Page:H. D. Traill - From Cairo to the Soudan Frontier.djvu/151

Arab artisan of the ninth century A.D., belongs the honour, such as it is, of having anticipated the Khalif Mâmûn in penetrating once again into the recesses of the Giant Tomb. Whether he got much for his trouble except the barren glory of recording his exploit on the passage-wall is extremely doubtful. A field which had been reaped by Cambyses and probably gleaned by a Roman pro-consul of the Empire was likely to be pretty bare; and it may be that "Tomb-breaker" rather than "Tomb-robber" would be the proper appellative of this Mohammedan artisan. It has been solemnly decided by the English Court for the Consideration of Crown Cases Reserved that the attempt to pick an empty pocket does not amount to the offence even of constructive larceny, and it may reasonably be assumed that at the time when this particular Ahmed effected his burglarious entrance into it, the Great Pyramid, so far as jewels and other ornaments of the dead are concerned, was completely "cleaned