Washington sentinel., 1898-12-24


friend entered.
Sorry I kept you waiting, but
Lady Hartford asked me to 60
through her husbands papers, IN
the hope Of finding something
which may throw a light upon the
terrible visitation we beheld last
night. She placed in my hands,
as an old friend, Sir Roberts diary,
which he kept when travelling in
| Egypt before his marriage. l have
Just finished going through it, and
/ should like YOU to look at this
passage. l have Lady Pensmyth' S
permission to show it to you,
though she is so fearlully cut up
that she cannot see any one yet
besides her own family and my
self"
l looked at the page pointed out,
and read as follows:
"June 10, ~.
Started for the Pyramids again
and this time succeeded in enter
ing one Of the smaller ones, That
thief, Hassan, tried to dIssuade
me by rolling off some OF his old
woman's s tales, saying there was
curse upon il, and so on. Shut
him up, and said l didn't want any
OF his superstitious nonsense.
Opened a sarcophagus, and rum
mayed about in it. but found
nothing except some fragments Of
papYrus and few mummlied
beetles. Showed them to Hassen,
who fell on his knees, and begged
me to leave them there, as there
was an ola legend. which l made
out to be something like this:
" Wh0S0 takcM tie beetke shall Rle
! BY tie 6eekle." Told hin. l didn't
believe such rubbish, and that |
meent to take them, as they were
specimens Of a rare scarab l had
not seen before. Packed all up
and gave Hassen a kick TO make
him move. Got safely out at last
but with dificultv--as somehow
Il believe it was a device OF that
rascals-I was tripped up, and
nearly lost my parcel"
Mem. -D0N't rmpl0T H2SScH
again"
What do you think OF it7' in
! Qalred Wilson, when | handed
back the diary.
Much the same as l did be-
iore,' was my reply. "I think
Sir Robert was suffering from an
acute attack of the brain, and, no
doubt, between the ParoXysms, he
! remembered more vivIdly than
customary the occurrence related
in the diary, and alth ugh he was
| evidently not an impresSionable
man, the weakness which super
vened on each attack gave an in.
crsasing force and color to the
tradition, and led him to regard it
first as possible, then probable,
and last as an absolute certainty.
That he could have been killed
by what he himself describes as
"a mummlfed beetle is palpably
ridiculous, But what have you
there2" l asked, reg9rding a small
cardboard box which DR., Wilson
was in the act Of oPEping.
These are tn. f!beetLes." he
answered, and 1 looked with curl
oslty and interest at some half
dozen insects, dry and dead for
thousands Of years, which lay be-
fore me- Certainly, they were
| specimens OF a scarabRus unknown
to me, but 1 had never had time
for the study OF Egyp ology, and
my acquaintance with the SUBJ ect
having only resulted from desul-
tory reading, l could not therefore
pronounce definitely upon them.
They were about the size Of lady
birds, or perhaps 4 trihe larger,
with backs OF an emerald green
color chicklY studded with spots
Of purple. black, and as l examined
them | could hardly represc a
smile at what / deemed the child
ish fancy that had invested these
harmless atoms with a potency so
dire.
Now, Wilson," l remarked,
WAoL - ~ y OA " dllA lllE 10 10 IOE
don't suppose you have brought
me round here simply to show me
these things?"
"Yes, | have, in one sense; but
there is more than that. It is the
wish Of the family that a post NOR
tenn should be made. Imight. per-
haps, feel justified IN certifying the
cause Of death; but it would be a
great satisfaction to me-and 10
you also. l do not doubt-ifyou
would tall IN with my views and |
help me to carry them out"
"l'll do so with pleasure, not
only because it is your request, but !
also because, as you are aware, I |
take lively interest in questions
Of this kind, and the result may
tend to confirm a theory l advanced !
when Peterhoffand were engaged
in a discussion in '8I."
II.
FTha .vr.- g.