Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-06-14
The PhantOms of the Nile-A Strange
Secret Order Discovered in Kentucky.

The Phantoms of the Nile-A Strang'
Secret Order DiscOveredin Kentucky
From the Lexington Statesman, May IL.
One of the most learned gentlemen
and probably the closest and most pa
tient observer in this city, has given III
some information of such remarkable
character, that we would certainly re
gard it as first class delusion, If we
did not have so strong confidence II
the fine common sense and judgment
: of our informant. This gentleman,
J who, for sufficient reasons, requests us
to withhold his name from the public,
gives it as his decided opinion, formed
! after careful investigation, that there
is, and has been for years in this city, g
} brotherhood of the famous "Phantoms
of the Nile," or, as the order is styled
in Europe, the "Societe de Chaanpol
lion." He believes the order: to be
very strong, but of course can only
guess at who and how many persons
belong to it, as everything pertaining
to 1T is clothed in the greatest mystery.
i This announcement will excite no
little interest and curiosity, which is
not to be wondered at when we con.
slider the very peculiar character of this
mysterious order
Presuming this brotherhood to be
identical with that of the &C Phantoms
of the Nile" which has for many years
excited the greatest attention in Eu-
rope, our informant furnishes us with
the following facts in regard to it, viz
The existence of such an order was not
| ol, I'll
ago, and was then discovered by an ac-
cident. Jean Francois Champollion,
the noted French archeologist, stumbled
it may be said, upon the well-kept secret
while exploring among the ruins of
Egypt, in 1928. While studying we'll
preserved papyrus which had consti-
tuted the inner breast covering of what
was believed to be the mummy of a
priest of Osiris, he was astonished to
find that the pictured words revealed
to him the secrets of an order older
than the pyramids. Champollion
burned the strange papyrus as soon as
he had deciphered it, and ever after
ward declared that, as an honorable
man, he felt himself prohibited by the
very nature of the secret he had dis
covered not to reveal it, and he never
did.
But this much he felt constrained to
say, viz that the society was called the
brotherhood of the "Phantoms of the
Nile;" that it originated near the river
Nile; that it was the Oldest, most ex-
elusive and most wonderful mystery in
the world; that it fourished in modern
Egypt, Palestine, Italy, Spain and
! ntx hoI,, ~
allowed in each country, and restricted
even then to cities of moderate but
highly cultivated population; that it
was neither political nor religious in it's
character, and was never known to in
terfere with any affair of Church or
State. Beyond these few and unsatis-
factory hints Champollion never went,
and the mystery which hangs around
this strange society is as great as ever.
OF late years certain indications point
to the existence of the Phantoms at
Oxford, England. On one or two oc-
casions parchment notes that had evi
IDENTIFY been sent to certain noblemen
were picked up after being either lost
or mislaid by the recipients of them.
The notes were believed to have come
from the Phantoms, from the fact that
everything pertaining to their style was
Egyptian. They commenced with HE
roglyphics, ended with hieroglyphics,
and bore the Egyptian emblem of eter-
nity-the winged orb. The notes i'm
formed those to whom they were ad-
dressed that they had been selected as
worthy to be honored with membership
in an ancient and mystic brotherhood,
and that if they desired to join it, they
would signify their wish by wearing a
! white rose in the button hole of their
coat during the entire afternoon of O
certain day named. Whether the gen
tlemen ever did as they were in
structed, and if so, what came of it,
has never transpired, but it is as
serted by some Chow they know we can
not telD that no man who has ever been
honored with such an invitation has
ever been known to decline it.
None of the Phantoms in Oxford are
known, which is quite distressing
thing to Oxford folks, as many of them
have been exceedingly anxious to join
the Phantoms, but do not know to
whom to apply for membership, and
per force depend upon the appearance
of the little hieroglyphic notes, which,
unfortunately, do not appear very
often, and only then to persons of
some Importance Another indication
of the presence of the Phantoms in
Oxford is that the poor are bountifully
provided for by an unknown hand, the
gift being invariably accompanied by a
small hieroglyph1c note bearing the de-
vice above named.
The gentleman from whom we have
gained this information says that the
first inkling he had that such society
existed In Lexington was occasioned by
his seeing one of his little children
playing with just such astamped parch-
ment, which it had picked up in the
street. He thinks that our city should
feel highly honored in being the seat
of this strange brotherhood, as the So
ciety is probably the only one of the
kind in this country. From what mea-
ger information he has gained, and
from the fact that the Phantoms have
never been known to produce evil or
trouble of any kind, but, on the CON
trary, are believed to have relieved
much distress, our informant is most
favorably impressed with the mysteri-
GUS character of the strange and com
paratively unknown order.
We give this information to the pub
lie as we have received it, and we are
compelled from the character of the
gentleman who impaired it to us, tc
, say that we think there is something il
it, and that the facts Will bear out the
opinion that the good Phantoms of the
Nile have been fitting about our city
for years. At any rate our citizens
have something decidedly new (ol
rather decidedly old) to think and tall
about, and persons fond of solving diff
fcult problems will have fine chance
now to exercise all their ingenuity
Our columns are open to any one who
thinks himself able to throw any hgh
whatever upon this strange subject.
A POCKET has been invented for tht
slveeve OF mans overcoat, SO that whe1
he has woman on his arm she cor