PYRAMID. 



kiaschif, or governor, for the above dis- 

 trict, exacted a small tribute from travel- 

 lers, and in return provided thenl with an 

 escor;, as a protection against the Arabs, 

 who seized every opportunity to plunder 

 them. The gentleman just mentioned, 

 accompanied by some friends, and the 

 guards furnished by the kiaschif, depart- 

 ed from Gizeh at an hour after midnight, 

 and were soon after gratified with a view 

 of the two greatest pyramids, on the sum- 

 mits of which the moon shone with full 

 splendour ; as they approached them, they 

 assumed the appearance of vasi pointed 

 rocks, penetrating the clouds. At half 

 aa hour past three in the morning, the 

 company prepared to enter the passages 

 of the great pyramid, by taking oft' great 

 part of their clothing, and each taking a 

 lighted torch in his hands, thus prepar- 

 ed, they began a long descent, which, at 

 last, became so much contracted, that 

 the party were compelled to crawl upon 

 their hands and knees ; this terminating, 

 they commenced an ascent nearly under 

 the same uncomfortable circumstances, 

 except that they proceeded on their knees, 

 and made use of iheir hands against the 

 sides to facilitate their progress, and this 

 mode of getting forward was necessary, 

 as the stone at the bottom of the passage 

 did not afford sufficient level for a firm 

 step ; when in this dismal gallery they 

 were so imprudent as to discharge a pis- 

 tol, the report of which long echoed and 

 re-echoed through the place, and alarmed 

 numbers of bats, who darted against them 

 and extinguished some of their torches. 

 Succeeding in their efforts, they arrived at 

 the upper termination of the second pas- 

 sage, where they passed through a very 

 small door into a large oblong apartment, 

 entirely composed of granite, seven enor- 

 mous blocks of which formed the ceiling. 



At one extremity of this apartment M. 

 Savary saw an empty marble sarcopha- 

 gus, composed of one piece, but without 

 a. lid, and fragments of earthen vases lay 

 scattered over the floor of the room ; 

 they also visited a second chamber, situ- 

 ated beneath that just described, and of 

 smaller dimensions, which contained the 

 entrance of a conduit, then filled with rub- 

 bish. Satisfied with the progress they 

 had made, the party descended by the 

 passage already noticed, and with some 

 difficulty avoided a deep and dangerous 

 well on their left hands ; on their arrival 

 in the open air, each person observed that 

 his companions were pale and exhausted 

 by the heat they endured, when imrnured 



within the frightful abyss they had just 

 explored. 



After having rested their weary limbs, 

 and recovered their strength and spirits, 

 the party began to ascend the exterior of 

 the pyramid, which consists, according to 

 their enumeration, of above 200 grada- 

 tions of stone, varying from two to four 

 feet in height. This operation, fatiguing 

 and severely laborious, occupied an hour ; 

 but, on their reaching the summit, they 

 had the satisfaction of seeing, that the 

 rays of the approaching sun were darted 

 on the points of Mokaltam, and not long 

 after they beheld it rise from behind that 

 mountain ; the landscape, thus illuminat- 

 ed, they perceived, with infinite pleasure, 

 the Nile and the adjoining fruitful fields, 

 Gizeh, Grand Cairo, and part of the Del- 

 ta, forming a striking contrast with the 

 remainder of the view, composed of sterile 

 hills and wide-spreading^ sands, with the 

 intervening pyramids of Sakkara, three 

 leagues from their then situation. 



Fully sated with the rich prospect be- 

 fore them, they cut their names on the up- 

 per stones of the pyramid, and descended 

 with the utmost caution, as this was a far 

 more dangerous undertaking than the 

 ascent ; having reached the base in safe- 

 ty, they paced around it, and contemplated 

 the rugged mass with terror, which 

 strongly resembles a vast pile of detach- 

 ed rocks when near it, but at a distance, 

 the inequalities are lost, and the sides ap- 

 pear plain surfaces. The form of this im- 

 mense monument prevents an accurate 

 measurement of its dimensions, without 

 severe labour and imminent danger ; con- 

 sequently, those authors who give them, 

 may have judged from mere conjecture. 

 Herodotus mentions its reputed height, in 

 his time, to have been 800 feet, and the 

 width of each side of the base the same ; 

 Strabo made it 625 feet ; but Diodorus re- 

 duces it to 600 ; modern observers have 

 agreed with Strabo, and some of those 

 bring it below Diodorus ; if, however, an 

 average may be permitted of these vari- 

 ous accounts, that will amount to more 

 than 500 feet. 



One cause of the difference between 

 the assumed heights is, that the pyramid 

 is measured or observed on different 

 sides; the north-east angle is most fre- 

 quently ascended, being the least damag- 

 ed, but this part is exposed to the deserts 

 of Libya, whence vast quantities of sand 

 are driven by the wind against it, and the 

 number of visible gradations are dimi- 

 nished by its accumulation ; it is, there- 

 tore, evident, that all admeasurements 



