the rising sun, and as the guardian genius in the midst of mighty sepulchers. 4. When it was sculptured, who was the artist, or what was the certainty of its design, are all wholly lost in the vast labyrinth of its age. It, however, stands as an enduring monument of ancient art, and shows that sculpture flourished in Egypt to an astonishing state of perfection, ere the science of letters was known. 5. From the Sphinx, we ascended the sand eminence to the largest pyramid, called Cheops. This enormous pile covers over eleven acres of land, and is exactly square at its base, the sides perfectly matching to the four cardinal points. The stones of which it is constructed, are of vast dimensions, and are placed in layers one above another. 6. Each layer is placed further inward, say generally the distance of about three feet and a half; thus forming steps to ascend upon. It tapers in this regular manner, from all its sides. Some of the layers, however, are thicker than others, some being not more than eighteen inches, and some more than three feet. 7. In this form, the pyramid rises till the summit is contracted to a square space of about twenty feet. Indeed, the top bears the appearance of having once ascended higher; as, from its broken state, stones appear to have been thrown off. The whole rises to the enormous height of nearly five hundred feet, and appears to be entirely solid stone and cement, with the exception of the small cavity which I shall presently describe. 8. I was not in a situation to measure its exact height, but the best authors set it down as above stated. The number of layers of stone from bottom to top, is two hundred and six, making just the same number of steps. The whole pile is supposed to contain about six millions of cubic feet of stone. 9. Our guide first led us to the entrance, which is on the north side, and recommended us to explore the interior first. NOTE. -a See Egypt, p. 310, note a. A crowd of Arabs" were gathered at the place, each struggling to have something to do with conducting us. We charged our guide to admit but four with us, but a fifth got in. We had two lights with us. 10. The entrance begins at the sixteenth step. It is a passage of three feet and a half square, descending at an angle of twenty-seven degrees. Its sides and coverings are of polished granite. This descent extends straight forward ninetytwo feet, keeping a person in an extreme stooping posture all the way. Here the passage turns to the right, winding upward to a steep ascent of eight or nine feet. 11. At the termination of this, the passage becomes five feet high for the distance of about one hundred feet, ascending continually, till you arrive at a kind of landing place. Directly to the right of this, something like a trench in the wall discovers itself, into which you are permitted to look as into a dark chasm. 12. It is called the well. Beyond this, the explorer moves through a long level passage, and arrives at what is called the Queen's Chamber. This is a room seventeen feet long, fourteen wide, and twelve high. 13. Its sides and covering are of polished granite. A short distance beyond this is another opening, into which I did not enter, as it is partly filled with fallen stones, and contains nothing of very peculiar interest. The Queen's Chamber was empty, except that numerous bats, of enormous size, were flying about it. 14. Leaving this room, and passing immediately back the way we came, about eighty feet, we turned to the right, and commenced ascending an inclined plane of smooth granite, of about one hundred and twenty feet in length. The first part of this ascent is difficult, as you have to advance on a narrow strip of granite, with slight holes cut for steps, while at your side is a chasm deepening as you rise. NOTE. a The Arabs inhabit Arabia, and are scattered throughout Africa and portions of Asia. They generally live a nomadic or wandering life, having tents for houses. which they move at pleasure. 15. You at length step on solid footing, and have a clear passage the rest of the way, at the termination of which you enter the King's Chamber. This is about thirty-seven feet long, seventeen wide, and twenty high. The walls of this room are of polished sienite, or red granite, each stone extending from the floor to the ceiling. 16. The ceiling is constructed of nine large slabs of granite, extending from wall to wall. At one end of this chamber, stands a sarcophagus. This is also of granite, and must have been chiseled out of a solid block. Its present appearance is that of a large stone chest, seven feet and a half long, three feet three inches wide, and three and a half deep. 17. Whether it ever contained a human body," is wholly uncertain. If it ever did there is no trace of it now. It will be remarked by the reader, that the size of this sarcophagus is such, that it could not have been conveyed through the entrance of the pyramid to this room, after the whole pile was completed. It consequently must have been placed where it is now seen, at the time when the pyramid was building. 18. That this pyramid was designed for the sepulcher of some great king, is most probable; and that this room was designed as the place for depositing his body, is equally probable. The difficult, narrow, steep, and even dangerous passage to it, was obviously designed for its security, that the sepulcher might not be easily found to be ravaged or pillaged. NOTE. The pyramid of Cephrenes, the brother and successor of Cheops, first opened by the enterprising Belzoni, in 1818, contained a sarcophagus, in which were found some bones of the bovine or ox kind. QUESTIONS. 1. What is the number of the pyramids of Egypt? 1. Where is the group, referred to in this piece, situated? 1. Where does the Sphinx stand? 1. Who uncovered the Sphinx? 1. What is said of it? 1. Who was Cheops? 3. What appears to have been the expression of the countenance of the Sphinx originally? 4. Is it known when it was sculptured? 4. What is said of Egypt? 5. How many acres does the pyramid of Cheops cover? 7. What is the height of this pyramid? 9. Where is the entrance, and what is its size? 12. What is the Queen's Chamber? 15. What is the size of the King's Chamber? 16. What loes it contain? 17. What did Belzoni find in the sarcophagus of the pyramid if Cephrenes? 18. What does the author suppose was the design of this pyramid ? LESSON LV. Spell and Define. 1. Ce-ment', a strong kind of mortar. 1. Sen-sa'tions, feelings. 2. Prac'ti-ca-ble, that may be done. 3. At'mos-phere, the air surrounding the earth. 3. Per-spi-ra'tion, the state of sweating. 7. Vultures, large birds of prey. 8. Tri-umph'ant, rejoicing for success. 9. Donkeys, asses or mules for the saddle. 11. Site, situation. 13. Mosques, Mohammedan temples. 17. Gid'di-ness, dizziness. ERRORS.-1. Re'cess for re-cess'; 2. debth for depth; 5. hans for hands; 6. fol. ler-ed for follow-ed; 9. dunkeys for donkeys; 11. broth'er-in for breth'ren; 14. stand'in for standing; 16. dis-ap-pint'ed for dis-ap-point'ed. A VISIT TO THE EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS, CONCLUDED. D. MILLARD. 1. THE King's Chamber is the termination of the research, as all beyond that, appears to be solid rock and cement. Numerous bats were flitting about in this deep and lonely recess, and the heated state of the air was truly oppressive. No person can endure it long, without painful sensations. We now hastened to retrace our steps to the place of entrance. 2. After descending to the first landing place, I stopped a moment, to look into what is called the Well. It presents nothing but a dark chasm, said to be of vast depth; and had 1 felt assured that the enterprise was practicable, I had not sufficient curiosity to attempt a descent into it. 3. Oppressed with the heat and confined air, I was in haste to breathe again in the atmosphere of day. On arriving at the place of entrance, I was in a state of profuse perspiration. We seated ourselves a few minutes, and then prepared to ascend the pyramid. 4. We commissioned our guide to permit but four Arabs to ascend with us; but in spite of his efforts, there were six. We, however, found this number very useful. One to hold each arm, and one to brace the explorer behind, render the ascent perfectly safe. The place of commencing the ascent, is near the north-east corner. 5. The Arabs clambered up with more rapidity, than was desirable to me, often dragging me after them with such force, as to put me nearly out of breath. Sometimes I had to roar lustily to make them slack their hands. It was not till I had ascended one third of the distance, that I began to realize the vast height I had to climb. 66 6. Pausing to take breath, I first looked down, and then up, and felt almost discouraged with my task. My English friend proceeded, and I followed. Arriving at what is called the half-way, we paused again to take breath. Here the Arabs began to cry bucksheesh;" but we gave them to understand that they would receive none, until we had done with them. 7. While we were at this place, three vultures flew from the top of the pyramid, startled, no doubt, by the sound of our voices. After a pause of some three minutes, we commenced our ascent again. Accomplishing one half of the remaining distance, we paused again to take breath. The next time starting, we soon completed our task, by stepping on the flat area at the top. с 8. We were both much out of breath, and in a state of perspiration. By my watch, I found we had been just fortythree minutes in ascending, including the stops we made by the way. On arriving at the summit, the Arabs raised a loud and triumphant shout, patting us on the shoulder, and crying "bucksheesh!" "bucksheesh!" We looked 9. We now spent about half an hour in surveying the vast scenery, spread around us in every direction. down to the base from whence we had started. There were our donkeys, our guide, and a few Arabs huddled together. 10. To us they looked like a small flock of hens, seated on the ground. Our eyes then traveled over a vast space of the NOTES. -a See Arabs, p. 260, note a. b Buck'sheesh; an Arabic word probably meaning money. c See pyramids, p. 258, note a. |