New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-05-23
EGYPT REVISITED.


CAIRO, March 25-Yesterday l decided that the
weather had finally settled fair, and might ven
ture as far as the Pyramids without enoounterng
either rain OF cold wind Yet it was day when
would have deceived any one unfamiliar with the
phenomena of the Egyptian climate. The sky was
overcast rather with soft ashencolored feecy va
por than with clouds; the wind blew lightly from
the south leaving a heavy, sultry feeling when IL
nansod and was hardly surprised when an English
tourist predicted "a fearful storm presently"
When | answered "a storm is impossible today he
looked at me with air of plying incredulity and
then turned away. We engaged an open carriage at
% francs for the day. provided ourselves with lunch
and set out at 9 o'clock. just above Boulak the
Nile is now spanned by a splendid iron bridge be-
yond which a broad highway has been built, leading
TO the very base of the Great Pyramid. This is GER
tauy better than the former approach by ferryboat
and donkey-path, for it reduces the practical dis
lance from three or four hours to one and half.
The way was crowded with camels and country
people the former bearing huge but not very heavy
burdens of freshly-cut clover. Women and donkeys
bore loads of vegetables and the boys ran yelling
after them. Our dark footmaD, in his white cap and
shirt ran in advance of the carriage parting the
multitude to right and left with his long stick and
crying out: " Take care, therel Take care of your
legs the strangers cOming!" Thus we passed
over the bridge entered the avenue of acacas lead
faint rose-coor against the gray sky. The west bank
of the Nile Gezecreh, formerly an island as its
name indicates, and will soon be one again. The
shallow channel having been allowed to fill up, or
purposely damned, .the river became so much
stronger in its current that the Bouak shore is par
TALLY eaten away, and the island must needs be
restored. We presently reached the track of the
railway to Upper Egypt, which now starts from
Embabeb, on the western bank but will soon be run
Iria
so that travellers can leave the Mediterranean in the
morning and almost reach Stout, tie capital of
Upper Egypt, in the evening. Looking southwark
over the wheat fields the immense fronts of two I'M
finished palaces meet the eve should take each OF
them to be as large Buckingham Palace, in Lon
don The Khedive is building them for his two
sons. And taxes high in Egypt, and money is
scarce and half of Varieties inestimabe collection
of antiquities stored away in dark magazines, for
want of room to show them.
The carTage-road is raised about 70 feet above the
level Of the SOIL in order to be dry during the
of inundaton. The acacias with which il is planted
seem TO grow with difficulty, and just now many of
them are being removed and replaced with trunks
a foot or two in diameter. They need expensive wa
terng, however until the roots are long enough TO
reach the permanent moisture of the lower soil.
Even the huge old trees on the way TO ShOObra
seem to require an occasional drink IN dry seasons.
Nothing could be lOveer than the intensely green
wheat lands stretching away to the Libyan Desert,
bounded on the south with thick fringes of palm.
The wind blowing over them came to us sweet with
the odor of white clover blossoms: larks sang the
air snowy ibises stood pensively on the edges OF
sparkling pools, and here and there boy sang some
shriil monotonous Arab song. In the east, the cta
del-mosque stretched ITS two mnarets like taper fin
gers averting the evil eye; aud in front of the
Pyramids seemed mock all the later power of the
world Not forty, but sixty centuries look down
upon from those changeless peaks. They ante
date all other human records, except those of the
dynasty Immediately preceding that which built
them. Hebrew Sanskrit, and Chinese History seem
half modern when one stands at the foot Of piles
winch were almost as old as the Coliseum is now
when Abraham was born.
We crossed the track of the railway drove beside
it for a mile or two further, and then struck di-
rectly across the level lands toward that rocky ter
race of the Libyan Desert which serves as a base
for the Pyramids. Children ran beside the carriage
clamOring for money. and one OF two boys, labor
ing under the singular delusiOn that they con-
ributing to pleasure, played the reed flute after
q most weary and distressing fashion But there
was less annoyance from these causes than YOU
orally meet in Italy, or even parts of Switzer-
land.
Nearer the Desert there were belts of driited
sand across the road and the wheatand clover after
struggling briefly with their ancient enemy, ceased
Oh either side 1t difficult for the horses to
climb the last slope that diSmOunted and walked
to the northern base Of the Great Pyramid, on the
top of which little flag was huttering and two
three dark forms were peceptble. The modern
house built by the Khedive for the reception of his
royal and imperial guests, offers to all visitors the
advantage of shade and cold steps to sit on. A
crowd Of Feahs in attendance eager TO help
us up and down, to climb both Pyramids in ten
minutes or to sell us modern scaTabGi. They are
now however. a much better behaved race than
formerly. Nearly all of them have fair smatter-
ing Of English their demands are regulated by Gus
tom, and if the traveller chooses one as an newt
able guide and protector. he escapes much annoy
from the others.
Ihad no desire to make the ascent a second time,
although it was well worth doing once crawl
into the hot and sitting interior only be recon-
mended to the arcbeOlogist. The grand, simple
masses built by Cheops and Cephrenes satisfy both
the eye aud the imagination when viewed from be-
low, few hundred Yards from their bases The
best point, think, is a sandy mound beyond the
Sphinx whence you get the exact view gi?ea u one
Of Carl WerneI's wonderful aquereles.
found the Sphinx buried under ten or fifteen feet
more of sand than when l saw HIM last. The face
was evidently intended to be from below, for
its expression becomes almost grotesque when the
spectator is br?oght 50 near its level About eight
years ago NJ. Mariette discovered a very ancient
fe1nple lust beyond it, and this, although lying
wholly below the surface of the desert has been kept
tolerably clear of the drifting sand. i have seen
nothing in Egypt which seems old as this temple.
II is built mainly of rosecoored granite, the pill
.;,,nlv scuare monolithS roofs and dOorWays