st. "Shades have shown
themselves more than once, and even revealed their own secrets.

"It is possible to live ten years in Thebes and not see rain: it is
possible to live a hundred years on earth and not meet a shade. But
whoso should live hundreds of years in Thebes, or live thousands of
years on earth would see more than one rain, and more than one shade."

"Who has lived thousands of years?" inquired Ramses.

"The sacred order of priests has lived, is living, and will live,"
replied Mentezufis. "The sacred order of priests settled on the Nile
thirty thousand years ago. Since then it has scrutinized the heavens
and the earth; it has created our wisdom, and made the plan of every
field, sluice, canal, pyramid, and temple in Egypt."

"That is true. The order of priests is mighty and wise, but where are
the shades? What man has seen them, and who is the person who has
spoken to them?"

"Know this, lord," said Mentezufis. "There is a shade in each living
man; as there are people distinguished for immense strength, or a
marvelous swiftness of vision, so there are men who possess the
uncommon gift that during life they can separate their own shades from
their bodies.

"Our secret books are filled with the most credible narratives touching
this subject. More than one prophet has been able to fall into a sleep
that is deathlike. At that time his shade separated from the body and
transferred itself in a moment to Tyre, Babylon, or Nineveh, examined
what it wished, listened to counsels relating to us, and after the
awakening of the prophet gave the most minute account of all that it
had witnessed. More than one evil magician, after falling asleep in
like fashion, has sent out his shade against a man whom he hated, and
overturned or destroyed furniture and terrified a whole household.

"It has happened, too, that the man attacked by the shade of the
magician struck the shade with a spear or a sword, and on his house
bloody traces were left, while the magician received on his body that
wound exactly which was inflicted on his shade.

"More than once also has a shade of a living man appeared in company
with him, but some steps distant."

"I know such shades," said the prince ironically.

"I must add," continued Mentezufis, "that not only people, but animals,
plants, stones, buildings, and utensils have shades also. But a
wonderful thing the shade of an inanimate object is not dead, it
possesses life, moves, goes from