The great pyramid passages and chambers

PLATE CXLIII. here—Plate CXLIII. Notice the man standing on its head, and the other clinging to its great thick neck!

525 When one gazes upon the Pyramids of Gizeh for the first time, unless previously well imformed, he is apt to be a little disappointed, for they appear smaller and less attractive than possibly he had anticipated. This, however, is partly owing to their unique shape, and partly owing to the lack of a building near them with which a proper comparison can be made. St. Paul’s Cathedral would appear insignificant beside the Great Pyramid, both in height and in breadth ; the pinnacle of its dome is a hundred feet lower than the apex of the Pyramid. Even St. Peter's of Rome, immense though it is, is small when compared with the Great Pyramid. Nor is it possible to accurately judge of the relative proportions of the various pyramids by simply looking at them, for from what-

The Sphinx, with part of the Second Pyramid tn the background.

ever view-point they are surveyed, the inevitable diminishing effect of the perspective always gives a false impression, so that if the whole group be viewed from south of the Third Pyramid as in Plate CXLII, the Great Pyramid, although immeasurably larger than the Third Pyramid, shows no pre-eminence in size.

526 In his first volume of Pyramids of Gizeh, Col. Howard Vyse very well remarks upon the comparative indifference of visitors to the grandeur of thé pyramids ; and to the growing appreciation of those who are privileged to work in or near them for any length of time. He writes: ‘‘ Owing to the oblateness of their forms, the want of proper objects of comparison, the proportionate smallness of the stones with which they are built, and many other adventitious circumstances, the exaggerated and undefined expectations of travellers are often disappointed in the hasty survey generally taken of these monuments ; and they are consequently considered rude and misshapen masses of coarse masonry, without symmetry or beauty, and alone worthy of notice from their extraordinary size. A more deliberate examination, however, never fails to alter and correct those opinions ; and it was universally acknowledged, by those who remained any length of time at the pyramids, that the more carefully and frequently they are

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