after season drive from Cairo to the Pyramids, and take pleasure in staring at the Sphinx with all the impertinence common to pigmies when contemplating greatness. But more riddles than that of the Sphinx are lost in the depths of the sandy desert; and more unsolved problems lie in the recesses of the past than even the restless and inquiring spirit of modern times will ever discover;--and if it should ever chance that in days to come, the secret of the movable floor of the Great Pyramid should be found, and the lost treasures of Egypt brought to light, there will probably be much discussion and marvel concerning the Golden Tomb of Araxes. For the hieroglyphs on the jewelled sarcophagus speak of him thus and say:-- “Araxes was a Man of Might, far exceeding in Strength and Beauty the common sons of men. Great in War, Invincible in Love, he did Excel in Deeds of Courage and of Conquest,--and for whatsoever Sins he did in the secret Weakness of humanity commit, the Gods must judge him. But in all that may befit a Warrior, Amenhotep The King doth give him honor,--and to the Spirits of Darkness and of Light his Soul is here commended to its Rest.” Thus much of the fierce dead hero of old time,--but of the mouldering corpse that lies on the golden floor of the same tomb, its skeleton hand touching, almost grasping, the sword of Araxes, what shall be said? Nothing--since the Old and the New, the Past and the Present, are but as one moment in the countings of eternity, and even with a late repentance Love pardons all. FINIS. TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES The edition published by Arrowsmith (Bristol, 1897) was referenced for most of the fixes listed below. Alterations to the text: [CHAPTER I] Change “fine,--_occcasionally_ classic,--but intelligent” to _occasionally_. “And that reminds me, there is _at_ fellow arrived” to _a_. “I hate, pale-blue eyes. I prefer soft...” delete comma. “But this _large_, soft and silvery, was like” to _laugh_. [CHAPTER II] “a trifle, I assure you?” change question mark to exclamation mark. “met in one flash of mutual comprehension! then, as the...” change exclamation mark to a semicolon. [CHAPTER III] “come and find me in the _upper-room_” to _supper-room_. [CHAPTER V] “My dear Ross you know how dull they are!” add comma after _Ross_. “Courtney _look_ at him puzzled and baffled.” to _looked_. [CHAPTER VI] “and has resided there _every_ since” to _ever_. “It is an enigma as profound as that of the _sphinx_” to _Sphinx_. “poignard clasped in in her right hand” delete one _in_. “addressing _his_ unfascinating object with apparent indifference” to _this_. [CHAPTER VII] “You are an _uprincipled_ man, Armand” to _unprincipled_. (“You believe in Death?” _ask_ the Princess) to _asked_. [CHAPTER VIII] “_Beside_, there’s something rather strange” to _Besides_. [CHAPTER X] “_A_ la campagne--le desert--les pyramides!” to _À_. “has gone to _secures_ rooms at the Mena House Hotel” to _secure_.