Massachusetts Spy And Worcester Advertiser

Pyramids of Egypt.—The height of the great pyramid is five hundred feet; its base seven hundred and seventy feet long at each square, making a circumference of more than three thousand feet; and its summit is twenty-eight feet square. It is perfectly true, as a celebrated traveller observes, that you feel much disappointed at the first view of the Pyramids, as they stand in the midst of a flat and boundless desert, and there is no elevation near with which to contrast them; it is not easy to be aware of their real magnitude, until after repeated visits and observations, their vast size fills the mind with astonishment.

On the third night carrying lights with us, we entered the large pyramid by a long gradual descent of near a hundred feet;—and next ascended the long gallery of marble, a hundred and fifty feet in length, and excessively steep, which conducted us to the great chamber. In the roof of this lofty room are stones of granite 18 feet long. In what manner these masses were conveyed to such a situation is not easy to conceive, still less for what purpose these immense structures were formed, filled up as the greater part of the interior is with masses of stones and marble. The few chambers hitherto discovered bear no proportion whatever to the vast extent of the interior. So immensely strong is their fabric, and so little do they appear injured by the lapse of more than three thousand years, that one cannot help believing, when gazing at them, their duration can end only with that of the world.

Near the pyramids is a small and singular group of trees, called the sacred trees by the Arabs, not one of whom will ever dare to pluck a leaf of them: they consist of two sycamores, and two or three palms, and stand alone in the waste of sand; the leaves are not withered, but have a vivid green colour, and afford a most agreeable relief to the eye.

The last evening passed here was a very lovely one: I was seated with C. near the door of his rocky abode, as the sun was going slowly down over the extensive scene before us, its red rays lingering on the pyramids, the desert, and its dreary precipices and wastes. Of all the sunsets I ever beheld, none are so beautiful as those of Egypt: the fierce redness, almost the colour of blood, that is thrown over the horizon, and then fades into the most delicate hues of yellow, green and azure, make them often a singular spectacle. About a mile on the right, a small tribe of wandering Bedouins, who had just arrived, had pitched their tents: the camels were standing beside, the fires were lighted, and the Arab masters moving about in their wild and picturesque drapery the only scene of life in that vast solitude.