AND it was thus:-we had "done" the cataracts and upper country, and had just bare time to "coach up" for the pyramids, when our boats bumped against the bank, somewhere in the neighbourhood of Sakarah. This was exactly what we did not want, having intended to land near Dashoor as we passed, so we had either to retrace our steps, or only half do our pyramids, a thing for veteran antiquarians who had poked their noses into every hole and corner, from Aboo Simboul downwards, utterly untenable and infra dig, so entrapping a drove of conscript donkeys, which could boast of neither saddle, bridle, or other adornment of like nature, we mounted and set off for the pyramids of Dashoor.

It so happened we were all Hibernians, and with the natural talent of our favored island, struck out an expedient at once to relieve the tedium of the journey, and make up for the ground we had lost, by having one grand steeplechase of it from the boats to the pyramids-first in, winner-and off we set. Our steeds carried us through the centre of one village, then into the middle of a thick date wood, and finding their tormentors still stuck to them, gallantly struck off for the Lybian desert, and pulled up by the old brick pyramid of Dashoor-why they chose this particular edifice I can't explain, but being very much at their mercy, from the want of any better method of steering them than by the tail, I think we should have been contented with any selection our quadrupeds might have made, as, indeed, in the present instance, we had reason to be. Now this brick pyramid is a very remarkable pyramid; first you cannot help wondering what in the world it is meant for, being like a huge defunct brick kiln, perched on the debris of half the mud cities of the pakalate; next you conjecture what in the world brought it there, such a distance from the abodes of all brick-burners, till you find on inspection, the bricks were never burnt at all; lastly you are insensibly led to speculate on what was the original shape or form, if of form or shape it ever was possess

ed; it may have been round, square, or pyramidal, or not one of these, for aught the present misshapen mass determines. Neglected by the majority of tourists, this poor, plebeian pyramid seems to entertain a very moderate opinion of itself, standing at an humble distance from its granite compeers, and from century to century, slowly relapsing to the primeval mud from whence it sprung. Striking is the contrast, as you turn to view the pyramids of stone, rising a small distance off, sharp and defined against the blue horizon-majestic in their simplicity-grey denizens of dreary desolation. At first, one may be disappointed at their apparently diminutive dimensions-a gallant ship appears a speck on the wide waste of waters-a pyramid, a mole-hill in the desert; but stand at the base-look up-mark the vast mass of masonry, rising with huge blocks of granite, tier on tier, and you almost fancy with the wondering Arab, you behold the work of Ginn, not mortal man; they seem, indeed, the growth of ages, fabricated to exist when time shall be no more. But I think I have said enough to impress you with my sense of the sublime, and now this veracious narrative descends to the ridiculous, as thus: despite of Paul's steady asseveration to the contrary, on the testimony of the redoubtable Sir Gardner, we, unsight, unseen, resolutely maintained an entrance was to be found in the near stone pyramid of Dashoor, and arriving thereat, the entrance appeared, but rather high up on the face of the pyramid, and nearly central, with respect to the two sides.

Paulo, in the ardour of a professional adventurer, climbed like a wild cat to the aperture, and I followed in his wake. Now at first, where the coating was worn, the scramble was practicable enough, but when it came to crossing the smooth stones in a lateral direction (for we had commenced near the corner), the matter ceased to be any longer a joke. A low stone door-way introduced us into a low, steep, narrow shaft, which apparently penetrated to the very entrails of the

edifice, dark as Erebus, and about as uninviting. "You meet wild, an-i-màl,' urged Paulo, half deprecating the adventure. "When I," proceeded he, confidentially arresting my descent"when I was at Great Pyramid with Mr. Stephens, big an-i-màl so great, [here Paulo extended arms, eyes, and mouth, to express any amount of immensity] she run at me-I fire and fall down-she sure to eat me-Mr. Stephens fire-she run." Assuring our worthy dragoman I apprehended meeting no an-i-mal more rapacious than himself, our party, at least those of it who had already reached the entrance, proceeded to descend. After a few yards' progress, Paulo, who would act as pioneer, came to a dead halt, scraping and rooting at a dark cranny, and grunting ever and anon; at last the dragomen gave tongue, and in no small perturbation, directed our attention to the trail of some animal which had "squatted" in the pyramid. "Straight we called for sword and pistol," and advanced to the attack; the array of battle was the following:- First marched Paulo the magnanimous, sliding on his hunkers; in his right hand a wax candle, in his left a loaded pistol. In like manner progressed my unworthy self; while J. N. covered my rear, with a blood-thirsty implement in his hand, consisting of a brace of pistols and a long stiletto, all growing out of an iron handle-a regular machine infernal, capped, cocked, and presented, to the manifest plague, peril, and perplexity of the hapless individual who preceded him-to wit, my invaluable self. Imagine what a public calamity two inches of steel, or a half ounce of lead might at that instant have occasioned. Well, on we went meanwhile, descensus averni fashionswimmingly-but at length the expedition came into troubled water-the smooth and slippery flag abruptly terminating in broken stone and semipulverized mortar, most mortifying to the flesh. Narrow, and yet more narrow grew the interminable shaft, till at last, we had to take to the horizontal, and slide feet foremost as best we might. The heat was suffocating, dust blinding, and gloom impenetrable. Our prospect limited to the casing of the shaft some few feet above our noses, rapidly becoming smutted from the flickering lights we carried.

"I go down no more," said Paulo, coming to halt so suddenly that my heels were brought in contact with his occiput. "But I do," I answered (for I was in mortal terror of my rearguard, and dared any amount of untried danger, for the peril that persecuted me a parte post). "Then I go too," said Paulo, and he did not long, however, for presently he raised a shout "Great animal-great animal -Mr. Pea, Mr. Pea, I see his eye!" The panic became infectious-back came Paulo, cutchacut-chooing like a bull frog, but stern foremost, driving the whole line behind him into a similar evolution. When gaining the wider passage, the lion-hearted dragoman fairly wheeled round, and turned tail, rushed blindly against B., who had just reached the aperture, and into whose peaceable and good-humoured countenance he incontinently dashed a loaded pistol, then flung away the weapon, and sliding down the pyramid, plumped breathless on motherearth. The advanced guard having remained at anchor where Paulo first ran over us. Convulsed with laughter, and exhausted by our late exertions, we now held a council of war, and deliberated on the mysterious cause of our discomfiture. It was decided, primo, that whatever was at the bottom of the passage was a mystery. Secundo, not improbably a dry well, and a hyæna. Tertio, the encounter was hazardous, as the animal might bite-so, nem. con., it was determined to fight the enemy on fair ground, or not to engage in mortal conflict at all. I thereupon addressed to the unknown an oration, and blazed most valiantly down the darkness. Echo, in a roar of thunder, returned the salute, and we retreated under cover of the smoke. Now, most courageous sir, or madam, if you doubt our valour, or smile at our most praiseworthy discretion, off with you to the pyramid, and poke out a hyæna for yourselves. Sakara, and the Mummy Pits, consumed the remainder of the day. And here let me record the fate of a pair of estimable, but departed trowsers, which fell the victims of unflinching fidelity, and whose loss, for ten long months, I ceased not to deplore-for, lowered by the fag-end of a rope into the Ibis' pit, like a second Joseph, I burst my inexpressibles, and bewailed their dissolution alone among

the crocks. That day I suffered mentally, also the inconstancy of the fair sex was the cause; for having ravished a long black lock from the sable tresses of an ancient Egyptian damsel, who lay, a mummy by the wayside, I put the dusky treasure into my breast coat-pocket, but, when I drew it forth next morning, behold, it had crumbled into snuff! Courteous companion, trust not the beauties of a mummypit, nor any other beauties of the race of Eve-live and die a bachelor, eschewing young maidens, widows, and old maids. Soundly slept old Remesis— father of sleepers the Arabs term him -as he took out his siesta, untroubled with a yoke-fellow, calmly recum

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bent in the mud. We rode by him and Mitraheeny, as the shades of night were falling, and arrived in safety at the boats. A gentle breeze murmured through the palm-trees-the glimmering stars gleamed fitfully across the broad, deep, flowing waters of Old Nile-lights twinkled from a neighbouring Bedawee encampment-the distant baying of some houseless dog, or the wild cry of the prowling jackal, alone breaking the stillness of the night, we dismounted from our long-eared friends, the donkeys, and, at the welcome summons of our Arab cooks, closed, with a most substantial dinner, our little go at the pyramids.

GREAT at times are the vicissitudes of four-and-twenty hours in the life of a traveller; but one-half that period had scarcely elapsed, when our slumbers were broken by the din and bustle of the war of life. In simple English, we went to bed near Mitraheeny, and got up at Jizeh, right opposite Old Cairo. Some heavy rain had fallen during breakfast, but at the expiration of the fourth pipe (we counted by pipes, not bells, on board our boat, The Commodore), we got ready for our start to the pyramids of Jizeh. Donkeys, with the latterly unusual appendages of bridle and saddle, had been sent us that morning from Cairo; and having provided ourselves with three tickets each, not to leave on the ghost of old Cheops, but to bestow on the fortunate individuals we should select as guides, we disembarked for the excursion. landing, we were at once involved in a scene of new and unanticipated tumult, some forty ragamuffins rushing to the water's edge, each claiming our separate and undivided patronage, as guide at the pyramids. In vain did the irritable Hadge Bourri with the kurbash ply the clamorous crowd, equally, and without respect of persons; in vain did Paulo harangue, with more tongues than Cerberus, and the lungs of Stentor. The guardian genius of the Nile himself, or Father Neptune, backed by his police of Tritons, could not have commanded silence. Yielding to destiny, I at once surrendered to the

On

three first gentlemen, who, despite of habeas corpus, had seized on my body corporate, while B., determined to exercise his right of choice, was literally encompassed by Philistines; his hands were pinned into his pockets, his knees held, and his donkey forcibly taken possession of. One guide, at whom he scarcely nodded, was taken by the nose, and pulled over from behind. However, off at last we did get, the triumphant fifteen (three guides a-piece) shouting and jumping like mad-donkeys frolicsome and frisky (ass-drivers prodding them behind) and ourselves like boys let out for a holiday, up for anything, and in great heart, relieved from the pressing occupations of your every-day life at home, amidst new scenes-in a glorious climate, and enjoying unaccustomed health, the days of boyhood sweep over the spirit, and carking care appears the phantom of some by-gone dream-verily, one lives again.

Our path was, for the most part, through a rich and cultivated plain, which the basha thought not beneath his notice, inasmuch as several troops of cavalry had encamped therein-tents pitched, and troop horses picketed all around. Here were also groups of fellaheen, droves of asses, and innumerable dogs; blue-garbed belles paraded with little squalid children, and a herd of goats did pastoral for the nonce. On nearing the objects of our excursion, I could not, I confess it, help

wincing a little at the prospect of ascending the pyramid, the edge looked so sharp, and the steps at the angle so acute, that the apprehension of getting giddy, and then blown off, damped my ardour not a little. I do not know how far the rest of the party shared in a similar sensation, but, on arriving at the base of the Great Pyramid, all appearance of risk, or even difficulty, vanished in a moment. The serrated edge presented now a staircase for a giant-the giddy height was counterbalanced by the enormous bulk of the huge edifice- and even our guides were looked on as a humbug, whose assistance was wholly nominal and unprofitable. However, they at least were of a contrary opinion, and two, grasping each a hand, whilst one followed in the rere to pick up the pieces in case of accident, I was soon at the half-way house, on the eastern edge of the pyramid. Here I was permitted to take wind. Again we went at it, the second stage being even less difficult than the first; and, rather blown and heated, I stood on the summit of the pyramid. "Backsheesh, backsheesh," roared the harpies. "Mafeesh felons," was the reply; and, cantabit vacuus, I felt out of the power of the robbers. One by one, the rest of our party made their appearance, and, seated on some fallen masses of stone, well be-scribbled by souls thirsting for immortality, we began to look about us, and cool down. Splendid was the view from the summit of the pyramidthe distant Nile, winding with tortuous course, the plain we had passed through, luxuriant in fertility, dotted with little hamlets, and waving palm-groves, spread like a vast carpet, green as the emerald, and intersected by numerous water-courses, that intertwined, like silver threads, athwart its surface. Beneath the sterile Mokatum, Cairo, with dome and minaret, peeped through a mass of

foliage, and all was gladdened by one unbroken flood of glorious day. We turned, and the desert, drear and desolate, was stretched before us, the white sand glowing under the cloudless skyno sound to break the stern stillness of the scene-no object to enliven its dull monotony-except the distant pyramids of Dashoor and Sakara, and they spoke only of solitude, decay, and death. On rolled the Lybian waste, onward, still on-till the weary eye grew dim with wandering over vacancy. Well, we sat down, and wrote letters to friends at home, dating from "Pyramids of Cheops"-sand was plenty, and elbow-room abundant. We descended, saw the inside, and set off for the Sphinx. Now the sphinx has been a much-misrepresented monster. First, all travellers have, until late, combined in depriving him of his gender: he is masculine, my good lady, and not one of your sex at all. Witness his beard, which has lately been grubbed up. Now a beard is not an adjunct of even an Egyptian gentlewoman. Next, tourists have talked twaddle by the bucketful about this Brobdignag's "solemn beauty, mild benignity, serene repose." All humbug-not one word of truth in the whole of it. As an honest man, I will tell how he really appears. View him in profile, take a side-glance at his battered face, and noseless physiognomy -you have the image of a superannuated baboon in a judge's wig. Now take him in front, face him, and behold a beau-ideal of the ghost of Old Antiquity.

Yes, he has braved the brunt of cen turies-their characters are written on his brow. Father of countless sphynxes, he has buried almost all his offspring, and now seems but awaiting the desolation of his old compeers, the pyra mids, to congè time, and glide into eternity.

Let us Pre

Revenous nous à Moutons. come back to our cardinals. sently, most patient auditor; but allow me just a few lines of digression, by way of a preparatory canter. We are passing the very pretty gardens of Roda. Let us land for ten

minutes, whilst I tell you on the spot the story of the pilfering Arab and the stone sarcophagus. Well, out with it, but be concise. The tale is as follows; but first look about you. These grounds are laid out in European rather than oriental style; and

so much the better, say I. What does a Turk know about gardening? Look, for instance, at the far-famed gardens of Damascus. An incongruous mass of tree, shrub, underwood, and red dust, an old kiosk, and a muddy stream in the middle. Wood, water, and his nargilleh, are all the proprietor cares about: he is averse to walking, and his segadeh enables him to squat where he will. But here are well-laid walks, luxurious and rare exotics; the palm, bamboo, and fig, the aloe, and a thousand other choice productions of the glorious eastern clime, spread their umbrageous foliage across our path. The kiosk is tawdry, I grant you, and the grotto somewhat too closely resembles a chance medley of woolpacks, dusted over with all varieties of shell.

But take the gardens on the whole, and you must confess they beat the "Groves of Blarney" by a long chalk, which is saying a great deal. Now, sit you down by those fine pomegranates, till we have our chat out. Some three years past, I was introduced to Mr. T., the basha's head gardener, a shrewd, intelligent, gentlemanlike Scotchman, who kindly piloted me through the marvels of this garden. Amongst other subjects, he introduced his troubles, from the indolence and roguery of the Arab labourers. He tried kindness, and an appeal to interest and moral feeling; he might as well have "whistled jigs to a milestone." Then he had recourse to severity, but the labourers were as used to the bastinado as an eel to skinning. At long last he bethought him of an hitherto untried expedient, worthy of a political economist, as no doubt he is. In one corner of the garden lies an old sarcophagus, with a well-fitting lid, and a convenient aperture near the head. Moreover, this sarcophagus is long, narrow, and by no means deep. The bright thought struck Mr. T., that solitary confinement, in this said stone coffin, might produce salutary results. An opportunity for testing its efficacy soon presented itself.

These pomegranates beneath which we sit were placed under the peculiar charge of a most trusty Arab, a fellow fit to protect the garden of the Hesperides, could you take his character from himself, and a very Argus in

the matter of pomegranates. Watch and ward did the Arab keep, but the fruit, as it ripened, disappeared. Every underling was suspected; none were proved guilty of the charge; and T.'s fidus Achates repeatedly averred he could never see the plunderer with all his eyes; hard for him, for he turned out to be the pillager himself. Mr. T. took him at once into custody, marched him off to the stone coffin, and inducting him into all the rights, privileges, and temporalities thereof, the lid was fastened down, and Argus left to his reflections. For five long days and five mortal nights the fellah remained incarcerated, unable to turn to the right hand or the left, and, to crown all, fed solely on his favourite pomegranates: they were meat and drink to him. Now mark the moral effectfrom the day of his release, thenceforward, the emancipated Arab was never known to look a pomegranate in the face, and became an efficient and most disinterested guardian of the grove. Mr. T. now made the sarcophagus a regular state prisonArabs, short, long, fat, or lean, all taking their turn therein, and emerging therefrom invariably both wiser and better men. Now, I call this a noble example of the practical value of antiquarian researches.

Considering some half-hour ago I totally disclaimed lion-hunting, I find I have fallen into the very snare I had determined to avoid; for short as is the time which has elapsed since we left the Hotel d'Orient, we have contrived to charm serpents, overhaul darweeshees, hang a Bedawee, shoot a hyena, climb pyramids, with sundry other divertissements, too numerous to detail. So let us get on board again; and here we are at Cairo.

Now we go shopping. Shopping? What a bore! I grant you shopping is at times a bore, especially if you go to shop with ladies. A man is never more out of his element than when he enters the haberdasher's. There you stand, perhaps, at the shop door, for the time a discarded appendage-a mere fag-end of humanity-whilst your fair friends plunge into the mysteries of silks, satins, laces, and mousselinede-laines, winding up with the purchase of a yard of bobbin, or a pennyworth of pins. I have admired the patience of a Job, but am astounded