EXCURSION TO THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH.

August 25th, 1842.

At four in the afternoon I quitted Cairo, crossed two arms of the
Nile, and a couple of hours afterwards arrived safely at Gizeh. As
the Nile had overflowed several parts of the country, we were
compelled frequently to turn out of our way, and sometimes to cross
canals and ride through water; now and then, where it was too deep
for our asses, we were obliged to be carried across. As there is no
inn at Gizeh I betook myself to Herr Klinger, to whom I brought a
letter of recommendation from Cairo. Herr K. is a Bohemian by
birth, and stands in the service of the viceroy of Egypt, as musical
instructor to the young military band. I was made very welcome
here, and Herr Klinger seemed quite rejoiced at seeing a visitor
with whom he could talk in German. Our conversation was of
Beethoven and Mozart, of Strauss and Lanne. The fame of the bravura
composers of the present day, Liszt and Thalberg, had not yet
penetrated to these regions. I requested my kind host to shew me
the establishment for hatching eggs that exists at Gizeh. He
immediately sent for the superintendent, who happened however to be
absent, and to have locked up the keys. In this place about 8000
eggs are hatched by artificial warmth during the months of March and
April. The eggs are laid on large flat plates, which are
continually kept at an equal temperature by heat applied below the
surface: they are turned several times during the day. As the
thousands of little chickens burst their shells, they are sold, not
by number or weight, but by the measure. This egg-hatching house
has the effect of rendering poultry plentiful and cheap.