upward requires some effort. The Bedouins, however, will
assist you in the ascent, two of them mounting the step ahead and
drawing you up while a third pushes behind."

[Illustration: THE TOMB MOSQUE OF THE KHALIF KAIT BEY WAS THE FINEST.]

As we neared them, the Pyramids, which at first had seemed small and
hazy in the distance, became distinct and grew in size. When very close
to them they appeared enormous, but their magnitude was not fully
appreciated until some hours later, after we had tramped through the
sand around the four sides of great Cheops. After that walk, a distance
of more than half a mile, we could judge with greater exactness the
immense proportions of the extensive base. The slope of the sides
prevented a fair conception of their height when looking upward at them;
but after reaching the top of Cheops, panting with the exertion of the
laborious climb in which we had been assisted by three Bedouins, we
looked down at the midgets moving on the sand below, and were convinced
that the altitude stated by the guide was not exaggerated.

The Pyramids of Gizeh stand upon a plateau about four hundred acres in
extent, which appeared to be thirty or more feet above the level of the
surrounding country. The surface of this plateau is a barren sandy
tract, bordered by cultivated land on the side toward the Nile and
merging on the west into the Libyan desert which stretches to the
distant hills. Just as far as the inundation of the Nile spreads or the
irrigating water was pumped, the land was fertile; where the surface
rose above the height reached by the water, the land was a barren waste.
Almost as suddenly as landing from an emerald sea on to a desert shore,
we stepped from a rich growth of verdure to a bare slope of yellow
sand.

At the foot of the Pyramid of Cheops a gesticulating, vociferous throng
of Bedouins crowded about us, shouting in Arabic mixed with a few
intelligible English words. Camel-drivers and donkey boys offered the
services of their animals to make the circuit; helpers, almost dragging
us away in their eagerness, insisted that we should climb to the summit;
and guides with candles in their hands importuned us to accompany them
into the gloomy interior. After a selection of camels and donkeys had
been made by those who desired to ride, the clamorous crowd of natives
separated, and we were allowed to start accompanied by but a few, who
followed in case they should be needed. "Madam might d