, 1881-05-29


nal sunshine, the atmosphere is so transpa-
rent and crystalline that the power of vision
Is greatly heightened, so that when we stood
upon The Pyramid and gazed around us, 1t
seemed as though the whole earth was en-
braced i'll one view.
our attention was first attracted by the
ophlhN,-tlat strange combination of man
anu beast'-lluman III its WEAKNESS: sorrow,
m anu oehlgnty,-dlvine in its immensity,
1hcre 1t Hes in all attitude OF eternal repose.
us s1ecpIess eyes ever looking right on to-
wards the rising sun, II guardian genius in
The midst Of mighty sepulcAres.
~ lasJ we stood ut the ba5e of the 7syra-
M!tts,--those mountains Of stone, petrjtied
MYSTERIES Of an age long dead and gone,
xxi iI5Iy % sllnpit III io!n,-o1ly regular pyranl
thousands have come from atar to visit thctli.
So many countless muititudes have. read and
thought ot them, their very iul1,lensity, an
tlQulty, ana mystery awaken the deepest i'll
a,ytsI vrGs s;a Lnere my llaye stood, locked in
1hlteless, shadowless desert, and tile hot,
D!ank sky,-Witnesses to tile sublime drama
Of u worlds history. Palaces could
tenem11I.l pe oaIlt Will tue money science has
'tlhem; the curious have penetrated to
the4r very heart, and found only two or three
py empty. silent chaInbcrs. The literature on this
to be many Thugs: royal ,nausolcunls; Ian
unto tbe Lord OF os,s SIN ID the "n and ,aF Of
Es!pt: nut they u:e known to !'e--Only the
ryrlmids- They are the best earthly symbols IF
Eternity. Like colossal brenkwuters t.cy have
resisted the evcr-beating waves OF Time, as re-
SoN'nE cycles and dynnsties have come AMI
gone That noble rart. nao built the palaces
and temples Of Memphis, 1000 years .ago, de-
clarcd Lem to be Old. When tho sceptre passed
our ~ Egypt. and Persian conqu -rors stood he
meath their shade, they knew no change. snvc
tne loss 1T their exterior polished marbles
while Greece grew from infancy into manhood,
aud sent forth her Macedonian hs7o to humble
the world. and E2ypt's crs1wn was laid low
proud:3 sat upon her seven hills and from
her throne OF beauty ruled tho world" they were
still the same, with perchnnce few more scnr5.
ICY, and her nobie sous becaule rnce Of slaves,
they remained majestic tnourucrs Of the past
Isut We did not think OF all this there in the
MONDAY sun.-the hot sirocco 7Ind binding our
eyes with dust and sund,-Our spirits harussed
by lmpudent l}cdOuins dorGil,g ,is at every sicu.
Cheops, the lareest of the Pyramids, covers in
area OF about eleven AcreS. Its buse is perfect
ly squire, and exactly n line with the points or
~ ne compass; its perpendicular hight is 4su feet.
leen acres, and its apex nearly twenty feet
h:gher,-for the outer layer Of stones has long
since been removed, und at tho top there is
stones are not all Of the sumo size. but
each successive lnyer is about three feet
and haf high, and set IN about
the same distance. SO that with So1He difficulty
You Gun ascend the AH steps to the summit
All is silent now rs tho tomb; but one day how
plateau! How tnuny, many strokes OF the ha1n-
Iner to fashion ntt these square blocks Of hard
grant! What wonderful engines for hoistlng
such weighty masses to their lofty resting
peuces! Iheu Kings we're rerercuccd as It d.
vine; the common people were sluyes, and the
llves OF millions were spent to agsrandize the
life Of one.
The entrance to this mysterious structure is
on the north side. at the sixteenth step a
around, read, to press upon you their services,
and camoring for :" hacksheesh." The interior
has been so often and so minutcly described that
lights. Conduct you through various passages,
descending and ascending, ieadlng you
em1tv 5 DC Sezoo5e 1e roo feet o5"
fourteen wide, and twelve high. The ceiling and
sides are Of polished grant, Then, ascending an
Kings Chaulberr tnirty,seven feet loug, seven
teen wide. and twenty high. This room contains
one solitary object,--n sarcopnaEus. hcwn outnf
4 solid block OF grant. seven feet and Il huff
long. three feet three inches wide, and three and
half nigh. On account OF its size, it must hive
1een hs 1hS w wnre fo %hG hat 1e mid
a dark chas1n, cnlied tho i eli, which IS said to
descend TO Erent depth, finally connecting with
The view from the summit Of Cheops is pccul-
1as to EEyp nna one Of the apdest ht II The
contrasts. Here sou see at one gtance a fertile
valley of Perennial green full Ut life. light. aud
happiness, side BY side with the boundless desert.
an arid waste Of burning sands. over which
reign death ana desolauon. Yon are stand,nE
upon and among the very Oldest monuments Of
antiquity, the outlines Of Whusc enduring forms
arc but family disccrnlbie in the dim. misty |
dawn or the human race: you behold in tho ]
magnificent pnnOrHnA ut your feet the life, |
work, and activit, If the present nge-
But your thoughts naturally lingcr with the |
scenes OF the past: Beautiful as is Egypt to-
day, what must il have been In Tho age Of Abra-
ham, Joseph, and Moses? Then the evergreen |
valley, through which threads the Nile like |
bright silver cord, teemed Win p population OF
zion. The arts md Ec:euces tlourished. Stu
pendous feats Of engineering were successfully
inventions were known to these anclents, and
sume OF their wonderful arts In colors and |
cmbalmtnu are lost perhaps forever. Where !
now sou behold only verstant fields and plct.- |
ureSque ruins. in that day there stood in proud !
glory magnificent nssc1nblaRe of cities, tenn
pies approached bynvcnues Of colossal sphln1es,
palaces, obeliskS, elegant bridges and cause |
why's. splendid boulevArds Shaded by long lines !
oi archsng acacias, monuments, sepulchres The
river and its utertninable network OF canals and
watercoussc scs, myriads of miniature lakes, were
ull alive with gay blrScs. proud snl!eys. and |
slender boats, their white 5alts luttcring in tho
war-chariots. were murshnled In the plain. |
Egypt. populous, powerful, cultured, was in her
glory, anu first among tue nations and right |
Goshen, where once the Children Of Israel, that
peculiar people, made bricks Without straw.
ErOHneh beneath the fHSks ana Stuaflcd undcf
the lash Ut cruel oppresstrs. What mighty mir |
acles we're witnessed along this river, when |
God, who had heard every cry Ut distress and
wall Of anguish for so Hlany genera uons. at |
last, when the fullnes5 Of time had cOme. led |
tho1n forth with u mighty hand and an out
arm!
As the long ages pass by. there come to US !
memories Of the Queen of benuty and luxury
whose chains led captive the brave Gcnefals of
great Rome; OF the grcatestof the Caesars. when
becunlc celebrated ns seat of COM
.nerce, arts, and learning. Hther in flight came
the Child Of Destiny and His religion oI lore and
peace overturus the ancient worship and buTies |
Ia oblivion the nations hieroglyphic lore. while
the soiitudes Of the Thcbad arc peuplcd with !
ac.o,lt herInils. Later come the trend Of MIR
invaders, with sword and flame, and
the doom of this once noble country Is sealed; |
then falls upon it the heavy pail Of igLoraucc,
and moral darkness.
Egypt, once 30 happy and glorious. with one
foot upon the seven mouths Of thy mighty river
another upon Ethiopia, and thy head In the
clouds, what Il history Is thine! But thy glory
and grandeur are departed. These stately COL
umns and obeiisks. these rufus Of grand temples.
most Of ali, these mountains nf enduring
,rarit-Qre all that remain to tell tho passing
Traveller Of what thou once hast been.
= HENRY N. GooDELL.
ELECTRIC LIGHT.