his great predecessor.  Having accomplished this pious task, he gave a vent to his constructive ambition by a grand addition to the temple on its eastern side.  Behind the cell, at the distance of about a hundred and fifty feet, he erected a magnificent hall, or pillared chamber, of dimensions previously unknown in Egypt, or elsewhere in the world at the time—­an oblong square, one hundred and forty-three feet long by fifty-three feet wide, or nearly half as large again as the nave of Canterbury Cathedral.  The whole of the apartment was roofed in with slabs of solid stone; it was divided in its longest direction into five avenues or vistas by means of rows of pillars and piers, the former being towards the centre, and attaining a height of thirty feet, with bell capitals, and the latter towards the sides, with a height of twenty feet.  This arrangement enabled the building to be lighted by means of a clerestory, in the manner shown by the accompanying woodcut.  In connection with this noble hall, on three sides of it, northwards, eastwards, and southwards, Thothmes further erected chambers and corridors, partly open, partly supported by pillars, which might form convenient store-chambers for the vestments of the priests and the offerings of the people.

Thothmes also added propylaea to the temple on the south, and erected in front of the grand entrance which was (as usual) between the pylons of the propylaea, two or perhaps four great obelisks, one of which exists to the present day, and is the largest and most magnificent of all such monuments now extant.  It stands in front of the Church of St. John Lateran at Rome, and has a height of a hundred and five feet, exclusive of the base, with a width diminishing from nine feet six inches to eight feet seven inches.  It is estimated to weigh above four hundred and fifty tons, and is covered with well-cut hieroglyphics.  No other obelisk approaches within twelve feet of its elevation, or within fifty tons of its weight.  Yet, if we may believe an inscription of Thothmes, found on the spot, the pair of obelisks whereof this was one shrank into insignificance in comparison with another pair, also placed by him before his propylaea, the height of which was one hundred and eight cubits, or one hundred and sixty-two feet, and their weight consequently from seven hundred to eight hundred tons!  As no trace has been found of these monsters, and as it seems almost impossible that they should have been removed, and highly improbable that they could have been broken up without leaving some indication of their existence, perhaps we may conclude that they were designed rather than executed, and that the inscription was set up in anticipation of an achievement contemplated but never effected.

[Illustration:  SECTION OF PILLARED HALL OF THOTHMES III.  AT KARNAK.]