The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-09-16
AN EGYPTIAN ROMANCE.
1t Is Told in the Papyrus Recently Ac-
CURED by the Berlin Museum.

papyru5 which the Berlin museum re-
Gently acquired from the heirs of hich-
ard Lepsius. and the reading of which
has only just been completed. This
papyrus, which was written in the vul-
gar tongue, is not only of archaeological
Importance but of much literary inter-
est; being neither more nor less than
historical novel. though left in an un-
finished state. The papyrus dates from
the sixteenth century b. c., and from
the eighteenth dynasty; but the story re-
lated in it goes back nearly thousand
years to the reign of King Cheops, the
fabled builder of the pyramids.
When the story opens King Cheops is
seated among his sons and listening 20
their tales of the miracles said to have
been wrought at the court of his prede-
cessOrs. Prince Chephren, who after
ward built the second pyramid, related
that a magician in the reign of King
Nebka had made q waxen crocodile
which, if placed in the chamber of
wife untrue to her husband, would
seize her and her paramour and deliver
them over to the husband. Another
Prince related that King Suefru, the
father of Cheops, feeling oppressed and
not knowing how to relieve his heart"
took counsel of a wise man; who adj
vised him to 90 to the banks of the lake
| near the palace and let all The maidens
of the court row up and down the water.
This was done, and the monarch's heart
was relieved. But all of a sudden one
of the maidens began to make lamen-
tations, for she had dropped jewel in
to the water, which was forty feet deep.
A magician was sent for, and, reciting
an incarnation, he coaxed the Jewel up
from the bottom of the lake and re-
turned it to the maiden.
King CheOps was so struck with won
der at these stories, that he ordered sac
| rifces to be offered to the names of this
sage and of the magicians; but Prince
Hardadaf informed him that they were
| not all dead, and that one of them.
| named Dedi, dWelt in the city of Ded
Sneirii. Prince Hardadaf described him
| as being a hundred years DID, but as
still able to eat daily five hundred rolls
| of bread and the quarter of an OK, and
to drink hundred tlagons of beer. He
was able to unite head to the trunk
| from which it had been decapitated; to
make lions follow him Ike dogs, and he
also knew the place where would be
| found certain precious materials of the
house of the god Thoth, which King
| CheOpS was very anxious to have for
building his pyramid. The King sent
Prince Hardadaf to fetch the sage Dedi,
| whom he found stretched upon his bed.
Dedi consented to accompany him into
| the Kings presence; and, upon being
asked by his majesty whether it was true
that he could reunite decapitated head
| to the trunk, replied in the affirmative;
whereupOn the King ordered a prisoner
to be brought out for experiment. But
| the sage Dedi asked that an animal
| might be supplied him and not man;
whereupon II goose was brought Its
head was cut off and placed IN the east
ern corner of the chamber, with the
body in the western corner. and Dedi
then pronounced q form of words, inn
mediately after which the body got up
and walked, the head wriggling along
| the pavement until the two met and re-
| Joined, the goose then Waddling away.
| Dedi repeated the same miracle with a
| duck and a bull, and the King then
| questioned him as to the house of Thoth.
| Dedi said that the materials which the
| King wished for were in a house at
Heliopolis; but that he had not the
power to make them over to him; the
| only one who could do go being the
! eldest one of the three sons whom Red
| Dedt should BOAR Red Dsdt, he added,
was the wife of the priest of the Sun at
| Sachebu; and she would bear three sons
| to a god and hese three sons would all
| be Kings, the eldest being also high
| priest of Helicpolis. When the King
heard those words he was troubled.
| There is u hiatus in the papyrus at
! this point; and, without being told what
| course King CheoDs has determined
| upon, we arrive at the main incident of
the story-namely, the birth of the chill
| dren of the Sun. When Red Dedt felt
| the first pangs of childbirth, the Sun
! sent for the goddesses Isis, Nephthys,
/ Mesechent and Hekt, as well as the god
| Chnum, and said to them Deliver
Red Dcdt of the three children, who will
one day be Kings in this land; they will
| build you temples. they will feed your
affairs, they will make you many iiba-
| lions. and will enrich your sanctuaries. !"
/ The gods and goddesses assumed the
/ shape of mortal women, and went to the
/ house of the priest and offered to deliver
| his wife. The priest accepted, and Red
! Dedt accordingly gave birth to three
I boys an ell long and with lusty arms.
! Mesechent predicted that they would all
, reign; and they were, in fact, the three
| first Kings of the fifth ynasty-Userkaf,
/ Sahure, and kakar. The priest full of
/ gratitude, gave corn to the supposed
/ midwives, who then took their flight in
/ TO empyrean. But when the divinities
/ got near to the domain of the Sun, Isis
! said. How is it that we have wrought
/ no miracle for the children whom we
have delivered from their mother S
womb Thereupon, the goddesses
stirred up tempest, and, after having
| enchanted the corn, caused the wind to
carry it into the priests house. When
| Red Dedt, after two weeks rest, re-
sumed the management of her house
hold, the servant told her that the corn
| given to the midwiyes was still in the
! granary. Red Dedt sent her to fetch n
| little of it; but she returned in terror,
saying that she heard in the granary
! the sounds of music and song las when
| the birth of a King is being celebrated. :"
| This miracle was nearly being fatal to the
children; for, when Red Dedt upon one
occasion punished her servant the latter
| left the house in wrath and said to the
| neighbors: How dares she to punish
| me, this woman who has given birth to
three Kings! l will 60 and inform King
| Cheops."
Here the papyrus ends; so that no in
formation is given as to what King
| CheopS did to get rid of these future
| pretenders, nor how they escaped his
| persecution; and this-as Herr Lepsius,
| in his predatory notice, remarked-is all
| the more unfortunate because the papy-
rus evidently hands down a tradition
OF facts. Thus we may learn from it
that Chephren was son of Cheops; that
the fifth dynasty originated in the town
| OF Sachebu; that the three first Kings of
it were brothers. and that the eldest was
priest at Heliopolis before ascending to