ey
to innumerable gnats. I had passed many uncomfortable nights during
my journey, but this was worse than any thing I had yet endured.

However, this was only an additional inducement for rising early,
and long before sunrise I was ready to continue my journey. Before
daybreak I took leave of my kind host, and rode with my servant
towards the gigantic structures. To-day we were again obliged
frequently to go out of our route on account of the rising of the
Nile; owing to this delay, two hours elapsed before we reached the
broad arm of the Nile, dividing us from the Libyan desert, on which
the Pyramids stand, and over which two Arabs carried me. This was
one of the most disagreeable things that can be imagined. Two large
powerful men stood side by side; I mounted on their shoulders, and
held fast by their heads, while they supported my feet in a
horizontal position above the waters, which at some places reached
almost to their armpits, so that I feared every moment that I should
sit in the water. Besides this, my supporters continually swayed to
and fro, because they could only withstand the force of the current
by a great exertion of strength, and I was apprehensive of falling
off. This disagreeable passage lasted above a quarter of an hour.
After wading for another fifteen minutes through deep sand, we
arrived at the goal of our little journey.

The two colossal pyramids are of course visible directly we quit the
town, and we keep them almost continually in sight. But here the
expectations I had cherished were again disappointed, for the aspect
of these giant structures did not astonish me greatly. Their height
appears less remarkable than it otherwise would, from the
circumstance that their base is buried in sand, and thus hidden from
view. There is also neither a tree nor a hut, nor any other object
which could serve to display their huge proportions by the force of
contrast.

As it was still early in the day and not very hot, I preferred
ascending the pyramid before venturing into its interior. My
servant took off my rings and concealed them carefully, telling me
that this was a very necessary precaution, as the fellows who take
the travellers by the hands to assist them in mounting the pyramids
have such a dexterous knack of drawing the rings from their fingers,
that they seldom perceive their loss until too late.

I took two Arabs with me, who gave me their hands, and pulled me up
the very large