The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-08-11
PRINCESS HERMOUTHIS'S FOOT
A Truly Unique Paper Weight--fow it Was
Finally Exchanged.'

you speak OF him as If you were his
contemporary; though old, you surely do
not trace your origin TO the pyramids of Il
Egypt" / responded, laughing, on the
threshold of the shop
/ returned TO my home well pleased with i
my acquisition. To put it Immediately TO 7,
uyt | stood the foot of the divine Princess
Hermouthis on bunch OF papers, rough I,
drafts of verses, illegible patchworks OF
erasures, articles commenced, letters for
gotten and sent to post in the drawer
not an uncommon error with absent-mind- .
led gentlemen. The effect was charming,
odd and romantic.
Well satisfied with the establishment, +
descended into the street and began to .
promenade with the proper gravity and .
pride Of a man who has over all passers- .
by TO whom he bows the ineffable advan- /
tage OF possessing a fraction of the Prin- /
cess Hermouthis, daughter of Pharaoh. /
All those not possessing, like myself, {
paper-weight famously Egyptian, l found I
ridiculous In the extreme, and the fit oc-
CT patton for a sensible man seemed to me
TO have the foot of a mummy on his desk.
Fortunately, ] was diverted from the
thought of my recent purchase by meet
Ing several friends. / went to dine with
The m, for poor, indeed, would have been
their fare had they dined with me.
When 1 returned in the evening my
brain was dull and heavy--a vague Whit
OF Oriental perfume delicately tickled my
olfactory machinery. The warmth OF the
chamber had slightly freed the bitumen
and the myrrh In which the foo. had been
washed, and the perfume 1900 years had
not destroyed. The dream of Egypt was
eternity. Its odors had the solidity of
granite and were as lasting.
I was soon in the blacklist chamber of
sleep. For an hour or SO all was dark
ness. oblivion and Nothingness deluged
me with their vague gloom. Gradually,
however, my intellectual obscurity clear
ed away, dreams began to touch me
lightly with their silent wings.
The eyes of my spirit opened and 1 saw
my room clearly. L would have believed
myself awake but for vague perception
which told me that 1 slept and that some
, thing unusual was about to happen. The
door of the myrrh was greatly intensified.
? / felt slight headache, which / attrib-
! u,ed naturally enough TO several glasses
of champagne which had drunk to I'M
known gods and to future success.
> / glanced about the room with an inter
esr which nothing seemed to justify. Ev-
erything was In its proper place; the light
a burned ge1tly through the milky white
n ness of rs globe of frosted glass: the
; watsr-colors glttered beneath their Boz
j homian glass; the curtains dropped Ian
A gully. All'had the air of sleep and calm
|, Suddenly this tranquil interior seemed
: disturbed, the wainsCoting creaked fur.
: lively, the log of wood buried under tbs
Il cicders shot forth a jet of blue flame, ant
; the disks of the curtain pins seemed eye,
OF metal, watchful as 1 for that which
. was about to occur. My glance happene,
"a tc fall on the desk on which had place.
"a the foot of the Princess Hermouthis. In
J. ste ad of being motioness. as became
n foot embalmed 1000 years, 1t was greatl
= agitated; 1t contracted itself and leape
-. q f~fx H.
n frog. One would have believed 1t In con
,s tact with a voltaic battery. 1 heard dis
p tinctly the scratching noise made by it
little heel, hard as the hoof of deer.
"A / was ill-content with my acquisition
10 having a fondness for sedentary paper
as weights, and finding it far from naturs
a. that feet should move without limbs.
al began to experience something strangel
n akir to fear.
Suddenly / saw the folds of one Of m
n curtains tremble. / heard a stamping, Q
al of person who went lame / must col
a. fess l was alternately warm and cold.
is felt an unknown breath at my back. NJ
ma hair rose some inches. The curtains par
so ed, and / saw advancing the strange
nv figure that one can imagine.
1t was a young girl, of deep coff'
lin color, of perfect beauty, recalling the pu
tie est Egyptian type. The corners of h
D. alnond-shaped eyes were raised; so blaC
It we're her eyebrows to, seem blue; h
OF. nc Sc was delicately formed, nearly CIR
an clan In its outline. One might have tak'
ID her for a statue of Corinthian bronze,
ne ono had not recognized beyond a dout
so In the prominent cheek bones and slg
d. expansion of mouth. the hieroglyphic IA
les of the banks of the Nile.
Ike Her arms slender and round, Ike tho
as of very young girls, were encircled wi
cs. bands of metal and bracelets of cryst;
So. her hair was plated; on her bosom hui
a an idol of green paste, which, from
sCCurge of seven lashes, was recogn.zai
The as Isis, conductress of spirits; slab
,n- gold shone on her forehead. and Sol
TO traces of paint were visible with the Il
OF copper on her cheeks.
vas AS to her costume, It was stran
m enough. Imagine a pair of white pan
ing let's, with little bands embroidered w
kin black and red hieroglyphics. starch
ing with bitumen, and seemingly belongi
and II mummy freshly unswathed.
ure BY one of those leaps of thought SO 4
quent in dreams, / heard the false
the voice of the merchant of bric-a-brac
rhe reaiing in monotonous refrain the phr;
CHI which had seemed to me SO enigmat!c
he'd '"rhe old Pharaoh will not be content.
on- loves his daughter much, that dear ma
ctla Particularly strange and but little
assuring-the apparition had but one 4
the the other limb being broken off at
ant ankle.
Iish She approached the table where
rht, mummys foot frisked about with
nat doubled vitality. She leaned against
in tables edge and / saw tear glsten
we'd he. eye. Although she did not speak
light could easily discern her thought. She
had garded the foot-for 1t was clearly hel
nut with an expression of sadness infinii
ted. tcbder. but the foot raced here and tn
with as II urged by steel springs. Seven til
Iisr' she reached out her hano In vain to or
, an II
Then there took place between the p
rag cess Hermouthis and her foot-wt
seemed endued with life-a dialogue
ia a az ancient tongue--the tongue spo
YOU thirty centuries before in the country
mes. Ser. Fortunately. for that night / X
liter 1t also--understood 1t perfectly.
The Princess Hermouthis began In
come voice clear and vibrating as a cry
y clock: Alas! my dear little foot. you
only from me always. Yet care for you
You derby. / battle you In perfumed waite
sers, an alabaster basin. I polish your
tiger with pumice-stone dipped In the oil OF
palm tree. Your nails are cut with
ncess pers Of gold and polished with the {
little Of the hippopotamus. I have chosen
Won embroidered sandals which are