The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1880-11-04

IlStiC 1Oed! w ldI WOulu Olu 1dl dOl
have said to it, that the foot of hi
idolized daughter should serve as
paper weight He who excavated
granite mountain to place therein tn
triple-lined coffin gilded and painted
with hieroglyphics and representation
of the judgement" added this grim lit
tie old man, in low voice, as if talkin
to himself.
'What will you sell me this for?"
ooh! I ought to get good price 70
it; it is very choice 1t is quite superb
if had the pair you could not hav
them for less than 500 francs; tn
daughter of a Pharaoh. You mus
admit that nothing could be. NOR
rare"
Certainly, it is not commonplace
affair. admit it; but to come to tn
point, how much do you want for it
[ tell you in the beginning that 1 have
but five louis; these an willing to pa,
for it. but no more"
Give louis for the foot of the Prin
cess Hermouthes! It is very little
truly very, for an authentic foot" ant
the little man shook his head and began
to roll his eyes.
"Well, take it, you may have it, anc
| will give you this over and above thu
bargain" he added, wrapping it in ;
little strip Of damask; sit is beautiful
real Indian dnmask, never dyed; it i
strong and it is soft and fine" and Ilt
muttered, as he rubbed his fingers ovel
the shabby frayed little rags from the
force of habit which caused him tt
praise an article of so slight a value
that even he was willing to give i
away, and he dropped the gold pieces
into a sort of aims purse hanging a
his side, still muttering: ''The Prin
cess Hermouthes' foot for a paper
weight" Then fixing on me his gilt
tering eyes, he said, in voice as SHARP
and strident as the mewing of ca
which has swallowed fish-bone
pharaoh will not be at all pleased; he
loved his daughter, the dear old man.
"You speak as ifyou were contempt
raries; and although you are. without
doubt, somewhat advanced, you cal
scarcely remember so far back as the
building of the piramids," I answered
from the door as passed out
! came home very much charmed
with my new acquisition: and in order
to utilize it Immediately [ placed the
foot of the divine Princess Hermouthes
upon pile of manuscript verses, TN
decipherable mosaics of erasures and
hieroglyphics, half finished articles and
forgotten letters; the effect was de-
lightful, unique, quaint and pictur-
esque.
Highly pleased with this little en-
Enlistment of my writing table, went
out, walking with the air of man who
is fully conscious Of an immense adj
vantage over all his fellow creatures in
being the enviable possessor of bit of
the Princess Hermouthes, the daugh-
ter OF Pharaoh. pitied every one who
was not, like myself, the owner Of a
paperweight SO unquestionable Egypt
ian, and to me the only thing in the
world worth having was mummys
foot for paper-weight.
Happily for me Imet some friends
and dined with them, which served to
distract me from my infatuation.
On returning in the evening I was
greeted by a vague delicate BREATH a
suggestion of oriental perfume, the
heat Of the room having brought out
the natron, bitumen and myrrh in
which the Princess had been en-
balmed; perfume sweet thought pen
etrating; a perfume which had not
evaporated in four thousand years. The
dream of Egypt was eternity, and even
its perfumes had the solidity of granite,
and also its duration.
Very soon Twas asleep, and for more
than an hour everything was blank.
I was stepped in the vague twilight of
forgetfulness.
Gradually my intellectual darkness
was dissipated and dreams lowered
lightly around me, their wings touch
ing me softly in their noiseless flight.
The eyes of my soul Enclosed and /
saw everything in my chamber exactly
as it was. I should have thought my
self awake but for something within me.
a vague perception which told me l
was sleeping and that something extra
ordinary was about to occur. The odor
of myrrh had increased in intensity,
and Twas conscious ola slight headache,
which naturally, attributed to the in
Vulnerable libatiOns Of champagne
which we had poured to the unknown
gods as we'll as our future success. l
found myself looking at everything in
my chamber with a feeling of expecta-
ton, tor which their was not the slight
est ground; every piece of furniture be-
ing in its place, the lamp burning on
the console, softly shaded by the glass
globe; the window draperies motionless;
everything sleeping and quiet.
After few moments, however, every
thing seemed disturbed. There was a
faint noise in the walls; the log of wood
half buried in the ashes shot forth a
blue flame, and the room was filled
with vague sense of expectation. By
chance my ewes turned toward the ta-
BILE where I had placed my precious
foot which for 1000 years had been
embalmed, it was quivering and trem-
bling, and moving restlessly among the
papers like frightened frog; it was as
if under the influence of electricity,
and heard distinctly the sharp, dry
sound of its little heel as hard as the
hoof of a gazelle | was not absolutely
satisfied with my new acquisition, hay
ing decided preference for sedentary
paper weights, and it seemed to me
most unnatural that feet should move
about without legs, and in short l be-
gan to experience a sensation Of posi-
tive fear
Suddenly the folds of one of my cur
tains was disturbed, and l heard a
sound like that of a person jumping on
one foot. | must confess that l was
very warm and very cold by turns; that
I seemed to feel cold peculiar wind
blowing on my back, and my hair rose;
lifting my nightcap above my head.
The curtains were parted, and l saw
advancing the most remarkable figure
imaginable. It was that of a young girl
her coloring deep cafe-au-lait, like
the Vayaduo Amani. She was of singu-
lar beauty of the purest Egyptian type;
her almond-shaped eyes, with corners
slightly raised, were shaded by eye
lashes so black that they were almost
blue; her nose was sharply cut and
Grecian in its delicacy, and she might
have been taken for Corinthian bronze