The ascent was easy. Twenty-five or thirty steps brought them to the end
of the passage.

They then entered a spacious chamber circular and domed. The light of
the lamps was not enough to redeem the ceiling from obscurity; yet the
master led without pause to a sarcophagus standing under the centre of
the dome, and when he was come there everything else was forgotten by
him.

The receptacle of the dead thus discovered had been hewn from the rock,
and was of unusual proportions. Standing broadside to the entrance, it
was the height of an ordinary man, and twice as long as high. The
exterior had been polished smoothly as the material would allow;
otherwise it was of absolute plainness, looking not unlike a dark brown
box. The lid was a slab of the finest white marble carven into a perfect
model of Solomon's Temple. While the master surveyed the lid he was
visibly affected. He passed the lamp over it slowly, letting the light
fall into the courts of the famous building; in like manner he
illuminated the corridors, and the tabernacle; and, as he did so, his
features trembled and his eyes were suffused. He walked around the
exquisite representation several times, pausing now and then to blow
away the dust that had in places accumulated upon it. He noticed the
effect of the transparent whiteness in the chamber; so in its day the
original had lit up the surrounding world. Undoubtedly the model had
peculiar hold upon his feelings.

But shaking the weakness off he after a while addressed himself to work.
He had the negro thrust the edge of the bar under the lid, and raise it
gently. Having thoughtfully provided himself in the antechamber with