ime I remained transfixed,
endeavouring to read the meaning conveyed by this wonderful eye; but I
was struck after a while by what seemed a contradiction in the
expression of the eye and of the mouth. There was a singular
gentleness and hopefulness in the lines of the mouth, which appeared
to be in contrast with the anxious eye. Mr. Bowlby, who was a very
_sympathique_ inquirer into the significancy of this wonderful
monument, agreed with me in thinking that the upper part of the face
spoke of the intellect striving, and striving vainly, to solve the
mystery--(What mystery? the mystery, shall we say, of God's universe
or of man's destiny?)--while the lower indicated a moral conviction
that all must be well, and that this truth would in good time be made
manifest.

We could hardly tear ourselves away from this fascinating spectacle to
draw nearer to the Great Pyramid, which stood beside us, its outline
sharply traced in the clear atmosphere. We walked round and round it,
thinking of the strange men whose ambition to secure immortality for
themselves had expressed itself in this giant creation. The enormous
blocks of granite brought from one knows not where, built up one knows
not how; the form selected solely for the purpose of defying the
assaults of time; the contrast between the conception embodied in
these constructions and the talk of the frivolous race by whom we were
surrounded, and who seemed capable of no thought beyond a desire for
daily 'backshish,'--all this seen and felt under the influence of the
dim moonlight was very striking and impressive. We spent some time in
moving from place to place along the shadow cast by the Pyramid upon
the sand, and observing the effect produced by bringing the moon
sometimes to its apex and sometimes to other points on its outline. I
felt no disposition to exchange for sleep the state of dreamy half-
consciousness in which I was wandering about; but at length I lay down
on the shingly sands, with a block of granite for a pillow, and passed
an hour or two, sometimes dozing, sometimes wakeful, till one of our
attendants informed me that the sun would shortly rise, and that it
was time to commence to ascend the Pyramid, if we intended to witness
from its summit his first appearance. We had intended to spend the
night in the tombs, but it was