The Portland daily press., 1870-01-10

ORTsIAANI i
Monday Morning, January 10, 1870.
Letter from 9. b. Beckett, Esq.

| THE PYRAMIDS, &C.
| CAIRO, November 28, 1862
To the Editor Of the Press.
| or course the first of the objects of inter-
est to which stranger turns his attention
on reaching Cairo, is the Pyramids of Gizeb.
Accordingly the day succeeding that Of our
arrival was fixed upon to visit them.
| The morning has dawned bright and beau
| tiful-the sky without cloud-the tempera-
ture like that of mild, July day in Portland
| The birds are twittering among the orange,
lime and acacia trees, and the light breeze
watts delightful odors from the gardens over
looked by our hotel. Our party numbers
some forty, including three ladies'; and al
ready our carriages are ready to convey us to
the point selected for ferrying the Nile, some
| four or five miles distant.
After the usual delay and tumult conse-
quent upon seating so large number, we
are away at rapid pace. A tall, supple
limbed, barefooted Arab, in long, loose white
robe, runs in advance, as is the custom of the
country, to clear the road, shouting "Allah!
Allahw (brief for Sin Gods name, make
| wayF) and drive as fast or far as you choose,
he always keeps his position as apant cour-
rier.
Passing many shady grove, and many a
| pleasant enclosure, where flowers of most
brilliant hues meet the view, we presently ar
rive at the river; and from a dozen or more
clumsy looking barges, one with an enormous
lateen sail, and rudder whose width is at least
one-fifth of her length, is selected, by which we
are transferred over the broad, turbid stream,
to Boulac. Here are congregated the DON
keys which are to convey US the remainder Of
our journey-some six or seven miles.
But before proceeding further feel it a duty
to pay my respects to these donkies, which
are peculiar institution" not only Of Cairo
but of Egypt generally. Patient, docile, tire
less and exceedingly strong-easily carrying
twice their weight, as i have often seen-they
they are in requisition at every point, for
every purpose, and everybody without hesita.
ton, rich and poor, Christian as well as Ma
hommedan and Jew, women as we'll as men,
ride donkey-back- Turkish women al
ways astride.
| The stubbornness of the little quadruped,
so proverbial, is good rather than an objec-
tionable trait in his character, since in what
ever other way it is observable, it invariably
manifests itself, when occasion demands, in
his plodding OF, however great the distance,
or difficult and devious the way, with unaba-
| ting perseverance.
Each donkey is attended by boy, who fol-
lows him with a long pointed rod, with which
he prods him without stint, to make him
mindful of bis PAGES; and these boys are quite
as peculiar an institution as their four footed
companions. They speak a smattering of
English, French, Italian, Greek, and other
languages as well as their own gutteral Ara
bic; and in crowd invariably all talk at once,
or rather all shout at the tops of their lungs,
as if in quarrel; and no one can appreciate
be confusion of such an occasion but by be-
ing present. Go where you will the donkey
boys are always at your elbow. Their knowl-
| edge of different tongues they acquire of each
| other. sa.
| "Englishman?'' inquired one of them, of
me on my landing from the ferry. american
was my reply. "Me parly Francy, me
| spratchen Deutche leetle, good much Italian
-speeky English-me no speeky Amelicanr
IInas in Earr.is,o hin, that -E.s.l;eh
do, he was even more impetuous than the
dozen others by whom was surrounded, in
urging his own and his donkey's merits. "Me
good boy!-donkey good carry big bashaw
gentleman yesterday = donkey know his
name Billy Barbour The name took my
fancy, and mounted without more ado.
Finally, everyone is in his or her saddle
we get beyond the narrow streets of the
village, and then commences helter-skelter
scramble for the front, to the infinite amuse-
ment of the ragged Arabs that tbronged The
way. On we go at a swinging gallop, some
with their necks driven down between their
shoulders, some with their knees elevated,
grass-hopper fashion, above their donkies'
heads, some with arms extended, some pitch
ing forward with hats over their eyes, some
with heads thrown back-all earnest in the
somewhat difficult task of retaining their sad
dies But donkey keeps on, regardless of all
such matters. His business is to go ahead
and he minds it; and on follow the donkey
boys, shouting and probing, each equally
| earnest that his own ass should lead.
With such emulation, it is no wonder that
| the remainder of the distance is got over IN
an almost incredible short space of time
that is, by our party generally; for as to my
self, the massive old triangular fabrics in front
of me, towering against the sky, so solemn,
| so majestic, even at distance, drove all feel
| ings save admiration, from my mind; and L
| knew not which most to won Ter at, the ener
| gy that could eventuate in the construction
of such eternal monuments, or the depth Of
| the superstitition that could conceive them
| necessary. And the correlative conviction
followed, that the religious ent husiasm OF the
present day, superior as are its claims is not
hundredth part so earnest, so confident, so
deeply reliant as was that of the elder times!
Possibly similar thoughts were in the minds
of the three or four others, who plodded slow
| ly and silently along beside me, with their
eyes fixed upon the massive structures.
Arriving in the immediate vicinity of the
| pyramids, novel and stirring sight present.
ed itself. A feast had been made by the mu-
ni6cent Khedive for his many royal guests,
| near at hand, in building of recent con-
struction, which was the occasion of the
gathering of immease throngs in the vicinity.
Turks, Egyptians, Bedouins, Jews, Greeks,
Negroes, = to say nothing OF the few
stragglers from beyond the far At
lantic, the very existence of whose
country was not conceived of till
| 45OO years after these monuments were COM
pleted-and horses, camels, asses,-even bull
locks-richly caparisoned, as well as hundreds
with scarcely any trappinss or furniture at
all. were strangely grouped together. Indeed,
whilst gazing at the huge structures, and
their las it were) improvised concomitants of
heterogeneous humanity, quadrupeds and ve-
hicles, could hardly help fancying myself
| transferred back TO the age of the self styled
demi-gods who were the instance of their
erection. '.t
But amidst the universal uproar that reign
ed at the base of Cheops, chief element of
which was the unceasing importantly of the
| Arabs for bucksheesh, there could be no calm
contemplation of the stately piles, so l retired
to the locality of the sphinx, and there by dint
| of threatening with my cane, and finally by
showing the shiny barrel of my "Smith and