The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-02-17

this passageway, another passageway branches off and upwards. Phe en- trance to this passage was originally barred by a tremendous stone which has never been moved, for 1t was found easier to bore around it than to break through it, This passageway goes up- ward al about the same angle at which the other goes down, and is of about the same size, Visitors nowadays leave the downward passage at the junction and go upward. After about 125 feet, which seems ten miles at least, the passage suddenly expands into a large hall, and you can stand upright That Is, If you can stand upright on an in clined floor which is as slippery as glass. You may also catch your breath. That is if the heat, the dust, the smoke from torch and candle, the abnormal exercise and the yells the Arabs con slider it their duty to contribute to the tartarian horrors, have left you any breath to catch. The hall is 155 feet long and 2S feet high. From its upper end you have twenty odd feet of crawl ing to reach what is called the kings chamber, where it is supposed Cheops was buried. For further descriptions Of the various chambers and passage ways read Baedeker, Murray or Budge. For accuracy of measurement read Vyse and Flinders Petree. For lunatic de- auctions, if capable of taking an inter- and Flinders Petrie. For lunatic de- writings of John Taylor and c. PiaZZe Smith. The impulse that led a mon arch to work of such stupendous egotism is as unknown as Is the resting place of his body.
 Now you are drawing near the sphynx, and are undoubtedly thinking how the first sight of the great wonder will affect you. You will be surprised to find that the. sphynX still has eX- pression, and you will wonder if the re- maining. expression is an original eX- pression. There is certainly smile, though it be of the nature of Pats smile after a most patriotic celebration of St. Patrick's day. But alas the poor sphynX has not the recuperative pow CTS of the sons of Erin. Each blow of time, each assault of fear or malice leaves an enduring mark. The days of the sphynx are numbered. It will not be many years before the sharp cutting sands of the desert have entirely sawn through the neck. Then the head will fall; then interest will cease. Figures by themselves convey poor ideas of di- | mensions. If, however, you put two or three Arabs here and there for com- parison, figures will be of assistance in realizing the size of the structure. The sphynx nose, when it had one, was about the size of an ordinary Arab. His mouth was about as long as his nose. An Arab standing upon the tip | of his ear can reach to the top of his head. The entire length of the animal | is about 150 feet and his height, from | between his paws to the top of his l head, about 70 feet. The head is entire | ly cut out of the solid rock. The body | is also cut out of the solid rock, but is pieced here and there by poor masonry. | individual, or company, starts out to dig the sphynx free from the surround
 ing sands But it hardly takes the sands more than one season to fill up | their excavations. If the sands could 1 be induced to keep still, great results might be anticipated; but the sands are | as restless as the waves of the Atlantic. His two huge paws, fifty feet in length, | stretch out in front of him. Between | them and close to his breast was an | open temple. At the end of his paws were steps leading to a broad viaduct | which reached down to the valley of the | Nile and the city of Memphis. The
 masonry which patched out the in- l en1la1ities of the solid rock is poor and
 fast going to pieces. It will not be 1 long before the whole structure Is d ! memory of the past