WONDERS OF THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES.
Boulak is the port of Cairo, as the great city does not stand on the
banks of the Nile, but a couple of miles away from it. Before the days
of the railway Boulak was a place of considerable importance, as it was
the point of arrival and departure for the steamers plying between Cairo
and Alexandria, and at the present day it is the station for steamers
ascending the Nile. It was chosen as the site of the Museum of
Antiquities on account of the convenience of landing statues and other
heavy objects directly from the boats that had brought them down the
river, and the museum was erected on the very bank of the stream. But
the position was found insecure, on account of the tendency of the Nile
to change its channel, and for several years the safety of the treasures
accumulated under the direction of Mariette Bey has been seriously
threatened.
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN SCULPTORS AT WORK.]
Our friends passed through the gate-way, and found themselves in a
garden filled with large statues and sphinxes. Their attention was
attracted to the colossal statue of a king in a sitting posture, and
close to it were several sphinxes. The Doctor explained that the figure
represented one of the kings of the twelfth dynasty. Some of the
sphinxes came from Karnak, and once formed part of the great avenue
leading to the temple, while others were from Tanis and Sakkara. The
statue of the king was of solid granite and admirably carved, leaving no
doubt that the Egyptians were well advanced in the art of the sculptor.
On the walls of the temples at Karnak there are several pictures that
show how the makers of royal statues performed their work, and the
methods in vogue seem to have been almost identical with those of modern
sculptors.
We have neither time nor space for describing all that our friends saw
in the museum, and can only refer to the objects of greatest importance.
As they had talked about the Rosetta Stone, and the key it gave to the
translation of the language of the ancient Egyptians, the Doctor led the
way to the "Tablet of Tanis," in the first hall of the museum, and told
the youths to observe it closely.
"It is," he explained, "a more perfect stone than the one found at
Rosetta, as it is in a fine state of preservation, while the Rosetta one
was badly defaced. Here is a decree in three languages--Greek,
hieroglyphic, and demotic--and the translation confirms the correctness
of Champollion's theory, which I have already explained. It was found in
1866 by Doctor Lepsius, and you see that it is regarded of great
importance, as it is framed and covered with glass to protect it from
possible injury."
Frank asked what was the language of the decree, and how old it was.
"According to the translation," said Doctor Bronson, "it was made by an
assembly of priests in the Temple of Canopus, on the 7th of March, 238
B.C. It praises the king for having brought back the image of the gods
from Asia, gained many victories, established peace, and averted famine
by importing corn; and it ordains that festivals shall be held in all
the temples of Egypt in honor of Princess Berenice, who died a short
time before the date of the assembly. The inscription closes with a
declaration that the decree shall be engraved on stone in three
languages, just as you see it here, and there is no doubt that the stone
we are looking at was prepared in obedience to this order."
[Illustration: WOODEN STATUE FOUND AT SAKKARA.]
In another room the Doctor halted in front of a wooden statue, and
waited for the youths to fix their attention upon it. They were not long
in doing so, nor in expressing their admiration for its wonderfully
life-like appearance. When they had looked at it a few moments the
Doctor explained what it was.
"It is probably the oldest wooden statue in existence," said he, "and
some persons think it is the oldest statue of any kind in the world. It
represents a _sheik el belyd_, or village chief, and was found in a tomb
at Sakkara. Mariette Bey says it belongs to the fourth dynasty, and is
not far from six thousand years old."
"Six thousand years old!" said both the youths in a breath.
"Yes, six thousand years old," was the answer; "but, as I told you,
there was a difference of opinion among the Egyptologists; it may be
more modern than that, and not over four thousand years old."
"Even if it is only four thousand," responded Frank, "it is antique
enough to be very interesting."
"Yes," the Doctor continued, "we needn't trouble ourselves about a
matter of twenty centuries. We will split the difference, and call it
five thousand years."
"How life-like it looks!" exclaimed Fred. "It almost appears as if it
were ready to speak to us. And what an expression about the eyes!"
"The eyes are unequalled in any modern statue," said the Doctor. "You
observe that they are set in rims of bronze, which serve for eyelids;
the eye itself is made of opaque quartz, like ground glass, and there is
a piece of rock-crystal in the centre, which forms the pupil. If you
look closely you see a glittering point below the crystal, which makes
the eye sparkle as though its owner were about to smile. There is
nothing of modern times that equals it."
One of the boys asked if the statue was in the condition in which it was
found. The Doctor said the feet had been restored, so that the figure
could be placed upright, and the stick in the left hand was modern. "In
all other respects," said he, "the statue is just as it was found, and
it is a rule of the museum to keep everything as nearly as possible in
its original condition."
Other statues were examined, and at length the boys stopped in front of
a case containing several small articles of wood and stone.
"What are these things?" said Frank, pointing to one corner of the case.
"And these? and these?" said Fred, as his eye wandered from one thing to
another.
[Illustration: WOODEN DOLLS.]
"They are mostly toys for children," the Doctor answered. "You see that
the ancient Egyptians tried to amuse their little ones just as parents
in America try to do to-day."
[Illustration: CHILDREN'S TOYS.]
The collection of toys was an interesting one. Here was a rude figure of
a man supposed to be washing, or kneading dough, and he was made to move
his hands up and down an inclined board by means of a string, like a
"jumping-jack" of to-day. A wooden crocodile was there, with his
under-jaw moving up and down at the will of the child who owned it, and
there were several wooden dolls, some well modelled, and others painted
in brilliant colors, intended to catch the juvenile eye.
The sight of the toys naturally brought up a question relative to the
games played by the ancient Egyptians.
[Illustration: POSITIONS IN PLAYING BALL.]
[Illustration: BALLS OF LEATHER AND PORCELAIN.]
"There is abundant evidence," the Doctor remarked, "that the Egyptians
were familiar with many games which are popular at the present time. We
are not aware that they had base-ball clubs five thousand years ago, and
there is no proof that they went about the country playing for
'gate-money;' but that they used to play ball we know very well from the
pictures on the walls of the tombs, and from sculptures elsewhere. And,
furthermore, the balls they played with have been found at Thebes, some
of them covered with leather like our own, and stuffed with bran or
corn-husks, or of stalks of rushes plaited together into a solid mass.
There were also balls covered with strips of leather of different
colors, as we have them to day, and several have been found of glazed
earthen-ware, on which the colors were laid before the ball was baked.
[Illustration: PLAYING BALL MOUNTED.]
"The positions they took in playing ball are the same that you will see
at base-ball matches in America. There is one picture of a curious game,
in which it was the custom for some of the players to mount on the backs
of the others, probably on account of the latter failing to catch the
ball when it was thrown at them, or for some other forfeit. They also
had the trick of throwing two or more balls in the air and catching
them, just as you see jugglers performing in our own time. If you want
to believe that there is nothing new under the sun, you will go a long
way toward it by studying the life and manners of the Egyptians of the
days that are gone.
[Illustration: PLAYING CHECKERS.]
"They had the game of draughts or checkers almost identical with the one
we play to-day. They did not play at cards, so far as we know. In fact,
cards were invented in comparatively modern days, and the tradition is
that they were originally made for the amusement of an insane king. The
Egyptians had the game of "mora," and from them it probably descended to
the Italians, with whom it is a national amusement. They were skilful in
what we call 'the Indian club exercise,' and one of the pictures
represents men raising heavy weights, after the manner of the professors
of gymnastics in New York or Chicago. Sometimes they used bags of sand
instead of clubs or stones, but the result was the same in each case--an
exhibition of strength.
[Illustration: SAND-BAG EXERCISE.]
"There are pictures that show bull-fights and rowing-matches, together
with other amusements of the same sort. Wrestlers were as numerous as
they are to-day, and probably quite as skilful, and endowed with similar
strength; but we have nothing to prove to us that they travelled with
the circus, or that an Egyptian Barnum existed with his wonderful
hippodrome. Many of the wrestlers were women, and some of the pictures
represent them showing feats of strength of which the men might be
proud."
[Illustration: A BULL-FIGHT.]
From the room of the toys our friends wandered to another which
contained, among other things, several mummies, together with the cases
in which they had reposed. Some of the mummies were wholly and others
only partially unrolled, and the boys eagerly examined the remains of
the ancient inhabitants of the land. While they were doing so, Doctor
Bronson explained the process by which bodies were preserved by the
Egyptians, and their reasons for devoting so much time and attention to
the preservation of the dead.
[Illustration: GODDESSES OF TRUTH AND JUSTICE.]
"The ancient Egyptians," said he, "had a great many gods: the list is so
long that it would not be worth while to name them all, as you could not
remember them; and, besides, it would take more time than we have to
spare. Each of the gods had distinct attributes, and was represented in
a form unlike the others; some of them had the heads of birds, beasts,
or reptiles, but their bodies were of human shape. They are thus
represented on the walls of temples, and the evidences are that the
ignorant classes believed the gods had the shapes ascribed to them.
There was one supreme deity who had power over all the other gods, and
his shape was not represented. The Egyptians believed in the immortality
of the soul, in the responsibility of every one for his individual acts,
and in a future state of rewards and punishments.
[Illustration: THE NAME OF APIS, AN EGYPTIAN GOD, IN HIEROGLYPHICS.]
"They believed that the soul after death took its flight from the body
and passed to another world, where it was judged according to its deeds,
and received its proper punishment or reward. In course of time it could
return to the body it had inhabited, and the length of the period of
absence was determined by the god before whom it had been brought to be
judged. Of course no one was expected to know the length of the
separation of soul and body. It was certain to be for a long period (not
less than three thousand years), and therefore it was necessary to
preserve the body from decay. This, in brief, is the outline of the
religion of the ancient Egyptians, and the reason of their careful
preservation of the bodies of their friends.
[Illustration: KING AND QUEEN OFFERING TO THE GODS.]
"As the possessor of the greatest wealth the king was more carefully
embalmed than his humble subjects; the process of embalming was a secret
with certain classes of men, and its professors were looked upon with
great respect. The whole work occupied seventy days, and consisted in
preserving the body by means of strong salts, and the application of
various kinds of aromatic spices, peppers, and the like. The bodies of
the rich were carefully wrapped in fine linen, and sometimes hundreds of
yards were used for a single operation. The fingers and toes were
separately wrapped, and at each turn of the linen aromatic oils were
poured on the cloth so as to saturate it thoroughly. A wooden case, into
which the body fitted closely, was made for it, and covered with a
history of his life, or with extracts from the 'Book of the Dead.'
Another case was placed outside the first, and the whole was then
enclosed in a stone coffin or sarcophagus. Then, with suitable
ceremonies, the mummy was laid away to await the day of the return of
the spirit, and the consequent resurrection."
[Illustration: DIFFERENT FORMS OF MUMMY CASES.]
While the Doctor was making this explanation the boys were examining the
mummy that lay before them. He was a very quiet mummy, and made no
objection to being handled, though the case was different with the
attendant in charge of the place. The latter intimated that visitors
were not expected to touch anything they saw, but if they wished to look
into the box he would open it for them. The hint was taken, and a franc
slipped into his hand; the result was our friends had the pleasure of
examining the specimen to their complete satisfaction.
[Illustration: TRANSPORTING A MUMMY ON A SLEDGE.]
There was an odor of gums and spices as the box was opened, but it was
not by any means overpowering. The Doctor said the substances had lost a
good deal of their strength in three thousand years, and it was a wonder
that any odor at all was perceptible. Some of the linen wrappings had
been unwound, so that portions of the dried flesh of the mummy were
perceptible. It resembled wood in a state of decay more than anything
else, and a very brief inspection was all that our friends cared for.
The inscription on the lid of the case was more interesting than was the
occupant within, and Fred remarked that the mummy must have been a
person of great consequence to need so much door-plate on the outside.
"And to think," he added, "that he was shut up for thirty centuries, and
had no friends to call and see him!"
[Illustration: GODDESS OF TRUTH, WITH HER EYES CLOSED.]
Frank repeated some lines which were originally addressed to a mummy in
Belzoni's Museum, in London, many years ago:
"And thou hast walked about--how strange a story!--
In Thebes's streets, three thousand years ago.
When the Memnonium was in all its glory,
And time had not begun to overthrow
Those temples, palaces, and piles stupendous,
Of which the very ruins are tremendous.
"Speak! for thou long enough hast acted dummy.
Thou hast a tongue--come, let us hear its tune.
Thou'rt standing on thy legs above-ground, mummy,
Revisiting the glimpses of the moon;
Not like pale ghosts or disembodied creatures,
But with thy bones, and legs, and limbs, and features.
"Tell us, for doubtless thou canst recollect,
To whom should we ascribe the Sphinx's fame?
Was Cheops or Cephrenes architect
Of either pyramid that bears his name?
Was Pompey's Pillar really a misnomer?
Had Thebes a hundred gates, as sung by Homer?"
"Good-bye, sweetheart, good-bye!" said Fred, as Frank paused, and the
Doctor turned away from the relic of other days.
[Illustration: LADY'S HEAD-DRESS ON A MUMMY CASE.]
"You're wrong there," said the Doctor; "he has not a sweet heart, but a
solid one." Turning to the attendant, he asked him in French to show the
scarabæus and other things that came from the mummy at the time the case
was opened.
[Illustration: RINGS, BRACELETS, AND SCARABÆI.]
The attendant pointed to a glass case close at hand, containing some
necklaces, and representations of beetles carved in stone. Among them
was a scarabæus, or beetle, in jasper (one of the hardest stones in the
world), about three inches long and two in width. The rounded portion
represented the back of a beetle with the wings folded, while the flat
surface beneath was covered with hieroglyphics, with an oval line drawn
around them.
[Illustration: STONE SCARABÆUS WITH WINGS.]
"The scarabæus," said the Doctor, "was the symbol of resurrection among
the ancient Egyptians, and hence we find it very frequently used about
the mummies, and the places where they were laid away to rest. This
large one was deposited in place of the heart of our desiccated friend
in the box, and these necklaces, principally composed of scarabæi, were
around his neck. This flat one lay upon his breast in direct contact
with the flesh; the circle in the centre represents the sun; on each
side of it is the asp, a snake that was sacred to one of the gods, and
the outstretched wings on either side are to indicate the power of the
soul to take flight from the body. The Egyptians had some process of
cutting stone that is unknown to us, as the carving of these scarabæi,
in the hardest materials as we find them, would defy the skill of modern
lapidaries."
After a general survey of the contents of the case the party moved to
another room, where a quantity of gold and silver ornaments were
conspicuously displayed.
[Illustration: JEWELLER WITH BLOW-PIPE.]
As they halted in front of the collection, the Doctor explained that the
jewels they were looking at were found in the coffin (and with the
mummy) of Aah-Hotep--a queen who is supposed to have been the wife of
one of the kings of the eighteenth dynasty. The show-case of a modern
jeweller could not have been more attractive, and the boys were
enchanted with the beauty of the articles displayed as well as with the
exquisite workmanship.
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN GOLDSMITHS (FROM A PAINTING AT THEBES).]
There was a bracelet with gold figures engraved on blue glass, in
imitation of lapis lazuli; there was a large bracelet, hinged in the
centre, representing a vulture, its wings composed of bits of lapis
lazuli, carnelian, and green glass, in a gold setting, and its back
ornamented with lines of small turquoises; and there was a gold chain
nearly three feet long, with a scarabæus at the end. This chain, with
the other treasures of the queen, was exhibited at the Paris Exposition
of 1867, and attracted much attention. It is composed of links curiously
woven and twisted together, and a committee of French jewellers who
examined it said that if it were broken they did not believe there was a
jeweller of modern days who could properly mend it! And to think that
this chain was made many centuries ago!
[Illustration: GOLDEN BASKETS (FROM THE TOMB OF RAMESES III).]
We have not time to describe all the wonderful things in the case of
Aah-Hotep, nor in the other cases near it. Our friends lingered long
among the treasures of the museum, and when the shadows indicated the
hour for closing, and the attendants hinted that the official day was at
an end, they were in no mood for departure. They all agreed that
hereafter they should hold the ancient Egyptians in great respect, and
regretted that the arts and accomplishments they seem to have possessed
are, in great measure, lost to the world.
[Illustration: DRESSES OF WOMEN OF ANCIENT EGYPT.]