14. The lips are composed almost entirely of fat, and yield from two hundred and fifty to five hundred gallons of oil each • and the entire whale has sometimes yielded seven thousand five hundred gallons of oil; five thousand gallons are, by no means, an uncommon yield.

15. The maternal affection of the whale, which, in other respects, is apparently a stupid animal, is striking and interesting. The cub being insensible to danger, is easily har pooned; when the tender attachment of the mother is so manifested, as not unfrequently to bring her within the reach of the whalers.

16. Hence, though the cub is of little value, seldom producing above two hundred and fifty gallons of oil, and often less, yet it is sometimes struck, as a snare for its mother.

17. In this case, she joins it at the surface of the water, whenever it has occasion to rise for respiration; encourages it to swim off; assists its flight by taking it under her fin, and seldom deserts it while life remains. She is then dangerous to approach, but affords frequent opportunities for attack.

18. She loses all regard for her own safety in anxiety for the preservation of her young; dashes through the midst of her enemies; despises the danger that threatens her, and even voluntarily remains with her offspring, after various attacks on herself from the harpoons of the fishermen.

QUESTIONS. 2. How does the whale differ from quadrupeds? 2. Can it properly be called a fish? 4. Where are the largest whales found? 5. What is the length of the whale when fully grown? 5. What is its circumference? 5. What its weight? 6. What is the form of the whale? 7. What are the length and breadth of the under part of the head? 8. From what part of the whale is whalebone obtained? 8. What is the size of the mouth? 9. What are the blow-holes? 10. How long will the whale remain under water without breathing? 11. How deep has it been known to descend into the ocean? 13. What is the thickness of the fat 7 14. How many gallons of oil will the whale yield? 15. What is said of the maternal affection of the whale?

22*

LESSON LIV.

Spell and Define.

1. Sphinx, a monster with a human head | 10. An'gle, the point where two lines on the body of a lion.

meet.

2. Gran'ite, a stone composed of quartz, 11. Trench, a narrow channel, a ditch.

feldspar, and mica.

3. In-telli-gent, knowing.

4. Sculp'tur-ed, carved.

4. Lab'y-rinth, a mazy obscurity

5. Car'di-nal, principal.

7. Con-tract'ed, drawn together.

14. Chasm, a cleft, a gap.

15. Term-in-a'tion, end.

15. Si'en-ite, a stone resembling granite.

16. Sar-coph'a-gus, a stone coffin.

18. Ob'vi-ous-ly, plainly, evidently.
18. Pil'lag-ed, plundered.

ERRORS.-1. Stans for stands; 1. sans for sands; 3. breas for breast; 3. coun'ter-nance for coun'te-nance; 3. nat'ral for nat'u-ral; 4. eere for ere; 5. perfic-ly for perfect-ly; 6. reg'e-lar for reg'u-lar; 9. en'ter-ance for entrance; 10. pos'ter for posture.

A VISIT TO THE EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS.

D. MILLARD.

1. APPROACHING the pyramids from a south-east direction, we came first to the Sphinx. This stands about eighty rods from the pyramid of Cheops, and directly in the midst of an enormous sand-bank. The ground rises from it toward the desert, in two directions; consequently the sands have been drifting upon it for thousands of years.

2. It presents the upper part of a human image, cut out of a solid block of granite. Such are the vast dimensions of the part still visible, that the whole image, could it be extricated from the sand, doubtless would greatly astonish the beholder.

3. Only the head, neck, shoulders, and breast are to be seen. The face is now considerably marred, the nose being quite broken off. Originally its countenance must have been very natural, mild, and intelligent. It stands as if looking toward

NOTES. -a The pyramids of Egypt are about forty in number, and divided into five groups. The group here referred to, is situated on the western side of the river Nile, at Gize, not far from Cairo. b The Sphinx has been recently uncovered by Caviglia. It has a human head on the body of a lion, lying in a recumbent posture, and is 150 feet long and 63 feet high. The body is sculptured of a single stone, and the paws are constructed of masonry, thrown out 50 feet in front. c Che'ops; a king of Egypt, whose reign began, according to some historians, 1178 years before Christ.

the rising sun, and as the guardian genius in the midst of mighty sepulchers.

4. When it was sculptured, who was the artist, or what was the certainty of its design, are all wholly lost in the vast labyrinth of its age. It, however, stands as an enduring monument of ancient art, and shows that sculpture flourished in Egypt to an astonishing state of perfection, ere the science of letters was known.

5. From the Sphinx, we ascended the sand eminence to the largest pyramid, called Cheops. This enormous pile covers over eleven acres of land, and is exactly square at its base, the sides perfectly matching to the four cardinal points. The stones of which it is constructed, are of vast dimensions, and are placed in layers one above another.

6. Each layer is placed further inward, say generally the distance of about three feet and a half; thus forming steps to ascend upon. It tapers in this regular manner, from all its sides. Some of the layers, however, are thicker than others, some being not more than eighteen inches, and some more than three feet.

7. In this form, the pyramid rises till the summit is contracted to a square space of about twenty feet. Indeed, the top bears the appearance of having once ascended higher; as, from its broken state, stones appear to have been thrown off. The whole rises to the enormous height of nearly five hundred feet, and appears to be entirely solid stone and cement, with the exception of the small cavity which I shall presently describe.

8. I was not in a situation to measure its exact height, but the best authors set it down as above stated. The number of layers of stone from bottom to top, is two hundred and six, making just the same number of steps. The whole pile is supposed to contain about six millions of cubic feet of stone.

9. Our guide first led us to the entrance, which is on the north side, and recommended us to explore the interior first.

NOTE. -a See Egypt, p. 310, note a.

A crowd of Arabs were gathered at the place, each struggling to have something to do with conducting us. We charged our guide to admit but four with us, but a fifth got in. We had two lights with us.

10. The entrance begins at the sixteenth step. It is a passage of three feet and a half square, descending at an angle of twenty-seven degrees. Its sides and coverings are of polished granite. This descent extends straight forward ninetytwo feet, keeping a person in an extreme stooping posture all the way. Here the passage turns to the right, winding upward to a steep ascent of eight or nine feet.

11. At the termination of this, the passage becomes five feet high for the distance of about one hundred feet, ascending continually, till you arrive at a kind of landing place. Directly to the right of this, something like a trench in the wall discovers itself, into which you are permitted to look as into a dark chasm.

12. It is called the well. Beyond this, the explorer moves through a long level passage, and arrives at what is called the Queen's Chamber. This is a room seventeen feet long, fourteen wide, and twelve high.

13. Its sides and covering are of polished granite. A short distance beyond this is another opening, into which I did not enter, as it is partly filled with fallen stones, and contains nothing of very peculiar interest. The Queen's Chamber was empty, except that numerous bats, of enormous size, were flying about it.

14. Leaving this room, and passing immediately back the way we came, about eighty feet, we turned to the right, and commenced ascending an inclined plane of smooth granite, of about one hundred and twenty feet in length. The first part of this ascent is difficult, as you have to advance on a narrow strip of granite, with slight holes cut for steps, while at your side is a chasm deepening as you rise.

NOTE. a The Arabs inhabit Arabia, and are scattered throughout Africa and por tions of Asia. They generally live a nomadic or wandering life, having tents for houses. which they move at pleasure.

15. You at length step on solid footing, and have a clear passage the rest of the way, at the termination of which you enter the King's Chamber. This is about thirty-seven feet long, seventeen wide, and twenty high. The walls of this room are of polished sienite, or red granite, each stone extending from the floor to the ceiling.

16. The ceiling is constructed of nine large slabs of granite, extending from wall to wall. At one end of this chamber, stands a sarcophagus. This is also of granite, and must have been chiseled out of a solid block. Its present appearance is that of a large stone chest, seven feet and a half long, three feet three inches wide, and three and a half deep.

17. Whether it ever contained a human body," is wholly uncertain. If it ever did there is no trace of it now. It will be remarked by the reader, that the size of this sarcophagus is such, that it could not have been conveyed through the entrance of the pyramid to this room, after the whole pile was completed. It consequently must have been placed where it is now seen, at the time when the pyramid was building.

18. That this pyramid was designed for the sepulcher of some great king, is most probable; and that this room was designed as the place for depositing his body, is equally probable. The difficult, narrow, steep, and even dangerous passage to it, was obviously designed for its security, that the sepulcher might not be easily found to be ravaged or pillaged.

NOTE. -a The pyramid of Cephrenes, the brother and successor of Cheops, first opened by the enterprising Belzoni, in 1818, contained a sarcophagus, in which were found some bones of the bovine or ox kind.

QUESTIONS. 1. What is the number of the pyramids of Egypt? 1. Where is the group, referred to in this piece, situated? 1. Where does the Sphinx stand? 1. Who uncovered the Sphinx? 1. What is said of it? 1. Who was Cheops? 3. What appears to have been the expression of the countenance of the Sphinx originally? 4. Is it known when it was sculptured? 4. What is said of Egypt? 5. How many acres does the pyramid of Cheops cover? 7. What is the height of this pyramid? 9. Where is the entrance, and what is its size? 12. What is the Queen's Chamber? 15. What is the size of the King's Chamber? 16. What loes it contain? 17. What did Belzoni find in the sarcophagus of the pyramid Cephrenes? 18. What does the author suppose was the design of this pyramid