The Pyramid of Cheops is the largest and tallest of the buildings on the
earth. It was raised upon a broad platform of stone, and towered four
hundred and fifty or sixty feet above the plain. It is a mass of stone,
inclosing several sepulchral chambers, and entered by a long, narrow
passage.
Each of the Kings of Egypt built his own Pyramid; every year that he
lived he added to its height and grandeur. A small one marks a short
reign, that of Cheops a long and prosperous period. It is said that the
mere building of the causeway for the conveyance of the stone occupied
the labor of 100,000 men for three months; they were then relieved, and
a fresh body of 100,000 brought in. The work went on for ten years,
until 4,000,000 laborers had been employed upon the preparation of the
site and the gathering of the materials. Twenty years were then given to
the building of the monstrous tomb; 7,000,000 men aided in its
completion. The Nile swarmed with boats bearing food and subsistence to
the motley company; 360,000 persons were employed annually upon the
Pyramid.
Cheops must have had the satisfaction of seeing his tomb overshadow the
temples of Memphis and grow in greatness as the period approached when
it would be used. But like many another famous projector, he fell at
last into difficulties. His tomb may well be called "Cheops' folly." His
treasures were exhausted; he became a bankrupt. After his death the size
of the Pyramids was reduced by his more prudent but less renowned
successors. If placed in the City Hall Park, the Pyramid of Cheops would
have covered nearly all its surface; its top would have risen two
hundred feet above the spire of Trinity Church; the first object seen by
the voyager entering the Narrows would have been this immense and
useless structure. The folly of man was never better shown than in the
building of the Pyramids. The Egyptians were houseless, naked, starved,
that the Pharaohs might rest in their indestructible tombs.
The Egyptians lived, in general, at ease. They were shut out from the
world, and few strangers were suffered to pass up the Nile. The people
were dark-colored, wore long white linen dresses, and were adorned with
bracelets and ear-rings, gold and jewels. The priests of Isis drank no
wine, took no animal food; lived upon dates, nuts, and barley cakes. The
families of the early Egyptians were brought up in obedience and good
order. But they fell into slavery, and little is left of them but their
tombs.
There was an immense temple on a lake, devoted to the worship of the
crocodile. But it would be quite impossible to enumerate all the dreamy
wonders of Egypt. It had its libraries, pictures, astronomers,
magicians. Four thousand years ago the Nile was lined with beautiful
gardens and villas; the great cities like New York and Philadelphia were
filled with busy artisans and merchants; the Broadway of Thebes or
Memphis ran down, no doubt, to the river, lined with shops and public
buildings. The Egyptian women were clad in gold and fine linen, the
gardens glowed with the rarest flowers, and the furniture of a Memphian
home showed finer glass-work and more delicate tissues than can be found
in modern Paris.
The festivals on the Nile were celebrated in the night with wonderful
magnificence. The placid stream, lit by an unclouded moon, was covered
with countless boats with painted sails and silvery oars; ten thousand
lights glittered over the sparkling waters, and the shores were lined
with dusky and innumerable throngs. On one occasion the procession of
boats followed the body of a sacred cat to its last resting-place on one
of the islands. All was superstition and solemn awe. The multitude
watched from the shore the imposing scene. Another procession on the
Nile was a military one of triumph and victory. No river in the world
has witnessed so many splendid spectacles.
[Illustration: NERO.]