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the immediate substratum, and the whole constituting a regular flight of stairs of masonry. No doubt this was partially the case, in order to facilitate the raising of the immense blocks of stone, by degrees, to the top. But we have ocular demonstration that, when the building was finished, these steps or projections were cut down to a plane surface, and this covered with stucco, some of which still remains near the top of one pyramid. One of these immense piles had, instead of stucco, a casing, six feet thick, of hard red granite, highly polished, thousands of blocks of which now lie scattered round its base, and several layers remain in their places above the accumulated rubbish. The material of which all these structures are composed is a fine cream-coloured calcareous stone.

It is uncertain who it was that commenced the work of

destruction upon these most ancient of Egypt's monuments. It may have been Cambyses; but that destroyer seemed to direct his attention mostly to the idols and sculptured abominations upon the walls of the temples, all of which were so offensive to the eyes of the Theists of Chaldea. These monuments, so simple in their form, having no sculpture whatever, and originating, no doubt, from a nation and religion foreign to Egypt (perhaps the shepherd kings), con. tained in their outward structure and finish nothing to offend the eye, shock the prejudice, or excite the cupidity of the Persian conquerors. Not being absolute barbarians, they scarcely destroyed anything wantonly, except under the high excitement of religious prejudice or warlike fury; and under the impulse of these, their first attention would be directed to the more elaborate works of art, and to private property. Who, then, but the deluded Moslems were the destroyers? The Moslems, whose cupidity had been excited by ignorance to suppose that these vast piles of masonry were erected expressly to conceal treasure. They may not have been the first to unseal the hidden entrances, for

it can hardly be supposed that the Persian conqueror would pass the Pyramids by totally unnoticed; it is more probable that he, through the assistance of some captured priests, gained possession of the secret which opened to him their interior.

When Belzoni forced his way into these Pyramids, he found inscriptions in Arabic, showing that they had been entered by a Saracen conqueror some centuries before. Nothing of great value has been discovered in them in modern times. We are told that under one of the califs an or der went forth for the destruction of these edifices, and that the work was committed to the care of the most skilful engi neer of the age. He wrought at it for a long time, expending much labour and treasure, and finally gave it up. Of course he had no gunpowder.

The engineer began at the top; but how he got there, up the smooth plane of five hundred feet, is beyond my comprehension, unless by cutting a flight of steps from the bottom. There he first pryed loose and cast off the apex; and then entering his lever between the interstices of the topmost layers, they, of course, came down faster than the cars down the Montagnes Russes at Paris, or the artificial ice-hills of St. Petersburg. If each stone had been tied to the necks of a regiment of these Vandals, I should desire to have been there to give it its first impulse, and would have felt as if I was doing a favour to posterity with each stone that I helped over.

When the area of this vertical breach became of considerable extent, the engineer appears to have given up the attack on the top, and begun upon each of the sides, working downward, to throw off the outer crust or shell of the edifice, in the hope of finding other yet unexplored entrances and chambers. His patience did not give out until, arriving at the bottom, he had flayed the whole pyramid; but his utmost efforts could do nothing more than make a

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skin wound upon these colossi. One of the pyramids has a considerable portion of its outer surface, near the top, entire, and from thence to the ground it is in the same flayed state as the others; by which it would appear, that in that instance the work of devastation was begun from below. From these remarks, you will observe that nothing can be farther from the truth than the idea that there was a series of regular steps for ascent, in the original plan of either of these pyramids. Therefore, if the present ragged surface presents a means of ascent, you must not suppose it to be without danger. In fact, the greater part of the four sides of each is not at all practicable, and it is now only at one of the corners or angles that an ascent to the top is ever attempted.

The north side of the largest pyramid is so steep as to be dangerous of approach. A short time since, a young Englishman was precipitated from the top to the bottom, and, of course, dashed to atoms. It is not known how he fell; whether his head turned, or whether, in attempting a descent on this side, his foot slipped. Rumour has it that he threw himself off.

Near the bottom the layers of stone are four feet thick, and the mode of my ascent was as follows: First, an Arab got down on his hands and knees, thus forming a sort of extra step, while two others mounted on the ledge above, and, giving me their hands, I was enabled, by making two good long Taglioni-isms, to reach the place where they stood; a fourth Arab remained always behind and below me, to be ready in case I made a false step.

This went on very well for a short time, while each shelf or "step" was of sufficient width to permit the placing of my four-footed stool; but frequently the steps were not more than six inches wide! while yet they were four feet high; thus rendering the footing very insecure, and the position sufficiently alarming for weak nerves. In such cases,

another mode of procedure became necessary. An Arab would kneel on one knee, and present the other as a step; the one below holding him against the rock, that he might not topple over. At about half way from the ground the layers of stone are not over three feet thick; and from thence to the top they diminish gradually, until they are not more than half that thickness. Otherwise few could ever reach the summit, such is the fatigue necessary to raise the body so frequently four feet high, aggravated by the care and anxiety about placing the feet, so as not to be precipitated to the bottom.

Difficult as the ascent is, it is as nothing when compared with the descent. In the first operation, the face being turned to the wall, neither the giddy height is observed, nor the tapering point for which one is aiming; the whole attention being taken up with the important matter in hand, and the climber being hurried on, without time to turn around, so that a fearful height is reached before he is aware of it.

Curiosity satisfied, and its consequent excitement over, the descent becomes a regular matter of business, and the importance of the undertaking strikes one at once with its full force.

On looking down, the first few tiers of steps are quite perceptible, and their lines are distinctly marked; but all lines soon become confused, and nothing but a smooth sur face is visible from fifty feet in advance down to the very ground. At first the stoutest hearts recoil at this optical delusion; but gradually gaining assurance as they descend, they get through with it tolerably well. Persons naturally nervous, and those whom any great anxiety suddenly causes to be so, find themselves in a bad predicament when called upon to perform the unavoidable task of coming down.

I have dwelt longer upon this point than may seem to you necessary; but there is such a diversity of accounts in

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relation to these "steps," that I thought you would like to have the result of my experience. A celebrated traveller thus jumps at a conclusion concerning the height and ascent of the steps. He says, "the average height is about two feet and a quarter, so that the ascent is easy, and accompanied with a feeling of perfect security." The first position may be true, as to the "average," but the latter can apply only to a sailor or a practised cragsman, as very few persons, accustomed only to level ground and a firm foot. hold, I think, would agree with him.

The approach of night and the fatigue of our long day's exercise warned us that there were some other things to be done, quite as important as climbing pyramids and spec. ulating upon their origin and dilapidation. Our party being assembled again at the base of the great pyramid, concluded to postpone their visit to the interior until the morning.

LETTER XII.

Lodgings in a Tomb.-A Night Scene.-A City of the Dead.-Visions of the Past.-Waking from the Dream.-Interior of a Pyramid.-The Colossal Sphinx.-Mummy-pits.-Pitching a Tent.-Site of Memphis.The Military School.

OUR place of rest for the night was a large

side of the hill, with Being well swept

tomb, excavated in the solid rock, in the one end opening upon a sort of terrace. out, and spread with carpets and mattresses around the sides, it formed a tolerably comfortable parlour, with divans, &c. In the centre a table was arranged, by placing several can. teen boxes side by side, which, with a clean white table. cloth and sundry articles of dinner furniture, wore quite a promising aspect.

My impatience for dinner led me to make a domiciliary VOL. I.-M