The Mummy and Miss Nitocris

Lands no head was held so proudly as the head of Menkau-Ra, no heart beat so high as his that day, nor did any cheek bloom so sweetly, or any eyes s

f the Nile at flood-time, and at midnight the waters would be at the full. It was here that Nitocris had sat at the betrothal feast with Nefer but a few ho

hich shed their radiance and the perfume from the scented oils in

he glow of the thousand flames. The vineyards of Cos and Sais had yielded their oldest and sweetest wines, red and purple and golden. The choicest meats

sus of Pepi, Nitocris the Queen sat in her chair of ivory and gold, clad in almost transparent robes of the fi

At the other tables sat their friends and kindred, the families of the Mohar and the High Priest, the chief officers of the victo

, and no one had given a thought to his going, for one base-born, even though of

ove and War, and Necheb the Bringer of Victory; and when the slaves had carried round the viands till all were satisfied, the guests were

ts were waiting for the signal from the royal table, the Queen rose in her place, a

his our hearts should be turned from pride by the remembrance that we live ever in the presence of death, and that this world is but the threshold of the next. Ill, too, would it become me to forget, in the midst of my present happiness, to pay the honour due to

of the hall, bearing upon their shoulders the mummy-case of Nefer, the dead Prince, beloved of Nitocris. Now low, sad music sounded from a hidden source, and to the cadenc

nder, and let the face of the Prince be uncovered, th

h, leaning towards her, "that would be beyond the law of the gods and the custom

things that I greatly longed to know. But why shouldst thou turn pale and tremble, thou the holiest man in the land? What hast thou to fear, even if my vision came true? And thou, too, Menkau-Ra the Mighty, hast thou slain thy thousands, and yet fearest to look upon the face of one dead man? See, see!" and she po

saw the waxen eyelids of the mummy slowly rise, the dim, glazed eyes look out from underneat

hose who ere now should have stood with me in the Halls of Doom and the presence of the Assessors! Sa

! "Nay, nay, my lords, and you good friends of those who did my own true lord to death, sit still, and drain a farewell cup with me, your Queen. It is too late to fly, for every way is closed. The High Gods have spoken, and I will do their bidding!" Then, extending her white, jewelled arms toward the mummy, she cried

they listened to these terrible words in silence, whi

n her glittering hands. A moment she held it aloft, then dashed it to the floor, a

ome, and bear

lden lamps and swiftly rose towards them, bearing upon its surface white arms with outstretched hands gripping at the empty air, and gauzy robes which half hid gleaming limbs, white faces with wildly-staring eyes, and teeth that grinned between tight-drawn lips so lately smiling; strong swimmers fig

personate Nefer in the mummy-case, and then, when she had frightened her guests half out of their wits, she avenged her lover by opening the sluice-gates and drowning the lot, herself included. A rare device, that of old Pepi's, for getting rid o

nt flash of lightning lit up his window,

ainly this apparatus that we call our brain plays some very curious tricks with us sometimes. I suppose this is one of them. And yet if ever there was a dream that seemed like reality that one did. The Mummy

e at the same time, and, therefore, for two bodies to occupy the same space. That would be perfectly easy of supposition to the being to whom time and eternity were one. Yes, I believe that when the g

till, I don't think I ought to speak as disrespectfully as that of a young lady who has been

is disgust, he found that he had been lying on his back, a most pernicious position where dreaming is co