Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-10-22
LESSON OF THE PYRAMID
WHAT | SAW CONFIRMATO OF
THE SCRIPTURES"
DR.. Taimage Begins a Series OF Sermons
on MS Observations in the Eastern
Lands The Wonderful Pyramid of
(.jxeI and the Lessons 1t Teaches.

Lands The WOnuerfuI pyramid oil
CixeIi and the Lessons 1t Teaches.
DRooKLYN. Oct. 1o.--1he vast conGrega-
ton at the Brooklyn Tabernacle this morn
Jag WIS delighted by an exquisite render
ing bv Professor Henry Eyre Browne, on
the new organ, OF Denier's second sonata
in &. Dr.. Valmages sermon was the first
Of series he intends preaching on his
eastern tour, entitled, "l'rom the Pyramids
to the Acropolis, or What Say in Egypt
and Greece Conflrmatory of the Scrip
lures" His text was Isaiah xix, 49, %:
"In that day shall there bc an altar to the
Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt
and pillar at the border thereof to the
Lord And it shall be for sign and for q
witness"
Isaiah TO doubt here refers to the great
pyramid at Gizeh, the CHEF pyramid Of
Egypt. The text speaks Of pillar in
Egypt. and this is the greatest pillar ever
lifted; and the text says it is to be at the
border of the land, and this pyramid is at
the border of the land; and the text says it
shall be for witness, and the object of
this sermon is to tell what this pyramid
witnesses This sermon is the first of
course of sermons entitled, "Irom the
Pyramids to the Acropolis, or What | Saw
in Egypt and Greece Conhrmatory of the
Scriptures"
We had, on a morning of December, 1889,
landed in Africa. Amid the bowling boat
men at Alexandria we had come ashore
and taken the rail train for Cairo, Egypt,
along the banks of the most thoroughly
harnessed river of all the world-the river
Nile We had at eventide entered the city
of Cairo the city where Christ dwelt while
staying in Egypt during the Herodic per
i,rl,t i,,L
No destroying angel sweeping through as
once but all the stars were out, and the
skies were filled with angels of beauty and
angels of light, and the air was balmy as
an American June. The next morning we
were early awake and at the window, look
ing upon palm trees in full glory of leaf
age and upon gardens of fruits and flow
ers at the very season when our homes far
away are canopied by bleak skies and the
last leaf of the forest has gone down in the
euuinoctials.
FIRST VIEW OF THE PYRAMID.
But how can | describe the thrill OF ex
pectation, for today we are to see what all
the world has seen or wants to see-the
pyramids. We are mounted for an hour
and a half's ride. We pass on amid ba-
zaars stuffed with rugs and carpets, and
curious fabrics of all sorts from Smyrna,
from Alglers, from Persia, from Turkey,
and through streets where we meet people
of all colors aud all garbs, carts loaded
with garden productions, priests in gowns,
women in black wells, Bedouins in long
md seemingly superfluous apparel, Janis
Bares in jacket of embroidered gold-out
and on toward the great pyramid, for
though there are sixty-nine pyramids still
SANDING the pyramid at Gizeh is the mon
Of Wi "a ,apt Dt.
ing under their loads, and see buffaloes on
either side browsing in pasture fields.
The road we travel is for part of the way
under clumps Of acacia and by long rows
of sycamore and tamerisk but after awhile
it is path of rock and sand, and we find
we have reached the margin of the desert,
The great Sahara desert, and we cry out to
the dragoman as we see a huge pile of rock
looming in sight, "Dragoman, what is
thats" His answer is, The pyramid,
and then it seemed as if we were living a
century every minute. Our thoughts and
emotions were too rapid and intense for
utterance, and we ride on in silence until
we come TO the foot of the pyramid spoken
of in the text, the oldest structure in all
the earth, four thousand years old at least.
Here it s. We stand under the shadow OF
structure that shuts out all the earth
y,
our vision to appreciate the distant top
and are overwhelmed while we cry, The
pyramid! The pyramidH
had started that morning with the de
termination Of ascending the pyramid
One of my chief objects in going to Egypt
was not only to see the base of that gra
Mite wonder, but to stand on the top of il
Yet the nearer came to this eternity il
stone the more my determination was
shaken. Its altitude to me simply
appalling. A great height has always
been to me most disagreeable sensation
As we disnounted at the base of the pyra
mid said: "Others may go up it, but not
I. l will satisfy myself with a view from
he base The ascent of it would be to ms
foolharGy undertaking." But after
had given up all idea of ascending, found
my daughter was determined TO 60, and
could not let her 10 with strangers, and
changed my mind and we started witt
guides, 1t cannot be done without these
helpers. Two or three times foolhardy me.
have attempted it alone, but their bodie,
came tumblng down, unrecognizable anC
lifrless
Each person in our party had two o.
three guides or helpers. One of them un
rolled his turDan and tied it around my
waist and he held the other end of the tur
ban as n matter of safety. Many of tn,
blocks of stone are four or five feet hi Il
and beyond any ordinary human stride IN
less assisted But, two Arabs 10 pull ant
two Arabs to push, found myself rapid.
ascending from height to height, and ON t
attitudes terrific, and al last at the tiptoJ
we found ourselves on q level space o
about thirty feet square. Through cieares
atmosphere We looked Of upon the desert
and of upon the winding Nile and of
upon the Sphinx, with it. features of ever
lasting stone and yonder upon the min
nrets Of Cairo Glittering in the sun, an
yonder upon Memphis in ruins, and OF
upon the wreck of empires and the battt
fields Of aces, a radius OF view enough g.
Gil the mind and shock the nerves an
DYcrwhelm ones entire being.
STARTLING ARRAY OF FIGURES.
After looking around for awhile, and
kodak had pictured the group, we de
Sccnded. The descent was more tryin
than the ascent fox climbing you need no
see the depths beneath, but coming dow
It was impossible not 70 see the abysms b,