The party ascended a small heap of rubbish and sand, the probable remains of the trench of the first of these edifices which presents itself, and now conducting , to the opening through which it may be reached ; this aperture, said by Denon to be about 60 feet from the base, is hidden by a general facing of stone, forming the third or inner enclosure to the solitary entrenchment surrounding the pyramid. Large stones are laid horizontally on the sides of the entrance, and above those are others of enormous size, fitted at the ends so as to lean against each other, by this means rendering their fall or derange ment impossible, through the superin. cumbent weight. Hence commences the first gallery, with a direction towards the centre and base of the monument ; this gallery is now greatly clogged with the drifted sand of the desert, and the rub bish originally made by the efforts to ex plore the secrets of the edifice, it is con sequently difficult of access. " At the extremity of this gallery," says Delion, " two large blocks of granite are met with, which form a second partition to this mysterious passage." The interrup tion made by those in the progress of past research was such, that various fruitless attempts have been made to surmount the impediment, and some have even had the folly to cut into the solid mass composing the pyramid, " but this proving unsuc cessful, they have returned some way, have passed round two blocks of stone, climbed over them, and thus discovered a second gallery, of so steep an ascent, that it has been necessary to hew steps in the ground in order to mount it. This gallery leads to a kind of landing-place, in which is a hole, usually called the well, which is the opening to an horizontal gal lery, leading to a chamber known by the name of the queen's chamber, without or nament, cornice, or any inscription what ever.
" Returning to the landing-place, an aperture, in a petpendicular direction, leads to the principal gallery, and this ter minates in a second landing-place, where a third and last partition is situated ; as .
this is constructed with a greater degree of architectural care and propriety than the rest of the building, it may be inferred that the Egyptians considered it proper to guard the immediate deposit of their dead with peculiar attention.
" Lastly comes the royal chamber, con taining the sarcophagus, a narrow sanc tuary, which is the sole end and object of an edifice so stupendous, so collossal." We have thus enabled the reader to compare the two latest accounts of the pyramids Of Egypt, and it will be found that though they differ in the method of description, that each author has been correct in stating the facts relating to them. Denon concludes his detail with several just and severe observations on the pride of those by whose order they were erected, and the barbarous igno rance and stupidity which governed those who obeyed its dictates ; and yet, strange as it may appear, it becomes necessary to mention a pyramid erected by the very Frenchmen, who, having visited Egypt, and witnessed the effects of ancient des potism, perversely imitated the devotion of its inhabitants to a military idol, who has wofully convinced the world how lit tle that devotion is deserved.
The pyramid alluded to is situated in Holland, was designed by the chief of the battalion of engineers of the French ar my there, is 110 French feet high, exclu sive of an obelisk on the summit, which is 42 feet more ; and the sides have four in scriptions, three adulatory, and the last to the following purport : "'Phis pyra mid was raised to the august Emperor of the French, Napoleon the First, by the troops encamped in the plain of Zeyst, being a part of the French and Batavian army, commanded by the Commander in Chief, Marmont." As 30,000 men assist ed in this undertaking, it was completed in 32 days, in the year 12, by their com putation.