Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-06-23

directing GOO men and boys in excaya-
lions to ~unearth the temple and tomb of
Osiris, has returned to his chair at the
University of Geneva elated with the
belief that he has penetrated to the ac-
tuai funeral chamber of the ancient
Egyptian king-god, and that another
winters work which is already assured
under auspices of the Anglo-American
Egyptian Exploration Company. will
bring to light important details bearing
upon the history of Osiris.
The legend is that Osiris, wise and
benefieent king who reclaimed the Egyp-
tians from savagery met sudden and
premature death by the scheming of his
wicked brother Seth who. with 70 fell
low eonspirators. invited Osiris to
banquet and induced him to enter a
cunningly- wrought coffin. They shut
down the lid and cast the chest and It's
body into the Nile Isis. faithful wife of
the beloved King, recovered the body.
The legend continues that Seth and his
fellow conspirators then cut the body
into Ii pieces, and scattered the parts all
over Egypt-each piece being entombed by
worshippers of Osiris--which accounts
for the numerous tombs to him. The
faithful Isis. however, .regathered the
Temple of Abydos.
This temple where Prof. Naville has
been conducting the excavations, is, he
is sure, the true burial place of Osiris.
The place is about equidistant between
Cairo and Assouan, in the desert about
eight miles westward from the Nile.
Prof. Naville believes this temple is
older even than the Pyramids. Relating
some details of his work to The Asso-
ciated Press correspondent at Geneva,
he said:
1--WE worked from December "a, 1913 to
March II, 1914, and during the IL weeks
We experienced some anxiety and excite
ment. AT nine yards under the soil we
found large building constructed of
granite and very hard red sandstone.
This edifce Is divided into three naves.
which are surrounded by IS large cells
all identical in size and shape. They
have no inscriptions on the walls of more
have no inscriptions on the walls what
ever. This proves that the building is
very ancient as the walls of more
modern edifices in Egypt are covered
with inscriptions.
''In front of the cells is stone plat
form supported by 10 huge blocks of
granite. Skirting this platform we came
upon the reservoir-or well of Osiris,
which undoubtedly is that mentioned by
the Roman historian Strabo. While the
reservoir has not yet been explored it Is
probable that its waters had been popu-
lar at one time for their supposed cura-
tive virtues
"On the opposite side of the temple to
that where We entered we found the
burial place of Osiris, as the Book of the
Dead and the inscription on the walls of
the funeral chamber. 20 yards by five,
proved to us beyond all doubt. You can
imagine that We were greatly delighted
at the discovery.
I'VE found also that In some remote
past Egyptian thieves had been at work
there They had entered the funeral
chamber by piercing hole in the wall,
but of course it will never be known
what the thieves carried away Did they
take the sarcophagus of Osiris? All
Psychologists in the course of their re-
searches in the ruins of Egypt have
come across traces of thieves who were
considered to be the cleverest in the
then known world. They formed them
selves into associations and gangs with
the special object of robbing tombs, as
it was the ancient custom among Egyp-
tians to bury valuables with their dead
There was a supervision of the tombs,
but this the thieves seem to have avoid
cd in ut NV
THE whole of the vast eGifices we dis
covered is in bad state of ruins, be-
cause it and its surroundings were used
as a quarry in the time of Ramses H."
Professor Naville, who is an elderly
man, insisted upon paying honor to his
brave assistants, Messrs. Wainwright
and Gibson of London. and Thomas Wit
temore of Tufts College, Massachusetts
One of the first things that General
Lyautey, the French Resident General
in Morocco, did in taking office was to
prohibit the sale of absinthe. This meas
ure aimed at both the French troops of
occupation and the natives, considerably
affected business interests and steps We're
taken to try and stir up a movement of
opposition.
An old Moor to whom a trader tried to
explain thestyrannous nature of the Cen
erals order. took a wholly unexpected
attitude; "Absinthe,' he said, lis an in
vention of the Evil One. On its roots he
pours the blood of a peacock; then, when
the leaves begin to grow. he sprinkles
them with the blood of monkey; then
he dips the stalks in the blood of bear
lastly he mingles with the juice of the
plant the blood of pig.
$50 that when the faithful drinks alb
sinthe, at the first glass his appetite
awakes. and he arises, proud as a pea
cock; at the second glass, he becomes ex-
cited and gesticulates like a monkey at
the third he becomes quarrelsome and
spiteful, like a bear: at the fourth he
becomes besotted and falls to the earth,
and rolls like a hog in the mire
MAY Allah protect US Sidi Lyautey is
right
An exhibition of wall papers manufac-
tured in France between 1895 and 1915 has
just been opened at the Malmaison, the
house near Paris which Napo-
leon purchased for Josephine. The
French wall paper industry met it's