Thomas County cat., 1889-12-05

an " r. down the river to Annu el
MAJ Ra. Now, this is the He'll
~ aMAW opolis Of the Greeks,
1870 Y whittier should 60 in the
S%%N company of some priests Of
Ptah at Memf who had como
hither to Abouthis to lay the
body Of one of their great men in the tomb
that had been prepared ne.r the resting
place of the blessed Osiris. So I made
ready, and the same evening, having re-
ceived letters and embraced my father and
those about the Temple who were dear to
me, passed down to the banks of Sihor,
and we sailed with the south wind. As the
pilot stood upon the PROV and with rod in
his hand bade the sailor men loosen the
stakes wherewith the vessel was moored to
the banks, the old wife, Atoua, hobbled up,
her basket of simples IN her hand, and calling
out her farewell. threw sandal after me for
good chance, which sandal kept for many
years. And SO we sailed, and for six days
passed down the wonderful river, making
fast each night at some convenient spot
But when l lost sight of the familiar
things that had seen day by day since I
had eyes to see and found myself alone
among strange faces, I felt sore at heart,
and would have wept had I not been
ashamed. And of all the wonderful things
saw will not write here, for, though they
were new to me, have they not been known
to men since such time as the gods rule in
Egypt? But the priests who were with me
showed me no little honor, and expounded
to me what were the things saw. And on
the morning of the seventh day we came
to Memfi, the city Of the White Wall. Here
for three days rested from my journey
and was entertained of the priests of the
wonderful Temple of Ptah the Creator, and
shown the beauties Of the. great and mar
velous city. Also was led in secret by the
High Priest and two others into the holy
presence of the god Apis, the Ptah who
deigns to dwell among men in the form Of
bull. The god was black, and on his foro-
head there was white square and on his
back was a white mark shaped like an
eagle, and beneath his tongue was the like
ness of scarab9us, and III his tail were
double hairs, and between his horns was
plate of pure gold. I entered the place OF
the god and worshipcd while the High
Priest and those with him stood aside and
earnestly watched. And when I had wor-
SHIPPED. saying the words which had been
told unto me, the god knelt, and lay
down before me. And then the High
Priest and those with him, who, as heard
in aftertime, were great men of Upper
Egypt approached wondering, and, saving
no word, made oheisance to mo because of
the omen. And many other things I saw
in Memf that are too long to write of
here.
On the fourth day came some priests of
Annu to lead me unto Sepa my uncle, the
High Priest OF Annu. So, having bid fare
well to those of Memfi, we crossed the river
and rode on asses two parts of days jour
ney through many villages, which we found
in great poverty because Of the oppression
of the taA gatherers. Also, IS we went,
for the first time saw The great pyramids
that are beyond the image Of the god Ho-
remku (the Sphinx, and the temples Of the
Divine Mother Isis, Queen Of Memnonia,
and the god Osiris, Lord of Rosatou, of
which Temples, together with the Temple
Of the worship of the Divine Menka-ra, ],
Harmacnis. am by right divine the Hered-
itary High Priest l saw them and mar
veled at their greatness and at the white
carven limestone and red granite Of Syene
that flashed in the suns rays back to
Heaven. But at this time knew naught
Of the treasure that was hid in Her, which
is the third among the Pyrsmids-would
had never known of it'll
And so at last we came within sight Of
Annu, which after Memd hath been seen
is no large town, but stands on raised
ground, before which are lakes fed by Q
canal. Behind the town is the great
temenos (inclosure) Of the Temple Of the
God Ra.
At the pylon we dismounted, and beneath
the portico were we met by man not great
of growth. but Of noble aspect, having his
head shaven, and with dark eyes that
twinkied like the further stars.
"Holdr' he cried, in large voice that fit
ted his weak body but i'll. "Holdl am
Sepa, who opens the mouth Of the gods!"
''And l." said, ''am Harmachis. son of
Amenemhat, Hereditary High Priest and
Ruler Of the Holy City Abouthis; and bear
letters to thee, o Sepa" is.
Enter" he said. '.Enterr' scanning me
ell the while with his twinklins eyes, "En-
ter, my son" And he took me and led me
to q chamber In the inner hall close to
the door; and then, having glanced at the
letters l brought, he of a sudden fell upon
my neck and embraced me.
Welcome - he crlcd; s'welcome, son of
my own sister and hope of Khem! Not in
vain have prayed the gods that might
live to look upon thy face and impart to thee
the wisdom that, perchance, clone have
mastered of those who are left alive in
Egypt Few there are whom it is lawful
that should teach. B It thine is the great
destiny, and thine shall be the eass to hear
the les sons of the gods"
And once more he embraced me and bade
me 60 and battle aud eat saying that on the
morrow he would speak with me further.
And Of q truth he dld, and at such length
that l will forbear to set down all he said
both then and ar'erSard. for if did SO
there would be no papyrus left in Egypt
when the task was ended. Therefore. hav-
ing much to tell, and perchance but little
time to tell it, will I pass over the events Of
the years that followed.
For this was the manner of my life.
rose early, attended the worship Of the
Temple, and gave my days to study. I
learned OF the rites Of religion and their sig
nincance, and Of the beginning OF tho gods
and the beginning Of the IInrev. .Wnrl6 7