among the distant villages. In In consequence, this part of our task was deferred until our return from Nubia; when other circumstances, perhaps of greater importance, caused us to neglect it, as well as the descent into the well, where, in reality, there is nothing to be seen. The heat in the interior is very great. The big drops of perspiration stood upon our faces, like peas; and, when we emerged into the open air, two heavy cloaks could scarcely enable us to bear the change of temperature, even in the sunshine.

XCIII. We dined in the rocky chambers in the eastern face of the hill; after which I quitted the party, and returned alone to explore the numerous sepulchral chambers which here occupy the skirts of the desert. I found the whole surface of the ground, east of the pyramid of Cheops, strewed with Egyptian pebbles, or agates, of which I picked up several. I likewise took three small pieces of calcareous stone from the pyramid itself; together with a little of the mortar, of a pale pink colour, in which the stones were embedded. Now the vast structure presented itself to my mind in all its grandeur. I stood by it alone. Neither noise, nor laughter, nor contests with the Bedouins disturbed me. No living thing was any where to be seen, save the eagle of the desert, which wheeled and floated in the sunshine, far aloft, towards the alpine summit. Below and all around were tombs, and absolute stillness. I wandered to the mouth of the second pyramid. The entrance,

SUBTERRANEAN APARTMENTS.

157

like the other, is cased with beautiful porphyry; but, having no light, I could not descend into the interior.* The space between the two larger of these structures seems unquestionably to be traversed by covered passages; and, judging by the sound which the earth returned to my footsteps, I thought I could reckon at least four or five. When I had been here some time, I heard the shout of Arabs at a distance; and soon afterwards saw my guides running towards me across the sands, which here seem to be entirely formed of the crumbling particles of the pyramids. As what I had given them appeared liberal payment in their eyes, they were desirous of manifesting their gratitude by showing me a shorter way across the plain than the one by which we had come; and ran with much glee by the side of my donkey, until I requested them to return to their village.

XCIV. As the evening drew near, the air was richly scented by the odour of numerous bean-fields in full blossom. In recrossing the Nile from Ghizeh to Old Cairo, the scene was beautiful beyond description. The sun, just as we embarked on the river, was setting behind the pyramids and the desert; and the summits of the woods, the tombs, the minarets, and other lofty objects, were relieved against a sky of the richest hues. The firmament, on the edge of the horizon, was of a

* On our return from Nubia, when Monro and myself again visited the pyramids, we carefully examined the interior of that of Cephrenes, which on this occasion I could not.

158

SCENE ON THE RIVER.

deep tawny orange colour, which, growing paler as it ascended, appeared, a little higher, to change into a light green; and this, again, in its turn, growing less and less intense towards the summit of the vast arch which it described, terminated in a lovely purple flush, which diffused its brilliance over the whole circle of the hemisphere. The moon, calmly rising in the east, shows its soft rays over a portion of the river; while, on the other hand, the indescribably beautiful purple, and pink, and green, and gold of the sky, were reflected from the surface of the water, which, when slightly ruffled by the motion of the boat, or the dip of the oar, shone and glittered like a metallic sea. In the back ground, towards the east, the naked rocks of the Gebel Mokattam were painted with the most gorgeous hues by the setting sun, which seemed to convert its rude pinnacles into masses of lapis lazuli, turquoises, and amethysts. But, had I the pen of Milton or the pencil of Claude, I should despair of imparting to others a just conception of that sunset, which I never, but once in Upper Egypt, saw surpassed. It was quite dark when we reached Cairo.

PALACE OF AHMED PASHA.

159

CHAPTER VII.

PALACE OF AHMED PASHA-GARDENS OF SHOUBRA-BATH AND KIOSK-FOUR GIRAFFES-PASHA'S STUD-NEJDI HORSES-THE DONGOLA HORSE MODE OF PICKETING HORSES AMONG THE ARABS.

Sunday, Dec. 9.

XCV. FOR several days I had been employed in making preparations for the voyage into Nubia, which being now completed, I again found leisure to return to the curiosities of Cairo. Among these I had often heard enumerated the palace of Ahmed Pasha, the present Governor of the Hejaz; in consequence of which we this morning visited it. This palace, which has been recently erected, has the reputation of being the handsomest building in Cairo; and, from all that I have seen, it appears well worthy of its renown. It consists of two stories, in each of which there is a vast hall in the form of a Greek cross; and in the corners, which, in a square building, are created by this arrangement, the other apartments are situated. These rooms are all fitted up in an eminently striking and gorgeous style: the ceilings are covered with gilded arabesques, the walls and cornices with paintings; and the principal apartments are adorned with clustered columns, surmounted by gilded capitals, with elegant niches or recesses, and furnished with

160

PALACE OF AHMED PASHA.

the most superb divans of crimson velvet, skirted with gold fringe a foot deep. In the harem, the divans, cushions, &c. are of light flowered satin, with gold borders of great depth. The sleeping apartments of the women, which, the ladies being in the old palace, we were allowed to visit, -were exceedingly light and airy, and furnished with handsome glass windows. The finishing, the locks, fastenings, &c. were of inferior workmanship. In one of the great halls we saw two beautiful fountains: the one, fashioned in the wall, descending like a series of shells, sculptured in marble, and increasing in size from the top downwards, poured its sparkling waters into two serpentine channels, cut in the marble pavement, and containing the figures of various species of fish, which communicated with the second fountain. This, however, was merely a large marble basin, sunk in the floor, with a column of water rising and falling in its

centre.

XCVI. In the afternoon we rode to Shoubra, where Mohammed Ali has a country-house, of no very striking appearance; and gardens, which are certainly among the finest I have any where seen. They cover, perhaps, thirty or forty acres of ground, and are laid out in squares, parallelograms, triangles, &c., divided from each other by long straight alleys, formed, in many cases, with a hard kind of cement; in others, paved with pebbles of different colours, disposed in mosaics, like those in the grottoes of the Isola Bella, and representing various objects of nature