Lion in the Valley - Elizabeth Peters [0]
Dedication
Poem
Forward
1 “My dear Peabody,” said Emerson. . .
2 Mena House, at the foot of the Giza plateau. . .
3 The sun was approaching the zenith before. . .
4 Emerson had never seen the famous communion. . .
5 Emerson’s enthusiasm faded rapidly when he. . .
6 Despite the best efforts of my noble. . .
7 When we returned to the house next day, we found. . .
8 Suddenly there was a violent upheaval.
9 Neither of us slept well that night.
10 Abdullah had neglected to close the gates.
11 Emerson was more forthcoming when I asked precisely. . .
12 At Emerson’s request the train stopped at Dahshoor. . .
13 Enid insisted upon accompanying Donald to Cairo.
14 Though the astonishing turn of events surprised. . .
About the Author
Books by Elizabeth Peters
Copyright
About The Publisher
Dedication
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TO DR. ANN KING
A.K.A. MY FRIEND PENNY
WITH LOVE AND RESPECT
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Poem
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Lord of fear, great of fame,
In the hearts of all the lands.
Great of awe, rich in glory,
As is Set upon his mountain. . . .
Like a wild lion in a valley of goats.
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Foreword
In this, the fourth volume of the memoirs of Amelia Peabody Emerson (Mrs. Radcliffe Emerson), the editor once again deems it expedient to explain certain anomalies and obscurities in the text. Mrs. Emerson was not as careful as she might have been about noting the dates of her entries. She seems to have picked up the current volume of her journal and scribbled away until something happened to distract her. However, from certain internal evidence, it seems likely that the current volume concerns events of the 1895–96 season. (Egyptologists tend to use this method of dating, since the archaeological “year” runs from late fall until early spring, the climate of Egypt making summer excavations extremely difficult.)
As the editor has had occasion to mention, the names of most of the persons involved have been changed, in order to spare the feelings of descendants of said individuals. The informed reader will recognize some names as those of well-known archaeologists, who appear only peripherally. Mrs. Emerson seems to have been fairly accurate in describing their activities; however, it would be a serious error to assume that she was equally accurate in reporting their conversations with her, for, like her distinguished husband, she had a decided tendency to attribute to other people opinions of her own.
Another obscurity in the ur-text (if the editor may so describe the journals themselves) arises from the fact that at some point Mrs. Emerson apparently decided to edit them for eventual publication. (See her remarks on p. 73) Since she was as inconsistent about her revision as she was about dating her pages, the result is sometimes a peculiar blend of journalistic and novelistic styles.
In other words, none of the eccentricities of the present volume are the responsibility of the editor. She has done the best she could and would suggest that complaints, criticisms, and other pejorative comments be addressed to the heirs of Professor and Mrs. Emerson, not to her.
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One
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“My dear Peabody,” said Emerson, “pray correct me if I am mistaken; but I sense a diminution of that restless ardor for living that is so noted a characteristic of yours, particularly upon occasions such as this. Since that happy day that saw us united, never a cloud has dimmed the beaming orb of matrimonial bliss; and that remarkable circumstance derives, I am certain, from the perfect communion that marks our union. Confide, I implore, in the fortunate man whose designated role is to support and shelter you, and whose greatest happiness is to share your own.”
I felt certain Emerson must have worked this speech out in advance. No one talks like that in the course of ordinary conversation.
I knew, however, that the formality of his speech failed adequately to express the sincere devotion that had inspired it. My dear Emerson and I have been of one mind and one heart ever since the day we met in the Egyptian Museum of Boulaq. (In actual fact,