The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1857-09-18

sNllg t.n lINH HWtl
ESSION OVER THE MIND OR
FRIDAY, SEPTEABE
pyramid within a stones throw Of Cheops
and perhaps one or two Of sixteen, whicl
are towering in sublime majesty in thi
vicinity. BY the time | had completet
my examination Of the erterior,most ofm!!
companions had returned from their ex
plorations of the interior / met them a
the entrance, dripping with perspiration,
but full Of fwonicr at the spectacle they
had seen. 0 Committing myself to tht
4 guidance of the three Arabs holding
torches in their hands ! began the descent
into the tomb. The entrance is on the
sidc,, twenty or thirty feet from the
ground, and for a long distance You grad
ually descend through q dark passage,
scarcely high enough to permit you to
stand erect the floor and sides and cell
ing being Of Egyptian granite, and the
pavement smooth and slippery. from the
multitudcs from all parts ofthe world who
pass over It. It would be scarcely posi-
bic to make the ascent, had not foot.holes
been cut in the stones for our aid. Hav-
ing reached q depth corresponding, ap-
parently, with tn, rock on which the i'm
mense mass stands, you begin to ascend
the same narrow passage leading grad.
ually up till you came to deep and mar
row chasm sunk by the side Of the dark
path. Here we rested for few moments
to take breath. The ascent was now
more precipitous, on narrow path Of
stones, cropping out over frightfal chasm,
the darkness Of which was just sufficient
" illnmined by our torches to add to its
terrors-one Of the guides advancing bc-
fore me with my hand in his and tho
other behind supporting me as slip
ped back upon the well worn stone. A
false step would have been fatal, but the
Arabs were without fear, and their naked
feet clung to the smooth rock as firmly
as those of fly to the ceiling. When
this point Of peril was safely passed, they
broke out into a wild song Of triumph,
partly English and partly Arabic, the
chorus ofwhich was very fine gentleman |!
bakshcesh, bakshccsh good! very
good = and the dark passages of the old
tomb echoed with the refrain. In a few
minutes more We had reached the Gran
ite Chamber, and was standing by the
venerable sarcophagus which is supposed
to have contained the body Of the king
who exhausted the resources Of Egypt in
building this mighty monument The
chamber is, think, thirty feet by twenty,
and ten or twelve feet high, every part
of it being made ofgranite. The sareo-
phagt,s is in one corner, is also Of granite,
without any top, and entirely empty-a
little dust and rubbish being the sole pos
SCISSORS of the home which proud king
prepared for his body so many ages since.
When Herodotus was here, nearly 500
years before Christ, this mass OF stone
was wonder Of the past. Its entrance
had not been discovered. Its gloomy
passages had not been trodden for many
centuries. This dark room contained its
treasured relics concealed from the knowl.
edge of all, and for thousands Of years
the thick gloom in the midst Of which l
was standing had not been brokcd by q
single ray Of light. Finally, the belief
that rich treasures had been concealed
here led to the discovery Of the entrance,
and the anxious discovercrs overcame
their fears and passed their way up to
the tomb, and their dim torches glared
upon these walls and lighted up the feat
ures of the embalmed kim. His sanc-
tuary was profaned; and now strangers
come from the four quarters of the globe,
and the dim torches light up their own
features as they look down into the sar-
cophagus of man whose name is un-
known and whose monument is imper-
ishable what strange history is
thisr and what an illustration Of tho
value of human ambitionT are the tho'ts
which press upon your heart, If they are
not breaking from your lips, in the midst
of such associations.
Leaving this apartment, we descended
again a short distance and through avery
low passage, STOPPING as we went, We
came to another small room, which is call
ed know not by what authority--the
Queens Tomb. II was entirely empty,
and the Arabs seem to have lost all rev.
erencc for it is a sepulchre Of the dead.
They begged the privilege Of giving me
specimen of their dancing; and as soon
as | Yielded % their request, their voices
and hands and feet were all in motion.
Ono of them, who considered himself my
special guide and friend, strained every
muscle Of his naked body, as he now
crouchcd low down to the pavement, and
then raised himself to his full lenght, and
his feet beat time to the measured voices
and clapped hands Of his two companions
! 1t was fearful, ridiculous and some
times almost an Internal scene, as their
shouts rung through the gloomy avenues
and the pavement sent back the echoes
of their feet trampling on the sacred
memories Of the past. But to then
vacant minds there was NO past, aud the
present seemed entirely filled with idea,
q 'baksheesh,' for which they clamoret
vociferously as soon as their dance wa
over. And when l paid them, they be
sought me earnestly not to inform tn
Sheik Of their tribe, as he would be GER
tain 10 swallow down all their gains (open
ing their mouths widely and most expires
sively as they said it, and leave then
without bread for themselves or theil
children. We then returned towards
Il - Ia