Connecticut western news., 1880-09-22
How the Pyramids were Built.

Brugsch Bey, the eminent Egyptolo- gist, says, in his work on Egypt:
 From the far distance you see the giant forms of the pyramids, as if they were regularly crystallized mountains, which the ever creating nature has call- ed forth from the rock, to lift themselves up toward the vault of heaven. And yet, they are but tombs, built by the hands of men, which have been the ad- miration and astonishment alike of the ancient and modern world. Perfectly l adjusted to the cardinal points of the horizon, they differ in breadth and height, as is shown by the measure ments of the three oldest, as follows 1. The Pyramid of Khufa-height, 450. 75 feet; breadth, 746 feet 2. Pyramid of Khafra-height, 447.5 feet; breadth, 69O. 75 feet. 3. Pyramid of Menkara- height, 203 feet; breadth, 352.78 feet.
 The construction of these enormous masses has long been an insolvable mys- tery, but later generations have suc- ceeded in solving the problem. Accord ing to their ancient usages and customs, the Egyptians, while they still sojourned 1 in health and spirits, were ever mindful to turn their looks to the region where the departing Ra took leave of life, where the door of the grave opened, where the body, we'll concealed, at length found | rest, to rise again to 8 new existence, af- ter an appointed time of long, long years, while the soul, though bound to the body, was at liberty to leave the grave and return to it during the daytime in any form it chose. In such belief, 1t was the custom betimes to dig the grave in the form of deep shaft in the rock, and above this eternal dwelling to raise l superstructure of sacrifcial chambers sometimes only hall, sometimes sever- al apartments, and to adorn them richly with colored writings and planted sculp- lures, as was becoming to a house of pleasure and joy. The king began his work from his accession. As soon as he mounted the throne, the sovereign gave orders to nobleman, the master of all the buildings of his land, to plan the work and cut the stone. The kernel o1 the future edifce was raised on the lime stone soil of the desert, in the form of 8 small pyramid built in steps, of which the we'll constructed and finished inte: rior formed the kings eternal dwelling, with his stone sarcophagus lying on the rocky floor.
 Let us suppose that this first building was finished while the Pharaoh still livec in the bright sunlight. A second cover ing was added, stone by stone, on the outside of the kernel; third to this second, and to this even 8 fourth ane the mass of the giant building grew greater the longer the king enjoyed ex istence. And then, at last, when it be came almost impossible to extend the area of the pyramid further, casing O. hard stone, polished like glass, and fit ted accurately into the angles of the steps, covered the vast mass of the sep ulcher, presenting gigantic triangle o1 each of it's four faces.
 More than seventy such pyramids once rose on the margin of the desert each telling of king of whom it was a once the tomb andmonument. Had no the greater number of those sepulcher of the Pharaohs been destroyed almos to the foundation, and the names of thu builders of these which still stand beer accurately preserved, it would have beel easy for the inquirer to prove and mak clear by calculation what was originally and of necessity, the proportion betweel the masses of the pyramids and tn years of reigns of their respective build | CTS