus. The statue uttered these sounds, while perfect; and,
when it was mutilated by human violence, or by a convulsion of nature,
it still retained the property with which it had been originally
endowed. Modern travellers, for the same phenomenon has still been
observed, have asserted that it does not owe its existence to any
prodigy, but to a property of the granite, of which the statue or its
pedestal is formed, which, being hollow, is found in various parts of
the world to exhibit this quality. It has therefore been suggested,