274 PYRAMIDS OF GISEH. It was at this great pyramid that we stopped longest. Like all the travellers who come to the desert, we walked round it, not without difficulty, sometimes over rubbish, at others, upon a fine sand, into which our feet sunk at every step. Two entrances lead to the interior; one near the western angle, and, at about two-thirds of its height, introduces you into a small square chamber, in a corner of which is to be seen a sort of well, the outlet of which is not known; this entrance has long been abandoned. The other looks towards the north, and is sixty feet above the base; it is by this that all those who explore the monument enter. We were, at first, disposed, from a movement of curiosity, to go in, but reflexion soon dissuaded us from the undertaking. Weary as we already were, what should we have gained by fatiguing ourselves still more in gloomy labyrinths, most of which you cannot pass through without stooping or crawling, by the light of torches, which the fall of the least substance, or the wing of a bat, is liable to extinguish; in narrow passages, which, after incredible difficulty, after endless turnings and windings, only bring you at last to an empty sepulchre, to two naked halls or chambers, which have nothing remarkable but their names, the king's chamber, and the queen's chamber; to return with the same labour, the same difficulty, the same danger, and to leave at last, with garments torn or soiled by contact with the ground or the walls, pallid face, and lungs oppressed by the want of fresh air! To the satisfaction of exploring the interior of the Cheops, I should certainly have preferred that of ascend PYRAMIDS OF GISEH. 275 ing to the platform in which it terminates. It would have been to me far more interesting to contemplate, from that elevation, the rich and fertile Egypt, the numberless windings of its river, and that multitude of canals which distribute its fertilizing waters over the whole face of the country; above all, to survey the extensive ruins of Memphis; those cities of the dead, where so many ancient generations were buried; those deserts which surround without protecting their remains; and that populous city, which, at this day, a modern Pharaoh crushes with the weight of his ambition, his avarice, and his pride. Methought that at this height my soul, more at liberty, would have soared more impetuously towards the skies, and drawn from them new and more wholesome inspirations; that, beholding at my feet the royal ashes of so many dynasties, that hovering over, as it were, and looking down upon their glory, I should the better have felt and comprehended its vanity; and that then I should have descended with better thoughts, with a heart more detached from the things of this world, more aware of the illusions of all that is passing, more firmly resolved to seek its glory in the glory of Him who alone can associate it with his happiness and his eternity. But, after some observations of our guides, we thought it better to renounce an enterprize, the execution of which is not only very laborious, but full of danger, especially as the wind was blowing with violence. Many of the stones which form the steps of the monument are broken; some, more deeply penetrated by the action of the sun's rays, are in a state of decomposition; others, 276 PYRAMIDS OF GISEH. less solidly united, give way under the foot as you ascend, tumble down whole or in fragments, and, unless great care be taken, are liable to occasion fatal accidents. It is not long since an English traveller lost his life there. On arriving at a certain height, he slipped backward, and was dead when he came to the foot of the pyramid. The second pyramid, that of Chephren, is about five hundred paces from the preceding, and nearly equal to it in height. It differs from it in its top, which terminates in a point, and still more in its base, the cube of which is much smaller. The lower part, now covered with sand and rubbish, is, according to Herodotus, of Ethiopian stones of various colours, which form a kind of pedestal. The rest, from the first tier, was entirely covered with smooth and polished stone; of this covering a very small portion remains, down to about forty feet below the top. M. Belzoni, who, some years since, penetrated into the interior, having with great labour and difficulty reached the principal chamber, found there a large sarcophagus, containing a quantity of bones, which, on being examined by skilful English anatomists, were declared to be those of an ox. Hence it was concluded, and, probably, very justly, that these remains had belonged to some god Apis, and that this deity had shared the honours of royal sepulture with the Pharaohs. I shall say but a word concerning the third pyramidthat of Mycerinus. Built externally on the plan of that of Cheops, it was covered with a red granite of Elephanta, of the same species as that of most of the Egyptian obelisks. The greediness of the Arabs has prompted them to carry off the stones of this facing, either to sell CITADEL OF CAIRO. 277 or to adorn their edifices with them. Fragments of them are still to be found in great number, at the base of this monument. LETTER L. CITADEL, WHERE THE PACHA RESIDES - - KLEBER'S TOMB-JOSEPH'S WELL-SQUARE OF THE ESBEKYEH ASSASSINATION OF KLEBERAHMET BEY DEFTERDAR; HIS CRUELTY-ISHMAEL PACHA. Cairo, February 12th, 1833. According to all appearance, I shall pass but a few days more at Cairo. The weather has become finer, my preparations are nearly completed, and, if nothing happens to derange my plans, I shall set out as soon as I can. Since my last letter, my principal visits have been to the citadel, where the pacha resides, and the tomb of Kleber. The citadel, to the north-east of Grand Cairo, is here called El Kala: it is a work of the great Saladin's, who built it at the time when he wrested the sovereignty of Egypt from the Fatimite caliphs. It stands upon a rock, which is a prolongation of the Mokatam. Its high walls are encompassed at a little distance with houses, which are mostly falling to ruin, and some of them deserted. Going thither from the city, you find at the entrance a spacious area, the surface of which is the rock itself. This entrance is an enormous folding door, strengthened with iron, flanked by two towers, painted outside in red and white stripes, like the interior of the mosques and the principal edifices. The streets through 278 CITADEL OF CAIRO. which you ascend are narrower than those of Cairo, and have been cut out of the rock: the acclivity is extremely steep. In some places steps have been made to facilitate the ascent. In advancing, in a north-east direction, you come to the remains of a square edifice, the walls of which were still standing at the time of the French invasion. It' was open at top; its tallest columns were of granite, and of a single block. On the upper part of some of the smallest were remarked, not without surprise, four fleursde-lis of very large dimensions, the discovery of which has given rise to singular conjectures. They have led certain writers to think it probable that the kings of France derived their armorial bearings from Egypt. Of this edifice nothing is now left but the columns and ruins. It was, according to some, an ancient temple; according to others, a palace, which the Arabs attribute to Joseph, but which may have been erected by Saladin, whose name is said to have been found there. Ascending nearly direct north from these ruins, you come to the great mosque of the citadel; and a little higher, to Joseph's well, which is its most remarkable monument. This well has long been reputed of the highest antiquity. The honour of it was given to the patriarch whose name it bears, and it was thought that the style and the workmanship of the early Egyptians might be discovered in it. Rollin reckons it among the curiosities of ancient Egypt. At the present day, the best judges have no doubt that it is a work of Saladin's, who, it is said, caused it to be constructed that he might have near |