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第6节

egypt-第6节

小说: egypt 字数: 每页4000字

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after offering up a prayerat night; horrible 〃forms〃 escape; not

only from the embalmed bodies that sleep in the glass cases above; but

also from the great statues; from the papyri; and the thousand and one

things that; at the bottom of the tombs; have long been impregnated

with human essence。 And these 〃forms〃 are like unto dead bodies; and

sometimes to strange beasts; even to beasts that crawl。 And; after

having wandered about the halls; they end by assembling for their

nocturnal conferences on the roofs。



We next ascend a staircase of monumental proportions; empty in the

whole extent; where we are delivered for a little while from the

obsession of those rigid figures; from the stares and smiles of the

good people in white stone and black granite who throng the galleries

and vestibules on the ground floor。 None of them; to be sure; will

follow us; but all the same they guard in force and perplex with their

shadows the only way by which we can retreat; if the formidable hosts

above have in store for us too sinister a welcome。



He to whose courtesy I owe the relaxation of the orders of the night

is the illustrious savant to whose care has been entrusted the

direction of the excavations in Egyptian soil; he is also the

comptroller of this vast museum; and it is he himself who has kindly

consented to act as my guide to…night through its mazy labyrinth。



Across the silent halls above we now proceed straight towards those of

whom I have demanded this nocturnal audience。



To…night the succession of these rooms; filled with glass cases; which

cover more than four hundred yards along the four sides of the

building; seems to be without end。 After passing; in turn; the papyri;

the enamels; the vases that contain human entrails; we reach the

mummies of the sacred beasts: cats; ibises; dogs; hawks; all with

their mummy cloths and sarcophagi; and monkeys; too; that remain

grotesque even in death。 Then commence the human masks; and; upright

in glass…fronted cupboards; the mummy cases in which the body; swathed

in its mummy cloths; was moulded; and which reproduced; more or less

enlarged; the figure of the deceased。 Quite a lot of courtesans of the

Greco…Roman epoch; moulded in paste in this wise after death and

crowned with roses; smile at us provokingly from behind their windows。

Masks of the colour of dead flesh alternate with others of gold which

gleam as the light of our lantern plays upon them momentarily in our

rapid passage。 Their eyes are always too large; the eyelids too wide

open and the dilated pupils seem to stare at us with alarm。 Amongst

these mummy cases and these coffin lids fashioned in the shape of the

human figure; there are some that seem to have been made for giants;

the head especially; beneath its cumbrous head…dress; the head stuffed

as it were between the hunchback shoulders; looks enormous; out of all

proportion to the body which; towards the feet; narrows like a

scabbard。



Although our little lantern maintains its light we seem to see here

less and less: the darkness around us in these vast rooms becomes

almost overpoweringand these are the rooms; too; that; leading one

into the other; facilitate the midnight promenade of those dread

〃forms〃 which; every evening; are released and roam about。 。 。 。



On a table in the middle of one of these rooms a thing to make you

shudder gleams in a glass box; a fragile thing that failed of life

some two thousand years ago。 It is the mummy of a human embryo; and

someone; to appease the malice of this born…dead thing; had covered

its face with a coating of goldfor; according to the belief of the

Egyptians; these little abortions became the evil genii of their

families if proper honour was not paid to them。 At the end of its

negligible body; the gilded head; with its great foetus eyes; is

unforgettable for its suffering ugliness; for its frustrated and

ferocious expression。



In the halls into which we next penetrate there are veritable dead

bodies ranged on either side of us as we pass; their coffins are

displayed in tiers one above the other; the air is heavy with the

sickly odour of mummies; and on the ground; curled always like some

huge serpent; the leather hoses are in readiness; for here indeed is

the danger spot for fire。



And the master of this strange house whispers to me: 〃This is the

place。 Look! There they are。〃



In truth I recognise the place; having often come here in the daytime;

like other people。 In spite of the darkness; which commences at some

ten paces from usso small is the circle of light cast by our lantern

I can distinguish the double row of the great royal coffins; open

without shame in their glass cases。 And standing against the walls;

upright; like so many sentinels; are the coffin lids; fashioned in the

shape of the human figure。



We are there at last; admitted at this unseasonable hour into the

guest…chamber of kings and queens; for an audience that is private

indeed。



And there; first of all; is the woman with the baby; upon whom;

without stopping; we throw the light of our lantern。 A woman who died

in giving to the world a little dead prince。 Since the old embalmers

no one has seen the face of this Queen Makeri。 In her coffin there she

is simply a tall female figure; outlined beneath the close…bound

swathings of brown…coloured bandages。 At her feet lies the fatal baby;

grotesquely shrivelled; and veiled and mysterious as the mother

herself; a sort of doll; it seems; put there to keep her eternal

company in the slow passing of endless years。



More fearsome to approach is the row of unswathed mummies that follow。

Here; in each coffin over which we bend; there is a face which stares

at usor else closes its eyes in order that it may not see us; and

meagre shoulders and lean arms; and hands with overgrown nails that

protrude from miserable rags。 And each royal mummy that our lantern

lights reserves for us a fresh surprise and the shudder of a different

fearthey resemble one another so little。 Some of them seem to laugh;

showing their yellow teeth; others have an expression of infinite

sadness and suffering。 Sometimes the faces are small; refined and

still beautiful despite the pinching of the nostrils; sometimes they

are excessively enlarged by putrid swelling; with the tip of the nose

eaten away。 The embalmers; we know; were not sure of their means; and

the mummies were not always a success。 In some cases putrefaction

ensued; and corruption and even sudden hatchings of larvae; those

〃companions without ears and without eyes;〃 which died indeed in time

but only after they had perforated all the flesh。



Hard by are ranked according to dynasty; and in chronological order;

the proud Pharaohs in a piteous row: father; son; grandson; great…

grandson。 And common paper tickets tell their tremendous names; Seti

I。; Ramses II。; Seti II。; Ramses III。; Ramses IV。 。 。 。 Soon the

muster will be complete; with such energy have men dug in the heart of

the rocks to find them all; and these glass cases will no doubt be

their final resting…place。 In olden days; however; they made many

pilgrimages after their death; for in the troubled times of the

history of Egypt it was one of the harassing preoccupations of the

reigning sovereign to hide; to hide at all costs; the mummies of his

ancestors; which filled the earth increasingly; and which the

violators of tombs were so swift to track。 Then they were carried

clandestinely from one grave to another; raised each from his own

pompous sepulchre; to be buried at last together in some humble and

less conspicuous vault。 But it is here; in this museum of Egyptian

antiquities; that they are about to accomplish their return to dust;

which has been deferred; as if by miracle; for so many centuries。 Now;

stripped of their bandages; their days are numbered; and it behoves us

to hasten to draw these physiognomies of three or four thousand years

ago; which are about to perish。



In that coffinthe last but one of the row on the leftit is the

great Sesostris himself who awaits us。 We know of old that face of

ninety years; with its nose hooked like the beak of a falcon; and the

gaps between those old man's teeth; the meagre; birdlike neck; and the

hand raised in a gesture of menace。 Twenty years have elapsed since he

was brought back to the light; this master of the world。 He was

wrapped /thousands of times/ in a marvellous winding…sheet; woven of

aloe fibres; finer than the muslin of India; which must have taken

years in the making and measured more than 400 yards in length。 The

unswathing; done in the presence of the Khedive Tewfik and the great

personages of Egypt; lasted two hours; and after the last turn; when

the illustrious figure appeared; the emotion amongst the assistants

was such that they stampeded like a herd of cattle; and the Pharaoh

was overturned。 He has; moreover; given much cause for conversat

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