The Irish standard., 1889-10-12


or THE WORDS OF sEPA.
afSSsSgTT7A |T THE dawning of
%E& = 81 s the next day [ was
sJ an "a - awakened bya priest
{sW E1Si.5 -, of the Temple, who
NTMiTTTr5r-s sssss<. - brought word to me
SsifyffttssAHHHtEHH s<& Nv to make ready for
3sssSas \. s - III the Journey whereof
%/EYg ~ fAzs2 lSE1I my father had spoken,
fEAHfStrT1zssy M inasmuch as there was
s4iAa4g Sss4Sl wv an occasion for me to pass
aW & WRs down the river to Annu el
Nv S01. eHl,F Ra. Now, this is the He'll
= AIA ~ opolis Of the Greeks,
Z. 0@D N whittier ! should 90 ia the
>zsfsm151~ w company Of some priests Of
-~= Ptah ut Memf who had come
hithcr to Abouthis to lay the
body Of one of their great men IN tho tomb
that had been prepared ne:r the resting
place Of the blessed Osiris. SO l. made
ready, ana the same fewening, having re-
ceived letters end embraced my father and
those about t.ic 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 aud with a rod in
mis- hand bade the sailor men loosen the
stakes wherewith the vessel was noored to
the banks, the old wife, Atoua, hobbled up.
her basketof sinl5las Id her hand, and calling
9ut her farewell, threw sandal after me for
good chance, which sandal I kept for many
years. And 50 we sailed, and for six days
passed down the wenderful river making
fast each night AT some convenient spot
But when / lost sight Of the familiar
things that had seen day by day since
had eyes ta see and found myself alone
among strange faces, | felt sore at heart,
and would have Wcpt had | rot been
ASHAMED. And Of all4he wonderful things
[ saw,l will not write here for, though they
were new tome, have they not been known
TO men since such time as the gods rule in
Egypt Bst the priests who were with me
showed me ao little honor, and eKpounded
70 meWtfat Were the things I saw. And on
the morning OF the seventh day we came
To Memf, the city of the White Wall. Here
for three days [ rested from my Journey
aud was entertained of the priests of the
w0hderful TGIlple Of Ptah the Creator, and
shown the beauties of the great and mar
Vicious city. Also WAS led liz secret by the
High Priest anG TWO others into the holy
presence Of tAe god Apis, the Pah who
deigns to dwell among men in the form Of
a bull The god was black, and on his fore
head there was white square and on his
back was d white mark shaped like an
eagle, and beneath his tongue was the like
ness Of A scard9aaus, and La his tail were
double hairs, and between his horns was 4
plate Of pure gold. ] entered the place of
the god aud Worshiped while the High
Rriest and those with him stood aside and
earnestly watct@1: And when had wor-
SHIPPED, saying fhe words which had been
told unto me, the god knolt, and lay
down before me. And then the High
Priest aud those with him, who, as I heard
In aftertime, were great men OF Upper
Egypt approached wondering, and, saying
no word, made oheisance to me because of
The omen. And many other things I saw
IN Mcmti that are TOO long 10 write Of
mere.
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 a days Jour.
ney through many villages which we found
ln great poverty because Of the oppression
Of the tax gatherers. Also, Is we went, 1
FOR the first time saw The great pyramids
that are beyond the image Of the god Ho-.
remku Che SPHINX, and the temples of the
Divine Mother Isis, Queen of Memnonia.
and tho god Osiris, Lord Of Ros;stou. OF
which Temples, together with the Temple
ut the worship Of the Divine MenRl-ri, Z,
Harnacnis, am by right divine the Hered-
itary High Priest. I saw them and mar
veled at their greatness and at the white
carven limestone and red granite of Syene
that flashed III the SUMS rays back to
Heaven. But at this time | knew naught
of the treasure. that was hid in Her, which
il the third angng the Pyramids--would /
had never known Of it'll
And SO at last we came within sight of
Annu, which after Memfi hath been seen
Is no large town, but stands on raised
ground, before which are lakes fed by
canal. Behind the town is the great
temenos (inclosurel Of the Temple of the
Sod Ra
AT the pylon we dismounted, and beneath
the portico were we met by aman not great
Of growth, but of noble aspect having his
head shaven, and with dark eyes that
twinkled like the further stars.
''Hold!'' ne cried, in large voice that fit
ted his weak body but i'll. ssHold! am
Sepa, who opens the mouth Of the gods n
'.And L | said, ''am Harmachis, son Of
Amenemhat, Hereditary High Priest and
Ruler Of the Holy City Aboutnis; and bear
letters to thee, Q SepaI'
ENTER" he said. "Enterp' scanning me
all the while with his twinkling eyes. aEn-
ter, my sonn' And he took me and led me
10 chamber in the inner hall close to
the door5 and then, having glanced at the
letters broaght, he of a sudden fell upon
my neck and embraced me-
''Welcomel' he cried; ''welcome, son of
my own sister and hope of Kheml Not in
vain have | prayed the gods that might
live to look upon thy face and impart to thee
the wisdom that, perchance, i alone have
mastered Of those who are left alive in
Egypt. Few there are whom it is lawful
that / should teach But thine is the great
destiny, and thine shall be the ears to hear
the les sons OF the gods.
And once more he embraced me and bade
me 60 and bathe and eat, saying that on the
morrow he would speak with me further.
And of q truth he did, and at such length
that will forbear to set down all he said
both then and afterward, for IL did so
there would be no papyrus left in Egypt
when the task was ended. Therefore. hav-