2 APRIL 1831, Page 18

The Temple of Melekartha is a novel of ancient Egypt.

Its descriptions are learned, its disquisitions ingenious, its story strongly characteristic of the dark p2riod it is placed in. Never- theless, the work wants all the hitt rest of the novel, is too prolix for a tale, and contains too many :die incidents for the antiquary. The circulating library will reject it, the classical scholar eschew it, and the lover of elegant literature will lament that the author did not confine himself within the limits and imitate the construc- tion of .Rasselas.