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Article THE CONTEST. ← Page 2 of 6 →
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The Contest.
monarch ; " patience may avert much , impatience nothing . " The sorrow of the king did not affect him only ; the people shared it ; the nobles and the priesthood were equally interested in it ; for the oracles bad pronounced that , to avenge the guilty reigns of the predecessors of Mycerinus , pestilence should affect the land of Egypt , and that its monarch should rule but for seven years , unless the city in that period should be completed—hence the vast labours that had been undertakenTemples
. had been reared to each of Egypt ' s hundred deities—aqueducts constructed—pyramids built , and the towered circuit of the walls completed ; but in vain , the crowning work , the mystic edifice , whose construction was to bring health to the toiling people , and prosperity to the sovereign , was not yet commenced . Architects sent in the noblest designs—imagination was racked for something new in science , unheard of in magnificence—but all in vainstill the pestilence continued its and the
, ravages , seven years' reign of Mycerinus drew towards a close . The sound of a silver gong broke the reveries of both priest and king ; it was the hour of council , when the banded , the wise , and noblest of Egypt , were to meet to consult for the preservation of their country . With slow steps the watchers left the stately hall , and proceeded by a subterranean gallery to the divan in the vast temple of Anubis , where were already assembled all whose rank in the sacred mysteries entitled them to stand before the
wise ones of the laud , and give council to its king . The monarch was seated upon his ivory throne ; priests , sages , and nobles , around him ; not in the mixed confusion of the social hour , but in the solemn order of their respective state . A mournful silence prevailed in the vast hall , which was first broken by an Ethiopian architect
, whose skill was the wonder of men ; all that wisdom could teach , he had learned ; science had but few secrets he had not penetrated ; from his designs were erected the huge piles whose shadows stretched across the Memphian plains—whose completion he had vainly hoped would have crowned him with honour , by fulfilling the condition of the oracle , " King , live for ever ! " exclaimed the dark- sage ; " some hidden meaning lurks within the response of Egypt ' s god . I have achieved no
vulgar triumphs of our art , yet the pestilence continues ; all of beauty , all of usefulness , the royal craft can boast , has been exhausted ; nothing now remains but to offer the last dread sacrifice to the incensed godsthe Nile demands his bride !" A murmur rose through the assembly , and repeated the words of the speaker , " The Nile demands his bride . " "Be it so , " replied Mycerinus ; "Priest of Anubis , send forth onr
edict—let the names of Egypt ' s fairest maidens be placed within the golden urn , each written on a papyrus leaf ; beauty and innocence may win from heaven what prayers and supplications fail to obtain . " Extending his sceptre as he spoke , the monarch struck the crystal globe before him , ah act which rendered the decree inevitable , giving to his words the force of law . This dreaded sacrificecalled " Tlie marriage of the Nile" was onl
, , y resorted to when the land was threatened , or oppressed , by some extraordinary calamity ; the bride being chosen by lot amongst the fairest of J ^ gyP ' ' f ° which purpose the beautiful and high-born virgins were all assembled in the Temple of Anubis , their names placed in an urn , and she whose scroll was drawn by the high priest , proclaimed the River Queen . For sixty days did all the priests and nobles bow down before her ; the richest gifts were laid at her feet , and her very glance falling
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Contest.
monarch ; " patience may avert much , impatience nothing . " The sorrow of the king did not affect him only ; the people shared it ; the nobles and the priesthood were equally interested in it ; for the oracles bad pronounced that , to avenge the guilty reigns of the predecessors of Mycerinus , pestilence should affect the land of Egypt , and that its monarch should rule but for seven years , unless the city in that period should be completed—hence the vast labours that had been undertakenTemples
. had been reared to each of Egypt ' s hundred deities—aqueducts constructed—pyramids built , and the towered circuit of the walls completed ; but in vain , the crowning work , the mystic edifice , whose construction was to bring health to the toiling people , and prosperity to the sovereign , was not yet commenced . Architects sent in the noblest designs—imagination was racked for something new in science , unheard of in magnificence—but all in vainstill the pestilence continued its and the
, ravages , seven years' reign of Mycerinus drew towards a close . The sound of a silver gong broke the reveries of both priest and king ; it was the hour of council , when the banded , the wise , and noblest of Egypt , were to meet to consult for the preservation of their country . With slow steps the watchers left the stately hall , and proceeded by a subterranean gallery to the divan in the vast temple of Anubis , where were already assembled all whose rank in the sacred mysteries entitled them to stand before the
wise ones of the laud , and give council to its king . The monarch was seated upon his ivory throne ; priests , sages , and nobles , around him ; not in the mixed confusion of the social hour , but in the solemn order of their respective state . A mournful silence prevailed in the vast hall , which was first broken by an Ethiopian architect
, whose skill was the wonder of men ; all that wisdom could teach , he had learned ; science had but few secrets he had not penetrated ; from his designs were erected the huge piles whose shadows stretched across the Memphian plains—whose completion he had vainly hoped would have crowned him with honour , by fulfilling the condition of the oracle , " King , live for ever ! " exclaimed the dark- sage ; " some hidden meaning lurks within the response of Egypt ' s god . I have achieved no
vulgar triumphs of our art , yet the pestilence continues ; all of beauty , all of usefulness , the royal craft can boast , has been exhausted ; nothing now remains but to offer the last dread sacrifice to the incensed godsthe Nile demands his bride !" A murmur rose through the assembly , and repeated the words of the speaker , " The Nile demands his bride . " "Be it so , " replied Mycerinus ; "Priest of Anubis , send forth onr
edict—let the names of Egypt ' s fairest maidens be placed within the golden urn , each written on a papyrus leaf ; beauty and innocence may win from heaven what prayers and supplications fail to obtain . " Extending his sceptre as he spoke , the monarch struck the crystal globe before him , ah act which rendered the decree inevitable , giving to his words the force of law . This dreaded sacrificecalled " Tlie marriage of the Nile" was onl
, , y resorted to when the land was threatened , or oppressed , by some extraordinary calamity ; the bride being chosen by lot amongst the fairest of J ^ gyP ' ' f ° which purpose the beautiful and high-born virgins were all assembled in the Temple of Anubis , their names placed in an urn , and she whose scroll was drawn by the high priest , proclaimed the River Queen . For sixty days did all the priests and nobles bow down before her ; the richest gifts were laid at her feet , and her very glance falling