"We went to a temple not far from the Sphinx, which was discovered and excavated by Mariette Bey, but has since been partly filled by the drifting sand. It is built of red granite and alabaster, and is supposed to be as old as the Sphinx, and to have some relation to its worship. The shaping and polishing of the hard granite is quite equal to that of any stone-cutter of the present day, and our admiration was excited at every step. A sitting figure of Cephren, the builder of the Second Pyramid, was found in this temple, and is now in the museum at Boulak. It was hewn from a single block of green breccia, or diorite, an exceedingly hard stone, and all the details of the work are as finely finished as that of the most careful sculptor in marble. Eight other statues were found at the same time, and all bear evidence of the excellence of the Egyptian workers in stone four or five thousand years ago. "We visited two or three tombs in the neighborhood of the Sphinx, but after what we had seen they were not especially interesting. The whole stone platform where the pyramids stand is full of tombs; but they have all been examined and their contents removed. [Illustration: EGYPTIAN CAPTIVES MAKING BRICKS.] "We carried our lunch with us from the hotel, and ate it after visiting the Great Pyramid, and before going to examine the Sphinx. The Arabs crowded around, and almost threatened to eat our lunch for us, and ourselves into the bargain; we tried in vain to drive them away, and finally drew a circle in the sand enclosing our carriage, and about ten feet from it, and stationed a couple of Arabs inside with sticks to keep out the rest. The sticks were strong, and so were the men who wielded them. The Doctor told our guards they would get no backsheesh if they failed to keep the rest out of the ring, and with this promise before them they succeeded. It is interesting to see how ready these men are to pound their most intimate friends for the sake of a little money. The more we see of the nature of these natives the more we despise it: perhaps they are not altogether to blame, and are only practising the lesson of rascality they have learned through centuries of oppression. "We returned to Cairo by the carriage-road, and were followed a long way by the Arabs shouting for backsheesh. A couple of days later we made an evening excursion there in order to see the Sphinx and pyramids by moonlight, and were well repaid for the journey. Many travellers go out there very early in the morning, so as to see them by sunrise; but we were too much fatigued with our work every day to leave our beds two or three hours before daybreak.