The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1880-12-08
Row rHE PYRAMIDS WERE sU1rr.


Brugsch Boy, ibe eminent EvyptoIoaIst,
says - HE work % Egypt
From the far distancs yo0 acs sbs eienS
forms 81 the pyranIds. as II they wese reau~
larry crystallixed mountains, which the ever
creating nature has called forth from the rock.
TO lift themselves up toward the vault Of hen-
yen. And yet, they are but tolnbs, built By
the hands Of men, which have been the adj
miration and astonishment alike Of the ancient
and modern world. Perfectly adjusted TO the
cardinal points Of the horizon, they differ in
breadth and height, as Ii shown by the mea.s
surements of the three Oldest, as follows
l. The Pyramid Of Khufa---height. $50. 10
feet breadth, TAG feet. O.. Pyramid Of Kba.
fra--heighf, ATS feet, breadth, 9o.75 feet;
.. Pyramid Of Menkara--hsight, sos feet
breadth, s52.7s feet. :
The construction Of these enormous masses
has long been an iusoluble mystery, but later,
generations have succeeded la solving the
problem. According 10 their ancient vsuages
and customs, the Egyptians, while they still
sojourned 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, well concealed, at length found rest.
to rise again to a new existence, after an ap-
pointed time of long, long years, while the
soul though bound to the body, was at lib-,
erty to leave the grave and return to It dur
ing the daytime, in any form it chose. In
such belief It was the custom betimes to
dig the grave In the form Of deep shaft In
the rock, and above this eternal dwelling To,
raise superstructure of sacriticial chambers,
sometimes only q hall, sometimes several
apartments, and to adorn them richly with
colored writings and painted sculptures, AZ
was becoming to house Of pleasure and joy.
The king began his work from his accession.
AS soon as he mounted the throne, the soy
ereign gave orders 10 nobleman, the master
Of all the buildings Of his land, to plan the
work aud cut the stone. The kernel Of tho
future edifics was raised on the limestone soil
Ut the desert, Ia the form of small pyramid !,
built IN steps, of which the well constructed
aud finished interior formed the king 8 aternsl
dwelling, with bis stone sarcopIagus wing on
ss.S '0sAJ AAvVts 1et US suppose that this first
building was finished while the Pharaoh still
lived 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 fourth and the mass Of the giant
building grew greater the longer the king en-
joyed existence. And then, at last, when It
became almost impossible to extend the area
of the pyramid further, casing OF hard
vass mass lie sspdiSEfs sS prssssnti6g s
gantic triangle on each Of its four faces
Moro than seventy such pyramids ouce rose
on the margin Of the desert. each telling Of q
king of whom Ii was at once the tomb and
monument. Had not the greater number Of
these sepulchres Of the Pharaohs been de-
stroyed almost to the foundation, and had the
names Of the builders Of these which still
stand been accurately preserved, 1t would
have been easy for the inquirer to prove and
make clear by calculation what was originally,
and of necessity, the proportion between the
masses of the pyramids aud the years Of tho
reigns of their respective builders.