river begins to rise, the bashaw strikes it with his lancé, and then
retires to the tent. The people immediately fall to work on the
mound, and break it down; the bashaw throws a few small pieces
of coin into the water; nuts, melons, and other fruits, are thrown
in by people in a boat ready for the occasion; rockets are let off;
and the day is concluded amid the most licentious expressions of
revelry.
Having thus entered on the antiquities of Egypt, for of these
the canals must be considered as the first in time, as well as in
utility, we are naturally attracted to those, that most eminently
obtrude themselves on our imagination.
THE PYRAMIDS.
T h ü s e structures appear in considerable number, varying in size,
in materials, and in architecture, between Cairo and Meduun: but
those nearest Cairo, called the pyramids of Geeza, are the most
worthy of notice; four of which, though different in magnitude
from each other, are particularly distinguished from the rest by
their bulk. The faces of each of these are placed fronting the
four cardinal points; and they are constructed so that a line,
drawn from north-east to south-west, would pass through the
base of each. The least of the four is to the south-west, and the
others increase m size; each of the persons, by whom they were
built, resolving no doubt to eclipse his predecessor, till the bulk
and expense of the last precluded any attempt to outvie it; if the
circumstances of the times did not become less favourable to the