No event of any importance occurred to our travellers in the course
of their aërial voyage. They were too well provided with all kinds
of necessaries to have any occasion to rest by the way, and in
an incredibly short space of time they were hovering over Egypt.
Different, however, oh! how different from the Egypt of the nineteenth
century, was the fertile country which now lay like a map beneath
their feet. Improvement had turned her gigantic steps towards its once
desert plains; Commerce had waved her magic wand; and towns and cities,
manufactories and canals, spread in all directions. No more did the
Nile overflow its banks: a thousand channels were cut to receive its
waters. No longer did the moving sands of the Desert rise in mighty
waves, threatening to overwhelm the way-worn traveller: macadamized
turnpike roads supplied their place, over which post-chaises, with
anti-attritioned wheels, bowled at the rate of fifteen miles an hour.
Steamboats glided down the canals, and furnaces raised their smoky
heads amidst groves of palm-trees; whilst iron railways intersected
orange groves, and plantations of dates and pomegranates might be seen
bordering excavations intended for coal pits. Colonies of English and
Americans peopled the country, and produced a population that swarmed
like bees over the land, and surpassed in numbers even the wondrous
throngs of the ancient Mizraim race; whilst industry and science
changed desolation into plenty, and had converted barren plains into
fertile kingdoms.
Amidst all these revolutions, however, the Pyramids still raised their
gigantic forms, towering to the sky; unchanged, unchangeable, grand,
simple, and immoveable, fit symbols of that majestic nature they were
intended to represent, and seeming to look down with contempt upon the
ephemeral structures with which they were surrounded; as though they
would have said, had utterance been permitted to them--"Avaunt, ye
nothings of the day. Respect our dignity and sink into your original
obscurity; for know, that we alone are monarchs of the plains."
Indestructible, however, as they had proved themselves, even their
granite sides had not been able entirely to resist the corroding
influence of the smoke with which they were now surrounded, and a
slight crumbling announced the first outward symptom of decay. Still,
however, though blackened and disfigured, they shone stupendous
monuments of former greatness; and Edric and his tutor gazed upon them
with an awe that for some moments deprived them of utterance.
The doctor, however, who was too fond of reasoning ever long to
remain willingly silent, after surveying them a few minutes, broke
forth as follows:--"What noble piles! What majesty and grandeur
they display in their formation, and yet what dignified simplicity!
Can the imagination of man conceive any thing more sublime than the
thought that they have stood thus frowning in awful magnificence,
perhaps since the very creation of the world, without equals, without
even competitors,--mocking the feeble efforts of man to divine their
origin, and seeing generation after generation pass away, whilst they
still remain immutable, and involved in the same deep and unfathomable
mystery as at first."
"It is very strange," observed Edric, "that, in this age of speculation
and discovery, nothing certain should be known concerning them."
"It is," returned the doctor; "but the thick mysterious veil that has
rested upon them for so many ages, seems not intended to be removed
by mortal hands. They remind one of the sublime inscription upon the
temple of the goddess Isis, at Sais:--'I am whatever was, whatever is,
and whatever shall be; but no mortal has, as yet, presumed to raise the
veil that covers me.'"
"Your quotation is apt, doctor," resumed Edric, "for both relate to
Nature. Indeed, Nature appears to be the deity which the ancient
Egyptians worshipped, under all the various forms in which she presents
herself; and their strange and animal deities were but reverenced
as her symbols. It was Nature whom they worshipped as Isis; it was
Nature that was typified in the Pyramids; and the good taste of the
Egyptians made them prefer the simple, the majestic, and the sublime,
in those works which they destined to last for ages. Formerly, from the
immensity of their population, and high state of their civilization,
labour was so divided, and consequently so lightened, that multitudes
were enabled to exist exempt from toil. These persons, devoting
themselves to study, became _initiati_; and either enrolled themselves
amongst the priesthood, or passed their lives in making themselves
masters of the most abstract sciences. The consequences were natural:
they followed up the ramifications of creation to their original
source; they penetrated into the most profound secrets of Nature, and
traced all her wonders in her works: aware, however, of the taste of
the vulgar for any thing above their comprehension, and of the natural
craving of the human mind for mystery, they wrapped the discoveries
they had made in a deep and impenetrable veil, and concealed awful and
sublime significations under the meanest and most disgusting images."
"You are right," said the doctor, "in your observations upon the
religion of the ancient Egyptians; but it does not appear to me that
the Pyramids were erected by them."
"What! I suppose you draw your conclusions from the want of
hieroglyphics in their principal chambers; and, from what Herodotus
says of their having been erected by a shepherd, you think they were
the work of the Pallic race."
"No; though I allow much may be said in favour of that hypothesis,
particularly as Herodotus says the kings under whom they were
erected, ordered all the Egyptian temples to be closed, which we
know the shepherd or Pallic sovereign did; but I cannot imagine that
an ignorant, Goth-like race of shepherds, men accustomed to live in
tents or in the open air, and possessing no talents but for war, were
capable of constructing such immense piles. No, no, the Pyramids
required gigantic conceptions, highly cultivated minds, and unwearied
perseverance; all qualities quite incompatible with a warlike wandering
race. No, I do not think the Palli were capable of imagining such
structures, much less of constructing them. I think they were the work
of evil spirits."
"Evil spirits!" exclaimed Edric.
"Yes," returned the doctor. "We are told that the evil spirits, after
their expulsion from Paradise, were under the command of the Sultan, or
Soliman Giam ben Giam, as he is called by Arabic writers, but who is
supposed to have been the same as Cheops; and that he employed them in
this vast work."
"I do not know by what analysis etymologists can draw the name of
Cheops from that of Giam ben Giam: but, supposing the fact to be
correct, that they designated the same person, I think it only proves
more strongly my hypothesis; for the Palli came from Mount Caucasus,
where the evil spirits were said to have been enchained, and if Cheops
was a Pallic king, it is possible the Egyptians might poetically call
their conquerors evil spirits."
"That is a good idea, Edric; though I do not think it by any means
certain that Cheops was a Pallic king. However, we shall soon be able
to see his tomb, and judge for ourselves; for we have now approached
near enough to the Pyramids to descend. Foh! what a smoke and what a
noise! It is enough to rouse the mummies from their slumbers before
their appointed time, and without the aid of galvanism. Have you opened
the valves, Edric? Oh yes! I perceive we are getting lower; we will not
lose a moment before we visit the Pyramid. But what a crowd of brutes
are assembled to witness our arrival! they stare as though they had
never seen a balloon before. Egypt is certainly a fine country, but the
inhabitants are a century behind us in civilization."
An immense crowd had gathered together to witness the descent of
our travellers, and they did indeed stand staring, lost in stupid
astonishment at the strange sight that presented itself; for though
the Egyptian people had occasionally seen balloons, they had never
before beheld one made of Indian rubber. The odd figure of the doctor,
too, amused them exceedingly, as he sat wrapt up in the most dignified
manner in an asbestos cloak, his bob-wig pushed a little on one side
from the heat of the weather and the warmth of his argument; his round,
red, oily face attempting to look solemn, and his little, fat, punchy
figure trying to assume an air of majesty. The Egyptians were amazingly
struck with this apparition, and being, like most colonists, somewhat
conceited and not very ceremonious in their manners, they looked at
him a few minutes in silence, and then burst into immoderate fits of
laughter.
The doctor was exceedingly indignant at this rude reception, and
rising, shook his fist at them in anger; a manœuvre, however, that
only redoubled the mirth of the unpolished Egyptians, whose peals of
laughter now became so tremendous, that they actually shook the skies,
and occasioned a most unpleasant vibration in the balloon. Edric,
who was almost as much annoyed as the doctor, had yet sufficient
self-command to continue calmly making preparations for his descent;
and without taking the least notice of the crowd below, he screwed
the top upon the propelling vapour-bottle; he let the inflammable air
escape from the balloon, which rapidly collapsed as they approached
the earth, and throwing out their patent spring grappling-irons, they
caught one of the lower stones of the Great Pyramid, and in a few
moments the car in which our travellers were sitting, was safely moored
at a convenient distance from the earth for them to alight. Edric
now unloosed the descending ladder, and reverentially assisted the
doctor, who was encumbered with his long cloak, to reach terra firma in
safety,--amidst the bustle and exclamations of the crowd, who thronged
round them expressing their wonder and astonishment audibly, in broad
English.
"Where the deuce did this spring from?" cried one; "the car would load
a waggon!"
"And what is gone with the balloon?" said another; "it is clean
vanished!"
"Well, I never saw such a thing in all my life before!" exclaimed a
third; "I think they must be come from the moon."
"Hush! hush," cried an old gentleman bustling amongst them, who seemed
as one having authority. "What's the matter? what's the matter?"
"We are strangers, Sir," said Edric, advancing and addressing him: "we
come here to see the wonders of your country, and we wish to explore
the Pyramids--but the reception we have met with----"
"Say no more--say no more!" interrupted the worthy justice, for such he
was. "Get about your business, you rapscallions, or I'll read the riot
act! Here, Gregory, call out the posse comitatus, and set a guard of
constables to keep watch over these gentlemen's balloon, whilst they go
to explore the Pyramids. Eh! but where is the balloon? I don't see it.
I hope neither of the gentlemen has put it in his pocket!" laughing at
his own wit.
"No, Sir," returned Edric, smiling, "though it is a feat which might
easily be accomplished, for that is our balloon," pointing to the
caoutchouc bottle, now shrunk to its original dimensions.
"Very strange, that!" said the Justice; "Very curious, very curious
indeed! Well, gentlemen, if you wish to proceed immediately, you'll
want a guide of course. These cottages at the foot of the Pyramids are
all inhabited by guides, who get their living by showing the sights.
They are sad rogues, most of them, but I can recommend you to one who
is a very honest man. Here, Samuel," continued he, knocking against a
small door, "Samuel! I say!"
Samuel made his appearance, in the guise of a tall, raw-boned,
stupid-looking fellow, with a pair of immensely broad stooping
shoulders, which looked as though he could have relieved Atlas
occasionally of his burthen, without much trouble to himself. Coming
forth from his hut in an awkward shambling pace, he scratched his head,
and demanded what his honour pleased to want.
"You must show these gentlemen the Pyramids," said the Justice.
"Ay, that I will with pleasure!" returned Samuel; "I've got my living
by showing them these fifty years, man and boy; and I know every crink
and cranny of them, though I'm old now and somewhat lame. So walk this
way, gentlemen."
"We are very much obliged to you, Sir," said the doctor, bowing to the
Justice; who was in fact one of those good-natured, busy, bustling
men, who are always better pleased to transact any other person's
business than their own; and are never so happy as when a new arrival
gives them an opportunity of showing off their consequence. Indeed,
there is a pleasure in showing wonders to a stranger, that only those
who have little else to occupy their minds can properly estimate: a
man of this kind feels his self-love gratified by the superiority his
local knowledge gives him over a stranger; and, as it is, perhaps,
the only chance he ever can have of showing superiority, they must
be unreasonable who blame him for making the most of it. Justice
Freemantle was accordingly exceedingly delighted with travellers who
seemed disposed to submit implicitly to his dictation; and he returned
a most gracious reply to the doctor's thanks.
"Don't mention it! don't mention it, my dear Sir!" said he; "I am never
so happy as when I can make myself useful. Is there any thing else I
can do for you? You may command me, I assure you; and you may depend
upon it, no injury shall be done to your luggage, whilst you are away."
"What a very civil, obliging, good-natured old gentleman," said the
doctor, as they walked towards the entrance of the Pyramids; "I declare
he almost reconciles me to the country, though, I own, I thought at
first the people were the greatest brutes I had ever met with."
"Which Pyramid does your honour wish to see?" asked the guide.
"That which contains the tomb of Cheops, man!" cried the doctor
solemnly; who, encumbered with his long cloak, and loaded with his
walking-stick and galvanic battery, had some difficulty in getting on.
"Won't your honour let me carry that pole and that bag?" said the man;
"you'd get on a surprising deal better, if you would."
"Avaunt, wretch!" exclaimed the doctor, "nor offer to touch with thy
profane fingers the immortal instruments of science."
The man stared, but fell back, and the whole party walked on in perfect
silence.
In the mean time, Edric had walked on before his companions, completely
lost in meditation. A crowd of conflicting thoughts rushed through his
mind; and now, when he found himself at the very goal of his wishes,
the daring nature of the purpose he had so long entertained, seemed to
strike him for the first time, and he trembled at the consequences that
might attend the completion of his desires. With his arms folded on
his breast, he stood gazing on the Pyramids, whilst his ideas wandered
uncontrolled through the boundless regions of space: "And what am I,"
thought he, "weak, feeble worm that I am! who dare seek to penetrate
into the awful secrets of my Creator? Why should I wish to restore
animation to a body now resting in the quiet of the tomb? What right
have I to renew the struggles, the pains, the cares, and the anxieties
of mortal life? How can I tell the fearful effects that may be produced
by the gratification of my unearthly longing? May I not revive a
creature whose wickedness may involve mankind in misery? And what if my
experiment should fail, and if the moment when I expect my rash wishes
to be accomplished, the hand of Almighty vengeance should strike me to
the earth, and heap molten fire on my brain to punish my presumption!"
The sound of human voices, as the doctor and the guide approached,
grated harshly on the nerves of Edric, already overstrained by the
awful nature of the thoughts in which he had been indulging, and he
turned away involuntarily, to escape the interruption he dreaded, quite
forgetting for the moment from whom the sounds most probably proceeded.
"Lord have mercy on us!" said the guide; "I declare that gentleman
looks as if he were beside himself! and see there! if he hasn't walked
right by the entrance to the Pyramid without seeing it! Sir! Sir!"
halloed he.
Excessively annoyed, but recalled to his recollection by these shouts,
Edric returned.
"These Pyramids are wonderful piles," said the doctor, as he stumbled
forward to meet him. "I really had no adequate conception of the
enormity of their size. They did not even look half so large at a
distance as they do now."
"Immense masses seldom do," replied Edric; compelling himself with
difficulty to speak.
"True," returned the doctor; "the simplicity and uniformity of their
figures deceive the eyes, and it is only when we approach them that we
feel their stupendous magnitude and our own insignificance!"
"They give an amazing idea of the grandeur of the ancient kings of
Egypt," said Edric, without exactly knowing what he was saying. "Their
palaces must have been superb, if they had such mausoleums."
"How absurdly you reason, Edric!" replied the doctor peevishly; for,
being annoyed with his burthens and his cloak, he was not in a humour
to bear contradiction. "I thought we had settled that question before.
In the first place, I think it very doubtful whether the Egyptians had
any thing to do with the building of these monuments; and if they had,
I think they were meant for temples, not mausoleums; and in the next
place, even if they were intended for tombs, their greatness affords no
argument for the splendour of the surrounding palaces; as the Egyptians
were celebrated for the superiority of their burying-places, and for
the immense sums they expended upon them. Indeed, you know, ancient
writers say they went so far as to call the houses of the living only
inns, whilst they considered tombs as everlasting habitations;--a
circumstance, by the way, that strongly corroborates my hypothesis, at
least as far as their opinions go; as it seems to imply that both soul
and body were designed to remain there."
They had now entered the Pyramid, and were proceeding with infinite
difficulty along a low, dark, narrow passage: "Observe, Edric," said
the doctor, "how the difficulty and obscurity of these winding passages
confirm my opinion: you know, the religion of the ancient Egyptians,
like that of the ancient Hindoos, was one of penances and personal
privations; and, granting that to be the case, what can be more simple,
than that the passages the _initiati_ had to traverse before they
reached the adytum, should be painful and difficult of access. Besides
this, as you know, the bones of a bull, no doubt those of the god Apis,
were found in a sarcophagus in the second Pyramid, it seems probable
that it was sacred to his worship: and its vicinity to the Nile, which
was indispensable to the temples of Apis, as, when it was time for him
to die, he was drowned in its waters, confirms the fact. Indeed, I
am only surprised that any human being, possessing a grain of common
sense, can entertain a single doubt upon the subject."
"How do you account for the tomb we are about to visit being placed in
the Pyramid, if you think they were only designed for a temple?" asked
Edric.
"The question is futile," said the doctor. "A strange fancy prevailed
in former times that burying the dead in consecrated places,
particularly in temples intended for divine worship, would scare away
the evil spirits, and the practice actually prevailed in England even
as lately as the nineteenth or twentieth century. Indeed, it was not
till after the country had been almost depopulated by the dreadfully
infectious disease that prevailed about two hundred years ago, that a
law was passed to prevent the interment of the dead in London, and that
those previously buried in and near the churches there, were exhumed
and placed in cemeteries beyond the walls."
Edric did not reply, for in fact his ideas were so absorbed by the
solemn object before him, that it was painful for him to speak, and the
doctor's ill-timed reasoning created such an irritation of his nerves,
that he found it required the utmost exertion of his self-command to
endure it patiently. The passage they were traversing, now became
higher and wider, shelving off occasionally into chambers or recesses
on each side, till they approached a kind of vestibule, in the centre
of which, yawned a deep, dark, gloomy-looking cavity, like a well.
"We must descend that shaft," said the guide, "and that will lead us to
the tomb of King Cheops; but as the road is dark, and rather dangerous,
we had better, each of us, take a torch."
As he spoke, he drew some torches from a niche where they were
deposited, and began to illuminate them from his own. The red glare
of the torches flashed fearfully on the massive wails of the Pyramid,
throwing part of their enormous masses into deep shadow, as they rose
in solemn and sublime dignity around, and seemed frowning upon the
presumptuous mortals that had dared to invade their recesses, whilst
the deep pit beneath their feet seemed to yawn wide to engulf them in
its abyss. Edric's heart beat thick: it throbbed till he even fancied
its pulsations audible; and a strange, mysterious thrilling of anxiety,
mingled with a wild, undefinable delight, ran through his frame. A few
short hours, and his wishes would be gratified, or set at rest for
ever. The doctor and the guide had already begun to descend, and their
figures seemed changed and unearthly as the gleams of the torches fell
upon them. Edric gazed for a moment, and then followed with feelings
worked up almost to frenzy by the over-excitement of his nerves; whilst
the hollow sound that re-echoed from the walls, as they struck against
them in their descent, thrilled through his whole frame.
No one spoke; and after proceeding for some time along the narrow path,
or rather ledge, formed on the sides of the cavity, which gradually
shelved downwards, the guide suddenly stopped, and touching a secret
spring, a solid block of granite slowly detached itself from the wall,
and, rising majestically like the portcullis of an ancient fortress,
showed the entrance to a dark and dreary cave. The guide advanced,
followed by our travellers, into a gloomy vaulted apartment, where
long vistas of ponderous arches stretched on every side, till their
termination was lost in darkness, and gave a feeling of immensity and
obscurity to the scene.
"I will wait here," said the guide; "and here, if you please, you had
better leave your torches. That avenue will lead you to the tomb."
The travellers obeyed; and the guide, placing himself in a recess in
the wall, extinguished all the torches except one, which he shrouded
so as to leave the travellers in total darkness. Nothing could be now
more terrific than their situation: immured in the recesses of the
tomb, involved in darkness, and their bosoms throbbing with hopes that
they scarcely dared avow even to themselves, with faltering steps they
proceeded slowly along the path the guide had pointed out, shuddering
even at the hollow echo of their own footsteps, which alone broke the
solemn silence that reigned throughout these fearful regions of terror
and the tomb.
Suddenly, a vivid light flashed upon them, and, as they advanced, they
found it proceeded from torches placed in the hands of two colossal
figures, who, placed in a sitting posture, seemed guarding an enormous
portal, surmounted by the image of a fox, the constant guardian of
an Egyptian tomb. The immense dimensions and air of grandeur and
repose about these colossi had something in it very imposing; and our
travellers felt a sensation of awe creep over them as they gazed upon
their calm unmoved features, so strikingly emblematic of that immutable
nature which they were doubtless placed there to typify.
It was with feelings of indescribable solemnity, that the doctor and
Edric passed through this majestic portal, and found themselves in an
apartment gloomily illumined by the light shed faintly from an inner
chamber, through ponderous brazen gates beautifully wrought. The light
thus feebly emitted, showed that the room in which they stood, was
dedicated to Typhon, the evil spirit, as his fierce and savage types
covered the walls; and images of his symbols, the crocodile and the
dragon, placed beneath the shadow of the brazen gates, and dimly seen
by the imperfect light, seemed starting into life, and grimly to forbid
the farther advance of the intruders. Our travellers shuddered, and
opening with trembling hand the ponderous gates, they entered _the tomb
of Cheops_.
In the centre of the chamber, stood a superb, highly ornamented
sarcophagus of alabaster, beautifully wrought; over this hung a lamp
of wondrous workmanship, supplied by a potent mixture, so as to burn
for ages unconsumed; thus awfully lighting up with perpetual flame the
solemn mansions of the dead, and typifying life eternal even in the
silent tomb. Around the room, on marble benches, were arranged mummies
simply dried, apparently those of slaves; and close to the sarcophagus
was placed one contained in a case, which the doctor approached
to examine. This was supposed to be that of Sores, the confidant
and prime-minister of Cheops. The chest that enclosed the body was
splendidly ornamented with embossed gilt leather, whilst the parts not
otherwise covered were stained with red and green curiously blended,
and of a vivid brightness.
The mighty Phtah, the Jupiter of the Egyptians, spread its widely
extended wings over the head, grasping in his monstrous claws a
ring, the emblem of eternity; whilst below, the vulture form of Rhea
proclaimed the deceased a votary of that powerful deity; and on the
sides were innumerable hieroglyphics. The doctor removed the lid, and
shuddered as the crimson tinge of the everlasting lamp fell upon the
hideous and distorted features thus suddenly exhibited to view. This
sepulchral light, indeed, added unspeakable horror to the scene, and
its peculiar glare threw such a wild and demoniac expression on the
dark lines and ghastly lineaments of the mummies, that even the doctor
felt his spirits depressed, and a supernatural dread creep over his
mind as he gazed upon them.
In the mean time, Edric had stood gazing upon the sarcophagus of
Cheops, the sides of which were beautifully sculptured with groups of
figures, which, from the peculiar light thrown upon them, seemed to
possess all the force and reality of life. On one side was represented
an armed and youthful warrior bearing off in his arms a beautiful
female, on whom he gazed with the most passionate fondness. He was
pursued by a crowd of people and soldiers, who seemed rending the air
with vehement exclamations against his violence, and endeavouring in
vain to arrest his progress; whilst in the background appeared an old
man, who was tearing his hair and wringing his hands in ineffectual
rage against the ravisher.
The other side, presented the same old man wrestling with the youthful
warrior, who had just overpowered and stabbed him; the helpless victim
raising his withered hands and failing eyes to Heaven as he fell, as
though to implore vengeance upon his murderer, whilst the crimson
current was fast ebbing from his bosom. The dying look and agony of
the old man were forcibly depicted, whilst upon the features of the
youthful warrior glowed the fury of a demon.
The sarcophagus was supported by the lion, emblem of royalty, the
symbol of the solar god Horus; and above it sat the majestic hawk
of Osiris, gazing upwards, and unmindful of the subtle crocodile of
Typhon, that, crouching under its feet, was just about to seize its
breast in its enormous jaws. Neither of the travellers had as yet
spoken, for it seemed like sacrilege to disturb the awful stillness
that prevailed even by a whisper. Indeed, the solemn aspect of the
chamber thrilled through every nerve, and they moved slowly, gliding
along with noiseless steps as though they feared prematurely to break
the slumbers of the mighty dead it contained. They gazed, however,
with deep but undefinable interest upon the sculptured mysteries of
the tomb of Cheops, vainly endeavouring to decipher their meaning;
whilst, as they found their efforts useless, a secret voice seemed
to whisper in their bosoms--"And shall finite creatures like these,
who cannot even explain the signification of objects presented before
their eyes, presume to dive into the mysteries of their Creator's will?
Learn wisdom by this omen, nor seek again to explore secrets above your
comprehension! Retire whilst it is yet time; soon it will be too late!"
Edric started at his own thoughts, as the fearful warning, "soon it
will be too late," rang in his ears; and a fearful presentiment of evil
weighed heavily upon his soul. He turned to look upon the doctor, but
he had already seized the lid of the sarcophagus, and, with a daring
hand, removed it from its place, displaying in the fearful light the
royal form that lay beneath. For a moment, both Edric and the doctor
paused, not daring to survey it; and when they did, they both uttered
an involuntary cry of astonishment, as the stern, but handsome,
features of the mummy met their eyes, for both instantly recognized
the sculptured warrior in his traits. Yes, it was indeed the same,
but the fierce expression of fiery and ungoverned passions depicted
upon the countenance of the marble figure, had settled down to a calm,
vindictive, and concentrated hatred upon that of its mummy prototype in
the tomb.
Awful, indeed, was the gloom that sat upon that brow, and bitter
the sardonic smile that curled those haughty lips. All was perfect
as though life still animated the form before them, and it had only
reclined there to seek a short repose. The dark eyebrows, the thick
raven hair which hung upon the forehead, and the snow-white teeth
seen through the half open lips, forbade the idea of death; whilst
the fiend-like expression of the features made Edric shudder, as he
recollected the purpose that brought him to the tomb, and he trembled
at the thought of awakening such a fearful being from the torpor of the
grave to all the renewed energies of life.
"Let us go," whispered the doctor to his pupil, in a low, deep, and
unearthly tone, fearfully different from his usually cheerful voice.
Edric started at the sound, for it seemed the last sad warning of his
better genius, before he abandoned her for ever. The die, however,
was cast, and it was too late to recede. Indeed, Edric felt worked up
to frenzy by the overwrought feelings of the moment. He seized the
machine, and resolutely advanced towards the sarcophagus, whilst the
doctor gazed upon him with a horror that deprived him of either speech
or motion.
Innumerable folds of red and white linen, disposed alternately, swathed
the gigantic but well-proportioned limbs of the royal mummy; and upon
his breast lay a piece of metal, shining like silver, and stamped with
the figure of a winged globe. Edric attempted to remove this, but
recoiled with horror, when he found it bend beneath his fingers with
an unnatural softness; whilst, as the flickering light of the lamp
fell upon the face of the mummy, he fancied its stern features relaxed
into a ghastly laugh of scornful mockery. Worked up to desperation,
he applied the wires of the battery and put the apparatus in motion,
whilst a demoniac laugh of derision appeared to ring in his ears, and
the surrounding mummies seemed starting from their places and dancing
in unearthly merriment. Thunder now roared in tremendous peals through
the Pyramids, shaking their enormous masses to the foundation, and
vivid flashes of light darted round in quick succession. Edric stood
aghast amidst this fearful convulsion of nature. A horrid creeping
seemed to run through every vein, every nerve feeling as though drawn
from its extremity, and wrapped in icy chillness round his heart.
Still, he stood immoveable, and gazing intently on the mummy, whose
eyes had opened with the shock, and were now fixed on those of Edric,
shining with supernatural lustre. In vain Edric attempted to rouse
himself;--in vain to turn away from that withering glance. The mummy's
eyes still pursued him with their ghastly brightness; they seemed to
possess the fabled fascination of those of the rattle-snake, and though
he shrunk from their gaze, they still glared horribly upon him. Edric's
senses swam, yet he could not move from the spot; he remained fixed,
chained, and immoveable, his eyes still riveted upon the mummy, and
every thought absorbed in horror. Another fearful peal of thunder now
rolled in lengthened vibrations above his head, and the mummy rose
slowly, his eyes still fixed upon those of Edric, from his marble
tomb. The thunder pealed louder and louder. Yells and groans seemed
mingled with its roar;--the sepulchral lamp flared with redoubled
fierceness, flashing its rays around in quick succession, and with
vivid brightness; whilst by its horrid and uncertain glare, Edric saw
the mummy stretch out its withered hand as though to seize him. He saw
it rise gradually--he heard the dry, bony fingers rattle as it drew
them forth--he felt its tremendous gripe--human nature could bear no
more--his senses were rapidly deserting him; he felt, however, the
fixed stedfast eyes of Cheops still glowing upon his failing orbs, as
the lamp gave a sudden flash, and then all was darkness! The brazen
gates now shut with a fearful clang, and Edric, uttering a shriek
of horror, fell senseless upon the ground; whilst his shrill cry of
anguish rang wildly through the marble vaults, till its re-echoes
seemed like the yell of demons joining in fearful mockery.
How long he lay in this state he knew not; but when he reopened his
eyes, for the moment, he fancied all that had passed a dream. As his
senses returned, however, he recollected where he was, and shuddered
to find himself yet in that place of horrors. All now was dark, except
a faint gleam that shone feebly through the half-open gates; these
ponderous portals slowly unclosed, and the form of a man, wrapped in
a large cloak, and bearing a torch, entered, peering around as it
advanced, as though half afraid to proceed. Edric's feelings were too
highly wrought to bear any fresh horrors, and he shrieked in agony as
the figure approached. The sound of his voice subdued the terrors of
the intruder, and the doctor, for it was he, shouted with joy, as he
rushed forward to embrace him.
"Edric! Edric! thank God he is alive!" exclaimed he. "Edric! my beloved
Edric! for God's sake, let us leave this den of horrors! come, come!"
Reassured by his tutor's voice, Edric arose, and taking one hasty,
shuddering glance around as the light gleamed on the sarcophagus, he
hurried out of the tomb. Neither he nor the doctor spoke as they passed
through the vestibule, where the colossal figures still sat in awful
majesty; indeed, as their torches were extinguished, their gigantic
forms looked still more terrific than before, from the wavering and
indistinct light thrown upon them. Edric shuddered as he looked, and
hurried on with hasty strides to the place where they had left the
guide, whom they found kneeling in a corner, hiding his face in his
hands, and roaring out, "O Lord, defend us! Heaven have mercy upon us!
Lord have mercy upon us! Heaven have mercy upon us!"
"He has been in that state for more than an hour," said the doctor
mournfully; "for, after I came to myself again, I tried to rouse him,
but all to no purpose."
"Then you also fainted?" said Edric, with difficulty compelling himself
to speak.
"Why," resumed the doctor with some hesitation, "I don't know that you
can exactly call it fainting; but the fact was, that when I saw you
touch the plate upon the mummy's breast, and start back, looking so
horribly frightened, I--I thought I had better call for assistance;
so as I ran for that purpose, somehow or other, I fell down, and lay
insensible I don't know how long. When I came to myself, however, I
tried to rouse the guide, and when I found I could not, I came to seek
you; but now that we are both recovered, I really don't know what is
to become of us; for this fellow will never be able to show us the way
out, and I'm sure I don't know the road."
"Let us try to find it, at any rate," said Edric faintly.
"Oh, for God's sake, take me too!" screamed the guide. "If you have any
mercy, don't leave me in this fearful place."
"Take the light then, and lead the way," said Edric. The guide obeyed,
shaking every limb, and every now and then casting a terrified
look behind, whilst the quivering flame of the torch betrayed the
unsteadiness of the trembling hands that bore it. In this manner they
proceeded, starting at every sound, and frightened even at their own
shadows, without daring to stop till they reached the plain.
"Thank God!" cried the doctor, the moment they stepped out of the
Pyramid; looking round him, gasping for breath, and inhaling the fresh
air with rapture.
"Thank God!" reiterated Edric and the guide, as they walked rapidly
towards the place where they had left their balloon. When arrived
there, however, they looked for it in vain; and fancying themselves
under the influence of a delusion, they rubbed their eyes, and again
looked, but without success.
"Dear me, it is very strange!" said the doctor; "this is certainly the
place, and yet, where can it be?"
"Where, indeed!" repeated Edric; "horrors and unaccountable incidents
environ us at every step; I am not naturally timid, yet--"
"Ah!" screamed the doctor, as he tumbled over a man lying with his
face upon the ground; "Oh!" groaned he, as Edric and the guide with
difficulty raised him; "would to Heaven I were safe at home again in my
own comfortable little study, indulging on pleasing anticipations of
that which I find is any thing in the world but pleasing in reality."