Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-08-26
A CARDBOARD WOMAN
THE mALIGN INFLUENCE OF A MUM
MY CASE FROM EGYPT.

1
queer Sequence OF FstaIftfe. and
hnrd Luck Experiences Tint An
pe"red to he Unhnppy Legncie. to
fhose Interested In Its Custody.
In corner of the first Egyptian
room at the British museum, behind
the crouching body OF the prehistoric
chlet who lived before there were
pharaohs in EGYPT or pyramids ON the
Nile, stands woman nodded from
some ancient form of cardboard. She Is
merely a she'll, the cover of mummy
case. Her hands are crossed above
her breast, and her dark eyes stare
forward into vacancy.
According to the catalogues she IL
NO. 22042, problematical royal per-
Sonage and q priestess OF the College
of Amen Ra. She lived in the mighty
city or Thebes some 1000 years before
Christ
And about this same coffin cover
there hangs as terrible a story as ever
an Edgar Allan Poe or n Balzac or n
hipiing produced from n gloomy imaC-
ination.
Ii you question the attendants In the
nrst Egyptian room they will shake
their heads and say nothing. But
there Is famous professor In the
museum who knows that the facts are
true. though whether they be n coinci-
dence or manifestation of supernat-
ural power who can say? He says:
For three months have been gath,
ering the tangled threads of evidence
have now in my possession proofs of
the identity OF all those who suffered
from the anger of the priestess OF
Amen Ra. But for the sake OF friends
and relatives l have been requested to
suppress the names.
About the middle of the sixties OF
the last century n party of five friends
took ship In dahabeah for q trip up
the Nile. They Travelled to Luxor on
their way to the second cataract. and
stayed there to explore the ruins of
the great and wonderful city of Thebes.
with its avenues OF sphinxes and rams.
It's vast hall of columns and its temple
10 Amen Ra. which is unequaled on
earth in the sublimIty of It's ruined
magnificence.
"One night an Arab sent by AIusta-
pha Aga came TO one OF their number.
Mr.. ID, as we may call him, saving
that he had just found n mummy case
of unusual beauty. What became of
the mummy the man did not explain
The next morning Mr. II. bought the
case. Both he and his companions
were impressed by its remarkable
hRnntT Inv O.. a
woman portrayed. face that WINS
filled with cold malignancy OF ex-
preston unpleasant to witness.
They had agreed that. being oil
interested I'm Egyptology, they should
apportion their finds 10y lot, and so.
though Mr.. ID. had been the cause of
Its discovery, he lost the mummy cover.
which passed to friend, whom we
will call Mr.. W.
1T was on their return tourney that
the series OF misfortunes commenced
Mr.. DIS servant was handing him
gun, when without visible cause II cx-
ploded, the charge lodging In his arm.
which had to be amputated; n second
died in poverty within the year;
third was shot. while Mr.. w, the own
er OF the mummy case, discovered on
his arrival I'm Cairo that he had lost n
large part OF his fortune. lie died soon
afterward. The pricstess OF Amen Ra
had signified her displeasurc in n very
convincing manner.
From the date II was shipped on
board the steamer Mr.. ID. lost sight of
the mummy case for several years.
lie did not ut the time I'm any wnv
associate the misfortunes that had oc-
CURED TO the party with its discovery.
but when he next heard OF II anu had
ruiz Information OF the disasters which
hod been subsequently associated with
It's possession he began To suspect that
IL was not merely chance. not merely
coincidence, that had brought SO sin
lister fate on all who had dealings
with the pricstess OF Amen Rn.
On the arrival OF the case In Eng
land 1t was given by its owner. Mr.. w
TO n married sister living near London
From the day the case entered the |
house misfortune followed misfortune
The family suffered large losses. and |
the end came with painful troubles
which need not be specified.
"The lady while In possession OF the |
case received one day visit from |
Nine. Blavatsky. The great theoso. |
phist became very disturbed on enter. |
Ing the room, and after few minutes
conversation told her hostess that there |
was something In her house possessed |
or most malignant influence. She
asked TO be allowed to search the house
and on discovering the coffin lid an. |
peaied to her hostess to send away an |
oDJect which she described as OF the
utmost danger. Her hostess, however.
refused, laughing ut what she Imagined I
TO be an example OF foolish supersti-
ton.
Some time afterward the lady sent
the case TO Well known photographer
In Baker street. Within a week the
chier or the firm came down TO this
iady s house In state OF great excite
ment. He had, he said. photographed
The face with the greatest care, and he
could guarantee that no one had
touched either the negative or the pho
tosraph In any way. yet 1t was not
the cardboard features that looked out
or the photograph. but living Egyp-
tian woman staring straight before her
with an expression OF singular malevo-
ience. Shortly after the photographer
died suddenly and mysteriously.
1T ws-s about this time that Mr.. ID.
happened TO meet the owner of the cof-
I'M lid and begged her upon hearing her
story to get rid of 1t at once. She
agreed, and a carrier was found to con-
yey 1t to the British museum. This
carrier died within q week,"-London
Express.