Punch: Punch (69.1875)

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHA.RIVA.Rl. [January 8, 1876.

King Cheops—still sarcophagused in the labyrinthine recesses of the star-y-pointing Pyramid, to mock generations of Egypto-
logists, past, present, and to come—that had all at once fouud a tongue within his desiccated jaws ? Was it Toby, suddenly
' revealed as Anubis, his ancestral Egyptian god, with his bark translated by the genius loci into intelligible oracle ?

" Own the coup a master-stroke, worthy of our great forefather Moses, who first taught Jews the spoiling of Egyp-
tians." They were the same accents, but this time with a dry chuckle making a running bass to their music. And then
Punch knew it was the voice of the Great Asian Mystery—the utterance of the riddling oracle of Semitic wisdom—the speech
of the inscrutable, immutable, unfathomable Sphinx. Yes, they were the great granite lips of the Colossal Head—which
reared its impassive brow and stony eye-balls from the waves of the sand-sea far below—that sent forth that mysterious music.
And Punch braced himself for the encounter; for he knew that the Inexhaustible Fountain of Double Acrostics was about to
be let loose upon him, and that, like QEdipus, he must answer aright, or die. But asking questions, especially of the Sphinx,
is easier than answering them ; so Punch determined to put in his cross-fire of interrogatories, before the Great Fountain-head /
of Mystery could flash forth its riddle.

"You call Moses your great forefather?"

" Is not the Spbinx of the seed of the Sepiuiipjm ? "

"Of whet tribe?"

" Of the tribe of Benjamin."

" Then you are not Egyptian ? "

"Neither of the Copts, nor the Fellaheen, nor the Etyksos. I am a tiebre.v of the H&brws—afetd never felt so
proud of my blood as now."

"But how came yen to be left behind when the rest cf yitlr race emigrated from the Lard of Goshen?"

" The tribes had a great deal of money (ut on good security, and I stayed to lock sfter it. Do you suppose our
dealings with Pharaoh's people began and ended with the unredeemed pkdgts we carried across the Bed Sea?"

Here the granite lips curled contemptuously, and a sudden darkness—it might have been the shadow of a cloud,
but it had all the effect of a wink—passed scross one of the stony eyeballs.

"But this purchase of the Khedive's Canal Shares?"

" ' What is the best investment Bpjtannia can make of Four Millions?' Such was the riddle propounded to
Loud Detsby—by me—through one of our people. Of course he couldn't answer it—when was ever Foreigti Secretary of
English Blood that could? But there was one set oyer him—a sen of my seed—my Benjamin. He sent the answer
by return of post; and another son of my people, though of the scorned Askbenazim, stood, with the millions ready to
draw on at sight. And so the Great Riddle of the Sphinx was answered—and the Sphinx can smile to see that her
seed is rot degenerate,— that her sons still know, and teach by example, that there arc roads which it rray be worth
wise men's while to pave with gold-"

" And with what is more precious even than gold, 0 Spihnx!" shouted Punch. " Here goes for the first stone of
that inestimable pavement ! " And with a majestic motion he hurled down to the Desert sands below, from which straightway
burst forth a fountain of laughing waters—