ts of the double."
Each one received a name, such as "the Fresh," "the Beautiful," "the
Divine in its places," which conferred upon it a personality and, as it
were, a living soul. These pyramids formed to the west of the White Wall
a long serrated line whose extremities were lost towards the south and
north in the distant horizon: Pharaoh could see them from the terraces
of his palace, from the gardens of his villa, and from every point in
the plain in which he might reside between Heliopolis and Medum--as a
constant reminder of the lot which awaited him in spite of his divine
origin. The people, awed and inspired by the number of them, and by the
variety of their form and appearance, were accustomed to tell stories
of them to one another, in which the supernatural played a predominant
part. They were able to estimate within a few ounces the heaps of gold
and silver, the jewels and precious stones, which adorned the royal
mummies or rilled the sepulchral chambers: they were acquainted with
every precaution taken by the architects to ensure the safety of all
these riches from robbers, and were convinced that magic had added to
such safeguards the more effective protection of talismans and genii.
There was no pyramid so insignificant that it had not its mysterious
protectors, associated with some amulet--in most cases with a statue,
animated by the double of the founder. The Arabs of to-day are still
well acquainted with these protectors, and possess a traditional respect
for them. The great pyramid concealed a black and white image, seated
on a throne and invested with the kingly sceptre. He who looked upon the
statue "heard a terrible noise proceeding from it which almost caused
his heart to stop beating, and he who had heard this noise would die."
An image of rose-coloured granite watched over the pyramid of Khephren,
standing upright, a sceptre in its hand and the urous on its brow,
"which serpent threw himself upon him who approached it, coiled
itself around his neck, and killed him." A sorcerer had invested these
protectors of the ancient Pharaohs with their powers, but another
equally potent magician could elude their vigilance, paralyze their
energies, if not for ever, at least for a sufficient length of time
to ferret out the treasure and rifle the mummy. The cupidity of the
fellahin, highly inflamed by the stories which they were accustomed to
hear, gained the mastery over their terror, and emboldened them to ris