pyramids as full as that of the first; and, as they are far less
interesting, I would pass them over entirely; but a few remarks
respecting them, some of which I owe to my brother, I do not refrain
from offering, as I think they will interest you. It is no trifle, I
assure you, for a woman to explore the interior of the Great Pyramid. My
mind continued so impressed with the difficulties of this undertaking,
for some time, that I could not forget them, even in my dreams. The
examination of the others is somewhat less arduous.
The name of the founder of the Second Pyramid, commonly called that of
Chephrenes, still remains involved in some degree of doubt. But in some
of the tombs in the neighbourhood, we find a king’s name, in
hieroglyphics, which, according to different dialects, may be read
Khephré or Shefré; and it seems highly probable that the king to whom
this name belongs was the builder of the pyramid in question.
This pyramid is but little inferior in magnitude to the first. From some
points of view, it even appears more lofty, as it stands on ground about
thirty feet higher than that on which the first rests, and its summit is
almost entire. A large portion of its smooth casing remains on the upper
part, forming a cap which extends from the top to about a quarter of the
distance thence to the base. Notwithstanding this, Arabs often ascend to
its summit; and many European travellers have done the same. In its
general construction, this pyramid is inferior to the first; and its
interior is less remarkable. By a sloping passage, similar to the first
in the Great Pyramid, but cased with granite, and then by a long
horizontal passage hewn through the rock, broken by two perpendicular
descents, and sloping ascents, we reach the Great Chamber. This is
similar in form to the “Queen’s Chamber” in the Great Pyramid, and
contains a plain sarcophagus of granite, among blocks of the same
material lately torn up from the floor, in which the sarcophagus was
embedded.
Several Arabic inscriptions are scrawled with charcoal upon various
parts of this chamber. Most of these were written before the opening of
the pyramid by Belzoni, and are nearly illegible; generally recording
the visits of Arabs, and in the modern Arabic characters. My brother
could not find any date among them. From his manuscript notes, I copy
the following observations respecting one of these inscriptions which
has excited especial attention: consisting of two lines, written in the
same characters as the rest, and with the same material, but not so
imperfectly legible. “Belzoni particularly remarked these two lines, and
took a Copt scribe to copy them; but this man did not faithfully execute
his task: he concluded that the second line was a continuation of the
first, which is far from being certain, and gave a transcript in which
he presumed to restore what was defective in the original. His
transcript has been thus translated by Mr. Salame: ‘The Master Mohammed
Ahmed, lapicide, has opened them; and the Master Othman attended this
(opening); and the King Alij Mohammed at first (from the beginning) to
the closing up.’ This inscription has exceedingly puzzled the learned
Orientalists of Europe; and great pains have been taken to find out who
was the king mentioned in it, and at what period he reigned. It
unfortunately happens that the first line is almost wholly defaced; a
traveller having scribbled his name over it: the two first words,
however, have not been written over; and I must pronounce it very
uncertain whether they are as in the transcript above mentioned, and
consequently, whether the inscription contain any mention of the
‘opening’ of the pyramid. But the second line, which is the more
important, has not been defaced like the first; and the greater part of
it is so plain that it can hardly be read otherwise than thus:
‘El-Khaleel ’Alee, the son of Mohammad ..., has been here;’ or, in the
order of the Arabic words, ‘Has been here El-Khaleel ’Alee, the son of
Mohammad....’ It is quite evident that the word which Belzoni’s copyist
makes ‘el-melik,’ or ‘the King,’ is a proper name. Another inaccuracy in
the copy published by Belzoni is the omission of the word signifying
‘son,’ after ‘’Alee.’ Thus we find that this inscription (instead of
recording the visit of a king, or perhaps, even alluding to the opening
of the pyramid) is probably nothing more than the Arabic scrawls which
are seen in great numbers on many of the monuments of Egypt. It, and
others similar to it, are of some interest, however, as showing that the
pyramid was open at a comparatively late period.”
The third pyramid, commonly attributed to Mycerinus, or Mencheres, was
opened by Colonel Vyse, who found in it the mummy-case of its founder,
bearing the hieroglyphic name of Menkaré. This pyramid, though small in
comparison with the first and second, its base being about three hundred
and thirty feet, and its perpendicular height about two hundred, is a
very noble monument. Its construction is excellent; and it was
distinguished by being partly, or wholly, cased with granite. Several
courses of the granite casing-stones remain at the lower part. The
chamber in which the sarcophagus was found, and the entrance-passage,
are formed of granite; and the roof of the former is composed of blocks
leaning together, and cut so as to form an arched ceiling. The
sarcophagus was lost at sea, on its way to England. The third pyramid
was the first that I entered; and highly was I gratified by the view of
its interior, after I had summoned courage to crawl through its
entrance, which was almost closed by huge masses of stone.
Adjacent to the pyramids which I have mentioned are several others; but
these are comparatively insignificant; and I shall not attempt to
describe them: nor shall I undertake to give you a detailed account of
any of the numerous tombs to which I have before alluded. Most of these
lie in a large space to the west of the Great Pyramid, and north of the
second; and are, with few exceptions, disposed in regular lines, from
north to south, and from east to west; their walls, like the sides of
the pyramids, facing the four cardinal points. Some of them are nearly
buried in the drifted sand; and many are almost entirely demolished.
Some contain no chambers above ground; but have a pit, entered from the
roof, descending to a sepulchral chamber. Others contain narrow chambers
within their walls, adorned with painted sculptures in low relief,
representing agricultural and other scenes. Most of these are of the
same age as the Great Pyramid. In one of them, which is of that age, are
represented persons engaged in various arts, carpenters, makers of
papyrus-boats (probably like the ark in which Moses was exposed),
agricultural employments, the wine-press, eating, dancing, &c. Among the
subjects in this tomb, we find two men sitting at a tray which is
supported by a low pedestal, and loaded with food; one is holding a fowl
in his left hand; and, with his right, tearing off one of the wings: the
other is holding a joint, and about to bite off a piece. Each of these
persons is almost naked; had they more clothing, they would exhibit a
true representation of two modern Egyptians at their dinner or supper.
There are also many sepulchral grottoes, excavated in the rock, in the
neighbourhood of the pyramids. In one we find representations of the
flocks and herds of the principal occupant, with the number of each
kind: he had 835 oxen, 220 cows with their young, 2234 he-goats, 760
asses, and 974 rams. This interesting tomb is of the remote age of
Khephré, or Shefré, before mentioned. It is in the front of the rocky
elevation on which the Great Pyramid stands, a little to the right of
Colonel Vyse’s quarters, facing the valley of the Nile.
Had I attempted a regular description of the pyramids and the monuments
around them, I should have begun with the Great Sphinx, which faces the
traveller approaching the Great Pyramid by the easiest route from the
southeast, and lies but a short distance from that route. Its huge
recumbent body, and its enormous outstretched fore-legs, are almost
entirely buried in sand and rubbish. The head alone is twenty feet high.
The face (which lays claim to be regarded as a portrait of Thothmos IV.,
whom many believe to have reigned during the bondage of the Israelites
in Egypt, or shortly before or after, and who may have been the very
Pharaoh in whose reign the Exodus took place) is much mutilated; the
nose being broken off. This loss gives to the expression of the face
much of the negro character: but the features of the countenance of the
ancient Egyptian, as well as the comparative lightness of complexion,
widely distinguished him from the negro; and the nose of the former
greatly differed from that of the latter. At first the countenance of
the Sphinx, disfigured as it is, appeared to me absolutely ugly; but
when I drew near, I observed in it a peculiar sweetness of expression,
and I did not wonder at its having excited a high degree of admiration
in many travellers. The whole of this extraordinary colossus was
doubtless painted: the face still retains much of its paint, which is
red ochre, the colour always employed by the ancient Egyptians to
represent the complexion of their countrymen; yellow or pink being used
by them for that of the Egyptian women. All that is visible of the
Sphinx is hewn out of a mass of limestone rock, which perhaps naturally
presented something of the form which art has given to it.
I did not think to have written to you so much on the pyramids and the
monuments around them; but having entered upon the subject, I have found
it difficult to stop. So wonderful in themselves are the principal
pyramids, and so impressive by reason of their remote antiquity, that
all other existing works of man must, I think, in comparison with them,
sink into insignificance. I could hardly believe that monuments of such
stupendous magnitude, and such admirable construction, were erected
several centuries before the period of the Exodus, were it not for the
fact that the Tower of Babel, probably an equally wonderful edifice, was
raised in an age yet earlier.
During this excursion I was gratified by observing among innumerable
Arabs belonging to the villages not a single instance of blindness, a
calamity so common in Cairo. These peasants seem to enjoy a very small
share of this world’s goods; but the exhilarating air usually blowing
from the neighbouring desert has an extraordinary effect on their health
and spirits.
On the morning before our departure several well-dressed young Bedawees
arrived near our tent, the sons of the sheykh of a distant village.
After dismounting and loitering about for nearly an hour, they confessed
to one of our party that they had ridden several miles in the hope of
seeing the faces of some European ladies, who, they had been informed,
were passing a few days at the pyramids, and they were seriously
disappointed on finding veiled ladies only. A few weeks since these same
young men enjoyed the treat of seeing an American lady who is travelling
in Egypt, and who is a beautiful person. A friend of ours asked their
opinion of the lady on that occasion, when they replied that her
appearance was “excellent.” “But,” exclaimed one of the young men, “the
sword! the sword! if we dared to use it, we would kill that man,”
alluding to the lady’s companion, “whether her husband, or her brother,
and take her ourselves.” ’Tis well for pretty women travelling in the
East that these lawless Arabs are kept under a degree of subjection by
the present government.
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LETTER XXVI.
March, 1844.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
You may have heard of a famous magician in this famous city of Cairo,
who, though not supposed to be possessed of art equal to that of
Pharaoh’s wise men and sorcerers, has perplexed and confounded several
of the most intelligent travellers, by feats very nearly resembling that
performed by the Witch of Endor at the request of Saul. Having inscribed
a magic square upon the palm of the right hand of any young boy or girl,
and poured into the centre of it a little pool of ink, he pretends by
means of the repetition of certain invocations to two spirits, and by
burning some small strips of paper inscribed with similar invocations,
in a chafing-dish containing live coals sprinkled with frankincense and
coriander-seed, or other perfume, to make the boy see in this pool of
ink the image of any person, living or dead, called for by his employer.
My brother has fully described his performances as witnessed by himself
and several other travellers more than ten years ago; the performances
of which he was himself witness were not altogether inexplicable, for
some of the persons called for were not unknown to fame, and the correct
description of others might have been the result of mere guessing; but
the facts which he has related on the testimony of others have induced
several persons whom I could name to believe them the effects of
supernatural agency. The supposed mystery, however, my brother thinks he
can now explain, at least so far as to satisfy any reasonable person
respecting most, if not all, of the most surprising of the feats to
which I have alluded. (See Appendix.)
A few weeks ago, he was requested by two English travellers, Lord N. and
Major G., to witness the performances of this magician, and to act as
interpreter on the occasion, in order that they might feel themselves
secure from any collusion. But I must give you his own account of the
exposure which this request occasioned.
“I was unwilling,” he said, “to accede to the proposal made to me, and
expressed a reluctance to do so; but I am glad that I at last consented.
The magician tried with two boys, and with both of them he utterly
failed in every case. His excuse was, that the boys were liars, and
described the objects which they saw otherwise than as they appeared to
them; that the feats were performed not by his own means alone, and that
he was not secure from being imposed upon by others. Now if we admit
that there is _still_ such a thing as real magic, and we know from the
Bible such was once the case, we must allow that by occasional failures
this man does not show that he is not a true magician, as long as he
employs an agent, upon whose veracity and particular qualifications he
asserts the success of his performances to depend. Partly, perhaps, from
feelings of mortification, and partly with the view of upholding his
reputation by urging what he had done on former occasions, he remarked
to me that he was successful in the days of ’Osmán Efendee, and that
since the death of that person he had been unfortunate.
“This was indeed, for him, a most unfortunate remark. The inference to
be drawn from it, that the person whom he named was the main spring of
his machinery, was inevitable, more especially when I considered, that
in all the instances of his surprising success of which I had heard,
this person served as the interpreter; and when I further reflected,
that since his death, which took place nearly nine years ago, hundreds
of persons had witnessed the performances of this magician, and I had
been assured that his successes had been such as could not be said to be
even the results of lucky guesses or mere accident, for he had almost
always failed. I was at first unwilling to believe that a person whom I
always regarded as an honest man, and whom I knew to have been possessed
of many excellent qualities, had consented to be a means of imposition;
and I remembered that, in the performances which I had myself witnessed,
I ascertained that he gave no direction either by word or sign; that he
was generally unacquainted in these instances with the personal
appearance of the individual called for; that I took care that he should
have no previous communication with the boys; and that I had seen the
experiment fail when he _could_ have given directions to them or to the
magician. But the inferences to be derived from these circumstances, in
favour of the magician, are surely outweighed by the facts which I have
mentioned, resting not only upon the assertions of others, but also upon
his own confession. ’Osmán perhaps considered it a light matter to
practise such an artifice as that which is thus imputed to him, and
perhaps was unwilling to practise it upon me, or feared my detecting him
if he attempted to do so. Besides, if many of the performances of the
magician had not been far more surprising than those which I witnessed,
he would have gained but little notoriety. I satisfied myself that the
boy employed in a case which I have mentioned in my work on the ‘Modern
Egyptians,’ was not prompted for the part he played, by my having chosen
him from a number of others passing by in the street; and I also felt
satisfied that the images which he and another boy professed to have
seen, were by some means produced in the ink by the magician, in
consequence of their refusal to accept presents which I offered them,
with the view of inducing them to confess that they did not really see
what they proposed to have seen. As to the former point, I was doubtless
right; but as to the latter, I now feel that I was deceived. I believe
that the boys saw nothing, and that, having deceived me, they feared to
confess the truth. Another difficulty, however, lies in the way of the
explanation which I have proposed; two travellers (one of them M. Leon
Delaborde, the other an Englishman), both instructed by the magician of
whom I am speaking, are stated to have succeeded in performing similar
feats. But is it not almost certain, after what I have said, that those
feats were accomplished by means of the suggestions of the interpreter
or interpreters? Perhaps the same person who interpreted in other cases
which excited so much surprise did so in those also.
“I have stated all that I can for and against the magician, and leave it
for others to decide upon the case. For myself, I am satisfied that his
successes are to be attributed chiefly to the interpreter, but partly
also to leading questions, and partly to mere guessing. Let us consider
these three means as employed in one of the most remarkable cases. A
number of individuals being called for, most of them (perhaps all), are
correctly described. With the personal appearance of many of these
individuals the interpreter is acquainted, and he is therefore able to
suggest to the boy what he should say. When he has had no previous
knowledge of the peculiarities of the appearance of a person called for,
it has often happened that he has acquired such knowledge during the
performance. One of the company, for instance, saying that he will call
for such a person, adding that he is remarkable in such and such
respects. When the first means cannot be employed, much may be done by
the second, that is, by leading questions. When a person having but one
leg, or one leg shorter than another, is called for, he is perhaps
vaguely described, and the boy is in consequence asked if there is any
thing peculiar in his legs: this question suggests to him that there
_is_ some peculiarity in his legs, and he probably ventures to say that
he can only see _one_ leg, then if this be unsatisfactory, he may add
the person has turned round, and that he sees him to be _lame_. The
third means (guessing) without the others is not likely to be of much
service; but with them it may help to supply trifling deficiencies, and
when the guessing is wrong respecting a _trifling_ matter, his error is
considered trifling; but when he is right, his description is often
considered striking for its _minute_ accuracy.
“The last performances of this magician in my presence were ridiculous
for their complete want of success. A woman was described as a man, a
tall person as short or middle-sized, the very old as of a middle age,
and so on. Two boys were employed; one was very stupid and appeared much
frightened, the other seemed accustomed to the performance.”
A friend has just described to me the latest performance of the
magician, and you can hardly conceive any thing more unfortunate and
absurd. He had been sent for to gratify the curiosity of a party of
English travellers at the French Hotel, a frequent scene of his
impositions, where he often finds a boy ready to be employed by him,
familiar with his tricks, and an interpreter disposed to aid his
deceptions. A donkey-boy was sent for; and after the usual preparations,
Lord Auckland was named as the first person whose image was to be
presented to the boy, in the mirror of ink. He was merely described as
short and thin. O’Connell was next represented as short and thin,
dressed in white, young, without a beard wearing a white hat with a
handkerchief tied round it (like a Frank endeavouring to preserve his
head from the heat of an Egyptian summer sun), and having only one hand.
Several other persons were called for, relations of individuals present,
with various success; and much laughter was occasioned, which made the
magician accuse the boy of not telling what he saw. Another boy was sent
for; and he seemed to have been employed previously: sometimes he got on
before the magician. After many ridiculous failures, the Prince of Wales
was described with white hair, yellow beard, black coat, and white
trousers. (Beards, I should tell you are worn here by many European
travellers.) The party agreed not to laugh; and the names of persons
present were given as those of individuals whose images were required to
appear. Sometimes the image described was right in being tall, but wrong
in being fat: right as to coat, but wrong as to trousers: just as you
would expect in cases of guessing. Five dollars were put upon a chair
before the magician; but he had the presence of mind to wait for more,
which, I believe, he received. I assure you he reaps a fine harvest from
the pockets of travellers.
If you wish to know what the performances of this man were in earlier
times, in the most remarkable instances, read an account of them in No.
117 of the “Quarterly Review;” and especially a note there, following
the remarks of the reviewer. You will see, from what is there stated,
that the subject was deemed worthy of serious consideration, and that a
discovery of the means employed by the magician, which were thought to
be of a very ingenious kind, was regarded as an interesting desideratum.
That these means were not merely leading questions, and the like, as a
late writer has suggested, is evident when we reflect that the magician
is not known to have been even generally successful on any single
occasion since the death of the interpreter ’Osmán, and it is not likely
that intelligent travellers (of whom many might be named) would have
been at a loss for the explanation, if such means would have sufficed.
One further remark I must make on this subject. If we give to some
persons that credit which they are believed to deserve, we must admit
that excited imagination, in the child employed as an agent in the
deception, has sometimes produced images in the mirror of ink; but these
images have been always such as the child _expected_ to see. The
successful performances have been supposed, by some, to have been
effected by means of mesmerism; and some have attributed them to
diabolical agency. As the grandest discoveries in science are often the
most simple, so what appears to us at first most unaccountable is often
capable of the most simple solution.
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LETTER XXVII.
April, 1844.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
When I promised you a description of the Bath, I did not anticipate that
I should enter upon the subject with pleasure. Whatever others may think
of it, I confess that the operation of bathing in the Eastern manner is
to me extremely agreeable; and I have found it singularly beneficial in
removing that lassitude which is occasioned by the climate. It is true
that it is followed by a sense of fatigue, but a delightful repose soon
ensues; and the consequences, upon the whole, I find almost as enjoyable
as the process itself.