Mummy s Left Foot

8/13/2019 Mummy s Left Foot

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Taken from a story by:Theophile Gautier

It started out just like any other hot,summer day in the Paris of 1858. In an idlemood I had entered a dusty shop and theair inside hung like urtains !ith ea h beada hard knot of dust that glimmered !ith thestriking of ea h tiny sunbeam from the far!indo! tossed high up against the eiling.The sign outside on the door pro laimed this!as one of those uriosity "endors !ho are

alled #mar hands de bri $a$bra # in thatpe uliar Parisian #argot# !hi h is soperfe tly unintelligible else!here in %ran e.

&ou ha"e doubtless glan ed o asionallythrough the !indo!s of some of theseshops yourself, stores that ha"e be ome sonumerous no! that it is fashionable to buyanti'uated furniture, and that e"ery pettysto k broker thinks he must ha"e his

# hambre au moyen age#.


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There is one thing there !hi h lings aliketo the shop of the dealer in old iron, the!are$room of the tapestry maker, thelaboratory of the hemist, and the studio ofthe painter: in all those gloomy dens !herea furti"e daylight filters in through the!indo!$shutters the most manifestlyan ient thing is dust. The ob!ebs are moreauthenti than the guimp la es, and the oldpear$tree furniture on e(hibition is a tuallyyounger than the mahogany !hi h arri"edbut yesterday from )meri a.

The !arehouse of my bri $a$bra dealer !asa "eritable *apharnaum. )ll ages and allnations seemed to ha"e made theirrende+"ous there. )n trus an lamp of red

lay stood upon a -oule abinet, !ith ebonypanels, brightly striped by lines of inlaidbrass a du hess of the ourt of /ouis 0 .non halantly e(tended her fa!n$like feetunder a massi"e table of the time of /ouis0III., !ith hea"y spiral supports of oak, and

ar"en designs of himeras and foliageintermingled.

2pon the denti ulated shel"es of se"eralsideboards glittered immense 3apanesedishes !ith red and blue designs relie"ed bygilded hat hing, side by side !ith enamelled!orks by -ernard Palissy, representingserpents, frogs, and li+ards in relief.

%rom disembo!elled abinets es apedas ades of sil"er$lustrous *hinese silks and

!a"es of tinsels !hi h an obli'ue sunbeamshot through !ith luminous beads !hile


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portraits of e"ery era, in frames more orless tarnished, smiled through their yello!"arnish.

The striped breastplate of a damas enedsuit of 4ilanese armour glittered in one

orner lo"es and nymphs of por elain,*hinese grotes'ues, "ases of # eladon# and

ra kle$!are, a(on and old e"res upsen umbered the shel"es and nooks of theapartment.

The dealer follo!ed me losely through the

tortuous !ay ontri"ed bet!een the piles offurniture, !arding off !ith his hand theha+ardous s!eep of my oat$skirts,!at hing my elbo!s !ith the uneasyattention of an anti'uarian and a usurer.

It !as a singular fa e, that of the mer hantan immense skull, polished like a knee, andsurrounded by a thin aureole of !hite hair,!hi h brought out the lear salmon tint ofhis omple(ion all the more strikingly, lenthim a false aspe t of patriar hal

#bonhomie#, ountera ted, ho!e"er, by thes intillation of t!o little yello! eyes !hi htrembled in their orbits like t!o louis d6orupon 'ui ksil"er. The ur"e of his nosepresented an a'uiline silhouette, !hi hsuggested the 7riental or 3e!ish type. ishands$$thin, slender, full of ner"es !hi hproje ted like strings upon the finger$boardof a "iolin, and armed !ith la!s like thoseon the terminations of bats6 !ings$$shook!ith senile trembling but those on"ulsi"elyagitated hands be ame firmer than steel


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pin ers or lobsters6 la!s !hen they liftedany pre ious arti le$$an ony( up, a

enetian glass, or a dish of -ohemianrystal. This strange old man had an aspe t

so thoroughly rabbini al and abalisti thathe !ould ha"e been burnt on the meretestimony of his fa e three enturies ago.

9 ill you not buy something from me to$day, sir; ere is a 4alay kreese !ith a bladeundulating like flame. /ook at those groo"es

ontri"ed for the blood to run along, thoseteeth set ba k!ard so as to tear out the

entrails in !ithdra!ing the !eapon. It is afine hara ter of fero ious arm, and !ill look!ell in your olle tion. This t!o$handeds!ord is "ery beautiful. It is the !ork of3osepe de la era and this # oli hemarde#,!ith its fenestrated guard$$!hat a superbspe imen of handi raft


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appropriate to the "ery undi"ine offi e ofholding papers and letters in pla e.

I !as hesitating bet!een a por elaindragon, all abundantly onstellated !ith!arts, its mouth made formidable !ithbristling tusks and four ranges of teeth, ando"er against it, an abominable little 4e(i anfeti h, representing the god it+iliput+ili #aunaturel#, but then, suddenly a spark of!heeling light t!irled in a stream of dustysun beams and I aught a gleam of sparkleon the ankle of a !oman6s harming foot.

o! an I des ribe that foot, or the impa tit made upon me;

"ery angle, e"ery ur"e in it !as perfe t,perfe t !hen I first looked upon that s!eetleft foot that I took for a fragment torn offof some anti'ue enus that had beenshattered in some an ient earth'uake,perhaps. )h, but I !as dreaming, as onedoes, you kno!, !hen the roman e spiritrises up into the head and laims the soul.

The toes !ere a little long, and the big toepointed to the outside. It !as a lady6s leftfoot and the ankle !as narro! like a longdistan e runner6s ankle. It had thosebeautiful ruddy and ta!ny tints that lend to%lorentine bron+e that !arm li"ing look somu h preferable to the gray$green aspe t of

ommon bron+es, !hi h might easily bemistaken for statues in a state ofputrefa tion.


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atiny gleams played o"er its roundedforms, doubtless polished by the amorouskisses of t!enty enturies of lo"ers gro!ingold !hile enus !a(ed yet young, for itseemed to me to be a *orinthian bron+e, a!ork of the best era of art, perhaps it hadbeen moulded by /ysippus himself.

9That left foot !ill be my hoi e,9 I said tothe mer hant. is ga+e turned sharplyupon me and he studied me as if in surprisethat I should e"en be interested. is ga+emello!ed slo!ly and the mer hant assumed

an ironi al and saturnine air, as he firsthefted the foot for a long moment, thenheld out the obje t I desired that I mighte(amine it more fully.

I !as surprised first at its lightness. It !asnot a foot of metal, but in sooth a foot offlesh and bone, an embalmed foot if you!ill, a mummy6s left foot. I turned it o"erand studied the s!irls on the bottom of thefoot, so realisti , so sharp and lear. 7n

loser e(amination it re"ealed e"er morelosely the "ery grain of the skin, and the

almost imper eptible lines impressed upon itby the te(ture of the bandages, be ameper eptible beneath my hand. The toes !erelong, as I said, slender they !ere and 'uitedeli ate. They !ere terminated by perfe tlyformed nails, pure and transparent asagates. The great toe, slightly separatedfrom the rest, afforded a happy ontrast, inthe anti'ue style, to the position of theother toes, and lent it an aerial lightness$$the gra e of a ha!k6s foot that rea hes out


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to lut h the falling prey. The sole of thefoot !as s ar ely streaked by a fe! almostimper eptible ross lines that affordedample e"iden e that it had ne"er on etou hed the hard bare ground, and had only

ome in onta t !ith the finest matting of=ile rushes and the softest arpets ofpanther skin.

4y fan ied re"erie !as broken by therau ous laughter of the mer hant. 9 a, ha,you !ant to a 'uire the s!eet left foot ofthe immortal Prin ess ermonthis


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damask$$Indian damask !hi h has ne"erbeen redyed. It is strong, and yet it is soft.9

e paused and glan ed up at me as hisstubby fingers stroked the frayed tissuethrough the trade$a 'uired habit !hi hmo"ed him to praise e"en an obje t of su hlittle "alue that he himself deemed it only!orth fi"e louis.

e passed the pa kage into my hand,letting it drop the last half in h so that myhand and his ne"er tou hed. is eerie

hu kle bel hed out on e more.. 9The foot

of the Prin ess ermonthis to be used for apaper$!eight


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!inter6s slanted house beam.

I shrugged my shoulders as I ast the littleman from my thoughts and !ent home,thoroughly delighted !ith my a 'uisition.

I !anted to justify my pur hase as soon aspossible, so I mo kingly pla ed the foot ofthe di"ine Prin ess ermonthis upon a heapof papers s ribbled o"er !ith "erses, that!ere in themsel"es an unde ipherablemosai !ork of erasures arti les freshlybegun letters forgotten, and posted in the

table dra!er instead of the letter$bo(, anerror to !hi h absent$minded people arepe uliarly liable. -ut !hen I stood ba k themo kery died from my lips and eyes. Theeffe t of ha"ing that mummy6s left foot inmy room !as harming A yes, harming,bi+arre, $$ and someho! romanti , as if Ihad dis o"ered a long hidden foot fetish.

) pleased smile ame to my lips. ellsatisfied !ith this embellishment, I !ent outof the room !ith all the gra"ity and pridebe oming one !ho feels that he has theineffable ad"antage o"er all the passers$by!hom he elbo!s, of possessing e"en a lo!lypie e of the Prin ess ermonthis, daughterof Pharaoh.

I looked upon all !ho did not possess, likemyself, a paper$!eight so authenti ally

gyptian as "ery ridi ulously handi appedpeople, and it seemed to me that the propero upation of e"ery sensible man should

onsist in the mere fa t of ha"ing a royal


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mummy6s keen left foot upon his desk.

appily I met some friends, !hose presen edistra ted me in my infatuation !ith thisne! a 'uisition. I !ent to dinner !ith them,for I ould not "ery !ell ha"e dined !ithmyself.

hen I ame ba k that e"ening, !ith mybrain slightly onfused by a fe! glasses of!ine, a "ague !hiff of 7riental perfumedeli ately titillated my olfa tory ner"es. Theheat of the room had !armed the natron,

bitumen, and myrrh in !hi h the #paras histes#, !ho ut open the bodies ofthe dead, had bathed the orpse of theprin ess. It !as a perfume at on e s!eetand penetrating, a perfume that fourthousand years had not been able todissipate.

-ut, !as it not someho! fitting; The Breamof gypt is ternity. er odours ha"e thesolidity of granite to endure as long.

I soon drank deeply from the thi k bla kup of sleep. %or a fe! hours all remained

opa'ue to me. 7bli"ion and nothingnessinundated me !ith their sombre !a"es.

&et light gradually da!ned upon thedarkness of my mind. Breams ommen edto tou h me softly, flitting on in their silentflight.

The eyes of my spirit !ere opened, and Ibeheld my hamber as it a tually !as. I


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might ha"e belie"ed myself a!ake but for a"ague ons iousness of opa ity in my form!hi h assured me that I slept, and thatsomething fantasti al !as about to takepla e.

The odour of the myrrh had somehosaugmented in intensity, and I felt a slightheada he, !hi h I "ery naturally attributedto se"eral glasses of hampagne that !ehad drunk to the unkno!n gods and ourfuture fortunes.

I peered through my room !ith a feeling ofe(pe tation, !hi h I sa! nothing to justify.

"ery arti le of furniture !as in its properpla e. The lamp, softly shaded by its globeof ground rystal, burned upon its bra ketthe !ater$ olour sket hes shone under their-ohemian glass the urtains hung do!nlanguidly e"erything !ore an aspe t oftran'uil slumber.

)fter a fe! moments, ho!e"er, all this alminterior appeared to be ome faintlydisturbed, as if a film of an ient dust !erebeing lifted. The !ood!ork ra kedstealthily, the ash$ o"ered log suddenlyemitted a jet of blue flame, and the disks ofthe pateras seemed like great metalli eyes,!at hing, like myself, for the things !hi h!ere about to happen. I remarked tomyself ho! penetrating our fan ies ould be!hen !e let them loose to fly.


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-ut then, my ga+e a identally fell upon thedesk !here I had pla ed the foot of thePrin ess ermonthis.

Instead of remaining 'uiet, as behoo"ed afoot !hi h had been embalmed for fourthousand years, it ommen ed to lift andstrain as if to deta h itself from the pull ofgra"ity and altogether to a t in a ner"ousmanner, jittery manner as it ontra teditself. I jumped ba k !hen the foot leapedo"er the papers like a startled frog. o!!eird that it had suddenly jerked like that

as if it had been stabbed !ith the prong ofa gal"ani battery. I ould distin tly hear thedry sound made by foot6s little heel, hard it!as, sharp too, as the hoof of a ga+elle onthe hot baked )fri an plain.

I be ame rather dis ontented !ith mya 'uisition, inasmu h as I had !ished mypaper$!eights to be of a sedentarydisposition, and no matter ho! I looked atit, there !as something "ery unnatural thate"en mummified feet should !alk about!ithout legs, then my dreamy state !aspier ed !ith a feeling 'uite losely akin tofear.

erily, the folds of my bed$ urtain began tostir, and again I heard a bumping sound,like that aused by some person hopping onone foot a ross the floor. I must onfessthat e"en kno!ing that I slept, I be amealternately hot and old, that then I felt astrange !ind hill tri kling like bitter !aterdo!n my ba k, and that !hen my hair


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stood suddenly on end my night$ ape(e uted a leap of se"eral yards.

)t that point !hen my teeth !ere bitingalmost lean through my tongue, the bed$

urtains sifted opened and there, rightbefore me I beheld the strangest figureimaginable.

leep fled from my dream. Pretendingthat I slept !as no longer an option forhere !as a young girl of a "ery deep

offee$bro!n omple(ion, like the

bayadere )mani, and she possessed themost fla!less form of pure early gyptianbeauty. er soft eyes !ere almond$shaped and obli'ue, !ith eyebro!stu ked sharp and so bla k that theyseemed blue her nose !as e('uisitely

hiselled, almost Greek in its deli a y ofoutline and she might indeed ha"e beentaken for a *orinthian statue of bron+ebut for the prominen e of her heek$bones and the slightly )fri an fulness ofher lips, !hi h ompelled one tore ogni+e her as belonging beyond alldoubt to the hieroglyphi ra e !hi hd!elt upon the banks of the =ile.

er arms, slender and spindle$shaped likethose of "ery young girls, !ere en ir led bya pe uliar kind of metal bands and bra eletsof glass beads her hair !as all t!isted intolittle ords, and she !ore upon her bosom alittle idol$figure of green paste, bearing a!hip !ith se"en lashes, !hi h pro"ed it tobe an image of Isis her bro! !as adorned


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!ith a shining plate of gold, and a fe!tra es of paint relie"ed the oppery tint ofher heeks.

)s for her ostume, it !as "ery odd indeed.

%an y a #pagne#, or skirt, all formed of littlestrips of material bedi+ened !ith blood redand bla k hieroglyphi s, stiffened !ithbitumen, and apparently belonging to afreshly unbandaged mummy.

In one of those sudden flights of thought so

ommon in dreams I heard the hoarsefalsetto of the bri $a$bra dealer, repeatinglike a monotonous refrain the phrase he haduttered in his shop !ith so enigmati al anintonation:

97ld Pharaoh !ill not be !ell pleased. elo"ed his daughter, the dear man


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e(pression of o'uettish sadness, but thefoot leaped and ran hither and thither, asthough impelled on steel springs.

T!i e or thri e she e(tended her hand tosei+e it, but ould not su eed.

Then ommen ed bet!een the Prin essermonthis and her foot$$!hi h appeared to

be endo!ed !ith a spe ial life of its o!n$$a"ery fantasti dialogue in a most an ient*opti tongue, su h as might ha"e beenspoken thirty enturies ago in the syrin(es

of the land of er. /u kily I understood*opti perfe tly !ell that night.

The Prin ess ermonthis ried, in a "oi es!eet and "ibrant as the tones of a rystalbell:

9 ell, my dear little foot, you al!ays fleefrom me, yet I al!ays took good are ofyou. I bathed you !ith perfumed !ater in abo!l of alabaster I smoothed your heel!ith pumi e$stone mi(ed !ith palm oilyour nails !ere ut !ith golden s issors andpolished !ith a hippopotamus tooth I !as

areful to sele t #tatbebs# for you, paintedand embroidered and turned up at the toes,!hi h !ere the en"y of all the young girls in

gypt. &ou !ore on your great toe ringsbearing the de"i e of the sa red

arabaeus, and you supported one of thelightest bodies that a la+y foot ouldsustain.9


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The foot replied in a pouting and hagrinedtone:

9&ou kno! !ell that I do not belong tomyself any longer. I ha"e been bought andpaid for. The old mer hant kne! !hat he!as about. e bore you a grudge for ha"ingrefused to espouse him. This is an ill turn!hi h he has done you. The )rab !ho"iolated your royal offin in thesubterranean pits of the ne ropolis ofThebes !as sent thither by him. e desiredto pre"ent you from being present at the

reunion of the shado!y nations in the itiesbelo!. a"e you fi"e pie es of gold for myransom;9

9)las, no< 4y je!els, my rings, my purses ofgold and sil"er !ere all stolen from me,9ans!ered the Prin ess ermonthis, !ith asob.

9Prin ess,9 I then e( laimed, 9I ne"erretained anybody6s foot unjustly. "enthough you ha"e not got the fi"e louis !hi hit ost me, I present it to you gladly. Ishould feel unutterably !ret hed to thinkthat I !ere the ause of so amiable aperson as the Prin ess ermonthis beinglame.9

I deli"ered this dis ourse in a royallygallant, troubadour tone !hi h must ha"eastonished the beautiful gyptian girl.


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he turned a look of deepest gratitude uponme, and her eyes shone !ith bluish gleamsof light.

he took her foot, !hi h surrendered itself!illingly this time, like a !oman about toput on her little shoe, and adjusted it to herleg !ith mu h skill.

This operation o"er, she took a fe! stepsabout the room, as though to assure herselfthat she !as really no longer lame.

9)h, ho! pleased my father !ill be< e !ho!as so unhappy be ause of my mutilation,and !ho from the moment of my birth set a!hole nation at !ork to hollo! me out atomb so deep that he might preser"e meinta t until that last day, !hen souls mustbe !eighed in the balan e of )menthi

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Mummy s Left Foot