337 
of Edinburgh, Session 1867 - 68 . 
sentence which the Proceedings' author has quoted,— had not this 
gentleman cut off the last half of it. 
Here, Sir, accordingly, from the note to Proceedings , page 253, 
where the first half of Dr Sprenger’s sentence is made to corroborate 
statements which the Dr never intended it to be seen in company 
with, — is that which is quoted there, or thus — 
11 1 It may be remarked,’ observes Colonel Yyse, ‘ that the 
“ Arabian authors have given the same accounts of the pyramids, 
“ with little or no variation, for above a thousand years.’ (Yol. ii. 
“ p. 328.)” 
And here, from that page of Howard Vyse’s book, is the full 
sentence, as it appears in the whole note which has Dr Sprenger’s 
name conspicuously subscribed to it : — 
“ It may be remarked that the Arabian authors have given the 
“ same accounts of the Pyramids, with little or no variation, for 
<c above a thousand years; and that they appear to have repeated 
“ the traditions of the ancient Egyptians, mixed up with fabulous 
“ stories and incidents, certainly not of Mahometan invention.” 
In fact, the main purpose of the note is to explain what were 
those unvaried stories of a thousand years; and it is attached by 
Dr Sprenger directly to the account of one Masoudi , who, living 
within 140 years of Al Mamoon , mentions him not, but abounds in 
histories of the wonderful circumstances attending the building of 
the Pyramids by certain kings before the Elood ; and also of the 
magical treasures and enchanted wonders which had been found 
in the monuments in recent times. 
Neither Dr Sprenger himself, therefore, nor Colonel Howard Yyse 
could have intended the sentence to apply, either partially or 
wholly, to new contents of the latter’s subsequent pages, 351, 
352; where he introduces, in his chronological arrangement of Arab 
writers/" the Proceedings' author’s Al Mamoon authority, Ebn Abd 
Al Hokm, between Firazabadi, who died in 1438 a.d., and Makrizi, 
who died in 1467 a.d. Nor to his pages 333 and 355, where he 
mentions the other two Al Mamoon-noticing writers of the Pro- 
* “ The Arabic authorities have been translated by Dr Sprenger, and I 
“ have endeavoured to arrange them chronologically ; a task which has been 
“ attended with some difficulty, as many of them are only known by quota- 
“ tions in the works of posterior writers.” — Colonel Howard Vyse’s Pyramids 
of Gizeh, vol. ii. p. 179. 
