Page:H. D. Traill - From Cairo to the Soudan Frontier.djvu/161

Rh Ahmed, and what his sensations were on finding himself in the marvellous death-chamber and treasure-house at its end, every inch of it covered with coffins and antiquities of all kinds; 'My astonishment was so overpowering that I scarcely knew whether I was awake or whether it was only a mocking dream. Resting on a coffin, in order to recover from my intense excitement, I mechanically cast my eyes over the coffin-lid, and distinctly saw the name of King Seti I., the father of Rameses II., both belonging to the nineteenth dynasty. A few steps further on, in a simple wooden coffin, with his hands crossed on his breast, lay Rameses II., the great Sesostris himself. The further I advanced the greater was the wealth displayed, here Amenophis I., there Amasis, the three Thothmes, Queen Ahmes Nefertari, all the mummies well preserved—thirty-six coffins, all belonging to kings or queens or princes or princesses."

"Yes," said one of the listeners, "but even