It was several hours later that Kyle Dutton returned from the mainland. His boat had been washed ashore, and only after a terrible struggle had he succeeded in reaching a place where there were kindly hands to succor him. With him came the physician he had gone to seek. The shadow of death that had hung over the light-house during that terrible night was lifted, and before many days the good dame was able to join in the rejoicing over the happiness that had come to Huldah Deane.
[THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT.]
The Pyramid of Cheops is the largest and tallest of the buildings on the earth. It was raised upon a broad platform of stone, and towered four hundred and fifty or sixty feet above the plain. It is a mass of stone, inclosing several sepulchral chambers, and entered by a long, narrow passage.
Each of the Kings of Egypt built his own Pyramid; every year that he lived he added to its height and grandeur. A small one marks a short reign, that of Cheops a long and prosperous period. It is said that the mere building of the causeway for the conveyance of the stone occupied the labor of 100,000 men for three months; they were then relieved, and a fresh body of 100,000 brought in. The work went on for ten years, until 4,000,000 laborers had been employed upon the preparation of the site and the gathering of the materials. Twenty years were then given to the building of the monstrous tomb; 7,000,000 men aided in its completion. The Nile swarmed with boats bearing food and subsistence to the motley company; 360,000 persons were employed annually upon the Pyramid.
Cheops must have had the satisfaction of seeing his tomb overshadow the temples of Memphis and grow in greatness as the period approached when it would be used. But like many another famous projector, he fell at last into difficulties. His tomb may well be called "Cheops' folly." His treasures were exhausted; he became a bankrupt. After his death the size of the Pyramids was reduced by his more prudent but less renowned successors. If placed in the City Hall Park, the Pyramid of Cheops would have covered nearly all its surface; its top would have risen two hundred feet above the spire of Trinity Church; the first object seen by the voyager entering the Narrows would have been this immense and useless structure. The folly of man was never better shown than in the building of the Pyramids. The Egyptians were houseless, naked, starved, that the Pharaohs might rest in their indestructible tombs.
The Egyptians lived, in general, at ease. They were shut out from the world, and few strangers were suffered to pass up the Nile. The people were dark-colored, wore long white linen dresses, and were adorned with bracelets and ear-rings, gold and jewels. The priests of Isis drank no wine, took no animal food; lived upon dates, nuts, and barley cakes. The families of the early Egyptians were brought up in obedience and good order. But they fell into slavery, and little is left of them but their tombs.
There was an immense temple on a lake, devoted to the worship of the crocodile. But it would be quite impossible to enumerate all the dreamy wonders of Egypt. It had its libraries, pictures, astronomers, magicians. Four thousand years ago the Nile was lined with beautiful gardens and villas; the great cities like New York and Philadelphia were filled with busy artisans and merchants; the Broadway of Thebes or Memphis ran down, no doubt, to the river, lined with shops and public buildings. The Egyptian women were clad in gold and fine linen, the gardens glowed with the rarest flowers, and the furniture of a Memphian home showed finer glass-work and more delicate tissues than can be found in modern Paris.
The festivals on the Nile were celebrated in the night with wonderful magnificence. The placid stream, lit by an unclouded moon, was covered with countless boats with painted sails and silvery oars; ten thousand lights glittered over the sparkling waters, and the shores were lined with dusky and innumerable throngs. On one occasion the procession of boats followed the body of a sacred cat to its last resting-place on one of the islands. All was superstition and solemn awe. The multitude watched from the shore the imposing scene. Another procession on the Nile was a military one of triumph and victory. No river in the world has witnessed so many splendid spectacles.