Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-01-29

| ugufes similar to the temple coverings
Of upper Egypt. save that the colorine
| rs superb. and as bright as the dav il
first laid on. Intcrspcrsed in al
l. 'tions were glittering trophies com.
pos | apparently of jewels and pre-
- IS stones. while IN inches and on
edestals we're statues exceeding life
size. ;:nd either made of SOLID gold and
liver, or olcc ;hicily covered with Law.
rs Of the prccious metals. 70 give an
adequate iGca of the majestic apart
ncnt. and cll that it contained. would
require volume; it is impossible to dc
more than indicate in Il frarincntary
manner Sorlc few special points that q
aErricd examination enabled us to no.
lice
Rising to our feet we gazcd around in
wonder. not uninixcd with awe. and
hen slowly advanced in the direction
u the recess, pausing 1T every stop to
contemplate the astonishing objects
nat were to be seen on aii Slices The
,all seemed tcnantlcss, but when we
iad crossed about one third of the floor
he curt2i;S conceaiing the recess
hook US though stirred by some IN.
cen hand Tor by brcczel that r~as t.
illrcrccptiSle. The dr2p2ry, which
ca led zanzibar mating as regards
lCrs and texture. thea became sep
rated down Tie center, each half be-
~ Grawn upwards as in thcatcr,
Inside The recess thus disclosed, and
most Cling it. wasa dais surrounded
a.canoDy. which shaded 4 taagnii-
ut couca constructed Of polished
mite. with rlabcratcly sculptured
-, and srrca,l over the surface of
Il, couch were numerous cushions and
ariewatcd u,at,. somewhat Resembling
ne curtains. tut thicker in the wool.
'rDaeia~ On this REGAL bier were two
.u!-.n foriaa. size by side. in Il semi
ccuriirii attitude. Both were clad
II suInptuous robes, and on the head Of
ach vas.an elaborate structure, partly
ruwn and partly tiara. The form on
he right hand was that of an old man.
rith very prominent features and
mall pointed beard almost snow-white
IN color, hut his partner was lovely
'enale In the bloom of youth.
The eyes of the stately pair were
vile open ard seemed to he fiyed
n US with a stern. ;nquiring ex-
preston, while the flesh tints and gen
raj appearance were SO absolutely
ifcli.e that we both sank down or
'ur knees, terrified 1T the imperial ~
.,ect Of .hc mysterious monarch and hi
r,,c.
II was not for some considerable time
that We mustered up enough courage
to approach the hais, but seeing that
he iigrrcS remained perfectly motion
less VIC at length ycnturcd to do so
On somewhat closer inspection il
turned out that our involuntary horn
l~c to royalty had in reality been pait
10 the king of tcrrors. The two shapef
on the couch were mummics, but the
cmbalning process had been so per
fcctly and artstcally carried out tina;
wen the lapse of centuries had MOI
.ivcn rise to the slightest sign of dc
cay. The glittcring eyes that haG
caused US SO much fear turned out &c
be simply a sl.illful combination of dia.
monds and crystal, fitted with minute
springs that llowcd of an inflnitcssimal
amount of movement in the orbs under
the influence Of the faintcst current OF
air In this way the lifclcss effect OF
perfect inmobility was obviatcd, and
it was only natural that at first we
should have thought ourselves in the
presence Of living beings.
The left hand of the youthful bride
Of countless summers was hanging
near the edge of the couch. and ring
which no doubt had slipped off one OF
her fingers. was lying on the floor at
Some distance from the dais Happen |
ing to catch sight of this ancient gem |
close to my feet | half mechanically |
picked it up and it in my pocket. 1t |
was a scarab set in gold and on the |
inner surface there was very clearly |
cut cartouch.
Having by this time almost got over |
our supernatural ala rm we were nat |
urally anxious TO examine the ROYAL |
more accurately, and for this
purpose proceeded TO ascend the two or |
three steps which. ! should have said |
before, separated the recess from the
of the hall. These steps /
were wide and shallow, but otherwise
not remarkable. Hand in hand we ad-
varccd, when all at once dais and
marble couch and mummies
seemed to fly up into the air. and be-
fore we could realize what had hap
pcncd we found ourselves sliding down
an inclined plane with friehtful ra-
pidity. and in darkness as complete as
that we had experienced daring our
imprisonment in the chamber. The
revolving stone on which we stimuli
taneously stepped simply swung back
into position, while with cver-ncreas-
ing momentum we shot down. down,
apparently into the very bowels of tn,
earth.
How long the awful slide continued
neither of US was ever able to say. The
of the occurrence quite
startled US ont of our wits, though
like drowning people we still retained
our mutual clasp. At last the rate OF
progress began to slackcn scnsibly,