to soak seventy days.

Meanwhile Isis, when she had passed over the entire vault, approached
the chamber where the dissectors had cleaned the pharaoh's body. She
looked at the marble table, and, seeing that it was empty, inquired in
terror,

"Where is my brother? Where is my divine consort?"

Thereupon thunder roared, trumpets and bronze plates sounded; the
dissector disguised as Typhon burst into laughter, and cried,

"O beautiful Isis, who in company with the stars delightest the night,
thy consort exists not. Never again will the radiant Osiris sit in the
golden boat, never again will that sun appear on the firmament. I have
done this, I, Set, and I have hidden him so deeply that none of the
gods, nor all the gods together will find him."

At these words the goddess rent her garments, she groaned and tore her
hair. Again sounded trumpets, thunder, and plates; among the priests
and priestesses an uproar began, then shouting and curses. Suddenly all
rushed at Typhon crying,

"Cursed spirit of darkness! Thou rousest the whirlwinds of the desert,
Thou rousest the sea, darkenest the light of day! Mayst Thou fall into
the pit from which the father of the gods himself could not free thee.
Cursed! Cursed Set! May thy name be a disgust and a terror!"

While cursing in this way they all attacked Typhon with fists and
clubs; the red-haired god fled, and rushed at last out of the building.

Again the bronze plates sounded thrice, and the solemnity was ended.

"Well, that is enough!" cried the senior priest to the assembly which
had begun to fight in earnest. "Thou, Isis, mayest return to the city,
but the rest of us must go to other departed ones who are waiting for
our services. We must not neglect the ordinary dead, for it is unknown
how much they will pay us for this one."

"Not much indeed!" interrupted the embalmer. "People say that there is
nothing in the treasury, while the Phoenicians threaten to cease
lending unless new rights are given them."

"May death destroy all those Phoenicians! Soon a man will be forced to
beg a barley cake of them; even now they have snatched away
everything."

"But unless they lend the pharaoh money we shall get nothing for the
funeral."

Conversation ceased gradually, and those present left the heavenly
hall. Only at the vat where the body of the pharaoh lay steeping was a
guard left.

All this solemnity, representing the legend of the slaying of Osiris
(the sun) by Typhon