Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / June 3, 1906, edition 1 / Page 13
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.' . , . '': '.: ' v r-'v ; ' '" v ,; ' ' '.' 0;T SECTION TVO ,., ... -;-.r vf'r """;".-.': 3 -'.' : "'t '.A";---'--;- ,.;V' -- .-' 4 '1 . .. 4 'i r j ; 11 Ki InmilvM, ; Will i lint.' tor Geo. Ada.) V , - Until we arrived it Ltnoi w did ' -not know th total meaning of tha ; ;. word fold."' . Th ruins-' Which are . the atock In trade of this ancient City V- ' oc Tbebea, date et far back Into tho i:-dlmnee of Nowhere that all the other . antiquities of earth seem freab and it,-'- .recnt at a morning Mwnptr.-' t.'-.V "Old" la merely a relative tenh. aneraii.' 1 remember in my native town we amall boys' used to' gase In reverent. awa at a -court honao that was actually built;- before the . civil ( war. ' -We 'would look -up at : that weather beaten frame atructure. two atorlea high, with a square bird cage v,-; . en- top of It. and to ua It bad all the v hlatorlo Intereat of a mediaeval' caatle. r y Later : In ' Chicago when the apeclal , writer' on tho newapaper ran abort of. story on' the oldeat building In own. It waa, constructed .' away , back In '' lilt." "' ' , .When It raan from the Waat goea ; Eaat tot the flret time and aeea Inde rpendenr Hall in Philadelphia he take C hla hat and trlea to grapa the overwhelming fact that the bulld- ing atoo4 there evenjn the far distant , , r . ' " " i?rM--f i7 -4 '!..- (V ' ' t !'.: ; ' : .vv- L"? "PZ old rottt tyrpcf.. wmrtyw yiaa qwN v.,: i 1 J v'- -Jr-'r -v-- . . . :.'. Colonial . fterled. . When -- het travela to London ,ad rwalka. through; St. Paul'a or atanda. In the Hepry VlII Chapel at Weetmlnater . he bealna ,to get a new Unei on the meaning of old." Later hp . aeea the Forum at Borne and declares to himself: "At taab I -have found aomethlng really ancient" . -' - -1 But when he arrlvea at Luxor and ranblea among. the elephantine rulna and alts in the deep cool ahade of temples that had been standing a good many centuries before any one thought of laying out the Forum in Rome he will begin to understand now everything else In the world la com paratively hot from the griddle. One day we were, In the shop oj Mouham med Mouhaeaib, In Luxor, and the eld antiquarian reached under the counter and lugged out a mummy. The body was well preserved, and the-embalming cloth In which It waa wrapped and cross-wrapped stilt re tained a definite texture. "Tbt mommy date back - beyond -any of the dynastlea of which we bare a' record," aald the dealer. , "There were no Insert ptlona on -the mummy caae, because when this gen tleman lived It was not the custom to Inscribe the cocoon. Ton will ob aerve. however, that he waa burled In sitting posture, and we know that this manner of burial waa discontin ued about 1000 B. C" Aa -we atood there gaslng Into the calm feat urea of the unidentified has been and realised that he had been ' sitting In that eaay attitude for eight . thousand years waiting for ua to come along and be presented to him, we . began to get a faint Inkling of what the word "old" really means, Ooodnesa knowa I am not going to 'attempt any detailed description of the stupendous . ruins which make. Luxor the moat interesting spot in Egypt. Any one who, la going to describe I .uxor needa a new box of adjectives very few minutes, and, beatdea, to repeat oVer and over again that the eclumna and cavernoua sanctuaries at Karnak are "gigantic," and "colos sal," and "huge," and so on, cannot ' brlnsr the reader to any actual con ceptlon of. the barbaric maaalveneaa of theae ancient structures. The rulers who built the main tem ple of Karnak, a section at a time, thought they were, not doing -them selves credit ' unless they piled . np coinmna aoeui tne sue 01 tne red wood trees In California and guard ed each entrance with statues as big aa the Goddess of Liberty In New ork harbor, and when they made a wall to enclose a courtyard, they put up something to resemble a mountain range. ' The' ordinary ISO pound mortal edging hla way through the vcorrldore and under the vast shad fiVows of theae over-whelming uplifts V'Vtf masonry feels about as large and as Important as a flea. - Everywhere about theae 'temples " ther are uniformed guards 'whose ' duty It Is to protect the remains against the vandal and the relic hunt 'C, er. The guard follows a few feet behind you aa you foam through the . many acres of. toppling ruin. He la . ' kfratd that you 'will steal something. ' . Inasmuch aa the smallest fragment - of one of theae huge statues, or obe lisks. would - weigh probably . six V hundred- pounds we felt that lis waa t not' Justified - In .suspecting ua. But he followed us along and then, when we were leaving, he calmly came for ward and indicated that he was ready - to take a money Insult. This move sen his part was moat characteristic "f of the Egyptian attitude toward visit- re la general. Every native expects to get aomethlng ant of a traveler for the simple reason that he needs the money.- suppose " that a suspicious ' character should arrive In an Amert ', ' can city and the chief of police sept out a detective to shadow him and sea that he did not blow open, any safes, Side tU 11 luncses the Great GEORGE ADE. or crawl Into any aeoond atorlea. The detective, having ' followed ' the . aua pect all day, approachea him at nightfall and' aaya, "Look here: -you have put me to a lot of trouble. I have been on my feet all day watch ing yon for fear that you were going to commit a burglary, and I think It la only right that you ahould pay me aomethlng." ' " -'Every time we visited an antiquity these guarda tapped at our heels, watching ua like hawks, and Invar!" ably they tried to hold 11a up for a piece of sliver before we departed. There la a Maaonlo ' understanding among the natlvea that the tourist la to be fleeced. t.' For Instance, al though the copper coins are. In com mon un among th natlvea, and In the cheaper ahopa the prlcea are usu al! 1 reckoned in milllemea. It la al most Impossible for. a traveler to get any of theae copper .cotna because the natlvea want hlmito Destow niscratui- tlea In plaatera. . A mlllleme la worth one-half cent, and . then the mill- leme la further anbdlvlded Into frac tional coins, some of which are about the alaa of the mustard , aeed and worth about aa much aa a share of mining atock, -Egyptian' money la very easily un derstood by Americans. The plaster Is the same aa our five-cent piece of nickel. The .silver five, plaster piece resembles our quarter and has the same value.' Tbe ten plaster piece Is the same aa our half dollar. The 100 plaster bill la worth five dollars. In asmuch as many of the prices sound large and Important when quoted In plasters, the dealers have learned to demand English pounds sterling or American dollars. That Is, they name their first prlcea In sovereigns and dollars and then gradually work down to plaatera.. I saw a native try ing to sell a scarab to a tourist. Hla 'first price was 11, equivalent to 125. After a half hour of haggling he had rut It to 7 plasters, or 16 cents, and the deal was consummated. The old city of Thebes was a huge, and hustling metropolis, surrounded by a high wall of a hundred gates, with countless regiments of soldiers marching out to conquer distant lands and bring back alaves In little batches of 10,000 or so. This waa along about 1000 B. C. 1 The city began to lose some of Its Importance a few cen turies ' before the Christian' era and dwindled In else until twenty years ago It waa a mere village of huts nestling In the ahade of the great temples. ' Then the tourist travel aet In very heavily, and to-day Luxor la a hustling city with " large hotels and fancy ahopa and a general air of pros perity. The magnificent temple of Luxor la in the very heart of the new city. The ramblmg temple of Kar nak la a abort donkey ride to the north and acroas the river, some three miles to the weat: there are more temples and shattered statues and the wonderful torn be of the klnga. In olden days there was 4 broad avenue v . i ,Tmrr Vi rrv'. -'''' ' ' leading north to Karnak and thenee weat to the valley. In the desert, whereJ the klnaa were burled, and this b-oule vard. waa guarded on either aide, for the entire distance. by huge recum beet.'aphlnaea . carved' .put of granite,1 Can you Imagine a double row of gigantic flgurea crouched 'oh each aide of the street and about twenty feet apart air tne way, up- Broadway- to Central Park and then through the park rto Riverside Drive and up the drive to the distant suburbs? , If so. you will understand to what an ex tent theae old rulera "went In" for sphinxes. ;, Labor cost nothing and tlma did not count for anything and If a king wished to build an avenue of aphlnxea leading ' to hla ' private temple or tomb all he had to do was to give the word. , ( ' Aa' aoon aa 'a king mounted - the throne he began making hla funeral preparatlona, and ordered the' entire stalT of atone cuttera to chisel . out hieroglyphs explaining that he 'waa great and good and Just, and that ha never took oft hla hat to any one except the goda, and then not ordin ary picayune goda, but only thoae of the very first magnitude. According to the. hieroglyphs, every king that ruled In Egypt waa aa wlae aa Solo mon, aa brilliant in military atrategy aa Napoleon, and aa hard on the evil doer as our own beloved T. R. This unanimous outpouring of eu logy la largely explained by the fact that every memorial In honor of ruler waa erected and supervised by tkz& ACflCNT .j ,..-., that ruler - himself. It'a a facet Of all the countless temples and obellska and godlike granite figures and festal tombs chambera remaining In Egypt to testify to the majesty and splendor of the ancient dynastlea, every one waa built under the personal auper vlalon of the man who gets all of the glory out of the Inscriptions. The succeeding generation never got up subscription lists to butld monuments to statesmen or military commanders. The dutiful and loving son never Jt A - ! I J V. n n ft. , carving hla own biography on the sandstone and depicting himself aa pitsuing the enemy or taking after noon tea with hanghty three-headed goda. In old Egypt every king was his own press agent. Theae rulers could have written some dandy "personal recollections" for the magaalnea, be cause they remembered all the Inci dents that brought them to the centre of the stage with the calcium turned on, and wisely forgot all details cal culated to Injure their standing;, with posterity. You take Ramesea the Great. He la regarded ae perhaps the king pin of all the rulera during Egypt long period of national -splendor. Have you ever heard any one aay a word In criticism of Rameses' fiscal policy, his treatment of the rebate system man agement of the Senate, or his social relations with the dark emissaries that came up from Egypt? Not Every one baa a good word for Ram eses. The writers of ancient history extol him, and the guide books print hla name In big black letters, and the travelers to Egypt gather about hla glaaa-covered coffin In the Oiaeh Mus eum at Cairo and try -to trace noble lineaments In the ahrunken features, They sigh over his, departure and lllustrlou. father. He .was too buVk??u,a.t'" Junnln l!".?" "p. 8"? teOi pawn T.rannwwnirA y.i -'f'-u -w.' ! ' ,( T. '',. r , TOR ORIOINAL TKSTW36 I, 1 ak k t aft r m hut ft' WJSL $ m. look down at him mournfully, with their hata In their hands, as If they had lost him thla spring, lmttead of 1,164 years ago thla aprlng. They aay: "Well, he : certainly was a grand ohsrarter and It's too bad we haven't got some rulera of his calibre nowa days." It la not my dealre to attack Rameses, but I feel. It my duty to submit to students- of history and archaeologists a very Interesting pay yrua which came Into-my possession at Luxor. If this document Is accept ed aa authentic and. the statements are believed, then It' would appear that Ramesea waa the champion ad vertiser of ancient times. If Kanfeses were alive to-day he would own alt the billboards, in America. He would take a full page In every Sunday paper and have hla picture on free calendars. He would .give Law son carda and spades. - ' In all accepted records discovered p to this time Rameaea naa receiv ed 'nothing but praise. Why? Be cause all the records were doctored by Rameses himself. He was the great builder of Egypt and all over the walls of every building that he erected he had, hla picture and tales of his mighty achievements blazoned forth In bright colors like the row or banners In front of 'a aide show. Wherever In Egypt he could find a large ' smooth faced rock he wpuitt engage a member of the Royal Acad emy to sculp aomethlng about Him eses. and he would always stand and look' over the sculptor's aatcmldec to make sure that the king didn't get the worst of It. If the army of Ram esea suffered a defeat at the hands of the Htttltea. did any mention of the fact find Its way Into the Inscription? Most assuredly not. Rameaea had the hieroglyphs report that, he made a masterly manoeuvre In order to de velop the strength of the enemy and then retired to a new and more strategic position. We cannot dis cover from the old inscriptions that any Egyptian army ever Buffered do feat, and yet it has been learned from other sourcea that now and then an Invading army had the whole native down the Nile. Howevr. It waa not considered good form for historians to mention these painful Incidents. The rate of mortality among those who criticised the ad ministration, was exactly 100 per cent. It is because all of the familiar records are known to have been tinder censorships that the payprus discovered by me at Luvor poaseases a most startling In terest. - As a cold matter of fact, I discover ed this manuscript by proxy. That la, I bought It from the man who aald he had found it concealed In the funeral vestments of a mummy up rooted near Thebes In the month of February. .-1 cannot give the name of this Egyptian for the reason that all valuable antiquities discovered In Egypt are supposed to belong to the government, and any one concealing an art treaaure or aoms document of rare value may be severely punished. I can aay thla much, however the native from whom I bought the papyrus assured me that he was an honorable and truthful guide, and he gave me his personal guarantee that he had removed the document from the mummy's undergarment with his own hands and had been waiting for an opportunity to offer It to a traveler who waa really a con- .. -ii " r v - m A nolsaeur of antiquities and a reverent student of ancient languages. All this he told me while we were out on the desert together, and after looking apprehensively in all directions to make aure that no human being was within three miles of us he pulled a tin cylinder from under his robe and carefully removed from It the time stained but still Intact roll of papyrus. I must say that I never saw a more convincing document In all my life. The hieroglyphics looked aa Egyptian aa anything could be, and as soon as I saw them I had a burning curiosity to know what message to the world beyond thla poor mummy had been hugging In his bosom through all these centuries. I asked regarding the mummy on which the papyrus had been found and learned that the in scription on hla outer coffin Indicated that he had been an officer assigned to the royal palace of Rameses 11. the type of courtier who must bend the supplo knee an wear the smiling" face, at all tlmea concealing hla real opin ion of thlnga In general. The guarantee which accompanied the papyrua waa so 'heartfelt and al-, together emphatic that I made the purchase. The price waa large, but I felt Justified In paying It, for the native assured me that I could aell it to the Brttlah Museum at any time for twice aa '. much. I promised faithfully that I would never mention his name In connection with the deal, and this promise was easily kept, be cause he had a name that no one could have remembered for two min utes. , For obvious reasons I did not show the document to my traveling com panions. I knew that If people heard of my discovery and got talking about It I might not be permitted to take It Ram t&e sTJt cb7tta a ' HIS 1 2 A AND on a onAMrre WW n 4 OUltblNO MAMY -Pa TEMM.U. Co rm work. Trie AO THe ONLY OH IS - TT ft, - fc : THi 'trMTUAB DO PC ft OUT AS FOLLOWS t si J CooKtouRtdT WHIN CONCLUDE THAT I I IMU m THEY. WILL CALL out of the country. When we arrived at Cairo I went to Mr. Ralph Blanchard, an Ameri can who la noted as an antiquarian, Egyptologist and mummy collector, and after a few cautious preliminaries told him tnat i naa a document in helroslyphlca of which I desired a translation., I begged him not to In quire whore or how I had obtained the papyrus. Alt I wanted him to do was to tell me what tha blamed thing meant, '''', ,. . V Blanchard was startled as soon as ha looked at the document. ' I could see that- ' He said he had deciphered a good many acres of hieroglyphics, but this record was unique and tha most Interesting that had aver coma under his observation. Ha spent two days on tha translation, so as to be absolutely accurate regarding every fine point and grot not only tha cold words but also literary stvla and the real spirit of tha original oommunl cation',;a-s, -vy'' ' .-i-A Let -"the translation speak , for , lt- seir, i must confess that when It waa handed me I waa overwhelmed. Not only had a flood of light been let In upon a moat Important epoch, but there were also surprising revelations aa to tbde origin of valued words and phrases. Hera la -the translation: "Rameses Second Is a Smooth Cltl ten. -His Foxy Scheme is to bunko Posterity. His Soldiers go .out and put up a hard Scrap and do up the enemy and he hires a Stonecutter to give an Account of it on a Granite Rock and hand all the Bouquets to Rameaea. He la building many Tem ples. The Architects draw the Flans. The Laborers do the . Work. Tha Public foots the Bill. Rameses and the Local Deities are the only ones who butt into the Inscriptions. He has the future doped out aa follows: Three thousand years from now, when Cook's Tourists see my PJcturws all over the Shops, they will conclude that I muat have been the read Worka and they will call me Ramesea the Great" Thla revelation In regard to the self-advertising proclivities of the great monarch, coming, aa It did, from one who had been intimately as sociated with him, was so vastly im portant that Mr. Blanchard thought It better to verify the translation. He took a copy of the document to sev eral eminent Egyptologists, and they agreed with him on every point. They aald there was no getting away from "scraps" and "butt In" and "dope out" and other characters which seemed 'to me to have some what of a modern flavor. After a man has been universally respected for nearly three thousand H two hundred years It does seem a low down trick to show him up. And, possibly, the anonymous writer waa prejudiced because he had failed to aecure an appointment. Did the papyrus really come from the bosom of the mummy? Who knows? Some times It Is the duty of t.ie traveler to record facts as they come under hla observation and not to draw hasty conclusions. The documentary evidence Is sub mitted herewith first a copy of the original papyrus and then the trans lation, word by word and phraae by phrase. The testimony should con vince any who are disposed to be sceptical. My only hope Is that It will not entirely blast the reputation of Rameses. Wealthy Western Couple to Cut a Splurge in Kt. Louis. St. Louis Republic. The entire parlor floor of the Plan ters' Hotel has been leased to accom modate the guests at the wedding of Miss Jean Bertlg of Paragould, Ark., and Daniel Webster Kempner, of Galveston, Texas, Wednesday even ing. June 6. The mammoth banquet 'hall, re ception rooms and adjoining parlors on the second floor are Included In the apartments, which have been re served by Ad. Bertlg. father of the prospective bride, who spent several days In the caravansary recently with his wife and daughter, making arrangements for the ceremonlea. Several local florists, decorators and expert Interior artisans have been en gaged and will thla week begin beau tlfylng the second floor of the hotel. Several thousands of dollars worth of flowers have been contracted for, and It Is stated that the wedding will be one of the most elaborate at a St. Loula hostelry in recent yeara. Manager Cochran, of the Planters' la making preparations to rare for several hundred guests at the recep tion and dinner to follow the cere mony. The finest silver and china ware of the hotel are to be used. The wedding of Miss Bertlg and 4ooTjciTiteM w.roxY;4cMMr.jjrro umko .roTe.iTY: . OL PICKS COTOUT AND OT'U6 AvHARD CHAP, .ANprWiaiPiTM f fKHY g - 6TONB CWTTffc jtd OIVt.AN AiTfe .ho all tmi eouavrr TH .AROWIT CCT DMw.THI fUftUC.rooTS THt BILL. WMO BUTT frNTO, TH .'titers fid MY tiVTbATs ALC.OVIR IMU4T ft HAVe BCEN THB .R.EAL MB H am ti ts thb C Max. - TRANSLATION Or THR RAMZ,23 Mr. Kempner will unite the families of millionaires of Texas and Arkan sas. The father of the bride to-be la reputed to be one of the wealthiest men In Arkansas, and Mr. Kempner la a member of a very wealthy family.- ' . Mr. Kempner la one of the heirs of the M. Kempner estate, which Is es timated at several million dollars. Ula father was one of the largest bankers and cotton . factors In . the . Southern Btates. He died a few years ago. Daniel W. Kempner la president of a large manufacturing concern In Gal veston. , and Is heavily Interested In Various banking Institutions and oth er enterprises. ,. . Miss Kertlg's trousseau was pur chased In Paris and Is said to be mag nificent. It Is -stated that aha re ceived a handsome automobile from her fiance as a bethrothal gift. . ' - hi' ' i Every man knows what la right but be Is apt to, gat left Just the te.ni. . ,BRKJU tlXB CUT DOWJf. Work of Feeding; Ref ogees In Frtsoo v,vvV.:v u.Ui-Wan.. . San Francisco Chronicle. Eleven thousand less were fed at '. ' yesterday's food distribution than re- -celved rations on the former day is sue. The official count of the distri bution la 60.111. and It Is thought V to more nearly repreaent the number who -are. destitute. On Tuesday 11.- : i 111 received the nee ration which 'r. t are given out by the army and the , Red Cross. This reduction of 11.000 ( . indicates the .number who have re- . turned to a condition of normal self-. .' support In the two days. . -? At the same time 10 food-Issue ;: stations have been closed, and there are now only 10 In operation, and . further reductions have been ordered. , The number fed at the soup kitchens i . has not materially increased. It was ' ' 4,171 on Thursday. There has been some misunderstanding as to the ', placea where the meal tickets were to be Issued by the Red Cross. The , plan was to have them given out at , ' the kitchens, but In many localities .. the people were compelled to go to ' " the supply station to find the Red ' Cross representative who was giving out the tickets. The dual management of the cap- ;; . (alna In charge of districts and the Red Cross superintendents haa led to more or less confusion. Whn tha' ;, army withdraws from the work It la - ' tlsr understanding that it will be car- -. rled on by the Red Cross, but in the ? , meantime the position of the civilian : ' Institution of rllef Is somewhat an ' :. omaloua and a cause of confusion. '. This Is particularly the case, aa a . . plan Is In operation to make tha .' transfer gradually. The registration of refugees has - been the means of cutting out' some ' ? of the grafting. A possible Illusion ', ' of this Is at Ingleside, where It Is re ported that 1,200 rattona were Issued before the registration, and where. now only 63 are being fed In that.,; -, manner. .' The work of relief ha now aettled . . down Into a queatlon of admlniatra- - tlon and detail. v Dr. Judah Leon Magnes. rabbi of ' Temple Israel, Brooklyn, N. Y.. haa been aelacted the successor of Rabbi . Gotthell, of Temple Emanuel, the :' largest synagogue of the ' reformed Jewa of New York city. He la not yet thirty yeara old. ' Birds Croea No Deep Seas. New York World. Frank Chapman, of the New York ' Museum of Natural History, haa been. - '. writing about the fclrds of England. , . which he finds more numerous, but of fewer species, than those of this country. Curiously enough, only one ' of hundred of varieties Is common to both countries. A writer In the London Outlook points out the no birds cross deep, even if narrow, seas. The narrow. Madagascar atralts are Impassable to birds through the North seaa are a' highway for them. God wits pass from the Nile to the ahorea of Nor- ' folk, through the neighboring Islands ' In an archipelago may show no com mon stock. . . : All birds with the possible excep-' . tlon of the sparrow, are stirred to' . movement by different causes wind,' . weather, food, the bullying of parent-'.' and other birds. Birds of prey drive oft their young. Martina love famtl ' tar eaves; successive ravens have . built on the aame ledge for a century. The long paasagea are only mad ' over ahallow seaa that once were lead-'', ' and when once a Journey la made the memory la atrong enough (o urge a. repetition. The change of home then becomes not a fashion, but an lnher-' Ited habit. . . . . W. a - PtKT1l ACCOUNT OA IT A 4.1 Sr VAN. .vrpa l,sokkkV inrai' Ramims and THB friYitit; lN6RITION$J frf HASf-.d tTNMft .THOUSAND, Vt AltaTO-re THB '8NOpATIrtt'Wia .4. .A WO.RK w iAp T J TATYIWO THE SlLVbOW PAXCK. Louise Chandler Moulton. ' :. I 1 She aeea her Image In the glass How fair a thing to gaae upon! , (the llnsers while the moments run, With happy thoughts that come and pass, Like, winds acroas the theadow grass When the young June Is just beguaj Bhe sees her Itnas In the glass V ilow fair a thing to look upoat , What wealth of gold the skies amass? , How glad are all thlnas 'neath the sunt How true the love her love has won I . Bhe recks not that this hour will pass She sees her Image in the glass. . George Westlnghoux has been ? scribed, say Arthur Warren. In Em ceas, as "a hundred thousand hors power man." -The men who are r.r him say that hla capacity tor worn greater than that of any ten rf subordinates, and he has 15.C . i working In hl Industrie. - 4 " 1. v ' , U','!i?
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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June 3, 1906, edition 1
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