Cleopatra | Page 6

quite superstitious (though as you
know, I am pretty well accustomed to dead people), and put the head
down in a hurry. There were still some wrappings left upon the face of
the second body, and I did not remove them; but she must have been a
fine large woman in her day.
[*] This, I take it, is a portrait of Amenemhat himself.--Editor.
[+] Doubtless Amenemhat and his wife.--Editor.

"'There the other mummy,' said Ali, pointing to a large and solid case
that seemed to have been carelessly thrown down in a corner, for it was
lying on its side.
"I went up to it and carefully examined it. It was well made, but of
perfectly plain cedar-wood--not an inscription, not a solitary God on it.
"'Never see one like him before,' said Ali. 'Bury great hurry, he no
"mafish," no "fineesh." Throw him down here on side.'
"I looked at the plain case till at last my interest was thoroughly
aroused. I was so shocked by the sight of the scattered dust of the
departed that I had made up my mind not to touch the remaining coffin
--but now my curiosity overcame me, and we set to work.
"Ali had brought a mallet and a cold chisel with him, and, having set
the coffin straight, he began upon it with all the zeal of an experienced
tomb-breaker. And then he pointed out another thing. Most
mummy-cases are fastened by four little tongues of wood, two on either
side, which are fixed in the upper half, and, passing into mortices cut to
receive them in the thickness of the lower half, are there held fast by
pegs of hard wood. But this mummy case had eight such tongues.
Evidently it had been thought well to secure it firmly. At last, with
great difficulty, we raised the massive lid, which was nearly three
inches thick, and there, covered over with a deep layer of loose spices
(a very unusual thing), was the body.
"Ali looked at it with open eyes--and no wonder. For this mummy was
not as other mummies are. Mummies in general lie upon their backs, as
stiff and calm as though they were cut from wood; but this mummy lay
upon its side, and, the wrappings notwithstanding, its knees were
slightly bent. More than that, indeed, the gold mask, which, after the
fashion of the Ptolemaic period, had been set upon the face, had
worked down, and was literally pounded up beneath the hooded head.
"It was impossible, seeing these things, to avoid the conclusion that the
mummy before us had moved with violence /since it was put in the
coffin/.

"'Him very funny mummy. Him not "mafish" when him go in there,'
said Ali.
"'Nonsense!' I said. 'Who ever heard of a live mummy?'
"We lifted the body out of the coffin, nearly choking ourselves with
mummy dust in the process, and there beneath it half hidden among the
spices, we made our first find. It was a roll of papyrus, carelessly
fastened and wrapped in a piece of mummy cloth, having to all
appearance been thrown into the coffin at the moment of closing.[*]
[*] This roll contained the third unfinished book of the history. The
other two rolls were neatly fastened in the usual fashion. All three are
written by one hand in the Demotic character.--Editor.
"Ali eyed the papyrus greedily, but I seized it and put it in my pocket,
for it was agreed that I was to have all that might be discovered. Then
we began to unwrap the body. It was covered with very broad strong
bandages, thickly wound and roughly tied, sometimes by means of
simple knots, the whole working the appearance of having been
executed in great haste and with difficulty. Just over the head was a
large lump. Presently, the bandages covering it were off, and there, on
the face, lay a second roll of papyrus. I put down my hand to lift it, but
it would not come away. It appeared to be fixed to the stout seamless
shroud which was drawn over the whole body, and tied beneath the
feet--as a farmer ties sacks. This shroud, which was also thickly waxed,
was in one piece, being made to fit the form like a garment. I took a
candle and examined the roll and then I saw why it was fast. The spices
had congealed and glued it to the sack-like shroud. It was impossible to
get it away without tearing the outer sheets of papyrus.[*]
[*] This accounts for the gaps in the last sheets of the second roll.
--Editor.
"At last, however, I wrenched it loose and put it with the other in my
pocket.
"Then we went on with our dreadful task in silence. With