Royal Society of PA'mlurgh. — Linncean Society. \4'3 



thev are the offspring of fancy, the ornaments of society, the 

 glory of men ; what none absolutely want, what all wisli for, 

 what few are able to attain : that a trusty labourer, an honest 

 tradesman, an industrious hireling, Sjc. are more useful members 

 of society, of mora service to the state, than an artist of tnedio- 

 crity. 



ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 



January 14. Dr. Brewster rommunicated a very interest- 

 ing paper, consisting of extracts of letters from Mr. Boog to 

 his father, the Rev. Dr. Roog of Paisley, giving an account of 

 the recent discoveries respecting the Sphinx and the principal 

 Pyramid of Egypt, which have been made by Capt. C. and Mr. 

 Salt. By very laborious excavations, which were made in vain 

 by the French Savaus, these gentlemen have discovered that the 

 Sphinx is cut out of the solid rock on which it was supposed 

 merely to rest. They found that the short descending passage 

 at the entrance to the pyramid, which afterwards ascends to the 

 two chambers, was contiimed in a straight line .through the base 

 of the pyramid, into the rock upon which the pyramid stands. 

 This new passage, after joining what was formerly called the well, 

 is continued forward in a horizontal line, and terminates in a 

 well ten feet deep, exactly beneath the apex of the pyramid, and 

 at the depth of 100 feet below its base. Captain C. has likewise 

 discovered an apartment iminediatelv above the King's chamber, 

 and exactly of the same size and the t>ame fine workmanship, 

 but only four feet in height. 



It is a curious fact that this very room over the chamber con- 

 tains the Sm-crphnijns, which i.j fully described in the .Journal of 

 Mr. Davison (who was fornierlv British consul <at Algiers), in- 

 serted in \Valp()!e's Memoirs relating to European and British 

 Turkey. Jp. .'3.i-f-357. So far back as the year \7(i^, this gentle- 

 man discovered this chamber, on the 9th of July, of which he has 

 given an accurate description, Maillet, who was forty times iu 

 the Pyraniid, had not seen it ; Niebuhr did not observe it, but 

 afterwards heard of its existence from Ah-. Mavnard, the person 

 who accompanied iMr. Davison in his visit to this pyramid ; nor 



has it ever been explored by any person since, till Capt. C 



and Mr. Salt's visit: its existence has even been doubted by Dr. 

 Hales [ClironoL i. 384). Bruce alludes to Mr. D.'s discovery. 



UNN^EAN SOCIIiTY. 



Tuesday, Dec. 20, was read before the Society a Description 

 of the inland of Tristan da Cuidia, with some account of its 

 productions, by Diigald Carmichael, Esq. Captain in the 72d 



regiment. 



