Before beginning the subject, and to
acquaint my readers of this profound Science, which until the
present
day has been the object of research of the most constant and
profound
meditations, I must unbosom myself how these marvelous secrets were
communicated to me, and the manner in which the Divine Providence
allowed me to escape from the greatest dangers and, so to speak,
conducted me by the Divine Hand, to prove that by Divine Will it is
sufficient to raise unto Himself the last of Beings or to precipate
to naught those who are clothed with all power on Earth. We all
therefor come from God, God is everything, and without God nothing
can exist. Who more than I may penetrate the truth eternal and
sacred.
I formed part of the expedition to
Egypt, an officer in the army of the genius. I took part in the
successes and reverses of this army, which victorious or obliged to
cede to force from the eventualities and circumstances, always
covered itself with glory.
As there is no point in relating
here any detail which deals with this memorable campaign, I will
but
relate one single feature, with which I was touched, and is
necessary
for the development which I must give to those whom I mentioned in
my
preface. I had been sent by the General, under whose orders I found
myself, to draw up the plans of the Pyramids; he had given me an
escort of some mounted light infantry horse. I arrived with them at
my destination without experiencing any accident, also without
noticing anything that could conjecture the fate that awaited us.
We
had dismounted near the Pyramids, our horses had been tethered;
sitting on the sands we appeased the hunger that tormented us.
French
gaiety seasoned the food which composed our frugal meal. It was on
the point of ending, and I was occupied with my work when all of a
sudden a horde of desert Arabs fell on us. We did not have the time
to place ourselves in a position of defence. The blows of swords
descended upon us, the bullets whistled, and I received several
wounds. My unhappy companions were lying on the ground dead or
expiring. Our cruel enemies after having removed our weapons and
clothes, disappeared with our horses with the speed of lightning. I
remained for some time in a state of prostration, facing the sun.
At
last recovering some of my strength, I raised myself with pain. I
had
two sword cuts on the head, and one on the left arm. I looked
around
me. I saw nothing but corpses, a burning sky and arid sand in an
immense desert and a frightning solitude. With but the hope of a
certain and cruel death, I resigned myself to saying goodbye to my
country to my parents and to my friends. Invoking heaven, I crawled
to the Pyramid, and the blood which ran with abundance from my
wounds
reddened the sand which was soon to be my tomb.
Arriving at the foot of these
worldly marvels I sat down and leaned against this enormous mass
that
had seen many centuries pass by and which would see many more pass.
I
thought that my existence which was soon to end had come to naught
just as the day which was nearing its end, the sun being on the
point
of plunging into the ocean.
"Brilliant star, receive my
goodbyes," I said with emotion. "My eyes will never see you
again, your benificent light will never shine on me again.
Goodbye."
As I said this goodbye which I thought was eternal, the sun
disappeared. The night came and covered the world with its dark
curtain.
I was absorbed with the most sad
reflections when a light noise could be heard a few paces from me.
A
large slab of stone detached itself from the pyramid and fell on
the
sand; I turned to that side, and by the light of a small lantern
that
he carried in his hand, I perceived a venerable old man who came
out
of the pyramid. A white beard covered his chest, a turban covered
his
head, and the rest of his costume indicated that he was a
Mohammedan.
He cast his eyes around; then advancing a few steps he halted
opposite the corpse of one of my unhappy companions of misfortune.
"Oh Heavens!" he cried in
Turkish. "A man is wounded, a Frenchman is dead." He lifted
his eyes to the sky saying: "Oh Allah." He then discovered
the others which he carefully examined to see if he could not find
one who still breathed, and to assure himself, I saw him place his
hand in the region of the heart. The old man recognised that they
had
all ceased to live. Uttering a painful groan, with tears furrowing
down from his eyes, he retraced his steps to re—enter the pyramid.
I felt the desire to conserve my days. I had already made the
sacrifice of my life; hope entered my heart. Summoning all my
strength, I called to him; he heard me, and turning his lantern in
my
direction, he saw me. Advancing he gave me his hand, which I seized
and pressed to my ups. He saw that I was wounded and that blood was
flowing from the cuts on my head.
Placing his lantern on the ground,
he removed his girdle and covered my brow. He then helped me to get
up. I had lost a lot of blood and was suffering from extreme
weakness—I hardly had the strength to support myself. Placing his
lantern in my hand, then taking me in his arms, he carried me near
the opening in the pyramid from which he had come and placed me
gently on the sand. Giving me an affectionate grip of the hand, he
indicated that he was re-entering the pyramid and would return
promptly.
I gave thanks to Heaven for the
unexpected help that had been sent me. The old man reappeared
carrying a flagon. He removed the cork and poured a few drops of
the
liqueur into a drinking vessel which he gave to me to drink. A
delicious perfume diffused around me. Hardly had this Divine
Liqueur
penetrated my stomach than I felt regenerated, and I had enough
strength to enter the pyramid with my benefactor and generous
conductor.