Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-03-11
AN EGYPTIAN ELIXIR.


I'bINIlEll, 1871, ny the ROtnOr
I..u cuudst tell us, if that lcathcrn tongue
,Dd tell what those dim, signtless eyes
have seen,
u.., the world looked when it was fresh and
Young
NpI Tine erct: deluge still had left it green.
Horace Smith.
had been exploring large rock
touh in the vicinity of Karnak for
number of weeks in the summer of IS.
Il WA, Il comparatively old discovery,
ut owing To the remarkable character
off the tomb l had thought it well worth
my while to CLEAN for such details as
might have escaped the notice of earlier
visitors.
The opening to the sepulcher, acct
dutally discovered, consisted Of
straight passage, barely permitting of
the entrance of single individual at q
time upon his hands and knees. Its sides
were of red granite, beautifully pol
i>hcd, which glittered dazzlingly in the
hight of the explorers torch This en-
trance ran straight back into the hill
for distance of some 200 feet, when it
suddenly opened upon large vaulted
room of circular form, from which there
proportions, leading to other chambers,
in which had been found many sar
rophagi, mummies and mummy cases,
one of the sarcophagi being supposed to
be- that of Thothmes ILL., the most glori-
Gus monarch of Egyptian history, who
erected the obelisk now in Central park,
though no mummy had been found
within it.
The walls Of the passages and cham
hers were, like those of all of the grand
,r Egyptian tombs, decorated with nu-
mcrous spirited paintings, the bright
cOlors of which still shone as fresh and
lustrous as if they had been laid ON but
yesterday. 1t was in this mysterious
abode of death that l had been long
gagged, copying inscriptions and pa
ings. searching for new passages and
examining the old ones, with an en-
thusiasm which only an ardent Egyp-
tologist can experience.
| had at length nearly finished my
Investigations and in fact, the day of
which l am about to speak was to have
been my last in the tomb, there re-
manning but one picture to copy, and
that upon the wall of remote gallery.
Accordingly, at about noon l found
myself before the picture i'll question,
palette in hand, surrounded by group
of fellahs i'll my employ, the Pickering
light of whose torches gave their SOM
Der faces a sufficiently Dantesque ex-
preston.
The picture l was copying was OF q
very common type, representing train
of long haired captives defiling before d
king whom | supposed to be Thothmes,
but as the hieroglyphics connected with
the picture were very obscure thl.
would take some time to determine
While painting away industriously, ant
sometimes reduced almost to despair il
my attempts to nix colors as bright al
those before me, / noticed that the
paint had blistered or peeled off I
little just at the point of the king
nose. AS l had never noticed pain
scaling from other pictures, l got up t
examine the place. Taking hold of I
projecting scale, l gave it slight pull
when, to my surprise, perhaps square
foot CT the paint came away, revealing
the granite wall behind, and in tina
wall htuul VI JOlul.
With cry Of pleasure tore, price
and dug the paint away for distance
of some feet and disclosed the outlin
of door or passageway which had beel
filed with one immense stone, which
fitted its place so closely that the poin
of a penknife could hardly have beeI
inserted between the stone and the sollt
rock Of the gallery. Beyond an entrance
so carefully closed and concealed there
must be new and rare treasures, and !
was with considerable excitement tina
began to consider how to remove tn
obstacle in the passageway. Pressure,
found, had no effect upon it, and ther
remained no way but to blast it. nc
cordlngly sent for drills and sledges
and soon had two gangs of fellahs
work sinking two holes on each side
the slab.
By taking advantage of the almos
imperceptible interstices between tn
stone and the wall the work was some
what accelerated, and several hours
labor resulted in two holes some eigh
inches deep. These l half filled wit
powder, properly tamped the charges
inserted fuses, lit them and retired wit
due promptitude. The deep silence c
perhaps minute was at length broke
by deafening crash, followed by IL
terminable echoes and a strong blast
sulphurous air.
Allowing time for the fumes OF I'll
powder to dissipate, we returned an
found the great slab had been hurle
inward, where it lay, broken into Sc,
eral pieces, upon the floor OF mob
corridor of great width and height.
Selling a torch from one OF the bea
ers, | sprang forward into the new
opened passage without thought
the possible presence of foul air or pc
sonous gases. Luckily there was neithe
A moments examination satisfied II
that this was the real or main tomb
which the other had merely served
an antechamber or perhaps had be-
placed there as Il blind to deceive tho
who might search for the princlp
structure. Here the passages were u
usually spacious and lofty and we
decorated with paintings far excellin
both in design and coloring, those l h
been copying,
Nervously pressing on down the pa
sage, which was crossed at intervals