Year: 1874

kept me poor, foIlorn old bachelor
depriying me Of many years of happy
married life.


But he came back. A more be-
wildered man never existed since the
days of Rip Van Winkle. A man
coming out Of prison after twenty
years confinement might.feel some
thing Of what the Major felt. Only
the man out Of prison would have an
idea Of what was going on in the
world, while the Major had nome
All that he could tell of himself was
this: He found himself in burning
building, the fire and smokeiblinding
him and causing great agony. He
was grasped by fireman and placed
unhurt upon the pavement outside,
whence he soon made his way to his
home, not far Of. His return made
fas much noiseAs his departure had
done. On investigation, the fireman
was found who had saved him from
the fire. The burned building was
a museum-Barnum's, I suppose
and the room from which he had
been carried was one devoted to
mummies and relics of the dead of
different ages and countries. On in
terrogating the proprietor, the his
tory Of each body, supposed once to
have been living, was obtained; but
no light was thrown upon the dark
mystery. At last he remembered the
figure of one of the Pharaohs, sup
posed to have been wax, in marble
sarcophagus, said to have been
brought from one of the pyramids
of Egypt. Twas by when that was
first mentioned to Major Grantby;-
and then saw the sign of lifting of
the cloud of bewilderment from the
Majors brow.


"Where did you get it?" he asked.


The man said it had been purchas-
ed five years before, as the one yalu-
able object, at the-sale of the natural
history collection belonging to poor
little starved Southern college. With
out saying much about it. the Major
found out the President OF the col
lege,. and learned from him thai the
sarcophagus had been given to the
college by one of the alumni, whom
he named, eight, or ten years before.
That man was found. He said he
had seen it for several years at one of
the extra shows attendant upon q,
circus. The owner had many valuh-
BILE Egyptian relics which he had
wished to dispose of in order to re-
tire to private life. The young man
had purchased this for the college.
and other things for himself. If
more information were needed, he
could procure it, for the former own
er Of the sarcophogus lived very near
him.


The Major was so interested he
went himself to see the man and hear
his story. The man proved himself
to have been a colored servant, en-
ployed by the Egyptian sorcerers for
many years. When he saw the Ma
ior he recognized a resemblance to
the supposed wax figure, and when
the Major allowed his face to be
wrapped in Egyptian burial clothes,
all who had ever seen the Pharaoh
could almost believe that they saw
him again.


The servant informed Major Grant
by that he was with the Egyptians
when they left New York, and had
travelled with them throughout the
United States and parts of South
America. He said that the Egyptian
lady IVES treated ever with great dolor-
alton by her companions.


This sarcophagus was q part of her
own personal property, which always
accompanied her, and was placed in
her own room. The man believed
her to have been the wife Of the dead
man, and that it was by her sorceries
that she had remained alive and
young, while he had been dead thou
sands of years.


When in her room, the heavy crys-
tai cover was removed from the sar-
cophagus, flowers were placed about
it, perfumes burned by the head, and
shawls of the most exquisite color and
workmanship draped over the body;
and the lovely sorceress spent hours
on her knees beside it, kissing the
cold, brown face and hands, and
weeping over it till the hair of the
dead Pharaoh was drenched with her
tears.


Have I told you that the Major, at
the time of his disappearance, was as
handsome and fascinating man as
one could wish to see? But I must
go on Systematically with my story,
and tell you how the servant became
possessor of the property of the
Egyptians. They were all coming
back to the Southern States from
South America, when they were over
taken by a storm, and the vessel was
wrecked on. the coast. The most GU
rious part Of the story is, that, though
many passengers We're lost, all the
bodies were washed ashore excepting
those of the Egyptians. And the
colored man firmly believed that they
had power to convey themselves to a
place of safety, and were all still
alive.


But there he was, among the few
saved, the sole representative of the
company; He was able to save much
of the property, the sarcophagus
among the rest. As far as he could,
he followed the occupation Of the for
mer owners for a few months, and
then he joined the circus company as
an outside show.


When the Major heard all these
things, he was obliged to tell us What
he could remember, to connect the
stories and to prove that he had
played Pharaoh for twenty years.


He said, what we know, that he
found the Egyptians so learned and