Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-01-22
CLEOPAT2A'S MUMMY.
A Heap of Sentiment Wasted by SuS-
ceptfble Boston Man.

A Heap of Sentiment Wasted by q Sus-
ceptible Boston Man.
One day recently, while sauntering
through the British Museum, found
myself in the sepulchral section of the
Egyptian antiquities. And almost be-
fore / knew it, was standing before
Case No. 6,7O7, marked in large letters
Mummy of Cleopatra" and near by
was another case with the further in
scription, s'Coffin of Cleopatra" Per-
haps 1 may have been in somewhat
sentimental mood, for my feelings were
singularly stirred. I was on the look
out for surprises, but this was greater
treasure than I had expected to find.
What food for thought! Cleopatra! |
sat down on a bench near by, and looked
at the mummy, and gave my magma
ton loose rein. Here is the great Cleo
patra, the serpent and siren of the Nile.
This is that fascinating Egyptian who,
as girl of only twenty summers, led
captive the great worlds Caesar. This
is the woman who played the willy al
lurements of Venus Anadyomene, and
charmed the great Antony to his de-
struction. This is the woman for whom
the Roman world shed rivers of blood
This that thing of flame, whose
passion breathing beauty shaped
the destiny of empires" as Mr. Rider
Haggard says in his. recent romance.
She died by her own hand thirty years
before the time of Christ, and now after
two thousand years, look upon her very
face-the face that charmed the world.
/ stand by that very form to which
Antony chung when he cried: 81 am dy-
ing, Egypt, dying!" This withered
visage with sunken eyes and voiceless
tongue was once all bloom and fire and
honeyed words, and woke the inspira-
ton: cage can not wither, nor custom
stale, her infinite variety" l tried to
picture to myself that gorgeous period
of the dynasty of the Ptolemies. l saw.
this stiff, uncouth mummy fling off it's
linen cerements, and array itself in silks
and puppies and live again those golden
days of dalliance and revelry. With
this historical setting we'll in mind,
every scrap of Egyptian history and
literature that | knew called into requi
sition, | rose from the bench and went
over and examined the mummy more
critically. There was painted
shroud on the wrappings, repre-
senting Cleopatra herself. Isis and
Nephthys and some other deities. There
were still the remains of wreath seen
on her head. There, too, was her comb
inserted in the bandages at the right
side of the hair. l took another look at
the coffin. There were various crude
paintings upon it. They represented
the scene of Judgment before Osiris, the
visit of the soul TO the body, the goddess
author, the heavens with the twelve
signs Of the Zodiac and other interest
ing matters. Then l took out my note
book to make verbatim copy of the in
scription, which is of some length.
Shades of the great Hermes Trismegis-
tus and all the gods of Egypt at once!
had been wasting my meditations on
the wrong girl? This is not my Cleopatr
This is not my Greek Queen of the
Ptolemies! See what this finer lettering
of the inscription says: '"This Cleopatra
was surnamed Genelike. She was the
daughter of Ammonios, of the family of
Sober, about 100 B. c., found at Thebes. -
/ Strengthened up with stoical COM
posture, put the notebook calmly into
my pocket and left the false, false Cleo
patra alone in her alluring glory.-Cor.
BOSTON Traveller