Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-05-01

passing and not great. OF II there be guile
within thy heart, then the curse OF MenksIra
be on theei On thee be the curse that shall
smite him who breaks in upon the deadis
r. It must be remembered that the an
Gent Egyptians held the dead in greater
awe and sanctity than the living. After
death the body was still visited by the soul,
aud: they looked forward to its personal
resurrection. Hence their care as to Its
embalmment and the stupendous works
which they raised - tombs.I
ION thee bo the curse that follows the traitor
On thee be tho curse that smites him who out
RACES the majesty Of the Godsl Unhappy
shalt thou live, In blood and misery shalt thou
die, and in misery shalt thou be tormenteo
forever and foreveri For, Wickeo one 'nere
in Amenti shall we come face to facet
'And to the end of the keeping of this secret
have 1, Menka-ra. set mp . Temple OF my
Worship. the which have rbuilt upon the
eastern side of this my House OF Death. TO tho
hereditary High Priest OF this my Temple
shall IL be made known from time to time.
And II any High Priest that shall be. do reveal
this secret to another than the Pharaoh, or
Her who wears the Pharaoh's crown ana Is
seated upon the throne of Khem, accursed De
he ALSO Thus have ], Menka-ra, the Osirian.
written. Now to thee. who. sleeping In the
womb Of Nout, yet shall upon time STAND
over me and read, say. judge thouI ana II
thou judgest evilly on thee shall fall this the
curse of Menka-ra, from which there Ii no Oh
cape. Greeting and farewell"
ssThou hast heard, y Cleopatra" said
solemnly; NOW search thy heart; judge
thou, and for thine own sake judge Justly.
She bent her head in thought.
ST fear to do this thing" she said pres
emily. ssLet US hence" h
cit is well,'' said, with tightening OF
the heart, and bent me to lift the wooden
lid. For /, too, feared. sGs .
"And yet what said the writing OF the oil
vine Menka-ra?-'twas emeralds, was II
not! And emeralds are now so rare and
hard to come by! Ever did I love emer-
flaw" co. q
"'Tis not matter of what thou dost love,
Cleopatra" / said; "'tis matter of the
need of Khem and Of the secret meaning OF
thy heart, which thou alone canst know"
SAY, surely, Harmachis; surely! And is
not the need Of Egypt great? There Is 70
gold in the treasury, and how can defy the
Roman if I have no gold? And have l not
sworn to thee that will wed thee and defy
the Roman; and do not swear it again
yea, even In this solemn hour, with my hand
upon dead Pharaoh's heart? Why, here is
that occasion whereof the divine Menka-ra
did dream. Thou seest it is so, for else had
Hatasu or Rameses or some other Pharaoh
drawn forth the gems. But no; they left
them to this hour because the time was not
yet come. Now it must be come, for If
take not the gems the Roman will surely
seize on Egypt, and then there will be no
Pharaoh to whom the secret may be told.
Nay, let US away with fears and to the
work Why dost look so frighted? Having
pure hearts, ssnaught is there t0fear, Harma-
CHS"
Gwen as thou wilt" said again; "for
thee 1t is to judge, since if thou judgest
falsely, on thee will surely fall the curse
from which there is no escape" zulit
$50, Harmachls. take Pharaoh's head and
will take his Oh, what an awful place
is thisp' and suddenly she chung to me.
ssMethought saw shadow yonder in the
darknessi Methought that it did move
toward US and then straightway vanish
Let us be going! Didst thou see naughtl''
81 saw naught, Cleopatra; but mayhap 1t
was the Spirit of the divine Menka-ra, for
ever does the spirit hover round its mortal
tenement. Let US then be going; right
glad shall be to CO." .,fs.-s55....av
She made as though to start, then turned
back again and spoke once more.
't'Twas naught-naught but the mind
that in such house of Horror doth body
forth those shadowy forms Of fear it breads
to see. Nay, must look upon these en-
eralds indeed; if I die, 1 must look! Come
to workI'' and STOPPING she with her own
hands lifted from the tomb one of the four
alabaster jars, each sealed with the craven
likeness of the heads of the protecting Gods
that held the holy heart and entraiIs of the
divine Menka-ra- But in those jars was
nothing found, save only what should be
there.
Then together we mounted on the sphinx
and drew forth with toll the body of the
divine Pharaoh, laying it on the ground
Now Cleopatra took my dagger, and with il
cut loose the bandages which held the wrap
pings in their place, and the lotus flowers
that had been placed therein by loving
hands, three thousand years before, fel
down upon the pavement. Then we searched
and found the end of the outer bandage
which was fixed in at the hinder part of thu
neck. This we cut loose, for it was fas