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82 penetrate into these subterranean sepulchres on account of the closeness of the atmosphere within, which frequently caused fainting. In some of the passages, owing to the falling dust, the space was so small that the explorer had to creep through in darkness and on pointed stones that cut like glass. After getting through these passages, some of them two or three hundred yards long, he generally found himself in a more commodious place, but surrounded by heaps of mummies in all directions, which, until he became accustomed to such sights, impressed him almost with terror. The blackness of the walls, the faint glimmer given by the candles or torches which he now found means to light, and which the Arabs, naked and covered with dust, whom he had induced by rewards to accompany him, held aloft, increased the horrors of the dismal scene. In such a position he frequently found himself, and often returned exhausted and fainting, till at last he became inured to the work, and indifferent to what he suffered, except from the choking dust.

"After the exertion of entering such a place," he says, "through a passage of fifty, a hundred, three hundred, or perhaps six hundred yards, nearly overcome, I sought a resting-place, found one, and contrived to sit; but when my weight bore on the body of an Egyptian, it crushed it like a bandbox. I naturally had recourse to my hands to sustain my weight, but they found no better support; so that I sunk altogether among the broken mummies, with a crash of bones, rags, and wooden cases, which raised such a dust as kept me motionless for a quarter of an hour, waiting till it subsided again. I could not remove from the place,