Not far from Cheops we see above the waves of sand a rough-hewn head that
stirs us mightily. No one can forget the first impression of the Sphinx.
It stands for something unique in history and in knowledge. No one with
a spark of reverence in his nature can stand before that great stone
face without a feeling of awe. There will be little that he can say--the
most reverent ones say nothing. There before you is that half-buried,
crouching figure of stone about which you have read and heard so much.
The paws are covered by sand. It is only by industrious shoveling and
digging that the desert is prevented from rising on the wings of the wind
and completely burying the great figure.
[Illustration: THE SPHINX