cavity made to hold it in the upper half of the
box. The reverse was no less wonderful than the upper, being carved to
resemble the under side of the beetle. It, too, had some hieroglyphic
figures cut on it. Mr. Trelawny resumed his lecture as we all sat with
our heads close to this wonderful jewel:

"As you see, there are two words, one on the top, the other underneath.
The symbols on the top represent a single word, composed of one
syllable prolonged, with its determinatives. You know, all of you, I
suppose, that the Egyptian language was phonetic, and that the
hieroglyphic symbol represented the sound. The first symbol here, the
hoe, means 'mer', and the two pointed ellipses the prolongation of the
final r: mer-r-r. The sitting figure with the hand to its face is what
we call the 'determinative' of 'thought'; and the roll of papyrus that
of 'abstraction'. Thus we get the word 'mer', love, in its abstract,
general, and fullest sense. This is the hekau which can command the
Upper World."

Margaret's face was a glory as she said in a deep, low, ringing tone:

"Oh, but it is true. How the old wonder-workers guessed at almighty
Truth!" Then a hot blush swept her face, and her eyes fell. Her
father smiled at her lovingly as he resumed:

"The symbolisation of the word on the reverse is simpler, though the
meaning is more abstruse. The first symbol means 'men', 'abiding', and
the second, 'ab', 'the heart'. So that we get 'abiding of heart', or
in our own language 'patience'. And this is the hekau to control the
Lower World!"

He closed the box, and motioning us to remain as we were, he went back
to his room to replace the Jewel in the safe. When he had returned and
resumed his seat, he went on:

"That Jewel, with its mystic words, and which Queen Tera held under her
hand in the sarcophagus, was to be an important factor--probably the
most important--in the working out of the act of her resurrection.
From the first I seemed by a sort of instinct to realise this. I kept
the Jewel within my great safe, whence none could extract it; not even
Queen Tera herself with her astral body."

"Her 'astral body'? What is that, Father? What does that mean?" There
was a keenness in Margaret's voice as she asked the question which
surprised me a little; but Trelawny smiled a sort of indulgent parental
smile, which came through his grim solemnity like sunshine through a
rifted cloud, as he spoke:

"The astral body