et in the stone sarcophagus
which had the human form in its general outlines. Then, in spite of the
shrieks, the despair, and the resistance of wailers, they bore that
immense weight toward the tomb chamber.

After they had passed by the light of torches through a number of
corridors and chambers they halted in that one where the well was. They
lowered the sarcophagus in that opening, went down themselves, and put
away the sarcophagus in a lower subterranean space, then walled up the
passage to this space quickly and in such a manner that the most
trained eye could not have discovered it; then they went up and closed
the entrance to the well with equal effectiveness.

The priests did all this without witnesses; and they did the work so
accurately that the mummy of Ramses XII remains to this day in its
secret abode, as safe from thieves as from modern curiosity. During
twenty-nine centuries many tombs of pharaohs have been ravaged, but
that one is inviolate.

While some priests were hiding the remains of the pious pharaoh, others
illuminated the underground chambers and invited the living to a feast
in that dwelling.

Ramses XIII, Queen Niort's, and Sem, with some civil and military
dignitaries entered the dining-hall. In the middle of the chamber stood
a table covered with food, wine, and flowers, and at the wall sat a
statue of the late sovereign carved out of porphyry. He seemed to gaze
at those present, smile pensively, and beg them to eat in his presence.

The feast began with a sacred dance, which was accompanied by a hymn
sung by one of the highest priestesses.

"Enjoy days of happiness, for life lasts but one instant. Enjoy
happiness, for when ye enter the tomb ye will rest there the whole
length of each day during ages."

After the priestess came a prophet, and to the accompaniment of harps
he chanted,

"The world is endless change and endless renewal. That arrangement of
fate is wise; the decision of Osiris deserves admiration; for as a body
which belongs to past time decays and perishes, other bodies rise
behind it.

"The pharaohs, those gods who were before us, rest in their pyramids;
their mummies and their second selves remain, though the palaces which
they built are no longer on their sites, and no longer in existence.

"Despair not, but give thyself to thy desires and thy happiness, and
wear not thy heart out till for thee the day comes when Thou wilt
implore, while Osiris, the god whose hear