第167章
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  “Imeantakenoutofthecarcass。”

  “Whatdoyouthinkofa-hic-cup!-physician?”

  “Don’tmentionthem!-ugh!ugh!ugh!”HerehisMajestyretchedviolently。“Inevertastedbutone-thatrascalHippocrates!-smeltofasafoetida-ugh!ugh!ugh!-caughtawretchedcoldwashinghimintheStyx-andafterallhegavemethecholeramorbus。”

  “The-hiccup-wretch!”ejaculatedBon-Bon,“the-hic-cup!-

  absorptionofapill-box!”-andthephilosopherdroppedatear。

  “Afterall。”continuedthevisiter,“afterall,ifadev-ifagentlemanwishestolive,hemusthavemoretalentsthanoneortwo;andwithusafatfaceisanevidenceofdiplomacy。”

  “Howso?”

  “Why,wearesometimesexceedinglypushedforprovisions。Youmustknowthat,inaclimatesosultryasmine,itisfrequentlyimpossibletokeepaspiritaliveformorethantwoorthreehours;andafterdeath,unlesspickledimmediatelyandapickledspiritisnotgood,theywill-

  smell-youunderstand,eh?Putrefactionisalwaystobeapprehendedwhenthesoulsareconsignedtousintheusualway。”

  “Hiccup!-hiccup!-goodGod!howdoyoumanage?”

  Heretheironlampcommencedswingingwithredoubledviolence,andthedevilhalfstartedfromhisseat;-however,withaslightsigh,herecoveredhiscomposure,merelysayingtoourheroinalowtone:“Itellyouwhat,PierreBon-Bon,wemusthavenomoreswearing。”

  Thehostswallowedanotherbumper,bywayofdenotingthoroughcomprehensionandacquiescence,andthevisitercontinued。

  “Why,thereareseveralwaysofmanaging。Themostofusstarve:someputupwiththepickle:formypartIpurchasemyspiritsviventecorpore,inwhichcaseIfindtheykeepverywell。”

  “Butthebody!-hiccup!-thebody!”

  “Thebody,thebody-well,whatofthebody?-oh!ah!Iperceive。

  Why,sir,thebodyisnotatallaffectedbythetransaction。Ihavemadeinnumerablepurchasesofthekindinmyday,andthepartiesneverexperiencedanyinconvenience。TherewereCainandNimrod,andNero,andCaligula,andDionysius,andPisistratus,and-andathousandothers,whoneverknewwhatitwastohaveasoulduringthelatterpartoftheirlives;yet,sir,thesemenadornedsociety。Whypossessionofhisfaculties,mentalandcorporeal?Whowritesakeenerepigram?Whoreasonsmorewittily?Who-butstay!Ihavehisagreementinmypocket-book。”

  Thussaying,heproducedaredleatherwallet,andtookfromitanumberofpapers。UponsomeoftheseBon-BoncaughtaglimpseofthelettersMachi-Maza-Robesp-withthewordsCaligula,George,Elizabeth。

  HisMajestyselectedanarrowslipofparchment,andfromitreadaloudthefollowingwords:

  “Inconsiderationofcertainmentalendowmentswhichitisunnecessarytospecify,andinfurtherconsiderationofonethousandlouisd’or,I

  beingagedoneyearandonemonth,doherebymakeovertothebearerofthisagreementallmyright,title,andappurtenanceintheshadowcalledmysoul。SignedA……”{*4}HereHisMajestyrepeatedanamewhichI

  didnotfeeljustifiedinindicatingmoreunequivocally。

  {*4}Quere-Arouet?

  “Acleverfellowthat。”resumedhe;“butlikeyou,MonsieurBon-Bon,hewasmistakenaboutthesoul。Thesoulashadow,truly!Thesoulashadow;Ha!ha!ha!-he!he!he!-hu!hu!hu!Onlythinkofafricasseedshadow!”

  “Onlythink-hiccup!-ofafricasseedshadow!”exclaimedourhero,whosefacultieswerebecomingmuchilluminatedbytheprofundityofhisMajesty’sdiscourse。

  “Onlythinkofahiccup!-fricasseedshadow!!Now,damme!-hiccup!-

  humph!IfIwouldhavebeensucha-hiccup!-nincompoop!Mysoul,Mr-

  humph!”

  “Yoursoul,MonsieurBon-Bon?”

  “Yes,sir-hiccup!-mysoulis-“

  “What,sir?”

  “Noshadow,damme!”

  “Didyoumeantosay-“

  “Yes,sir,mysoulis-hiccup!-humph!-yes,sir。”

  “Didyounotintendtoassert-“

  “Mysoulis-hiccup!-peculiarlyqualifiedfor-hiccup!-a-“

  “What,sir?”

  “Stew。”

  “Ha!”

  “Soufflee。”

  “Eh!”

  “Fricassee。”

  “Indeed!”

  “Ragoutandfricandeau-andseehere,mygoodfellow!I’llletyouhaveit-hiccup!-abargain。”HerethephilosopherslappedhisMajestyupontheback。

  “Couldn’tthinkofsuchathing。”saidthelattercalmly,atthesametimerisingfromhisseat。Themetaphysicianstared。

  “Amsuppliedatpresent。”saidhisMajesty。

  “Hiccup-e-h?”saidthephilosopher。

  “Havenofundsonhand。”

  “What?”

  “Besides,veryunhandsomeinme-“

  “Sir!”

  “Totakeadvantageof-“

  “Hiccup!”

  “Yourpresentdisgustingandungentlemanlysituation。”

  Herethevisiterbowedandwithdrew-inwhatmannercouldnotpreciselybeascertained-butinawell-concertedefforttodischargeabottleat“thevillain。”theslenderchainwasseveredthatdependedfromtheceiling,andthemetaphysicianprostratedbythedownfallofthelamp。

  THE_symposium_oftheprecedingeveninghadbeenalittletoomuchformynerves。Ihadawretchedheadache,andwasdesperatelydrowsy。

  InsteadofgoingoutthereforetospendtheeveningasIhadproposed,itoccurredtomethatIcouldnotdoawiserthingthanjusteatamouthfulofsupperandgoimmediatelytobed。

  Alightsupperofcourse。IamexceedinglyfondofWelshrabbit。Morethanapoundatonce,however,maynotatalltimesbeadvisable。Still,therecanbenomaterialobjectiontotwo。Andreallybetweentwoandthree,thereismerelyasingleunitofdifference。Iventured,perhaps,uponfour。Mywifewillhaveitfive;but,clearly,shehasconfoundedtwoverydistinctaffairs。Theabstractnumber,five,Iamwillingtoadmit;

  but,concretely,ithasreferencetobottlesofBrownStout,withoutwhich,inthewayofcondiment,Welshrabbitistobeeschewed。

  Havingthusconcludedafrugalmeal,anddonnedmynight-cap,withtheserenehopeofenjoyingittillnoonthenextday,Iplacedmyheaduponthepillow,and,throughtheaidofacapitalconscience,fellintoaprofoundslumberforthwith。

  Butwhenwerethehopesofhumanityfulfilled?Icouldnothavecompletedmythirdsnorewhentherecameafuriousringingatthestreet-doorbell,andthenanimpatientthumpingattheknocker,whichawakenedmeatonce。

  Inaminuteafterward,andwhileIwasstillrubbingmyeyes,mywifethrustinmyfaceanote,frommyoldfriend,DoctorPonnonner。Itranthus:

  “Cometome,byallmeans,mydeargoodfriend,assoonasyoureceivethis。Comeandhelpustorejoice。Atlast,bylongperseveringdiplomacy,IhavegainedtheassentoftheDirectorsoftheCityMuseum,tomyexaminationoftheMummyyouknowtheoneImean。Ihavepermissiontounswatheitandopenit,ifdesirable。Afewfriendsonlywillbepresentyou,ofcourse。TheMummyisnowatmyhouse,andweshallbegintounrollitatelevento-night。

  “Yours,ever,PONNONNER。

  BythetimeIhadreachedthe“Ponnonner。”itstruckmethatIwasaswideawakeasamanneedbe。Ileapedoutofbedinanecstacy,overthrowingallinmyway;dressedmyselfwitharapiditytrulymarvellous;andsetoff,atthetopofmyspeed,forthedoctor’s。

  ThereIfoundaveryeagercompanyassembled。Theyhadbeenawaitingmewithmuchimpatience;theMummywasextendeduponthedining-table;andthemomentIentereditsexaminationwascommenced。

  Itwasoneofapairbrought,severalyearspreviously,byCaptainArthurSabretash,acousinofPonnonner’sfromatombnearEleithias,intheLybianmountains,aconsiderabledistanceaboveThebesontheNile。Thegrottoesatthispoint,althoughlessmagnificentthantheThebansepulchres,areofhigherinterest,onaccountofaffordingmorenumerousillustrationsoftheprivatelifeoftheEgyptians。Thechamberfromwhichourspecimenwastaken,wassaidtobeveryrichinsuchillustrations;

  thewallsbeingcompletelycoveredwithfrescopaintingsandbas-reliefs,whilestatues,vases,andMosaicworkofrichpatterns,indicatedthevastwealthofthedeceased。

  ThetreasurehadbeendepositedintheMuseumpreciselyinthesameconditioninwhichCaptainSabretashhadfoundit;thatistosay,thecoffinhadnotbeendisturbed。Foreightyearsithadthusstood,subjectonlyexternallytopublicinspection。Wehadnow,therefore,thecompleteMummyatourdisposal;andtothosewhoareawarehowveryrarelytheunransackedantiquereachesourshores,itwillbeevident,atoncethatwehadgreatreasontocongratulateourselvesuponourgoodfortune。

  Approachingthetable,Isawonitalargebox,orcase,nearlysevenfeetlong,andperhapsthreefeetwide,bytwofeetandahalfdeep。Itwasoblongnotcoffin-shaped。Thematerialwasatfirstsupposedtobethewoodofthesycamore_platanus_,but,uponcuttingintoit,wefoundittobepasteboard,or,moreproperly,_papiermache_,composedofpapyrus。

  Itwasthicklyornamentedwithpaintings,representingfuneralscenes,andothermournfulsubjectsinterspersedamongwhich,ineveryvarietyofposition,werecertainseriesofhieroglyphicalcharacters,intended,nodoubt,forthenameofthedeparted。Bygoodluck,Mr。Gliddonformedoneofourparty;andhehadnodifficultyintranslatingtheletters,whichweresimplyphonetic,andrepresentedtheword_Allamistakeo_。

  Wehadsomedifficultyingettingthiscaseopenwithoutinjury;buthavingatlengthaccomplishedthetask,wecametoasecond,coffin-shaped,andveryconsiderablylessinsizethantheexteriorone,butresemblingitpreciselyineveryotherrespect。Theintervalbetweenthetwowasfilledwithresin,whichhad,insomedegree,defacedthecolorsoftheinteriorbox。

  Uponopeningthislatterwhichwedidquiteeasily,wearrivedatathirdcase,alsocoffin-shaped,andvaryingfromthesecondoneinnoparticular,exceptinthatofitsmaterial,whichwascedar,andstillemittedthepeculiarandhighlyaromaticodorofthatwood。Betweenthesecondandthethirdcasetherewasnointervaltheonefittingaccuratelywithintheother。

  Removingthethirdcase,wediscoveredandtookoutthebodyitself。Wehadexpectedtofindit,asusual,envelopedinfrequentrolls,orbandages,oflinen;but,inplaceofthese,wefoundasortofsheath,madeofpapyrus,andcoatedwithalayerofplaster,thicklygiltandpainted。Thepaintingsrepresentedsubjectsconnectedwiththevarioussupposeddutiesofthesoul,anditspresentationtodifferentdivinities,withnumerousidenticalhumanfigures,intended,veryprobably,asportraitsofthepersonsembalmed。Extendingfromheadtofootwasacolumnar,orperpendicular,inscription,inphonetichieroglyphics,givingagainhisnameandtitles,andthenamesandtitlesofhisrelations。

  Aroundtheneckthusensheathed,wasacollarofcylindricalglassbeads,diverseincolor,andsoarrangedastoformimagesofdeities,ofthescarabaeus,etc,withthewingedglobe。Aroundthesmallofthewaistwasasimilarcollarorbelt。

  Strippingoffthepapyrus,wefoundthefleshinexcellentpreservation,withnoperceptibleodor。Thecolorwasreddish。Theskinwashard,smooth,andglossy。Theteethandhairwereingoodcondition。Theeyesitseemedhadbeenremoved,andglassonessubstituted,whichwereverybeautifulandwonderfullylife-like,withtheexceptionofsomewhattoodeterminedastare。Thefingersandthenailswerebrilliantlygilded。

  Mr。Gliddonwasofopinion,fromtherednessoftheepidermis,thattheembalmmenthadbeeneffectedaltogetherbyasphaltum;but,onscrapingthesurfacewithasteelinstrument,andthrowingintothefiresomeofthepowderthusobtained,theflavorofcamphorandothersweet-scentedgumsbecameapparent。

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