good nor harm, but for us who were rebels against him; and
he came, not to win for us earthly life, which must soon pass away, but
a heavenly life, which will last for ever and ever. Shall not we show
our gratitude to him by helping our neighbours whenever we can, even at
the cost of some self-denial? The heathen officer has set us a noble
example of love to each other.

CHAPTER V.

THE PYRAMIDS.

Hugh was so very anxious to see the pyramids, that every one agreed to
visit them from Cairo, instead of from the boat on the voyage up the
Nile, which was to be as far as the second cataract; but neither the
children nor their mother were to go. The latter was not strong, and she
thought it best to keep the children with her. Lucy would very much have
liked to see the pyramids as well as Hugh, but the ride from Cairo was
too long for her.

Our donkeys were ordered early, and we set off in high spirits. As we
drew nearer and nearer to the pyramids we realised more and more their
immense size. Their grandeur impressed us very much, and we shall none
of us forget the thrill of awe we felt when we first saw their base and
their gigantic size.

[Illustration: DONKEY-BOYS AT CAIRO.]

They are the oldest monuments in the world. Jacob, Joseph, Moses looked
upon them. They are the grandest work of man in lasting endurance. The
workmen who laboured at them have been dead and forgotten for thousands
of years. But their work lives, and will live for hundreds of years to
come; probably till the Great Day when the heavens shall be rolled
together as a scroll, and the earth and everything on it shall be burned
up and melt with fervent heat. No other work of man has been so
enduring.

The pyramids are supposed to be the tombs of the Pharaohs, kings of
Egypt.

We went first to the Great Pyramid, or Pyramid of Cheops. We were
attended by Arab guides, who carried wax candles, and undertook to show
us everything. We went down a sloping passage till we came to a large
block of granite. A narrow way has been made round this block, and by it
we reached the other side and came to an ascending passage. This was
very low, so low that even Hugh could not stand upright in it. This
brought us to the great passage, from which a gallery led to a room
called the Queen's Chamber. The ceiling is painted, and the masonry very
beautiful.

Here we rested for a little while, and then went back to the great
passage. We still had to ascend to